The allure of money is infinite.

It makes sense to discuss money with the poor and ideals with the rich. The reverse would be quite troublesome! For the wealthy, more money can move them, but using ideals to deceive the poor is truly despicable. When someone needs rice for their next meal, promising future high salaries, stocks, and dividends isn’t as meaningful as placing real cash before them right now.

Why couldn’t an artist do renovation work?

Gong Yang wasn’t even an artist yet, just an art student who hadn’t graduated. He had “drawn” four design proposals, each earning him 50 yuan – Xia Xiaolan was already throwing money at him. The designs were Xia Xiaolan’s; Gong Yang merely presented them in painted form. Once he could work independently, the design fee would certainly be more than just 50 yuan.

As for him helping Liu Yong in the capital, that wasn’t in Xia Xiaolan’s expectations.

He truly was the type who could earn money through honest work – what college student would take a part-time job as a mason? Working hard to get into university wasn’t meant to mix with masons; they were supposed to become officials, work in offices, have refined and respectable jobs… But Gong Yang wasn’t too proud of it, and the money he earned during those two months in the capital helped him make up his mind.

He decided to work with Liu Yong. When he went to see Xia Xiaolan to express this intention, she knew she had finally secured this designer.

“Then your future work will need to have a focus.”

An artist’s dream?

Designers and artists were completely different – Xia Xiaolan didn’t know if Gong Yang could manage both. She hoped his renovation designs would combine practicality and aesthetics, rather than catering to niche tastes that few could appreciate.

In the future, the Nordic style would become popular in China because there was market demand – more and more educated young people would come to admire simple yet quality renovation styles… But if you transplanted this to 1984 China, you might not find even one person in ten who thought the Nordic style looked good.

Simple and low-key? People had already had enough of modest living. They wanted grandeur – European styles were all the rage because they were luxurious, and magnificent decoration was the most direct way to show that people’s lives were improving!

Xia Xiaolan felt that while doing renovations, you could guide clients’ aesthetics, but you couldn’t force upon them what they didn’t want. After all, those who paid were the masters – this was business, not a personal design show.

Gong Yang listened obediently to whatever Xia Xiaolan said since she was more skilled in this area. Well, not just in renovation design – this young girl was impressive in other ways too. She scored 565 in the practice exam and would maintain that performance in the college entrance exam. She would surely attend an even better university than the Commercial University!

Faced with someone so close to perfection, Gong Yang admitted he couldn’t compare in any aspect. Thoroughly convinced of her abilities, he naturally became compliant.

The practice exam score was within her expectations, though her citywide ranking was quite surprising.

While everyone around her was still basking in this excellent result, Xia Xiaolan had to cool herself down. The college entrance exam was approaching rapidly – if she couldn’t stay clear-headed, she couldn’t just use the practice exam score as her final score!

Then Xia Xiaolan received a call from Shenzhen.

Tang Hongen’s driver, Little Wang, asked if someone could come to Shenzhen in June for a renovation project bid.

“If you can’t come, send someone responsible.”

Considering Xia Xiaolan’s college entrance exam in July, they weren’t insisting on her attendance. But Little Wang also mentioned that the bidding was very formal and required proper qualifications – they couldn’t make things difficult for the leadership.

“We’ll come! Please send my regards to Uncle Tang, and thank him.”

Thank him for what?

For Tang Hongen’s promotion!

From their first meeting last year sharing a sleeper compartment on the train to Guangzhou, to their chance encounter at the construction site in Shenzhen, Xia Xiaolan had been cultivating these connections. What she thought would take a year or two of gradual relationship building had been accelerated by fortunately encountering Tang Hongen in his moment of “crisis” at the fishing village… Sometimes success depends not only on one’s overall capability but also on a bit of luck.

Xia Xiaolan felt her luck was quite good – she had finally secured this powerful connection.

While dating Zhou Cheng, she was certainly benefiting from his network of connections. But her relationship with Tang Hongen held different significance – as long as she didn’t overreach and didn’t embarrass him, their relationship would remain stable. No matter how good Zhou Cheng’s family background was or how capable he was personally, she could only enjoy those “added benefits” while they were together.

What if they broke up?

How could she still feel comfortable accepting Zhou Cheng’s help then?

Having her connections gave her extra confidence. Xia Xiaolan suspected Zhou Cheng’s family wouldn’t enthusiastically approve of their relationship, and if she relied on Zhou Cheng to run her business smoothly, she couldn’t possibly hold her head high in front of his family!

From both emotional and career perspectives, Tang Hongen’s olive branch was perfect!

Xia Xiaolan wanted to develop her business long-term in Shenzhen. No matter how capable Zhou Cheng was, he was still in Beijing. A local official wasn’t as useful as a local administrator – and Tang Hongen’s influence in Shenzhen was far beyond that of a mere local official.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t need “official-merchant collusion” – she just hoped to have a powerful backing in Shenzhen to deter troublemakers! This matter, in the long run, held more significance than the practice exam. Xia Xiaolan had been planning to register her companies – not just “Yuan Hui Decorations” but also “Blue Phoenix.”

She might as well handle everything at once.

Xia Xiaolan entrusted the matter to Hu Yongcai, who didn’t hesitate at all. “You need to focus on the college entrance exam now, let me handle these trivial matters.”

After Xia Xiaolan had dealt with Fan Zhenchuan at the Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse in Shangdu, Hu Yongcai was eager to maintain good relations with her.

Hu Yongcai had prepared himself – this should be a troublesome matter, and if it wasn’t troublesome, how could he show how much effort he’d put in? For instance, when buying televisions and washing machines, he had made a great show of effort, so Xia Xiaolan would remember his full contribution. But this time, the registration process went incredibly smoothly, leaving Hu Yongcai completely puzzled.

Could the favors he called in be that powerful?

Secretary Hou, who had been lying low and waiting for a chance to help Zhou Cheng’s future daughter-in-law, smiled silently. He had finally found his opportunity – doing a good deed while personally telling Xia Xiaolan it wasn’t possible. But Xia Xiaolan quickly learned of Secretary Hou’s favor. During Blue Phoenix’s opening ceremony ribbon-cutting, Secretary Hou had come reluctantly, so why was he now actively helping?

Xia Xiaolan had her suspicions.

When Liu Yong heard about going to Shenzhen for the “bid,” he became even more dedicated to work. Gong Yang had only been back in Shangdu for about ten days, and the renovations for both Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong’s homes were complete. Liu Yong wanted to use these two projects as examples for his bid!

“Xiaolan must have thought of this earlier, that’s why she had me get photos taken…”

Not just photos of the completed renovations, but also from before – the before and after comparison would show just how good the renovation results were.

As Liu Yong directed the photography, Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong also came to inspect their newly renovated homes.