First update,

...

Qin Fang had given the money, and naturally, the high-interest lenders had no intention of staying any longer. They directly drove off, taking a bunch of people with them and leaving.

As for the furniture and appliances they had moved out, those were naturally left behind. To them, these items weren't worth much, and it was likely they would just sell them to a junkyard to offset the debt.

"Everyone, please help move the stuff back..."

As he watched the departing enforcers of the high-interest lenders, the villagers obviously hadn't yet recovered from the shock of the incident. Qin Fang had no choice but to shout loudly.

Only then did everyone snap back to reality, and together they quickly moved Tao Yihai's furniture and appliances back to their original spots.

Of course, some losses were unavoidable, but now, nobody was in the mood to fuss over that. After all, it wasn't like the high-interest lenders would compensate for the losses... The honest villagers wouldn't dare to cause too much trouble with those people.

"Thank you, Xiao Fang..."

Tao Yihai had been badly beaten by the lenders, nursing injuries on his body that were not too severe. Now, supported by his wife and daughter, he walked up to Qin Fang, expressing his deep gratitude.

His eyes were filled with thanks but tinged with obvious shame. He had almost caused his own daughter to be forced into selling herself to repay his gambling debts... If it weren't for Qin Fang paying off his debt, he truly might have thought of ending his own life. Watching his agitated state, it seemed he was on the verge of kneeling before Qin Fang.

"Uncle Yi Hai, this is all I can help with... Don't mind my meddling, it's fine to play a little at home, but don't go to those places anymore..."

Qin Fang smiled, steadying Tao Yihai. This kind of issue was a trifle for him now. The two families were on good terms in the village, and Qin Fang wouldn't be stingy when it came to helping.

Of course, Qin Fang still had his words of advice. It wasn't every time that he could coincidentally come across such a situation. If it hadn't been for him coming home today, Tao Xiaojuan might have already been taken away by those lenders...

"I won't gamble anymore, never again..."

Tao Yihai was obviously filled with both regret and remorse. He had almost made a grave mistake, hurting not just his family but also nearly destroying their only daughter.

"Thank you, Brother Xiao Fang..."

Tao Xiaojuan also approached Qin Fang, the swelling from the slap still evident on her fair face, clearly visible against her pale complexion. She was equally filled with gratitude, the tracks of her tears still visible, her eyes red and misty...

But those eyes...

Qin Fang suddenly felt something was amiss. This girl, whom he had always treated like a little sister, seemed to have grown up. She was no longer the little girl who used to follow him around, crying with her two pigtails swinging and her nose running... She had blossomed into a graceful young woman.

On closer inspection, she was indeed a beauty, only marred by the slap mark. Qin Fang hadn't noticed it before... It was no wonder those high-interest lenders had tried to take her to pay off the debt with her body.

"It's what I should do, take good care of your dad..."

Qin Fang ruffled the girl's hair as he often had when they were children and then, after a moment's thought, handed Tao Xiaojuan a stack of cash. "Uncle Yi Hai should still go to the hospital to get his injuries checked. Take this money for now. I'll have someone take you directly to the People's Hospital..."

"Brother Xiao Fang, I... I can't take your money!"

Tao Xiaojuan's face grew anxious as she refused Qin Fang's kindness.

"Xiao Fang, I... I'm okay... Ow!"

Tao Yihai also refused Qin Fang's generosity, but his movements were too abrupt and aggravated his injuries, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Yi Hai, just accept Xiao Fang's goodwill. He already paid off your 200,000 yuan debt, what's 10,000 yuan in comparison? The most important thing is that you're safe..."

Fortunately, Uncle Four exerted the authority of an elder and forcibly stuffed the money into their hands.

Meanwhile, Qin Fang went to find Shen Liang, as the situation here seemed to have temporarily settled.

"Young Master Qin, you want to go to that gambling den?"

Shen Liang was Qin Fang's attendant and bodyguard. He roughly knew Qin Fang's character and could guess his intentions just by looking at his expression.

"Such underground gambling dens are too harmful. We can't let them stay here..."

Although Qin Fang wasn't a saint, he knew that such gambling dens in the countryside would inevitably harm many people, and tragedies like Tao Yihai's could happen again.

Having lived here for over a decade, Qin Fang was well aware that although the living conditions couldn't compare to the city, the gambling craze was just as intense.

During festive seasons, it was common to see people playing cards or mahjong just about everywhere... The sound of mahjong tiles shuffling could be heard from every household.

