Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 236 - Chapter 236 Chapter 225 Iron Rooster Nie Zhan

Chapter 236: Chapter 225 Iron Rooster Nie Zhan Chapter 236: Chapter 225 Iron Rooster Nie Zhan Nie Zhan found it very strange. From what he understood, Lu Jiaxin’s family was quite well-off in the Mainland, so how could she go hungry? Seeing that Lu Jiaxin appeared indifferent, he straightforwardly asked her.

He had originally planned to find someone to investigate Lu Jiaxin’s background, but later felt that doing so was disrespectful to her, and thus gave up the idea.

Lu Jiaxin talked about her experience of being trafficked, which was something anyone could find out with a little investigation and therefore not something she felt she needed to hide: “After being unconscious for two days and three nights, I woke up wanting to eat, but there was nothing available. I waited a whole half day before I finally got to drink some porridge.”

“Why was there nothing to eat when you woke up?”

Lu Jiaxin sighed and said, “Xue Mao was a street kid. Many people in the Mainland are so poor that they can’t feed themselves, let alone help him. It just so happened that he hadn’t picked up any work for two days and then spent another two days not going out to take care of me, by which time all the food he had was gone. Luckily, that old woman didn’t take my Jade Pendant. I exchanged it for eighty Yuan to buy rice and make porridge, otherwise, I might have starved to death.”

Nie Zhan, himself from a wealthy family, had seen plenty of backstabbing and fratricidal strife. He understood that the mother and daughter harmed her out of greed, but he couldn’t understand Fan Yinuo: “You are beautiful and capable, why did he fall for such a step-sister?”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He thought she was gentle and kind.”

Nie Zhan asked with some distress, “What about now? What happened to the mother and daughter? Did they get punished?”

Lu Jiaxin smiled and said, “Without solid evidence, they couldn’t be arrested. However, the older one was corrupt and took bribes, which I reported and she was sentenced to twelve years. The younger one’s private life was in disarray and she was expelled from the school. I guess that’s karma. My dad is just so faithful that he can’t bring himself to divorce her even though she’s in prison.”

She guessed that Ding Jing must be regretting it so much now that she was practically green with envy. If she had been sold off by traffickers, none of this would have happened. But being in prison was just the beginning; she wanted Ding Jing to live the rest of her life in poverty and want as repayment for the life debt she owed.

Nie Zhan thought for a moment and then said, “Perhaps it’s not that he can’t bear to, but that he dares not.”

Lu Jiaxin chuckled lightly and said, “Even if they had something on him, with his daughter in their own hands, would they dare destroy each other completely? The daughter is her reliance for her next life; she wouldn’t dare take the risk.”

Nie Zhan didn’t want to judge and said, “Now that you’ve arrived in Hong Kong, you won’t have anything to do with them in the future. Forget the unpleasantness of the past!”

Lu Jiaxin shrugged and said, “I have already told relatives back home that when he gets old and sick and there’s no one to take care of him, I will hire someone to ensure his well-being in his old age. That’s all.”

Nie Zhan felt that providing for his old age was already the epitome of kindness and duty.

Seeing that he didn’t criticize her way of doing things, Lu Jiaxin was quite satisfied. However, she didn’t want to talk too much about her private affairs, so she changed the subject and asked him about the Hongzhong stock rights issue.

Last month, Hongzhong Real Estate was bought by someone named Liang Yonghao. With this change of hands, Nie Zhan made fifty-six million Yuan. When Lu Jiaxin heard this news, she nearly cried with envy.

Nie Zhan said with a smile, “Yes, Liang Yonghao diluted the shareholdings of other shareholders by issuing new stocks. To this end, he spared no expense in purchasing my share warrants for twenty million Yuan.”

Lu Jiaxin was reminded of a saying, “There is no business without deceit.”

Nie Zhan knew that she had bought shares in Hongzhong: “It’s normal for the stock price to fall after the new shares are issued. Once Liang Yonghao injects capital into the company and releases good news, the stock will rise quickly.”

