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

"Both sides?" Officer Wu thought he had misheard, his eyes widening in surprise.

Song Xianglan patted the planning map in Officer Wu's hand. "What? Can't you handle a few elephants like us?"

Officer Wu snapped out of his daze and looked troubled.

"Comrade Song, Mr. Shi, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to approve. There are regulations in the city that land must be allocated according to the actual investment amount. You want both Shenbei and Pudong at once. If the higher-ups ask when the factory will be built and put into production, I will have a hard time explaining it."

Song Xianglan pointed to the land in Shenbei.

"Even if the policy in Pudong is officially implemented, the roads can't be paved in a month. We can't just wait around. Mr. Shi and I will each take half of these two hundred acres in Shenbei."

The land already has water and electricity infrastructure; the factory can be built immediately, and the machinery can be brought in and production can begin right away.

Shi Changrong nodded in agreement from the side:

"Yes, in business, you can cut off anything but cash flow. Shenbei is playing fast-paced games."

Song Xianglan continued the conversation:

"As for Pudong, it has nothing right now. The city wants to carry out large-scale construction, but the first problem is that it lacks money."

We're taking foreign exchange to acquire land now, just to support national development.

"Once the road is completed in a few years, we'll immediately move the second phase of the project there to build a factory and start production. It's a win-win situation."

She looked into Officer Wu's eyes.

"Officer Wu, rules are rules, but people are flexible. The people in the south are practically eyeing foreign investment like crazy."

"We've poured our money into Haishi. If you can't make the decision, we'll just look elsewhere."

"We are businessmen, and we should also talk about cooperation and win-win results."

Officer Wu was afraid that this God of Wealth would run away.

"No, no, no. Comrade Song, what you said hits the nail on the head. Your awareness is too high."

Our investment promotion office needs visionary entrepreneurs like yourself. I will definitely report this to my superiors verbatim and handle it as a special case.

Song Xianglan's eyes were filled with a smile:

"I knew that Officer Wu was a man of action. Your contributions will be indelible in the future development history of Haishi."

You are the pioneers in building Shanghai. Why don't you ask Officer Wu to take us to the Pudong riverside to see it for ourselves?

Officer Wu was rendered speechless by Song Xianglan's few words.

The four of them followed Officer Wu and his group to the dock.

The ferry crossed the Huangpu River.

As soon as we got off the boat, the soles of our shoes were covered in a layer of wet mud.

Chen Zui looked around.

The landscape is filled with farmland and low-rise buildings, as well as some small workshops. The asphalt road on Pudong Avenue is full of potholes, with some sections higher in the middle and lower at both ends.

The wind carries the earthy smell of everything.

Looking back across the river, the skyscrapers and villas on the Puxi side look very stylish.

A river separates two completely unrelated worlds.

"Godmother," Chen Zui pointed to the wasteland in front of him, "it's isolated on all sides, without even a decent cement road. If there's a heavy rain in the summer, even trucks will have a hard time driving. If we really want to build a factory here, we'll have to spend a lot of money just on road construction."

Song Xianglan stepped onto the asphalt road.

"If the government wants to develop the area, how can we not build this road? Let's acquire the land first, and once the policy is released, the prosperity across the river will inevitably spill over to this side sooner or later."

She walked straight to the riverbank and pointed to a wide expanse of wasteland along the river.

"Officer Wu, I want this large piece of land by the river."

This location is absolutely perfect.

If it gets demolished or used for commercial purposes in the future, it will be a golden goose that lays eggs.

Shi Changrong looked along the asphalt road. "I don't like being too close to water. High humidity will wear out the machinery quickly, and stored goods will easily get damp. I want to go to this area further in."

Officer Wu took out his notebook and wrote down the location.

"The two bosses have a keen eye. The matter is basically settled. But they need to review the documents, so we need to submit the planning document for approval first."

"Two days." Shi Changrong held up two fingers. "I will deliver the planning document to you within two days."

"Mine is the same," Song Xianglan immediately replied.

They got in the car and went for another look around.

