Wei’s mother’s first part of the conversation didn’t surprise Kang Wei at all.

How could a group of mothers get together without gossiping? Guan Hui’e had always been close to his mother, and it was natural for her to secretly tell his mother about her disapproval of Cheng’s girlfriend, even if she couldn’t broadcast it to the world.

What surprised Kang Wei was the latter part!

His mother was concerned about his personal life.

Sometimes Kang Wei wondered if his mother, Xie Yun, lived in her world. In Xie Yun’s world, time stood still, and except for “sorrow,” all other emotions had departed with Kang Wei’s father!

But this time, Kang Wei felt a warmth in his mother Xie Yun’s words.

Even though Xie Yun herself seemed uncertain, hesitating whether it was right to inquire about Kang Wei’s love life, speaking without confidence… Kang Wei was already overjoyed! Was his mother finally taking an interest in his life?

Kang Wei suppressed his excitement and said:

“I’ll bring her to meet you. If you don’t like her, I won’t pursue the relationship!”

Xie Yun didn’t take his words seriously.

She had suddenly realized that her son was already grown up, and she had missed so much. While she had been distracted, Kang Wei had grown up in the blink of an eye, not only capable of managing house renovations but also old enough to date.

Grandmother Kang observed the harmonious atmosphere between mother and son and also felt that renovating this house was the right decision!

She added fuel to the conversation:

“Zhou Cheng is dating someone, which family’s daughter is it?”

In their social circle, Zhou Cheng was that exemplary child who excelled at everything, making his peers seem incompetent in comparison!

His love life naturally drew attention, not just from the mothers’ generation but also from the grandmothers who loved to gossip.

This was the first time Grandmother Kang had heard about it, and she was also curious about who Zhou Cheng was dating, wondering what kind of girl would make Guan Hui’e so disapproving… Don’t talk about mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law being natural enemies – if Guan Hui’e were that unreasonable, how could she have been a good daughter-in-law to the Zhou family? Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend must have some flaws that Guan Hui’e couldn’t accept.

Under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, Kang Wei felt pressured. While others couldn’t say much, he had witnessed Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan’s relationship from the beginning. Besides Zhou Cheng, he knew Xia Xiaolan best!

He wanted to defend Xia Xiaolan’s reputation, but remembering his agreement with Shao Guangrong, Kang Wei smiled mysteriously:

“Heh, you’ll know in two months.”

Xie Yun and her mother-in-law exchanged glances. Kang Wei had truly grown up and had his ideas. But what was with that suppressed pride in his tone?

That was Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend they were discussing – regardless of whether she was good or bad, what was he so proud about?

…

Liu Yong had taken many photos and settled the renovation costs with Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong.

Both houses went slightly over budget. Kang Wei’s house had a budget of 31,500 yuan but ended up costing 32,000 yuan. Liu Yong wouldn’t have lost money even if he didn’t charge the extra 500 yuan, but Kang Wei insisted on paying it, saying they shouldn’t break the rules.

Shao Guangrong’s house renovation also went slightly over, costing 10,400 yuan.

Both clients could accept this and had the money on hand. After settling the final payment with Liu Yong, his two renovation projects in Beijing were complete!

He was planning to return to Shangdu with his two workers. No matter how big and exciting Beijing was, they had been away from home for over two months, and everyone was homesick. After clearing all wages and material costs, Liu Yong discovered he had made about 4,000 yuan profit from the two jobs.

It was a friend’s price – he hadn’t expected to make much profit when quoting, but this profit… was almost the same as what he made from smuggling.

Since they were friends, Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong had been prompt with both initial payments and final settlements, so Liu Yong didn’t have to advance much money. Smuggling was certainly profitable, but most of the money went to the kingpins. As a minor partner, Liu Yong’s share of the profits had been limited!

Between smuggling and renovation, the renovation was more labor-intensive. The workers had worked tirelessly for two months, and Liu Yong had done the same work alongside them, never shirking when he could help. Not only did he have to work, but he also had to worry about the overall project effect and progress. With the design drawings in hand, Liu Yong repeatedly experimented with the workers to achieve the same results.

His niece had said that renovation might not be very profitable in the first few years – the focus should be on learning the trade, accumulating experience, and capturing market share. However, Liu Yong was already quite satisfied. Unlike smuggling which carried risks, this four thousand yuan was completely clean money.

In two months, he had earned over four thousand yuan, which was less than what Li Fengmei made from the clothing store, but the nature of the income was different. The renovation business was within Liu Yong’s capabilities, even if there were some bumps along the way. Asking him to sell women’s clothing, even knowing it would be profitable, would be too much of a challenge.

Liu Yong also knew that future ‘clients’ wouldn’t be as easy to work with as Kang Wei and Shao Guangrong. At this time, not many families would spend tens of thousands on renovation. Even if he could get other renovation orders, the entire project might only have a budget of about a thousand yuan, and it wouldn’t be easy to make even 200 yuan profit from a 1,000 yuan budget… But what did that matter? Projects with smaller budgets would surely take less time, and Liu Yong figured that while the business might not be very profitable in the first few years, it would be enough to support his family!

Liu Yong returned to Shangdu with his earnings, the design drawings used in the renovations, and a stack of color photos of the completed work.

He didn’t know yet that he had become a genuine “Director Liu.” At this time, China’s Company Law hadn’t been promulgated, and there were no minimum capital requirements for private company registration. Otherwise, just the registered capital requirement would have stretched Liu Yong’s “Yuanhui Decorating” thin.

Of course, with regulations still incomplete, registering a company was very difficult, with success being uncertain. Having someone speak up at crucial moments was more valuable than anything.

In this regard, Liu Yong had benefited from Xia Xiaolan, who in turn had benefited from Zhou Cheng, which was why Secretary Hou had volunteered to help!

After Liu Yong returned to Shangdu, there was naturally a welcome celebration. Li Fengmei was concerned about his weight loss, but Liu Yong confidently handed over his earnings to his wife.

Since his injury last year, he has become an ‘idle person’ dependent on his wife. The clothing store was making lots of money while Liu Yong had no income. Although Li Fengmei never said anything, Liu Yong felt uncomfortable. Now things were better – he could finally earn money again, and it felt good to stand tall!

“Did you not eat at all during these two months in Beijing?”

Liu Yong had always been thin. While recovering from his injury, he had eaten meat every day to build up his strength and had finally gained some weight, but this trip to Beijing had stripped away all that flesh, making him look even thinner.

Li Fengmei was worried, but he didn’t care much, “I’m a grown man, of course I know how to eat! Don’t change the subject – let Xiaolan properly explain to me about the Shenzhen ‘bidding’ matter. I couldn’t make sense of it over the phone.”

“Then let me explain it to you in detail. Although I still don’t know exactly which project you’re bidding for… winning this contract will open up Shenzhen’s renovation market for you!”

Just think about how many buildings were under construction in Shenzhen!

All company and institutional buildings needed renovation – they couldn’t just be satisfied with red bricks and cement frames.

Whether her uncle could win the bid, and whether he could complete the order with quality assurance if he won, would affect whether Tang Hongen would continue to support them in the future.

As driver Wang had said, it was rare for a leader to offer help, so they couldn’t let him lose face.