Chapter 35

After resolving the unexpected situation at the dog castle, the amusement park was back on track and became Hu Zhenzhen's second most profitable business.

The best choice is definitely Baihua Milk.

Before she knew it, Baihua Ranch was doing better and better, and it was able to break free from Hu Zhenzhen's financial investment and even make money for her to spend.

Part of the money used to build Xijingmen Hospital came from Baihua Ranch.

Most of the money left over from the parent-child activities was invested by Hu Zhenzhen into the hospital, which accelerated the construction progress and recruitment was also underway.

Ultimately, this is a private hospital, located in a relatively underdeveloped economic area.

Normally, hiring won't be very smooth.

But Hu Zhenzhen is someone who defies common sense.

She's willing to offer high salaries and provide vacation benefits.

For busy hospitals, shift work is common. Sometimes, when things get busy, colleagues take leave, and it's possible to work a full day and night shift.

The shift work, alternating between day and night, is one thing, but hospitals don't even get to rest on holidays.

The busier the hospital is, the more people are resting.

Even during the Lunar New Year, the length of rest one can get depends on the circumstances.

Xijingmen Hospital is a private hospital, and the number of doctors and nurses it employs depends entirely on how much money Hu Zhenzhen is willing to pay.

The conditions she offered were also very simple.

Each person gets two more days off per month than those in public hospitals.

Benefits and salary are the two things that most appeal to working people, and with Hu Zhenzhen's recent fame, the recruitment of doctors went exceptionally smoothly.

She didn't need to worry about the hospital, and both the Flower Ranch and Dog Castle were safe and sound recently.

Hu Zhenzhen, who rarely had to think about business issues, turned her attention back to Jiang Chen.

She had no clue what to do in the second phase of the parent-child task.

However, since she doesn't currently have any projects that require a large sum of money, Hu Zhenzhen isn't in a hurry and wants to wait for an opportunity to participate in a school-organized activity.

She remembered that when she was in elementary school, the school often organized math competitions, group dance competitions, and occasionally craft activities. There was no reason why Jiang Chen's school never organized any of those.

If she waits a little longer and the school really doesn't plan to hold any events, she can simply donate some money to organize a small event, which shouldn't violate the system's rules.

As Hu Zhenzhen was thinking, the clock struck the hour, indicating it was almost time for school to end.

The past few nights, I had work to do, so Liu An was the one who picked up Xiao Chen.

Now that Hu Zhenzhen has some free time, she naturally stands up to pick up her son from school herself.

She hadn't been here for a while, and like many other parents, she stood at the door waiting.

Unexpectedly, she has now gained considerable fame among parents, with unfamiliar parents greeting her every two minutes.

They were friendly, but mostly talked about school and children. Hu Zhenzhen was neither polite nor spoke.

It would be fine if there were few people, but one always seems to arrive every now and then.

Sometimes there are many people, even forming a small circle, trapping Hu Zhenzhen inside.

Dealing with these enthusiastic parents was exhausting; Hu Zhenzhen's smile froze. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she quickly hid back in the car and told Liu An to stand outside and wait for Jiang Chen to come out.

They arrived early and parked their car close to the school gate.

This spot offers an excellent view and allows you to spot Jiang Chen immediately when he leaves the school.

Hu Zhenzhen, unusually, did not choose the back seat. She sat in the passenger seat, casually opened a can of peach-flavored milk, and slowly drank it with a straw.

Before long, Jiang Chen's figure appeared.

However, Hu Zhenzhen did not immediately lower the glass to call him.

He's clearly not in a good mood right now.

Hu Zhenzhen didn't recognize or have any impression of the people around Jiang Chen; they were probably not Jiang Chen's classmates.

He clung to Jiang Chen, laughing and saying something, which made Jiang Chen's impatience even more obvious.

Hu Zhenzhen rarely saw this expression on Jiang Chen's face.

He was always a well-behaved child at home, so well-behaved that Hu Zhenzhen almost forgot. As the male lead in the original book, Jiang Chen's acting skills have been good since childhood.

At least, when he was a child, he pretended nothing had happened, and Hu Zhenzhen didn't notice.

Once outside the gate and seeing Liu An, the young man naturally parted ways with Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen's expression returned to normal, obedient and without any emotion.

