Chapter 376: Debt Collection

In April, the michelia flowers on campus were all in bloom, and you could smell their fragrance while walking on the paths.

Er Mao steered his daughter's carriage onto a quieter side path. The main campus road was busy with vehicles and pedestrians, unsafe and filled with exhaust fumes unpleasant for a child; the side path, by contrast, was safe and quiet, with more flowers and trees, and better air.

Er Mao walked while teaching his daughter to recognize things.

Trees, birds, flowers, clouds…

Er Mao would teach a word, and Er Yuan would repeat it; if he got it wrong, Er Mao would teach it again, a second time, a third time, until he got it right.

Zheng Tan had always thought Er Mao unreliable, but he hadn't expected him to be quite patient with his daughter—back when he was raising Hei Mi, he seemed patient then too.

He walked and taught while snapping a few photos. When he was raising Hei Mi, he took many candid shots of her; now his fun was photographing Er Yuan, and later he'd take a joint picture of Er Yuan and the black cat. For Er Mao, repeating the same thing every day was enjoyable enough.

As they walked, Er Mao's motion halted, he slowly brought Er Yuan's little carriage to a stop, and frowned ahead.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears and also heard some unusual commotion up ahead.

"Ouch—"

A person tumbled down the slope from the fork ahead, bruised and swollen, looking quite disheveled—clearly he had just been beaten.

From the wind blowing over, Zheng Tan could smell a hint of alcohol and other foul odors.

After him, three more people jumped down from the slope, kicking the man rolling on the ground and shouting curses.

Just before the several people ahead began to punch and kick, Er Mao reached into the stroller to shield Er Yuan's eyes, tried to talk to him to divert his attention, and with his other hand operated the stroller's remote control, intending to leave. He had no interest in getting involved in such nonsense.

Unexpectedly, the leader of the group saw Er Mao and still walked over, his face aggressive, sleeves rolled up to reveal a tattoo on his arm.

Er Mao furrowed his brows even tighter, turned the stroller away so Er Yuan wouldn't face the approaching person.

"Hey, you!" the man pointed at Er Mao, specifically at the digital camera hanging from his neck, and said firmly, "Did you just take a photo?"

He meant that Er Mao had photographed what they'd just done and wanted to check. However, Zheng Tan observed that it seemed not merely a check for photos of them; the look in his eyes clearly showed he wanted to seize the camera. After all, it was a single-lens reflex, a brand‑name model worth a fair amount.

Zheng Tan glanced around; although the school had added cameras to some bike sheds and dormitories after last year's vehicle‑theft incident, these quiet side paths remained uninstalled, and students probably didn't think much about it—after all, plenty of people engaged in inappropriate activities in such secluded spots.

Without cameras, even the security staff wouldn't notice this area unless on patrol; if they accidentally stumbled upon a young couple, they'd get scolded by students for meddling and neglecting their duties, as some complained.

At this moment, few people came here, and the path itself had no one else on it.

If it were just Er Mao alone, Zheng Tan wouldn't worry—he could easily handle them—but now Er Mao had his daughter with him.

Seeing the person approach, Er Mao noticed the two others who had been kicking also looking over. He glanced around, then smiled, trying to appear appeasing, though he looked nervous, and said, "Sir, could we find a place to talk? This… isn't suitable." He pointed to the path, noting that occasional vehicles still passed the intersection they had just crossed.

The man apparently considered that as well and didn't want the matter to become public knowledge, so he nodded. In their view, this was just a young teacher from the school—students and young teachers usually are timid and easy to bully. After Er Mao finished speaking, he pulled out his phone to check the time, then put it back; that made the man's eyes light up—his phone was a nice model, and he might even have cash on him, looking like a good score.

Because he had once been mistaken for something else after shaving his head, Er Mao always wore a hat when out on campus; today he wasn't wearing sunglasses either, and being relatively young, it was understandable that people mistook him for a teacher at the school.

The man pointed to a spot on the slope above, where there were some stone tables and benches; usually a few students sat there for morning reading, but today, likely because of these people, there wasn't a single student.

"Hei Tan, keep an eye on Er Yuan for me." Er Mao pushed the stroller to the edge near the lawn so it wouldn't slip easily, then he and the leader headed up the slope.

Er Yuan looked left and right for Er Mao's figure; Zheng Tan flicked the little plush doll tied to the carriage to draw Er Yuan's attention, so the youngster wouldn't cry. At the same time, Zheng Tan pricked up his ears, listening carefully to the commotion above the slope. If it were just Er Mao alone, those three would be easy to handle.

Those three thugs looked fierce, but in reality they were nowhere near as tough as genuine fighters—just for show; they could scare ordinary students, but posing as experts in front of real connoisseurs would only get them killed.

Indeed, as Zheng Tan had suspected, Er Yuan knew exactly how much real skill those three possessed, felt confident he could subdue them, and, worried that leaving Er Yuan too long would cause a fuss, he went up the slope and resolved to finish quickly. He didn't mind people knowing; he just didn't want Er Yuan to witness such violence.

