“We can’t expose this matter, and that Director Li is deliberately making things difficult for us. What should we do?”
Everyone fell into silence, as the situation had reached a deadlock. No wonder Song Ming was so confident—this was his leverage. He was forcing them to choose: either give up on the project or sacrifice their reputation. Unfortunately, they didn’t want to choose either of these paths.

At this moment, Lu Xiuhe, who had been somewhat puzzled, thought for a long time before quietly suggesting, “Why not talk to… the principal?”
“Huh?”
“Whenever there’s an issue in our village, if we can’t go to the leader, we go to the village chief… isn’t that the same logic?”

All eyes turned toward her, and Meng Suihuan’s eyes lit up. Right, why were they fighting with Director Li? If this didn’t work out, they could always go to someone else! Director Li may have some power, but there were others above him. If they could meet the principal, this issue could be solved.

“Hahahahaha, yes, as long as we can talk to the principal and settle this, no matter how much Director Li tries to block us, it won’t matter!”

With that, Meng Suihuan went straight to the principal and explained her plan. Upon hearing her, the principal smiled and said, “Xiao Meng, I’ve heard about you from Lao He. It was you who provided the land for our new campus, right?”

“However, the school is indeed tight on funds recently, and the funding from above hasn’t come through yet. This is not that I don’t want to admit it, but it’s simply difficult for me to handle on my own.”

It seemed that Meng Suihuan’s guess was right—Director Li hadn’t violated any regulations. If they exposed the situation, it would only harm them.

“Principal, I can offer you a little more of a discount. When we first negotiated, it was 60/40, but now we only need 50/50. Our company, Xuyu, will take on the project.”

The principal hesitated, but there was more shock than doubt on his face. “This…”

Seeing the expression on his face, Meng Suihuan knew that her proposal was already half-accepted. He was willing to accept the offer.

She pressed on, “Your current campus is outdated and too small to accommodate more students. The relocation and renovation are inevitable. But if you miss this opportunity, finding a company like Xuyu that is willing to offer such a discount in Shuangyang County in the future will be very difficult.”

“…”

“Of course, this is our company’s sincerity, and also our bottom line. But—”

“It’s not our only option.”

This was Meng Suihuan’s final step: subtly applying pressure, letting him know that they weren’t solely reliant on him! This was their company’s stance, and her own as well. While the concept of school district housing could bring huge profits, if this path didn’t work, she wouldn’t keep pushing. A new project could be considered instead.

After a long silence, the principal sighed. “Young lady, you really are as clever as Lao He said. You’re sharp and exceptionally wise. I do have some ideas, but I can’t make the decision alone. We need to hold a meeting to discuss this…”

Meng Suihuan quietly breathed a sigh of relief but didn’t show it. Instead, she calmly replied, “I’ll come back in three days. Hopefully by then, you’ll have discussed this matter.”

Three days later.

Meng Suihuan arrived at Shuangyang Middle School again. This time, as soon as the principal saw her, he smiled. Meng Suihuan immediately knew the outcome.

“Xiao Meng, we discussed the matter you mentioned last time. We’ll go ahead with what you suggested! We have no objections!”

As expected, the result was what she had anticipated. Meng Suihuan relaxed, feeling at ease, and took out the contract she had already prepared. After it was verified by the professionals, the principal directly signed it. The matter was officially settled.

Holding the signed contract, Meng Suihuan walked through the school campus, her mood exceptionally pleasant. However, just as she reached the school gate, she encountered an old acquaintance—Director Li. It seemed like he had just arrived at the school.

She smiled and greeted him.

Director Li had a stern face and an unfriendly tone. “I told you this wasn’t going to happen, and it’s not going to change. It’s useless to keep showing up. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Oh?” Meng Suihuan raised an eyebrow and asked cautiously, “Is Director Li not at the school these past few days?”

“Why do you ask that?! Whether I’m here or not, the result won’t change!”

Meng Suihuan didn’t get angry. Instead, she raised the contract in her hand and smiled brightly. “You don’t need to be trouble with this Director Li. I’ve already handled the cooperation.”

“Handled… handled it?”

Director Li looked at the contract in her hand, his face stunned. It seemed like he had realized something, and his pupils involuntarily contracted.

At that moment, he could no longer care about Meng Suihuan. He rushed straight to his office.

Tch.

