My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

The night the last contract was signed, the shop door was locked.

Monkey Three squatted by the door smoking, Scarface Liu leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, and Chen Meili was hunched over the table, her abacus clicking away.

Lin Xiulan was organizing and filing contracts in the inner room when she heard the sound of the abacus outside stop.

"sister in law!"

Chen Meili's voice came from outside, trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Xiulan came out and saw Chen Meili with both hands on the account book, her face flushed red, and her eyes behind her glasses were frighteningly bright—no, not frighteningly bright, but excited.

"Sister-in-law, look!"

She pushed the abacus forward and pointed to the last line of numbers on the draft paper.

"These four contracts combined mean we have a fixed monthly supply of 21,000 jin (11,000 kg)!"

"After deducting acquisition costs, packaging losses, transportation costs, store rent, and labor expenses, there's still a 10% quality reserve fund—"

She swallowed.

"The net profit each month is 6,120 yuan."

The shop fell silent immediately.

Monkey Three didn't even notice the cigarette in his mouth fall to the ground.

Scarface Liu opened his eyes, his back bouncing off the wall.

"How many?"

"Six thousand one." Chen Meili calculated it again, her fingertips tracing the abacus beads from left to right, not a single one off. "I've calculated it three times now."

Monkey Three's legs went weak, and he plopped down on the threshold.

"Holy shit..."

He opened his mouth, and after a long while, he finally managed to utter a sentence.

"A state-owned factory probably only earns this much a month, right? Sister-in-law, what are we doing...?"

"Alright."

Lin Xiulan's voice was not loud, and the shop immediately fell silent.

She walked to the table, picked up the ledger, and looked at it again. The numbers were clear, and Chen Meili's handwriting was neat and tidy.

She closed the ledger and looked up.

"This month, everyone's bonus will be doubled."

Monkey Three roared and jumped up, causing Scarface Liu's scar to bend, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"My sister-in-law is awesome!"

"But let me make this clear from the start."

Lin Xiulan's tone changed.

"Bonuses are bonuses, but we can't slack off. Anyone who thinks they're all set after signing a big deal can tell me now, and I'll share their bonus with someone else."

Monkey Three shrank his neck and obediently shut his mouth.

After a while of excitement, everyone dispersed.

Lin Xiulan returned to the inner room and picked up her pen to write a letter to Lu Qingshan. After writing two lines, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn upwards. Six thousand one hundred and twenty yuan—last year, she wouldn't have even dared to dream of it.

She paused on the paper with her pen, then continued writing.

The lights outside were still on.

Chen Meili didn't leave; she was checking all the receipts from the past week.

This is a rule she set for herself—she has to check the master ledger every time a batch of goods comes in or goes out.

The abacus rang intermittently for more than half an hour before suddenly stopping.

Lin Xiulan looked up and saw Chen Meili standing at the door, her joy completely gone, replaced by an expression Lin Xiulan recognized—the expression of someone who had discovered a problem.

"Sister-in-law, come out and take a look."

Lin Xiulan put down her pen and followed her to the table outside.

Chen Meili laid the six shipping documents flat on the table, then pulled out the old documents from last month and arranged them side by side.

"Look here."

Her finger was pointing to the "Shipping Costs" column.

"Last month, the freight cost for each trip from Hongshi County to the provincial capital was 120 yuan, which included fuel, tolls and driver subsidies."

The finger moved to the right and landed on the new document.

"This month, it became 145 yuan."

Lin Xiulan's gaze tightened.

"Twenty-five yuan more?"

"Not just that." Chen Meili pulled out a few more receipts. "I checked the details. The 'toll fee' item has increased from fifteen yuan to twenty-eight yuan. The vehicle wear and tear repair fee has increased from eight yuan per trip to fifteen yuan. These two items combined add up to exactly twenty yuan more."

The remaining five dollars were included in the miscellaneous expenses.

She pushed her glasses up and lowered her voice.

"Sister-in-law, I asked Old Zhao, the driver of the sports car. He said the road conditions haven't changed much recently, and he hasn't heard of any new checkpoints along the way."

"Who added these amounts?"

Chen Meili didn't answer. She took a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket, unfolded it, and placed it on the table.

It was a handwritten receipt, with crooked handwriting and a blurry personal seal.

"Gaoping Transportation Team Transfer Service Fee - NT$50".

"This note was tucked inside the invoice for the previous shipment; I almost missed it. The Gaoping Transportation Team isn't a contracted fleet with us, so this money wasn't even covered by the contract."

Lin Xiulan picked up the receipt and looked at it over and over again.

The paper was thin, and the ink was still fresh.

She put the receipt back on the table, stood up, and walked to the window.

The streets were pitch black, with only the occasional bicycle flashing its headlights as it rode by.

"An extra 25 yuan per trip, ten trips a month, that's 250 yuan. If all four routes get priced higher at the same time..."

She did the math herself, and her voice gradually turned cold.

"At least a thousand yuan more in transportation costs per month."

Chen Meili took over the conversation, her voice tense.

"Sister-in-law, I also checked another account. Last time, Scarface Liu went to inquire about that Nanshan Mingyuan, he made three trips, treated people to meals, pulled strings, and gave the gatekeeper cigarettes. He spent nearly two hundred yuan in total, but he didn't get any useful information."

"At this rate of spending, intelligence expenditures alone will amount to nearly a thousand per month."

She closed the ledger and placed her palm on it.

"On one hand, transportation costs are being driven up, and on the other hand, the money spent on investigating competitors is like throwing money down the drain."

"The three thousand yuan profit we just made—"

She paused for a moment.

"In with the left hand, out with the right, and what's left at the end..."

Lin Xiulan didn't let her finish speaking.

She turned around, walked behind the counter, opened the drawer, and took out the locked metal box.

Turn the key, and inside are four contracts signed this week, and neatly stacked cash payments for goods.

She stared at the money for a few seconds, then locked the metal box and put it back in its place.

He picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

It rang three times before the other end answered.

"Feed?"

It was Lu Qingshan's voice.

Lin Xiulan gripped the receiver tightly, her voice steady and clear, but her knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

"Qingshan, the contract is signed, and the business is established."

"But our fleet has run into problems. Someone has been ripping off our transportation costs, costing us at least a thousand dollars more each month."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Have you found out who it is?"

"Not yet. But it's not a problem with the team itself; it's because someone outside is interfering."

Two more seconds of silence followed.

Lu Qingshan's voice came through the receiver; it was very soft and even.

"I understand. Keep that receipt safe and don't tell anyone."

"I'm going to the provincial capital tomorrow."