After Awen came back from another province during the winter vacation, he came to visit Xiaoxilou every day. Zeng Xiang went with him to Xiaotian's house to play musical instruments.
Aunt Qiao was getting ready to go out to play mahjong and asked Ye Zhao if she wanted to play. Ye Zhao wanted to stay home and look at the documents about the Irene Toy Factory that Director Liu had sent her that needed signature, so she said she would play another day.
Before she left the house, the doorbell rang. Aunt Qiao went to open the door and saw Ni Meng and the others standing at the door. She couldn't help but say, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Ye Zhao just came back today..."
Lao Kai made a "tsk" sound and said with a smile: "Qiaojie, you mean we all have dog noses!"
"I didn't say that, you said it yourself. Come in and sit down, we just finished eating dumplings."
Ye Zhao saw Ni Meng, Lao Kai and Lao Mai walking in with smiles on their faces, especially Lao Mai. He thought that something bad must be going on, so he asked, "Uncles, why are there so many of you here today?"
Ni Meng laughed and said, "We heard that you were back, so we came to chat with you."
Aunt Qiao saw them coming in and didn't leave. She said, "You guys, you don't come here for no reason. You must have something wrong."
Old Mai sat on the side with his head down, smiling and saying nothing. He did not dare to say anything. After all, he had been too arrogant in the past, and he was afraid that if he said too much, Ye Zhaodao would stab him.
Lao Kai gently poked Ni Meng, wanting him to speak first.
Ni Meng didn't want Ye Zhao to know that he had invested money in Lao Mai. After all, Ye Zhao had repeatedly reminded him not to invest because of the risks. He smiled and said, "I'm fine. It's mainly these two. They have problems!"
Lao Kai gave Ni Meng a blank look and said with a smile, "Boss Ye, there's a great bargain here, do you want to pick it up?"
Ye Zhaocai didn't believe their lies, "If there is a big bargain, you guys picked it up yourself, why would you give it to me?"
Ni Meng said: "We have no money and can't afford to pick it up."
Ye Zhao: "Uncle Wang, who has money if you don't? Don't forget, when I had no money, I had to borrow money from you, too."
Ni Meng: "That's not my own money. And even if it is my own money, it's not enough."
Aunt Qiao wanted to go out and play mahjong. She said impatiently, "Don't beat around the bush. Don't beat around the bush. If you have something to say, just say it quickly."
Lao Kai hesitated several times, not knowing how to start, and finally Ni Meng said, "They want to ask you, Fortune Building is having a big sale, are you interested?"
Ye Zhao smiled: "Fortune Building?"
"Yes! The Building of Wealth!" The three of them looked at Ye Zhao with expectant eyes in unison, as if they were looking at the God of Wealth.
Ye Zhao stared at Old Mai and said with a sympathetic smile, "Manager Mai, tsk tsk tsk, are you going to change the boss again?"
Old Mai wanted to cry but had no tears. "No..."
Ye Zhao teased, "I don't know if it's because the feng shui of that piece of land is bad, or if it's because you have bad luck with money."
Lao Kai was busy shifting the blame to Lao Mai, saying, "He has bad luck with money. Actually, the feng shui of the land of Fortune Building is quite good."
"The feng shui is good, so why is it so badly finished? How many bosses have been changed? Four or five?"
Old Mac: “…”
Lao Kai: “…”
Ni Meng: "You can't say that. You are prosperous. It will definitely be different when you take over."
Aunt Qiao quickly stopped them from talking: "I thought there were some big □□ jumping around the streets! You guys, if you really want to get a bargain, you won't think of us."
Ni Meng smiled and said, "Qiaojie, you can't say that. I was the one who pushed all the bargains to Ye Zhao. Lao Kai's land, Zeng Jiulong's land, and the pig farm land are all mine! Isn't that right, Boss Ye?"
Ye Zhao gave Ni Meng some face and said, "Yes, yes, thank you."
"exactly."
Mr. Ye asked: "How much is this unfinished building?"
Old Mai said hurriedly: "More than 60 million."
The price is similar to Chiwuju, but it is obvious that Fortune Building has greater potential for appreciation.
However, Ye Zhao was not interested, because in history, this unfinished building was left unfinished for almost ten years before it was bought by someone. As a result, just as it was completed, the businessman who bought the unfinished building went bankrupt again. Later, it seemed that the bank took it over and sold it floor by floor.
Ye Zhao is not superstitious, but this building of wealth is really mysterious, so she'd better stay away from it.
Ye Zhao pretended to be poor and laughed, "You dare to ask me to buy it for more than 60 million! How can I, the daughter of a small boss, come up with so much money? You think too highly of me, can you be more reliable?"
