Chapter 53 I Do Not Believe It

Hearing the other person's sarcastic remarks, Lu Fan did not take them to heart.

It was completely normal for the man to still harbor resentment and vent his frustrations. An issue of this magnitude could not be smoothed over with just a couple of words; it was simply human nature.

As long as the man truly took his words to heart, he would recognize the current reality and refrain from causing any further trouble.

If the person hadn't uttered a few harsh words just now, but instead bowed immediately and feigned total submission, that would have been the moment to truly be on guard.

"Alright, Old Ding, go wait by the entrance. I already called Gu Jianjun and the others before I came over; they should be here shortly."

Seeing that the man still wanted to pick up the gasoline can, Lu Fan added, "Leave that thing here. When I tried starting your Santana yesterday, the fuel gauge was all the way at the bottom. I'll fill it up for you later."

Ding Maocai took a deep breath, picked up the stool he had been sitting on, and walked over to the guard post to wait.

Just as Lu Fan finished pouring gasoline into the car's tank, he spotted a red Jetta pulling up to the entrance—that was Gu Jianjun's vehicle.

The four individuals stepped out of the car, exchanged a few words with Old Ding at the gate, and then left two people to accompany him while Gu Jianjun and Liu Yulong jogged over to Lu Fan.

"Sorry about this. Yulong is young and failed to keep a close eye on Old Ding last night, letting him run over here to cause trouble for Boss Lu."

Lu Fan smiled. "It's fine. What trouble could he possibly cause? Old Ding came here last night carrying this very drum of gasoline. Fortunately, my employees caught him. If he had actually torched this warehouse, our deal would have fallen through completely."

"As for criminal liability, the lawsuit would be straightforward. Since he was the one who set the fire, he would bear all the losses himself, and your debt would revert right back to him."

Lu Fan's words sent a chill down both of their spines. If that had really happened, wouldn't all their money have gone down the drain?

"Boss Lu, don't worry. This time when we head back, we'll definitely keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't step out of our sight for even a second."

Lu Fan dropped the gas can, tightened the fuel cap, and smiled. "You should still be mindful of your methods, though. Make sure you don't break the law."

"Don't worry, don't worry. We plan to get the transfer procedures sorted out as quickly as possible. We already reissued the official seal yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Lu Fan was momentarily stunned. How could he have forgotten about that? Had he known, he should have sent the fellow named Ding to the police station for a few days of administrative detention, which would have at least delayed the process.

Still, perhaps this was for the best. He hoped for a smooth transition with this matter, and avoiding any unnecessary complications was preferable.

As he saw them off, Lu Fan walked over and patted Ding Maocai on the shoulder. "Just head back with Boss Gu and the others, and try to get the paperwork done as soon as possible so everyone can have peace of mind."

Looking at the hypocritical smile on Lu Fan's face and recalling the words he had just spoken, Ding Maocai felt a slight chill in his heart.

A person like this was just like a venomous snake; it was best to avoid having any dealings with him whatsoever.

He no longer had the stomach to seek revenge, but causing a little bit of trouble was well within his power.

He would drag his feet through the paperwork just to spite him—there was no way he would let him have his way, and yet there was nothing Lu Fan could do to him!

Having handled these matters, Lu Fan gave a few parting instructions to the female security guard before driving the Santana away from the factory.

The Santana was black and a bit messy on the inside, but it drove quite smoothly. He decided to find an auto repair shop in the district later to give the interior a deep clean and put new covers on the seats.

Otherwise, driving it around would leave a lingering sense of unease.

Even though he didn't have a driver's license yet, it was rare to encounter traffic checkpoints in this era. Taking a step back, even if he did run into one, Lu Dawei was a police officer; they were in the same system, and a word from him would carry weight.

When he returned home, Lu Fan discovered that Bai Lu was absent, while Liu Ye'e was slumped over a small table, resting her chin in her hands and staring blankly into space.

"Auntie, where is Bai Lu?"

"I sent her to the hospital to deliver some food."

"Oh!"

"Um... I had an argument with her father yesterday, and I'm afraid he might get upset if he sees me today."

"Oh!"

