I Run a Pawnshop That Collects Debts from the Living

On the seventh night after my grandfather's death, my name appeared in the ledger of the Two Settlements Pawnshop.

My name is Lu Chi. I'm twenty-four, work in auditing, and was just laid off. What my grandfather left me wasn't savings, but an old pawnshop on Huaian Street and a ledger that recognized its owner.

This place doesn't take gold, silver, or jade. It takes debts owed by the living: some pawn ten years of their lifespan, some all their luck, some fifteen years of teaching experience, and some pay thirty thousand yuan to buy a name.

The ledger records what everyone owes. When the debt officer comes to collect, every last bit is settled, principal and interest.

I thought I was the one collecting debts, until I turned to the last page and discovered that my greatest debtor was myself.

The books must be balanced, and the living must survive. I have to collect every debt this pawnshop is owed, one by one, from the living and the dead alike.