Chapter 166 Pickled Vegetable Factory

Just as Li Xuemei was about to complain, He Shijie raised his hand to interrupt her: "If this job were easy, I would have done it myself long ago. Why would it be your turn? If you succeed, all your debts will be wiped clean. After the pickle factory is built, your Lu family will be in management. This is your last chance to turn things around. Think it through."

The Lu family members fell silent instantly; the temptation was simply too great.

Lu Huaiyuan hesitated and said, "Uncle, we...we've already messed things up once. You're smart, could you give me some advice?"

He Shijie's lips curled into a sinister smile: "Simple. As long as their goods have problems and they can't deliver, the whole village will have worked for nothing and will definitely come after the Liu family. At that time, the Liu family will be left with no other choice but to come to me for help. I'll step in to settle the business, the Liu family will make money, the villagers will have an explanation, and your Lu family will become leaders. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?"

The Lu family members were tempted, but also looked troubled.

Li Xuemei rubbed her hands together: "We understand the principles, but... how can we make sure their goods have problems?"

He Shijie smiled dismissively and winked at his subordinate. The bodyguard took a paper packet from his bag and tossed it to Li Xuemei.

"This is a powerful laxative. It won't kill anyone, but it will smear their pickled vegetables as 'unclean.' For those in the food business, once hygiene issues arise, it's a dead end."

Li Xuemei took the medicine packet, her hands trembling slightly: "But... they were guarding the pickled vegetables very closely, we had no chance to get them."

The smile on He Shijie's face vanished instantly, his eyes turning icy cold: "If I knew what to do, would I need you? Figure it out yourselves! If this fails, you'll have to consider the consequences!"

After saying that, he led his men away.

The sound of the car engine faded into the distance, leaving the Lu family in a state of gloom and despair.

Li Xuemei tossed the medicine packet onto the table, saying with a sigh, "Easy for you to say! The Liu family is so vigilant, how could this possibly fit? Isn't this just deliberately making things difficult for them?"

Lu Jianping's eyes darted around, then he set his sights on Lu Xiaohui: "Isn't Xiaohui helping out at the Liu family's place? Why don't we let her give it a try?"

Lu Xiaohui shook her head vigorously: "Dad, what are you thinking? I have to change my clothes before I go to work, and they even check under my fingernails. How am I supposed to bring it in?"

Li Xuemei was furious: "It's all your fault, you brat! You've been following me for so long and haven't stolen a single bit of the recipe. You're such a useless piece of trash!"

Lu Xiaohui sneered: "If you think I'm useless, why don't you go and do it yourself? Would the Liu family even want you?"

"Alright!" Lu Jianping slammed his hand on the table. "What's all the noise about? We have to find a way to ruin the Liu family's business now! Xiao Hui is being kept under tight surveillance, that won't work."

"Then who should we turn to? The whole village is on the Liu family's side now. If we touch their livelihood, we'll become the enemy of the whole village!" Li Xuemei said irritably. "You don't really think that Boss He can still pay the villagers such high wages after taking over the business, do you?"

Although Li Xuemei didn't work in the Liu family's workshop, she had already profited from the business deal with the state-owned factory. If the boss changed and wages were reduced, would the villagers agree?

Lu Huaiyuan scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Is there really no one in the whole village who hates the Liu family? Is it just our family?"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Lu family exchanged glances, their eyes suddenly lighting up.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend!

The next day, Lu Xiaohui came to work as usual.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, she leaned close to Liu Zhixia and whispered, "Xia, didn't we agree before that I would be the inside man? Something's up!"

Liu Zhixia continued working with her hands: "What's wrong?"

“He Shijie gave my mother a packet of laxatives, hoping to ruin your business. The family discussed it all night yesterday and finally decided to have Aunt Yang poison it. As soon as the Yang family heard that it was to deal with you, they agreed without hesitation.”

Zhang Xiuying frowned: "Don't the Yang family and the Lu family have a feud? They've already shaken hands and made peace?"

Lu Xiaohui gave an awkward smile: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. But don't worry, this wasn't my idea, I've confessed everything."

"Are you sure it's a laxative?"

“It’s absolutely true. He Shijie said he didn’t want anyone to die, he just wanted to smear the pickled vegetables with the name of ‘unclean’ to cut off your source of income and force you to cooperate.”

Zhang Xiuying sneered, "That's a really underhanded move! As long as no one dies, the police station won't bother to investigate properly; they'll just make us pay compensation. When we're desperate, we'll have no choice but to beg them."

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Liu Zhixia's eyes: "Since they want to play games, let's turn the tables and let them reap what they sow!"

...

No sooner had Lu Xiaohui left than she saw Aunt Yang sneakily hiding behind a large tree by the roadside. She pretended not to see her, but secretly gloated: This is going to be good.

As soon as Lu Xiaohui left, Liu Zhixia deliberately moved a jar to a conspicuous spot at the courtyard gate and shouted into the house, "Mom! I've added a lot of good stuff to this jar; I plan to give it to the leader to try! Make sure you look carefully and don't mix it up with the others!"

Zhang Xiuying called out from inside the house, "Okay! Put it there for now, and we'll move it to my room later!"

"Please put it in my room! My room is empty!"

"Okay! Come in and lend a hand!"

Liu Zhixia responded and turned to go inside.

The courtyard was deserted.

Aunt Yang, who was hiding in the shadows, was overjoyed. She seized the opportunity to rush into the yard, quickly lifted the lid of the jar, poured the entire packet of powder into it, and then quickly closed it again.

"Hmph! You're supposed to feed the boss? If he poops in his pants, let's see how you do business then!"

Aunt Yang smiled maliciously, turned around and slipped out without anyone noticing.

Liu Zhixia, who was hiding behind the window, saw it all.

"Mother, the fish has taken the bait." Liu Zhixia sneered.

Zhang Xiuying came out of the house, looked at the jar that had been "tampered with," and a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes: "The Yang family and the Lu family are truly birds of a feather, with vicious hearts! What should we do with this jar?"

Liu Zhixia carried the freshly made pickled vegetables and entered Aunt Zhou's house in a grand manner.

At that moment, Aunt Zhou was discussing the brigade's plans for next year with several key villagers. Seeing Liu Zhixia arrive, everyone greeted her.

"Xia, what good stuff have you brought this time?"

Liu Zhixia opened the jar with a smile: "This is a new pickled vegetable I came up with, made with Chinese medicinal herbs. These herbs invigorate qi and blood circulation, and are very good for the body! Everyone's here, so why not give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers didn't hesitate and eagerly picked up bamboo skewers to try it.

"Mmm! Delicious! As expected of Xia, she can even make such bitter Chinese medicine smell so good!"

"Absolutely! This flavor is amazing!"

Aunt Zhou also took a sip and praised it highly: "This whole jar is made with Chinese medicinal herbs? The cost must be quite high!"

Liu Zhixia nodded: "Of course! This stuff is expensive. I don't plan to sell it; I'll keep it for myself or give it away. If I sell it for too high a price, no one will buy it, and if I sell it for too low a price, I'll feel bad."

A straightforward villager couldn't help but interject: "Xia, shouldn't we bring out some good stuff to make a good impression at our village's New Year's feast?"

Liu Zhixia smiled: "Don't worry! I specially reserved a big jar, and it's pickling inside right now! The ingredients I used are definitely no worse than this jar, so there will be plenty!"

Upon hearing this, everyone cheered and looked on with anticipation.