309 Its Complicated (1/2)

As Xiao Jianying continued talking to Xiao Luo over the phone, it became harder for her to control her emotions, and she suddenly broke down. She recounted to him what had been happening of late. Whenever she received a call from Ding Zhenyun, he would ask her for money to make an investment. It started with a sum of 100 thousand, and later it came down to 30 thousand. It had come to a point where she was now afraid of receiving any calls from Ding Zhenyun.

Aunt Jianying's family wasn't wealthy, and even the house loan they made a few years ago had not been entirely paid off. They simply didn't have the money for Ding Zhenyun to make an investment.

”I don't know why he has become like this—he's gone mad! If we don't give him money, he'll go borrow it from his friends and relatives. Your uncle said that he's gotten into referral marketing and has been brainwashed, so he won't listen to anyone. If we try to talk to him about it, he'll get angry and scream at us. Even your uncle's relationship with him has soured,” Xiao Jianying said.

Xiao Luo frowned with mixed feelings, as he recalled that his cousin, Ding Zhenyun, was a filial son with a very gentle personality, and he was likable as a person. He could not imagine Ding Zhenyun yelling at his uncle; that would certainly be out of character. What made him change so drastically, was his freedom being restricted somehow? Was someone in front of him and guiding him when he made the call? Was his irascible display merely a disguise to obtain help from his family?

It wasn't surprising because some MLM organizations would use extreme methods to get results from their recruited members.

He asked, ”Have you called the police?”

”We did, but the police can't do anything and told us that since he can still be contacted, there is no way for them to record it as a case. The police told us that if we truly suspect that he has gone into referral marketing, we should just stop sending him money and then just go and get him back. But he won't tell us where is he exactly in Xiahai,” Xiao Jianying said, calming down a little, but her words were filled with sorrow that reflected her sense of helplessness.

”Aunt, he said he'll make a trip back tomorrow,” said Xiao Luo.

Xiao Jianying shook her head and said, ”No, he won't. Previously, your uncle tried to entice him by saying that he can apply for a loan if he comes back. He agreed at first, but later on, he asked your uncle to help him with the application and transfer the money to his account when the loan was approved.”

Xiao Luo let out a long sigh. ”Alright, don't worry, Aunt. I have plans to go to Xiahai this year. Leave Zhenyun to me. If he's really gotten into MLM, I'll get him out for sure.”

”Xiao Luo, thank you, aunt will remember this forever,” Xiao Jianying thanked him profusely.

Turning to Ji Siying, he asked, ”Are there a lot of MLM organizations in Xiahai?”

Ji Siying considered for a moment and replied, ”Yes, it seems that their numbers have been on the rise in recent years. Every once in awhile, there will be news of police raiding the bases of MLM organizations.”

”Is that so? Looks like I'll have to refresh myself on the latest developments in Xiahai.” Xiao Luo smiled gently.

If Ding Zhenyun had been brainwashed, then saying anything to him now would serve no purpose. Ding Zhenyun would only see that person as someone getting in the way of his success and fortune. To save him, one had to get Ding Zhenyun to realize himself that this was a scam. Such things couldn't be hurried, and locating him was all that mattered for the time being.

The next day, as Aunt Jianying had predicted, Ding Zhenyun gave the excuse that he didn't have the time to go home. He told Xiao Luo to go and seek him out whenever he was in Xiahai, and that he would take Xiao Luo along on a path to get rich together.

While Xiao Luo's first reaction was to scoff at such a hilarious suggestion, he sympathized with his cousin. Ding Zhenyun graduated from a polytechnic college and worked as a machine operator in a factory, earning around three thousand a month. He was filial, driven to find success, and eager to alter his destiny to give his parents a better life. Unfortunately, this was precisely the kind of mentality most prone to being manipulated by multi-level marketing agents.

Xiao Luo was in no position to help out before, but now that he was able to, he would certainly do what he could for his aunt's family.

When they had just begun rebuilding the farm, he had discussed the business plan at length with his father, Xiao Zhiyuan. Then, Xiao Zhiyuan invited two of his aunts to join the venture and came up with a name for the farm project: Mount Luo Ranch.

As soon as Xiao Luo's fund was in place, excavators, bulldozers, concrete mixers, and a team of engineers were mobilized. An army of personnel and equipment converged on the village to begin the construction work.

The entire Luo Village rippled with excitement, and in every household, stories about Xiao Luo were frequently told with enthusiasm.