The End of the Year

“Isn’t it normal for an elder brother to celebrate his sister’s birthday?” Wang Yunzhong said, “Besides, it’s been so many years, but I’ve never celebrated Xiao Mei’s birthday. Can’t I make it up to her?”

“I don’t know!” The old lady turned around angrily.

In her heart, she almost had no feelings for her elder daughter anymore. After what had happened in the past year, the old lady gritted her teeth when she thought of this daughter. However, her elder son, whom she doted on the most, still thought of ways to get close to her elder daughter. The most infuriating thing was that the old man supported his son to do so.

This made the old lady feel like she was receiving blame from both sides and putting herself in a difficult position.

So she had fallen out with her elder daughter for this family, but in the end, no one was on her side? Now, her son was going to celebrate someone else’s birthday. It was ridiculous just thinking about it!

However, the old lady didn’t tell Wang Yunzhong the date because she really couldn’t remember her daughter’s birthday.

In the past few decades, since Wang Yunmei was born, she had never celebrated her birthday. She only remembered that it was snowing in December, but she had forgotten the exact day!

Seeing the old lady’s appearance, Wang Yunzhong couldn’t be bothered to ask further. He would ask the old man later. He said nothing else and turned around to go upstairs.

The living room fell silent. The old lady turned around and exhaled as she looked at the empty living room!

…

Three days later, after Bai Zhou had settled everything in the company, he flew to Italy with Chi Yang alone.

The goal of this trip was to achieve an employment relationship with Leader Hans’ mercenary group.

Jian Ai didn’t interfere too much in this matter because she believed that Bai Zhou could handle it.

After Bai Zhou left, he temporarily handed the company’s matters to Jian Ai. Fortunately, Bai Zhou had already dealt with most of the company’s matters before he left, so he did not add too much burden to Jian Ai.

Amidst the busyness, December quietly arrived.

This was the last month of 2002. It was the first year-end since the company was established. The employees of East Sea Real Estate, Rose Entertainment, and Shuiyun Club also started preparations for the annual meeting. The entire corporation’s atmosphere was filled with joy.

The most important job Jian Ai was facing now was that the second round of bidding for the South City demolition project was about to start.

Unlike the first round of bidding, there was no bidding document for the second round. Instead, all the companies that passed the first round of bidding had to prepare a well-founded PowerPoint and bid live at the bidding conference.

This bidding model was more open, fair, and transparent, but it was also seen as the most difficult round. Especially for a new company like East Sea Real Estate, passing the first round of bidding had already caused many people to fantasize that they had received preferential treatment. Now, the bidding model for the second round was like being naked. There was no cover!

Jian Ai knew that East Sea Real Estate’s momentum in Baiyun City this year was too fierce, causing many people to be jealous. Countless peers were waiting to see East Sea Real Estate make a fool of themselves. It was also because of this that Jian Ai’s nerves tightened. She initially did not have any excessive hopes for this bid, but she did not expect that they would coincidentally carve out a path from the first round.

People were like this. After something they did not expect came true, it would inexplicably ignite hope.

Therefore, compared to the Buddhist mentality of the first round of bidding, Jian Ai’s fighting spirit ignited in her heart in the second round of bidding. It also aroused the competitiveness she had not seen in a long time.

This time, she really wanted to win!

She had already experienced the model of live bidding countless times in her previous life. The company’s PowerPoint slides were also constantly refreshing and improving with the passage of time. Real estate had never been the product of inherent ideas. In the future, the real estate developers who ranked among the richest people in the country were not old and stubborn. Only innovation would make people improve.

This was Jian Ai’s unique advantage. Her thoughts and business theoretical model had improved for fourteen years.

Fourteen years was enough for East Sea Real Estate to have an insurmountable gap between it and other enterprises. Therefore, even if Jian Ai knew that the company’s scale and financial resources might not be competitive, with her far more forward-looking market and era-crossing business views, Jian Ai believed that East Sea Real Estate would have a fighting chance in the second round of bidding!

Therefore, Jian Ai had invested most of her energy in this matter recently.

…

A week later, Jian Changsheng returned from a business trip in the capital.

After the noon flight landed, Jian Changsheng went home first.

“Husband, you’re back!”

Qiao Shuyi went to the door to pick him up. She reached out to take Jian Changsheng’s luggage and said gently, “You’re tired, right? You’re in time for lunch. Knowing that you’re back, I specially asked Nanny Xu to make crucian carp soup. Do you want to take a bath first or have lunch first?”

Jian Changsheng took off his shoes but said anxiously, “I’m sorry, Wife. I don’t have time to eat. After changing my clothes, I have to go to the company. I have an important meeting later!”

“Ah?” Qiao Shuyi was stunned when she heard that. She quickly said with concern, “Didn’t you just get off the plane? You’re going back to the company for a meeting? A meal won’t take long!”

“The flight was delayed. I’m almost late!” Jian Changsheng quickly went up the stairs. “Eat first. I’ll take a bite at the company after the meeting. Don’t worry about me!”

Qiao Shuyi held Jian Changsheng’s coat and stood by the stairs. She opened her mouth but said nothing.

However, looking at Jian Changsheng’s busy figure, her heart ached.

Not long after, Jian Changsheng changed his clothes and quickly went downstairs. However, he didn’t forget to walk to the sofa and kiss Qiao Shuyi’s forehead. Then, he looked into her eyes and said gently, “Eat obediently. I’m leaving!”

Qiao Shuyi knew that as the CEO of the company, Jian Changsheng had to put everything in the company first. How could she lose her temper at him just because of a meal? Therefore, she immediately revealed an understanding smile and nodded gently. “Drive slowly. Don’t be anxious!”

Jian Changsheng smiled and kissed her again before standing up to leave.

When the door closed, Qiao Shuyi pursed her lips and sighed. She was stunned for a long time with a helpless expression. Then, she stood up and walked to the dining table to sit down. Looking at the table full of dishes, she immediately lost her appetite.

“Madam, eat it while it’s hot?” Nanny Xu brought out the carp soup and mumbled.

Qiao Shuyi slowly came back to her senses. She looked at the carp soup for a few seconds and suddenly turned to Nanny Xu. “Nanny Xu, bring over the thermal lunch box at home. Pick a few of Changsheng’s favorite dishes and scoop a bowl of soup. I’ll send it to his company!”

Nanny Xu was stunned for a moment before coming back to her senses. She quickly nodded. “I’ll scoop an extra serving. Madam can eat with Sir in the company!”

Qiao Shuyi couldn’t help but smile and nod. “Alright!”