Chapter 82: If You Can’t Afford to Cross Them, Can’t You Even Avoid Them?
That afternoon, Gu Peijun gathered the other three members of the village committee again to discuss the matter—Xiao Liang would formally resign from his post at the juice factory and, under the name of his new company, take over the marketing and sales operations for Nanting Lake Juice.
All the procedural work had to be pushed through swiftly—cut clean, no hesitation.
For both the factory and Nanting Village, this was a major decision.
Even if they didn’t convene a full villagers’ assembly to vote, the village committee still needed to hold a formal meeting and pass the resolution on record.
Otherwise, if the matter ever came to light later, the township government and the county’s Township Enterprise Bureau—both of which held supervisory and auditing authority over village-run enterprises—could simply refuse to recognize it. That would become a vulnerability.
Of course, once the three committee members heard that the plan had already received the approval of Wang Xingmin and Liang Chaobin—the official directly overseeing Nanting Village—there was no way they would object.
The resolution passed unanimously. Everyone signed the meeting record, and the formalities were complete.
Xiao Liang then laid out his expectations for the factory’s future.
Put simply, he guaranteed that the factory would contribute no less than two million yuan in profit to the village committee each year going forward. As for Gu Peijun, his focus would shift primarily to production and operations. How those profits were allocated would fall to the other committee members to manage.
To achieve that goal, the factory would undergo production restructuring and reform its wage system.
The committee members were cautioned not to grow envious of management salaries that might soon reach one or two thousand yuan a month. Instead, they should think about the bigger picture—how much profit the factory could generate for the village once it truly took off.
A month ago, no one would have believed Xiao Liang.
But in just over thirty days, he had wired nearly two million yuan in sales revenue back to the factory’s account, pulling it back from the brink of collapse. Who could still doubt that the factory might one day regain the “glory days” it had under old Secretary Zhou Haiming?
If the factory could indeed contribute one or two million yuan annually, and Gu Peijun would be fully absorbed in running it, leaving village affairs largely in their hands—why rush to carve out a share for themselves now?
After seeing off the three committee members, Xiao Liang poked his head into the office. Liu Weiwei was inside, busy at work, but Zhang Feili was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Zhang Feili? Didn’t she come in today?”
Having already decided—after meeting Wang Xingmin and Liang Chaobin—to base the new company’s operations in Yunshe, Xiao Liang intended not only for Zhang Feili and Liu Weiwei to handle coordination between the factory and the new company, but also to take on some of the administrative work for the new company itself.
“Feili was just here a moment ago… how did she disappear so quickly?” Liu Weiwei said, puzzled.
She ran up and down the building, searching breathlessly, but couldn’t find Zhang Feili anywhere.
Xiao Liang still had to catch a bus back to Xijiang that evening, and Gu Peijun needed to head into the city to meet up with Xiao Xiao and try to arrange a meeting with people from the municipal pharmaceutical factory.
There was no time to look for Zhang Feili.
Xiao Liang handed Liu Weiwei the task of drafting the office lease contract, then left Nanting by bus.
…
…
Zhang Feili had deliberately avoided Xiao Liang.
She was afraid that, in front of Gu Peijun, Lin Xi’s identity might be exposed.
Only after Xiao Liang and Gu Peijun had left did she wander back into the office. When Liu Weiwei told her about the new company leasing space in the Cultural Center—and that much of the work would fall to them—she felt a flicker of excitement, though she masked it with a complaint.
“Just two days ago in Xijiang, we decided to set up a new office in Dongzhou city. Now suddenly we’re changing plans again? Can’t we stick to something for once?”
After returning to the factory, the two of them had a backlog of work waiting, along with new tasks Xiao Liang had assigned. They worked overtime until eight in the evening, only leaving when Liu Weiwei’s mother came to urge her home.
When Zhang Feili returned to her parents’ house, she found her cousin Zhang Wei drinking with her father again in the main room.
“You’re such a busy man—hardly ever around. How come you’ve been showing up here every other day lately, mooching drinks?” she teased.
“Hey now, don’t get it twisted,” Zhang Wei grinned. “Yesterday I was freeloading, sure—but today I brought the drinks myself, to show some respect to Uncle.”
He waved her over. “Come, have a drink with us.”
“Yeah, right. Like a weasel paying New Year’s calls to a chicken—there’s always an angle,” she shot back. “I’m not drinking your fake goodwill.”
