Chapter 271: Chapter 260: The Cellar Within The Cellar Chapter 271: Chapter 260: The Cellar Within The Cellar Su Hongying was surprised to see Lu Jiaxin as well, for the girl had truly transformed within the year. Not only was her attire fashionable, but she also became increasingly beautiful.
Lu Jiaxin was equally surprised because the long-sleeved dress Su Hongying was wearing was one of her own design collections from the previous year. The dress suited her perfectly. Had she been in Hong Kong, she would have suggested that Su Heyuan could employ Su Hongying to help with advertisements. Of course, that was just an idea. Given Madam Xie’s status, it wouldn’t be possible for her to do such things.
After taking Lu Jiaxin upstairs and closing the door, Su Hongying said with a laugh, “No wonder you were voted the most beautiful campus flower, the title is well-deserved indeed.”
Lu Jiaxin was slightly embarrassed, “Aunt Su, why are you teasing me too?”
Patting her hand, Su Hongying said, “I am just stating the truth. Give it another two years, and you will undoubtedly be the number one beauty in Hong Kong.”
Lu Jiaxin thought to herself that she didn’t want to be Hong Kong’s number one beauty queen; she aimed to become Hong Kong’s richest woman. The one who had been voted Hong Kong’s number one beauty ended up as prey for wealthy businessmen and playboys, only to become a laughingstock after the “Golf incident”, utterly discredited. But being the richest woman was different; those wealthy men and playboys would have to treat her with respect.
Seeing that Lu Jiaxin didn’t seem interested, Su Hongying laughingly changed the subject, “Jiaxin, how long do you plan to stay this time around?”
Lu Jiaxin was planning to stay for a week, “The main purpose of this trip is to share good news with my mom; there’s nothing else of importance. But since it’s a rare visit back, I would like to go around and see places. I might not get the chance to be so leisurely on my next visit.”
The next time she would come back would be to move the graves. Once the graves were relocated, she would have no attachment here and wouldn’t come back unless it was for something special.
Upon nodding, Su Hongying got to the point, “Heyuan mentioned you wanted to sell your shares, and he is currently gathering the funds. Jiaxin, Qirui is making so much money now, why do you want to withdraw?”
Most of Qirui’s clothing was produced by the mainland processing factories, which also made a good amount of foreign exchange. With such a lucrative business, one wouldn’t pull out without a special reason.
Lu Jiaxin explained, “The company is indeed making money, but my perspective doesn’t align with Big Brother Su’s. It’s better to separate, to avoid losing even our friendship in the future.”
Reputation was one reason, but the main one was that she wanted to bet on the Plaza Accord. If she won this bet, she would be able to buy luxury homes and open retail stores, and maybe even establish her own brand next year or the year after; if she lost, she would have to start all over again. However, she wasn’t afraid. She was still young and starting over would only cost her more time.
Su Hongying felt there was more to the reason than what was said, but since Lu Jiaxin didn’t elaborate, she didn’t press further, “Jiaxin, your mother likes jade ornaments. She secretly collected quite a few pieces of jade. She didn’t tell you when you were younger, fearing you might let it slip, so she entrusted this matter to me.”
Lu Jiaxin nodded, “I know, Su Heming informed me last year.”
With a nod, Su Hongying continued, “Your mother’s intention was to give you these ornaments when you turned twenty and were mature and steady enough to handle them. Even though you’re not yet twenty, having experienced much, you’re already capable of handling these matters, so it’s time to give these to you.”
Lu Jiaxin was somewhat excited. She had come back this time intending to take the batch of jade to Hong Kong; if Su Hongying hadn’t brought it up, she would have mentioned it herself.
With a smile, Su Hongying said, “These items are hidden in the cellar of your house.”
Lu Jiaxin was taken aback, “In the cellar?”
Humming in confirmation, Su Hongying said, “Your mother said the house was her legacy to you, and you wouldn’t sell it regardless of whether you were faring well or not. Therefore, these items are safest at the Radiance Road property.”
