Shen Yunyun was swayed by his words.
She thought of a quote from Churchill: "In war, politicians provide ammunition, the rich provide food, and the poor provide children. When the war ends, politicians secure their positions, the rich gain more food, and the poor search for their children's graves."
It was cruel.
But it was reality.
She also knew that for a country to develop, it couldn't become an isolated island.
So politicians had a mental fortitude far beyond the ordinary—someone like her couldn't manage it.
She couldn't get past those hurdles, each one representing a living, breathing life.
Maybe that life was only five or six years old, maybe seventy or eighty, maybe seventeen.
That kind of national hatred and blood feud wasn't something you could just set aside.
Compared to all that, her own troubles were as trivial as sesame seeds and mung beans.
But even so, she still felt a knot in her stomach.
At the same time, she clearly understood that Liao Zhen had a point.
And since she planned to keep living in Goose City, she was genuinely worried that if she went too far, she might face retaliation from them later.
But letting them off so easily didn't sit right with her either.
She decided to just kick the ball back to Liao Zhen: "Since you have your own ideas, go ahead and do what you think is best. Tell me, how do you want me to cooperate?"
Liao Zhen smiled. "Boss, don't feel too stifled. I'm aiming for maximum benefit. Keep in mind, these people all have backers. Even if we push this issue hard, their supporters can still pull them out of it."
Shen Yunyun looked at Liao Zhen seriously.
Liao Zhen let out a laugh, half self-deprecating, half mocking others. "Two families in the next village got into a fight. One side swore they'd beat the other to death and deal with the consequences. In the end, they killed the other family's mother. She was dead, and they wanted to settle it privately, but the victim's family refused to let it go, demanding a life for a life. The court ruled it as manslaughter and sentenced the killer to seven years. But he never spent a single day in jail."
Hearing this, Shen Yunyun understood exactly what he meant.
If she kept pressing this, those people would at most get a year or two, or they could find a scapegoat to take the fall, but in the end, they'd still be out there living freely.
And she'd end up with nothing concrete.
She wasn't worried about the stuff in the cold storage, but Liao Zhen had truly taken it to heart.
Just looking at his dark circles, she could tell he hadn't been sleeping well lately.
"Do whatever you think is right. I'll follow your lead on how to cooperate."
Liao Zhen smiled.
The boss was really good.
They went back inside, and the others had already come up with a plan.
They'd done everything they could; if it still didn't work, they'd all go seek outside help.
If it weren't for the recent strict oversight from higher-ups, why would they have to grovel before some young girl?
They'd already prepared for the worst, but when Liao Zhen and Shen Yunyun returned, Shen Yunyun refused to say another word.
From then on, all the apologies and negotiations were handled by Liao Zhen.
Liao Zhen started bargaining with them, including but not limited to price guarantees for agricultural product purchases and using their existing channels to sell the apples and peaches in the cold storage.
Prices would be adjusted based on the market next year, with a three-year contract.
After three years, they would no longer be bound by this agreement.
The group hadn't expected such a turn of events—that the matter would be resolved so easily.