"No!" Ni Meng said as he took out a rolled-up newspaper from his back pocket. "The newspaper said he's worth 10 billion!"
"What newspaper?" Aunt Qiao took it and took a look. She laughed and said, "This is ridiculous! It's complete nonsense! It's just the same name!"
Ni Meng: "There is a photo of Ye Zhao on it."
Ye Zhao knew which report it was. She took it and looked at it, saying, "How can this be about me? Look at what it says, the girlfriend of the eldest son of the Luo family. I don't even know anyone with the last name Luo. I don't even know what futures are. Do you know? How to trade them? Think about it with your toes. How could this be me?"
Ni Meng and Lao Kai looked at each other and asked, "Did you make a mistake?"
"It's a mistake. I guess they have the same name and surname. Then the paparazzi in Hong Kong have no moral bottom line and directly posted my photo."
Old Mac didn't quite believe it in the first place. When he heard it, he rolled his eyes and said, "I knew it! How could it be a billion?!"
General Ni Meng was skeptical: "Are these Hong Kong city journalists so frivolous?"
Ye Zhao: "Reporters in Hong Kong are notorious paparazzi. They like to report nonsense."
Lao Kai still didn't give up: "How much money do you have? The factory your father left you must make a lot of money every year, right? Can you get together with your friends and buy the Fortune Building?!"
"Sixty million is not six thousand yuan, where can I get it?"
Aunt Qiao also echoed: "You really dare to believe it, with 1 billion, she still needs to live with me?"
Lao Kai was a little unhappy: "What about you guys teasing me just now? You tease me so much when you don't have any money?"
"When did I tease you? The feng shui of the Fortune Building is indeed not good. I am telling the truth."
They were speechless after being choked up. After sending these people away, Aunt Qiao said worriedly, "Oh, these Hong Kong city newspapers are really..."
"Qi Lian'an has taken care of it. He will not report it easily in the future."
After Aunt Qiao left, Ye Zhao looked at Irene's account book in the room. There was a big difference in the business volume of Irene between the off-season and the peak season. Every year, there were so many orders at the end of the year that she was too busy to handle them, but there were not many orders after the New Year.
According to Ye Dingguo's previous plan, now under the leadership of Su Yingmin, they are working hard to promote the women's shoe brand. Ye Zhao has never intervened and lets them do whatever they want as long as it does not exceed the budget.
Su Yingmin seems to be very honest recently, but he is actually ready to make some moves. Ye Zhao pretends not to see it.
She glanced through the financial books, and finally one expense caught her attention: the rent for Chitose Island for the next two years.
The rent is not expensive, only 9,800 yuan per year.
Isn't Qiansui Island the island where Ye Dingguo and other educated youths guarded in the last few years? It is also her birthplace.
What is Irene going to do by renting it
In the past few months, she has been sending Skinny Monkey to keep an eye on Su Yingmin's every move. Su Yingmin had visited Chitose Island not long ago.
Skinny Monkey couldn't follow Su Yingmin and didn't know what he was doing on Chitose Island.
Ye Zhao called Director Liu and asked her, "Sister Liu, what's the matter with the rent of Chitose Island?"
Director Liu said: "According to the contract, the rent has increased by 200 in the past two years."
Ye Zhao leaned back in his chair and said, "No, I'm asking you, when did we rent Qiansui Island?"
Director Liu: "It's been many years. When I came to the factory, it was already rented. I have to go back to the factory tomorrow to look through the contract to find out the exact year of the lease."
"Do you know how long the lease is?"
"Fifty years."
Ye Zhao had never heard of such a long lease before. "What are you renting it for?"
Director Liu said: "The boss probably wanted to raise oysters before, but the factory was always busy and he didn't take care of it."
“Don’t we need to rent an island to grow oysters?”
"It's a bit strange. Chitose Island is deserted and of no use now."
"Is there anyone guarding the island?" "Yes, there is."
"Who's watching?"
"A couple, the factory pays them wages every month."
Ye Zhao said: "Well, you go and talk to Mr. Su and ask him whether he wants to cancel the contract and stop renting Chitose Island. Then at the beginning of the year, the management will organize a team building and go to Chitose Island for a trip. Ask him if it's okay."
Director Liu didn't understand: "What team building?"
Ye Zhao explained: "Team building is team building, going out to play together increases cohesion."
Director Liu: "I understand. I will report to General Manager Su tomorrow."
Finally, Ye Zhao reminded: "Don't tell President Su about this. I asked you to communicate with him."
