Translator: Lonelytree
There was a long period of peacefulness.
Xiao Lingyu shuttled back and forth between Taoyuan Village and the county town every day.
People started to know that Xiao Lingyu was selling vegetables in the county town. Because of her good business, she would go in the morning and return in the afternoon.
Mother Xiao was worried about her daughter, and she told Xiao Lingyu to live in the county town. Xiao Lingyu didn't agree at first. After all, there were more than 20 Mu of land to farm at home. Mother Xiao couldn't watch the huge farm on her own. Father Xiao still needed to rest.
However, Xiao Lingyu remembered the child in her stomach. She was in the early stages of her pregnancy. She needed to be very careful. Too much traveling was not good for her.
Therefore, she hired her fourth aunt and Auntie Zhou, or Xiao Chengbang's wife, to work for her. Auntie Zhou, her fourth aunt, and Mother Xiao would water the field every day. They only needed to water the farm once per day. Xiao Lingyu handed the bottles of spring water to Mother Xiao. She told her to pour the required amount of water into the watering can every day.
After that, Xiao Lingyu only returned every three days to restock her mother with spring water.
...
At the same time, Zheng Haiyang had already informed the owner of the shop that he would take back the shop. He required her to move elsewhere.
The owner, Liang Fengying, was furious and annoyed when she heard the news.
'This landlord is too much. I haven't even told him I didn't want to continue my lease. Why would he take back the shop?'
The shop had a good location, and she had good business. During the weekends and holidays, her shop would be full. She had good monthly profits. After she moved out, where was she going to find a spot as good as this?
Liang Fengying remembered hinting to the landlord that she wanted to rent the shop but with a lower rent. At the time, the landlord didn't say anything. However, one month later, he suddenly told her that he didn't want to rent her anymore and told her to move out. It was ridiculous. Where would she find a new shop and could it be better than this place?
Liang Fengying was unwilling to move. She asked Zheng Haiyang to allow her to continue renting. She wouldn't even ask for the rental discount anymore.
Zheng Haiyang said, "Based on my market research, the rent I gave you is already very cheap. Furthermore, based on our contract, the rental should be paid every three months. However, you always come crying to me, saying that business is bad and you don't have money. You begged me to give you more time. Since you can't make good money here, then why not move somewhere else? Perhaps your business will improve there."
Liang Fengying was simply slapped in the face by her previous words.
She actually had the money to pay the rent every time, but she wanted to save the money in the bank to generate interest. The interest for three months' rent was quite high.
Whenever she delayed the rent, she would wait until the next cycle. In other words, instead of paying once every three months, she would pay every six months. Furthermore, she would round down the amount. For example, if the rental was 130 RMB per month, she would pay 700 RMB instead of 780 RMB for six months.
Zheng Haiyang didn't mind it in the past because he didn't have the time. He was in the real estate business. He had to deal with many projects. Thankfully, he didn't have that many tenants like Liang Fengying, or he would be doing a losing business.
"Oh, please pay the overdue rental before the lease is up." Zheng Haiyang took out the account. "This is the record of all the money you've owed me. You can look at it to make sure." He handed the document to Liang Fengying.
Liang Fengying's expression was exceptionally ugly when she saw the document. When she saw the amount she supposedly owed, she was consumed by anger.
The money that she skimmed over three years accumulated. Furthermore, she hadn't even paid the rent for the latest three months. She had collected a lot of savings over the years, but it still pained her heart to cough up such a big amount of money all of a sudden.
Her eyes moved about. Since the landlord won't rent her the shop after this, she didn't need to pay her rental anymore. She didn't even plan to return the money she owed.
Zheng Haiyang looked at her expression and immediately guessed her plan. His face darkened, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He spoke kindly, "Boss Liang, you know I'm in the real estate business. When you want to find a new shop location, I'll help you ask around. I'll have them give you a discount." Zheng Haiyang wrapped his warning in a pretty package. 'If you don't clear your debt, you'll be blackballed in this business.'
Liang Fengying owned a boutique selling branded clothes. She needed a place with good foot traffic, or else how people were supposed to find her shop?
Zheng Haiyang had connections in the rental and real estate business. He could squash Liang Fengying's business easily.
Liang Fengying's face immediately turned red after being threatened by Zheng Haiyang. Anger appeared in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "Boss Zheng, are you threatening me?"
"Boss Liang, why would I do that?" Zheng Haiyang said disdainfully, "You're not worth my time." Then, he lost his patience. "Boss Liang, you are going to pay me everything you owe before the lease is up. Otherwise, you should know the consequences."
After saying that, he turned around to leave.
Liang Fengying questioned loudly, "Boss Zheng, you're doing this because you want to push me out to rent this shop to another person, right?"
Zheng Haiyang was speechless.
This Liang Fengying was really weird.
Zheng Haiyang ignored her and continued to walk away. Suddenly, Liang Fengying ran to stop him and begged, "Boss Zheng, please let me continue renting this place! Don't worry. I will pay the rent on time in the future!"
Zheng Haiyang glanced at Liang Fengying impatiently and said directly, "You're right. My friend is going to rent this place, so I need you out. Do you understand now?" He walked away.
Liang Fengying looked at Zheng Haiyang, and her eyes burned with resentment. However, she knew she couldn't do anything to Zheng Haiyang. But that didn't mean she couldn't do anything to the person who was going to rent this place after her. As long as she could make that person fail to rent this place, Zheng Haiyang would have no choice but to find Liang Fengying back. Then, she wouldn't need to find another shop location.
