The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Let Them Tear Each Other Apart?

”I knew Zhang Yun was a good kid who wouldn’t turn his back on his roots.”

”Yes, yes, he really is a good boy!”

”Just lend us a little bit. It’s not like we’re going to run away; we’ll pay you back as soon as we have the money.”

Zhang Yun listened to them with a beaming smile. ”I didn’t know you guys wanted to borrow money. I deposited it all in the bank at noon. Then, I used everything to buy mutual funds...”

”Wh-what do you mean? What mutual funds did you buy?” Everyone was slightly dumbfounded. Wasn’t he going to lend money to them?

”After buying mutual funds, it takes a few days to redeem them, and there’s a handling fee deducted. I might lose thirty to fifty thousand in the process.”

The crowd was rendered speechless, unsure of what Zhang Yun was playing at.

Zhang Yun continued, ”Since you want to borrow money! Then all of you should team up and borrow one million together. I’d feel bad hounding you for just a few tens of thousands, but if you don’t return one million, I can apply for mandatory legal enforcement when the time comes.

”Oh, right. Asking for a five percent annual interest rate wouldn’t be too much, would it? It’s much cheaper than a bank loan. After all, you’re delaying me from making big money in mutual funds and stocks. So, are you guys going to pool together the fifty thousand in interest for me first?”

With a serious expression, Zhang Yun held out his hand.

Upon hearing his words, the crowd immediately exploded!

”Zhang Yun! What’s the meaning of this? We’re all relatives; what’s wrong with borrowing a little money from you? It’s not like you can’t afford it! We’ll pay you back when we have it. And you’re bringing up mandatory legal enforcement?”

”Yeah! Do you have any humanity left? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”

”And you’re talking to us about interest? You even want us to pay the interest upfront? Are you a loan shark?”

”I get it now. He never intended to lend us money in the first place. He’s just messing with us for his own amusement!”

”Bah! You ungrateful wretch! To think I even carried you when you were a baby!”

They had been arguing with each other just a moment ago, but now they all aimed their fire at Zhang Yun, cursing even more fiercely.

Zhang Yun An Jinged, quietly listening to their curses. After waiting for a moment, he held up a single finger.

”How about this: I can lend to one person. Let’s see who is in the most need? Will you guys yield to each other?”

Just one? Was this Zhang Yun making a concession under the pressure of public opinion? One wasn’t bad. They never planned to pay the money back anyway; as long as they were the one to get it, that was all that mattered.

The crowd exchanged glances. After a brief moment of tranquility, they immediately began fighting over it.

”Me! You have to give it to me; I’m older than all of you! I need it the most!”

”Bullshit! You all just said I was poor earlier. Since I’m the poorest, I’m the one who needs it most!”

”You guys won’t be able to pay it back, but I definitely will in the future. Lend it to me!”

Zhang Yun stood up. ”I’m going to the bathroom. Take your time discussing it.”

When he was present, these relatives who had just cursed him felt somewhat awkward. But the moment he walked away, they immediately began tearing each other apart, spitting out all sorts of ugly insults.

”Relatives, listen to me!” one man shouted, standing on a stool and waving his hands.

After the crowd briefly An Jinged, he lowered his voice and spoke rapidly. ”He’s only going to lend to one person. If you keep fighting over it, none of us will get anything. But if you all support lending it to me, and I get two hundred thousand, I can lend ten thousand to each of you!”

Everyone thought this wasn’t a bad idea. As long as one person got their hands on the cash, it would work.

”Are you really going to give us a share once you get the money? I don’t trust you! Let me do it. I have good character, so I’ll definitely split it with you guys when the time comes!”

Phrases like ”I’ll pay it back when I have money” and ”I’ll definitely pay it back in the future” made it obvious that they had already made up their minds to default. Who would be willing to split the money with over a dozen people once they got it?

Everyone realized this, and they immediately began patting their chests, vouching for their own integrity and demanding that the others yield to them.

With everyone fighting and making empty promises at the same time, no one could convince the rest. The crowd was on the verge of coming to blows!

