In her previous life, Chen Meilan spent over a decade as a lonely, bored wealthy housewife. To add some prestige to her life, and also because Lu Jingyu feared she might interfere with his philandering, he enrolled her in many classes. She grew tired of flower arranging and tea ceremonies, and even completed an MBA, earning a master's degree in business administration.
Those studies from her past life had been useless then, but in this life, they gave her wings.
Regarding product manufacturing and sales, she had a clear plan in mind.
For those wanting to do business, this was the best era. The market had just opened up, and by seizing opportunities early and capturing market share, as long as one managed carefully and didn't make fatal mistakes, profits were guaranteed.
The only thing missing was startup capital. With it, Chen Meilan could get that big factory up and running.
Gu Xiao was a ready-made investor. Since he was coming, Chen Meilan definitely needed to find a way to get him to invest. However, she hadn't expected him to come so early, and currently, her initial investment of 300,000 yuan hadn't shown any returns yet.
Businesspeople are always profit-driven; no one would casually throw money away on charity.
How could she make that 300,000 yuan show some effect?
"You seem preoccupied today. Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Yan Zhao noticed Chen Meilan tossing and turning, so he asked.
Yan Zhao's own attitude was to encourage Gu Xiao's investment in Xiping City. Sun Nutao had just passed away, so he was probably troubled too. Chen Meilan decided not to mention this matter to him for now.
On the contrary, ever since Xue Mingfang had moved in, this guy had been hugging her to sleep every night, on high alert at the slightest sound from the other room. Chen Meilan belatedly realized that Yan Zhao was so concerned about Xue Mingfang.
The young man was in his early twenties, so handsome, and still had 18-year-old Liu Jingjing in his heart. She didn't know what kind of unnecessary jealousy he was feeling, but of course, she had to reassure Yan Zhao: "Third Brother, I'll talk to Xue Mingfang and have him move to Factory 271 starting tomorrow."
Yan Zhao blurted out one word: "Good!"
As he gently stroked Chen Meilan's shoulder, Yan Zhao suddenly remembered that before their divorce, Zhou Xueqin had pointed at his nose and said that a man like him would never have a woman truly love him. Zhou Xueqin had also said that in the future, even if he thought a woman truly loved him, she would always have various ulterior motives.
He was a pitiful creature when it came to emotions in this life.
But for some reason, there was a woman like Chen Meilan who truly loved him, could tolerate his bad temper, and understood his thoughts. Although they didn't talk much, every word she said touched his heart.
After thinking for a while, Yan Zhao suddenly lifted the other quilt and rolled into it.
For a week straight, Chen Meilan had just gotten used to living together, being able to rest her head on his arm when her pillow felt too soft, hugging him when it was hot because he was cool, and when it was cold because he was warm. Just as she had gotten used to sleeping like this, why did he move away?
"Let's sleep together. Are you afraid I'll eat you or something?" Chen Meilan said.
"I can't control myself," Yan Zhao answered righteously from the other quilt.
Chen Meilan knew that recently, he had been sleeping in the same quilt because of his sense of crisis due to Xue Mingfang living in their home. Now that he heard Xue Mingfang was leaving, he had let his guard down. So she held back her laughter and said, "I've seen you controlling yourself quite well lately. Third Brother, come sleep together? Hmm?"
Yan Zhao wanted to say more, but didn't know what to say, so he just blurted out: "Go to sleep quickly."
Chen Meilan was patient enough, but in bed, she always felt particularly annoyed by this rigid man.
Summer was approaching, and in summer his body was especially cool, very comfortable to hug, like a natural air conditioner.
Chen Meilan had to think of a way to get this stubborn mule to sleep in the same quilt with her in the future.
...
Having a goal in life gives one something to strive for.
Although she still didn't know exactly when Gu Xiao would come, or what his attitude would be when he arrived.
But it was good timing that the workers from the Xingda Construction Team were free recently. Using their own people, while having Xue Mingfang lead the young soldiers to sell the stockpiled military uniforms, leather shoes, and belts everywhere, they could use the money earned to buy cement, steel, tiles, and panels, and first give Factory 271 a general renovation.
Factory 271 was considered Gu Xiao's factory, so they had to improve its image. When Gu Xiao came to inspect, he would then readily invest.
The "Return to the City" film crew had gone to northern Shaanxi for on-location shooting.
To speed up progress, Chen Meilan had even specially driven with Yan Bin to northern Shaanxi to discuss with Zhou Yu about editing at least two episodes by the time Gu Xiao arrived, so he would know his money wasn't wasted.
Busily occupied like this, summer vacation arrived in the blink of an eye.
