Chapter 322: Returning to Hong Kong
Chapter 322: Returning to Hong Kong
Lu Jiaxin didn't deny it; after what happened with the shell company, there was no point in hiding things from Nie Zhan. Besides, her suggestion, bold as it may be, wouldn't come as a shock to him.
"What do you think of my suggestion?"
"I'll stockpile more land, and keep the debt ratio below fifty percent. Jiaxin, when you start your own company, make sure your debt ratio stays below that threshold as well, or else you might run into trouble," Nie Zhan advised.
Lu Jiaxin readily agreed. A person's energy was limited, and after what happened in her past life, she knew the importance of a balanced lifestyle. Thus, her focus would be on the fashion business, with financial investments and other ventures on the side.
On the plane, Lu Jiaxin felt no desire to chat and spent the entire journey in a half-asleep daze. Only after they landed did Nie Zhan ask whether she wanted to stay at a hotel or at Gu Manor.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Jiaxin replied, "I'll stay at a hotel tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll visit Aunt Gu, and then we can go view the house."
"Alright," Nie Zhan agreed.
He had already made arrangements with a real estate agent to view the bungalow tomorrow morning. He had described the layout of the house to her, and Lu Jiaxin had immediately taken a liking to it, but she wanted to see it in person before making a decision.
"Okay."
After a good night's rest, Lu Jiaxin felt refreshed. Realizing that it had been a while since she last contacted Su Heming, she decided to give him a call.
The phone was answered quickly, and it was Su Heming himself who picked up. "Jiaxin, you're finally back! If you hadn't returned soon, I would've had to go abroad to look for you."
Lu Jiaxin teased, "You would've gone abroad to find me? You don't even speak English, and you don't know anyone there. If you went, I'd be the one having to search for you."
Su Heming admitted his shortcomings, "It's true that I don't speak English, but I could've brought someone who does! Never mind that now. Jiaxin, did you know that your father has remarried?!"
"I only got off the plane three hours ago and have been sleeping at the hotel ever since. How would I know?" Lu Jiaxin replied.
Su Heming was furious when he heard the news. "Has your father, Lu Hongjun, gone crazy over women? It hasn't even been that long, and he's remarried, and to a widow with five children, no less! That widow is so poor that her eldest and second sons are of marrying age, but they still can't afford to take wives. It's obvious that she's after your father's money and house."
Lu Jiaxin waited for him to finish his rant and then laughed, "It's fine, let him remarry if he wants to. Anyway, it doesn't affect me here in Hong Kong. In fact, it's better this way. Now he'll have someone to take care of him when he's sick, and my brothers and I won't have to bother."
"Aren't you angry at all?" Su Heming asked, surprised.
Lu Jiaxin was blunt in her response, "That man means less than a stranger to me. Why would I be angry? It's not worth ruining my health over."
Su Heming felt that his anger had been for nothing, "It's good that you can think that way. That kind of scum isn't worth our anger."
Lu Jiaxin wasn't worried in the slightest, "Rest assured, I won't let a single extra cent of my money go to him. I'll make sure it goes to those who truly need it."
Su Heming advised her not to return home, lest she get entangled with her new stepmother. He shared how they had been pestered by relatives and so-called friends from their hometown, all of whom were after their money. He had no qualms about bluntly rejecting these shameless freeloaders. Where were they when his family was suffering and in need of help? Now that they were successful, these people only wanted to take advantage. Such was the way of the world. Of course, they were always grateful and reciprocated kindness to those who genuinely cared for them or offered a helping hand.
Lu Jiaxin said, "I'll be returning home before the New Year, and again before the Qingming Festival next year. After that, I won't go back unless it's necessary."
The main reason for her visit before the New Year was to pay respects to her mother, Lu Mu. As for the house purchase, she intended to leave that matter to He Bin, who was more familiar with the mainland and had experience in this area.
"Won't you get tired from all that traveling?" Su Heming asked, concerned.
Lu Jiaxin laughed, "Next year, I plan to relocate my mother and grandmother's graves here. But first, I'll need to consult a feng shui master to choose an auspicious site and an appropriate date for the relocation."
"If there's anything I can do to help, just say the word," Su Heming offered.
Lu Jiaxin assured him that she wouldn't hesitate to ask for his help if needed. They chatted some more about the interesting things she had encountered during her travels, and before they knew it, an hour had passed.
In the evening, Lu Jiaxin called her family. It was around the time when her second brother's wife, Lu Ersao, would be at home, so the call was answered quickly.
Upon hearing Lu Jiaxin's voice, Lu Ersao exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and delight, "Jiaxin, where have you been all this time? We couldn't get in touch with you, and it was only because Jiajie asked Su Heming that we found out you were on an educational trip abroad."
Lu Jiaxin was grateful to Su Heming for his discretion in describing her trip as an educational one. While it wouldn't have been a problem for her family to know the truth, she wanted to avoid their nagging.
"I called Su Heming in the afternoon, and he told me that my father has remarried," Lu Jiaxin said. "It's to that woman with five children that my eldest brother mentioned before."
Lu Ersao couldn't help but vent her frustrations about the woman, "That woman is the same age as me, and I didn't attend their wedding banquet. Later, your father specifically took her to our shop to buy clothes. She cakes her face with makeup and wears waist-cinching skirts—she clearly doesn't intend to live a peaceful life."
While Lu Ersao was relatively reserved in her criticism to Lu Jiaxin, she had no qualms about bluntly calling Tang Sufin a fox spirit in front of Lu Jiajin. Despite being in her forties, Tang Sufin painted her face white as a wall and spoke in a pretentious, singsong tone. Lu Ersao couldn't stand the woman and had deliberately marked up the price of the clothes by fifty percent.
Lu Jiaxin scoffed, "A woman who wants to live a peaceful life wouldn't interest him. He prefers someone who's good at dressing up and knows how to fawn over him."
Indeed, Lu Jiaxin had hit the nail on the head.
Lu Ersao continued, "Jiaxin, when you come back, don't go see her. That woman is quite something! Less than ten days after marrying your father, she arranged a marriage for her useless eldest son, and the wedding is set for next month. They even invited us to attend, hmph! I won't go, they're just dreaming if they think they'll get a gift from me."
Lu Jiaxin felt that Lu Ersao's personality truly matched her second brother's.
Lu Ersao went on, "Yes, that woman has moved her three youngest children into the compound, and she's given her two older sons the two rooms that used to belong to her family. I heard that she even spent money to renovate those rooms. Before she married your father, her family was so poor that they couldn't even afford meat. Now, not only does she have the money for her sons' weddings, but she's also able to renovate their houses. Jiaxin, that woman is after your father's money. I'm worried that the house in the compound might be at risk now."
Lu Jiaxin didn't really mind, but the thought of that house being occupied by such people still irked her. She didn't want to waste her time and energy fighting over it, though. She considered giving the house to her father's second wife, but she kept this thought to herself, knowing that Lu Ersao wouldn't accept it. When the time came for the housing reform, if the second wife didn't want the house, Lu Jiaxin planned to let Lu Ersao know of her intentions. She was confident that Lu Ersao, with her fiery temperament and boldness, would be able to reclaim the house in the compound.
(End of Chapter)
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