Zhang Yun could hear their arguing even from the bathroom. Highly amused, he sent a text message to his dad, telling him not to worry because he had already gotten them acting like dogs biting dogs.

In the kitchen, Zhang Fu immediately sent a voice message reprimanding him. They were all relatives; how could he use a phrase like ”dogs biting dogs”?

By the time Zhang Yun returned, the crowd still hadn’t decided on a single person. No one was willing to concede to anyone else.

Zhang Yun really wanted to offer them a suggestion: they could just hold a rock-paper-scissors tournament until only one person was left. It would test their luck and skill, making it the fairest method. Of course, he had already mischievously thought of a countermeasure: whoever won the rock-paper-scissors tournament wouldn’t necessarily be the one in the most need, so it wouldn’t count!

Walking back over, Zhang Yun patted a man’s shoulder. ”Uncle, I think your family really is in need.”

”You’re absolutely right!” his uncle instantly grew excited.

”And this family here is also in great need.”

”Yes, exactly!” The other person mentioned hurriedly cheered in agreement.

”I really want to help all of you. Can you guys truly not decide whose family is in the most need?”

”Me! Me!” the crowd clamored once again.

”Look at you all... Sigh!” Zhang Yun put on a look of sheer exasperation. ”Forget it, then! I won’t lend to anyone. I won’t lend to you, I won’t lend to anyone who comes after you, and I won’t lend to the villagers either! That’s fair, isn’t it?”

Since no one was willing to submit to the others, no matter who the money was lent to or how much it was, as long as it wasn’t given to them, it meant they were losing out! Under this mentality, his decision not to lend to anyone instantly won the crowd’s applause!

”Good! Either lend to everyone, or don’t lend to anyone at all!”

”It’s settled then; you won’t lend to anyone else either!”

Zhang Yun had only come up with this scheme to make them willingly accept not getting a loan for the sake of his dad. If it were just him, he would have simply rejected them outright. Now that the matter was settled, he immediately reminded them that it was time to leave!

Feigning enthusiasm, Zhang Yun invited, ”It’s going to be dark soon. Why don’t you all stay for a simple meal? Although we didn’t have time to buy groceries, we still have some cabbage and radishes.”

”No, no, I need to head back.”

”I’m going back to eat. I’ve been out for a long time.”

”Let’s go back, let’s go back. Let’s all leave together so we can keep each other company on the way.”

At this point, they wouldn’t have had the appetite even for a feast of meat and fish, let alone cabbage and radishes. Furthermore, none of them wanted to see anyone else stay behind, lest someone shamelessly ask for a loan in private.

Under each other’s monitoring gazes, they all left together.

”And that... sent them packing?” Zhang Fu found it quite unbelievable.

Zhang Yun chuckled. ”It was just to keep the peace, since I was worried people would gossip about you. Otherwise, a forceful rejection would have been enough. It’s not like they’ve ever helped us. Look, my uncle hasn’t even come.”

Yesterday, Wang Fugui had immediately come to demand repayment, which had left Zhang Yun a bit disappointed. However, being willing to lend a family tens of thousands to build a house and going years without being repaid was already very generous. They were the most qualified to come looking for a handout, but they hadn’t shown up today, proving that these uncles and aunts were quite principled.

”I just cooked a lot of rice. Good thing I didn’t make another pot...”

”We’ll just eat it slowly. I’m going to gather the grain...”

”No need!” Zhang Fu raked the grain a bit with his rake. ”It isn’t even half dry yet, so a little dew won’t matter. Let’s just leave it out to dry for a full day Ming Tian...”

”Oh! Gathering the grain?” As the two were talking, someone walked in through the courtyard gate and offered a casual greeting.

Zhang Yun looked over. It was the village director, Zhang Ronghui, whom everyone was accustomed to calling the village chief.

Damn it... there was no guarding against them all! The village chief was dropping by for a visit today—could it really just be him passing by on the way? Even a strand of hair could figure out that he was definitely here to squeeze some money out of him! This kind of person wouldn’t even use the excuse of borrowing money; he would directly come up with some pretext to ask for a donation!