Ou Minglang asked in a low voice, "Wasn't our clothing store shut down? Have you come up with a solution?"
He's been busy with school lately, running between flight school and Jiaotong University, so he hasn't had time to ask Ning Yuan how things are going. It's really annoying!
No wonder he was anxious; he had secretly kept all his New Year's money at the shop since he was a child. When his mother checked his bankbook last time, he managed to keep it a secret.
Ning Yuan also whispered, "It's half done. I'll see if I can get the business license this weekend."
Seeing that no one was around, Ou Minglang sneakily revealed a piece of information: "I'll tell you a little secret. The higher-ups are interested in bringing up the Tenth Department Store on Jingnan Road to cooperate with the Ning family. They might even agree to let the Ning family take the lead in managing it."
Ning Yuan's heart stirred, and she began to understand why Ou Minglang had told her this news.
If this goes through, it means that the opening up will take another step forward, and their shops will have a better chance of getting business licenses as soon as possible!
She could also use this case to test Director Qiao and see what his attitude was.
but……
Ning Yuan thought for a moment: "The Tenth Mall used to be called An Yong Department Store. Later, the owner of An Yong went to Hong Kong, right?"
Before liberation, Ernst & Young Department Store, Sincere Department Store, Sun Sun Department Store, and Dah Sun Department Store were the four most famous department stores in Shanghai.
Later, the founders either went abroad or went to Hong Kong to open a new department store.
The companies that remained in mainland China were all renamed from the first to the tenth state-owned department stores.
If the authorities want to reopen public-private partnerships, why not find Ernst & Young Department Store's Hong Kong headquarters to cooperate again?
Is this news actually true or not?
Ou Minglang whispered, "Even the descendants of An Yong Department Store are not doing very well in Hong Kong. Their department stores have closed one after another in recent years. An Yong International's market share in the department store market has been replaced by Ning's Ning International."
As he spoke, he glanced discreetly at Cha Meiling, who was obediently and docilely accompanying Ning Bingyu: "Look, behind An Yong is the Cha family, where your sister-in-law Cha Meiling belongs. The Cha family is the oldest and most prestigious family in Hong Kong."
Ning Yuan was truly stunned: "What? The Cha family? Then the Cha family and the Ning family aren't business rivals?"
She thought Ning Bingyu and Cha Meiling were childhood sweethearts, and their families were so close they were practically inseparable. How could they be rivals?
Ou Minglang gave her a look of disdain: "I even considered you my older sister, and you're a businesswoman too, yet you don't know that even if you're business competitors, enemies and friends aren't forever! Only profit comes first!"
Ning Yuan was speechless at being looked down upon, and for a moment she couldn't say anything to refute the white goose.
Seeing that he had rendered Ning Yuan, who was usually quick-witted, speechless, Ou Minglang was in a good mood. He then began to earnestly educate Ning Yuan on "business gossip".
"You don't know, do you? Now it seems like Miss Cha got the better deal when she married Young Master Ning, but back then, when the Ning family first arrived in Hong Kong, they relied on the Cha family for support. In order to curry favor with the Cha family, Second Madam Ning even took Miss Cha as her goddaughter!"
Ning Yuan was stunned. So that's how it is. It really is true that fortunes change!
She looked at Ou Minglang with a puzzled expression: "How do you know so much gossip? You were with your father in Hong Kong back then. You were only ten years old when you moved into the Ning family home, right?"
Ou Minglang raised his chin: "It's because I was a clever little kid back then, and no one was on guard, that I was able to hear so many gossips and inside stories!"
Ning Yuan watched as he puffed out his chest like a goose.
She couldn't help but shake her head, amused: "Okay, okay, you're the best!"
Ou Minglang's handsome face, which bears a striking resemblance to the later South Korean actor Lee Jong-suk, revealed a youthful smugness.
"Of course, I guess the marriage between Brother Yu and Cha Meiling is now a means for the Cha family to avoid complete decline."
"The Ning family doesn't object. Firstly, they don't want to be accused of betraying their benefactors. Secondly, their business with the Cha family overlaps significantly with their business in the Hong Kong government, leading to the Cha family's decline. They want to make amends for this!"
At this point, Ning Yuan truly began to admire Ou Minglang; at his age, his analysis of things was indeed insightful and logical.
Young people from diplomatic families certainly have a different perspective.
Director Ou noticed Ou Minglang and Ning Yuan whispering together, then looked at Wen Huifang standing in front of him and said somewhat apologetically—
“My son has caused you trouble. He and your daughter were high school classmates.”
He already knew that tonight was the Ning family's family reunion dinner, so he didn't invite them to dinner but instead arranged a tea party after dinner.
What was surprising was that my son had been in the same class as the lost little girl from the Ning family, and she was the girl who had saved my son back then.
Wen Huifang watched a tea master preparing Gongfu tea and readily offered her advice—
“Alang has lived in the Ning family for several years, and I’ve watched him grow up. These two children are about the same age, so it’s only natural that they get along well.”
She knew that Director Ou meant that his son had not deliberately seduced her daughter, and that the two were just classmates.
Director Ou noticed that Wen Huifang didn't seem angry or defensive; on the contrary, she seemed pleased to see this.
He watched the two young people chatting away thoughtfully, and then casually remarked, "These two kids are childhood sweethearts."
Wen Huifang replied gently and gracefully, "Who says otherwise?"
She did not want Ningning's marriage to be arranged by the Hong Kong government's old mansion.
Ningning is so young, she shouldn't be like the two daughters of the first wife, who were both married off for the sake of the family's development.
The eldest daughter of the first wife, Ning Man'an, has been married for ten years and is currently going through divorce proceedings.
The second daughter, Ning Manfei, divorced after three years of marriage and has lived in the old government house in Hong Kong for several years.
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