In the Su family's living room, Ye Zhao told Su Yingmin that she met Guo Xuyan during the Chinese New Year.
Su Yingmin blamed: "Why did you tell me now?"
Ye Zhao made up an excuse and said, "I was so busy before that I forgot about it."
Su Yingmin stared at her and asked in a low voice, "Are you unhappy about the meeting?"
"I'm fine, but she might not be very happy."
"I told you long ago, don't go meet her. You might be disappointed if you meet her. Will she not recognize you?"
"I don't recognize her either, so just treat her as a stranger."
He Huiqiong came out with a plate of sliced watermelon, handed a piece to Ye Zhao, and said with a smile: "Come, eat watermelon, Ningxia watermelon, very sweet."
Ye Zhao took the watermelon and said with a sweet smile: "Thank you, Aunt He."
Ho Wai-king sat down next to them. She had been listening to their conversation and couldn't help but interrupt them: "Your mother is so irresponsible. You are right not to recognize her."
In front of Ye Zhao, Su Yingmin couldn't say anything to He Huiqiong, so he could only smile and say, "I still say that. Uncle Su and Aunt He have a room for you whenever you want to come back."
Ye Zhao nodded obediently: "Luckily I have you, otherwise I would really become an orphan."
He Huiqiong reached out and touched Ye Zhao's hair, and said with a smile: "When you get married, we will be the officiants for you, don't worry."
Who could have thought that the two seemingly amiable uncles and aunts in front of them would actually watch Ye Dingguo die without helping him.
Ye Zhao smiled and didn't respond. She said, "I don't understand why my mother hates my father so much."
He Huiqiong glanced at her daughter who was eating watermelon next to her and said, "Yunyun, go help mom watch the fire. The pork ribs are being stewed in there. The water can't dry up."
"Can't you look at it yourself?" She said this, but Yunyun saw her mother glaring at her and went into the kitchen helplessly while eating watermelon.
Ye Zhao was still waiting for their answer. Su Yingmin changed the subject and talked about something else. Ye Zhao brought it back again, "I heard that my mother didn't like my father back then. Then how did they get together?"
Su Yingmin was surprised: "Who told you that?"
"An old lady who knew you guys before."
Ho Wai King ate her watermelon in silence. Su Yingmin said, "It's hard to comment on this. At first, your mother did not like your father, but look at our environment at the time. Your father was the only one with the best conditions. He had the height and good looks, and his family had no burden. Moreover, your father was born to be a businessman. He always had ways to make all kinds of money. Your mother's life would be better with him, and later they got together without knowing why."
Not knowing how much of Su Yingmin's words were true, Ye Zhao said puzzledly: "That doesn't mean we're enemies. My mom said my dad is worse than a dog."
Ho Wai-king almost choked on the watermelon.
Su Yingmin continued to practice Tai Chi awkwardly: "I don't know much about the little conflict between them. Maybe they quarreled and hurt each other. Your mother is a person with a strong self-esteem..."
Ho Wai-king wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue and said, "What do you mean by strong self-esteem? To put it bluntly, it's just paranoia, holding grudges, and being petty..."
Su Yingmin glared at Ho Wai-king, but couldn't get angry. "Who doesn't hold a grudge? Who isn't petty? You're also very petty!"
Ho Wai-king knew that Ye Zhao was present, and Su Ying-min had no way to deal with her. She sarcastically said, "Your mother, Guo Xuyan, was a popular girl at that time. Men and women all liked her. Not only your father, but also you..."
"Okay! The meat in the pot is burnt!" Su Yingmin interrupted her in time!
Ho Wai-king said these things on purpose to anger Su Ying-min, and she stopped talking when her purpose was achieved.
Ye Zhao asked suddenly: "Among the men and women who like my mother, is Jin Jingzhi also one of them?"
Su Yingmin and Ho Wai-king glanced at each other. Su Yingmin coughed and asked guiltily, "Why did you suddenly bring up Jin Jingzhi?"
