Her Imperfection for Wifehood - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

On the fifth morning at the manor, An Jing received a call from the butler, Lao Li: “Miss, the factory has an urgent matter for you. They said it’s about that batch of machinery.”

“What’s the situation?”

“The factory managers know the details. You should hurry back.”

“Tell them to wait. I’ll be back right away.”

Even without the call, she had to go to the city today because it was the scheduled inspection day for the batch of imported machinery. And tomorrow was the official delivery date.

An Jing rushed upstairs, put on her coat, and found Wei Yinxia who was combing Xiaoyu’s hair.

Wei Yinxia asked while fixing the hair: “You look rushed. What happened?”

“I received a call that there’s an emergency at the factory that needs my attention. I have to rush over. Yinyin, your injury isn’t fully healed, and I don’t feel safe with you going home. You stay here with Yunqing. Wei Zhengqing won’t be able to do anything to you. Once I’m done, I’ll come back to accompany you as soon as I can. Don’t rush; don’t leave by yourself.”

When An Jing took the call, Tang Yunqing overheard a few general phrases. She called Xiaoyu over: “Darling, Godmother and Auntie Yinyin have something to talk about. Come and have breakfast with Mommy first.”

“Okay.” Xiaoyu touched her neatly tied hair, turned, and sweetly said to Wei Yinxia, “Thank you, Auntie Yinyin, for helping me comb my hair.”

“You’re welcome.” After spending a few days together, she had genuinely grown fond of this charming and well-behaved little darling.

Once the room was empty, Wei Yinxia straightened An Jing’s collar: “Be careful in everything you do.”

An Jing kissed her forehead and then lightly pecked her lips: “You must wait for me to return. Yinyin, you are my woman. I will find a way to make Kahn drop his inappropriate intentions toward you.”

“Mhm.”

Outside the main gate, after seeing An Jing’s car leave, Tang Yunqing teased Wei Yinxia: “Look at how worried she is, afraid that I’ll eat you up.”

“Sister Yunqing, please don’t tease me. A… Boss Jing clearly just can’t bear to leave this leisurely and comfortable life here.” After a few days, Wei Yinxia was familiar with Tang Yunqing’s straightforward personality. She took Xiaoyu’s hand and walked back into the courtyard.

“Hmph. She says nice things. She said she was coming to celebrate my birthday, but she left before my birthday arrived. Who knows if she’ll even make it back.”

“Sister Yunqing, your birthday is tomorrow, right? I’ll stay one more day. I’ll cook you and Xiaoyu a table of my best dishes and longevity noodles tomorrow. If Boss Jing is too busy to make it, I will bring her blessings with me to celebrate your birthday.”

“You are you, and she is she. I don’t like noodles. You should go make longevity noodles for her instead.” Tang Yunqing did not like hearing Wei Yinxia speak of An Jing and herself as a single entity, and her tone was somewhat harsh.

“It was my mistake, Sister Yunqing. Please forgive me.” After apologizing, Wei Yinxia asked, “Sister Yunqing, has Boss Jing not celebrated her birthday this year yet?”

Tang Yunqing also felt her tone had been a little too sharp, making her appear petty and unfriendly.

She cleared her throat and answered Wei Yinxia’s question: “No. She says she doesn’t have a birthday. She also said that the day she was born coincided with the year’s first snowfall. So, if she absolutely must have a birthday, the first snow of every winter is her birthday. This year is her thirtieth birthday. I hope that when the snow falls this year, she will have a different wish and a harvest that is uniquely her own.”

The day it snows is A-Jing’s birthday?

Wei Yinxia stopped walking and looked up at the gray sky.

The lowest temperatures in Shanghai each year are in December and January of the following year, but in Wei Yinxia’s memory, even during those coldest two months, it rarely snowed in Shanghai.

“Mommy, what is snow?” Xiaoyu, who had never seen snow, asked curiously, also looking up at the sky with Wei Yinxia.

