“Of course, it’s settled – didn’t we already discuss this?”

George hadn’t expected his suggestion would be approved by his uncle.

This made George reconsider his view of China. His uncle had managed the family company for many years and rarely made unprofitable investments.

When Ji Ya shared her idea from lunch with Zhen Wenxiu, George hesitated:

“A renovation company in Pengcheng? Darling, do you think people there can afford renovations?”

Even diplomats like Ji Lin lived in barely decorated houses by George’s standards. From what he understood, the average monthly salary in China was very low – Chinese people could barely afford food, how could they pay for home renovations?

“I’m not talking about ordinary people. There are investors there, high-rises being built – they all need renovation.”

“I’ll consider your suggestion carefully. When I go to Pengcheng to investigate, I’ll pay attention to this.”

George’s accommodation finally brought a slight smile to Ji Ya’s face.

“If you want to do renovation work, how about directly acquiring an existing company?”

George agreed to this quite readily. He also felt creating a company from scratch would be tedious – acquisition would be more convenient.

Buying an existing small company wouldn’t cost much either.

Between 500,000 to 1 million USD was within George’s means.

…

Xia Xiaolan was always quick to act. After getting Ning Yanfan’s agreement, she contacted Liu Yong.

Liu Yong hadn’t expected Xia Xiaolan would think of such a solution:

“How much should we pay Teacher Ning?”

Xia Xiaolan thought for a moment: “Let’s ask Manager Huo from Dongfeng Holdings first. He should know how much Teacher Ning charged for the Nanhai Hotel design. We can’t compare with big companies, but we shouldn’t be too stingy either. You can discuss it with Huo Chenzhou – he should still be in Pengcheng.”

Xia Xiaolan guessed wrong about this – Huo Chenzhou wasn’t in Pengcheng at all.

Huo Chenzhou needed Yuanhui, which essentially meant he needed Tang Hongen’s support.

But whether Yuanhui would get involved depended on Xia Xiaolan’s approval!

As soon as Xia Xiaolan returned to Beijing, Huo Chenzhou followed. Dongfeng Holdings had a branch in Beijing – Huo Chenzhou’s territory.

Liu Yong naturally had to come to Beijing too.

He needed to repay Manager Wu’s loan before discussing new loans.

Liu Yong and Liu Fen took the same flight, followed by Gong Yang and Ge Jian.

Nobody knew about Xia Xiaolan and Ge Jian’s little secret. In the stuffy cabin, Liu Yong wiped his sweat:

“The car you bought is being transported by train. We finally found space for it – it’s traveling with your mother’s second batch of summer clothes. Should arrive tomorrow. Before we meet Manager Huo, let’s see Manager Wu first.”

Xia Xiaolan looked at her mother. Liu Fen waved her hand, “Go handle your business with your uncle. Don’t worry about the goods – we’ve hired several shop assistants, they can handle the work.”

Liu Fen was not a heartless capitalist.

But between letting her daughter or the shop assistants work hard, she’d choose the latter.

Xia Xiaolan followed Liu Yong to meet Manager Wu.

Liu Yong brought 200,000 yuan in cash, saying he wanted to repay the loan early. Manager Wu was quite surprised: “It hasn’t even been a year – why such a hurry?”

If only those struggling enterprises with loans had Liu Yong’s initiative.

However, companies tended to avoid repaying bank loans whenever possible. For factories that couldn’t even pay wages, expecting sudden loan repayment was almost impossible.

But Liu Yong’s repayment came too quickly.

Manager Wu felt somewhat embarrassed, wanting to tell Liu Yong that even with early repayment, the bank wouldn’t refund those government bonds.

“Manager Wu, after my uncle completes the repayment, we have new business to discuss with you.”

Manager Wu’s eyes lit up!

He loved new business and people who handled matters properly and conscientiously. New business meant selling more government bonds… How had he put it before? Getting Xia Xiaolan as a client meant endless government bond sales.

Manager Wu’s relationship with Xia Xiaolan now went beyond just government bonds.

After helping Xia Xiaolan buy a house, rent shop space, and hire shop assistants, they developed a deep revolutionary friendship. Understanding that Xia Xiaolan never spoke without purpose, Manager Wu quickly had someone process Liu Yong’s repayment.

With only Xia Xiaolan left in the office, she brought up a previously delayed question:

“Do you know about Chief Ma’s situation?”

Xia Xiaolan hadn’t sensed malice from Chief Ma – rather, he was excessively enthusiastic.

Reading between the lines, Manager Wu caught on: “What do you want to know? Did Chief Ma do something inappropriate?”

Xia Xiaolan vaguely mentioned Chief Ma’s help, and Manager Wu suddenly understood.

“We’re old friends now, I hope this won’t offend Comrade Liu Fen, but Chief Ma’s wife passed away from cancer a few years ago, and he hasn’t remarried. Do you think maybe… Of course, this is just my guess. His reputation is quite good – he has a sense of justice, helping the weak against the strong. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked for his help.”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t surprised.

She had guessed as much and now got confirmation from Manager Wu.

Liu Yong came in after finishing his business. “Xiaolan, what are you discussing with Manager Wu?”

“Just chatting. Uncle, let’s discuss business with Manager Wu first.”

Manager Wu also played it casually, “Please sit, Boss Liu. People only see the glamorous side of banking work, not knowing our difficulties. Fortunately, we have understanding people like Boss Liu supporting our work.”

“You’re too kind. My early repayment is because I want to take out another loan. Last time it was 300,000 yuan – this time I’d like to borrow more.”

Borrow more?

Given Liu Yong’s proactive repayment, Manager Wu wasn’t worried about his ability to repay.

“Just for this?”

Xia Xiaolan smiled somewhat shyly, “It’s not just my uncle who wants a loan. I’d also like to ask – if I use the Shichahai courtyard house, plus a Citroën car, and three Blue Phoenix branch stores as collateral, how much could I borrow from your bank? Of course, I plan to take the loan in July, after repaying the 200,000 yuan I borrowed from you.”

Manager Wu felt uneasy.

If he hadn’t known Xia Xiaolan was a Huaqing University student, with his uncle and niece both asking for large loans, he would have suspected they were planning to take the money and run.

“You have a Citroën car?”

Manager Wu’s question left Xia Xiaolan puzzled, but she nodded uncertainly.

“Brand new?”

“Brand new – hasn’t even been photographed for registration yet. Arrives in Beijing tomorrow.”

Manager Wu chuckled, “Then you don’t need to worry about the loan. Bring the car to the branch for inspection. Just with this car alone, I dare to lend you 200,000 yuan. If you can’t repay the loan, just leave the car with our branch.”

For some reason, Xia Xiaolan had a strange feeling that Manager Wu’s hope for her defaulting on the loan exceeded his expectation of timely repayment!