My father-in-law pulled strings at the factory and got me an interview. The person in charge asked some questions, and I didn't answer particularly well, but my father-in-law brushed it off afterward. On the way back, he told me to rest easy, saying the job was all but guaranteed. Seeing how confident he was, I stayed home and waited for news.
A few days later, the factory called. I thought it was to tell me I'd gotten the job, but the call brought something else entirely: my father-in-law had suffered a stroke and been rushed to the hospital. My mother-in-law and I hurried to the hospital with the baby, and there we saw my father-in-law in bed, his mouth twisted. We asked the factory worker who'd come with him what had happened.
"It's because of you," the worker explained. "Mr. Li slipped the factory director 20,000 yuan to secure your job—it was practically a done deal. But then the deputy factory director saw you at the interview."
I was confused. "What do I have to do with the deputy director?"
"Not you directly, but you're connected to his nephew."
"His nephew?"
"Our deputy director's surname is Meng. His nephew is Meng Wei."
"!"
"The deputy director told the factory leadership to reject you. Then he had them fire Mr. Li. Mr. Li went to argue with the director about it, and… he got so worked up, he had a stroke."
Meng Wei, again... Why couldn't he just leave me alone? I wanted to go find him and demand an explanation, but before I could step out of the ward, my stroke-stricken father-in-law called out in a slurred voice: "S-son... son-in-law!"
That one word stopped me in my tracks. I knew what he meant. I was a father now—I couldn't start trouble anymore. I hung my head and returned to the bed. "Dad, I know. I won't go."
I couldn't provoke Meng Wei anymore. I prayed he'd finally leave me be. I truly couldn't afford to cross him. He was powerful—his brother was a gang boss, his uncle a deputy factory director. Who knew what other relatives he had? I'd always thought "powerful clans" were relics of the old days, that in the new era, everyone was just an ordinary person. Turns out I was just too uneducated to see it. Those clans still existed. They'd just taken forms I didn't recognize.
Putting that aside, my mother-in-law had to look after both Huang Cheng and my father-in-law. The burden of earning money fell entirely on me. I needed a job—one that paid enough and would actually hire me. After racking my brain, the only one left who might take me was Boss Liu.
I thought back to how I'd turned him down twice. It was laughable. Sometimes, having no choice is a choice itself. Pushed... pushed to join the outlaws. Truly pushed into a corner.
That night, my voice tight with tension, I spoke to Boss Liu: "I need money. I'm the only one left to provide for my family. Boss Liu, I know you run a lot of businesses. Give me the hardest, highest-paying work—even if it's pimping or dealing drugs—I'll do it. I'll do it well."
Boss Liu told me, "Even if you're willing, I might not let you. You have a family. I don't even have a proper wife. I have some cleaner businesses—ones not under my name: mahjong parlors, dance halls, bars. They're decent. I'll give you a mahjong parlor first. If you run it well, we'll talk about more later."