"It’s that brick factory in the Western Suburbs, the one your elder brother used to work at." Ling Dong’s eyes shifted as he specifically mentioned, "Hadn’t the Yue Family been caught secretly selling bricks before? The factory was in chaos, and Yicheng seized the opportunity to invest a bit of money."
"The Yue Family?" Xu Nian’an’s face darkened as soon as the Yue Family was mentioned, his own sister had almost been pushed into a dire situation.
"Yes, that Yue Family."
Purposely, Ling Dong said, "Speaking of which, it was Yicheng who initially discovered the unscrupulous acts of the Yue Family."
"How did Yicheng come to know about this?" Xu Nian’an asked, his interest piqued.
"It seems someone Yicheng knew discovered it and then told him. Yicheng, being extremely upright, couldn’t tolerate such things and immediately exposed the incident." Ling Dong was always eager to boost Yicheng’s image.
If he could gain the future uncle’s, Xu Nian’an’s, approval now, it would smoother Yicheng’s path in marrying in the future.
"Then Yicheng truly did us a huge favor."
Xu Nian’an was visibly excited.
Pretending to be oblivious, Ling Dong asked, "What’s with the Yue Family? Do you have a feud with them?"
"You don’t know?" Xu Nian’an immediately recounted the Yue Family’s deeds and mentioned their concerns about potential retaliation. Hearing later that the Yue Family ran into trouble did reassure them significantly.
"That’s quite a coincidence, perhaps it’s fate after all."
Smiling, Ling Dong looked at Xu Nian’an, thinking to himself how much effort Yicheng had indeed put into finding faults with the Yue Family.
"Exactly, it truly is fate."
Xu Nian’an nodded in agreement.
Ling Dong took Xu Nian’an to see Pei Yicheng specifically about the brick issue. Pei Yicheng immediately declared that if they were to buy bricks, they could have a 30% discount on profits.
Upon hearing this, Xu Nian’an quickly shook his head and said, "Yicheng, that won’t do. Whatever others pay, we should pay the same. The factory isn’t just yours; we shouldn’t make you incur losses."
"Don’t worry, if it’s any relative of the factory owners buying bricks, they all get this price."
Pei Yicheng’s emphatic statement somewhat made Xu Nian’an believe him.
He hesitated and said, "But we aren’t relatives, at most friends."
Clearing his throat, Pei Yicheng responded, "You are the apprentice of my grandfather, a close apprentice."
Looking bewilderedly at Pei Yicheng, Xu Nian’an thought, an apprentice, and there are close ones and not?
Next, with Ling Dong leading the way, Xu Nian’an went to buy bricks and also specifically sought out Xu Qinghe and Xu Song, both of whom had not yet purchased bricks. Hearing that Pei Yicheng was also one of the co-owners and they could save some money, Xu Qinghe and Xu Song’s first reaction was to wonder whether this would damage the harmony among the factory owners.
Thinking to himself that the Xu family members were all of good character, and even Xu Qinghe’s demeanor was honest, Ling Dong smiled and explained the situation again, taking them to buy bricks where they saved quite a bit of money compared to asking for prices on their own.
Xu Qinghe and Xu Song were overjoyed, the money they saved could fund many other things.
"Uncle Qinghe, I think we owe Pei Yicheng a thank you," Xu Song took the initiative to suggest. He knew that Pei Yicheng was the owner of the food factory but didn’t expect he owned a brick factory too. With the help provided and his own mother Xiong Xihua working in the factory, Xu Song felt they definitely should thank him.
Xu Qinghe wholeheartedly approved, and the two men bought a bunch of stuff and delivered it to Pei Yicheng.