Chapter 693: Oil Prices Soar
Chapter 693: Oil Prices Soar
With the escalating tension between Iraq and Kuwait, everyone anticipated a hike in oil prices. As expected, everyone rushed to invest in oil futures, and the price of crude oil began to rise, just as Nie Zan had foreseen, starting from the end of July.
Zong Shimeng called Lu Jiaxin and said, "Jiaxin, oil prices went up again today. I've already bought two million in greenbacks worth of oil. Aren't you going to buy some?"
Crude oil prices had been on a relentless upward trajectory, similar to the gold prices from a few years back, and she couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon, investing all her liquid assets.
Lu Jiaxin laughed and said, "I wanted to buy some, but it's too late now."
Investing a mere three to five million wasn't particularly exciting, and larger amounts were simply out of reach. Everyone knew that oil prices would soar, and with many investors entering the market, it became increasingly difficult to get in on the action later on. Fortunately, Nie Zan had heeded her advice and invested in oil futures worth one hundred million greenbacks, raking in substantial profits.
Zong Shimeng felt a twinge of regret.
However, Lu Jiaxin didn't share her sentiment and chuckled, "It's impossible for me to make money on every deal. If I did, I'd be the daughter of the God of Fortune himself."
Zong Shimeng laughed aloud, "I heard your businesses in the mainland are doing exceptionally well. Even if you missed out on the oil futures, there are plenty of other opportunities to make money."
"This is just the beginning," Lu Jiaxin replied. "Once we expand, the money will come pouring in."
She didn't have overly ambitious goals; she was content with managing the handful of companies she already had. She had no desire to become the richest person; instead, she aspired to live a wealthy and leisurely life. Life was fleeting, and she intended to savor every moment, determined not to repeat the mistakes of her past life, where she had worked herself to an early grave, leaving behind a trail of regrets.
Suddenly, Zong Shimeng asked, "Jiaxin, do you think we can expand your beauty salon to the mainland in the future?"
Lu Jiaxin cleared her throat and replied, "Of course! Women will go to great lengths to enhance their beauty, especially those with money to spare. They will gladly invest in themselves. However, I think we should consider adding new services to your salon, such as establishing a postpartum care center. There's a huge demand for that in the mainland right now."
"A postpartum care center?"
Lu Jiaxin nodded, "With the current policy in the mainland limiting families to only one child, many women who can afford it would prefer not to rely on their mothers or mothers-in-law for postpartum care. A postpartum care center would be their ideal choice."
Even in a few years, postpartum care centers would likely still be a luxury only accessible to wealthy women. But that was precisely the target market—catering to the affluent.
Zong Shimeng thought this was a novel idea worth considering seriously. She was committed to running her beauty salon as a serious business, contrary to what she had told Hu Zhifeng—that it was merely a place for socializing. Under her dedicated management, the salon was thriving, especially with the introduction of the medicinal bath, which had received rave reviews. However, the number of medicinal baths was limited, and appointments were scarce. As Lu Jiaxin had pointed out, this scarcity created a sense of exclusivity and urgency, a classic marketing strategy.
Crude oil prices continued their upward climb, surging from 21 greenbacks per barrel at the end of July to 46 greenbacks per barrel in mid-October, an increase of over 110%. Everyone was raking in massive profits, and Nie Zan was no exception, earning over five hundred million greenbacks.
Nie Zan offered to transfer two hundred million to Lu Jiaxin, "I had only intended to invest fifty million, but you persuaded me to go for a hundred million. So I want to give you half of the profits."
Lu Jiaxin smiled softly, "You were always going to invest a hundred million. It was your hesitation that made me unsure. I shouldn't take this half."
"We're husband and wife," Nie Zan argued. "Why are you being so calculative?"
Lu Jiaxin's eyes curved in a smile, "Let's keep business separate from our personal lives. If you're giving me two hundred million to spend, of course, I'll gladly accept it. In fact, it comes at the perfect time as I have many upcoming expenses."