“Stop looking. It hasn’t snowed in Shanghai for two or three years.” Seeing Xiaoyu also looking up at the sky with Wei Yinxia, Tang Yunqing waved Xiaoyu over. “Snow is white, hexagonal ice crystals. Rain condenses into snowflakes and drifts down from the sky, just like rain. If it doesn’t snow in Shanghai this year, when winter comes, we’ll go to Jingping with Godmother to see the snow. Jingping is in the North. It snows heavily in winter, and the lakes freeze. Then, we’ll build a snowman with Godmother, and Godmother can take you ice skating. How does that sound?”

As Tang Yunqing described it, Xiaoyu was filled with excitement for winter.

“Yes! Yes!” Xiaoyu let go of Wei Yinxia’s hand and ran to Tang Yunqing, then looked back at Wei Yinxia: “Mommy, will Auntie Yinyin come too?”

“Auntie Yinyin might not have time.” Tang Yunqing pinched her daughter’s cheek. “Alright, it’s only September. It’s still a long time until snow.”

“I wish winter would come quickly.”

“The seasons cycle through spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Every season has its good points. Don’t you love the flowers in spring, the cicadas in summer, and the red leaves in autumn?”

“Mhm, Mommy is right. Xiaoyu loves them all.”

Wei Yinxia followed behind Tang Yunqing and Xiaoyu. The two in front were light and cheerful, but her steps were heavy, and her heart felt weighed down by a giant stone.

She knew An Jing’s hasty departure must be related to the plans of Wei Zhengqing and Kahn. An Jing and the An Corporation were both about to be in deep trouble, attacked from all sides, with nowhere to hide.

The sky wasn’t snowing, yet Wei Yinxia was already engulfed in a world of ice and snow, chilled to the bone.

How could she and A-Jing possibly have a future?

The An Corporation factory managers were gathered at the Cotton Textile Factory No. 2. The managers from Factory No. 1 and Factory No. 3 were present, but the manager of Factory No. 2, Manager He, was missing.

“Boss Jing, we can’t find Manager He.”

“When was he last reachable?” An Jing tried her best to remain calm to steady the staff.

“Before closing yesterday, he called us and said you had confirmed everything at the dock the day before yesterday, that the new machinery would arrive in the next two days, and that people would come today to acquire the old machinery… You haven’t been to the factory much lately, and he and Young Master Xi were the ones informing everyone about the new machinery, so we didn’t suspect anything.”

“This morning, several small factory owners showed up with contracts and documents demanding the machinery. We tried to reach Manager He to verify, but we couldn’t get through to him.”

“We already sent people to Manager He’s house; no one is home.”

“We called Young Master Xi, and Lao Li said Young Master Xi isn’t home either. That’s why we urgently asked him to find you.”

“The main issue is that the orders have increased significantly in the last two days. It should be a cause for celebration, but if we have to suspend work for a day or two because of this, I’m afraid many orders won’t make the deadline. What should we do?”

After listening to the two managers’ accounts, An Jing had a preliminary conclusion.

“Everyone, don’t panic. The new machinery is indeed arriving today.”

She spoke calmly to reassure them. The priority was not to find out where Manager He was, but to resolve the issue of the old and new machinery. “Here’s the plan: I will go to the dock immediately and ask them to send the new machinery over today. Send as much as they can first.”

She had authorized Manager He to handle the disposal of the old machinery. But she had clearly told him the date was set for the day after the new machinery was delivered.

She remembered Manager He drafting the disposal contract and showing it to her. She authorized it only after confirming its accuracy.

Clearly, the contract was later tampered with.

The people who came to haul away the old machinery were gathered at the factory, but the leaders looked nothing like ordinary workers.

“Boss Jing, it’s good that you came personally.”

A burly, fierce man stepped forward. “Look closely. It’s written clearly in black and white that the goods are to be picked up today. We’ve paid the money. We are operating according to the contract, and we will take the machinery away today no matter what. If your factory staff insist on blocking us, that’s unacceptable. Your big factory may have many people, but we have many people too. Don’t think you can bully us honest people.”

At this moment, the old accounting veteran who worked in the office rushed over to Factory No. 2.

