Chapter 56: The "Luxurious" Renovation
Chapter 56: Chapter 56: The "Luxurious" Renovation
The moment they stepped inside, Zhao Hui exclaimed, "This place is decorated so luxuriously!"
Wang Hao said proudly, "The renovation cost over 300,000!"
In reality, over 300,000 wasn’t that luxurious—just a standard, minimalist "light luxury" style. But compared to Zhao Hui’s house, it was the height of extravagance.
In Zhao Hui’s resettlement apartment, the renovation hadn’t even touched the plumbing or electrical wiring. The windows were the original ones left by the developer, never replaced.
When the winter winds blew, they were even drafty. The entire renovation and furniture combined didn’t even cost 70,000.
Wang Hao smugly led Mr. and Mrs. Zhao on a complete tour of his home.
He pointed out the big brand of the floor tiles and the brand of the wood flooring.
He even made a point of introducing the toilet, explaining that it had an automatic bidet function, and he even insisted that Zhao Hui try it out.
Then he showed them the large bed in his bedroom, rattling off a series of brand names that Zhao Hui and his parents didn’t recognize but were nonetheless impressed by.
"My dad said that once things are settled between me and Xiangjun, this house will be our marital home. He’ll even buy us a BMW X3 then!"
Zhao Hui quickly added, "And a 660,000-yuan bride price!"
Mr. and Mrs. Zhao exchanged a glance before Mr. Zhao sighed. "We can’t find any fault with these terms. Logically, if Xiangjun were willing, she would live a comfortable life. But that child is incredibly stubborn... We’ll try to persuade her again!"
Wang Hao was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. He said anxiously, "You could also bring Xiangjun here to see it!"
Zhao Hui said, "I think that’ll work. We’ll go find her tonight and bring her over for a look. If she’s not satisfied with terms like these, what more could she possibly want? She could work hard her entire life and never achieve this kind of lifestyle!"
Wang Hao said, "I’ll go with you!"
Zhao Hui thought for a moment. "No, that won’t work. With her strange temper, she doesn’t usually interact with anyone outside the family. If you come, she’ll probably just give us a sour look and refuse to come with us at all."
Wang Hao could only nod reluctantly. Ever since meeting her two days ago, he felt like he was lovesick. If he went a day without seeing her, his heart felt like it was being clawed by a cat.
When Zhao Xiangjun received Zhao Hui’s call, he said he was coming with their parents to see her.
Zhao Xiangjun was surprised. ’Zhao Hui isn’t that kind of person.’ Normally, he only ever contacted her to drop off his kid or to ask for their parents’ living expenses. He would never travel this far just to see her.
She told Zhao Hui to bring their parents to Wansheng Square, planning to treat them to the seafood buffet there that evening.
Since her parents rarely visited, she planned to spend some quality time shopping with them.
She sent a text to Chen Xiao, letting him know her parents had arrived. She told him she was taking them to dinner at Wansheng and that he should grab a bite to eat on his own before heading back.
She then casually transferred two million to him.
Seeing the notifications from his bank and the system about the funds arriving, he was genuinely afraid the system would stop giving him this reward. ’Isn’t this just exploiting a bug?’
"DING~! Detected a transfer of 2,000,000 yuan from Zhao Xiangjun to the Host. Awarding the Host 384 million yuan for the special Zhao Xiangjun Diligence Fund. The balance of the special Zhao Xiangjun Diligence Fund is now 770 million yuan."
He replied, "You don’t have to transfer money to me! You should keep it for yourself."
"What would I use it for? I don’t have anything to spend money on. You keep it for investments!"
Chen Xiao’s reply was entirely for the system’s benefit. He was worried the system would think he was exploiting a bug. If they could do this, Chen Xiao could just give all his money to Zhao Xiangjun, have her transfer it back, and become the richest man in the world in a single day.
"Only income personally earned by Zhao Xiangjun and given to the Host will activate the opposite-sex reward fund!"
’All right, I was overthinking it.’ The system had replied with an explanation: as long as it was Zhao Xiangjun’s own earnings, it qualified for the Diligence Fund.
’770 million... How am I supposed to spend all that?’ It was no exaggeration to say that while many people had assets worth over a hundred million, those who could produce a hundred million in cash were as rare as phoenix feathers.
’I need to think about how to use this money. I could even consider setting up an investment company in Zhao Xiangjun’s name. I can’t spend this much money on daily expenses, so it might as well be used to create more value!’
This was a viable option. After all, the largest state-owned fund in Jiangzhou only controlled about 20 billion. With 770 million to invest, he could already take on many projects.
The economy was in a downturn, and many companies were desperate for capital. If you showed up with 700 million in cash, people would be lining up to call you "daddy."
The key was that this was only the beginning. This pool of funds would only continue to grow.
He sent a message to Zhao Xiangjun, joking, "My parents are coming to meet you tomorrow. Does that mean your aunt and uncle are here to meet me today?"
"They don’t even know you exist. They just showed up today unannounced, so I haven’t had a chance to tell them!"
Then she added, "I’ll find a chance to tell them."
Chen Xiao sent a shocked emoji. "They won’t object, will they?"
She replied, "It’s my life. All that matters is that I agree to it. I’m *telling* them, not asking for their opinion!"
’All right, you’re the boss. Impressive.’ That was Zhao Xiangjun’s style, all right.
Her unique personality, so different from everyone else, was one of the things that attracted him to her.
With her parents’ arrival, Zhao Xiangjun took the afternoon off again. The store manager didn’t have the slightest objection.
And now that Zhao Xiangjun was a shareholder in the Yino Group, her mindset was bound to change somewhat.
Many people might claim not to care about wealth and power, but it’s undeniable that once you possess them, they subtly influence you, changing your judgment and perception of many things.
She went down to the first floor to meet her parents and paid their taxi fare on the way. The action was as smooth as flowing water; you could tell she did it often.
"What brings you here today?" Zhao Xiangjun asked as they walked into the mall.
Mrs. Zhao said, "You didn’t video call me yesterday, so I came to check on you!"
Zhao Xiangjun video-called her mother every day. It just so happened that yesterday, her younger maternal uncle had come over in the afternoon, taking up her time. When she got back, Chen Xiao had dragged her into playing a few games. Not only was she exhausted, but it also hadn’t been a convenient time for a video call.
A blush crept onto her face, and she could only explain, "My uncle came over yesterday, so I forgot to call."
None of them mentioned Wang Hao. They had been full of resolve on the way over, but now that they were face-to-face with her, they lost their nerve.
She led her parents around the mall, expertly navigating them to the clothing section and buying each of them two new outfits.
Her parents protested verbally, but they couldn’t overcome Zhao Xiangjun’s insistence, so they had to let her.
Zhao Xiangjun said, "My uncle came over yesterday, and I bought things for him. Of course I’m going to buy a couple of outfits for my own parents, right?"
She was used to it. Every time she took her parents out to buy clothes, they would refuse, but in reality, she had been the one buying their clothes for many years.
Zhao Hui, who was tagging along, watched with envy. A few times, when they were in a men’s clothing store, he even picked out an outfit and asked Zhao Xiangjun if it looked good on him, but she never offered to pay for it.
It wasn’t that Zhao Xiangjun was stingy. Every time she went home, she was the one who bought all the groceries—oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar—for her brother’s family. When her sister-in-law went shopping with her, she would always coax her into paying the bill. Zhao Xiangjun would oblige in those situations, but she refused to indulge her brother’s bad habits.