Chapter 184 — Zhang Naipao's Plea

"Brother Liang, please say yes. Say yes and I'll get up..." Zhong Yongliang was Zhang Naipao's only hope now. If Zhong Yongliang was willing to help him, his family might still escape disaster...

"All right, I agree. Now get up, quick!" Zhong Yongliang pulled Zhang Naipao to his feet. "Paozi, if you've got something to say, just say it. We're at school. How does it look, you kneeling on the ground?"

"Brother Liang... I'm sorry, I was just too desperate!" Hearing Zhong Yongliang say it, Zhang Naipao realized his own behavior had been a bit inappropriate.

"Desperate or not, you can't carry on like that!" Zhong Yongliang said. "All right, tell me what's going on first."

"Brother Liang, my dad's in business, and a rival set a trap for him..." Zhang Naipao explained. "Now he can't pay back the debt, and they're going to sue him for fraud. He'll go to prison..."

"Oh?" Zhong Yongliang frowned. He knew the Zhang family's circumstances—fairly well-off, as far as he could tell. The father did business away from home, the mother was a full-time housewife. He couldn't imagine how things had come to this.

"But what does that have to do with your little brother?" Zhong Yongliang asked.

"They're pressuring my dad to pay up, and they want my brother to sell a kidney..." Zhang Naipao said.

"Sell your brother's kidney?" Zhong Yongliang found this almost unbelievable. "Why not make you sell one?"

"If I could sell one, I'd have gone already. How could I let my little brother do it?" Zhang Naipao said. "I looked into it, and they say I've got some kind of negative blood type or whatever—I don't really understand it either. Anyway, kidneys from people with my blood type don't match well, there's little demand, so they can't be sold off quickly!"

"So that's how it is." Zhong Yongliang nodded. "Then how do you want me to help you?"

"Brother Liang, could you lend my family some money to get us through this?" Zhang Naipao said. "I'll work like a beast of burden for the rest of my life to repay your great kindness..."

"How much?" Zhong Yongliang was not much of a person, but Zhang Naipao had followed him for so long, always serving as his lackey and pathbreaker. Zhong Yongliang really couldn't just ignore his troubles.

"Seven hundred thousand..." Zhang Naipao said cautiously.

"What? Seven hundred thousand? That much?" Zhong Yongliang was stunned. If it had been eighty or a hundred thousand, he could have scraped together his New Year's money, but seven hundred thousand was a sum he absolutely could not produce.

"Yes, Brother Liang. If it weren't such a huge amount, I wouldn't have come begging to you!" Zhang Naipao said with a bitter face. "Brother Liang, please help me. From now on, whenever you need me, just say the word. If your family lacks an ox, I'll be an ox; if your family lacks a horse, I'll be a horse! Brother Liang, you could tell me to kill myself and I wouldn't even blink!"

"Hey, Naipao, don't get worked up yet. This is a serious matter, and I don't have that kind of money, as you know," Zhong Yongliang said. "I can only call my dad. You go back to the classroom first. I'll think about how to bring this up with him."

"Brother Liang, you have to help me..." Hearing this, Zhang Naipao thought Zhong Yongliang was just putting him off and didn't want to help.

"Naipao, listen to me. You've been with me three years now. When it comes to your troubles, I'll definitely do my best! Don't overthink it. I just need to figure out how to broach it with my dad." Zhong Yongliang patted Zhang Naipao's shoulder reassuringly.

"All right then, Brother Liang. I'll head back first. You have to help me..." Zhang Naipao nodded.

Back in the classroom, Zhong Yongliang kept mulling over Zhang Naipao's situation. Logically speaking, seven hundred thousand was a small sum to his family, but after all, that money could buy a luxury car. Zhong Yongliang couldn't afford not to consider it carefully.

By all rights, Zhang Naipao had followed him for three years, been his underling for three years, running around attending to him every day without a single complaint. That touched Zhong Yongliang somewhat.

But touched or not, what Zhong Yongliang valued more was the benefit those seven hundred thousand would bring him.

Throw out seven hundred thousand, and Zhong Yongliang believed Zhang Naipao would owe him a favor—a favor of the highest order. In the future, whenever he needed something done and told Zhang Naipao to step up, given Zhang Naipao's character, he certainly wouldn't refuse...

But was seven hundred thousand really worth it? Zhong Yongliang secretly weighed the pros and cons.

Judging by Zhang Naipao's willingness to sacrifice himself to save his father and brother, the kid had some sense of loyalty. But loyalty or not, did he need Zhang Naipao's loyalty? Zhong Yongliang decided he'd better call his father and ask his opinion.

With that thought, Zhang Naipao took advantage of the time before morning self-study began, left the classroom, and went to the restroom. Seeing no one inside, he took out his phone and dialed his father Zhong Fabai's number.

"Pinliang?" Zhong Fabai had just arrived at the company when he received his son's call, and his heart immediately sank! These days were fraught with troubles. He had just smoothed over the Black Panther matter—he couldn't afford any more mishaps!

Under normal circumstances, Zhong Yongliang wouldn't call him on his own initiative. If he did call, something big must have happened. So he quickly asked, "Has something happened?"

"Dad, there's something I need to discuss with you..." Zhong Yongliang said.

"Oh? What is it?" Hearing that Zhong Yongliang only wanted to discuss something, Zhong Fabai breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was no major problem, it was fine.

"It's like this. Zhang Naipao from our class—you remember him, right?" Zhong Yongliang asked tentatively.

"Zhang Naipao... oh, I know. That little sidekick of yours. What about him?" Zhong Fabai knew Zhang Naipao. The kid often came to the house to play, together with one called Gao Xiaofu.

"It's like this. Something's happened in Zhang Naipao's family. His father got cheated in business, and now he's up to his ears in debt. The other party is demanding repayment, and if he doesn't pay, they'll sue him..." Zhong Yongliang explained, keeping it brief. "Now Zhang Naipao has come to me, wanting to borrow money to get through this..."

"Oh, that's what this is about!" Zhong Fabai roughly understood. It was simple enough—his son's classmate's family had hit hard times and come to his son for a loan. "Son, what are you thinking?"

"Dad... by all rights, Zhang Naipao is my brother. He's followed me for so long, attending to my every need. Now that he's in trouble and asking me for a loan, I should lend it to him," Zhong Yongliang said. "But the amount he wants to borrow is really a bit large!"

"How much?" Zhong Fabai asked.

"Seven hundred thousand. And once this money goes out, I doubt it'll ever come back..." Zhong Yongliang said.

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