Wasn’t Chief Pan criticized for recklessly lending too much to Qihang at once, questioning their repayment ability?

Repaying the loan so quickly not only gave Chief Pan face but also slapped Sheng Xuan’s face soundly.

Ying Jinchuan naturally knew what to do – for loans given by Chief Pan, they’d go to him for repayment.

He wouldn’t deal with Sheng Xuan, and she couldn’t do anything about it.

Having worked in banks himself, Ying Jinchuan knew some banking positions were flexible. Whoever had the ability got the position, without clear-cut boundaries.

Director Wu even sold government bonds on the side – whether Pan Yijun was Credit Chief or not didn’t affect his ability to collect payments.

With outside help and his efforts, Pan Yijun might well regain his position as Credit Chief.

This didn’t need a detailed discussion between Xia Xiaolan and Ying Jinchuan – having such capable people in the company made things so much easier!

Xia Xiaolan visited Grandmother Zhou at noon as promised. In the afternoon, Little You came to find her with a large envelope: “Sister Xia, here’s all the rent you asked me to collect – three months’ worth, 645 yuan each time.”

Last time, Little You inquired about the rent for all seven locations as Xia Xiaolan asked.

Little You hadn’t expected Xia Xiaolan to give her an even more important task: renting out seven houses in different hutongs, finding reliable tenants, and collecting rent.

Little You had been hesitant at first.

She was young and inexperienced in such matters – how would she know who was reliable?

But Xia Xiaolan trusted her: “The most reliable tenants are those who pay rent on time and have uncomplicated social relationships.”

Though young, she was efficient at running errands. Xia Xiaolan was too lazy to handle these matters herself, so she let Little You do it. Little You pushed through her nervousness and managed to rent out all 7 courtyards even faster than Xia Xiaolan expected.

Collecting rent every three months meant four trips a year, plus monitoring tenants – checking only during rent collection might mean finding houses demolished.

The rents weren’t high since the houses came unfurnished.

“I remember you had walls repaired and roofs fixed – how much did you spend?”

Little You didn’t deny it – she hadn’t paid the workers yet, couldn’t afford to.

“…The expense list is in the envelope, totaling 179 yuan.”

The young girl was indeed capable.

Some things depend on natural talent – intelligence relates to both environment and innate ability.

Having just met the extremely foolish Zhou Yi, now here was the clever Little You.

Xia Xiaolan counted out 200 yuan from the envelope, “Take this. Don’t think I’m being stingy – have you been attending the classes I arranged?”

Little You wouldn’t think that at all.

Xia Xiaolan meant for her to keep the remaining 21 yuan.

For her workload, 21 yuan wasn’t much for running errands, but what was truly precious was Xia Xiaolan’s promise of work that could earn 200 yuan monthly.

Little You went to the courtyard in Nanluoguxiang daily for classes. She felt Grandmother Yu, her teacher, knew so much – those eyes seemed to see right through her thoughts with just a glance.

What thoughts?

She had nothing to hide.

Unlike her approach to Shao Guangrong with ulterior motives, Little You followed Xia Xiaolan simply wanting to seize the opportunity to earn money.

So no matter how intimidating Grandmother Yu was, Little You wasn’t afraid.

She had to study well, and learn better and faster than others to earn more money!

She was happy to run errands for Xia Xiaolan – being trusted with such tasks was an honor.

Little You reminded herself not to mess up – collect exactly the right amount of rent. She carefully recorded tenants’ occupations and details, determined to make things easy for Xia Xiaolan – she’d been too shallow before, focusing on men, she should have started working for Sister Xia earlier!

Ordinary people struggled to get even one room. Others called her a burden and praised her mother for finding a good man just because he had his own house.

But Sister Xia had more than one house.

Not just one or two rooms, but seven entire courtyards – so many they needed someone to manage them.

Handling this for Xia Xiaolan opened Little You’s eyes.

This was crucial for Little You – she learned about Beijing’s rental market. If she needed to run away with her mother, she could rent a small courtyard to settle her mother… Just a bit more patience, she’d soon be able to do it.

Full of gratitude, Little You gave Xia Xiaolan a sweet smile:

“Sister Xia, I’ll study hard. Grandmother Yu said we’ll start working soon.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Yes, you’ll work soon – it’s your choice, there are many shops available. More people will come to Nanluoguxiang for training in the future. Could you help look after Grandmother Yu’s health for me?”

These were all employees sent by franchisees for training.

Grandmother Yu was enthusiastic, but Xia Xiaolan worried about her health.

“Yes, I’ll watch out for Grandmother Yu, won’t let her get too tired!”

Little You agreed cheerfully. The girl was naturally pretty, and her spirit was different from before – Xia Xiaolan was pleased to see it.

As Little You was leaving, Xia Xiaolan called her back:

“Wait – since you’re running around daily, take my bicycle first. You can return it when you earn enough to buy your own. Don’t mind its appearance – it’s very sturdy.”

Xia Xiaolan still rode that modified second-hand bicycle.

She’d bought it when first entering school to blend in quietly.

Now, since everyone in Room 307 knew she wasn’t poor, it wouldn’t be strange for Xia Xiaolan to get a new bicycle.

She just guessed Little You’s family wasn’t well-off – taking buses was expensive, and Little You, reluctant to spend money, usually walked.

Little You was stunned briefly, then happily agreed.

Getting used items wasn’t looking down on her – it meant being treated as a future employee, even somewhat as a friend!

Little You was confident she could trick men into buying her a new bicycle, but this felt completely different. She rode Xia Xiaolan’s “handed-down” bicycle around a few times, declaring it comfortable, even changing how she addressed her to “Sister Xiaolan,” and left happily.

Guan Hue’e came to pick up Xia Xiaolan and noticed her good mood, asking:

“Did something good happen?”

Xia Xiaolan thought and replied, “I think I might have helped someone. Though it wasn’t anything big, it makes me happy.”

She might have helped Little You.

Little You had forgotten about Shao Guangrong completely.

Whatever difficult situation Little You had that she couldn’t speak of, originally planning to solve it by hooking rich men, now she wanted to solve it herself.

Young people’s world was so simple – helping others brought satisfaction. At this moment, Guan Hue’e truly felt how young Xia Xiaolan was.

But it was good – usually appearing strong, yet having a soft heart:

“When you give roses to others, your hands retain their fragrance – no wonder you’re happy… But when we get to the restaurant, don’t smile like this in front of your aunt. It’s not appropriate for tonight’s occasion.”