Mixed in 1980

Chapter 406 Zhao Yuanyuan's Scheme
"Comrade Ali, are you really planning to retire?"

Chen Fan was listening to Zeng Ali talking to Ye Wan earlier, and he was somewhat surprised. Of his three wives, Zeng Ali was the only one with a strong sense of career.

Zeng Ali sighed softly, "Comrade Chen Fan, I'm already fifty-one. Even if I don't retire, how many more years can I work?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Chen Fan walked over, lifted his wife's chin, and looked her up and down: "She's still young. With looks like that, people would believe she's thirty."

Zeng Ali gave him a flirtatious look, quite satisfied.

The three sisters are indeed in great shape. They have been adhering to health and wellness practices for many years, and the results are very obvious. Standing with their peers, they look like the younger generation.

The elders in my family are all in good health.

And then there's Mr. Wang Hetang, the old Chinese medicine doctor from Heniantang. He's over ninety years old, but his complexion is still rosy, and he's light and healthy, which is the most enviable.

My family members all get their health regimens from him.

She pulled her husband closer, nestled in his arms, and asked, "We have five children in our family. Who do you think will take over Starlight Investment? Who would be willing?"

He sighed softly, "The eldest son, needless to say, will stay at the university to work; the second son is too ambitious and doesn't care about my little business at all."

"The third son isn't interested in luxury goods. You're planning to let him inherit Feixing, right?"

"The fourth one is a lazy girl, needless to say; the fifth one is an infuriating thing, who knows what he'll do in the future."

"None of the children wanted to take over, so we had to choose from the wives of the second, third, and fifth sons. Everyone was watching, and whoever got the job got it."

At this point, Zeng Ali couldn't help but feel annoyed: "The family business I've built up over half a lifetime is not appreciated by my children. It's infuriating to think about. I'm too lazy to bother anymore."

Chen Fan smiled and hugged his wife tightly: "Comrade Ali, how about we try our best to have another child who is willing to take over?"

Zeng Ali spat at him: "You old lecher, you're almost a grandfather, and you still can't keep your mouth shut. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

Chen Fan gave her a deep kiss on the lips: "What are you laughing at? This is called ability. Most people can only envy you when they reach this age."

"Shameless." Zeng Ali sneered.

After laughing, she snuggled into her husband's arms again. She actually liked his shameless behavior; otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up in his hands.

In the living room, Ye Wan ultimately chose to go to the foundation.

Xu Jinqiu grinned and shooed Zhao Yuanyuan away without any politeness: "This is none of your business. Instead of trying to get Wanwan, you might as well go find Lao Si."

"Xu Jinqiu, stop showing off." Zhao Yuanyuan glanced around and turned to go to the neighboring yard.

The scene here is bustling with activity. Jade merchants are selecting materials, and Chen Yanyin is busy negotiating prices with people. The price per kilogram is different for each piece.

Ye Ling watched from the side, feeling completely bewildered.

The negotiation process is too troublesome. Color, texture, and luster are easy to understand, but each piece of material needs to be evaluated, including cracks and what kind of pieces can be made from it before a price is set.

"Doesn't it seem like a lot of trouble?"

Zhao Yuanyuan walked over and explained, "We're doing wholesale here, so our pricing is pretty rough. If it were retail, pricing would be even more complicated, sometimes more like a psychological game."

Ye Ling smiled wryly: "Anyway, I don't understand it."

"It's okay if you don't understand. Hetian jade is a good thing, but this circle is too complicated, full of all kinds of fakes and scams. Only a few people do business honestly."

Zhao Yuanyuan curled her lip and glanced disdainfully at the mountain materials in the room: "Come with me, I'll show you some real good stuff."

Ye Ling was puzzled, but she followed anyway.

Upon reaching the courtyard and entering the main house, Zhao Yuanyuan opened the basement door, turned on the lights, and then led Ye Ling inside: "All the good stuff is in here."

Ye Ling glanced around and widened her eyes: "These are also Hetian jade?"

"There is also jadeite, but Hetian jade accounts for the majority."

Zhao Yuanyuan casually picked up a piece of red-skinned Hetian jade from the ground: "This is a pebble jade, which is formed when mountain jade falls into the water and is washed by river sand over a long period of time."

"Try it out." He said, handing it to Ye Ling.

Ye Ling took it and played with it for a while: "It feels very good, especially delicate and smooth."

Zhao Yuanyuan nodded slightly: "That's right. High-quality jade is the real deal. Outside, it's priced by the gram, and one gram can cost tens of thousands."

Ye Ling's eyes widened. This egg-sized piece in her hand must be worth over a million.
Zhao Yuanyuan explained, "In the early 1980s, this stuff only cost 100 yuan per kilogram. Your Aunt Xu bought a lot of it in 1994, when it cost only 5,000 to 6000 yuan per kilogram."

“It used to cost 5-6 yuan per gram, but now it has increased nearly 10,000 times. Even so, your Aunt Xu is reluctant to sell it. She wants to keep it as a family heirloom.”

After looking at the Hetian jade pebbles, Zhao Yuanyuan took people to see the jadeite, which were all cut open and ready to be seen. Some were only the size of a pigeon egg, while others weighed dozens of kilograms.

What remains are all high-quality, translucent materials.

Zhao Yuanyuan, however, was quite dismissive of this: "No matter the price, it's still just a stone at its core. If you like it, you can play with it; if you don't, it's worthless."

"The value of these things depends entirely on hype. They don't actually generate any value, nor can they promote social progress. They're just a form of entertainment."

