Chapter 30: Why Did You Change Your Clothes?

The two of them spent about half an hour in the clothing factory.

When they emerged, the entire factory was in total chaos. The accountant had fled, the warehouse manager had been beaten, and the female workers had stopped working, gathering together to discuss how to demand their unpaid wages. They had taken control of the warehouse; some were tasked with confronting the factory director, others were out making black-and-white protest banners, and some claimed they were going to borrow drums and gongs from the local team to make a scene and drum up support.

At this moment, collective unconsciousness had replaced individual conscious action.

Lu Fan stood at the factory gate, looking at the wooden sign hanging nearby, and laughed, "This sign is still missing a bucket of bright red paint."

Bai Lu reached out and grabbed his hand, looking somewhat nervous as she said, "Let's go home quickly. I think that's enough for now!"

They walked for a distance holding hands before Bai Lu seemed to realize something. She tried to pull her hand away, but she found she was loath to let go of the intimate sensation of their skin touching. Although Lu Fan had behaved quite unscrupulously today, she felt an immense sense of stability. It was the first time in her eighteen years that she had felt such a thing. Even if this man were to break the law in the future, she would be willing to wander the ends of the earth with him. Even if they had to be a pair of doomed lovers, constantly fleeing from the police, she would accept it gladly.

Lu Fan did not know what was on Bai Lu’s mind; his focus remained on the clothing factory. Given Old Ding’s temperament, the factory’s closure was only a matter of time. He had simply added fuel to the fire and accelerated the process. For Old Ding, this might not be a bad thing—sometimes a clean cut is best. There was also the saying: "The sooner one dies, the sooner one is reincarnated." In business, the greatest taboo is hesitation; sometimes, failing to make a decisive decision leads one into an abyss. If a business isn't making money and costs continue to rise, and one lacks the means to defy fate, it is best not to drag it out.

Lu Fan had essentially made the decision for Old Ding. He didn't need the man's gratitude; he needed the man's factory.

The factory was already in turmoil. Next, Old Ding would have to face the workers demanding their pay and the suppliers demanding their debts. As for that accountant, if she was clever, she would have already secured her evidence trail and would not show her face for a while.

Lu Fan’s biggest task now was to convince Old Ding that he had the ability to sell off the backlogged inventory and help the factory out of its predicament. The most critical part was getting him to willingly hand over the factory as collateral for the debt. He also had to be prepared to pacify the staff and resume production, as well as negotiate a repayment schedule with the suppliers. Most importantly, he had to be certain that he could actually sell those tens of thousands of shirts stored in the warehouse. That was the prerequisite; without it, nothing else could be discussed.

Tens of thousands of shirts were not just two hundred. Even if he and Bai Lu spent until next year setting up street stalls, they couldn't sell them all. The consumer market in a single region was very limited; not many families could afford a shirt priced at fifty yuan. He estimated that if he kept running promotions at the Baoshan District night market, business would eventually decline until it hit a wall.

Therefore, the core of this entire operation was to build a sales team, establish sales channels, and formulate a proper distribution system.

As Lu Fan walked and pondered, he was led home by Bai Lu without realizing it. He only snapped back to reality when he saw Liu Yue’e. She was holding three washed cucumbers, staring at them with a blank expression. She knew her daughter well, and the expression on Bai Lu’s face now was one of immense pleasure—a joy that came from the heart and radiated through her entire being. She looked at Lu Fan, who was frowning, seemingly dissatisfied with something.

"Why did you two change your clothes?" Liu Yue’e asked tentatively.

Seeing her mother, Bai Lu immediately let go of Lu Fan’s hand and ran over to hug her arm, acting coquettishly. "Mom, Lu Fan was practicing martial arts and his clothes got soaked, so I helped him wash them."

"Oh, I see. You changed your clothes too, then?"

"Yes, do I look nice?" Bai Lu spun in front of her, her skirt blooming like a flower. Her face wore a radiant smile.

"You look wonderful. My girl is the prettiest. Where did you two go? You look very happy!"

Bai Lu was about to answer but remembered Lu Fan’s instructions, so she changed her tune: "I won't tell you."

"Hehe, it's so good to be young. Girl, come help me cook. It's already noon, and I need to take lunch to your father."

"Mom, wait for me to change out of this skirt, I'm afraid it will pick up the smell of cooking."

"The zipper is in the back, it's not convenient. I'll help you! Lu Fan, please help me hold these cucumbers, thank you." Liu Yue’e handed the cucumbers to Lu Fan and hurried into the house after Bai Lu.

Lu Fan, having consumed a lot of energy during his workout, was famished. He carried two cucumbers into the kitchen and kept one for himself to eat. While eating, he picked up a small stone and sat on the laundry stone by the faucet, drawing on the ground, constantly refining the ideas in his mind.

In the inner room, Liu Yue’e helped Bai Lu unzip her dress and take it off, then began to scrutinize her daughter's delicate skin. It was as fair and smooth as jade, as clean as snow, with no marks to be found. Liu Yue’e’s heart settled quite a bit. However, while Bai Lu had her back turned, she took the opportunity to lightly sniff the dress. *Hmm, nothing seems to have happened.*

Liu Yue’e folded the dress carefully and placed it neatly on the bed. It was clear her daughter cherished this item; she hadn't bought new clothes for her in a long time, and Bai Lu often wore her old ones. Liu Yue’e sighed silently. She had already promised her daughter to the young man, and Lu Fan was a good match, so why was she always feeling so anxious and insecure? She didn't understand it herself. Perhaps it was just the reluctance to let go of the child she had raised with her own hands.

After the two finished cooking, Lu Fan was sitting in the courtyard, having essentially mapped out his sales channels. When he sat down at the table, there were four dishes: smashed cucumbers, stir-fried cauliflower, chives with scrambled eggs, and the braised beef he had bought the day before, of which only a few slices remained.

He frowned slightly. This would be enough for a normal meal, but he had worked out twice today and was burning a lot of calories; he felt especially hungry and this amount wouldn't even be enough for him alone.

"Bai Lu, go get Auntie two hundred yuan, as our meal money for the two of us."

Bai Lu agreed and immediately jumped up to run into the house.

Liu Yue’e hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, you two are like my own children. How can you pay for eating in your own home?"

Lu Fan raised his hand to gesture for her to accept it. "Auntie, listen to me. You haven't raised a son, so you don't know that boys have huge appetites. When I was at home, I had to have meat at every meal, otherwise, I wouldn't be full."

As he spoke, he took the money from Bai Lu and placed it directly into Liu Yue’e’s palm. "I know you already paid for my uncle's surgery with that fifty thousand yuan, and your job doesn't pay much. From now on, whenever Bai Lu and I eat at home, we will pay—include Bai Shuang too. You just buy the good stuff for us, and make sure there is at least one substantial meat dish at every meal."

"Life was difficult before, but that’s in the past. You saw the money Bai Lu and I made yesterday. From now on, we should all eat better. If a person suffers from long-term malnutrition, they are depleting their vitality and shortening their lifespan."