Grandmother Yu wasn’t feeling awkward anymore. The elderly lady knew how to distinguish what mattered – when Xia Xiao Lan mentioned winning the special prize in the English competition and that the Education Department would select her as an “exchange student,” Grandmother Yu immediately became very cooperative.
She was counting on Xia Xiao Lan to help find her son, so why would she cause any trouble? That certainly wasn’t the attitude to take when asking for help!
“Will the TV station broadcast that competition?”
“Yes, they will, but the broadcast time hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
The competition had been over for quite a while, and Xia Xiao Lan wasn’t in a hurry to appear on television, but Liu Fen was quite eager to watch it. Grandmother Yu advised her, “Once we move to Beijing, you can watch similar competitions in person in the future.”
This reminded Xia Xiao Lan that they needed to buy a large color TV for the courtyard house at Shichahai. Back then, money had been tight, so they only bought a washing machine, but now things were better.
She handed over the 25,000 yuan she had received from the building materials store to Liu Fen, saying, “When we get to Beijing, you can decide what appliances to add.”
Home appliances were expensive now – that was just the state of things. Although Xia Xiao Lan thought it wasn’t particularly economical, did that mean they shouldn’t buy them? Appliances brought great convenience to life – washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, and such. Making money was about living a good life, and while there was no standard for what constituted a good life, at least they wouldn’t be stingy about buying appliances.
When Xia Xiao Lan mentioned buying a color TV, washing machine, and refrigerator in Beijing, Liu Fen no longer felt the pain she used to feel when spending money. Grandmother Yu’s influence had certainly played a role in this change.
Li Fengmei came over shortly after, bringing the clothing store’s account books.
This was the fourth set of accounts Xia Xiao Lan had reviewed recently. Today was already the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, and ‘Blue Phoenix’ had closed for the holiday, with all winter sales recorded here.
“We made over 96,400 yuan?”
“Yes, we haven’t distributed any profits yet, so that’s how much we have.”
‘Blue Phoenix’ had made a killing with winter clothing this year, from the initial men’s wool coats to their bulk orders of custom-made mid-length down jackets and cotton coats from manufacturers. They had made a fortune. Later, some clothing factories in Shangdu wanted to copy ‘Blue Phoenix’s’ styles, but by the time they had reverse-engineered and manufactured them, winter was already half over. ‘Blue Phoenix’ had taken the lion’s share of profits, so they didn’t care if others copied their designs anymore.
Li Fengmei had discussed this with Liu Yong at home. “All this money is yours. Your uncle said that includes the 50,000 yuan for store inventory – you should take that too.”
Take all the inventory money?
That would be treating Li Fengmei like an outsider. Xia Xiao Lan would never do something so absolute with any of her business partners.
Xia Xiao Lan had already calculated this year’s accounts for Liu Yong and knew Yuan Hui had made considerable profits, which was why she agreed to take all the winter profits. From now on, the ‘Blue Phoenix’ branch stores will be separately managed by Liu Fen and Li Fengmei. If Li Fengmei wanted to open branch stores, that was fine – it would be her investment, and she would be responsible for her profits and losses.
“Your uncle knew you wouldn’t take the inventory money, so he said you don’t need to pay the remaining renovation costs for the two stores in Beijing.”
One store in Xidan, and another opened later in Xiushui Street.
The renovation of both stores had cost 100,000 yuan in total, with 40,000 still unpaid… and this was with Liu Yong not making a profit. If he had quoted the original price to others, the two stores combined would have cost over 120,000 yuan.
Liu Yong would make money from “Luna,” and Xia Xiao Lan had left him enough profit margin – a discount would suffice. If nobody made any money, wouldn’t Liu Yong’s efforts be in vain?
After Li Fengmei’s insistence, Xia Xiao Lan finally conceded and chose not to pay the remaining balance.
It wasn’t possible to carry so much cash at home, so they deposited all the money in the bank and planned to return to Qijing Village after buying New Year goods in Shangdu. Passing through Anqing County, where Xia Xiao Lan hadn’t been for half a year, she stopped by the No. 1 High School to give Principal Sun early New Year greetings.