“Make way! Make way!” He frantically squeezed through the crowd and got next to An Jing, whispering in her ear.

He came to inform An Jing that Manager He, whom they couldn’t reach, had most likely absconded with the funds.

Twenty-eight thousand, that was the exact amount for the disposal of the old machinery.

“Boss Jing, give us an explanation.” The burly man urged impatiently. “We are small factories. We need to haul the machinery back to start working.”

“Give us the machinery!”

“We’re taking the machinery now!”

Many of the people demanding to haul the machinery had thick wooden sticks, about the size of an arm, with rope tied to the ends.

As the situation escalated, with the two sides facing off, the factory manager of Factory No. 1, a woman in her fifties, stood with her hands on her hips, blocking the burly man: “8 AM and 10 AM are today, and 8 PM and 10 PM are also today. If you want to haul the machinery, come back at 10 PM.”

“Pah! You stinking hag, are you trying to test me?” The burly man cursed and shoved the female manager hard. “I’m taking it now! Is your An Corporation trying to breach the contract?”

With that shove, the people on both sides swarmed forward. In a flash, An Jing grabbed the female manager, snatched a wooden stick from the opponent’s hand, and thrust it directly against the burly man’s chest with significant force, making him stagger back several steps.

“Stop right there, all of you!” An Jing shouted.

The moment her voice dropped, the rushing Lu Cheng also sprinted between An Jing and the burly man, taking a fighting stance: “Miss, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

The burly man grasped the other end of the wooden stick and stared fiercely at An Jing: “Oh, Boss Jing has quite the fighting skills. Do you want to take me on one-on-one?”

Could a fight resolve the conflict?

No.

An Jing snorted coldly, handing the end of the stick to Lu Cheng: “Make him apologize to the manager. Once he apologizes, let them haul the machinery.”

“Pah! Apologize to your mother!” The burly man suddenly exerted force and started fighting with Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng’s fighting skills had been affirmed by Xu Weiqiang. How could a mere rough man be his opponent?

In a one-on-one fight, the man was subdued by Lu Cheng in just a few moves, which served as a warning to the others.

“Didn’t you hear? Our Miss told you to apologize.” Lu Cheng twisted both of the man’s arms behind his back, his knee pressing against the man’s waist.

“Alright, I apologize. I apologize. I beg Boss Jing to be magnanimous,” the man looked at the female manager whom he had pushed. “Please also be magnanimous. It was my vulgar mouth speaking inappropriately. I apologize for offending both of you.”

The man lying on the ground apologized in humiliation before Lu Cheng released him.

An Jing looked at him sternly: “The Chinese police will be here in less than fifteen minutes. If you dare to incite trouble again, do you believe I can make sure you don’t see tonight’s moon?”

It was widely known that the An Corporation was protected by the Chinese Police Bureau.

The man had achieved his goal of causing a disturbance, but he had also been beaten up. If he caused more trouble and ended up in jail, no one would look after him.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. As long as we get the machinery, we absolutely won’t cause any more trouble.”

To preserve the An Corporation’s credibility, An Jing had to make the decision to allow those people to take the old machinery, and at the same time, she told the old veteran to call the police.

She then gave a few quick instructions to the two managers, asking them to calm everyone down, and prepared to leave for the dock with Lu Cheng.

As they approached the car, Lu Cheng spoke: “Miss, the Young Master has been detained by the concession police.”

“Get in and tell me!” An Jing got into the driver’s seat.

Lu Cheng sat in the passenger seat and recounted the sequence of events to An Jing, who was driving.

“After Uncle Li received the call from the factory, I left to find the Young Master. I went to several ballrooms he frequents but couldn’t find him. I then thought I’d check the batch of machinery at the dock and wait for you there. Unexpectedly, Young Master Xi arrived at the dock earlier than I did.”

“I only found out when I got there that the batch of machinery had been seized by the police last night after customs clearance. It was reported that the Municipal Council received an anonymous tip that someone was illegally smuggling firearms through this batch of machinery, threatening the public order of the entire Shanghai. They immediately ordered the police to seize all the suspicious cargo ships, and they actually found hundreds of firearms among the goods.”

