Still, it was the same old place for the rendezvous.

Having learned from the last experience, this time, Li Xianghong didn't dare to enter that mountain depression alone. Instead, she joined hands with Wang Xiaoqiang and they entered together.

These past few days, the Autumn Tiger was raging, the weather as hot as the height of summer, but the small valley between Mantou Mountain and Great Green Mountain was a land of coolness. The area was dense with lush trees, verdant grass, and especially that patch of woods, with branches and leaves so thick and crowns like canopies that they blocked out the sunlight, casting large swaths of shade.

The grass on the ground was like a thick, green carpet—clean and soft. Although there would inevitably be some small insects and the like, under the elimination of Wang Xiaoqiang's Aura of Geng Metal, there was no possibility of their survival,

What delighted people the most was that there was also a small pond with water so clear and cool, most suitable for washing up afterward.

"Little Qiang, I realized today that you really have soul power..." Li Xianghong said with a happy smile...

"How do I have soul power?" Wang Xiaoqiang said with a wicked smile...

"Ah... You don't know, these past few days everyone was terrified by that nasty virus going around. Li Jinye has been wearing two masks every day... And then you came to the meeting, and we were all not afraid anymore... So awesome! Being a leader really is different!" Li Xianghong continued, ...

"Is that so? And here I thought when you said I had soul power, it was because my Kung Fu was impressive..."

"...You're awful..." Li Xianghong shrieked, but then laughed happily again...

"Ah... Little Qiang, it's too hot, why don't we go into the pond..."

"Good idea... Let's go!" Wang Xiaoqiang exclaimed happily...

"Ah... Giggles~~~" Li Xianghong was also especially cheerful...

.........

While Wang Xiaoqiang and Li Xianghong were bathing in the pond... Zheng Dana, Wang Xiaoqiang's sworn brother, was sent to the County People's Hospital by his daughter Zheng Shuang.

"Dad, don't scare me, what's happened to you?" Seeing blood flowing from Zheng Dana's mouth, Zheng Shuang was terrified, her face losing color, and tears coming out.

"It's nothing, Dad is fine..." Zheng Dana patted his daughter's hand, comforting her.

An elderly doctor sitting behind the consultation desk took Zheng Dana's pulse and said... "Mr. Zheng, this is caused by acute distress. It's not serious but please make sure not to overwork yourself anymore, otherwise, medication will be useless... To put it plainly, it's a heart problem..."

Zheng Shuang interceded... "Dad, did you hear what the doctor said? Please don't worry about the factory's affairs anymore. No matter how important the factory is, it's not as important as your health!"

"Ah..." Zheng Dana sighed deeply and shook his head in pain.

"Mr. Zheng, you should get an IV to recover faster..." Zheng Dana was a well-known local entrepreneur, often on TV, so the old doctor also recognized him.

"Ah, don't bother with that, just prescribe me some medicine," Zheng Dana waved his hand.

"No way, Dad, you must get an IV," Zheng Shuang said decisively, turning her gaze to the elderly doctor, "Doctor Yu, please set up an IV for my dad, ..."

"Ah, you girl..."

While Zheng Dana was receiving an IV in the hospital room, a man in his thirties walked in, carrying a basket of fruit.

"Tan Rong, you, why are you here? The factory is in deep trouble right now, what are you doing here?" Zheng Dana said sternly to the man.

"Factory head, the factory... doesn't need me anymore... it doesn't need anyone anymore..." Tan Rong, the vice-factory head of the breeding factory, said with a mournful tone, squeezing his eyes but failing to shed tears. It was no wonder; he was over the moon with joy. The rabbit is dead and the fox grieves—it's just that this fox's acting skills were poor.

Zheng Shuang gave Tan Rong a look of disgust, "Tan Rong, my dad is feeling unwell, what's the point of startling him like that? So the factory is closed, so what... there's nothing so dreadful about it..."

There was a boldness in Zheng Shuang's tone. Coupled with her relatively androgynous attire, it exuded a strong air of soul power. This demeanor indeed took Tan Rong aback; this girl was really something else. Hmm, right up my alley. She definitely won't escape this time.

"Tan Rong, tell me quickly, don't tell me that those thousand pigs also..." Zheng Dana, his voice trembling, spoke with immense sorrow.

With a face full of sorrow, Tan Rong said, "Factory head, overnight, those thousand pigs... all lay motionless on the ground..."

"Tan Rong, you..." Zheng Shuang glared with wide eyes, gritting her teeth in hatred. Reporting such bad news at this moment, wasn't that tantamount to seeking her father's death?

Indeed, when Zheng Dana heard Tan Rong's words, his eyes bulged, his mouth tightened, and then, with a sudden gasp, he spurted out blood.

"Dad..." Zheng Shuang was terrified. She hurried over to support him.

"Factory director..." Tan Rong felt a secret thrill, but he still showed a face full of sorrow on the surface.

"You get out of here; stop pretending. Get out..." Zheng Shuang helped her father up and, while using paper to wipe the blood from his mouth, pointed at Tan Rong and said.

Tan Rong, thick-skinned as ever, completely ignored Zheng Shuang's pointing and scolding.

"Tan Rong, you, you should go." Zheng Dana weakly lifted his eyelids and said to Tan Rong.

"Factory director, you take care of your health, I'm going back to the factory now." Tan Rong looked indifferently at Zheng Dana, then turned and left. Once outside the ward, he clenched his fists, a triumphant look spread across his face, and he quietly exclaimed, "Yes!"

