"This young lady has a really smooth tongue. Where are you from?"
"I'm from Northeast China, I own a factory and a shop, and I want to cooperate with Zhu Xu. What do you want to say?" Qin Xiaoyu didn't stand on ceremony and laid it all out.
This bald man is named Wang Qiang, and Qin Xiaoyu gave him the nickname Bald Qiang.
Bald Qiang is also a victim. He ordered a batch of clothes from Zhu Xu, but was shocked when he received them. The clothes were completely different from the samples. Actually, he was a middleman, and he had even paid the deposit himself. Now that he can't deliver the goods, he has no choice but to fight Man Aihong to the bitter end.
Man Aihong left without a word, locking the door and causing him a lot of trouble. After finally settling the previous accounts and losing money, he wasn't about to let Man Aihong off the hook and came straight to her door to take the fabric.
Qin Xiaoyu had just shown him the fabric, but he hesitated again. Taking this thing to pay off the debt was worse than not having it at all. Who would buy it? It was too rough to even use as a rag.
"That's the situation now. We've both laid everything out on the table. What do you suggest, bro?" Qin Xiaoyu realized that this Bald Qiang was quite clever, so she figured she might as well put him to use and passed the buck to him.
"This is a real problem. Sister Qin, let me be frank with you. If I hadn't met you today, I wouldn't care about the fabric; I could have taken a few machines and at least made up for the money I lost, right? Those villagers are all bullies among themselves; they wouldn't dare to talk back to me. But I met you, you know, it must be fate. I don't want anything anymore. How about you invest in me? Why do I feel like I can make money with you?" Bald Qiang's mouth was really something else.
"Don't try to fool me, it's no use. Even if you're going to invest, you need to come up with a plan. Can this factory be revitalized? We can't just let Zhu Xu and his wife continue to struggle; one of them is sick, and the other is on the verge of bankruptcy. Let's figure something out ourselves," Qin Xiaoyu said with a smile.
"Sister Qin, we need to make a decision quickly. I'm not trying to scare you, but this linen is hard to store. If it freezes in the winter and all the moisture gets trapped, and then there are a few heavy rains next spring, the cloth will be covered in mold spots and have a peculiar smell that you can't wash off. It'll be completely ruined." Bald Qiang was very capable, and Qin Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. He was a good helper.
At this point, Director Bao had already started serving spicy soup and steamed buns to the table.
A Lei immediately stepped aside, shaking his head repeatedly and saying, "I don't want to eat, I'm not hungry."
Qin Xiaoyu wouldn't let him have his way, and she and Bald Qiang each grabbed a bowl, eating until their faces were covered in sweat, it was really enjoyable.
"Eat less, don't get an upset stomach," A Lei whispered to him.
"Try a little." Qin Xiaoyu scooped up a spoonful and fed it to him. A Lei reluctantly took a bite.
"The taste is a bit strange, but it's alright." Qin Xiaoyu had taken a few sips from A Lei's bowl, but upon hearing this, she pushed it back to him.
A Lei hesitated for a moment, then stood on the ground, sat on the kang table, and drank a bowl of soup clean. He then took a few bites of the steamed bun and was almost ready to say, "It's so delicious!"
Qin Xiaoyu loves these kinds of dramatic face-slapping moments; they're so entertaining.
After dinner, Qin Xiaoyu and Bald Qiang went to the warehouse again to check the goods.
Three-quarters of the fabric was defective, and the remaining portion was not produced on a large scale. It was probably leftover from the original batch, with only a small quantity of each type. It wouldn't even be worth the effort of making patterns for garments, and it couldn't be mass-produced, so it wouldn't be of much use to a garment factory.
"Zhu Xu has been running a garment factory for quite some time now, and he used to dabble in fashion. How could he fall for this?" Qin Xiaoyu looked at the piles of scrap fabric, her mind filled with questions.
"I actually know a little about this. It's all Man Aihong's fault; she's too honest and wanted to help her friend, but ended up taking on the debt herself, and the friend slipped away." Bald Qiang sighed and recounted what had happened.
