Chapter 73: Family Affairs at the Factory

Fourth Uncle drank too much. Fourth Aunt supported him to the dormitory at the back to sleep.

Maternal Uncle, who also lived in that dorm, had already returned to his room to rest.

Xu Zhiquan had downed at least half a bottle of baijiu yet remained fully sober.

A cigarette dangling from his lips, his cheeks flushed, he reached out to ruffle Xu Chen’s hair, eyes full of fond concern.

“Come on, let’s go home!”

Li Rui hurried up, and together with Xu Chen helped Xu Zhiquan into the car. They left the factory grounds and headed home.

……

……

The next morning, Xu Chen slept in late.

When he got up and checked his phone, he saw a message from Feng Qingqing.

Xu Chen frowned—he really didn’t want to go to their “appointment.”

But since Feng Qingqing’s family were town officials, and it had to do with his father’s connections and the seedling business, he couldn’t refuse the polite “entertainment.”

He had to figure out a way to shake off this obligation soon.

Although Feng Qingqing was pure and pretty, girls like her—full of self-importance and a rich inner world—would only make life complicated if he stuck around too long.

They’d originally planned to go to the Town Youth Palace, but Feng Qingqing suggested the city library instead.

School resumed Monday, and since they’d be in the city anyway, they could return to campus afterward and study. Xu Chen agreed.

……

After a quick wash, he opened the door to find breakfast waiting on the table outside.

Steamed buns, soy milk, fried dough sticks…

He grabbed a bite then went downstairs, spotting his father and Fourth Uncle at the table in the living room.

The two brothers smoked as they pored over a pile of documents.

The front door stood wide open, and outside, Li Rui was washing the car with a bucket.

Xu Zhiquan had given him the day off, but Li Rui knew about the evening drinking party and stayed behind to help.

Li Rui slept in the factory dorm with Maternal Uncle Zhang Yongqing, making the commute easy.

Seeing his father and Fourth Uncle busy, Xu Chen went to the kitchen to wash some fruit, cut up a platter, and brought it over.

“Chen’s up!” Fourth Uncle looked up and smiled when he saw Xu Chen.

Xu Zhiquan asked, “Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I have!”

Xu Chen set the fruit platter on the table and said,

“You two carry on. Li Rui and I will wash the car.”

He smiled and headed out.

Seeing Xu Chen emerge, Li Rui called out, “Brother Chen!”

Xu Chen grinned and grabbed a mop from the bucket, starting to wipe down the car.

“Brother Chen, let me clean this filthy thing!”

“No worries. I’ll get some exercise,” Xu Chen replied.

Li Rui smiled awkwardly and fetched a cloth to help clean.

Inside, Xu Zhiquan and Fourth Uncle resumed their discussion.

As Xu Chen cleaned, bits of their conversation drifted out.

“It all comes down to money… land leases, utilities, warehouses, seedlings, fertilizer—necessary expenses,”

“Luckily Xu Chen helped save a 120,000 yuan budget on fertilizer.”

“Those parcels of land near the factory—they’ll cost cash if we want them…”

“After buying the land, there’s renovation, utilities, seedlings, labor, and so on.”

“We’ll get some funds at month’s end. Two parts of the equipment payment are almost due.”

“The plant and machinery won’t be sold for now. Plan to mortgage them to the bank for cash…”

“Second brother, are we really done with the foundry?”

“Focus on the seedling business. Everything else can wait.”

“If it gets tight, I can free up some funds, but that’s for emergencies…”

Overhearing from a distance, Xu Chen realized the family still faced huge financial pressure.

Several projects were still in bidding and hadn’t paid out.

They were purely spending now—no income yet.

They relied on savings from the foundry parts business, and Xu Zhiquan had secured bank loans.

Only once a few seedling projects began paying would things improve.

……

A black Audi rolled up slowly.

Xu Chen looked up to see an older black Audi A4.

Seeing the license plate, he couldn’t help but smile.

The car stopped and two men stepped out.

One was Third Uncle Xu Zhihai; the other was Eldest Uncle’s son, Xu Xin.

Third Uncle carried a shoulder bag, his hair slicked back, his belt gleaming—a bona fide tycoon’s air.

Eldest Uncle’s son got out of the driver’s seat, clearly Third Uncle’s chauffeur.

Third Uncle eyed the black Accord parked at the door with a puzzled look.

Xu Chen politely greeted, “Third Uncle.”

He had to be polite—Third Uncle came to deliver money…

Hearing the commotion, Xu Zhiquan and Fourth Uncle Xu Zhilin stepped outside.

Third Uncle smiled and said,

“Second brother, you’ve shut the plant but still managed to afford a new car?”

Xu Zhiquan, cigarette in hand, replied,

“I don’t have that money. It’s a friend’s car—just borrowing it for a couple of days.”

Fourth Uncle Xu Zhilin glanced at Third Uncle, displeasure flickering across his face. He teased,

“Third brother, you’ve made it big, huh? Now you’re driving Audis!”

Xu Zhihai laughed heartily.

“What choice? I’ve got to visit various city officials. Driving an old Yaris looks shabby.

I wanted an A6, but every official drives one. It’d be better to stay one level below.”

He pointed at Xu Xin:

“Now Xu Xin is my full-time driver!”

Xu Xin bowed his head sheepishly and greeted, “Second Uncle,” “Fourth Uncle.”

Xu Zhiquan took a drag of his cigarette and said,

“Third brother, you never show up unless there’s a reason. What brings you here this time?”

Third Uncle smiled.

“Second brother, you’ve switched to farming. Those plants and machinery… you don’t need them anymore, right?”

Xu Zhiquan and Xu Zhilin exchanged glances, sharing unspoken thoughts.

Third Uncle continued, “I’ve secured the mechanical factory’s orders. You must have heard.”

Xu Zhiquan smiled, “Congratulations, Third brother!”

Third Uncle waved it off, “No need for congrats. I’ll be busy starting this year. Lots of pressure!”

He feigned solemnity, then said,

“Those orders are huge. I need to expand the plant and buy new equipment.

Your empty factory and machinery—why not sell them to me?

We’re family; I’ll give you a good price!”

Fourth Uncle cast Xu Zhiquan a knowing smile.

They were just worrying about money…

And they’d been stuck trying to sell those factories and equipment. Now Third Uncle showed up…

He was like the God of Wealth himself!

But to Xu Chen, Third Uncle was a huge fool…

Xu Zhiquan pretended to hesitate, frowning.

“It’s tricky. I’ve already planned to mortgage the plant and machinery to the bank. They’re appraising them now!”

Third Uncle froze, then burst out laughing,

“Second brother, you’ve turned to farming. You’re not really going to wait two more years to run the factory again, are you?”