Chapter 630 | Chapter 631 | Chapter 632
Chapter 630: Girls Helping Girls
After interning for just a month, he resigned and returned to Shenzhen.
Sheng Wanyan really couldn’t wrap her head around it. Why would someone like him willingly return to the country to develop his career?
“Yes… but I’ve taken a keen interest in your apparel industry.”
“I’ve asked around. Your clothing styles are innovative, and you possess great drive.”
“You successfully bid on plots of land that others looked down upon, showing you aren’t afraid of failure.”
Hearing his words, Sheng Wanyan exchanged a look with Xu Guihua. Since a true talent had walked through their door, they had no reason to turn him away.
“My parents do business in Hong Kong. There is another reason I returned—it’s for the development of our family business in the motherland.”
“I want to leverage our resources in Hong Kong and the UK in exchange for resources in Shenzhen and the Capital.”
“I believe we can achieve a win-win situation.”
Hearing this, Sheng Wanyan set down the resume in her hand. Resting her clenched hands on the desk, she looked directly at him.
“Do you think that if I wanted to enter the markets in Hong Kong and the UK, I wouldn’t have my own channels?”
“If I may speak frankly, accessing those markets is merely a matter of time for me.”
“True… but on my end, I can significantly shorten that time for you.”
Sensing the intangible aura of pressure radiating from her, Chen Zuhua felt a sudden chill in his heart, not daring to underestimate her in the slightest.
“My family’s enterprise holds considerable influence in Hong Kong.”
“Then why didn’t you just join your family business?”
“My eldest brother is running the company, so they don’t need me. Besides, my ambitions lie elsewhere.”
Sheng Wanyan raised an eyebrow. As far as she knew, Hong Kong family clans would never let go of any capable younger relative.
There was no reason to push away such an excellent assistant.
“The apparel industry underutilizes your talents. Are you interested in real estate?”
“What?!”
Now, it wasn’t just Chen Zuhua who was stunned; even Xu Guihua was shocked. Exactly how many plots of land did this woman have?
“I own a few prime plots of land. I believe you know how to develop them to maximize profits.”
“I do…”
In Hong Kong, nothing was more valuable than land and housing, and it was the exact same everywhere else.
“Then the future resources for both our clothing brand and real estate ventures in Hong Kong and the UK will be left in your hands.”
Chen Zuhua: “…” Wait, didn’t he come here to talk about clothes?
How did real estate suddenly get added to the mix?
“A pleasure doing business with you?”
Sheng Wanyan extended her hand toward him. Chen Zuhua hurriedly grasped it, his eyes filled with pure admiration.
“I think Shanghai is a more suitable place for your career development.”
“Whatever the boss says goes.”
Sheng Wanyan instantly burst into laughter. After agreeing on Chen Zuhua’s onboarding date, she turned her attention to reeling in Xu Guihua.
“Comrade Xu Guihua, are you interested?”
Xu Guihua’s eyelid twitched. She knew perfectly well that whenever Sheng Wanyan targeted her, it meant nothing good!
“I… only have 100,000 yuan.”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want in! I’m so exhausted!”
Xu Guihua knew for a fact that this venture would definitely make money, but she didn’t want to get involved. She wasn’t envious at all; she just wanted a lighter workload.
Next year, she had to manage the all-girls schools. How could she possibly find the time?
“I’ll lend it to you! Two million yuan…”
“Great! Shall we write a promissory note?”
“Fine… sob, sob, sob~”
Xu Guihua felt so aggrieved. Her entire net worth had been smooth-talked away by Sheng Wanyan just like that.
In the end, Xu Guihua could only sullenly hand over all the money she had earned over the past few years to Sheng Wanyan, leaving Sheng Wanyan thoroughly amused.
Oh well, I’ll just gift Xu Guihua a few villas when the time comes.
The matter of the Shenzhen manager hadn’t been resolved yet, but one of the managers Sheng Wanyan had brought along stepped forward to volunteer.
“Boss, I want to try out for the Shenzhen general manager position.”
“How will you arrange things with the children at home?”
Sheng Wanyan didn’t even lift her head, acting as if she had long known this manager would come to find her.
“When I return from this business trip, I plan to finalize my divorce. I’ll bring my children along with me to Shenzhen.”
Xu Guihua and Sheng Wanyan looked at her, their hearts aching with pity. Such a wonderful woman, yet her marriage was so wretched.
