Chapter 116

Keep your composure.

Seeing that Lin Lianhua had walked away, she pulled Lin Lu aside and whispered a few words to her. Lin Lu suddenly realized and said, "Sister-in-law, you're so thoughtful. Let's go now."

The two went directly to the store, pretending to buy Body-Shaping Pants wholesale. They bought five pairs first, and sure enough, the factory price was indeed cheap, only fifteen yuan, five yuan cheaper than their factory price.

After taking the goods back to the factory, Liang Ying and Lin Lu opened them and, without a doubt, found them to be counterfeit goods with OEM labels.

"Sister-in-law, if they keep doing this, they'll ruin our brand." Lin Lu's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Youyou brand Body-Shaping Pants are very famous now. If these fakes were sold, people wouldn't think they bought fakes; they would just think the brand's quality is bad.

If this impression remains, the factory can forget about doing business.

Lin Lu frowned, then suddenly stood up. "How about we lower the price a bit and attract those wholesalers and retailers who buy counterfeit goods?"

Liang Ying for a moment, then shook her head. "No, if we lower our prices, they'll definitely lower theirs too. They use lower-quality materials, so their costs aren't high. We won't have an advantage if we try to compete with them. Besides, if we engage in a price war, we have to be prepared to burn money and lose money just to gain market share. We can't do that."

Although Lin Lu was anxious, she knew that Liang Ying was right.

She scratched her head. "Then let's call the police and sue them, okay?"

Liang Ying sighed helplessly, "What's the point of suing? Our country doesn't have any laws on this. They're using our brand, but it's not illegal."

Lin Lu opened her mouth, "Not illegal? This... this means that if others misuse our brand, we can only suffer in silence?"

Lin Lu was young and impetuous, and she was so angry that her body trembled when she said these words.

Liang Ying said, "Don't be angry. I'll go back and see if I can think of a way to get out of this."

"Fine, sister-in-law, just tell me what you need me to do," Lin Lu said through gritted teeth. "If all else fails, let's put that Lin Lianhua in a sack and beat her up!"

Liang Ying's lips twitched.

She realized that Lin Lu and Shanhu were indeed a perfect couple; both had fiery tempers.

"It's not time yet; we can't sacrifice ourselves for someone like that."

She managed to calm Lin Lu down after much persuasion, but on her way home, she kept thinking about it and became increasingly angry.

Even someone as oblivious as Gu Yinxing could tell her sister-in-law was unhappy. Seeing her return, she quickly poured her some tea. "Sister-in-law, please have some tea. Are you hungry? Mom is cooking; it'll be ready soon."

"I'm not hungry." Liang Ying took the cup and took a sip, but her stomach was growling.

Gu Yinxing laughed and said, "Aren't you hungry yet? I heard all the noise. Why don't you have some cake to tide you over? I just bought it, intending it as an after-dinner snack, but it's fine for us to eat now."

She went to get the cake, cut it into four pieces, and gave one piece to each of the four women in the Gu Family.

Gu Yousi loves chestnut cake. While eating, she asked, "Mom, didn't you eat any today?"

Liang Ying then realized that she hadn't eaten lunch.

She clutched her stomach, saying, "I was so angry I forgot to eat."

"Who upset you? Did someone below cause trouble?" Gu Yinxing asked with concern. "If you need help, just say the word, and I'll be your enforcer."

Liang Ying was amused, and her mood improved.

When she mentioned the counterfeit goods, both Gu Yinxing and Gu Yousi were furious.

Gu Yinxing clenched her fists and bit her spoon. "That Lin Lianhua is too shameless. How can she use our brand?"

"She's got her hopes up that we can't do anything about her."

Liang Ying said helplessly, "I read law books before opening the factory, but there really aren't any regulations in this area."

Let alone brands, even individual businesses have only gradually become legal in recent years. Years ago, people with tens of thousands of yuan in assets were arrested and imprisoned. These people were doing business honestly and had nowhere to seek justice when they went to jail.

What means could they possibly use to seek justice for such a trivial matter?

When Gu Yinxing heard that this was the case, she became even angrier.

