Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 133 Part 1 – Xiao Feng Got Into a Fight at School (I)

Unfortunately, He Wei couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Mao Huimei.

After taking over the factory, Mao Huimei quickly moved forward with the machinery purchase and contacted Ma Yongpeng to secure the apple supply. She was so busy every day, wishing she could split herself into four to keep up with the endless tasks.

Xia Mian was equally worn out, even though she was merely assisting with small tasks. Doing business was really not something humans were meant to endure!

Unable to see Mao Huimei, He Wei had no choice but to console himself. He figured it was her first time managing a factory—sooner or later, she was bound to run into trouble, especially with finances. When that moment came, he’d step in to help, and that would surely soften the strain between them.

But rather than news of Mao Huimei hitting a wall, what reached him was the word that Three Sisters Beverage Factory had secured a contract with the apple growers of Jingyi Mountain.

…

“Outrageous!”

In the He family study, He Wei’s father slammed the desk in a fury, pointing at his niece. “Who gave you permission to arbitrarily lower the price of the fruit?!”

He Min tried to explain herself, “Second Uncle, I just took office, and I wanted to make some achievements to show you…”

“Making sure our cannery maintains regular production is an achievement enough!” Mr. He snapped. “We’ve worked well with those farmers for three years—why are you stirring things up? Did you even report this to me?”

He Min argued, “If it weren’t for that Mao Huimei who suddenly jumped in, I could’ve saved us hundreds of thousands on raw materials this year. I was trying to give you a nice surprise!”

Seeing that she still hadn’t realized her mistake, Mr. He was so disappointed he didn’t even have the strength to stay angry. “Even without Mao Huimei, I wouldn’t have agreed to this! Do you think our cannery can’t survive without saving a few hundred thousand?”

“The He family’s reputation is worth far more than that. You’re going to destroy it over some pocket change?”

“Second Uncle,” He Min sensed his disapproval and began to panic, “It’s not that serious…”

“I think there’s still a way to salvage this. That juice factory was opened by some spoiled girls who knew nothing about business. No banks lend them money. Without funds, they won’t get far.” She paused, then added, “I’ll go sign with the farmers right away, according to the original contract.”

Mr. He couldn’t believe that even after sending his niece abroad for years of study, she still hadn’t shaken off her pettiness and small-mindedness. Disappointed, he said, “Forget it. Go home. Don’t get involved in this anymore. I’ll assign someone else to handle it.”

He Min’s face changed dramatically. “Second Uncle!”

Mr. He ignored her. “Get out. Send in my secretary.”

After a pause, he added, “Call Xiao Wei in too.”

He Min didn’t dare say another word and left, looking thoroughly annoyed.

A short while later, He Wei entered. Seeing his father looking troubled, he asked, “Is there still a way to fix this?”

Mr. He looked at him with disappointment. “The reason I put you with your cousin is so that you can gain experience by managing a project yourself. I never expected you’d put all your energy into toying with girls!”

“You’ve really let me down!”

He Wei lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Mr. He snapped, “You knew about He Min’s price-cutting scheme, so why didn’t you stop her? You could’ve at least said something to me!”

“She didn’t tell me a thing… By the time I realized what was happening, she’d already pulled in the other buyers. I didn’t want to embarrass her in front of outsiders.”

Mr. He sighed, “Fine, I won’t blame you for that. But what about the Three Emperors Canning Factory? Why didn’t you acquire it?”

He Wei said, “That factory has too many issues, and it’s not eligible for loans—”

His father interrupted expressionlessly, “Did you ever sit down and have a serious conversation with Director Zhang?”

He Wei couldn’t say a word.

“All your current projects—stop them. From now on, you’ll be working as my assistant.”

He Wei exclaimed in shock, “Dad!”

A sudden knock came at the door. He Wei’s stepmother stepped in and said, “Old He, I’m heading over to my brother’s. Nana’s driving the whole family crazy.”

Mr. He was already aware of the mess brewing at his in-laws’. Lu Nana had thrown the entire family into turmoil lately.

He sighed. “Got it. Try to talk some sense into her.”

After the interruption, his anger toward He Wei had lessened a bit. But he still couldn’t help but sigh. “Children really are debts!”

“The Lu family only has Nana. Instead of raising her properly and guiding her, they spoiled her, and now look what it’s come to.”

He Wei’s expression was cold. Since that day, he had tried several times to talk sense into Lu Nana, even forced her to listen to the recording, but she just blindly believed Qi Kai and wouldn’t trust her own family.

“That girl Mao Huimei…” Mr. He suddenly said.

He Wei was startled, thinking his father had found something out. But then he heard him sigh with admiration. “Why is she so capable?”

“If only you had even half of her ability…”

He Wei cautiously asked, “Dad, you know her?”

Mr. He replied, “Of course. She’s the daughter of President Xia from Xinsheng Foods.”

As he said that, his face filled with admiration. “I’ve never seen a woman better at raising kids than President Xia. Three daughters and a niece—every one of them turned out great.”

