When Zhu Sui Zhou went around toasting at each table, he said to Xia Xiao Lan:
“CEO Xia, I apologize for any shortcomings in hospitality. After the main banquet ends, please give me a chance to make it up to you.”
“Boss Zhu, congratulations on your marriage, and Happy New Year! You’re the host today, you must have many guests to attend to. I won’t take up your time—can we discuss any matters after the New Year?”
Zhu Sui Zhou laughed heartily, “I didn’t consider that today is New Year’s Eve, CEO Xia needs to reunite with family. Then let’s discuss details after the New Year—I’ll personally visit you!”
Discuss what?
About Sheng Xuan’s matter?
How could that be traced back to her?
They could go after Ji Ya, or use the Song family’s influence to force a transfer.
Xia Xiao Lan smiled in agreement, and Zhu Sui Zhou quickly moved with Sheng Xuan to the next table.
Halfway through the wedding feast, Xia Xiao Lan asked Xu Chang Le: “Are you bored?”
“It’s fine. In America, many social obligations can’t be avoided. Compared to those, at least the food here is delicious.”
Xu Chang Le was quite open-minded about it.
Indeed, today’s dishes were excellent—the Beijing Hotel’s chefs from the 80s had incredible skills!
After Xia Xiao Lan finished speaking, she noticed Ji Ya wasn’t in her seat.
She didn’t think much of it, but when she went to the restroom a while later, Song Ming Lan followed like a shadow. Xia Xiao Lan couldn’t do anything about her. Only schoolgirls would link arms to go to the bathroom together—how childish.
Before they even reached it, Xia Xiao Lan heard Ji Ya’s voice:
“…it just doesn’t quite follow proper procedures. Anyway, once I repay the Pengcheng branch’s money, whichever bank I owe money to afterward won’t concern you, right? You want to transfer, I need time to arrange funds—this benefits both of us.”
“Me being your guarantor—how could there be no risk? Others do business, you do business too, but with over ten million invested, you only make a few hundred thousand a year! I even suspect you’re deliberately trying to swindle me, planning to default on this money. If you can’t repay the loan, you can use Elegance as debt payment.”
If the loan couldn’t be repaid, the bank would seize the collateral.
This procedure was completely normal.
One should be prepared for this when borrowing money.
Ji Ya couldn’t accept it—Elegance was her life’s work, her weapon to compete with Xia Xiao Lan.
Building a clothing brand couldn’t be achieved overnight; it needed time to mature. Ji Ya refused to accept defeat. Last year she only made a few hundred thousand, but this year she wouldn’t need to invest in stores. People were willing to join as franchisees like Luna—how could she not make money?
She heard Luna’s franchise fee was 80,000.
If she lowered Elegance’s franchise fee to 60,000, 50,000, or even 40,000… taking on dozens of franchisees at once could bring in two to three million. If she just had another year, she would recover!
“No, Elegance can’t be used to—”
“Then repay the money. I can’t have this bad debt on my books. Ji Ya, I’ll give you another half month, with the Lantern Festival as the final deadline. If you can’t gather this money by then, don’t blame me for handling this officially.”
Handling it officially meant having the bank take over Elegance.
The sound of running water came from the sink. Sheng Xuan didn’t want to continue talking with Ji Ya and began washing her hands while fixing her makeup in the mirror.
Today was her wedding day.
So many guests were waiting outside—why should she get entangled with Ji Ya?
Ji Ya had turned her wedding into a joke, and now wanted to affect Sheng Xuan’s too.
“Sheng Xuan, you can treat me this way, but doing this is also letting Xia Xiao Lan laugh at us!”
“Isn’t it just about transferring jobs? Which loan officer doesn’t have bad debts? Why is it only you who can’t leave? Isn’t this Xia Xiao Lan causing trouble?”
“Sheng Xuan, you need to think this through…”
Xia Xiao Lan hadn’t moved, turning to look at Song Ming Lan with a half-smile.
Song Ming Lan was nearly driven mad with anger.
She knew there would be complications today, but while she had kept a close watch on Xia Xiao Lan, she hadn’t watched Ji Ya.
Song Ming Lan pushed Xia Xiao Lan aside and hurried forward:
“Aunt!”
Song Ming Lan smiled brightly, “Mother’s looking everywhere for you, says there are two guests she wants to introduce. So you were here.”
Sheng Xuan nodded, “I came to touch up my makeup. Let’s go, your uncle-in-law is probably getting impatient.”
Only then did Xia Xiao Lan slowly walk over.
Ji Ya was wearing dark red lipstick today, making her skin look especially pale.
Now her face was ashen, looking as frightening as a ghost.
Xia Xiao Lan ignored her, and she ignored Xia Xiao Lan.
When Xia Xiao Lan returned to her seat from the restroom, Ji Ya and George were gone.
“Did they leave?”
Xu Chang Le nodded, “They almost got into an argument. George didn’t look happy either.”
Poor George—most likely Ji Ya had failed to achieve her goal and was taking it out on him.
Two things surprised Xia Xiao Lan the most: one was that Elegance only made a few hundred thousand this year, and the other was that George truly hadn’t given Ji Ya any more money.
Once the People’s Bank’s exclusive ATM awakened, it seemed to have quite strong principles.
Luna’s clothing sales last year had a net profit of 3.84 million.
Elegance only had a few hundred thousand… even less than Xia Xiao Lan had estimated. Who knew how Ji Ya was managing Elegance—some people might have capital and ideas but just weren’t cut out for business.
“Let’s go too, we’re done eating. Time to go home for New Year!”
Go home for New Year?
This phrase made Xu Chang Le very happy.
Since being taken to America at age five, leaving China, this was his first time being able to “go home for New Year.”
As they walked out, Xu Chang Le reminisced with Xia Xiao Lan, “My grandmother was skilled at making fillings, her buns were especially delicious. Other families eat dumplings on New Year’s Eve, but our family made buns.”
Grandmother Yu’s buns were indeed delicious.
Xia Xiao Lan had tasted many good foods, and after being reborn in the 80s, she had tried many chefs’ hardcore culinary skills, like today’s wedding feast which was quite good, but speaking of the best buns, so far Grandmother Yu’s skills ranked first.
Whoever could learn Grandmother Yu’s skills could make a small fortune opening a bun shop.
Liu Fen had been learning for so long but had only mastered a fraction of it—the taste was still different from Grandmother Yu’s personally made ones.
The two chatted about buns as they left Beijing Hotel.
Zhu Sui Zhou and Sheng Xuan were seeing guests off at the entrance. Watching Xia Xiao Lan and Xu Chang Le leave, he comforted Sheng Xuan:
“I know you’re proud and don’t want to trouble the Song family with work matters. I think you’re right—favors become thinner the more you use them, good steel should be used on the blade’s edge. After the New Year, I’ll personally go talk to Xia Xiao Lan. Worst case, we’ll give her some more benefits, resolve the conflict between you two, and get her to stop fixating on you. Don’t worry, I’ll help you transfer to Shangdu as you wish.”
Sheng Xuan thought of Ji Ya’s proposal, feeling irritated, which affected her wedding joy.
“I hope it can be resolved!”
Even when she acted as guarantor, it was to help connect Zhu Sui Zhou.
She had secured a 20 million loan for Zhu Sui Zhou.
But being a guarantor at another bank for Ji Ya?
She didn’t like women at all!
Ji Ya was also Tang Hong En’s ex-wife—Sheng Xuan had no goodwill toward her. If she hadn’t acted impulsively back then, she wouldn’t have helped Ji Ya get the loan… If she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have gotten involved in all these complicated matters, causing today’s troubles.