After calling him “Dad” for the first time, Xia Xiaolan found it increasingly natural to address Tang Hong’en this way.
Tang Hong’en pretended to be stern, but his joy was impossible to conceal.
When Zhou Cheng returned home, he immediately followed suit by changing how he addressed Tang Hong’en, who pleasantly agreed.
Zhou Cheng felt he was benefiting from the love extended to his wife…
Ji Jiangyuan came to Beijing to see his two little nephews and expressed a bit of jealousy towards Xia Xiaolan:
“Compared to you, I feel like an abandoned child!”
Unexpectedly, his father called him, asking him to manage Qihang Capital well in Hong Kong for Xia Xiaolan, as she was busy with her children and school commitments.
Ji Jiangyuan was puzzled.
He certainly knew Xia Xiaolan was in a special period, but even if she wanted to start her own business, it wasn’t meant to be now!
Everything became clear after one trip to Beijing.
Ji Jiangyuan consoled himself that daughters were the truly considerate ones, and as her brother, he wouldn’t quibble with his sister.
While Ji Jiangyuan played with the twins, Xia Xiaolan probed for information on behalf of Liu Fen and Tang Hong’en, “Big Brother, do you have someone special in Hong Kong?”
Ji Jiangyuan chuckled, “I won’t tell you. Focus on raising your children instead of playing matchmaker. When the children are a bit more independent, you can take back management of your company.”
Interesting—it seemed Ji Jiangyuan did have something going on.
Xia Xiaolan couldn’t get specific information; Ji Jiangyuan was too tight-lipped.
However, a vague hint was enough. Ji Ya was still in a Hong Kong mental hospital, and whether her condition had improved was unknown to Xia Xiaolan, who probably wouldn’t concern herself with Ji Jiangyuan’s marriage matters.
When the twins turned one year old, Xia Xiaolan resumed working.
Zhou Cheng’s advanced studies ended early, and he had to return to his work unit in Qiong Island. He held his sons, kissing them repeatedly, reluctant to leave.
These two children—Zhou Cheng had spent more time with them, calling them “little rascals” but adoring them.
Zhou Siming and Zhou Siyi each clung to one of Zhou Cheng’s legs, wailing loudly, causing Zhou Cheng’s heartache. Xia Xiaolan had to comfort all three of them, feeling immense pressure…
“In another six months, I’ll bring the children to join you. Wherever you work, the children and I will be there!”
For over a year, she and Zhou Cheng hadn’t been apart for more than three days—she would miss him too.
In 1992, while Xia Xiaolan was busy having children, the winds of reform and opening up blew stronger. The leadership gave the Southern Tour speech, and the stock market opened in Shanghai.
Shanghai was issuing stock certificates, creating quite a few millionaires.
Xia Xiaolan knew about this but was too busy with childbirth and childcare to participate.
She didn’t care much about these quick money-making opportunities anymore. After the Qiong Island real estate bubble, Xia Xiaolan had sufficient capital. She didn’t want to engage in such speculation anymore, preferring to shift from quick profits to steady earnings, building “Qihang” into a stable, growing enterprise.
Because Tang Hong’en was still stationed in Pengcheng, Xia Xiaolan temporarily had no plans to return there. Her target was Shanghai.
Shanghai was an excellent location, holding significant status even before the country’s founding, and was the future financial center.
In 1990, the nation had already decided to develop Pudong. Xia Xiaolan could have gone early to secure land, but considering she had just made headlines in Qiong Island, she didn’t move immediately.
Being first once showed foresight, but always being first would make people doubt Tang Hong’en’s claims about not leaking information, even if he hadn’t.
After earning several hundred million in Qiong Island, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t in a hurry. She focused on her pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing. By January 1993, when Pudong New Area was established, Qihang’s entry into Shanghai wouldn’t draw as much attention.
When the twins turned one, Qihang established a branch company in Pudong New Area, bustling with recruitment.
At this time, Song Minglan, who had been working at Asia Department Store, contacted Xia Xiaolan:
“President Xia, would you like to know about Zhu Suizhou’s recent situation?”
Xia Xiaolan immediately caught the key point: “…Isn’t he your aunt’s husband?”
It didn’t seem appropriate to use his full name.
Song Minglan corrected her, “Former aunt’s husband. He and my aunt Sheng Xuan divorced. Zhu Suizhou took on all the debt himself, and my aunt abandoned even her daughter and fled to Japan.”
The divorce wasn’t surprising—poverty strains marriages, and they weren’t just poor but buried in massive debt, the pressure imaginable.
After the Qiong Island real estate bubble burst in 1991, the newly wealthy couple Zhu Suizhou and Sheng Xuan fell on hard times, living very difficult lives. Zhu Suizhou showed remarkable resilience, actively seeking ways to repay debts, but unfortunately, Sheng Xuan no longer worked at the bank and couldn’t secure loans. Without sufficient capital, Zhu Suizhou could only operate on a small scale.
When life wasn’t going well, arguments naturally followed.
The conflict between the couple intensified during last year’s Shanghai stock certificate subscription event. Zhu Suizhou took profits when ahead, earning several hundred thousand, but Sheng Xuan complained he wasn’t bold enough.
If they had gambled bigger, several hundred thousand could have become several million, solving a large portion of their debt!
A boss would always be a boss.
Though trapped in Qiong Island real estate, he hadn’t surrendered to life.
However, while “aggressive” had always been Zhu Suizhou’s label, Zhu Suizhou in Song Minglan’s description was unfamiliar to Xia Xiaolan.
Perhaps the lesson from Qiong Island was too painful—Zhu Suizhou became cautious in business, taking profits after earning several hundred thousand from Shanghai stock certificates, disappointing Sheng Xuan. The couple’s conflicts grew until they finally divorced early this year.
Though Sheng Xuan was Song Minglan’s aunt, from Song Minglan’s tone, she seemed more sympathetic to Zhu Suizhou.
“What are you suggesting?”
“President Xia, I just have an idea. I don’t know if it’ll work, but would you like to hear it?”
“Go ahead!”
It turned out Song Minglan wanted to invite Zhu Suizhou back to the Asia Department Store.
Qihang Real Estate had already opened a branch in Shanghai, and Qihang Capital naturally needed to make moves too. Asia Department Store’s revenue was growing at over 30% annually, and Xia Xiaolan was considering chain operations, with Shanghai as Asia’s first expansion target!
Song Minglan was Xia Xiaolan’s advance scout for Shanghai.
“You want Zhu Suizhou to manage the Asia Department Store so you can focus on Shanghai?”
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t averse to this suggestion.
Zhu Suizhou had long lost his shares in Asia, and returning would make him just an “employee”—albeit a high-ranking one—working for Xia Xiaolan.
Why would she refuse to have capable people earn money for her?
“Fine, as long as Zhu Suizhou agrees. I worry he might not be able to let go mentally… If he agrees, you and Hu Yongcai go to Shanghai, leaving Huang Guoqiang with Zhu Suizhou. If he refuses, you take Huang Guoqiang to Shanghai, leaving Hu Yongcai to manage the Asia Department Store!”
Zhu Suizhou was talented.
Talented people make mistakes too.
Xia Xiaolan no longer held the reverence for him as a boss. If Zhu Suizhou was willing to return to work in Asia, she would naturally offer him a high salary, stock options, and profit-sharing for good performance—she was generous with all her executives and wouldn’t be stingy with Zhu Suizhou.
However, whether Zhu Suizhou would return to Asia was uncertain. One issue was saving face, and another was that he still owed money to banks—he might prefer to start his own business to make a comeback!