TPODN Chapter 57

Wen Hanzhang was searching for that invisible door.

All of his past life, everything, could only be regarded as a mistake somewhere. He always believed that he should belong to another world more suited to him. No matter how desperate the situation became, A-Zhang could endure it. He always looked around calmly, never giving in to self-abandonment, and tried desperately to improve the situation, even if there was only a slight progress, he would not give up. However, in the end, he realized that reality was undeniable, and that between himself and the world he longed for, there was actually a seemingly transparent but solid wall.

However, he had to try to break through.

This was A-Zhang’s conclusion. Even if he crawled on this side of the wall for a hundred years, he would not be able to go anywhere in the end. In that case, he should break down the wall, open up a world, or find the invisible door that only a few people know about, and open this door to transcend to another world.

If he didn’t do this, his life could only be aimlessly drifting in nothingness forever.

To find the invisible door, A-Zhang was already prepared to achieve it even by unscrupulous means or at any risk.

He believed that he possessed the resilience to overcome difficulties, as well as the ability to plan and execute. As long as he could enter another world, he was confident that he could climb to the peak of the social ladder.

Tripping at the starting point of life was not his responsibility. The reason for the failure was actually decided before he came into this world. Although parents cannot choose their children, it is even more tragic that children cannot choose their parents.

His father, Wen Guangze, was a man who was born to be used by everyone. If he were still alive, he would be fifty-six years old this year. However, he is likely buried in the deep mountains, becoming a cultivator of soil bacteria, or tied with heavy objects and thrown into the sea, as a banquet place for shrimps, crabs, and starfish.

When recalling his father, A-Zhang’s heart could no longer be stirred up with any emotion.

His father was almost a person without any wisdom or will, and his mind was filled with only trivial joys in front of him. He could not even imagine what kind of consequences today’s behavior would lead to tomorrow. For a person with this kind of personality, even if he was born into a wealthy family and inherited a large amount of property, he could not save his weaknesses. Especially since his grandfather, Qingchun, was a famous old fox, it was only natural to think that those predators who smelled the stench of copper would come in droves after his grandfather’s death.

The assets of the Wen family at the time of Guangze’s inheritance included houses, large areas of mountains and forests, fields, antiques, and securities, totaling less than 300 million yuan. However, within less than a year, all of these were eaten up, leaving only huge debts.

At that time, A-Zhang was still a high school student. The reason why he knew the methods used by those predators to invade the Wen family’s property was because he had read his father’s diary.

The earliest to appear were a group of people who called themselves asset management consultants, seemingly from commodity futures companies.

Several men in the standard dark suits of bank employees entered the house under the guise of conducting investment-related questionnaire surveys, and then flattered and fawned over Guangze to win him over. Guangze, who had never received praise in his life, must have felt more joy in his heart than a skylark flying in spring.

It is said that those consultants brought Xiaoyin brewing and poured it into Guangze, while taking out photocopied materials from their briefcases. The materials were full of obscure professional terms, and Guangze probably understood less than one percent of them. However, when everyone praised Guangze’s understanding and insight, it was difficult to honestly say that he didn’t understand at all. In the end, he could only pretend to understand completely. Maybe he even fell into a delusion, thinking that he actually understood it very well.

After these men left, they left Guangze, who was drunk with a face as red as a ripe persimmon and panting, and a copy of the futures trading contract. The items invested were rare metals of the platinum family, palladium and rhodium. However, even if everyone recommended the cosmic elements in ‘Ultraman’ and the kryptonite that made ‘Superman’ dizzy at the time, it probably wouldn’t make any difference to Guangze.

Before that, Guangze and his wife inevitably had a common quarrel. His wife blamed him for not discussing such a huge investment with her in advance, and Guangze scolded, “This is not a woman’s business!” Thinking about it, the only people Guangze could unscrupulously attack were his wife and young A-Zhang.

As a result, the wife stopped fighting after Guangze promised to buy her a new dress.

As a result, this investment was quite successful.

Russia, which accounts for 70% of the world’s palladium production, opens or tightens its supply at almost unpredictable times, which shocks the entire world’s futures market. In the early stages of Guangze’s investment, palladium prices slowly climbed in the long term, and rumors continued to spread about Russia’s unstable supply. The market climbed, resulting in a considerable difference in futures prices.