The two roughly confirmed the address.

Back in the hotel room.

Song Xianglan plopped down on the sofa and rubbed her sore feet.

Chen Zui poured a glass of water and handed it to her. "Godmother, the planning document is due in two days, is that alright with you?"

Song Xianglan took the cup and took a big gulp. "I only need to make the decision on acquiring the land; the errands and writing of the documents will naturally be taken care of by others."

She got up, walked to the bedside table, picked up the landline, and dialed a Shenzhen number.

The person who answered the phone was Secretary Yao, Song Xiangdong's chief secretary.

"Secretary Yao, this is Song Xianglan. Quickly go and call Xiang Dong to answer the phone."

A moment later, Song Xiangdong's steady voice came through the receiver.

"Mom, how's the situation in Haishi?"

Song Xianglan grinned and exclaimed, "What a wonderful son I have! Coming to Haishi this time was definitely the right decision!"

I told you, besides the plot of land we originally planned to have, I went to look at another plot across the river today. It's all settled.

Song Xiangdong paused for a moment on the other end of the phone.

With my son's big day out, I always feel like Mom is about to assign me some tasks.

"Across the river? Pudong?"

"Yes." Song Xianglan leaned against the cabinet triumphantly. "That place is cheap now, like cabbage. I figured I couldn't miss it, so I grabbed a spot first."

The investment promotion office now needs a planning document.

It needs to be handed over to them within two days.

I can't come up with the answer. You're smart, give me some ideas. How should we divide the labor among our family's factories going forward?

Song Xiangdong tapped the table lightly on the other end, producing a few crisp sounds.

"That's not difficult. Mom, as you said, we'll move the entire instant noodle production line to that land in Shenbei. Haishi is connected to the river and the sea, making it the most suitable place to sell to the national market."

"What about the Pudong area?"

"Pudong has a lot of land, so we'll use it to build a potato chip factory. Potato chips take up a lot of space, and it's cheaper to build a large cold storage facility there. All our future snack production lines will be located there."

Song Xiangdong explained clearly, "As for the factory in Qingyang's hometown, it will undergo a complete transformation. Our hometown is by the sea, so the Qingyang factory will specialize in seafood products and dried goods. This way, they won't interfere with each other, and each can grow bigger."

"We also do potato chip business in Shenzhen, and we can even export to Southeast Asia."

Song Xianglan's eyes lit up.

"Alright, son. You're quick-witted; you figured it out in no time. Get the planning document done in the next couple of days and send it over by telegram."

"No problem. I'll get it done for you in the next couple of days."

After hanging up the phone, Song Xianglan looked delighted.

Since Song Xiangdong started studying, his mind has become much sharper.

When people have free time, other things start popping into their minds.

Song Xianglan still felt relieved when she recalled the dramatic scene she witnessed at the restaurant at noon when she encountered Mother An.

She picked up the phone and dialed Shen Huijun's home number.

"Feed?" Shen Huijun answered.

"Huijun, it's me."

Shen Huijun's tone immediately brightened. "Mom, is everything going smoothly?"

"Everything went very smoothly." Song Xianglan cleared her throat. "I have something interesting to tell you. I ran into An Xiyang's biological mother here today."

Shen Huijun was taken aback on the other end of the line. "You ran into her? Did you get into a conflict?"

Song Xianglan scoffed.

He recounted how his mother had been thoroughly humiliated at the restaurant.

"That old woman is full of scheming. She pushed her daughter into a fire pit. Now that she knows Zhou Fang has made something of himself, she regrets it to the core."

Song Xianglan instructed:

"I'm just reminding you. Please don't mention this to Da Bao and Er Bao. Don't let those messy things at Anjia upset the children."

"I definitely won't mention it," Shen Huijun sighed. "Mother An has really shot herself in the foot."

"But Mom, do you think An Jia will really have the nerve to go back to Zhou Fang and remarry?"

"What good would it do to look for them?"

Song Xianglan said with certainty, "Haven't you figured out Zhou Fang's temper yet? He used to be the kind of person who would always make concessions for love."

