Chapter 73: Threats

The director of the food factory is named Wang.

At the beginning, when Sun Jinshan discussed cooperation with Director Wang, Director Wang indeed didn’t intend to deceive anyone; he just wanted to make some extra money.

But later, when Sun Jinshan and Jiang Liyun had the chicken delivered here frozen, he learned about Sun Jinshan’s situation.

He thought Sun Jinshan was quite capable, but it turns out he’s just someone who used his wits to make some money and improve his family’s situation.

According to what he found out, not long ago, Sun Jinshan was just an ordinary employee of a rural brick factory’s transportation team.

As a result, Director Wang didn’t take Sun Jinshan seriously anymore and had intentions of swindling him out of some money.

But what he didn’t expect was that the woman who came with Sun Jinshan actually understood English.

The town’s middle school teaches English, but even if people learn English, they usually can’t understand densely packed English materials like this.

Jiang Liyun can’t actually understand all the materials.

She knows common English words used in daily life and those related to the clothing industry that she needs for business, but she doesn’t recognise professional words in other fields.

However, even if she doesn’t recognise them, she can still make a guess.

Jiang Liyun doesn’t mind if the food factory goes bankrupt; if it does, she can take the opportunity to buy the cold storage.

But she doesn’t want their country’s money to be cheated by foreigners.

In the 1980s, their country had just opened its doors, didn’t understand the outside world, and because it saw the gap between the two sides as too significant, it tended to overly trust foreign things, so many companies spent huge sums of money buying foreign production lines.

Of course, there were also some factories that made a fortune after buying back foreign production lines, such as those that bought back ham sausage production lines and are now making a killing selling ham sausages.

But there were also some factories that were swindled out of money by foreigners.

Some foreigners sold them already abandoned or unusable production lines, causing huge losses to their country’s factories.

Looking at the information about this production line, it seems quite similar, but there are some subtle issues.

Leaving aside other things, the price is a bit too cheap.

“I’ve studied English,” Jiang Liyun said as she flipped through the back of the contract. After seeing the contract, she thought to herself, “Wow.”

The people signing this contract must have something wrong with their heads!

Jiang Liyun had collaborated with some foreign merchants in her past life and encountered various problems during that time.

Some of the people responsible for contacting her would take leave frequently and not hand over their work to others, so when problems arose, she couldn’t reach them no matter what.

She had already gotten used to not being able to reach people on weekends, but not being able to reach them on weekdays still made her very irritable.

Another thing was setting various traps in the contracts or reneging on agreements to try to get her goods without paying… All sorts of messy things kept happening, endlessly trying to swindle her.

This is also one of the reasons for forcing her to learn English.

Jiang Liyun pulled up a chair and looked at Director Wang. “Do you want to take a loan to buy this biscuit production line? There are so many discrepancies in the information about this production line and loopholes in the contract. Are you choosing to ignore them?”

“What does a young girl like you understand?” Director Wang replied. “Don’t think that just because you’ve learned some English, you can do business.”

Director Wang hasn’t had someone else look at the information and contract yet, meaning others are unaware of this situation.

So, since Jiang Liyun can mention “biscuit production line,” it indicates she genuinely understands English.

But understanding English doesn’t necessarily mean being able to do business!

He used a lot of connections and asked many people to get hold of this information!

They are just a small factory, and those high-quality production lines are beyond their reach.

This biscuit production line has been used for many years, requiring a lot of manual labour in the biscuit-making process. It was discarded by a foreign factory during an upgrade, giving him a chance to buy it cheaply.

Although it’s something others discard, it’s quite advanced for their factory!

Jiang Liyun asked, “Do you understand English?”

Director Wang doesn’t understand; at that time, they learned Russian.

Jiang Liyun said, “If you don’t, find someone who does, and I’ll explain the issues on this.”

“I have the contract translated by them.”

“Do you trust the contract they translated for you?” Jiang Liyun asked.

Director Wang replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. Before signing the contract, I will definitely have someone check it.”

Unable to mark on the contract, Jiang Liyun took paper and a pen from the table, copying down several sentences from the contract. “These clauses are vague and all in favour of them.”

Jiang Liyun explained the meaning of those clauses and continued, “There are many things on this contract that are not clearly stated.”

She clarified the shortcomings of the contract.

Director Wang may not understand English, but he’s not a fool. He knows Jiang Liyun is right.