Next, Wen Guangze’s brief golden age kicked off. Those women dressed in eastern costumes began to visit the Wen family every day, admiring Guangze’s great profits and praising his wisdom. Gradually, colorful and noisy banquets followed one after another. Guangze, whose face was flushed with drinking, was intoxicated by the atmosphere of being a rich man, and he spent money lavishly. The drinking and entertainment that lasted until midnight completely swallowed up the false Guangze.

When herbivores on the African savanna are on the verge of death, first, eagles and vultures with super vision like telescopes will circle down. Then, jackals rush over when they see this, and finally, hyenas gather with a sharp and piercing laugh.

Although Guangze was smooth sailing in investing, in fact, his own judgment was as bad as brain failure, and soon, the neighbors seemed to have figured out this inside story. So, whether it was relatives or nearby strangers, they all followed one after another to appear at his nightly singing and drunken banquets.

A-Zhang only once saw Guangze being held high by everyone, sitting on a pile of high cushions, with his thin and weak shoulders straight, his red eyes becoming more and more like monkeys on Mount Emei, as if a prison boss was condescendingly looking down on everyone. It was extremely strange, and sometimes when he accidentally lost his balance and fell, it made people wonder if he was performing a comedy. Watching Guangze struggle in a panic, everyone rushed up to help him, and then immediately piled up a mountain of cushions again, inviting him to sit on it.

Under the power of alcohol, Guangze was as dizzy as a boxer who had suffered minor head blows several times, and he complied with all the requests of the friends who took turns holding the wine pot to pour wine. That’s how he became a guarantor for loans.

Next, it was finally the turn of the ace hyenas to appear. For Guangze, who was generous and continuously signed guarantee contracts, in order to “show their respect,” financial companies also began to visit him.

Liu Hailong, with a thin and strong physique, wearing a double-breasted eastern suit, his sparse and hard hair combed forward with hair gel to fix it. His fair and round face was full of smiles, and he looked like a kind and amiable xiangsheng performer. However, in his small eyes, there was a sharp gaze like a raptor that no one had ever seen.

In contrast, Wang Yingjie had a long face, his skin was tanned to a purplish-black color, and his thin eyes were carved out with a knife, showing no emotion at all, which made people think of black terracotta warriors.

The two hyenas sat still, patiently waiting for the opportunity to bite the prey’s throat in one fell swoop. They didn’t have to wait too long.

Guangze’s once-in-a-lifetime rookie luck went wrong after he became suspicious and changed his strategy. Because palladium prices had been rising all the way for the past three years, even people in commodity futures companies seemed to judge that the market should be close to its peak.

Guangze began to feel uneasy before the estimated profits became less and less. As far as he was concerned, the market was like betting on odd or even numbers with dice. Before even numbers appeared in a row, he couldn’t help but think about betting on odd numbers next time. This is human nature.

After the two sides reached a consensus, Guangze made a settlement on the futures he had. Those amounts that were just like castles in the air at the beginning were now all actually remitted to his account. In just a few weeks, he earned more than his father had accumulated in his entire life.

Before that, in A-Zhang’s memory, he still clearly remembered Guangze staring intently at a large pile of things similar to glass balls on the coffee table. Each of those glass balls emitted an unusually strong light.

A-Zhang involuntarily reached out to touch them, but was severely slapped by his father.

“Idiot! Don’t touch them! These are all diamonds!”

After he said that, he smiled so much that he couldn’t close his mouth, and said, “These alone are worth a lot of money. One day, all of these will become yours.” A-Zhang thought to himself, when people usually say that someone doesn’t know the value of something, they use giving gold coins to cats or giving pearls to pigs to describe it. So, is there a saying for giving them to monkeys?

This was the first and last peak of Guangze’s life.

He naturally developed absolute trust in the employees of the commodity futures company who had earned him a lot of money. Guangze followed their instructions and this time switched to selling palladium futures. Moreover, the amount of this transaction was one digit more than the last time he bought it.

However, things didn’t go as expected, and palladium prices continued to rise endlessly.

