Chapter 203: Undercurrent

When Li Xian received the call and arrived at the county government to meet Liu Weihai, he was taken aback.

Liu Weihai wasn't exactly handsome, but he at least looked cultured and refined. However, the person before him was drenched in sweat, his white shirt stained with grease, and his hair a mess. 

Is this someone Liu Yuan picked up from the roadside?

Ignoring Li Xian's pinched nose, Liu Weihai grabbed his hand and said, "Li Xian, I keep my promises. There's progress on the loan!"

Li Xian wrinkled his nose, "What progress? Has it been approved?"

"Well, not exactly, but Secretary Sun has agreed. I went to the finance department on my way back and they said it's already started the project approval process. It should be approved in about two months!"

Li Xian was stunned, "Which Secretary Sun?"

Liu Yuan, who looked similar to Liu Weihai, frowned and said, "We went to the province. Who else could it be but Secretary Sun Weimin? Oh, and County Head Liu went crazy and stopped Secretary Sun's convoy. We don't know what will happen when he comes back."

Hearing this explanation, Li Xian was deeply shocked.

Liu Weihai, however, waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's nothing. Although Secretary Sun publicly said I broke the rules, he's agreed to the loan, which means my gamble paid off. With his attitude, stopping the convoy is no problem. When Secretary Liu returns, he might reprimand me, but it won't be severe."

Li Xian couldn't help but reassess Liu Weihai.

Previously, when Liu Weihai talked about his first love and his ideals at the dinner table, Li Xian had been dismissive. Many people have grand ideals and passionate dreams, but often these are gradually worn down by reality. Ideals fade, passion dissipates, and they end up mediocre.

Some things aren't just talked about; they need to be done—and done persistently, to the end.

Now Liu Weihai hadn't just talked about it but had actually done it. Li Xian felt a bit of admiration.

Holding Liu Weihai's sweaty hand, Li Xian was silent for a moment, then wrinkled his nose again, "Old Liu, go wash up. Today, I'll treat you to a meal and then we'll visit the distillery. The news about the loan needs to be announced to the factory, but since I haven't contributed, I can't announce it myself. You'll need to do it."

In the afternoon, accompanied by Li Xian, Liu Weihai arrived at the Bangye Distillery. When he announced to the over five hundred employees that the province had already approved the loan project and that the factory would soon expand tenfold or even twentyfold, the whole factory erupted in cheers.

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, Liu Weihai smiled with great satisfaction.

...

With Secretary Sun Weimin's order, Li Xian figured that the loan process should be smooth. The factory now had to act quickly to prepare for the upcoming expansion.

This involved adjusting everything—personnel, structure, processes, and more.

After Liu Weihai left, Li Xian had a meeting with the factory's key personnel that lasted the entire afternoon, and only returned home around six in the evening.

Passing by the new location of the Black Pottery Association, which was the old school in Zhuhou Village, Li Xian happened to see Yang Shuzhen walking out with her head down.

Considering that the distillery upgrade would inevitably increase the demand for black pottery packaging, and that the black pottery factory would also need to upgrade accordingly, Li Xian thought it was necessary to remind Yang Shuzhen to intensify training and possibly recruit more workers if needed.

"Aunt Yang, wait a moment!"

Li Xian told Zhou Yong to stop the car and shouted from behind.

Yang Shuzhen didn't respond.

Li Xian hurried to catch up and shouted again, "Aunt Yang! Aunt Yang! Hey?"

He almost lost his voice from shouting, but Yang Shuzhen still walked ahead with her head down.

Seeing Yang Shuzhen about to turn into an alley, Li Xian rushed up, patted her on the back, and unintentionally startled her.

"Ah!"

When Yang Shuzhen turned and saw it was Li Xian, she patted her chest and said, "You scared me! Why are you trying to frighten me?"

Oh my god...

Li Xian had a look of disbelief on his face, thinking, What's she thinking? I was practically shouting my vocal cords out, and she still didn't hear me?

"Aunt Yang, are you okay? I've been calling you for a while."

Faced with his question, Yang Shuzhen seemed a bit flustered and waved her hand, "Ah, it's nothing. Just thinking... uh, nothing."

Seeing Yang Shuzhen's strange behavior, Li Xian was puzzled but didn't press further. He went straight to the point about the factory's imminent expansion and upgrade, and the need for the association and the black pottery factory to cooperate.

"Okay... I understand. I'll arrange it for tomorrow."

