A life of success begins with being a landlord.

The one who betrayed me must be Tiger. This is the conclusion that Erxia and I have reached after many days of analysis.

I must find out the truth about this, otherwise it will be very disadvantageous for me.

Tiger is so cunning, I have to find a way to deal with him, otherwise, sooner or later, Erxia and I will be in his hands.

Sure enough, Liang Laosi was caught off guard and blurted out, "Tiger, we were still here the day before yesterday..."

"Cough cough!" Niu Jie coughed loudly to remind Liang Laosi.

Realizing what had happened, Liang Laosi awkwardly tried to cover it up: "The day before yesterday, the day before yesterday we were at the zoo, and it seemed... we saw a tiger..."

I laughed: "Are you talking about the Niutoushan Zoo in Dongguan?"

Old Liang nodded: "Yes, yes, that's it!"

I nodded: "I understand, you can go now."

The questions and answers we just had have already verified our analysis and speculations, so there's no need to ask any more questions.

Niu Jie's expression only made things worse; it was like trying to hide something obvious!

Tiger, I need to teach him a lesson!

After Liang Laosi left, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Niu Jie didn't dare to explain or ask, he just kept drinking with me.

I won't bring it up. Let's just laugh it off and try to get some benefits from Sister Liang to make up for Hu Xiaogang's losses over the past few years...

Liang Sanjie was very obedient, always compliant, with beautiful eyes and a charming smile.

Unfortunately, I was somewhat disheartened, so I stopped there and let Liang Sanjie go: "Go back to doing business. I'll talk to Sanlichuan tomorrow and have him remove the seals from those sealed shops."

Sister Liang expressed her deepest gratitude and took her leave with Niu Jie.

I went back to my office, took a shower, and then slept there.

It's a good place to sleep. If you need to go downstairs, you can go anytime; if you don't need to, you can sleep until you get off work.

At three o'clock in the morning, I returned to Hongxing Village.

The next morning, Ding Zhili came to see me again and asked me to talk to the printing factory.

I had no choice but to bite the bullet and visit them one by one. My first stop was Sihai Printing Factory.

In the office, Wu Guoxiang angrily pounded on the table and said:

"Mr. Wang, I considered you a friend and cooperated with you. I gave you all the wastewater and scrap materials, and I used your fixer and film as well. But you actually colluded with my warehouse supervisor and workshop foreman, embezzling from their own warehouse and inducing them to steal brand-new film and then sell it to me. Tell me, is this what friends are for?"

"General Manager Wu, I'm sorry." I stood up and bowed.

"As your friend, I'm burning up and sweating profusely. I'm truly ashamed and have no face to see you. But please give me five minutes to explain, okay?"

My sincerity moved Wu Guoxiang.

He sighed and pointed to the chair: "Sit down and let's talk."

I didn't sit down, but stood there and calmly said, "The workshop foreman and warehouse manager at the printing plant have a long history of stealing film. It's just that it's been exposed now."

Wu Guoxiang frowned: "You mean, this is a very normal thing, and I shouldn't be angry?"

"No." I shook my head and sighed.

"The workshop director and warehouse manager control many things in the factory. When we collect scrap materials, we have to watch our step and often give them cigarettes and tea. Otherwise, they will speak ill of us to the boss."

If we offend these people, they will add clean water to the wastewater, making us buy the wastewater without making any profit.

They'll sell the new film they steal to others, even if we don't want it. Then they'll introduce other people to collect scrap film, completely driving us away.

In this situation, we have no choice but to go along with it; otherwise, we can forget about doing business.

Wu Guoxiang seemed to understand something, and frowned without saying a word.

I gave a wry smile: "When you're in the game, you're not in control of your own destiny. Even a lowly official has to serve the prime minister, and the emperor has eunuchs by his side. The king of hell is ruthless, but his underlings are hard to deal with. Thank you, General Manager Wu, for treating me as a friend, but I wouldn't dare offend your workshop foreman and warehouse manager."

Wu Guoxiang opened his mouth, but then stopped himself from speaking.

"General Manager Wu, you're a smart man." I offered him a cigarette.

"Ultimately, the problem lies in your management system. Even if we stop doing it now and someone else takes over, it will be the same; nothing will change. To control this kind of embezzlement, you must improve your management system. Only by addressing the root cause can you solve the problem once and for all."

The chaotic financial management and inadequate supervision are Wu Guoxiang's responsibility.

Now it's my fault, but I'm innocent!

This kind of clandestine affair is like a government official's wife seducing her secretary; if the secretary accepts the seduction, she gets an extra bite. If the secretary doesn't accept, the official's wife will whisper in her husband's ear and make things difficult for the secretary.

You're just a secretary, so you can only accept seduction!

Wu Guoxiang was a smart man. After thinking for a moment, he finally nodded: "I understand, Mr. Wang. We can continue our cooperation. I will strengthen the management of the factory."

I breathed a sigh of relief and shook hands with Wu Guoxiang to say goodbye.

Leaving Sihai Printing Factory, Ding Zhili was very happy: "Brother Zu, you really know how to talk! You got this sorted out in just a few words, awesome!"

I shook my head: "It's Wu Guoxiang who's kind, not that I'm good with words."

Kind and generous people simply don't hold grudges against us.

Sure enough, the next negotiation with Mr. Fei from Wuhu Printing Factory stalled. He didn't give me a chance to explain, coldly stating, "Our business ends here. Don't bother coming back. Even if you do, I won't see you!"

After saying that, Mr. Fei turned and left, leaving Ding Zhili and me standing to the side.

I didn't say anything and retreated with Ding Zhili.

Once outside, Ding Zhili asked me, "Brother Zu, what do we do now? Boss Fei still owes us over 30,000 yuan for goods."

"I will definitely succeed in any business I set out to do."

I sneered, "Mr. Fei told me not to come looking for him anymore? Fine, let him come looking for me! I don't believe it's that hard to do this little business and earn a little extra money!"

Looking back now, running a printing factory required too much effort and the profits weren't very high.

It's not a big deal if you really give up.

But I can't let go of my pride!

At noon, I treated Lei Zi, Liang Zai, and a few other security guards to lunch at Changhong Restaurant in Sanlichuan.

After three drinks, I told Liangzai and the others, "I called you all here today to ask for your help with something..."

Everyone listened attentively and nodded repeatedly.

With everything arranged, I put Liangzai in charge of this matter.

Then, I went to work with peace of mind and continued to improve the service at Jin Sang Zi and Yin Mei Duo.

Around 9 p.m., Liangzai called: "Brother Zu, we arrested a few unemployed people. They don't have residence permits. They said they work at the Wuhu Printing Factory... and are technical staff there."

"Keep it strictly business. Go to the Sanlichuan branch to get a stamp, then send them all to Zhangshutou." I sneered and hung up the phone.

Technical backbone, that's great.

The Wuhu Printing Factory won't suffer much loss if it stops production for a day or two.

I just hung up the phone, and then Kuai Dafa started harassing me again. He was calling from Zhucheng.

Moreover, Kuai Dafa, drunk and slurring his words, said, "Wang Yaozu, you've ruined me! I'll haunt you for the rest of my life. Go ahead and try to kill me if you dare!"