Lu Jiaxin looked at him and asked, “Was this manipulation helped by Yaomin Investment, or was it his own team that plotted this for him?”

Nie Zhan didn’t hide it from her and said, “All these operations were assisted by Yaomin Investment Company. The fees for that were calculated separately.”

Lu Jiaxin gave a thumbs up: “You’re really impressive.”

Making money threefold from a single deal is certainly worth learning.

The two chatted very congenially, and time slipped away unnoticed. Gu Wenfeng knocked on the door to remind, “Miss, it’s getting late, we should head back.”

Lu Jiaxin looked at her watch and realized it was almost eight o’clock. She stood up and said, “Mr. Nie, let’s plan to meet another time when we’re both available.”

Nie Zhan didn’t want to wait for another time, “Aren’t you taking your brother to Ocean Park tomorrow? I happen to be free as well, so I can join you.”

Lu Jiaxin refused, “Haifan is quite shy around strangers; he would be uneasy if you came along. Let’s go together some other time when there’s a chance!”

Nie Zhan hadn’t expected making a date to be this difficult.

On the way back, Gu Wenfeng asked, “Jiaxin, is Mr. Nie pursuing you?”

“Yes.”

Thinking back to when he said at Swan Hotel that she and Nie Zhan were from different worlds, Gu Wenfeng found it ironic that just a year later, Nie Zhan was pursuing her–indeed, the world is unpredictable.

Although Nie Zhan was excellent in many ways, Gu Wenfeng felt she was too young to be in a relationship. Hesitating for a moment, he still spoke his mind, “Jiaxin, you’re still young; it’s best to start dating after you graduate from college.”

Lu Jiaxin said with a smile, “Nie Zhan is indeed a catch. Dating him wouldn’t be a loss. But don’t worry, I won’t date anyone before I go to university.”

Gu Wenfeng frowned and said, “I’ve heard that marriage among the wealthy in Hong Kong is about matching social status; I’m worried that you might face difficulties in the future.”

She was talking about dating, but Gu Wenfeng was already thinking about marriage, which just goes to show how conservative Mainland people really are, “Just dating won’t concern his family. As for marriage, I won’t be marrying anytime soon, so there’s no point worrying about it now.”

“Brother Feng, this is Hong Kong, not the Mainland. On the Mainland, if you date without marrying, people gossip, but here it’s very normal for boyfriends and girlfriends to split if they don’t feel right for each other.”

Gu Wenfeng was just worried she’d be short-changed, but seeing how easygoing she was, he didn’t say any more.

The next day, Lu Jiaxin went to the Guh Residence to pick up Haifan and they went to Ocean Park, playing until after four in the afternoon before heading back. She had just sat down for a drink when Ah Mei handed her a gossip magazine to look at.

Lu Jiaxin took it and saw photos of her with Nie Zhan strolling around Hong Kong University campus, but the headline read, “Diamond Bachelor Young Master Nie turns out to be a stingy miser.”

Ah Mei disdainfully said, “Miss Cousin, Young Master Nie is too stingy, giving you such a beat-up car. Miss Cousin, you can’t be with a man like that.”

If the car had been ninety percent new, perhaps, but the BMW that was parked outside was only about sixty percent new. To the average person, it was quite nice, but Young Master Nie was a billionaire! Not willing to gift a new car–how could such a man have the nerve to pursue Miss Cousin of their family?

Another maid also said, “Exactly, Miss Cousin, if he’s unwilling to spend money on you while you’re dating, don’t even think about it later. Miss Cousin, you’re beautiful and capable; you can definitely find someone better than Young Master Nie.”

Lu Jiaxin gave the two a look, implying something, “It seems like you really don’t want me to date Nie Zhan? Why is that?”

Ah Mei expressed that no matter how rich, a man so miserly was not worth dating–simply a waste of time and youth.