Despite her words, she pulled over a chair and sat down. She had always been close to Zhang Wei.
Seeing her mother still busy in the kitchen, she called out, “Mom, Zhang Wei’s just here to freeload. It’s already so late—don’t bother cooking more for him and Dad.”
“Auntie, you’d better stop—Feili’s already feeling sorry for you,” Zhang Wei joked.
He poured her a small glass of bamboo leaf green liquor. “So, you’ve been in Xijiang for over a month. What happened there? Tell me again.”
Zhang Feili didn’t drink outside, but with family, she’d have a little—especially when accompanying her father.
She shot Zhang Wei a wary look. “Why are you asking?”
After a month away, it was only natural for family to ask questions. They couldn’t say nothing.
But Zhang Feili wasn’t naïve. She knew how complicated things were in town.
Casual conversation yesterday was one thing. But showing up again today, specifically waiting for her to come back just to ask—she couldn’t help but be cautious.
“Well…” Zhang Wei sighed and spoke honestly. “You know Gu Wei and Skinny Monkey, right? About a month ago, they ran into Lin Xi on a bus. Didn’t know who she was, got into their usual bad habits—said some inappropriate things. Xiao Liang happened to be there and stepped in. Things got a bit heated. It wasn’t anything too serious. I already dealt with those two idiots after I found out. But they work for me, so… I was hoping to find a chance to treat Xiao Liang, Gu Peijun, and the new Station Chief Yuan to a proper meal and apologize. Maybe you could help me put in a word…”
“What? Gu Wei and Skinny Monkey harassed Lin Xi on a bus?!”
Zhang Feili exploded.
She jumped up, grabbed Zhang Wei by the sleeve, and tried to drag him out.
“Do you have any idea what that girl has already been through at her age? What kind of trash are you running with? Why hasn’t Station Chief Yuan locked them all up yet? And you still have the nerve to ask me to help smooth things over? Get out! I’m not touching this!”
“It’s not as serious as you think,” Zhang Wei said helplessly. “They’re just idiots—see a pretty girl and start talking. They didn’t realize how young Lin Xi was. I’m already planning to kick them out of the arcade. This has nothing to do with me.”
“If it has nothing to do with you, then what do you need me for?” she snapped.
“I’m worried the new Station Chief Yuan might set his sights on my arcade,” Zhang Wei admitted bitterly. “If the place gets shut down, where am I going to get money to buy drinks for Uncle?”
Suddenly, Zhang Feili froze.
Her thoughts stumbled over themselves.
That morning on the bus, she had deliberately avoided mentioning that Lin Xi was He Hong’s daughter, afraid Xiao Liang might misunderstand.
That afternoon, she had even avoided Xiao Liang altogether, worried the truth might slip out in front of Gu Peijun.
But it turned out Xiao Liang had recognized Lin Xi long ago—and had even defended her on a bus over a month ago?
Her mind spun, unable to make sense of it.
But one thing was clear—there was no way she would go to Xiao Liang on Zhang Wei’s behalf.
At that moment, Zhang Qiang—the principal of Yunshe Middle School—finally understood why Zhang Wei had lingered around waiting for his daughter.
“Zhang Wei,” he sighed, “I’ve told you before—this crooked way of doing things won’t last. And you can’t treat everyone like brothers. Clean up your arcade and video hall first. Give it some time, see how things develop. Then maybe invite Gu Xiong or Liu Hui for a meal.”
In Nanting Village, aside from Xiao Yujun, figures like Gu Xiong—the former head of the supply station—and Vice Mayor Liu Hui still carried weight.
But right now, things in town were too murky. Zhang Qiang advised caution.
“Exactly,” Zhang Feili added, echoing her father. “What kind of mess is going on in your arcade? Gambling machines, porn films—you think no one knows what you’re showing late at night? Kids from Dad’s school are getting hooked on that stuff. He’s warned you more than once, and you never listen. If your place gets shut down, maybe it’s for the best. And that boxing gym of yours—look at the people hanging around there. Don’t go provoking everyone!”
She had always opposed Zhang Wei’s shady operations, but before, it hadn’t been her place to interfere.
Now that Lin Xi had been involved, she was beyond furious.
“Fine, fine. I’ll fix it, alright?” Zhang Wei muttered impatiently.
He stayed a little longer, drinking with Zhang Qiang. When Zhang Feili retreated to her room and didn’t come out again, he finally took his leave.
For now, he would just lie low and tread carefully.
