Chapter 625: Bear the consequences yourself

Su Zheyuan's hair was practically smoking; every time he thought about the "Splendid Hotel" that Shen Ci had swindled away from him at a low price, his chest would twitch with pain.

"Boss, please calm down," little Gao whispered from the side, trying to soothe him.

"I can't calm down at all!" Su Zheyuan, in a fit of rage, picked up the ice water on the table and gulped it down until the glass was empty.

This startled Lianxing, whose eyes went wide—that was her water!

Yet, facing Su Zheyuan's fury, Shen Ci showed no reaction; she only kept a smile at the corners of her mouth, feeling no ripples in her heart, let alone any guilt.

"You sure got the news fast!"

Hearing this, Su Zheyuan looked up and glared at her: "Shen Ci, we're good friends, aren't we? How could you screw me over like that?"

"We are now, but we weren't back then," Shen Ci stated truthfully.

Su Zheyuan choked, then continued: "But you're not being decent. A gentleman loves wealth, but acquires it through proper means..."

"A woman loves wealth, and has no manners!" Shen Ci interrupted him: "Stop whining to me. It's only because we've become good friends now; if it were anyone else who bought your hotel, would you dare run over to them and clamor like this?"

"It's your own problem that you lacked foresight and sensitivity regarding these matters. When I bought your hotel, who knew the Yangming District was going to be redeveloped? Isn't that just investment? Besides, that dump of a hotel of yours dropped from five stars to four while your father was still alive. Less than a year after he passed and it fell into your hands, it lost its fourth star too. It was rotting away, and you couldn't even bear to spend the money for renovations. The price I gave you was more than fair."

"It was saline-alkali land when you sold it to me; you can't get jealous just because I managed to grow fruit on it. There's no such logic!"

Shen Ci's barrage of words left Su Zheyuan completely speechless.

Shen Yuzhen, standing to the side, scoffed and glanced at the dejected Su Zheyuan: "You're this upset over losing one hotel? My grandfather sold Aci a whole mountain and I didn't say a word. I can only admire Aci's good eye."

With Shen Yuzhen saying this, Su Zheyuan, who had been looking listless, suddenly had his eyes light up: "That's right, Aci! The Lishan mountain Zhenzhen's grandfather sold you is also in the Yangming District!"

"Oh, please, that's already in the suburbs of the Yangming District," Shen Ci laughed, speechless.

"It's still the Yangming District! Once the Yangming District is rebuilt and developed, that cemetery of yours will be incredible—it'll become an 'Imperial Tomb' worth its weight in gold!" Su Zheyuan regained his spirit, looking eager: "I won't think about the hotel anymore. Bring me into your cemetery project and let me make some money."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh seeing him like this. Shen Ci also shook her head and kindly advised: "Listen to me. I've told you before, your family is in the hotel industry; doing cemeteries isn't suitable. Don't go ruining your family's foundation because of this."

In truth, Shen Ci didn't want to involve anyone in this project from the bottom of her heart.

A cemetery—the place where those who have left this world are laid to rest.

In her previous life, she was truly an atheist and didn't believe in these things, but she had been reborn, and now she had no choice but to believe.

Therefore, she had to handle this cemetery project alone. She would bear the good and bad fortune herself and not involve others.

Even when Uncle Yang begged her to let him buy a stake, she had refused him.

Su Zheyuan wanted to say more, but Shen Ci raised a hand to stop him: "I know. Ever since you took over your family's group, the financial reports have been showing losses every quarter. You're anxious to achieve some results, but this really isn't something you can rush. If you want to make a move in the Yangming District now, it's definitely too late, because once it's been publicly announced, it means everyone knows."

"But I promise you," Shen Ci said earnestly, "next time... if there's another good business opportunity with potential, I will definitely pull you in, but you have to trust me!"

Pili laughed triumphantly: "I trusted her, and I made money!"

Su Zheyuan nodded repeatedly: "Alright, then don't lie to me."

"We are friends now, and I am not the type of person to screw over friends."

Only then was Su Zheyuan finally satisfied.

The very next day, Shen Ci's phone number had already been dug up by interested parties. She was still sleeping soundly in bed in the morning when her phone started ringing incessantly.

She picked it up casually and heard the caller's enthusiastic tone: "Is this Boss Shen Ci? Do you have any intention of selling your hardware factory on Liu'an Street in the Yangming District?"

"Not selling," Shen Ci replied groggily and hung up.

No sooner had she hung up than someone else called: "Is this Boss Shen Ci? That bankrupt... on Feng Huo South Road No. 779 in the Yangming District..."

"Not selling," Shen Ci hung up before they could finish.

The phone rang again immediately after.

Shen Ci finally sat up, fueled by morning grumpiness, and directly activated the "Block Unknown Harassment Calls" function on her phone. Only then did it return to peace.

This was only the first day, and her phone had already been investigated thoroughly. Countless people were already eyeing the assets in her hands.

But of course, she wouldn't sell at this time. In order for the project to proceed smoothly, the authorities would need to requisition a large amount of the land she held, and the price they offered then would certainly not be low.

So Shen Ci had long since made her plans. She would wait for the "Housing and Construction Bureau" of the Yangming District to contact her. When the time came, she would simply package up all the land they needed and sell it to them, and she would make other plans for the rest.

It saved time and effort; there was no need to sell them one by one—what a hassle!

With all sleepiness gone, Shen Ci got up and went downstairs. Her mother was sitting in the dining room eating noodles, holding a newspaper in her hand.

Seeing her daughter come down, Shen Jingjing was startled: "Eh? Why so early? Isn't today a day off?"

"My head hurts from the phone calls," Shen Ci said, glancing at the newspaper in her mother's hand, and couldn't help but laugh: "Mom, when did you start reading the Business Morning Post?"

Shen Jingjing smiled a bit sheepishly, but explained truthfully: "Your Uncle Jiang told me that since I'm doing business in Longcheng, I should keep up with the commercial trends of Longcheng at all times. He subscribed to this paper for me. I've been reading it for a few days and feel I've gained quite a lot. I just happened to read it while eating breakfast; it doesn't take up much time."

Shen Ci nodded. Reading the newspaper not only allowed one to learn things but also broadened one's horizons. She felt Uncle Jiang was right.

"Uncle Jiang hasn't been here for a few days, has he?" Shen Ci asked casually.

Ever since Shen Jingjing took care of Jiang Yuanliang once when he was ill, their relationship had become more familiar. Jiang Yuanliang had come to the house for meals frequently a while ago. Shen Ci had run into him twice just since she returned, but she wasn't home most of the time, so Uncle Jiang must have visited even more often when she wasn't there.

Shen Jingjing nodded naturally: "He hasn't been here for four or five days."

She had actually gotten used to Jiang Yuanliang visiting frequently; the two of them were like old friends now.

"His girlfriend is back," Shen Jingjing looked at her daughter: "You've met her. At the charity gala of the Jiangdong Group, that very beautiful young woman." ===== CHAPTER 626 =====