I thought for a moment and asked my wife, "Honey, are you still planning not to keep the baby?"
She glanced at me and said, "Yes. I have the day off tomorrow, so I plan to have an abortion."
Maybe feeling guilty toward me, she added, "Zhao Jian, we're still young, and there will be plenty of opportunities to have children in the future."
Thinking that the child in her womb might be mine, of course, I could never tolerate her decision.
Suddenly, I tightly held her hand and said, "Honey, listen to me. No matter what happens, we must keep this child. No matter how hard or tiring it is, I'll bear it all."
At that moment, I could guarantee that I truly meant every word.
I originally thought my wife would soften, but the reality was far from what I expected.
She said, "Zhao Jian, you need to understand me. It's really not easy for me. I'm now a key young teacher at the school. If we have the child now, it will be very unfavorable for my future work."
I understood very well that her pressure all came from financial worries. At least, our financial foundation was thin, which was why she had to work so hard.
Thinking of this, I actually felt some pity for my wife.
But I knew that right now I couldn't make any bold promises. After all, I had just become the sales manager, and although I had just won a victory, it seemed I was still someone else's pawn.
So, I said nothing, because I felt I couldn't oppose my wife's decision.
Maybe because she was pregnant, my wife wasn't feeling very well. After dinner, she went straight to our room to sleep.
I began cleaning up the table—it was my task, after all.
I can say that I consider myself a family man, at least sharing more than half of the housework.
Because I know being a teacher is really hard for her.
After washing the dishes, I watched TV at home.
Then, my phone rang again.
Seeing the caller ID, it was Zhao Hu.
We had just contacted each other earlier that day, so I wondered why he would call at night. Surely not to drag me to a bar for fun again!
If my wife was home, I would have felt quite annoyed to get a call from Zhao Hu at this hour.
That's why, for more than a year, I had very little contact with him.
He was calling now, probably assuming my wife wasn't home.
Thinking back to that night at the bar, I still felt embarrassed—I almost ended up having relations with the bar owner's wife. Had my head been kicked by a donkey?
What's worse, that owner's wife had once been with Zhao Hu.
I thought it wasn't the right time to answer Zhao Hu's call, so I ignored it.
To my surprise, he called again.
I knew this guy's personality very well; he never procrastinated like this.
The only reason he'd call repeatedly was that something had gone wrong.
So I hurriedly answered.
On the phone, Zhao Hu sounded distressed: "Zhao Jian, bad news. Fang Min and I have been locked up by some people."
Hearing this terrible news, I was naturally not happy—it meant Zhao Hu was asking me for help.
I asked, "Did you owe money to someone again?"
He said, "Yes, this time the loan sharks are really ruthless. I have no way out."
There is a saying: "You reap what you sow." I thought for a moment and said, "You have to solve this yourself. I'm powerless."
From a friend's standpoint, helping him clear 100,000 yuan in debt was already a big favor.
But before I finished speaking, Zhao Hu added, "But Fang Min is held captive too. They said if they don't get the money, she'll be the next to suffer. I really have no choice."
Hearing that, my first thought was to call the police. In today's society, loan sharking like this was seriously illegal.
I said to Zhao Hu, "Tell the loan sharks that if they do anything, report them to the police."
He answered miserably, "No way. If I report them, they'll retaliate, and I won't be able to survive in Nanzhou."
His words made me furious!
If it were only Zhao Hu, I could have ignored it. But Fang Min was involved—I had to be cautious.
She is my wife's closest friend. One good word from her in front of my wife outweighs ten from others.
If I helped them now, maybe they would remember my kindness later.
Just like today's incident with the dean: if Fang Min had told me the truth earlier, things would be very different.
At least my wife wouldn't have trouble at school.
So I asked Zhao Hu, "Where are you now?"
He said, "I'm at Room 204, Longcheng Hotel on Longxing Street."
I replied, "Okay, I'm coming right now."
After hanging up, I opened the bedroom door and told my wife, "Honey, I have to go out for a while."
She looked at me with surprise and asked, "So late, where are you going?"
I knew I couldn't tell her the truth — nor did I want to worry her — so I said, "There's some work at the company; I need to go study a plan."
She said nothing more, just, "Be careful on your way."
I left and drove the X1 directly to where Zhao Hu was held.
The social order in Nanzhou was truly chaotic. Loan sharks openly locking people up—did no one care?
Before long, I arrived at the hotel Zhao Hu mentioned.
Unexpectedly, its location was quite hidden, looking like a shady business from the outside.
I soon reached Room 204 and knocked on the door.
Honestly, I was somewhat scared inside—I felt like a lone hero stepping into danger.
The door opened quickly, revealing a young man of about twenty, glaring at me fiercely.
His expression told me he was a local gangster.
I asked, "Is Zhao Hu here?"
That young man looked me up and down twice and asked, "Are you Zhao Hu's friend?"
I nodded, "Yes."
He said nothing more but opened the door wider and let me in.
Inside the small room, I saw seven or eight people.
Zhao Hu and Fang Min were squatting on the floor in a pitiful state. Fang Min was sobbing, clearly frightened.
A man in his thirties looked me over and asked, "You're Zhao Hu's friend?"
I nodded again.
He said, "Zhao Hu owes us 80,000 yuan. How will you settle this?"
I said, "His debt is his own business, and it shouldn't affect others. Why make things hard for his girlfriend?"
As soon as I finished, he said, "So you're not here to solve the problem?"
Suddenly, I sensed hostility.
Loan sharks do whatever it takes for profit.
My original plan was to save Fang Min, but Zhao Hu and Fang Min were tied together now.
They probably knew that if they only focused on Zhao Hu, it would be hard to collect the money.
That man waved at his underling, who immediately picked Fang Min up from the floor and threw her onto the bed.
Then the underling lunged at her like a wolf.
Seeing this, I could no longer hold back and shouted, "Stop!"
The man waved his hand, and his men ceased their assault.
Clearly, without me making a stand, they would never have been allowed to leave tonight.
I glared at Zhao Hu, feeling disappointed in him.
"That so? You willing to pay for them now?" The man smiled coldly, showing no kindness.
I said, "Here's what: I'll be the guarantor. Zhao Hu will pay a fixed amount each month, to clear the debt in two or three years. How about that?"
The man thought for a moment and said, "Fine. I'll draft a contract right away. If you agree, sign it, and they can leave immediately."
I knew loan shark debt collections had certain predictable tactics, and I realized I had stepped into a trap.
But I had no choice.
80,000 yuan wasn't a huge amount; with hard work, it could be repaid in a year.
Then an idea came to me: I could arrange for Zhao Hu to work at Xingchang Company.
He was a smooth talker and good at wooing women—he might bring considerable profits to the company. Besides, I lacked capable people in the sales department. He would be a great asset.
If he worked well, that 80,000 yuan debt would just be business revenue.
Thinking this, I nodded in agreement.
The loan sharks acted quickly, and soon a new contract was in front of me.
But when I saw the amount, I was stunned—it read 100,000 yuan.
I frowned and asked, "How did the debt become 100,000?"
The loan shark explained, "Of course, we include two years' interest. Do you think we'd give you an interest-free loan?"
I thought about it and agreed. After all, 10,000 yuan per year on 80,000 isn't very high interest.
After signing and fingerprinting, we finally left the hotel.
Zhao Hu looked at me gratefully and said, "Zhao Jian, I don't know how to thank you."
I frowned and replied, "Don't thank me yet. You also need my help. Let's find a place to talk."