After Liu's mother called several times, Liu Jian kept explaining that he was with friends. If he didn't go back, Liu's mother would become suspicious, and besides, Liu Jian was also worried about the affairs at the factory.
These past three days, Liu Jian could be said to be experiencing both pain and happiness. Yu Miao made him meals every day and brought them over, acting as if she were his almost-girlfriend, allowing him to enjoy all the luck in love. However, having one IV drip after another every day was more than Liu Jian could handle.
Chen Xue came to see Liu Jian for a quick visit on the second day, bought some things, and left. She had already bought her train ticket. With Liu Jian being in no serious condition, Chen Xue left without hesitation. The follow-up arrangements had already been made. Liu Guizhu will be detained for robbery, rape, and assault, and is estimated to face multiple charges concurrently, making it unlikely that he will be released in less than a dozen years.
Back at the factory, Liu Jian's mother was startled by the wound on his head and the cast on his arm. She first asked after him with concern, and then proceeded to give him a lecture. Liu Jian's attitude of admitting his mistakes was good, and since he was injured, Liu Jian's mother didn't pursue the matter further. In the end, she was just worried about her son. Things at the factory continued as usual, and the news about the Manchurian cellar had already spread like wildfire.
The crowd gathered in the conference room, gazing at the liquor bottle samples brought back by Liu Fu, as if admiring works of art. Everyone wore excited expressions, and even the usually calm Liu Jian felt his blood surge.
The bottle's design wasn't very complex: a circular base, with a swan-neck-like top, resembling a swan from afar. Liu Jian had plagiarized a famous brand's bottle from later generations, and now it was the exclusive bottle for his own distillery. Just the bottle's image alone meant the distillery was halfway to success. After everyone had admired it enough, they went back to work, leaving the family of three to continue discussing in the office.
Liu's mother, still somewhat dazed, said, "Is this really our distillery's bottle? It's so beautiful. Isn't it a waste to put liquor in it? I think it could be used as a vase!"
The Liu family father and son were left between laughter and tears. Why did Liu Jian coax his mother away? Who knows what classic remarks the old lady might come up with next.
When only the father and son were left in the room, Liu Fu asked, "Has everything been handled properly? Are there any lingering problems?"
Liu Jian knew that Liu Fu knew about his affairs. He couldn't hide it from Liu Fu anyway, and he hadn't planned to. He used Chen Sheng's connections and had Li Wu step forward. How could these people not inform Liu Fu?
Liu Jian nodded and said, "No problem. Liu Guishui won't be out for more than a decade. Even if he gets out, his hands and feet will be crippled, and he'll be a useless person. His family are all ordinary people, and they don't have a good relationship with him, so no one will come forward. His wife is a loyal and righteous person, though. I had Li Si take care of it. I didn't ask for specifics, but I believe he can handle it."
Liu Fu gave Liu Jian a deep look and said, "How was that young man taken care of?"
This was about the person who crippled Liu Guishui. If he wasn't dealt with properly, it would be a major hidden danger.
After Liu Jian explained his arrangements, Liu Fu was relieved. This matter was neither a big deal nor a small one; it all depended on how it was handled afterward. If Liu Guishui hadn't been crippled, it wouldn't have been too difficult to deal with. Liu Fu hadn't expected Liu Jian to be so ruthless, immediately having someone sever all of Liu Guishui's tendons. He was worried that this matter would implicate Liu Jian. As for the life or death of Liu Guishui and his wife, Liu Fu didn't care at all; they were unimportant compared to Liu Jian's safety. It seemed that Liu Jian handled things well.
Liu Fu inquired about the situation at the factory and learned that everything was within their father and son's plan. The bottles had been manufactured, the raw materials had been purchased, and production could resume soon.
Liu Jian remembered the matter of the new trademark and asked about the printing situation. Speaking of the printing of the new trademark, Liu Jian had originally planned to have it printed by a printing factory in the provincial capital, but Liu Fu felt that it was unnecessary and contacted a local printing factory in Panshishi. What the specific printing effect would be was still unknown.
