A Feng and Xiao Zhao, supporting the still heavily intoxicated Lu Hao, finally crossed the Gongbei Port five minutes before the lockdown, rushing back to Dongjiang overnight.
Yang Jian called Lu Yue midway, informing her that Lu Hao had been picked up and hadn't lost as much money as they feared, telling them not to worry and that he would call back once Lu Hao woke up.
With plenty of rooms at home, Yang Jian arranged separate rooms for Xiao Zhao and Lu Hao. He personally brewed a bowl of bird's nest soup for Lu Hao, but Lu Hao was too drunk to wake up.
It was the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Yang Jian, Jun Jun, and A Feng also had to work. Anan went home to sleep during the day. Before leaving, Yang Jian instructed Xiao Zhao to take good care of Lu Hao and to absolutely prevent him from leaving again once he woke up.
Lu Hao finally woke up at two in the afternoon. After using the restroom, he suddenly realized this wasn't a hotel. His phone was turned off.
He quickly turned on his phone and opened the curtains, only to discover that this city wasn't the gambling city. The gambling city didn't have such wide and long roads. Most importantly, the billboards were all in simplified Chinese characters, clearly indicating this was on the mainland.
Lu Hao rubbed his still throbbing head, trying desperately to recall what had happened. He was sure he had been in the gambling city; that was the only certainty. How had he ended up in this unfamiliar city?
Assistant Xiao Zhao. Lu Hao remembered this person had been following him but hadn't seen him. He was about to call him when a string of text message notifications popped up.
Lu Hao's scalp tingled. All of them were credit card transaction alerts. His twenty million yuan deposit had been completely wiped out.
He quickly dialed Xiao Zhao's number. The call connected, but no one answered. Xiao Zhao and Anan pushed the door open and came in.
"Mr. Lu, you're awake. Are you hungry? There's food outside."
Xiao Zhao draped a jacket over him.
"Xiao Zhao, where is this? And who is he?"
Lu Hao had met Anan once at the Xunsi River casino, but he had no recollection of him.
"Mr. Lu, this is Dongjiang. This is Mr. Yang's brother, Anan. You've met him before."
"Dongjiang? How did I get here? Which Mr. Yang?"
Anan chuckled, "Mr. Lu, you've completely blacked out. I'm Yang Jian's brother. Yesterday evening, Jian Ge brought you back from the gambling city with A Feng. You slept for a full twelve hours."
"Yang Jian? Why would he pick me up? And Xiao Zhao, why are all my bank cards drained?"
"Mr. Lu, don't you remember gambling at The Venetian casino?"
Xiao Zhao was helpless. He hadn't expected Lu Hao to forget everything. If A Feng hadn't gone to the scene, he would have had a hard time explaining. Lu Hao would surely suspect him of embezzling the money.
"Yes, I went straight to the casino after I got off the plane. I remember that. What happened after that? Did I lose all my money?"
"You not only lost all your own money but also borrowed one hundred million yuan in high-interest loans. If your sister hadn't called Mr. Yang, and Yang Jian hadn't rushed to Gongbei in the middle of the night, we'd still be held by the casino."
"One hundred million? I borrowed that much? Then how did Yang Jian get me out?"
Anan handed him a cup of hot milk, "After Jian Ge learned you borrowed so much, he tried to raise funds from various sources. However, it was the New Year period, and his friends on the mainland couldn't come up with that much money quickly. In the end, my martial uncle guaranteed you to the casino on Jian Ge's behalf, and they released you. We're sending people to deliver the money today."
Lu Hao's spirits plummeted. "I actually lost so much. Where is Yang Jian?"
"Jian Ge is at work and will be back in the evening. You should eat something first."
"Okay."
Lu Hao didn't ask any more questions this time and followed the two to the dining room to eat. In his mind, however, he was contemplating how to fill such a massive deficit.
He was the CEO of Han Hua Group, with an annual salary of three million yuan, which was already very high in mainland China. Coupled with stock dividends and bond income, his annual income was around fifteen million yuan.
If he included stocks, bonds, and real estate, his total assets would easily exceed one hundred million yuan. However, these couldn't be liquidated immediately. If he sold them all to repay the debt, it would mean severing ties with Han Hua Group, which was not feasible.
He usually gambled with other executives in the gambling city, but he was always restrained, keeping his wins and losses within ten million yuan. Moreover, he had good luck, and overall, he had even won about ten million yuan.
"Anan, where does Yang Jian work? Can you take me to see him?"
After eating, Lu Hao was eager to meet Yang Jian. He wanted to understand in detail what had happened last night.
"Mr. Lu, why don't you sleep a bit longer? Jian Ge still has three to four hours before he finishes work."
"I'm not sleeping. Take me there. How can I sleep after losing so much money?"
"Alright, put on an extra layer of clothing. It's quite cold outside. Dongjiang is colder than usual this year, close to zero degrees."
Anan had no choice but to drive him and Xiao Zhao to the casino.
Yang Jian welcomed them into his office and brewed them some Gongfu tea.
"Xiao Yang, so you work at Xintai. Why didn't you say so earlier? I've been here twice last year, but I only spent time on the second floor. It was someone else's treat, so I didn't go up to the third floor."
Lu Hao was greatly surprised. Xintai was very well-known. Yang Jian having a private office here indicated he was a high-level executive.
Yang Jian smiled, "Brother Hao, didn't I tell you I've been in Dongjiang all along? You came to Dongjiang and didn't call me, yet you're blaming me."
"Ah, it's my fault. But it wasn't convenient at the time; I had friends from the police force with me, so meeting you wasn't appropriate. And the visits were very short; we'd stay one night and then leave."
"Now that you know I'm here, next time you come to spend, I'll pay the bill. If someone else treats you, you'll get a 20% discount. How about that?"
"Let's forget about that. The expenses here are too high. I won't treat others here, and when others treat me, they're not short of money, so there's no need for a discount. Let's talk about last night."
Yang Jian nodded and then recounted in detail the process of Lu Yue calling him to pick Lu Hao up.
"Using your dividends to repay my debt? How can that be? I know your dividends are substantial; otherwise, you wouldn't be building Yaochi Garden so grandly in your hometown. But if you use your dividend money to repay the debt, what about the investment there?"
Lu Hao was very surprised after hearing the account. It turned out Yang Jian had privately reached a repayment agreement with his boss; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to return.
"It's fine, Brother Hao. Xiao Zhao also told me about your situation. Your position as CEO of Han Hua cannot be lost, nor can your equity be changed. I have the ability to help you hold on now.
As for the investment in the hometown, it's not a big problem. The template factory will start production after the New Year, and with the expansion of decorative panel production capacity, the income can sustain the construction of Yaochi Garden. At worst, we can postpone the payment to the construction company until the end of the year. They are all old friends; they will understand."
Regarding the funding, Yang Jian was not worried. According to Bai Zheng's plan, the casino's earnings this year were expected to reach two billion yuan, giving him a dividend of two hundred million yuan. Even if this goal wasn't met, he still had income from loan sharking and dividends from the Phoenix Street beverage business, with total income exceeding one hundred million yuan being a certainty.