Finale Part 2
"Let's talk this out. Please come to my office, Ms. Li."
Li Guorong sat cross-legged on the leather sofa. "Where's the contract?" she said, holding out her hand with a disdainful look.
Wang Cheng continued to argue, "This Ms. Li."
A dark glint flashed in Li Guorong's eyes as he recited the first few clauses of the contract, "My brother has already confessed. Do you really think I can't control you?"
Wang Cheng was sweating profusely. He hadn't expected this woman to be so ruthless, even torturing her own brother. He tremblingly took the contract out of the cabinet.
Li Guorong opened the contract and sneered, "There's another copy."
Only then did Wang Cheng believe it, and he came up with another contract to sign with Li Guoliang.
A large group of people came and went. When the boss heard about this, he opened the safe and was about to run away when the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the police came to his door. Li Guorong gave face to several shopping malls and factories that had also been cheated, telling them about the contracts that had almost bankrupted them or that had already gone bankrupt. Several of these companies were local pillar enterprises. The Industry and Commerce Bureau and the police took this very seriously and immediately came to his door, arresting all the employees inside.
Li Guojian and Li Guoliang were pinned to the sofa. Li Guoliang still looked innocent and asked, "Second sister, why are you doing this? Isn't this illegal detention?"
Li Guojian had a bad feeling. "Sister, we are family. Don't listen to others' attempts to sow discord."
Li Guorong raised an eyebrow, "Provoke?"
A4 sheets of paper flew through the office, some scratching the faces of the two men, Li Guoliang and Li Guojian, who stared at the contents and signatures on them with grim expressions.
Li Guoliang never expected that such a meticulous plan would be exposed. However, he was a minor. He turned to look at his second brother, Li Guojian, who swallowed hard. "It was all that bitch Cui Fanghua and that little brat Li Guoliang who forced me to do it. I never intended to do anything to betray you."
Li Guoliang slammed his head against Li Guojian's head, yelling, "Bullshit! You wanted to take over the factory yourself, and now you're pretending to be a good guy."
Li Guoliang's eyes were bloodshot, as if he wanted to devour Li Guorong's flesh and blood. "This chili recipe belongs to the Li family. I originally had a share. Why do you have the right to keep it all to yourself?"
Li Guorong sneered. She had already stopped production, settled the bill for raw materials, and sold the unused chili peppers to a hot pot base factory. "The chili oil now doesn't taste like Mom's. And did you contribute a single penny to this factory or this land?"
Li Guoliang's eyes were filled with resentment. He was just born a little later, and his second sister always got the upper hand. If it were his eldest sister, she would have given him whatever he wanted long ago.
Li Guojian then spoke up, "Over the years, I've worked in sales. Even if I haven't achieved great success, I've certainly put in a lot of hard work. Little sister, please forgive your second brother this time."
Li Guorong felt even more heartbroken. Her second brother had worked hard, but she hadn't treated him unfairly. She had given him the land for his small house at a low price, and she had also sold him the car after driving it for only six months. Li Guojian was capable, but Li Guorong hadn't treated him unfairly either.
She had been with her older sister for so long, but she hadn't given her that much. She always just gave her what she earned. "That piece of land and the car, I haven't treated you badly, have I?"
Li Guojian's face paled. Based on his family's expenses, his salary simply couldn't afford the land for the building and the car. "I..."
"Let me go!" The woman's shout interrupted Li Guojian's sophistry.
Cui Fanghua came in with her hair disheveled.
Li Guorong looked her up and down. "Cui Fanghua, I've been good to you all these years, haven't I? You've been thinking about seducing my husband and ruining my marriage every day. You even had my brother mess with me. You're a born ruthless person. You even embezzled so much money by doing accounting. You're going to end up in jail."
Cui Fanghua glared hatefully at Li Guorong with her fox-like eyes, "You don't know? You really don't know?"
Li Guorong's eyes were still blank.
"The Beijing shelters, do you remember them?"
Li Guorong came to his senses and said, "We've only met once. You've held a grudge against me for so long, all because we had a fight. Are you sick in the head?"
Cui Fanghua burst into laughter, her muscles and bones shaking. "That shelter is full of abandoned and homeless people. Only you are such a respectable man, yet you flaunt it so loudly. The arrogance on your body makes us abandoned people want to vomit."
