Courtyard House: Is Xu Damao a childless man? Let me help.

Ye Jianchuan wasn't worried about these things at all. He simply found a decent shop in the heart of Beijing and bought it.

That's right, we bought it. We originally wanted to rent it, but we couldn't reach an agreement on the price after several negotiations.

Later, Ye Jianchuan made some inquiries and learned that the shop was no longer a government-owned shop, and that apart from one of the owners still living in Beijing, the rest of the family members had all gone abroad.

Against this backdrop, Ye Jianchuan acted decisively and, after some 'enticement,' ultimately bought the shop from its owner with a gold bar plus $1000.

Although the price may not seem high, a single gold bar actually costs several thousand US dollars, so adding them together would bring the total to around five thousand US dollars.

Converted to cash, that's over 40,000 yuan! At that time, 40,000 yuan was basically enough to buy a shop in this location.

Of course, if it were just about the money, even though the price was right, the shop owner might not have sold. However, since Ye Jianchuan offered gold and US dollars, which perfectly met the shop owner's needs, the owner agreed.

The gold was left to Ye Jianchuan by the Lou family. Among it, a few pieces (for Zhao Hao) were a token of gratitude to Ye Jianchuan, which he could control.

Ye Jianchuan had used one of them before when he tricked Xu Damao, but he hadn't found any opportunity to use the remaining ones over the years. It was just right to use them now.

And the US dollars? Their source is rather... bizarre. These US dollars were obtained through Ye Jianchuan's "help" in exchange.

Well, actually, Ye Jianchuan was just browsing the ghost market out of boredom when he happened to bump into a contestant who wanted to exchange US dollars for cash. Ye Jianchuan had received quite a bit of cash from the system rewards, and exchanging it for US dollars would make things easier for him when he went out.

So Ye Jianchuan didn't hesitate and gave the other party a relatively fair price, ultimately getting back more than a thousand US dollars. However, Ye Jianchuan didn't expect that this money would come in handy at this time.

Chapter 272 Heading to Hong Kong Island

The purpose of taking over this shop is naturally to turn it into a restaurant. And since it's going to be a restaurant, then according to the previous 'design,' we'll definitely have to start putting thought into the decoration of the upstairs and downstairs.

However, Ye Jianchuan didn't have the time to keep an eye on things, so he simply called over the two sisters, Qin Huairu and Qin Jingru, and asked them to keep an eye on things for him.

Anyway, the renovation work can't be completed in a short time, and even after the renovation is finished, it can't be opened immediately, so Ye Jianchuan is not in a hurry to figure out everything about the restaurant.

After finding a shop, Ye Jianchuan took an opportunity and set off for Hong Kong Island.

At that time, Hong Kong Island had not yet been returned to China, so theoretically it was still considered a foreign country. Of course, this was only in theory. However, as everyone knows, people on Hong Kong Island were essentially compatriots.

In addition, although Ye Jianchuan does not speak Cantonese, his English is quite good due to his previous life's studies and the good memory he has gained in this life. Therefore, he has no problem communicating in Hong Kong.

The main reasons for choosing Hong Kong Island instead of America or England are twofold. First, it's more convenient here; you can find everything you need, from auction houses to banks.

Another advantage is that it is very close to the mainland, so after selling your goods here, you can find a way to convert them into cash on the spot.

The second reason is more 'personal', because Ye Jianchuan also wanted to come to Hong Kong Island to look for Lou Xiao'e's whereabouts.

Although ten years have passed, Ye Jianchuan is not sure if he is really that 'charming' to make Lou Xiao'e unable to forget him. But in any case, he still has to look for the Lou family.

Even without the connection with Lou Xiao'e, he had helped the Lou family so much, and their 'assets' were still in his hands. Finding them and asking them for help with some things would definitely not be a problem.

Besides, she was different from Sha Zhu in the original drama. Lou Xiao'e felt more gratitude towards Sha Zhu, and Sha Zhu's long face wasn't very good-looking either. Even so, Lou Xiao'e would still come back to find him.

Although Lou Xiao'e's feelings for Sha Zhu at that time might no longer be love (blank) 698925850, the situation was completely different for her.

Even after Lou Xiao'e knew about Qin Huairu's existence and He Yushui's existence, she still chose to "reverse-engineer" herself, and in the period that followed, she trusted herself completely.

