Chapter 12
The room suddenly erupted into chaos.
"Is it what I think it means?" the parents whispered among themselves.
Even though Hu Zhenzhen was right in front of them, no one asked her anything for a moment.
"Wasn't the shopping mall on Central Avenue supposed to open in a week? Has she already bought an entire floor?"
"I know that shopping mall; many luxury stores have already confirmed their move in."
"What does she mean by that? Does she want to leave this whole process to the parents?"
There were just too many people talking, and even though their voices weren't loud, it was still incredibly noisy.
Hu Zhenzhen waited quietly on the podium for a full minute before someone stood up to ask her for details.
"Does Ms. Hu mean to use the entire floor of the mall for parents' gatherings?"
This statement sounds fine at first glance, but upon closer examination, one can discern its flaws.
"You've misunderstood," Hu Zhenzhen's smile faded slightly, "That floor has already been planned; a large family-friendly playground will be built there."
"If I were to supervise the work, I would provide a venue for parents to communicate, since parents shouldn't use school resources for meetings."
Her meaning was quite clear: "In other words, it will be open to everyone for free every weekend."
After speaking, Hu Zhenzhen stepped down from the stage.
After her, there was a whole row of parents who didn't go on stage. They looked at each other a few times and gave up competing.
How can we argue with that? They don't have a children's playground.
The mother who had met Hu Zhenzhen once in the office was also present. Taking advantage of a moment when no one was talking, she took out her phone and searched for something online.
No one spoke in the classroom for a long time, so Jiang Xin stepped forward to take charge.
"If no one has any other questions, we'll start voting now."
"Wait a minute, Teacher Jiang!"
The woman asked excitedly, "Ms. Hu, is this the family playground you mentioned? The Dog Castle?"
The project was still under construction, yet she found it so quickly.
Hu Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Yes, that's right."
"Can we go for free every Sunday?"
"Of course," Hu Zhenzhen said, having poured all her money into the Dog Castle project, one of her goals being to gain an advantage at today's parent-teacher meeting, "so that children can enter for free if they bring their school badges."
"That's great! I'll definitely be the first to show my support when you open your store."
The woman excitedly watched it again, instantly arousing the curiosity of the other parents.
Of course, this also caused some dissatisfaction.
Li Ming couldn't stand her overreacting and immediately said, "Is it really that big of a deal? You're so happy about such a small thing."
The woman's family wasn't short of money, just not extremely wealthy. Upon hearing Li Ming's words, her face immediately fell.
"I can't compare to your nobility. Since you're unwilling to take advantage of others, then next time you go to Dog Castle, please pay for your own tickets."
These words directly placed Hu Zhenzhen in the position of the winner, and Li Ming didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
"Fine, I'll pay. Do you think I'm short of a few bucks?"
Many parents around were curious and started searching for "Dog Castle". When they saw the price of the pre-sale tickets, they were immediately surprised.
"Wow, that's expensive?"
"How much is it?" The person next to me peeked over and said, "Fifteen thousand, that's definitely not cheap."
For wealthy people, 1,500 yuan is not much, but for tickets, that amount is quite expensive.
Li Ming frowned and turned his gaze to Hu Zhenzhen.
"What did you do in there that allowed the price bureau to approve it?"
"A family-friendly amusement park? Of course, I created one!"
Hu Zhenzhen answered matter-of-factly, "However, I bought the copyright for Dog Sheriff and made a themed amusement park, which you can simply think of as an indoor amusement park."
"How can you charge such high entrance fees for a small amusement park?"
Li Ming was very puzzled and vaguely regretted his impulsive words. If he really had to pay for it himself, wouldn't it cost the price of a basketball court if he went for a year or two? Why did he have to waste that money on this?
The price made him feel even worse, especially since others were getting it for free while he had to pay for it himself.
"Perhaps I was too modest and caused you to misunderstand, Mr. Li. I don't know if you have inquired about the new shopping mall on Central Avenue. It is an ambitious new landmark in S City, and it is said to be the largest shopping mall in the country when it is completed."
“That entire floor isn’t just a few hundred meters small.”
Li Ming broke out in a cold sweat, finally realizing that Hu Zhenzhen's wealth was far greater than he had imagined.
"I misspoke, Miss Hu, please don't take it to heart."
Before Hu Zhenzhen could say anything, the mother who had spoken earlier burst out laughing, "You're not going back on your word and trying to renege on Miss Hu's ticket money, are you?"
"What a grown man! Once you've said something, you should at least keep your word."
Li Ming was caught in a dilemma and glared at her resentfully.
"It's just the ticket price, of course I'll pay for it."
While the two were arguing, Hu Zhenzhen had already sat back down.
No other parents raised any objections in the classroom, so Jiang Xin handed out a piece of paper to everyone and began voting.
Hu Zhenzhen's name was written at the very end of the blackboard, making it conspicuous and easy to remember.
Some people may be neutral and don't care who they choose. In such cases, the last name or the first name has the same advantage.
"Hu Zhenzhen, forty votes."
Jiang Xin put away the last ballot; the result was already clear.