Li Guorong retorted loudly, "You're talking nonsense."
Cui Fanghua sneered, "I'm talking nonsense? Not a single piece of clothing on you costs less than 1,000 yuan. Nowadays, a worker's monthly salary is only 1,000 yuan. Which factory owner is as high-profile as you? Which woman has a PhD husband but is still thinking about her hoodlum first love?"
Li Guorong stepped forward, intending to slap Cui Fanghua, but the disgust and jealousy in Cui Fanghua's eyes made him stop. Li Guorong said, word by word, "All my achievements are the result of my own hard work. I have never relied on others, much less on men."
Cui Fanghua sneered, "You're really confident. You have a Beijing hukou without a man, but where did you get your machines without a man? Where did you get the initial capital to buy the goods without a man? You do all the good things yourself, but when something goes wrong, it's always someone else's fault."
Li Guorong loudly protested in his heart, "That's not true, she clearly tried very hard."
“That’s not how it is.” A cold male voice rang out as Lin Shaocheng arrived late. “Guorong can live very well on her own. All the land was bought by Guorong. The initial machinery for the factory and the trip to the south were all things she wanted to do. Her foresight is more valuable than assets and money.”
Li Guorong smiled confidently. At least in this era, she knew that being ahead of the curve wasn't entirely useless. And then there was Lin Shaocheng. This time, she would truly cherish him and wouldn't lose the person she truly loved.
Seeing the two so affectionate, Cui Fanghua went into a frenzy, saying, "Lin Shaocheng, why can't you see me? I'm taller, prettier, better educated, and gentler than her. We're the perfect couple."
Li Guorong shouted, "You fickle woman! My second brother is right here!"
"Hahahaha." Cui Fanghua shot him a glare, and Li Guojian lowered his head and didn't reply. "Him? Why didn't he think of me when he was in the business of hiring girls? Don't say it's all for business purposes. I've never seen Lin Shaocheng and his cousin go to karaoke when they were doing business."
Li Guorong's face turned pale and then red. Thinking of the exorbitant hospitality fees in the ledger, he gave his second brother a sharp look and said, "Take her to the police station."
Lin Shaocheng stood behind Li Guorong and asked, "What should we do with the second brother and the younger brother?"
Li Guorong was still soft-hearted towards her own family. When she was a child, her second brother would bring back delicious food for her, and her younger brother would give her a bite of rice. How did they become like this after they became rich? "They were also sent to the police station."
"no."
Wu Cuihua and Li Guolan pushed the door open and came in. Wu Cuihua hugged Li Guoliang and slapped his arm, saying, "How can you be so insensible? If you need money, just tell your mother. Why did you cheat your sister?"
Li Guolan, her face streaked with tears, slapped Li Guojian, saying, "How could you be so greedy? You'd do anything!"
After the two women cried and wailed, Li Guorong felt a mix of emotions. When she was cheated, her older sister helped her, and her mother said she would give her all the money. It turned out that this was not her treatment, but rather that whoever was weaker could receive this kind of love.
A pair of strong hands encircled Li Guorong, "In my heart, you will always be the most important."
Wu Cuihua rushed over, "Forgive your brother, I'll give you the small building to pay off your debts, and I'll also give you your second brother's car and house. There's no lasting grudge among family members."
Li Guorong opened his mouth to retort, but his voice was choked with tears. Lin Shaocheng stood in front of his mother-in-law, "Mom, they are all your children. You can't be so biased. Those two houses and the car were given to you cheaply by Guorong. How can you use them to pay off debts?" He wrapped his arms tightly around Li Guorong, "In my heart, you will always be the most important."
Wu Cuihua rushed over, "Forgive your brother, I'll give you the small building to pay off your debts, and I'll also give you your second brother's car and house. There's no lasting grudge among family members."
Li Guorong opened his mouth to refute, but his voice was choked with tears. Lin Shaocheng stood in front of his mother-in-law, "Mom, they are all your children. You can't be so biased. Those two houses and cars were given to you cheaply by Guorong. How can you use them to pay off debts?"
Wu Cuihua looked disappointed, her gaze piercing through Lin Shaocheng and into Li Guorong. "Guorong, when will you stop being so selfish?"
