The large pie Zhang Liunian painted for Ma Quancai caused Ma Quancai's initially uncertain heart to tilt towards Zhang Liunian, and before leaving, he agreed to take on the job.
After seeing Ma Quancai off, Zhang Liunian suddenly received a call from Huang Da. Huang Da said he had found a store and asked Zhang Liunian to send them thirty thousand bottles immediately.
Zhang Liunian nodded in satisfaction, indicating he would arrange it at once. He then hung up the phone and smiled with relief, only to turn and face his wife's worried expression.
"Qingqing, what's wrong?"
Jiang Qingqing hesitated, then finally asked, "Liunian, what was inside the black bag you brought back the day before yesterday?"
Zhang Liunian was slightly taken aback. "Of course, it was money! There was one hundred thousand yuan in it."
What? One hundred thousand yuan? Jiang Qingqing was shocked. She then turned, took out the black bag, and opened it in front of Zhang Liunian, only to find a single piece of clothing inside.
Zhang Liunian was stunned. With a grim expression, he took out the clothing and asked, "Where's the money?"
"I don't know! After you fell asleep, I opened it and found only a piece of clothing inside, nothing else. I wanted to ask you, but seeing you asleep, I didn't," Jiang Qingqing said anxiously. One hundred thousand yuan! That was an enormous sum, enough to buy several houses in Nancheng. But where had the hundred thousand yuan from the bag gone?
Their home hadn't been broken into in the past two days!
"I haven't touched this bag since I brought it home the day before yesterday. Has anyone been to the house, or has there been a break-in?" Zhang Liunian's expression was serious. One hundred thousand yuan was not a small amount, and its sudden disappearance made him anxious.
"No break-in, but my second brother stayed over the night before last. He put the key inside a shoe outside our door. Could someone have seen the key and come in to steal it?"
Jiang Qingqing thought about it. The time the money went missing, the most likely opportunity was the night Zhang Liuxing stayed over. This was because the key was left outside the door at that time, which was not secure.
"..." Zhang Liunian fell silent. Zhang Liuxing stayed over for a night? Could it be that he took the money? Was that possible? It was indeed possible.
Just as Zhang Liunian was thinking this, Zhang Liuxing, in Nancheng, was relying on Zhang Liunian to make a fortune. First, he sold a motorcycle worth over twenty thousand yuan, and then he took the one hundred thousand yuan from the black bag.
Suddenly, he became well-off, which invisibly gave him confidence.
Therefore, this morning, even when facing the aggressive Fang Ru, he was not afraid at all.
In the end, he agreed without hesitation when Fang Ru impulsively proposed divorce.
"Zhang Liuxing, are you looking down on me because I can't have children, that's why you agreed to the divorce so readily and are even willing to give me the house?" Fang Ru glared at Zhang Liuxing through gritted teeth as they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Yesterday, Fang Ru had received her medical examination report and learned that it was her inability to have children that had prevented pregnancy for so many years.
While she was panicking and anxious about this, she saw Zhang Liuxing happily chatting with a female colleague. She couldn't help but start arguing with Zhang Liuxing on the street, which led to this outcome.
"Divorce was your idea, and I'm merely complying with your wishes. As for the house, I know your parents contributed significantly, and we also owe your eldest sister money, so I might as well give it to you," Zhang Liuxing said with great confidence now because he had money. With money, houses were easily obtainable, and women could be chosen anew. There was no need to be entangled with a woman who couldn't have children.
"So it's my fault now? Didn't you know I was speaking in anger just now? Couldn't you have been more patient?" Fang Ru didn't know why Zhang Liuxing had suddenly gained such confidence, but she knew she didn't want a divorce. Because she couldn't have children, any man would find it unacceptable, especially a divorced woman. Her future choices could only be worse.
"I'll move out immediately. That's all!" Zhang Liuxing said, then turned and left.
"Zhang Liuxing, if you've gotten to where you are today, it's absolutely impossible without our Fang family's help. If you don't want me now, you'll regret it one day." Seeing Zhang Liuxing's heartlessness, Fang Ru trembled with anger and spoke without thinking.
Zhang Liuxing's footsteps did not stop, but his face held mockery. He had been assigned such a good job position right after graduation not entirely due to the Fang family; the bigger reason was the country's shortage of talent. Even without the Fang family, he could have been assigned to a good workplace.
Therefore, Fang Ru's words were too presumptuous and made her appear even more detestable.
She really didn't think that without the Fang family, he, Zhang Liuxing, couldn't make something of himself. Let's wait and see!
At this moment, Zhang Liuxing was dazed by the sudden windfall and didn't realize that once the Fang family made a move, his future would be brought to an end.
However, it was a few days later, when the office announced that someone else had been promoted to section chief, that he suddenly came to his senses. The Fang family had indeed taken action against him, and his political aspirations were cut short.
Of course, this is a later story. Returning to Zhang Liunian and his wife discovering the lost money, Zhang Liunian still suspected Zhang Liuxing.
Although Jiang Qingqing was reluctant to believe it, seeing that her husband was so certain, she also began to suspect Zhang Liuxing.
In the afternoon, Zhang Liunian boarded a truck borrowed from the machinery factory and transported thirty thousand goods from the village back to Nancheng. After getting off the truck, he gave the driver a few instructions and personally saw him off to Jiangcheng.
"How is it? Has business improved?" Zhang Liunian had already asked his younger sister to put the new formula into production, and it would only be released to the market tomorrow.
"It's worse than yesterday. We only sold five thousand bottles this morning," Du Ziteng said dejectedly.
"It will be fine tomorrow," Zhang Liunian wasn't too worried.
At the same time, the Tang family was celebrating their success in capturing Zhang Liunian's market. Suddenly, someone came to report that Zhang Liunian had sent a truckload of pickles to Jiangcheng, intending to take over the Jiangcheng market.
"Jiangcheng? He couldn't make it in Nancheng and wants to go to Jiangcheng? We'll go too." Tang Shikou's mind was focused on crushing Zhang Liunian completely, absolutely preventing him from making a comeback.
But when he said this, Tang Lei looked miserable. "Cousin, we have no foundation in Jiangcheng. If we do the same as him, we'll also have to compensate for transportation and labor costs. Don't forget, we didn't make a single penny even in Nancheng. We played by price pressure, eliminating his market in Nancheng, but if he goes elsewhere, we'll lose money if we follow."
"Then what should we do? Are we just going to watch him thrive in Jiangcheng? That's absolutely impossible. Zhang Liunian is a major enemy of our Tang family, and we must not let him have an easy time." Tang Shikou knew that their meat sauce was their trump card this time. This move worked in Nancheng, but it wouldn't work in Jiangcheng.
"If we can't, can't we let Hongfei go? Doesn't he have brothers in Jiangcheng?" Tang Lei's eyes rolled as he came up with an idea.
"Hongfei? That useless fellow, he couldn't do anything to them even by acting in secret. What use is he now?"
"Cousin, you don't understand. Hongfei might not be able to deal with Zhang Liunian, but can't he deal with those who help Zhang Liunian sell things in Jiangcheng? Anyway, we just need to make sure he can't succeed in Jiangcheng."
"That makes sense. I'll go talk to Hongfei when we get back."