With only two months left until their wedding, there were countless preparations to be made. They planned to hold a grand ceremony, inviting friends, business partners, government officials, and prominent figures from the business world.
The wedding banquet was tentatively set for 160 tables, and fortunately, the groom's family was handling the arrangements, so she didn't have to worry about it. Lu Jiaxin was in charge of the wedding dress and the bridesmaids' and groomsmen's outfits, while the wedding planning company took care of the rest of the wedding process, overseen by her two assistants. Oh, and there was one other thing she was overseeing—redecorating Nie Zan's house in Repulse Bay as their marital home.
Nie Zan smiled and apologized, "My fault, my fault. This money is for you to buy things for the wedding."
Lu Jiaxin joked, "Go ahead and use that money to keep investing! With the situation so tense, oil prices will definitely continue to rise. It would be a shame to pull out now."
"I'll listen to you," Nie Zan said.
The next day at noon, Nie Zan received a call from Nie Jingwen. Upon hearing that Nie Manlin had gone missing, he frowned and asked, "What do you mean by 'missing'?"
Nie Jingwen explained that Nie Manlin had gone out early yesterday morning, saying she was going shopping, but she hadn't returned that evening. They had assumed she was just having too much fun to come home, but when the auntie went to clean her room this morning, she found that many of her clothes were missing.
Zhang Lanlan, upon receiving the news, went to check the room and found that not only were clothes missing, but so were all of Nie Manlin's jewelry. Quick to react, she immediately had someone look into it and discovered that Nie Manlin had flown to Bangkok yesterday afternoon.
"But didn't Grandpa confiscate her passport?" Nie Zan asked. "How did she leave the country?"
Nie Jingwen was frustrated. "She reported it lost and got a new one issued. She did all this without involving her assistant or driver. I don't even dare to tell Grandpa; I'm afraid he'll get angry."
Nie Zan didn't see the need to keep it from their grandfather: "There's no need to hide it. Grandpa understands her better than we do. The most he'll do is scold her. The real issue now is what to do about the children? Grandpa is getting on in years, and that child is so spoiled and tearful. Leaving her with Grandpa will only make things harder for him."
"Grandpa really adores Nina," Nie Jingwen said. "She can stay with him during the day and then spend the nights in our building. We have nannies and aunties to take care of her, so it should be fine."
With three children of their own, Zhang Lanlan had been busy helping with Nie Zan's wedding preparations. They could only rely on the nannies and aunties to take care of the children during this busy time. Nie Jingwen believed that everything would be fine.
"But that's not a long-term solution," Nie Zan pointed out.
"Do you have a better idea?" Nie Jingwen asked.
He knew that Nie Zan wouldn't take the children in. With Lu Jiaxin's temper, how could she possibly help with childcare? So, he didn't even entertain the thought.
Nie Zan wanted to give the child away, but he knew it was impossible. Firstly, Grandpa adored Nina and wouldn't agree, and secondly, the Nie family couldn't afford to lose face like that. So, if they were to give her away, it would have to be done secretly and abroad.
Nie Zan's expression turned cold as he said, "Freeze her credit cards and cut off her allowance from the family fund for the rest of the year. Without money, she'll naturally come back."
Nie Jingwen indicated that they would need Grandpa's approval for that.
"If he doesn't agree, then Nina doesn't have to do anything either," Nie Zan said. "Let him take care of it himself. If he wants to spoil her, then let him deal with the consequences. Don't dump the problem on us."
Back then, when Grandpa had abandoned him as an infant and left, he should have imposed economic sanctions. If he had done so, Nie Zan wouldn't be acting so willfully now. As a result of Grandpa's indulgence, they were now left to deal with the bitter fruit. Nie Zan, having been born when Grandpa was still relatively young and energetic, was fine. Mina's father was loving and responsible towards his children. But Nina, being unwanted by her father and uncared for by her mother, was a burden even Grandpa couldn't bear.
(End of Chapter)
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