"Brother," said the round-faced man, his expression freezing as he spoke to Lin Fan. "If the money can't be recovered, then so be it. Don't do anything foolish. She's just a young girl; you can't be too harsh!"
Lin Fan paused, then suddenly understood. The round-faced man thought he was going to harm Tian Mengyao with his pen tip.
"This..." Lin Fan gave a wry smile. "I understand."
"Sigh~" The round-faced man sighed heavily, then turned and left. Even the young man who came to collect the debt, who seemed ready to go all out, couldn't get his money back. He had a wife and children at home, so he certainly wouldn't do anything reckless! What else could he do?
Wu Lei stood stupidly at the doorway, very confused. "What's going on? He was just acting like he wouldn't leave until he got his money back, why is he leaving now?" He walked into the office, glancing at Tian Mengyao in surprise, then frowned at Lin Fan.
Lin Fan coughed twice. "I think he's come to his senses and left because he couldn't get the money."
"Huh?" Wu Lei was even more bewildered. "He's come to his senses already?" He had been arguing fiercely with the round-faced man just now, almost coming to blows. How could he have come to his senses before even entering the secretary's office?
Tian Mengyao still kept her head down. "Village head Wu, I still need to discuss some matters with Xiao Fan."
"Oh." Wu Lei, full of questions, turned and walked out, closing the office door behind him.
Tian Mengyao raised her head and looked at Lin Fan, playfully chiding him, "It's all your fault, you've made me lose face!"
"Why is everything my fault?" Lin Fan retorted logically. "If it weren't for me, would he have left? He would have at least caused a scene until nightfall."
"It's still your fault!" Tian Mengyao sat down in the chair, still sulking.
Lin Fan nudged her shoulder. "I said, some of the debts owed by the village committee are to individuals. They still need to make a living, so we should pay back what we owe."
"I..." Tian Mengyao's face was full of grievance. She spread her hands. "You don't know, it's very difficult to build a medicinal herb planting cooperative from scratch. Money is needed everywhere. I really don't dare to spend carelessly, and I truly don't have enough."
Lin Fan nodded. "I know." After this incident, he suddenly remembered something. He took out two exquisite small boxes from his pocket and placed them on the table. "I'm not taking money for nothing. Look, consider this my collateral. I really need the money urgently."
"What is this?" Tian Mengyao looked and saw two jewelry boxes, and she was immediately puzzled. Why would Lin Fan buy these? Upon opening them, as expected, one box contained a shiny golden necklace, and the other held a pair of gold earrings.
Lin Fan smiled and lied, "These are family heirlooms, saved for when I get married. I'm giving them to you now, do you believe me?"
"You're lying, they're all new." Tian Mengyao's eyes were fixed on the two gold ornaments, and her heart was inexplicably racing. She wanted them! And she wanted to possess them! She didn't know why.
"Well, can you give me a straight answer?"
"Mm."
"Seeing these shiny things, now you have money?"
"I'll pay myself!"
And so, the two began to negotiate. Lin Fan wanted twenty thousand, but Tian Mengyao only gave him ten thousand, not a penny more.
"Sigh, you're taking advantage of this..."
"Who's taking advantage of you?" Tian Mengyao pouted, retorting, "I don't even know if these things of yours are real or fake. Anyone else wouldn't even give you five thousand yuan."
"Then give them back to me." Lin Fan reached out, pretending to snatch the jewelry boxes. Tian Mengyao immediately shrank back, covering the jewelry boxes with both hands, and huffed, "They're mine now."
Lin Fan rubbed Tian Mengyao's head and laughed, "I was just teasing you. Look how scared you are."
Tian Mengyao glared at him. "You're taking advantage of me! Go away!"
Lin Fan sat back in his chair and urged, "Give me the money quickly, I need it."
"Oh, I know, I know." Tian Mengyao was beaming with joy and said, "My parents' pocket money and the money I earned working part-time when I was in college, I've saved it all. Otherwise, if I became the village secretary here, I would have starved to death long ago."
Lin Fan laughed heartily. "Then why did you come?"
"How was I supposed to know your village was like this!" Tian Mengyao's tone was full of grievance. Just as she was about to complain further, Lin Fan suddenly asked, "By the way, are you free these next two days?"
"What for?" Tian Mengyao's eyes were fixed on Lin Fan.
Lin Fan straightened his expression and replied, "My sister-in-law is going back to her parents' home. I'll borrow a car then. You know I still can't drive."
"So, can you help us get there?"
Tian Mengyao was stunned, then asked, "You mean, you want me to be your driver?"
Lin Fan nodded, then shook his head. "Just helping out!"
Tian Mengyao felt both awkward and disbelieving. She never imagined that one day she would be asked such a favor. If she told anyone, they probably wouldn't believe her! But Lin Fan had actually asked.
"What are you thinking about?" Lin Fan frowned, anxious. "Give me an answer, yes or no. If not, I'll find someone else."
"Yes!" Tian Mengyao agreed immediately. "Lin Fan, it's only you who would ask this. You must remember this favor well, you can brag about it your whole life."
Lin Fan was taken aback by her words. After a moment, he laughed heartily. "Oh, spare me. You're driving a beat-up van, bought with my money, and you expect me to brag about you being a driver once? What is there to brag about?"
Tian Mengyao took a deep breath, her expression peculiar as she nodded. "Yes, everything you said is right."
"Then that's settled. I need to borrow the car this afternoon..." Lin Fan said, but Tian Mengyao interrupted him directly. "What kind of car do you want to borrow? Maybe I can help."
Lin Fan stood up and walked towards the door, saying, "Of course, a luxury car, at least a million yuan or so. Don't overthink it, I know where to borrow one."
Tian Mengyao snorted. "Fine, if you don't want to say." If Lin Fan had pleaded with her nicely, she could have easily arranged for an official provincial-level car to help out with just a word. But Lin Fan's attitude made it seem like he didn't value her at all, so she abandoned the idea. She looked at Lin Fan's retreating back and thought, "Go ahead and borrow one. Let's see what kind of car you can borrow that's more impressive than a provincial government vehicle."
Lin Fan went home to let them know and then headed to the city. "Sigh..." No matter what, he still had to find Zhou Yi. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, he wouldn't want to deal with Zhou Yi, who always seemed to throw herself at him. But he had promised Tian Mengyao that he would borrow a business car from Zhou Yi. This was unavoidable. And now, if it came to luxury cars, who could compare to the wealthy Zhou Yi?