ambiguous
A pair of slender legs emerged from the car, and several 18-year-old boys in the yard stepped forward with cheerful smiles, "Hello, Factory Manager."
Li Guorong nodded in acknowledgment. Normally, she would have time to exchange pleasantries and offer encouragement, but now she didn't have that time. She hurried towards the Chinese medicine factory. Along the way, several different groups of male employees greeted her. For the first time, Li Guorong had a different thought: Could it be that they all knew she was dancing at the dance hall? She hadn't had so many male employees greeting her before.
Li Guorong's smile vanished, and he hurried towards the factory behind him. The Chinese medicine factory had few employees, all of whom were carefully operating the machinery.
"Where is your factory director, Lin?"
The employees looked at each other in confusion, until the team leader stepped forward and asked, "Didn't the factory manager go abroad? Boss lady?"
Li Guorong was now truly anxious. "He hasn't come?"
The employees all shook their heads.
Li Guorong clenched his fists as he walked back to his chili factory. When he saw his second brother, he quickly went up to him and asked, "Second brother, have you seen Shaocheng?"
Li Guojian scratched his bald patch, "Isn't my brother-in-law in the U.S.?"
Li Guorong held his second brother's hand and said, "You stay in the factory and keep an eye on things. If Lin Shaocheng comes back, contact me on your pager and I'll go out and look for him."
A strange look flashed across Li Guojian's face, and he gripped the document in his hand even tighter. At this moment, Li Guoliang ran over and snatched the document from Li Guojian's hand. "Second sister, I know you're in a hurry. There's still work to be done. This needs your signature."
Li Guorong took the documents, glanced at them quickly—one was about procurement, the other about shipping—signed her name in a flamboyant manner, and handed them to her second brother.
Li Guojian's hand trembled slightly, and Li Guoliang steadied it. "Sister, you should go find your husband right away. A woman's most important career is her husband. You can't lose him."
Li Guorong had no ideas at the moment, so he went to the train station to check. Fortunately, there hadn't been a single train to the airport or Beijing since yesterday.
Li Guorong took out 100 yuan from his bag and said to the woman selling corn next to him, "Look after someone for me. If he comes, contact me. My pager number is xxoxxxx. I'll give you another 100 yuan after the job is done."
The woman's eyes lit up. "I promise I'll get it done for you, old man."
The man selling pan-fried dumplings came over and took the photo from Li Guorong's hand. The purchasing power of 100 yuan is different now than before. The two split up, one guarding the east gate and the other guarding the west gate, not letting anyone escape.
Li Guorong's head was pressed against the car. She wasn't at home, not at Li Xiangxi's house, not at the factory, and hadn't appeared at the train station. Where else could she be? Her face turned deathly pale. Lin Shaocheng had been abducted, but he didn't have any magical abilities. What if he couldn't come back?
Li Guorong straightened her back and started driving around the city aimlessly. She didn't believe that Lin Shaocheng could just disappear into thin air if he hadn't gone out.
Li Guojian stared at the contract, while Li Guoliang wore a disdainful smile. "Second brother has already done it, why are you still pretending to be a loving brother and sister?"
Li Guojian's face flushed red. "What did you say? Wasn't it you who instigated it?"
Looking at his second brother's hypocritical demeanor, Li Guoliang pulled out the contract and said, "If you don't want to do it, I'll do it myself."
Li Guojian quickly snatched it away, saying, "You're not an adult, what are you going to do?"
Li Guojian muttered to himself, as if speaking to Li Guoliang but also to himself, "This is also for the Li family. Once a sister is married, she's like water spilled from a cup. Now she has no children and is still messing around with other people."
A look of agreement flashed in Li Guoliang's eyes. His second sister was away from the factory every day, and the factory was run by the family. The chili pepper recipe was passed down in the family, so it should be divided among him and his brothers, not kept by his second sister. Now that she was messing around with others and damaging the factory's reputation, it would be better for him to take over and build a new chili pepper factory.
At this time, Lin Shaocheng did not leave Shenzhen or contact anyone he knew. He returned from the United States with two reasons: first, he wanted to give Li Guorong a surprise, but he was shocked by the unexpected outcome. He touched the ruby necklace in his pocket, looking even more tired; second, he was concerned about subscription certificates. A new product called subscription certificate had recently been introduced in China, and based on his experience studying finance over the past few years, he felt it had great potential and wanted to make a fortune back in China.
The people in front of him were talking about the recent stock market situation, but Lin Shaocheng had no patience to listen. He felt incredibly lonely. Where could he go if he left Li Guorong? He never had a place in his parents' home, nor in Li Guorong's home. How could a marriage by chance compare to a childhood sweetheart?
Thinking of this, Lin Shaocheng revealed a mocking smile, laughing at his own overestimation of his abilities. He mechanically followed the flow of people in, with a thick stack of ID cards in his hand, "I'll buy all of them as subscription certificates."
Seeing his empty bank balance and a stack of subscription certificates, Lin Shaocheng felt even more lost. He didn't have high material needs; he just needed to meet his basic living requirements. His biggest motivation for earning money was to buy Li Guorong the clothes, jewelry, and bags she liked. Now that she was gone, what was the point?
As Li Guorong passed by the bank, the sight of the huge crowd outside annoyed her, so she stepped on the gas and sped away.
