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Chapter 449: Chapter 439 Determined to Gnaw on this Tough Bone
"I have to make one thing clear first," Shen Yunfang began, setting the ugly truth out front, "this venture won’t just involve our two families; Li Hongjun’s older sister’s family will also have a share." This matter involved money after all, and it was best to clarify things beforehand. She had seen too many good friends turn against each other over financial issues, and she didn’t want to end up with such a loss for the sake of some money.
Ma Liguo and his wife were quite surprised to hear this. It wasn’t that they didn’t want Li Hongjun’s older sister to have a share, but they both knew that her family was back in the rural village, how would they participate?
"I’ve already spoken to my eldest aunt, and after this year’s winter break, her family will come over to help me with work for a holiday period. They’ve agreed," Yunfang explained. She hadn’t told Li Xianglian about the business venture; as a farmer with limited vision, it would be better not to tell her too early. Otherwise, she’d worry herself sick over it.
"Aiyah, you’re planning to trick them into coming over first," Ma Liguo chuckled.
"Hehe, what other way is there? You know how the folks back home are set in their ways. If I told her in advance that I want them to come over and join me in some speculative venture, they’d refuse outright," Yunfang also laughed. "But when I went back home, I saw how poor my eldest aunt’s family really was. They had spent all their savings on their child’s medical treatment and were deep in debt. When I was there, the family was working themselves to the bone just to pay it off sooner. It looked like they’d end up in trouble eventually. Li Hongjun has only one decent sister; if I don’t help her, who will?"
Yunfang felt helpless; she was never one to poke her nose into other people’s business, nor was she particularly warm-hearted, reserving whatever warmth she had for her own family. But there’s a saying, love me, love my dog. She didn’t understand it before, but now, having married Li Hongjun, she gradually began to feel this type of affection.
Since Li Hongjun was close to Li Xianglian, she naturally felt the same way and wanted to help her big sister, seeing the worry in Hongjun’s eyes.
Giving them money outright was definitely not an option. They say small favors breed resentment, and if she wanted to maintain a good relationship with Li’s family, the best way was to provide Li’s oldest sister’s family with an opportunity to earn money with her, helping them out of their current predicament and letting them contribute their own labor. She felt this was the best approach. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
"Li Hongjun is truly blessed to have married someone like you," Ma Liguo sighed, admiring Li Hongjun’s luck and Yunfang’s ingenuity.
"Hehehe, that’s something you can say to Hongjun himself when he gets back," Yunfang said, her tone growing somber. After all, who could say for certain if Hongjun would make it back alive?
Seeing her mood drop, Mu Huazhen quickly said, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I’m not good enough? I’ll have you know, Ma Liguo, it’s not too late for you to back out now."
"Oh no, the Empress Dowager is getting angry. This humble one wouldn’t dare, I’ll go and serve soup for the Empress Dowager right away."
Their banter brought the spirits back to Yunfang, who watched them playfully joking with a smile.
The plan was preliminarily set. It would be easy to notify the police station and those involved; Ma Liguo and Mu Huazhen were there to help. The main challenge now was finding a suitable printing factory and getting the sample version ready as soon as possible.
Actually, she had already made some progress on both fronts. Regarding the sample, Yunfang had done her research before solidifying her plans. Ma Liang’s father was not only an artist but also a calligrapher of repute. Even though the old man had passed away, his disciples were still around.
Ma Liang had fewer years of learning from his father; his painting was nearly up to the mark, but his calligraphy was lacking. However, his female fellow apprentice was fully skilled. So Yunfang’s intention was to write the couplet contents herself and then have Ma Liang’s sister-disciple handle the writing, to produce the sample.
She also had a target in mind for the printing factory. Originally, she had contemplated sending the sample over to Germany for Joseph to print and then have them shipped back, but this would greatly increase the costs and be uneconomical.
Later, while attending a parent-teacher meeting for Pangpang, she chatted with the parents of his friends, who were close to him, and was surprised. It turned out that these children all came from well-connected backgrounds; their parents were either factory managers or department heads, and one of the children’s parents happened to be the manager of a printing factory.
She was cautious at the time, subtly inquiring and getting the address and other information about the person. But as a woman on her own, it wasn’t appropriate for her to negotiate directly, and this was exactly when a man was needed to support the scene. And that man was Mar Liguo.
After Shen Yunfang roughly explained the situation, Ma Liguo nodded in understanding.
"Alright, wait for this weekend, and the two of us will pay a visit to suss things out," Ma Liguo also had a decisive nature.
When the weekend arrived, Ma Liguo and Shen Yunfang successfully found the home of Shi Qiangguo, the director of the Xicheng Printing Factory.
Since Shen Yunfang had met him before, they managed to get in the door.
Afterward, Ma Liguo tried to sway Director Shi with his gift of the gab.
However, Director Shi was very strong-willed and principled. He rejected Ma’s request on the spot and declared righteously that he would never engage in activities that would harm the nation’s interests.
Shen Yunfang fell silent. All she wanted was to find a place to print some materials and wasn’t even avoiding payment. How could that possibly harm the national interests? She was actually trying to generate revenue for the state-owned factory.
After spending an afternoon there, the two of them returned without achieving anything.
Shen Yunfang almost felt like giving up when she saw Director Shi’s stance, but Ma Liguo did not think the same way.
"Yunfang, don’t worry. Give me half a month’s time; I’m sure I can handle him." Ma Liguo’s fighting spirit was ignited, determined to crack this tough nut.
Seeing his enthusiasm, Shen Yunfang encouraged him and equipped him with a powerful external device—a red envelope stuffed with five hundred yuan—in hopes that it would pave the way to unexpected results.
Ma Liguo paused for a moment, thought about it, and without saying anything, tucked the red envelope away.
After that, Shen Yunfang left the matter to Ma Liguo, letting him give it his all. It was just half a month; if it worked, great, if not, it was time to move on to the next target.
One day, while Shen Yunfang was teaching at school, the gatekeeper came to inform her that someone from her hometown was looking for her and that she should hurry to see them.
Shen Yunfang was startled. Was Sister Li visiting so soon?
She quickly asked for leave from her teacher and then hurried towards the school gate. Upon arriving, instead of Sister Li and her family, it was Li Hongxing’s family of five.
"Little sister-in-law, I finally found you. This place is really not easy to find; it took quite some effort," Wang Dan said with relief upon seeing Shen Yunfang arrive. They hadn’t made a mistake; they had finally found the person they were looking for.
