"Do you realize that what was originally a flawless plan has now been made so easy for them to catch us red-handed? Is that not a mistake?"
Su Yungui had no idea what this guy was thinking.
If Yu Zhou were truly someone without any connections, it would have been fine.
At worst, they could have simply suppressed him, or even made sure he never came out again.
But as it happened, Yu Zhou was not someone without connections. Under such circumstances, a single misstep in their game of chess could lead to a complete defeat.
Su Yungui had no personal grievances with Yu Zhou and did not wish to have any conflict with him.
All he wanted was the profit from the sunflower seeds. However, with his subordinate's actions, they would either have to completely crush Yu Zhou's factory or give up on this line of business altogether.
"He can catch us red-handed? That's a joke!"
"Neither side has revealed their hand yet, so he won't go to the person backing him."
"In other words, as long as he wants to make a comeback, he won't ruin the unspoken industry rules by using connections to crush us over something like this."
"If that's the case, then Yu Zhou is just the head of a small factory. We can still handle him!"
"Young Master Su, you're being too cautious. If we can dominate this industry, why settle for just a slice of the pie? I believe this matter has great potential."
This time, Zhang Yuan began to retort.
However, his tone was that of someone earnestly advising, making it seem like the final decision rested with Su Yungui, perhaps to make Su Yungui feel that everything was still under his control.
"I think you just want revenge because he's embarrassed you several times."
Su Yungui also calmed down at this point. It was evident that asking him to give up on the lucrative sunflower seed business was unlikely.
Since they had already offended Yu Zhou, as Zhang Yuan suggested, wasn't the only option to eliminate him?
Although this might offend someone in the end, such a massive profit was, in his eyes, more worthwhile than offending someone.
"I won't deny that I have some personal grudges against him, but the main reason is that these sunflower seeds are too popular. If we don't take them, I believe you, Young Master Su, wouldn't be content either, right?"
With a fawning smile, Zhang Yuan's expression was as obsequious as could be.
Su Yungui merely glanced at the other person lightly.
He wasn't afraid of his agents and lackeys having their own ambitions; he feared their betrayal.
Fortunately, the businesses he owned had agents handpicked by him, all of whom had something on them.
Under such circumstances, he wasn't worried about anyone betraying him, and he naturally felt he had seen through everything, so he said no more.
"I will handle this matter. However, you must lie low for a while and, most importantly, don't let Yu Zhou get any leverage over you!"
After coldly dropping this statement, Su Yungui stood up. Things had come to this point, and the only way forward was to completely destroy Yu Zhou's dried fruit factory.
Although he had some understanding of the background of the person behind Yu Zhou, in his eyes, if he made a move, before the value of the sunflower seeds was fully realized, the person behind Yu Zhou might not interfere.
After all, that person's main business was not here. This dried fruit factory was merely a hobby, a backup option.
If this backup option was taken away by someone else, they could simply find another backup.
However, as Su Yungui turned and walked out of the office, the smile on Zhang Yuan's face changed.
From his previous fawning smile, it gradually turned into disdain.
Yes, he dared not offend Su Yungui, but he was not truly respectful to him either.
In his eyes, Su Yungui had only risen to prominence by leveraging his family's resources.
If there was an opportunity, he would not hesitate to betray Su Yungui and take full control of the food factory himself.
The current situation was the best opportunity. Successfully seizing the sunflower seed market and becoming the sole leader would be a great achievement, possibly even allowing him to break free from Su Yungui and gain the favor of the entire Su family.
What if he failed? He wouldn't lose anything either.
Because no one liked a failure, and it was unlikely anyone would rescue a factory with a terrible reputation and heavy losses.
At that point, he might also have a good chance of becoming independent. He couldn't lose either way.
Thinking this, a smile tugged at the corner of Zhang Yuan's mouth again: "Heh heh! I did it on purpose."
"If I can take down Yu Zhou and the entire dried fruit factory, that would be best. Even if I can't, tricking this foolish second-generation heir will still bring me substantial benefits, won't it?"
"Do you really think I'm a petty and brainless fool? We'll see..."
His schemes were known only to himself, and naturally, he wouldn't tell anyone at this time.
It was a pity that, despite his meticulously planned schemes, it would be extremely difficult to contend with someone like Yu Zhou.
Everyone, including Zhang Yuan, had greatly underestimated Yu Zhou, the newly risen boss, and their eventual significant losses stemmed from this underestimation.
"Who is the informant? There's not a single clue. How can I find them?"
In the renovated study at home, Yu Zhou was pondering this question.
He had investigated for a long time but felt as though he had nowhere to start.
This was not due to a lack of ability on his part, but rather because the entire incident had unfolded too quickly, leaving no trace.
He could guess who the mastermind behind the scenes was and knew their objective, but without evidence and without finding the informant, it would be difficult to turn the tables.
The mastermind was most likely the owners of those few food factories, as they were his biggest competitors and the ones who wanted to take him down.
However, this imitation was truly too much. They had even copied the name; it was shameless.
"Still no clues?"
Just as Yu Zhou was scratching his head and deep in thought, the door was pushed open.
Lin Haichao swaggered into the room, looking at Yu Zhou with a half-smile.
He was completely casual with his brother-in-law. Without a second thought, he rummaged through a cabinet, took out a large tin of tea, and scooped a generous handful into his teacup, adding hot water.
Seeing that, Yu Zhou's eye twitched. If you're drinking good tea, can't you use a little less?
Appreciating the flavor?