Jin Yuanyuan's Top-Tier Life

In Zhao Zhuoran's "Colorful World" group chat, Jin Yuanyuan successfully found a suitable electrical distribution box and waste disposal machine, and also hired a design team to renovate the warehouse. In short, everything went smoothly. Jin Yuanyuan was in a good mood and even put on makeup for the Monday morning meeting.

But Li, who had just been promoted to workshop supervisor, brought news: Lin Zhiqiang had taken those twenty-odd people to work in Jinjia because they had received a 30% raise there.

"That's outrageous! This kind of person is utterly ungrateful!" someone cursed.

"Actually, I can understand. He already has a third child," Jin Yuanyuan said, speaking up for Lin Zhiqiang.

"What third child? It's a lie. His wife was riding her bicycle to buy groceries the day before yesterday."

"I saw her drinking Coke that day!"

In short, if you don't like someone, nothing they do will please you. Jin Yuanyuan sighed and looked at Cao Xiaoyu. Cao Xiaoyu opened his mouth, then closed it again. But he leaned forward, as if he still wanted to say something.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I heard about something." Cao Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment.

"Just say it, stop beating around the bush."

"One of the firefighters is my current neighbor. He told me last night that our fire investigation report is about to be released, and it is currently suspected that someone committed arson."

"What?"

This news was explosive; all twenty-odd people at the regular meeting shouted it out.

"Hey, keep your voices down, we haven't received the report yet." Cao Xiaoyu lowered his voice. "Did that person tell us to think about who we've offended recently?"

"Wait, what is all this about?" Jin Yuanyuan felt her worldview had been completely shattered once again. "Arson is still a thing these days? This is modern society!"

"So what!" one manager chimed in. "This is business warfare, the most basic kind of business warfare. What you see in TV dramas is all acting. Look at that news the other day, a deal worth hundreds of billions, using a radish seal. So, isn't setting fire to the warehouse perfectly normal?"

"That makes so much sense," Jin Yuanyuan couldn't help but nod. "Following this line of thought, who are our enemies? Who have we offended?"

"Could it be Jinjia?" Cao Xiaoyu whispered. "We're competitors; our products are pretty much the same."

"They just stole our business, so if they're going to set fire to us, we should be the ones burning them down!" Jin Yuanyuan tapped the table. "Of course, we're such good friends, we would never do such a thing..."

"Actually, I also stole their business that day..." Cao Xiaoyu's voice lowered a little.

"What?" Everyone looked at him again.

"Well, when I went to the Wenzhou trade fair, I saw their salesman, Lao Zhao, chatting with someone, so I went over and eavesdropped. The guy said he wanted some cute styles of children's socks. Then, I took the opportunity to show him the children's socks we produce, the ones with the little rabbit pattern, the ones you made before, Yuanyuan. He really liked them, so he signed an order with us."

"...Cao Xiaoyu, you're amazing! You deserve extra chicken drumsticks tonight!" Jin Yuanyuan wanted to applaud him.

"Don't rush, don't rush, the contract hasn't been officially signed yet. I'll be there this afternoon." Cao Xiaoyu was a little embarrassed. "I was wondering if it's because of this?"

"Seriously? At best, we're even with them?"

"Anyway, this is the only thing I can think of." Cao Xiaoyu chuckled again. "Suspicion, reasonable suspicion is always acceptable, right?"

Everyone laughed. Since there's no conclusion yet, treating Kim Jia as a hypothetical enemy is a form of motivation.

After the morning meeting, Li Lianqing and her third aunt pulled her to the finance office and closed the door behind them, acting all mysterious.

"Yuanyuan, there's something you need to see." Auntie's voice was even lower as she took out a payment reminder.

"What is this?" Jin Yuanyuan took it and examined it carefully. All she could understand was that she had to pay five million within three days.

"The final payment for the equipment I bought with the loan two years ago is due, and I was thinking of delaying it. But when I went to ask yesterday, they said I couldn't delay even a day, and I had to pay on time. Moreover, if I didn't pay, I would incur late fees, which are quite a lot."

