After Li Mai returned, her parents told her something that gave her a broad perspective on her future career development.
Last winter, just a few days after they left, Old Yang caught a group of people who were trying to set fire to her shop and workshop.
As for who the masterminds behind these three groups were, Old Yang did not tell the Zhou family, only saying that the matter had been resolved.
The two elders and the managers, upon hearing that the matter had been resolved, did not pursue it further. They waited for Li Mai and Zhou Quan to return before making further plans. However, they became more cautious and would occasionally stroll around their shop.
Li Mai knew that anyone who dared to target his business at the same time must have planned and premeditated it.
On the night Yang Rui left, Li Mai and Zhou Quan invited Old Yang to the Li residence to inquire about the situation.
Old Yang said that the young masters of the Pei and Yue families were the ones he had sent back to their fathers and had warned them. The heads of both families also swore to keep their sons in line.
After that, neither family dared to disrupt their business again. The heads of both families even took back the business that had been given to their sons, fearing that they would cause trouble again.
After thanking Elder Yang, Li Mai gave him three bottles of spiritual liquid and a spiritual herb. Elder Yang thanked Li Mai and left happily.
"What are you planning to do about this, Madam?" Zhou Quan asked Li Mai.
Li Mai thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, have someone send an invitation to Patriarch Pei and Patriarch Yue, asking them to bring their two young masters and say that my wife and I will be treating them to lunch at the Xu family's restaurant."
Zhou Quan raised an eyebrow, "You still want to see those two brats?"
How dare they set fire to their own shop? Xiaomai still wants to see them?
If it weren't for Old Yang keeping an eye on the whole town, it would have really been burned down. If it were up to him, he would have beaten those two brats half to death.
“We have no grudges against them. The only possible grudge is in business, because we chose to enter the same business as them and settled in this town.”
"This was not their fault, nor ours. In business, there are only so many industries, nothing more than the five necessities of life: food, clothing, housing, transportation, and entertainment. Since we are in a business, it is inevitable that we will compete with each other. In a town, the business district is only so big, and the customer base is only so many people. The same business will definitely see one side rise and the other fall."
"For us in the same industry, what we need to do is not to kill our competitors so that we can be better off. If one company is gone, another will appear. Can we kill all our competitors? What we need to do is help them grow and use that as motivation to work harder to surpass them. That is what a healthy business environment is."
After Li Mai finished speaking, she looked at Zhou Quan with a smile, "Does my husband understand what I mean?"
Zhou Quan thought for a moment, then said, "I understand!"
His wife just wanted him to be her mouthpiece, right? Don't worry, he remembered all those words and would make sure to explain things clearly to both families.
The following day at noon, in the largest private room of Tian Shun Zhai Restaurant, Li Mai and Zhou Quan hosted a dinner for Pei and his son, as well as Yue and his son, to eat stewed mutton.
Lu Qian and Xu Chong were also present.
Looking at the elegantly decorated private room, Li Mai smiled and said to Xu Chong, "Young Master, you are very thoughtful. It's just a pity for these flowers to have to smell the muttony odor."
Xu Chong was bewildered by her rambling words, but Lu Qian burst into laughter.
Xu Chong asked Lu Qian what he was laughing at and what Li Mai meant by that. Lu Qian smiled and said, "My sister-in-law means that the setting is too elegant and shouldn't be prepared for someone who doesn't know flowers."
Xu Chong raised an eyebrow. "I didn't prepare this for them."
He knew Li Mai loved flowers, and this was prepared for her; everyone wants an elegant and comfortable environment to eat in.
Lu Qian was taken aback. "Could it be that you... had something to do with my sister-in-law..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xu Chong rushed forward and covered his mouth, startled. "Shut up, sir! If you can't speak properly, don't say anything. You're going to get me killed!"
Zhou Quan, who was sitting and talking with Li Mai, glanced up at the two of them whispering to each other by the door of the private room, then lowered his head and continued to talk to Li Mai in a low voice.
Both the Pei and Yue families brought gifts when they arrived, as an apology to Li Mai.
However, Li Mai and Zhou Quan didn't care about their small gifts. Her purpose in meeting them wasn't to get an apology, but to completely resolve the hatred they harbored towards her.
Therefore, Li Mai waved her hand and refused the gift, saying with a smile, "You two are too kind. My wife and I invited you here not so that you could apologize."
The Pei family head's expression darkened. Was this because he thought the gift was too small and wanted the shops they owned?
Was the gift really too insignificant? Thinking this, he glared fiercely at his son.
Pei Jing secretly observed Li Mai and Zhou Quan. This was the first time he had been in close contact with these two people, and he found that they had a very strong aura. This was not the kind of aura that only people from the countryside would have!
If they had known that these two were not simple people, they would not have dared to provoke them. They never expected that they would have an old man as their subordinate who could discover their men at the same time.
The key point is that they arranged for three groups of people to attack at the same time, but they were all tied up with tree branches and thrown into their yard. The two of them were almost scared to death.
Li Mai glanced at the expressions of the two families opposite her, and then smiled faintly as she looked at the exquisite potted plants in bloom in the private room.
"What are your thoughts on these potted plants and flowers, patriarchs?" Li Mai asked softly, smiling at Patriarch Pei and Patriarch Yue.
"A lingering fragrance?"
"Elegant environment?"
The two heads of the family sensed that there was something wrong with Li Mai's question, so they did not answer it immediately.
On the contrary, Pei Jing and Yue Xiu, who were impressed by Li Mai and Zhou Quan at this moment, answered cautiously.
Li Mai raised an eyebrow and gave the two men an approving look. "You two young masters are very clever and answered very well."
Pei Jing and Yue Xiu met Li Mai's gaze and gave each other shy smiles. "You flatter me, Madam."
Turning their heads, the two met Zhou Quan's indifferent gaze and were instantly startled. They wiped the smiles off their faces, sat up straight, their eyes darting around, and dared not look at Li Mai again.
Ignoring their gazes, Li Mai continued to smile at the two family heads and said, "Young Master Xu has arranged such an elegant environment for me to entertain the two family heads today. I suppose that in Young Master Xu's heart, the two family heads must hold very special positions."
The Pei family head and the Yue family head did not know what Li Mai meant by saying that, but they still bowed to Xu Chong in return, thanking him for his high regard.
Xu Chong was taken aback, returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and did not understand the meaning behind Li Mai's words.
Zhou Quan coughed lightly, knowing it was his turn to go on stage.
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