Chapter 132: Liu Xing's Request

"Liu Xing, please don't be like this." Director Wu sighed softly upon hearing this. "Why don't you give Li Dawei a chance to make amends for his mistakes?"

"Exactly! It's better to be forgiving when you can. This is about more than just you repairing the bottling equipment; it’s about the livelihoods of thousands of workers," Zhang Xiangjun added earnestly.

Li Dawei had made a mistake, but it wasn't an unforgivable one. If Liu Xing remained stubborn, the situation would take a sour turn.

"But I don't have the time! Who will look after the shoe shop, and who will be responsible for the lost revenue?" Liu Xing asked with a shrug and a smile.

"This..." Zhang Xiangjun was stumped.

Director Wu also felt a bit awkward. After all, what Liu Xing said was the truth. If he abandoned his shoe shop business, no amount of payment for repairing the bottling equipment would compensate for the loss, especially since the shop could make several thousand in a single day during the market fair.

"I will be responsible for the losses," Li Dawei said, not backing down this time as he stepped forward to guarantee it.

"But I still don't have the time, because my father told me to go home and plant rice seedlings," Liu Xing politely declined Li Dawei’s offer.

In short, he just didn't want to repair the bottling equipment for Hengshui Winery. As for the thousands of workers at the winery, that was none of his business. To put it bluntly, if workers lost their jobs, the state would handle it. But if a farmer lost his livelihood in the eighties, who would care?

"If it's planting rice seedlings, I can help too. Don't underestimate me; before I started working at Hengshui Winery, I was a farmer too," Li Dawei said, accommodatingly, knowing Liu Xing was still angry.

"Fine! Then go ahead and help my family finish planting those seedlings first." Liu Xing crossed his arms and smiled.

If Li Dawei could truly set aside his pride to plant seedlings at his home, then helping with the equipment repairs would be reasonable. After all, he knew that since things had reached this point, he would eventually have to be the one to wrap things up. Most importantly, Director Wu and Zhang Xiangjun had stepped in as mediators, and he had to show them that respect. However, he feared Li Dawei was only paying lip service. If he didn't follow through with real action, that wasn't the outcome he wanted.

Seeing Liu Xing finally relent, Li Dawei let out a sigh of relief. "Fine! I'll go plant the seedlings at your place right now, and I'll find you when I'm done. But don't mess with me!"

"It seems like you've been the one messing with me from start to finish, hasn't it?" Liu Xing teased.

"This..." Li Dawei scratched his head in embarrassment.

Seeing this, Li Weiwei couldn't help but smile sweetly.

Seeing the relationship between Li Dawei and Liu Xing thaw, Liu Siwen quickly raised his hand to show his stance. "It's just a few acres of farmland, right? I'll go over and help plant seedlings later too."

The implication was that if he helped, Liu Xing would also have to help repair the bottling equipment. This was a bit of a rogue move, as Liu Xing’s words were addressed to Li Dawei, not him.

Zhang Xiangjun was about to step in, but Liu Xing stopped her. He said to Liu Siwen and Li Dawei, "Fine! As long as you finish planting the seedlings on my family's dozen or so acres, we can talk about repairing the equipment. But I have three conditions."

"Name them," Liu Siwen said immediately. Li Dawei smiled as well.

Liu Xing rested his chin on his right hand and said, "First, the two of you must go down into the fields and plant them yourselves. Hiring someone doesn't count! Even if you hire someone to plant a single stalk, I won't help you repair the equipment."

"Agreed," Li Dawei said without hesitation. Being a farmer by birth, planting rice was nothing to him.

However, Liu Siwen’s expression turned ugly. "Little Liu, aren't you making things difficult? Look at my leg; how can I go into the field to plant rice?"

"So, you were just brushing me off earlier?" The smile vanished from Liu Xing's face, replaced by a faint chill.

"Absolutely not, I... this..." Liu Siwen tried to explain, but he was left awkwardly speechless. Everyone present knew exactly what he had been doing.

"So... you should just drop out. I don't know you, and I certainly won't help you repair any bottling equipment." Seeing Liu Siwen had nothing left to say, Liu Xing began to usher them away.

"No! No! No! Dropping out is impossible! It’s just planting rice, right? If Li Dawei can do it, I certainly can, and I'll do it even better than him!" Liu Siwen panicked and quickly countered Liu Xing. If he withdrew, Zhongyi Winery would never be able to compete with Hengshui Winery in the future. He couldn't afford to lose, even if he had to die in the rice paddies.

