Su Cheng walked up to Sun Jianjun.
“Are you Sun Jianjun, the owner of Mingzhu Jewelry?”
Sun Jianjun looked at her.
“I am. Is there something you need?”
“I have five million yuan. It can solve your immediate financial crisis.”
Su Cheng spoke calmly.
“You have five million?”
Sun Jianjun stared at her anxiously.
“Miss, are you sure you really have that much?”
He couldn’t help wondering whether this young woman in front of him actually had five million yuan.
“Of course.”
Su Cheng looked at him indifferently.
“I want to start a jewelry company. I happened to hear about you, and I believe you have good character. I’d like you to manage the jewelry company for me.”
“You trust me?”
Sun Jianjun gave a bitter smile.
“After what happened, there probably isn’t anyone outside who would be willing to hire me anymore.”
“Actually, Mingzhu Jewelry is worth far more than five million yuan. I simply needed money urgently at the time, so when I applied for the bank loan, I borrowed five million.”
“I thought it would be a sure thing. I never imagined I’d suffer such a devastating setback.”
Su Cheng smiled faintly.
“What’s so strange about that? How can you see a rainbow without weathering a storm? Every setback teaches you something.”
Sun Jianjun smiled bitterly.
“Thank you.”
He hesitated before asking, “Can we sign the transfer agreement now? The deadline for my bank loan is approaching.”
“Of course. I’m free whenever you are.”
Su Cheng nodded.
“Mingzhu Jewelry is something you spent more than a decade building with your own hands. The new company will be called Shengshi Mingzhu.”
“This is my sincerity in asking you to become the general manager. I’ll leave the entire company in your hands.”
Sun Jianjun’s voice became choked with emotion.
“Thank you. Thank you for keeping the name ‘Mingzhu.’”
“My only requirement is that within two years, you open three stores in each of these cities: Shenzhen, Yangcheng, Kyoto, and Shanghai.”
“Money isn’t a problem.”
“I’ll give you ten percent of the company’s shares. Do you have any other requirements?”
Sun Jianjun shook his head.
The terms were far beyond anything he had ever dared imagine.
When he thought about the ten percent stake, he quickly said, “Ten percent is too much. I can’t take that much.”
“Then the best way to repay me is to run Shengshi Mingzhu well.”
“I’ll provide you with some jadeite raw materials from time to time. Once the stones are cut and the jade is extracted, you’ll purchase the jade from me at market price and transfer the payment to my account.”
“As for the stores, it would be best to buy the properties rather than rent them. If we rent, we’ll be at a disadvantage later.”
While they were talking, a man in a gray checked suit approached them.
He was carrying a briefcase and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
Sun Jianjun introduced him.
“This is Lawyer Li.”
Then he turned to the lawyer.
“Lawyer Li, this is Miss Su.”
Lawyer Li opened his briefcase.
“Miss Su, here are my credentials, and here is the agreement.”
Su Cheng looked through the documents carefully.
There were no problems.
She signed.
Sun Jianjun signed as well.
They then went to the bank, transferred the money, and obtained Mingzhu Jewelry’s previous inventory records.
Su Cheng looked at Sun Jianjun.
He was clearly happy, yet there was also a trace of sadness in his expression.
“You’re still the general manager of Shengshi Mingzhu. Go home and get some proper rest.”
After saying that, Su Cheng took a taxi to pick up a Santana.
She also ordered an imported Mercedes-Benz.
The Mercedes wasn’t in stock, so she paid a deposit and would collect it once it arrived.
Neither the original owner nor Su Cheng knew how to drive.
In the end, the dealership sent someone to drive both cars to the hotel for her.
Lin Hai and the others still hadn’t returned, so Su Cheng grabbed a quick meal at the hotel while waiting for them.
It was almost evening before she finally saw Lin Hai and the others.
“You’ve worked hard today. How did things go?”
Lin Hai answered respectfully.
“We looked at more than a dozen properties today. Nine of them were priced below the market average. You’ll need to set aside some time to go and take a look yourself.”
The other bodyguard, Zhao Xiaodong, spoke up.
“Boss, I’ve already found ten former soldiers. They’re all excellent.”
“I want to ask you both something.”
Su Cheng looked at them.