Originally, her in-laws didn’t value her at all due to their deep-seated preference for boys over girls, and she had only given birth to two daughters.
Her daughters had lived a miserable life at her in-laws’ house. Later on, once she started earning good money working here, the in-laws’ attitude shifted completely.
She had endured all their minor squabbles, but ever since she became a store manager, her in-laws demanded that she financially support her brother-in-law’s entire family at every turn.
When they lacked a place to live, they demanded her money; when they lacked a job, they demanded she buy one for them; when their children lacked tuition fees, they demanded she pay!
Even her own husband felt it was perfectly fine to help his younger brother, joining his mother to tell her not to be stingy since they were all family.
Furthermore, since she didn’t have a son, she would have to rely on these nephews to care for her in her old age and arrange her funeral anyway.
She had poured in both her money and effort just so her own daughters could live a slightly better life.
Yet her mother-in-law constantly insulted and beat her daughters all for the sake of the brother-in-law’s children.
She had had enough. She wanted nothing to do with this muddled family and husband anymore!
Currently, she was fighting for a divorce, but her in-laws refused to agree and constantly made scenes. Her only choice was to take her children and move far away!
“Do you need any help?”
Sheng Wanyan looked at her. The manager’s eyes turned red uncontrollably as she shook her head with a smile.
“No need, Boss. I can handle it myself.”
“Alright, the position is yours.”
Hearing her words, the manager nodded in instant excitement. With her job transferred to Shenzhen, no one from her in-laws’ side would know where she lived.
“Go back to the Capital tomorrow. Once you’ve settled everything, bring the children to Shenzhen.”
“If anything comes up, just call the sisters at the shops to help you.”
“Okay.”
The manager’s eyes welled with tears. Working for the clothing company, the luckiest thing to happen to her was getting to know this group of sisters.
They were fiercely loyal and friendly, each more hearty and generous than the next. She truly was loath to leave them.
But for the sake of her children, everything was worth it.
“Leave the past in the past. There’s no need to dwell on it anymore.”
“Yes!”
“Boss, when I go back, I might still have to trouble you to help me find a temporary place to stay for me and the children.”
“Don’t worry, I will pay for it on my end.”
She was returning to the Capital tomorrow. Fearing that once her children arrived they wouldn’t have a roof over their heads, she could only trouble her boss.
Her boss possessed wide networks and many solutions, which was far better than her, someone who had absolutely nothing in Shenzhen.
“You are the general manager now. A car and housing are naturally provided. You can just move into that courtyard of mine.”
“The renovations are just about finished anyway.”
“That place was originally intended as a residence for the manager.”
“Thank you, Boss! Thank you so much!”
The manager bowed deeply to her. Sheng Wanyan supported her back up. “These are all minor matters.”
“The Shenzhen branch is highly important. You must guard it well for me.”
“Boss, I will guard it with my life.”
Sheng Wanyan patted her shoulder. The next day, the new Shenzhen manager returned to the Capital. Sheng Wanyan placed a call directly to the clothing shop back home.
She had installed telephones in every clothing store last year precisely for convenience.
When the managers at the shop found out about the situation, they immediately went to find their own husbands in a furious rage.
The moment their sister returned, they would lead their respective men to charge right through their door! They had truly spoiled that family!
They would absolutely force that wretched man to sign the divorce papers and secure full custody of the children for their sister!
“Don’t worry, Boss. We will definitely handle this matter flawlessly.”
“Exactly. We will absolutely secure custody of the children.”
“When I return, I’ll treat everyone to a meal.”
Chapter 631: The Domestic Abuse Victim Employee
The managers hadn’t gone to all that trouble just for the sake of a free meal. They did it so that their colleague and sister could have a better life.
Sheng Wanyan’s phone call had truly saved the store manager who went back to handle her divorce. If not for that timely call, she might have lost her life.
Down a capable assistant, Sheng Wanyan also became quite busy. Chen Zuhua came to report for his first day of work the very next morning.
“Boss.”
Sheng Wanyan looked at this wealthy young master from Hong Kong. He was dressed so exquisitely that she wondered if he wasn’t afraid of being mugged in Shenzhen.
Shenzhen was exceptionally chaotic these days.
Sheng Wanyan nodded and handed him the documents she had prepared.
“Take a look at these plots of land. Shopping malls, office buildings, real estate development… I believe you know better than I do how to utilize them.”
Chen Zuhua opened the folder she gave him. It contained land parcels in Shenzhen, as well as plots and lane houses in Shanghai.