As he got into the car, Jiang Chen noticed Hu Zhenzhen in the passenger seat, and a surprised smile appeared on his face. "Mom, are you off today?"

Hu Zhenzhen responded, but didn't immediately ask who the boy was.

"Yes, I'm free these past two days, so I'll come pick Xiaochen up from school every day, okay?"

"good!"

Jiang Chen was clearly delighted. "I want to drink peach milk too."

Hu Zhenzhen then asked him, "Xiao Chen, was the person who came out with you just now a new friend you made at school?"

Mentioning that person, Jiang Chen's smile immediately faded.

Jiang Chen never lied to her. Even if he wanted to hide something, he would answer honestly when Hu Zhenzhen asked him.

"Not a new friend."

His direct denial surprised Hu Zhenzhen.

It seems that Xiao Chen really dislikes that child, otherwise she wouldn't have been so certain.

"They're not friends, so what were he saying to Xiao Chen just now? He seemed quite happy."

Hu Zhenzhen turned her head and handed the peach milk with the straw inserted to Jiang Chen.

It was just a question, and since she asked it, Jiang Chen had no reason not to answer.

That was Hu Zhenzhen's initial thought, but after waiting a minute and still not hearing Jiang Chen, who was obediently drinking his milk, speak, she raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Well, it seems it's something she can't know.

Children have secrets too, so Hu Zhenzhen didn't press him for answers and considerately let the question go for now.

"How about we go out for fish hot pot tonight?"

After changing the subject, Jiang Chen quickly replied, "Okay!"

He glanced somewhat guiltily at the back of Hu Zhenzhen's head, then took a deep breath, thinking he was being discreet, and looked much more relaxed.

It wasn't that Jiang Chen didn't want to tell Hu Zhenzhen; it was that he didn't know how to bring it up.

He didn't want to tell Hu Zhenzhen about it either.

The boy who was a year ahead of him had only recently started pursuing him.

Accompanying him was a third-grade girl surnamed Wu, but she only came once, and she didn't look too willing, as if she was only forced to come and interact with him.

Jiang Chen understood the meaning of this intimacy.

Ever since his mother became a trending topic on Weibo, or rather, since Baihua Milk started supplying the entire school, many people have appeared around Jiang Chen who want to be his friend.

Children's eyes are the most telling.

Jiang Chen disliked either these people who were being manipulated by their parents and were not speaking their minds, or who were shrewd and calculating.

Fortunately, he has a cold demeanor and doesn't usually talk or smile.

Those who approach him with ulterior motives will back down within a few days.

Jiang Chen originally thought that Tong Shuai would retreat in a couple of days, just like them, but he didn't.

Because his goal was not to become friends with Jiang Chen at all.

Jiang Chen didn't know what he had done to offend Tong Shuai, but he could always sense a subtle malice from him.

In the few days since we met, Tong Shuai has come to see him several times, and what he said in his words was always the same thing.

Jiang Chen looked up, making sure Hu Zhenzhen wasn't paying attention to him, and couldn't help but purse his lips as he recalled Tong Shuai's words.

"That Ms. Hu isn't your biological mother, is she? You'd better keep a close eye on her. What if she remarries and has a new child? You'll be finished, Jiang Chen. It would be too tragic to be abandoned like that. I'm just trying to warn you out of kindness."

Jiang Chen couldn't help but frown whenever he thought of those words.

Nobody believes he meant well.

Tong Shuai is clearly here to sow discord between him and his mother!

Besides, Mom loves him the most, she would never abandon him!

Jiang Chen bit down hard on the straw, making the hole a line, trying to boost his confidence.

No, absolutely not!

Soon we arrived at the place where we ate fish hot pot.

Hu Zhenzhen took the elevator up from the underground parking garage. Through the transparent elevator shaft, she could see an abandoned building complex not far away.

How come there are still unfinished buildings here?

This is already considered part of the city center. Land is incredibly valuable in such a bustling area, so how could there be a building with its skeleton already erected but abandoned there?

Hu Zhenzhen was puzzled and subconsciously glanced at Xiao Jin.

You won't believe it until you see it, and what you find will shock you.

This is not just an unfinished building, it's her unfinished building.

