Chapter 4: My Second Brother's Business Loan
The day my second brother, Chen Hui, asked to borrow money, I was tying steel reinforcement bars.
Thirty stories up, on the rooftop, the wind was strong enough to blow a person off the building.
My phone vibrated seven or eight times in my pocket. I freed one hand and answered it.
The first thing he said was, “Little Brother, your big brother is about to make a fortune.”
The second thing he said was, “I'm short by 200,000 yuan. Help me figure something out.”
The third thing he said was, “Count it as a loan. I'll pay you back double.”
At the time, I earned 8,000 yuan a month. I sent 6,000 yuan home and kept 2,000 for myself.
To save 200,000 yuan, even if I didn't eat or drink, it would take me more than two years.
But over the phone, he spoke with such passion. He told me how profitable the building-materials business was, how many wealthy businessmen he knew, how he'd make his money back within a year and double it within two.
In the end, he said one thing:
“Little Brother, once your big brother makes it, you'll be the first person I repay.”
I believed him.
Goddammit, I believed him again.
That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. I opened my mobile banking app.
My balance was 43,000 yuan.
That was all my savings.
After buying the house, I had only 30,000 yuan left. I had spent three years saving and managed to bring it up to 43,000.
I was still far from 200,000.
But I didn't refuse him.
I had never refused them.
The next day, I went to find Old Zhou.
He was drinking in the workers' shed. After hearing me out, he slammed the peanuts onto the table.
“Are you crazy? Don't you know your own situation? Your leg was just broken. You can't even take heavy jobs right now, and you're still lending him money?”
“He's my second brother.”
“You treat him like your second brother. What does he treat you as?”
Old Zhou glared at me.
“The 370,000 yuan you spent on the house. Is your name on it?”
I fell silent.
Old Zhou took a sip of his drink and sighed.
He reached under his bed, pulled out a bank card, and tossed it in front of me.
“There's 100,000 yuan. I saved it to pay for my son's wedding. Take it. But on one condition—make him sign an IOU.”
“He says there's no need. We're brothers…”
“Brothers?”
Old Zhou sneered.
“You and your eldest brother are biological brothers, aren't you? Is your name on the property certificate?”
I took the card and left.
I didn't make Chen Hui sign an IOU.
But I did one thing—
I called Chen Hui and pressed the record button.
“Second Brother, I've gathered the money. 200,000 yuan. 43,000 is mine, 100,000 is money I borrowed from Old Zhou, and the remaining 57,000 was pooled together by my coworkers.”
“Okay, okay, Little Brother. Don't worry. Your big brother remembers.”
“Brother, this money is a loan. When are you going to pay me back?”
“One year. At most one year. Once the company gets on track, I'll pay you back the principal plus interest. Count it as a loan. I'll pay you back double.”
“No need to double it. Just give me back the principal.”
“How could I do that? Even brothers should keep clear accounts. Your big brother keeps his word.”
After hanging up, I saved the recording in three places.
One copy on my phone.
One in the cloud.
One on a USB drive.
Old Zhou was right.
Keep something in reserve.
Chen Hui's building-materials company got up and running.
He rented a storefront in the county town and put up a sign that read, “Huiteng Building Materials.”
On opening day, he hosted twenty tables of guests.
I gave him 5,000 yuan as a gift, the most among all the workers there.
At the banquet, Chen Hui grabbed my hand and said in front of everyone, “This is my real little brother. Without him, there would be no Chen Hui today!”
Everyone applauded.
My mother wiped away tears beneath the stage.
My father actually smiled for once.
My eldest brother, Chen Qiang, raised his wine glass and said, “Huizi, you can't forget your little brother.”
Chen Hui thumped his chest.
“Never! I'll never forget him for the rest of my life!”
That was the funniest joke I had ever heard.
In the first year, he said the business was just getting started and he was short on working capital. We'd talk about it at the end of the year.
I said okay.
In the second year, he said he was expanding the business and had invested all his money into it.
Just wait a little longer.
I said okay.
In the third year, he bought a BMW, purchased a new house in the county town, bought my eldest brother a new car, and bought my mother a gold bracelet.
I called him.