Chen Meilan estimated that Gu Xiao would be coming soon, but Factory 271 was only half renovated, far from achieving the effect she wanted. The TV series had also just started filming a little bit. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
But Yan Wei had contacted the other party and received confirmed news that they knew Xiping City was like a furnace in summer, too hot, and feared the old man's body couldn't handle it. They would come in September when the weather cooled down.
This gave Chen Meilan some more time. As soon as summer vacation started, Yuanyuan and Ningning were accompanied by Qin Yu to northern Shaanxi for filming. It was perfect timing to let Zhou Yu edit a segment of the children's scenes, which should have an even greater impact.
A week after sending Yuanyuan off, Chen Meilan had a day off and planned to visit the newly opened People's Department Store.
Since it was the weekend, she made plans with Qi Songlu and also called Yan Wei, asking him to come play with the two children. Actually, she wanted to create an opportunity to see if there was any possibility between Yan Wei and Qi Songlu.
As soon as summer vacation started, Little Wang had been running around everywhere with Xue Mingfang selling clothes. They had covered the whole city, so he wasn't very interested in shopping at the mall. But he heard there were "big brother" mobile phones for sale in the mall that you could hold in your hand to make calls, and each one cost twenty thousand yuan. So he enthusiastically followed Chen Meilan, wanting to see the legendary "big brother" phone.
Just as they stopped the car at the entrance of the mall, they encountered a big commotion.
A crowd of people was gathered around one spot, with firecrackers and ceremonial cannons going off loudly. Amidst the crowd, there were bursts of exclamations.
Someone was shouting: "Make way! This thing is extremely expensive. You can't afford to bump into it and break it!"
Little Wang loved to watch excitement the most. He jumped up and down trying to see what all the fuss was about, but after hopping for a while, his head was still too short to see. Just as he was getting anxious, someone suddenly picked him up.
Worried it might be someone trying to kidnap a child?
Little Wang reached out to scratch, kicked his feet, and opened his mouth ready to shout for mom. But when he turned his head to see who was holding him, he smiled: "Yuanyuan's dad."
Yan Xishan held Little Wang up, his eyes sparkling: "Did you see what Xiong Dapao's 'big brother' phone looks like?"
It turned out today's big commotion was because Xiong Dapao had bought a "big brother" mobile phone and brought his company's people to receive it, even setting off firecrackers and hanging red decorations.
Little Wang held his breath and focused intently. He saw in the middle of the crowd, the suit-clad Xiong Dapao held up one hand high, pointing and tapping at something that looked like a black brick. It was exactly like the "big brother" phone used by Ko Chun in the Hong Kong film "God of Gamblers".
After connecting the call, who knows who was on the other end, Xiong Dapao said in his Shaanxi accent: "Hello, Dad, it's me. Have you eaten yet?" It turned out he was calling his father.
"It's so fancy, stylish, and incredibly good-looking," Little Wang exclaimed.
Xiong Dapao, holding the "big brother" phone, had specially styled his hair like Andy Lau today. Dressed in a black suit, with the "big brother" phone as an accessory, he looked just like he had stepped out of a movie.
Stylish, handsome - Little Wang's eyes turned red with envy.
Xiong Dapao's entourage was so large that they pushed and shoved, nearly knocking Chen Meilan and Qi Songlu to the ground.
Yan Xishan held Little Wang with one arm, had to grab Little Lang with the other, and still managed to squeeze close to Chen Meilan's ear to shout: "Meilan, did you see? That person who just walked by is our new People's Congress representative Xiong Dapao. He has a 'big brother' phone, so I must have one too. Let me buy one, and I'll date Qi Songlu, how about that?"
Chen Meilan was almost pushed off balance by the crowd, but she was still looking at Xiong Dapao from afar.
The handsome soldier she had once almost married was now holding up a "big brother" phone, looking incredibly grand.
Compared to the hardworking, shrewd, business-savvy Xiong Dapao, the mischievous Yan Xishan was simply not worth mentioning.
Chen Meilan rolled her eyes and said: "I was indeed planning to introduce a date to Qi Songlu today. If the blind date is successful, I'll personally give him a 'big brother' phone."
Yan Xishan thought Chen Meilan was talking about him and was just starting to grin when he suddenly saw Chen Meilan waving towards the distance, calling out: "Second Brother, I'm over here."
Yan Xishan turned his head and saw it was Yan Wei, who squeezed through the crowd and came over. He said to the two children, "Finally, I don't have to drink and socialize today. Come on, Little Lang and Little Wang, uncle will take you to play."