Hu Zhenzhen tried hard to recall, and it seemed that on the day of the lottery, she did indeed draw an unfinished building.

However, the reward didn't sound very appealing, and Hu Zhenzhen hadn't paid any attention to the location of the unfinished building from beginning to end.

Looking at it now, this unfinished building actually stands in the city center, so it doesn't seem so bad.

Hu Zhenzhen gestured in that direction and said to Liu An, "Remember that area of ​​unfinished buildings. Tell Chen Kai later and have him come and see if it can be developed."

Liu An looked out the window following her hand and frowned in surprise.

Why is the boss suddenly interested in unfinished buildings?

He said, "Okay, boss."

Before even finishing his meal and heading back, Liu An, who was eating at a single table next to the boss, couldn't wait to send the message to Chen Kai.

The boss said he wants you to check if that unfinished building area outside the Second Ring Road is worth developing.

Chen Kai's reply was very concise.

Are you crazy?

Even if Liu An said that the boss bought the Pearl Tower, a landmark in S City, he might believe it. But why would the boss buy such a dilapidated building?

Liu An rolled his eyes and slurped up a mouthful of tender fish.

Pshaw, I knew he wouldn't believe me.

Liu An quickly swiped his thumb a few times.

I'm not crazy, it's true. Remember to quickly assess what you can do there.

Upon receiving the message, Chen Kai took off his glasses and wiped them clean.

Chen Kai put his gleaming glasses back on and took a deep breath.

Very well, he wasn't mistaken; the boss really did buy an unfinished building.

Chen Kai quickly adjusted his mindset. He often couldn't quite understand his boss's ingenious ideas, but the results were usually very good. Perhaps this unfinished building project also had some highlights.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Kai immediately understood.

Send me the location.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the place Liu An had mentioned, stood down in front of the dilapidated, unfinished building, and fell into silence.

this……

This unfinished building isn't entirely without its merits.

At least it has a decent foundation, and the floors are simply three stories high.

Apart from that, it can truly be said that it has nothing at all.

Even the metal fences that are usually found at construction sites have been completely removed. I don't know if they were hauled away by garbage collectors to sell for money, or if they were blown away by the wind.

In short—

It's completely rotten.

Chen Kai stood there for ten minutes, staring at it, but couldn't see any merits.

Although the location is good, the boss could buy a place with an even better location, so why buy this land?

Chen Kai lowered his head and tapped on Liu An's profile picture on his phone.

Has the boss said what he plans to do with this building?

Liu An had just gone down to the underground parking garage when he took a quick look at the car before driving it.

Upon hearing this, he knew that Chen Kai also had no idea what to do with this unfinished building, and he gloated.

The boss said to have you investigate and see what development potential exists.

The meaning of the words changed as soon as they were spread.

Hu Zhenzhen meant that Chen Kai should really consider the actual situation when making his assessment, but after Liu An said that, Chen Kai felt more and more that this was a test for him.

Is the boss testing whether he can see the value of this land?

Chen Kai thought about it more and more and it seemed very possible.

He put aside his disdain, started walking, and circled the unfinished building again and again, trying to see its merits from different angles.

I can't even remember which lap it was.

As Chen Kai was silently staring at the building, someone suddenly called his name.

"Hey young man, would you like a bowl of fried noodles?"

He turned around and saw that it was the small, dirty noodle stall calling him.

"No, thank you."

It wasn't that Chen Kai was disgusted; he had been poor before and had spent half his life eating at street stalls, so he wasn't particular about such things.

I really can't figure out what the advantages of unfinished buildings are, so I feel unhappy and can't eat them.

"I've been watching you wander around here for ages. What are you looking for? You don't mean Old Zhang's roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), do you? He quit and moved away."

The auntie selling fried noodles had misunderstood something and explained it to Chen Kai.

"This afternoon, so many people came looking for Lao Zhang's roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). I talked until my lips were sore, but Lao Zhang refused and made me suffer along with him."

Chen Kai smiled and casually said, "Give me a plate of fried noodles."

He sat down on the small stool provided by the old lady and looked around. He then realized that the area below and even inside the unfinished building was filled with small vendors pushing carts.

Chen Kai suddenly realized.

Could this be the reason why the boss bought this piece of land?