“And there are issues with the information about this production line. The price is so cheap, and they have been using it for decades. Do you really think this is a good deal?” Jiang Liyun asked.

Director Wang actually felt something was off, but after being pointed out by a young girl, he couldn’t easily brush it off. “It’s an overseas Chinese who wants to invest and help support domestic factories.”

“Are you sure he’s here to invest and not to scam money? There are many scammers in this era claiming to be overseas Chinese, coming to inspect the market for investment.”

Director Wang’s expression changed.

After seeing Director Wang, Jiang Liyun found that he’s somewhat similar to Sun Jinshan.

Such people have thick skin and can adapt.

Some middle-aged men can’t stand being told they’re wrong; after she points out their mistakes, they might get furious and not listen.

But Director Wang is not that kind of person.

So, she forcefully pointed out the issues and subdued Director Wang’s arrogance.

She can’t decide whether to buy this production line or not. She said all this just to showcase her abilities and prevent Director Wang from causing trouble.

Changing the topic, Jiang Liyun said, “Director Wang, the factory doesn’t really belong to you; it belongs to all the workers in the food factory. The chicken in your cold storage isn’t just ours; it belongs to many chicken farmers in Hongxing Township.”

Smiling, Jiang Liyun continued, “When I collected this chicken, I agreed with the chicken farmers to settle the accounts at the end of the year. They are all waiting for me to sell the chicken, give them the money, and let them have a good New Year. If there’s a problem with this chicken and we can’t sell it, they will definitely cause trouble.”

“Do you know, Director Wang, ordinary people haven’t read many books and don’t understand the law? If the chicken can’t be sold because of the food factory, they will definitely come to the food factory seeking justice. It would lead to conflicts, and that wouldn’t be good.”

Director Wang: “Am I being threatened in return?!”

Originally, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Director Wang, by acting unilaterally, has deprived the food factory of an income. The employees of the food factory probably wouldn’t be happy about it, right? “Jiang Liyun added.

The cold storage doesn’t affect the food factory employees much; they likely wouldn’t mind. They would be happy to receive money.

“To be honest, I wish Director Wang wouldn’t sign the contract. Without the contract, I wouldn’t have to pay rent, right?” Jiang Liyun smiled. “Director Wang, you’re a good person. Knowing that unsold chicken would make people’s lives difficult, you generously let the food factory’s cold storage be used for free by the chicken farmers in Hongxing Township. That’s excellent.”

Director Wang coughed lightly. “Miss Jiang, the lives of our food factory workers are not easy! We are waiting for the rent from renting the cold storage to pay salaries. Miss Jiang, did you bring the contract? Shall we sign it now?”

What else could Director Wang do? Of course, sign the contract.

He initially thought a few young people from the countryside wouldn’t understand anything, and he could scare them to increase the rent. However, they may be young, but they are quite cunning.

If he withheld the chicken, this woman might bring a group of rural elders to surround the food factory and cause trouble!

Wouldn’t that be bad for everyone? He would probably have to apologise and send the chicken back!

“I naturally brought the contract.” Jiang Liyun took out the contract she brought.

She wanted to do good business, and the contract was detailed with no traps.

But as for the rent… Jiang Liyun said, “Since the contract was just signed today, shall we start counting the rent from today? Director Wang, do you have any objections?”

Originally, she hadn’t planned to avoid paying the previous rent, but with Director Wang making a scene, if she didn’t react, people might think she’s easy to bully!

Director Wang: “…”

After carefully reading the contract, Director Wang quickly signed it.

He had initially wanted Jiang Liyun and the others to prepay two years of high rent, but now… The rent would be settled quarterly, and payment would be made after each quarter.

He would have to wait until next April to receive the first rent for the cold storage.

But it was still better than having nothing.

“Miss Jiang is quite extraordinary,” Director Wang said, pointing at Jiang Liyun’s name on the signed contract.

He was not young and had seen many people; he knew how to judge character.

He could see through Sun Jinshan, but this woman in front of him was different.

“Mutual benefit.” Jiang Liyun smiled.

“Do you want to have a meal together?” Director Wang asked. “My treat.”

Jiang Liping had been waiting for this invitation; her eyes lit up. However, Jiang Liyun declined, “No need. Since the contract is signed, we’ll head back.”

Even though indulging in public expenses was prevalent at this time, she felt it wasn’t meaningful to freeload a meal.

