Chapter 119 Clumsy (first update)

Chapter 119: 119 Clumsy (first update)Ye Cheng strolled over, hand in his pocket, his face expressionless, exuding a frigid, abstinent aura. He glanced at the medicinal herb garden. A few herbs were trampled, and the snake cage had been partially pried open. Bending down, he found the view inside somewhat frightening. Narrowing his eyes, he looked over toward the nearby river, a flash of displeasure crossing his face. They had no sense of how to treasure plants. The medicinal herbs he had tended to with care had been ruined by them. His grandfather would undoubtedly be heartbroken if he knew. However, why had they jumped into the river? Didn’t they know there were even fiercer creatures in the water? — "Ah, Huo Wu, there’s a scorpion, a scorpion!" Mingzi felt like dying right then. He had hardly managed to crawl out of the river when he felt something crawling up his pant leg. Upon realizing what it was, Mingzi wished he could faint on the spot—and then he did. How could this happen? He had escaped a snake’s nest only to end up in Scorpion Country. "Ah, it bit me!" Huo Wu screamed in terror. "What is this thing? Am I going to die?" He had heard scorpions were highly venomous. If he’d been bitten, he would surely die: "Mingzi, if I die, you must look after my mother. You have to take good care of her." Oh my, what an unfilial son I am, to go before you, leaving a white-haired parent to send off a black-haired one. Please take care of yourself. "Huo Wu, will it bite me too? Ah, don’t bite me, please! I’m all soft skin and tender flesh, neither good-looking nor tasty." So, what on earth had they gotten themselves into today? Ye Cheng stood on the opposite side of the river, as elegant as a fragrant orchid or a splendid jade, pure as a gentle breeze or a bright moon. "These are all high-quality medicinal species. Grandfather keeps some here for easy collection." A doctor who grew medicinal herbs Mingzi had heard of, but one who raised snakes and scorpions was new to Huo Wu, who sulkily looked at Ye Cheng: "Ye Cheng, we were wrong. We shouldn’t have taken Mr. Wu’s money to trouble you, much less coveted your car and planned to steal the keys from your house." Huo Wu really felt that he never had any luck with Ye Cheng. The last time, his car was destroyed, and this time he was bitten by a scorpion. Ye Cheng raised an eyebrow: "You wanted to steal my car keys?" "Last time, some bad guy crushed my car, and I was thinking of... well, stealing yours... no, we came to tell you that Mr. Wu and Mr. Huang, they’re looking for trouble with you." What’s integrity? Can you eat it? Can it save your life? The most pressing thing was to preserve life; everything else was nonsense. "So, that’s how it is." Ye Cheng stood up. "Don’t come here without good reason. I’ve raised many medicinal creatures here, and they don’t want to drink blood—but of course, that’s another story if it’s delivered to their doorstep." Hearing Ye Cheng’s words, Huo Wu wanted to kowtow to him immediately, slapping his head. "Ye Cheng, from now on, you’re my big brother. If you tell me to go east, I’ll never even think about going west." Mingzi, seizing the moment of clarity, chimed in: "Exactly, big brother, from now on you’re our big brother, we’re ready to follow you to hell and back." Who wouldn’t want a boss who was not only strong but also had healing abilities? Ye Cheng looked at them with disdain: "You can’t even steal car keys without falling into the river. What use are such underlings to me, to feed scorpions?" They were clumsy, utterly useless. — Xiaofeng was planning to visit the food factory again to bring in some more glass bottles, when Supervisor Chen, carrying a briefcase, and a factory director from the food factory came over. "You must be Su Xiaofeng, hello, hello." Supervisor Chen checked the door plaque: "I’m the supervising officer for the food factory, and this is Director Zhou from the food factory." Seeing them arrive, Su Xiaofeng smiled and invited them in: "Supervisor Chen and Director Zhou, does this mean there’s news from General Xia?" "Yes." Supervisor Chen put aside his briefcase: "I heard from Director Zhou that you are interested in taking over the county’s food factory. I didn’t expect you to be so young." "You flatter me," she said. Her body might be only eighteen years old, but having lived through two lifetimes, her mind was nearly fifty. "That’s the situation," began Director Zhou. "We were just about to contact General Xia when he showed up. He said he’s got other businesses to handle right now and can’t attend to our food factory anymore. Hearing that you want to take it over, he’s willing to let you." Upon hearing this, Su Xiaofeng realized that the other party was willing to negotiate a transfer. She thought for a moment: "What price are they asking?" "Since Director Xia took over, the factory has hardly operated, and everyone’s wages are still unpaid. Director Xia said that he took over with a debt of seventy-six thousand, and that’s the price he’s willing to sell it for." It’s called a food factory, but it’s really just a large workshop with a few packaging