The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

Chapter 10: Chapter 010: Starting as a Swindler (Part 10)

Ah! Ahhh!

He Tiantian felt helpless and desperate, sobbing, as the thing she feared seemed to have actually happened—

He Hongtu had connected with a wealthy businessman from Hong Kong and was preparing to invest in launching a health product factory together.

Relatives from He Hongtu’s hometown flocked in, carrying stacks of money they had just withdrawn from the bank, clamoring to join the investment.

He Hongtu and Tian Zhenzhen tried to decline their offers and repeatedly reminded them, ”Uncle He, Third Grandpa, Sixth Great-Uncle... Investing comes with risks. If we incur losses, we won’t get anything back!”

The more they cautioned, the more persistent the He Family folks became, ”If we lose, it’s on us. Hongtu, one can’t write the ’He’ character twice, we all descend from the same ancestor. You can’t just ignore us poor relatives when good fortune comes your way!”

Once it had reached this point, if He Hongtu refused again, it would be like turning his back on familial ties.

He Hongtu ”reluctantly” accepted the relatives’ investments and earnestly wrote up contracts, clearly stating in black and white: Invest and receive year-end dividends according to shares!

The news of the Hong Kong businessman investing in setting up a factory was definitely big news in the little county town.

Not only were the relatives from He Family Village eager to participate, but even Tian Zhenzhen’s estranged maternal family squeezed their way in.

Tian Zhenzhen’s sweet-looking but inwardly bitter stepmother played the emotion card with her, ”Although you’re not my biological daughter, I raised you from a young age. And your brother, he shares the same father with you, he is the seed of the Old Tian’s Family!”

”In the future, if Xiao Bao becomes successful, he will support you too. Zhenzhen, right now you and your son-in-law get along well and it seems like you don’t need your maternal family. But no one can be certain about the future. For us women, having a maternal family and not having one makes a world of difference!”

Her words were a clever mix of softness and severity, kindness and authority.

In the end, Tian Zhenzhen could only accept the ten thousand yuan her stepmother brought, and like the He Family did, wrote a formal investment contract.

”...Two hundred thousand yuan! This is 2004, in a small county where the average salary is less than five hundred yuan!” He Tiantian was completely panicked.

Such a large sum of money, even if placed a decade or more later, could still be considered a huge amount.

Becoming involved in such a substantial scam, once it was exposed, He Hongtu and Tian Zhenzhen would have to face prison.

”Ah! Wahh!” He Tiantian cried desperately, hating that she was too young even to speak a word of caution.

She could only watch as her parents of this life walked the path of no return to fraud.

Sob sob, no, please.

Dad, Mom, you can’t do illegal things.

Although she had been in this world for less than six months, she truly liked He Hongtu and Tian Zhenzhen as parents.

Because they gave her the most sincere and pure love, she experienced the taste of parental love and began to look forward to a better new life with greater anticipation.

Just as a happy life seemed about to start, her parents—

Tiantian cried and made a fuss, yet still could not stop her parents’ actions.

What she feared the most then happened even quicker.

The so-called big boss from Hong Kong, once he collected three million yuan in investments, suddenly disappeared.

The supposed factory was just a rented space.

The supposed plans for building a factory were nothing but a sheet of blank paper.

The official seals, contract approvals, and so on, were all fake.

”Swindler! That Boss Huang is a swindler!”

He Hongtu and Tian Zhenzhen seemed to have been struck by a huge blow, lamenting tearfully in front of the relatives from He Family and Tian Family who had come seeking them.

”We invested thirty thousand yuan too. That was the money we were saving for a house!” Tian Zhenzhen held He Tiantian and sobbed as if they were a pair of orphans and widows who had lost everything.

But no one inside the house felt sympathy for her; they had all lost money as well.

Uncle He: ”Are you saying my forty thousand yuan has gone down the drain?”

Third Uncle He’s eyes turned red: ”Thirty thousand yuan... that was for my child’s wedding!”

”Hongtu, I don’t care about whatever Boss Huang, I gave my thirty thousand yuan to you.”

Fourth Aunt He was frightened and anxious, yet she still clung to one point, ”I only recognize you! I don’t want to invest anymore, give me back my money!”

”Right! Yes, yes! Return the money!”

”He Hongtu, hurry up and return our money!”

