That evening, feeling agitated, he decided to check out one of the famous dance halls in Huacheng.
The colorful lights in the dance hall spun so fast they made people dizzy, and Teresa Teng's melodious voice drifted out through the cracks in the walls.
Xu Shu found a booth in a corner, ordered three bottles of Zhujiang beer that cost 25 cents each, opened the bottle caps and gulped them down, the foam dripping down his chin.
The cool liquor slid down my throat, and the frustrations of the day seemed to dissipate with the alcohol.
Just as I was savoring the bitter taste in my mouth, a middle-aged man wearing a floral shirt and a bright gold watch on his wrist approached me with a wine glass in his hand.
He plopped down on the plastic chair next to him, and the chair creaked.
"You're alone, brother?"
The man spoke with a slight Cantonese accent, and his eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled.
Xu Shu raised his eyelids and his gaze "whoosh" fell on the watch.
He was furious after being ripped off at a wholesale electronics watch store, so he went to the department store. He remembered the Rolex in the counter that cost 580 yuan—and the man in front of him was wearing that very model!
The watch chain glittered under the colored lights, making his eyes glaze over.
The other party claimed to be surnamed Hu, was very talkative, and flattered Xu Shu into becoming quite smug in just a few words.
"Boss Xu is clearly destined for big business! It's a waste of his talent to be running a small stall like this!"
"Boss Hu" lowered his voice mysteriously.
"Brother, I have a 'sure-fire' big project, but I'm missing a few capable and trustworthy partners..."
Xu Shu's eyes lit up immediately when he heard "big project" and "guaranteed profit".
The prospects described by "Boss" Hu were extremely tempting.
He had "strong" connections and could obtain permits for scarce planned materials (such as steel and fertilizer), which he could then resell for several times or even more than ten times the price difference.
"This money is for people with guts and connections! Someone as talented as Boss Xu, work for me, and I guarantee you'll be driving a Shanghai-branded car in just a few months!"
"Boss" Hu patted Xu Shu on the shoulder, looking as if they were old friends who had just met.
Looking at the other person's "extraordinary" demeanor and that "famous watch," and then thinking about his own pathetic experience as a street vendor, Xu Shu instantly felt that this was the real "fast track"!
But he was also quite clever; he had been fooled before, so he wouldn't fall for it so easily this time.
Perhaps "Boss" Hu sensed his concerns.
For several days in a row, he took the initiative to treat Xu Shu to restaurants and drinks, and even gave him the most expensive Hongtashan cigarettes.
At the dinner table, Lao Hu kept calling Xu Shu "General Manager Xu," making Xu Shu so dizzy that he almost forgot his own surname.
Watching Lao Hu casually beckon the waiter to settle the bill with such extravagance, his initial hesitation gradually turned into an itch to pay.
Soon, "Boss" Hu hinted that the next batch of goods would arrive soon, and if they missed this one, they didn't know how long they would have to wait for the next one.
Without hesitation, Xu Shu immediately sent a telegram to Lin Yao, making up a reason that she needed to "urgently purchase goods and make a fortune," and asked her to ask her brother Lin Yan for more money.
Although Lin Yao was a little apprehensive, she thought of Xu Shu's confident promise and the lure of the future "car," so she gritted her teeth and begged Lin Yan for another 1,000 yuan, crying and wailing.
After a week of continued eating and drinking, "Boss" Hu said that the first batch of goods had been sold, and immediately gave Xu Shu a bonus of 300 yuan.
He held the three brand-new ten-yuan bills in his hand, his fingers trembling—this was much better than setting up a street stall!
Before he could even warm up the money, Lao Hu said he needed to buy another batch of steel. Without thinking, Xu Shu put the three hundred yuan into it and then urged Lin Yao for the money.
After obtaining the money, Xu Shu continuously gave it to "Boss" Hu, receiving dividends far lower than his initial investment.
However, although Lin Yan's family was wealthy, they were not exactly rolling in money.
Before the marriage, he had given his sister several hundred yuan.
Now, Xu Shu does business by starting with 800 for the first time, 1000 for the second, then 500, 300, 100...
It's like a bottomless pit.
Two days after the last 100 yuan, Lin Yan received another call from his sister.
Listening to her tearful pleas, looking at his empty wallet and his pregnant wife with a pale face beside him, he felt unprecedented pressure.
In the past few months, he has transferred nearly three thousand yuan to Lin Yao, completely emptying the family's savings.
The wife finally snapped:
"Lin Yan! Are you even going to live like this? Your sister is a bottomless pit! That Xu Shu is a liar! If you dare give her another penny, I'll go to the hospital and abort the child! We're getting a divorce!"
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