Seeing Li Yue Shu frown in silence, Old Man Liu's heart sank. "Yue Shu, don't misunderstand. Your Aunt Liu and I truly didn't expect that girl to come to the pharmaceutical factory to make trouble. We..."
"Uncle Liu, I know this isn't about you and Aunt Liu," Li Yue Shu snapped back to attention, quickly reassuring him. "Don't worry, let's go and see first."
Watching their hurried backs, Shen Wei frowned slightly.
After a moment's hesitation, he also followed.
...
"This land belongs to my Liu family. Without my consent, none of you can touch it! Shen Laosan's family is bullying my parents because they don't understand anything! If you dare to touch it today, you'll have to step over my dead body!"
"You think I don't dare! I've seen this kind of threat a hundred times! If you have the guts, die right now, and see if I'll step over your corpse!"
As Li Yue Shu reached the entrance, she heard the heated argument between two women.
She hurried in and saw Madam Zhou rolling up her sleeves, her face full of anger, looking like she was about to fight.
Sun Mingda was desperately holding her back, his face flushed red, and he had almost lost his grip several times.
Standing in front of Madam Zhou was a woman of similar age.
The woman wore her hair in a bun, was tall and thin, and her eyebrows bore some resemblance to Old Man Liu.
She should be the daughter of Old Man Liu and his wife – Liu Lanlan.
As Li Yue Shu and the others rushed in, all eyes were drawn to them.
Old Man Liu quickly went to Liu Lanlan's side. "Lanlan, why are you so disobedient! This land was voluntarily given up by your mother and me. There was no fraud, no coercion!"
"Yes, Yue Shu is truly good to your father and me. The villagers can all testify. Why are you being so stubborn!" Aunt Liu also tried to persuade her, sweating with anxiety.
But Liu Lanlan was helpless and angry. "Dad, Mom, don't be fooled by her small favors! It's right for her to pay you wages for working for her. Why should she occupy our land for free!"
"Mom, when she asked you to be the manager of this pharmaceutical factory, she just wanted you to work without pay. Do you really think she's treating you well!"
Hearing these conversations, Li Yue Shu roughly understood the reason for Zhang Lanlan's anger.
She walked over, tilting her head slightly. "Sister Liu, are you angry because I built the pharmaceutical factory on your family's land without paying rent or buying it?"
Liu Lanlan sized up the person in front of her, not hiding her hostility at all. "Isn't that right? I'm telling you, I'm not as easily fooled as my parents. Even if you have a good relationship with the county magistrate and the prefect, it's wrong for you to occupy my family's land. I'm not afraid of you!"
Li Yue Shu was not angry at her fierce and rude attitude. "I indeed haven't paid rent for this land, nor have I bought it, because Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu were unwilling to accept any money."
"My parents were tricked by you!" Liu Lanlan's face was filled with rage, as if she wanted to rush forward and attack.
Shen Wei instinctively took two steps forward, ensuring he could intervene immediately if Li Yue Shu was in danger.
Li Yue Shu remained calm throughout. "Sister Liu, can you read?"
The sudden shift in topic caught everyone off guard. Aunt Liu was the first to recover. "My son-in-law is literate, and Lanlan learned from him after she got married."
Liu Lanlan pulled her mother, glaring warily at Li Yue Shu. "Why are you asking this?"
She had heard about the abilities of Shen Laosan's family – how they could open their own medical halls and restaurants, and even knew officials. Their methods must be extraordinary!
Li Yue Shu smiled faintly and turned to Mother Mo. "Aunt Mo, please go to the village head's house and bring the document that Aunt Liu and I signed earlier."
Mentioning this, Aunt Liu slapped her thigh. "Look at my memory, how could I forget such an important thing! Although Yue Shu didn't pay rent, she gave us a share of the pharmaceutical factory's profits. Lanlan, wait, Mom will go home and find that document!"
With that, Aunt Liu hurried home.
She hadn't even considered such things before. After getting the document, she had just put it aside. She had to find it quickly!
Liu Lanlan frowned, clearly not expecting this turn of events, but her eyes on Li Yue Shu still held disbelief.
Soon, Mother Mo and Aunt Liu returned with their respective documents, and Li Yue Shu also produced her copy from her spatial storage.
With the three documents placed together and bearing the official seal, they were legally binding, even if they were fake.
As Liu Lanlan carefully examined the contents of the documents, Li Yue Shu explained, "You are Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu's daughter, so you naturally understand their personalities. They were unwilling to accept money whether it was for rent or to buy the land. I could only choose a compromise."
"Aunt Liu and Sister Zhou are both managers of the pharmaceutical factory. I've settled their wages every month. Everyone here can attest to that."
"As for this land, I treated it as Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu's investment capital. From now on, they will receive ten percent of the pharmaceutical factory's monthly profits."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked.
They had privately mocked Old Man Liu and his wife for being foolish, giving away their land for free and not knowing how to make money.
Unexpectedly, they were secretly accumulating wealth and directly opting for a share of the profits!
With the clear black and white of the documents, Liu Lanlan knew that her words were true.
But she remained wary. "You say it's a profit share, so how much has the pharmaceutical factory given my parents since it's been operating?"
Li Yue Shu remained calm throughout. "The pharmaceutical factory had just opened, and all the income was being used to recover costs. It only started making a profit this month."
"However, the settlement date is the fifteenth of each month. There are still a few days left, and I'm not sure of the exact profit share yet, but a rough estimate suggests at least seventy taels."
"Hiss—"
As soon as she finished speaking, a collective gasp could be heard from the crowd.
Seventy taels!
That was enough to buy the land!
Liu Lanlan hadn't expected there to be so much, and she was momentarily stunned.
Li Yue Shu, however, remained calm, showing no surprise at the amount.
Although the pharmaceutical factory only supplied medicine to one Hengde Pharmacy, many people had developed the habit of keeping medicine at home, so the usage was naturally high.
In the future, if branch pharmacies were opened, the scale of the pharmaceutical factory would likely need to expand.
But outsiders didn't know this. They only heard that a ten percent profit share amounted to seventy taels. Everyone in the crowd felt envy for the Liu family and regretted not having offered their own land.
Seeing the indecision in Liu Lanlan's expression, Li Yue Shu spoke again. "It's only a few days until the fifteenth. Sister Liu, you can stay and personally review the accounts on the day of the profit distribution. You can also spend more time with Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu. They miss you very much."
The last sentence caused Liu Lanlan's defensiveness to instantly melt away. She was almost ashamed to look at her parents.
She lowered her head slightly, her expression somewhat embarrassed. "I... I was impulsive and misunderstood you. I'm sorry."
Compared to Li Yue Shu's composure and honesty, she felt like a ridiculous, unreasonable clown.
Li Yue Shu raised an eyebrow, not angry, but rather somewhat surprised.