As soon as Lu Shuangyue finished explaining, a cold sneer echoed through the connection. The one sneering was none other than Lu Shuangyue's eldest uncle.

"Hah, a nice story, but that's all it is. Skipping over us to partner directly with this kid? As if this kid has what it takes! He's just a poor boy from the countryside with nothing to his name, who only has a fledgling plantation. Daring to partner with him? I'm afraid ten companies' worth of assets wouldn't be enough to cover the losses!"

The moment her uncle finished speaking, Lu Shuangyue retorted, "Why would that be impossible? As long as Er Gou's medicinal herbs are good enough, President Bai will definitely bypass us to work with him. When that happens, our losses will be even greater!"

Her words had barely faded when Lu Shuangyue's second uncle suddenly roared furiously.

"Greater losses?! Lu Shuangyue! Let me tell you, *we're* the ones with huge losses right now! President Bai is bypassing me to get herbs directly from you! Do you have any idea how much I've lost?!"

Hearing this, Lu Shuangyue didn't panic at all, instead letting out a cold laugh. "Second Uncle, you only talk about your losses. What about mine? When you were in trouble, didn't I come to you for help? What did you say then? Do you need me to repeat it for you?"

With these words, the conference fell into a sudden silence.

Meanwhile, Liu Ergou, standing to the side, looked at Lu Shuangyue and the three tablets and couldn't help but shake his head. President Bai may be getting the herbs from me, but they still pass through Lu Shuangyue's hands. That means these people can still get their fair share of the profits. But a person's greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant; it's never satisfied. What they want is *all* the profit! Besides, based on what Lu Shuangyue said, she asked them for help before and they just ignored her. Now that she's finally weathered the storm, they've come crawling back, wanting a piece of the pie.

This made Liu Ergou curious. I know about Lu Shuangyue's family background, so why are they so obsessed with these scraps? I don't get it!

After a moment's thought, Liu Ergou decided to step forward and break the impasse. If he didn't intervene, there was no telling how long it would take to resolve this, and more important matters would be delayed.

He immediately spoke up, "Alright, since I'm attending this meeting, I have the right to speak. Let me say a few words!"

Before Liu Ergou could continue, Lu Shuangyue's second uncle cursed at him, "Shut up, you country bumpkin! All you know is how to freeload off a woman! If Shuang Yue hadn't given you the money, what plantation could you have possibly started? And how could I have lost so much if it weren't for you?! I'm telling you, you have no right to speak here today!"

The words were incredibly rude, and Liu Ergou's face darkened involuntarily. Members of a great family from Jingdu were shamelessly squabbling with a commoner like himself over such petty profits. How laughable.

Suppressing his rage, Liu Ergou said, "I'm here today, so I have the right to speak! Spare me your 'great family' tactics. I'm Liu Ergou, and I have nothing to lose, so I'm not afraid of you people who do! I might not be able to do much else, but I can certainly destroy the current Baozhi Hall and make sure you don't get a single cent of profit. If you don't believe me, just try me!"

As Liu Ergou's words hung in the air, the three relatives on screen just looked at each other, none daring to say another word. They weren't young anymore and had seen a bit of the world; they could tell Liu Ergou wasn't joking. But what they couldn't understand was, on what grounds did Liu Ergou, a poor boy from the countryside, dare to say such things? Out of curiosity, the three of them decided to wait and see what happened next.

Seeing that the three remained silent, Liu Ergou finally spoke up. "This is just about reduced profits, right? How about this: you can all invest directly in my plantation. That way, I get the funding I need, and your profits can multiply. What do you think of that idea?"

This was the best solution Liu Ergou could think of. Investing in the plantation meant they would get dividends. Although the initial income would be pitifully small, once I have a record of success, I can continue to lease more land. It wouldn't be limited to just my own village, but the neighboring ones too. Eventually, every village in the area! By then, the dividends would be far from trivial.

To Liu Ergou's utter surprise, the moment he voiced his idea, Lu Shuangyue's father was the first to shoot it down.

"This proposal? I don't think so! The reason is simple—why should we invest in you? We could have all the profits for ourselves, so why would I share them with you? You don't really think you're some big shot, do you?"

Hearing this, Liu Ergou was stunned. Greedy. Far too greedy! So what they mean is, any business of Lu Shuangyue's must pass through their hands. They have to take the lion's share of the profits, leaving her with just the scraps. This Baozhi Hall, which was supposed to be the result of her own hard work, is really just their personal piggy bank. It seems her situation is truly difficult!

While Liu Ergou was lost in thought, Lu Shuangyue's father delivered his final verdict.

"Shuang Yue, you've gone too far!

"No matter what, we are family. As your relatives, would we ever harm you?

"But I never thought you'd betray us for an outsider, damaging the family's interests!

"Since it's come to this, I can no longer tolerate you!

"Starting right now, we are withdrawing all of Baozhi Hall's liquid assets and pulling all client resources!

"Simply put, Baozhi Hall is on its own now. You can fend for yourself!"

After delivering his speech, Lu Shuangyue's father hung up the video call without giving her a chance to respond. Following his lead, the other two relatives also disconnected.

Silence soon fell across the conference room. It took a long while for Lu Shuangyue to recover from the shock of what had just happened. She looked at the three disconnected tablets.

Unable to contain her emotions any longer, she threw herself into Liu Ergou's arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Seeing Lu Shuangyue's beautiful face streaked with tears, Liu Ergou felt his heart ache. He couldn't resist wrapping his arms around Lu Shuangyue's slender waist and comforting her softly, "Shuang Yue, don't cry! It's okay, we can just do it ourselves! I refuse to believe we're helpless without them. It's not like their absence forces us to eat a pig with the hair still on! Now that you're free from them, you have a real chance to build something for yourself!"

Lu Shuangyue, who was sobbing, heard Liu Ergou's words and looked up at him before letting out a long sigh.

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