Although her earlier comment to Lao He was made in jest, Meng Suihuan had indeed been seriously considering the idea.

After all, Shuangyang County’s population was limited. Even if she continued to develop the area, the scope for further achievements would be minimal. The best course of action was to capitalize on the ongoing housing market boom and move to a larger city for greater opportunities. Naturally, Ning City became her next choice.

Being someone who took swift action, Meng Suihuan didn’t delay. After returning to the office, she immediately gathered her team.

“Boss, what are your instructions this time? Just say the word, and we’ll make sure it’s done flawlessly!”

“Hmm.” Meng Suihuan nodded, then said in an unusually calm tone, “I’m planning to establish a branch office in Ning City.”

“No problem!” Lao Zhou responded instinctively, but after speaking, he realized something was off. “Wait, Boss, what did you just say?”

“Establishing a branch office in Ning City,” she repeated.

Everyone froze, their eyes collectively turning toward her. The only thought running through their minds was: Isn’t this moving a bit too fast?!

Their company had only just stabilized its footing in Shuangyang, and they were still catching their breath.

Meng Suihuan continued, “As before, I’ll give you all a choice. Whether you want to follow me to the branch office or stay in Shuangyang, the decision is entirely up to you.”

The moment she finished speaking, Lao Zhou couldn’t hold back. “What’s there to think about? Whether it’s climbing a mountain of knives or walking through fire, I’m sticking with you, Boss!”

Meng Suihuan: “…” That’s a bit dramatic.

Zhao Chen, on the other hand, had no objections. His requirements were always simple: as long as he had food and shelter, he didn’t care where he was.

Soon, everyone had expressed their opinions, leaving only Jiang Chengxuan. The atmosphere grew noticeably tense as it became his turn.

Lao Zhou, sensing the tension, shouted, “Xiao Jiang, you’re practically a co-leader of our team. You can’t back out on us now!”

“If you don’t come, we’ll either get scammed or starve to death,” he added, prompting laughter from the group.

In the past, Jiang Chengxuan would have laughed along and reassured Lao Zhou. But today, he remained silent.

This left Lao Zhou genuinely stunned. He slapped himself on the forehead. “Damn! Could it be that I jinxed it with my big mouth?”

Finally, Jiang Chengxuan came back to his senses and slowly shared his decision.

“… I plan to stay with the branch office.”

Speculating was one thing, but hearing Jiang Chengxuan confirm it was another. Lao Zhou was no longer joking. He straightened up, his expression serious. “Xiao Jiang, think about this carefully—”

Jiang Chengxuan shook his head. “I’ve already thought it through.”

Meng Suihuan wasn’t surprised by his decision. After all, when she had recruited him, he had already made this condition clear.

“I respect your decision,” she said, pausing briefly before continuing, “Besides, the branch office will need someone to manage it.”

And so, the decision to establish the branch office was finalized.

Meng Suihuan gave everyone some time off, knowing that the coming months would likely be demanding, with little opportunity to return home.

Lu Xiuhe returned to his hometown of Lu Village, while Meng Suihuan, occupied with company matters, stayed behind.

Since she had decided to temporarily leave Shuangyang, she needed to draft a development plan for the area in advance. She spent the entire day in her office, carefully thinking it through.

In the end, only one viable path emerged: buying land.

At this time, government control over land sales wasn’t as strict as it would later become. As long as you had the money, you could negotiate with the relevant departments to purchase land.

Though the land might not seem valuable now, in the future, many would fight tooth and nail for it, and even then, they might not succeed.

When Jiang Chengxuan returned from his vacation, he found a large stack of documents on his desk. Curious, he glanced at the headings and discovered they were land purchase agreements.

“?” He was completely confused, frozen in place.

At that moment, a familiar voice spoke from behind him.

“I’m leaving all these documents to you. Take good care of them—they’re the future of our company.”

Jiang Chengxuan: “…”

While he understood the importance of land in the real estate business, wasn’t this just a bit excessive?

As he silently grumbled in his heart, the person behind him suddenly called his name and said something rather sentimental:

“I’ll be waiting for you in Ning City.”

While everyone else had asked him in private about his decision, she was the only one to say such words directly. To his surprise, Jiang Chengxuan was genuinely touched.

But that feeling didn’t last long—it was gone in an instant when the young woman added:

“Without you, I’d be driven insane by Lao Zhou and the others! If this continues, I might even lose years off my life!”

Jiang Chengxuan: “…” So much for being touched!

—

By October, after wrapping up everything with Xuyu, Meng Suihuan set off for the new city with her new team.

They traveled by train. Throughout the journey, Meng Suihuan tried to distance herself from the group, pretending not to know them. However, Lao Zhou took every opportunity to bombard her with brainless questions.

She could feel the curious stares of other passengers.

“…”

Unfortunately, Lao Zhou was utterly oblivious and became even more enthusiastic in his questioning.

At that moment, Meng Suihuan missed Jiang Chengxuan terribly. In the past, trivial matters like this would have been directed at him instead!

After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived in Ning City. Meng Suihuan breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, at the train station, Lao Zhou shouted at the top of his lungs for all to hear:

“Ning City!”
“We’re here!”

His declaration was met with a series of death stares.