After receiving Yang Shuzhen's somewhat hesitant response, Li Xian asked again, "Aunt Yang, do you have any problems? Are you too busy or tired lately? If there's anything, you need to tell me. Don't keep it to yourself."

Seeing his concerned expression, Yang Shuzhen forced a smile and shook her head.

Li Xian then suspiciously got back in the car and returned home.

Watching the Cherokee drive by and seeing Li Xian's worried expression in the rear seat, Yang Shuzhen's nose tingled, and tears began to flow.

Yesterday morning, Gao San had found her again.

But this time, not just Gao San, there was another man with him. This man made Yang Shuzhen extremely uneasy.

She recognized him as Zhao Er Xiazi, Zhu Feng's former cellmate from the Haixin Gengjia Village robbery case, who had been sentenced to five years.

Although Zhu Feng was imprisoned for economic crimes, not everyone in prison was like him.

To survive in prison without getting into trouble, Zhu Feng had made friends with people like Zhao Er Xiazi. But since his release, these people had become a nightmare.

A group of ex-convicts who couldn't find jobs in factories and had to resort to crime to survive. Society was tough, and these people, isolated from the world in prison for years, had to band together for survival after release.

Old Zhu's family had originally managed in Hailin, but fearing that their son might mix with such people and end up in prison again, they moved the whole family to Bangye.

Unexpectedly, Gao San brought this man to her door.

Yang Shuzhen was genuinely frightened.

She felt that she was living well now;

Old Zhu's brewing skills had been recognized, and he no longer harbored so much resentment. He rarely argued now.

Zhu Feng managed a large factory with hundreds of employees and had come out of his despondency. He walked with a spring in his step, almost wanting to jump. Zhu Juan, though still fierce, was now in a better financial situation and would likely find a good marriage in the future.

As for Zhu Jing, she wasn't worried. The girl was clever and, like herself, had a skill to fall back on. Even if tailoring seemed less valuable compared to brewing and black pottery, having a skill would allow her to support herself and not depend on her in-laws.

A few days ago, Li Xian had deposited the 800,000 from the auction into a savings account and handed it to her. Eight hundred thousand! Not only was it enough for her son's wedding and her daughter's dowry, but it also covered the old couple's retirement.

This was a life she had never even dreamed of before!

She didn't want anyone to ruin it.

Gao San seemed to have seen through this thought.

Yesterday, Gao San bluntly said that if she wanted Zhu Feng to stay calm, she should listen to him.

But how could she listen?

That scoundrel wanted her to quit working for Li Xian, start a new business, and send black pottery to Hong Kong. Not only that, Gao San also demanded she stop teaching apprentices and recruit the students she had already trained from the association.

Even though Yang Shuzhen felt a kinship with Li Xian, she knew that everything her family had now was thanks to him!

Such kindness was something she could never repay in this lifetime. If she did as Gao San suggested, it would be a betrayal so grave that even the King of Hell would punish her!

Burdened with these thoughts, Yang Shuzhen returned home.

Zhu Juan and Zhu Jing had already prepared the meal, and the family sat around the table, waiting for her.

After washing her hands in a daze, Yang Shuzhen sat at the table and looked at her son, who was eating and watching TV. She gently called out.

"Da Feng."

Zhu Feng, who was watching the news, turned when he heard his mother call, "What's up, Mom?"

Yang Shuzhen hesitated for a moment and said in a tone of negotiation, "I was thinking, with you and your father both working at the factory, and you're getting older now. It's time to settle down. It's not practical to keep selling your skills. Since we've got the money from selling the black pottery, why don't you go out and try your hand at something else?"

She thought that if Zhu Feng left, Gao San would have no leverage over her.

Hearing this, Zhu Feng was

 amused and put down his bowl and chopsticks, "Mom, what's got into you today? Why are you thinking so short-term? This afternoon, County Head Liu just visited the factory and said they secured over twenty million in loans to expand the factory tenfold! Mom, Xianzi said that if the factory upgrades, it'll become a brewery company and eventually a conglomerate. The existing management will be promoted, and I could be earning tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands annually, with shares in the company! Why would I give up such a good opportunity to start my own business?"

Old Zhu, holding a wine glass, also touched his wife's forehead, "You're a real tiger, aren't you? Have we been too good to you recently and made you confused? Maybe I should give you a good beating to clear your head?"

Seeing her family laughing, Yang Shuzhen smiled too.

But unlike the genuine smiles of others, hers was tinged with bitterness.