Chen Ze returned to Chenjia Village, where he grew up. It is located in the suburbs, and most of the people living in the village now are migrant workers from other places.
Walking along the village streets, I noticed that there were twice as many outsiders as last year. There were many vendors hawking their wares on both sides of the street, selling fruits, cold dishes, and all sorts of other things, making the place very lively.
He looked left and right, and soon Chen Ze returned to the entrance of the old house, which was a 50-square-meter old two-story brick building.
"Xiao Ze, what brings you back to the village?"
Chen Ze looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was his uncle Chen Zhengang who was greeting him. Chen Zhengang was also his neighbor. Because he was smart and had a good eye, he had leased several fish ponds to raise fish. His wife had been selling fish at the market for more than ten years and had made a lot of money.
His family owns two buildings in the village, both five stories high. The one in front was given to his eldest son, and the other to his youngest son.
He opened a mahjong parlor on the first floor, also ran illegal lotteries for Mark Six and football betting, and colluded with the village chief and several others to lend money at exorbitant interest rates.
In his past life, someone reported Chen Zhengang to the authorities because he lost too much money gambling, resulting in Chen Zhengang being imprisoned for six months before being released.
"Uncle, I just finished my college entrance exam and came back to visit Grandma. Is she home?"
Chen Zhengang put his arm around his shoulder and laughed, "Yes, your grandma's legs aren't very strong, where else could she go if she's not home? By the way, how were your college entrance exam results? Are you able to get into Sun Yat-sen University?"
"It's alright. I scored 659 points, which should be enough to get into Sun Yat-sen University. However, I don't plan to go to Sun Yat-sen University."
“Sun Yat-sen University is the best university in Guangcheng, why don’t you go there?” Chen Zhengang looked at him with some curiosity.
Chen Ze shook his head. "Sun Yat-sen University is good, but I prefer Shenzhen University because there are more opportunities to make money there."
Chen Zhengang nodded, then changed the subject, "Xiao Ze, when you go back, ask your dad for me if he wants to sell this old house. Let him name a price, and if it's suitable, I plan to take it over."
Good heavens, so he was after his own old house. No wonder I'd never seen this uncle so enthusiastic when I came back before; he's got his eye on this juicy piece of meat.
Taking advantage of his greed, we need to find a way to get some money out of him. With that in mind, Chen Ze said, "Uncle, could you lend me ten thousand yuan to pay for my tuition?"
When Chen Ze asked to borrow money, Chen Zhengang's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "Money's coming in."
For loan sharks like them, it doesn't matter if you're a relative or a friend; as long as you ask them for a loan, they'll lend you money, never letting go of any opportunity to make money.
"Xiaoze, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but 10,000 yuan can only cover tuition. You'll need money for everything at university, from food and drinks to other necessities. It'll cost at least 20,000 yuan a year. Do you want me to lend you a little more?"
Chen Ze wondered if he had misheard. His uncle really was willing to lend him money. He excitedly grasped his uncle's hand and said, "Uncle, are you really willing to lend me money?"
Chen Zhengang patted him on the back, "We're family, who else would I help if not you?"
“Great! Lend me 50,000 yuan, that's enough for my tuition for four years. I can use the remaining 10,000 yuan for daily expenses.”
Chen Zhengang snapped his fingers: "Okay, come with me, I'll give you a promissory note."
Chen Ze followed his uncle to the fifth floor. Chen Zhengang called to his youngest son, "Xiaoqiang, get a loan agreement for your cousin. He wants to borrow money."
"Okay, Dad, I'll get it for you right away."
Soon, Chen Qiang brought over a piece of white paper and placed it on the tea table. Chen Ze picked it up and looked at it carefully, but because the writing was too small, he only glanced at it.
It was found that the interest to be paid to Chen Zhengang was 5,000 yuan per month. No wonder it was a loan shark, the interest rate was frighteningly high.
Chen Ze thought about it and realized that 5,000 yuan a month was still within an acceptable range for a reborn person. If a reborn person couldn't earn money, then he should buy a block of tofu and smash his head against it to die.
So, he readily signed his name and pressed his fingerprint on the document.
Seeing Chen Ze agree so readily, Chen Zhengang waved his hand and ordered, "Qiang, go and get your cousin 50,000 yuan."
A moment later, Chen Qiang came out of the room with a large wad of banknotes in his hand and placed it in front of Chen Ze. "Brother Ze, do you want to count it?"
"No need, just find me a black plastic bag to put it in," Chen Ze said. He knew that when his uncle borrowed 50,000 yuan, he could only get 45,000 yuan. They were loan sharks who would take 1,000 yuan for every 10,000 yuan they borrowed.
Watching Chen Ze leave, Chen Qiang asked in confusion, "Dad, you lent so much money to my cousin, can he, a student, afford to pay it back?"
Chen Zhengang laughed and said, "It would be best if he couldn't pay it back. If he can't pay it back, let him use the old house next door to pay off the debt. That way, we can build another building to rent out. In the future, you can be rich just by collecting rent. You won't need to run these illegal lottery bookies anymore. Lending money at high interest rates is too risky."
On the other side, Chen Ze received the money and happily returned to his house. He found his grandmother listening to Cantonese opera on the radio in her room. After greeting her, he went back to his bedroom on the second floor.
Chen Ze took the money out of the plastic bag and decided to bundle it into bundles of ten thousand.
Although the banknotes were a bit old, it didn't stop him from spending them.
With a smile on his face, he began to slowly count the money. After a short while, he finished counting all the money and found that five thousand yuan had indeed been taken away, leaving a total of forty-five thousand yuan.
He took out his change of clothes and went into the shower room. The old house was built of blue bricks and had a history of more than a hundred years. There was no water heater in the shower room. Fortunately, it was summer. The weather in Guangdong Province was quite hot, and there were swarms of mosquitoes.
Half an hour later, he returned to bed, took out the medicine he had gotten from the fat man, and applied the medicine to his face in front of the mirror.
After finishing, he lay on the bed, exhausted, and closed his eyes to think carefully about the major events that happened in Guangcheng in 2010, hoping to find an opportunity to make his first fortune.
The Asian Games? It seems to start on September 25th. Selling small national flags could make money, but by then I'll already be in school.
Hong Kong Mark Six? I rarely bought that stuff in my past life, so I can't even remember it.
The World Cup? He remembered that because Chen Ze especially loved watching football. Although the Chinese national team was not doing well, it didn't stop him from being a fan.
Chen Ze sat up and muttered to himself: "The World Cup, my first pot of gold depends on you."
Spain won the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the Netherlands finished as runners-up, and Germany came in third.
I've finally found a way to earn my first pot of gold, but where can I buy football lottery tickets? It seems the odds are too low, not as high as those offered by shady bookmakers. Another advantage of shady bookmakers is that you can get the money immediately if you win.
In his past life, he lost a lot of money betting on the World Cup. The most painful thing was staying up all night to watch the games, only to lose money in the end.
He had never bet with his uncle in his previous life and didn't know the odds. He decided to ask his uncle what odds he was getting first. He took out his phone and called Chen Qiang.
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