Besides Hu Zhenzhen, another parent with a high number of votes was Gao Chen, who received more than ten votes.
He was the fifth to speak, and his speech was unremarkable, yet he received such a high number of votes.
Hu Zhenzhen looked over curiously and found that the people around him were watching the man's expression; he was clearly the leader of a small circle of parents.
He seems to be quite a remarkable person.
Hu Zhenzhen stood up as Jiang Xin spoke, smiling, "Please take good care of me from now on."
Gao Chen was the first to applaud her, which surprised her somewhat.
After the parent-teacher meeting ended, he called Hu Zhenzhen over.
"Ms. Hu! Please wait a moment."
As the parents gradually left, Hu Zhenzhen added many people on WeChat and stayed until the very end.
Just as she was about to leave, Gao Chen called her back.
"I've been wanting to say hello to you for a while now. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that your child is in this class too."
"Hmm? Have we met elsewhere?"
Hu Zhenzhen also felt that he looked somewhat familiar, but she really didn't have any impression of knowing him.
"I've only met you once, and I forgot to mention that I also live in Woshan Villa."
Hu Zhenzhen suddenly realized why he looked familiar; the man in front of her was featured on the bulletin board at the entrance of the residential area.
She passed by there every day, and although she didn't look closely, she casually glanced at that face many times.
"It's Mr. President of Kowloon Properties. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"At school, we are just ordinary parents, so there's no need to address me like that. Just call me Gao Chen."
He said that, but Hu Zhenzhen couldn't address him directly like that. "What Mr. Gao said makes sense. May I ask what brings you here?"
"Mrs. Hu, you're a straightforward person. I wanted to talk to you about the Dog Castle. My daughter is a big fan of that cartoon, and she'll definitely be your number one fan once the park is built. How about we find a coffee shop to discuss this in detail?"
Hu Zhenzhen immediately understood his purpose.
"President Gao can also just call me Hu Zhenzhen. I lost my husband right after getting married, so I'm really not used to being called 'Madam'."
Gao Chen readily changed his form of address, "I've made a reservation at a nearby coffee shop. I wonder if Mr. Hu would be willing to have a chat?"
He had clearly investigated Hu Zhenzhen before coming up to discuss cooperation so thoroughly.
"Of course, I happen to be not very familiar with construction matters, so I would appreciate your guidance, Mr. Gao."
The school canceled the afternoon classes because the classrooms were occupied by the parent-teacher meeting.
The children were picked up by their parents at noon, and Jiang Chen was no exception.
Hu Zhenzhen was overjoyed to see him at the school gate.
"Xiao Chen? What brings you here?"
She quickened her pace, walked to the car, and squatted down to talk to Jiang Chen.
"I've come to pick you up."
Jiang Chen spoke as little as ever, and her fair skin couldn't hide the blush of embarrassment.
Hu Zhenzhen never expected Jiang Chen to come and pick her up; it was indeed a pleasant surprise for her.
"Thank you, baby. No one has ever picked me up from get off work before. Our little Chen is so considerate of his mom. He's such a good boy."
Overcome with excitement, Hu Zhenzhen kissed his fair cheek with a soft "mua~" sound, like the sound of cupping.
Jiang Chen lived with her for a few days, and a thin layer of fat grew on his face.
After Hu Zhenzhen finished kissing him, the flesh trembled twice with the force of her kiss.
"I'm sorry, Mom got a little excited."
Jiang Chen blushed like a little tomato. He was already developing slower than other children due to malnutrition, and the blushing made him look even younger.
No one had ever been this close to him before.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel shy, her mouth feeling as sweet as if she had eaten candy.
He had only ever seen other people's parents being close to their children before. So this is what it feels like to be close to your mother?
His hand quietly tugged at Hu Zhenzhen's skirt.
Congratulations! Your Family Affection Points have increased by 1, and you have been awarded one chance to win a prize.
[Congratulations on completing the parent-child mission: Make the male lead extremely happy. Reward: 50 million yuan.]
Wow, one surprise after another!
Hu Zhenzhen's smile widened as she wiped the lipstick off Xiao Chen's face and touched his soft little cheeks, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.
She still remembers the first time she saw the child; his face was peeling.
Fortunately, it has now recovered.
Gao Chen, who was standing to the side, watched the interaction between the mother and son, and his eyes became more complicated.
"Mr. Hu gets along with the children even better than I expected."
Chen Kai, who had been standing silently not far behind Jiang Chen, adjusted his position and moved closer to Hu Zhenzhen, a distance where he could protect her at any time.
Gao Chen noticed this and glanced at the car to see that there was a driver inside. His mind became even more complicated, and his original 70% confidence dropped to 50%.
If someone is so rich that they need a butler and driver when they go out, do they really need financing?
He decided to get straight to the point, "Let me be frank. I'd like to ask Mr. Hu if you still need to cooperate on the Dog Castle project. Kowloon Group has a lot of experience in the construction of amusement facilities."
Hu Zhenzhen looked up, her eyes slightly narrowed to conceal the glint of light within.
I just dozed off, and now someone's bringing me a pillow.
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