He sold the last plot of homestead land left in the countryside and exchanged it for more than 100,000 yuan. He had heard there was some good material this time, so he decided to take one last gamble. Whether he could change his fate depended on this 100,000 yuan!

Old Huang didn't hold back and spoke with brutal honesty.

Little did he know that upon hearing this, Ye Chen frowned.

"Are you crazy? Are you trying to drive yourself into a dead end?"

A person with no experience in stone gambling was now risking the money he got from selling his homestead land to gamble? What else could this be if not pushing himself toward ruin?

Thinking back to his previous life, when he never saw Old Huang again, Ye Chen started to piece things together. Hearing Old Huang's words about taking one last chance made it clear to him.

Old Huang let out a bitter laugh.

"Since things have come to this point, I don't mind letting you know. I still owe thirty thousand yuan in high-interest loans to Anda, and it's due tomorrow. On top of that, my mom is waiting for a kidney transplant in the hospital. I'm really out of options! This 100,000 yuan is like a drop in the bucket—it can't save my mom, and it can't pay back the loans. I tried borrowing from relatives and friends, but as soon as they heard I needed money, they either hung up on me or blocked me.

"So what can I do? What else is there for me to do? My only choice is to take another gamble. If fate isn't against me, maybe the heavens will show me mercy this once, and both my mom and I can survive. If not, well, I accept it. I'll repay my mom in my next life, no matter what!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen was at a loss for words.

As a gambler himself, he could completely empathize with Old Huang. He didn't want to justify or defend gambling. He knew that every gambler was their own worst enemy, deserving of their fate. All misfortunes were self-inflicted.

But when faced with desperation, all those moral lessons—"you reap what you sow" or "self-inflicted suffering is inescapable"—become meaningless. Because, in moments like these, there's only one path left: risking everything on a desperate gamble.

That was the situation Old Huang was in now. Thirty thousand yuan in high-interest loans and a mother urgently needing surgery. One hundred thousand yuan was simply too little.

If he didn't take a gamble, there was only a dead end ahead. There was no other choice.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Go find Boss Zhang and work hard. Just don't end up like me! If I get lucky today, we'll meet again. If not, then this is goodbye!" Old Huang laughed loudly, slapping Ye Chen on the shoulder.

But beneath that laughter was a deep sense of sorrow. He probably knew his chances of a lucky break were slim to none.

"Alright then, don't act rashly later. Follow my lead. I've been lucky recently, and maybe you can ride on my coattails!" Ye Chen nodded.

"Deal! Haha!" Old Huang laughed, saying no more.

Ye Chen turned and walked toward Zhang Jingshan. However, before he reached Zhang, he heard a furious voice.

"Screw you! Yeah, I rely on my old man's influence. What are you gonna do about it?!"

Right after Zhang Jingshan's words, another voice, dripping with mockery, followed.

"Not much, really. Just looking down on you, that's all. Your whole family has been leeching off your grandfather's goodwill and reputation. Don't you and your dad feel ashamed? Do you seriously think your grandfather's leftover prestige can sustain you two for a lifetime? Once he's gone, his influence will fade. Then what will you and your dad have to rely on?

"But you know what? At least you're slightly better than your dad. You've got a little more self-respect. Your dad, though—he shamelessly waves your grandfather's banner around, mooching off connections and trying to milk others for favors. In that regard, you're at least a cut above him."

These words couldn't just be called sarcastic—they were outright provocative.

"Li Mu! Screw you!"

If it were just insults directed at himself, Zhang Jingshan might have endured it. But to drag his father into it? That was too much.

Even though he didn't get along with his father, and the two fought like cats and dogs, it didn't mean he would tolerate others humiliating his father.

Because no matter how much he disliked his father, Zhang Xingguo was still his dad.

Unable to hold back, Zhang Jingshan raised his foot, ready to kick the other man.

Fortunately, Li Changfeng stopped him at the last moment. "Calm down, Jingshan! Don't be impulsive!"

"Calm down, my ass!" Zhang Jingshan raged.

Li Mu, however, remained unfazed and continued his taunts with a playful smirk.

"Go ahead, kick me. I'll stand right here and let you kick to your heart's content! But think about the consequences. Your grandfather's old and frail, yet he still has to lower himself to pull strings for you. Don't you feel ashamed?"

"Your mother!" Zhang Jingshan spat, but the outburst seemed to calm him down. Though still restrained by Li Changfeng, his aggression had visibly diminished.

"No manners at all. You're such a disgrace to your grandfather."

Li Mu sneered, unfazed by Zhang Jingshan's vulgarity. His mocking smile was like a punch into soft cotton—infuriatingly ineffective.

"Zhang, Li, what's going on here?" Ye Chen, who had just walked over, asked in surprise.

"Nothing, Mr. Ye. Sorry to make you witness this." Li Changfeng looked embarrassed.

Zhang Jingshan took a deep breath, his anger slightly quelled by Ye Chen's arrival. "It's nothing."

"Huh? Aren't you the guy I saw at Maple Leaf the other day? Wow, Zhang Jingshan, you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel now, hanging out with lowlife gambling addicts like this."

Hearing this, Li Mu, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression showing surprise.

"Mr. Ye, do you know him?" Zhang Jingshan asked, now looking at Ye Chen with suspicion.

The mention of "Maple Leaf" caught his attention. He knew it referred to the Maple Leaf Hotel and was fully aware of its reputation. However, he had never dared to set foot there—his grandfather had warned him that doing so would result in a broken leg.

And yet Ye Chen had been there?

Before Ye Chen could respond, Li Mu sneered.

"I don't stoop to associating with trash. I just happened to encounter him there. He lost a million and started cursing. I wondered where such a bumpkin came from. Turns out he's just some lowlife gambler who owes money everywhere. And you, Zhang Jingshan, the grandson of Zhang Weimin, are hanging out with him? You're really disgracing your grandfather's name!"