Xia Ziyun’s palms were sweating.
She had an intuition that Du Zhaohui would only give her one chance. If she said the wrong thing, no matter how eloquent she was, Du Zhaohui wouldn’t pay attention to her again – no amount of future ‘predictions’ would work!
Du Zhaohui stopped his steps and turned around!
Xia Ziyun didn’t dare relax:
“Manager Du, I’m right, aren’t I? You don’t want the family assets divided equally – you want the entire Du family.”
Du Zhaohui wasn’t just some playboy. Those in similar situations would only think about getting more family assets, but Du Zhaohui was more ruthless – he wanted everything… Xia Ziyun did not doubt that even if Du Chengrong distributed assets to his concubines and other children in the future, once Du Zhaohui gained control, he would take it all back.
Xia Ziyun couldn’t help but feel tense. Du Zhaohui wasn’t just unyielding; he seemed vindictive too.
Du Zhaohui thought she had an intelligence organization behind her to make ‘predictions.’ Xia Ziyun knew there was no such thing.
Du Zhaohui raised his eyebrows at her, “Miss Xia, some things shouldn’t be spoken of outside this room, understand? Tell me instead how you can help.”
How does one fight for family inheritance?
Internally, he needed Du Chengrong’s favor, competing with three stepmothers and numerous half-siblings.
Externally, he needed to demonstrate his abilities, convince others to follow him and make Du Chengrong believe that entrusting the family business to Du Zhaohui was the right choice.
Was that why Du Zhaohui chose to invest in Pengcheng?
“Manager Du, why don’t we sit down and discuss your family situation? I only know your father has three concubines. As for which child he favors besides you, you’ll have to tell me… Trust me, I can offer some advice from a woman’s perspective.”
Xia Ziyun was gambling.
Du Zhaohui’s mother had passed away, and he changed girlfriends as often as clothes. She was betting he had no trustworthy female confidante. After their repeated probing, since she had hit upon his true intentions, at least in this room, she could share her views.
Advice from a woman’s perspective?
Du Zhaohui showed some interest, “That would be my second brother Du Zhaoqi, still studying business in England – the most scholarly person in the Du family.”
Du Chengrong wasn’t someone who valued academic credentials.
Did the Du family need credentials?
Many highly educated people worked for Cheng Rong Group – Du Chengrong wanted someone who could manage the company well. Second son Du Zhaoqi had accompanied the old man to the Spring Banquet this year, and the second family had grown ambitious. After the Chinese New Year, Du Zhaoqi didn’t return to England but instead took a position at the company, saying he wanted to start from the bottom… This was far more threatening than Liu Tianquan. Kicking Liu Tianquan to manage smuggling operations meant he was practically dead in Du Zhaohui’s eyes.
Du Zhaohui wasn’t worried about Liu Tianquan’s abilities – no matter how confused the old man became, he wouldn’t hand the Du family over to someone outside the family.
The second brother was different. While Du Zhaohui found him completely disagreeable, to the old man, different mothers didn’t matter – they were all his blood.
“The most favored concubine is Fourth Madam, the most threatening is your second brother-“
How to untie this knot?
Xia Ziyun seemed to have seen similar plots somewhere, was it in a Hong Kong drama about wealthy families or a palace intrigue series?
“Manager Du, from a woman’s perspective, let me make a suggestion. Your second brother is old enough to work – shouldn’t he find a girlfriend? Fourth Madam is riding high – someone should take her down a notch. If you want to manage the entire Du family, you need to show more care for family members.”
Find women for Du Zhaoqi and the old man?
What kind of suggestion was this?
He didn’t know about his second brother, but the old man never lacked women.
“Miss Xia, I don’t think much of this suggestion.”
Xia Ziyun seemed confident, “Manager Du if the Second Young Master and Chairman Du’s new girlfriend turn out to be the same person, the Du family would likely fall into chaos. The more chaotic the Du family becomes, the more opportunities you’ll have. Surely this suggestion is worth more than ten thousand?”
Du Zhaohui was slightly stunned.
He indeed hadn’t thought of this angle.
No female confidante had ever given him such advice – even the most scheming women tried to appear kind before him.
Xia Ziyun was more bearable now that she’d dropped her pretense – this woman was truly venomous!
He wasn’t afraid of venomous people, as long as they remained under control, but investing in Xia Ziyun’s nonsensical ‘business plans’ was impossible.
Xia Ziyun had merely offered a suggestion – the actual execution would still fall to Du Zhaohui. He took out his checkbook and wrote an amount matching the value, handing it to Xia Ziyun:
“Miss Xia, I look forward to other more practical help, such as Cheng Rong Group’s future mainland investments… Useful suggestions will be rewarded more generously.”
Xia Ziyun pressed her lips together – she wouldn’t easily tell Du Zhaohui about truly profitable opportunities, saving those for herself to earn money later.
Though she lacked capital now, it didn’t mean she would never have money to operate with.
This time, not only was the check amount different from Du Zhaohui’s previous payment, but his attitude toward her had also changed. Xia Ziyun was full of motivation and confidence!
…
Beijing.
Learning that the English competition finals would finally be broadcast, Liu Fen postponed her trip to Yangcheng. With two episodes airing weekly on Saturday and Sunday nights, Liu Fen was grateful they had bought a color TV early.
Saturday morning, Xia Xiaolan visited the Ning family.
She didn’t see Ning Yanfan, but instead met Ning Xue’s mother.
Ning Yanfan usually lived alone with Ning Xue, with a housekeeper taking care of daily chores. His children visited the old man occasionally, but Ning Yanfan found them too noisy and asked them to visit less frequently.
Only Ning Xue’s mother, because her daughter lived there, came by every few days. For Ning Xue’s sake, Ning Yanfan turned a blind eye.
While Ning Xue was aloof, her mother was extremely friendly – a round-faced middle-aged woman with a completely different temperament from Ning Xue:
“You’re classmate Xia Xiaolan? I know about you.”
“Hello, Auntie, I-“
Ning Xue’s mother instantly withdrew her smile, looking Xia Xiaolan up and down, “Wouldn’t it be better for a girl to be more gentle? Don’t be so calculating in everything you do – it would save you a lot of trouble.”
What was wrong with her?
Xia Xiaolan was stunned.
She remembered that when Blue Phoenix opened, hadn’t Ning Xue brought her mother to the Xiushui store? Suddenly talking about girls needing to be gentle – Xia Xiaolan’s mind turned, and she thought of Ji Ya.
“Auntie, are you speaking up for Madam Ji?”
The Ji and Ning families were old friends, so it wasn’t strange that Ji Ya knew Ning Xue’s mother.
However, for Ning Xue’s mother to speak up so directly, their friendship must be quite close. Ji Ya’s grievances, though supposedly about conflicts with Xia Xiaolan, ultimately stemmed from Ji Jiangyuan and Tang Hongen’s conflict.
Ning Xue’s mother smiled with twisted lips:
“Xia Xiaolan, I’ve seen many girls like you. You stay close to Ning Xue – do you think I don’t know why? In this world, it’s not just couples who need to be well-matched – the same applies to friendships.”