On July 26th, Zong Shimeng finished her postpartum confinement period. Since it was her last pregnancy, she chose to take an extended confinement period for her health.
After the confinement, the first thing Zong Shimeng did was to wash from head to toe. After breakfast and a short rest, the helpers arrived. They did her makeup and styled her hair, and even applied nail polish. Once she was ready, she returned to her room to pick out clothes and jewelry, matched them happily, and went out.
Lu Jiaxin saw her wearing a beige dress and noticed the nail polish on her hands, she was quite surprised: "You’re all made up and have nail polish, won’t your mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law have something to say?"
Zong Shimeng smiled and said, "My mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law went back to their hometown in Fujian the day before yesterday to visit graves. Today, my mom stayed at home to help take care of Xiaobao."
To maintain her figure, she didn’t breastfeed her previous three children, and naturally, the fourth one isn’t either. However, with a maternity matron and nanny to care for, plus her mom watching over, there’s nothing to worry about.
"Why did they go back to Fujian at such a coincidence?"
Zong Shimeng beamed: "Three days ago, my grandmother-in-law had a dream where she saw my grandfather-in-law in rags, and claimed there were leaks all over the house. Unable to rest, she insisted on going back, so my father-in-law had no choice but to let Zhifeng and my mother-in-law accompany her on a trip back home."
The elders always yearned for their homeland, requesting burial back home before passing. After the opening-up policy, they followed his wishes and buried him back in the birthplace.
"Looks like you’ll have a couple of free days."
Zong Shimeng laughed and said, "Yeah, I hope they stay longer this time, so I can relax for a few more days."
Yu Meitong chimed in, "It’d be better if you could move out with the children. Living with those two stubborn old ladies, it’s too stifling."
Zong Shimeng chuckled, "My mother-in-law is just old-fashioned, not liking many of today’s new things, and believes that having many children is a blessing. Actually, she’s quite nice and doesn’t intentionally trouble me."
Lu Jiaxin changed the subject, saying, "Patek Philippe has new arrivals, let’s go check them out first."
After shopping around, the three of them bought quite a few items. Zong Shimeng and Lu Jiaxin bought anything they fancied, while Yu Meitong bought for work attire.
Zong Shimeng is a super VIP at many luxury stores, able to get discounts or gifts. Yu Meitong asks her to pay for her purchases and then transfers money to her.
Yu Meitong is interesting, not willing to pay even a penny more than she has to, but will spend where it’s necessary. Jiaxin and Zong Shimeng admire her because most people won’t swallow their pride, but she doesn’t care.
Feeling tired, they went to a coffee shop to rest, chatting while sipping coffee.
Zong Shimeng laughed and asked, "Jiaxin, in April, Xinxin Real Estate sold the DLG Mansion, and everyone thought you were foolish. But the turnaround was fast, and the house prices plummeted in just over half a month."
She too purchased a DLG Mansion apartment, now it’s rented out. Although the price has dropped by over forty percent since she bought it, she is optimistic about the real estate market and believes that it’ll bounce back within two years, so she’s calm.
Yu Meitong, eyes shining, said, "Jiaxin, some are claiming that this maneuver earned you over three billion, true or false?"
Real estate differs from stock trading, with public prices and quantities. Anyone could calculate the profits if they cared to. If Xinxin Real Estate weren’t publicly listed, they would have to disclose it.
Lu Jiaxin smiled and replied: "Those media outlets love to exaggerate. It’s nowhere near that amount. That money is untouched, all reinvested in properties."
Zong Shimeng laughed and said, "With that sale and purchase, it surely exceeded three billion. Jiaxin, next time let Meitong and me in on such a good deal; let us earn some money for shopping bags."
Lu Jiaxin explained: "I wasn’t withholding info from you; it’s just that Nie Zhan wasn’t sure either. He felt the housing market was rising too fast and anticipated a market correction. So I simply followed the principle of being cautious and sold off some properties."
This explanation was acceptable to Zong Shimeng and Yu Meitong. If she had foreseen the situation, she would have sold off more than just these three properties, earning more that way.
Zong Shimeng said: "No worries, you can just tell me the next time, and I’ll weigh my options. Once I’m involved, whether there’s gain or loss, it’s my own matter."
Yu Meitong quickly added, "Jiaxin, don’t leave me out!"
Lu Jiaxin cheerfully agreed.
Zong Shimeng then brought up the issue with the Nie family. Nie Jingshu getting caught for manslaughter has already been reported. Some stories were fabricated for attention, making outlandish claims about an angry outburst for a beauty. The Nie family is ignoring these absurd rumors.
Thinking about the current situation with the Nie family, Zong Shimeng couldn’t help but reflect: "Children really need proper guidance, lest they inadvertently ruin themselves."
Being foolishly manipulated is unfortunate, but dragging Nie Manlin along too is just bad luck. With such a troublesome son, peace isn’t likely in the next lifetime.
Yu Meitong, currently without a partner, isn’t interested in baby-related matters, seeing them far off.
Lu Jiaxin feigned frustration and said, "We were all busy with work during April and May, and just wanted a vacation to unwind for a few days, everything was planned out. Then, right before leaving, something happened, and the holiday was ruined."
Yu Meitong couldn’t help but sympathize: "Jiaxin, how many times has this happened now?"
Lu Jiaxin shook her head: "I don’t know. But he’s definitely the King of Excuses in my eye. Next time we travel, I won’t include him."
Zong Shimeng laughed out loud. Indeed, every time the two plan a vacation, the Nie family stirs up some incident, foiling their plans; it’s bizarre.
To prevent Jiaxin from feeling down, Yu Meitong voluntarily divulged a suitor chasing her: "He’s a Hong Kong University finance graduate, looks alright, but his family circumstances are too poor."
The words carried a hint of regret, showing she is content with the individual, but the external circumstances deter her.
Lu Jiaxin asked: "What’s the family situation?"
Yu Meitong said, "He’s one of six children, the second oldest. He lives separately, renting. His older brother’s married with two kids and lives with their parents now. The apartment is small too, just over seven hundred square feet as a public rental unit."
"And his father suffers from severe arthritis due to laborious work; his mother was in an accident causing her right leg to not be agile, but it doesn’t affect daily life."
Zong Shimeng immediately felt it wasn’t suitable: "What about his younger siblings?"
"The oldest younger brother graduated from high school and started working, while the other three siblings are still studying."
Lu Jiaxin chuckled and remarked, "With so many brothers and sisters, once they’re all married with kids, you could film a family drama."
"What’s a family drama?"
Lu Jiaxin explained: "A family drama is a type of TV show using family development, change, and conflict over a period to reflect real-life challenges, ethical dilemmas, and era characteristics."
Zong Shimeng couldn’t help but laugh, finding her comments indirect: "Meitong, she’s hinting that such families may have all sorts of issues in the future, and you might struggle to cope."