Chapter Thirty: Wei Feng Merchant Association

  Qin Yiren's words were loud and clear, leaving no room for doubt. This left the creditors in stunned amazement, their eyes wide with wonder.

  They believed Simen's words and thought that Qin Yi was going to default on the debt, so they came to collect the debt with great fanfare, speaking disrespectfully, not treating Qin Yi as a noble. However, things turned out to be greatly beyond their expectations, and Qin Yi promptly repaid the debt.

  "Really?" Debtsun thought his ears had gone bad.

  "Still!" Qin Yi's one-word answer made people dare not doubt again.

  Under the gaze of many creditors, Meng Zhao and others were busy back and forth, bringing out gold and silver, placing them in the courtyard, shining brightly, very eye-catching.

  "It seems like it's really paid back!" The true gold and silver were right in front of them, the creditors had no choice but to believe.

  "Your IOU." Qin Yiren pointed at the creditor who had just spoken out against the Lu family's business, telling him to come forward and collect his gold.

  "Me..." Qin Yiren's generosity was beyond everyone's expectation, and this creditor was stunned instead.

  Meng Zhao didn't bother to explain, and simply pulled him over. Hei Bo took the IOU and examined it carefully, finding no errors. Only then did he call for Ma Er to give him the gold. The creditor held the heavy gold ingot in his hands, wondering if he was dreaming.

  Not only did he have a dreamlike feeling, but also the creditors who were not so? They originally thought that Qin Yiren would be dishonest, and they would have to go through great difficulties to recover their debts. Unexpectedly, it was so smooth.

  "Is what Lü's business firm said true?" Many creditors began to suspect Lü's business firm's motives.

  Under Hei Bo's management, the debt repayment was exceptionally swift. For every IOU presented, one debt was repaid, without any delay or evasion, which left the creditors even more astonished.

  Very soon, the debt was repaid, and a group of creditors held heavy gold ingots, but they were stunned and didn't leave. You looked at me, I looked at you, and my heart beat fast: "Did we mishear what people said? The king's son is so generous, how could he have any intention of defaulting?"

  "Gentlemen, we have wronged you greatly, it's really unjust." One of the creditors felt guilty in his heart and rushed to apologize to Qin Yiren.

  As soon as someone sets an example, others will follow suit. A group of creditors immediately came to plead guilty: "The young master is magnanimous, worthy of being a prince, and we blame ourselves for mishearing the rumors..."

  Qin Yiren waved his hand to stop them from continuing, and bowed deeply to them.

  "Your Highness!" Qin Yiren, after all, was a prince, and his bow to them left the creditors shocked and amazed.

  "I, Qin Yiren, thank you!" In the midst of the creditors' shock, only Qin Yiren's sincere thanks could be heard: "You lent me money when I was in trouble, you were righteous, and I, Qin Yiren, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have nothing to repay you with, so I can only give you three bows."

  The first one bowed down, and a crisp metallic collision sound rang out, which was the golden ingot in the creditor's hand hitting the ground.

  The second bow, the creditors' eyes shone with tears. The high and mighty prince was actually bowing to them again and again, how could they not be moved?

  The third time he bowed down, many of the creditors were so excited that they cried out: "Young Master!"

  "Sir, actually we are not in a hurry for the gold. If it's inconvenient for you to pay now, we can wait for a few more days." The creditor decided to stop asking for debt repayment.

  "Yes indeed, young master. We old Qin people value loyalty and righteousness. Since you hold us in such high regard, how could we not respect you deeply?" Immediately, a chorus of assenting voices rose up.

  "Prince, answer quickly." Hei Bo reminded Qin Yi in his ear: "We don't have much time left."

  However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Qin Yiren smiled slightly and said: "Thank you for your kindness, indeed worthy of our old Qin people! I'm still doing alright now, when I need gold, I'll borrow from each of you."

  The tone was calm, neither fast nor slow, but with a resolute air.

  Hei Bo let out a helpless sigh and fell silent.

