On Monday evening, Lu Nan sent her mother a message letting her know that she would be leaving the next morning and arriving in Hailin City before lunch. 

Although Ms. Huang had repeatedly said things like “No need for you to drive all the way here, I’ll just take the bus back myself,” as soon as Lu Nan sent the message, she received a call. “Why bother making things difficult and taking a detour to Hailin?” 

Mom, if your tone sounded a bit more convincing, maybe I’d actually believe you really didn’t want me to pick you up. 

Lu Nan knew her mother all too well. “Even though Xiang Feifei already delivered the New Year’s gift for me according to company policy, I still plan to personally visit a few clients before the holiday. And there’s also Teacher Zhang—I should stop by and give them New Year’s greetings in advance.” 

“Oh…” That made sense. Once Ms. Huang thought about it, since her daughter was visiting clients and simply picking her up along the way, she could accept it without guilt. She even made a few requests. “Well, since you’re heading out tomorrow, Hua’an City’s marinated meat and crispy pastries are pretty famous. If it’s convenient, help me bring some. What you’re giving to Teacher Zhang is yours, but I need to prepare something separate. As for your grandmother, she might find the meat hard to chew, but she’ll definitely enjoy the pastries. And then there’s your aunt and uncle…” 

Lu Nan laughed. “I’ve already bought everything.” 

“You’ve already bought it?” Ms. Huang found that hard to believe. Was her daughter really this thorough? 

Though her instinct was to be skeptical, a small voice inside told her: this isn’t that difficult—why wouldn’t her daughter be able to handle it? 

“Mm-hmm.” Lu Nan, worried her mother might overthink, listed the number of clients she needed to visit and the family members her mother wanted to send gifts to, then confidently added, “Don’t worry, I got more than enough.” 

At this point, Ms. Huang didn’t know what else to remind her about. She was about to make a habitual complaint, but instead said, “Just total up how many sets you got for me and how much it cost. I’ll transfer the money to you.” 

Someone else might have gotten annoyed at that, but Lu Nan didn’t mind—she knew her mother’s temperament. 

In her previous life, after Lu Nan started working, she would try to give her mother money for holidays. It started with a couple thousand and eventually became over ten thousand, but Ms. Huang never truly accepted it. She would always return the money, often adding auspicious amounts like 666 or 888, calling it a “birthday red envelope” (since Lu Nan was born late in the year). If Lu Nan refused, Ms. Huang would impatiently lecture her: “Don’t start splashing money around just because you have a bit in your pocket. Learn to save—you’ve got two mortgages. Be more frugal… blah blah blah.” 

In the end, Lu Nan would have no choice but to accept the red envelope. 

In short, Ms. Huang’s stubborn personality had never changed over the decades. 

These few gift sets didn’t cost much anyway. If Ms. Huang insisted on reimbursing her, Lu Nan would just accept it. 

By the next day, just before 11 a.m., Lu Nan arrived in Hailin and went straight to CIMC Building—Ms. Huang was still at work, of course. 

As she exited the elevator, she ran into Mr. Chen of Haortei. This time, his attitude was unusually courteous. Perhaps he had heard from the local office in Hailin that Lu Nan was now a city manager—or maybe he had learned that the young man he once overlooked, Chen Xiao, was actually the son of the chairman of Yuan Chuan Group? 

Whatever the reason was. 

Now that he was being polite, Lu Nan had no desire to “put him in his place.” 

Not everything had to be about drama or revenge. 

Besides, Ms. Huang’s company, Weigou, was on the same floor as Haortei. 

Thinking this, Lu Nan acted as if nothing had happened, returned his greeting, exchanged a few pleasantries, and left. 

Weigou’s glass doors were open. Of the four desks near the entrance, two were empty, one was covered in documents, and the last had a computer. A young woman, who looked fairly new to the workforce, sat in front of it. 

Seeing someone come in, the young woman stood up and asked politely, “Hi, who are you looking for?” 

Lu Nan glanced at her, then at the glass-walled office. “I’m looking for President Huang.” 

“Okay, just a moment.” The young woman walked briskly over to knock on the office door. “President Huang, someone is here to see you.” 

Hearing the voice, Ms. Huang looked outside, stood up, and touched Lu Nan’s coat. “Wearing so little again? You didn’t drive fast, did you?” 

“The heater was on in the car. I wasn’t cold. And no, I didn’t drive fast,” Lu Nan replied, shaking her head. 

Ms. Huang didn’t believe her. “If you didn’t drive fast, how did you get here so early?” 