She wants to drive away these dirty roadside stalls?

No, that's not right.

Recalling Hu Zhenzhen's attitude towards those people on Xijingmen Street, Chen Kai rejected this answer himself.

If they're not trying to expel them, then what do they want to do with these stalls?

Chen Kai casually asked the auntie who sells fried noodles a question.

"How long have you been working here? It's quite lively tonight."

Upon hearing this, the aunt knew that he had never been here before.

“We’ve been here for 5 years. This land belongs to an unfinished construction site. The urban management doesn’t care, and we don’t have to pay anything…”

She looked around to make sure no one else was nearby before whispering to Chen Kai.

"Without having to pay stall fees, who wouldn't want to do business here?"

No wonder so many stalls are gathered here.

Chen Kai understood immediately, "No one has cared about this for the past 5 years?"

"The developer of this building has run away, and the government has no money to take over, so it can only be auctioned off at a high price. Who would spend this money to buy this? It's only us small business owners who benefit a little."

Hu Zhenzhen is going to develop this place in a while. Chen Kai scratched his cheek, wisely not revealing the news.

How many stalls are there here?

The auntie was quick and efficient; in no time, she had already stir-fried the noodles and handed them to Chen Kai. "Eight yuan, will you scan the code?"

She only answered her question after confirming that Chen Kai had paid.

"There must be at least thirty of them. This place has become a mini night market, and it's quite famous."

Chen Kai didn't ask any more questions and finished eating the fried noodles.

The aunt glanced at him briefly, and couldn't help but mutter to herself.

She was just casually trying to drum up business, and regretted it a little when she saw what he was wearing.

The man was dressed in a suit and looked neat and tidy; it was unexpected that he could actually eat street food.

Chen Kai stood up and threw the lunchbox into the trash can.

He casually snapped a couple of photos of the place, then excitedly sat in his car and began writing down his plans for the unfinished building.

Hu Zhenzhen returned home and sat on the sofa to rest for a while, just in time to see Chen Kai rushing in excitedly.

"Boss, I understand what you mean!"

"ah?"

Hu Zhenzhen looked up with a puzzled expression, then remembered that she had asked him to look at the unfinished building, and asked, "You mean the unfinished building?"

“Yes,” Chen Kai opened his tablet and showed Hu Zhenzhen the photos he had just taken. “I guessed what you were thinking. The unfinished building isn’t the point. You chose this unfinished building because of the food street nearby!”

There's also a food street.

Hu Zhenzhen realized this too late.

Chen Kai was oblivious to his boss's expression, engrossed in his explanation.

“We can transform the unfinished building into a food center, combining eating and playing, and creating a plaza with food as the main focus and entertainment as a secondary feature.”

That sounds really good.

Hu Zhenzhen clapped her hands in agreement with the suggestion.

Since the unfinished building is just sitting there unfinished anyway, she might as well hire a construction team to finish it and make it her next profitable business.

*

"Why is construction starting?"

Aunt Li had just arrived at her usual stall when she saw the yellow tape and groups of construction workers, and she immediately frowned.

Many of my fellow vendors with their own carts have come to the usual spot, but they've all parked outside the yellow line, wondering whether they should continue setting up their stalls there.

The fried food stall owner, who was familiar with Aunt Li, saw her and said, "You've finally arrived! Did you receive the notice?"

"No, why are there yellow lines? Isn't this an unfinished building? Are they telling us not to continue?"

Aunt Li was full of resentment, and her tone when she asked the question was not very pleasant.

Hearing her words, the fried food vendor couldn't help but start complaining as well.

"Exactly, I don't know where this rich guy came from, why did he have to buy this piece of land that's been rotten for almost ten years?"

Upon hearing that the unfinished building had indeed been bought, Aunt Li immediately became anxious.

"It's really been bought? Can we still set up our stall here?"

The candied hawthorn vendor next to her knew more, and when she asked, he chimed in to answer.

"Setting up stalls is allowed, but everything has to be standardized. They said we can only wait until the building is renovated and then everyone can set up stalls inside the building."

"What!"

Aunt Li cried out in anguish, "How much money will this cost? We're just running a small business, and we have to pay rent for a stall every month. How much money can we possibly make?"