Lin Shaocheng pushed his way through the crowd and heard the roar of a car. He saw the red taillights in the distance and gripped the strap of his bag tightly. Was it her? It turned out they were destined to be apart. Lin Shaocheng, heartbroken, checked into a nearby small hotel and lay down on the slightly yellowed sheets.
The car's fuel gauge had dropped to its lowest level. Li Guorong drove into the gas station. She had asked at all the bus and ferry stations, but no one had seen Lin Shaocheng. She bumped her head on the steering wheel, which honked the horn and startled her so much that she sat up straight again.
"98 yuan, miss."
Li Guorong handed over the money, saying, "Keep the change."
In the pitch-black night, Li Guorong sat listlessly in a chair, the table empty, her stomach rumbling, her lips chapped, the scent of perfume mingled with the faint smell of sweat, her head bowed low.
Squeak~
Li Guorong looked up in surprise. Wu Cuihua was holding a bowl of hot and sour noodles. "Little sister, food is essential for life. No matter how anxious you are, you can't skip eating."
The aroma of hot and sour noodles wafted into her nose, and tears dripped onto the table. "Mom, did I really do something wrong?"
Wu Cuihua stroked her daughter's head and said, "If you make a mistake, you have to admit it. What were you thinking? Back then, we made you marry someone from the village, but you were set on marrying Lin Shaocheng. Now you're having an affair with Qian Mancang."
Li Guorong retorted, "I didn't. Qian Mancang and I have nothing going on. We're just dance partners. I love Lin Shaocheng."
Wu Cuihua moved her hand away and sat down in a seat to the side. "Little girl, is that really what you think? I've heard a lot about this in this area. So many families have fallen apart while dancing in dance halls."
Li Guorong bit her lip. She was fed up with this era without short videos and live streaming. Dancing was also a way to relieve loneliness. With Lin Shaocheng by her side, she wouldn't be so bored, she wouldn't go to the dance hall alone, and she wouldn't be misunderstood. "I have never done anything to betray Lin Shaocheng."
Wu Cuihua knew Li Guorong's stubbornness. Now she only selectively listened to Lin Shaocheng. The more money she received, the more employees flattered her, and the higher her position became, the more stubborn she became. She used to listen to her, but now she wouldn't even listen to her.
"I think Shaocheng is a good person. Now that you're back, settle down with Shaocheng and stop flirting with other women."
Li Guorong stood up, her face full of anger. "How many times have I said it? I didn't do that kind of thing. Aren't you annoying me? If Lin Shaocheng wants to come back, he can come back. If he doesn't want to come back, I'll just find someone else. I'm popular." She stomped upstairs and closed the door again.
Wu Cuihua sighed deeply. "The noodles are on the table. Remember to come down and eat if you want." Her shoulders slumped. She could no longer understand what her children were thinking. Even her youngest son was acting mysteriously. She was really getting old.
Beep beep beep...
Li Guorong opened her eyes. The phone at home was ringing. She rushed downstairs. "Is that Shaocheng?"
"It's me, Guorong, Mancang. I have a new dance tonight and I've just learned a new way of bartending in Hong Kong. Come and have some fun."
Li Guorong gripped the phone tightly, wanting to smash it down on Qian Mancang's face. It was all Qian Mancang's fault. If he hadn't insisted on inviting her to dance on the dance floor, Lin Shaocheng wouldn't have seen her, and Lin Shaocheng wouldn't have run away from home, making it hard for her to sleep.
“Lin Shaocheng is still angry. How can a man be so petty? You came to the dance hall with him, and I'll treat him to drinks.” Hearing this, Li Guorong’s anger towards Qian Mancang subsided by more than half. He had only gone out to have fun, and Lin Shaocheng, being from the North, was really too stingy. He couldn’t help but complain about Lin Shaocheng in his heart, “I couldn’t find Lin Shaocheng, so I couldn’t have any fun. It’s all your fault. You have to take responsibility.”
Qian Mancang's hearty laughter rang out, "I'll take responsibility, I'll take responsibility, or I'll marry you."
Li Guorong spat, "You're shameless. Who told you to marry him?"
Qian Mancang then regained his composure, "I have several groups of brothers under my command, all locals. Don't worry, they'll definitely get you out in less than half a day."
Li Guorong rolled his eyes. Now he had no choice but to try anything, and finding Lin Shaocheng to explain things was the most important thing. "Then go find him, but don't talk big."
Qian Mancang's cheeky voice came through, "If you find me, how will you repay me?"
Li Guorong cursed, "I'll give you a slap."
With a snap, Li Guorong hung up the phone.
Qian Mancang rubbed his ears, which had been shaken by the noise. His fellow veteran asked him with some confusion, "Why do you like such a feisty woman? She's a married man, and she's older. There are so many young girls in the dance hall, and you don't like them? They're all 18-year-old girls."
A sinister look appeared on Qian Mancang's face, completely different from his usual upright and righteous demeanor. "Have your men help me find that kid."
The guy next to me looked surprised. "You're really looking for someone? When did you become so kind?"
Qian Mancang shouted, "Xiao Wu, find me someone."
A few shady-looking blond youths came in, and soon the streets were filled with hooligans riding small motorcycles, harassing small hotels and taxi drivers until they had headaches.
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