Liu Jun looked at the hotel’s crown-like, brilliant rooftop in the night with mixed feelings. Though Yang Li had given him a VIP card with a prominent number, he decided he wouldn’t go there to consume.

Qian Hongming brought Liu Jun a cup of tea, saying with some complacency, “Standing here looking at the city feels completely different from walking on the ground. When walking, you have to constantly look up. But here you can only look straight ahead, or even look down.”

Liu Jun felt this sounded a bit sour and laughed: “Your security here is getting stricter – it’s become a forbidden zone in the busy city. The entry procedures are quite tedious.”

Safety can be assured. Sometimes, when carrying a bag of money in the car, I feel safe once I enter the underground garage. This sense of security is very important. Especially after you have children, places in this world where Xiao Suihua can run freely on the lawn are too rare.”

“I live at the R&D center where it’s unimaginably quiet at night. I can read many books, and A’San also says she feels much calmer living there.”

Jiali rarely interjected: “Liu Jun, I see many red veins in your eyes and a small bump on your eyelid. Have you checked your blood pressure?”

Neither of my parents’ sides has a history of high blood pressure, so I estimate I won’t have it. But we factory people either argue internally or externally every day – suppress one problem, and another pops up. Daily vigorous anger, so A’San gives me heat-clearing soups every day. Not like Hongming – whoever sees Hongming calls him a scholarly businessman. Seeing me, they’d say two words: profiteer.”

Everyone laughed. Qian Hongming looked at Liu Jun – he was already not refined when he first returned to China, and now, mixing in the industrial zone daily, he was naturally even rougher. It seemed the current Liu Jun was more suited to soy milk and liquor, while he, Qian Hongming, was torn between milk and red wine.

After a while, Cui Bingbing called, saying her social engagement was over and asked Liu Jun to pick her up. Qian Hongming escorted Liu Jun downstairs, casually taking a box of currently popular premium Korla pears to give very friendlily to the building’s security guard. Liu Jun went back to pick up Cui Bingbing and told her how thoughtful and friendly Qian Hongming was. Cui Bingbing felt Qian Hongming was much better at dealing with people than Liu Jun, and far more sophisticated.

But there was one thing Cui Bingbing had to understand. Today, when she treated people to dinner at the newly opened five-star hotel in the city using Liu Jun’s VIP card, not long after the checkout lady left, a finely made-up young woman who looked like an executive came over. When the female executive saw her using that VIP card, her expression was a bit off. Cui Bingbing’s heart was full of vinegar, so she caught Liu Jun while he was driving for her and pressed him for answers.

“Yang Li, Yang Xun’s sister. She used to live next door to me, but moved after marriage. Old acquaintance.”

“No further relationship? Or, please provide further description.”

To such a clear-minded person as Cui Bingbing, Liu Jun made no concealment. “Friendship between men and women is rarely pure – impossible without some hormones mixed in. But the vast majority just remains Platonic. Going further is impossible – everyone knows crossing the line is big trouble. When everyone understands this tacitly, it’s easy to get along. Men and women working together reduces fatigue – isn’t that the same principle?”

Cui Bingbing felt extremely frustrated hearing this. She turned to look at the strong lines of the person beside her – at least she fell for him at first sight, not even having time to explore whether this person had a soul. She could imagine how much hormones were involved in Yang Li, as Yang Xun’s arch-enemy’s sister, maintaining good but impure friendship with Liu Jun. And she didn’t know how many more Yang Lis throughout the city awaited her discovery.

Seeing Cui Bingbing’s silence, Liu Jun asked strangely: “You’re still angry about this kind of thing?”

“It’s your attitude – too unconcerned about my anger, too self-righteous.”

“It’s the truth. Are you also learning those little girls’ attitude determinism?”

“Since you love speaking the truth so much, then tell me truthfully how many such female friends you’ve had from childhood to now.”

Liu Jun couldn’t possibly count them all and could only laugh “hehe,” saying: “Let’s get married quickly to avoid suspicions.”

“Using marriage as a shield again. Why don’t you ask how many such male friends I have around me?” But Cui Bingbing knew perfectly well that Liu Jun didn’t need to worry about her at all. Between them, only she worried endlessly one-sidedly.

“See, whenever marriage is mentioned, you use deflection to avoid it. Didn’t I tell you? Tengfei’s funds come from my father, but to get a foreign investment sign back then, I had to register and verify capital in my name – the investor had to be me. This is a confused account. So we need to sign an agreement before marriage to clarify my father’s rights. I don’t mean to treat you as an outsider. Don’t think I’m preparing for divorce whenever I mention agreements – I don’t mean that. This is just a procedure for modern people entering marriage. You’re a clear-minded person – how did you get stuck here?”

“Don’t always make me be the clear-minded one. I don’t want to anymore. I now believe in attitude determinism. Why don’t you care at all that I’m uncomfortable?”

“Uh, I shouldn’t have brought it up. Different concepts in this area hurt feelings when discussed.”

