"Calculate it, calculate it, you're from the husband's family!"

Mother Qian patted Xia Lan's hand happily. As long as the two children could get together, she didn't care about the husband's family, the in-laws' family, or the bride's family.

"Shall we proceed according to the normal procedure then?"

Xiao Yuqin suggested.

"We absolutely cannot let the child suffer! We must let everyone know that Qian Xue married a good husband."

Xiao Yuqin's words touched the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Qian. Their eldest daughter was a constant source of pain for them, while their younger daughter's happiness brought them some comfort.

"The wedding arrangements are now in the hands of the two mothers!"

Xia Lan smiled, and Xiao Yuqin and Qian's mother nodded in satisfaction. The two discussed the wedding. Du Qiang had the means, and their Qian family was not lacking either.

After discussing it, the two decided to fill their bottles with all the most popular trends at the moment.

Xia Lan looked at the smiles on their faces and chuckled softly.

Mr. Qian, who was standing to the side, looked at Xia Lan. Xia Lan noticed Mr. Qian's gaze and looked at him.

When Qian's father saw Xia Lan looking over, he nodded sincerely to her.

"Thanks."

A silent thank you revealed the heart of this elderly father.

The father, who was the least noticeable in the public eye, seemed to be more heartbroken and in more pain than anyone else in this matter.

But who would know that the pain of losing a daughter is no less than theirs?

Xia Si chuckled and shook his head.

She got up, walked into the room, and sat down at her desk with a smile.

Everything is moving in a positive direction, and now she should start working hard.

Xia Lan decided to transform the department store into a supermarket, adopting the business methods of later generations to bring convenience to everyone.

There was already a lot of stockpiled goods. Xia Lan had inspected the warehouse and found that the factory's production lines hadn't stopped during this period, but the goods couldn't be sold, resulting in a continuous backlog in the warehouse.

Xia Lan pursed her lips. If she could successfully take over the department store, she decided to use the most basic method to dispose of this batch of goods.

Three days later

A bespectacled, well-mannered man knocked on the door. Xia Lan opened the door, and the man glanced at her.

"Hello, call me Chen Qing. Are you Comrade Xia Lan?"

"Yes, hello, I am Xia Lan."

Xia Lan nodded; the man in front of her was the one Du Qiang had called.

"Du Qiang got into trouble and has handed everything over to me. He asked me to take you to the venue!"

"Thank you so much, you've really gone to a lot of trouble."

Xia Lan nodded to Chen Qing and thanked him.

Unexpectedly, Chen Qing came to pick her up in person.

"You're too kind. If you're his friend, then you're my friend too."

Chen Qing's words were well-chosen, and Xia Lan couldn't help but smile.

"Then I've hit the jackpot."

Xia Lan smiled.

"Wait a moment, I'll just grab something and leave."

"OK!"

Chen Qing glanced at his watch; there was still some time. He assumed Xia Lan was going to change her clothes and get ready, but Xia Lan simply went back to her room to get some documents and then came out.

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit."

"good!"

Xiao Yu, with Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan by her side, waved to Xia Lan.

"Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, Mom will be back soon."

"Um."

"Mom, come back soon."

Tuantuan and Yuanyuan nodded, watching Xia Lan's departing figure with reluctance.

Xia Lan got into the car with Chen Qing. Chen Qing glanced at the documents in Xia Lan's hand, wondering what they were.

Upon arriving at the venue, we found ourselves in the conference hall of the Industry and Commerce Bureau.

Apart from a few staff members, the rest were people who had received the news and came to participate in the bidding.

Xia Lan saw several wealthy and powerful men holding jade beads in their hands, spinning them around incessantly.

It's like a symbol of wealth, showcasing one's financial status.

Those jade beads were clearly no ordinary objects.

Xia Lan watched the men's confrontation, each displaying their superiority as if afraid others wouldn't know they were rich.

"The reason I've called everyone here today is because you all know what's going on. The department store has a lot of inventory stuck in stock right now. If you just do a little bit of work, you definitely won't lose money!"

After Chen Qing brought Xia Lan in, he left. When he reappeared, he was already the leader holding documents in his hand.

Xia Lan remained silent, observing their opinions on the department store.

"Aren't you ripping people off? This shabby shop is charging so much money? All the stock inside is secondhand, and it's questionable whether we can even sell it."

"Besides, everyone here knows about this department store incident."

"We cannot accept your price."

No sooner had Chen Qing spoken than a troublemaker spoke up in opposition to him.

After all, this department store looks good, but it's actually full of pitfalls and bad debts. It used to make money because it had a good and plentiful supply of goods.

It's clear that the business hasn't been managed well in the past two years, and with the emergence of individual businesses, people no longer necessarily have to go to department stores to buy things.

Business naturally declined significantly.

Those present were all capable people; they were not easily fooled by his few words.

"Just tell us what support policies you have! That's what we want to hear!"

Another man said bluntly.

To put it bluntly, he didn't see this department store as a lucrative business opportunity to turn things around. What he really wanted to know was what benefits he could gain from cleaning up this mess.

Many people nodded in agreement.

"This is clearly a money-losing venture; let whoever wants to do it do it!"

"That's right. Don't treat us like suckers. If you want to take over my business, then you'd better show us the real deal."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't care whether this shop lives or dies."

"..."

Chen Qing pursed his lips, knowing that these people would be difficult to deal with.

A bunch of people who won't get up early for nothing.

Looking at these people, Xia Lan knew they weren't there to make money, nor did they intend to do any good deeds.

They came here just to see what good stuff Chen Qing could come up with.

Just as Chen Qing was about to get up, Xia Lan slowly spoke.

"Since none of these brothers want to make money, why don't I take over the money?"

Xia Lan raised her voice, and her clear, crisp female voice instantly made the group of men pause.

They turned around abruptly and were all wide-eyed to see a woman there.

"Oh my? Where did this woman come from?"

"And she's quite good-looking, what? Are you gay and have designs on her?"

"You dare take this department store? Are you serious or joking? We brothers aren't falling for your provocation."

"You wouldn't have been deliberately placed here by Director Chen to provoke us, would you?"

"If you really dare to ask for it, we really dare to give it to you! What do you guys say?"

Upon seeing the woman, they immediately launched into a mocking tirade.

They never treated women as anything special, especially a woman who told them she had to make money in front of them.

The men laughed heartily, not taking Xia Lan seriously at all.