The loan hadn’t gone through, which was clearly unusual. Jin Yaotiao had considered the possibilities, and in the end, she focused on the option that Mingde had been targeted by someone.

The loan amount wasn’t large; it was just an investment for one of Mingde’s branch stores.

The application wasn’t with a bank in Linjiang but with one in Shencheng.

After all, she couldn’t put all her eggs in one basket. Linjiang was Mingde’s headquarters, and its assets were Mingde’s backup.

For stability’s sake, she had been trying to avoid using them.

But Mingde’s limited funds were a big problem.

Therefore, in Jin Yaotiao’s plan, the business expansion in Shencheng couldn’t be too slow, but it also had to proceed gradually, using one store’s earnings to fund the next one.

But right now, she saw a bit of a crisis.

This kind of borrowing method was too slow, and the debt risk was entirely on Mingde’s shoulders. Mingde had no partners to share the risks.

Any small disturbance like this could put the entire company’s cash flow into a passive state.

There were too many uncertainties.

Jin’s father was suspicious but couldn’t be sure if it was the Shang family’s doing. After thinking for a while, he suggested, “We can try another bank. If that doesn’t work, we can get a loan in Linjiang. We’re sure to get the money.”

Jin Yaotiao shook her head, “No rush. We can put the bank cooperation on hold for now.”

Jin’s father asked, “Then what about the branch? Are we not opening it?”

Jin Yaotiao replied, “Of course we’re opening it.”

Jin’s father furrowed his brows, “If we don’t get the loan, where will the money come from?”

Jin Yaotiao thought for a moment before answering, “I think we need to look for some investors. By bringing in funds, we can also share the risk.”

Jin’s father looked troubled. “With Mingde’s current position, and no franchise opportunities, there’s a technical difficulty in operations. It’ll be tough to find investors.”

The capital circles were sharp-eyed, and the food and beverage industry wasn’t an easy investment option.

What’s more, in order to maintain quality, Mingde’s restaurants couldn’t expand in a viral way.

Recently, some had approached them with cooperation and franchise offers because of Mingde’s high popularity, but Jin Yaotiao had rejected them all. While franchising could make a quick buck, it would also distance Mingde’s brand from its original reputation.

Jin Yaotiao was silent for a moment and then said, “We’ll release the news and see. If we can’t secure big investors, we’ll take small ones. Every little bit helps.”

She wasn’t afraid of difficulty.

Mingde’s current foundation was far more than what she had when she first started her business.

Back then, she was overseas with limited connections, and her foundation was shallow.

She didn’t understand business operations, and relied only on that angel investment. Yet, she still managed to create a space for herself.

Jin Yaotiao thought back to the stumbles she had faced in the past; now, they had all turned into wealth.

She looked up at her father.

He was looking at her too, and after a brief silence, they exchanged a smile.

Jin’s father thought about his daughter’s words, “If we can’t secure big investments, we’ll get small ones, and gradually build it up.” He couldn’t help but feel proud of his daughter’s resilient attitude in the face of adversity. “Alright.”

---

Father and daughter came up with a plan and were ready to face the challenges ahead.

Jin Yaotiao didn’t waste any time.

She quickly set things in motion and first contacted a few reliable investment intermediaries.

The intermediary, upon hearing the nature of Mingde’s business, hesitated, “The economic situation isn’t great right now, and capital is being cautious. I’ll try to keep an eye out for you.”

Jin Yaotiao had already prepared for this.

After thanking the intermediary, she notified the relevant employees to prepare for a meeting to discuss the potential challenges Mingde might face in the future.

Her expected funding amount wasn’t too high. After all, Mingde had never sought investment from individuals before.

The company had been around for a long time, but for a long while, its business hadn’t been flourishing.

The market’s trust in them was limited.

So, before the meeting, she went to the conference room and started preparing, writing and drawing on a whiteboard.

She believed that as long as they could break this deadlock, Mingde’s ability to weather risks would improve, but this would definitely be a long and hard battle.

Step by step.

No rush.

The prince had patience with his kingdom, and for this, she was willing to invest a lot of time and energy.

Luna finished her meal and disappeared for a while.

It wasn’t until later that she came back to find Jin Yaotiao, holding the shoes she had mentioned earlier: “Yaotiao, you were right. I thought it over, and I didn’t consider those issues before. Was I stupid? I almost got tricked by Jian Wen. No wonder you and my parents were so worried about me.”

“That’s not stupidity, that’s purity,” Jin Yaotiao comforted her. “You’re fine. You just need to think about what kind of life you want to choose for yourself.”

Luna seemed to think for a moment, then remembered the shoes she had brought and showed them to Jin Yaotiao. “These are the limited edition Chanel collaboration shoes I managed to grab. There are only 500 pairs in the world. It took a lot of effort to get them. One pair for you, one pair for me. Aren’t they beautiful?”

Jin Yaotiao smiled and took them. “They’re beautiful.”

Luna became happy again.

Xu Wan couldn’t help but come to the meeting room to check and saw Luna acting all sweet while talking, with Jin Yaotiao smiling calmly, yet patiently.

The two stood there… It was hard not to notice their clear dynamic.

Concubine…

Xu Wan thought of this word, and it made her uncomfortable.

She quickly went into the room to pour some water.

When Jin Yaotiao saw her, she politely greeted her: “Aunt Xu, you don’t have to do this.”

