Su Sanyun spoke, his face flushed red, looking like an honest man about to cry.
Madam Wang frowned deeply, thinking to herself what a mess Su Laosan had gotten into. What kind of useless son-in-law loses so much money in one business deal?
But since Su Sanyun had come begging to her, Madam Wang remembered how, back in the old Su family days, Su Sanyun had secretly helped her and her daughter. She couldn't just turn him away, so she asked, "Old Third, how much do you want to borrow?"
Su Sanyun's face turned even redder. He whispered, "My son-in-law says he owes ten thousand taels of silver. I was thinking of borrowing five thousand from Ali, and another five thousand from Fourth Brother."
Five thousand taels of silver is an amount an ordinary family could never earn in a lifetime.
But for the families of Su Li and Yuan Jie, it's just a drop in the bucket. Su Li's spice business alone brings in more than five thousand taels a day.
Madam Wang sighed, about to speak, but then Doctor Lin spoke up: "Old Third, did your son-in-law tell you exactly what kind of business lost so much money?"
Su Sanyun scratched his head and said, "He didn't say exactly what kind of business, just that he lost money. Lots of creditors have come knocking—it's terrifying. I only know how to farm, I don't understand business at all, so I can't really follow what they're saying."
Doctor Lin pondered for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do: when Ali wakes up, we'll talk to her about it."
Su Sanyun responded quickly, getting up and saying, "Alright, I won't disturb Ali's rest then. I need to hurry over to Fourth Brother's place."
As Su Sanyun got up to leave, Madam Wang sent a servant to escort him out of the estate.
Doctor Lin watched Su Sanyun's departing figure, snorted lightly, and shook his head.
Madam Wang pursed her lips and said, "Husband, what should we do about this?"
Doctor Lin said, "I bet that Cheng Jin is lying. What business loses that much money? He's definitely tricking Old Third, thinking country folk are naive."
Madam Wang replied, "I think so too. That Cheng Jin is just using Old Third to get money. Sigh... what a mess."
Meanwhile, Su Sanyun left the Lin residence and braved the wind and snow, jogging all the way to Yuan Jie's house.
To save money, Su Sanyun couldn't bring himself to hire a carriage. He figured that although it was freezing with all this snow, running would warm him up.
During the New Year, the streets were empty—everyone was at home celebrating, and no one wanted to be out in the icy weather.
After running for a while, Su Sanyun was covered in a thick layer of snow on his head and shoulders. Shivering from the cold, he thought he had to raise the money quickly, or else his daughter would be taken away by creditors to pay the debt.
When Su Sanyun arrived at Yuan Jie's house, he found only the children at home.
"Ling'er, where did your parents go?" Su Sanyun asked Yuan Ling.
"They went to the shop," Yuan Ling replied. "Uncle Third, come in and have some hot tea to warm up."
"No, no, Uncle Third still has things to do. I'll come by another day," Su Sanyun quickly greeted Yuan Ling, then hurried toward Fourth Brother's shop.
Su Sanyun, eager to raise the money, quickened his pace. But age had caught up with him; his legs weren't as nimble as they used to be. As he ran, he stepped on ice and, with a thud, fell hard, his face bruised and seeing stars.
"Ouch—ouch—" Su Sanyun sat on the ground, his face pale, unable to get up for quite a while.
There was no one on the road at this hour, so no one saw Su Sanyun fall. He sat in the cold, snowy street for a long time before slowly getting up, limping onward, muttering to himself, "Lanxiang, daughter, this time your dad will get the money together. I won't let you be sold off again!"