"Then pay..." Jin Yuanyuan said this without much confidence, because she saw that both of them were shaking their heads.

"Jin Yaya has had very few orders this month, resulting in insufficient cash flow. If this five million is paid, then everyone's salaries won't be paid next week. Not getting paid is a big deal, especially since Lin Zhiqiang's departure means everyone will soon know that Jin Jiaya gave him a raise... which might lead to even more people leaving..."

"How could this happen?" Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Jin Yuanyuan felt completely lost and didn't know what to do. At that moment, she suddenly understood the feelings her mother, Zhu Hongying, had when she fainted. This was truly a big deal.

"I was thinking, should I tell your mother first..." Auntie asked.

"No, please don't! What if she faints again?" Jin Yuanyuan firmly objected. "After repaying the five million, are you really not going to be able to come up with a single penny?"

"The problem isn't just the five million; there are other expenses like utilities and rent. Also, Cao Xiaoyu signed the contract today, so we need to buy raw materials immediately, and we'll have to pay a large portion of that upfront..."

"How could this happen?" This was the only question Jin Yuanyuan could repeat. This was indeed unlike anything she had encountered before. Before, she was an employee, a dutiful one. Now, she was the boss responsible for the livelihoods of over a hundred people; the perspective was different, the responsibilities were different.

"So, I'm thinking about whether to take out a loan... to pawn my car first..." Li Lianqing said softly, "I don't drive much, Xiaoyu has a car..."

"No, no, no, that won't do." Jin Yuanyuan was the first to object. "Let me think about it. If it's a few hundred thousand, I might be able to..."

"Yuanyuan, the salary is a little over two million... not several hundred thousand... We have 180 people..." Auntie's reminder was really too painful.

"Let me think about it, let me think about it." Jin Yuanyuan wrapped her thin down jacket tighter around herself, her head buzzing again. She left the finance office and saw Cao Xiaoyu happily driving off to sign a contract, and she didn't know whether she should be happy or not.

After signing the contract, although there will be a deposit, you still need to purchase raw materials first... all of this costs money.

Perhaps, he should borrow money from loan sharks?

She had seen discussions in the "Colorful World" WeChat group about borrowing from loan sharks, with everyone saying it might be a good way to get through a crisis. So, she asked in the group, "Where can I borrow from loan sharks? With lower interest rates?"

The "Colorful World" WeChat group was bustling with activity when someone immediately posted a business card, saying they'd seen it on the street. Jin Yuanyuan looked at the card, a chill creeping down her spine. Loan sharking was a scary thing. But she couldn't very well ask Aunt Li to pawn her car. In fact, even if she did, it wouldn't be nearly enough.

Her mind was in turmoil.

"Jin Yuanyuan, answer the phone!" Zhao Zhuoran texted her. "Where are you? Answer the phone right away!"

"On my way..." Jin Yuanyuan answered Zhao Zhuoran's call.

"Borrowing money at exorbitant interest rates, huh? Don't even think about it!" Zhao Zhuoran's tone was surprisingly stern. "They just posted it casually in the group chat; you can't take it seriously!"

"Well, I really want to..."

"No, how much money do you need?" Zhao Zhuoran's voice was much louder.

"More than two million..."

"...What exactly happened? Did you gamble? Are you in debt?"

"Can't you wish me well for once?" Jin Yuanyuan complained, explaining the current situation to Zhao Zhuoran. "In this case, I shouldn't let Cao Xiaoyu's mother mortgage the car, right? Even if she's one of the shareholders, it's really not a good thing to do that."

"...Yuanyuan." Zhao Zhuoran suddenly lowered his voice, "Why don't you ask your employees what they think?"

"What do you mean?"

"If your supervisor, Lin Zhiqiang, took more than twenty people with him when he left, they must have communicated with other employees. But these people didn't leave. What does that mean? It means they still trust Jin Yaya, right? So, could you talk to them about how Jin Yaya is currently experiencing cash flow problems and how you could temporarily suspend salary payments for half a month, or pay half now and the other half after half a month... In short, how can we get through this together? Would they agree?"