Director Liu smiled and said, "I know."
After hanging up the phone, Ye Zhao sat in the chair in a daze. She needed someone who could tell her the truth.
The next day, Ye Zhao met with the design team again at the company to continue studying and modifying the design plan of Zizhulin BoBoPark.
Many drafts have been discussed about the shopping mall, and this meeting basically determined the overall style and the subdivision of each floor.
It has a steel frame structure and uses a lot of glass. The colors are basically a combination of black, white and gray, which are colors that never go out of style.
Ye Zhao proposed to build the three residential buildings according to the standards of hotel-style apartments, "with access control and security, sanitary and housekeeping services, to create a butler-style livable residence."
It was the first time for many people present, including Lin Dong, to hear the concept of serviced apartments. However, the name was easy to understand. He immediately realized, "Does it mean that the residences are built like hotels and provide all kinds of home services?"
"That's about it. It's hotel-style service and apartment-style management." Ye Zhao explained in detail: "I'm not going to build the community into an apartment. It's still an ordinary commercial residence, but it's managed according to apartment standards. So when it was designed in the early stages, the relevant supporting facilities had to be designed in, for example, swimming pools, gyms, leisure clubs, property managers' offices, etc...."
The property rights of the apartment will be greatly restricted in the future, with a property rights period of only 50 years, and there will be no school places in the school district, so it is impossible for her to build an apartment on such a good residential land.
The designer next to him smiled and said, "Zizhulin Community is a completely advanced design. It will definitely become the best in the country!"
Another designer said: "I believe this is a trend-setting brand all over the world!"
Ye Zhao is actually afraid that the community will age and become outdated too early. Since she has money now, she would rather spend a high cost to build a property that will not be outdated in the next few decades. As for whether it will lead the trend, she doesn't care.
Gan Xiaofeng is full of longing for the future of Zizhulin. "I feel like after this house is built, it will be like living in a sky garden. Just thinking about it makes me excited."
After the meeting, Ye Zhao received a call from Director Liu. As Ye Zhao had expected, Su Yingmin insisted on renewing the lease of Chitose Island, on the grounds that the island was rich in resources and it was not easy to rent it.
Ye Zhao asked: "How many years has Chitose Island been rented?"
Director Liu said: "I have read the contract. It has been leased for 6 years and can be leased for 44 years. It is said that the boss spent a lot of effort to convince the then town government to agree to lease Chitose Island."
Ye Zhao asked again: "Does President Su agree to go to Chitose Island for team building?"
"Mr. Su disagreed. He said the island is like a primeval forest, undeveloped, and it's not safe for people to go there."
Ye Zhao remembered that the first time she went to Irene, Su Yingmin had just returned from Chitose Island, and he also brought a lot of cinnamon-flavored longan from the island.
Logically speaking, if Su Yingmin can go, others can go too, and with so many people, how could it be unsafe
There is something fishy about Chitose Island.
Su Yingmin and his family were planning to return to Wancheng for the New Year this year. Ye Zhao asked, "When will Mr. Su leave?"
"He'll drive back tomorrow."
Ye Zhao thought that it would be better to take this opportunity to go to the island. No matter whether he could investigate and discover something, at least he had to take action.
When I came back from the company, I met Aunt Yu on the way. Aunt Yu was carrying a large plate of radish cakes and was about to go to Aunt Qiao's house.
Aunt Yu had earned tens of thousands of yuan from the Shenzhen Agricultural Cooperative Medical Scheme, and now in her eyes, Ye Zhao was like the God of Wealth. So when she saw that the Little New Year was coming, her family made some delicious food and did not forget to send them a portion.
The shape of radish cake is a large dumpling, as big as the palm of your hand. Unlike dumplings, the cake skin is made of glutinous rice flour instead of flour. The fillings are shredded radish, shrimp, celery and pork, and it tastes very fragrant.
Ye Zhao was full after eating one, but Zeng Xiang was still struggling for the third one.
Aunt Qiao asked: "After eating this, will you still have dinner?"
Ye Zhao: "Don't cook. If you're hungry at night, just fry some rice noodles for a midnight snack."
Aunt Qiao thought about it and decided that this was fine. She added, "The tenant opposite won't rent the house next year. Aren't you going to rent a staff dormitory? I'll make it yours. Then the flow of people coming in and out of this yard won't be that complicated."
Ye Zhao nodded and said, "Sure. If the family across from Aunt Qin downstairs moves out, I'll give them to you as staff dormitories. I'll pay you the rent."
