Chapter 34: President Lu, Help Me!

Bai Lu gave a startled cry and covered her face with both hands, immediately drawing Lu Fan's attention.

He turned off the faucet and asked curiously, "I'm taking a shower; why did you come out?"

"I... I... I brought you a towel."

"Oh, isn't there one already?"

"My mom said... no, I mean, I said it was dirty from wiping sweat."

"It's fine. It was just my own sweat anyway; I don't mind. Haha, you can move your hands now, I’m not fully undressed."

Bai Lu’s hands did not move away, but she peeked through her fingers at Lu Fan.

Well, he was wearing his briefs, which were soaked through and clinging tightly to his body, leaving nothing to the imagination. It was no different from being naked.

"Alright, just hang it on the clothesline for me."

"Oh!"

Bai Lu hurriedly draped the towel over the line and dashed back into the house.

"How was it?"

When Bai Lu entered the room, she was still rattled. Hearing her mother’s question, she made a gesture with her hand. The two then locked eyes, and their faces turned red instantly.

"Bah! I didn't mean that! I meant, what was his reaction?"

"He... didn't have one."

"No reaction?" Liu Yue'e muttered to herself, sounding somewhat skeptical.

"Mom, stop it, it's so embarrassing." Bai Lu covered her face and ran into the inner room.

...

The next day, it was quite late by the time Lu Fan woke up. Yesterday was his first time picking up martial arts since his rebirth, and now his whole body was aching. His back, abdomen, thighs, and calves were all too sore to exert any strength. He knew this was due to lactic acid buildup and that it would improve after a day or two of continued training. He thought that after working out yesterday, he should have asked Bai Lu to roll his muscles with a rolling pin; that might have helped a lot.

Lu Fan wasn't the type to be delicate. Enduring the discomfort, he put on his clothes, stretched his arms and legs, and walked out.

...

Bai Lu was washing clothes in the courtyard. Seeing him limping, she quickly stepped up to support him. "What’s wrong with you?"

"I trained a bit too hard yesterday. My arms and legs are sore today."

"Oh, then should I help you walk around the yard?"

"No need. You finish your laundry; once you're done, we’ll head to the garment factory."

"Then let me fix you some food first."

"Alright!"

After Lu Fan finished eating and took a few strolls around the yard, Bai Lu had finished the laundry. Wiping her hands, she remembered Liu Yue'e's instructions and gathered the courage to ask, "Go lie down on the bed, let me give you a massage."

Lu Fan waved his hand. "It's no bother. We'll walk to the factory in a bit, and I'll feel better soon."

"Oh, wait for me a moment, I'm going to change into that new outfit."

Watching her walk away, Lu Fan thought to himself that he must buy her more clothes tonight; otherwise, she wouldn't be willing to wear nice things at home.

...

Upon arriving at the garment factory, he saw the manager's office packed tight. After asking around, he learned that Old Ding had been cornered by people since returning yesterday afternoon and had been held there ever since.

Lu Fan left Bai Lu in the shade of a tree and pushed through the crowd. When he saw Old Ding again, the man looked dazed and hollow-eyed, his hair a mess like a bird's nest, and his face covered in fresh and old bruises—a truly miserable sight. The office was thick with smoke, and three men with mobile phones clipped to their waists sat on the sofa, smoking with their heads bowed. The atmosphere was stifling.

Seeing Lu Fan enter, the three men looked up, eyeing him with scrutiny.

Lu Fan said in surprise, "Boss Ding, what happened here? It wasn't like this when I came yesterday!"

Ding Maocai looked at him with dull, fish-like eyes, showing no emotion.

"I came to pay yesterday, but you weren't here. I intended to take some more stock, but your finance person wouldn't pay me any mind."

Only then did a spark of life return to Ding Maocai’s eyes. "Where is the money?"

One of the men sitting on the sofa stood up immediately and asked, "How much?"

Lu Fan pulled the payment receipt from his pocket and said, "I wanted to give it to you yesterday, but since you weren't here, I gave it to the finance department. This is the receipt they gave me."

Ding Maocai slammed his palm onto the table and cursed, "Damn it!"

Lu Fan snatched a cup off the table and smashed it on the floor. "Who the hell are you swearing at?"

"Oh, oh, sorry, I wasn't swearing at you, I was swearing at someone else."

"Well, you can't curse right after I speak! I sold out the batch I took the day before yesterday in one night. I was planning to take more, but looking at the state of things... I think I'll pass." Lu Fan shook his head and turned to leave.

"Hey, hey, little brother, don't go! President Lu, President Lu, don't go!" Ding Maocai scrambled out of his chair, ran to the door, and blocked Lu Fan’s path. "President Lu, how much stock can you take this time? I’ll give you an even better price."

Lu Fan looked down at him. "I'm not so sure I want to take any. Your factory is in this state; how are we supposed to work together?"

"It's fine! As long as you take the stock, this factory will be saved. I recall you saying last time that if the sales were good, you could take ten thousand pieces this time, right?"

The other three men behind him stood up instantly upon hearing this.

"Yes, I did say that, but that was before your factory ran into trouble. Now... I'd rather not do the business than get myself into trouble."

"Little brother, do you have sales channels?" someone from the back asked. Lu Fan looked over, and the man continued, "I’m the owner of the Dongping Xiuli Textile Factory, my name is Gu Jianjun. If you have the channels, please help Old Ding out. His factory mainly uses raw materials from ours, and he owes us over 200,000 in total. If his factory goes under, our factories will likely have to close down too."

"What does that have to do with me? I'm not the only one who sells clothes. Can't you help him find other buyers?"

"Sigh, it's not that we haven't thought of it or tried. But no one can handle such a large volume. Most wholesalers only take a few dozen pieces to test the market, and then we never hear from them again." Ding Maocai added, then hurriedly pleaded, "President Lu, please have mercy. Take ten thousand pieces, and I’ll lower the price further—one yuan per piece... no, two yuan! How about that?"

"Yes, this deal is a guaranteed win for you, President Lu. Please, take the order!" the others chimed in.

Lu Fan sighed and turned back around. "I can't stand seeing others suffer. Since that's the case, why don't we sit down and talk?"

"But let's be clear: the sales channels belong to my uncle. I only have advisory power, not the final say. I'll need to understand the situation first before reporting to him."

"My uncle was cheated in business years ago, so he’s become an extremely cautious man. While I’m inclined to help Boss Ding, I can’t make any promises regarding my uncle's final decision."

"It's a straightforward cash-for-goods deal, there’s no risk. Old Ding, hurry up and get a seat for President Lu!" Gu Jianjun said.

"Yes, yes! President Lu, please sit!" Ding Maocai hurriedly brought out his own boss chair and placed it in the center of the office.

"President Lu, have a smoke!"

"Someone, brew a pot of tea for President Lu!"