Director Wang said, “Miss Jiang is indeed exceptional.”

Director Wang personally escorted them out, then tidied up his casual suit and returned to his office.

After returning, he thought for a moment, immediately took the information about the production line he had just received, and left the office.

He needed to find someone to study this information and contract!

On the other hand, after leaving the food factory, Jiang Liyun said, “Let’s go to the fried dumpling restaurant for a meal.”

The couple running the fried dumpling restaurant cooked every day, and now would be a perfect time to enjoy a hot meal.

“Why not go to a regular restaurant?” Jiang Liping asked.

Jiang Liyun said, “If you want to go to a restaurant, you can go.”

Jiang Liping: “ShShe wanted to go to a restaurant, but not to spend her own money; she wanted someone else to treat her!

The food factory wasn’t far from Liyun’s fried dumpling restaurant, and the group quickly arrived there.

At the moment, there were no customers in the restaurant. The couple who ran the fried dumpling place were cooking and chatting, while others were arranging tables and chairs, chopping meat, and reading books.

Once Jiang Liyun entered the shop, she felt her heart calm down.

She liked this kind of atmosphere.

“Originally, it was a mutually beneficial matter. Director Wang, by acting alone, you have caused the food factory to lose some income. Your employees at the food factory wouldn’t be happy about it either, right?” Jiang Liyun continued.

It wouldn’t affect the food factory employees much if they rented out the cold storage. They would definitely not mind. They would be happy as long as they could make money.

“In fact, I’d be glad if Director Wang didn’t sign the contract. Without a contract, I wouldn’t have to pay rent for the cold storage, right?” Jiang Liyun smiled. “Director Wang, you’re a good person. You understand that the surplus of chicken is making life difficult for the people, so you’re letting the chicken farmers from Hongxing Village use the food factory’s cold storage for free. That’s great.”

Director Wang cleared his throat lightly. “Miss Jiang, life isn’t easy for our food factory workers! We’re counting on the rent from renting out the cold storage to pay salaries. Miss Jiang, did you bring the contract? Shall we sign it now?”

What else could Director Wang do? Of course, he had to sign the contract.

He initially thought that these young people from the countryside knew nothing and that he could scare them into agreeing to higher rent. But they were savvy despite their youth.

If he refused to release the chicken, this woman might lead a group of rural folks to protest outside the food factory!

What a mess that would be. He’d probably have to apologise and return the chicken!

“I naturally brought the contract.” Jiang Liyun took out the contract she had brought with her.

She wanted to do good business. The contract was detailed, and there were no loopholes.

But as for the rent… Jiang Liyun said, “Since we’re only signing the contract today, shall we start counting the rent from today, Director Wang? Do you have any objections?”

She hadn’t planned to avoid paying the previous rent, but Director Wang’s actions forced her to react. If she didn’t react, people would think she was easy to bully!

Director Wang: “…”

After carefully reading the contract, Director Wang quickly signed it.

He had originally wanted Jiang Liyun and her group to prepay two years’ worth of high rent, but now… The rent would be settled quarterly, and payment would be made after each quarter.

He’d have to wait until April next year to receive the first rent for the cold storage.

But it was better than nothing.

“Miss Jiang is remarkable.” Director Wang pointed to Jiang Liyun’s name signed on the contract with his hand.

He was not young anymore, and he had seen many people. He knew how to judge people.

He could see through Sun Jinshan, but this woman in front of him was different.

“It takes one to know one,” Jiang Liyun replied with a smile.

“Do you want to go eat together?” Director Wang asked. “My treat.”

Jiang Liping had been waiting for this moment; her eyes lit up, but Jiang Liyun declined. “No need; since the contract is already signed, we’ll head back first.”

Even though using public funds for meals is common nowadays, she didn’t find it meaningful to freeload on a meal like this.

“Miss Jiang is indeed extraordinary,” Director Wang said.

Director Wang personally escorted them out before straightening his leisure suit and returning to his office.

Once back in the office, he thought for a moment before grabbing the production line data he had just received and headed out.

He needed to find someone to study this data and the contract!

On the other hand, Jiang Liyun, after leaving the food factory, said, “Let’s go to the dumpling shop for a meal.”

The Jiang Lamei couple cooked at the dumpling shop every day, so they could have a hot meal there now.

“Why not go to a restaurant?” Jiang Liping asked.