Xia Xiaolan had returned.

By the second day after Xia Xiaolan’s return, everyone who needed to know was informed.

This made some people unable to contain their restlessness.

Du Zhaohui changed into a new suit, wanting to meet Xia Xiaolan for dinner to discuss business.

His loyal guard A-Hua reminded him, “Young Master, are you not planning to tell Miss Xia about the Fifth Mistress?”

They could keep it from Xia Xiaolan while she was abroad.

But now that she’s back in the country, with Pengcheng being so close to Hong Kong, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t see those gossip reports.

Though Xia Ziyu looked completely different after plastic surgery and styling, the truth couldn’t stay hidden forever. A-Hua felt the Young Master was already in a precarious position – not being honest now would only make things worse later! Though hired as a bodyguard, A-Hua was concerned with Du Zhaohui’s love life – he was truly dedicated to his job.

“Damn it, did you think I didn’t know that?”

What was the point of hiding it from Xia Xiaolan?

He hadn’t planned to hide it in the first place. Last time he wanted to act proud, but accidentally took it too far. Du Zhaohui was quite proud of pulling this off and had been bursting to tell Xia Xiaolan.

Making use of waste material was also a skill!

After changing into a rather flashy outfit and styling his hair, what a handsome man he saw in the mirror!

Just slightly less handsome than Zhou Cheng… well, two points less at most.

When Du Zhaohui went to Qihang, he learned Xia Xiaolan had gone to the construction site.

So he took A-Hua to Qihang’s construction site.

The Electronics Plaza had entered the interior decoration phase. Du Zhaohui had wanted to give the work to “Yuan Hui,” but the Zheng Rong Group already had Tiancheng Decorating, left behind by Liu Tianquan. If he hired Liu Yong for decoration, he’d have to pay, but with Tiancheng… he could shamelessly sign orders on credit and transfer the costs to the group, meaning his father Du Zhengrong would pay.

Only a fool would pass up such an advantage, so Du Zhaohui ultimately gave the Electronics Plaza’s interior decoration to Tiancheng.

Liu Yong wasn’t disappointed – “Yuan Hui” wasn’t short of business now, and this year was destined to be another bountiful one for him.

While the Electronics Plaza was rushing to complete final touches, Qihang’s affordable housing project had just begun construction. The site was clouded with dust, and Du Zhaohui knew immediately things would go wrong – his gel-styled hair was especially prone to dust.

Ah, who could have predicted this? Such bad luck!

His flashy outfit now covered in dust and mud, Du Zhaohui trudged through the construction site’s mud. Since the Electronics Plaza’s main structure was complete, Mao Kangshan had naturally moved on.

Though he couldn’t go far, he was eager to help his apprentice oversee the new project. So Du Zhaohui saw Xia Xiaolan wearing a safety helmet, huddled with Mao Kangshan looking at blueprints, along with two new architects from Xia Xiaolan’s firm.

Heh, that firm – it was his suggestion to Xia Xiaolan. Du Zhaohui suppressed his smugness:

“Xiaolan, Teacher Mao!”

Xia Xiaolan looked up, her face also covered in dust. “Wait a moment, I was planning to find you in a few days anyway. Since you’re here, that’s perfect – let’s discuss the Electronics Plaza operations later.”

“Ah, sure, you finish your discussion with Teacher Mao first.”

Du Zhaohui wanted to join them, but he couldn’t understand the blueprints and had nothing to contribute. Better not to embarrass himself – saying just a couple words would expose his ignorance, which would be even worse.

Mao Kangshan nodded at him too.

Though Du Zhaohui had a young master’s temperament, he stayed at the construction site throughout the Electronics Plaza’s construction, which improved Mao Kangshan’s opinion of him.

Precisely because Du Zhaohui didn’t understand, he wouldn’t randomly give opinions. No layman directing professionals – he was actually quite an agreeable boss… Of course, this was also related to being indebted. When the Electronics Plaza’s main structure was topped off, Du Zhaohui held a grand banquet at a major restaurant to treat Mao Kangshan, giving him full respect and a generous consulting fee.

When people show such respect, if Mao Kangshan still treated them harshly, it wouldn’t just be about his temper anymore – it would mean living decades with a dog’s heart, disregarding basic human decency!

For this new Qihang project, Xia Xiaolan was only providing input – she had been busy with Cornell’s final exams at the time, so the project wasn’t handled by her but by two architects Mao Kangshan had invited.

One was Mao Kangshan’s apprentice Kong Yongquan, whom Xia Xiaolan had to call Senior Apprentice Brother, like Zhou Maotong.

When he heard Mao Kangshan was looking for people, Kong Yongquan directly took medical retirement and came to Pengcheng.

The other was Hou Qi, whom Xia Xiaolan had met at an architectural design seminar in Jiangcheng and had kept in touch with. Hou Qi was one of the few female architects. Kong Yongquan came for the master-apprentice relationship, while Hou Qi purely came because she was unhappy at her original workplace. Despite similar qualifications, all the promotions and honors somehow went to male colleagues. Gender discrimination was everywhere in this field, as if female architects couldn’t design well. Hou Qi had long been dissatisfied.

Previously she had no choice but to endure it.

Now hearing that Xia Xiaolan was starting China’s first architectural firm, Hou Qi made up her mind and came over.

With Old Mao as guarantor.

With a high base salary.

And a female boss – surely there wouldn’t be industry gender discrimination here?

For this project, Xia Xiaolan provided the concept, while Hou Qi and Kong Yongquan did all the hands-on work with several assistants.

Overall, Xia Xiaolan was quite satisfied.

Not satisfied with their skill level – that wasn’t in question, with Teacher Mao’s eye for talent, everyone who came had more solid foundations and experience than her.

Xia Xiaolan appreciated how sensible they were, knowing they were taking a salary from her. Although the new building complex differed from their previous experience, these two listened to her instead of opposing her – that was enough!

She now had a dual role as both boss and client. If she couldn’t keep these two in check, running this firm would be too stressful.

After talking with Hou Qi for a while, Xia Xiaolan’s mouth was dry:

“Teacher, Sister Hou, Senior Brother Kong, let’s take a break and have some water.”

“Fine by me, but mainly for Teacher’s sake.”

Kong Yongquan smiled, helping Mao Kangshan to rest nearby.

He was truly happy working in Pengcheng – none of the scheming from his previous workplace, higher wages here, and even without commissions, the benefits weren’t worse than before. Though already in his forties, he felt content being able to continue learning from Teacher Mao.

No need to spend too much effort managing Kong Yongquan – he was a simple and pure person, carefully selected by Teacher Mao for her.

Having a secretary was great – tea was prepared, and face-washing supplies were ready.

Xia Xiaolan dipped her face in water, the white towel turning black after one wipe. She couldn’t swallow water directly, having to rinse her mouth first to spit out the dust. Her nose was dirty too – this was what everyone in construction had to go through.

Du Zhaohui waited until she was done cleaning up before coming over:

“I need to tell you something – did you know my old man married another Fifth Mistress?”

“Yes, I saw it in the newspapers.”

“You know this Fifth Mistress… it’s Xia Ziyu.”

What?!