Jin's parents were dumbfounded, unable to comprehend a word of what their daughter was saying.
"Didn't we not sell 'Pingu Zhai' to your second uncle? Where did Tongtong get the money?"
But now, in front of these thugs, they couldn't ask in detail and could only hold their breath, nervously clenching their fists.
A subordinate whispered something in the ear of the man in the floral shirt, seemingly discussing whether this deal was feasible.
After hearing it, the man in the floral shirt leaned back against the sofa lazily and asked, "What if I don't agree?"
"This matter has already alerted the police. If you're not willing to settle privately, we can go to the police station to sort this out."
The man in the floral shirt raised an eyebrow slightly, walked to the side, lit a cigarette, and made a phone call. After a while, he angrily threw the cigarette butt on the ground, cursing, "Damn, today's just not my day!"
He barked at Jin Mutong, "Fine, I'll pay! One million and ninety thousand, not a penny less. Transfer the money right now!"
Jin Mutong nodded, "I'll go to the bank right away, but you'll need to come with me. After the transfer, I want the IOU back immediately."
The man in the floral shirt grumbled but agreed, and they prepared to leave. Jin Weiming quickly stopped Jin Mutong, "Tongtong, where did you get this money?"
Jin Mutong whispered, "I made a deal at the shop and earned it. Don't worry, Dad. I've got the money situation under control."
After paying off the debt and retrieving the IOU, they returned home and explained the situation to the police.
By the time they got back, it was already evening.
Her mother had reheated the meal several times, but only after she returned did the family sit down together for dinner.
"Dad, you shouldn't have kept something this big from me," Jin Mutong said.
Jin Weiming replied, "Tongtong, that 1.09 million you paid—are you sure there's nothing shady about it? 'Pingu Zhai' hasn't been doing well, and you've only just taken over. How could you have earned so much so quickly?"
Jin Mutong succinctly explained the story of the small ceramic figurines, and Jin Weiming shared the family's debt situation with her.
The family had previously owed the bank five million yuan. Under the pressure of repayment, Jin Weiming had borrowed another one million from loan sharks. Now that the loan shark debt had been paid off, they still owed three million to the bank, with interest.
After hearing this, Jin Mutong pulled a card from her bag.
"Dad, there's still 1.6 million on this card. The password is my birthday. It's the leftover money from selling the ceramic figurines. You can use it to pay off part of the debt. We may still owe three million to the bank, but don't worry. I'll find a way. We'll pay off the debt, and we'll keep 'Pingu Zhai' running."
"Tongtong..."
Jin Weiming wanted to refuse because this was the money his daughter had worked so hard to earn. But the family's situation left him no choice.
He felt deeply ashamed. His daughter had barely returned home since starting university. Although she had only attended an ordinary college for accounting, she was highly capable and had earned her CPA certification. He'd been content with the idea that she would find a good job, settle down with someone reliable, and live a stable life. But everything had changed after he incurred that massive debt.
Mutong had given up on becoming an accountant, choosing instead to take over her father's antique shop, 'Pingu Zhai.' Now, she was shouldering the responsibility of repaying the debts. This made him, as her father, feel utterly unworthy.
He silently vowed to pull himself together—for his family and for his daughter's wishes, he would work hard to repay the rest of the debt.
"Dad, you don't need to say anything. We're family." Jin Mutong raised her teacup and toasted her father.
Jin Weiming turned his back, not wanting his wife and daughter to see his reddened eyes.
...
During the New Year holiday, Haixi Road was bustling with activity, even though many shops were closed. This street had a long-standing tradition of hosting temple fairs during the holiday season, and Jin Mutong decided to go out for a stroll.
With the loan shark's debt paid off and the money she had given to her family easing the pressure of monthly repayments, the Jin family had finally been able to enjoy a peaceful New Year.
With only two days left in the holiday, Jin Mutong felt quite relaxed. Normally, she would come to Haixi Road every day, but today's temple fair gave the street a different vibe.
The street was lined with food stalls selling all sorts of snacks. Occasionally, there were street performances that had vanished for years, and there were plenty of small vendors with their goods spread out on the ground. During the New Year, Haixi Road was completely open for business; as long as a small management fee was paid, anyone could set up a stall and try their hand at selling.
Because of this, you could see stalls that weren't there during the rest of the year.
Jin Mutong wandered around, intrigued. There were antique stalls, though most of the items were not authentic, merely for show.
One of the more interesting events on Haixi Road was the reopening of an old teahouse, Haixi Tea House, which had been around for decades.
The teahouse was originally built during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty and had once been an opera house. During the Republican era, it was converted into a teahouse. In the 1980s, it struggled to stay in business and became a state-run restaurant before being privately leased out. Now, it had returned to its original function as a teahouse, much to the delight of the locals.
Seeing that the teahouse was doing brisk business, and feeling a bit tired, Jin Mutong decided to go inside for a rest and some tea.
The first-floor hall was already full, so she went up to the second floor.
After sitting down, she noticed that although the teahouse had been turned into a restaurant for several decades, the original opera house structure hadn't been torn down. With the teahouse now back in business, the stage on the first floor was still there, giving the place an antique charm.