It turns out that this batch of goods belonged to Man Aihong's classmate Ding Zhanglong. After getting his hands on it, he realized something was wrong and begged and pleaded everywhere for help to sell it. At the time, they said they would pay him after it was sold.
Man Aihong found someone to bring the goods back, but she was also worried. She tried her best to process them and planned to send them to Guangzhou as defective products.
It was destined that something bad would happen. Ding Zhanglong drove drunk and crashed into a ditch. His family cried and begged for money everywhere to save his life. In a moment of impulse, Man Aihong paid the payment for the goods first.
Ding Zhanglong's life was saved, but when Man Aihong wanted to buy fabric, she found she had no money. When she went to the Ding family again, she was turned away.
"Isn't this just digging their own grave? We all treat this as a joke in our circle. Ding Zhanglong's actions are unethical, but Man Aihong is just too stupid."
Qin Xiaoyu was quite unhappy after hearing this. From beginning to end, Man Aihong had done nothing wrong. She was right to help her classmate clear out her stockpiled goods, and she was right to help with her classmate's hospital expenses after the car accident.
Why did she ultimately bear all the consequences?
These small workshops purchase small quantities of raw materials at a time, process them, and then sell them. This is a slow process of capital accumulation, and they have not yet reached a certain scale.
If things go wrong, the cash flow will dry up, and without external help, it will be a fatal blow, potentially leading to utter ruin.
Qin Xiaoyu finally understood why Man Aihong had rushed to Guangzhou: she wanted to borrow money from Zhu Xu to save the factory.
How is Ding Zhanglong now?
"He's fine now, all lively and energetic. I even saw him drinking. His business wasn't affected much; he's recovered."
How long ago was this?
“It’s been almost a year since this happened, and Man Aihong’s business has been getting worse day by day ever since. I signed a contract with her this time because I wanted to help her, but she used that batch of fabric to deal with me and almost dragged me down with her!” Bald Qiang said bitterly.
"Let's go, take me to see Ding Zhanglong." Qin Xiaoyu was determined to get justice for Man Aihong.
"Sis, that's a live donkey, are you sure you can handle it?"
"What's wrong with the donkey?" Qin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at him. "You're trying to bully me. Take him to make donkey-hide gelatin."
Qin Xiaoyu rummaged through Man Aihong's office drawer for a long time and actually found the purchase invoices. She tore off two of them.
It wasn't until Bald Qiang saw Qin Xiaoyu directing people to move the fabric onto the Cherokee that he realized what was going on.
"You want to return it? Ding Zhanglong would be a fool to give you a refund."
"Then let me show you a ghost." Qin Xiaoyu is not the Qin Xiaoyu of the past. Now she can fight off thugs, infuriate scoundrels, and has mastered all eighteen martial arts.
When they arrived in the city, Qin Xiaoyu learned that there was an entire street dedicated to wholesale fabrics, and Ding Zhanglong's shop was located there.
It was the weekend, and the place was bustling with people. Under Qin Xiaoyu's threats, Bald Qiang took a bundle of cloth and reluctantly led the way.
"Hey, isn't this Wang Qiang? Need some materials? I have everything." Ding Zhanglong came out of the house, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Qin Xiaoyu noticed that this man didn't look slick at all. He was about 1.7 meters tall, thin, with a long, narrow face, and a somewhat bitter look—the kind of face that didn't attract wealth.
He knew Wang Qiang worked in fashion processing and sewing, and he was quite enthusiastic.
Bald Qiang didn't say much and led Qin Xiaoyu and the others into the house. He was a germaphobe and was afraid of getting lint on his body from the linen, so the bundle of cloth was brought in wrapped up. Ding Zhanglong was a little curious and kept moving closer.
Bald Qiang was a seasoned veteran and naturally didn't want to get involved in the mess. He threw the cloth on the table and slipped away to observe the situation.
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