Xiao Wen saw Feng Wen's disheveled state, her lips curled slightly, and then she put on a concerned expression.
"Xiao Wen, still playing? I can still lend you up to a million."
"Then lend me another three hundred thousand."
Feng Wen, having lost his reason, heard that he could still borrow money and clung to it like a drowning man, hoping to win back all the money he had lost.
Xiao Wen beckoned, and the loan shark's assistant came over again, placing 285,000 yuan in front of Feng Wen and processing the loan.
His luck did not change. Within an hour, the remaining 300,000 yuan was lost again.
After borrowing and losing again, Feng Wen's debt reached one million. He wanted to borrow more to turn his luck around, but the casino refused, stating his limit was reached and he could only borrow again after repaying the money tomorrow.
Feng Wen, dejected, got up and squeezed through the crowd. Xiao Wen followed him out.
"Mr. Feng, the one million you borrowed needs to be repaid tomorrow, otherwise, you'll have to pay 50,000 yuan in interest per day."
The loan shark's assistant stopped Feng Wen, who was about to leave.
Feng Wen looked surprised: "I have to repay the money tomorrow? 50,000 yuan interest per day?"
"Yes, that's the rule. If you don't believe me, you can ask anyone."
"But didn't Sister Wen say she would guarantee it?"
"It's precisely because she guaranteed it that I lent you the money. Otherwise, why would I lend you money if I didn't know you? Her guarantee only means she knows your background and that you have the ability to repay. It doesn't mean you can break the rules and not repay."
Xiao Wen said from the side, "Xiao Wen, the casino's rules are indeed like this. The borrowed marker money must be repaid the next day. If not, you have to pay the 'water fee,' which is five fen. One million is 50,000 yuan. The 50,000 yuan you borrowed from me is fine; you don't need to pay interest. You can give it back when you have the money."
Feng Wen said with a bitter face, "But I can't come up with that much money tomorrow. I can't even afford the 50,000 yuan interest."
The assistant's expression changed instantly: "What do you mean? You're not planning to repay the money?" He beckoned, and four young men came over and surrounded Feng Wen.
"What do you want to do?"
Feng Wen was not someone who shied away from trouble and did not appear flustered by these people.
"Since you don't have the money to repay, you can't leave today. Call someone to send the money."
The assistant's attitude changed immediately.
"Since the money is due tomorrow, I'll come back tomorrow."
Feng Wen wanted to leave first. After taking a couple of steps, a wooden stick hit him behind his knee, and he immediately fell to the ground. The casino patrons were alerted and gathered around.
The assistant waved his hand, and the four young men lifted Feng Wen and dragged him towards the ancestral hall.
Subsequently, screams echoed from the ancestral hall.
"Stop hitting me, I'll call someone to send the money."
Inside the ancestral hall, Feng Wen begged for mercy as he was beaten, but they didn't hit his face. He believed that Jing Yongli would help him pay this money, as Jing Yongli had paid money when Feng Wu was detained in Dongjiang.
"Alright, have your family send two million yuan."
The assistant looked at him mockingly and waved a notebook in front of him. The debt amount on it had been changed to two million.
"This is extortion! I only borrowed one million, why did it become two million?"
"Extortion? Go ahead and sue. I'll see how you deny this written evidence."
Feng Wen suddenly realized that he had fallen into a carefully designed trap today. That Xiao Wen was the bait that lured him in, and the template purchase was likely fake.
What to do? Ask Jing Yongli for one million. He might pay it out of kinship, and at worst, he could slowly repay it with his salary.
But two million was too large an amount; he could never repay it with his salary, and Jing Yongli might not necessarily help him repay it, as his authority was not that great.
Just as he was hesitating whether to call Jing Yongli, Xiao Wen walked in.
"Xiao Wen, I have a way for you to not only clear this debt but also earn a million. Do you want to hear it?"
Xiao Wen was still smiling, her voice extremely gentle.
Feng Wen hated this woman in his heart but dared not show it: "You say it."
Xiao Wen took out a cash check: "You just need to set fire to your template factory, and this million will be yours, and the two million debt will also be written off. Don't rush to refuse, think about it carefully before deciding."
Feng Wen was shocked: "You want to burn down the template factory? Why?"
"Don't worry about why, just do as I say. Think about how long you'll have to work hard in the factory to earn a million. If you don't do it, you'll have to repay the two million, and you have to repay it today, or they might cripple you, or even bury you directly in the Daxin River."
"No, I can't set fire to the factory. That's illegal, and Brother Jian will kill me too."
Feng Wen was very clear-headed. Setting fire to the factory was too serious. If it was exposed, he could be imprisoned for life. Moreover, with Yang Jian's temperament, even if he couldn't return, he would send his brothers back to kill him.
"Are you stupid? You don't have to set fire openly. Can't you create some accident, like a cigarette butt falling into the material pile? That way, no one will hold you responsible. Even if they do, the punishment won't be too severe; it will only be treated as an accidental incident."
"Still no. The factory is shut down now. Even if an accident happens, they will suspect me. As long as the accident is caused by me, they won't let me go."
Feng Wen knew the factory's layout too well. There were cameras everywhere, especially in the raw material warehouse, where smoking was strictly forbidden. If he went there to discard a cigarette butt, it would be no different from setting a fire openly.
Seeing Feng Wen's stubbornness, Xiao Wen winked, and a young man kicked him in the stomach, then grabbed his hair and forced him to kneel.
"Xiao Wen, listen to my advice. A wise man knows when to yield. You won't get past this hurdle today. Even if you call your family to send money, they will break your legs, and you'll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. Think about that scenario."
Xiao Wen took out a tissue and wiped the corner of Feng Wen's mouth. That kick had made him spit blood.
Feng Wen remained silent. He knew that setting fire to the factory was also a dead end. Here, they absolutely wouldn't dare to kill him. Outside the casino, hundreds of people watched him being dragged in; they couldn't all be their people.
Xiao Wen didn't expect Feng Wen to be so tough and changed her strategy: "Xiao Wen, how about this? You take two people into the factory area, claiming they are clients from out of town looking to purchase templates and visit the factory, and then let them do it themselves. This way, you'll be cleared."
This suggestion made Feng Wen a little tempted. The factory had a guesthouse and often hosted visiting merchants from out of town. Arranging for two people to stay there would be no problem. If he wasn't in the factory area at the time, their arson would have nothing to do with him.
Doing this would not only clear his huge debt for the day but also earn him a million-dollar cash check. As for the factory, if it burned down, so be it. Besides the raw materials worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, there were also a pile of machinery. The inventory of templates was zero, and the total value did not exceed five million yuan. Yang Jian was wealthy and could afford it.