Meng Suihuan watched his hurried departure, almost tripping over himself. She couldn’t help but laugh.

Back at the company.

Jiang Chengxuan and Zhao Chen rushed over excitedly. After spending so much time together, Meng Suihuan knew their personalities well. Before they could gather around her, she took the lead and revealed the contract.

“It’s done.”

The others were naturally ecstatic, flipping through the contract multiple times, bombarding Meng Suihuan with questions. She didn’t keep anything from them, especially the encounter with Director Li. She didn’t leave out a single detail.

After hearing the story, everyone laughed heartily.

“I knew it! Director Li has been on leave lately! He never expected that we would use this time to settle everything!”

“Hahahaha, what a pity we couldn’t see Director Li fall flat on his face in person! But I’ve already imagined hundreds of ways he could trip!”

“I’m most excited to see Song Ming’s expression when he finds out! He’ll probably be so furious, he’ll explode!”

“…”

While everyone at Xuyu was chatting excitedly, Song Ming had also received the news. He was so angry that his whole body trembled, but he had nowhere to vent his frustration. Clenching the contract in his hand, he ripped it to shreds!

He had planned everything so perfectly. No matter how others struggled, he had expected to come out as the ultimate beneficiary! But he never expected that these people would play by their own rules. They went directly over Director Li’s head and settled everything without him.

Bang!

His fist slammed onto the desk, making a loud crashing sound. Song Ming’s eyes burned with rage. “Zhao Chen, Meng Suihuan, just wait and see!”

Next time, he would make sure they understood the consequences of crossing him!

—

As Meng Suihuan was preparing for the school district housing project, she made her television debut. The video of the award ceremony was edited and successfully aired on the local TV station. The event caused a huge stir throughout Shuangyang County, especially the recruitment advertisement during the ceremony, which achieved unprecedented results. In just one or two days, they had interviewed over a hundred people.

Jiang Chengxuan watched the lively scene and couldn’t help but reflect. A few months ago, he had been anxiously waiting at the company, but no one showed up. Now, it was the complete opposite; there were so many people that they could barely fit them all!

He happily sat in the interviews, but most of the people came to inquire about their boss. Out of ten, at least five were there just to get information about her.

Jiang Chengxuan: “…”

So, while there were many people applying, only about thirty or so were truly qualified to stay with the company—less than half. But this was still a good thing.

After the recruitment process was over, the company’s scale quickly expanded. With enough staff, the company’s rules and personnel distribution needed to be revised. Naturally, these tasks fell to Meng Suihuan.

She carefully considered the skills and capabilities of each person and divided the team of over seventy people into several groups: planning, sales, projects, logistics, and interior design. She looked over the list twice and made the initial arrangements. Specific adjustments would be made later based on the situation.

Phew.

After finishing everything, Meng Suihuan stretched her stiff neck. Looking outside, it had already gotten dark. The rest of the people in the company had already left. Just as she was preparing to go home, Lu Xiuhua rushed in, panicked and out of breath.

“Xiao Huan, I just got home, and I found out that our house was robbed!”

Meng Suihuan was momentarily stunned, then quickly followed Lu Xiuhe back home.

When they opened the door, the scene inside was chaotic. Everything had been maliciously thrown onto the floor. She rushed straight into her room, and sure enough, it was no exception. She quickly checked her bag, and all the cash was gone. But she soon calmed down and began to carefully examine the surroundings.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, her gaze fixed on Lu Xiuhe, her expression serious and stern.

“Xiuhe, I just remembered… when we came in, you used the key to open the door, right?”

Lu Xiuhe froze at these words, panic flashing in her eyes. She seemed at a loss and stammered, “Xiao Huan… it wasn’t me…”

“Xiuhe, I just carefully checked the iron window at home, and there were no signs of damage. Our door is also intact…”

The panic on Lu Xiuhe’s face intensified. She took several steps back and, unable to control her emotions, squatted down, covering her face as she began to cry.

“Xiao Huan, it really wasn’t me…”

Meng Suihuan hurriedly squatted beside her and comforted her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Xiuhe, I understand your nature, so what I mean is, apart from us, anyone else who had a key could be the person who came to steal from us.”

Lu Xiuhe looked up at Meng Suihuan, still with tears in her eyes, “You mean… the landlord who rented the place to us?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Then what should we do now? Should we go ask the landlord?”

Meng Suihuan shook her head. “Call the police directly.”