Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 363 - Chapter 363 Chapter 356 Debt Collection

Chapter 363: Chapter 356 Debt Collection Chapter 363: Chapter 356 Debt Collection April brought blossoms of smile flowers all throughout the school, and their fragrance filled the air as one walked along the paths.

Ermao controlled his daughter’s stroller, steering it down less crowded paths. The main campus roads, bustling and filled with the unsafe rush of vehicles and pedestrians and riddled with car exhaust, were no good for children. The paths, on the other hand, were safe, quiet, lined with flowers and trees, and boasted better air quality.

As they walked, Ermao taught his daughter to recognize various objects.

Trees, birds, flowers, clouds…

Ermao would say a word, and Er Yuan would repeat it. If she got it wrong, he would teach it again, and again, until she got it right.

In the past, Zheng Tan always thought that Ermao was unreliable, but unexpectedly, he found him to be quite patient with his daughter. He seemed to have been patient when raising Heimi too.

While walking and teaching, he also took the opportunity to snap a few photos. Ermao had taken many of Heimi’s life shots, and now his joy was taking pictures of Er Yuan, planning to take combined photos of Er Yuan and Heimi when they got back. For Ermao, repeating the same daily routines was his pleasure.

While they were walking, Ermao suddenly halted the stroller and frowned at something ahead.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears, also picking up some unusual commotion from up ahead.

“Ouch–”

A person rolled down from a slope at the intersection ahead, his face bruised and swollen, clearly just beaten up.

From the wind that passed, Zheng Tan could smell alcohol and other unpleasant odors emanating from the person.

After that person, three more jumped down from the slope, kicking the fallen man and cursing loudly.

A moment before the group started kicking and punching, Ermao covered Er Yuan’s eyes with his hand and tried to distract her by talking, while the other hand controlled the stroller’s remote, planning to leave. He didn’t care for such trivial matters.

Unexpectedly, the leader of the group, spotting Ermao, walked over with aggressive strides, his long sleeves rolled up to reveal tattooed arms.

Ermao’s brow furrowed deeper, and he swiftly turned the stroller away, shielding Er Yuan from the man approaching.

“Hey, you!” The man pointed at Ermao, or more precisely, at the digital camera hanging around his neck. “Did you take photos just now?”

The man was implying that Ermao had captured their actions in photos and wanted to check. However, Zheng Tan could see that it was more than just a check for their photos; the look in his eyes clearly suggested he intended to take the camera for himself. After all, it was an expensive, branded SLR camera.

Zheng Tan surveyed the surroundings. Although the campus had added cameras in various places like bike sheds and dormitories after last year’s theft incidents, locations like these quiet side paths were left unmonitored. Students probably didn’t care much, as many were likely to indulge in inappropriate activities in such secluded spots.

Without cameras, security staff beyond their routine patrols wouldn’t be paying attention here, as they would avoid getting scolded by students for encountering couples or meddling in unnecessary business, as some would say.

All of this considered, there weren’t many people coming to this area, and at the moment, there was no one else on this path.

If it were just Ermao alone, Zheng Tan wouldn’t worry; he could definitely handle those three easily. But now, Ermao had his daughter with him.

As the man approached, the other two who were still kicking the fallen person glanced over as well. After looking around, Ermao gave a nervous, placating smile and said to the man, “Big brother, can we talk somewhere else? This place… it’s not so good.” He pointed to the path where occasionally a vehicle would still pass by.

Considering the situation, the man nodded. In their eyes, Ermao was just a young teacher from the school–students and young teachers generally being easier to intimidate and bully. After Ermao finished speaking, he briefly checked his phone for the time before pocketing it again, which caught the man’s eye. The phone was a good one, and probably Ermao was carrying some money as well–he looked like he was worth a lot.

Because of his shaved head, Ermao was often misunderstood, so he always wore a hat on campus. Today, he wasn’t wearing sunglasses either and, being young, it was understandable why he was mistaken for a teacher from the school.

The man pointed to a spot up the slope where there were some stone tables and benches, which students sometimes used for morning readings. But likely due to these men, there were no students there today.

“Heitan, keep an eye on Er Yuan for me.” Ermao pushed the stroller near the grassy area where it wouldn’t easily slip, then began walking up the slope with the leader.

Er Yuan still looked around, trying to spot Ermao. Zheng Tan nudged a little doll attached to the stroller to divert Er Yuan’s attention and prevent the little one from crying. Meanwhile, Zheng Tan listened intently to what was happening up the slope. If it were just Ermao, he could easily handle those three.

The three rough-looking guys weren’t as tough as real fighters–just braggarts good enough to scare naive students. To try to fool someone who knew better was simply asking for trouble.

Just as Zheng Tan had thought, those three didn’t possess much real skill, which Ermao was well aware of. Confident in handling them quickly, especially as he worried about leaving Er Yuan alone for too long, he decided on a swift resolution after reaching the slope. He wasn’t worried about others knowing; he just didn’t want Er Yuan to witness such violence.