Today, after Liu Jian asked, Liu Fu also felt a little worried. Liu Jian's hand was injured and he couldn't drive, so Liu Fu drove Liu Jian to the printing factory to see the finished products.
On the way there, Liu Jian said, "Dad, I think you should get a new car. You're a big boss now, and a celebrity in Pan Shi. Driving a 'Peugeot' all the time isn't really appropriate, is it?"
Liu Fu shook his head and said, "There's no need, right? Although a Peugeot isn't a fancy car, it's still decent enough. Besides, the factory hasn't started operating yet, and there are a lot of places to spend money. We should save where we can."
Liu Jian disagreed, saying, "Dad, a car is a facade. If you drive a [local brand], people will still think you're just a small business owner, and this car won't be impressive enough for business dealings. Others won't know your strength; they'll think you only have one million when you have ten million. Some large enterprises and bosses will have doubts about cooperating with you. If you drive a million-dollar car, what will people think then? Regardless of whether we have the money or not, we need to let people know that we have money, and that we have plenty of it. That way, some things will be easier to handle."
After hearing what Liu Jian said, Liu Fu felt a bit shaken and asked, "Wouldn't that be a bit too flashy?"
Liu Jian laughed and said, "Dad, right now, we need to be flashy, not discreet. We acquired the Sanbao Distillery, and who knows how many people are waiting to laugh at us. I estimate that rumors are already spreading outside that our family has sold everything we own. When things are going smoothly for us, there won't be any problems, but if the factory runs into difficulties, people will jump out and enjoy the show. At that time, it will be difficult even to borrow some money for emergencies. If we buy a good car now, who would say that? Who would believe that we don't have money in hand? I'm afraid no one would even believe you if you said so. That's the effect of being flashy."
Liu Fu thought what Liu Jian said made sense, but thinking about the money he had on hand, he said with some hesitation, "Xiao Jian, the few projects I contracted haven't been completed. Although I don't have to advance funds, I don't have much cash on hand. Buying the winery, customizing bottles, purchasing raw materials, all sorts of things added up, I only have four or five hundred thousand left. According to you, if I get a good car, I won't have any money left."
Liu Jian knew that what Liu Fu said was the reality, so he thought for a moment and said, "It's okay, Dad, you get a new car first. If you don't have much money, just get an Audi for now. After all, it's a government car, and it's acceptable to save face. As for the money, the bank is full of it. Can't we get a loan with such a big factory?"
Hearing the word "loan," Liu Fu was a little hesitant. In the past few years, Liu Fu had taken out many loans, sometimes even taking out loans to pay workers' salaries. Money was easy to make, and he never took loan interest seriously. It was only after Liu Jian reminded him that he realized he had lost more than a hundred thousand in interest over the years. Now, at the mention of loans, Liu Fu frowned.
Liu Jian knew Liu Fu's concerns, so he said, "Dad, getting a loan now is different from when you took out loans to pay the workers back then."
Liu Fu said "Oh" and asked, "How is it different? Tell me about it."
Liu Jian said, "The loans you took out back then were to pay migrant workers' wages. This shouldn't have been our problem in the first place, but we took it upon ourselves, and it affected our interests. The current situation is that we are in a golden period of development, and the most important thing at this time is to expand production and not let funding problems affect our plans. The future situation is basically predictable. As long as our wine is produced, the sales situation will be very good. The difficulty we face is not sales, but it is likely to be production not keeping up. If we don't have enough capital to guarantee and prepare sufficient raw materials, when the winery is booming, the popularity of the winery is likely to cause the price of raw materials to rise. This price difference may far exceed the interest on our loan."
Hearing Liu Jian say this, Liu Fu understood. One option was to give others benefits by lending money, causing himself to suffer a loss. The other was to lend to himself, causing others to suffer a loss. The choice was obvious.
