Chapter 36: Return to Jiangcheng
When Li Yi and the others returned to Jiangcheng, it was already noon on the third day.
After getting off the bus, they found a noodle shop near the bus station. After eating a bowl of noodles, they began to plan their next steps.
"Brother Yi, what should we do next?" Wei Sanpao asked.
Hearing Wei Sanpao's question, Li Yi immediately responded, "Let's contact a packaging factory first."
"A packaging factory? Why are we looking for that?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "Of course, it's to repackage our products."
"Secondary packaging?"
"Yes, the fruits we brought back are all unwrapped. Although they look good, they're not easy to sell at a good price. So we need to repackage them to increase their added value!"
The group looked confused, but Li Yi shook his head and added, "Don't ask if you don't understand. Just think about where we can find a packaging factory."
At this moment, no one had spoken when Xiao Wu suddenly said, "Brother Yi, my family owns one, but it's struggling. It seems like it's going bankrupt."
"Oh, can your family produce cartons?"
"No, but my family has connections, and the price is low!"
Li Yi nodded immediately, "That's fine. Let's go to your packaging factory and check it out. If it looks good, ask your father to help us order a batch of cartons."
"No problem, leave it to me!"
"Well, Lao San, besides the packaging, we need to ask your father for help!"
"What help?"
"Lend us the cold storage at your meat processing plant for a few days. We can pay rent, but it would be even better if it's free!" Li Yi said.
"Brother Yi, why do we need cold storage for fruits?"
"Are you stupid? Six hundred thousand kilograms of fruits can be sold quickly. However, if we sell them now, we won't get a good price. We need to store them in cold storage for a while and wait for the price to rise before selling them!"
"Okay, my dad will definitely help with this. If he doesn't, I'll have my mom quarrel with him every day!"
"Hahaha, I feel relieved when you say that!"
Everyone in the meat processing plant knew that Wei Kangan was powerful outside, but at home, he was a typical pushover!
If Wei Sanpao's mother took action, this matter was as good as done.
After lunch, they quickly made their way to Xiao Wu's packaging factory.
The so-called packaging factory was actually a small workshop. Along the way, Xiao Wu shared details about his family's situation.
Originally, the packaging factory relied on undertaking some packaging tasks for the meat processing plant, barely getting by. However, in recent years, with the decline in the meat plant's production and Liu Tongfu shifting the packaging business to his relatives, Xiao Wu's factory had been struggling and was almost on the verge of closing down.
When they arrived, Li Yi found the place to be very desolate. The factory building had exposed red brick walls, and the putty on the outside had fallen off.
Looking at the factory sign, Li Yi saw it was rusted and seemed like it hadn't been cleaned in ages.
"Only my mother and a few relatives are still watching over the factory. Everyone else quit long ago!"
"After June, my parents planned to transfer this factory, but no one was willing to take it over."
"That's the warehouse over there. It's filled with some of the last packaging boxes the factory produced. The whole warehouse is..."
While Xiao Wu was talking, a strange noise came from the factory.
Li Yi and the others looked towards the source and saw a few young people, wearing two-strand vests, climbing over the wall and entering the factory!
They had just reached the factory gate, still a little far from the warehouse, so the young people hadn't noticed them.
Seeing these people, Xiao Wu's face immediately darkened.
These were small-time gangsters from the neighborhood, and their goal was obviously to steal things.
Although the factory was on the brink of bankruptcy, there were still machines, including motors, which could fetch a good price for their copper and iron content. This attracted the gangsters' interest.
"Old Third, go to the back door and see if Dalong is blocking the front. Xiao Wu, come with me, let's check out the warehouse! I want to see if there's any law left in Jiangcheng!" Wei Sanpao laughed evilly.
While Dalong blocked the warehouse door, Li Yi took Xiao Wu to the warehouse.
When they arrived at the door, Li Yi kicked it open with one powerful move.
The warehouse door was rusty, so the kick made a loud noise, startling the young gangsters who dropped everything in their hands.
Li Yi glanced inside the warehouse. Many boxes were piled in the corner, occupying about 70% of the space. The rest of the warehouse had a long gap in the middle, obviously left for walking.
The gangsters were on the other side of the warehouse, and when they tried to slip out through the back door, they encountered the burly Wei Sanpao head-on.
"Boy, where do you think you're going?" Wei Sanpao asked.
The gangster swallowed nervously. He hadn't expected anyone to be at the back door.
At that moment, a young man with a shaved head pulled out a knife from his pocket and held it tightly.
Li Yi smiled disdainfully. He could tell by the way the gangster was holding the knife that he didn't have the courage to actually use it.
Li Yi quickly stepped forward and slapped the gangster on the head.
"Did you ask who I am? I'm Li Yi! The Li Yi from the meat processing plant!"
"Little bastard, do you even know what you're doing? We just sent a bunch of human traffickers to the police station a few days ago. It's easy to send you guys in too! Understand?"
The bald gangster, stunned by the slap and the mention of the human traffickers, realized he was in serious trouble.
His hand shook, and the shiny knife fell to the ground.
"Yi... Brother Yi, I was wrong!"
"We were misled!"
"Please, let us go this time! We didn't mean it!"
Li Yi shook his head, sighed, and said, "Alright, alright, get out of here. This is your last chance!"
"If I see you doing anything like this again, I'll have your parents come to the police station to pick you up!"
The gangsters, as if pardoned, nodded desperately and ran out as quickly as they could.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu felt a lot of his frustration lift.
Li Yi, noticing Xiao Wu's expression, smiled and said, "I'm curious. Why did I let them go so easily?"
Xiao Wu nodded, still puzzled. He couldn't understand why Li Yi had let them off lightly.
Li Yi patted Xiao Wu on the shoulder and said, "When you're stronger than your enemy, you'll find there's no need for revenge."
"Because, by simply standing before them, you've already won."
Though it sounded confusing, after thinking it over, everyone realized the profound wisdom in Li Yi's words and admired him even more.