Yuan Han lingered at the Zhou residence for over an hour but didn’t see Zhou Wenbing return.

When he tried to hold Zhou Ke, she didn’t recognize him and started crying immediately.

Yuan Han felt extremely awkward.

Jiang Hong didn’t invite him to stay for dinner. After leaving the compound, Yuan Han vented his anger on an innocent tree by the road. The unfortunate tree, struck by this misfortune from above, received several fierce kicks:

“They have connections but won’t use them to help me, won’t support me – are they taking their connections to their graves?”

He hadn’t lied.

He was indeed related to Mayor Tang.

If only Zhou Wenbing would give him a chance, he could climb so quickly in Peng City!

Just take He Shiyuan’s request for help.

Getting a plot of land approved – how easy would that be if Mayor Tang gave the word?

Even before completing the task, He Shiyuan had given him 50,000 Hong Kong dollars. If he succeeded, taking 500,000 Hong Kong dollars as his cut would be considered modest!

Yuan Han’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

Would Mayor Tang… come to Beijing for New Year’s?

After all, Xia Xiaolan and her mother lived in Beijing.

He remembered Zhou Yi mentioning that Xia Xiaolan lived in the Shichahai area, and Yuan Han’s mind started working.

He normally wouldn’t dare go to the Peng City government office to brazenly meet Tang Hongen. While he had spread rumors about being related to Mayor Tang, nobody would verify with the mayor. If Yuan Han went himself and was denied entry, his lie would be exposed.

But now was different – during New Year’s, people were more forgiving. If he visited under the pretense of paying New Year respects as a relative, surely Mayor Tang wouldn’t turn him away!

Yuan Han was determined to earn He Shiyuan’s “gratitude money.”

A man couldn’t go a day without power.

But money was also a good thing.

On New Year’s Eve morning, Tang Hongen woke up feeling his nose itchy and his throat slightly uncomfortable.

“Could you be catching a cold?”

Liu Fen looked at him worriedly.

Peng City’s winters were warmer, while Beijing’s were cold. Tang Hongen hadn’t rested after getting off the plane and might have caught a cold from the wind.

“I’m fine…”

His voice was noticeably nasal.

Liu Fen thought taking medicine during New Year’s wasn’t ideal, so following Grandmother Yu’s advice, she made Tang Hongen a soup with ginger strips, radish, and scallion whites.

Xia Xiaolan got up a bit later, finding Old Tang obediently sitting at the table, drinking the love-filled cold-fighting soup.

Seeing her approach, Tang Hongen lifted his bowl:

“Want your mother to ladle you a bowl too?”

The smell was quite strong; Xia Xiaolan had already caught its potent aroma.

“Sure, to prevent catching a cold!”

Both sat drinking soup from large bowls. Tang Hongen wiped his mouth:

“You’re going to Sheng Xuan’s wedding today. Most of the Song family should attend since they’re related to Sheng Xuan – they have to show some face. But for others, Song Zhicheng’s wife wouldn’t dare invite too many people. If she made too big a fuss, Elder Song wouldn’t be pleased… If anyone says anything to you there, just ignore them completely. You’re the groom’s guest – disrespecting you means disrespecting the groom’s side.”

Would the Song family bully her?

Probably not.

Hadn’t she already earned their respect during the last visit to Xiangshan Villa?

After meeting Elder Song in the study, the Song family’s attitude changed.

After meeting Song Minglan and her father in America, Xia Xiaolan felt there wasn’t much to worry about.

“They won’t give me trouble out of respect for you. I’m not worried – if anyone tries to bully me, it would make the Song family look bad!”

That’s the advantage of being young.

Being young and shameless made one invincible anywhere.

Without Tang Hongen present, if the Song family “bullied” her, it would all be their fault, haha!

Tang Hongen couldn’t help but smile at her words: “You!”

She was truly uninhibited.

But that was good – people who could take things lightly lived more easily.

“Uncle Tang, don’t worry. There will be so many guests, and Second Madam Song can’t invite many people. I bet the groom’s side invited quite a few – they’re just networking. I’m going to watch the show!”

She just didn’t want to tell Tang Hongen that she wanted to see if Sheng Xuan and Ji Ya would fight…

Around noon, a car honked outside – that’s the advantage of living nearby.

It was Xu Changle.

“Uncle Xu isn’t going?”

“My father sent me as his representative.”

Ha, that made sense – it was normal for the son to go as a representative. Zhu Suizhou had invited both father and son, but Xu Zhongyi wasn’t the type who enjoyed social gatherings.

Xia Xiaolan got into Xu Changle’s car.

Meanwhile, before Sheng Xuan’s wedding even started, the Ji family had their drama.

Ji Ya’s older brother Ji Lin had learned about the 10 million yuan loan situation.

Ji Ya had initially sought help from her family for the loan, but Ji Lin’s wife firmly opposed it. She had threatened to divorce Ji Lin if he agreed behind her back, regardless of how it might affect his career prospects – she simply couldn’t take it anymore, having a premonition that her dramatic sister-in-law would drag down the whole family!

No, not dramatic.

Ji Ya truly had mental issues – doctors had diagnosed her with paranoia. She had been taking medication on and off even after marrying George, and though she hadn’t had episodes recently, that didn’t mean she was cured forever!

Ji Lin didn’t want his own family to fall apart either.

Under pressure from his wife, he had declined Ji Ya’s request – even as her older brother, constantly cleaning up after Ji Ya was exhausting.

Ji Ya had also approached Zhen Wenxiu.

Focused solely on her husband Ning Haodong’s career prospects, Zhen Wenxiu didn’t dare take on such matters and directly refused Ji Ya.

Ji Ya had been forced to seek help from Sheng Xuan.

Actually, both Ji Lin and Zhen Wenxiu had the same thought – if Ji Ya really wanted to expand her business, shouldn’t she first ask George?

After all, George had shown himself to be quite wealthy.

Ji Lin didn’t understand why Ji Ya hadn’t asked George for money.

He only knew that Ji Ya had eventually secured the loan and developed her business to a considerable scale, with dozens of stores nationwide. She had stopped obsessing about causing trouble for Tang Hongen, making Ji Lin think his sister had become normal.

But when Ji Ya returned to Beijing asking Ji Lin for help this time, he realized she hadn’t changed at all – same old recipe, same old taste!

“Where am I supposed to get that much money? You say the clothing business is profitable – you’ve expanded so much, where are the profits?”

In one year, she had invested over ten million – surely there should be some returns?

Hadn’t Xia Xiaolan’s family made their fortune through clothing stores? Even as an outsider, Ji Lin wasn’t stupid.

If others could make money, there was no reason Ji Ya couldn’t.

With an investment of over ten million, earning a few million and negotiating installment payments with the bank would help weather this crisis.

Ji Ya’s throat itched for a cigarette:

“Of course I made money, several hundred thousand this year, but it’s far from enough.”

Earning several hundred thousand in a year wasn’t bad.

But it wasn’t as much as expected.

Ji Ya couldn’t understand why. She controlled the retail endpoints, which should have meant higher profits, but after calculating the accounts, she had only made several hundred thousand!