Chapter 95: The Little Rascal

Chapter 95: The Little Rascal

After a big blowout, Mr. and Mrs. Muir cooled down.

In their current situation, they had to figure out a way to save themselves; otherwise, 45% of Muir Media's shares would be squandered by Mr. Muir.

At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of not being able to face the family.

Mrs. Muir rubbed her forehead and said, "I'll try to track down the North and South Duo and take them down one by one."

Mr. Muir was slightly moved: "Thanks, honey! At critical moments, it's good to have you."

Unable to help but roll her eyes at her husband, Mrs. Muir took the opportunity to scold him.

"No matter what, only the wife who shares your last name won't abandon you."

Mr. Muir hugged her, pinning all his hopes on his wife.

After leaving the general manager's office, Mrs. Muir went directly to the editorial department to find Chui Zhu.

After hearing that this might be a trap, Chui Zhu seemed to have an epiphany: "No wonder! No wonder! Two grown men taking paternity leave at the same time—that's just not normal."

"Think of a way, Chui Zhu, I absolutely have to meet them." She believed that as long as she could meet them, she could persuade them with her charm.

Chui Zhu: "Xiao Luo and I have already tried to find them, but we couldn't see them, so we could only write letters. They won't even pick up the phone. At this time, they must be hiding from us—it's impossible for them to see us."

Mrs. Muir: "As long as the payment is generous enough, I don't believe they will go against money. We need to tackle these two one by one. I'll write a letter, and you send someone to deliver it immediately. Don't mail it; mailing is too slow—deliver the letter directly to their door."

*

The baby has been born for nearly half a month. The child loves to smile, doesn't cry or fuss, and is very well-behaved and obedient.

Lin Yufan has plenty of milk. She didn't heed the advice of her elders at home, didn't hire a wet nurse to feed the baby according to tradition, but breastfed the baby herself.

Having lived two lives to finally have a child, she has a bit of a protective instinct toward her child.

Although there are three or four nannies at home taking care of the little rascal, she still personally oversees everything, even while recovering from childbirth.

That night, Lin Yufan was feeding the baby in the bedroom, while Zhao Zhiao, fresh out of the shower, sat beside her flipping through an ancient book.

He was still agonizing over the baby's name.

After the baby finished feeding, Lin Yufan teased the little rascal: "Yuanbao, take a look at your dad—he's been trying to pick a name for half a month and still hasn't decided."

The little rascal's nickname is Yuanbao, given by He Xiaoqing.

He Xiaoqing heard that Lin Yufan was still fighting on the mahjong table before giving birth, and even went into labor because she won a big Three Yuan hand. She laughed so hard.

Later, she gave the little rascal the nickname Yuanbao.

Zhao Zhiao looked up, looking at his son's milky face, his eyes dark and shiny, very cute.

He smiled and teased the baby: "The little goofball can't understand what mommy's saying."

Lin Yufan: "If our Yuanbao is a little fool, then Dad is a big dummy."

Big dummy Zhao Zhiao: "..."

The little rascal has captured all the love and attention of his wife during this time. He doesn't admit that he's jealous, but he's just a little sour.

He sighed: "After having a son, the husband turns into a big dummy."

Lin Yufan chuckled and shot back, "You're the one who called Yuanbao a little dummy first. If he's a little dummy, then you, as his dad, must be a big dummy, huh?"

"Oh really? Little dummy?" he teased, holding his son.

Right then, the nanny walked in, and he handed the baby over for her to take out.

Zhao Zhiao had been sleeping in his own room for the past two weeks. He whispered, "Can I stay in your room tonight?"

Lin Yufan refused, "I'm still recovering from childbirth..."

"Come on, you're reading too much into this," Zhao Zhiao said. "I'm not that much of a jerk to bother you while you're recovering. I just want to be with you and keep you warm."

Although Yuanbao slept in his own nursery at night and not with Lin Yufan, whenever the little guy woke up, the nanny would bring him over for feeding.