He had not expected Sheng Wanyan to place such immense trust in him, effectively giving him free rein to execute his plans.
“There is 500,000 yuan in this savings book. Let me know if it’s not enough.”
Sheng Wanyan handed him the prepared savings book, which she had gone to deposit early that morning.
“Understood, Boss.”
Chen Zuhua had never imagined that a mainland citizen in this era could casually whip out 500,000 yuan. He had already thoroughly researched the mainland market and living costs.
The cost of living could not compare to Hong Kong at all, but he could see clearly that the people here were incredibly industrious.
With people like Sheng Wanyan in the mainland… development was only a matter of time.
Perhaps he really had followed the right person.
“Boss, this is my proposal. You can take a look.”
Chen Zuhua had not come unprepared. He brought along his business proposal, which he had conceptualized and written before returning to the mainland.
Sheng Wanyan opened it and began to read. Looking at each of his concepts, she couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
As a young man back from Hong Kong, Chen Zuhua possessed vision, confidence, and a keen sense for what made the most money.
Simply duplicating some of Hong Kong’s trending industries in the mainland would render them wildly popular.
Factoring in the current development of HuaXia, he believed what the people needed most right now was housing and entertainment venues.
Eating, drinking, playing, and amusement were commodities in desperate demand in HuaXia today.
“Boss, I will set out for Shanghai tomorrow.”
“Shanghai is the economic capital of the mainland. I believe our real estate projects will definitely be popular once they are built.”
“Mm, manage it as you see fit,” Sheng Wanyan replied. “Acquire more land if you can; it will be of great use in the future.”
“Understood, Boss.”
Chen Zuhua set off for Shanghai the following day. The moment he left, Xu Guihua couldn’t resist asking her, “Aren’t you afraid he’ll take the money and run?”
Xu Guihua truly hadn’t expected her to entrust such a massive undertaking to someone she had only met twice.
“Do you know how much the watch on his wrist costs?”
“How much?”
“2.5 million yuan.”
“What?!”
Utterly shocked, Xu Guihua sat up straight instantly and stared at her. A single watch worth 2.5 million yuan!
How many years would it take for her to earn that much back! Were young people nowadays really this rich?
What shocked her even more was the level of development in Hong Kong. She couldn’t even fathom the prosperity over there.
“Comrade Xu Guihua, now that we have Chen Zuhua’s resources from Hong Kong, I think we need to quicken our pace as well.”
“You’re right. The domestic clothing stores need to rapidly expand everywhere.”
“When the time comes, we will cross the nation’s borders!”
Her spirits soaring, Xu Guihua immediately went to keep an eye on the Shenzhen shop renovations, urging the workers to pick up the speed.
Sheng Wanyan bought a few crates of soda for the construction workers and went to thoroughly tidy up the courtyard meant for the manager’s residence.
She bought new furniture, bedding, and even replaced all the pots, pans, and tableware.
Ten days later, Sheng Wanyan and her group planned to return to the Capital in about half a month. It was then that the manager for the Shenzhen branch finally returned.
Sheng Wanyan and the others were having a meal when they heard a knock on the door. Going over to open it, they were startled by the mother and daughters standing at the courtyard entrance.
It wasn’t that they didn’t recognize her, but rather that the mother’s face was completely covered in bruises, and her head was wrapped in bandages.
She had been perfectly fine when she left, but she returned looking entirely altered, as if she had just escaped from a refugee camp.
“Boss…”
Sheng Wanyan’s pupils contracted. She rushed out instantly to inspect her. In the end, unable to find the words to say, she simply ushered the mother and daughters inside.
“Eat first.”
Sheng Wanyan didn’t press for details. This was someone else’s domestic affair; it was enough that the woman was standing safely before her now.
Nodding with tear-rimmed eyes, the store manager pushed her two daughters forward to introduce them.
“This is my eldest daughter, and this is my youngest.”
“Hurry and greet your aunties.”
“Auntie…”
The two children looked rather frightened. After greeting them, they hid behind their mother. Sheng Wanyan and the others smiled and nodded kindly.
“You must be exhausted after such a long journey. Let the children eat something and get some proper rest first.”
The store manager nodded. Only after settling the children did she finally recount what had transpired during her trip back.
“I went back to get a divorce, but he refused. My mother-in-law and brother-in-law locked me in a room.”
“Those absolute scoundrels! While they had me locked up, my mother-in-law gave every cent of my money to my brother-in-law’s family.”