Top-grade jade was always valuable in any era. As her daughter-in-law in the Xie Family, it was impossible for her to be responsible for their storage. Back then, policies were not as relaxed as they are now; any leak could have implicated her husband and the Xie family. Mrs. Lu’s arrangement was very sensible.
After some thought, Lu Jiaxin understood, “A cellar within a cellar?”
Seeing Su Hongying nod, Lu Jiaxin realized, “No wonder our cellar is unusually dry, not damp at all, now it makes sense.”
Jade needed to be kept in dry places; prolonged exposure to dampness could damage the stones. Likely considering this, Mrs. Lu had spent a lot of money to have the cellar modified.
Su Hongying nodded and said, “Yes, the hidden cellar. It’s behind that row of wooden planks. Pry open the planks and then push away the layer of soil behind them to access it.”
“Aunt Su, thank you.”
Su Hongying felt ashamed at this gratitude. She said, “To tell the truth, it’s Uncle Xie and I who have wronged you. If we hadn’t been negligent and allowed others to take advantage, your mother wouldn’t have gotten sick trying to save Yichen and passed away so soon, causing you to suffer so much in previous years, and to still be dependent on others now.”
Jiaxin’s heart grew heavy, and she couldn’t help but lower her head.
Grasping her hand, Su Hongying said, “If anyone in Hong Kong tries to bully you, tell Heyuan. If he can’t help, call me.”
Jiaxin smiled and said, “I will.”
The two chatted for quite a while, and Jiaxin checked the time and indicated it was getting late and she should head back.
Su Hongying wouldn’t let her go, grabbing her hand and insisting, “Stay and have dinner with us today. Don’t worry, Old Master Xie has something to do and won’t be back until the afternoon, and your Uncle Xie won’t be home from work until evening.”
To be honest, Jiaxin was not afraid of Old Master Xie or Xie Kaixiao, but it was always better to avoid having to share a meal if possible. She had never met them, but she was sure they must be very serious people.
As they went downstairs, Su Hongying said with a touch of regret, “Yichen went to school today, otherwise you could have met him.”
When Jiaxin had visited last time, her son wasn’t home either, and the two had not met to this day. Of course, they had met several times when they were little, but it had been so long they probably didn’t remember each other.
The meal was ready, and just as they were about to sit down, someone from the Xie Family returned. Jiaxin initially thought it was Old Master Xie, but to her surprise, it turned out to be the Second Son’s Wife of the Xie Family.
The Second Son’s Wife came in with a beautiful young lady, and both looked at Jiaxin with scrutiny and defensiveness. “Eldest Sister-in-law, who is this girl?”
They didn’t even know her and were looking at her . Jiaxin felt very annoyed, thinking there was something wrong with these two women.
With a smile, Su Hongying introduced, “Younger Sister-in-law, this is Jiaxin. She came all the way back from Hong Kong especially to share the good news about her college entrance exam with her mother.”
To avoid further explanations, she simply referred to the wills examination as the college entrance exam.
Second Sister-in-law Xie expressed surprise, “Eldest Sister-in-law, are the dates for Hong Kong’s college entrance exams different from the Mainland?”
After hearing Su Hongying affirm they were different, Second Sister-in-law Xie looked at Jiaxin and asked, “How did it go?”
“Which university did you apply to?”
Finding herself growing impatient with the barrage of questions, Jiaxin nonetheless managed a smile for the sake of Aunt Su and replied, “I applied to Hong Kong University. Aunt Su, I need to attend to some matters, so I’ll be going now.”
She didn’t want to join them for a meal and risk indigestion. Before, she had no choice; now, she had enough strength to stop worrying about others’ opinions.
Aunt Su could tell that Jiaxin was upset by the younger sister-in-law’s behavior. She sighed inwardly, unsure if Jiaxin’s defiant nature was good or bad, “Then get on with your work, and come visit when you have time.”