Lu Fan hasn't received his deposit back yet.

Isn't Wang Mingtang's suggestion just an attempt to get him to continue investing money in the printing factory?

Lu Fan wanted to refuse the suggestion the moment he heard it.

However, after a moment's thought, he began to consider it carefully.

The situation of Xiangyu Printing Factory and the soy sauce factory is similar, both being major concerns for the municipal government.

It hinders the advancement of generations.

But the advantage of Xiangyu Printing Factory over the soy sauce factory is that it doesn't have Liu Nian or those workers who cause trouble every year.

This is because, by using the municipal government's name, Xiangyu Printing Factory still manages to receive one or two large orders each year, which is enough to sustain the livelihoods of its existing workers.

Although they're making less money, there aren't as many people causing trouble either. If the factory manager and accountant hadn't both gone missing, the printing factory could have survived for at least a few more years.

So, Lu Fan's words of refusal turned into asking for the reason behind the matter:

"I just arrived at the factory. After all, it was you, Brother Wang, who made the connection for printing the trademarks. Now that this has happened, you must know something about what happened before, right?"

To be honest, Wang Mingtang felt a little ashamed about this, as he had originally intended to secure a large order for Xiangyu Printing Factory.

The two factories are close to each other, which saves a lot on transportation costs.

Who would have thought that good intentions would lead to bad results, and the blame for the bad things would fall on him?

Wang Mingtang had no choice but to explain to Lu Fan:

"Sigh, none of us wanted this to happen."

Soon, Wang Mingtang explained this farcical "accident" to Lu Fan in detail:

The factory manager of Xiangyu Printing Factory was middle-aged and already married, but somehow he ended up having an affair with the factory's accountant.

Like an old house on fire, the factory's profits were getting worse and worse, but the couple's romance was not diminished at all.

The original assets could not withstand such extravagance, so the factory manager of Xiangyu Printing Factory, taking advantage of his position, conspired with the accountant.

The two then embezzled public funds from the factory and continued their carefree lifestyle.

The workers assumed it was just a bad year and that wages were only falling instead of rising, so they didn't suspect anything.

As a result, the two men's ambitions grew, and the misappropriated funds gradually became insufficient to satisfy them.

Seeing that they were using money from Peter to pay Paul, and the hole was too big to be filled, the factory manager and accountant made a rash decision and invested all the money in the stock market.

Wang Mingtang sighed, "The Wang family's involvement the other day not only ruined themselves, but also caused stock market turmoil, trapping the 'young couple' in all their money, which they can't get out."

Lu Fan gasped, never expecting that life's boomerang was still waiting for him here.

He profited from the soy sauce factory, and the printing factory's origins were also in the stock market.

"And then, when these two realized the money was gone and the hole couldn't be filled, they decided to run away together?"

Lu Fan felt he had figured out the truth.

Wang Mingtang sighed:

"More than that, I only found out after the printing factory incident."

"When these two realized that things were about to escalate and they would definitely not have a good outcome, they took as much as was on the books."

Along with Lu Fan's money and the municipal government's deposit, they all ended up in their own pockets.

The factory manager mortgaged his own property and the factory area affiliated with the municipal government to obtain funds.

"Now he's off having a good time with that little accountant, leaving the municipal government with this mess. I'm so worried my blood pressure is going up."

Lu Fan lost a portion of the deposit, which wasn't a large amount; the real problem was shipping the goods.

But what fell on Wang Mingtang was a bomb that was about to explode into a public incident.

If this isn't handled properly, not only will Wang Mingtang be held responsible, but the promotion of the person in charge might also be ruined.

Fortunately, the order that Wang Mingtang led to the printing factory is now only for Lu Fan and his team.

The printing of other exam papers isn't in such a rush.

So now that something has happened, only the factory workers are panicking and want to cause trouble.

No outsiders interfered and caused trouble for Wang Mingtang.

Wang Mingtang wasn't worried about Lu Fan causing trouble.

In his view, Lu Fan's way of doing things was ten times more disciplined than the Wang family's.

No matter who makes a fuss, Lu Fan remains unmoved.

The atmosphere in the factory was already "heated up." Everyone got together and became more and more excited, shouting some reckless slogans like "We're going to the municipal government" and "The municipal government must cover for us."

Lu Fan heard it, and Wang Mingtang naturally heard it too.

In reality, the truly unfortunate ones are these workers who need to support their families.

The reason these workers didn't leave the factory where wages were decreasing was because they lacked other skills; they continued to work there.

Who knew that the factory manager and accountant would continue to enjoy themselves, leaving the factory owners with nothing?

These workers, some in their fifties or sixties, have been working in the factory since they were young.

It can be said that his entire being was born from the factory.

Leaving the factory is almost like rebuilding flesh and blood.

The same experienced worker had also worked diligently in the factory for decades.

Such deep feelings—if this hadn't happened, how could these veteran workers at Xiangyu Printing Factory have possibly gone so far as to cause such a scene?