“Seeing me locked up, my two children… stealthily let me out.”
“But… but they were caught. They were locked back up, and they even started beating us.”
The manager wept as she spoke about her ordeal back home, causing the other managers present to tear up in sympathy.
“My mother-in-law hit me on the head with a club, and I blacked out.”
“In the chaos, the two children managed to run to the shop. The sisters at the shop finally rescued me and sent me to the hospital.”
“All the money I earned over the past few years was given to my brother-in-law’s family by my mother-in-law.”
“The sisters from the shop brought their husbands and forced my husband to sign the divorce papers.”
“Since they are two daughters, the in-laws thought it was too expensive to raise them anyway, especially now that I’m no longer their cash cow.”
“So custody was obtained quite smoothly.”
“The money was also demanded back from the brother-in-law’s house, but… the funds from before, they refused to return.”
Sheng Wanyan and Xu Guihua exchanged a glance. The manager looked at them, letting out all the grievances she had harbored during this period.
“I didn’t even want them to write an IOU to repay the money! I just wanted to get as far away from them as possible!”
She was so traumatized that she was willing to forfeit the money just to flee far away, never to see those people again or have any association with them.
She was willing to suffer this loss, but the sisters from the shop refused to let it slide. They directly brought people over to give the family a thorough beating.
In the end, they ransacked the houses of her mother-in-law and brother-in-law, turning up all the cash they had, which added up to about 2,000 yuan.
It was entirely the manager’s hard-earned money, yet it had been squandered and enjoyed by the brother-in-law’s family.
When the money was dug out, her mother-in-law and brother-in-law wailed and threw tantrums, but they were absolutely no match for the husbands of so many shop sisters.
These people… were simply bullies who feared the strong and preyed on the weak. Using her reluctance to part with her two daughters against her, they had abused her for so many years.
Chapter 632: Everything Is in the Past
Her maternal family also knew about her divorce. In this day and age, a divorce was an incredibly scandalous matter that brought great shame.
Furthermore, since they had been willing to sell her off to that family for a sum of money back then, how could they possibly care about her?
They only knew that she had a whopping 2,000 yuan on her person after the divorce. When she left with the children, they merely offered a few half-hearted words of persuasion out of sheer formality.
No one knew where the mother and daughters had gone. Even if her ex-husband’s family wanted to find out, they couldn’t withstand the severe warnings from the sisters at the shop.
The mother and daughters were safely sent onto the train by the shop sisters just like that. She no longer cared about the throbbing pain from the head injury, leaving through the night.
She knew her ex-mother-in-law would absolutely never let her off so easily, especially since the family’s 2,000 yuan was now in her hands.
The same went for her brother-in-law. He had previously been imprisoned for arson and had only been released a few years ago.
She was terrified! She was so scared… terrified that something would happen to the children because of this, and terrified of what her brother-in-law might do to them.
She was also terrified of domestic abuse…!!!
Sheng Wanyan and the others listened patiently, waiting until she poured out all her grievances and fears.
“It’s all in the past.”
Sheng Wanyan held her hand. The manager looked at them with rimmed eyes, recalling how the sisters from the shop had shielded her.
She had friends by her side, people willing to help her. Just the thought of this gave her a profound sense of security.
The resentment and grievances in her heart seemed to dissolve in an instant.
“Yes, it’s all in the past.”
“From now on, the three of you will live a good life here in Shenzhen.”
“Oh, right, Wanyan already found a school for the two children. We’ve all gone to check it out, and the school is very nice.”
“However, both children will probably have to start from the first grade.”
Neither of the children had ever attended school. The eldest daughter was eight years old, and the youngest was six.
Xu Guihua brought up the things Sheng Wanyan had quietly done behind the scenes during this period. She constantly noticed that her dear Wanyan loved doing good deeds anonymously.
How could that be allowed! Good deeds had to be spoken aloud so everyone knew!
“Thank you… thank you truly.”
“The children shouldn’t be affected by the mistakes of adults.”
“The residence has also been completely renovated. You can move in with the children tomorrow.”
“Oh, by the way, go to the hospital tomorrow to have the head injury looked at and get a full physical checkup.”
The manager was just about to say she was fine. Having her head injury checked would suffice; a full physical checkup was unnecessary.
“If something happens to you, no one will be left to care for the children.”
Hearing this, the manager could only swallow the words she was about to speak and nodded vigorously.
