Chapter 4 — Leaving That Dinner Table, I Had 70 Million Yuan

His probe came quicker than I expected. Just two days later, he called to ask me out to eat, the reason was very arbitrary.

“I miss you, go outside and sit for a bit.”

In twenty-eight years, he said this sentence no more than five times. I still go. The location was chosen by him, the grill in front of the gate of the house. He deliberately chose a cheap place so as not to look too obvious. When I arrived, he was already sitting, in front of him were two bottles of beer, a plate of peanuts, and a plate of boiled beans.

“Here you go, sit down.”

He poured me a glass and drank half the glass himself.

“How have you been, are you used to being alone?”

“What about eating and drinking? Do you cook yourself or order in?”

“Yes, I used to be a better cook than you.”

He smiled, took another sip. Five minutes of socializing, I counted in my head. At minute six, he got straight to the point.

“Ah, the car I drove the other day…”

“Volvo, it looks very new.”

“Yes, I just bought it a while ago.”

He peeled a peanut, didn't eat it, just turned it in his hand.

“You got promoted?”

“So… borrow money to buy it?”

His eyes left my hand and stopped at my face, his intent was clear. I raised my glass and took a sip.

“Money accumulated.”

“Money accumulated?”

He frowned, his voice lowered slightly.

“A month of 5,000 yuan can save more than 400,000 yuan, Vien Chu, don't…”

He paused for a moment, changed the way he spoke, his voice lowered as if he was choosing his words.

"Don't take any risks. Online loans have very high interest rates now. If you can't repay them later, you'll be in trouble."

“Not a loan.”

“What do you mean, you play stocks?”

"Older brother." I put down the glass of wine and looked straight at him.

“It's my business, you don't need to worry.”

His hand stopped, the peanut in his hand was crushed, and the pieces fell onto the table.

“Can't you worry about me too?”

His voice rose a bit, as if trying to stay calm but couldn't hide his discomfort.

“I earn 5,000 yuan a month, but suddenly I drive more than 400,000 yuan, who wouldn't think, what if I…”

“What if I do?”

He didn't continue, but I knew what he was going to say. What if I get scammed, what if I do something inappropriate, what if something happens to me and the whole family has to bear the burden. After all, he wasn't worried about me, but afraid that I would cause him trouble. I took another sip of wine, my voice very calm.

“Don't worry, my matter will not affect you.”

I paused for a moment, then continued.

“Just like those four houses, it doesn't affect me.”

His movements stiffened for a second. I stood up and paid.

“Let's talk about it another day.”

Leaving the grill, I didn't turn around, but I knew he was still sitting there, his beer glass suspended in mid-air. He won't let it go. He will go home and tell his sister-in-law, she will tell her mother, and then she will call me. That sequence has never been wrong before. Sure enough, the next night, my mother's phone call came.

“Vien Chu, your brother said you bought a car for several hundred thousand yuan?”

Her tone was not a question, but an interrogation.

“Where does the money come from?”

“I search.”

"You earn? 5,000 yuan a month and you told me to earn?"

Her voice grew higher and higher, full of doubt and annoyance.

“Do you have to borrow money at high interest rates, or are you doing something useless outside?”

I held the phone, sat on the sofa in the western house, the balcony door was open, the night wind blew in, carrying the faint scent of flowers.

“It's my business, mom, don't worry.”

“What do you mean, I'm your mother!”

“My mother's retirement story includes him Already."

“Don't worry mom, I won't embarrass the family.”

I turned off the phone, put the phone on the coffee table, the screen went dark, and in the living room there was only the sound of the wind blowing in from the balcony. I leaned back on the sofa, closed my eyes for a moment, and in my head I could almost clearly see what they were doing. My mother will call him immediately, he will frown and say "she has a problem", and her sister-in-law will stand next to her, think for a while and then come to a conclusion.

"Definitely borrow money, otherwise you'll be scammed, leave it alone, it'll come back on its own."

She would never think of a third possibility. Because in her perception, I was just someone who spent 5,000 yuan a month and could only buy a scarf for 800 yuan. Where does a person like that get money? I opened my eyes, picked up my phone, and opened the banking app. More than 43 million yuan. Lying there, quiet. Like me. Quietly waiting.