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墨書 Inktalez
Huang Hai opened a locked cabinet and took out an account book. "Here, take a look."
I never had the habit of keeping accounts. The business in the shop wasn't big; it was just enough for my personal expenses. Without any extra money, I couldn't be bothered to keep track. Besides, when I first started the shop, it was just me. As long as I was fed, my family wouldn't starve. Why bother?
Of course, not keeping accounts only applied to the shop's business. The transactions with the three sponsors were clear, and every expenditure was meticulously recorded. Even if some sponsors didn't require it, I still paid attention.
I didn't expect Huang Hai to be so meticulous; he actually established an account book. This was good; I could see where all the money had gone.
My Black Mercedes SUV sold for over 1.6 million, but that wasn't even half of what was on his account book. According to Huang Hai, the total had reached nearly 4 million.
I felt like my eyes were about to pop out, and a strange feeling settled in my heart. Logically, seeing an extra 4 million in the account should have made me excited and thrilled, but I couldn't feel any joy at all. Instead, I felt a mix of frustration and depression. Here I was, a millionaire, yet still begging for money—what a disgrace.
"Do we really have 4 million?" I still couldn't believe my eyes.
"Three hundred eighty-six thousand. Not counting the change." Huang Hai looked smug, his voice still sounding like a thief's. "Handing the shop over to me wasn't a mistake on your part; it was Gangzi who had the vision."
"Then give me eighty or a hundred thousand to spend."
With that, the account book was handed back to Huang Hai.
The cabinet was locked with a "click."
Damn it, do they think I'm a thief? I was furious.
"What does this mean? Even if you have a share in this shop, I'm still one of the shareholders. Is it too much to ask for my share of the profits? Give me what’s mine! Yellow Dog, don’t look down on me just because you’re a cripple. Gangzi is your boss, but I’m his employer! We’re not done until we sort this out today! Don’t think I won’t take action just because you’re limping; that Liu Squad Leader who went against me is still lying in a hospital bed. You better weigh your options—what’s more important, money or life?"
Back in school, Huang Hai had a nickname: Yellow Wolf. Ever since he joined this shop, I secretly called him Yellow Dog—a purebred Fatty ’s guard dog.
It seemed that Huang Hai knew about Liu Squad Leader’s hospitalization better than I did. Hearing my words, his previously smug expression turned somber.
"Brother Qiang, it’s not that I’m being stingy, but we have debts outside. Think about it, the fire from a few days ago burned everything in our shop; that was all money. The items were on credit, and the creditors haven’t come knocking yet because they’re giving you face. But debts need to be repaid eventually. According to Gangzi, you two will be heading out soon again. When the creditors block the door, who am I supposed to cry to? Brother Qiang, this money is our lifeline.
We can’t afford to be stingy."
I hesitated upon hearing this. Although my anger was still boiling, I wasn’t impulsive enough to take down Huang Hai right then and there to grab my share of the money.
When I returned, I did see some genuine items in the shop that were worth a few coins. My advantage lay in being able to distinguish which items were real and which were fake. However, I wasn’t very clear about the market prices for these goods. Moreover, antiques don’t have fixed prices; they depend on demand. The same item could fetch a high price from someone who values it while someone indifferent might offer a ridiculously low price.
I knew that fire had cost us quite a bit of money. As for how much we lost, I had no idea.
Huang Hai noticed my expression soften and immediately intensified his persuasion. "Brother Qiang, just hang in there a little longer. Once we get through this rough patch, it will be fine. You just got a new batch of goods, right? Once we open up again, with sales coming in, life will get better."
"No way!" I quickly caught on to Huang Hai's implication; he was planning to make me beg for scraps. "I don't care when the shop opens, but I can't cut off my expenses. Huang Hai, I'm also a person of means; there are social gatherings outside. Do you think I can just rely on sweet talk to get by? I need to build relationships and secure supplies at those banquets. I'm still negotiating with a few clients. How can I negotiate without money in my pocket? Don't you want me to bring back some real goods?"
"I see."
Huang Hai's eyes darted around as he turned back to the cabinet, blocking my view with his body. After a moment, he turned around and handed me two hundred-dollar bills.
I took them and immediately tossed them back at him. "Is this a charity handout? Do you believe I could kick down this rickety cabinet? If this keeps up, I'll just take it myself."
It was only when I nearly lost my temper that Huang Hai finally handed me two thousand dollars. I felt like kicking him.
"Get me a phone, something like Fatty's." Out of options, I pocketed the two thousand and looked at Huang Hai.
"This one's even better." Huang Hai pulled out an old flip phone from a drawer. It was a Motorola, quite popular five years ago.
I snatched it from him and threw it on the ground. "It's broken; give me another one."
Huang Hai jumped up and glared at me for a long time. Perhaps he thought that fighting with me was too risky; his face turned red as he turned around and opened the cabinet again. When he turned back, he was holding a packaging box.
I opened it to find a phone that looked exactly like Fatty's. I was so furious that I didn't even know how to express my anger.
"Yellow Dog, what do you call this? You use high-end stuff for yourself and give me the outdated version. That's just cruel!"
"I wouldn't dare use this thing! Look at mine."
Huang Hai lifted his pillow, revealing an old Nokia flip phone underneath. It was an antique model, the toughest one out there.
I waved the smartphone in my hand. "Why not use this?"
"This phone was bought by Brother Gang. He bought two at once, one for me too. But I can't bear to use this thing! My Nokia is top-notch, saves money, and I can't go online, so I save on data fees."
"Then why let Gangzi buy it for you? Isn't that even more wasteful?"
"You know how Gangzi is—he's honest. If he has something, he thinks of his brother first and insists on buying me one too. He can't let his brother suffer."
Great, so it turned out I was the only bad guy here.
But Huang Hai really was something else; not only was he stingy with me, but he was also stingy with himself. I figured that aside from Fatty, he wouldn't be generous with anyone else.
Fine. I realized that today, there was no way to squeeze a single penny out of him unless I could bring myself to take him down hard.
As I stepped out, I bought a SIM card and called A San from the Service Center.
"This is my number. Where are you?"
"Brother Qiang, you're too anxious. I haven't even gotten in the car yet."
"That's perfect. Change your number and deactivate this one. Send me the new number."
"Brother Qiang, what do you mean?"
"Yes. Until you get that thing back, I don't want anyone to find you. Especially, forget it, no one should contact you except me."
"Alright, Brother Qiang." (To Be Continued...)
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