Now that he's moved on, he'll never go back to that relationship again. No matter how cunning the An family's plans are, it's all in vain.

Shen Huijun breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, right, my mom is going back to Haishi tomorrow too."

Song Xianglan was somewhat surprised.

"Going back to Haishi? I miss home."

Shen Huijun's voice turned somber. "My sister had a fight with my brother-in-law a few days ago and they even started hitting each other."

My brother-in-law pushed her to the ground, causing her arm to bruise, and then my mother-in-law also hit her. My mother was so angry that her blood pressure spiked, and she said she had to go back and see for herself what really happened.

"My brother and the others aren't in Haishi. I can't leave here right now."

Song Xianglan frowned.

"What kind of man hits his wife? Should I go check on your sister when I have time? If she's really been wronged, I'll bring a few people to help her out."

"Not for now," Shen Huijun quickly advised. "You know how strong-willed my mother is; she doesn't like to air her dirty laundry in public."

She went to check the situation first; if it really couldn't be managed, she'd call you for help.

"Okay. Call the hotel anytime if anything happens. That girl surnamed Shen can't have gotten beaten up for nothing."

hang up the phone.

Seeing that it was still early, Song Xianglan decided to go to the clothing store to check things out.

Huang Ronghua and Liu Yukun each run a shop, and it remains to be seen who can do it better.

Song Xianglan first went to the storefront that Liu Yukun was in charge of.

As soon as she reached the street corner, Song Xianglan began to look around.

The store has undergone a complete transformation.

The old signboard has been replaced with a new one, and the small grocery store next door has also been taken over.

The original two shops remained Song's Trading Company, mainly selling electrical appliances and motorcycles.

They took over the grocery store and started selling clothes.

The glass door was polished to a shine.

Liu Yukun was trying to sell a puff-sleeved shirt to a woman from Shanghai with curly hair.

"Sister, feel this fabric. It's breathable and doesn't wrinkle. It's the latest style that just arrived from the south this month, and I'm the only place in the whole city that has it."

"With your figure, you'd look even better than the stars in movie magazines. If you went into acting, what would those other stars have to do with it? In my opinion, you should be acting!"

Liu Yukun is such a sweet talker, he could practically squeeze honey out of you.

He quickly charmed the woman, making her beam with joy and take out her money on the spot.

Liu Yukun quickly wrapped the clothes up and handed them over with both hands.

"Take care, sister. I'll save some for you next time you come out with a new style."

He turned around after seeing the guests off.

He faced Song Xianglan, who was standing at the door.

Liu Yukun paused for a second, then his eyes curved into crescent moons as he strode forward to meet him.

"Godmother, what brings you here? When did you arrive in Haishi?"

"It's been two days."

Song Xianglan walked into the store, touched the shelves around, and said, "You're quite something. You've made this store look quite impressive. When did you get the storefront next door?"

"It was just acquired last month."

Liu Yukun pulled over a clean chair. "The old man next to me is in a hurry to go back to northern Jiangsu, and he's eager to get rid of this shop."

When I saw the price was right, I bought the property and renovated it into a clothing store. I noticed that the clothing stores on this street were making money.

"I talked to Tingting on the phone. She told me a lot of tips for opening a clothing store."

Liu Yukun poured a cup of iced tea and handed it over.

"Godmother, why didn't you call before you came? I would have picked you up on my motorcycle."

Song Xianglan took a sip of tea.

"I've been busy with things at the food factory and haven't had a chance to talk to you. How's things going at the Ronghua store?"

"His business is doing alright."

Liu Yukun's eyes gleamed with a cleverness, "but he's a bit inflexible and doesn't know how to adapt. I told him I wanted to renovate, but he insisted that he couldn't waste his time earning money and refused to do so."

Song Xianglan sized up her godson.

I've been working my way up in Shanghai for the past two years.

Liu Yukun has long since shed the naiveté of a country youth; now he's shrewd with business acumen and capable of handling big responsibilities.