Chapter 237: Unexpected News

Wu An remained silent for a moment.

Lao Wu spoke up, asking, "You really want to borrow a lot?"

Wu An: "Hmm."

"If you want to borrow a lot... it's a bit tricky; my boss is actually quite conservative."

Wu An pursed his lips.

"Right."

Being that conservative, he's been made a typical example of a harsh crackdown, and his fate ended up miserable.

"Your situation is still quite difficult." Lao Wu looked at Wu An not speaking, then continued, "But it's not that there's no way."

Wu An casually said, "What way?"

"You need to find a guarantor." Lao Wu lowered his voice a bit and said, "There's a customer who is from your village."

"Although the person has no assets, someone is willing to guarantee, and my boss has also borrowed a lot of money."

Wu An's mind stirred.

"From our village, who is it?"

"This... is a business secret, you understand, it's not convenient to reveal."

"I don't mean anything else; I just don't really understand this matter, I want to find someone who knows to ask, like who to approach for a guarantor and how to discuss it." Wu An's eyes flashed, and he added, "I plan to borrow one million this time."

Anyway, bragging isn't illegal.

As long as the bait is good enough, he doesn't believe Lao Wu won't take the hook.

If Lao Wu introduces the business, he can also earn a commission.

As long as there's a chance to make it happen, he definitely won't let it pass.

As expected, after he said that, the noisy sounds on the other end of the phone disappeared; Lao Wu must have gone to a quiet place, and his voice sounded somewhat excited: "You really mean it?"

"What's in it for me to lie to you?"

"Also." Lao Wu hesitated a moment and said, "He's the grandson of your village chief."

Wu An's eyes lit up.

Shen Nan!

This kid actually went to Lao Tan to borrow money!

Right!

Although Shen Nan's parents are in the city, they're not in business, they have money but not much; the village head over the years has made money, and a lot of it has already been spent on his son.

What's given to this grandson Shen Nan is probably not much either.

Shen Nan wants to contract and start a business; even if the village head clears the way and he can directly take the quota, he still needs money.

Otherwise the village wouldn't be happy about it.

The more Wu An thought, the more excited he became; it turned out Shen Nan's startup funds were actually borrowed from Lao Tan.

"Who is the guarantor?" Wu An paused, then asked, "Is it Chen Gui?"

"Hmm." Lao Wu responded, saying, "You'd better not look for Chen Gui; that guy can only guarantee for one person, you need to find someone else."

"Got it, got it." Wu An was somewhat excited.

I never expected that, while originally dealing with Gu Jianfa's matter, I would accidentally learn such important news; then dealing with Shen Nan and Chen Gui, his chances would be even greater.

Especially Chen Gui.

He actually guaranteed a high-interest loan for Shen Nan!

He truly doesn't know how to write the word "death"; nowadays, what good can come from guaranteeing for someone?

"Heh heh heh."

Wu An couldn't help but let out a strange laugh.

"Wu An, what are you laughing at? It's kinda creepy."

"Nothing." Wu An coughed twice, still not forgetting the purpose of this call, and said, "To be frank, I'm borrowing money to expand and grow."

But you also know, there's no guaranteed profit in this world; I'm saying, what if, what if I borrow money and can't repay it, what then?

"The guarantor will too."

"The guarantor also won't be able to repay."

"This... my boss will always have a way to get money."

"What I want to borrow isn't a small amount; if I can't repay it in the end, won't they just kill me outright?"

"You're overthinking it; even if in the end you really can't repay the money, my boss wouldn't go so far as to kill you outright—what would happen to the money then?"

"At most... at most they'd just send you to work elsewhere to pay off the debt."

"Don't be afraid either; once you've paid off the debt, you can come back."

Wu An suddenly realized: "Forced labor, right?"

Lao Wu spoke vaguely; "More or less, anyway my boss has connections, and I've seen people being sent away before."

"It's not sending them out to have their kidneys removed, is it?"

"That won't happen; anyway, as far as I know, money gets deposited into the account every month."

Wu An actually had some suspicions all along; now, through Lao Wu's mouth, the situation is basically confirmed, so the next steps are simple.

Have Lao Tan send Gu Jianfa out to work and earn money!

Unwilling?

No problem.

The little whip of the black overseer will teach him how to behave.

Lao Wu saw Wu An fall into another silence, thought his words had scared him, and quickly added, "You're lucky; you can easily get money, borrowing from my boss for turnover is definitely no problem."

If you want to become big and strong, you have to be a bit bolder.

If you're timid, you can't earn big money.

Wu An chuckled, thinking the words were indeed correct, but I borrow money from legitimate institutions; what does it mean to turn to you, a usurer? Even if I could repay, in the end I'd just be working for Lao Tan.

He ignored Elder Five's words and asked, "Has Guang Liangjun borrowed money again?"

"No, my boss said that guy won't borrow even if he comes." Elder Five paused and, in an exceedingly sincere tone, said, "But you're different."

"My boss values you highly."

I already said before, your luck is good; Guang Liangjun's little boat can only serve as a temporary vessel, and sooner or later he'll be dealing with Trawlers.

My boss really wasn't wrong at all; you're already eager to become big and strong so quickly.

Wu An's heart tightened, leaning northward—Lao Tan still kept him in mind?

"Wu An, Wu An?"

"Here, here."

"If you want to borrow a million, you need a good guarantor."

"Got it."

"If there's anything I can help with, call me anytime."

"Okay."

He hung up, Wu An tossed his phone aside and couldn't help but spit, "Even if I ride a horse to die in poverty, or jump into the sea to drown, I would absolutely never…"

Cough cough cough.

Stop, stop, you can't raise a flag blindly.

Wu An came to his senses and, in his haste, slapped his own mouth with his hand.

It was originally.

Wu An still felt a bit guilty about using Lao Tan to deal with Gu Jianfa, but now that he knows Lao Tan is still keeping him in mind, he no longer feels the need to be polite.

He decided, unilaterally hiring Lao Tan as the "tool person" for his upcoming waste recycling and reuse project.

He got up to fetch water, gave a quick rinse, and with his hair still damp, he flopped onto the bed.

Gu Anran sent a message saying she had also lie down, but because she was sharing a room with the old lady, it wasn't convenient to start video.

Result.

Wu An suggested they could just turn on video without speaking.

Gu Anran thought about it and agreed.

Wu An was actually quite happy.

Why?

Because Gu Anran is easy to deceive.

She believed him so easily.

Next time, the two of them lying in the same blanket, he says he'll just hold her while sleeping and do nothing else, assuming Gu Anran would also believe.

Then.

Those who understand, understand.

After turning on video, Gu Anran looked at Wu An's face full of a mischievous grin on the phone screen; a hint of oddity showed in her eyes—what was she thinking, why was his smile so lecherous.

After turning on video.

The two indeed said nothing, yet through eye contact, gestures, mouth shapes, and expressions, they chatted merrily.

The still‑awake old lady watched her usually poised and steady granddaughter, who alternated between laughing and pouting at the phone, even making little fists toward it in a childish way; she shook her head helplessly and turned over, facing away.

Can't bear to watch.