Xu Wan didn’t want to leave. She smiled calmly, “Anyway, there’s a meeting soon, and I’m just waiting around.”

Luna finally realized, “Are you going to have a meeting later?”

She looked at the whiteboard covered in writing but didn’t quite understand it. “What’s all this?”

Jin Yaotiao briefly explained it to her, full of determination for the long battle ahead.

Luna listened, though it seemed only half-understood.

Xu Wan also listened, remembering the topic she overheard outside the office not long ago about Mingde’s loan being rejected.

She asked, holding a disposable teacup, “You’re looking for investors? Yaotiao, are you short on money?”

Jin Yaotiao raised an eyebrow, sensing something wasn’t right with the audience’s reaction.

Luna quickly caught on. “Yaotiao, are you short on money? I have money! I can lend it all to you.”

This naive young lady, being unemployed, had all her pocket money tied up in liquid assets.

Xu Wan shot Luna a wary glance, put down her cup, and suddenly became serious, even a bit competitive: “Yaotiao, how much funding does Mingde still need? Is that amount enough?”

She made a gesture to indicate an amount.

Jin Yaotiao’s eyes flicked to the understated yet expensive watch Xu Wan had worn for work and realized the number of zeros on that amount. “…”

A few of the security guards walked by with something in hand and overheard them. They walked into the meeting room and asked, “What’s going on? Is Mingde’s funding chain broken?”

Jin Yaotiao took a deep breath and turned her gaze away. “No, we’re just preparing to raise some investment.”

The security guards, all dressed in uniforms, approached the whiteboard where Jin Yaotiao had written and began nodding as they examined it.

Uncle Meng said, “The development plan for the future is very strategic.”

Uncle Liu agreed, “Xiao Jin has always been steady in her work. The projects she’s advocated for are definitely reliable.”

Uncle Meng said, “I’m still relatively well off. How about you?”

Uncle Liu replied, “Hmm, I can invest a bit too. After all, I’m an old man, and money just sits there doing nothing.”

The older men looked at Jin Yaotiao: “How much more do you need?”

Jin Yaotiao: “…”

She silently erased the whiteboard and saw off the investors.

As she sipped the tea that Xu Wan had poured, she fell into brief contemplation.

While drinking the tea and stepping out, she ran into the employees who were coming for the meeting. They asked, “Director Jin, why are you out here? Aren’t you preparing for the meeting?”

Jin Yaotiao replied, “No need for the meeting anymore. Everyone, go back to work.”

“Eh?” The employees were confused. “Aren’t we supposed to plan for investment? Are we not raising funds anymore?”

Jin Yaotiao, holding her teacup, couldn’t help but feel speechless: “We’ve already raised it.”

In the span of a meeting preparation, she had raised several times the amount she had initially expected, enough to dominate half of Shencheng’s market.

She felt like a general about to enter the battlefield, only for the enemy to bow down and call her “king.”

But these feelings, of course, couldn’t be shared with her employees. So, she could only leave gracefully, hiding her accomplishments.

The employees behind her fell into silence. After a long while, the discussion broke out:

“Holy shit! What does this mean? The prince pulled in the investment all by himself?!”

The girl who had been worrying about the loan in the office earlier was moved again: “The prince is really reliable, I think I want to marry him.”

---

Before she could finish her tea, her phone vibrated.

Jin Yaotiao snapped out of it and picked up, only to realize it was the manager from the bank who had been handling their loan application.

The manager on the other end seemed confused: “Jin, is this you? So, it turns out, our leadership said that there was a system error that caused your company’s loan application to be rejected. They asked me to contact you so you can resubmit the application.”

Jin Yaotiao: “?”

It was such an unexpected good news.

However… Jin Yaotiao said, “Thank you, but we don’t need it anymore.”

Manager: “Huh?”

The manager hung up and called the higher-ups who had given him the instructions.

The higher-up was rushing to the bank and stumbled when he heard the news.

He was a bit terrified—what did this mean?

The Mingde loan had been rejected not long ago, and they had just fought for it.

Now, they were proactively offering it to them, but they didn’t want it?

His friend heard the news and looked uneasy: “It’s over, they’re angry now!”

---

Soon after, Jin Yaotiao received another call from the bank.

This time, it was the higher-up personally calling, his tone gentle and warm: “Ms. Jin, I’ve reviewed your company’s qualifications carefully. You really have great development prospects. The delay in your loan approval was due to the system issue, and it’s caused quite a bit of trouble for your company. If you’re too busy to resubmit the application, I can open a special channel for you, and we can process the loan using the previous application right away.”

Jin Yaotiao: “?”

Someone’s pushing money on them?

The more he acted like this, the more wary she became.

Since Mingde had already secured investment, they didn’t need to take on any debt.

She still declined, saying, “No need, thank you for your kindness.”

Mingde had already secured investment.

And the amount was much more than the loan.

After the call ended, the higher-up staggered in disbelief.

Was this how tough it had become?

His friend’s face turned as if he had already seen his impending doom: “They can’t even get you to take their money, you’re really in big trouble! Who’s the friend who hates you so much they came up with such a deadly plan? Oh my god.”

The higher-up realized that Mingde probably wasn’t short of money.

This wasn’t about Mingde—it was about them!

He thought of the buddy who had once been so close to him, and his eyes widened with anger.

“Xia Ren!”