Chapter 174: with translation of chapter title

Fortunately it was only a moment; Su Ruo came to her senses. She looked at her shiniang with some difficulty—actually taking in her shiniang wasn't impossible, but her shifu and shiniang had just divorced, and she took her shiniang away, which just felt weird.

Seeing Su Ruo's hesitation, her shiniang immediately pleaded pitifully: "Ruo Ruo, after I divorced your shifu, I have nowhere to go—can you really bear to see me wandering the streets?"

Just as Su Ruo didn't know what to do, her shifu gave a light cough, interrupting them: "For now, just look after your shiniang—she's been unconscious for so long and is somewhat out of touch with society; thank you."

Since her shifu had spoken, what could Su Ruo say? Besides, her shiniang brought such a generous 'dowry'.

That very day, her shiniang eagerly followed Su Ruo back to the siheyuan.

Bai Xinya had originally wanted to visit over the shiniang's sudden faint yesterday, but she didn't expect the shiniang herself to show up today.

Moreover, after not seeing her for just a day, Bai Xinya felt the shiniang seemed completely transformed—beautiful enough to glow, her every gesture exuding charm and allure.

This left both Bai Xinya and Li Zhaidi staring, feeling the person before them was even more beautiful than a movie star on TV.

Until the shiniang smiled and said: "My name is Chu Mengjun; I am Ruo Ruo's former shiniang. You can call me Mengjun. I may live here from now on, so please forgive any inconvenience."

Only then did the two come to their senses.

Li Zhaidi hurriedly waved her hands, saying: "No trouble, no trouble."

Usually well-informed, Bai Xinya was now overwhelmed by the stepmother's words, not knowing how to respond.

Su Ruo gave her a look, indicating she would explain later, but in truth she herself didn't know how to explain it.

Regardless, since the guest had arrived, Li Zhaidi and Bai Xinya prepared a lavish meal to welcome Chu Mengjun.

The table was filled with cheer, but the usually well-behaved An'an, upon looking at the stepmother, showed not joy but deep hostility.

When the stepmother reached out to touch An'an, she avoided it; the stepmother wasn't embarrassed, she smiled and rubbed An'an's horn braids, saying: "This child is truly adorable."

Su Ruo and the others didn't notice the tension between them; after the meal, Li Zhaidi solemnly announced a major matter.

"I heard that the suburban state-owned clothing factory has gone bankrupt; I intend to buy it."

Su Ruo and Bai Xinya had always known Li Zhaidi was ambitious, but they hadn't expected her ambition to be this great.

The suburban clothing factory was one of the nation's largest, once prosperous, now declined—an entity ordinary people dare not even dream of—yet Li Zhaidi wanted to buy it.

If it were the former Li Zhaidi, she surely wouldn't dare think of it, but over the past year-plus she has been by Su Ruo's side, learning much and gaining experience.

Especially after arriving in Kyoto, this half-year of traveling south and north let her witness Hai Shi's prosperity and the motherland's flourishing, completely changing Li Zhaidi's mindset.

Seeing Su Ruo and Bai Xinya stare at her in shock, Li Zhaidi said: "The suburban clothing factory covers a full ten thousand square meters."

Its machinery and equipment are complete, and much of it is new; if we buy it, we can use it directly.

The state-owned clothing factory closed because its clothing designs were too outdated, losing market competitiveness and thus being eliminated.

But we have no such worries; during this period our Xia Hua Clothing has sold extremely well, even underwear sales have hit a new high.

As sales increase, my courtyard is already insufficient; to raise output we must expand production.

At this point buying the state-owned garment factory is undoubtedly our best choice—then we would have not only the workshop and equipment, but also the workers.

As Li Zhaidi spoke of these things, her eyes shone.

Su Ruo and Bai Xinya exchanged a glance, both considering the feasibility.

From Su Ruo's perspective, she fully supports Li Zhaidi's decision: first, she trusts Li Zhaidi, knowing she can certainly run the clothing factory well.

Moreover, that huge plot of land sits there; even if Li Zhaidi eventually mismanages and the factory goes bankrupt, decades later they could still profit greatly from the land alone.

So Su Ruo only thought for a moment before deciding to buy the state-owned clothing factory.

Over the past half-year Bai Xinya has watched Li Zhaidi improve the clothing factory, so she completely trusts Li Zhaidi's ability.

She is willing to put up all her personal assets to help Li Zhaidi acquire the factory; even if they lose money in the end, she still has her husband and her natal family to rely on for livelihood.

"Fine, let's acquire it!"

After Su Ruo and Bai Xinya said that, they exchanged a smile.

Seeing Su Ruo and the others trust her so completely, Li Zhaidi was instantly moved to tears, and at the same time swore in her heart to run the factory well and never disappoint them.

However, buying a factory isn't that easy; after the three discussed it, they called Zhou Feng to ask him to inquire about the factory's resale.

Zhou Feng merely blinked, then understood his wife's meaning.

Although the factory wasn't within his jurisdiction, he had people inquire, and by that afternoon he knew the specifics.

While Bai Xinya and the others waited anxiously, as soon as Zhou Feng returned the three went out to meet him.

Zhou Feng set down his briefcase, took a sip of water, and said: "What you heard is correct—the state-owned clothing factory is indeed being sold off for privatization due to poor performance."

Su Ruo and the trio were instantly shaken, but Zhou Feng's following words poured cold water on them.

"But to buy this factory you need at least 500,000, and that doesn't even include later production costs."

Five hundred thousand is no small sum nowadays; Su Ruo and the two pooled all their money, totalling at most over 200,000—would they really just give up? Su Ruo felt unwilling.

After all, regardless of how the clothing company operates, just looking at that huge plot of land—it's money!

Now, 500,000, in twenty or thirty years, couldn't even buy five hundred million.