Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

The story begins the night after Li Zhao mentioned the prime storefront location on the pedestrian street.

As Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun analyzed the situation, they increasingly felt it was a good opportunity.

The prime location of the scenic area could potentially earn in a year what it does to run a vegetable wholesale business for several years.

If it really is by such a twist of fate that I can buy it at a low price, 400,000 is a very tempting number.

But they had too many concerns, so they spent some time gathering information.

The more I collect, the more excited I become.

The scenic area's profits far exceeded their expectations. Even if they couldn't make a fortune, they could recoup their 400,000 yuan investment in as little as six months, or at most a year, thanks to the initial boom of the pedestrian street.

The store's ownership is still in your hands. If you don't understand how to manage it and the sales don't meet expectations, you can sell it and all the profits will be pure profit.

The assumptions surrounding Zhou Xiaoyun, which are layered with multiple layers of speculation, have elicited a remarkably consistent reaction:

"You're dreaming."

Therefore, all the problems boil down to one concern:

Can I trust this information about my son? Could he be being set up?

There's only one thing to confirm—the entrance to the pedestrian street will indeed be changed.

But Li Zhao's source of information about this thing is the director of the planning bureau... It's quite a strange sight that a primary school student's son has far more connections than his parents.

Coincidentally, this morning, Vice President Ding of the New Taipei City Planning Institute gave a lecture at New Wisdom Human Resources, where Zhou Xiaoyun works, on pedestrian street planning.

Zhou Xiaoyun's direct supervisor was in charge of setting up the venue, so she volunteered to sit in on the lecture.

The vice dean mentioned the commercial aspects of the pedestrian street, pointing to the storefronts on both sides of the entrance and saying:

"The pedestrian street is still under renovation, but these shops have already started offering long-term leases and the prices have skyrocketed. I heard that there's a constant stream of people looking to rent them. Listen to my advice, everyone: some variables are beyond our control. If everyone knows they can make money, then the most likely outcome is that no one will make any money."

To others, these words would just be a perfectly normal piece of advice.

But no matter how Zhou Xiaoyun listened, she felt there was a hidden meaning behind it.

"Uncontrollable variables"—isn't that just saying that the acquisition negotiations failed and they changed their approach?

So after the meeting, while the vice dean was packing his things in the lounge, she took Li Zhao's planning drawings and submitted them.

The vice president's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Li Zhao's sketches.

"Where did you get these blueprints from?"

Vice Dean Ding was shocked, thinking to himself that he hadn't misheard Zhou Xiaoyun's self-introduction. Wasn't she just an employee of this company?

"It was... given by Director He."

"Wow." Vice Dean Ding immediately smiled, extending his hand to shake hands solemnly with Zhou Xiaoyun. "So you're a relative of Director He. It's an honor to have you attend the lecture today. I haven't said anything wrong, have I?"

"No, that's not it. My son is just in the same class as Director He's daughter. You explained it very well."

Vice Dean Ding was shocked, and only three words came to mind: arranged marriage.

"Since Director He has told you about this, does that mean you have some ideas about this shop?"

"Ah," Zhou Xiaoyun was actually quite quick-witted, "we've already bought this shop."

"Haha, I should have known. Since Director He has already told you this, I'll be frank with you too. This matter is a done deal. From now on, your shop will probably become a landmark in our Qingqiao District."

Zhou Xiaoyun was so excited her heart was practically pounding out of her chest.

"It can't be that bad."

"Why not? Listen to me, while you're at it, rent those houses next door too."

Yes, yes.

"Oh dear, I'm making the same mistake again," Vice Dean Ding laughed heartily. "Of course you know. May I ask your surname?"

"You can just call me Xiao Zhou."

"Not at all, Ms. Zhou. This is my business card. Let's keep in touch. Please give my regards to Director He!"

The vice president of New Wisdom Human Resources was about to greet Vice Dean Ding, but when he saw someone there, he stood at the door and waited.

Who would have thought they'd overhear these conversations?

Zhou Xiaoyun's heart didn't slow down all afternoon.

I've never been the star of this game before!

