Comrade Li Tieniu had been in particularly low spirits these past two days. The Party and the people had placed absolute trust in him, not only naming the Tofu Company after him but also granting him full autonomy over its operations. Yet, how could a business that was doing so well suddenly plummet into decline?

"Uncle, time to eat," the little girl called out, running over to tell Li Tieniu it was breakfast time. She and her mother worked at the tofu factory, living on-site. Li Tieniu found it inconvenient to stay at Zhu Da's house and then commute back to the factory, so he had moved in to live with the others.

The little girl’s mother was Han Fen, whose husband had passed away in Beijing while seeking medical treatment. After the New Year, she happened to see the Tieniu Tofu Company hiring, and with the simple honesty and kindness inherent to a rural woman, Li Tieniu immediately approved her application.

"Old Li, eat first. We can talk about anything after we've had a bite," Han Fen said, seeing Li Tieniu squatting outside the production workshop, lost in thought.

Li Tieniu sighed. Production had been halted for several days due to the massive backlog of tofu products. "Alas, I've let down Little Zhao. He trusted me so much, and yet I’ve turned this fine tofu company into this mess."

Han Fen suggested, "Why don't you quickly explain the situation to the Boss? He needs to make the final decisions on major matters. Just stalling like this isn't helping."

Li Tieniu stood up as he spoke, "Little Zhao just finished his college entrance exams; he should have time now. I’ll report the situation here to him right after we eat."

At the dining table, Xu Jing, her father, and her mother were waiting for Li Tieniu. Since they all lived together at the factory, they naturally ate together.

"Uncle," Xu Jing asked while pouring him rice gruel, "the folks at Baixing Shopping—when did they say they would allow us to stock our products?"

Li Tieniu took the gruel and said thank you. "I went to see their purchasing manager yesterday. He said our process had issues and we couldn't pass the hygiene inspection. The chances of getting back into the supermarket look slim."

Xu Jing indignantly retorted, "He’s clearly making excuses. I bet Jinniu Tofu Company slipped him a hefty bribe. We should call Brother Zhao over; let him properly deal with those people!"

"Jingjing!" Her father asserted his parental authority. "No fooling around! Can running a business be like gang brawls? Don't cause trouble for your Brother Zhao."

Mother Xu chimed in, "Yes, Jingjing. Your Brother Zhao is a very good man; how can you compare him to gangsters? He’s busy with important affairs every day; you must not add to his worries."

Xu Jing stuck out her tongue. "Got it, Mom."

The little girl, biting into her steamed bun, asked, "Is Uncle Zhao that good person we met on New Year's Eve? The one who fought off the bad guys and gave us money for food and lodging?"

Li Tieniu gently stroked the girl’s head. "Yes, your Uncle Zhao is a very good man. He’s quite formidable when fighting bad guys. You’ll meet him someday when he visits here."

Father Xu turned to Li Tieniu. "Old Li, the factory is struggling. Please don't pay our family of three for now. We can settle up after we weather this storm."

Mother Xu agreed, "That’s right. Little Zhao saved my life. Yet, we haven't even treated him to a meal here, and we’re still taking high wages. It really weighs on my conscience."

Li Tieniu waved his hand. "Don't worry about the money with Little Zhao. I know his temperament; he wouldn't care if this factory lost money for a hundred years. But the crux of the problem is that we can't swallow this insult."

Xu Jing added angrily, "Jinniu Company is deliberately working against us. I calculated their production costs; their current selling price is less than one-third of their cost. This is clearly predatory competition. We should sue them!"

Li Tieniu stated firmly, "Little Zhao must make the decision on this matter. I’m going to find him after we eat."

Han Fen didn't understand the intricacies of these business affairs. She quietly kept refilling everyone’s bowls and occasionally glanced at Li Tieniu with a gentle look. Through their time together, she had learned that Li Tieniu, like her, came from the countryside. The shared regional background made her pay special attention to him. This man was kind and honest—a decent and loyal fellow, much like her late husband.

Li Tieniu was completely unaware of Han Fen's thoughts. He finished his meal quickly and left. The remaining people in the house meticulously cleaned the tofu factory over and over. The Xu family, grateful to their benefactor, treated the place as their own responsibility. As for Han Fen, although she didn't know who her boss was, she was naturally a capable and honest worker and wouldn't let herself be idle even if production was stopped.

Clang, clang, clang. A sound of metal knocking echoed from outside. Because production was halted, the factory gate was locked.

"Who is it?" Father Xu asked as he walked out of the production workshop to check.

"Open up! Open up!" Several young men with bizarre hairstyles and trendy clothes stood at the gate.

Seeing their unfriendly appearance, Father Xu didn't open the gate, asking through the iron bars, "What do you need? Our factory is closed for a few days and isn't receiving visitors right now."

"Hey, old man, have you paid this month's protection fee yet?" the leader, sporting a handlebar mustache, asked with his chin tilted up.

Father Xu immediately recognized them as hoodlums who lived off collecting protection money. He sternly told them, "We don't need your protection. Please leave our factory."

One of the mustache man's subordinates, wearing a plaid shirt, spat against the iron gate. "Yee-haw, old man, you've got some nerve! Do you think you're the boss of the Brotherhood Alliance? Let me tell you, to run a factory in this district, you must pay protection fees to Brother Fei. Small factories are 500, medium ones are 1000, large ones are 2000. If your attitude is decent, we’ll charge you the small factory rate. If you keep squawking, we’ll charge you the large factory rate."

"Dad, what's going on?" Xu Jing walked out of the production workshop and asked.

"Shameless extortionists," Father Xu replied irritably.

This group of local thugs, who had been drooling internally at the sight of Xu Jing, did not appreciate being called shameless.

The handlebar mustache snarled, "Old man! Since you're so ungrateful, don't even think about leaving today without paying 2000 yuan!"

Xu Jing sternly warned them, "If you don't leave now, we’re calling the police."

The handlebar mustache didn't care in the least. "Go ahead and call. What evidence do the cops have to arrest us? Even if they do, we’ll be out in a few days, and we’ll double the trouble for you when we return."

This was indeed a serious problem. Xu Jing pulled her father back toward the guard room. "Dad, let’s ignore them and let them wait outside."

The handlebar mustache grew angry. "Yee-haw, you think I have no way to deal with you? Brothers, let's go in and cause chaos! There’s food and money waiting for everyone at noon!"

Hearing the commotion outside, Han Fen and Mother Xu also rushed out. Now the factory was full only of the elderly, the weak, women, and children. If those thugs truly barged in, how could they cope? Xu Jing pulled out her phone, ready to call, but one of the thugs was quick; a thin, small one actually squeezed through a gap in the iron gate and snatched Xu Jing's phone away.

By then, the rest of the thugs had climbed over the iron gate into the factory grounds. Even if Father Xu were young, he couldn't handle this many people. The handlebar mustache was ruthless; he used two knives to force everyone into a corner, then ordered his subordinates to smash up the production workshop.

The Xu family and Han Fen were helpless with worry. Knives were pointed at them, and the little girl was crying hysterically: "Mom! Mom! Why hasn't Uncle Tieniu come back? Send the toughest big brother you know to save us again!"