The rise of private industry and commerce and the influx of foreign capital have had a significant impact on department stores.
The once bustling and prosperous Jiangcheng No. 1 Department Store has gradually become synonymous with outdated and backward in the minds of consumers, and is now deserted.
Qin Hanshu now holds the second-in-command position at the department store, below Wang Yinghui.
She had proposed a plan to Wang Yinghui two years ago to see if it could optimize management.
Wang Yinghui pondered for a moment before saying, "The fundamental problem is systemic; simple optimizations probably won't have much effect."
Qin Hanshu actually understood this principle, and never mentioned it again after that.
Two years later, Wang Yinghui told Qin Hanshu some news: a large capital firm from Honggang wanted to acquire the department store.
The people behind this capital are the founding family of the department store—the Tian family, who immigrated overseas.
As news of the department store's restructuring gradually spread, people inside were filled with anxiety. With so many people being laid off these days, they feared it would be their turn soon.
When the department store was restructured into a joint-stock company, Tianjia Capital took the lion's share. Wang Yinghui, who had been the head of the department store for many years, also contributed greatly to the restructuring process and was the undisputed second-largest shareholder.
Unexpectedly, Wang Yinghui also dragged Qin Hanshu into it to get a share of the profits.
He said meaningfully, "We've worked together for many years, so I can't leave you out of this good thing."
Over the years that Qin Hanshu served as Wang Yinghui's deputy, the two had basically only had normal working interactions, with little involvement of personal interests.
In the end, Wang Yinghui gave Qin Hanshu such a generous gift, most likely because he had his eye on the person behind Qin Hanshu.
Because of Ma Chaoyang, her family's relationship with the Qi family has become closer than before over the past decade. Ma Chaoyang's uncle has long since left the municipal bureau, and recently it was rumored that he was being transferred to Beijing...
Qin Hanshu didn't rush to agree. Instead, she discussed it with Ma Chaoyang first before replying to Wang Yinghui.
Thus, Qin Hanshu also acquired 25% of the original shares in the department store. She invested all of it, but half of it was held on behalf of Ma Chaoyang.
Next, the department store went public, then listed on the stock exchange, opened chain department stores nationwide, and began to build its own high-end department store brand.
Wang Yinghui is a capable person, and the board of directors decided to let him continue to serve as the group's president. Wang Yinghui originally wanted Qin Hanshu to continue to be his right-hand man, but Qin Hanshu refused.
Although military dependents are allowed to engage in business, as Zhou Weiguang's career progressed, she still wanted to keep a low profile.
Anyway, she's over forty, she can retire now.
***
After retiring, Qin Hanshu suddenly had a lot more free time.
She enrolled in classes to learn English and flower arranging, and even bought a car, which she occasionally drives around in.
Zhou Weiguang's career was booming, and he rarely had time to spend with her. Zhou Sheng was admitted to the Naval Academy and, like Zhou Chi, was often away from home. She had to find her own entertainment.
However, Qin Feiyang's daughters, Qin Meng and Peipei, were both admitted to local universities and liked to be driven around by her during holidays.
Although Qin Hanshu has lived two lives, she has a younger and more open mindset than her peers. She gets along with the younger generation like friends, and the children are happy to play with her.
And Yang Le.
Yang Le's academic performance was never good, but she once showed a talent for opera. Zhu Jingsu then introduced her to a local opera teacher so she could learn to sing local operas.
Later, he was admitted to a provincial vocational school specializing in opera.
While at the opera school, Yang Le appeared on the provincial television station and was spotted by a film director who asked her if she would like to act in a movie.
Yang Le only had a few scenes in the movie she starred in, and although it didn't bring her much fame, it sparked her interest in acting.
For the first time in his life, Yang Le made a decision on his own: to apply to the film academy.
Last year, she came to Jiangcheng and became a student at the Jiangcheng Film Academy.
According to Yang Le, Zhou Ruilan and Yang Guangyu's lives are much better than before. Zhou Ruilan has stopped keeping all the family's affairs out in her own hands and doesn't let Yang Guangyu get involved at all. If Yang Guangyu tries to express his opinion, Zhou Ruilan can't argue with him.
Yang Guangyu had no intention of getting a divorce. Over time, he developed the habit of keeping quiet. Apart from work, he stayed at home cooking, doing housework, and taking good care of his wife and daughter.
Even if his sister-in-law got into a fight with Zhou Ruilan, he could simply turn a blind eye.
Although the couple communicated less and their relationship seemed to have cooled down, they stopped arguing, and Zhou Ruilan no longer valued Yang Guangyu as much, so her mood naturally improved.
Yang Le said that Zhou Ruilan has also learned to find her own entertainment, such as watching plays and learning to dance, and she is quite happy.
After flights resumed, Zhou Ruilan brought her two elderly relatives to Jiangcheng several times. Qin Hanshu noticed that she was in good spirits, wearing bright clothes and even had her hair permed, looking somewhat like she did in her youth.
***
That day, Liu Ercui came to Qin Hanshu with a heavy heart, "There's something... I don't know if I'm overthinking it."
Qin Hanshu asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
After hesitating for a long time, Liu Ercui finally said, "One night I got up to use the bathroom and saw Qi Lang leaning against Peipei's door... He didn't do anything, he just stood there for a while, maybe a few minutes..."
Qin Hanshu asked, "You mean, Qi Lang has some special feelings for Peipei?"
Liu Ercui shook her head. "I'm not sure. He doesn't usually act like anything special. But that night, I felt something was off."
Liu Ercui was very worried, "What if the two children really develop feelings for each other?"
Qi Lang failed to get into university. Qi Feng wanted him to work at a restaurant, but he refused and went out to find work on his own. He said he was working on a construction team and even moved out of his family home, but he would come home to visit often.
Peipei usually lives at school and only goes home occasionally; the two siblings don't seem to have much interaction.
But ever since that night, Liu Ercui has been consciously observing, and she doesn't know if it's just her imagination, but the more she looks, the stranger the atmosphere between the two of them seems.
Liu Ercui didn't want her daughter to have anything with Qi Lang from the bottom of her heart. It wasn't that she looked down on Qi Lang; he wasn't good at studying, but after spending so many years with him, she knew that he wasn't a bad person at heart. Now he had grown up and become sensible, and he was quite positive and motivated.
But she and Qi Feng are husband and wife. From the day they became a family, in her mind, Qi Lang and Pei Pei were like brother and sister.
Seeing Liu Ercui's distress, Qin Hanshu said, "These are just your guesses; the actual situation is still uncertain."
Liu Ercui said, "I can't sleep well because of this, and I can't even discuss it with Qi Feng... Do you think I can just ask Peipei directly?"
"That's not a good idea... Even if I ask, they might not tell me the truth."
Qin Hanshu thought for a moment and said, "I remember Peipei once said she wanted to go abroad. You can try asking her if she still wants to go abroad. If she is really dating Qi Lang or likes Qi Lang, she probably won't want to go abroad."
Liu Ercui slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "That's a great idea!"
A few days later, Liu Ercui said, on the verge of tears, "She said she doesn't want to go abroad..."
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