Overnight Riches! My Factory Spans Past and Present – Chapter 23

Ch 23: Please Don’t Call Me a Pathetic University Student Anymore

Guo Hai looked at the young girl in front of him, his gaze scrutinizing, as if trying to figure out the intent behind her words.

Chang Hongbo, on the other hand, caught on easily.

The corner of his eye twitched silently, a wave of speechlessness washing over him.

She might as well have said outright that two million three hundred thousand could buy Chen Jie’s hand or leg.

Who said university students were pathetic?

When they went wild, they could be pretty terrifying too.

He should’ve known better than to come—listening to this was seriously testing his professional ethics…

Guo Hai studied her serious expression and finally got the hint. They say even a rabbit bites when cornered, and with the Chen family being so despicable, they’d clearly pushed her to the edge.

But he only cared about one thing: “Can you come up with two million three hundred thousand?”

Chen Jinyue stared at him steadily. “I’d rather you ask when that one million is getting paid back and when your brother’s coming back to the country.”

Guo Hai burst out laughing. “And when’s your brother coming back? I told you, the money I lend never comes with negotiations! Chen Jie’s one million isn’t going anywhere—no one’s face is gonna sway me!”

“Let’s exchange contact info. I’ll let you know when he’s back.”

…

It was morning market time, and the area around the old commercial building buzzed with life, people coming and going.

Quite a few merchants who knew Chen Jinyue saw her heading in with some people and had been eagerly waiting to gossip since early on.

Finally, they saw her come out.

They crowded around, enthusiastically probing, “Jinyue! How’d it go? What’s the situation?”

“How else could it go?” Chen Jinyue forced a bitter smile. “My dad really does owe money. What, am I supposed to start a fight over it?”

A warm-hearted auntie glanced at the bodyguards behind her. “What’s there to fear? Don’t you have all these helpers?”

“I brought them for courage,” Chen Jinyue said helplessly, shutting her mouth after adding, “You all know how shrewd and overbearing they are. Plus, they’ve got connections higher up!”

An anxious uncle pressed, “So you just paid them back?”

Chen Jinyue sighed. “If I didn’t pay, would I have walked out of there?”

…

That’s the perk of a small county town.

Word travels fast.

It didn’t take a day for certain rumors to spread like wildfire—

Chen Jinyue had marched in grandly to demand justice, only to be put in her place and forced to pay up.

“She really paid them?” Old Master Chen bolted upright from the sofa, asking in disbelief.

Second Aunt turned sour as a lemon. “Sure did! I heard she went early in the morning, brought a few bodyguards and a lawyer—quite the impressive show!”

Second Uncle’s face darkened too. “She even paid all the factory wages!”

“I told you that agreement shouldn’t have been signed! That money-losing girl is sharp as a tack. If she didn’t have a plan, would she have taken on the factory mess? You’re all just cowards, terrified of losing this rundown house!”

*Slap!*

Second Uncle’s hand sent Second Aunt’s head jerking to the side. “How dare you talk to my parents like that? Weren’t you the loudest one pushing for it back then? Now you’re playing hindsight hero!”

Their eight-year-old son, witnessing the sudden family chaos, burst into loud sobs.

Grandmother held him, soothing him nonstop.

Grandfather’s mind, though, was elsewhere.

He grabbed his phone and retreated to the bedroom, eager to share this good news with his eldest grandson, suffering alone abroad.

Meanwhile, elsewhere—

Zhou Yichuan had just returned to his hotel after a busy afternoon.

He wasn’t in the county just for antiques; a few factories here had issues with a shipment, and Second Brother had asked him to check on them while he was around.

The man wore a dress shirt and slacks, sleeves slightly rolled up, revealing an expensive watch on his wrist.

His refined, princely air clashed with the shabby hotel.

Spotting Chang Hongbo about to leave, he casually asked, “Went smoothly? She paid it off—she must be short on cash now, right?”

Perfect timing—he could go talk to her about a partnership.

“She paid it off, but not entirely. Aren’t you curious how she did it?”

Normally, Chang Hongbo would keep client info confidential, but this guy had dug up plenty from Old Yan already and even arranged bodyguards for the whole affair.

He’d find out what he wanted to know anyway—no point in hiding it.

Zhou Yichuan swiped his card to open the door without a pause. “What’s there to be curious about?”

“Fine then.” Chang Hongbo made a move to leave.

Zhou Yichuan ignored him, stepping inside.

Chang Hongbo spun back around and followed him in. “Seriously, you’re not gonna ask? No curiosity at all—what’s the fun in living like that?”

The two had grown up thick as thieves. Zhou Yichuan was wild and ruthless; Chang Hongbo wasn’t some stiff goody-two-shoes either.

So his shock about Chen Jinyue wasn’t about her methods.

It was more the stark contrast she presented.

Now, saying it aloud, he felt an odd pride. “From now on, please don’t call my client a pathetic university student!”

A flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Yichuan’s eyes. He tugged at the corner of his lips, chuckling lowly. “She’s got some guts, I’ll give her that. But that pack of weird relatives? They won’t be easy to shake.”

Chang Hongbo sighed silently at that.

This girl really had it rough.

…

Chen Jinyue was oblivious to all this, sitting in the warehouse waiting for the afternoon delivery of compressed biscuits while checking tickets to the provincial capital.

She needed to make a quick trip to the city, hit up some antique shops, and offload her antiques in batches through multiple stores.

Her cash shortage was too dire—selling them one by one wouldn’t cut it.

Not that she didn’t trust Old Qian.

It was just that she had too much stock—dumping it all at once would raise questions she couldn’t answer.

Of course, she’d still save the vase for him…

A message popped up.

Zhou Yichuan: 【Miss Chen, all settled?】

Chen Jinyue remembered she still had a big client here. 【All settled. Thanks so much—dinner tonight on me?】

Zhou Yichuan wanted exactly that response. Short and sweet: 【Good.】

Exiting the chat, Chen Jinyue switched from booking tickets to reserving a restaurant.

Four PM.

Uncle He delivered the goods right on time.

Twelve hundred boxes of compressed biscuits—he’d clearly gone all out, even scraping together loose stock.

“A few boxes were opened, originally for supermarket loose sales, but the shelf life is still fresh. You can check,” Uncle He said.

Chen Jinyue and Uncle Zheng inspected each one, confirmed everything was fine, and transferred the payment.

Uncle He pocketed the money, his face beaming with a smile.

He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking. “Little Boss Chen, I hear you’re gearing up for a new factory lately—lots of places needing cash. You don’t have to rush the payment next time.”

Chen Jinyue looked at his earnest expression, stunned for a moment.

Even Chen Jianguo’s decades-long suppliers wouldn’t dare say that—they didn’t believe in her and were terrified she couldn’t pay up.

Yet this guy, after just two deals, trusted her this much.

True or not, she was genuinely grateful.

“Thanks for understanding, Uncle He. If I’ve got cash, I’ll settle on the spot. If not, I’ll hold off a bit, but I’ll clear the books every month for sure.”

“Good!”

After seeing Uncle He off, Chen Jinyue stayed alone in the warehouse for hours.

Night fell.

Streetlights flickered on outside.

The small county town welcomed its evening.

But Chen Jinyue hadn’t welcomed her client.

She checked the time over and over, her mood growing anxious.

Though they hadn’t known each other long, she could tell Jiang Qi’an was punctual.

Take the grain pickup day—he was obviously in a rush, standing in the snow at the door for ages. Just because they’d agreed on evening, he’d waited until dark to step inside.

But today…

An hour past their agreed time had already slipped by…

Could something have happened?