Chapter 316 - 184: How Could I Let You Lose

Chapter 316: Chapter 184: How Could I Let You Lose

"I bought it before the New Year. It cost 220,000 in total!"

"I was originally planning to drive it home for the New Year, but then your sister-in-law found out she was pregnant, so we didn’t go back. On top of that, things with the factory were just getting finalized."

A smile spread across Chen Peng’s face as he spoke about the car. After all, he had paid for it in full with his own money. He had originally planned on showing it off back in his village over the New Year, but things didn’t go according to plan.

But as soon as Chen Peng remembered the phone call about the factory, the smile vanished, and his expression darkened.

Seeing this, Su Chen tactfully dropped the subject. Once he had the address, he started the car and they headed out.

Kunshan wasn’t far from Tongli Ancient Town, where they were. Plus, Chen Peng’s factory was in an industrial park closer to the Suzhou side, making the drive even shorter—about half an hour.

The car was silent for the entire trip. No one spoke. Chen Peng sat in the passenger seat, tapping away on his phone, apparently messaging someone about the situation.

By the time they arrived at the industrial park, it was already 7:30 p.m., and the sky was dark.

To Su Chen’s surprise, the park was bustling with activity. Groups of night-shift workers were heading toward the various factory buildings.

After a series of twists and turns, they seemed to arrive at the rear of the industrial park. It was much quieter here than at the entrance, with only a few scattered factories still operating.

Soon, the car pulled to a stop in front of a white factory building.

A sign that read "Yu Peng Mould Processing Factory" came into Su Chen’s view. Three middle-aged men in their forties stood by the entrance, smoking. Each one of them looked worried, their brows furrowed so tightly you could squash a mosquito between them.

"Old Wang, what’s going on?" The moment the car stopped, Chen Peng anxiously threw open his door and got out.

When the three smokers saw Chen Peng and Fu Qiaoyu, they quickly threw their cigarettes to the ground, stubbed them out with their feet, and waved their hands to try and dissipate the thick smoke.

"Peng, you’re back," Old Wang said, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to him.

Chen Peng gave Old Wang a puzzled look and took the paper.

When he opened it, Chen Peng was stunned. It was an official notice from the industrial park administration: they had to vacate the premises by tomorrow.

At first, Chen Peng thought it was a joke. But when he saw the bright red official stamp of the park’s administration office, all the energy drained out of him. He completely deflated.

"Old Wang, what’s going on? Didn’t we just sign a three-year contract with the park? Why are they suddenly telling us to leave? Is there some kind of misunderstanding?" Fu Qiaoyu asked anxiously after a glance at the notice.

They had poured so much effort into the factory. Just getting the machinery installed and calibrated had taken over half a month. They hadn’t even been open for a full month, and now they were being told to leave. ’How could anyone accept that?’

Old Wang sighed heavily. "We don’t really know either. The park administration sent out the notice suddenly this evening. And it’s not just us—a few of the factories in the neighboring buildings were told to leave, too."

"Huh?" Chen Peng and Fu Qiaoyu exchanged a look, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

’We thought it was just us being told to move, but the neighbors have to move too? This back section of the park only has a few factories. If we’re all being forced to relocate...’

’Then there’s only one explanation: a major corporation must be planning to move in.’

As if struck by a thought, Chen Peng quickly turned to Fu Qiaoyu. "Qiaoyu, call Uncle Yang at the park office and ask him what’s going on."

They had met this Uncle Yang through an introduction from Fu Qiaoyu’s second uncle. Without that connection, it would have been a huge hassle for a small factory like theirs to get a spot in the park.

The reminder jolted Fu Qiaoyu into action. She quickly pulled her phone out of her purse and called Uncle Yang.

She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

The phone rang for six or seven seconds before someone finally picked up.

"Hello, Uncle Yang? I hope I’m not disturbing you," Fu Qiaoyu said, her voice tinged with an eager-to-please tone.

"I just wanted to ask about the eviction notice... Oh, you don’t know either?"

"Sorry to bother you, Uncle Yang. I’ll wait for your call tomorrow."

