Chapter 63

“Thank you.”

Fang Qingye did not refuse.

Corporate inspections always go like this; there’s no need to act so self-righteous.

But this gift—boxed Nanxin Yellow Chicken!

Again this?

Nanxin Yellow Chicken is a famous specialty of Jiangsu Province, often given as a gift, but Fang Qingye has already received several.

Originally, Wang Lei’s younger cousin had successfully entered the key class at Chengguan Middle School, so his third uncle wanted to thank Fang Qingye and his father.

Cash envelopes, tobacco, and alcohol were refused, so they came up with another idea.

Wang Lei’s third uncle ran a chicken farm in the countryside, raising Nanxin Yellow Chicken—the famous specialty of Jiangsu Province. He specially selected five chickens, slaughtered them, plucked and cleaned the feathers thoroughly, and delivered them to Fang Qingye’s home as a token of gratitude.

Since no one was home and Fang Qingye didn’t feel like cooking, he simply took the five chickens to his grandfather’s nursery. Since then, he’s been eating chicken every day.

Looks like I’ll have to keep eating them for a while longer.

Fang Qingye’s lips twitched involuntarily.

After driving into the county town, Zhang Chunli in the backseat asked: “Director Fang, are we heading back to the office now?”

“Everyone worked hard this morning; we won’t go to the office this afternoon. I’ll take you all home to rest,” Fang Qingye said.

“Wow… working under Director Fang in the countryside is great!” Zhang Chunli immediately said happily.

Fang Qingye smiled but said nothing.

Today’s destination was a site inspection of Jinghai Athena Garden Technology Co., Ltd.

The company is located within the Jinghai National Agricultural Science and Technology Park. The park is a comprehensive industrial zone developed by Jinghai City, integrating agriculture, horticulture, and leisure tourism, focusing on four main industries: ornamental plants and bonsai, silkworm cocoons and silk, marine aquaculture, and marine biology.

The core area is in Nanxin County.

After breakfast, Fang Qingye drove Zhang Chunli and Chen Meimei to the company. The science park was just near Yishou South Road at the edge of the county town; they arrived in less than ten minutes.

Athena Garden Technology Co., Ltd. primarily researches, develops, produces, and markets miniature bonsai and seedlings. This loan application is for five million yuan—a relatively large amount.

Fang Qingye arrived at the company building’s entrance, where Chairman and General Manager Duan Jianming was already waiting.

A man in his early forties, with small eyes that revealed a hint of cunning.

After a brief handshake and greeting, Fang Qingye, as yesterday, assigned the two women to review documents while he toured the production base with Duan Jianming.

Neat. Clean.

This was the strongest impression the production base gave Fang Qingye—whether bonsai greenhouses or tree nurseries, everything was spotlessly clean.

He thought of his grandfather’s Four Seasons Nursery; the contrast in environment was like heaven and earth.

But…

Bonsai and seedlings must interact with soil; the ground couldn’t possibly be this clean.

Duan Jianming seemed to sense Fang Qingye’s confusion and smiled to explain: “Director Fang, you probably don’t know—we aim to create a garden-style factory. I have very high standards for cleanliness; we must sweep the greenhouses and workshops at least three times daily, absolutely no dirt or soil allowed anywhere.”

The company had workshops, greenhouses, raw material warehouses, and exhibition halls—all neatly arranged. In the last row, Fang Qingye noticed employee dormitories and a kitchen.

When he arrived, women were hanging clothes to dry in the courtyard, and children with runny noses ran around.

“Are these employees’ family members?” Fang Qingye asked.

“Yes. Our bonsai artisans are all hired from Yangzhou—the birthplace of Chinese bonsai art. Yangzhou bonsai are renowned for their delicacy and elegance, famously called ‘Yangzhou Bonsai, Peerless Under Heaven.’”

Hearing Duan Qingming’s words, Fang Qingye nodded.

Although his grandfather’s Four Seasons Nursery didn’t focus on bonsai, Fang Qingye had heard about this from him.

As they walked, Duan Qingming continued: “We provide meals and lodging. When families live here, workers can focus on their jobs. Our Jinghai specialty, the Que She Luohan Pine bonsai, is a high-end product, and the materials are expensive. You see all these greenhouses—lots of people are needed to guard them.”

“Que She Luohan Pine bonsai are indeed high-end, so prices are naturally high, but demand is low. This year’s market has been sluggish; many bonsai companies have already gone bankrupt… Director Duan, you’ve heard, right?” Fang Qingye asked.

“Director Fang, you’re young—you’ve never run a business. There are only bankrupt companies, never bankrupt industries.”

Duan Jianming suddenly adopted the tone of an elder and continued:

“Although demand for bonsai in Jinghai, even in Huaijing and Shencheng, has decreased, demand in big cities like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Xiamen remains strong. Last year, our company connected with the Yue-Shen Club; our bonsai now sell not just in Guangdong and Fujian, but also in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Singapore… Since last year, our purchase volume has steadily increased and now accounts for two-thirds of total sales.”

“To be honest, holding onto this line, I can’t say we’re eating gourmet meals, but we’re definitely not going hungry.”

Duan Qingming spoke at length, but Fang Qingye felt he was exaggerating—though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why, so he just nodded.

After touring the factory grounds, Fang Qingye returned to the office building to check on Zhang Chunli and Chen Meimei’s progress.

But before entering the office building, four men in company uniforms suddenly rushed over and blocked Fang Qingye’s path.

“What are you doing?!” Duan Qingming’s face darkened.

A slightly older man, around forty, stepped forward and shouted at Duan Jianming: “Director Duan, you finally showed up! I’m here to settle accounts with you about our overtime pay!”

“Wang Master, don’t you see I’m with important guests?!”

“We don’t care!” Wang Master was blunt.

“We’ve been working three shifts nonstop for two months straight! You promised an extra two thousand yuan per month, but why did Accountant Yu cut it down to only one thousand?! You’re too heartless! You make money and eat meat—you’ve got to leave us workers a bit of broth! I’m saying this now: if you don’t pay us today, we’re walking out!”

Hearing they planned to strike, Duan Jianming panicked and immediately smiled apologetically: “Wang Master, it’s not that I won’t pay—it’s just the client only paid a deposit; we need to buy large quantities of materials and are temporarily short on cash!”

“Look, this is Director Fang from Dongfang Bank, inspecting our company for a loan. Once the loan comes through, I’ll immediately settle your arrears. How’s that?” Duan Jianming said.

Wang Master glanced at Fang Qingye, then said to Duan Jianming: “Fine, Director Duan, I’ll trust you once. Pay us as soon as the money arrives!”

“Wang Master, rest assured—you’ve worked with me this long. When have I ever shortchanged you? It’s just that things are unusually tight right now. I promise you, I’ll keep my word!” Duan Jianming hurriedly said.

“Director Duan, you’re really busy—running nonstop for two months? How big an order is this?” Fang Qingye asked.

“Ah… a foreign trade company in Shenzhen ordered ten thousand bonsai to ship to Southeast Asia. They’re hounding me daily—I’m racing day and night!” Duan Jianming laughed.

Fang Qingye was about to speak when he noticed the four men who had just left—Wang Master turned back and glanced at them, a faint smile on his face.

What was he smiling about?

Fang Qingye suddenly felt Wang Master’s smile was strange.