Jin Mutong ordered a pot of flower tea and a plate of sunflower seeds. She grabbed a book from the shelf and sat by the window, sipping tea and enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
"Smash!" A sharp sound rang out as the table next to Jin Mutong accidentally knocked a teacup to the floor, shattering it.
"Oh my, how could you be so careless? You've broken the lid of the teacup! Great, now you'll have to pay for it," exclaimed a fashionable woman.
"Hey, I didn't see it properly. There are too many people here today; it's so noisy, accidents happen. When the waiter comes over, I'll try to haggle, see if I can pay a little less," said the man sitting next to her, the one who had broken the teacup. He looked like the woman's husband.
"Such bad luck during the New Year!" the woman complained.
"What bad luck? Broken pieces bring peace," the man muttered softly.
After a while, the waiter came over. According to the shop's policy, if you break their teaware, you have to compensate for it at full price. This particular set would cost 100 yuan.
"What? Your teacups are that expensive? Are you trying to scam us? Besides, we only broke the lid, not the whole teacup! How could a teacup lid be worth 100 yuan?" the fashionable woman screeched.
The man, holding her back, added, "Come on, can't you give us a break? There are so many people today, it's easy for accidents to happen. Can't you give us a discount?"
"That won't work. Look, all our teaware has listed prices, and it must be compensated for accordingly. Please don't make things difficult for me."
The couple continued to bicker, trying to avoid paying.
Seeing that they weren't going to hand over the money, the waiter turned to call the owner.
Sitting at the table next to them was Professor Fang's apprentice, Wang Yang, who scoffed at the situation, thinking to himself that this shop was truly overcharging. Asking for 100 yuan for a teacup lid during the New Year was a bit much.
At that moment, Jin Mutong didn't lift her head. This matter had nothing to do with her, so she continued reading her book. Suddenly, a strange voice caught her attention.
"Oh my, oh my! Ouch!"
She raised her head and glanced in the direction of the broken teacup. To her astonishment, she saw a tiny old man struggling to climb out of the shattered porcelain pieces. He was wearing a blue long robe styled from the Qing Dynasty. Originally, there had been a hat on his head, but it had fallen off in the crash, and the hat rolled far away. The little man hobbled over, clutching his sore backside, to retrieve it. His ridiculous appearance made Jin Mutong burst into laughter.
After picking up the hat, the little man carefully inspected it, as if the fall had caused significant damage. Clearly distressed, his wrinkled face scrunched up. After a long while, he solemnly put the hat back on, dusted himself off, and returned to the teacup.
This...
Jin Mutong's eyes widened in disbelief. It was... an antique.
After spending the whole day wandering through street stalls with no luck, she hadn't expected to find an antique in a teacup meant for regular customers. It was quite an unexpected discovery.
Jin Mutong's curiosity was piqued.
Just then, the owner of the teahouse walked over. "Excuse me, are you the two who broke the cup?"
The woman bristled at his words, "You're the owner here, right? This price for a teacup lid is outrageous. I'm calling the commerce bureau right now to report this scam of a shop!"
The owner's face darkened. "These cups aren't just any old teacups. Look here, each of our teacups has been carefully collected. Every set is unique, with one cup and one matching lid. Now that you've broken the lid, the whole cup is unusable. Naturally, you'll need to pay for the entire set."
The woman wasn't having it. She insisted on calling someone to mediate the situation.
"What careful collection? It's just an old cup! I could buy a whole batch of these on Taobao for 100 yuan! You're clearly just trying to extort us!" the woman argued loudly.
The teahouse owner, both anxious and angry, retorted, "Look, these teacups are all authentic antiques, each one painstakingly chosen to restore the original look of the opera house when it first opened. These aren't cheap knock-offs, so don't make baseless accusations if you don't understand."
As the crowd of onlookers grew, pointing and commenting on the situation, the woman's face turned sour. She reluctantly pulled out a 50-yuan bill and a 20-yuan bill from her purse, saying, "This is all you're getting!"
The owner, rolling his eyes in frustration, didn't want to cause too much of a scene, especially with the shop newly reopened. He took the money and warned, "This better not happen again. Be more careful next time!"
With the commotion over, everyone returned to their seats. The waiter was about to clean up the broken pieces when Jin Mutong stepped forward.
"Wait a moment. Are you throwing away that cup?"
"What else can we do? It's broken, and we can't risk anyone getting hurt by the shards."
"I'm quite interested in it. Could you give it to me?"
The waiter was puzzled. "What do you want it for?"
"It's useful for something," Jin Mutong smiled.
"Alright, just be careful not to cut yourself." The waiter handed her the broom and went on to his other duties.
Jin Mutong found a cloth bag and carefully gathered the broken pieces. When she picked up the last shard, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"There, there, by the wall. There's still a small piece left. Don't lose the brim of my hat!" the little old man urgently pointed toward the corner of the wall.
"Oh..." Jin Mutong walked over and indeed found a tiny shard she had missed.
"That's all, right?" she asked.
"Yes, yes, that's all," the little old man replied before realizing something was off. He stared blankly at the ceiling.
Was he... hearing things?