Reborn in the Entertainment Industry: Second Life

"Hey, Xiao Bing."

A phone call came in, and a middle-aged woman's voice answered. Bo Bing looked at the phone number with slight doubt, and the contact name was "Zhou Tao".

"Hello, sister-in-law," Bo Bing walked to the French window and switched hands to answer the phone, "What's up with Boss Zhou?"

"It's almost the end of the year, and my aunt and I have found a local boss to help us with the factory equipment and such. The factory renovations are almost done, and we've hired some workers to look after the premises," the woman smiled and asked tentatively, "As for the funds... do you think we can finish before the end of the year?"

The reason was that they were worried the renovation funds wouldn't actually be used.

Bo Bing paused slightly, "Don't worry about settling the payment. I'll transfer some funds to your sister-in-law in the next couple of days, and I'll come back before the New Year to settle the workers' wages."

"Alright, we can all rest assured with your words."

The woman opposite me laughed and said, "The news of the factory's construction has spread recently. Many former herb farmers and middlemen have come to me to inquire about the factory's profitability and who the owner is. I've just brushed them off. I reckon that apart from a few people at the top who know the details, no one else can take advantage of the situation."

"Thanks to your help, sister-in-law and Boss Zhou, I'm so sorry for leaving such a troublesome matter to you. I'll definitely thank you when I get here." Bo Bing smiled and looked down at the skyline that stretched out from the city below. "I'm so sorry for leaving such a troublesome matter to you, sister-in-law. I'll definitely thank you when I get here."

"Hey, let's talk about it later," a woman's voice called out. "Our manager will tell you the rest."

"Ahem, Xiao Bing, it's me."

Zhou Tao's rough voice came through the phone, "When are you coming back?"

“Before the New Year, I’ll go back around the 20th of next month to look forward to the New Year,” Bo Bing said, her eyes lowered as she began to think. “When I left, I left a savings book for Xiaoyun’s third uncle. I’ll transfer the money there and let him handle it properly. I’ll check on the final payment when I get back.”

"Once it's settled, I'll stop worrying about it."

"Yes, we should act quickly. I'm afraid things might change if we delay any longer."

Bo Bing knew that the reforms in L City were unlikely to stop anytime soon, and he didn't want to be indecisive at this time. After a moment's consideration, he asked, "Any new developments, Lao Zhou?"

“The new mayor is no pushover. Zhi Yu has tried several times but failed to deal with that woman, and now he’s gotten himself into trouble,” Zhou Tao said in a serious voice. “Regarding your pharmaceutical factory, although I didn’t get involved and it was your sister-in-law who arranged it, we can’t escape the connection no matter what. If Zhi Yu is determined to investigate and vent his anger, before your factory even gets off the ground, a bunch of people will have already put you on the brink of death.”

Bo Bing knew the seriousness of the matter.

In a way, Zhi Yu lost face in front of the three of them last time, and since he couldn't beat Yin Fengzhu, he wanted to find an easy target to bully.

He couldn't manipulate Zhou Tao, but he could manipulate the third son of the Li family, though it was risky to be watched by Yin Fengzhu. Only he himself was an easy target, seemingly unrelated to the two, so it would be pointless to manipulate him. Moreover, he could suppress Zhou Tao and Li Dai, and even dampen Yin Fengzhu's arrogance.

Once word got out that he was running his own factory, even small vendors would know. There was no reason why Zhi Yu wouldn't have heard about it, especially since Secretary Yin had specifically "praised" the younger generation's pharmaceutical factory at the dinner table.

So, Zhi Yu is either being hesitant to act for fear of harming others, or he's turning a blind eye.

The former, Bo Bing, felt that he did not have enough power to have this 'vessel' protect him.

—That's the latter.

They won't start causing damage right away. Only when their sunk costs are high will the severity of the damage become apparent. Given Zhi Yu's nature, if he really wanted to fight for territory like before, and sent a bunch of people to vandalize and loot the Shenshuang Pharmaceutical Factory, his own men probably wouldn't be able to stop him for a while, let alone send a few troublemakers to the factory to sign a 'life or death contract'.

Zhi Yu must have done this kind of thing quite a few times.

Yin Fengzhu was clearly watching from the sidelines. If this matter was handled lightly, he could use himself to restrain Zhi Yu; if it escalated, he would have a legitimate reason to undermine Zhi Yu's power, thus establishing a justifiable cause.

Tsk.

Bo Bing's back was also damp with sweat. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and lay exhausted on the sofa, rubbing his temples.

I need to think of a solution myself.

"Mr. Zhou's reminder is timely," Bo Bing thought for a moment, "My matter here will take some time, so I can only trouble Mr. Zhou to keep an eye on the situation for me."

"Don't worry, if we really have to do this, we're in this together," Zhou Tao sighed. "I personally have people watching over Xiao Yang when he goes to school, just in case something happens."

Bo Bing knew that this was referring to the incident where Li Yuan was taken away by Cao Xin. Zhou Tao had become more cautious. The matter of Zhou Zhiyang being lured into a pyramid scheme had been left unresolved, but everyone knew that there was probably more to it than met the eye. It was possible that multiple forces were pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Zhou Tao and his wife had their son late in life, and he's their precious child. If something were to happen to him, the couple would likely be devastated, and more importantly, Zhou Tao's business would have no successor for at least eighteen years.

Eighteen years is a long time; even if they had another child, there wouldn't be enough time to raise them properly. The unpredictable changes in that time would be enough to give the couple a hard time.

"I see."

Bo Bing rubbed her forehead. "Let me think about it some more."

Once the pharmaceutical factory is built, the collection, manufacturing, and even subsequent transactions of medicinal materials will require a large number of people, including professionals and those who guard the premises. For the entire industrial chain to gradually become complete, it will also need to deal with all sorts of shady characters.

Not trivial.

Not long after the phone call ended, Bo Yuntian called back.

"Brother, when are you coming back?"

The boy's tone was tinged with excitement.

Bo Bing's tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little. "What, you missed me?"

"I miss my brother. It's been so long since I've seen him. Bobo has been asking about him too."

The boy smiled a little embarrassedly, "Are you very busy right now, bro? No one answered when I called last time."

"No, a while ago..."

Bo Bing wanted to say that something had happened a while ago, but she swallowed the words back. "I was just filming a while ago. Filming is very busy. I'm a newbie, so of course I was even busier."

"You've worked hard," Bo Yuntian said, squatting on the steps in front of the old shared apartment, picking at the plaster on the side wall. "Brother, don't push yourself so hard. Take a break when you need to. Your health is the most important thing."

It's better to have a healthy Xiao Bing Ge than one who gets exhausted.

"And you're talking about me," Bo Bing laughed. "Senior year of high school must be tough, right? Are you keeping up with your studies, Xiao Yun? Do you need any money or anything? I'll take care of it for you."

“Brother, keep it for yourself. Things are expensive in Shanghai. Just eat well and dress well.” Bo Yuntian looked up at the snowflakes falling from the sky. “I don’t lack money. I’m doing well in my studies. My teacher said I’ll have no problem getting into a top university.”

"A top-tier university? Does that mean I'll be meeting live, living students from a prestigious university?"

Bo Bing smiled, a look of longing in her eyes, "Our Xiao Yun is so smart. Don't forget to help your brother out when you become successful."

"Brother! You're teasing me again!"

The boy's voice, filtered through the phone call, was muffled, and Bo Yuntian's face, flushed with anger, turned bright red.