Xiao Lingyu had no idea that she was targeted. Then again, even if she knew, there was nothing she could do. This was not even her fault. Liang Fengying owed the rent and offended Zheng Haiyang, so how was Xiao Lingyu's mistake?
When Xiao Lingyu heard from Zheng Haiyang that she would get the shop in a few days, she started to look for someone to do the renovation. Zheng Haiyang was helpful again. He was in the real estate business, so he naturally knew people from the renovation industry. He introduced a reliable company to Xiao Lingyu.
At the company, Xiao Lingyu looked at the design drawings, and she was not satisfied. The main designer, Li Yang, walked over to ask, "Miss Xiao, what kind of design are you looking for? Can you tell us?"
Xiao Lingyu thought for a moment and said, "I wish to open a vegetable and fruit shop selling high-end produce. The designs are too common, and they don't meet my needs."
Li Yang was a little surprised. He had never heard this kind of demand before. He knew of high-end shops that sold organic, green, and pollution-free vegetables and fruits, but there was none in the county town. Even in big cities, there was a limited number of such stores. The demand for this market was very small.
For the sake of Zheng Haiyang, Li Yang said tactfully, "Miss Xiao, we're in the county town, but not everyone is rich. Most people will go to the market to buy their products." In other words, a store that only sold high-end crops wouldn't work.
After all, many people knew that the stuff inside the high-end stores came from the same place as the stuff sold at the market. However, the price at the store would be much higher than at the market. For example, baby cabbage would be sold for 1 RMB per catty at the market, but in the store, they could go for 2 RMB. Therefore, most people would purchase the ones at the market.
Xiao Lingyu understood Li Yang's kind intention. She smiled and said, "I know, but I still want to give it a try."
Li Yang looked at her and did not say anything else.
He nodded and said, "Alright, Miss Xiao, please give me three more days. I will definitely give you a design that you will be satisfied with."
Xiao Lingyu nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Director Li!"
Her shop was not big, but Sunshine Decoration Company was one of the top renovation companies in Xingyin County. She felt a little flattered and grateful to be able to get the director of the company to design the shop for her.
Li Yang smiled and said, "Miss Xiao is too polite. You are Haiyang's friend, so you are my friend. One must be kind to one's friends, plus you're also my client."
"Haha." Xiao Lingyu smiled. "Thank you, Director Li."
After Xiao Lingyu left, Li Yang immediately called Zheng Haiyang and asked, "Haiyang, do you know that your friend bought the shop to sell vegetables?"
Zheng Haiyang said lazily, "I know!"
Li Yang was slightly surprised and said, "Then why didn't you stop her? Why would she need a high-end renovation for a vegetable store? Isn't that a waste of money?"
"Yang Zi, you don't know this yet, but her crops are not ordinary crops." Zheng Haiyang explained, "You'll see soon enough."
Li Yang was puzzled. "Not ordinary crops? Did they come from heaven then? Even so, with a high-end renovation and a high rental, her product price will be very high. Will she find customers?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Zheng Haiyang asked, "Did Xiao Lingyu come to your company today?"
Li Yang answered, "Yes. She looked at the designs, and she was not satisfied. She told me she wanted a high-class shop design." At this point, he asked, "Haiyang, where did you find Miss Xiao?" He was suspicious. "She's not your girlfriend, is she? How can you hide her from us?"
"She is not!" Zheng Haiyang slammed the phone.
Li Yang's mouth twitched. He looked at the phone and said, "Then, so be it. Why the need to be angry?" Li Yang put down the phone and submerged himself in the sea of design.
...
In the general manager's office of the Yi Family Hotel, Zhou Huaming sat in the boss's chair with a gloomy face.
He just defeated his competitor, the Gu Family Hotel, by poaching their head chef, two chefs, and their vegetable supplier, Green Source. Overnight, the business for the Yi Family Hotel shot through the roof. In comparison, the Gu Family Hotel started to bleed money. The Gu Family Hotel would close in three months. Then, he would buy them out and turn the place into the Yi Family Hotel branch. That would greatly annoy the Gu Family.
However, he didn't expect fate to turn for the Gu Family Hotel all of a sudden. Gu Ziye found a mysterious vegetable supplier, and it immediately brought business to the hotel. Moreover, the business was getting more and more popular.
At first, Zhou Huaming suspected the vegetables were drugged with addictive spices like poppy shells, so he called the police.
The police brought the vegetables back for analysis. They found nothing. On the contrary, vegetables contained a type of nutrient that was good for the human body. Once this police report was out, more people frequented the Gu Family Hotel.
Zhou Huaming had inadvertently helped his competition's business. At the same time, business at his own hotel worsened. Zhou Huaming was stifled when he thought about this.
"Have you found that supplier?" Zhou Huaming asked with a dark face. If they wanted to bring down the Gu Family Hotel, they had to cut off the vegetable supply. They had done it once, so they could do it again. If they could persuade the new supplier to join the Yi Family Hotel, the result would be wonderful. It would be a huge blow to the Gu Family Hotel.
The subordinate reported, "We've found it."
"Then do everything you can to intercept the supplier. Get them to supply us instead of the Gu Family Hotel." Zhou Huaming ordered.
"Yes!"