"What is it?" Xing Zhaozhao asked in surprise.
“Aze and I want to start a business and we’d like to get some investment from you,” Hongfei said.
Ling Ze stood to the side and nodded in agreement.
Xing Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow and asked, "How many do you want?"
Hongfei said a number.
Xing Zhaozhao hissed. These two boys really dared to ask for that much. That's about the amount of money she could readily access right now.
"You two think you can get this much money from me with just your mouths? Even if I'm your own mother, you're dreaming. Didn't you give me a business plan or anything?" Xing Zhaozhao said, reaching out her hand to ask for the money.
Hongfei was already prepared and immediately took out a thick stack of documents, handing them to Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao casually flipped through it, her eyes brightening. It actually looked quite plausible, and she was genuinely tempted: "You haven't been able to see any of your people lately, have you been busy with this?"
Hongfei and Lingze nodded in unison.
“We’ve been investigating this for a long time. This industry is booming right now; even pulling a pig can make it fly. It would be a real shame to miss out,” Ling Ze explained to Xing Zhaozhao.
Xing Zhaozhao flipped to the last page, glanced at their financing target, and couldn't help but hiss again. It was still far from the amount they had asked her for.
"How do you plan to fill the remaining gap?" she asked.
Hongfei chuckled and said, "Isn't there Uncle Wang and Aze's dad too?"
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." So they had planned this all along.
"How is it, Mom?" Hongfei asked Xing Zhaozhao expectantly.
“When we go back to our hometown this time, we’ll discuss it with your Uncle Wang and Uncle Ling. If they all think it’s okay, we can invest,” Xing Zhaozhao said, reassuringly.
"Great!" Hongfei and Lingze high-fived, both looking excited, feeling that the deal was probably 90% done.
"You guys are lucky. I just happen to have this much money on hand. I really couldn't come up with any more," Xing Zhaozhao said.
A strange light flashed in Hongfei's eyes.
Unfortunately, Xing Zhaozhao caught him red-handed.
Xing Zhaozhao sensed something was wrong, narrowed her eyes slightly, and asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Hongfei cleared his throat and said, "I calculated your income over the years, Mom, and made sure you could come up with the money before I set this amount."
Xing Zhaozhao: "..." As expected, it's hard to guard against a thief within the family.
Xing Zhaozhao slapped him on the forehead in anger: "You brat, you're trying to scheme against your mother!"
Hongfei knew he had gone too far, but he didn't dodge and took the slap head-on.
Gao Mingcheng happened to return and saw it, asking in surprise, "What's wrong?"
Xing Zhaozhao rolled her eyes at her son and said irritably, "Ask your son what good things he's done." After saying that, she ignored them and turned to go back to her room to continue packing.
"What did you do to upset your mother again?" Gao Mingcheng walked up to Hongfei and asked. You see, of the three children in the family, the eldest was the most sensible.
Hongfei hesitated for a moment, but still told Gao Mingcheng the truth.
Unsurprisingly, he ended up getting a good beating from Gao Mingcheng.
"You brat, if you lose all of your mother's savings for your funeral, don't ever come back," Gao Mingcheng said rudely.
Hongfei covered his face, which had been punched by Gao Mingcheng: "Don't worry, Dad, I promise to help Mom earn a lot of money for her funeral."
After tidying up the house, Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng loaded the things that were inconvenient to take with them into the car and took them to the courtyard house for safekeeping. They also took the children to visit the old headmaster and Grandma Qin for a meal and to discuss going back to their hometown together.
When Grandma Qin saw the bruises on Hongfei's face, she felt extremely distressed: "What happened to Dafei's face? Was he beaten? Who did it? Tell your godmother, and I'll help you settle the score with him."
Without hesitation, Hongfei pointed to his old man.
Gao Mingcheng: "..."
Grandma Qin: "..." This account seems a bit complicated.
"What did you do to upset your dad?" the old principal asked curiously. Of Xing Zhaozhao's three children, Hongfei had always been the most sensible, so this was indeed a bit of an surprise.
Hongfei touched his nose somewhat awkwardly and told the old principal and Grandma Qin what had happened.
This time, it was the old headmaster and Mrs. Qin who were speechless. Although they both knew the child meant no harm…
"What are you and that kid from the Ling family planning to do?" the old principal asked casually.
Hongfei excitedly talked to the two elderly people about their upcoming business, and they were so moved that they took out their savings and invested a sum of money.
Hongfei was overjoyed and immediately called Lingze to tell him.
Gao Mingcheng looked at the two elderly people and said helplessly, "Don't spoil him like that..."
The old principal waved his hand dismissively and said, "We didn't spoil him. Although we're old, we're not senile yet. Don't underestimate Dafei either; his business is sure to be profitable. It'll be a good opportunity for our son to save up for his wife."
Gao Mingcheng immediately knew what to say.
Xing Zhaozhao asked the elderly couple if they wanted to go back to their hometown of Lanyuan to stay for a while.
The old principal and Mrs. Qin had already heard Qin Shi mention it, and thinking of the unfilial faces of those children, their expressions were quite unpleasant. After hesitating for a long time, they finally nodded in agreement.
It was Grandma Qin who made the final decision: "Alright, let's go back together then. We're both getting on in years, and we just want to have a couple of peaceful days."
The old principal hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Three days later, Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng, along with their two children, the former principal, Old Madam Qin, and Qin Shi, drove away from Beijing and returned to their hometown of Lanyuan.
After traveling for two days, we arrived in Lanyuan at noon on the third day.
Fortunately, Fu Lan had been notified in advance, and when they arrived, she had already cleaned up the house that hadn't been lived in for a long time.
As soon as the car stopped outside, Fu Lan, who had been waiting impatiently inside, rushed out to greet her and hugged Xing Zhaozhao, who had just gotten out of the car: "Sister Xing, you're finally back! I missed you so much!"
Gao Qingshan followed closely behind, and upon seeing Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng, he greeted them warmly: "Uncle Mingcheng, Aunt Xing..."
Although the two were already married, they always addressed Xing Zhaozhao and Gao Mingcheng by their own names, doing whatever they pleased. Captain Gao had tried to correct them, but they were used to it and neither of them cared, so the matter was eventually dropped.
Fu Lan and Gao Qingshan's daughter, Gao Tongtong, is four years younger than Hongling. The two sisters, or rather, aunt and niece, have always had a good relationship. When they met, they were overjoyed and ran off to play hand in hand.
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