Meng Suihuan: “…”

If she could go back in time, she would have found an excuse to leave Lao Zhou at the branch office. But alas, there was no turning back, so she had to endure.

Yet none of this compared to what truly made Meng Suihuan miserable.

Under the blazing sun, her legs aching with exhaustion, she had to trudge from one location to another searching for commercial spaces. At that moment, she desperately wished she could travel back to the 21st century—where such hardships wouldn’t exist!

She missed smartphones. She missed all the convenient, life-saving apps!

Thus, on their first day in Ning City, they spent the entire time either looking for commercial spaces or figuring out how to get to them.

The worst part? They didn’t find a single suitable spot.

By evening, Meng Suihuan gathered everyone, cleared her throat, and declared:

“I believe that finding commercial spaces is a professional task that should be handled by professionals.”

Lao Zhou was silent for a moment before saying, “Boss, you’re just missing Xiao Jiang. Honestly, I miss him too.”

“If he were here, I bet this whole commercial space issue would’ve been resolved by now.”

Meng Suihuan: “…” Why are you blurting out such inconvenient truths?

Now that she thought about it, life without Jiang Chengxuan—a jack-of-all-trades—was indeed much harder.

No. She had to find a “Jiang Chengxuan 2.0” as soon as possible.

“So, tomorrow’s mission is—”

“To find someone who knows Ning City like the back of their hand!”

Compared to Shuangyang County, Ning City was developing much faster, with high-rise buildings sprouting up everywhere. The service industry was already beginning to take root.

Meng Suihuan did some inquiries and located a modest, inconspicuous company. At first, she didn’t think much of it, but as she mulled it over, the company’s name started to feel familiar.

“Where have I seen this before?”

After a moment of reflection, she suddenly remembered—this was the place where Jiang Chengxuan would rise to prominence in the future!

Her luck couldn’t possibly be this good, could it?

She felt an overwhelming urge to scream with excitement.

Not only that, but the current owner of this company was destined to become one of Jiang Chengxuan’s most capable allies in the future!

Meng Suihuan: “!!!”

At last, her struggles seemed to be paying off! Wasn’t this the “Jiang Chengxuan 2.0” she had been searching for?

Thinking about it, a sly smile spread across her face, one that was distinctly different from her usual expressions.

Lao Zhou nudged Old Sun with his elbow. “Hey, don’t you think the boss’s smile today is kind of creepy? It’s giving me chills!”

Lao Sun glanced at him doubtfully. “Really? I think it looks normal. Maybe your eyes are just bad.”

Lao Zhou: “…”

Meanwhile, Meng Suihuan had already struck up a lively conversation with the man. In less than half an hour, she had successfully recruited Feng Jiu as a member of their company, Xuyu.

She enthusiastically introduced him to everyone.

“This is Feng Jiu, and from now on, he’ll be part of Xuyu.”

Everyone else: “???”

Weren’t they just here to get help finding commercial properties? How did the boss manage to rope this guy into joining them in the blink of an eye?

Thanks to Feng Jiu’s assistance, they quickly found a suitable commercial space. The location and facilities matched Meng Suihuan’s requirements perfectly, so she happily finalized the decision.

However, just as she was about to sign the contract, a man dressed in blue burst in, shouting, “Don’t sign it!”

Upon investigation, they learned that the space had previously been rented by the blue-clad man’s company. Unable to pay the rent, his team had been evicted by the landlord. Despite this, he was determined to plead with the landlord to let them keep the place.

“Wu Ge, we’ve worked together for so long. Just give me a few more days. As soon as my project funding comes through, I’ll pay everything I owe!”

“Xiao Chen, it’s not that I don’t want to help you. But with that unfinished building of yours, it’s impossible to find investors. Restarting the project would be even harder. Let me give you some advice—don’t be so stubborn.”

“You know I don’t want to make things difficult for you, but we’re all just trying to survive. It’s not easy for any of us.”

“…”

Unfinished building?

Meng Suihuan’s interest was immediately piqued. She couldn’t resist turning to Feng Jiu for more information.

To her surprise, while Feng Jiu’s luck wasn’t on par with Jiang Chengxuan’s, his business acumen was excellent. He succinctly explained the situation:

The unfinished building was a project undertaken by the blue-clad man’s company. Unfortunately, he had trusted the wrong people, and his collaborators secretly embezzled funds while taking away his original team. What was left was an incomplete project and a mountain of unpaid bills for materials.

This poor man had been hounded by creditors and eventually taken to court. The project itself had become one of Ning City’s most infamous unfinished developments.

After listening, Meng Suihuan could only sigh.

“What a tragic guy.”

However, she found herself unexpectedly interested in the project.

Without hesitation, she approached the two men, smiling brightly.

“So, have you two sorted things out?”

Wu Ge, being a straightforward person, had gotten so caught up in arguing that he had nearly forgotten his original purpose. Luckily, Meng Suihuan interrupted at just the right moment.

“Xiao Xie, don’t come to me about this anymore. I’ve already decided to sell this property!”

“Wu Ge, I can buy it too, as long as you give me a bit more time…”

Seeing the two about to start arguing again, Meng Suihuan decisively spoke up.

“I have a win-win solution that can solve both your problems at once. So, would you like to stop and hear me out?”

The two immediately paused, turning to look at her in unison, and asked in the same breath, “What solution?”