This caught Liu Xing by surprise, but he didn't dwell on it. "Fine! If you aren't quitting, I won't drive you away. Helping my family is a good thing. Listen closely: my second condition is that the work must be of good quality and quantity. Don't try to slack off and make my parents go back to replant them later."

"Agreed." Li Dawei remained calm. This second condition was essentially a given.

Liu Siwen’s expression darkened again. He had never planted rice in his life; being forced to do this was like putting a duck on a perch. And now, Liu Xing wanted quality and quantity? This was going to be the death of him. But he couldn't back down now. Gritting his teeth, he replied, "Fine! These are small matters."

"Good! The third condition: once the planting is done and I help you repair the equipment, the payment must be paid in full. I'm not close with you guys." Liu Xing looked at them with a serious gaze.

If Li Dawei hadn't acted the way he did earlier, he might have considered their friendship. But now, there was nothing left to say. Everything would be governed by rules; he would provide the labor, and he expected to be paid. He believed in one truth: in this world, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Li Dawei asked, "Should I pay you according to the quote from Zhongding Machinery two years ago?"

"What was the quote?" Director Wu couldn't help but ask. Zhang Xiangjun, Ding Lan, and Niu Lianfang were also curious.

"Their quote was twenty thousand, but they failed to fix all twenty-five machines and only took ten thousand," Li Dawei admitted honestly.

"That much?" Ding Lan was shocked. Niu Lianfang sighed as well. She truly didn't understand the world of the wealthy.

Zhang Xiangjun, however, darkened her face. "If you didn't have a problem with the twenty-thousand-yuan quote from Zhongding, why did you play tricks and try to cheat Liu Xing when he only asked for three thousand?"

"I... I was misled by Section Chief Zhang," Li Dawei said with a sheepish grin. It was the truth, but no one present believed him.

Liu Siwen struck a blow, "Tch! You're lying to everyone's face, and you expect us to believe you? If Liu Xing hadn't been clever, he would have been ruined by you long ago."

Li Dawei didn't respond, silently accepting the criticism. He knew he had wronged Liu Xing.

Seeing this, Director Wu shook his head, unable to bear it. After all, Li Dawei was the factory director of Hengshui Winery, and he couldn't be humiliated indefinitely. He coughed slightly and said to Liu Xing, "I think the twenty-thousand-yuan payment is fair. If you think it's acceptable, then agree to it. Even if it’s not for the thousands of employees at Hengshui Winery, do it for the sake of my future work here in HY City."

"Fine!" Since Director Wu had put it that way, Liu Xing had no choice but to agree.

However, he knew that twenty thousand wasn't going to be easy money. Repairing twenty-five bottling machines would take him months, especially using his film-covering technique. But as long as Li Dawei cooperated, it wouldn't be a problem.

"I'll go get the money." Fearing Liu Xing might change his mind, Li Dawei immediately turned and pushed Li Weiwei’s wheelchair away. Once Liu Xing took the money, he believed the matter would be settled.

"I'm going back to Zhongyi Winery to get the money too." Liu Siwen didn't want to be left behind and hurriedly ran towards the car on the side of the road, limping.

"These two," Director Wu said, shaking his head with a smile.

Liu Xing had wanted to stop them, but eventually decided not to. Regardless, the nature of the situation had changed. This wasn't the outcome he wanted; otherwise, he never would have revealed he knew how to repair the equipment at the winery gate. Seeing the mess on the table, he noticed his eldest sister cleaning up alone and quickly went to help.

Just then, Li Dawei, who had pushed the wheelchair to the roadside, cried out in shock, "Weiwei, Weiwei... what's wrong? Don't scare me, please!"

Li Dawei’s voice was filled with sobs.

Liu Siwen, who was nearby, ignored the father and daughter and had his driver drive away. Director Wu and Zhang Qiuxiang exchanged a look and quickly ran over to where Li Dawei was.

"What's going on?" Liu Xing followed behind.

Guazi, being close to Li Weiwei, worriedly trotted after them on her short legs.

"Go, let's take a look," Ding Lan signaled to Niu Lianfang.

"Alright!" Niu Lianfang agreed, and they walked over together. Liu Dongju, fearing for Li Weiwei, also chased after them, carrying the little one and accompanied by Zhao Dongkui.

None of them noticed a burly man in a conical straw hat taking advantage of the distraction to sneak along a small path toward the cattle shed where the black calf was kept. The man kept his head low, his back hunched, making it impossible to see his face.

If Xiao Yang had been there, he would have screamed in terror.

Because... he was the cattle thief, Zhu Dachang!!!