Those consultants rushed to the Wen family, explaining that if they didn’t pay additional margin, they would not be able to settle the account, which would cause huge losses. Seeing that these words frightened Guangze’s face, they changed their attitude and comforted him softly: It’s nothing serious, just be patient for a while, and the entire market will definitely turn around. From the perspective of the entire world, the demand for palladium cannot increase so much in a short period of time. Please take a look at this chart. Looking back at history, the prices of palladium and platinum have almost moved in tandem, but since the sharp rise in palladium in 1997, the gap between the two has become larger and larger. I believe that a consolidation will occur soon, and palladium will definitely fall. In this way, it will be our world! At that time, we will be able to earn ten times the amount we are losing now. At this critical moment, please be sure to maintain your confidence and leave it to us. Think about it, haven’t you made a lot of money before? If you give up at this time, you can only admit your loss. Once you get through this difficulty, victory is ours. Moreover, today is different from the past, this time it is a foolproof business, and the money will automatically be sent to you soon.

Guangze searched all the cash he had on hand and also sold off quite a few securities to pay the additional margin.

Next, in less than a week, they appeared again, and their words were exactly the same as last time. Guangze sold the remaining stocks, but it was still not enough. Although he also thought about taking real estate as collateral to get a loan from the bank, the distant water could not quench the immediate fire.

At this time, it was the turn of the underground bank, which had been in the back, to enter the scene. Liu Hailong carried a famous brand ZEROHALLIBURTON briefcase, which was filled with stacks of banknotes, to the Wen family. Under the fierce attack of the employees of the commodity futures company and Liu Hailong’s gang, Guangze began to sign and stamp the IOU. At that time, if the interest rate of the underground bank was 15 (50% per year) and 17 (70% per year), it would not be considered super profiteering, but a “conscience operator” with about three times the legal interest rate.

However, what awaited him next was just a sharp downward process. The price of palladium never stopped rising, and there was additional margin after additional margin, and the debt grew higher and higher. The footsteps of disillusionment were approaching.

In the end, the whole thing ended in a way that Guangze and the underground bank operators themselves, and even the futures company employees, did not expect.

The domestic futures market decided to carry out a substantial “forced cancellation” due to the record of palladium’s eight consecutive limit-up days. This measure was taken because it was feared that allowing it to continue for a long time would bankrupt the short-selling speculators, and there might be a suicide wave at that time. Therefore, both buyers and sellers were forced to settle.

This situation was as if digging a deep pit and closing a small hole in the middle of a slow fall down a steep slope. In fact, the so-called weak cancellation measures had never been seen in the international community unless it was a time of war, plus only large private companies that had obtained early information to manipulate the buy-in were guaranteed to make money with zero risk, which aroused a lot of criticism from all walks of life.

But what is undeniable is that for Guangze, it allowed him to barely escape bankruptcy. Even if Guangze knew that the losses were heavy, he would not be able to make the decision to cut his losses. Moreover, even if he mortgaged all of the Wen family’s property, he probably would not be able to hold out until the market actually reversed next year.

Guangze sold almost all of his real estate with tears and made a settlement on the futures. Then, he planned to pay off the high-interest debts he borrowed from Liu Hailong, but a group of hyenas cleverly staged a play to make Guangze give up the idea. They said that if he didn’t have cash on hand, what would he do about the expenses for the rest of his life? On the surface, they were thinking about Guangze, but in reality, they were for their own benefit. They also added fuel to the fire, saying that if he didn’t have money, he would lose face, and he would need a “decisive fund” to be a man again. In the end, they offered conditions that were much more favorable than the last loan in exchange, and they forced Guangze to change his mind with sweet words.

As a result, Guangze only paid off half of the debt, and the rest was borrowed from Wang Yingjie, and the annual interest rate was only less than 10%, which was quite favorable.

In this way, the Wen family was left with only the house and the antique paintings and calligraphy in the warehouse. The former included scrolls by famous painters, signed precious knives, and handmade pottery jars, but these also became the target of sinister scams.

When the market was rising sharply and Guangze was almost driven to a mental breakdown, after hearing the news from nowhere, a man dressed as a Taoist priest came to visit and talked about how the current predicament was caused by the evil deeds of his ancestors. If he wanted to stop the torrent that was pulling the Wen family into hell and improve the whole situation, he could only display pots and jars with superpowers next to the wall. In addition, if he didn’t have enough cash on hand, then, even if he was doing a good deed to the end, he could take the antiques in the warehouse and exchange them for things.