“Would you be willing to continue working with me and build something together?”
“I’ll give you the night to think about it. Of course, I won’t shortchange you when it comes to compensation.”
Lin Hai and Zhao Xiaodong exchanged a glance.
Then they smiled at each other.
Almost simultaneously, they answered,
“Boss, we’re willing.”
Although they hadn’t known Su Cheng for very long, they had already seen that she was generous and never deliberately made things difficult for them.
She also didn’t treat them like servants the way some employers did, looking down on them simply because they worked for them.
Su Cheng respected them and paid them generously.
They weren’t fools.
“Good.”
Su Cheng nodded.
“I’m planning to establish Shengshi Group. As long as you work hard, I won’t treat you unfairly.”
“Zhao Xiaodong, tomorrow take those ten former soldiers to the villa in Huating Garden. Arrange accommodation for them first and give them some training.”
“Lin Hai, tomorrow you’ll accompany me to the labor market. Let’s first find a few capable people.”
“The day after tomorrow, go and take another look at those properties that are priced below market value. Screen them carefully.”
“For properties on the outskirts of the city, I want larger lots. I don’t care if the houses are old or run-down.”
“And if you find any land for sale on the outskirts, make sure we buy it.”
“Money isn’t an issue.”
“We’ll be going to Sichuan Province in a while, so make the necessary preparations.”
“I picked up a car today. We’re heading to Huating Garden now.”
Meanwhile, in a lavishly lit room in Hong Kong, a man lounged lazily on a sofa with one leg crossed over the other.
“Oh?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Zhao Ruyue’s people are searching everywhere for Su Qianqian. What happened? Why is she looking for Su Qianqian?”
“Su Qianqian seems to have run away.”
The bodyguard spoke carefully.
“Aunt Liu from the villa fell down the stairs and was hospitalized. There’s definitely something going on.”
“Hmph.”
The man’s lips curled into a faint, cold smile.
“My father should be back tomorrow.”
“Looks like things are about to get interesting.”
“Let him investigate for himself and see exactly what kind of person his first love really is.”
His lazy voice carried an unmistakably sinister edge.
“Su Qianqian…”
“Heh.”
“I thought you were a little white rabbit. Turns out you’re a fox.”
“I underestimated you.”
These days, Su Cheng had been extremely busy.
She spent 530,000 yuan to purchase an entire floor of an office building in Anqiao to serve as the headquarters of Shengshi.
The location wasn’t far from the city center, and the surrounding area was excellent.
The group had just been established, so they were desperately short of talent in almost every department.
Su Cheng spent several days looking around the labor market and managed to find several promising management candidates.
But the group still needed a general manager to oversee everything.
Su Cheng wouldn’t have time to remain at the company all day in the future, so she needed someone capable of taking charge.
Around noon, Su Cheng found a small restaurant nearby and sat down for lunch.
Then she heard an excited male voice coming from diagonally across the room.
“The film and television entertainment industry has an incredibly promising future!”
“If you invest 100,000 yuan, I guarantee you’ll make a fortune later.”
“President Zhang, you have to believe me!”
“Li Xu, it’s not that I don’t believe you.”
The other man sounded helpless.
“The main problem is that my finances are tight right now. My garment factory has barely managed to survive these past few years.”
“I want to help you, but I really can’t.”
“Besides, your company is basically a bottomless pit. You’ve been losing money for the past two years.”
“Listen to me, brother. Why don’t you start something else?”
“Brother, I still have things to take care of. I’ll be leaving first.”
The man hurried away as though a dog were chasing him.
Su Cheng casually watched the other man sitting there in dejection.
He had an unkempt beard, wrinkled clothes, and long hair tied into a tiny ponytail.
Su Cheng couldn’t make sense of his appearance.
Could he be some kind of cultivator?
The thought made her laugh inwardly.
Whatever he did for a living, it didn’t matter.
She had just heard him talking about the film and television entertainment industry.
According to the original owner’s memories from her previous life, that industry would eventually become extremely profitable.
Su Cheng immediately became interested.
She walked over and sat down across from the man.
“Hello. I happened to overhear you talking about the film and television entertainment industry.”
“I’m quite interested. Could you tell me a little more about it?”