“Alright.”
The mother and daughters finally had a peaceful night’s sleep. Today, the two children weren’t as agonizingly shy as they had been last night.
However, the moment they saw the adults preparing to cook or clean, they would rush forward frantically to snatch the spatula and do the chores.
“Auntie… let me.”
The two children looked rather tense. They didn’t dare to sit idle; if they didn’t work, they would be beaten.
“I’ll wash the clothes.”
As Xu Guihua was washing clothes in the courtyard, the younger daughter abruptly snatched the basin away. Both Sheng Wanyan and Xu Guihua felt entirely helpless.
“These are all my own clothes, why would I let you wash them?”
The two young girls looked at them in complete bewilderment. If they weren’t allowed to work, would they still be given food to eat?
Fortunately, their mother stepped out at that moment, pulling the two girls aside to gently explain their current situation.
“I have divorced your father.”
“From now on, it’s just the three of us in this family.”
“No one will ever abuse you again…”
As the manager spoke those final words, she quietly turned her head away, not daring to look at her children.
“Can we eat until we’re full?”
The eldest daughter asked with extreme caution, causing Sheng Wanyan and the others to feel a sharp pang of pity.
“What…”
The manager couldn’t believe her ears. Although her mother-in-law and husband were wretched at home, she had never starved the two children.
She frequently bought snacks to hide in their room and regularly brought leftovers home from the shop.
“Can we eat until we’re full? Just steamed buns are fine.”
“Have you never eaten your fill?”
“No… Grandma always took our food to give to the boys at Uncle’s house.”
“She also warned us not to tell Mommy, otherwise she would beat us.”
Hearing her daughters’ words, the manager instantly gritted her teeth in absolute fury, her heart feeling as though it were being hacked by knives.
The manager pulled both children into a tight embrace and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
“From now on, you can eat whatever you want. There is no Grandma here, no father, and no Uncle.”
“Yay~”
Sheng Wanyan had prepared the children’s breakfast, opting for some plain white porridge and small side dishes.
She feared that giving them rich, heavy food all of a sudden would be too much for their stomachs to handle; they could slowly build their health back up over time.
“Sister, it’s white rice porridge~”
Looking at the plain porridge and steamed egg custard on the table, the two children couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
“It belongs to the aunties, we can’t eat it.”
Eating such food at home would result in a beating. Now that they were no longer home, they had to be even more obedient.
Otherwise, what if Mommy didn’t want them anymore!
“Hurry and eat.”
Sheng Wanyan ladled a bowl of porridge for each of the children and placed it before them. The two children looked at them, utterly overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.
“Eat up. Mommy said you can have whatever you want to eat from now on.”
The manager rubbed her daughters’ heads, and only then did the two children carefully pick up their spoons to eat.
They took a bite, stealing a secretive glance at the adults. Seeing that the adults held no intention of stopping them, they finally began to gulp it down hungrily.
“Later, Boss Xu and I will take you to the hospital to give the children a full checkup as well.”
“Then we’ll buy the children a few sets of new clothes and shoes.”
“Thank you, Bosses.”
Sheng Wanyan and Xu Guihua smiled and shook their heads. After breakfast, they drove straight to the hospital.
It was the first time the two children had ever ridden in a car. They sat stiffly, completely unsure of where to place their hands and feet, terrified of making the car dirty.
At the hospital, both the adult and children underwent a full body checkup. The manager still had several dark bruises on her body that required topical medication.
The wound on her head was slightly infected, so it was cleaned and re-bandaged.
The medical reports of the two children, however, caught them completely off guard—it was far worse than they had ever anticipated.
They were severely malnourished, carried numerous old scars from beatings on their bodies, and their heights were extremely stunted.
“How could you be a parent like this? The nutrition of these two children can’t even match a three-year-old.”
“They are so thin their bones are sticking right out.”
The doctor scolded with deep dissatisfaction. However, noting the bandaged wound on the mother’s head, he seemed to realize something.
He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, his tone softening considerably. “When you go back, make sure to nourish the children well.”
“I’ll prescribe some glucose for them to drink every day.”
“Alright. Thank you, Doctor.”
After picking up the medication, the group went to buy several sets of new clothes for the children. The clothes they currently wore were unknown origin, looking completely loose and baggy on them.
Receiving the new clothes, the two children were loath to wear them. In the end, it was Sheng Wanyan and Xu Guihua who personally coaxed them into the changing room to put them on.
