CHAPTER 193: CHAPTER 193: THE DEBT COLLECTORS

"Who are you people? Why did you kidnap my sister?" Lin Yun’s eyes were a bit red, but she knew she couldn’t back down now, let alone be afraid. She had to stand up.

"Heh, who are we? Debt collectors! Are you sure she’s your sister?" The leader spoke with a sinister tone.

"She is definitely our sister!" Lin Xia raised her chin, looking fearless.

The Lin brothers, Lin Shan, and Lin Chuan, stared intently at the opponent, ready to react defensively at any moment.

Sun Bing stood close to them, protecting Lin Yun.

"Her real name should be Dong Sihan! The daughter of Dong Zhiguo! The father’s debts are to be paid by the daughter! If she doesn’t pay up today, we’ll take her to get the money! Don’t try to fool us, we did our research before coming here! Little girl, you’re quite clever, finding foster parents and even changing your name, but do you think you can escape from us that way? Dream on!" The leader glared viciously at Lin Shuang, who had been untied and ungagged by Sun Qianqian.

The youngsters were at a loss; this was related to their younger sister’s biological parents, something they were unfamiliar with.

Lin Yun turned to look at Lin Shuang, her eyes questioning.

Although Lin Shuang had been terrified, her legs still trembling, she mustered up the courage to walk towards her brothers and sisters.

"Xiao Shuang, don’t come over here, just stay by Sister Qianqian!" Lin Xia reminded her.

"Heh, does it matter if she doesn’t come over? What could you kids possibly do? If we hadn’t wanted to avoid making a scene by hurting you earlier, we would have knocked you down and taken her away long ago!" a henchman chimed in.

"Xiao Shuang, are those bad people telling the truth? Did your father really owe them money before he passed away?" Sun Qianqian carefully asked.

Everyone could hear her.

Lin Shuang nodded, "Yes! I know my father owed a lot of debt, but it wasn’t because I was trying to avoid it. I just couldn’t live on my own, but I’ve already given them the house. I really gave them the house!" Lin Shuang, still a child at eight years old, had experienced so much, and now she couldn’t bear it anymore, crouching down to cry.

"Hey, you across the way! If you’ve got something to say, say it properly. If you still want to get the money, sit tight and behave! If you don’t talk nicely, when the police arrive, we’ll have something to say too! The ropes, the gag, they’re all in our hands!" Sun Bing, the oldest there, quickly formulated a strategy, simultaneously steadying and threatening them.

The other side only wanted the debt settled, not to cause trouble, and seeing this bunch of kids treating the Dong family’s little girl so well, they began to relax a bit.

Seeing this, Lin Yun immediately turned and ran to Lin Shuang’s side to softly comfort her.

"Alright, Xiao Shuang, don’t cry anymore, tell Second Sister what’s going on, we’ll figure it out together!"

She gently patted her back, soothing her.

Sun Bing’s eyes saw her actions as if a goddess descended to earth, her entire being surrounded by a halo.

Lin Xia also walked over, seeing as the other side no longer showed signs of aggression, leaving the three boys to keep watch in front was enough.

"Xiao Shuang, tell Third Sister, how much does your family owe them? Why do they keep chasing after the debt even after you’ve given them the house?" Lin Xia straightforwardly asked.

The others could hear their conversation because they weren’t far away and there was no wind today.

"Heh... that run-down house, is it even worth five hundred yuan? Our boss sold the house, only got a hundred for it! There’s still four hundred left! Altogether they borrowed five hundred! Little girl, do you know this?"

Lin Shuang, after being comforted by her two sisters, stopped crying and nodded her head.

"See! This little girl knows her parents owed us five hundred yuan. Our boss, seeing that Dong Zhiguo and his wife have both passed away, isn’t even charging interest, but you should pay the principal back, right?" Seeing her nod, the leader promptly spoke.

"Is what they’re saying true? Xiao Shuang, whatever you know, tell us! Let’s see how we can sort this out!" Lin Yun asked her sister who was still clinging to her arm.

"I know my parents borrowed a lot externally, and I really thought giving them the house would settle it. I don’t even know how much it was or how much the house was worth!" Lin Shuang, becoming clear-headed at this point, explained it clearly to them.

"Did you hear that? My sister doesn’t know exactly how much they owed! You can’t just claim four hundred yuan with no evidence!" Lin Xia shouted toward the other side.

"That’s easy! We have all the evidence here! IOUs, receipts for the house sale, everything!" A henchman ran up and showed the evidence directly to Sun Bing.

After Sun Bing looked over it, he nodded to Lin Yun and inexplicably blushed again.

"Can you... can you give me a few years time? I promise I’ll pay you back once I’m able to earn money! Will that work?" Lin Shuang walked toward the debt collectors, pleading.

"Little girl, a few years? Are you joking with us? Our boss isn’t a philanthropist! How can he give you years? At most, we’ll give you three days! If you don’t pay up by then, we can’t do anything else! Don’t think about running away, we know where you live! We’re watching all the time!" The leader’s tone left no room for negotiation.

"Three days it is! You all should leave now and wait here after three days!" Lin Chuan sensed their firm stance and didn’t argue further.

"Alright! You said it, kid! Don’t eat your words! Just this once, we’ll let you go! Move out!" With that command, the group quickly retreated.

Finally, everyone let out a breath of relief, but Lin Shuang’s little face was knitted with worry, "Fourth Brother, why did you even negotiate for three days with them! If worse comes to worst, I could just go with them..."

"What nonsense are you saying? You’re our sister. Where would you go?" Lin Chuan said.

"Exactly, be at ease! We have big brothers and sisters, and Mom and Dad as well; nothing will happen! If necessary, we’ll bring the police together in three days!" Lin Xia added.

"But, I do owe the money, what use would calling the police be?" Lin Shuang hung her head, almost crying again.

If it had been just her alone, being taken away wouldn’t have been a big deal, though frightening, it wouldn’t have implicated others.

But now, the elder sister had kindly taken her in, treating her as family, and the entire family was wonderful to her. Yet, she had gotten her brothers and sisters hurt because of her.

She saw each of them with traces of blood on their faces and hands, knowing they had been injured, and her heart felt even heavier.

"Alright, Xiao Shuang, did you get hurt anywhere? Let Second Sister take a look! Can you still walk? Let’s hurry home!" Lin Yun checked on her sister.

The eldest sister had told them all before, Xiao Shuang was now their true sister, so they would wholeheartedly protect her.

Sun Qianqian had already examined her, so she spoke up, "Xiao Shuang isn’t hurt, it’s just from the rope marks!"

"Thank you, Qianqian! I think your Second Brother got hurt too, I’m really sorry..." Lin Yun finally remembered to thank her.

But she was too shy to thank Sun Bing directly.

"No problem! Saving Xiao Shuang is all that matters, my Second Brother has thick skin, he’ll be fine!" This sister is genuine! Haha.