After Accidentally Marrying the Big Shot in a Period Novel

Chapter 105

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Zhuang Qixiang still found the demand utterly absurd.He thought the request for deferred payment last time was outrageous enough, but he never imagined the other party could be even more shameless than his wildest expectations.

What did they mean by "return the deposit"? A deposit was inherently non-refundable—that was the whole point of calling it a deposit!

He was so furious he nearly laughed, too exasperated to even respond. With a sharp "click," he hung up the phone.

No sooner had he ended the call than it rang again. He initially didn’t want to answer, but fearing it might be someone else, he exhaled sharply and picked up.

"Hey, Manager Zhuang, what’s the deal? Why’d you hang up? We were in the middle of discussing—"

"The fungal strains are yours if you want them, but the money isn’t getting refunded!" he cut in sharply, hanging up again before the other person could protest.

Yet the anger still simmered in his chest, especially when the phone rang yet again moments later, the incessant noise making his temple throb.

Zhuang Qixiang strode out of his office, deciding it was better to remove himself entirely—otherwise, he might just explode from frustration.

What kind of people were these? Back when he was a section chief, he’d never noticed this side of them—reneging on agreements while acting completely justified.

And now there was another headache: the Liuhu Town Forestry Bureau had ordered 5,000 bottles of fungal strains. Should they proceed with cultivation or not?

Logically, since the other party had backed out, they shouldn’t bother. But who knew if they’d change their minds again and demand the products later?

Given recent events, it was entirely possible they’d pull such a stunt if they couldn’t reclaim their deposit.

After stewing in the courtyard for a while, Zhuang Qixiang decided to seek out Yan Xue. "When cultivating fungal strains, do we have to finalize the quantity from the start?" he asked.

"Roughly, yes," Yan Xue replied. "Generally, one test tube of mother culture can produce three bottles of primary culture, and each primary culture can yield thirty to fifty bottles of cultivation strains. But to account for contamination and selecting optimal strains, the numbers might vary slightly."

Zhuang Qixiang did the math. For 5,000 bottles, the margin was about thirty to fifty test tubes of mother culture. At least until the mother culture stage, he still had time to sort things out with Liuhu Town.

As he mulled over the problem, Yan Xue asked, "Manager Zhuang, is someone trying to back out after placing an order?"

She hit the nail on the head with just one guess. He hadn’t even hinted at the issue, yet she immediately pieced it together.

Zhuang Qixiang glanced at her, then admitted, "It’s the Liuhu Town Forestry Bureau. They claim they don’t want the strains anymore and are demanding their deposit back."

Typical of them. Of course, Yan Xue wasn’t just guessing—changes in order quantities usually meant either new buyers or cancellations.

Judging by Zhuang Qixiang’s expression, it clearly wasn’t the former. "So, are you planning to refund them?" she asked.

"Of course not," Zhuang Qixiang snapped. "Deposits are non-refundable by definition. If we cave now, everyone will start demanding refunds whenever they feel like it. How would we ever operate?"

Business couldn’t tolerate such fickleness. Resources had already been allocated—if buyers could just cancel on a whim, who would bear the costs?

If they refunded Liuhu Town this time, what was stopping others from backing out after cultivation was complete and demanding their money back too?o handle the preparations or attend otherwise.

After seeing them off, Qi Fang took a sip of water at the table and glanced at Yan Xue. "Guo Chang'an and Lang Yue'e—you said you’d tell me after the New Year?"

His memory was annoyingly sharp. Yan Xue didn’t deny it. "Right. I only found out last autumn."

Qi Fang didn’t comment further, just glanced at the gifts. "Should I send one to Qi Fang and… her too?"

It took Yan Xue a moment to realize "her" referred to the unnamed "Miss Yan."

How shameless—treating them both as matchmakers. She shot him a glare.

Unfazed, the man came over and wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her head as she organized the gifts.

He was like an oversized, heated accessory. Yan Xue swatted him. "Now that your son’s not around, you’re taking his place, huh?"

The biggest advantage of their new home was not having to fetch water, and electricity was available even during the day. The radio got frequent use, and even the little chubby boy had started listening along with his uncle.

Right now, the two were in the opposite room listening to the broadcast, occasionally interrupted by the little one’s shouts urging his uncle when a song ended.

Thus, the oversized accessory officially replaced the small one, holding her openly and answering her question with a shameless "Mm-hmm."

Yan Xue smacked his arm again. "If your hands are free, come help me sort this."

Time passed quietly. By April, the strains in over a dozen cultivation rooms were ready, and the center began preparing shipments.

Yan Xue and Guo Chang'an personally selected the strains, sealing them in canned jars with kraft paper and padding the delivery trucks with shredded straw for shock absorption.

Horse-drawn carts left the center for several days in a row until all 20,000 bottles had been shipped.

Zhuang Qixiang stayed in the office, waiting for confirmation calls from the forestry bureaus in each town after they received and counted the shipments.

They also needed to send people to teach two new towns how to inoculate. After discussions, Yan Xue and Zhou Wenhui would go to one town, while Guo Chang'an and Lang Yue'e went to another.

Given Guo Chang'an’s mobility limitations, he was assigned to Donggou Town in the same county, while Yan Xue and Zhou Wenhui went to Wugang Town in neighboring Baisong County.

This trip wouldn’t just involve teaching inoculation—they’d also need to explain proper management afterward, meaning they’d be away for several days. Everyone packed their things accordingly.

Just as they gathered at the center to depart, someone asked the guard at the gate, "Excuse me, is this the Edible Fungus Cultivation Center? I’m looking for someone."

Zhou Wenhui's expression changed instantly, and Yan Xue's eyes darkened upon seeing it.

Qi Fang, who had successfully climbed the ranks, said: "Son, what else do you like? Daddy will get it for you."