"Night feedings will wake you," Lin Yufan said, "and then you won't get a full night's sleep."

"Don't you also miss out on a full night's sleep?" Zhao Zhiao replied. "If you can do it, why can't I? You're selling me short."

In bed, he finally got to hold his wife. It had been ages since he'd held her like this.

She smelled faintly of milk, and he swallowed hard, holding back any improper thoughts.

Holding a blanket was no match for holding his wife.

"I came up with a name," he said.

"Is it from the *Analects* or the *Book of Poetry*?"

"We'll name the baby Zhao Youlin, where 'lin' means 'rainfall.' 'Youlin' suggests 'double rain,' echoing your old pen name, 'Si Mu.' What do you say?"

He had incorporated her name into their child's name.

Lin Yufan wasn't overly moved, but she was still pleased deep down. She smiled and said, "Hmm, adding my name does give it a nice touch. It sounds better than the names you came up with before."

"Then it's settled."

The next morning, they announced the name to the family. No one noticed the hidden meaning, and they all simply praised the name for being pleasant.

After breakfast, Wang Junyao specifically came to Lin Yufan's room.

Lin Yufan was still in her postpartum confinement and rarely went downstairs.

Wang Junyao asked, "What are your plans for Yuanbao's full moon celebration? Should we make it a big event?"

Lin Yufan and Zhao Zhiao had discussed it and decided against it due to the unstable times.

"We'll wait until the child's first birthday."

Wang Junyao was just asking, as it wouldn't be appropriate for her, as the grandmother, to not be involved at all.

Since there would be no full moon celebration, she brought the gifts for her grandson ahead of time.

There was a silver longevity lock, a Hetian jade peace buckle, gold bracelets and anklets, and a complete set of clothes and hats for the baby to wear at the full moon.

These were all traditional gifts a grandmother should prepare—not excessive, but still thoughtful.

Lin Yufan accepted them all.

Just as Wang Junyao left, Gui Xiang came in with two letters.

It was a letter from Mrs. Mill to Fan Yi and Gu Pingan.

Lin Yufan anticipated that the Mills would be desperately trying to save themselves at this time.

She first unfolded the letter from Mrs. Mill to Fan Yi.

The letter was straightforward: Mrs. Mill wanted to meet Fan Yi to talk things over and hinted she could offer more than anyone else.

The letter to Gu Pingan was almost identical in content.

Lin Yufan worked both sides, drafting a sincere reply for Fan Yi with her left hand: "I am genuinely in the process of giving birth."

Then, on a different sheet, she penned a reply for Gu Pingan with her right hand: "I have not accepted money from others, please rest assured, Mrs. Mill, I will continue to cooperate with you."

Shortly after mailing the letters, Mrs. Mill swiftly responded.

Mrs. Mill's words were earnest, essentially stating that Fenghua Magazine must not lose the trust of its readers. The situation was dire, and she pleaded if the gentlemen could spare a moment to write an article, even a brief one. She offered five times the usual fee and promised eternal gratitude.

Lin Yufan, replying as Fan Yi, politely declined and even threw in a jab: "If I were only in it for the money, given the paltry fees you offered initially, I would never have written for Fenghua in the first place."

Seeing Fan Yi's sarcasm, Mrs. Mill angrily scolded Chui Zhu: "Look, Fan Yi's mocking us for being cheap! And you still think he's some clueless newbie!"

Chui Zhu stood by, not daring to utter a word.

"At least Fan Yi replied this time; Gu Pingan didn't even bother," Mrs. Mill sighed, unsure of what to do next.

While they were talking, Boss Xie from Wenmo Printing Factory showed up again.

Just hearing Boss Xie's name gave Mrs. Mill a headache; his visits were always trouble.

This time was no exception; Boss Xie wasn't just here to raise prices.

"Paper prices have shot up, and all paper mills in the city are running low. Didn't your last issue's sales dip? Maybe print fewer copies next time? Print more, lose more; these paper prices are killing us."

