If they don't make a scene, they won't have anything to eat. If they do, the municipal government might bail them out and support their family, covering their children's tuition and their spouse's retirement.

Lu Fan saw this and felt a pang of pity.

Wang Mingtang approached Lu Fan at this time not just to explain this matter.

His superior was also at his wit's end, so Wang Mingtang gave him an idea.

Therefore, this heavy responsibility fell into Wang Mingtang's hands, and he went to Lu Fan.

Wang Mingtang said with a wry smile:

"It was originally a good intention, trying to help both sides, but I didn't expect that you would end up losing money."

Lu Fan sighed:

"You said it yourself, nobody wanted this to happen. The grievances should be attributed to the perpetrators, and the blame should fall on those two greedy people, not on you."

It wasn't that Lu Fan and Wang Mingtang had a mutual respect; he had already relayed a message to Li Tian to find the factory manager and accountant as soon as possible.

Even if we can't get the money back, we absolutely cannot let those two swindlers who cheated a bunch of people continue to get away with it.

Wang Mingtang tentatively said over the phone:

“Brother Lu, you see, this is my fault. I was the one who signed the contract, and it looks like the money won’t be recovered anytime soon.”

"How about I contact other factories for you regarding the trademark?"

"We can't let a trademark or a ** delay your business and the soy sauce factory's shipments."

In fact, Wang Mingtang has made quite a few connections for Lu Fan.

The only problem was with the printing factory, but it wasn't a major issue.

Lu Fan thought for a moment and asked an unrelated question: "What are the municipal government's plans for Xiangyu Printing Factory? Brother Wang, could you give me a clear answer?"

Wang Mingtang had his own plans, and now, hearing Lu Fan's question, he felt even more confident that things were looking up, so he quickly replied:

"The printing factory ran away with the money, and what they took wasn't just your tens of thousands of yuan deposit, but also some of the municipal project funds."

"This factory area has been mortgaged to the bank. Even if our municipal government can speak up, this amount is still quite large."

"The person above me also thinks this factory is a hot potato right now. If we dump it on the bank, the workers will protest."

“If we don’t let it go to the bank, the municipal government will still have to continue allocating funds to support it. This amount of money is not a small matter, and the person above will have to call his superior to report it.”

"With a promotion on the horizon, it's best not to let the higher-ups know about this."

Lu Fan laughed and said, "But if the workers cause a disturbance, it's no small matter. It will surely alarm the higher-ups, won't it?"

Hearing Lu Fan's words, Wang Mingtang felt as if he had met a kindred spirit, and let out a long sigh:

"That's exactly the point."

Lu Fan understood Wang Mingtang's plan, and his smile widened: "So, Brother Wang called today because he wants to hand over this printing factory to me?"

Wang Mingtang also laughed:

"I told you this couldn't be explained over the phone, let's have a meal together sometime."

The two agreed on a time and place, and Lu Fan pondered for a moment before saying, "Then I'll go there tomorrow, and we can discuss the specific details later."

Wang Mingtang laughed even more heartily, even feeling that when it came to cooperating with Lu Fan, he found it much more comfortable and smoother than with the Wang family or Lu Fan.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Fan stopped worrying about Xiangyu Printing Factory, got into his car, and headed home.

Liu Nian and Xiao Zhang also got into the car, both puzzled as to how President Lu had resolved the matter as if it had been settled with just one phone call.

"Mr. Lu, what did Vice Mayor Wang say?"

"So we really can't get the deposit back? Are we just going to accept this?"

Zhang Fan glanced at the rearview mirror and said to the two of them:

"We definitely can't just accept that, Mr. Lu. I'll talk to Li Tian and ask him to find that incompetent factory manager and accountant."

Lu Fan nodded, and with a slight smile, said to the three of them:

"This isn't over yet. Just wait and see; maybe Xiangyu Printing Factory will end up in our hands in the end."

"ah?"

All three were astonished, unable to understand how, in the short time it took to answer a phone call, the factory, which was on the verge of collapse, had fallen into the hands of their boss, Mr. Lu.

But looking at President Lu's smiling face, he really didn't seem like he had taken on a troublesome task.

Everyone was even more puzzled, exchanging knowing glances instead of saying anything about showing off their intelligence.

Lu Fan returned to the soy sauce factory and told the workers to continue working, since the existing trademarks and logos could still be used for a while.

He then called Lü Qiuyi over and asked about her schedule for tomorrow: "Come with me to the municipal government to meet someone; there's a new case to discuss." Lü Qiuyi was never one for words and always focused solely on her work, so she didn't say anything more upon hearing this.

Just before leaving, he asked Lu Fan if he wanted to sue Xiangyu.

"The news about the printing factory has reached our factory area. I think the deposit isn't much, but it's still tens of thousands of yuan."

“Our legal department isn’t just sitting idly by. Why don’t we file a lawsuit? That way, those who are just watching won’t follow Xiangyu’s example and become his lackeys.” Lu Fan waved his hand.

"You're here. Tomorrow we'll be discussing the Xiangyu Printing Factory. It's possible that the factory will be handed over to us."