Chapter 305: All mortgaged

Ma Lan had already fallen completely into the trap. She didn't realize she had been scammed; her mind was entirely focused on winning her money back.

Therefore, when He Lian said she wouldn't play anymore, Ma Lan immediately became agitated and blurted out, "How can you say you're not playing? We agreed to play eight rounds, and we've only played three!"

He Lian said helplessly, "Sister, it's not that I don't want to play with you, but the key is that you're out of money."

After saying this, He Lian added, "How about this? I'll take a step back. You settle the money for this round first, and then we can play for smaller stakes, right? We can play for a thousand, or even a hundred, I'll play with you!"

"A thousand? A hundred?" Ma Lan was anxious and blurted out, "How can that work! If we play that small, when on earth will I ever win it back?"

He Lian said helplessly, "Then if you want to continue playing for ten thousand, you have to bring out the money first. Otherwise, I'm not playing; we'll end it here for today."

Qian Hongyan hurriedly played the "good cop," saying, "Sister Lian, Ma Lan really doesn't have that much money on her. We're all friends, could you please make an exception..."

After saying this, she didn't forget to give He Lian a wink.

He Lian immediately understood and said, "Alright, for Hongyan's sake, if you don't have cash, mortgaging other items of equal value will work too."

As soon as these words were spoken, Ma Lan felt as if she had grabbed onto a final straw.

She hurriedly said, "The house I'm living in now, a three-bedroom apartment, is worth at least two million. I'll mortgage the house to you; that should be enough, right?"

"That works!" He Lian then beamed with joy and said, "But you have to bring the property deed over first, and then write a mortgage contract for me."

Ma Lan blurted out, "Fine, you wait for me, I'll go back and get the property deed right now!"

After saying this, Ma Lan hurriedly stood up and was about to leave.

He Lian hurriedly stopped her and said, "Hey, hey, hey, don't be in such a rush, Sister Ma Lan. You haven't settled that 560, 00 from just now."

Ma Lan checked her mobile banking balance and found there was only 260, 00 left, so she said, "Sister Lian, I only have 260, 00 here. I'll transfer it to you, and the rest can be deducted from the mortgage money once I bring the property deed. That's fine, right?"

"That's fine," He Lian said. "But you have to write me an IOU for 300, 00 before you leave. Otherwise, what if you leave and don't come back? Who would I go to for that 300, 00? You know what I mean, right?"

At this moment, Ma Lan was only thinking about getting the property deed and continuing to play until she turned things around, so she nodded without hesitation and said, "Fine, I'll write you an IOU!"

He Lian immediately brought paper and a pen. Ma Lan wrote an IOU for 300, 00 and pressed her fingerprint on it. Only then did He Lian let her leave.

As soon as Ma Lan left Tang Chen, she hurriedly drove home.

She calculated that her daughter must be busy at the company, and her husband and son-in-law must still be at the class reunion. If she hurried back to get the property deed and returned, they definitely wouldn't notice.

This way, she could continue playing with them until she turned things around!

Soon, Ma Lan retrieved the property deed from home and returned to the villa.

After He Lian got the property deed, she immediately used her phone to search for the second-hand market price for the same layout in that residential area. Finding that the lowest listing was only 1. million, she said with a business-like tone, "Sister Ma Lan, your layout is only worth 1. million. Banks usually only recognize 90% of the market value for mortgages, so if we mortgage it, we can only mortgage it for 1. 2 million."

Ma Lan only wanted to continue playing to turn things around, so she blurted out, "Then mortgage it to you for 1. 2 million. I owe you 300, 00, so just give me 1. 2 million! Let's keep playing, how about that?"

He Lian said, "That works, but we have to draft a mortgage contract. What if you lose and refuse to pay up? Who would I go to for the money, right?"

Ma Lan said impatiently, "Then let's hurry up! The sooner we sign, the sooner we can continue!"

Afterward, once she and He Lian's group finished the contract and pressed their fingerprints, He Lian transferred 1. 2 million back to her from her mobile bank.

However, she didn't care at all, because she knew this 1. 2 million was just making a round trip through Ma Lan's account and would soon return.

At this moment, Ma Lan secretly made up her mind that this time, she would definitely win everything back, with interest!

Afterward, she immediately threw herself back into the game.

But she never dreamed that in just half an hour, she would lose that 1. 2 million as well!

Ma Lan's eyes were completely bloodshot from losing. The moment all the money was gone, she said with extreme unwillingness, "Come on, come on, again!"

He Lian said, "Sister, you don't have any money now. If we play again and you lose, what will you use to pay?"

"I... I..."

Ma Lan suddenly didn't know how to answer this question.

She was truly at the end of her rope.

All the family's savings were lost, and even their only home was lost.

Now, she had nothing left to mortgage.

However, He Lian had a sharp eye and immediately recognized the jade bracelet on her wrist, blurting out, "Oh my, that bracelet of yours looks quite nice!"

"Bracelet?" Ma Lan looked down at her wrist and suddenly remembered she still had one valuable treasure!

This bracelet was a gift originally given by Qin Gang, the head of the Qin family, specifically to curry favor with her son-in-law, Ye Chen, who was pretending to be a master.

Ye Chen gave this bracelet to his daughter, Xiao Churan. Xiao Churan hadn't even worn it before she stole it, and later she brazenly occupied it without returning it.

It was just a bracelet, so Ye Chen didn't mind, and Xiao Churan was too embarrassed to ask her mother for it, so the bracelet had been on her wrist ever since.

Ma Lan hurriedly took off the bracelet, handed it to He Lian, and said with red eyes, "This bracelet is top-quality old-pit jade. It cost five million when I bought it. You have to give me at least four million for the mortgage, right?"

He Lian took the bracelet and examined it carefully, feeling shocked.

This bracelet was indeed a top-tier item, old-pit jade, and it had great clarity—a very fine piece. Five million wasn't expensive.

However, she had been hanging around gambling dens for many years; she was an expert among experts at scamming people and taking advantage of others' misfortunes.

So she smiled, handed the bracelet back to Ma Lan, and said with a laugh, "Sister Ma Lan, this bracelet is nice, but to be honest, it's not worth five million. At most, it's worth a few hundred thousand."

"How is that possible!" Ma Lan blurted out, "This thing was bought for five million! I've even seen the receipt!"

"Just because it was bought for five million doesn't mean it can be sold for five million," He Lian said with a disdainful laugh. "The jade trade itself is full of hype. You were the one who got ripped off, so you can't try to rip me off now, right?"

As she spoke, He Lian added, "How about this? For the sake of our good relationship, I'll give you a mortgage of one million for this bracelet, at most. If you're willing, sign; if not, forget it."

Ma Lan's eyes were already bloodshot from gambling, and she blurted out, "I'm willing!"

Qian Hongyan said at this moment, "Oh my, Ma Lan, why don't we just call it a day? If you mortgage this bracelet for a million, it'll probably be gone in two or three rounds. Why bother?"

Hearing this, He Lian also nodded and said, "Hongyan is right. A million really isn't much fun. How about we make an appointment for another day?"

"No!" Ma Lan was suddenly anxious and blurted out, "You think I'm out of money, right? Let me tell you, I still have a villa, right at Tang Chen A05, worth 130 million!"

Qian Hongyan hurriedly said, "Oh my, isn't that villa Ye Chen's? Can you use that as a mortgage?"

Ma Lan was anxious and blurted out, "Of course I can! Why not? He's my son-in-law. If he dares to refuse, I'll die right in front of him!"

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