"Dad, that's not right, a thousand pigs, they can't all die overnight, although the virus is fierce, it can't be to that extent, right..." Zheng Shuang said, suspicious.

"Alas, dead is dead, what, should we call the police to investigate it? Don't you see, what time it is now, what a mess the hospital is?" said Zheng Dana.

Now, not to mention the County People's Hospital, even private hospitals were filled with people. The virus sparked people's panic, and anyone with a cold or fever would go to the hospital to be checked. As a result, the patient flow in hospitals increased significantly.

Zheng Shuang thought about it and agreed, even if those pigs did not die from the virus, and it was someone causing trouble, at this time no police would be willing to risk viral infection to investigate this case. However, she quickly realized that this matter must be related to Tan Rong; the guy was too sneaky.

This devastating epidemic was fierce, and after the thousand pigs fell, all the livestock at Zheng Dana's farm died out completely. The loss was severe, but that wasn't all. Also, because of this epidemic, Zheng Dana's other factory, the meat food processing plant, also fell into a difficult situation.

Tens of thousands of pounds of food in the cold storage were all backlogged, without selling a single item.

The virus not only caused the mass death of livestock but also made people dread the thought of meat products. Now, people would turn pale at the mention of meat, and even if someone offered an entire pig for free, nobody would dare to accept it.

Both of Zheng Dana's factories were in trouble; the initial investments wouldn't come back, and there was no cash flow. Because Zheng Dana's factories were both related to animal husbandry and meat, the banks were now unwilling to lend him money. As a result, he couldn't pay the workers' wages, resulting in widespread discontent.

The two factories employed approximately two hundred workers combined, and when they initially joined, the factory took a deposit of five thousand yuan from each of them. These two hundred workers represented two hundred families, and with the factory's halting operations, the lives of these two hundred families fell into hardship.

Under the impact of the virus, Zheng Enterprises completely collapsed. As an entrepreneur, Zheng Dana was anxious about the factory, worried about the workers, and desperate for funds. Just then, to his dismay, a few workers came to him demanding their wages, cursing loudly. After all, Zheng Dana was nearly in his sixties and couldn't withstand such torment.

Overwhelmed by frustration, his blood pressure surged, and he ended up vomiting blood. That was how Zheng Shuang ended up taking him to the hospital.

Zheng Shuang, realizing her father made sense, nodded, "Dad, you're right, let's not think about this stuff. You just focus on getting better. Now that Zheng Ru has graduated from college, she can work and make money. From now on, the two of us will take care of you and Mom..."

"Alas, it's easy to say don't think about it, but that's the enterprise I've built my entire life. Am I just supposed to let go of it?" Zheng Dana said with reluctance in his heart.

"Dad, look at how old you are now. Even if the factory hadn't encountered this disaster, how many more years could you work..."

"I may be old, but don't I have you? And your sister? Can't you two support two factories..."

Zheng Shuang persuaded... "Dad, it's pointless to talk about this now. I heard that this epidemic will last until winter. Some experts even said it's uncertain if this kind of epidemic will reoccur next spring. So Dad, these two years are dangerous periods. Since the factories are like this, it might be better to sell them, settle the workers' wages, and avoid falling into disrepute..."

Zheng Dana shook his head upon hearing this but then nodded resignedly, "Alas, that's the only thing to do now... But Little Shuang, will there be anyone willing to take over at this time?"

"Let's give it a try... Ah, Dad, yesterday my aunt mentioned that Wang Xiaoqiang's chicken farm has had no trouble, not a single chicken died from the virus..."

"Eh, is that so? But his factory is up in the mountains, the air there is good, so it's normal if it's not affected, right..." Zheng Dana said, mixing surprise with speculation.

"Dad, that isn't how it works. There's a livestock farm in Huaming Village that's located on the mountain, and when the virus hit, they were completely wiped out..." Zheng Shuang said.

"Yes, that's true. Little Qiang really has a way, alas, if only I had learned from him sooner, my factory might not have fallen... Alas…" Zheng Dana slapped his thigh in regret.

"Dad, it's too late for anything now. Dad, why don't we ask Little Qiang if he's willing to take over our factory?" Zheng Shuang suggested.

"Mm, Little Qiang does know his stuff about breeding..." Zheng Dana said and then, suddenly looking up at his daughter, asked, out of the blue, "Little Shuang, are you and Little Qiang really impossible?"

Upon hearing Zheng Dana mention this, Zheng Shuang's face turned slightly red, "Dad, I heard, I heard that Little Qiang and Xia Guifang are already living together..."

"Living together... Alas, what's that, nowadays young people easily move in together when they get heated up, the key is they're not married yet. What I mean is, if you can fight for it, you should try. Little Qiang is truly talented...

You saw it at his company's opening ceremony, people from the county, from the Provincial Capital, officials, and domestic female tycoons all came to support him, what a large network he has... Tsk tsk..." As an entrepreneur, Zheng Dana was not a traditionalist and once again encouraged his daughter to pursue Wang Xiaoqiang.

"Dad, this..." Zheng Shuang's face showed confusion, as she hesitated to speak.

"Alright, let's not talk about this now. I'd rest easy if Wang Xiaoqiang took over the factory. You go talk to him and see if he's willing. As for the funds, if he can't pay all at once, he can pay a part first. The most important thing right now is to settle the workers' wages."(To be continued.

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