Physician Clark said this as he picked up his medicine box and turned to leave.

"Mr. Clark, please wait!" Mrs. Sullivan hurriedly said, "Business is business. You saved my son's life, but right now our family truly has no money. How about... how about I write you an IOU? We will definitely pay you back in the future."

"Hahaha, I don't want to end up like Charles Walker. How about this, just keep the debt in mind for now. I can see your boy has a bright future ahead of him—he's bound to make it big someday. Just don't forget about me when that happens. Farewell!"

Physician Clark turned and left. Watching his departing figure, Mrs. Sullivan couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat, and tears fell again.

"There really are more good people than bad in this world, but why do the bad ones always seem to get ahead!"

Thomas Johnson frowned and took a deep drag from his pipe. "Sister-in-law, there's no mountain of fire we can't cross. As for the silver, we'll figure something out together!"

Just then, there was another burst of hurried footsteps outside, and two young men entered one after the other.

The one in front was just over twenty, with a square face and big ears, looking honest and sturdy. He was about 1.65 meters tall, not very tall, but years of hunting had given him a body full of sinewy muscle, making him especially strong and powerful.

The one behind was even taller, with a baby face and small, lively eyes. He had a high nose bridge and thin lips, always wearing a faint smile. If not for the scar left by a bear's claw on his face, he would have been the very picture of a handsome, rosy-cheeked youth.

These two were Thomas Johnson's sons. The honest-looking one was called George Johnson, and the baby-faced one was Frank Johnson. They were both wrapped in animal skins, having just returned from hunting, and hadn't even gone home yet.

"Dad, what happened? How is Brother Kevin?"

"Why are you making such a fuss? The doctor just finished checking him—it's nothing serious, he's resting now!"

"That's good, that's good!" Frank Johnson patted his chest and said, "Dad, why didn't you look out for Brother Kevin? With his health, can he really handle it?"

Mrs. Sullivan quickly smiled and said, "Don't blame your father. If it weren't for him, Kevin would have suffered even more!"

"Auntie, please tell us what happened."

Mrs. Sullivan was still shaken, and chattered on for a good fifteen minutes before she finished recounting the whole story. The The Johnson Brothers listened in shock, never expecting things to have been so dangerous.

"Brother Kevin did great! I always thought he only knew how to study, but who knew he was so capable—he took on ten men by himself!"

Thomas Johnson snorted, "A real man doesn't just talk tough all day. It's in the crucial moments, when you can harden your heart, that's when you're truly a man. You two should learn from Kevin!"

The eldest, George Johnson, frowned and said, "Auntie, Dad, so what we need most right now is to come up with twenty taels of silver within half a month, or else Charles Walker will come looking for trouble again?"

"Hahaha! Let him come, what's there to be afraid of!" Frank Johnson patted his chest and said, "Now that my brother and I are back, plus the old man and Brother Kevin, and a few of our hunter friends, we're all pretty skilled. With just those thugs under Charles Walker, who knows who'll win next time!"

"All you ever think about is fighting. Aren't things messy enough already?"

Frank Johnson protested, "Dad, we're not the ones causing trouble—it's Charles Walker riding on our necks! I can't stand it. With our archery skills, maybe not quite hitting a willow leaf at a hundred paces, but close enough. If we get a chance, we could secretly give him an arrow, and that would be the end of it!"

"Nonsense!" Thomas Johnson was completely exasperated with his son and couldn't help but curse, "You little brat, he's an official of the court—a hundred-household commander! Do you know what it means to kill an official and rebel? If you kill him, the defense officer will definitely investigate, and maybe even the commander will get involved. Do you want to get everyone killed?"

Mrs. Sullivan quickly said, "That's right, nephew, I appreciate your intentions, but we can't drag you all into this because of our family's troubles. We still have to find a way to earn the money ourselves. Lucy and I have made over a hundred pairs of shoe soles—if we work even harder, and with the New Year coming up, maybe we can sell them for a good price!"

Thomas Johnson shook his head with a bitter smile. "Sister-in-law, I don't think that'll work. Every family has gotten poorer these years. Except for salt, everyone makes everything themselves. I'm afraid shoe soles just won't sell for much."

George Johnson thought for a moment and said, "Dad, if we're talking about something valuable, it's still pelts. How about my brother and I set more traps? If we could catch a tiger or a bear, we'd be set—a tiger skin could sell for at least a hundred taels, more than enough for everything!"

"No, no!" Mrs. Sullivan quickly shook her head. "Tigers are so dangerous! If anything happened to you, I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life!"

"Auntie, don't worry. We're skilled, and besides, are our two families really separate? It's worth taking a little risk!"

"Not a good idea!" Thomas Johnson frowned and said, "Hunting a tiger takes manpower, tracking, setting traps—you could work for months and come up empty. And even if you get lucky and catch one, you still have to find a way to sell it. There's only half a month—do you really think that's possible?"

They thought of one idea, then another, but none seemed right.

The group huddled together, worrying so much their hair was turning white. Finally, Thomas Johnson said, "How about this: I'll go to another fort and try to borrow twenty taels from someone, just to get us through this crisis. Then we'll figure out how to raise the money."

No sooner said than done, Thomas Johnson got up to leave.