Seeing the three men curled up on the ground like shrimp, unable even to cry out, Er Mao picked up a business card that had fallen from the leader's pocket, bearing the large characters "xx Guarantee Investment Company."

"Tch, I thought it was something else—usury lenders?" Er Mao said disdainfully.

"No… we… we're just… helping to collect debts…" the man said haltingly, about to add more, but Er Mao quickly cut him off.

"Lenders collecting debts—none of my business." Er Mao raised his hand and slapped the man's face, "You've got no sense, coming out to mix in this. You worthless things, when I was out hustling, you didn't even know which corner to hide in."

"You're not even as old as I am." The leader seethed inwardly, but dared not show it, otherwise he'd summon more than just these two fists. He had thought this guy was an easy‑going young teacher, but seeing him take off his cap to reveal a close‑cropped, freshly‑released‑from‑prison haircut, plus his current bandit‑like aura, the leader felt his heart bleed—damn, he shouldn't have come out today. What's the point of blocking people early in the morning to collect what debt?

Er Mao didn't want to waste more time on these three small‑time lackeys. He quickly put on his hat, finished speaking, and threw another punch. If he hadn't been married back then, he wouldn't have held back so much—he'd at least have drawn blood. Now he didn't want to get his hands bloody; he still had to push his daughter's carriage. He brushed off leaves and invisible dust that had fallen on him, then hurried back to the stroller. As for the man lying in the middle of the path, Er Mao didn't even glance at him.

This society offers too many temptations, which many find hard to resist, gradually becoming addicted—especially students with weak resistance who want to roam the flashy world. Those who borrow due to family hardship can be excused, but those who linger in **, taking out high‑interest loans because of bad habits, Er Mao wouldn't even glance at.

Many informal lenders avoid the three sensitive words "usury" by hanging signs like "investment company" or "guarantee company." Having evolved to this point, informal usury is hard to catch in a loophole. Whether promissory notes or collateral procedures, everything is meticulously complete, and these firms eliminate all risk when arranging usury, making it difficult to win a lawsuit against them.

Informal usury lending is not overseen by the Banking Regulatory Bureau, while loan companies supervised by the provincial financial office must obtain a business license and undergo strict examination and approval. Informal usury is clearly illegal, yet it is very hard to forcibly suppress.

As for these debt‑collectors, guarantee companies work most often with debt‑collection firms; they help collect debts, and if something goes wrong, the usury‑lending company can easily escape trouble—purely mutual benefit.

These three are merely small‑time lackeys of a debt‑collection company; they can't make waves and dare not retaliate—Er Mao could see that, so there was no need to worry further.

Er Yuan's hearing couldn't pick up what they were saying over there, but Zheng Tan heard Er Mao and that man clearly. He didn't think much of it, and once Er Mao returned, he left.

Over the next few days, while Zheng Tan strolled around campus he didn't see those three again, and he put the incident behind him.

At the end of May, Zheng Tan heard Xiao Youzi say that Xiao Zong had recently taken leave, which worried him, so he planned to run over there; if the school was blocked, he'd go check on the old man's place. Unexpectedly, near Xiao Youzi's school, Zheng Tan saw the three debt‑collectors whom Er Mao had dealt with.

Among those three, there was also a bearded man in ragged clothes, whom Zheng Tan had never seen and felt no affection for.

Those four people were huddled by a shop near the school, watching the junior high school's gate, their faces showing great impatience, while that person in ragged clothes trembled with fear, very fearful of those three.

Zheng Tan cautiously approached and listened to their conversation.

"Which one is it?! Have you seen them? Are you fucking cheating us?!" the leader snapped in a foul tone.

"No, absolutely not; her sister said she saw her studying here." The ragged‑clothed man shrank back.

"Then why didn't you see her? Go in and call her out!"

"I don't know which class she's in; I only know she's now called Huang Jiu…"

Zheng Tan started—Huang Jiu, isn't that Xiao Jiu? That person…

After hearing a few more of their words, Zheng Tan realized that the bearded man was Xiao Jiu's biological father, the very person who had originally sold Xiao Jiu.

He drinks, gambles, and now it turns out he also owes usury.

They sold their daughter and now come back hoping she'll help repay the debt?

Back when they hadn't sold her, Xiao Jiu's relationship with the family was already thin; after the sale, she likely gave up on them completely—yet she's doing well now, so why does this person still come looking for her?

Back when it wasn't sold, Xiao Jiu's relationship with the family was already thin; after it was sold, Xiao Jiu probably had long since given up on the family—clearly Xiao Jiu is doing well now, so why does this person still come looking for them?

"Hey, that, that, that!" one of the three debt‑collectors exclaimed, pointing excitedly at a girl standing not far away.

Zheng Tan looked over—it was indeed Xiao Jiu, only today she wasn't wearing her uniform and held a file folder. (To be continued…)

Zheng Tan looked over, and it was exactly Xiao Jiu, but today Xiao Jiu wasn't wearing the school uniform, holding a document bag in his hand. (To be continued...)

ps: Probably, there is still one more chapter.