Ye Zhao stared at Su Yingmin. Judging from the couple's instant reactions, her guess was correct.
"You said it. Last time I asked you where Jin Jingzhi went, you said she fled to Hong Kong with my mother and later immigrated abroad. They must have had a very good relationship to be able to flee to Hong Kong together." Ever since Ye Zhao knew Guo Xuyan's sexual orientation, she even suspected that Jin Jingzhi was Guo Xuyan's true love.
The last time she called the police to look for Jin Jingzhi, the Beijing police found Jin Jingzhi's family. Her family said that Jin Jingzhi should not be abroad. If she was abroad, with her filial personality, she would definitely contact her father. It would not be that there was no news about her father's illness and death.
According to Jin Jingzhi's brother and sister-in-law, Jin Jingzhi must have died in an accident while fleeing to Hong Kong.
Su Yingmin hurriedly explained: "They are good sisters. The three of them had a very good relationship before."
As he said this, he pointed at Ho Wai-king.
He Huiqiong said unhappily, "Who has a good relationship with them? They are both from Beijing, so they are naturally good friends. I am a country bumpkin from a small county town, so I have no topics to talk about with them."
Ye Zhao could tell that since He Huiqiang knew that she and Guo Xuyan did not recognize each other, she no longer concealed the fact that she and Guo Xuyan did not get along in the past.
But Ho Wai-king has taken photos with Kwok Hsu-yin and Jin Ching-chi. If they don’t have a good relationship, would they go to a photo studio together to take photos
From Ho Wai-king's self-deprecating tone, we can probably guess that the three female educated youth are good friends, but Guo Xuyan and Jin Jingzhi have a better relationship, and Ho Wai-king is a little inferior because of her poor background.
Ho Wai-king was the extra one among the three, so she felt a little resentful.
As for what attitude Guo and Jin have towards Ho Wai-king, it is not known at the moment, but it should not be too bad. After all, Jin Jingzhi is recognized as a person with the best temper and personality.
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Since we are from different regions, we do have a lack of topics to talk about."
Ho Wai-king: "Your mother and Jin Jingzhi have such a good relationship..."
"The meat in the pot is ready!" Su Yingmin interrupted again.
Ho Wai-king was not a fool. She knew what to say and what not to say. She said these words on purpose to anger Su Yingmin. "Anyway, Xiao Zhao, it's good that you don't recognize your mother. You are grown up now and you don't need her to raise you. Instead, when she gets old, let her live out her life alone."
Ye Zhao smiled and brought the topic back to the topic: "Have you contacted Aunt Jin Jingzhi in all these years?"
"I can't get in touch with her." Ho Wai-king finally stood up and went into the kitchen. "I'll never be able to get in touch with her in this lifetime."
Su Yingmin explained: "She is abroad and has no contact information. How can we contact her?"
"What country is she in?"
“I really don’t know.”
"Then how do you know she immigrated?"
Su Yingmin paused, confused by the little girl, and said, "Your mother said so."
"I'll ask her next time we meet."
"Don't ask. Believe Uncle Su this time, and don't ask about your mother Jin Jingzhi!"
Ye Zhao stared at Su Yingmin. He more or less knew the answer in his heart, but he couldn't connect all the things together for the time being.
"I was sorting through my dad's belongings the other day and discovered that he had found my mom's information in a magazine."
Su Yingmin pretended to be dumb and said, "Really? He didn't tell me."
"My mom has been in Hong Kong for so many years and has never accepted an on-camera interview. She may be afraid of being discovered by my dad. But she is already in Hong Kong. Even if my dad knows where she is, he can't do anything to her. They are not married. I can't understand why my mom is so afraid. On the one hand, she is afraid of being discovered by my dad, but on the other hand, she despises him. It's really contradictory."
Su Yingmin changed the subject and said, "The watermelon is too cold, drink some hot tea."