Chen Meilan reached out and grabbed Little Wang, who was about to run off. She deliberately said, "Second brother, I suddenly remembered something. The water at home is shut off, and I left the faucet on. You, Songlu, and Little Lang wait here for me. I'll go home and turn off the water."
With that, she pulled Little Wang along and turned to leave.
Yan Xishan understood a bit. Chen Meilan was deliberately stringing him along, wanting him and Yan Wei to compete in pursuing Qi Songlu. As the saying goes, men at thirty are in full bloom, while women at thirty are like bean curd dregs. Given Yan Xishan's status and background, if he really wanted to get married, people would be willing to introduce even college students who hadn't graduated yet to him.
The reason he was willing to marry Qi Songlu was that he wanted to use money more conveniently after marriage.
With his hands on his hips, Yan Xishan was half furious.
Yes, now no one in Xiping City called Qi Songlu a prostitute or bar hostess anymore, but hanging out with a bunch of coal miners all day, how good could her reputation be? When a piece of tofu falls on the ground, even if you wash it and pick it up, is it clean tofu? No, it can only be tofu dregs.
Yan Xishan still needed to hurry back to learn computer operations, so he wouldn't join in this commotion.
After Yan Wei looked down on Qi Songlu and ignored her, then he would make his move.
A thirty-year-old piece of tofu dregs, he really didn't take Qi Songlu seriously.
It was actually the weekend, and there was no water shut-off at all. Yan Zhao was still at home cleaning.
As soon as Little Wang was pulled into the car by Chen Meilan, he immediately blurted out, "Mom, you want to introduce a girlfriend to my second uncle, and it's Aunt Qi, right?"
Chen Meilan was very surprised: "How did you figure it out?"
Little Wang was quite proud: "My original mom used to do this all the time."
Zhou Xueqin had many friends and used to like playing matchmaker. She often had Little Wang act as a third wheel, after all, blind dates usually involved meals, and if you didn't bring a child, an unmarried man and woman walking together would be seen as indecent. So Little Wang had been to many such dinners when he was little.
Before going, Zhou Xueqin would remind him, "Don't talk too much, eat whatever you see, and make sure to fill your belly."
Speaking of Zhou Xueqin, Little Wang sat happily in the back seat, smiling and thinking that she must be living well now.
The long period of relatively peaceful life had faded the memory of being beaten and scolded, and the resentment. Now when Little Wang thought of Zhou Xueqin, he felt very calm and sincerely hoped that she could be as happy as he was.
Getting out of the car, the little one bounced and jumped: "Dad, we're back! Have you made dinner?"
But as soon as he faced the door, Little Wang was startled and suddenly stood still.
Because right at his courtyard gate, next to the big peony tree, stood a woman wearing a pink short skirt, a silk scarf, with hair permed like a big chicken nest, and sunglasses.
The woman had very thin lips, and when she smiled, Little Wang immediately recognized her. He rushed towards Chen Meilan: "Mom, it's not good, that, that..."
Zhou Xueqin was carrying a small handbag, wearing a pink dress, with an extremely strong perfume scent, fashionable and stylish. She grasped Chen Meilan's hand: "Meilan, it's been so long, I've missed you so much."
Then turning to look at Little Wang, she smiled at her son, reached into her bag, and pulled out a hundred-yuan note in brick red color. She held it up to Little Wang's nose, gently tickling it, and said deliberately: "Here, son, take it and spend it."
Little Wang didn't take the money, he just lifted his head and stared blankly at his birth mother.
She was fatter than before, with a thick layer of white powder on her face, but her neck and arms were waxy yellow. There were faint dark circles under her eyes. She was wearing sandals, and both her feet were covered in white dead skin. The heels of the sandals were crooked, obviously, she must walk a lot in her daily life.
Chen Meilan had just come up to greet her. Seeing Zhou Xueqin, she wasn't surprised. After all, it had been two or three years. She had been making money in Yangcheng City, reportedly doing quite well. When people have money, they inevitably want to return home in glory.
Zhou Xueqin was here to show off her success.
She didn't just come alone, but brought a guest, her father Zhou Renyi.
He was the only person in the entire Zhou family that Yan Zhao respected.
Chen Meilan entered the courtyard and saw a large pile of plastic bags on the kitchen steps, some containing clothes, others shoes, stacked in rows. Obviously, these were gifts she had brought for Little Lang and Little Wang.
Zhou Xueqin smiled, waiting for Chen Meilan's inspection.
When Chen Meilan's gaze fell on a large cardboard box, she said with undisguised pride: "Have you heard, Subor has released a learning machine? I bought a learning machine for the kids to play with."