  "The young master is indeed magnanimous, worthy of being a prince!" The creditors exclaimed in admiration.

  They came with an imposing momentum, but unexpectedly not only did they smoothly recover the debt, but also gained Qin Yiren's understanding. What could be more delightful for them than this?

  Looking at the departing creditors, Meng Zhao, Ma Ge, Fan Tong, Hei Bo and Miao Er's eyes shone with tears, excited and speechless, all secretly praising Qin Yiren: "Young Master really has a strong personality! Has great magnanimity!"

  If it were someone else, they would definitely not be polite to the creditors, they would definitely argue with them, and they would definitely accuse. Qin Yiren did not do so, and he did not forget the kindness of the creditors who lent him money. Is this not magnanimity? Is this not generosity?

  "To repay a debt is heavenly principle. We were in dire straits, on the brink of death, and they lent me money - this is great kindness. To receive kindness and not thank them would be unfilial!" Qin Yi's words were plain, but they brought tears to Hei Bo and the others' eyes.

  What kind of magnanimity is required to achieve this?

  "How much gold is left?" Qin Yiren asked.

  "Sir, there's less than forty gold left." Heber hastily replied.

  "Less than forty taels of gold?" Qin Yiren was shocked. So many goods, he hadn't even warmed up yet, and they were already gone.

  "What will we do in the days to come?" Meng Zhao and his men were greatly disheartened.

  Just as hope was rising, I could move out of this detestable soft prison, but in the blink of an eye, hope fell through again. Who wouldn't feel disappointed?

  "This is still not as bad as when Wei Feng Shang She comes to collect debts." Hei Bo's words were quite capable of disheartening people.

  "What's with the Wei Feng business?" Qin Yiren raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes, we owe Wei Feng Shang She over 200 yuan. If..." Hei Bo hesitated for a moment, and the rest of his words were left unspoken.

  If it's Wei Feng Shang She coming to collect debts, Qin Yi Ren and his men won't even have a single hair left, they'll be beaten back to the Liberation era in one night.

  "Wei Feng Merchant House is our largest creditor, yet they haven't come to collect debts. Why is that?" Qin Yiren furrowed his brow and pondered, "I recall that every time we went to Wei Feng Merchant House to borrow money, they always lent us more than the other merchant houses, and did so very readily. There's something fishy going on here."

  "What does it mean?" Meng Zhao and others were puzzled, sizing up Qin Yiren as they asked.

  "We have lost contact with the Qin State for three years, and it is possible that our resumption of contact with the Qin State will fall on Weifeng Business House." Qin Yiren's eyebrows relaxed.

  "What happened to Qin State?" Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao and his five companions were on the verge of tears, each one overcome with emotion.

  An ancient poem says, "Being in a foreign land makes one think of home twice as much." Qin Yi and his people were in Handan, experiencing life and death, thinking about and missing the state of Qin, their homeland, and their loved ones at all times. Now that they are finally going to reestablish contact with the state of Qin, how can they not be excited?

  During the Warring States period, merchants had another role besides doing business, which was to gather intelligence for their home country. Once an enemy state made a move, the merchant would transmit the information back to his own country, and at that time they were called "righteous merchants".

  Some businessmen are even more capable and can drive away foreign soldiers for their own country, such as "Zhu Gaozhi retreating the Qin army with a high candle", which is also a great story.

  Qin Yi and his men wanted to reestablish contact with Qin Guo, but for now they could only rely on the Qin Guo Chamber of Commerce.

  "Gongzi, how can we get Weifeng Shangshe to be willing to make contact with us?" Meng Zhao and the others thought about it, but they couldn't think of a good way.

  Qin Yiren restored contact with the Qin state, which is a big deal, and the Wei Feng Shang She may not be willing to do so.

  "Borrow money!" Qin Yiren's answer was only two words.

  But it made Meng Zhao and others exclaim: "Still want to borrow?" Having already owed Weifeng Business House over 200 taels of gold, they still went to borrow. Is there anyone like you?