Xia Hongxia brought Xia Junbao to Peng City.

Xia Ziyu didn’t say she would go to Peng City immediately to meet them, instead instructing Xia Hongxia’s family to take care of them for now:

“Send them some living expenses.”

Xia Xiaolan was right – now casually giving ten or twenty thousand wasn’t a burden for Xia Ziyu. With the mainland’s lower cost of living, the same money that would only hire a Filipino maid in HK could last much longer in the mainland. The wage and price differences between the two regions were already showing concerning trends. HK businessmen, white-collar workers, and container truck drivers had started keeping mistresses in the mainland, gradually forming so-called “mistress villages” in some parts of Peng City — while white-collar workers and truck drivers weren’t considered wealthy in HK, their earnings were enough to keep mistresses when spent on the mainland!

Xia Ziyu had complex feelings about her brother Xia Junbao.

In her previous life, Xia Junbao had it better than her. Being the male heir of the Xia family, he was naturally favored, and whenever he made mistakes, Xia Changzheng and Zhang Cui would do their best to cover for him… There was a time when Xia Ziyu intensely resented Xia Junbao – whenever they were compared, she never received preferential treatment.

But she needed help.

In the Du family and HK, she was alone. She needed assistance.

After much consideration, Xia Junbao was at least her full-blooded brother. If she was going to spend money developing someone, why not try developing Xia Junbao?

But the current Xia Junbao would only embarrass her in HK, so it was better to keep him in Peng City for now, at least until he lost his rural mannerisms.

Xia Ziyu’s mind was still on Elegance.

Elegance was indeed bought for someone else. Xia Ziyu knew that one of Du Chenrong’s friends wanted to do business on the mainland. This friend, Madam Yu, had taken over her family business after her husband’s death and had managed to keep it afloat all these years, earning even Du Chenrong’s admiration.

At the spring banquet, Madam Yu had been very friendly with Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Ziyu knew that Madam Yu and Du Chenrong met privately from time to time. They weren’t likely lovers – Madam Yu wasn’t Du Chenrong’s type, but she was at least a close confidante. Madam Yu had some influence over Du Chenrong… Not seeking a romantic relationship made sense, as Du Chenrong rarely found women truly worthy of his attention!

Xia Ziyu wanted to integrate more deeply into Du Chenrong’s circle. She needed to be like a vine, gradually entangling Du Chenrong until they became inseparable. She couldn’t just be a songbird in a gilded cage. Du Chenrong could replace a songbird anytime, but he wouldn’t replace a woman who could help manage his business.

She chose Madam Yu as her entry point precisely because Du Chenrong admired her.

Madam Yu’s family had made their fortune in textiles.

In the mid-1940s, amid political turmoil, a group of people with wealth and industry experience migrated south to Hong Kong, marking the beginning of HK’s textile industry.

From small family factories to large manufacturers, from textiles to garments, Madam Yu’s family business was a microcosm of the era. Now that some HK businesspeople were looking to expand into the mainland, Madam Yu naturally considered this option too.

She had discussed it with Du Chenrong, who had always been optimistic about the mainland market, which strengthened Madam Yu’s resolve.

Unexpectedly, this information somehow reached Xia Ziyu, who then actively approached Madam Yu and recommended Elegance to her.

While Madam Yu was still hesitant, Xia Ziyu assured her she could handle everything.

Elegance was doing quite well, as Madam Yu’s investigation revealed.

The investigation also uncovered the competition between Elegance and Luna, and that Luna’s owner was Xia Xiaolan… Madam Yu had quite a good impression of Xia Xiaolan, so what should she do now? Luna wanted to buy Elegance, and she was interested too. If they competed, wouldn’t it strain their relationship?

But she couldn’t abandon her business plans just because of this. Good impressions were one thing, but actual business was another.

Besides, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t Du Chenrong’s daughter-in-law.

If she had been Du Chenrong’s daughter-in-law, given Madam Yu’s friendship with Du Chenrong, competing wouldn’t have been appropriate.

However, Madam Yu was thorough in her dealings and still left room for maneuver. With Xia Ziyu volunteering to help, Madam Yu didn’t need to appear personally.

With Madam Yu’s tacit approval, Xia Ziyu was confident and determined to acquire Elegance at any cost.

The price turned out a bit high – competing with Chen Xiliang, they finally won all of Elegance’s assets for 10.5 million Yuan, much to the bank’s delight – they hadn’t expected it to exceed 10 million. When reporting to Madam Yu, Xia Ziyu didn’t want to appear incompetent, so she claimed it cost only 8 million Yuan.

Madam Yu was surprised:

“Vivi, you’re so capable. No wonder Mr. Du cherishes you. You’ve worked so hard, coming out to do business so soon. You should rest more.”

It hadn’t been long since her miscarriage, yet here she was running CR Investment. Though a successful businesswoman herself, Madam Yu thought Xia Ziyu was being foolish.

Of course, being a woman who successfully maintained her family business meant she was very shrewd, and she wouldn’t let Xia Ziyu see her thoughts.

Xia Ziyu had personally covered 2.5 million Yuan to curry favor with Madam Yu, who naturally expressed her gratitude.

Xia Ziyu thought she’d done well, cultivating a relationship with Madam Yu through shopping and afternoon tea, trying hard to get closer to Madam Yu’s circle. Madam Yu patiently entertained her, and after finally seeing her off, promptly had the 2.5 million transferred to Du Chenrong.

Paying 10.5 million for Elegance only showed that Xia Ziyu didn’t know how to use people effectively, erroneously driving up Elegance’s market price through competitive bidding.

If Xia Ziyu had been honest, Madam Yu would have merely thought her incompetent.

The price difference didn’t matter much to Madam Yu.

But Xia Ziyu only claimed 8 million… If she had only paid 8 million, how could Madam Yu face her friends when the truth came out?

Xia Ziyu’s attempts to curry favor were too obvious.

She didn’t understand that without Du Chenrong’s influence, why would Madam Yu force herself to associate with a concubine, especially one who wasn’t particularly bright?

When the money entered Du Chenrong’s account, he understood the situation and personally invited Madam Yu to dinner:

“Vivi is still too young, eager for others’ approval and rushing things. While others buy low and sell high in business, she buys high and sells low, willing to lose money just to gain your approval. It would be meaningless to return this money now – it would hurt our friendship. Let her bear this loss herself, and I’ll pretend not to know.”

Du Chenrong placed a check on the table, now for 2.6 million instead of 2.5 million.

The number 2.5 sounded like an insult.

Madam Yu didn’t take the check but couldn’t help saying:

“Mr. Du, I shouldn’t interfere as an outsider, but it’s not surprising that you have several women. Men typically tire of the old and fancy the new – even the most beautiful face becomes mundane after twenty years, and one can’t help wanting a change. It’s normal for you to buy her fine clothes and jewelry, but why let her do business? She’s willing to take losses just to please me, but I’m not flattered – I think she’s embarrassing you.”

This time could be better spent nurturing Zhaohui. Wasting it on a concubine – Madam Yu really couldn’t understand!

Du Chenrong just smiled without speaking.

While Xia Ziyu thought Madam Yu was Du Chenrong’s confidante, Madam Yu couldn’t fathom Du Chenrong’s thoughts.