“But can the problem just be dragged on without solving? I also state again – I get emotional whenever I see your detailed agreements. I only want a marriage that feels good, unwilling to force myself.”

“Us being together like this without marriage has the biggest impact on you in Chinese society. You… please be rational.”

“I’m very rational. I know clearly what my marriage needs. I’d rather persist like this and hurt your feelings, hurt your reputation in society.” Cui Bingbing had drunk some wine tonight and spoke more directly: “If you could love me like I love you, would you still propose so many terms?”

“This isn’t about love or not loving. If I didn’t love you, why would I marry you? I won’t discuss this with you anymore – I spoke for nothing.”

Cui Bingbing felt more and more stifled: “Turn around, take me to my old nest.”

Liu Jun glanced over and saw Cui Bingbing’s angry face. He knew this would be the outcome again and could only remind himself not to mention marriage next time. But if he didn’t bring it up, should he wait for Cui Bingbing to? Different concepts were truly a dead knot. He reached out to embrace and gently stroke Cui Bingbing’s neck, but didn’t turn around. Cui Bingbing didn’t mention it again either – she was the clear-minded person Liu Jun had pegged her as. But returning to the technology park residence, they both did what they normally did, as if nothing had been said.

Qian Hongming’s real estate agency company launched rapidly. The siblings joined forces – Qian Hongying displayed her expertise with first-rate speed in finding storefronts, while Qian Hongming had first-rate execution ability. Renovation work bloomed comprehensively with overtime work. Four storefronts opened simultaneously after Spring Festival, each district having one flagship storefront, all with the same storefront design, called “Hongsheng.”

On opening day, Liu Jun found an excuse to go on a business trip and asked Cui Bingbing to represent him at the scene to congratulate them. Cui Bingbing was busier than Liu Jun, but she was very interested in Qian Hongying and had to visit the scene. She thought she should see a middle-aged woman past her prime but still charming, at minimum with dyed and permed hair, very thin plucked eyebrows, heavily powdered face, wearing clothes with many obvious and deliberate designs, definitely carrying a luxury brand bag. But what Cui Bingbing saw was a middle-aged woman completely inconsistent with her imagination. Qian Hongying had a calm temperament, decisive speech, simple-lined but expensive clothing, and a face that matched her age – the professional woman image Cui Bingbing liked and was heading toward. Upon shaking hands and talking, Cui Bingbing immediately thought of a question: Liu Jun’s father must have loved this woman before, not just playing around. Thinking of Liu Jun’s father remaining single until now, of course, being single didn’t mean lonely, but the reasons were quite intriguing. Cui Bingbing wasn’t Liu Jun – she could freely speculate.

In comparison, Qian Hongming was much more excited than his sister, his fair face wearing titanium-framed thin black glasses, even flushed red. Seeing Cui Bingbing, he asked: “What do you think of this project?”

Being in banking, Cui Bingbing was naturally well-informed. “A classmate of mine wanted to buy the Four Seasons Garden City, opening in April. Going to the sales office, he discovered he was completely ignorant about market conditions – buyers registered with interest at the sales office already exceeded the number for sale. My classmate said when it opens in April, he’ll bring a spring mattress wrapped in a cotton coat to queue at the sales office door a day early. Since the real estate market is so hot, your project is perfectly timed.”

Qian Hongming laughed: “That’s exactly what I think. Look, after graduation, I bought houses several times – first was company allocation, second was buying in Shanghai, third was buying downtown, fourth was buying for my in-laws. My biggest feeling is that buying houses gets harder each time – people in this city are wealthy. The last two house purchases, even through my sister’s very solid connections, I couldn’t get good floors or orientations. So you see, the trend is there.”

Cui Bingbing smiled: “Mr. Qian only bought four times? That’s quite a reduction. Are the small mansions all rented? So, Mr. Qian, as someone fighting on the house-buying front lines, regarding market conditions, that’s truly like ducks being first to know when spring river water warms. Hehe. This project will be hot, I’m very optimistic. Plus, with your sister, such a senior industry insider controlling the situation, you have perfect timing, geography, and people.”

Qian Hongming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, wanting to speak but stopping, afraid of being rebuffed by Cui Bingbing again. He quickly clasped his hands, hoping Cui Bingbing wouldn’t expose him – after all, he was hiding this kind of thing from his wife and sister. Cui Bingbing naturally knew when to stop – she’d seen too much of this and was long accustomed, as long as it didn’t happen to her. When Qian Hongming left, Cui Bingbing looked at the flower baskets at the entrance before taking her leave. She saw many baskets with company names on ribbons, unlike Liu Jun sending flowers in his name, so she suspected those companies were all Qian Hongming’s clients – either import-export trade clients or borrowers. But Cui Bingbing didn’t see a flower basket from Liu Jun’s father, and she smiled knowingly.