"Who says otherwise?" the uncle selling candied hawthorns sighed.

"Putting that aside, we don't know how long it will take to finish building this building. We need to find a suitable place to set up our stall right now, otherwise we don't know how we'll survive for the next few months."

When this was mentioned, not only the few of them, but also everyone around them hung their heads in dejection, not knowing where to go for a moment.

"These good spots for setting up stalls have all been taken. Now they're suddenly asking us to move? Where are we supposed to go?"

Aunt Li's complaint instantly garnered agreement from the others.

“Yeah, we’ve been here for so long, it’s practically turned into a night market. Now they’re just kicking us out like that, it’s so unreasonable.”

Someone, feeling indignant, said, "Why don't we go and make a scene with the person in charge!"

Few people echoed this sentiment.

The land has been bought by someone who wants to build a building. These people who only set up stalls here because they're greedy for small gains are making a scene. They have no right to complain.

Only two unreasonable people stubbornly followed him away.

Aunt Li complained, but she didn't intend to cause trouble. She noticed that the workers inside hadn't started working yet, and her eyes lit up.

"We'll earn as much as we can each day. We don't know where we'll be tomorrow. We can still set up shop for a couple more days while there's no construction or sand yet."

The others agreed.

Since I've already brought the cart, I can't go home empty-handed today. I'll earn whatever I can, at least make some money.

To Aunt Li's surprise, business was pretty good today.

Besides the customers visiting the night market, the construction workers who haven't started work yet have also become customers of the roadside stalls.

The workers had large appetites and didn't eat much of the other snacks, but her fried noodle stall and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) stall were particularly popular.

The earnings from this one night are almost equivalent to two days' worth of earnings normally.

Aunt Li was enjoying her work, but after the crowds dispersed, she started to worry about tomorrow again.

She started chatting with the stall owners next to her who were also idle.

"Have you heard that this place was bought by some boss? How come someone would buy such a lousy place?"

"Who knows which idiot it is? This place is only good for roadside stalls; how can you run a big business here?"

Hu Zhenzhen, who had just arrived to buy some fried skewers, coughed awkwardly. Chen Kai, who was behind her, immediately patted her on the back and asked, "Are you alright, boss?"

"It's alright," Hu Zhenzhen said, keeping her expression steady. She then said to the stall owner, "Two sausages, one with chili and one without."

She was craving fried starch sausage, which was why she came all this way.

Unexpectedly, I overheard the stall owner saying that she was stupid.

Hu Zhenzhen silently turned her head and glanced at the unfinished building.

If she hadn't drawn the lottery, she wouldn't have wanted this unfinished building. Starting construction now is no different from rebuilding it from scratch, and it's even more troublesome than building it herself.

Um--

It seems pretty silly to others.

From the moment Hu Zhenzhen spoke, Aunt Li remained silent.

Chen Kai left a deep impression on her, and she still remembers him.

Dressed in a suit and tie and looking very elegant, this kind of person must be a company leader in Aunt Li's eyes.

Unexpectedly, when I saw him again today, he was respectfully serving the woman standing in front.

Aunt Li's gaze fell on Hu Zhenzhen, and she heard the young girls among the diners nearby whispering among themselves.

"Is that a limited edition for this spring? Really?"

"Holy crap!" another person exclaimed, holding up their phone. "Look at this, isn't that the watch she's wearing? It's a seven-figure watch!"

"No way, rich people like this buy starchy sausages?"

The two girls looked at each other, and seeing Hu Zhenzhen's overall demeanor, they were completely unable to guess that it was a fake.

But her tone was slightly sour, "It seems that rich people have similar tastes to me..."

Another person echoed the sentiment, "Why can't there be one more rich person like me!"

She glanced enviously at the watch on the screen, then at Hu Zhenzhen, "But this person looks familiar, could he be some kind of celebrity?"

"Impossible! What minor celebrity could afford a seven-figure watch? If it were a big star, I would definitely recognize him. Ah Jie at that charity gala the other day..."

The girl paused, glanced at Hu Zhenzhen again, and excitedly covered her mouth.

Even so, she still couldn't suppress all her screams and let out a whistling sound.

She excitedly tugged at her companion's sleeve, "Hu Zhenzhen! That super-rich woman!"