”It’s true, we only invested because we trusted you, and now that the scammer has run off with the money, you’ve got to pay us back!”

”He Hongtu, do you not want to return to He Family Village anymore? If you still plan to bear the name ’He,’ then hurry up and return the money you cheated from our fellow villagers!”

Fourth Aunt He’s words reminded everyone.

They began to demand money from He Hongtu.

At first, these people just caused a commotion at the He Family’s place, but eventually, they ran straight to He Hongtu’s company, and even to the venue of the monthly health meetings.

The people from He Family Village kicked up an intense fuss, and the police arrived, with a large crowd of onlookers surrounding the scene.

He Hongtu looked completely helpless, while Tian Zhenzhen cried while holding her child.

Some of the long-standing customers couldn’t stand to watch.

Aunt Xu had a fiery temperament and was advanced in years, possessing a fearless demeanor.

She adopted a teapot stance and directly addressed those causing trouble, ”Have you no shame in going after Little He? Back in the day, Little He repeatedly warned that investing is risky. He told you it’s not easy to save money in the countryside and advised you not to invest, but you wouldn’t listen. You insisted on pushing Little He to take your money!”

”Oh, now that there’s a problem and the scammer has run away with the money, instead of going after the scammer, you’re making things difficult for Little He?”

Uncle Chen’s legs had healed enough for him to stand, but he still needed a cane. He stood in front of He Hongtu to defend him, ”Exactly, didn’t you all sign a contract?”

”Besides, it wasn’t Little He who deceived you; it was that Hong Kong businessman Boss Huang who is the real scammer. How is it right for you to come here and make trouble for Little He?”

Several other elders also stood by He Hongtu’s side, both scolding the troublemakers and pleading with the police, ”Officer comrade, Little He is truly a good kid, he’s definitely not a scammer!”

After listening to everyone’s words and reviewing the contracts provided by He Hongtu.

These contracts weren’t limited to the investment agreements signed by the people of He Family Village with He Hongtu; there were also the partnership contracts He Hongtu had signed with Boss Huang.

Official seals, thumbprints, signatures... everything was made to look just like the real thing.

The investigation went on and on, and the final outcome was that He Hongtu, like the other victims, had also been tricked by Boss Huang.

As for that Boss Huang.

Heh, Hua Country is too big, and in these days without interconnected networks, trying to find a proficient con artist is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

This matter could only be left unresolved.

However, He Hongtu still did something that earned everyone’s praise.

In front of everyone, he solemnly declared, ”Even though I was cheated too, just as my Fourth Aunt said, you trusted me to hand over your money!”

”In this matter, I am responsible too! So, I will try to raise money. Even if my wife, child, and I have to eat husks, I will pay back your money!”

Upon hearing this, the relatives from the He Family immediately beamed with joy.

But soon enough, Uncle He, Third Uncle He, and Fourth Aunt He could no longer smile.

Because with an expression that seemed to say ”You should understand me,” He Hongtu spoke, ”Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Aunt, we are family, we shouldn’t hide anything from each other. How about this, as soon as I have money, I’ll prioritize the other villagers. You’ll just have to wait—”

Uncle He & Third Uncle He & Fourth Aunt He: ...

Wasn’t that the wrong thing to say?

Aren’t you supposed to take care of your family first?

Why are you making way for strangers instead?

These three were displeased, but other villagers from He Family Village strongly agreed, ”Exactly, you’re all family, you can sort it out behind closed doors. We outsiders won’t interfere!”

”That kid Hongtu really has a good heart, and he does things in a grand way!”

”Exactly... Actually, if you think about it, there’s no need to return the He Laoda family’s money at all. I remember that when He Laoer and his wife had their accident back then, with the compensation money, savings, and the house in the County, it all added up to around 50,000 yuan!”

All that money was swindled away by the three siblings of He Laoda.

They took the money but kicked He Hongtu out.

A child of just over ten years old, who managed to grow up by picking through trash and petty thievery.

The words of a certain villager suddenly reminded everyone.

Thinking back on the old events of more than ten years ago, they all nodded: ”Right, right, those 50,000 yuan from a decade ago would be worth at least a hundred thousand now!”

And the total amount of money invested by Uncle He and his siblings was, interestingly enough, exactly a hundred thousand!