“Boss Yan of the Shipping Gang was taken in by the police before dawn. Young Master Xi, upon hearing the news at the dock, went to the police station to demand an explanation, insisting on confronting Boss Yan face-to-face, hoping to get our machinery back as soon as possible.”

“The concession police are naturally not easy to deal with. Furthermore, the Municipal Council is giving this case special attention, so the police detained the Young Master for a routine interrogation.”

“Before the questioning even started, the Young Master was locked up for malicious assault. The reason was that he hit a foreign businessman named Kahn. As for why Kahn was at the police station, and why the Young Master got into a conflict with him and assaulted him, I haven’t been able to find out yet.”

After hearing Lu Cheng’s report, An Jing suddenly remembered that An Xi’s place of study abroad was the same country as Kahn’s.

Could they have known each other overseas?

An Jing couldn’t figure it out. She drove to the police station but was refused a visit.

She and Lu Cheng put together all the money they had, and only then did they get a tip from a greedy junior officer: “Boss Jing, as far as I know, the arms smuggling case is not related to the An Corporation, but if you want to get all the machinery back intact, you’ll need to use your connections to get through to the Municipal Council. It could take three to five days, or three to five months, depending on whether the money is right. As for whether Young Master Xi is guilty, how he will be charged, and how he will be interrogated, the one who tied the knot must untie it. You need to go to the hospital to find the Mr. Kahn who was injured by him and has backing in the Municipal Council. As long as he is willing to be lenient and forgive Young Master Xi, we will release him immediately upon notification.”

Charge, interrogate.

The officer’s choice of words was a clear hint that An Xi would not have an easy time inside.

After leaving the police station, Lu Cheng took over the driving.

Along the way, Lu Cheng hesitated several times. He wanted to tell An Jing about meeting Boyang yesterday and Strong Master’s request, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“To the hospital,” An Jing said after a long silence.

“Yes.”

Kahn had been hit by An Xi twice: one punch broke his nose, and the other knocked out a tooth.

The arms smuggling was a setup he had orchestrated, pretending to cooperate with Boss Yan to provide him with overseas cargo. In reality, he used it as a major gift to the Municipal Council, presenting them with the shipping gang’s route and this batch of firearms.

Boss Yan gave up his name, which was why he appeared at the police station.

But he truly didn’t understand why An Xi had attacked him on sight. After all, only he and Boss Yan knew about using the An Corporation’s new machinery for smuggling.

However, Boss Yan was arrested overnight, and his testimony was still in the confidential interrogation phase, so the information shouldn’t have been leaked.

Moreover, the high-level officials of the Municipal Council had promised not to publicly disclose his connection to the case. So, what on earth was An Xi going mad about?

Could it be… related to Wei Yinxia? Or related to that other matter?

After undergoing surgery at the hospital, as soon as the anesthetic wore off, the uneasy Kahn immediately called someone to investigate An Xi.

And An Jing arrived sooner than he expected.

“Speak. What will it take for you to let go of An Xi?” An Jing asked Kahn directly the moment she entered the room.

She was unsure what the feud was between An Xi and Kahn. Who was right and who was wrong? How deep was the animosity? All were unknown. Therefore, she couldn’t apologize to Kahn on An Xi’s behalf without permission. Some losses could be taken, but “humiliation” could not be endured.

“Within tomorrow, this amount.” Kahn also got straight to the point. Judging by An Jing’s words, she still didn’t know he was directly involved in the machinery seizure case, otherwise, she wouldn’t just be asking how to settle An Xi’s account.

A man could be killed, but not insulted.

While waiting, another idea struck him.

As of now, bringing down An Jing gave him a greater sense of achievement than defeating An Xi.

He raised his hand, pointed to his nose, then opened his mouth and pointed to the gap where his tooth was missing, signaling the number “seven”: “My nose and tooth, seventy thousand. Boss Jing, if you are willing to spend this money to resolve the calamity, I will not pursue charges against your brother. As the saying goes in your country—we turn hostility into friendship and resolve major issues into minor ones. How about it?”