If the ultimate dream of all Chinese men was to have a big brother mobile phone,
The dream of children was to have a Subor learning machine.
She reached out to touch her son and asked, "Do you like it?"
Not only did his birth mother have money now, but she had even bought him a learning machine that he had only seen in TV commercials. Little Wang's heart was pounding, almost leaping out of his chest.
But just then, Yan Zhao said in a low voice: "Yan Wangqi, go inside."
Little Wang was afraid of his dad and scurried off to the bedroom at this command.
Yan Zhao sat with Zhou's father under the shade of the locust tree, drinking tea and chatting.
After Chen Meilan entered, he said to Zhou's father: "Since we're already divorced, and Little Lang and Little Wang are in my custody, I won't ask for child support from Zhou Xueqin, but I also won't accept anything she sends for the children. You can take the things back. When Little Lang returns, let Zhou Xueqin see him for a moment, that's all. As for her saying she wants to take the children to stay at your house for a few days, that's absolutely not allowed."
It turned out Zhou Xueqin not only came to visit the children but also wanted to take the two sons back to stay at her home for two days.
Zhou's father was hard of hearing, one eye was blind, and his head would shake neurotically.
With his mouth wide open, he struggled to look at Yan Zhao with his one cloudy eye, and after a while said: "Xueqin has changed now, she has money now." The old man understood one truth: "When people have money, everything gets better. She also wants to show love to the children."
"No." Yan Zhao said coldly, spitting out another word.
As Zhou's father was about to open his mouth again, Zhou Xueqin suddenly scolded her father: "Dad, I'll handle everything, you keep quiet."
Turning back, she pulled Chen Meilan to sit in the shade under the kitchen eaves, handed Chen Meilan a bottle of Jianlibao, and asked with a smile: "Has Meilan tried this drink before? It's new, very popular in Yangcheng City now."
Chen Meilan, being an old-fashioned lady, only drank cold boiled water in summer and hot water in winter, never touching soft drinks.
"I haven't tried it," she said.
It was evident that Zhou Xueqin indeed had some money, but the bag she carried was a poor-quality fake brand, the heels of her sandals were worn down, though the dress fit well. She still looked quite pretty, but signs of age were very obvious. Sitting in the sunlight, when she smiled, there was a ring of deep crow's feet around her eyes.
Looking at her, Chen Meilan was reminded of herself in her past life, exactly like Zhou Xueqin at this moment.
Zhou Xueqin smiled again and said: "I heard from my sister that you started a construction team, but it's not making much money, is that right?"
As things stood now, if a construction team could make a net profit of sixty to seventy thousand a year after expenses, that was already very good. Chen Degong had made exactly thirty thousand last year and even bought three houses, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, the siblings had an understanding to keep the big accounts hidden from Zhou Qiaofang and not tell her the truth.
As for 271, it was a demonstration factory transferred from a military factory, and the news was being suppressed, so outsiders had no idea that Chen Meilan was now the general manager of such a large factory.
A person's economic situation should be judged from their environment. Meilan's courtyard was kept very clean and tidy, but the house didn't even have tiles laid, and the doors and windows hadn't been replaced with the now popular aluminum alloy ones. In Zhou Xueqin's view, this was a sign of not having money.
She naturally assumed Chen Meilan wasn't making money.
Chen Meilan was deeply versed in the art of keeping a low profile, and besides, even if she had money, there was no need to show off to Zhou Xueqin. So she nodded: "Yes, we haven't made much money. We're just living an ordinary life."
Zhou Xueqin didn't know the inside story of Xishan Company, but she had heard that Yan Xishan had almost been elected as a people's representative. Feeling both envious and emotional, she said: "I also heard that Yan Xishan is doing quite well, now considered the top leader in the coal mining industry in Xiping City."
Since the beginning of this year, with the sharp increase in coal demand, Yan Xishan had successively merged several bankrupt small mines. With nearly 200,000 in working capital on the books, his position in the coal industry was indeed unshakeable.
Chen Meilan nodded and said, "Yes."
"I heard Little Lang is also in good health. Meilan, we must thank you for all of this, thank you for your hard work and willingness to endure hardship," Zhou Xueqin sighed, holding Chen Meilan's hand.
However, the moment she held Chen Meilan's hand, Zhou Xueqin was shocked.
Because Meilan's hands were just like they had been in her previous life, before she divorced Yan Zhao - delicate and soft, with a natural glow to the skin.
While her own hands were withered, pale, and rough beyond recognition.
