Unbeknownst to them, more than half a month had passed since Liu An's incident with the Xinhua Electronics Factory.
On this day, Ye Meiyun, who had gone to Yangcheng to find business partners, returned with good news.
Her team had signed contracts with three companies in Yangcheng, and their components would be delivered within a month at the earliest.
While this timing was a bit late, it was still within acceptable limits.
Given the deliberately slowed progress of the Xinhua Electronics Factory and the materials they had stockpiled in advance, they could hold out for another month and a half without issue.
This news greatly boosted the morale of all employees, and the entire Xinhua Electronics Factory reignited with a surge of vitality.
There was also another piece of good news: Boss Qin, who had been confined to a wheelchair for more than half a month, could finally walk slowly with the aid of crutches.
His foot injury had healed considerably during this time.
On this particular day, Qin Chuan was in his office having a lengthy phone call with Alisa in Beijing. He had been away for too long, and Alisa was quite displeased, frequently showing her unhappiness.
Suddenly, the sound of high heels echoed in the hallway, followed by a knock on the door.
"Come in!"
Qin Chuan called out. Ye Meiyun pushed the door open, holding a document in her hand, her expression somewhat peculiar.
Qin Chuan quickly ended his call and looked up at the mature woman standing before him. "Sister Yun, what's wrong? You look so odd."
"Xiao Chuan, the factory manager of Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant just called, begging us to let him off the hook. He's willing to immediately pay all outstanding breach of contract fees and take full responsibility."
Ye Meiyun spoke.
"What did you say?"
Qin Chuan instantly doubted his ears and widened his eyes.
He certainly knew of Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant; they were one of the four defaulting partners. If they hadn't breached the contract, he wouldn't have had to undertake the strenuous trip to the provincial capital with his injured body to sign contracts through Teacher Yang and Lv Xiaoshu.
He had been so swamped with various matters lately that he hadn't had the time to deal with the four companies that had broken their contracts. How could they be crying and voluntarily offering to pay damages?
After all, the breach of contract fees were not a small sum. The combined fees from the four companies, multiplied by three, amounted to tens of millions.
Even any single one of them would have cost over three million!
That was a substantial amount of money!
Why would someone voluntarily offer to pay compensation, and with such distress?
"Xiao Chuan, I thought it was your doing. Was it not you?"
Ye Meiyun noticed Qin Chuan's reaction and was equally puzzled.
"I didn't. At most, our lawyer sent lawyer's letters to the four companies!"
Qin Chuan explained, "You know what I've been up to lately. How could I have had the time for this?"
"Then it's strange. What reason did Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant have to voluntarily approach us and demand payment for breach of contract?"
Ye Meiyun asked, her face full of confusion.
Qin Chuan was also baffled for a moment. He then said, "Give me the phone number of that Mr. Yue. I'll call him and ask what exactly happened."
Many of the Xinhua Electronics Factory's business partners were contacted by Ye Meiyun and her subordinates. Qin Chuan hadn't been involved, so he didn't have many of their contact details.
Ye Meiyun found the phone number of the manager of Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant in her phone's contact list. The manager's surname was Yue, and his given name was Shan.
Qin Chuan dialed the number, put it on speakerphone, and directly asked, "Manager Yue, do you know who I am?"
"You are..."
Manager Yue hesitated on the other end of the line.
"I am Qin Chuan, the owner of Xinhua Electronics Factory."
As soon as Qin Chuan announced himself, he heard Manager Yue's wail, "Boss Qin, I was wrong! I was truly wrong! Please, spare me. I'm willing to pay the triple breach of contract fees!"
"I have an eighty-year-old mother and father, and a wife and young child who depend on me. This entire factory is my life! Nothing must go wrong!"
"I am extremely sorry for breaching the contract last time. It wasn't something I wanted to do; I was completely forced!"
"Please, show mercy and let me off this time. I'm just an ordinary person. Someone like you, with influence and background, can just dismiss me as a speck of dust!"
"Your act of kindness would be a chance for a new life for people like us!"
Manager Yue pleaded tearfully on the phone, his voice hoarse, begging Qin Chuan to let him off the hook.
This scene made Qin Chuan even more confused. Ye Meiyun, listening beside him, was also bewildered and astonished. Neither of them understood what could have caused Manager Yue to react so strongly.
"No... Manager Yue, wait a moment. Let me process this."
Qin Chuan interrupted Manager Yue's pleas, frowning as he asked, "From what you're saying, it seems someone has imposed some restrictions on your factory?"
"Boss Qin, with your powerful connections, don't tease me, this humble citizen. I truly made a mistake! A mistake!"
Manager Yue mistakenly believed Qin Chuan was still angry about the contract breach and kept apologizing submissively.
Qin Chuan became increasingly confused. After all this talk, the reason for the situation remained unclear. He immediately cursed, "Damn it, shut up and listen! Can't you understand human language? Just answer what I ask, and stop with all the nonsense!"
Since they were no longer in a partnership, Qin Chuan saw no need to be polite and lashed out.
Indeed, Manager Yue became much more compliant. Some people just needed a firm hand.
After Qin Chuan's detailed questioning, he finally grasped the entire situation.
It turned out that Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant sourced all its production materials from Taigang Group.
For some unknown reason recently, Taigang Group had suddenly issued a blacklist order against his small factory, prohibiting any steel company within the province from supplying Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant.
Taigang Group held a dominant position in Shanxi Province's steel market. Once this blacklist order was issued, it brought a devastating blow to Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant.
Not only did they lose their raw material supply, but many businesses also canceled orders that had already been placed. This was catastrophic for any factory.
Therefore, Manager Yue, out of desperation, had no choice but to approach the Xinhua Electronics Factory, apologize subserviently, and offer to pay triple the breach of contract fees.
"Taigang Group? Blacklist order?"
After learning the general cause and effect from Manager Yue, Qin Chuan frowned. The only people he knew at Taigang Group were Lv Xiaoshu and Manager Peng; he didn't know anyone else.
Manager Peng definitely didn't have the authority to wield such power, and their relationship wasn't that close. The only remaining possibility was Lv Xiaoshu.
However, Qin Chuan didn't think his relationship with Lv Xiaoshu was strong enough for him to go to such lengths.
Moreover, there was a crucial point: Lv Xiaoshu probably didn't even know about Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant's situation, right?
Then who could it be?!
The answer almost immediately flashed into Qin Chuan's mind. Only someone who cared so deeply about his business would do this.
Qin Chuan suddenly recalled that when he went to the provincial capital a few days ago, Teacher Yang had asked him the name of the company that had cut off supply to Xinhua Manufacturing Plant.
At the time, he hadn't thought much of it and had casually told her the name Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant.
Thinking back, it was likely that Teacher Yang had already had something in mind then!
Only she possessed the means and influence to have Lv Xiaoshu or someone else at Taigang Group blacklist Taihong Light Steel Manufacturing Plant.
After clarifying the jumbled thoughts in his mind, Qin Chuan hung up on Manager Yue and immediately took out another phone to call Teacher Yang.