“Fine. It’s a deal.” An Jing didn’t stop to think why Kahn was specifically asking for “seventy thousand.”

Seventy thousand, raising it in one day, was not an impossible feat for An Jing.

At worst, she would go beg Qin Zhe. At worst, she would go pawn something.

An Xi’s safety was more important than anything else, let alone money. How many people who entered the police jail walked out unharmed? She couldn’t let her only relative suffer this hardship. She had to get him out as quickly as possible and then strategize.

The new machinery was also crucial, but there had to be an order of priority. An Xi was the most important.

“Boss Jing is straightforward. You truly live up to your reputation. What should I say? A team of four horses cannot overtake the spoken word? Yes, that’s it. I didn’t say it wrong, did I?”

Kahn laughed with smug satisfaction. “As long as I see the money tomorrow, we’ll make a transaction—money for the person. Young Master Xi can go home and sleep peacefully tomorrow night.”

Although the terms were settled, An Jing’s mind was still not at ease.

An Xi’s matter could be solved with seventy thousand yuan, but what about the new machinery? How much more money would it take to fill the stomachs of those corrupt parasites in the Municipal Council?

Without spending money, she could only wait. How long would she have to wait?

Could she afford to wait? Could the An Corporation afford to wait?

Since the machinery was seized after passing customs, it was considered a force majeure incident, so the primary responsibility did not lie with the manufacturer.

The manufacturer did not need to refund the deposit, nor did they need to compensate for the liquidated damages caused by the inability to deliver on time. They would strictly cooperate with the investigations of the Municipal Council and the police, wait for all legal procedures to be completed, then “claim” the goods back, and then continue the transaction with the buyer.

As the buyer, in this situation, the An Corporation had the right to unilaterally terminate the transaction without breaching the contract, without paying the final balance, but also without recovering the fifty thousand yuan deposit.

However, a large number of old machines were already gone, and the arrival of the new machinery was critical.

Therefore, the An Corporation’s path to survival was to recover the new machinery as soon as possible, not to terminate the transaction and abandon this batch of new machinery that was so close, nor to passively wait.

At the entrance of the hospital, An Jing leaned against the car and smoked several cigarettes in a row.

Stomping out the fifth one, she patted Lu Cheng’s shoulder: “Something is suspicious, but the arms smuggling case is too serious. We might not be able to find useful clues on our own. Lu Cheng, An Xi is currently imprisoned, and you are the only one I can trust. Besides the overseas imports, we also purchased a batch of new machinery from Suzhou that is being transported by land. The day I went to the manor, An Xi said the machinery was on its way and should arrive in Shanghai tonight, barring any accidents. Go home, get some money from Uncle Li, and then find some people at the factory to go to the train station with you to meet it. The previous contact person was Manager He, who absconded with the money. So, you must be extremely careful on this trip. If you encounter an emergency, don’t confront them. Come back first, and we’ll discuss it.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Lu Cheng, accepting the critical mission, turned to leave. Before walking far, he rushed back, pulled a slip of paper from inside his outer coat, and handed it to An Jing.

“Miss, there’s one more thing. Boyang came to see me yesterday. He said Strong Master hopes you can be charitable and help settle the relatives of his deceased brothers. This is the list and their addresses.” Although the An Corporation was also in a critical situation, the decision to help or not should still be left to An Jing.

An Jing took the slip of paper: “Alright, I understand. Go now.”

As the Lu Gang and Qiao Gang fought, An Jing felt powerless to help, watching the names of one after another of the Lu Gang brothers she knew appear on the casualty lists published in the newspapers.

Fortunately, Xu Weiqiang had been missing for days, which meant he was still alive.

She also believed that he was still alive.

If the Lu Gang hadn’t had this accident, would the situation have been different?

Were the unexpected incidents that had occurred during this period all just coincidences?

An Jing got into the car, and her destination was the Qin family home.

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