“Usury isn’t protected by the law. Let him sue us. If he wants to cause trouble, are we, the Jincheng Group, supposed to be afraid of him?”
Zheng Chuan’s words stunned everyone present.
Can you really do that? You’re more ruthless than the underworld gang.
Discussions immediately erupted.
“Yeah, I got that loan through my own skills. Why should I pay it back?”
“I’m a gangster, and I should repay your money?”
“Damn, that’s a genius idea!”
Even Shen Nan looked at Zheng Chuan with new eyes, as if he’d struck gold. He rubbed Zheng Chuan’s head several times, “You brat, your mind is sharp and devious—but I like it, haha.”
He stood up and said, “Tell all your brothers to go borrow from Yu Jiu’s loan company. No need to put up any collateral, just use mutual guarantees.”
“Borrow as much as you can. The company takes 60%, the rest is yours. If anything happens, the company will take the hit.”
The senior members of the gang in the room immediately started making calls.
“Old Hei, bring your idle brothers over here with their ID cards. There’s money to grab—hurry up.”
“If your relatives at home want to make a quick buck, bring them too. Let everyone earn some together.”
Shen Nan urged them, “Move fast. Yu Jiu isn’t stupid. He’ll catch on soon. We grab what we can while we can.”
“Big Brother, Yu Jiu is very suspicious by nature. If we don’t use some tricks, we won’t be able to crush him this time,” Zheng Chuan said. “If we want him to lend money freely, we need a middleman to ease his concerns.”
“Who would be the middleman?” Shen Nan frowned. The person had to be reliable and smart. But looking around, Yu Jiu knew all of their men.
“I’ll do it. I’m the most suitable person for this,” Zheng Chuan smiled slightly.
“Alright, it’s up to you then. Do it well, and the gang—no, the company—will give you a big commendation,” Shen Nan said, patting Zheng Chuan’s shoulder heavily.
Looking at the excited crowd, Zheng Chuan let out a breath.
He had finally taken the first step. Next, he had to brainwash his father-in-law and instill in him the core values of socialism.
As he walked out of the Earl Club, he pondered how best to screw over Yu Jiu. After all, Yu Jiu was a real bastard—in his previous life, this scum forced good people into prostitution and committed countless crimes.
Just then, Ah Fei came riding a bicycle. “Brother Chuan.”
“Huh, Ah Fei, where’s your motorbike?” Zheng Chuan looked at him in surprise.
His long hair had been shaved into a buzz cut. It looked like he was serious about turning over a new leaf.
“I sold it. I followed your advice and started learning auto repair, but my parents scolded me badly,” Ah Fei choked up. “I’ve disappointed them too many times, so they don’t trust me anymore.”
“It’s fine. Prove you’re serious with your actions. They’ll forgive you eventually,” Zheng Chuan patted his shoulder to comfort him.
Ah Fei nodded hard, “But I’m short on startup funds. Equipment and space rental will cost a lot. My brothers already sold their bikes and scraped together what they could. We’re still short by 100,000.”
“100,000 yuan? That’s nothing. Get your brothers and bring your ID cards,” Zheng Chuan smirked. “I’ll take you to get free money.”
“Free money?” Ah Fei didn’t quite understand.
“A kind-hearted boss is giving us money, and we don’t have to pay it back,” Zheng Chuan grinned.
“Giving out money for free? There are people that kind in this world?” Ah Fei’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah, he’s really generous. Let’s go.”
In the northern part of the city, inside a second-hand car dealership office—
The office was decorated in a traditional style. The desk held the Four Treasures of the Study, and a calligraphy scroll reading ‘The Highest Good Is Like Water’ hung behind it.
A redwood tea table stretched an absurd 5 meters. A bald man sat at the table brewing tea.
This was Yu Jiu of the northern district. He was a rough man, yet he insisted on decorating his office in a cultured style.
“Brother-in-law, our ‘Fortune Credit’ loan business just isn’t picking up. I’ve already lowered the interest rate and even went down to the south side of the city to promote, but it’s not working,” said Yu Jiu’s brother-in-law, Chen Tao, holding the business report. “We’ve got more than 20 million yuan just sitting in the account.”
“Go check the schools, especially the female college students—they love to compare and are vain,” Yu Jiu sipped his tea. “They need money.”
“But those students have no ability to repay. That’ll just turn into bad debt.”
“No ability to repay? What do we have our club for? Just make them work it off with their bodies,” Yu Jiu sneered.
“Right!” Chen Tao slapped his thigh. “You’re brilliant, Brother-in-law. Those students are young and pretty. They’ll definitely attract a lot of clients.”
“But what if they refuse?”
“Simple,” Yu Jiu poured more tea. “They borrow without collateral. Just have them hold their ID cards, strip naked, take photos, and send them to us as collateral.”
“If they refuse later? Hehe. We’ll post the photos to their school forums, send them to their friends and families.”
“Brilliant! Truly brilliant, Brother-in-law.” Chen Tao was full of admiration.
To be fair, Yu Jiu was quite cunning. The naked loan scandal wouldn’t break out for a few more years, and yet he already had this advanced thinking.
“In business, you have to think outside the box to make big money,” Yu Jiu hummed a tune.
“Boss Yu, someone’s here. He says he wants to talk business,” a lackey entered.
“What kind of business?” Yu Jiu asked.
“He says he has a group of high-quality clients and wants long-term cooperation with our loan company.”
“Really? Let him in,” Yu Jiu’s eyes lit up and he downed his cup.
Though he was eyeing the students, executing that plan would be troublesome. Long-term, high-quality client sources were his real target.
Zheng Chuan walked in, “Boss Yu, I’ve heard great things about you.”
Without waiting for Yu Jiu to speak, he sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.
He sniffed it by his nose, “Nice tea—pre-Qingming Longjing.”
His every move was like that of a rich young heir, instantly throwing Yu Jiu off.
“I heard you have a group of high-quality clients?” Yu Jiu asked cautiously, unsure of his background.
“About 300 to 400 people. They run small merchandise businesses and need capital turnover,” Zheng Chuan nodded.
“Three to four hundred people?” Yu Jiu and Chen Tao exchanged a glance—instantly tempted.
That was a huge deal. If done right, their loan company’s business would skyrocket six- to seven-fold.
How would Shen Nan even compete with that?
Still, Yu Jiu remained calm, “Do they have any assets or guarantees?”
“They’ve got guarantees, and I promise they’re absolutely reliable,” Zheng Chuan smiled faintly.
“Who’s guaranteeing them?” Chen Tao couldn’t help but ask, “You?”
“That’s right. Me.” Zheng Chuan nodded.
“You punk, are you messing with me?” Yu Jiu sneered. “I don’t even know your name. Why should I trust you?”
“My surname is Zheng. Zheng Chuan,” he said, reporting his full name directly.
“Zheng Chuan? Never heard of you. Where’d you crawl out from, you little fish? Trying to scam me?” Yu Jiu was losing patience.
“Do you even know who I am?”
Though rough, he still had some presence. As soon as he got angry, the atmosphere in the room turned tense.
“The new head of Tianhai’s municipal committee is also surnamed Zheng,” Zheng Chuan calmly dropped a bombshell.