The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 239 - 238: Reported and the Food Factory Inspected

Chapter 239: Chapter 238: Reported and the Food Factory Inspected

"Factory Manager Shen, let’s not beat around the bush. I’ll take your entire batch of apple gummy candies for one yuan and eighty cents each, how about that?"

Pei Yang laughed, "Mr. Shi sure knows how to do business. Right off the bat, you’ve cut the price by nearly thirty percent."

Shi Guangsheng pulled out a pack of candy from his briefcase and smacked it onto the coffee table in front of Pei Yang.

Pei Yang picked up the candy, inspected it for a while, then tore open the seal and popped one into his mouth. His expression gradually grew more solemn.

The candy from Shi Guangsheng’s pack, aside from different packaging and brand name, was indistinguishable in taste, sweetness, and richness from their factory’s apple gummy candies.

"If you can make these apple gummies, so can my Xiyuan company, and at an even lower cost. I’m willing to take this whole truckload of candy at cost price, as a token of my sincerity," Shi Guangsheng said.

Pei Yang smiled, "Thanks for the offer, Mr. Shi, but no thanks, I’m planning to retail this batch of candies myself."

Rejected, Shi Guangsheng wasn’t surprised but his face took on a more sinister look.

"Factory Manager Shen, I’d advise you to reconsider. Rarity yields value. Your type of apple gummy candies will soon flood the market. With higher costs and higher sales prices than others, who will buy from you? What do you say?"

"Let’s not trouble Mr. Shi with these concerns. Please, see yourself out."

Seeing that Pei Yang was unpersuadable, Shi Guangsheng dropped the pretense, "Since you don’t know what’s good for you, let’s just wait and see! I hope you won’t come crawling back to me on your knees."

After his tough talk, Shi Guangsheng picked up his briefcase and headed for the door.

As he was nearly out the factory gate, a few rambunctious kids ran inside and knocked into him, causing him to stumble and curse loudly.

Zhao Yun, fearless as always, stood with hands on hips, trading insults with Shi Guangsheng.

A few hangers-on joined the fray, helping Zhao Yun in the shouting match.

Shi Guangsheng cursed for a while but, unable to outdo them, stormed off huffing and puffing.

"Blah, blah, blah..."

Zhao Yun and the others made triumphant faces at his retreating figure, and then swarmed around Pei Yang, calling "Uncle Pei, Uncle Pei," causing him such a headache that he quickly called Pei Ziheng to take the kids elsewhere to play.

"Dad, can I take them to tour the workshop? I promised them before," Ziheng asked.

Since it was downtime and the workshop was devoid of activity save for the cold, empty pots and various utensils, Pei Yang agreed and warned them not to touch anything inside.

Zhao Yun and the kids had always been fascinated by the production process of the apple gummy candies and followed Pei Ziheng excitedly for a tour.

In an alley not far from the candy factory, Shi Guangsheng faced Hu Guifen.

"Did you handle what I asked you to do?"

Hu Guifen nodded eagerly, "I did."

Shi Guangsheng took out a wad of banknotes, and Hu Guifen’s eyes gleamed with greed as she reached out for them, only to have Shi Guangsheng avoid her grasp.

"Don’t be in a hurry. Make another phone call, and say this..."

After hearing Shi Guangsheng’s instigation, Hu Guifen hesitated slightly.

Shi Guangsheng, with a grin that held no warmth, flicked the banknotes in his hand, "This money could cover half a year of your work. After you’ve done this job, come work at my factory. Isn’t that much better than slaving away in that tiny broken-down shack?"

...

Huang Yuan was scolded by upper management as soon as he got into work that morning because photos of Pei Yang causing trouble had been published in the newspaper.

Even though such a small incident wouldn’t greatly affect Hengxing, it was still embarrassing.

Only after Huang Yuan assured them that he would resolve the issue today did the leadership let him go.

If yesterday Huang Yuan felt very annoyed with Pei Yang, now he hated him even more.