Moreover, the information was confirmed, even top experts said so, so she couldn't wait to go home and book the store immediately.

Even more unexpectedly, just before leaving get off work, Zhou Xiaoyun's department manager mysteriously called her over. Upon meeting her, he was very polite, asking about her well-being and then inquiring about her satisfaction with various aspects of the company.

Finally, he even took the initiative to propose that Zhou Xiaoyun be promoted from a contract worker with a subsidiary to a permanent employee with a contract directly with the head office.

He interpreted Zhou Xiaoyun's doubts as dissatisfaction, so he went a step further and, considering her seniority after she became a full-time employee, promoted her directly to a junior manager position in the department.

Zhou Xiaoyun dared not hesitate any longer, afraid that the duck she had almost gotten would fly away.

The department manager breathed a sigh of relief and finally explained the reason—New Wisdom Human Resources recently received a big order: the New Taipei City Planning Bureau wants to set up planning branches in various districts and needs to recruit a lot of people.

At this critical juncture, the vice president suddenly discovered that an ordinary female worker in the company was chatting and laughing with the vice president of the planning institute, and that she was using top-secret resources given to her by Director He to buy a shop without any further ado...

What kind of strength and background do they have?

The son is in the same class as Director He's daughter. Is it possible to get resources through such a simple connection? What kind of relationship do these two kids have?

Similarly, what is the relationship between these two companies?

If Zhou Xiaoyun gets upset and complains to Director He, the project might be canceled.

So when she agreed to be promoted to a permanent position, the department manager was even happier than she was.

Zhou Xiaoyun didn't think too much about it; she was so immersed in the joy of being treated as a star that she couldn't extricate herself.

Even after recounting all of this at the dinner table, she still wore a smug expression on her face.

"Today I got confirmation of the information and a promotion! I'm so happy!"

Then Li Changlin grabbed his hand.

"This is all thanks to my son."

Li Zhao was chewing rice when he suddenly froze.

[Dad is very lucid, happiness level +1, total 8]

"Yes, that's my problem. My son was the best in the whole thing, truly amazing!"

[Mom listened, happiness level +1, total 9]

...Mom and Dad, if you knew the system had such low requirements for you, would you be happy or sad?

"Mom," Li Zhao put down her chopsticks, her face serious, "have you considered the potential consequences of this probing?"

"Um?"

"Mom, don't you understand? You gained Dean Ding's trust and got promoted because of Director He. What will the company's leaders and colleagues be gossiping about?"

With the pedestrian street plan as a foundation, Li Changlin and Zhou Xiaoyun seemed more accepting of their son's precociousness.

Indeed, what's worrisome is precocious development that goes astray, like smoking, drinking, or getting perms—that won't do; this kind of advanced precocious development is essentially genius.

Who wouldn't want their child to become a genius?

"My son is right," Li Zhao nodded.

Zhou Xiaoyun frowned. "It shouldn't be that bad, right? That Dean Ding..."

"He's fine," Li Zhao said.

"Um?"

"Anyway, just ignore him. It's mainly a problem with my colleagues."

Because this vice dean, Ding Sheng, is a shrewd person who never gossips in front of others. He is a master of secrecy, keeping everything he hears to himself.

I had met Li Zhao in my previous life. He was the only person who would stop talking after drinking and fall asleep immediately after drinking too much.

So people especially like to tell him things they can't say, treating him like a confidant.

He couldn't imagine how many sensational stories this old man had heard in his entire life.

"What gossip do your colleagues have to spread? Oh, about me and Director He?" Zhou Xiaoyun waved her hand. "That's what I'm worried about. That's why Dean Ding thinks Director He and I are relatives. I even made a point of saying that you and He Shuyao are just classmates."

Li Zhao rolled her eyes. "Isn't my gossip with He Shuyao gossip? What if people think our families are childhood sweethearts?"

Li Changlin nodded. "My son is right."

Zhou Xiaoyun looked puzzled. "What's wrong with an arranged marriage?"

Li Zhao was stunned.

Li Changlin nodded again. "Your mother is right."