This shows that he has successfully entered this girl's heart. Although he doesn't know whether she got pregnant when she left, Ye Jianchuan feels that even without the bond of a child, the possibility that Lou Xiao'e still has feelings for him is still very high.

Given these two reasons, it was perfectly normal for Ye Jianchuan to choose to come to Hong Kong Island.

During this period, restrictions on entry and exit had been relaxed considerably, and Ye Jianchuan encountered no obstacles on his way to Hong Kong Island.

However, after arriving in Hong Kong Island, Ye Jianchuan was a bit confused. Although Hong Kong Island was called Hong Kong Island, in his previous life it was just a small fishing village that had slowly developed.

But even on such an island, finding the person you're looking for isn't an easy task.

After arriving in Hong Kong, Ye Jianchuan made several inquiries about the Lou family, but the results were not ideal.

Although the Lou family did indeed flee as capitalists, it's unclear whether they changed their names or stopped doing business altogether. In any case, among the well-known wealthy families in Hong Kong, there isn't a single one with the surname Lou.

After searching for several days, Ye Jianchuan had almost mastered Cantonese, but he still couldn't find out any useful information.

Left with no other choice, Ye Jianchuan had to put the matter aside for the time being and start busy with his own "real business".

It must be said that auction houses at this time were not as common in major cities as they are in later periods. At least in Hong Kong today, there are not many auction houses.

Internationally renowned auction houses such as Sotheby's, Christie's, and Nashville, which became famous in later generations, did not have a branch in Hong Kong at this time. Moreover, domestic auction houses that emerged later, such as Poly Auction and China Guardian, had not yet been established.

Fortunately, Hong Kong Island isn't entirely without its own auction houses. After all, there are quite a few wealthy people on Hong Kong Island, and auction houses, which take a cut, are a sure-fire way to make money, so naturally, some people are willing to do it.

So after making a few inquiries, Ye Jianchuan successfully found the largest auction house in Hong Kong and had the few 'treasures' he wanted to sell appraised.

The results of the appraisal were naturally very eye-catching: a total of three gemstones, namely a 23-carat sapphire, a 14-carat emerald, and an 11.5-carat diamond.

Although none of the three gemstones were the most valuable of their kind, that did not diminish their worth. In particular, the eleven-and-a-half-carat diamond attracted the attention of several princesses from different countries at the time.

There was nothing they could do; the West was actively promoting the value of diamonds at the time, touting their timelessness, their enduring significance, and their symbolism of love.

This brainwashing marketing tactic not only makes ordinary people increasingly obsessed with diamonds, but also makes the wealthy and powerful yearn for these sparkling stones.

Such a large diamond would be a symbol of status if one could own it, so when Ye Jianchuan handed over all three gems to the auction house, those who had their eyes on the diamond became eager to participate.

This was certainly good news for Ye Jianchuan. As long as he could attract enough people to participate in the auction, the profits he could gain would be even greater!

Of course, after finishing the bidding, Ye Jianchuan discovered a rather troublesome issue: the security situation in Hong Kong Island didn't seem to be ideal.

After the paparazzi on Hong Kong Island secretly photographed him, the auction organizers immediately reminded him to "be careful" in the near future.

Chapter 273 The paparazzi's 'bad intentions turned out to be good'

Only then did Ye Jianchuan come to his senses. The security of Hong Kong Island was still in the hands of the 'gangs,' and this situation would continue for the next twenty years or so.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be situations where Hong Kong celebrities are forced by gang members to make movies.

For this reason, Ye Jianchuan had to temporarily abandon his plan to go out and find out about the Lou family and others, and could only stay in the hotel every day, waiting for the preparations for the auction.

Faced with this situation, Ye Jianchuan could only sigh helplessly. As expected of the paparazzi from Hong Kong Island, they even have to get involved in things like this.

However, to Ye Jianchuan's surprise, this time the paparazzi from Hong Kong Island had actually done something good despite their bad intentions.

That morning, after finishing her morning exercise, Lou Xiao'e casually took the newspaper from the mailbox by the door. Generally speaking, women don't read newspapers much; it's more common for men to read them.

Lou Xiao'e was no exception; she had brought the newspaper back for her father. However, she saw something in today's newspaper that piqued her interest: a gemstone auction!

The Lou family was, after all, a top-tier wealthy family. Even though they escaped and couldn't dispose of many things, the wealth they brought with them was still considerable.