He didn’t even wish for Shi Guangsheng to buy that batch of apple candies at a low price; he rather hoped that Pei Yang, along with the candy factory, would disappear!

Only that would assuage the bitterness in his heart.

```

"Ding-ling-ling..."

Huang Yuan picked up the phone immediately, thinking it might be Shi Guangsheng calling, but it was the voice of a superior leader, ordering him to roll into the office straightaway.

Was he being summoned to be scolded again?

Feeling dejected yet not daring to delay, Huang Yuan headed to the upstairs office.

Upon entering, he saw the superior leader standing respectfully by the desk, and who else could be sitting behind the general manager’s desk but Ning Yuan?

"Crash!"

A glass cup exploded at Huang Yuan’s feet, identical to the gesture Yan Yi had made at Ning Yuan’s feet that morning.

Horrified, Huang Yuan shivered and said, "Young Master Ning, please calm your anger."

"Seeing such an idiot before me, how can I possibly calm down?"

Ning Yuan stood up, walked over to him, and threw the newspaper at his face, "All this fuss over a trivial matter, and now you’ve even made it to the newspapers, Manager Huang. Have you been eating so much that your brain has turned to mush?"

Cold sweat broke out on Huang Yuan’s forehead; he knew that if he delved deeper into this matter, he wouldn’t come out on top, so he decided to admit his guilt and take the punishment readily.

He knelt with a thud, his knees landing on a piece of broken glass. The pain made his body tremble, yet he bit his lip and dared not cry out in pain.

"Young Master Ning, it was my fault. When signing the contract, those two were so arrogant and even wanted to add additional clauses. I just wanted to play a trick on them and never expected things to blow up like this. I’ll go and handle this matter right away. Trust me."

Ning Yuan had no time to pursue other matters; he was singularly focused on accomplishing the task Yan Yi had entrusted him with.

He bent down and stared into Huang Yuan’s face, "By noon, if I haven’t seen the candy, you might as well not come back. Go home and grow sweet potatoes instead!"

Huang Yuan scrambled back to his office and contacted Shi Guangsheng immediately.

He first had to stop Shi Guangsheng from taking action against the food factory, or at least until he had managed to buy back the apple gummies.

However, Shi Guangsheng was neither at home nor at the factory; Huang Yuan couldn’t get in touch with him at all. With no other option, he hurried to the food factory, hoping to complete the transaction with Pei Yang before Shi Guangsheng made his move.

...

When the staff of the Food Management Bureau arrived at the food factory, Pei Yang was discussing with Shen Chaobei and Du Juan about retailing apple candies.

The three of them were shocked to learn that the food factory had been reported.

The allegation was that their factory illegally added prohibited substances to the snack products they were producing.

If corroborated, it was a serious offense that could lead to imprisonment.

The food factory was currently a private enterprise, and the only legal representative and person in charge was Shen Mingzhu.

Thinking of this, Pei Yang felt a sense of urgent distress.

"Comrade, our food factory’s production process, craftsmanship, and recipes all absolutely comply with national safety standards. I can take you to the workshops and warehouse to conduct a spot check if you don’t believe me," Pei Yang offered eagerly.

The Food Management Bureau staff coldly rejected his offer, "No need, our people will conduct a thorough inspection inside and out. Please gather all your factory workers to cooperate with our investigation."

Pei Yang had no choice but to ask Du Juan to go to the dormitory and call over the workers.

"Wow!"

Just as two Food Management Bureau staff pushed open the warehouse door, several children hid behind it, startling them greatly.

Before the two could react, Pei Ziheng, along with Zhao Yun and others, dashed out in a flash.

One of them attempted to call them back but was stopped by the other, "Forget it, they’re just a few brats. Don’t bother with them; let’s focus on the important stuff."

Reluctantly, the person gave up.

Outside the food factory, as Pei Ziheng watched Zhao Yun and the others run off into the distance, a smile appeared on his fair and beautiful young face.

```