How should they repay Xia Xiaolan?
Money was the most mundane form of repayment, yet often the most practical – rarely would anyone refuse it. Even wealthy people didn’t complain about having too much money! However, with Xia Xiaolan, the situation was complicated.
Regarding wealth, while her assets couldn’t compare to Xu Zhongyi’s at present, Grandmother Yu had already rejected the idea of monetary compensation, forcing them to consider other options.
Power? Don’t be ridiculous.
Xia Xiaolan’s connections in China far exceeded those of the Xu father and son. While her network in America wasn’t as impressive, she wouldn’t be staying there long anyway – she would return home after completing her exchange program at Cornell… and that decision to study at Cornell was made solely to help Grandmother Yu find her relatives!
Xu Changle pondered for a while but couldn’t think of anything suitable.
“I believe Grandmother understands them better. If we truly want to express our gratitude, shouldn’t we consult with her first?”
Xu Zhongyi lacked confidence. After all, since returning home, the old lady had done nothing but cry at first, and afterward, everything he did seemed wrong in her eyes.
Xu Zhongyi smiled bitterly. “I suppose that’s our only option. Regarding the museum that Xiaolan mentioned, since your grandmother has this wish, we should fulfill it. Have you thought about how to handle Zhang Jiandong’s business interests in America?”
It was the first time father and son had openly discussed this matter.
The illegal businesses were out of the question. Xu Changle had never considered taking over Zhang Jiandong’s position to continue those harmful activities. With Zhang Jiandong’s death, his underground empire would inevitably be divided.
However, besides his illegal ventures, Zhang Jiandong also owned legitimate companies. The man hadn’t become a Los Angeles city councilor and straddled both legal and illegal worlds merely through acting skills. Smart people could succeed at anything they attempted, and Zhang Jiandong’s legitimate assets represented a considerable sum.
Xu Changle didn’t want it for himself, but he wasn’t suggesting donating everything either. That money should at least go to Tina. Moreover, considering how Zhang Jiandong had built his business – using money from selling Xu family antiques as startup capital, though Xu Zhongyi had later redeemed all the antiques – for Xu Changle to completely refuse any claim would be giving away what rightfully belonged to his family!
“Here’s what I’m thinking: from his assets, I’ll take the cash back to Shangdu to build the museum – that’s what he owed our Xu family. The remaining companies and real estate, I want to give to Tina.”
Give it to Tina?
Xu Zhongyi frowned.
He didn’t want his daughter to continue using Zhang Jiandong’s money, but the reality was that Tina might prefer using Zhang Jiandong’s money over Xu Zhongyi’s.
How much effort would it take for Xu Zhongyi to win Tina’s acceptance?
Both father and son worried about Tina, who remained alone in Hong Kong.
The Xu father and son had returned to Shangdu after twenty years away, one with Hong Kong residency, the other an American citizen. Outsiders didn’t know these details and assumed both were American citizens since Xu Zhongyi had originally taken his wife and children to America. Because of this, Grandmother Yu and her husband had suffered considerable persecution during the Cultural Revolution, repeatedly forced to explain their overseas connections.
That was before the Reform and Opening Up! Now it was 1986, and having overseas connections was no longer problematic – quite the opposite, it was highly regarded. Never mind those who hadn’t done so well abroad; the Xu father and son had returned with several cars and quite a following, clearly very successful.
Such success meant they were overseas Chinese! No, wait – they’d changed to American citizenship, so they weren’t overseas Chinese but rather foreign nationals of Chinese descent, even qualifying as “foreign investors”!
Stories of foreign-born Chinese returning to invest in China frequently appeared in newspapers.
Somehow the news spread, and district leaders came to visit, pushing aside the street committee officials.
Later, even Shao Limin, Uncle Shao Guangrong’s elder brother, called Zhou Cheng over to inquire about Xu’s father and son’s situation.
Shao Limin has been working in Shangdu for the past few years. Previously, when Zhou Cheng had dealt with Fan Zhenchuan, Shao Limin had helped.
Since Zhou Cheng was called over, Xia Xiaolan accompanied him – the couple wanted to spend every moment together.
“Uncle Shao.”
Xia Xiaolan was sweet-tongued and beautiful; Shao Limin certainly couldn’t dislike her. Previously, when she was just Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend with an uncertain future and merely a private clothing merchant, Shao Limin had little in common with her to discuss.
Now things were different. She was the future daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, and Tang Hong’en’s stepdaughter. The individual merchant had become Director Xia, and Shao Limin certainly paid more attention to her now.
“Xiaolan, I heard from Guangrong that you’re studying in America. Are you back for a family visit?”
Shao Limin chatted casually with Xia Xiaolan for a while, expressing gratitude in his conversation. People say you become more like your good friends, and Shao Guangrong had indeed become more mature – from riding motorcycles to pursuing further education… though it was at Huaqing’s continuing education college, how could this change not be attributed to Xia Xiaolan’s influence?
Shao Guangrong was the apple of the Shao family’s eye, and Shao Limin deeply cared for his nephew.
Xia Xiaolan certainly wouldn’t take credit for this.
After their mutual compliments, Shao Limin got to the real matter: “Since you’re close with Guangrong, I won’t treat you as outsiders. Let me be direct – what’s the background of these returning Xu father and son, and do they have any investment plans in Shangdu?”
The “investment” Shao Limin was asking about certainly wasn’t just a matter of one or two hundred thousand US dollars.
While Shangdu couldn’t compare to Shenzhen, as a transportation hub in the Central Plains region, its overall economic atmosphere wasn’t too bad. In the 1980s, thanks to the textile industry and railway transportation, Shangdu residents were relatively wealthy – otherwise, how could Xia Xiaolan’s previous clothing store have sold clothes for several dozen yuan each to so many customers?
Without these high-wage workers, no matter how beautiful the clothes were, they wouldn’t sell.
Zhou Cheng had discussed this with Xia Xiaolan beforehand, agreeing not to make decisions for the Xu father and son. Whether they wanted to invest in their hometown was their choice, so Zhou Cheng simply shared their current plans:
“I only know they want to build a private museum now. As for other specific investment plans, it’s hard to say – both father and son are in trade.”
A museum? Traders? How did these things connect?
Shao Limin was somewhat disappointed. He wanted foreign exchange and manufacturing investments that could create job opportunities, not a museum. A museum couldn’t create many jobs – it would be more of a “cultural achievement”… not very substantial, and Shao Limin preferred to accomplish concrete things.
What could Xia Xiaolan say? Her Zhou Cheng’s summary was entirely accurate. Xu Zhongyi was a major antique dealer – indeed “in trade” – and Zhang Jiandong’s companies in Los Angeles were also import-export businesses.
While Shao Limin was disappointed, Xia Xiaolan remembered she owed him a favor:
“Uncle Shao, I believe if there were win-win investment opportunities, the Xu father and son wouldn’t refuse. However, if it’s simply a matter of asking them to invest money, that might be difficult.”
What did she mean by simply investing money?
Pushing troubled factories onto investors for rehabilitation.
Xu Zhongyi might kneel before Grandmother Yu and get beaten until his head bled, but in other situations, he probably wouldn’t be so accommodating.
The same went for Xu Changle.
Being good to his sister didn’t make him a pushover – after all, Xu Changle was raised by Zhang Jiandong.