So, living in such an environment, Lou Xiao'e naturally developed a strange craving for these sparkling stones, just like any other normal woman.

Since she was interested, she naturally decided to study the newspaper carefully, and then... she saw a picture of the man she had been longing for in the newspaper.

Although the photo isn't a posed shot, so the clarity isn't very high, Lou Xiao'e would never mistake this face.

Besides, isn't it clearly stated in the newspaper that the owner of the gemstone is a Mr. Ye? This information was provided by an 'insider at the auction house'.

His surname is Ye, and he looks so much like the person in her heart, so Lou Xiao'e can't think of any other possibility besides Ye Jianchuan!

So, after Lou Xiao'e returned to her room, she immediately started getting ready. She spent a little time choosing an outfit and then asked the driver to take her to the hotel where Ye Jianchuan was staying.

. . . . . .

For his own 'safety', Ye Jianchuan had been staying in the hotel all this time, and today was no exception.

Just when Ye Jianchuan thought today would be another boring day, his doorbell rang.

Ye Jianchuan shouted impatiently, "No room service, no room cleaning."

The person at the door was clearly taken aback for a moment, then knocked on the door again. This time, Ye Jianchuan immediately became alert, because in the past, when hotel staff came to provide room service, they would always turn around and leave as soon as he said he didn't need anything.

But this guy kept knocking on the door relentlessly, without saying a word. Could it be... that some gang was really targeting him, and had even come directly to the hotel to look for him?

This immediately put Ye Jianchuan on alert. He looked around, then picked up a kettle from the hotel and slowly walked to the room door.

And then... that was it, because Ye Jianchuan saw the person who had entered through the peephole—none other than Lou Xiao'e, the woman he had been longing for day and night!

Ye Jianchuan immediately opened the door and pulled Lou Xiao'e into his arms. Lou Xiao'e was stunned for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Ye Jianchuan's waist.

The two hugged at the room door for several minutes before Ye Jianchuan finally let go.

However, Lou Xiao'e's first words made Ye Jianchuan feel awkward: "Jianchuan, I missed you... Hey, why are you carrying a water bottle?"

Ye Jianchuan scratched his head awkwardly, then pulled Lou Xiao'e inside while placing the kettle on the table.

She then stopped explaining about the kettle and directly changed the subject, saying, "Sister Xiao'e, I've finally found you! I've been in Hong Kong Island for over a week now."

I tried to find out about your Lou family everywhere, but I came up with nothing. After your Lou family arrived in Hong Kong, did you not do any business or anything like that?

Why did I find out nothing about the Lou family when I tried to inquire about them?

Lou Xiao'e paused for a moment, then said, "My father said that in our family situation, it's not suitable to expose our identities, so we do all our business under my mother's name."

So if you inquire about the Lou family, you won't find out anything. But if you inquire about the Tan family, you'll be able to find out about our family."

Ye Jianchuan knew that Lou Xiao'e's mother's surname was Tan, but he didn't expect that Chairman Lou would actually make investments in his wife's name.

However, Ye Jianchuan didn't intend to dwell on this issue and continued to ask, "No wonder I couldn't find out about you. Oh, by the way, how did you know I was here?"

.. ....... ...

Lou Xiao'e smiled. "I saw it in the newspaper! You didn't know you were in the newspaper, did you?"

Ye Jianchuan scratched his head. "I know it's in the newspaper, but even the reporters at the newspaper probably don't know which room I'm staying in, right?"

If even reporters can find out this news, then the hotel's secrecy is really poor.

I'll have to have a serious talk with their manager then, and get them to explain this to me!

Ye Jianchuan's words made Lou Xiao'e cover her mouth and laugh. "You want to have a word with their manager, right? Okay, go ahead and say it!"

Ye Jianchuan was stunned for a moment, not quite reacting, until he saw the smile on Lou Xiao'e's face and then he came to his senses.

"Oh? You're the manager of this hotel? Is this hotel your family's property?"

Lou Xiao'e nodded and then said, "Of course, our hotel does a pretty good job of keeping things confidential. It's not so easy for reporters to find out which room you're staying in."

But just because they can't find out doesn't mean I can't. Otherwise, it would probably take me a lot of effort to find you!

Upon hearing this news, Ye Jianchuan smiled helplessly and decided not to dwell on the matter any longer. He went to Lou Xiao'e's side and put his arm around her waist.

Chapter 174 Hong Kong Island Catering Industry Tycoon