A newly opened company run by two already successful people, where these two successful people’s original industries were closely related to the new company’s operations, plus current good market conditions and rapid recovery after the epidemic – evaluating this Hongsheng company with a professional eye, Cui Bingbing was very optimistic.

Late at night, after the last guest drunkenly took leave, the Qian siblings were already exhausted. The two walked together out of the hotel next to Hongsheng, where they’d held a celebration banquet, walking to the largest storefront. Though the Spring Festival had passed, the spring cold was still sharp, especially at night. Looking at the brand-new storefront illuminated by two door lamps, both felt deeply moved. This was the first business the two independently supported, and neither had thought it could come so quickly and on such a scale.

“Big Boss Qian, if our parents came back, they probably wouldn’t believe seeing all this.” Qian Hongming was more asking himself than asking.

Qian Hongying was too tired to stand steady, wanting to kick off her mid-heels, so she leaned on her brother. But she didn’t want to answer this question, didn’t want to mention the past on this brand-new day. She only asked: “Do you want me to look out for villas? Not drunken talk?”

“Yes, and preferably detached, not townhouses.”

“You’d be better off buying storefronts.”

“I’m not buying for investment – I’m buying to live in myself. You can also change houses now, don’t just focus on buying storefront properties. I have better investment targets for money on hand – I’m not buying storefronts.”

“Your new house isn’t even warm from living in it yet, why change again? Isn’t that house high-end enough? Oh…” Qian Hongying clicked her tongue: “Envious of others’ villas. Others live in high-rises, and you also switch to high floors. Others live in villas, you also want detached ones. Aren’t you tired?”

“Not tired, how could I be tired? It’s effortless. Capital develops like a snowball – the hardest part is the beginning, when no matter how you roll, it won’t get big. Now, one roll is a huge amount. At first, I begged group finance to take me to banks for connections; then I went to account-opening banks like entering my own home; now banks actively seek me out, loan interest rates get smaller and smaller, and guarantee ratios get lower and lower. I’m waiting – someday… hehe, actually the future is sometimes so amazing I don’t dare predict.”

“Between Liu Jun’s total assets and yours, whose scale is larger?”

“In terms of total assets, currently I’m not as good, but the amount of capital I can currently mobilize is larger than his. In terms of asset appreciation, his rate is far less than mine.”

Qian Hongying was speechless for a long time. “You’ve worked hard – this is all your effort, very difficult. Sister is very proud of you. I also believe our future will be better. Now we’re doing our own thing, our own business, using our own money. From the day I got the license, I felt very different – more cautious when budgeting. You still have one foot in that other company – you’d better also restrain yourself and be practical.”

Qian Hongming repeatedly wanted to speak but stopped. He was tired today and too lazy to explain his sister’s discouraging words. In his design, the Hongsheng company was only one link in capital operations, definitely not the ultimate goal. If, as his sister said, treating Hongsheng as his own business, honestly, he didn’t think much of such a small-scale, hard-working business. But his sister was happy today, so he wouldn’t spoil her mood and let her enjoy herself. Qian Hongming was always good at understanding and caring for others’ feelings. He looked up toward the distance, at that brilliant crown on the towering rooftop in the night. He hoped someday he could also possess the entire city’s crown like Yang Xun.

Under Qian Hongying’s experienced leadership, Hongsheng Company’s business quickly got on track.

The Qian siblings themselves found it hard to believe the market conditions would be so good. Thinking of some hot locations and developments requiring buyers to wait overnight for openings, Qian Hongying immediately decided to use her connections in real estate, having her brother raise funds while she colluded with sales personnel to buy good-orientation, good-floor properties in bulk, then transfer them directly by changing invoices if buyers needed them before project delivery. Having been immersed in the real estate industry for years, Qian Hongying knew all the tricks and made this business flourish.

Liu Jun’s Tengfei also flourished. New equipment was successively installed and put into production, with processing capabilities now able to look down on peers. But being in business meant endless toil – he never expected that starting this spring, demand for engineering machinery parts would be so great. State-owned, joint ventures, wholly foreign-owned, and overseas enterprises all reached out asking him for more, wanting those parts with excellent price-performance ratios. The company’s existing staff working overtime couldn’t keep up, so they had to recruit extensively, switching from two shifts to three. But Tengfei was very strict about new employee onboarding, so training so many people became a big problem. Liu Jun personally took charge of training, working himself hoarse converting novices into Tengfei people. The conversion rate was as low as usual – if only half were eliminated in the entire process, everyone from Liu Jun down to training squad leaders would chant “Amitabha Buddha.”

Sales, especially collecting payments, became Tengfei’s biggest problem. When the company was small with small shipment volumes, pursuing payment-on-delivery was barely manageable. But now one contract meant a year’s supply with dozens of deliveries throughout the year, each requiring payment collection. These companies were long-term customers already on the friendly list, so payment-on-delivery sometimes became a real problem. Liu Shitang’s capabilities were increasingly inadequate. Liu Jun now thought of Dong Qiyang.