Baoping Town.
On the third floor of a bathhouse called "Slightly Worthy," in the chess and card room, Liu Yong was engrossed in a game of "Zha Jinhua" (Golden Flower). There were five people at the table, four men including himself and one woman.
Beside Liu Yong sat a young girl of twenty-three or twenty-four, preparing his "maguo" (a slang term for a type of drug).
The girl had delicate features and a tall, slender figure, standing at least 1.75 meters, like a model on television. She wore an elongated black wool coat, the cut of which clearly indicated it was not cheap.
The bag placed beside her displayed an LV logo, naturally a high-end item.
The rules of Zha Jinhua were almost the same nationwide, the only difference being the base betting amount. Liu Yong and his companions were playing for high stakes, with a base bet of five hundred and a minimum call of a thousand.
Although Baoping was just a town, it had prospered due to coal, leading to a high level of economic development and consumption. Consequently, gambling activities like Mahjong, Zha Jinhua, and Pai Gow were played with large sums. Liu Yong's current game was considered average here.
"Code company, get me another hundred thousand."
Liu Yong's luck was poor. He had been dealt two good hands in a row but was defeated. One was a QKA straight, which was beaten by the same color flush from the woman opposite, losing thirty thousand.
The other was a straight flush, but it was beaten by three fives from the player on his left, resulting in a larger loss, nearly sixty thousand.
"Brother Yong, you've already lost thirty today, maybe you should stop playing."
The girl beside him extinguished the lighter in her hand, moved the maguo device away, and quietly advised. A "ten thousand" in their conversation referred to ten thousand yuan.
"It's fine, losing thirty in hands like these is normal. Just a few good hands and I can get it all back. Jingjing, light another one for me to boost my spirits. I don't believe I'm this unlucky."
Stimulated by the maguo, Liu Yong couldn't stop himself.
Jingjing sighed with a hint of melancholy and relit the maguo for him.
A young man placed a wad of cash in front of Liu Yong: "Brother Yong, this is ninety-four thousand. The vig has been taken out. That's forty thousand in total today. Play with confidence, and we can get you fifty thousand anytime."
"No problem, it'll be in your account after we finish."
Liu Yong quickly counted the money. Ninety-four thousand was correct. The vig here was six hundred per ten thousand, so six thousand for a hundred thousand. He had already borrowed four hundred thousand today, and the vig alone amounted to twenty-four thousand.
The young married woman opposite smiled and said, "Brother Yong, you're a big boss. Are you intentionally letting us win today?"
Before Liu Yong could reply, Jingjing beside him became angry: "Stop your sarcastic remarks. If he keeps losing like this, even a mountain of gold will be lost. He lost two hundred thousand the day before yesterday and a hundred thousand yesterday. He's just a carpentry boss, and he's just starting out. He can't afford to lose like this. You guys shouldn't invite him to play anymore, or I'll call the police."
"Oh, I didn't realize Jingjing had such true feelings for Brother Yong."
The seemingly gentle and elegant Jingjing instantly exploded: "Talk your mother's dog sh*t! What if I'm a mistress? At least I'm better than you, who are always chasing after everyone. Be careful you don't get AIDS."
The married woman was no pushover either. She slammed the table and jumped up, ready to fight.
Fortunately, the people beside them intervened.
"Why are you arguing when we're having a good time?"
"Jingjing, say less. Brother Yong doesn't lose every day. He won fifteen thousand the day before yesterday, didn't he? You bought that bag the day before yesterday, right?"
"Exactly. When playing cards like this, winning or losing tens of thousands is normal. Brother Yong is undertaking such a large project with the power plant, he doesn't care about these wins and losses."
"I heard his apprentice is running a place in Huangjiaping, a place that makes a fortune every day. These wins and losses are nothing."
Everyone in the room was trying to placate Jingjing. Liu Yong remained silent. This Jingjing was too disrespectful, revealing his true situation in front of so many people, yet he dared not confront her.
"Liu Yong, I'm warning you. If you borrow money from the code company again after losing this hundred thousand, I'm done with you. Not only will I call the police, but I'll also go to your construction site."
Jingjing finished speaking, threw down her lighter, picked up her bag, and stormed out.
"Come, come, let's continue. That woman has had too much maguo and is acting crazy. Little Yao, don't take it to heart."
Liu Yong, as if nothing had happened, invited everyone to sit down and even offered a cigarette to the young married woman called Little Yao.
The gambling continued.
However, Liu Yong's luck did not improve despite Jingjing's outburst; he continued to lose.
"Brother Yong, you've already borrowed fifty thousand. Why don't you stop playing today? Your luck is too bad, and it's already twelve o'clock. If you don't go back soon, Jingjing will really call the police."
Hearing Liu Yong wanting to borrow more, even the young man who provided the loans couldn't help but advise him.
When the code company refused to lend more money, Liu Yong finally came to his senses. He had lost too much today, his mentality had collapsed, and he would lose more if he continued.
He got up reluctantly and called the loan provider to an empty adjacent foot bath room.
"Little Zhang, I need to discuss something with you. The fifty thousand borrowed today might not be available tomorrow. Can you be flexible?"
Liu Yong offered Little Zhang a cigarette, but the latter did not take it.
"Brother Yong, are you kidding me? You promised when you borrowed the money that it would be in the account tomorrow. Now you're saying you have no money. How am I supposed to explain this to Brother Hu?"
"Tell Brother Hu that this fifty thousand will be converted into a high-interest loan. With Chinese New Year just a month away, the construction site is estimated to disburse funds around the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month. We'll return every cent then."
"You can't play like this, Brother Yong. You know, the profit from lending code is not comparable to high-interest loans. With Manager Chen's guarantee, you've already transferred thirty thousand. Now you want to transfer another fifty thousand. Our funds are all tied up with you, so how can we continue lending code?"
"Just raise the interest rate. I really can't come up with fifty thousand right now. You can kill me, and I still won't have it."
"Then wait a moment, I need to get approval from Brother Hu."
After speaking, Little Zhang took out his phone and walked out.
Liu Yong sat dejectedly on the foot bath bed, thinking about how he would explain things to Jingjing later. She was on the second floor getting a foot bath and was waiting for him for a late-night snack.
Five minutes later, Little Zhang returned with his bag.
"Brother Yong, I spent a long time pleading with Brother Hu, and he finally agreed to convert the code money into a high-interest loan, but the interest rate will be increased to twenty percent."
"Twenty percent? That's too high. The interest for fifty thousand for one month is a hundred thousand. Can you reduce it a bit? I can't afford such high interest."
Liu Yong panicked. The thirty thousand he borrowed last time was at a ten percent interest rate, meaning thirty thousand in interest per month. Although very high, it was barely manageable.
Now, with a monthly interest of a hundred thousand plus the principal, even if the more than one hundred workers at the construction site didn't take their wages, it wouldn't cover this deficit.
"I'm sorry, Brother Yong. Brother Hu said this is only because of Manager Chen's favor that he agreed to convert it to a high-interest loan. Otherwise, the daily vig you pay would be even more unbearable. Don't think that just because you're from out of town we can't deal with you. We can use our connections with the higher-ups at the power plant to freeze your entire project and all project payments."
Little Zhang spoke very gently, but Liu Yong's heart pounded with fear.