The Invincible Strongest Student

Chapter 1307: Chapter 1307: Credit and Hard Work

Ha Wenbing really couldn’t figure it out. Lin Hao’s son, Lin Tian, was already so promising, and the money he earned was enough for their whole family to squander. Even buying a villa in Kanyue City and living there wouldn’t be a problem.

As for this orchard, for Lin Tian’s family it was nothing at all. The money Lin Tian wired into his bank card in a single month was probably enough to cover one or two years of this orchard’s income, maybe even more.

Since that’s the case, why keep clinging to this shabby orchard? You have to tend it all year round, and now you’re getting all worked up and red in the face with me—what’s the point? Just treat it as doing a good deed and hand the orchard over to me, what’s wrong with that?

The more Ha Wenbing thought about it, the less sense it made. He really wanted to pry open Lin Hao’s skull and see if there were fruits growing inside it too.

Noticing that Ha Wenbing’s gaze was getting stranger and stranger, Lin Tian glared right back, refusing to back down. That calm yet terrifying look of his always made people feel a chill down their spine.

Mr. Lo could also sense that something was off between the two sides. Right now they were just glaring at each other, but in a bit they might well start throwing punches.

To keep that from happening, Mr. Lo waved his hand and cheerfully tried to smooth things over. "I invited the three of you to my home today not just to taste my homemade rice wine, but also hoping you two sides can settle the orchard matter peacefully. We all keep running into each other anyway, and harmony is the key to making money."

When he finished, Mr. Lo personally filled everyone’s cups with rice wine, then raised his own and said, "This wine isn’t very strong. It’s fine to drink more. Come on, let’s down the first cup."

Ha Wenbing still had a favor to ask of Mr. Lo, so he couldn’t refuse him and make him lose face. He grudgingly raised his glass, a fake smile plastered on his face.

Lin Tian stayed unmoved, watching his father. Only when his father raised his glass did he follow suit. They clinked glasses in a show of false cordiality, then drained their drinks.

On the Celestial Dragon Continent, drinking culture was profound. Quite often, things that couldn’t be agreed on in other settings became negotiable once everyone sat down at a drinking table.

In Mr. Lo’s view, this was a good sign.

"How’s the wine?" Mr. Lo asked with a smile.

"Heh, fragrant and mellow, with a hint of sweetness—good stuff." Ha Wenbing said with a grin.

Lin Hao couldn’t come up with any fancy words; he just nodded along and said two syllables: "Tastes good."

"Hahaha, this wine is nothing special, just barely good enough to drink. Compared to that orchard of yours, it’s way inferior," Mr. Lo said with a laugh.

When they heard the word "orchard," Lin Hao and Ha Wenbing, surprisingly in sync, both put down their cups and chopsticks and turned their eyes to Mr. Lo, waiting for him to go on.

"I’m actually quite familiar with that orchard. Back when you and He first cleared the land, Lin, I hadn’t taken this post yet. But that orchard was already fairly well-known in the town. Up until this year, the scale expanded a lot, and it’s counted as one of the more successful ones in town. It’s just that I heard there seems to be some conflict between your two families," Mr. Lo said.

At those words, Lin Tian sneered inwardly.

This Mr. Lo sure was good at acting. Most of the paperwork handled by Ha Wenbing had passed through his hands and bore the town’s official seal. He understood the ins and outs far better than Lin Tian did. And yet now he was pretending to say "I heard," playing dumb and washing his hands clean of it.

"Wenbing, you start," Mr. Lo said.

Ha Wenbing opened his mouth and said, "It’s really nothing much. It’s just that now the orchard is getting bigger and bigger, we need a proper plan. The product needs packaging, it needs promotion. If we keep doing it the old way—selling everything directly to wholesalers—then in the end the one taking the loss is still us."

Lin Hao’s face had already flushed red, whether from that first cup of rice wine or from anger. He glared at Ha Wenbing and shouted, "And your plan is ’proper’? Your dad and I cleared that land together, planted those fruit trees together. We survived all those tough years. Setting up a company now is a good thing, but you take seventy percent and I get thirty? Isn’t that daylight robbery? Mr. Lo, you tell me if that’s fair."

"Well..." Mr. Lo parted his lips slightly, weighing his words. Just as he was about to continue, Ha Wenbing cut in, "Mr. Lin, that’s not fair of you to say."

"How is it not fair?"

"You yourself said that when you and my dad were running the orchard back then, there basically wasn’t much of a yield. Even when there was, it all went to wholesalers. How much could that make? But now it’s different. Ever since my dad passed away and I took over the orchard, haven’t the sales channels increased? Hasn’t the output of the fruit gone up? How much did you earn the year before last, and how much did you earn this year?"

Without waiting for Lin Hao to answer, Ha Wenbing went on, "The year before last, after deducting costs, each of our families made about a hundred and fifty thousand. And this year? You received twenty‑three thousand, right? That’s an increase of eighty thousand—still not enough for you?"

Lin Hao was already filled with resentment. Hearing that, how could he still hold back? He slammed his palm on the table, face flushed, neck bulging, and shouted, "That’s a hell of a thing to say! That extra eighty thousand isn’t your gift to me—it’s the fruit of my labor! You’re right that selling online and adding packaging made more money, but you’ve never cared about managing the trees. I’ve been the one doing all the work."

"Do you know how many new trees we planted this year? Do you know what kind of pesticides we used? Do you know how many of this year’s fruits didn’t have enough water content? When I was out there spreading fertilizer, you were off screwing around on some woman’s belly! Sure, you expanded sales channels and bargained over prices, that’s not easy either. But what gives you the right to take seventy percent? You really think selling a bit of product counts for more than me busting my ass in the orchard?"

After roaring out his anger, Lin Hao felt his mouth go dry. He picked up the cup of baijiu in front of him and downed it in one go. The fiery sensation filled his mouth, and when it slid down his throat it was like swallowing a ball of flame, yet it felt oddly satisfying.

Ha Wenbing didn’t get angry. His expression stayed calm as he looked at the Lin Family father and son and said slowly, "Mr. Lin, why put yourself through this? The orchard hired plenty of workers. Fertilizing, watering, catching pests, spraying pesticides—they’re all handled by other people. You insist on doing everything yourself. What am I supposed to do about that?"

Lin Hao snorted heavily and said, "When your dad was still alive, he and I did both the management and the selling together. We shared blessings and hardships. Now you don’t manage the orchard, you just handle sales. After you sell, you don’t show me any receipts or invoices. You just give me a number and hand me some money. Who knows how much you actually sold?"

Lin Hao had always had plenty to say about the orchard’s income. Ha Wenbing only waved around a ledger to fob him off; no one really knew how much the fruit actually sold for.

Lin Hao had wanted to say things like this many times before, but he always held himself back. Today, though, there was no way he could keep swallowing it.

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