Some things weighing on one's mind can make it seem like one will never be able to catch their breath.
Only now did Zheng Ying understand that only by facing one's fears head - on could one truly let go of the past.
Yun Que'er had given her such an opportunity.
Zheng Ying took Yun Que'er's small hand. "No wonder Uncle Ji and Xiaoxuan like you so much. You're really a smart girl. It's just been a bother to you this time."
"It's okay." Yun Que'er smiled sweetly.
It was getting late. Zheng Ying didn't want to keep Yun Que'er chatting, so she asked Ji Chengxuan to send her home.
With one immediate trouble resolved, Yun Que'er could now calm down and talk to Ji Chengxuan about the timber acquisition.
"If nothing goes wrong, there should be news from Liu Kui tomorrow," Yun Que'er said.
Whether it's a mule or a horse, you won't know until you take it for a run.
She was going to see what tricks Liu Kui was up to.
Just as she was speaking, Ji Chengxuan's face suddenly darkened.
"Wait a minute."
Ji Chengxuan grabbed Yun Que'er and pulled her behind him. He looked ahead warily.
Yun Que'er followed Ji Chengxuan's gaze and saw a car parked in front.
The next second, a woman got out of the car.
It was Liu Zhihui.
Oh no, trouble was coming.
Yun Que'er immediately became highly alert. Had Liu Zhihui noticed something?
Liu Zhihui didn't rush towards them. Instead, she first had a few words with the man beside her.
After the young man stepped back, Liu Zhihui came over.
"You two kids are really incredibly smart."
Yun Que'er's heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, they had been detected.
But Yun Que'er thought her acting had been good, and Ji Chengxuan had hardly said a word from beginning to end.
How did Liu Zhihui find out?
Yun Que'er came back to her senses and put on an innocent look.
"Thank you for the compliment, Director."
"You child." Liu Zhihui smiled faintly.
She lowered her head and thought for a while, then suddenly reached out and pinched Yun Que'er's chin.
"Look at how well you've acted. So innocent, really like a child with no guile. But do you know? No matter how well you act, a child your age in this world would be scared out of their wits when faced with this kind of thing and wouldn't rush forward at all."
Yun Que'er felt a chill in her heart.
Yes, she had forgotten about this.
What normal child would get involved in such a thing?
Yun Que'er was used to being around Yun Fujin and the others. They would at most think she was smart and wouldn't think otherwise.
But Yun Que'er had forgotten one thing. Yun Fujin and the others were also young and didn't have so many scheming thoughts.
But this time, she had run into Liu Zhihui, who was in her fifties and as shrewd as a fox.
Yun Que'er shivered. She knew she had really been careless this time.
But when there was still a chance to struggle, Yun Que'er naturally wouldn't just admit defeat.
"I don't understand what you're saying."
Liu Zhihui sneered and patted Yun Que'er's head.
"Very good, girl. You're a tough one. It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. Anyway, there will be plenty of time."
With that, Liu Zhihui left.
As she turned around, she gave Ji Chengxuan a meaningful look, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Watching Liu Zhihui's retreating back, Yun Que'er felt a bit hopeless.
"It's over. I've caused trouble this time," Yun Que'er said glumly, looking at Ji Chengxuan. "I did this for your family, you know. It seems one - tenth of the profit won't do. It has to be two - tenths!"
Sometimes Ji Chengxuan really wanted to crack open Yun Que'er's skull to see what was inside.
How could she be so...
Such a money - grubber!
"Don't be in a hurry," Ji Chengxuan consoled her kindly.
"I feel like Liu Zhihui doesn't have any ill - intentions."
Yun Que'er's eyes widened. "Which eye of yours saw that she doesn't have ill - intentions?"
Was Ji Chengxuan out of his mind?
"She said there will be plenty of time. Do you think she'll let me go?"
But Ji Chengxuan held the completely opposite view.
"I don't think that's what she meant by 'there will be plenty of time'," Ji Chengxuan said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
But if he was asked to immediately say what was wrong, he couldn't really explain it clearly.
"Anyway, don't worry. Let's observe for a while."
At this point, there was no escape even if they wanted to.
Since they couldn't figure out what Liu Zhihui meant no matter how hard they thought, they might as well stop thinking and just wait and see what happened next.
Yun Que'er went home. She was a bit tired and almost fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.
The next day, she was woken up by Yun Jianzhou slapping her.
"Um... what's going on?"
"Quick, wake up! There's a lead!"
Yun Que'er was completely confused. A lead? What lead?
She sat up and looked outside. Only then did she realize that it was already late in the morning.
Yun Que'er immediately understood what Yun Jianzhou meant.
"Did you go to the forest farm?!"
"Yes!" Yun Jianzhou quickly grabbed the clothes beside him and helped Yun Que'er put them on. As he did so, he said, "I saw the man who went to Liu Kui's house last time go there again early this morning. They looked so sneaky that I thought something was wrong."
Yun Jianzhou hid in the dark and waited until the man left before following him.
Sure enough, just as Yun Que'er had predicted.
The man went straight to the county forest farm and had a long conversation with the person in charge there.
Yun Jianzhou didn't hear what they were saying specifically, but the person in charge seemed quite happy.
"Do you think they really have the money?"
This was exactly what Yun Jianzhou was worried about.
If the other side was just bluffing, they might still have some room to maneuver. But if they really had the money and were determined to acquire the timber, then they were really going to steal their business.
Yun Jianzhou was a bit unsure. "What's wrong? Say something!"
"Don't be in a hurry," Yun Que'er said calmly, smiling at Yun Jianzhou. "In business, it's a case of one hand giving the money and the other hand taking the goods. Until this deal is really settled, nothing counts."
Yun Jianzhou thought for a moment. "So you mean they're just trying to cause us trouble, right?"
Yun Que'er snapped her fingers. "That's right. Think about it. Businessmen aren't stupid. They won't just buy any kind of timber. Seeing them running around here and there, they're not sincere about doing business. So we don't need to panic at all. If you still don't believe me, we can find a few more forest farms to test it out."
Yun Jianzhou thought this was a good idea and turned to go out.
"Okay! I'll go and find out now!"
"Wait," Yun Que'er grabbed Yun Jianzhou. "You don't need to run around. I have some backup options now."
The two had a brief conversation, and then Yun Que'er went to find Ji Chengxuan.
These days, Ji Chengxuan had also been deliberately inquiring and had found a few backup forest farms.
The three of them got together, discussed for a while, and then set off.