Steward Evans never married and had no children. On top of that, the Zhou family had shown him great kindness, so he had long regarded the Zhou residence as his own home. Previously, when Charles Bennett dismissed the servants from the house, Steward Evans swore on the spot that he would live and die as a member of the Zhou family—even if Charles Bennett drove him out with a stick, he would not leave. Others praised Steward Evans for his loyalty and righteousness, but Charles Bennett suspected that this chubby old man was just worried that no one would support him if he left, so he clung to the household, at least ensuring he had something to eat.

Seeing that Charles Bennett still looked calm and composed, Steward Evans grew even more anxious. He glanced at Mrs. Walker first, then finally spoke: “Young master, this time it’s the Song family coming to collect a debt, and it’s Master Song himself, along with the second young master of the Song family.”

“Song family?” Charles Bennett was taken aback, not quite understanding what Steward Evans meant, and looked at Mrs. Walker in confusion. What surprised Charles Bennett was that upon hearing it was the Song family, Mrs. Walker turned pale, her whole body trembling and unsteady, as if she might collapse at any moment.

This startled Charles Bennett, who hurriedly stood up to support her. After finally helping Mrs. Walker sit down with the aid of a chair, Charles Bennett asked in puzzlement, “Auntie, what’s wrong? Isn’t the Song family just a creditor? Is there something special about them?”

Seeing that Charles Bennett still didn’t understand, Steward Evans couldn’t help but say, “Young master, the Song family is the future in-laws of the eldest young lady.”

Only then did Charles Bennett suddenly remember—he recalled that Grace seemed to be engaged to a family surnamed Song, which must be the very family now here to collect the debt. What he didn’t quite understand was that, although relatives are relatives, debts still have to be repaid. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time the Song family had come in person to collect a debt, which showed they still cared somewhat about family ties. So why was Mrs. Walker so nervous?

Chapter 3: The Song Father and Son

The incident of the Song family coming to collect a debt highlighted the generational gap between Charles Bennett, a soul from the twenty-first century, and the people of the sixteenth-century Ming dynasty.

Whether in modern times or ancient China, society has always been based on personal relationships. However, with the liberation of thought in later generations, the warmth of human relationships has faded somewhat. For example, among relatives, coming to collect a debt is quite normal—as long as the creditor doesn’t make a scene or tear things apart, the relationship between the two families won’t be affected.

But in the Ming dynasty, debts between relatives were entangled with even more personal feelings. Usually, the debtor would take the initiative to repay the money. If they truly couldn’t pay, they would at least inform the other party in advance, hoping to buy more time. If the creditor was in urgent need, they wouldn’t come in person to demand repayment from a relative, but would instead ask a mutual acquaintance to mediate. This way, even if the debt wasn’t repaid, the relationship between the two families wouldn’t be damaged.

The Song family was already engaged to Charles Bennett’s younger sister, making them close relatives by marriage. Yet now the Song family had come in person to collect a debt, which was almost the same as tearing all pretense aside. For them to do such a thing showed that the Song family didn’t care about the engagement at all, or perhaps they regretted it and wanted to use this debt collection as a way to force the Zhou family to break off the engagement.

In his previous life, Charles Bennett lost his parents early and had to work in society from a young age, experiencing the warmth and coldness of human relationships. But he never imagined that in the Ming dynasty, even collecting a debt could be so complicated. It wasn’t until Steward Evans explained it to him at length that Charles Bennett finally understood.

The smile that had always been on his face vanished, replaced by a look of vicious anger. This was the first time since his transmigration that he felt such burning rage—even more than when, in his previous life, he saw his prejudiced boss harass a female colleague. This time, the target was his own family, his sister no less, and as her brother, he simply could not tolerate it.

“Young master, please calm down. The Song family has always been a bunch of petty schemers. I’ve heard that lately, the second young master of the Song family has been getting close to the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Huating County. Their coming here so brazenly to collect a debt is probably just a ploy to force us to break off the engagement, so he can marry that woman who can bring them plenty of business!” Steward Evans, always well-informed, immediately shared his analysis.

“They’re already bullying us to our faces—how can you expect me to calm down?” Charles Bennett snapped coldly, his eyes flashing with a chilling light.

In his previous life, Charles Bennett had a rather hot temper; otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up beating up his own boss at work. Although transmigration had taught him the value of life and made him more optimistic, that didn’t mean he had no temper. In fact, quite the opposite—after becoming part of society’s gray areas in his previous life, Charles Bennett had seen much of its dark side, which had left its mark on his character. So when he truly hated someone, that person had better be careful.