machines. Those machines are the only valuable thing; everything else is practically worthless. The price is actually acceptable, not too expensive, I can accept: "This price is okay, but I haven’t really taken a close look at the workshop before, can I go have another look?" Sёarᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "Of course." Secretary Chen stood up: "Let’s go take a look together." He Ximei was somewhat dazed after Secretary Chen visited. Listening to Xiaofeng’s intentions, Xiaofeng wants to start a factory. My goodness, she hasn’t been in retail for long, and now she’s thinking about starting a factory. She pricked up her ears, afraid of missing any important information. Xiaofeng got up and called her and Pengzi along. After locking the courtyard door, her heart was still pounding. Xiaofeng really is someone who does big things, thinking back, she almost used her as a bargaining chip to marry into the Li Family, that fool—. The food factory wasn’t big, but wasn’t small either, covering an area of about six hundred square meters. The workshop was rented, with regular monthly rent payments. The company had a little over twenty employees, it used to have forty or fifty, but after the factory transitioned, many people left to seek other opportunities. "The rent for the workshop is six hundred a month, look at the workers and decide whom you want to keep," Factory Manager Zhou handed over a list: "The factory hasn’t operated for over a month, and many people have found other work. Probably only a few would come back to work." Since the transition, Director Xia never showed up nor arranged production. Seeing this situation, everyone thought it was going downhill and certainly looked for backup options for themselves. Su Xiaofeng nodded: "If they’re willing to stay, pay them as usual, and if they don’t want to stay, settle their previous wages and let them go." "I had the same thought," Factory Manager Zhou glanced at He Ximei behind: "Miss Su, is it you who wants to take over the factory, or your family? Because you mentioned previously it was a relative who wanted to?" Su Xiaofeng, looking younger than twenty, didn’t seem to have the capability to take over a factory. Upon hearing Factory Manager Zhou’s words, He Ximei quickly shrank back, afraid of being noticed. "I’m thinking about taking it over." At this point in the discussion, there was no need for Su Xiaofeng to beat around the bush. "It’s hard to believe, Miss Su. So young yet you have such boldness," Factory Manager Zhou thought there must have been a tycoon backing her, which is why Director Xia’s single word made him bring Secretary Chen to her door. Now hearing that Su Xiaofeng wanted it for herself, he felt disappointed, thinking that transferring the factory to a young girl would probably turn out no better than under Director Xia—in other words, this factory likely had no future. Su Xiaofeng, aware of his suddenly changed tone, also understood that this answer probably disappointed him. Indeed, to them, she was just a woman inexperienced in the world, ignorant of everything. It was very likely that taking over the factory was an impulsive decision; as for the factory’s operations and management, she probably knew nothing. "In that case, please help me arrange a meeting with Director Xia, we need to sign the transfer agreement and the production license and other documents all together." Since she had decided to take it, she shouldn’t hesitate, best to deal with it swiftly. Factory Manager Zhou had thought Su Xiaofeng would be hesitant, but she was decisive. Even if he didn’t have high hopes, it was good news that someone was willing to take over the factory: "Alright, I’ll contact Director Xia. Once he confirms a time, I’ll let you know immediately. If you are certain about taking over, should we sign a letter of intent?" This wasn’t just a small business deal, but a factory transfer, where necessary contracts couldn’t be omitted. Of course, Su Xiaofeng understood, nodding: "Yes." After paying a thousand yuan as a deposit, Su Xiaofeng and He Ximei went back home. "Xiaofeng," He Ximei’s mind was still in a daze: "Are we really going to start a factory?" She had only sold hot sauce for a few days, and now they were talking about starting a factory. Isn’t that too rash? Running a street stall and operating a factory were completely different; it’s not like deciding to produce today and then stopping production tomorrow if one feels like it. "Auntie, the demand for hot sauce is quite small in our area. If we produce it and sell it all over the country, and more people buy it, won’t we need to produce more?" To be known for a special product, focusing only on the local market won’t suffice. "Xiaofeng," He Ximei wasn’t worried about that: "We have no experience running a factory, we don’t know how to start production, what to produce, or how to produce it." After graduating from high school, Xiaofeng had not worked outside, always staying at home, even less experienced than her. As for Guaizi, he had been laid off from a state-owned enterprise for over a decade and probably wasn’t up to the task of manufacturing.