After ending the call,
Zhao Yanyan first hurried to finish her work at hand.
Then she found the owner of the photography studio to request her leave.
The owner of the studio didn’t give Zhao Yanyan a hard time, only asking for the reason for her leave.
“Hmm, the eightieth birthday of an elder is indeed important!”
“Just make sure to hand over your work to someone else.”
The studio owner expressed understanding.
“Miss Xu, I’ll tell you the truth.”
“Actually, my grandfather’s eightieth birthday is only one of the reasons, the main thing is that Mr. Yang will be attending this time.”
“It’s that wealthy Mr. Yang who has been very popular on the internet these past couple of days!”
The owner of the studio, named Xu Hongmei, started the business with her ex-husband, but later her ex-husband got involved with a female salesperson from the same studio.
After their divorce, this studio was handed over to Xu Hongmei, and her ex-husband went on to open another studio on the same street.
The two transitioned from spouses to competitors, but Xu Hongmei was quite capable, running the studio well and maintaining a harmonious relationship with the employees.
“The wealthy guy who knows martial arts?”
“The one who fought off over a dozen robbers by himself?”
Xu Hongmei’s mouth hung open wide, her face full of astonishment.
“Yes, that Mr. Yang.”
Zhao Yanyan nodded.
“Does he have relatives in your family?”
Xu Hongmei asked curiously.
“He’s my cousin’s ex-husband, they’re already divorced, but he’s coming to my grandfather’s birthday banquet. I don’t know if they are getting back together or what.”
Zhao Yanyan didn’t know why Yang Hao would attend, she could only guess.
“There’s actually that connection!”
“But what was your cousin thinking?”
“To divorce someone like Mr. Yang??”
“If I were her, I’d never divorce unless I was given tens of billions!”
Xu Hongmei said with a chuckle.
“I don’t have much contact with my cousin, so I don’t really know what happened.”
Zhao Yanyan gently shook her head. Li Manshu’s divorce had actually caused quite a stir in the family.
It was mainly because Li Manshu had made it widely known, seemingly worried that the relatives weren’t aware she had divorced Yang Hao. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire
The gossip Zhao Yanyan heard from her mother was that her cousin Li Manshu, being someone who despised the poor and loved the rich, chose to divorce because Yang Hao’s hotpot restaurants had gone bust one after another.
But she couldn’t mention this to Xu Hongmei, after all, she was an outsider, and this matter also involved Yang Hao’s privacy.
“Yanyan, how about I go with you?”
“We’re pretty good friends, right?”
“Your grandfather and mine are more or less the same, his grand celebration is something I should definitely be present at to give a red envelope.”
Xu Hongmei suddenly said.
“Uh…”
Zhao Yanyan was stunned for a moment, thinking she had misheard; although she got along well with Xu Hongmei, they were not really close friends.
But Zhao Yanyan reacted quickly, immediately understanding that her boss’s interest wasn’t in the wine, so to speak.
Clearly, she wanted to seize the opportunity to see Yang Hao, and attending her grandfather’s birthday celebration was just an excuse.
“Alright, but the store is pretty busy. Won’t it cause trouble at the shop if Miss Xu goes with me?”
“No problem,”
Xu Hongmei smiled and waved her hand: “The work at the store can be left to others.”
“By the way, where is your grandfather’s house?”
“Xiangyang City.”
“Xiangyang?”
After thinking for a moment, Xu Hongmei said, “How about I drive there? It’ll be more convenient.”
“Uh, sure.”
Zhao Yanyan nodded, somewhat flattered, though Xu Hongmei was usually kind to the staff at the store, this level of amiability was a first for Zhao Yanyan.
“Okay then, I’ll get ready.”
“And we’ll go together!”
Having said this, Xu Hongmei went straight upstairs. The photo studio had three floors, with photo sets on both the second and third floors, various indoor scenes constructed, and a small bedroom on the third floor where Xu Hongmei would sleep when the work ran late.
She went to the bedroom to pack a couple of changes of clothes and after a brief tidy, descended the stairs.
Xu Hongmei’s purpose for this trip was clear; she aimed to make the acquaintance of Mr. Yang, who was quite popular online.
And for Xu Hongmei, this was a rare opportunity indeed.
After all, meeting a wealthy businessman like Mr. Yang was not something that could be done whenever one wished, nor was he someone one could just decide to get to know.
To give a simple example, in the previous years, so-called success seminars were all the rage with the speakers boasting of their tens of millions or even billion-dollar fortunes.
Attending their courses could cost a couple of thousand or even several thousand for a ticket.
Yet, after spending that money, you’d just have attended a class or a few classes and met so-called successful entrepreneurs.
But those individuals’ worth and Yang Hao’s were simply not on the same level. If a wealthy businessman of Yang Hao’s caliber were to give lectures, one can only imagine how much the tickets would sell for!
At a conservative estimate, they’d easily fetch tens of thousands, or even more, and people would indeed pay.”
So from Xu Hongmei’s perspective, even if it meant delaying work for a day or two, meeting a tycoon like Yang Hao would be well worth it.
Moreover, this wasn’t some official event; it was an elderly person’s birthday banquet with family and friends, making it much easier to get acquainted and build a good relationship with Mr. Yang.
Such an opportunity to climb the social ladder was something Xu Hongmei wanted to seize. If Mr. Yang could give her a leg up, her photo studio might just take off!
Steel factory family housing in Xiangyang City.
Kang Huimin had just hung up the phone with her daughter Zhao Yanyan, when Kang Huifen’s voice sounded behind her: “Second sister, who were you talking to?”
“Uh, Yanyan.”
Kang Huimin hadn’t noticed when Kang Huifen had come out to the balcony and was unsure if her sister had heard the content of the call, making her look somewhat unnatural.
Though she and her children knew what the call was about, it still wasn’t great to have others listen in.
“Second sister, you said Yanyan couldn’t come back, didn’t you?”
Kang Huifen’s tone carried a hint of mischief; indeed, she hadn’t heard much of the phone call, but she vaguely caught Kang Huimin urging her daughter Zhao Yanyan to come back.
Kang Huifen could guess why her second sister was doing this—it was to enable her daughter to meet Yang Hao and establish a connection.
“I was just discussing that matter.”
“She said she could come back because her workplace happens to have a holiday.”
Kang Huimin replied without changing her expression and then gestured towards the living room: “Now that you’re out here, Manshu is all alone. I’ll go and keep her company.”
With that, Kang Huimin strode towards the living room.
“Who doesn’t know these little tricks!”
Watching Kang Huimin’s retreating figure, Kang Huifen curled her lips slightly, then took out her cellphone and called her daughter: “Lulu, hurry up and buy a ticket to Xiangyang.”
“Yes, for your grandfather’s eightieth birthday banquet!”
“As for your lousy job, you can just quit it if it comes to that!”