Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

The sun was blazing overhead.

Outside the gate of the Shenzhen Security Company, the asphalt road was softened by the sun.

Lin Xueer squatted on the curb, her lips dry, cracked, and peeling.

She squatted there for half a month, but she couldn't smell the exhaust fumes from Song Qiang's car, let alone Song Qiang himself.

As soon as she dared to move forward, the two burly security guards at the door rushed out with riot batons.

It's in the back alley of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant not far away.

Lin's mother, wearing an apron stained with oil, was squatting on the ground washing dishes.

The white foam from the dish soap was flying everywhere.

Lin Xue'er dragged her tired body over and plopped down on the broken plastic basket next to her.

"Mom, I can't reach him at all. The gate is heavily guarded, and I've been watching him closely since early this morning, but I haven't seen a single person." Lin Xue'er's voice was hoarse, and her face was full of despair.

Lin's mother paused, holding the loofah sponge in her hand, and turned to glare at her.

"You're just wasting your time here because you can't get close to him? Go make a scene at his house, go make a scene at his ex-wife's place. He's ruined our whole family, he won't have an easy time. I raised that ungrateful little sister of mine for years, and that brat ran off with someone else so quickly."

Lin Xueer regretted her actions, "I gave you so much money, why did you abuse Xi Mei? If you had raised Xi Mei well, he wouldn't have been so heartless."

I went to the old woman's shop, and she chased me out with a stick. Song Qiang changed all the locks on the house; he moved to a villa a long time ago. Where am I supposed to find him?

"Useless thing. You couldn't even give birth to a real son back then, and now you can't even find a single person."

Lin's mother was furious.

He flung a rag into the basin, splashing water all over Lin Xue'er.

"Your brother can't be hurt; he's the pillar of our family."

With a "snap".

The back door of the snack shop was pushed open.

The proprietress stood on the steps with her hands on her hips, her finger almost poking Lin's mother's nose: "What's all the noise about? The customers in front are waiting to get their bowls and eat, and you're just slacking off in the back? I'll deduct two dollars from your wages today. Work if you want, or get out."

Startled, Lin's mother quickly lowered her head and frantically scrubbed the bowl.

"Boss lady, please don't deduct money from my pay. I'll wash it right away, it'll be done in a minute."

Lin Xueer huddled on the plastic basket.

Seeing her mother's submissive and humiliated appearance, tears streamed down her face.

My father lay in the underpass with a broken leg.

My brother, Lin Jie, has disappeared.

The sister-in-law took the family's money and nephew and ran back to her parents' home, leaving her niece and Zongzong behind.

Now she can't even afford to rent a place.

His dream of wealth and status was shattered.

On the other end.

Nanshan District.

The ground was covered with waist-high weeds that rustled in the wind.

There isn't even a paved road here; yellow dust drifts in the wind.

Song Xianglan, wearing half-heeled leather shoes, stood on a dirt slope and looked down.

Secretary Yao followed beside him, constantly wiping the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief in her hand.

"Auntie, do you think this land is really suitable?" Secretary Yao pointed around. "It's too remote. There's not a single living thing in sight. It will be difficult to recruit workers once the factory is built. Wouldn't it be better if we moved closer to the city center?"

"Besides, there aren't as many villagers in the nearby area as in the city center."

"This is it, I've got my eye on this piece of land." Song Xianglan said decisively, "It looks remote now, but the city's development plan is to expand outwards. In the future, even if you have money, you won't be able to squeeze into this area."

Secretary Yao tentatively began to speak:

"Recently, the city has implemented a policy that provides preferential treatment in land prices and taxes for factories that can create jobs for migrant workers and generate revenue for the government."

However, the most favorable policies are reserved for foreign-invested enterprises.

Auntie, it's a real pity that you won't get the lion's share since this is considered domestic investment.

Song Xianglan turned her head to look at him.

"Does that mean foreign capital gets the lion's share?"

"That's for sure." Secretary Yao nodded. "When foreign capital comes in, it gets the green light all the way, with all sorts of reductions and exemptions. If you were a foreign investor, I could go back and negotiate with the investment promotion office."

"Okay, then it's foreign investment." Song Xianglan turned and walked to the side of the road.

Secretary Yao stood there stunned for a moment, then hurriedly chased after him.

"Auntie, this is no joke. It requires foreign investors to pour real money into it."

"I'm not kidding." Song Xianglan opened the back door of the car. "Chen Zui will be arriving in Shenzhen in a couple of days. Does he qualify as a legitimate overseas Chinese investor?"

Secretary Yao paused, her eyes lighting up.

"Boss Chen? He hasn't shown his face much these past two years. I heard he's been fighting tooth and nail over his inheritance in the Philippines."

"The battle is over. He has all the power." Song Xianglan got into the car. "He just recently acquired a Philippine airline."

He got engaged to the daughter of a local tycoon and will hold a wedding banquet at the end of the year.

He has plenty of money, but he doesn't have the time to manage things. He'll be a minority shareholder contributing money, and I'll be the majority shareholder contributing both money and effort—it's a perfect match.

