Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"1,000 earlier and 1,000 again now? That is just… sigh!"
"We don't have this much cash, either. What should we do?"
"We don't earn much money easily, right? The County Magistrate's behavior is over the top!'
The sighing and complaints stopped, when the question was raised by someone.
They all turned to Old Master Zhao with an inquiring look.
His was one of the top rich families, and the Zhao Family had a close
relationship with the County Magistrate.
Old Master Zhao smiled bitterly. He was feeling even more wronged in his heart.
While the others lent out 1,000 liang, he had to loan out 1,500 liang!
When the others were asked for 1,000 this time, the strategist asked him to offer 2,000 liang instead.
He was so annoyed and almost spat out blood.
"What should we do? He is an officer! Also, he is just borrowing…"
Someone sneered. "That is just an excuse. We all know that the money can't ever be returned.'
"Yeah, but who dares say that out loud?"
Everyone became silent.
Old Master Zhao sighed. "Let's just gather the money and send it to Officer Qiao. We can't really fight with the officers, you know. We should take a step back. Besides, Officer Qiao has never asked to borrow money from us before…
he must be in real trouble in recent times.'
They nodded, sighed and shook their heads.
They had to give the money.
Officer Qiao was not a greedy officer, but he was not a nice man. When he asked for something, they had to give it out obediently.
Soon, Old Master Zhao gathered 2,000 liang and had it delivered.
The others also tried to collect the money. Some even secretly sold out a few valuable things and managed to get 1,000 liang.
Some families had to offer the money, since everyone else did. They did not dare to make any complaints.
Officer Qiao sorted out the money and went into the capital with his trusted man.
He felt so glad to have this load off his mind.
"You are smart! The money problem is settled!"
Madame Qiao let out a sigh of relief as well. She smiled. "l will do anything I can… for your sake, Old Master!"
He said emotionally, "Our family will flourish with you next to me. I will definitely earn you a great title in the future!"
Madame Qiao liked to hear this kind of promise. "Thank you very much for that, Old Master!'
Fearing that Officer Qiao would ask for some more money, Old Master Zhao left home and went traveling. He was not planning to return home within half a year.
As long as he was absent, his son could not make the decision, which could be used as the excuse to turn down any new request.
The Qiao Family had offered the Zhao Family much convenience. But the Qiao Family got 3,500 liang from the Zhao Family, not including other attributes. That seemed like a huge loss for the Zhao Family after all.
Old Master Zhao felt very annoyed and uncomfortable as well.
Seeing that Old Master Zhao was gone, the other families also realized what was going on. They went traveling as well.
Almost everyone from the Zhao Family learned about how the Qiao Family asked for the money from them. They felt so uncomfortable.
They all believed that Officer Qiao treated them differently. They even bragged about hanging out together.
But this behavior was such a slap on their faces.
Officer Qiao asked them for far more money than he did from other families.
Zhao Ming was especially annoyed.
She had been treating Qiao Wei so nicely and even helped Qiao Wei find some information about Qiao Xuan secretly. But now, she was not going to tell Qiao Wei anything any more..