After checking the paper prices, Mrs. Mill's head was pounding. If they were to print, wouldn't they be selling at a loss?

Boss Xie added, "I checked with the mills, and pulp shipments were recently held up in the Strait of Malacca. The pulp shortage won't ease soon. I'd suggest cutting back on printing."

Mrs. Mill replied, "I'll think it over."

On his way out, Boss Xie warned, "Mrs. Mill, you need to decide fast. Wait too long, and you might not get any paper, not even the pricy stuff. You have no idea, everyone's scrambling for paper; it wasn't this bad even when the Japanese came."

Mrs. Mill told Boss Xie to hold on and headed home to talk it over with Mr. Mill.

Mr. Mill was adamant about printing 40,000 copies, loss or no loss.

"If your goal is to make a profit, why print at a loss?"

"What's the cost per copy now?"

"If we print 40,000 copies, the cost per copy is already around 1.5 yuan, which is higher than our magazine's selling price."

Mr. Mill stood with his hands on his hips: "Raise the price! Sell it at 1.8 yuan per copy!"

Earning 0.3 yuan per copy, 40,000 copies would yield a profit of 12,000 yuan, plus 18,000 yuan from advertising revenue.

Finally, after calculations, the profit for two months would be exactly 101,000 yuan!

Hearing this unrealistic idea, Mrs. Mill shook her head: "With the serials from the two southern and northern heroes discontinued and the magazine price increased so much, who would spend money to buy it?!"

Mr. Mill gritted his teeth: "We'll buy it ourselves! At 1.8 yuan per book, even if only 10,000 copies are sold on the market, we'll cover the cost to buy the remaining 30,000 copies ourselves, and that will be fine."

"Where would we get the 54,000 Hong Kong dollars we need to spend?"

"Don’t you have some savings stashed away? When I earn 2 million, I’ll pay you back double—I’ll give you 100,000!"

Only 100,000...?

Mrs. Mill felt let down. "You earn 2 million, and only give me back 100,000? That doesn't even cover the 54,000 cost! Nick, I have no money."

She had it, but she wouldn’t give it!

Realizing his mistake, Mr. Mill quickly said, "I'll give you 1 million."

She wouldn’t believe him. "There’s money in the company account, but I don’t have any—giving me 10 million wouldn’t help. And I’ve heard that once fraud is discovered, it's judged as a loss. We can’t afford to take that risk."

The couple couldn’t agree, but the matter of printing 40,000 copies was basically settled.

Mr. Mill was ready to turn to loan sharks.

Mrs. Mill also thought of another way to boost sales. She called Chui Zhu, discussing whether it would be better to directly criticize the betrayal of the North and South Heroes in the magazine, blowing the scandal out of proportion!

The cover would just scream “Shameless”!

Hong Kongers love a good show, and for this spectacle, many might be willing to pay.

It was immediately decided. Chui Zhu called Boss Xie to order paper for 40,000 copies.

Half an hour later, Boss Xie called Mrs. Mill back: "The paper mill’s stock is all booked. We only have enough stock for 5,000 copies."

Mrs. Mill’s mind was racing. "Is there no paper left in the entire city?"

Boss Xie: "Why don’t you ask other printing factories? I can’t do anything. Now only Hongxing Paper Mill has paper—they’ve stocked a lot of pulp. They have as much paper as you need."

As long as the paper mill has stock, there’s a way to solve it!

Mrs. Mill asked: "Are their prices very high? Boss Xie, no matter how high the price, we have to buy. Five thousand copies aren’t enough."

Boss Xie: "It’s not a matter of price—Hongxing doesn’t sell their paper to outsiders; they only use it for their own printing factory."

Mrs. Mill figured she could just switch to Hongxing’s printing factory.

Before she could say anything, Boss Xie added: "The owner of Hongxing Paper Mill—we all know her. I’ve offended her… Mrs. Mill, you’ve also offended her. If you want to switch to their printing factory temporarily, even if you’re willing to pay more, I doubt they’d take your order."

"Who is their owner?"

