The situation was fine up front, but when he heard someone behind him dare to curse the business he had built up over most of his life, saying it would go bankrupt, Zhou Gui was furious.

"You bastard surnamed Gou, you're a real dog!"

Zhou Gui first launched into a personal attack before continuing, "Even if your lousy textile factory closes down, our Zhou family cloth workshop won't!"

The man surnamed Gou was clearly a boss himself. After hearing this, he wasn't angry at all and laughed, "Boss Zhou, what you're saying is wrong. My textile factory may be small, but I don't owe anyone any money, and I'm quite well-off. I'm not short of money, so why would I close down? It's Zhou's cloth shop that's not doing so well. I heard that Zhou's cloth shop has long been out of money, and with so much debt, I'm afraid it really will have to close down!"

After Boss Gou finished speaking, he burst into laughter, which made everyone in the crowd laugh along with him.

"You...you're talking nonsense!"

Zhou Gui was clearly furious. After shouting angrily, he said, "Who told you to spread rumors that our Zhou family cloth shop is out of money? Let me tell you, our Zhou family cloth shop lacks everything, but we don't lack money!"

As soon as Zhou Gui said this, the person on the other end burst out laughing.

It was obvious that Zhou Gui had been tricked.

"Okay, did everyone hear that?"

"I heard that, Mr. Zhou has plenty of money!"

"If you don't lack money, why are you still in debt and not paying it back?"

"What else could it be? They look down on us!"

"That's right! I think he not only looks down on us, but he also wants to steal our money without giving us a single penny!"

"Hehe, that won't do!"

At this moment, Boss Gou sneered and said, "We've worked so hard to earn this money, if anyone dares not to pay, I'll smash up their shop and see if they pay!"

"Smashing the shop won't do. If he doesn't pay, then we'll have to mortgage his shop to us, and we'll sell it to get the money!"

"Yes, sell it and get the money!"

Then, a group of people started shouting.

"You...you..."

Zhou Gui was so angry that he couldn't even speak.

"Father, you should go back first."

At this moment, Zhou Ziqiong's voice came out.

"Huaqin, help the master inside!"

"We can't let him in! He hasn't even said whether he'll pay back the money or not!"

“My father is getting old, and I have taken over most of the management of the Zhou family’s cloth shop, so he doesn’t know much about it. It would be better if you talked to me than to my father.”

"Ziqiong, go inside. Let your father stay here!"

"Father, don't you still trust your daughter?"

Zhou Ziqiong said softly, and Zhou Gui sighed and said, "Alright, then Father, go in!"

"In that case, let's talk to Miss Zhou!"

"..."

...

A moment of silence fell over the room, followed by the sound of footsteps. The Zhou family's cloth shop had a back door that led directly to the Zhou residence at the back. Huaqin helped Zhou Gui inside.

After Zhou Gui left, Zhou Ziqiong said, "You have all been doing business with our Zhou Family Cloth Shop for many years. Why do we choose to do business with you when there are so many textile factories in Ruzhou City? Isn't it because we are old customers and trust each other?"

Zhou Ziqiong's words suggest she's trying to appeal to emotions.

A moment of silence fell over everyone. Then, Boss Gou stepped forward and said, "Miss Zhou, let's stick to business and not talk about feelings! If feelings could make a living, who would do business?"

"Yes, business is business!"

The others echoed this sentiment, and it was clear that Boss Gou was their leader among them.

Zhou Ziqiong's voice turned cold: "Boss Gou, if we don't care about feelings and relationships, does that mean our Zhou Family Cloth Shop will no longer need to buy coarse cloth from your textile factory? And do you not want to sell coarse cloth to us anymore?"

This last sentence is addressed to the people who follow. They should be like Boss Gou, owning textile factories. Zhou Family Cloth Workshop is the largest cloth workshop in Ruzhou and even the whole of Anguo, with a huge demand for coarse cloth. These people are considered raw material suppliers for Zhou Family Cloth Workshop.

Upon hearing that the business with Zhou's cloth shop was to be terminated, the people behind them lost their confidence and all looked at Boss Gou.

Boss Gou sneered, "Hmph, Miss Zhou, don't try to scare me with those words. There are other cloth shops in Ruzhou City besides your Zhou family cloth shop. Can't we cooperate with other cloth shops?"

After saying that, Boss Gou asked again, "Moreover, I heard that your Zhou Family Cloth Shop's warehouse is currently full of unsold cotton and cotton-padded clothes. How can you possibly have the capacity to buy more coarse cloth from us? Even if we wanted to do business with the Zhou Family Cloth Shop, you wouldn't have the means, would you?"

"..."

These words struck a nerve with Zhou Ziqiong. The Zhou family's cloth workshop was now in a vicious cycle, with more and more cotton and cotton-padded clothes piling up in the warehouse. This meant that, apart from Huanhua Yujin, the business of other products could not operate normally.

"So, it's uncertain whether we'll sell coarse cloth to your Zhou family's cloth workshop in the future. Miss Zhou, are you trying to threaten us?"

After saying that, Boss Gou stretched out his hand and said coldly, "Miss Zhou, you'd better pay up quickly!"

Zhou Ziqiong did not back down and replied sternly, "Boss Gou, I guarantee with the reputation of our Zhou Family Cloth Shop that we will never delay your payment, but we will not pay you now. Instead, we will settle the payment after the goods have been held for three months, in accordance with the rules!"

"rule?"

Boss Gou laughed: "Miss Zhou, can you tell us where these rules come from? Who says that payment can only be settled after three months? Do you have any written agreement?"

"..."

There are many textile factories in Ruzhou City that specialize in collecting hemp from farmers, and then processing and weaving it into coarse cloth. This coarse cloth can also be sold, but it is mostly bought by poor people and doesn't fetch much money.

If coarse cloth is to be sold at a good price, it needs to be sold to various cloth shops. After a series of deep processing and dyeing by the cloth shops, it will become the clothes available on the market.

There are many textile factories and cloth shops in Ruzhou City, but the largest cloth shop is Zhou Family Cloth Shop, which has a large demand for coarse cloth, so all the textile factories want to supply Zhou Family Cloth Shop.

Zhou's Cloth Workshop selects a group of textile factories and negotiates terms with them. For example, they will first take coarse cloth, and after three months, once the coarse cloth has been transformed into clothing and sold, the payment will be settled.

This had long been a tacit agreement, and the Zhou family cloth shop never imagined that one day they would be chased for money, so they never even thought about writing a written agreement—at that time, the Zhou family cloth shop was at its peak, who would dare to break the rules? Wouldn't that ruin their own business?

Therefore, there is definitely no written agreement.

Therefore, when Zhou Ziqiong heard Boss Gou ask this question, she was also in a dilemma. She clenched her hands tightly, bit her lip, and it was about to bleed.

————