The Public Security Bureau of Dong’an County deployed all its personnel to search for Morita and Xu Guangyin within the county.

At the Dong’an County Garment Factory, Ma Wenbiao was dismissed as the factory director due to his involvement in espionage. The original director, Director Cao, was doing well at the Yongzhou City Garment Factory and refused to return. As a result, the county appointed a new director, and Lin Ning’s commision agreement was reinstated.

From then on, Lin Ning resumed collecting her share every week. As the bath towels gained popularity, her earnings grew steadily, from over 2,000 yuan to over 3,000 yuan, and eventually to over 7,000 yuan. If not for the factory’s production capacity being maxed out, she could have earned even more.

Understanding the importance of discretion, Lin Ning carefully stored her earnings in her Ruyi space each time.

One day, as she was relaxing at home, there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, her mother stood there, looking anxious.

“Lin Ning, come with me to the Fan family! Your brother has been scammed!”

“Scammed? How is that possible? Lin Yong is such a stingy miser—who could possibly cheat him out of his money?”

Her mother explained the situation. Lin Yong had taken 1,400 yuan from the Lin family, and the Fan family had noticed. Fan Xiaoe’s father then persuaded Lin Yong to go into business with an acquaintance of his.

The acquaintance, Gao Chao, was a middleman, someone who bought electronic goods from the south and sold them for profit. Fan’s father introduced Lin Yong to Gao Chao.

When Gao Chao heard that Lin Yong wanted to go into business, he readily agreed. “Sure, but you’ll need to quit your job. In two days, I’ll take you to Guangzhou to select goods.”

Lin Yong was taken aback. “Quit my job?”

“Yes. If you don’t quit, how will you travel to Guangzhou to purchase goods? And how will you have time to sell them when you return?”

Lin Yong hesitated. His job at the machinery factory had cost the family 300 yuan to secure. He’d only been working there for two years, just recouping the initial cost. Quitting now would mean those two years were wasted, so he was reluctant.

Seeing his hesitation, Gao Chao said, “Fine, if you don’t want to, forget it. I’ll just make the money myself.”

Fan’s father intervened. “Don’t be like that, Old Gao. Lin Yong truly wants you to help him get rich. Think of something for him!”

Under the table, Fan’s father nudged Lin Yong with his foot. “Lin Yong, your Uncle Gao has a way to make money. Pour him a drink and show some respect!”

Lin Yong raised his glass. “Uncle Gao, here’s to you.”

Gao Chao picked up his glass and took a sip. “Alright, alright. For your father-in-law’s sake, I’ll help you. You don’t have to quit your job, but there’s only one way—give me the money, and I’ll buy the goods for you. Once I’m back, you can sell them yourself.”

Lin Yong thought it over and agreed. This way, he wouldn’t need to quit or endure the hassle of transporting goods. He could sell them himself and keep the full profit without much effort. It sounded perfect.

He immediately handed over 200 yuan, asking Gao Chao to bring back digital watches. At the time, digital watches from the south, with their black dials and black straps, were popular and sold for 20 yuan each—much cheaper than quartz watches costing over 100 yuan. They were in high demand.

For the first batch, Gao Chao brought back 15 digital watches. Lin Yong sold them all within two days, mostly to colleagues at the machinery factory, earning a total of 300 yuan. He made a pure profit of 100 yuan in just a week.

Ecstatic, Lin Yong was thrilled. In just a week, he had earned three months’ salary. Business really was more profitable than working!

For the second batch, Lin Yong went all in, giving Gao Chao 1,500 yuan and asking him to buy as many digital watches as possible.

A week later, Gao Chao returned from the south with 120 digital watches. Lin Yong eagerly began selling them at the factory, expecting to make a fortune.

But trouble soon arose. After selling about ten watches, his colleagues started coming back to him.

“Lin Yong, the watch you sold me stopped working after just a few days!”

“Stopped working? Impossible!”

“Look at this dial. The time hasn’t moved!”

Lin Yong inspected the watch, and sure enough, it was stuck at 10:58:50. No matter how much he fiddled with it, the time wouldn’t change.

The colleague demanded, “This watch is faulty. I want my money back!”

“No, no, it’s just this one. Let me replace it for you,” Lin Yong offered.

He swapped the defective watch with another one. Soon, another colleague came back with a similar complaint, this time about water leaking from the back of the watch. When Lin Yong offered a replacement, the colleague refused and demanded a refund instead.

Over the next few days, all ten sold watches were returned as defective. At first, people agreed to replacements, but when they realized the replacements were also faulty, everyone demanded refunds.

The situation escalated. People began confronting Lin Yong not just after work but even during his shifts. The workshop supervisor grew furious.

“Lin Yong, our factory doesn’t allow employees to run side businesses. If you don’t want to work here, you can leave. Plenty of people would take your place!”

“No, no, Supervisor. I’ll focus on my job. I promise!”

After placating the supervisor, Lin Yong refunded all the money to his buyers. He hadn’t sold a single good watch.

Examining the remaining 120 watches, he found issues with every single one—some wouldn’t run, others had peeling straps or scratches. There wasn’t a single usable watch among them.

Furious, Lin Yong realized Gao Chao had scammed him. He stormed off to confront Gao Chao.

But Gao Chao denied everything. “The watches were fine when I gave them to you. If they’re broken now, you must have damaged them!”

“Bullshit! They were defective when you handed them over!”

Lin Yong threw the bag of watches at Gao Chao. “Take them back! Give me back my 1,500 yuan—every single cent!”

Gao Chao’s expression darkened. With his thuggish demeanor, he no longer bothered hiding his true nature. Grabbing Lin Yong by the hair, he slapped him twice.

“How dare you talk to your Uncle Gao like that! You ungrateful brat, let me teach you some manners!”

“Liar! Give me back my money!” Lin Yong yelled.

That 1,500 yuan wasn’t just Lin Yong’s savings—it was the Lin family’s entire fortune and the key to his future house. Without it, he had no idea when he’d ever save enough to buy a home.

Enraged, Lin Yong fought back. The two brawled until Gao Chao hit him on the head with a stick, knocking him out. Gao Chao then fled.

When Lin Yong regained consciousness, it was dark. He staggered back to the Fan family and confronted Fan’s father.

“Dad, Gao Chao scammed me! He gave me defective watches and took all my money. Help me get it back!”

Fan’s father feigned surprise. “Really? I’ll talk to Gao Chao about it.”