"Lin Yufan, Zhao Zhiao’s wife."

Mrs. Mill: "!"

Her heart sank instantly!

How did Lin Yufan, of all people, have such foresight, buying a paper mill herself and stocking so much pulp?

After hanging up the phone, Mrs. Mill mulled it over and recalled meeting Lin Yufan for the first time at Mrs. Peng’s place.

Mrs. Peng and Lin Yufan seemed pretty close.

She decided to visit Mrs. Peng, hoping that Mrs. Peng could help facilitate the purchase of some printing paper.

Mrs. Peng, fully aware of the feud between Mrs. Mill and Mrs. Zhao, was reluctant to get involved and only agreed to make a phone call to inquire.

While the call was being made, Mrs. Mill listened in and heard Lin Yufan say that the printing paper from Hongxing Paper Mill was for internal use only and not for sale.

Mrs. Mill whispered, "Perhaps I could speak to Mrs. Zhao?"

As soon as Mrs. Mill said "Hello" after taking the phone, the other end hung up without any regard for her feelings.

!!

Mrs. Mill was fuming with anger!

Mrs. Peng awkwardly smiled and said, "Mrs. Zhao is also in a difficult position. With the city-wide paper shortage, it wouldn't be fair for her to sell to you and not others..."

Mrs. Mill had to find another way.

Time was running out. They recycled the 10,000 copies of the magazine that were printed but not sold last time, and after much effort, they managed to gather enough paper for 20,000 copies.

To make enough money from 20,000 copies, they had to price each magazine at 3 yuan, setting a record high for magazine prices in the city.

At that time, most people's salaries were only one or two hundred yuan, so selling a magazine for 3 yuan was unthinkable. No matter how big the word "Shameless" was on the cover, few people were willing to buy it.

However, the radio was buzzing with speculation: Did the "North-South Duo" take leave on purpose? Why did they have a falling out with their former employer?

But that's a story for another time.

The most important task for Muir Media at the moment was to sell the 20,000 copies of the expensive magazine at 3 yuan each.

Mr. Mill took out high-interest loans, intending to buy back all the "Splendor" magazines on the market.

However, from the day the magazine hit the market, people were monitoring every bookstore. If anyone bought more than two copies of "Splendor," someone would approach them to ask questions.

Mr. Mill's assistant reported back, feeling somewhat helpless.

Mr. Mill took a deep breath and said, "Why are you so clueless? Go to those big companies. We'll pay them to buy the magazines and give them to their employees, one per person! Just make sure they don't talk about it."

No sooner had Mr. Mill finished speaking when the phone rang.

He picked up the phone with impatience: "Hello!"

Peter's voice came from the other end: "Muir, what's going on? Are you cheating? The law firm and the betting party have both hired people to watch you. Whatever you do, don't pull any tricks. It won't hold up under scrutiny. If you cheat, you lose. OK?"

Mr. Mill denied it: "Nothing like that. They're just overreacting!"

Despite his words, he didn't stop his actions.

Since he was going to lose anyway, he decided to take a gamble!

After hanging up, Mr. Mill initially wanted to instruct his assistant to find big companies to partner with, but upon further thought, he decided it would be safer to ask his friends' companies for help.

However, his friend was also Peter's friend. As soon as he spent his own money to have someone buy 2,000 copies of the magazine, he was caught in the act.

The evidence of fraud was irrefutable!

In addition to the fraud, the goal of making a 100,000 yuan profit in two months was also not achieved. Mr. Mill watched helplessly as his and his mother's shares in Muir Media were transferred away by the law firm.

He loudly protested and wanted to apply for financial asset protection, but except for his own lawyer, no one paid him any attention!

Muir roared in frustrated rage and punched the person blocking him in the head.

The person he hit was an innocent British man.

That same day, Nick Muir was hauled off to jail by the police.

While sitting in jail, waiting for his family to bail him out, he pondered for a long time, but many things still didn't make sense.

He had planned everything for a sure win, so how the hell did he end up losing?!