Underground gambling dens probably took advantage of this kind of addiction, enticing these cash-strapped farmers to join, and with just a few tricks, they could easily win all their money...

For someone like Tao Yihai, who was doing relatively well for himself, owning a little property, or if they had a pretty wife or daughter... It was quite easy for tragic incidents like today's to happen.

The existence of these underground gambling dens was a great menace, but Qin Fang couldn't take on so much; he didn't have that kind of power. At most, he could try to eliminate such threats in his hometown as much as possible...

"Brother Liang, please take them to the county city's People's Hospital and help settle their family down..."

The gambling den definitely needed to be cleaned up, but although this place was within Ninghai City's jurisdiction, it was not in the city proper. Qin Fang's influence here wasn't that significant; and not to mention that the people running the underground gambling den were hit-and-run criminals; it was tough to deal with them. Thus, if Qin Fang wanted to move against them, he needed to prepare as well.

"No problem..."

Shen Liang nodded and immediately went to take care of it, also taking the opportunity to call Chen Da from Ninghai, asking him to send some people over. At the very least, when Qin Fang needed help, there would be someone to lend a hand.

With Shen Liang driving Tao Yihai's family to the county city for medical treatment, Qin Fang and a group of people went back home. After such a commotion, his third uncle, who previously wanted to visit the underground gambling den for fun, didn't dare to make a peep anymore.

Had Qin Fang not been willing to pay, Tao Yihai's family would have truly faced the grim fate of losing their home and lives. Even the eighteen-year-old Tao Xiaojuan might have ended up being sold off to repay debts, ruining her entire life.

Compared to Tao Yihai, his own possessions were even less, so he thought better of it: it was enough just to play a little mahjong at home. Places like those were not for him.

This incident dampened everyone's spirits so much that they lost interest in drinking. Qin Fang didn't insist, and everyone dispersed. Qin Fang saw Uncle Four home before returning himself, where his mother Qin Qing and Tang Feifei, among others, were still waiting for news...

"Sigh, Yi Hai's family are such good people, they almost..."

After understanding the situation, Qin Qing sighed, "Little Juan must have been scared out of her wits..."

"Mom, it's all settled now..."

Qin Fang gently embraced his mother, softly comforting her.

Tang Feifei and the other girls had red-rimmed eyes; although they were not at the scene, they could imagine the worry and fear that Tao Yihai's family must have felt. Naturally, Qin Fang comforted each of the women with a warm hug.

"What's this?"

However, while hugging Tang Feifei, Qin Fang was suddenly tickled by something and noticed a new necklace-like object around Tang Feifei's neck. He couldn't help but ask in surprise.

Although he and Tang Feifei hadn't been very intimate, they had hugged many times, and Tang Feifei didn't like wearing necklaces or similar accessories. Usually, her neck was bare, but now there was suddenly this pendant, and Qin Fang immediately became puzzled.

At Qin Fang's question, Tang Feifei's face blushed instantly, turning into the likeness of a ripe apple, making Qin Fang want to bite into it fiercely.

Seeing this, Qin Fang couldn't help but turn to glance at his mother. As their eyes met, he saw Xiao Muxue and Wen Yan also blushing, coyly showing off their fair wrists... each adorned with a bracelet that seemed to be a matching set.

"What's there to wonder about? I gave these to them... They're all going to be my daughters-in-law someday. Can't a mother-in-law give them some gifts?"

Qin Qing spoke assertively, looking particularly proud. "This is actually a set of jewelry, it's the Qin Family's heirloom. Now that you've grown up and about to get married, it should be passed on to you guys..."

"Heirloom?"

Hearing this word, the first thing that came to Qin Fang's mind wasn't joy or excitement, but "sweat". Suddenly he remembered a movie he'd seen as a child called "Fang Shiyu", where the protagonist's mother seemed to gift a pile of so-called heirlooms to her daughter-in-law.

As far as Qin Fang knew, their Qin Family was just him and his mother, poor as church mice—they didn't have any damn heirlooms...

At this thought, Qin Fang suspected his mother might have gone to the street to buy a bunch of fake jade necklaces and bracelets to give as gifts, so he casually activated his Scouting Skill on the necklace and the pair of bracelets.

"Jade necklace of inestimable value, silver necklace, jade quality 9..."

"Jade bracelet of inestimable value, jade quality 8..."

"Jade bracelet of inestimable value, jade quality 8..."

Qin Fang quickly received three scouting results into his mind. At that moment, he was about to take a sip of water when he nearly sprayed it out because of these results...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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