So that piece of land belonged to the coward Luo Yaozong’s family.

Luo Yaozong’s behavior that day didn’t seem like an act – he probably didn’t even know about this matter. When Xia Xiaolan pressed him to go back and inquire, Luo Yaozong must have formed his ideas, which explains why he stood her up the next morning.

Driver Wang was also surprised, “You know the village chief of Ganquan?”

Xia Xiaolan responded vaguely, “You could say that.”

She had beaten up the village chief’s son and publicly threatened him – surely Chief Luo had a deep impression of her.

The Luo family had hidden this land for unknown reasons, but Xia Xiaolan had no intention of meeting them now – that would be counterproductive. Better not let the Luo family know she was buying the land; secure it through official channels first, then deal with that coward later.

While talking with Driver Wang, Xia Xiaolan had figured it all out.

Wang didn’t know how Xia Xiaolan knew the village chief, but in his mind, she had always been mysterious, able to connect with whoever she wanted… Who would believe she had struck up a conversation with Mayor Tang just by waiting by the roadside?

“Secretary Peng asked me to tell you that without a proper company, no one can give you the land, even if you have money. Even a stagnant pond belongs to the state.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded: “I understand completely. Brother Wang, please tell Secretary Peng I won’t mess this up.”

Businesspeople often used tricks and schemes, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind that.

But this venture had been two years in the planning since her rebirth – not just for survival, but for long-term development.

This was her foundation – how could it be built on deception?

Better hurry and sort out the company, then secure that land, before complications arose.

After Wang left, Ge Jian spoke up:

“Miss Xia, should I make a trip to Ganquan Village?”

“You want to find Luo Yaozong? No need – you’ll just alert them. We should all stay away from the Xiangmi Lake area for now. Luo Yaozong is a minor concern – I worry our recent activities have caught Harold’s attention.”

Why wasn’t Ji Jiangyuan around today?

Xia Xiaolan kept wondering about this.

Ge Jian wasn’t in a hurry to deal with the coward who stood them up – Miss Xia was smarter than him and considered things more thoroughly, so he’d follow her lead. Following her instructions had never led to mistakes; Ge Jian knew when not to act too clever.

While Xia Xiaolan had put Luo Yaozong aside, she didn’t know he was frantically trying to sell the bamboo gully to foreign investors.

But this didn’t align with Old Chief Luo’s interests – the old man kept insisting he had truly seen the pond full of golden sand.

His wife, swayed by their grandson, confronted him:

“Where’s this golden sand then?”

“It’s there! What do you women know – long hair, short wisdom!”

Old Luo, embarrassed and angry, abandoned reason and turned to his son Luo Degui: “Keep a close eye on Yaozong. I’m worried he’ll do something with that land… He’s just a kid who doesn’t understand – what if outsiders trick him?”

On this point, Luo Degui agreed with the old man.

Setting aside whether to sell the land, given current compensation rates, it was worth over 200,000 yuan – how could Luo Yaozong decide this alone?

Better keep Yaozong under watch – Luo Degui knew his son’s capabilities all too well.

With the family decision-makers in agreement, Luo Yaozong was temporarily confined.

This left Luo Yaozong dumbfounded: he needed to find foreign investors to sell the land – how could he contact them while locked up? What if they lost interest by the time he got out? Stuck with a stinking gully, missing out on over 200,000 yuan – who could he complain to?

What golden sands? His grandfather must have been drunk.

Drunken words couldn’t be trusted, and his father was foolish too, throwing away a fortune.

“You’re all deceiving me! You said I’m the only grandson, everything in the family is mine, including that stinking gully, but now you lock me up to stop me selling? You’d better keep me locked up forever! If I don’t sell now, I’ll sell that wasteland sooner or later!”

“Grandfather, let me out! I don’t want any feng shui treasure! You were village chief, father was village chief, and you want me to be village chief too? What kind of achievement is that!”

“Dad, Dad, please talk to Grandfather.”

Luo Yaozong shouted endlessly from his room.

Outside the door, Old Luo munched on dried fish and sipped wine, unmoved by anything Yaozong said.

Old Luo had the same temperament in his youth – his grandson took after him.

A bite of fish, a sip of wine – life was good. Without being the village chief, he wouldn’t have this lifestyle.

Ah, his grandson was too young, thinking being groomed for village chief was harmful!

Though a small position, a village chief was like an emperor in the village – wielding great authority, with many unspoken benefits.

Luo Yaozong’s two unmarried sisters heard him shouting about how everything in the Luo family was his but didn’t react. Raised with male preference, they accepted that family property belonged to their brother – they never thought to compete with him at home, their prospects lay in their future marriages!

…

Mao Kangshan was gone for two or three days.

When he returned with Mao Guosheng, Xia Xiaolan’s company qualification matter was halfway done.

Mao Kangshan was truly exhausted this time.

Mao Guosheng fumed, “The old man called in huge favors for your sake!”

How could Mao Guosheng not be angry?

If his father had been willing to speak up for him like this, would he have stayed stuck in the Zhejiang Design Institute all these years? It wouldn’t even have taken this much effort – half would have sufficed.

Sure, Xia Xiaolan was beautiful – beautiful to the point of having nothing in common with the Mao family’s ordinary looks.

If not for this, Mao Guosheng would suspect Xia Xiaolan was his father’s illegitimate daughter with someone else.

Treating her better than family members – was it necessary?

Mao Kangshan caught his breath, “Shut up! Is that how you talk to Xiaolan? Even if you’re not senior in family rank, you’re older – how old are you, and how old is she? Speaking so harshly – completely inappropriate.”

Mao Kangshan was very clear about his relationship with Xia Xiaolan – they were masters and apprentices.

A master scolding his apprentice was natural.

But he wouldn’t let others scold Xia Xiaolan.

Not even Mao Guosheng – speaking and acting without propriety, just making noise.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t get angry – she had long noticed Mao Guosheng’s resentment.

“Master, Brother Mao is just concerned for you – his words were heated at the moment, I won’t take it to heart. Where did you and Brother Mao go these past days? You should have told me, I could have arranged transportation.”

Mao Kangshan had deliberately kept quiet.

If things hadn’t worked out, he would have lost face before his apprentice.

Now that things were settled, his capability was evident.

“Never mind all that – I just want to know when you’ll have the money ready. The company will be registered in Shenzhen, right? In a few days, someone will come from Guangzhou with everything you need. Once you sort out the procedures here in Shenzhen, your company will be established… By the way, you haven’t said what you’ll name it.”