He Wei was stunned. “Xinsheng Foods?”

“Yeah. All hotpot vendors use her company’s sauces and ingredients.” Mr. He praised, “She started with a small street stall, then bought a bankrupt instant noodle factory and expanded her business significantly. Pretty much the same route I took.”

“From what I hear, Mao Huimei was assisting her from the beginning. Her husband couldn’t help much, so it was all on that eldest daughter.”

“Oh, right, her husband is the actor Mao Zhishan. You should know him—the really good-looking one.”

He Wei stood there in a daze. Her mother owned a factory. Her father was an actor. So Qi Kai was targeting her for that…

Ridiculous, completely ridiculous! For the past six months, he’d treated her like a shallow gold digger, never once trying to understand her. If he had just made the slightest effort…

Mr. He didn’t notice his son’s complicated mood. He kept sighing in amazement. “Now Xinsheng Foods is growing well, her daughter has gone independent and started a factory of her own.”

He was full of envy. “And she came from a small county town too. Look at you and He Min! Even putting you two together can’t match the girl’s vision or courage.”

He Wei came to his senses, surprised. “Dad, are you saying… that beverage factory is really going to make it?”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Mr. He clicked his tongue in amazement. “Two girls, hardly out of their teens, and in just a few days, they pulled that off. Who would’ve believed it? Kids nowadays really are something!”

He Wei still didn’t get it, “But Xinsheng Foods didn’t throw in millions for them, did they?”

“What millions?” Mr. He scoffed. “Xinsheng just took on a bunch of new orders. Their own cash flow’s barely holding up. President Xia’s been complaining that her daughter’s timing couldn’t be worse.”

“She’s even annoyed that Mao Huimei isn’t helping out. The girl is entirely on her own; her mother does not help.”

“That’s why I say the two girls are impressive.” Seeing He Wei still looking puzzled, he explained, “That factory couldn’t get a loan, but they managed to cover the biggest costs—the machinery—through compensation trade.”

“The Three Emperors used to produce canned food, so it already has the manpower and systems in place. The only real hurdle is procuring the fruit supply, and even that got smoothed out after He Min’s mess.”

“As long as they’ve got around a hundred thousand to operate over a few months, once the product passes inspection and hits the market, they’ll start earning. Then they’ll be able to advertise their product as imported quality for the local market. That’s one easy sell!”

Mr. He praised, “Compensation trade—this is the first I’ve heard of such a strategy. How do you think they figured that out?”

He Wei was stunned. “They didn’t rely on Young Master Ning?”

“What Young Master?” Mr. He asked, puzzled.

Seeing he didn’t know, He Wei explained, “The one working with Mao Huimei is her cousin, Xia Mian. She’s President Xia’s niece and also the woman who saved Young Master Ning’s young nephew.”

“She’s also his girlfriend.”

Mr. He was shocked. “Seriously?”

“President Xia never mentioned that. Probably didn’t want to complicate things. Just being seen as a lifesaver is enough to cause misunderstandings.”

He Wei: “…”

He… did misunderstand them.

Mr. He continued, “That’s exactly why I admire President Xia. If it were me, I don’t know if I could’ve handled it with such grace.” Then he reminded his son, “Since she hasn’t mentioned it, clearly she doesn’t want people to know. Keep your mouth shut; don’t go spreading it.”

He Wei stayed silent. What right did he have to speak now?

Mr. He suddenly changed the topic, “By the way, that Mao Huimei girl seems to be about your age.”

“President Xia’s been worrying about her eldest daughter’s marriage lately. Xiao Wei, why don’t you give it some thought?”

“I’ve met that girl a few times. She completely takes after her parents—beautiful, mature, sensible. And her courage and capability in starting a factory… you can hardly find a better spouse.”

The more he thought about the idea, the more excited he was. Mr. He tried his best to persuade his son, “Why don’t I talk to President Xia? See if she’d be open to introducing you two. Or maybe just meet her first? Young people can start as friends.”

He Wei was filled with bitterness. “No need. I know her. I’ll do it myself.”

Mr. He lit up. “You want to pursue her?”

He Wei paused, then nodded.

“Then the fruit acquisition for the cannery is your responsibility,” Mr. He said, slapping his thigh. “She’s already signed contracts with the farmers—go ask her to allocate us some. We’ll pay more if needed.”

Looking at his father, He Wei felt a glimmer of hope rise in his chest. Once he makes up for his past mistakes, maybe—just maybe—they could start over.

But reality wasn’t that kind to He Wei. After three months, when Three Sisters Beverage Factory launched its first batch of concentrated juice, he still hadn’t managed to have a proper conversation with Mao Huimei.

She was just too busy and clearly had no desire to see him. The work-related arrangements that Mr. He had painstakingly set up only led to her sending Fang Yongpeng in her place for all negotiations.

He Wei tried every way he could think of to approach her, but all he got were either polite greetings or complete indifference. Meanwhile, he could only watch helplessly as she grew closer and closer to Fang Yongpeng…

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