Who would beat whose brains out?

Most likely it would be Grandmother Yu beating out Mrs. Wilson’s brains.

After confirming Tina was a Xu family child, the old lady’s attitude shifted from passive to active, taking the initiative to pack her bags to accompany Xia Xiaolan to Pengcheng.

The old lady always kept her word. Since Xu Changle had fulfilled his promise to bring Tina in for DNA testing to confirm their relationship, Grandmother Yu would also fulfill what she had said.

If the mountain won’t come to her, she’ll go to the mountain!

A girl not even 20 years old, previously spoiled by Cui Yiru and Zhang Jiadong, though willful in temperament, wasn’t particularly cunning.

Such a girl could be easily molded by the old lady’s hands.

She told Xia Xiaolan:

“Your cleverness is rare, most young girls aren’t particularly smart.”

It was related to both family education and experience.

Being good at studies didn’t necessarily mean being smart.

The intelligence included both IQ and EQ.

Besides, Tina wasn’t particularly studious either.

American prestigious schools could be entered through recommendations. Grandmother Yu didn’t have high hopes for her granddaughter’s intelligence.

Well, Liu Fen was originally planning to return to Beijing, but with Grandmother Yu going to Pengcheng, Liu Fen stayed behind—of all the Xu family’s drama, this was probably Old Tang’s happiest moment.

Having his wife’s company every day wasn’t bad, the bed was always warm at night.

Old Tang even invited Grandmother Yu to stay at their house, but she declined, “Your house is too small, unlike the courtyard house. The courtyard is spacious, so we can avoid disturbing each other and maintain our living habits. This place isn’t very convenient.”

How observant this old lady was.

The courtyard house allowed for privacy, but in this suite, they’d be constantly running into each other, causing much disruption.

She wasn’t Liu Fen’s mother, so staying would only affect the couple’s relationship.

Xia Xiaolan was almost petrified, whispering:

“I feel like you’re making indirect criticisms?”

“You’re not wrong. You’re almost 22 years old, if you weren’t still studying, you should have moved out and become independent! When people grow up, they need to maintain some distance from their parents. You can’t live with your mother forever, can you?”

The old lady was too sharp-tongued, wasn’t she implying Xia Xiaolan was a mama’s girl?

Yes, she should have lived independently already. In her previous life, she was a very independent person. In this life, she was reluctant to separate from Liu Fen.

Having mother-daughter affection across two lifetimes, couldn’t she be a bit clingy?

Xia Xiaolan straightened her chest, “Well, you’re wrong there. I’ve already arranged for a house in Pengcheng. Once it’s livable, I won’t be mooching off my mom anymore.”

Grandmother Yu ignored her.

Following Grandmother Yu’s request, Xia Xiaolan booked her a suite at the Nanhai Hotel.

Not for one night, but for long-term residence.

After all, Xu Zhongyi didn’t lack money. If the mother didn’t spend it, who would?

Those parents who ate poor food and saved money for their children were just being unnecessarily hard on themselves. Having the means but unwilling to enjoy, insisting on eating leftovers and wearing worn clothes—was this saving for their children?

Getting sick and spending much more money on medical treatment than the small amount saved.

Sun Chungsheng, the heir to “Sun’s Scissors,” was now Luna’s chief tailor. Luna’s clothes were all patterned under Sun Chungsheng’s leadership. His personally made clothes had even won over Wang Mingming, convincing her to shoot advertisements for Luna—Wang Mingming’s eventual contract breach was due to Ji Ya poaching her with money, unrelated to Tailor Sun.

He was initially recruited for Liu Fen’s sake, as Grandmother Yu wanted to have several decent outfits made for Liu Fen to attend Ji Ya’s wedding.

Sun Chungsheng indeed didn’t disappoint, with his gleaming scissors showing extraordinary skill.

Later, he was secured by Chen Xiliang.

Though Luna produced ready-to-wear clothes on assembly lines, they still needed skilled craftsmen. Poor patterns wouldn’t lead to good mass production, would they?

With such talent in Chen Xiliang’s hands, there was no reason to let him go.

Sun Chungsheng didn’t want to leave either.

Working at Luna made him feel needed, and the treatment was generous, directly raising his income by several levels.

Other clothing factories knew about him and tried to poach him.

Sun Chungsheng said Chairman Chen and Chairman Xia had given him his opportunity, rejecting all invitations—well, Xia Xiaolan thought one reason was that other factories weren’t willing to pay more than Luna.

As soon as Grandmother Yu arrived in Pengcheng, she called for Sun Chungsheng to make clothes for her.

Sun Chungsheng came with excitement.

Making clothes for someone who appreciated craftsmanship was a craftsman’s glory.

His grandfather had made clothes for Grandmother Yu in the past, now it was his turn. He couldn’t let Grandmother Yu think the Sun family’s skills had been lost!

Sun Chungsheng brought many fabric samples, introducing them one by one to Grandmother Yu, his attitude as if facing a major client who could order tens of thousands of pieces at once.

After choosing for a long time, Grandmother Yu said, “Today’s fabrics are different from before. Industrial mass production has lowered costs and stabilized quality, but they’ve lost their soul…”

Sun Chungsheng nodded earnestly, “You’re right. What a shame for you. I’ll keep an eye out and show you any better materials I find.”

Chen Xiliang’s hands trembled.

Old Sun should just keep taking his salary?

Taking his fabric samples and saying these fabrics had no soul?

Chen Xiliang had always known he was different, after all, he was a wholesaler with designer dreams.

But he hadn’t thought fabrics had souls either!

Xia Xiaolan pulled him away:

“Don’t say anything. I don’t dare provoke the old lady. I’m afraid she’ll make you want to crawl into a hole with just two sentences. Let Tailor Sun flatter the old lady, they’re both willing parties.”

Chen Xiliang took several deep breaths.

“Right, I won’t get angry. I’m a magnanimous boss.”

Huh, how could his chosen fabrics have no soul?

Luna’s clothes were all made from these fabrics, and they sold so well!

There were many silk, crepe, and cashmere materials… these fabrics were too expensive, and Luna couldn’t use them, but Sun Chungsheng had brought samples anyway, yet they still weren’t good enough.

A picky old lady and an obsessed tailor, Chairman Chen wouldn’t quibble with them.

Chen Xiliang rubbed his hands and got to business:

“I’ve been in contact with the bank. Their bottom price is 5 million. They can’t sell Elegance directly as a package, it needs to be auctioned through Pengcheng’s court. How much funding should we prepare?”

For an auction, it depended on whether there were competitors.

Without competition, just one yuan above the minimum price would be enough to buy Elegance.

With competition, it was hard to say.

Some auction competitors were purely foolish, deliberately bidding to cause trouble when they knew they couldn’t buy it themselves.

Once bidding started, the situation could get out of control.

Xia Xiaolan weighed it internally, “If it’s an auction, let’s prepare 7 million in funding. If it exceeds this price, we’ll give up and focus on running Luna well, without taking over Elegance’s channels.”

7 million.

Raising this amount wasn’t particularly difficult for the two of them.

But to buy Elegance and merge it into Luna… Chen Xiliang chuckled:

“Luna is a model taxpayer and charitable company. Getting a loan from banks in Yangcheng won’t be difficult. Why not avoid using our own money and take out a loan in Luna’s name from Yangcheng banks?”

Xia Xiaolan gave him a look. Was this the unstoppable evolution of a shrewd businessman? Old Chen had learned to use other people’s money to make money.