Chapter 203

However, after hearing Lei Tingjun's words, A-Qiang looked troubled.

Lei Tingjun glanced at his expression, realized something, and frowned, asking, "What? Don't tell me you've already spent both of your dividends from the last two rounds?"

"No, no!" A-Qiang shook his head hastily. "How could that be? Even if I were a spendthrift, I couldn't possibly spend all that money in such a short time."

He also doesn't have any gambling addiction.

"But..." Ah Qiang hesitated, scratching his head, feeling a little awkward about speaking to Brother Lei.

"Speak your mind, or shut up!" Lei Tingjun frowned, hating it when a grown man was so indecisive.

Ah Qiang then spoke up: "Brother Lei, of course I want to continue making money with you. But... but..."

"But what?" Lei Tingjun lowered his voice and said sharply, "You want half of it, right? Fine, I can agree to that."

Little did they know that Ah Qiang didn't actually want more shares; on the contrary, he wanted to invest less.

Because he has used all the money he has to repair his house.

“Brother Lei, you know, I’ve always wanted to renovate the old house in my hometown of Pingquan County and build a small building over it. When I went back before the holiday, they had already started hiring people to start construction,” A-Qiang said hesitantly. “I didn’t expect the brick factory deal to be finalized so quickly. I was thinking of using the money to renovate the house back home first, and then using the money I earned in the following months to invest in the brick factory…”

"So I don't really have much money left. How about I take a 10-20% stake, and you can keep the bulk of it, Brother Lei!"

Ah Qiang thought to himself, "Anyway, it was Brother Lei who negotiated the deal for this brick factory."

He had never even been to Honghe Township once, yet he took half of Lei Ge's money for nothing, which was really quite unfair.

In addition, he has spent most of his money on house repairs, so he really doesn't have much money left.

Lei Tingjun listened in silence for a while, then asked directly, "How much can you offer?"

Ah Qiang did the math in his head and said, "At most, it's three thousand yuan..."

Building a house in Pingquan County would cost at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan in total.

Besides, Ah Qiang built the house with the intention of making it his wedding home, so it certainly can't be built too shabby. At the very least, there should be running water and a natural gas stove installed, right?

Those three major appliances—television, refrigerator, and electric fan—must be fully equipped.

Take these furniture and household items for example. We can buy them slowly after the house is repaired. There's no rush. But right now, we need to pay for the materials and labor costs for the house repairs.

So, after deducting all the miscellaneous expenses, Ah-Qiang only had a maximum of three thousand yuan left to invest in the brick factory.

Lei Tingjun also knew that A-Qiang wanted to get married.

A-Qiang is different from him. As long as A-Qiang gets the girl's approval, his parents won't object. The girl's family is also of legal age, so as soon as the topic of marriage is brought up, it can be put on the agenda very quickly.

However, if Lei Tingjun wants to marry Ji Wanmei, she doesn't meet the legal age requirement for marriage.

So, he still has enough time to wait.

During this waiting period, he can go all out to make money, work hard, and create a better future for them!

But Ah Qiang was even more anxious than him, so he couldn't wait.

Lei Tingjun nodded: "Okay, I understand. You don't need to allocate the money for repairing the house. I'll figure out a way."

Afraid that Lei would be unhappy, A-Qiang explained, "Lei, I really didn't mean to..."

"Alright, there's no need for such formalities between brothers. I know all that." Lei Tingjun told him to calm down.

However, now the problem has fallen on Lei Tingjun's shoulders.

Lei Tingjun would buy it for 20,000 yuan, or even 22,000 yuan if the Honghe Township Committee really disagreed.

Let's calculate it based on the highest level of 22,000.

Lei Tingjun only has 10,000 yuan in his hands right now.

He originally thought that even if A-Qiang could contribute five thousand, he could find a way to make up the remaining five thousand.

But judging from the current situation, even coming up with three thousand would be difficult for A-Qiang.

Previously, Lei Tingjun had given Ji Wanmei five thousand.

But that five thousand yuan was given to Ji Wanmei by Lei Tingjun to manage. If Lei Tingjun wanted to use it, he had to ask her permission first.

That evening, Lei Tingjun spread out some stationery and began writing a letter to Ji Wanmei.

In the letter, he explained to Ji Wanmei in detail all the problems he encountered in the acquisition of the brick factory, and finally asked her for instructions and discussed with her whether he could take some money first to invest in the brick factory.

His words and statements completely failed to convey the idea that the money was originally his own.

Moreover, he showed absolutely no remorse for his previous actions.

On the contrary, Lei Tingjun found the feeling of being able to discuss things with his beloved and being managed by her quite enjoyable, even pleasant.

However, even after calculating, even with the five thousand yuan that Ji Wanmei had in hand, there was still a shortfall of seven thousand yuan.

The Thunder team implemented two countermeasures—

One option is to negotiate the price with Honghe Township again, down to 20,000. However, this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. Whether it's 5,000 or 7,000, he will still be short.

Second, Lei Tingjun went to Zhao Yingda to borrow money. Indeed, since Lei Tingjun came to Pingdong City, Zhao Yingda had already given him face several times. Borrowing money was really a last resort, and Lei Tingjun was unwilling to ask for it.

Third, discuss installment payments with the person in charge of the brick factory in Honghe Township. He can pay for the acquisition of the brick factory in installments.

Lei Tingjun saw this method in an economic news report and thought it was the most feasible.

I just don't know if the people at the brick factory will accept it.

The more isolated and backward a small place is, the less likely it is to accept more advanced methods of handling things.

Lei Tingjun had a premonition that if he went to discuss the installment acquisition, the township head of Honghe Township and Lao Cui would probably think he was a liar.

Thunder Army was also somewhat helpless.

After sending the letter, he waited for Ji Wanmei's reply.

Three days later, Lei Tingjun received Ji Wanmei's reply.

Inside the letter, besides a sheet of paper covered in writing, were two bankbooks.

Lei Tingjun opened it and glanced at it. It was the five thousand yuan he had given to Ji Wanmei back then, which she hadn't touched and had sent back to him.

The other passbook, in her own name, contained a full seven thousand yuan.

Lei Tingjun held the two bankbooks, his feelings indescribable.

He slowly unfolded the letter, and Ji Wanmei's delicate small regular script came into view—

"Lei Tingjun, whatever you want to do, go for it! I will always support you and always believe in you!"

"Acquiring the brick factory was a visionary decision. Don't give up because of a little setback. A few years from now, when you look back, you will definitely see how wise you were to make this decision today."

"Don't worry about failure. Even if you fail, I'll still be here."

"I will always be here."

Lei Tingjun's gaze fell on the letter, on her gentle yet powerful words, "Even if I fail, I'll still be here, I'll always be here." His dark eyes overflowed with deep, tender affection.

As long as she's there, he's not afraid of anything.