When Xia Xiaolan spoke this way, Liu Fen indeed dropped the topic.

When Xia Xiaolan returned to Beijing, thinking she was full of life and wisdom, Yu’s Grandmother [Yu Nainai] berated her harshly:

“Not understanding enough? By your logic, all those traditional arranged marriages were unhappy, and nowadays deciding to be together after just one blind date isn’t reliable?”

Yu’s Grandmother was nearly infuriated by Xia Xiaolan.

It’s not about love – when dating, look at feelings, but for marriage, look at character!

Someone with good character and no bad habits, even if they fall out of love with their wife, their sense of family responsibility remains unchanged.

Those with poor character might be madly in love with their wife today, but when they lose interest, they’ll be madly in love with someone else.

Yu Grandmother left Xia Xiaolan speechless. She could only slink away, saying, “Mother, consider it yourself, I won’t interfere. It’s your decision, and I’ll support whatever you choose!”

As she hurriedly returned to school, Liu Fen called after her:

“Don’t run so fast, be careful not to drop anything!”

Xia Xiaolan had brought some snacks for her roommates.

After Xia Xiaolan left, Yu Grandmother looked at Liu Fen: “Have you thought it through?”

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Yu Grandmother didn’t believe they could find someone better than Tang Hongen in such a short time.

While it’s not easy for women to marry up, they shouldn’t fear it… Refusing something good to settle for something worse – isn’t that insane?

“He said we’d just get the marriage certificate, and I can continue my business in Beijing. Nothing will change in my current life.”

If Tang Hongen had asked Liu Fen to give up her current business and move to Pengcheng [Peng Cheng] to focus on taking care of his daily life, she wouldn’t have agreed. But Tang Hongen truly supported her having her career, which was remarkably rare.

Yu Grandmother frowned: “A second marriage doesn’t need to be grand, but it shouldn’t be secretive either. We should at least host a few tables for relatives and friends.”

Tang Hongen’s position as a civil servant meant they couldn’t have a big wedding celebration – marrying an official required such understanding. Officials in small towns might get away with it, being far from oversight, and you couldn’t expect too much from those who just wanted to be township heads or bureau chiefs, right?

The higher the official, the more conscious they needed to be.

Expressing political views and conducting public affairs could be high-profile, but personal life must remain low-key and modest – these were the basics.

Liu Fen wasn’t someone who insisted on grand occasions. She didn’t envy Ji Xia and George’s expensive wedding with hundreds of guests. Her hesitation wasn’t about the ceremony but rather an unclear feeling about remarriage.

“I’ll think about it some more.”

In her first marriage, she had no right to choose. That’s how everyone got married then – once the matchmaker spoke, they quickly got married.

For this second marriage, she had known Tang Hongen for almost two years, progressing from being unable to lift her head when speaking to Mayor Tang, to gradually developing a relationship, leading to where they were now.

Tang Hongen wasn’t a bad person.

Liu Fen felt she already had the answer in her heart.

[…]

That night in bed, Xia Xiaolan’s mind was filled with thoughts of “my mother is getting married.”

She wasn’t being dramatic or playing the role of a poor little thing.

Marriage was just marriage. Besides, she was about to go abroad, and having Mayor Tang fill the void while her mother worried about not seeing her for a year wasn’t bad.

Though she tried to convince herself to be understanding, she still couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning for half the night before finally dozing off.

Early the next morning, without even eating breakfast, she hurriedly called Pengcheng. When the call connected, she decided to be playful:

“Uncle Liu [Liu Jiujiu], let me guess how many units were sold yesterday.”

Liu Yong always indulged her, “Go ahead and guess!”

“Was it forty units?”

It should be around that, as they had sold twenty-eight units by noon when she left.

They should have been able to sell another twelve units in the afternoon.

Liu Yong laughed heartily: “Guess again, be bolder!”

“…Then add another five units?”

Liu Yong couldn’t hold back any more: “Fifty-one units, even more than the first day. What are you worried about with this property?”

Xia Xiaolan’s lips curved into a smile. Indeed, what was there to worry about?

Yesterday they had ninety units left, and after yesterday’s sales, only thirty-nine remained.

They had already recovered their costs, so everything they sold now was profit. Making several million at once meant Qihang [Qi Hang] Enterprise was no longer just an empty shell.

“Uncle Liu congratulates you, we’re both millionaires now, and you’re moving faster than your uncle. You’ll soon be a multimillionaire.”

Though the money was earned by Xia Xiaolan, Liu Yong was full of pride.

This was a “wealth miracle” he had witnessed firsthand. What did it matter if the mud on their trouser cuffs wasn’t completely cleaned off, or if they started from nothing? As long as people dared to strive and were on the right path, there was no telling how far they could go!

Previously, he thought Liu Tianquan was a big boss, and their assets were negligible in comparison, but seeing how quickly Xia Xiaolan was making money now, Liu Yong was full of confidence.

Xia Xiaolan chuckled, “Then Uncle Liu, you need to work hard too!”

After hanging up, Xia Xiaolan was still smiling.

Yesterday’s sales figures had truly put her mind at ease.

At the cafeteria, Xia Xiaolan ran into Ning Xue.

Ning Xue was hurrying along with a bun in hand. Xia Xiaolan had no intention of showing off to her.

It wasn’t that she didn’t get along with Ning Xue; their views just didn’t align, making them unsuitable as friends.

Of course, if it had been Zhen Wenxiu there, Xia Xiaolan would have wanted to show off.

She didn’t need to rely on the Ning family’s influence; she could still successfully develop the property. Zhen Wenxiu thought her association with Ning Xue was calculated, but facts proved that Xia Xiaolan didn’t depend on the Ning family.

“People with shit in their hearts see everything as shit… The Golden Sand Pool [Jin Sha Chi] project is settled. In the coming period, I need to focus on my studies. It wouldn’t be good to embarrass myself at Cornell University in America. They won’t care if I’ve designed hotel decoration schemes or developed residential areas. I can’t waste my year at Cornell; I must learn something substantial.”

And there was still the matter of finding Yu Grandmother’s son.

Where should she start?

Crafting an article about searching for relatives that would interest foreign media wasn’t easy.

Besides money, Xia Xiaolan needed to put in other efforts too.

Xia Xiaolan had decided to settle down and focus on her studies, but barely a day into it, Guan Huie invited her home for dinner and dropped a bombshell:

“Zhou Yi is back, she returned yesterday, along with Yuan Han’s mother and sister… The Yuan family came to ask Elder Uncle Zhou [Zhou Da Bofu] and Elder Aunt Zhou [Zhou Da Bomu] for Yi’s hand in marriage. Elder Uncle Zhou has agreed, but Grandmother Zhou [Zhou Nainai] doesn’t approve.”

Agreed?

Zhou Yi had been gone for quite a while.

Xia Xiaolan frowned, “Is Sister Zhou Yi pregnant?”

Guan Huie sneered: “The Yuan family said right away that the young couple couldn’t control themselves. Since Zhou Yi is pregnant, Yuan Han isn’t unwilling to take responsibility. They should get married quickly before Zhou Yi’s belly becomes too noticeable.”

There was nothing wrong with these words, but they carried an indescribable feeling. If it were Xia Xiaolan, she would have thrown such future in-laws out!

The fact that Elder Uncle Zhou agreed meant he was determined to take the second path, wanting to keep Yuan Han firmly under control.