Gu Yousi was eating her cake when she suddenly asked, "Mom, does Aunt Lin pay taxes when she sells clothes? What taxes? Our teacher said that all businesses have to pay taxes to the government!"

Chapter 106 The 106th Day of Being Eavesdropped On

Lin Lianhua hummed a little tune as she went to the factory.

She was wearing the latest clothes, her hair was still permed, and she wore a gold bracelet on her wrist. Lin Lianhua was very proud of the envious glances from those around her.

So what if she got demoted? No way!

Lin Lianhua has earned seven or eight thousand yuan just by selling counterfeit goods.

This amount of money was something she had never imagined.

Because of this money, her mother-in-law and husband treated her exceptionally well, which pleased Lin Lianhua, but also made her jealous of Liang Ying.

She made so much money selling counterfeit goods in just over ten days. If Liang Ying has been in business for so long, I wonder how much money she has made. It must be at least tens of thousands!

With this on her mind, Lin Lianhua changed her clothes and went to the workshop, but she was absent-minded and had no intention of working at all.

Seeing that the yarn spindles couldn't be joined together, the older woman next to her couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly called out, "Lianhua, these spindles need to be replaced! What are you daydreaming about!"

Lin Lianhua was startled. Seeing that the yarn spindle was almost empty, she quickly replaced it with a new one. However, she didn't appreciate her older sister's reminder at all. Instead, she turned around and scolded her older sister with a dark face, "What are you shouting for? You scared me, do you know that? If you frighten me to death, can you afford to compensate me?"

"You, you..." The eldest sister clearly hadn't expected Lin Lianhua to turn the tables on her, and clutched her chest, saying, "I was just trying to kindly remind you, is that wrong?"

Lin Lianhua sized up her older sister, then sneered, "You're reminding me? Did I ask you to remind me? You're just being nosy."

That older woman was usually good-tempered and got along with everyone in the workshop, but she was so angry with Lin Lianhua that she was trembling all over.

Several people nearby rushed over to advise, "Sister Sun, let's not bother with this kind of person. They're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, ungrateful for kindness. Pah! They still think they're the boss!"

Lin Lianhua, with her strong sense of vanity, was stunned at first upon hearing this, then her face flushed red. She stamped her foot and pointed at them, saying, "What did you say? Who's the dog?!"

Those men showed no respect whatsoever, laughing and saying, "Whoever agrees is a dog."

"Who the hell are you?! You dare to insult me?!"

Lin Lianhua was furious and was about to go up and start arguing with those people.

The workshop door was suddenly pulled open, and security guards and police Public Security in green uniforms stood at the entrance. "Who is Lin Lianhua?"

Lin Lianhua was stunned for a moment. The group of people quickly pointed at her and said to the newcomer, "She is Lin Lianhua!"

The Public Security immediately stepped forward, took out handcuffs, and cuffed Lin Lianhua. "You're coming with us!"

The cold handcuffs were on my hands.

Lin Lianhua was stunned for a moment, her face turning from arrogant to deathly pale. "No, why are you arresting me? I haven't done anything wrong."

"Whether you've done anything wrong or not, we'll talk about it when you get to the station."

The lead Public Security officer spoke calmly, "If you're innocent, we'll release you."

Lin Lianhua was taken away in full view of everyone.

Sister Sun and the others were utterly astonished, and they couldn't help but start discussing what Lin Lianhua had done to be taken away.

"Name."

"Lin Lianhua."

"Gender."

Once inside the interrogation room, Lin Lianhua was drenched in cold sweat, and she answered almost every question asked.

After asking these routine questions, the older Public Security across from me tapped his pen on his notebook, looked up, and said seriously, "Do you know why you're being arrested?"

Lin Lianhua's lips trembled.

If she didn't know anything, she had some guesses. "I... I'm not breaking the law by selling Body-Shaping Pants, am I?!"

The old Public Security gestured to the person next to him to write it down, and then said, "It's not illegal. When did you start selling them, and how much money did you make in total?"