Guangze, who was at a climax and had a fragile will, grabbed a straw and thought he could rely on it, and almost agreed to this proposal. Unexpectedly, Liu Hailong and his party, who had heard the news, wanted to stuff the Taoist priest in black clothes into the front compartment of a Benz car, and in the end, they didn’t know where he was taken.

After losing most of his property, Guangze began to live a frustrated life. At this time, Liu Hailong and his party brought extremely confidential information. They heard that a well-known speculator had recently taken a fancy to a medium-sized food company and was planning an unprecedented transaction war. As long as he got on the bandwagon, that is, followed the buy, he could guarantee to earn at least three times. It sounded quite tempting.

However, Guangze, who was full of fear of the speculative market, was like a monkey who had suffered from the pain of a roller coaster, and even if the conditions were more favorable, it would not touch his heart at all. As a result, he was taken out on the pretext of relaxing.

The father and son sat in a Benz car and finally came to a coffee shop located in a mixed-use building. In the dimly lit and mottled wallpaper shop, all the game consoles were retro games, which gave people an unspeakable sense of nostalgia. The memory of Guangze playing video games and forgetting to eat and sleep for a period of time when he was young woke up in his mind at this moment. However, it was not only nostalgic shooting games that were rotating in that coffee shop, and some machines showed the patterns of five playing cards, which seemed to be poker game consoles. Looking at the side of the machine, there was not the usual coin slot for 100-yuan coins, but a banknote slot. Looking around, several customers were all concentrated on the game.

At the beginning of the deal, there was a pair of old Ks, and without any expectations, he changed three cards. As a result, he was so lucky that he couldn’t believe it. He got an old K and two preserved eggs.

Old K gourd, such a good hand, is impossible to lose. As a result, the cards opened by the machine were only a pair of 6s, and as expected, he won an overwhelming victory.

As long as you win once, then even if you lose, it’s just returning to the original point. This time, I got three of a kind of A, although I wasn’t as confident as just now, I still gambled and won. In the third round, I got four hearts and one white peach. Without hesitation, I threw away the white peach, and my heart was pounding non-stop. As a result, the card I got was actually a heart A.

Taking advantage of the momentum, I challenged the double bonus game. If you can guess whether the next card issued is above or below 7, the points will be doubled. Guangze didn’t think much and directly wanted to choose “up,” but he hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, he remembered seeing the recruitment of “Daxia Pawnshop” from the car window on the road. He should bet “down” and “out”! As if it were an epiphany, he unconsciously changed his original belief. As a result, the card opened on the screen did indeed confirm Guangze’s correct judgment, and a 4 appeared.

The feeling of victory that had been forgotten for a long time made the blood in his whole body boil. Guangze put down everything around him, completely forgetting himself, and was immersed in poker. The luck was surprisingly good, and even the absolutely good cards that he thought were impossible to appear were all hit, winning streak after streak. When he went home that night, he actually won nearly 100,000 yuan.

A-Zhang only knew the whole process of being deceived and cheated after reading Guangze’s detailed diary a month later.

He had known that something was wrong since he left home. But he never dreamed that the whole process of destruction would be so fast.

However, when he returned home, the Wen family had actually gone bankrupt and entered the stage of ‘private debt settlement agreement’. The movers were carrying away expensive furniture and daily necessities, and a man with sunken cheeks and a fierce face was yelling loudly to be careful when carrying them and not to bump into the furniture.

Guangze and his wife were nowhere to be seen. A-Zhang went into the house and circled around, and everything was turned upside down. All the valuables were looted. In the attic of his father’s room, there were several discarded drawers, but the desk had long disappeared.

A-Zhang found Guangze’s diary in the messy pile of paper. The diary detailed his process of becoming more and more addicted to poker games, and then losing money repeatedly, which led to the debt getting bigger and bigger.

Just a few days before the amount of debt exceeded the warning line, all the debtors who asked Guangze to be a guarantor disappeared, and then they launched strict debt collection actions. The diary was interrupted two days later, and on the last page, there was a message to A-Zhang.

“Your dad is unable to pay his debts and can only run away.”