"Can't you tell me the truth?"
"It's not that I can't tell you, it's that I don't know either. Come on, have some hot tea."
Seeing Su Yingmin's evasive look, Ye Zhao followed his lead and took a sip of the hot tea, saying, "This tea tastes quite good."
"Biluochun."
Seeing that Ye Zhao stopped asking questions, Su Yingmin said, "From now on, don't worry about your parents' old stories. Turn the page, work hard, and live a good life."
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to my uncle, work hard and live a good life."
After chatting for a while, Ye Zhao said, "I have to go to school and take care of my vegetable base. I really don't have time to spare. Uncle Su, the Irene factory is slowly getting back on track. I will no longer be in charge of it and will leave it all to you."
Su Yingmin had been secretly worried recently that Ye Zhao would take action against him sooner or later, but he didn't expect that after the marketing department's issues were resolved and she saw the business volume recover, she would let go.
This is a good thing!
Su Yingmin said hurriedly, "I'm still the same. I used to look after the country for your father, and now I'm doing it for you. If you have a lot of things to do, just go and do yours first. These are all old businesses. Just continue to do them the same way as before. I'm still an old horse waiting to be stabled, and I'm determined to protect the country for you."
If you didn't know Su Yingmin, didn't know that he watched Ye Dingguo die without saving him, and didn't know his hypocrisy, it would be easy to be confused by his words today.
Ye Zhao smiled and changed the subject: "Wait two years, I will find a professional manager to replace you, Uncle Su, you won't have to work so hard, and you can retire early."
Su Yingmin's smile only lasted two seconds before it froze on his face: "..."
Su Yingmin poured tea for Ye Zhao, "I'm not tired. I'm only a few years old. I don't need to retire so early."
Ye Zhao smiled and didn't respond. She wanted to give Su Yingmin enough leverage to see what he would do next.
This made Su Yingmin's mood fluctuate, and he secretly resented Ye Zhao in his heart. It seemed that she didn't give him a chance to be an honest man. If she was going to find someone to replace him in two or three years, why should he work for her honestly
I was very dissatisfied in my heart, but I still smiled on my face, "Want to watch TV?"
As he said that, he stood up and turned on the TV. Ye Zhao knew that he was unhappy, and it was right for him to be unhappy.
It was a hot day and there was no wind at all.
Li Ruixiang was eating melon seeds in the factory store. Everyone in the factory was at work at the moment and no one came to buy anything.
Aunt Qin came out of the kitchen, sat on a stool and fanned herself, and asked, "Have you told Ye Zhao about the canteen?"
"I didn't meet her."
"Go find her. It's useless if you don't take the initiative when asking for help."
Seeing Ye Zhao go to college, drive a luxury car, and become richer and richer, Li Ruixiang felt that the gap between herself and Ye Zhao was getting bigger and bigger, and she had less and less to say. The canteen business was originally about Ye Zhao taking care of their family and making money for them, and she was embarrassed to ask Ye Zhao for anything else.
Li Ruixiang muttered, "Didn't you say you would give us the cafeteria here? I think it's fine. We can make a lot of money every month during the peak season."
Aunt Qin asked, "Why should Dai Xiangrong be given the canteen of the branch factory? He is the cook we brought here, how can we give him some food?"
"Brother Dai is dating Sister Xiaofeng. Xiaozhao is taking care of Sister Xiaofeng and leaving the cafeteria over there to Sister Xiaofeng's boyfriend. It's the same as how she's taking care of me and leaving this place to my parents. It's the same principle."
Aunt Qin couldn't bear to hear these great truths. She said, "Gan Xiaofeng is not a person you can have close friendship with. She even secretly reported to Ye Zhao that a few buckets of slops were not registered. She thought I didn't know. Now, she is directly trying to rob us. I get angry just thinking about it. Who is Dai Xiangrong? He was brought up by your father. How can he separate from us like this?"