Aunt Qiao made nearly 200,000 yuan from the Shenzhen Agricultural Cooperation Fund. She already had money, so she was a bit rich. "No need to give me that. Two or three hundred yuan in rent is nothing."
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "It was given by the company. We brothers should settle the accounts clearly."
Aunt Qiao was amused by Ye Zhao, and she repeated: "Brothers should settle accounts clearly... You and I are brothers, right?"
Ye Zhao: "It's just a metaphor. Brother Xiang and I have always been clear about our accounts, right, Brother Xiang?"
Zeng Xiang ate his radish cake and said, "Whatever. You decide. I'll follow your instructions."
Seeing Brother Xiang’s mouth full of food, like a Crayon Shin-chan, Ye Zhao couldn’t help but smile with his hands covering his mouth.
Aunt Qiao smacked her lips and teased her son: "Oh my, I'm afraid you will be dominated by your wife in the future."
Zeng Xiang also laughed: "It's better than mom's strict discipline!"
"You bastard!" Aunt Qiao hit her son, "You've forgotten your mother before you even got married, haven't you?"
Ye Zhao smiled and said, "Yes, well done."
"Really?" Aunt Qiao smiled and hit Xiangzi again, "Look at how well behaved our Xiaozhao is, nothing like you!"
Guo Xuyan returned to Hong Kong before the Chinese New Year. As soon as he changed his clothes, he went to Luo's house and gave her the souvenir for Old Mrs. Luo.
The souvenirs were all works of art that Guo Xuyan had found from the native Africans. Old Mrs. Luo liked these little gadgets the most. After she had them put away, she saw that Guo Xuyan looked much more cheerful this time, so she was very happy to invite Guo Xuyan to have dinner with her.
At the dinner table, Guo Xuyan told Old Lady Luo about the customs and practices of different places, and the interesting things she encountered on the road. In fact, she encountered more suffering and human tragedies in Africa, but she didn't want to tell the old lady about these, so as not to upset her.
As they chatted, Old Mrs. Luo said that Luo Shen would still spend the New Year in Hong Kong this year.
Guo Xuyan was stunned for a moment and said, "It's rare for him to spend the New Year at home for two consecutive years."
Old Mrs. Luo smiled and said, "I guess they're just coming here to entertain me for the New Year's Eve dinner."
Guo Xuyan didn't understand: "What's wrong?"
Old Lady Luo said softly, "He and that Ye Zhao bought Chiwuju, and they and Zeng Erqiao plan to spend the New Year at Chiwuju."
"Chiwuju?" Guo Xuyan was a little surprised. "Didn't Xu Guangrong buy it?"
"Xu Guangrong fell into a financial crisis a while ago and sold Chiwuju. I was originally thinking of buying it, but Shen'er took the initiative and got there first." Old Lady Luo said, taking a sip of the soup, "Today's chicken bone grass soup is quite delicious, you should drink more."
Guo Xuyan responded softly, lowered his voice, and said, "I just came back and heard that the Zhong family went bankrupt?"
"No one knows where Zhong Limin has gone. He disappeared out of thin air." Old Lady Luo also lowered her voice, "Do you know who persecuted Zhong Limin so badly?"
"Who is it?"
"Luo Shen and Ye Zhao. I only found out about them later. These two kids set a trap for Zhong Limin to fall into and lured him into speculating in crude oil futures. The Zhong family's funding chain was already broken, and I guess Zhong Limin was just trying to take a gamble. In the end, he lost everything."
Guo Xuyan was shocked. She thought she knew Luo Shen well. In her heart, Luo Shen was not such a complicated and powerful person, but he had changed during this period. It should be said that Luo Shen had changed since he had been with Ye Zhao.
Or releasing all the hatred he had suppressed for many years, which is really scary.
She couldn't tell the old lady the truth either, so she just said, "Zhong Limin deserves what he has gotten to where he is today."
Old Lady Luo also said, "Yes, I have finally removed half of the thorn in my heart."
Guo Xuyan asked: "Where is the other half?"
Old Lady Luo pointed upstairs and said, "Jia Ming can't get rid of her even if he wants to. What happened back then is a handle in her hand."
Guo Xuyan knew a lot about Luo Jiaming, and he almost never hid anything from her. She said, "Just wait until the return. It's only a few years away. Hong Kong is still British territory. After all, the identity of the dead British man is there. If we make a big fuss, it won't be good for Big Brother."
Old Lady Luo sighed and said, "Many things are destined to happen. For example, the Zhong family's matter and Zhong Limin's ending are retribution. Luo Shen's girlfriend is very capable."
Guo Xuyan smiled awkwardly, not sure whether the old lady liked it or not, and she didn't know how to respond.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Mrs. Luo asked again: "Are your parents coming to celebrate the New Year?"
