Chapter 693: Chapter 706: Restraint
Lu Jiaxin and Zong Shimeng arrived at DLG Towers almost simultaneously. Upon entering and seeing the interior decoration, they immediately knew it was Yu Meitong’s handiwork.
Zong Shimeng spotted a raccoon ornament, finding it very cute, and laughed, “Meitong, where did you get this raccoon? Yinyin loves dolls. I want to buy her one too.”
Yu Meitong laughed and said, “A friend brought it back from Canada and gifted it to me. If Yinyin likes it, I can ask her to buy another one. She returns to Canada a few times every month.”
Zong Shimeng gratefully thanked her with a smile.
They chatted for quite a while before the maid brought in three glasses of water. Yu Meitong apologized, “Sister Shimeng, Jiaxin, I’m sorry. I can’t tolerate strong smells right now, so we’re all stuck with plain water together.”
Both of them assured her it was no problem.
After drinking half a glass of water, Yu Meitong touched her slightly hidden belly, looked at Jiaxin, and asked, “Jiaxin, I’m just being nosy, but you’ve been with Mr. Nie for over five years. When are you planning to get married?”
Her question was at Tao Yong’s request, otherwise she wouldn’t have brought up such a sensitive topic.
Lu Jiaxin shrugged and said, “I don’t know. It depends on Nie Zhan.”
Zong Shimeng and Yu Meitong were quite surprised, because they knew Nie Zhan was eager to get married. Zong Shimeng quickly asked, “Jiaxin, what do you mean by depending on Nie Zhan?”
Lu Jiaxin spread her hands and said, “He hasn’t proposed to me, so how can we get married? Am I supposed to propose to him?”
Since learning that Yu Meitong’s wedding was scheduled for March, she had been wavering, thinking it might be a good time to get married. However, Nie Zhan hadn’t shown any sign, let alone proposed, so she wasn’t in a hurry.
Zong Shimeng and Yu Meitong exchanged glances, not knowing the issue was Nie Zhan’s hesitation.
Meanwhile, Nie Zhan, Hu Zhifeng, and Tao Yong were talking about investment and real estate stocks.
Tao Yong asked, “Ah Zhan, I heard you’re planning to open a canning factory in SL. Why there?”
The latter part of the sentence was filled with confusion.
Nie Zhan didn’t mention it was Kefuleach’s suggestion and chuckled, “I initially wanted to be a farmer, but that area only allowed me to open a canning factory. Being a farmer seemed too complicated.”
The land can’t be bought but only leased, and since he only wants to make money without stirring internal conflicts, all materials for the canning factory are purchased externally. Given the current development trend, it’s certainly not profitable, but gaining a good reputation is worthwhile.
Hu Zhifeng frowned and asked, “Ah Zhan, with the rupee devaluing so much now, can you recoup your investment there?”
SL has overwhelming internal conflicts and is likely to affect foreign investors. He thinks it’s better not to touch this landmine; otherwise, one careless move could cause severe consequences.
Nie Zhan laughed and said, “It’s not good now, but I have faith in its future.”
He didn’t elaborate. Throughout his discussions, he only offered a few points, leaving it up to others whether they wanted to listen, having fulfilled his part in reminding them as friends.
Tao Yong trusts his and Lu Jiaxin’s vision and exceptions. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have much liquidity on hand and lacks the capital to participate in their projects.
Nie Zhan didn’t want to continue the topic; investing in SL was due to Jiaxin’s judgment, and he couldn’t tell anyone about it. Like Jiaxin’s accurate intuition, it’s better if fewer people know.
After thinking for a moment, Nie Zhan said, “Five Auspicious Jewelry is planning to enter the Mainland, and Liang Weibo already went to the Forty-nine City for inspection two days ago.”
It wasn’t market research but site selection for stores and jewelry processing plants. According to Lu Jiaxin’s plan, the processing plant needs to buy land and build itself.
Hu Zhifeng wasn’t surprised because Lu Jiaxin had previously told Zong Shimeng about Green Forest and the jewelry company’s future entry into the Mainland: “So soon? I thought it would be a couple of years.”
Nie Zhan smiled and explained the reason, “This time Jiaxin’s nephew got married and gifted the niece-in-law a set of gold jewelry. During the wedding, the bride wore this set of jewelry and received unanimous praise. Jiaxin, upon learning, felt the time had come to enter the Mainland.”
“Not just Five Auspicious Jewelry, Green Forest and Wanjia Film and Television will also gradually enter the Mainland. There’s a large population there, and the current policy focuses on the economy. The future market is vast. Brother Feng, if you’re interested in investing in the Mainland, I suggest you don’t wait.”
Business is all about timing; once the market is divided and you enter, if you’re lucky, you might get a sip; if not, you could lose your principal. Conversely, those who enter early often reap great rewards.
In fact, Five Auspicious entering the Mainland now is already considered late, and his Peninsula Hotel will be completed in a few months; once the decorations are done, it can start operating.
Hu Zhifeng commented, “My brother is back.”
This response was somewhat irrelevant. Nie Zhan knew him well enough to sense something was up, “What’s your brother back for?”
Hu Family’s second son, and he were both thirty-two years old, having been fascinated with various interests since childhood. One moment wanted to be the world’s greatest sailor, the next wanted to be the world’s greatest photographer. The family spends three million annually to support him.
Hu Zhifeng was a bit troubled, “He’s recently become obsessed with astronomy and wants to buy a set of astronomical equipment, asking for five million. My dad doesn’t agree, but my grandma dotes on him the most and wants to sweet-talk her into getting him the money. Then she suggested to my dad to divide the family assets.”
Nie Zhan and Tao Yong exchanged glances; Grandma Hu was indeed interesting.
Hu Zhifeng said, “My dad didn’t agree, but my grandma cried to my grandpa and cursed my dad. In the end, my dad had no choice but to compromise and give him five million.”
Hu’s carefree and spontaneous nature is half Grandma Hu’s responsibility.
Nie Zhan comforted, “Having personal hobbies is a good thing. Look at your brothers-in-law, both fighting for power in the company almost led to its downfall.”
Hu Zhifeng shook his head in explanation, “I’m not worried about the five million; I’m concerned that this can’t be sustained, so I went to discuss it with him. Zhisheng told me to take over soon, saying dad’s old-fashioned thinking is dangerous for the company.”
Nie Zhan knew Hu Zhisheng was very smart, but he had no interest in business, “Your brother’s words aren’t without reason.”
Hu Zhifeng actually had some issues with Old Master Hu, “After the stock market crash in ’87, I suggested he take loans to hoard land, but he refused; in ’88, after the real estate market crash, I suggested again, but he still refused, wasting two great opportunities. Last time you invited me to invest, but I didn’t have enough money then and wanted my family bank to invest 10%, but he rejected that too.”
He really didn’t have money at that time, and all his funds were invested in Little Days; little did he know he’d recoup his investments there soon after!
Tao Yong, less patient than Nie Zhan, asked, “Brother Feng, what do you plan to do this time?”
Hu Zhifeng replied, “If Nie Zhan and Miss Lu’s SL investment turns profitable, I’ll convince my dad to enter the Mainland.”
The Hu Family’s industry structure is somewhat similar to Nie Family’s, predominantly real estate and banking, with ventures in hotels, ports, containers, and communications. With successful Mainland investments, he hopes Father Hu will gradually relinquish control.