Looking at the three guys who were cowering on the ground like shrimp, unable to even shout, Ermao picked up a business card that had fallen from the leader’s body. It had “XX Guarantee Investment Company” written in big letters.

“Tch, I thought it was something serious, just usurers,” Ermao said with disdain.

“No… we… just help… with debt collection…” the man managed to say with difficulty. He tried to justify himself further, but Ermao quickly cut him off.

“Whether you lend money or collect debts, it has nothing to do with me,” Ermao snapped, slapping the other’s face. “You come out to mix without any discernment, you blind thing. When I started to mix, you didn’t even know from which corner to watch.”

You’re not even older than I am. The leader thought bitterly, but he didn’t dare to show anything on his face, otherwise more than just two fists would greet him. At first, he thought this man was a young, easy-to-handle teacher, but now seeing his head without a hat, revealing a short-haired look like he just got out of prison, combined with his current thuggish aura, the leader’s heart sank. “Damn, I shouldn’t have gone out today. What’s this early morning debt-blocking for!”

Ermao didn’t want to bother with these three thugs any longer; he quickly put on his hat and delivered another punch. If this had been before he got married, he wouldn’t have hit so lightly; he would have drawn blood at least. But now, he didn’t want to have blood on his hands, he still had to push his daughter’s stroller. He flicked off the fallen leaves and invisible dust from his clothes and walked briskly toward the stroller, paying no mind to the man lying in the middle of the pathway.

This society has too many temptations, and many people struggle to resist and gradually become addicted, especially students who are vulnerable to temptations and want to enter a flamboyant world of freedom. Ermao could understand those who borrowed money due to family hardships, but those who frequented places of ill repute or borrowed usury for bad habits, he wouldn’t even glance at them.

To avoid the sensitive term “usury,” many private high-interest lenders name themselves “investment companies” or “guarantee companies.” It’s hard to spot their loopholes nowadays. Whether it’s IOUs or mortgage procedures, they are all very complete, and these companies have avoided all risks in processing high-interest loans, making it hard to win if you sued them.

Private high-interest loans are not regulated by the Banking Regulatory Commission, but loan companies regulated by the provincial financial offices must obtain business licenses and undergo strict reviews and approvals. However, high-interest private loans are clearly illegal, yet it’s difficult to enforce a stop to them.

As for those helping with debt collection, guarantee companies most often collaborate with debt collection agencies; they assist in collecting debts, and if something goes wrong, the lending company can easily get out of trouble–it’s mutually beneficial.

These three were just ordinary minions of a debt collection agency, unable to cause any stir and certainly not daring to retaliate. Ermao could see this, so he felt no need to waste his efforts.

Er Yuan’s hearing wasn’t good enough to catch the conversation, but Zheng Tan heard everything clearly between Ermao and that man. However, he didn’t think much of it, and left after Ermao arrived.

In the following days, Zheng Tan saw none of those three men around the school and pushed the matter out of his mind.

At the end of May, Zheng Tan heard from Little Youzi that Xiao Jiu had been taking a lot of days off recently, which worried him. He decided to check the situation out. If he couldn’t find anyone at the school, he would visit the blind old man. Unexpectedly, near Little Youzi’s school, Zheng Tan saw those three debt collectors who had been roughed up by Ermao.

Among those three men was a scruffy and ragged man Zheng Tan had never seen before, nor did he have a good impression of him.

The four men were loitering by a shop near the middle school, impatiently watching the school gates, while the ragged man trembled, clearly frightened of the other three.

All four seemed to be waiting for someone.

Zheng Tan cautiously approached to overhear their conversation.

“Which one is it? Have you seen her?! Are you sure you’re not duping us?” the leader said angrily.

“No, absolutely not, her sister said she saw her here at school,” the ragged man shrank back as he spoke.

“Then why haven’t we seen her? You go in and call her out!”

“I don’t know which class she’s in, I only know her name is now Huang Jiu…”

Zheng Tan was startled, Huang Jiu, wasn’t that Xiao Jiu? That man…

After listening to their conversation for a few more moments, Zheng Tan learned that the scruffy man was Xiao Jiu’s biological father, the same man who had once sold Xiao Jiu.

Drinking, gambling, and now it seems he was also in debt from usury.

He sold his daughter and now he’s back wanting her help to repay his debts?

Relations with the family were already weak before he sold Xiao Jiu; after selling her, Xiao Jiu probably had completely given up on her family. Xiao Jiu was doing well now, why would this man come back for her?

Could this be the reason Xiao Jiu had been taking days off?

“Hey, that one, that one there!” one of the debt collectors pointed excitedly at a girl standing not too far away.

Zheng Tan looked over and saw it was indeed Xiao Jiu, but today she wasn’t in her school uniform; she was holding a file folder. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote and support. Mobile users, please read on m.NovelFire.net.)

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