The young widow scoffed coldly. Widows are always surrounded by trouble, and she was not someone to be trifled with.

She continued to exert force with her hands, but said, "Practice makes perfect. If you die, I'll find a better one right away!"

As the saying goes, the stubborn fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear the reckless.

Zhao Huajun was completely at the mercy of the young widow and had no temper left. He immediately stopped scolding her and instead put on a fawning smile.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! My dear wife, please have mercy on me!"

Zhao Huajun pleaded for a long time before the young widow finally let go of his hand.

Zhao Huajun rubbed his nearly broken fingers, cursing his wife inwardly, but speaking softly to her, he said, "Honey, you're being too pessimistic. We can do some farm work, and the wages and year-end bonuses will make a good amount of money!"

"Think about it, how much does the guy in front of you earn after a year of hard work? A hundred yuan at most!"

"Look at our family, I can just lie at home all day and do nothing, and I still get a thousand or two in bonuses at the end of the year!"

The young widow thought about it and realized it was true!

The one before me was so exhausted from making clay that he vomited blood. He got sick but couldn't afford to take medicine, and he passed away before he knew it.

But now, I'm so lazy that I don't even want to get maggots on me. Luckily, I was born into a good family and earn a thousand dollars a year.

Well, if it weren't for this, I wouldn't have chosen him.

Zhao Huajun grew increasingly smug as he spoke, reaching out his hand, which was no longer in much pain, to touch the young widow's chest. "Oh dear, what can you do? It's all fate..."

________

After the candidates were selected, they split into two groups. Li Jin and Li Xiangdong, along with Li Tang and a few others, immediately went to the provincial capital to sign the contract, while Wang Zhenbo led the way, taking Liu Yuqing to the rural credit cooperative to apply for a loan.

Liu Yuqing and the zookeeper Liu Yuliang are cousins. However, Liu Yuliang's family is the eldest, and Liu Yuqing's father is the youngest. Generation after generation, Liu Yuqing and Liu Yuliang's daughter Liu Lanhua are about the same age.

Wang Zhenbo had long admired Liu Yuqing. He was clear-headed, had a knack for numbers, and could calculate any account clearly in no time.

There are too many accounts in Lijiapo now, and it's definitely not enough for Wang Zhenbo to handle them alone.

For a company to grow, the person in charge of finances must be both capable and reliable.

Therefore, Li Jin asked Wang Zhenbo to test whether Liu Yuqing was the right material.

Leaving aside Wang Zhenbo and Liu Yuqing, Li Xiangdong and his group took the train to the provincial capital.

The group carried large bags and small suitcases filled with canned goods, beverages, instant noodles, sausages, and other specialty foods produced by Baiyanghe Food Factory. Their purpose was twofold: to showcase their products to the provincial leaders and to allow them to sample them.

Of course, they also brought a lot of their village's specialties, such as wild boar meat, freshwater prawns, hairy crabs, small green lobsters, and turtles the size of pot lids.

If there hadn't been so many people, we really wouldn't have been able to move all this stuff!

The signing went smoothly.

The success of the event was unbelievable to both Li Jin and Li Tang.

Director He of the Industry and Commerce Bureau and Deputy Director Li of the Light Industry Bureau, who received them, were very enthusiastic, leaving the group of farmers at a loss for words, and then deeply moved.

Especially the younger generation, who practically want to pat their chests and assure their superiors that they will run their businesses well, create more jobs, absorb more surplus urban labor, and contribute more taxes to the provincial capital...

Among them, only Li Xiangdong, Li Jin, and Li Tang, who knew the inside story, remained relatively calm.

After the contract was signed, Director He prepared lunch. He said to Li Xiangdong, "Xiangdong, Captain Li, Factory Director Li, I've prepared some light rice. Let's have some together!"

Li Xiangdong naturally wouldn't refuse. If he wanted to settle down in the provincial capital, he would have to build good relationships with these bigwigs.

Although they had Liu Donglai as a powerful backer, and others would have to give him face even if they didn't care about him, they couldn't just go to Liu Donglai for every little thing.

That's not how you use human relationships.

Li Xiangdong grinned and pulled two bottles of Moutai from his pocket. "Director He, Director Li, you two prepare the meal, and I'll prepare the wine. Today is a special day, so we must properly toast you both!"

Director He laughed heartily, pleased with Li Xiangdong's thoughtfulness. "Ha! It's Moutai! Alright, we must drink until we drop today!"

Director Li's small eyes gleamed, and he smiled, "Two bottles won't be enough, will they? Old He is a notorious heavy drinker!"

As if by magic, Li Xiangdong pulled out two more bottles of Moutai from his bag. "I must entertain you and Director He properly today. I've brought plenty of this liquor!"

Everyone laughed and politely declined each other's offer as they walked towards the private dining room in the cafeteria.

Of course, Director He and Deputy Director Li would lead the way, with Li Jin and others following behind.

Finding a moment, Li Xiangdong slowly braked behind and whispered in Li Tang's ear.

“Uncle, you’ll be staying in the provincial capital from now on. We need to quickly build good relationships with these two big shots. We’re new here, and there will definitely be people who try to trip us up. We can’t ask Uncle Liu for help with everything, so we’ll have to rely on them for some things.”

Li Tang nodded solemnly, indicating that he understood.

Having served as the factory director of a food factory for several years, he has frequently interacted with county leaders and has seen a bit of the world.

However, these are two department leaders from the provincial capital, and their ranks are the same as those of the city leaders of Dongfang City, which makes him a little uneasy...

However, what Xiang Dong said makes sense. No matter what, we must take down the two bureau chiefs today!

He mustered his courage, strode forward, and walked alongside Li Jinyi on either side of the two bureau chiefs.

Throughout the meal, Li Tang was like a busy little bee, constantly hovering around Directors He and Li, serving them food, pouring wine, lighting cigarettes, and flattering them so much that they felt completely at ease.

The two bureau chiefs had drunk too much and stopped calling him Director Li, instead addressing him as "Old Li." The group then started playing a drinking game.

With Li Tang and Li Jin leading the way, Li Xiangdong was happy to relax and didn't drink any alcohol during the meal, but he did eat quite a lot of food.

The group ate until after 3 p.m. before dispersing. Director He's face was flushed and his speech was slurred, indicating that he was drunk.

Deputy Director Li's face was deathly pale. He sat upright and seemed alright, but as soon as he stood up, he rushed straight towards the wall, and everyone realized that he had also drunk too much.

Li Jin and Li Tang exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing: With such a low alcohol tolerance, they dare to call themselves "wine barrels"!

Even if it's a wine barrel, it's a wine barrel for children to drink from!

Their alcohol tolerance is too low; just four bottles of Moutai were enough to knock them both out!

The leaders got drunk, and their secretaries were also present, but they weren't drunk. So they asked their secretaries to take them home to rest.

Li Tang and Li Jin also led several people to help. Some helped support the bureau chiefs, while others carried local specialties for them. They escorted the two bureau chiefs safely home to rest.