“Second Brother, about that 200,000 yuan…”
“Oh, come on, Little Brother. Why are you in such a hurry? My business is much bigger now. Could I really be short of that little bit of money for you? Just wait a little longer. I'll give it all to you at the end of the year.”
I said okay.
In the fourth year, I suffered a workplace injury and broke my leg.
I lay in the hospital. The foreman compensated me 80,000 yuan, and my medical expenses were reimbursed, but I couldn't work for six months.
I called Chen Hui and wanted him to repay at least part of the money. Even 50,000 would have been enough.
The first thing he said was, “Little Brother, I'm tight on money myself lately.”
The second thing he said was, “Didn't you say that money was for the family back then?”
The third thing he said was, “Besides, what does a middle-school dropout like you know about investing? You willingly gave that money. How can you call it a loan?”
My hand began to tremble around the phone.
“Second Brother, you said back then that it was a loan. You said you'd pay me back double. I have the recording.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a full five seconds.
“Chen Mo.”
His voice changed.
It was as cold as shards of ice.
“You're pulling this on me? You recorded me? You've been guarding against me from the very beginning?”
“Second Brother, I just want my money back.”
“Your money?”
He laughed.
The laughter was grating.
“You eat the family's food, drink the family's water, and you've lived with the family for more than ten years. Isn't it only right that you spend some money on the family? And you're keeping accounts now? Do you have any conscience?”
“I went out to work when I was fourteen—”
“You chose not to study! Who forced you? Mom and Dad raised you all these years. Isn't it only natural that you repay the family? And now you're keeping accounts with me?”
“I'm telling you, Chen Mo, there isn't any money. Not a single cent. Go ahead and sue me if you want. Let's see whether the court believes you or me!”
Click.
The call ended.
I lay on the hospital bed, my right leg in a cast.
The phone slipped from my hand and hit me in the chest.
That night, my mother called me.
I thought she was calling to comfort me.
Instead, the first thing she asked was, “Did you have a fight with your second brother?”
The second thing she said was, “Your second brother has it hard too. As his younger brother, you should give him some leeway.”
The third thing she said was, “Just let the money go. How ugly would it be if the family fell out over this?”
I said, “Mom, my leg is broken. I can't work for six months. I borrowed that money from my coworkers, and they need me to pay them back.”
“How much money could those coworkers of yours possibly have? Put them off for now. We'll talk about it later.”
“Mom—”
“All right, all right. Your second brother said he'll arrange a job for you once you recover. Let this matter go. Don't make a fuss anymore.”
She hung up.
I stared at the ceiling.
I didn't shed a single tear.
The next day, Old Zhou came to see me.
He sat beside my hospital bed, peeled an apple, and handed it to me.
I didn't take it.
He didn't say anything either. He simply took a bite himself.
“I told you to get an IOU back then. You wouldn't.”
“I have the recording.”
“Recordings are useful, but they're not enough.”
Old Zhou chewed his apple.
“I've seen your second brother's company. The accounts are a complete mess. There's no way he's getting away with tax evasion and false reporting. If you really want to get your money back, a recording alone won't be enough. You need something else.”
“What else?”
“His business partner, Mr. Zhao, had a falling-out with him. The last time we were drinking, Mr. Zhao told me Chen Hui had falsified the accounts and cheated him.”
“If you can find Mr. Zhao and get him to provide evidence…”
I slowly sat up.
I reached under my pillow and pulled out my phone.
“Brother Zhou, help me arrange a meeting with Mr. Zhao.”
Old Zhou looked at me and threw the apple core into the trash.
“Have you thought it through?”
“Yes.”
“You won't regret it?”
“He was the one who said, ‘Even brothers should keep clear accounts.’”
I turned on my phone screen.
My gallery was filled with screenshots of transfers and audio recordings.
“Then I'll keep clear accounts with him.”
Outside the hospital window, the sky was dark and gloomy, as though it were about to rain again.
I pulled up the four-year-old transfer record on my phone.
200,000 yuan.
The note read:
“Second Brother's startup loan. Agreed to pay back double.”
I took a screenshot and put it together with the previous house-payment records in the same folder.
I changed the folder's name.
From “Who Am I?”
to three words:
“Debt Collector.”
ns216.73.216.62da2
and then Add to home screen.