Lin Lianhua's eyes were unfocused. She subconsciously glanced at the Public Security taking her statement, her lips moving, but she didn't want to speak.

The old Public Security immediately frowned, slammed his hand on the table, and said, "You come here to be treated leniently if you confess and severely if you resist. To tell you the truth, even if you don't confess, someone else will!"

Other people?

Lin Lianhua's mind went blank for a moment, assuming it referred to the retailers who bought goods from her.

She panicked and quickly said, "I only sold a little over a thousand items and earned eight thousand ninety-six."

Eight thousand ninety-six?!

Both Public Security were somewhat shocked; they clearly hadn't expected selling clothes to be so profitable.

"Officer, I was just selling some pants, I didn't do anything!" Lin Lianhua leaned forward against the table, her voice weak.

The old Public Security tapped the table speechlessly. "We're arresting you because you didn't do anything. Do you know you have to pay taxes to do business?! And how can you do business without a business license?"

Ah?

Lin Lianhua was completely stunned.

As someone who stopped studying after graduating from school, she only saw Liang Ying and her friends making money through business and never bothered to learn about relevant laws. As for paying taxes, that was something she had never even considered.

But it was precisely this small matter that caused her to fall into a trap.

Changping No. 5 Garment Factory.

Factory Director Deng paced back and forth in his office. Manager Lin was making calls over the phone, but no one answered.

"Why can't we get through?" Factory Director Deng stopped anxiously and looked at Manager Lin, saying, "Could this person have run away?"

"Factory manager, this can't be! I went to their house today, and they're still there. She has children, why is she running away?" Manager Lin said, wiping away cold sweat with a handkerchief.

Factory Director Deng stamped his foot anxiously, "If she didn't run away, where did she go? We still have a lot of outstanding payments to collect, and she hasn't come to accept the goods we shipped these past two days. Who are we supposed to ship them to?"

Not everyone has the guts to sell counterfeit goods.

Moreover, even if they were to engage in this kind of business, they would only favor their own people.

Just as Manager Lin was about to speak, the call was suddenly answered, and someone said "hello" a few times on the other end.

Factory Director Deng moved with unprecedented speed, rushing over in a few strides, grabbing the microphone, and asking, "Hello, is this Ms. Lin?"

"What do you want with her?" The voice on the other end of the phone was very unfriendly.

Factory Director Deng and Manager Lin exchanged a glance. Manager Lin quickly stepped in to ease his boss's worries, taking the microphone and saying, "Here's the thing, Lin Lianhua ordered over 700 pairs of Body-Shaping Pants from our factory. The goods are already out and packed. When is she going to come and pick them up and pay?"

"Give me money? Give me my ass! And don't you dare call me again!"

The person on the other end of the phone was furious and hung up immediately.

Hearing the busy signal, Factory Director Deng and Manager Lin exchanged a glance, their faces turning pale and then red.

"Mom, who called?"

Song Jianshe found the bankbook that Lin Lianhua had hidden at home, and when he came out, he saw Huang Xirong angrily hanging up the phone.

Huang Xirong said with a dark face, "Who else could it be? It's all your wife's fault. I told you long ago that she's not cut out for business. Liang Ying makes money hand over fist when she does business, but she's the one who makes us lose money!"

Song Jianshe listened to his mother scolding his wife without uttering a single word.

The reason was simple: Song Jianshe also felt that his mother was right to scold him.

Lin Lianhua was caught red-handed for tax evasion this time. Because the amount of tax evasion was not small, the Public Security made her a typical example. Not only was she required to pay the taxes in full, but she was also fined three times the amount of tax evaded. More importantly, she also had to serve a month in jail.

The Song Family felt extremely ashamed.

If Lin Lianhua weren't still in the detention center, Huang Xirong would definitely have given her a thorough dressing-down.

"Factory manager, what... what are we going to do? We can't possibly sell these seven hundred-plus pairs of pants ourselves, can we?" Manager Lin's back was soaked with cold sweat. In the dead of winter, even though he was wearing a cotton-padded jacket, he still felt chilled to the bone.

Factory Director Deng cursed, "How would I know, this Lin Lianhua..."