This was how it was with Zhou Xueqin: back when they were at the wool mill, her father Zhou Renyi was in charge of arranging matches. He wanted to introduce Meilan to Xiong Dapao, but she had been a bit petty at the time and declined the match on Chen Meilan's behalf. Instead, she introduced a girl she was friendly with to Xiong Dapao, and introduced Chen Meilan to Yan Xishan, whose family and economic conditions were comparatively worse.
After her reincarnation, wanting the best for Meilan, but mainly for her own two children, she had introduced Meilan to Yan Zhao instead.
And knowing Yan Zhao's nature well, and also knowing that Meilan was only making small money from some engineering projects rather than any significant wealth, she had no intention of going back on that decision.
But looking at Chen Meilan's soft, delicate hands, she couldn't help but feel bitter about her own situation.
In her busy life, Zhou Xueqin was definitely better off financially than in her previous life - she could buy a 300-yuan Subor Learning Machine whenever she wanted, and as long as she was willing to work hard, making money was very easy in this era.
But her hands would never return to what they once were.
After carefully examining Meilan's hands for a while, Zhou Xueqin said, "By the way, Meilan, aren't city properties cheap now? I heard many people are selling their houses. Don't mind if they're old or small, if you have money, stock up on several properties. Listen to your sister, I won't let you down."
Chen Meilan merely gave a soft "mm" and answered, "Okay."
Being reborn in this era, probably everyone would frantically buy and hoard properties, waiting for real estate values to skyrocket and become wealthy. Chen Meilan, who wasn't buying houses, was the anomaly.
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Xueqin continued, "I recently heard that Yan Wei and Mi Lan got divorced, and Mi Lan's mother Wang Gebi was imprisoned. We had a mother's old friend called Gu Xiao who's about to return to the country, right?"
"Yes," said Chen Meilan.
Zhou Xueqin remarked, "That's quite early."
This mention of Gu Xiao sparked Chen Meilan's interest in Zhou Xueqin for the first time since her rebirth.
In her previous life, she had personally experienced everything that happened with Yan Zhao. She knew more clearly than Chen Meilan whether Gu Xiao had ever come to Xiping City in the previous life, what meetings had occurred between him and Yan Zhao after his arrival, and whether there had been any conflicts.
So Chen Meilan remained silent, wanting to hear what else Zhou Xueqin had to say.
Zhou Xueqin sighed deeply and continued, "I had anticipated the misunderstanding between our mother and father, and also predicted that Yan Zhao would make our father regret it, but I never expected Wang Gebi would go to prison. I thought she would take Mi Lan and Yan Wei to America. Yan Wei has always been soft-natured and completely under Mi Lan's thumb - I never imagined they would divorce."
From Zhou Xueqin's words, Chen Meilan suddenly realized that in the previous life, Yan Zhao must have also discovered the truth about Yan Xing's death. However, because he chose to remain estranged from Yan Peiheng, he never uncovered Wang Gebi's military property trafficking scheme.
As a result, Wang Gebi had fled to America with her ill-gotten wealth to enjoy a life of luxury.
Zhou Xueqin had experienced all of this, but since it didn't concern her or the 300,000 yuan, even after her rebirth, she chose to turn a blind eye.
It wasn't until Wang Gebi's recent arrest and Mi Lan and Yan Wei's divorce that she realized how dramatically things had changed.
In the Wang Gebi incident, Zhou Xueqin was a victim, so she should be happy about it.
Logically, she should also have suspected that Chen Meilan might have been reborn too.
However, Chen Meilan lived such a simple life, hadn't moved to a new house, and maintained a modest household, which prevented Zhou Xueqin from harboring any suspicions.
She attributed all these changes to the fact that she had helped Yan Zhao marry a virtuous and kind wife. She felt quite pleased with herself, believing that her rebirth had made everyone better.
"I suppose you know that Old Master Gu Xiao is extremely wealthy in Singapore, practically considered a tycoon," Zhou Xueqin continued enthusiastically, still holding Chen Meilan's hand. "If you're not in big business, you wouldn't know - even the smallest favor from someone like that could set us up for life. Just a small investment from him could save us half a lifetime of struggle."
The reborn Zhou Xueqin must have met Gu Xiao in her previous life.
Like flies drawn to honey, businesspeople chase profit. Having heard about Gu Xiao's impending arrival, she had come sniffing around, hoping to secure some investment.
Seeking investment was like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea - each showing their unique abilities.
Once Gu Xiao arrived, the Xiping City leadership would organize meetings between him and numerous private entrepreneurs, like concubines competing for the emperor's favor, all vying for investment funds. Whoever secured the funding would be the victor, earning high praise from the government.
In Zhou Xueqin's eyes, Chen Meilan was still just a naive fool.
What better time than now to gather more intelligence about Gu Xiao?