The father and son didn't discuss the issue further. Everything that needed to be said had been said, and the rest depended on Liu Fu's choice. But having built his business from scratch to where it was today, Liu Fu already knew what to do.
When they arrived at the printing factory, the father and son sensed that something was wrong. The factory was in chaos, as if a big meeting was taking place. After parking the car, Liu Jian asked the printing factory's guard what was going on.
It turns out that the printing factory received several orders arranged by the municipal party committee some time ago, two of which were relatively large. One was to print test papers and materials for primary and secondary schools throughout the city, which was assigned by the Municipal Education Bureau. The other was to print trademarks for Sanbao Winery. Both of these were significant jobs, especially the Sanbao Winery trademarks, which had strict requirements for paper and printing quality. A contract was specifically signed for this, with very strict stipulations.
On the Sanbao Winery side, Liu's mother paid a deposit, and the balance would be settled in full after the printing was completed. The Education Bureau's work was not strict in its requirements, the price was high, and the quality low, making it a completely easy and profitable job, but the payment was slow, not to mention a deposit.
The printing factory has been poorly managed in the past two years. If it weren't for these mandatory tasks, it would probably have stopped production long ago. Suddenly having this unexpected windfall from Sanbao Winery made everyone very happy. In addition, Liu's mother revealed that Sanbao Winery would also need to produce a lot of gift boxes besides the trademarks, and these printing jobs would also be handed over to the printing factory later. Everyone was full of energy and waiting to start work.
But after waiting impatiently for half a month, the raw materials still hadn't arrived at the factory. The workers became anxious and went to the workshop director. The workshop director tried to contact the factory director and accountant who were supposed to be bringing in the materials, but couldn't reach them no matter what. Several more days passed, and they still couldn't contact the factory director and accountant, so work couldn't start. The workers all felt something was wrong and started making a scene at the factory today.
When Liu Jian told Liu Fu all this, Liu Fu was also a bit dumbfounded. You see, Liu Jian had initially opposed giving the trademark to the city's printing factory, fearing that their quality wouldn't be up to par. Now, wouldn't you know it, before the printing even started, the factory director and accountant disappeared. The winery was about to start production, everything was ready, and now the place where problems were least expected was having them. Liu Fu didn't quite know what to do.
Thinking of this, Liu Fu couldn't help but call Chen Sheng. You see, it was Chen Sheng who had suggested that Liu Fu give the trademark to the printing factory, and now that this situation had arisen, there needed to be some explanation.
The phone connected, and I heard a somewhat hoarse voice on the other end, with a lot of noise coming through the receiver.
Chen Sheng said in a low voice, "Boss Liu, why are you calling?"
Hearing Chen Sheng say that, Liu Fu knew that Chen Sheng had someone with him, and it was likely his leader, so he said, "Mayor Chen, I'm right outside the city printing factory right now. What exactly is going on? The city promised me back then that it would be fine to hand it over to the city printing factory, that's why I handed it over. Aren't you going to give me an explanation?"
Chen Sheng, on the other end of the phone, couldn't help but secretly praise his brother of so many years, for being so good at understanding his intentions. He didn't hang up the phone and seemed to be talking to someone next to him. After a while, Chen Sheng said, "Boss Liu, I'm currently with Mayor Yu handling the printing factory matter. Someone will bring you in later, and the Mayor will discuss the specific situation with you in person."
After hanging up the phone, Liu Fu told Liu Jian about the situation. Liu Jian said with a wry smile, "Dad, I'm afraid the winery's owner and accountant have absconded with the money. Our deposit has probably gone down the drain."
Liu Fu frowned. If the situation was as Liu Jian said, his money might really be unrecoverable. Even if he could get it back, it wouldn't be any time soon. More importantly, it would affect the winery's entire plan. It seems he should have listened to Liu Jian in the first place.