Chapter Twenty-One: A Terrible Idea

Wu Min was already in a foul mood, and seeing Wu De only made him angrier. If it weren’t for his useless son, how could he have possibly offended the factory director?

“Dad, what did the director want with you? Don’t tell me he’s giving you a raise?” Wu De sounded hopeful.

“Get out of here! A raise? The director gave me a lecture and said that if anyone dares to drive the snack shop out again, he’ll hold them personally responsible. Did you really get your facts straight? Is the person running the snack shop connected to the director somehow?” Wu Min was now seriously suspicious.

Why else would Security have rented that place to Chen Huajiang at such a low price? There had to be a reason, and the more he thought about it, the more likely his suspicions seemed.

“Really? So the director doesn’t want us to drive him out?” Wu De could hardly believe it. No wonder his father looked so displeased on the way back—had he messed something up? He decided to ask around later.

“Go tell Security right away—don’t hassle that kid anymore. Given the situation, it’s not going to be easy to get rid of him,” Old Wu instructed.

Wu De was unhappy, but he wouldn’t dare disobey the director. He went to Security and relayed the message to Old Liang. Old Liang was a bit bewildered—one moment the Wu family wanted Chen Huajiang out at all costs, and now they were telling him to stay. He really didn’t know what the Wus were thinking. But it worked out well for him; after all, his own son was still getting a share of the profits every month.

At last, Chen Huajiang could relax. On the troublemakers’ side, Black Tiger was keeping watch for him. At the factory, the director was on his side—what could anyone else do? Even if they envied his earnings, there was nothing they could do about it.

That evening, Gou Weidong and Wu De sat together again, both holding grudges against Chen Huajiang, but neither knowing what to do.

“Bro, are we just going to sit here and watch him rake in the money?” Gou Weidong grumbled.

“What do you want me to do? The director is backing him now—what can I do?” Wu De was truly at a loss.

“Even with the director’s support, we just need to come up with a problem that even he can’t fix—at least make sure that snack shop can’t keep running. I might have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll work.” Gou Weidong gave Wu De a meaningful look.

“Well, spit it out.”

“We round up a few guys, go eat some lamb skewers there, and then claim we got food poisoning the next day. That’ll ruin his reputation. We can say all his meat is bad. Food safety checks are strict these days—if even one person reports him, that shop is finished, director or no director.”

It was a nasty scheme, but Gou Weidong was brazen enough to suggest it, and Wu De actually listened.

“I have to admit, that’s not a bad idea. We’ll need a few reliable people though. If anyone leaks word, we’re in trouble.” Wu De’s eyes shone; he could almost taste victory, imagining Chen Huajiang being driven out of Red Banner Factory.

“We don’t need many—three or five will do. As long as we cause a scene, the problem will solve itself.” Gou Weidong was blindly confident in his plan.

“I’ll see who we can get. We’ll have to pay them a little for their trouble—otherwise, what if they don’t cooperate?” Wu De, true to form, was always willing to use money to get what he wanted. His family had plenty, thanks to years of his father’s embezzlement at the factory.

The two plotted against Chen Huajiang. Of course, Chen Huajiang wasn’t a fool. He knew Wu De wouldn’t give up so easily and kept a close eye on his movements. But he noticed nothing out of the ordinary, and Wu De hadn’t come by to mock him lately either. This only made Chen Huajiang more uneasy.

That evening, Liang Long came by to help again. He was thrilled to find out the snack shop could keep operating, and business was better than ever—Chen Huajiang had even hired several new workers and could finally take a breather.

“Liang Long, I’m worried about something—Wu De hasn’t been around lately. Do you think he’s up to something?” Chen Huajiang confided his unease.

“Maybe he doesn’t dare anymore? The director is on your side now—he’d have to be blind to keep stirring trouble,” Liang Long guessed.

“I wouldn’t count on it. That guy is full of dirty tricks. Keep an ear out these next few days,” Chen Huajiang cautioned.

“Got it. I’ll ask around.” Liang Long even questioned his card-playing buddies, but none had seen Wu De lately. He figured maybe Wu De had lost a few thousand at cards last time and was too broke to show up.

But the next day, trouble came to Chen Huajiang’s door.

Around noon, four or five men showed up, loudly accusing, “We ate lamb skewers here yesterday and got food poisoning after we got home!”

“Don’t eat here, everyone! The meat isn’t even fresh!” one of them shouted.

Chen Huajiang just smiled. Now he understood why Wu De had been laying low—he’d been scheming this all along. But Chen Huajiang showed no fear as he calmly walked over. Indeed, these men had eaten at his stall the night before.

“How do you know it was my lamb skewers that made you sick? It wasn’t just your group who ate them last night. Plenty of others did too—how come nobody else got sick?” he retorted.

The men were clearly unprepared and just blurted out their accusations.

“We ate here and got sick. That’s all there is to it,” their ringleader insisted loudly.

“Did Wu De put you up to this? Let me warn you—false accusations have consequences,” Chen Huajiang replied coolly.

“I brought friends here last night, too, and we’re all fine,” another customer interjected.

“Chen always uses fresh meat—we’re regulars. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“These guys are just trying to scam you, Chen. Call the police,” others in the crowd urged, rallying to his defense.

When the troublemakers heard someone mention the police, they started to look nervous.

“I knew you wouldn’t admit it. Whatever, we have no proof. We’re just giving you a warning—believe it or not, it’s up to you,” said the ringleader, and with that, he led the others away.