Knowing Chen Peng over the years has cost me plenty, both in cash and in headaches. We met twenty years ago through a mutual friend. The very first time I lent him over ten thousand US dollars, he turned around and claimed he got scammed. Then, in late 2023, I went out of my way to get him pulled out of the fighting in Laukkai. When we met up again in Sihanoukville, he was right back at it, launching new schemes—hunting for investors and sending people into compounds. In the end, all his promises of upfront pay vanished into thin air. I followed him out to a Mango Park compound for two days before we had a falling out and I walked, without even getting a fair word said on my behalf.
When we caught up in Sihanoukville last October, he promised to help line up some financing. Instead of seeing any money, I was suddenly told ninety thousand had been stolen. We finally managed to get an investor to drop over thirty thousand US dollars, but right as we brought in four sales guys to get to work, a crackdown hit and everyone scattered. Even after the team broke up, I ended up footing the bill to support him and his guys. I sank another thirty thousand-plus into a targeted-chat operation, and when we made ten grand, I poured every single cent into covering Chen Peng and his crew—guys like Cola and Sprite—leaving myself with nothing.
From last November through this August, it was one thing after another: stem cell treatments for diabetes, his wife's car crash, passport renewals, rent money. Bit by bit, I burned through over a hundred thousand US dollars. Back in June, when the results for that big project came out, we had a deal on our commission split. But Chen Peng and Xiaoyuan swallowed the whole lot, then brushed me off with excuses about the boss getting into trouble and business partners going off the radar. By the time I couldn't even pay my rent and got kicked out on the street, I couldn't even find anyone to spot me two hundred bucks.
Out here on the streets trying to make a living, everyone's got their own hard-luck stories. I shielded him from endless debts, and in the end, even my rightful commission got completely swallowed up. Things are complicated around here, but you can run and you can't hide forever. Sooner or later, we’re going to sit down face-to-face and settle this account for that ninety-odd million in sales.