"Mm-hm... Okay. Sorry to have bothered you, Uncle Yang!"

Fu Qiaoyu’s expression darkened as she spoke. After hanging up, she couldn’t help but sigh. "What kind of mess is this!"

She turned to Chen Peng and relayed the contents of the call. "From Uncle Yang’s tone, it sounds like the order came directly from the head office. He doesn’t know the specifics either, but he said he’ll ask around tomorrow when he gets to work and see if there’s anything we can do."

A flicker of hope ignited in Chen Peng’s heart, only to be quickly snuffed out.

’Uncle Yang was just a mid-level manager. How could he possibly change a decision from the top brass? He couldn’t delude himself into thinking they could stay. He knew you couldn’t fight city hall.’

’All I can hope for is a little more time. Enough time to find a new place and move the equipment without delaying our current orders.’

’Let’s hope for good news tomorrow,’ Chen Peng thought with a silent sigh. He then turned to Old Wang and the other two men. "Old Wang, you guys go home and get some rest. We’ll figure this out tomorrow."

Old Wang and the other two nodded. They knew there was nothing they could do right now. They were just employees; they didn’t have the connections to help Chen Peng solve a problem like this.

The three men said their goodbyes, hopped on their electric scooters, and disappeared into the night.

Su Chen had been watching quietly from the sidelines. Once the three men had left, he walked over to Chen Peng.

Seeing Su Chen approach, Chen Peng tried to force a smile, but failed. He heaved a long sigh. "Sorry you had to see this mess."

A flicker of surprise crossed Su Chen’s eyes, but a faint smile played on his lips. "Things have a way of working themselves out. Until the very last moment, who’s to say things won’t turn around?"

"Perhaps... there’s still a chance."

Chen Peng and Fu Qiaoyu both glanced at Su Chen. The gloom on Chen Peng’s face, in particular, seemed to lift. "My cousin’s right. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the park office and find out what’s going on. They can’t just tear up a signed contract, can they? We have to at least try to fight for our rights."

Fu Qiaoyu smiled and nodded, looking at the renewed fighting spirit in her husband’s eyes. This was exactly why she had fallen for this man from a small village in Wudu—his resilience and his refusal to give up.

"Let’s go," Fu Qiaoyu said, taking Chen Peng’s arm. "First, let’s get Xiaochen settled in a hotel. We can deal with the factory tomorrow."

"Uh..." Su Chen had assumed he’d be staying at their place. He hadn’t expected his cousin’s wife to suggest a hotel.

Sensing Su Chen’s confusion, Chen Peng explained sheepishly, "My wife and I are just renting a place here. It’s only a one-bedroom apartment. We can’t have you sleeping on the couch, so a hotel is the only option. Sorry for the trouble!"

Su Chen nodded in understanding. Kunshan was uniquely situated between Suzhou and Shanghai, which naturally meant sky-high property prices. A single apartment could cost several million. For people like them, who had come from out of town to make their way, owning a home here was little more than a dream.

’With that kind of money, they’d be better off buying a house and a car back in their hometown and living a comfortable life. Why take on a mortgage of one or two million and struggle for decades just to pay it off?’

Chen Peng’s rented apartment wasn’t far from the factory, only a seven or eight-minute drive. The hotel they found for Su Chen was nearby as well—a three-star place that cost his cousin a couple hundred yuan.

Su Chen had offered to pay for his own room, but his cousin immediately gave him a stern look. He insisted that having a guest pay for his own lodging was out of the question. If his Aunt Chen Shufen ever found out, he’d never hear the end of it when he went back home—the whole village would be gossiping about him.

In the end, Su Chen let his cousin, Chen Peng, pay. He invited them up to the room to rest and chat for a bit, but they politely declined. With everything that had happened, they wanted to go home and figure out their next move.

He saw the couple off to their car. After watching Chen Peng pull into traffic and gradually disappear from sight, Su Chen turned and headed into the hotel.

As he turned, Su Chen muttered quietly to himself, ’Looks like my cousin’s a decent guy. In that case, how can I possibly let you lose?’