Although Lu Fan knew what that was all about, knowing it was one thing; pressing for details was quite another.

"You must be hungry. I'll go get some food ready for you."

Breakfast consisted of white rice porridge, scallion oil pancakes, and a plate of shredded salted mustard tubers.

"Just make do with this for breakfast. I'll buy a chicken at noon for us to stew."

"Mm, this is quite nice as it is."

Lu Fan picked up a piece of scallion oil pancake with his chopsticks. Perhaps because it had been kept warm in the pot, it was no longer crispy, but the flavor was exceptional. It had the aroma of chopped scallions, flecks of rendered pork fat, and a balanced savory taste that was utterly delicious!

"Auntie, with culinary skills as good as yours, have you ever thought about running a small business to improve our lives? Even if you just baked pancakes like these and sold them at the village intersection, you'd make more than you do at your job."

"I've thought about it, but her father wouldn't agree. He thinks it's unseemly for a married woman to be out in public like that."

"Heh, this is the new society now; people aren't as rigid about those things anymore. Besides, even when you work at an institutional unit, you still run into people like Old Ding from the garment factory."

"That's true. I used to have no mind of my own and just listened to her father. By the way, did you get things sorted out with the garment factory?"

"Mm, more or less. Old Ding shouldn't be coming around to cause trouble anymore."

Liu Ye'e clutched her chest and said with a worried expression, "Just thinking about what happened gives me lingering fear. If it hadn't been for those women at the factory, Old Ding might actually have burned the place down. And with us owing that much money, we wouldn't have been able to pay off those debts."

Realizing that she was the one who had signed the IOU for five hundred thousand, Liu Ye'e's complexion grew slightly pale again.

"Heh, it's actually not that big a deal. Even if he had burned it down, we could have just defaulted on the debt. It would have been a tangled mess where nobody could do anything to anyone."

Liu Ye'e murmured, "In that case, we might have to move. If people came to cause trouble every few days, I wouldn't be able to bear it."

"Well, that's fine too. When I go off to school, I can rent a place outside, and you and Bai Lu can both move over."

Seeing Liu Ye'e's expression shift slightly, Lu Fan quickly added, "I'll stay in the school dormitory while you two live there, so you can look out for each other. You can easily make money just by starting some small business."

"How come making money seems so effortless to you, yet for ordinary people like us, it's as difficult as scaling the heavens?"

Lu Fan thought to himself: If you had lived for over sixty years, understood the trajectory of the times, and mastered the skill of being thick-skinned, you could be just like me.

Without waiting for a response, Liu Ye'e fell silent for a moment before asking, "I heard Bai Lu say that when you took over this garment factory, you intended to find a livelihood for me. You didn't actually mean..."

By the end of her sentence, her voice had grown so soft as to be almost inaudible.

Though she hadn't finished, Lu Fan understood her meaning and smiled. "I was just speaking off the top of my head; I didn't expect Bai Lu to take it seriously. You've worked hard for half your life without enjoying many days of ease—how could I genuinely treat you like a beast of burden?"

"That little garment factory doesn't have much potential anyway. Even if production resumes, it won't make much money."

"Ah... then what are you acquiring it for?"

Lu Fan thought for a moment and decided to tell her the truth.

"First, I've got my eye on Old Ding's batch of clothes. You know how much Bai Lu and I made on our very first day selling at the Baoshan Night Market. Those clothes are worthless in his hands, but in mine, they have value. Conservatively speaking, I can make at least a million. With that money, our lives will improve, and we'll have capital if we want to do any business in the future."

"Second, that plot of land is going to become extremely, incredibly valuable. Auntie, its value will surpass anything you can possibly imagine. Not right now, though—five, ten, or perhaps twenty years from now."

"Once we have that land, our family won't even need to work. We could spend our days feasting and living extravagantly to our heart's content, and as long as we don't recklessly invest or do foolish business ventures, we wouldn't be able to spend all that wealth across three lifetimes."

"Do you believe me?"

Liu Ye'e's mouth dropped open in shock, and she murmured, "I don't believe it."

...

There will be another chapter tonight, probably a bit late. Thank you all for your monthly tickets!