Xia Xiaolan had no idea that Zhou Cheng was waiting by the phone until his legs went numb.
After returning from Shijiazhuang, Xia Xiaolan had already started planning her exit strategy. Without plans to marry Zhou Cheng, she couldn’t possibly use his savings. This meant Xia Xiaolan’s prepared funds suddenly had a 170,000 yuan shortfall. She even went to see Manager Wu about this matter.
However, Manager Wu had his principles – he couldn’t just give Xia Xiaolan whatever amount she asked for. His branch wasn’t Xia Xiaolan’s personal ATM. Manager Wu needed her to provide more collateral.
Open another store? Xia Xiaolan hadn’t found a suitable manager yet. With four stores, plus Luna’s outlet in Xidan, Liu Fen would have to manage five stores at once. Without help, the workload would be too much. Besides, one more store wouldn’t allow Xia Xiaolan to borrow an additional 200,000 yuan – a single store wasn’t worth that much.
If she couldn’t fill this funding gap within a month, Xia Xiaolan would have to invest less capital. After all, profits were distributed based on investment proportions – if she invested less money, she’d get a smaller share.
Xia Xiaolan called Liu Yong to discuss this, wanting her uncle to be prepared in case of a funding shortage to avoid last-minute panic. Liu Yong didn’t ask why she suddenly needed 200,000 yuan, instead actively offering suggestions:
“Why don’t you add my house in Nanluoguxiang as collateral and ask Manager Wu again?”
Xia Xiaolan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Uncle, how could I use your house as collateral just to get a bigger share of the profits?”
“What’s wrong with that? The house is just sitting empty anyway!”
Liu Yong’s words sparked something in Xia Xiaolan’s mind. Even without Zhou Cheng’s 170,000 yuan in savings, she still had a chance to raise enough money, though it would be more troublesome. She hadn’t thought of it before – would it be too unethical to start real estate speculation in the 1980s?
Never mind, one shouldn’t be too greedy. After getting the loan and buying properties for a mortgage, if the capital didn’t collapse, she would end up holding not cash flow but a pile of properties. Even though Beijing properties would become valuable in the future, buying them extensively now would still result in losses.
A courtyard house cost several tens of thousands. Would she just buy them and let them gather dust? Like the courtyard where the Shi family lived – not many rooms but a decent-sized yard – the monthly rent per room was only a few dozen yuan.
The rent was frighteningly low. Hoarding properties now only made sense for people with spare money like Zhou Cheng; otherwise, it was better to keep money in the bank. Xia Xiaolan bought the courtyard house in Shichahai mainly for her family to live in. If conditions allowed, she wanted herself and her family to live better – living in cramped conditions for too long would be depressing. Well, there’s no end to making money. With 200,000 yuan less investment, she’d get a smaller share of profits. After all, Yuan Hui’s total project budget had already increased from 4 million to 7.5 million. She’d just pretend the budget hadn’t changed – Xia Xiaolan could adjust her emotions accordingly!
She went to school in high spirits, and no one could tell anything was wrong. On Wednesday, Ning Xue handed her an envelope: “My grandfather said to give this to you.”
Xia Xiaolan opened it to find an invitation. “First Modern Chinese Architecture Creation Symposium?”
The event was hosted by the ‘Modern Chinese Architecture Creation Research Group’ and supported by the ‘Architecture Society,’ scheduled for July 20, 1985, in Jiangcheng.
Regardless of the symposium’s scale, wasn’t it inappropriate for her, a Tsinghua undergraduate student, to attend? As Xia Xiaolan pondered this, Ning Xue explained:
“My grandfather submitted the Nanhai Hotel design under your name. You’re invited as the interior designer of the Nanhai Hotel. Many architectural professionals will be there – it’s your choice whether to attend or not.”
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t particularly interested in networking with big shots. Ning Yanfan was already an established figure, but Xia Xiaolan never tried to cling to his influence. Some things were about relationships, others could be solved with money. From a businessman’s perspective, even the strongest architects could be hired with money!
If they couldn’t be hired, it was only because the price wasn’t high enough. Keep increasing the offer, and there would always be a point where they’d be moved… While talent was admirable, talent completely unmoved by money was rare. People with talent who viewed money as worthless might exist, but even if they were content with poverty, didn’t their families need to eat?
Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried about not being able to afford architects, but for her future real estate ventures, she needed professional talent and industry support. This symposium was a rare opportunity for an undergraduate student to get in, so she happily accepted the invitation: “Please thank Professor Ning for me. I’ll attend!”
Ning Xue had also worried about Xia Xiaolan being stubborn. Last time, when Xia Xiaolan left her speechless, Ning Xue felt embarrassed. This time, when Ning Yanfan attributed the Nanhai Hotel’s interior design to Xia Xiaolan, Ning Xue didn’t object at all.
Ning Xue had seen the 30-million-yuan budget proposal, which bore no resemblance to Ning Yanfan’s original design. Using an “infinity pool” in hotel decoration was indeed a new concept – though others drew the plans, it was Xia Xiaolan’s inspiration.
“Xia Xiaolan, I’m sorry, I haven’t apologized for what happened last time!”
Xia Xiaolan was surprised but quickly recovered: “It’s fine, what’s past is past.”
There was no need to dwell on past events. Regardless of why Ning Xue had been so impulsive then, Xia Xiaolan wasn’t angry. Ning Xue was clever enough to understand. Her barging into the study at that time had already destroyed any possibility of friendship with Xia Xiaolan. Or perhaps earlier, when her mother had said those excessive things to Xia Xiaolan, friendship had become impossible!
Thinking of how her mother had recently been consorting with Ji Ya, Ning Xue warned Xia Xiaolan: “Aunt Ji’s studio has opened in Wangfujing.”
That was all Ning Xue could say, as she didn’t know what Ji Ya was planning. But Ji Ya probably hated Xia Xiaolan thoroughly, seemingly believing that Ji Jiangyuan’s desire to break ties with his family was also due to Xia Xiaolan’s instigation!
“Thank you, I understand.”
Ning Xue had brought both an invitation and bad news. If Xia Xiaolan couldn’t resolve her issues with Zhou Cheng, she would lose the Zhou family’s support and have to face Ji Ya alone – something she couldn’t take lightly. Her family were ordinary people – how could they directly confront the Ji family?
Xia Xiaolan tucked away the invitation. Although Ji Ya seemed mentally unstable, her sense of style was evident in her dress and appearance. An independent fashion designer? It remained to be seen how Ji Ya planned to convert her studio’s designs into commercial products. If she was foolish enough to try personal customization in 1985 China, Xia Xiaolan would welcome it with open arms – it would just be an upscale tailor shop, nothing to fear!
Only mass-produced ready-to-wear clothing would conflict with Xia Xiaolan’s business. Whether Ji Ya ran a studio or not wouldn’t affect retail-focused stores like Blue Phoenix, but it could impact Luna, which was aiming for brand development.
This was awkward because Luna was Zhou Cheng’s capital, his business, managed by Xia Xiaolan… She also thinks that if she no longer plans a future with Zhou Cheng, she won’t continue managing Luna’s affairs.
When Chen Xiliang learned of this news, he would probably be furious!