Volume 1, Chapter 34: Liu Yang's Fury

Liu Yang naturally did not enjoy hearing Xie Minmin’s words.

"Nothing is impossible," Xie Minmin said with a sudden smile. "Uncle Liu, if your staff hadn't been so callous, I wouldn't have stumbled upon this business opportunity."

"What do you mean?" Liu Yang suddenly felt that the situation might not be as simple as it seemed.

Xie Minmin chuckled. "Yesterday, I was dining with a client at your Xianghe Hotel. When I was leaving, I found two crates of vegetables in your lobby. Naturally, I asked the lobby manager and confirmed that they were things you didn’t want, so I took them."

Liu Yang’s expression grew increasingly grim. Did she really need to explain what happened next? He had already guessed the sequence of events.

"When I took them home and inspected them, they were top-quality goods! I was wondering at the time when Xianghe had become so generous, throwing away such fine produce. So, I did some digging and discovered that these vegetables were actually given to you by Boss Guo for free! Not only did you not want them, but you drove the man out and trampled his produce!"

After her long explanation, everyone present understood what had happened. It turned out that this father-daughter pair were not plants hired by Guo Dong, but were actually connected to the Xianghe Hotel.

"Guodong, you went to deliver vegetables yesterday and got beaten up?" Li Tianhu, standing to the side, felt his expression sour upon hearing this. The others turned their gazes toward Guo Dong, their expressions growing more disgruntled by the second. While villagers might bicker or even trade blows over trivial matters, they were always united when an outsider bullied one of their own. This was true not just for Xiantao Village, but for many others as well.

Guo Dong gave a bitter smile. Instead of answering Li Tianhu, he turned his gaze to the smiling Xie Minmin. "Sister Min, you were there yesterday?"

Xie Minmin nodded. "I came out just as you were leaving. I called out a few times, but you didn't hear me. If I had come out a step earlier, you wouldn't have been driven away."

She then turned her gaze to Liu Lan, who was standing nearby. "Lanlan, when Guodong treated your illness last time, didn't you say you wanted to invite him to dinner? You even said that from then on, any consumption he had at your hotel would be free, right?"

Liu Lan looked embarrassed. She had indeed said those words, but she never expected Guo Dong to take them seriously—let alone that he would try to claim them so soon!

Liu Yang did not speak further but walked to the side with his phone. Although he did not flare up or use an aggressive tone, everyone knew that the lobby manager was in for a miserable time.

"I am sorry about what happened this time, but rest assured, my father will certainly give you an explanation!"

Guo Dong shook his head, not taking it to heart at all. He hadn't suffered any losses; on the contrary, he was in a great mood because the vegetables had fetched a good price.

"Everyone, please help load the vegetables onto the truck. From today on, I’ll pay a wage to anyone who helps."

He was full of confidence now. As long as the prices held, his speed in growing vegetables meant money would be rolling in every day.

"There's a wage?" The villagers who had come weren't many—only about a dozen or so—but they were excited at the mention of pay.

Li Tianhu laughed, throwing an arm around Guo Dong’s shoulders. "That’s the way, Guodong! You’re really a boss now. Our business is getting bigger and bigger. Starting tomorrow, you handle the vegetables, and I’ll handle the fish pond."

When it came to having a thick skin, no one present could beat this guy. When Guo Dong first started planting vegetables, Li Tianhu had been the most vocal opponent. At first, he helped a little, but later he quit entirely to go mess around with his fish pond. Now that Guo Dong was making money, he was shamelessly latching back on.

"Guodong, I think this woman is quite special to you. Why don't you ask her if our fish pond could..." Li Tianhu rubbed his hands together, looking excited. If nothing else, if Xie Minmin bought his fish as well, he would finally be making money. If the price were to double or triple, maybe... Li Tianhu began to fantasize about driving a luxury car and showing off in the surrounding villages. How grand that would be!

"The fish pond is still just an idea, don't get ahead of yourself!"

Li Tianhu became energized. "What do you mean 'just an idea'? I put the fry in yesterday, and I even cleared out several hundred pounds of fish yesterday. Let me tell you..."

Before he could finish, Xie Minmin ran over. "What's this? You're raising fish too?"

Li Tianhu was immediately thrilled. "Sister Min, Guodong has a share in this fish pond. He owns the majority, and I’m just the worker. Want to go take a look?"

Not far away, Liu Lan heard this and shouted at Liu Yang, who was still on the phone, "Dad, hurry up! If you're any later, there won't be any soup left."

Liu Yang hadn't reacted yet. Though his phone call had been calm on the surface, he was inwardly furious. Because of a lobby manager, he had ended up paying so much more. He had paid Xie Minmin thirty yuan per jin, while she only gave the farmer twenty. What kind of profit margin was that? The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so when he heard his daughter, he retorted irritably, "What's the rush? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Liu Lan pouted and pointed toward the large fish pond not far down the hill. "The fish there are also raised by him, maybe..."

Before she could finish, Liu Yang had already hurried over.

"Boss Guo... Minmin, surely you aren't going to take a cut of the fish too? You and my father are friends, after all. If you keep doing this, we won't be able to stay friends!"

Xie Minmin paused slightly. "Uncle Liu, if we can't be friends, then so be it. It's not like I can't find someone named Zhou to work with."

Liu Yang: "..."

Here she goes again!

Li Tianhu, standing to the side, rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Chairman Liu, right? So, what price are you offering for these fish?"

Liu Yang cast a glance at Li Tianhu and was momentarily speechless. He hadn't even seen what the fish looked like yet, and they were already talking price? Did he look that stupid?

"As long as the fish you raise are of better quality than those on the market, the price is not an issue! Of course... if..."

Before he could finish, Li Tianhu pulled Guo Dong away. "Guodong, this guy isn't honest; let's not work with him. Even though Sister Min takes a cut, she’s straightforward. Anyway, I don't know how to negotiate prices and I don't know the market rates. Since Sister Min understands it, the money she makes from the middle can just be considered the wages we pay her to handle the sales for us!"

See? As soon as money was involved, Li Tianhu was as sharp as a tack. He acted as if he were whispering, but his voice was loud enough for Liu Yang to hear perfectly. Liu Yang was furious.

"Alright, it's still way too early for the fish; I have no time to worry about that now. Let's sell these baby cabbages and spinach first; I still have seeds to sow in the fields."

Xie Minmin laughed as she watched the two of them play good cop, bad cop. Perhaps because she had made an easy profit today, she stepped in to smooth things over. "I won't fight you for the fish, Uncle Liu, but I’ll be the one checking the pricing when the time comes. That’s fair, right?"

Liu Yang frowned slightly, wanting nothing to do with this younger generation. They were simply too difficult to deal with.