Reborn in 72, I hunt to support my family and spoil my younger sister rotten.

The next day at noon, worker Li Xiangyang received a call from Zhang Guohua.

"Xiangyang, I've heard some news," Zhang Guohua said, his voice sounding excited. "The investment group behind Zhang Jianguo has been in a lot of trouble lately."

Li Xiangyang walked to the window and looked at the factory outside: "Tell me in detail."

"Several of their investments have run into problems, especially a real estate project in the provincial capital, which was halted due to incomplete paperwork, resulting in losses of at least tens of millions. Right now, they desperately need cash flow to alleviate the group's pressure. If they fail again this time, Zhang Jianguo will be completely finished within the group."

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiangyang already had a plan in mind. He immediately called Wang Ergou over.

"Ergou, I need you to go to the provincial capital."

"What are you doing?" Wang Ergou asked curiously.

“Let’s visit Zhang Jianguo’s competitors,” Li Xiangyang said with a smirk. “Since they’re at odds internally, let’s add fuel to the fire.”

Wang Ergou instantly understood Li Xiangyang's meaning: "Great idea! Let them fight like dogs, and we'll reap the benefits."

In the afternoon, Li Xiangyang was processing documents in his office when Zhang Xiaowei rushed in.

"Mr. Li, more people are here to collect debts!" ​​Zhang Xiaowei said breathlessly. "This time there are more than twenty people, all claiming they bought our IOUs from different places."

Li Xiangyang sneered; Zhang Jianguo was going to resort to force.

"Let's go take a look."

At the factory gate, a group of people with varying expressions had gathered; some looked fierce and menacing, while others pretended to be honest and simple farmers. Leading them was a bald man holding a stack of papers.

"You're Li Xiangyang?" The bald man stepped forward. "My name is Ma Dali. These are IOUs from your factory, totaling 800,000 yuan. They must be paid in full today!"

Li Xiangyang glanced at the "debt collectors" and knew what was going on. These people were clearly not real creditors; they seemed more like members of a professional debt collection agency.

"May I see the IOU?" Li Xiangyang held out his hand.

Ma Dali hesitated for a moment, but still handed over the IOU.

Li Xiangyang took a closer look and, sure enough, it was fake again. Moreover, this time the forgery wasn't as well-made as the last one.

“There’s something wrong with this IOU,” Li Xiangyang said publicly. “First, the font on our company seal is wrong; second, the signature isn’t mine; and most importantly, the date on the IOU is before our company was even established.”

Ma Dali's expression changed: "Stop talking nonsense! Paying back debts is a matter of course!"

“It’s only natural,” Li Xiangyang smiled, “but the premise is that the debt has to be real. Everyone, you’ve been deceived; these IOUs are all fake.”

Whispers began to circulate among the crowd, and the expressions of several men who genuinely looked like ordinary farmers changed.

"You're talking nonsense!" Ma Dali exclaimed anxiously. "This was bought from Tianhua Trading, how could it be fake?"

"Tianhua Trading?" Li Xiangyang seized on the key point. "Gentlemen, did you all buy these IOUs from Tianhua Trading? How much did you pay?"

A middle-aged woman said timidly, "I bought it for 30,000 yuan, and they said I could get 50,000 yuan back."

“I spent 20,000,” someone else said.

Li Xiangyang chuckled inwardly; Zhang Jianguo was playing with fire and getting burned.

"Gentlemen, I'll take you to Tianhua Trading now for a face-to-face confrontation. If these IOUs are genuine, I'll acknowledge them; if they're fake, you know who to turn to."

Ma Dali's expression changed drastically: "No need to go, just pay me back!"

"Why not go?" Li Xiangyang pressed on. "If the IOU is genuine, Zhang Jianguo would be more than happy for us to verify it."

The murmurs among the crowd grew louder, and those who had actually paid for the IOUs began to have doubts.

"Let's go! To Tianhua Trading!" someone shouted.

"Yes! Go find Zhang Jianguo and ask him clearly!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Ma Dali tried to slip away, but was stopped by several angry creditors.

Half an hour later, a large group of people arrived at Tianhua Trading's office. Zhang Jianguo's face turned green when he saw this.

“Mr. Zhang,” Li Xiangyang said, feigning politeness, “these friends said they bought IOUs from your factory, and I'd like to verify their authenticity.”

Sweat began to bead on Zhang Jianguo's forehead: "This...this is a trade secret, I can't disclose it."

"Trade secrets?" an elderly farmer, who had been swindled out of his money, exclaimed in agitation. "I paid real money for it, how can it be a secret?"

"Exactly! If you sell us fake IOUs, that's fraud!"

Faced with everyone's questions, Zhang Jianguo panicked completely. He knew that if things escalated, he would not only face fraud charges, but it would also affect his position within the group.

