267: 263 Third Update!
267: 263 Third Update!
Seeing Li Shuru enter, Xue Gui restrained his anger and squeezed out an amiable smile, a stark change from his earlier severity.
“Rui Rui.”
Indeed, the saying ‘a mother’s brother holds a lofty place’ is true.
He was especially fond of his niece.
“Aunt, little aunt, little uncle…”
Li Shuru greeted everyone one by one, then her gaze fell on her cousin Xue Yali’s face.
“Ya Li, long time no see.”
“Sister.”
Xue Yali also raised a smile, as if nothing had happened just a moment ago.
“Rui Rui, come and sit.”
Zou Luoxia quickly smoothed things over and then naturally noticed Jiang Chen carrying big and small bags.
“Rui Rui, this must be your boyfriend, right?”
“Yes, his name is Jiang Chen.”
Li Shuru nodded gracefully in acknowledgment and then introduced Jiang Chen to each of the elders present in turn.
Actually, when she was greeting everyone, Jiang Chen had already figured out who was who and had courteously greeted these elders, offering the tobacco, alcohol, and tea leaves he had bought on the way.
The two of them took their seats.
“Sister.”
Xue Yali called out, then picked up a bag next to the chair, “This is for you.”
“Thank you.”
Li Shuru didn’t stand on ceremony, recognizing from the package that it must contain Chanel perfume.
“Now that everyone is here, let’s have the dishes served.”
Xue Mingqin spoke up.
Among those seated, she was the one with the highest seniority.
Jiang Chen also didn’t forget to give a courteous smile to the Wall Street prodigy, who responded rather indifferently, just nodding coolly.
But that was normal.
Though they were technically ‘related by marriage,’ this was the first time the two men had met, and one was a college student while the other was a young talent on Wall Street.
While not exactly worlds apart, the difference in status was indeed substantial.
Xue Yali, with her neat ear-length bob, did glance at Jiang Chen a few times, seemingly quite curious about this “brother-in-law.”
“Lily, now that you’re abroad, have you gotten used to life there?”
Once the meal started, Xue Mingqin asked with concern.
“Mom, Ya Li has been there for two years now.
What’s there not to get used to?
Haven’t you seen she’s got such an excellent boyfriend?”
Li Shuru chimed in with a smile.
“Indeed.”
Xue Mingqin nodded with a smile: “Little Liu, right?”
“Hello, my name is Liu Hongzhi.”
Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.
This guy’s name was quite impressive, just one character short of a certain patriotic entrepreneur renowned for his entire family’s loyalty.
“How did you and Lily meet?”
Questions like this were inevitable at family gatherings.
“Ya Li and I met in a Chinese restaurant by chance.
I remember it was Easter, she was dining there with some classmates, and I noticed her the moment I walked in…”
Clearly a product of Western advanced education, Jiang Chen felt he might not have been able to say such things himself.
After all, everyone present was an elder, and her parents were also there.
Jiang Chen felt humbled.
“And then what happened?”
Li Shuru seemed also quite interested in her cousin’s romantic history.
Liu Hongzhi looked at her; in fact, from the moment she had walked in, he had been struck by her beauty.
Although they were sisters, they had completely different styles.
His girlfriend’s sister undoubtedly looked more like a woman, not at all like a college student.
Nevertheless, he maintained his composure and said politely, “Then I pretended I hadn’t brought my wallet, and fortunately, Ya Li wasn’t lacking in sympathy.”
The elders all laughed,
Even Xue Gui’s face softened a bit,
“Sister, what about you guys?
How did you meet?”
Xue Yali asked,
“We’re at the same school.”
“Xiao Liu, what kind of work do you do on Wall Street?”
Xue Shuzhi asked.
“PE.”
Xue Mingqin of course didn’t understand and was too embarrassed to ask, so she could only whisper to Jiang Chen.
“Xiao Jiang, what’s PE?”
“Aunt Xue, PE stands for private equity.
It refers to managing assets for wealthy people, engaging in business investments, and asset appreciation,”
Jiang Chen explained succinctly.
So-called private equity just sounds high-end.
In reality, it’s about rich people using their wealth to acquire stakes in small companies and then, through a series of boastful and sycophantic operation—euphemistically called “market management”—make these small companies seem very valuable, only for them to go public or be acquired.
Once these marked-up small companies are publicly listed or acquired, private equity quickly sells off the stakes in these small companies, thereby realizing an increase in wealth.
Someone like Liu Hongzhi is just a tool that helps the wealthy accomplish this.
Xue Mingqin, as an ordinary housewife, certainly didn’t understand these complex dealings, but Xue Shuzhi, who worked in a state-owned enterprise, definitely did.
“For someone so young to become a private equity fund manager is quite impressive.”
A private equity fund manager is fundamentally different from those so-called managers who teach you how to trade stocks or commodities.
The latter are mostly low-level fraudsters who swindle the average person, but the former play in a much higher league.
Private equity funds usually start with millions, and it is definitely a game for the rich.
“You flatter me, Auntie.
Wall Street is full of people who are stronger than me,”
Liu Hongzhi adjusted his glasses and humbly downplayed his achievements,
“How much in funds are you managing right now?”
Chai Song, Xue Shuzhi’s husband, asked.
“If converted to RMB…”
Liu Hongzhi pondered for a moment as if calculating, “…it’s about fifty million or so.”
Fifty million…
Xue Mingqin looked shocked.
Zou Luoxia, who had probably heard some details from her daughter, was pleased and seized the opportunity to flaunt this in front of relatives with a deliberately surprised tone, “That much?”
“What do you know?
It’s other people’s money; he’s just managing it,” Xue Gui spoke up.
“Even so, it’s very impressive.
But fifty million…
Xiao Liu, your annual income must be quite high, right?”
Zou Luoxia seemed to ask casually.
“Mom…”
Xue Yali called out.
Inquiring about someone’s income was indeed impolite, but Liu Hongzhi didn’t seem to mind and smiled gracefully.
“Auntie, my income isn’t really that high; it’s around a million or so,”
An annual income of a million.
In China, that kind of salary would be what some big company’s regional directors would earn!
And this is him calling it not that high?!
“Young and successful indeed,”
Chai Rong remarked,
“Xiao Liu, if there’s a chance in the future, we hope you can invest in our country.”
“Xiao Jiang, what are you majoring in?” Xue Shuzhi didn’t neglect her grandniece’s side either.
“I’m also studying economics.”
“With Dongda being a top-tier university, finding a good job after graduation shouldn’t be hard.”
Chai Rong nodded.
Jiang Chen smiled modestly, not making a sound.
Under the table, a soft, smooth hand had already stealthily pressed down on Jiang Chen’s thigh.
It was Li Shuru.
Managing fifty million in funds and earning a million a year was already excellent.
She felt happy for her sister.
Jiang Chen turned his head.
Li Shuru gave Jiang Chen a look.
Jiang Chen winked back at her secretly.