Secretary Yao gasped in shock upon hearing this.

He got into the car and asked, "Auntie, if Boss Chen invests, the foreign investment deal is practically a done deal. How many acres of land are you planning to apply for?"

"One hundred and twenty mu."

Secretary Yao had just unscrewed the kettle when her hand trembled.

"One hundred and twenty acres? Auntie, the factory you're going to build is quite large."

Song Xianglan didn't explain, and unzipped her handbag.

He pulled out a large stack of blueprints and handed them to Secretary Yao.

Secretary Yao quickly dried her hands with a handkerchief and opened the blueprints.

The surface was covered with densely drawn planning lines.

Office area, separate canteen, production workshops for different categories, and super-large warehouse.

"Why is this road so wide?" Secretary Yao pointed to the horizontal line in the middle of the factory area.

"This is for container trucks," Song Xianglan said, pointing to the blueprint. "Three trucks must drive in side by side without blocking the way."

They also plan to fence off a plot of land outside and build several six-story employee dormitories, an employee canteen, and an employee recreation center.

"We'll also build a supermarket, a basketball court, and plan a small park inside. Ideally, I'd like another thirty acres of land."

Secretary Yao gasped.

"This will cost a lot of money and require a significant investment."

"The factory in Qingyang is too small to expand. We'll move all the potato chip and shrimp chip factories here." Song Xianglan leaned back in her chair. "Also, when Chen Zui arrives, I'll take him to Pudong, Shanghai."

"What are you going to Haishi for?" Secretary Yao looked up.

"That area is bigger. The instant noodle factory should be located in Haishi." Song Xianglan tapped on the edge of the car window. "Secretary Yao, go back and discuss it with your superiors. Let's put 150 acres of land there."

"You need at least 120 acres of land; I can't get this factory up and running without it. As for the number of jobs it creates, I'll make sure they're completely satisfied."

Secretary Yao closed the blueprints, her heart pounding.

He originally thought the old lady was just making a fuss over nothing.

Who would have thought that their first thought would be to build an industrial kingdom?

The jeep started and drove out of the wasteland.

We got onto the main road.

As they passed a bustling construction site, Secretary Yao rolled down the car window and pointed outside. "Auntie, look how lively and bustling this place is. Don't you really want to consider going somewhere more lively?"

Song Xianglan didn't even glance outside.

"What good are a lot of people if the land isn't big enough? Once my factory is built, people will naturally flock there." She rolled down the car window to let in some fresh air.

The car was not going fast.

The construction site was full of shirtless workers pushing mud carts.

A man wearing a yellow hard hat and covered in cement slurry is bending over and pushing a wheelbarrow.

Hearing the jeep's horn, he casually raised his eyelids and glanced at the road.

The man froze completely the moment the car window rolled down.

That profile, that straight back.

Song Xianglan?

Yu Pengfei rubbed his eyes, abandoned the wheelbarrow, and ran two steps forward.

The jeep accelerated and swerved, disappearing from sight even at its taillights.

He stood there, frozen, his hands dripping with mud and water.

"Yu Pengfei, are you blind? What are you looking at?" The pot-bellied foreman rushed over, cigarette dangling from his hand, and started cursing. "You're always slacking off. If you don't finish today, you won't get paid."

Yu Pengfei gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"You're not happy? If you're not happy, get the hell out of here. There are plenty of people lining up to get into our construction site." The foreman spat a thick wad of phlegm onto the wheelbarrow's wheel. "You vagrant without even a temporary residence permit, if it weren't for your strength, we would have kicked you out long ago."

Yu Pengfei took a deep breath, bent down and gripped the wooden handle again, pushing the cart forward.

The bricks were pressing down on the truck bed, so heavy that they bent his back.

He huddled in this construction site, barely clinging to life.

The moment I saw Song Xianglan, all those memories from the past flooded back.

When Song Xiangdong returned to his hometown to visit relatives after serving in the army, he and Yu Pengfei were wearing military uniforms with four pockets, full of vigor and high spirits.

He patted Song Xiangdong on the shoulder and told him to do a good job.

Song Xiangdong even had to stand at attention, salute him, and call him "Commander".

Who could have imagined that fortunes could change so drastically over time?

Now, Song Xianglan sits in a jeep, chatting and laughing, while he is being treated like a grandson and cursed in the mud.

Yu Pengfei swallowed the resentment in his throat.

In the afternoon, at the Shen family's courtyard.

A deafening burst of laughter erupted in the courtyard.

Mr. Shen pushed his bicycle through the door, followed by two young men.

Da Bao has grown to 1.8 meters tall, with broad shoulders. Wearing a school uniform, he exudes a calm and composed demeanor.

Erbao is also 1.7 meters tall, with naturally curly hair, and he can't stop smiling.

"Da Bao and Er Bao are here."

Shen's mother happily ran to the sink to cut a large watermelon.

The two put down their luggage bags.

Erbao spotted Song Xianglan coming out of the house and strode over to her.