At a loss, A-Zhang raised his head and found Liu Hailong standing in front of him. He didn’t notice any footsteps when he came in. He was wearing an Eastern suit, and gold bracelets and Rolex watches were exposed from his cuffs.

“Do you know where they are now?”

A-Zhang shook his head.

“Don’t pretend to be stupid. You should know more or less, right? I think they are probably being forced very hard and may even commit suicide. Then we also have a responsibility. We have to find them before they think about it. Do you really don’t know?”

“You don’t know.”

“Hmph! You brat!”

The underground bank operator immediately became anxious, revealing the mask of the underworld.

“It’s no use hiding it. If your dad is not here, you can just take on all the debts!”

He took out a pure gold lighter, lit a cigarette, and flicked the ashes on the tatami.

“Your mom also divorced in a hurry and ran back to her parents’ home. Hmph, if she thinks she can run away like this, she’s too naive.”

His eyes became sharper, staring at A-Zhang.

“How many times do I have to tell you to understand? Have you heard where your dad is going to hide? You know, right?”

“You haven’t heard anything.”

“How is that possible?”

“You just got home.”

Liu Hailong narrowed his eyes and spat out a mouthful of smoke.

“That’s right, it’s been a while since I saw you, where did you go?”

“Cram school.”

“So that’s the case, it’s so cold, it must be hard. In that case, I have to ask you to give up continuing to go to school.”

Liu Hailong smiled so much that he couldn’t close his mouth.

“Well, this is no longer my home, but for the time being, let me stay here for free. Watch carefully and don’t let any inexplicable homeless people run in.”

Liu Hailong stopped and turned his head.

“The money my dad owes is not a small amount. The father owes money, and the son pays it back. This is the law of nature. Don’t do anything wrong.”

What was staring at A-Zhang’s eyes was not a human being, but the eyes of a beast like a tiger.

“If I work hard and honestly to pay off the debt, it will probably take five or six years to pay it off. I’m still young, and I can start over no matter what happens in life. But if I run away, you can’t spare me. You have eyes all over the country, and you will find me sooner or later. No matter where I run to, I will be dragged out in the end. At that time, it’s no use shouting, you will first recover my kidneys and corneas.”

Until Liu Hailong left, A-Zhang didn’t move, not even daring to breathe. A large amount of cold sweat broke out on his back and armpits. His intuition told him that this man was not just an underground bank operator, but a full-fledged gangster. What he said was not just a threat, he would definitely do what he said.

A-Zhang tore off the last page of the diary, then took out the plastic credit card clipped in the endpaper and quietly slipped out of the house.

He had to escape! A-Zhang made this decision without hesitation. Even if these guys occupy all of the Wen family’s property, they will still not be satisfied. If he still hesitated and stayed at home, he would definitely be exiled to a broken factory or a distant ocean-going fishing boat as a slave worker, or perhaps even more tragic fate awaited him.

But even if he complained to the police, it would not necessarily be accepted. After all, as long as they explain that what they are doing now is just legitimately exercising their rights as creditors, the police can do nothing. What is even more terrifying is that before that, the police cannot always be by his side to protect his safety.

An impulse surged into his heart, wanting to leave here immediately. Just jump on a train and go anywhere he can go. It is best to get rid of that gangster as early as possible, and go as far as possible.

However, he also knew that he probably wouldn’t do that.

Liu Hailong did not intend to kidnap or imprison him immediately because he despised him, thinking that he did not have the courage to escape anyway, or he was not fully confident, thinking that no matter where he escaped, he would be found by him immediately.

In any case, this woman will eventually find out that he has overestimated himself too much. No matter what method he uses, he must escape!

That being said, if he is reckless, he will eventually face a desperate situation. If he wants to escape successfully, he must make a detailed plan from the beginning.

A-Zhang took a train to the next big town and searched on his phone for a large number of guidebooks written for minors who run away from home and live independently.

After quickly browsing through them, he found that the most important thing for independent living is to have documents proving his identity first. If he doesn’t take care of this first, not only will he not be able to find a decent job, but it will also be difficult to find a place to live.

However, it is too dangerous to continue to use his real name. He doesn’t know where they have informants, and besides, if he is not careful, his name will be recorded, and he may be found as long as he uses an online search engine.

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