Chapter 56: IOU
’An IOU is just a scrap of paper,’ Old Mrs. Bai figured. ’I’ll honor it if I feel like it, and I won’t if I don’t. It’s no big deal.’ And so, she readily agreed.
So, when Doctor Lu finished writing the IOU, she didn’t bother to look at it, nor did she ask Bai Xiaofeng, who could read, to glance over it for her. She cheerfully pressed her thumbprint onto the paper, completely dismissing its importance in her mind.
Doctor Lu blew the ink dry on the paper and said in a grave voice, "Now, we have an agreement. You will pay me this money by the eighth of next month at the latest. The ninth is the day I settle my accounts with the town apothecary. If you don’t pay me, I can’t settle my bill with them and will have to cover it out of my own pocket. You need to take this seriously."
Old Mrs. Bai said, "If I have the money on the eighth of next month, of course I’ll give it to you—every last coin. If I don’t, well, there’s nothing I can do about it."
Doctor Lu brandished the IOU in his hand. "I’m afraid it’s not up to you. Paying one’s debts is only right and proper. If you can’t pay up when the time comes, then I’ll have no choice but to take this IOU to the county government and file a complaint. When the County Magistrate seizes your family’s land or house to cover the debt, don’t you dare blame me."
As soon as she heard this, Old Mrs. Bai’s face contorted in alarm. "What did you say? Why should our family’s land and house be used to pay off your debt? The County Magistrate actually handles things like this? Don’t you try to scare me! Do you think I’m some old woman who’s never seen the world?"
Doctor Lu couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath on her. He waved the IOU again. "It’s all written down here in black and white. Thinking of backing out? I don’t think so."
Old Mrs. Bai tried to snatch the document back, but Doctor Lu quickly stuffed it into his robes, picked up his medicine kit, and turned to leave. He left Old Mrs. Bai stamping her feet in a rage, utterly powerless to stop him. He wasn’t Zhao Lan or Bai Zhi; the old woman wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him.
She whirled around and blocked the path of the village chief, who was also about to leave. "Village Chief, was he telling the truth just now? If I can’t pay him back by the eighth of next month, can he really report me to the government office? Does the County Magistrate really get involved in things like this?"
The village chief raised an eyebrow at her, inwardly taking some pleasure in her misfortune. "To the County Magistrate, no matter concerning the common folk is a small one. Of course he’ll get involved. Did you think signing an IOU was a joke? Do you think the laws of the Da Chu Kingdom are just empty talk?"
Old Mrs. Bai grew frantic. "No, no, that can’t be! I... I can’t even read! I didn’t look at the document he wrote at all. He tricked me! I don’t acknowledge it."
The village chief snorted. "Whether you acknowledge it or not is your problem, not mine. When Doctor Lu reports you to the government office, you can tell your story to the County Magistrate."
"And... and will the County Magistrate listen to me? Will he take my side?" Old Mrs. Bai asked, her face a mask of anxiety and her thoughts in a turmoil.
The village chief shrugged. "How would I know how the County Magistrate will rule? You’ll find out when you go."
With that, the village chief had no desire to waste any more words on her. He glanced over at Bai Zhi and Zhao Lan and said flatly, "Since you insisted on forcing Zhao Lan and her daughter to come back, you’d better treat them well. If anything else happens to them, don’t blame me for not going easy on you." The village chief then flicked his sleeves and departed.
Old Mrs. Bai stomped her foot in anger, spat on the ground in the direction of the departing village chief, and muttered a few nasty curses under her breath.
As she turned her head, she happened to meet Hu Feng’s gaze. It was so cold it made her shiver to the core.
Hu Feng turned his head to look at Bai Zhi and asked, "Do you want to come back with me?"
Bai Zhi had been mulling over this exact question: whether she should take Zhao Lan back to the Hu Family, since the Bai Family didn’t even have a place for them to sleep.