Li Guorong couldn't help but burst into tears. Lin Shaocheng stopped her in a protective posture, his brows furrowed as he looked at Wu Cuihua, as if he wanted to say something.
Li Guorong shook his head and stood in front of Wu Cuihua, saying, "Just because I have money, does that mean I deserve to be taken advantage of? Mom, can't you be reasonable?"
Wu Cuihua's eyes were still full of disappointment. "You wear gold and silver while your brothers eat chaff. Your ostentatious display led them astray."
"I led them out of the village, and it's my fault?" Li Guorong really felt that his mother was getting more and more confused as she got older.
Wu Cuihua said, "Since you can't give your brothers the opportunity to improve themselves, and you can't afford to let them see your life of luxury, then don't let them see it. They are not saints, and their jealousy will one day destroy your relationship."
Li Guorong's shoulders slumped, as if all his strength had been drained. Lin Shaocheng quickly caught him. He wanted to say something, but Li Guorong shook his head. "The house and car are all transferred to me. You can go wherever you want."
Li Guorong leaned deeply into Lin Shaocheng's arms. She had a real home and was no longer the girl who sought the most important and powerful place in her family. "I won't care about you anymore." Li Guorong cleaned up the discipline in her factory, established a chili pepper and Chinese medicinal herb base in Chongchuan, and worked with Lin Shaocheng to build a good factory that became a well-known brand at home and abroad.
Unable to control his desires, Qian Mancang became involved in illicit businesses a few years later. Li Guorong gave the evidence to one of Lin Shaocheng's classmates, and Qian Mancang went to prison early, at which point the local atmosphere began to improve.
Inside the house is a small shrine containing a wooden carving of a young girl, with the freshest fruits and the latest mobile phones and lipsticks always displayed in front of her.
Lin Mingzhi stood to the side, rolling her eyes to the heavens, holding her iPhone in her hand. "Mom, when will you stop being so feudal and superstitious? You don't even know who you believe in. You might as well go to a temple and pray."
Li Guorong stood up and said, "What do you know? Without her, there would be no you. And you're dressed so strangely. You're going to some exhibition, so hurry up and go."
Lin Mingzhi thought to herself, "They just want me to buy the latest iPhone to offer as a sacrifice to this unknown wild god. Otherwise, I wouldn't come back to eat my parents' dog food." "Then I'm leaving."
Li Guorong sat on the sofa. In the blink of an eye, she had reached this age again. She handed over the chili factory to her eldest son and the Chinese medicine factory to her eldest daughter. Her youngest daughter didn't like these things and only took dividends. She lived a peaceful and stable life.
Lin Shaocheng came down the stairs. After so many years, perhaps wealth really does nourish people. She looked much younger than she did in her previous life. The two of them looked to be in their early thirties.
“I’ve already arranged the trip to Bali. Haven’t you always wanted to go?” Li Guorong’s lips unconsciously curled up. “Okay.”
In Chongchuan, the morning dew slips away amidst bursts of singing. Women wearing blue headscarves go up the mountain, carrying bamboo baskets almost as tall as their upper bodies. They quickly pick chili peppers and toss them into the baskets like acrobats. From dawn to noon, the baskets are filled with more and more chili peppers.
"Honglin, come pick chili peppers to earn tuition fees!"
The girl with slightly dark skin smiled, a little embarrassed, "I heard that the prices in the university cafeteria are very expensive, so I'm thinking of working more to pay for my tuition, accommodation, and daily necessities."
The women next to them smiled. The chili pepper and Chinese herbal medicine industrial parks allowed them to earn money right at their doorsteps. Sister Li's chili oil and Zhengzhitang Pharmaceutical Factory even built a primary school for them. If girls went to school, they would receive a daily subsidy of an egg and milk. Many girls persisted in going to school, and more and more children were admitted to universities, went to other places to see the world, and some even entered these two factories as researchers and managers. They were all successful.
Now that the county has money, cement roads have been built in front of every household, and they're even talking about building a resort on the mountain and applying for scenic area rating. In the future, every family can run a farm stay business, and every household can escape poverty and become rich.
"It's still good to study. Before, Old Wang's herbs had pests and diseases, but Xiao Wang immediately noticed and cured them. Otherwise, all those years of planting would have been in vain."
"Yes, reading is good."
The hopeful morning light shines on this once backward mountain village, and everything is developing for the better.
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