"Everyone, everyone!" Zhang Jianguo quickly reassured them, "How about this, I'll refund everyone's money, and we'll just consider this deal off."

Li Xiangyang watched coldly from the sidelines, thinking that Zhang Jianguo was about to slap himself in the face.

The refund process was chaotic. Zhang Jianguo not only lost over 100,000 yuan, but more importantly, his reputation was completely ruined. The incident quickly spread throughout the business community of the entire county.

After seeing off the debt collectors, Li Xiangyang did not leave immediately, but stayed behind alone to "talk" with Zhang Jianguo.

“Mr. Zhang, this won’t benefit anyone.” Li Xiangyang sat opposite Zhang Jianguo, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather.

Zhang Jianguo's face darkened: "Li Xiangyang, don't think you're so great just because you won one game. I have many more tricks up my sleeve!"

“I believe you have many methods,” Li Xiangyang nodded, “but the question is, do you really have time to slowly wear me down?”

Zhang Jianguo was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Li Xiangyang smiled without saying a word, then got up and walked to the window: "I heard your group is a bit short of funds lately? That project in the provincial capital must have suffered significant losses, right?"

Zhang Jianguo's expression changed drastically; he hadn't expected Li Xiangyang to know even these things.

“And I’ve also heard,” Li Xiangyang continued, “that if this acquisition fails again, your days in the group will be numbered.”

Zhang Jianguo fell silent; he knew that what Li Xiangyang said was true.

“How about we try a different approach?” Li Xiangyang turned to Zhang Jianguo. “I can help you solve the problem, but on the condition that you stop all harassment of my factory.”

"What problem can you help me solve?" Zhang Jianguo asked, half believing and half doubting.

Li Xiangyang smiled mysteriously: "Aren't you short of cash flow? I have a suggestion."

Just then, Wang Ergou called from the provincial capital.

"Xiangyang, it's done!" Wang Ergou's voice was excited. "Zhang Jianguo's competitors have been unhappy with him for a long time, and they're just looking for an opportunity to deal with him."

Li Xiangyang glanced at Zhang Jianguo, whose face was growing increasingly grim, and said into the phone, "Then let them begin their operation."

After hanging up the phone, Li Xiangyang looked at Zhang Jianguo: "Mr. Zhang, you now have two choices. First, continue fighting with me and wait for your competitors to completely destroy you; second, accept my proposal, and we can cooperate for a win-win situation."

Zhang Jianguo fell into deep thought. He knew that if things continued this way, not only would he fail to bring down Li Xiangyang, but he himself would be the first to fall.

"What is your proposal?" Zhang Jianguo finally asked.

Li Xiangyang sat down again: "It's very simple. Isn't your group short of cash flow? I can establish a normal business partnership with you and provide a stable cash flow. But the prerequisite is that you must stop all malicious competitive practices."

Zhang Jianguo's eyes lit up; this was indeed a solution.

"How exactly will we cooperate?"

“Our factory can become a supplier for your group, providing high-quality agricultural products. You will be responsible for the sales channels, and we will be responsible for production. Profits will be split proportionally.”

The proposal was indeed attractive, and Zhang Jianguo began to seriously consider it.

“Furthermore,” Li Xiangyang continued, “if the cooperation goes smoothly, I might even consider having your group take a stake in our factory expansion project.”

Zhang Jianguo was tempted. Rather than continuing the vicious competition, he decided to choose cooperation and mutual benefit. More importantly, this could resolve his predicament within the group.

“Okay, I agree to cooperate,” Zhang Jianguo finally decided. “But I need to see a concrete cooperation plan.”

Li Xiangyang smiled with satisfaction: "No problem, I'll give you a detailed plan in three days."

Stepping out of Tianhua Trading's office building, Li Xiangyang felt a sense of relief. This business battle had ultimately ended in his victory. But he knew this was just the beginning, and many more challenges awaited him in the future.

But he wasn't worried, because he had learned the rules for survival and development in this complex business world: it's not about who has the strongest fist, but who is smarter and knows how to use the rules better.

Back at the factory, Li Xiangyang convened a meeting with the core team.

"The crisis is over," he told everyone. "Tianhua Trading will no longer cause us trouble; instead, they will become our partners."

There was warm applause in the conference room.

"However," Li Xiangyang changed the subject, "we cannot be satisfied with this. This incident has made me realize that our strength is not yet sufficient, and we need to continue to develop and grow."

"Mr. Li, what should we do next?" someone asked.

Li Xiangyang stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the factory: "First, we need to accelerate the pace of expansion and increase production capacity; second, we need to develop more sales channels and not put all our eggs in one basket; most importantly, we need to build our own brand and make Sanheshan Treasures a benchmark in the industry."