Li Ruixiang ate melon seeds and said, "How can you blame Xiao Fengjie for the garbage? That's your problem. Who told you not to be honest?"
"What's your last name? Who are your parents? You still say I'm dishonest, but we are too honest. I want to get the money from this store, is it impossible? In the past two years, we haven't taken a penny, and your parents are honest people."
"You are a decent person, but you are still greedy for a few buckets of sewage money."
Li Ruixiang felt that the factory cafeteria here made a lot of money. She said, "You go ahead and talk to me. Anyway, I don't want to talk to Ye Zhao about this."
"You really are! Just like your father, you can't be relied on at all."
Aunt Qin threw the palm-leaf fan on the table and left angrily.
Ye Zhao came back from having lunch at Su Yingmin's house and met Gan Xiaofeng in the yard.
Gan Xiaofeng moved to Zhaohua's staff dormitory and has been coming to the Xiaoxi Building less frequently recently. Ye Zhao saw that her eyes were red from crying and asked her what was wrong.
Gan Xiaofeng followed Ye Zhao upstairs without saying a word. After entering the house, she said, "She had a quarrel with Dai Xiangrong."
"Why?" Ye Zhao handed Xiao Feng a tissue.
"He was unwilling to take over the branch factory cafeteria. He felt that it would steal his master's business. He would not be able to hold his head up in front of the people in the kitchen."
Ye Zhao didn't expect Dai Xiangrong to be such a loyal person, and he didn't know if Aunt Qin put pressure on him.
Mr. Ye asked her, "What do you think?"
Gan Xiaofeng: "With just his salary, how can we have a family?"
Ye Zhao knew that Gan Xiaofeng's family was not well off, and who wouldn't want to live a good life? She said, "How about this, let Brother Dai and his brothers in the canteen take over the canteen of the branch factory together, so that no one will have any complaints. By then, Brother Dai's share will be higher, and the profit of the branch factory canteen will be several thousand per month. If the brothers share it, Brother Dai will definitely get a lot more than his current salary."
When Gan Xiaofeng heard this, although it was not as good as contracting the canteen by herself, it was still better than working. She sniffed and nodded, "If this is the arrangement, he should be willing."
The two chatted for a while, and not long after Gan Xiaofeng left, Aunt Qin came to the door.
Aunt Qin brought a large pork elbow and said with a smile, "This is a pork elbow sent by a new supplier. It's very fresh. I'll bring one for you."
Aunt Qiao was not at home, so Ye Zhao took the pork elbow and put it in the refrigerator. He then chatted with Aunt Qin about family matters. Ye Zhao wanted to take a nap, but Aunt Qin refused to leave.
Ye Zhao smiled and asked, "Aunt Qin, do you have anything to tell me?"
Aunt Qin smiled sheepishly and said, "You see, I can't hide anything from you. I came here today just to ask you how to renew the contract for the canteen later."
Ye Zhao: "You were not here that day, and I told Uncle Li that I would not invest in the canteen in the future. Two years ago, I put down a deposit of 10,000 yuan. If you are willing to do it, then make up the deposit and the canteen will be handed over to you."
"Of course we are willing to do it. I have no problem paying the deposit." Aunt Qin said, smiling and testing: "What about the branch factory? Do they have to pay a deposit too?"
Ye Zhao heard that Aunt Qin came to her mainly for the branch factory canteen. She said, "I was going to let Dai Xiangrong take charge of the branch factory canteen, but he didn't want to."
"Who wouldn't want to? Dai Xiangrong?"
"Yes. He is afraid that you and the kitchen brothers will misunderstand him."
Aunt Qin was very surprised. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a while, Aunt Qin asked, "So what was the final arrangement?"
"Aunt Qin, the brothers who followed Dai Xiangrong in the cafeteria all wanted to settle down in Shenzhen. It's really hard to rely on a fixed salary alone. Dai Xiangrong was in charge of the branch factory cafeteria before, so I still plan to leave it to Dai Xiangrong."
