55 I didn't say goodbye properly, so I feel a little regretful
The third day after Zhang Chenling returned to her hometown was the day of Chen Hongmei's funeral.
Due to the prevention and control regulations during the special period, the funeral had to be simple. The Zhang family had not planned to hold a grand funeral, so they only invited a few direct blood relatives to see the last time.
The farewell hall was filled with deafening mournful music.
Zhang Chenling's hearing had become unusually sharp. Amidst the rising and falling sounds, she could distinguish her sister-in-law's sobbing, her tears invisible. She could hear her eldest nephew burying his head in his chest and sniffing softly. She could also hear Zhang Chenguang muttering like he was chanting, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm here for the Zhang family..."
Mixed in with the sound of the elegiac couplets being blown by the air conditioner, the rustling sound was exactly the same as the sound of the curtains of her old house being blown by the wind in her childhood memory.
"Oh!" Chen Hongmei's long sigh came into my ears.
Zhang Chenling shuddered.
Observing secretly, the old mother was lying there, quietly and motionless.
I listened carefully and found that it was my sister-in-law sighing.
Zhang Chenling couldn't help but let out a hiss, and her gaze fell back on Chen Hongmei's face. She saw that her cheeks were as white as frost, and her lips were a little red, which was exactly the same makeup she had put on herself when she attended Zhang Chenguang's wedding a few years ago.
It looks like her, but not like her.
The air conditioning in the farewell hall was so cold that Zhang Chenling felt her whole body was chilled and her mind was surprisingly calm.
To the point that she couldn't shed a single tear.
My sister-in-law next to me started to cry, her sobs getting louder and louder, and she was swaying back and forth as if she was about to faint.
After the ceremony, Zhang Chenguang was called to collect the ashes. Zhang Chenling asked Zhao Na for a deposit slip to settle the bill.
Chen Hongmei's ashes were temporarily placed in the funeral home's columbarium, awaiting burial in the Zhang family's ancestral tomb in the spring of next year. Having agreed to burn the first seven days of mourning, Zhang Chenguang went to dinner with several relatives and friends, but Zhang Chenling did not join them.
After returning to the hotel and getting into bed, it seemed like an eternity passed before her body gradually warmed up and she fell into a drowsy sleep.
After that day, she locked herself in the hotel room, something she had never done before. She ate and slept every day, never went out, never saw anyone, never answered the phone or replied to messages, and spent several days in a daze.
Until the evening of the day before Chen Hongmei's seventh day.
Mr. Wang called her and kept calling for ten minutes before she picked up the phone.
He didn't know something had happened in her hometown, so he started to scold her: "Chen Ling, why didn't you answer the phone? I wanted to call to congratulate you, but I couldn't find you!!"
"Huh?" She was startled. "Congratulations to me on what?"
"The response to that CCTV program was so positive, we had so many calls coming directly to the station that they said they'd like to capitalize on the success and do a follow-up report soon! Also, some higher-ups saw this program and really approved of the home bathing assistance model. They think it could be rolled out nationwide, and supporting policies will likely be implemented soon! And I heard a rumor today that an investment fund focused on the elderly care industry is preparing to launch a project evaluation soon. They'll contact you soon. With this capital support, Shangshan Ruoshui will definitely grow bigger and stronger, becoming a national elderly care brand!"
Zhang Chenling immediately expressed her gratitude to Mr. Wang, saying that without his help in setting up this interview program, Shangshanruoshui would not have seen a turnaround so quickly.
After a round of business exclamation and the phone call ended, Zhang Chenling felt uneasy for a long time.
Back then, she entered the industry with her courage and with only three people and a bathtub in her team. Rather than saying that "Shangshan Ruoshui" was a startup project at that time, it would be better to say that it was a social experiment with all her money invested. The cost was the little savings she had left after she suffered heavy losses in her investment.
She had never complained to Ni Yue. In fact, she was very short of money. She had thought that if the order volume of Shangshanruoshui increased, it would generate enough cash flow to cover daily expenses.
However, her family suddenly encountered an unexpected change. After she paid for Chen Hongmei's funeral expenses, there was only more than 10,000 yuan left in her account.
This amount of money is not enough to support herself, so how can it support a future as good as water?
Zhang Chenling has many plans for the future, but they all require capital as a springboard. With money, she can rapidly expand, adding at least 10-15 bathing assistants, splitting them into two teams to serve Pudong and Puxi. With money, she can organize sales staff into neighborhoods, reaching out to every household for door-to-door sales and targeted marketing. With money, she can raise the salaries of Ni Yue, Xiao Ma Ge, Xu Zhiqian, and Shuang Jie, and gradually transition them into management positions.
She was a little impatient.
After listening to Zhang Chenling's narration, Ni Yue was so excited that he danced with joy on the other end of the phone. "This is not just good news! It's a string of good news!"
The scene of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ringing the bell a few months ago flashed through my mind again. At that time, Shangshan was like water, still a baby in swaddling clothes, thin and fragile, requiring patient care.
Now, the baby has finally grown up. Although he is still walking with difficulty, his dream of moving step by step towards the capital market is no longer out of reach.
Ni Yue was filled with excitement. He mobilized his limited financial knowledge and chattered non-stop, "Usually, third parties conduct due diligence before investing, covering legal, financial, business, market, and other aspects. We can prepare some information now..."
While Zhang Chenling was on the phone, she opened WeChat and checked her unread messages one by one. Suddenly, her brows furrowed, "No way?"
"What's going on?" Ni Yue immediately stopped talking to himself and asked with concern, "What happened again?"
"...Mr. Wang's son fired us?!"
"Huh?" Ni Yue's jaw nearly dropped to the ground in shock. "Did something happen to Lao Deng? No way! I saw him come out of the operating room alive last time!"
On the day Mr. Wang had surgery, Zhang Chenling took a temporary flight back to her hometown. Ni Yue sat outside the operating room with his family and servants, waiting for several hours until he saw him being sent out safely. Only then did Ni Yue leave.
"His eldest son sent me a WeChat message, thanking me for our companionship and saying he no longer needed our services!" Zhang Chenling scrolled down quickly. "And I just noticed that he has disbanded our WeChat group."
Ni Yue was also in that group, but she was so busy that she didn't pay attention.
Then she thought of the scene outside the operating room that day, and immediately slapped her forehead, "I understand!"
"What do you understand? Tell me about it." Zhang Chenling asked humbly.
"It's not that something happened to Lao Deng! It's his eldest son who has feelings for us! The other day I saw him whispering with Uncle Zhong while constantly looking at me with shifty eyes. I thought it was a little strange at the time. He must be secretly investigating whether we were getting too close to Lao Deng. I believe Uncle Zhong wouldn't exaggerate and say anything bad about us. At most, he would tell us the truth, but Lao Deng's son is still unhappy and worried!"
"Well, now that you mention it, it's not impossible..." Zhang Chenling snorted coldly. She was no stranger to the outrageous actions of the rich. "Well! Since Mr. Wang's surgery was successful, this matter has come to a satisfactory conclusion."
"But... I didn't get to say goodbye properly, which is a bit regrettable!" Ni Yue sighed twice and added, "By the way, cousin, I wanted to tell you about Qian Xiaohu..."
The person on the other end of the phone started talking again, but Zhang Chenling was a little distracted.
I didn't get to say goodbye properly, which is a bit regrettable.
She was hurt by Ni Yue again.
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