"What drives social progress is science and technology."

After all that buildup, Zhao Yuanyuan coughed lightly and slightly raised the corners of her mouth: "A-Ling, you're studying biotechnology, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?"

"I haven't thought about it yet." Ye Ling was slightly taken aback.

The topic shifted so quickly it caught everyone off guard; one second they were talking about jewelry, and the next they were discussing career paths.

"I still have three years to go before I graduate school." Zhao Yuanyuan took Ye Ling's arm and walked out: "You know about Luoshen Skincare. They pay great attention to biological anti-aging technology. In addition, they have many other biological anti-aging projects under their umbrella."

"How about working at Luoshen in the future?"

"There's no need to agree now. There's plenty of time to consider it. The research direction of biological anti-aging is still very promising."

After listening, Ye Ling nodded slightly: "Aunt Zhao, I will consider it carefully."

"Think slowly, don't rush."

Zhao Yuanyuan smiled slightly and led the little girl back to the central courtyard, where the jade merchants had already selected the materials and were weighing and calculating the price.

I didn't go back to Courtyard No. 16 until I finished everything.

Clearly, Zhao Yuanyuan had become even more enthusiastic towards Ye Ling. Xu Jinqiu found this rather strange and subtly pulled her aside, asking, "What are you up to?"

Zhao Yuanyuan chuckled: "You took Wanwan away, but you won't let me snatch A-Ling? Tell the second brother to work harder and win over both of them."

"The second son probably doesn't have that in mind."

Xu Jinqiu also likes Ye Ling quite a bit. Her personality is completely different from Ye Wan's, but she is also a good girl. She's just afraid that her son won't have that kind of luck.

After all, not everyone can accept that.

Did Chen Fan have this thought back then?

Zhao Yuanyuan pouted and teased, "When necessary, we parents should give it a push from behind, and maybe it will work."

"Comrade Qiu'er, we must stand on the same side on this matter. Why don't you give Wanwan to me and let her take over Xingmang Investment?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Jinqiu immediately pursed her lips.

Zhao Yuanyuan is just lazy. She's been like this since she was young. She's always thinking about getting rid of the company. If it weren't for her older sister keeping her in check, she would have sold the company long ago to make money.

In fact, Xingmang Investment is doing quite well.

Luo Shen (a brand of skincare products) was already popular worldwide in the 1980s and 90s and holds a very high position in the skincare industry.

The company's anti-aging projects also have a bright future, and they have been developed extensively since the 1990s. Even the medical aesthetic projects that went astray are now extremely valuable.

Unfortunately, Miss Zhao only wanted to be a couch potato.

That being said, Miss Zhao is the one who is truly clear-headed, knowing what she wants and what she doesn't want.

That's why Zhao Yuanyuan never forces her daughter to take over the business. Her daughter has the same personality as her, and it's enough for her to find someone who treats her well in the future.

And her older brothers and sisters are there to protect her.

Especially the second brother, who may seem like a troublemaker on the surface, is extremely protective of his own when something really happens. With him protecting the fourth brother, he will never suffer any injustice in his life.

Chen Yanjin is busy right now.

After returning to Furongli, I spent every day studying materials, keeping an eye on Big Sister Mei's activities, and looking for an opportunity to launch an attack.

The issue of raising the debt ceiling due to the impending maturity of US debt has sparked heated debate in the US, with the Republican and Democratic factions locked in a fierce battle.

Republicans are demanding a $2.5 trillion spending cut over the next decade and refusing to raise taxes; Democrats insist on including provisions to increase taxes on the wealthy.

It's just noisy and chaotic!

Every day there was a constant stream of news, big and small, but little real information, and no results were expected in the short term. Chen Yanjin glanced through the news and then closed his notebook.

Ye Wan poured a cup of tea and placed it on the table, then stood behind him and massaged his shoulders.

Ye Ling watched from the side, her lips twitching slightly: "Sister, look how you've spoiled him, he's got the airs of a landlord."

Chen Yanjin raised an eyebrow slightly and said sarcastically, "This is called love? What do you know, you single dog!"

"is it?"

Ye Ling walked over, pulled her sister aside, put her hand on her brother-in-law's shoulder, and pressed down hard: "Love, huh? Single dog, huh?"

Chen Yanjin jumped up in pain: "Ye Ling, are you crazy? Ouch... Whose daughter has such a strong hand? Are you a reincarnation of a superhuman?"

"So unbelievable!" Ye Ling chuckled and turned to walk away.

Chen Yanjin gritted her teeth in anger. The two sisters looked exactly alike, but their tempers... It was a waste of their faces. They would be more suitable to have Li Kui's face.

Why did you provoke her?!

Ye Wan was both amused and exasperated. She made him sit down and rubbed his hands for a while. "It's almost time. We won't cook today. Let's eat out."

Chen Yanjin stood up: "Let's go have a candlelight dinner, and A-Ling can order takeout herself."

"Dream on!" Ye Ling said, linking arms with her sister.

She glared at her brother-in-law, turned around and went out. Chen Yanjin grabbed her car keys and followed. As soon as they got downstairs, they ran into an acquaintance, and her eyes narrowed involuntarily.

It was Xiao Ya, and she was arm in arm with a man.

Before he could speak, the other person asked, "Chen Yanjin, what are you doing here?"

Ye Wan narrowed her eyes slightly, not interfering, but just looking at her boyfriend with amusement, wanting to see how he would handle it.

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(End of this chapter)