"Isn't he unwilling?"
"It's not just him, it's him and a few brothers in the cafeteria. They are all Uncle Li's apprentices. I think you and Uncle Li will be very happy with my arrangement, right?"
Aunt Qin smiled awkwardly and replied, "Yes, this arrangement is good. If Lao Li knew about this, he would be so happy."
"It hasn't been finalized yet. Once it's finalized, I'll let Gan Xiaofeng notify you. And with the recent price increases, the food expenses will also need to be adjusted appropriately. Director Liu will contact you in the near future."
When Aunt Qin heard that the meal fee was going to increase, she said happily, "Okay, okay, how much will it increase?"
Ye Zhao: "I don't know either. You can talk to Director Liu directly."
Hearing that the meal fee was going to increase, Aunt Qin finally made up for her depressed mood a little. She smiled and chatted with Ye Zhao for a few more sentences before leaving.
Ye Zhao changed her clothes and took a nap. When she woke up, Aunt Qiao came back from playing mahjong. She brought back a parcel list, "This is a parcel sent from Beijing. You need to use your ID card to pick it up at the post office."
Ye Zhao went out to buy some drinks and went to the post office to retrieve a package. It was a package of local specialties sent to her by Guo's father and mother from Beijing City, including preserved fruits, crispy candies, and Beijing's Eight Pieces.
This surprised Ye Zhao a little, as she thought the two elders had forgotten about her long ago.
When Aunt Qiao found out that it was Miss Guo's parents who sent the things, she didn't want to owe them a favor, so she said, "Oh, they sent so much food from far away, it would be bad if we don't return the gift."
She thought for a moment and said, "Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. What do you think about sending them some Cantonese mooncakes and Chinese sausages?"
Ye Zhao agreed: "Okay, send them another box of Song Rongji gift boxes."
"Very respectable."
At the Luo family residence, Old Mrs. Luo was listening to Kunqu opera on the radio; the humming tones prolonged the afternoon hours.
Sister Hong handed a list to Mrs. Luo and said, "Madam, this is the list of guests you want to invite on your birthday."
Old Mrs. Luo took it, grabbed her reading glasses from the cabinet and put them on. This was not a birthday celebration, so she didn't want to make a big deal about it. She just planned to invite close friends and relatives to get together.
"Xu Yan said she was going abroad. When does she plan to leave?"
Sister Hong smiled and said, "At least we have to celebrate your birthday before we leave, right?"
"She didn't have such a bad temper before. It seems like she really doesn't like Ye Zhao."
"You don't like her, do you? We all think Miss Ye is a nice person. By the way, do we need to invite Miss Ye this time?"
Old Mrs. Luo had been thinking about this problem before. After all, Ye Zhao was only Luo Shen's girlfriend, and their two children were still young. It was not at the stage of marriage, so it would not be appropriate to invite her.
In addition, Guo Xuyan had some feelings for Ye Zhao, so she still wanted to have a quiet birthday. Old Lady Luo handed the list back to Sister Hong: "That's it. We'll talk about Ye Zhao later."
A few days later, on Mrs. Luo’s birthday, the Luo family booked a hall in the most famous restaurant in Hong Kong and invited all their relatives and friends to have a reunion lunch together.
Luo Jiaming donated one million to a charity as a birthday gift in the name of Mrs. Luo.
The family took a photo in front of a large donation check.
Zeng Xiang hadn't celebrated the old lady's birthday with her for several years. This year, as he was present, Old Lady Luo introduced to him some relatives and friends whom she hadn't seen for many years.
Of course, among all these relatives and friends, only his cousin Luo Jiafei, who came in a wheelchair, could attract Zeng Xiang's attention.
It was this person and the Zhong family who kidnapped him back then. Although Luo Jiafei later paid the price of losing his legs for this, this person has recently started to have an affair with Zhong Liming again. It seems that Luo Jiafei's heart, which had been dormant for many years, has started to move again.