Guo Xuyan ate shrimp and celery and said, "I thought they wouldn't come, but they knew I was coming back and had already booked their tickets. They will be here in two days."
Old Mrs. Luo smiled and said, "Parents are so pitiful. They are afraid that you will be lonely during the New Year alone. Eat more. You haven't eaten hometown food for so long. You should eat two bowls of rice today, right?"
Guo Xuyan was also a picky eater. She said, "It seems the taste is different from before."
"Your tongue is still so good! We changed the chef. The old Liu has retired. The new one used to be the head chef of a five-star hotel. How does it taste? How does it compare to what Old Liu cooks?"
"Each has its own merits. Chef Liu's is more homely."
Old Mrs. Luo smiled and said, "Yes. Old Liu knows our tastes, and we are still working on this."
Guo Xuyan accompanied Old Mrs. Luo for dinner and chat until nearly nine o'clock before going back.
She went downstairs and when she walked out the door, she happened to meet Luo Jiaming and Zhong Lini coming back from outside.
Luo Jiaming was attending a cocktail party today. Since the host invited his family, he brought Zhong Lini along. However, the two of them had an unpleasant argument on the way because of a trivial matter.
Luo Jiaming saw Guo Xuyan, his face was grim, and he finally smiled. He asked, "Are you back?"
Guo Xuyan said "hmm" and didn't say hello to Zhong Lini.
Zhong Lini hated the fact that Luo Jiaming had a completely different attitude towards Guo Xuyan from that towards her. She glanced at Guo Xuyan. Guo Xuyan came back today wearing a high-slit cheongsam, and her figure was very charming.
Zhong Lini couldn't help but curse in a low voice: "Bitch!"
She cursed mainly to vent her anger, but Luo Jiaming still heard it. He glanced at Guo Xuyan, and Guo Xuyan seemed to have heard it too.
Luo Jiaming raised his hand and slapped Zhong Lini without mercy!
There was a loud "bang" and the servants in the room were frightened.
"Do you know what you are talking about?"
Zhong Lini was stunned by the slap. Although she and Luo Jiaming had a bad relationship, Luo Jiaming had never hit her.
This is the first time. For that woman! He slapped her in public!
Will she still have the dignity to stay in this family? Will she still have the prestige in front of the servants?!
"You hit me for her?" Zhong Lini rushed towards Guo Xuyan like crazy.
Guo Xuyan was caught off guard and was grabbed by Zhong Lini's hair. Zhong Lini pulled her hard and she fell to the ground, hitting her head on the door frame.
Seeing Guo Xuyan fall to the ground in a mess with a wound on his forehead, Luo Jiaming was completely enraged. Luo Jiaming pulled Zhong Lini away and slapped her four or five times. In the end, he wanted to kick her again, but was blocked by the secretary who followed him.
Zhong Lini cried out loudly, "Luo Jiaming! Because of this witch, you destroyed my Zhong family!"
Luo Jiaming asked back: "How did I cause your Zhong family to be destroyed?"
Zhong Lini yelled, "Do you think I don't know? That Ye Zhao is the daughter of this woman! I heard you guys talking on the phone! You used the Zhong family as a stepping stone for her daughter to get promoted! Without your support, Ye Zhao and Luo Shen, two young kids, could deal with my brother? Could they have harmed my Zhong family so badly? Do you think I'm a fool?"
Luo Jiaming sneered, "Bitch! Ridiculous! Unreasonable! I don't know anything about your brother's affairs. What really killed your brother was his greed! If he wasn't greedy, who would have set a trap to harm him!"
"What did you just say? Killing my brother? My brother is dead? My brother is dead?!"
"How do I know if he's dead or alive?!"
Zhong Lini's entire mental state went into a frenzy! She was about to rush over again: "You killed my brother for this woman? Isn't that right? Isn't that right?"
Zhong Lini's throat was broken from shouting. Guo Xuyan, who had just stood up, frowned and covered his ears, not wanting to listen anymore.
"Shut up, everyone!" The person who said this was Old Lady Luo who came down from upstairs after hearing the noise.
It is really shameful for the two heads of the Luo family to fight with each other in front of the servants!
Zhong Lini wanted to say, "Mom, you don't know. Luo Shen's girlfriend, that mainland girl Ye Zhao, is Guo Xuyan's daughter! All of them are hiding it from you."
Old Lady Luo stared at Zhong Lini coldly: "Do I need you to tell me this? Mainland girl... who is not from the mainland three generations ago?!"
(End of this chapter)