Principal Sun had been waiting for her for a long time, and the first thing he mentioned when he saw Xia Xiao Lan was about the books:
“Why did you donate so many books?”
They were all brand new, delivered directly from Xinhua Bookstore, without a single used book among them. Principal Sun had been thinking about this ever since he saw the total price on the book list. The school library had been renovated, but the books hadn’t been moved in yet, waiting for Xia Xiao Lan’s explanation.
“Well, I made some money in business, so I bought some books… Principal, I’m not poor anymore, and donating some books to my alma mater isn’t much. Thank you and all the teachers for taking care of me. Although I didn’t attend many classes at No. 1 High, I’ll always be a student of this school.”
Xia Xiao Lan could never forget how many teachers and students stood up to support her when the Xia family caused trouble.
She felt a sense of belonging to the county No. 1 High School. Even Principal Sun’s “snobbishness” was endearing – it was snobbishness for the school’s educational development, a genuine fondness for good students.
Xia Xiao Lan was speaking from her heart, but to Principal Sun’s ears, it sounded very emotional.
Ah, he felt like crying again, but Old Wang wasn’t around, and he couldn’t embarrass himself alone.
To avoid getting emotional, Principal Sun repeatedly reminded Xia Xiao Lan to spend money within her means in the future, saying that feelings for one’s alma mater couldn’t only be expressed through material things. He asked if Xia Xiao Lan could give a speech at the school… but that would have to wait until after the semester started, as Xia Xiao Lan didn’t have time for that now.
“Principal, look at me – I’m just a regular student at Huaqing now, and haven’t achieved anything significant yet. Could we talk about the speech later?”
Although Xia Xiao Lan’s university life was quite colorful, she was reluctant to talk about it. Principal Sun was quite disappointed but could only keep asking Xia Xiao Lan questions. When facing the teachers and students of No. 1 High School later, Principal Sun would have new stories to share.
After spending some time at No. 1 High School, by the time Xia Xiao Lan’s group returned to Qijing Village, it was already evening.
Looking at Xia Xiao Lan’s newly built house, Liu Yong felt eager to build one like it, but Li Fengmei didn’t agree: “We’re only here for a few days during Spring Festival all year round, what’s the point of building a house just to leave it empty?”
They had also bought a courtyard in Beijing, and Li Fengmei wasn’t particularly interested in showing off anymore. Previously, she had wanted to prove to others that their life would improve and that the man she chose wasn’t inferior!
Now that they were truly well-off, Li Fengmei felt there was no need to compete.
When everyone else didn’t have much money, if only her family flaunted their wealth, Li Fengmei felt uneasy.
Xia Xiao Lan gave a thumbs up: “Aunt’s right, it’s better to make money quietly.”
Compared to their fellow villagers, Xia Xiao Lan’s mother and Liu Yong’s family were already living very comfortably. Liu Yong had shown off a bit when they returned last year, but until they had greater capabilities and could help the entire village prosper, Xia Xiao Lan believed it was necessary to maintain a low profile.
Upon returning home, it was time for the big clean-up. All the neighbors came to help, and both houses were quickly cleaned. Seeing Mrs. Chen, Xia Xiao Lan asked, “Auntie, how come I haven’t seen Brother Chen Qing?”
“I was going to ask you about that. What’s Chen Qing up to in Beijing? A college student too busy to come home for New Year’s? He sent a telegram saying he needed to participate in some activities with his teacher during the winter break. This child is…”
Mrs. Chen complained at length, and Xia Xiao Lan thought Chen Qing was working too hard. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Chen Qing for half a year, and they hadn’t even met during the entrance exam at the University of International Business and Economics – just a series of unfortunate timing.
Mrs. Chen’s eyes kept glancing around the house. “Where’s your mother? Auntie wants to tell you something first – this New Year, there will be people coming to matchmake for your mother. Would you agree if your mother wanted to remarry?”