Before the meal started, Luo Jiaming called Zeng Xiang into a private room to talk.
Luo Jiaming reminded him, "You've been too close to Zhong Limin recently. You should be careful about the impact. Zhong Limin is a man with bad intentions. There are not many good people in the Zhong family. You should keep a proper distance from them, understand?"
Zeng Xiang retorted: "Since everyone in the Zhong family is not a good person, why did you marry a woman with the surname Zhong?"
Luo Jiaming: “…”
"Don't worry, I'm not trying to make friends with him."
Luo Jiaming: "You should find a way to remove him from the position of chairman of Song Rongji, so that you won't know what he has done by abusing his power."
Zeng Xiang ignored it and said, "I have the score."
After the fall, a future investment intention meeting was held in Song Rongji Conference Room.
In addition to senior executives, major shareholders also attended the meeting.
Chen Yuncheng suggested selling the land of the old factory. He said: "I have discussed this issue with Chairman Zhong and President Qi before. The land of the old factory is lying there idle. It is better to sell it early and invest the money elsewhere."
Zhong Limin sat on the most capable chief seat and said, "Yes, I asked someone to find an appraisal company to appraise the land of the old factory."
Zhong Liming's secretary handed everyone a document. Ye Zhao opened it and saw that the old factory land was in the center of Hong Kong City, with an area of nearly 50,000 square feet, which is less than 5,000 square meters. The estimated value was 80 million Hong Kong dollars. After conversion, the floor price was about 1,660 yuan per square meter.
Ye Zhao asked in confusion: "Why is the valuation so low? I remember that in the last meeting, Mr. Zhong said that the old factory land is worth hundreds of millions."
One of Zhong Limin's subordinates said, "For industrial land, this price is not low."
Ye Zhao: "Didn't you say before that the land use attributes can be changed?"
Zhong Limin smiled and said, "It was possible to change it before, but the government recently changed the planning and our land is not allowed to be changed."
Ye Zhao looked at Qi Lian'an: "Boss Qi, do we have a solution?"
Qi Lian'an understood what Ye Zhao meant. He said, "I asked someone and it is true that it cannot be changed. This place is different from the mainland. It is useless to use connections."
Ye Zhao glanced at the participants present, and finally looked at Zhong Limin and asked, "Mr. Zhong, what do you think?"
Zhong Limin pretended to be objective and fair and said: "If there are better investment projects, I think I can sell it and invest in other projects. If there are no better investment projects, I can just leave it alone for now."
After they chatted for a while, Qi Lianan said, "Boss Zhong, didn't you get the land in Qiantanjiao? This is a good project. Can you give a copy to Song Rongji?"
Chen Yuncheng also echoed, "The location of Shallow Point is a golden location for the future. If Song Rongji can participate in such a large commercial real estate project, the impact on us as a whole will be immeasurable. If we really go down the real estate path, it is possible that the stock price will increase several times in the future."
The stock price will increase several times in the future, what a huge temptation.
Ye Zhao nodded and said, "You mean, we should sell the old factory land and invest in Shoal Point?"
Qi Lian'an adjusted his glasses and said with a smile: "If we can participate in the investment in Shoal Point, this would certainly be the best choice."
Ye Zhao smiled and looked at Zhong Limin: "Is it okay? Mr. Zhong? Can we use the back door? You are the chairman of our Song Rongji, you have to open this back door for us, right?"
Zhong Limin was very satisfied with today's performance. The cooperation between the two was perfect. He smiled and said, "The decision on Shallow Beach Corner is not just mine. The Xu family is also involved. I have to discuss it with him first."
Ye Zhao took the initiative to increase the stakes: "If possible, we can take out the 200 million in our account, and the stock price will increase tenfold in the future!"
After taking out the 200 million yuan from the account, Zhong Liming's eyes lit up.
(End of this chapter)