Chapter 732: 727. Hong Mei (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Ran was arranging matters for the South Africa Development Bank; he dared not be careless about this.

The Rhode Family's current strength is immense, and their network of connections is also very broad.

No matter what, Zhang Ran had been absent for twenty-eight years; after such a long time, Zhang Ran was not entirely clear on exactly how many connections and resources the Rhode Family had hidden away.

Therefore, this time he must give them a show of force; calling it a message for the Rhode Family is not as accurate as calling it a message for their business partners.

The shares the Rhode Family holds in the South Africa Development Bank do not actually bring them much profit each year; at the very least, it does not constitute the main body of their family business.

But the connections it can bring are incomparable to any other business.

Otherwise, why would super-large groups like Zhongqiang Group come running so eagerly the moment they heard from Zhang Ran that there was an opportunity to buy shares in the South Africa Development Bank?

Do they really lack such investment sources?

What they lack are connections.

Especially when joining the international business circle, connections and various relationships become particularly important.

Once they reach their level, it is no longer entirely about the product speaking for itself.

Zhang Ran also fulfilled their promise; although the shares were bought in the name of Galaxy Capital, it could still be considered as having achieved the goal.

This is a very good entry point.

During this period, Zhongqiang Group and the others have not been idle, because they have already been tied to Zhang Ran's chariot.

At this moment, they have become a community of shared interests here, one still led by Zhang Ran; if they do not want to abandon what they have here, they need to help Zhang Ran.

Of course, they can also gain benefits from it; a community of shared interests is not just empty talk.

Once Zhang Ran succeeds, they will also be able to share the resources and connections of this cooperation.

By the afternoon of the next day, just as Zhang Ran had returned from playing with the two little ones, Liu Lu walked in with a young girl.

Looking at the two little ones, their faces covered in sweat but filled with excitement, Liu Lu revealed a trace of a "sneer" without leaving a mark.

Heh, let's see how much longer you have to be happy.

She had also asked for help in finding a tutor; at the beginning, Liu Lu actually wanted to choose those famous master tutors, as that would be more guaranteed.

But in the end, she still chose this young girl.

Hong Mei's mood was somewhat nervous at this moment; although this was a relatively ordinary house in Shanghai, she could not help but feel nervous.

There is nothing special about Hong Mei; if one had to say what was special, it might be that her family is especially poor!

If it weren't for the help of the Yuanran Charity Foundation, she would not have been able to afford school at all.

The tuition fees where they are are very low, but for their family, it is still a burden, especially since her parents' health conditions are not very good.

After years of high-intensity labor, if they are not careful even once, the underlying illness that sets in will crush their entire bodies.

Moreover, her family has two younger brothers; as the eldest, if it weren't for the help of the Yuanran Charity Foundation, she would have had the same fate as her other little friends—dropping out of school after learning a few characters.

Even though her academic performance was excellent.

This year, she was admitted to Shanghai Jiao Tong University; this counts as the first case from their small mountain village.

The whole village was happy for her.

The Yuanran Charity Foundation was also prepared to continue the financial aid, but she wanted to leave this quota for her younger brothers.

The Yuanran Charity Foundation's financial aid is not without conditions.

In elementary and middle school, there are no other rigid conditions; one only needs to pass the review.

But once in high school, there are some requirements regarding academic performance.

This is also inevitable; otherwise, the Yuanran Charity Foundation would not have enough funds to support it.

They can only provide selective financial aid here.

Of course, Hong Mei is not saying she is giving up this financial aid quota, because even if she gave it up, it would not fall to her younger brothers, as their conditions do not meet the requirements.

What Hong Mei thought was to go out and work to earn her brothers' tuition fees; this way, it could be considered equivalent to giving up the quota.

So, after finishing the college entrance examination, she went out to work; at first, she followed people from the village to work on construction sites, laying bricks, and she could do some manual labor jobs, and she was no worse than some others.

But after working for half a month, some problems appeared on the construction site, the contractor ran away, and there was no money to be found.

The people from the village were preparing to find the next job or go back, and Hong Mei was the same, but she was rejected by others because she was a girl.

Afterward, Hong Mei ended up homeless; she did not want to go back like this because she had not earned enough for her brothers' tuition.

However, this was her first time coming to such a big city; her Mandarin was not standard, and she had no clue what to do.

For these past few days, she has been buying two steamed buns to eat, just enough to fill her stomach.

And because she hadn't bathed for days, combined with some reasons regarding her clothes, she looked like a beggar.

It just so happened that Liu Lu saw her today; out of a soft heart, she bought some food for Hong Mei.

Originally, Liu Lu was just doing a good deed out of kindness; after all, she is a soft-hearted person by nature.

While Hong Mei was eating, Liu Lu sat down to ask about her situation and learned some things about Hong Mei.

So she had a sudden inspiration to see if she could help Hong Mei.

After all, according to the situation Hong Mei described, her academic performance was excellent, so perhaps she could be competent for this job.

"Xiao Mei, go take a bath; here are some clothes, change into them, and then come back to tutor them in their homework." Liu Lu took Hong Mei's hand and led her to wash up.

When she returned, Liu Lu recounted the matter to Zhang Ran.

"Dad, I know this might not be very good, but I want to try; if it happens to be a good fit, we can consider it as having helped someone," Liu Lu said with some embarrassment.

This time she had acted on her own initiative.

Although Hong Mei is good at studying, her teaching ability certainly cannot compare to those famous masters, and their Zhang Family is not short of that little bit of money.

However, Zhang Ran did not mean to blame her; instead, he nodded and said, "You actually did very well; doing this is also a kind of education for the children."

"Besides, they are only in elementary school; do they really need some kind of famous master? Our family's two little ones are not stupid."

"Furthermore, for Hong Mei to be able to study so well in such an environment, it shouldn't be possible if she just relied on rote memorization; she likely has her own study methods."

"Study methods summarized by students like them might be even more applicable."

Hearing her father-in-law say this, Liu Lu breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still said: "Alright, but if she really isn't suitable, I won't force myself to be a good person; I'll just give her a job when the time comes."

"Fine, handle these matters as you see fit."