Chapter 257: Chapter 246 Over a Hundred Million Fortune Chapter 257: Chapter 246 Over a Hundred Million Fortune How could skewers be complete without beer? While chatting, Lu Jiaxin and Su Heyuan munched on skewers and drank beer, not realizing it was already eleven o’clock.
Gu Wenfeng enjoyed skewers without touching a drop of alcohol, and Xiaoxiao wanted to drink but he stopped her. As a bodyguard, he was strictly forbidden from drinking on the job.
Lu Jiaxin glanced at the time and said to Su Heyuan, “It’s getting late, I should get going. I’ll treat you to another meal once I’m back from the Mainland.”
“Then I’ll be waiting,” he replied.
On the way back, Xiaoxiao said to Lu Jiaxin, “Sister Xin, the barbecue here is really good. Do you think they would teach me if I wanted to learn?”
Lu Jiaxin knew she liked to eat, but it was the first time she had spoken of learning to cook: “If you want to learn, I’ll pay for the tuition. As long as the money is right and you promise not to compete with them, they will teach.”
Xiaoxiao had no intention to learn herself: “I want my parents to learn it so they can set up a stand back in Yangcheng City. It’s tiring, but it’s better than farming. Plus, we live in a mountain village where even the teachers don’t speak Mandarin as well as I do. Dreaming of going to college after studying in our hometown would be foolish.”
Thinking ahead, Lu Jiaxin said, “Your idea is good but not practical. Not to mention how complicated it is to come to Hong Kong, the costs of food, lodging, and learning the craft are significant.”
Xiaoxiao was somewhat disappointed.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and suggested, “There might be barbecue in the Mainland now. You could have your grandfather look around for a place, then have your parents learn from them. If not, you could buy the recipe from the owner here and let your parents experiment at home. With enough dedication, the flavor won’t be bad. But both Yangcheng City and Peng City are pretty chaotic, and if you’re running a late-night food stall and it becomes successful, you’re sure to face troublemakers. Only your grandfather can handle that situation.”
Although she had never met Xiaoxiao’s parents, from her descriptions, Lu Jiaxin knew her father was an honest farmer and her stepmother was fierce but decent.
Xiaoxiao felt that was also a good plan and said, “Once I cross the sea, I’ll discuss it with my grandpa. He’s getting on in years and not as healthy as before. I’d be more at ease if my parents were with him.”
Having slept too much during the day, Lu Jiaxin wasn’t sleepy when she got home, so she started calculating her assets. She had nearly 40 million in Hongzhong stocks (after deducting taxes and fees); her aunt had given her 30 million; cash, Clivia, and antiques totaled around 10 million; last year’s dividends from the clothing factory had been used to buy Hongzhong stocks, this year’s dividends amounted to 13 million; with another 2 million cash in the account, the total was 95 million.
Without doing the math, she wouldn’t have known, and now she was taken aback. Counting all her diverse investments, including her shares in Qirui, her net worth exceeded a hundred million.
Lu Jiaxin murmured to herself in a voice only she could hear, “The clothing factory is so profitable, I really don’t want to sell all my shares.”
Thinking it over, she decided to keep twenty percent of the shares for herself and sell forty percent to Su Heyuan. This guy would already have his hands full just taking on forty percent. Given that Qirui was going downmarket, she planned to create her own brand, so she wouldn’t design clothes for them anymore. Otherwise, if she became famous later on, this would be the perfect scandal. The best move would be to put the shares in the hands of someone trustworthy.
After consideration, Xue Mao seemed the best fit; Lu Jiaxin didn’t trust anyone else. Right, after returning from the Forty-nine City, she should discuss it with Xue Mao. There shouldn’t be a problem.
After tallying her accounts, Lu Jiaxin felt more spirited and started pondering her next moves. She remembered that the Plaza Accord would be signed in September this year, and that would be an opportunity to speculate in foreign exchange. After making money in the forex market, she’d open a retail clothing store, and once that was profitable, she’d start her own brand.
As for which brands to sell in the retail clothing store, drawing on the experience of others and her own knowledge wouldn’t be hard. After all, the years spent in Huadu weren’t for nothing.
She finally fell asleep around one a.m. and woke up late the next day. Stretching lazily, she got up, opened the curtains, and was greeted by bright sunshine outside.
As they ate breakfast, Jiaxin said to Xiaoxiao, “I’ll be heading to the Guh Residence later, and Brother Feng can take me there. I’ll be going back in a couple of days, so today you can go to the wholesale market with Sister Feng to shop for some stuff. But don’t buy too much, or if you can’t get through customs, you will have to wait for me in Hong Kong.”
Xiaoxiao immediately started pondering what to buy, discarding anything too flashy and focusing on practical items.
Jiaxin didn’t concern herself with Xiaoxiao’s plans, finished breakfast, changed her clothes, and went to the Guh Residence. When she arrived, Haifan was in the backyard accompanying Xiuxiu on a walk.
Haifan was very pleased to see Jiaxin, “Cousin, how did your exams go?”
Jiaxin flicked his forehead, and seeing his puzzled face, she said with a smile, “After someone finishes exams, don’t ask about their scores. Like you, if you didn’t do well and everyone kept asking about your results, wouldn’t you feel anxious and pressured?”
Haifan quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, cousin. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Just as he finished speaking, Xiuxiu came over and asked, “Jiaxin, how did your exams go?”
Haifan wanted to remind her not to ask, to avoid making his cousin tense. But, it turned out that Jiaxin’s attitude towards Aunt was completely different from her attitude toward him.
Jiaxin replied with a smile, “It should be fine.”
She could speak confidently in front of Heyuan, but in front of an elder, she still preferred to leave some room for doubt.
Xiuxiu happily repeated “good” three times and then, taking Jiaxin’s hand, said, “If you get into college, Aunt wants to reward you.”
Jiaxin didn’t refuse and played along, “Aunt, what will you reward me with?”
Xiuxiu led Jiaxin upstairs, took a property deed out of the safe, and said, “This is a storefront I bought more than a decade ago. The annual rent is quite good; you can use it for pocket money.”
Seeing Haifan eyeing the property deed, she said cheerfully, “When you get into college, Aunt will give you a storefront too.”
Upon seeing the address on the property deed, Jiaxin declined, “A storefront in Causeway Bay worth tens of millions, Aunt, I can’t accept this.”
If it were a house worth a mere million or two, she wouldn’t have hesitated, just like with the previous two properties. But a storefront in a bustling area worth tens of millions was something she dared not accept.
Xiuxiu patted her hand, “Just take it if I’m giving it to you. Aunt doesn’t have much else, but I do have many storefronts and houses, take it.”
Jiaxin said, “Aunt, if you give me this storefront, I’ll sell it and use the money to help children who have dropped out of school.”
Aunt Mei replied with a smile, “Miss Cousin, when the Eldest Young Master and the Young Mistress got into college, the Old Madam rewarded them too. The Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master received high-end properties, and the Young Mistress got a shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. Now that you’re going to college, giving you a storefront won’t raise eyebrows among them.”
All Jiaxin wanted to do was laugh. How could she compare herself with Mingzhu and the others? She could understand if Aunt had dementia, but how did Aunt Mei become so naive.