After a few more words of concern, she remembered there was someone else present. “Xiao Hu, this is my daughter. She’s two years older than you. She was just teasing you earlier.” 

Lu Nan smiled at Xiao Hu. “Hi, I’m Lu Nan.” 

Xiao Hu suddenly realized, “Ah, no wonder! I thought you looked familiar! I just didn’t connect the dots. Well, President Huang, Sister Lu, I’ll leave you two to chat.” 

As the door closed quietly, Lu Nan sat down across from her mother, propping her chin on one hand and softly asked, “Mom, you hired someone?” 

Hadn’t she just said before the New Year that she wasn’t hiring? Had she finally come around? 

Had she realized that, while hiring meant paying someone, it also saved her a lot of time? 

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Ms. Huang could see the teasing in her daughter’s eyes and replied irritably, “Yes, yes, I hired someone.” 

Lu Nan said earnestly, “Exactly. There’s too much little stuff to handle—you can’t do everything yourself.” 

Ms. Huang stayed silent. After all, it had been just over a month since she confidently claimed she could manage it all, and now she had quietly gone to the job market to recruit someone. 

Although Xiao Hu was just a young woman with a vocational high school diploma and a bit of English and foreign trade experience, she was still helpful—at least she could type documents and make spreadsheets quickly. 

“So, Mom, how’s business lately?” Lu Nan changed the subject before her mom got annoyed. 

“I just shipped February’s wine to Xu Chengzhi. Didn’t expect ocean shipping to go up so much recently—it’s a real loss!” Ms. Huang’s attention immediately shifted as she complained, clearly pained. 

Lu Nan was a great listener and quietly expressed sympathy. 

Ms. Huang continued, “Your old colleague, that Rong Wei, actually warned me. I just didn’t expect that delaying by a couple of days would make prices jump that much. But I couldn’t not ship—the Chinese community over there is large, and Xu Chengzhi said Lunar New Year is a peak sales period. He even asked me to include some classic wines. I couldn’t leave him hanging.” 

In fact, Lu Nan already knew shipping prices tend to rise before holidays, but since Weigou was her mother’s business, she never gave unsolicited advice unless asked. 

Now she just consoled her, “It’s okay, Mom. You live and learn. And since Rong Wei reminded you, he probably followed up too, right? Shipping with a slight price increase is still manageable.” 

To distract Ms. Huang from dwelling on the cost, she asked, “So did Xiang Feifei help you restock the classic wines?” 

Ms. Huang shook her head. “Initially, I planned to go to your colleague, but I happened to run into the boss’s wife from Haortei on the same floor, so I got some supplies from them instead. She gave me the factory price plus a 5% markup and even had it delivered here. I thought, well, no need to trouble Xiang Feifei then.” 

“Five percent? That’s basically no profit. Looks like you have a pretty good relationship with Haortei boss’s wife, Ms. Huang.” Lu Nan teased. 

“Stop with the smart remarks.” Ms. Huang gave her daughter a pointed look, though not a harsh one. “We’re on the same floor, and both of us are distributors for Yuan Chuan. Sometimes we chat when we run into each other. I wouldn’t say we’re particularly close.” 

“So, did you ever attend the training course I recommended to you?” 

“No, I didn’t go. I heard those executive and CEO courses are quite expensive—tens of thousands or even more. I decided to pass.” Ms. Huang added, “But I did go back to that book club we talked about. It was actually pretty interesting.” (Mainly because it was free.) 

Hearing that Ms. Huang had been expanding her social circle, whether actively or passively, made Lu Nan genuinely happy. 

As for the training programs—if Ms. Huang’s business continues to grow, she’ll eventually feel the need to upskill and seek out that knowledge herself. 

Just like with the issue of “whether to hire more people.” 

It’s proven: trusting Lu Nan never leads to a loss. 

Lu Nan thought proudly to herself. 

“Hungry? Let’s get lunch,” Ms. Huang said to her daughter, noticing it was already around 11:30. 

Lu Nan thought for a moment. “I don’t feel like going out. I’ll just go downstairs and grab some takeout.” She remembered that there was a restaurant on the fourth floor of the CIMC Building. Back when she was an intern, she used to go there often for convenience. 

Ms. Huang didn’t object, but reminded her, “Ask Xiao Hu if she wants to join us.” 

Lu Nan glanced at her mother and couldn’t help saying, “It’s usually better to keep a bit of distance between the boss and employees. You’re being kind, but she might not feel entirely comfortable eating with you.” 

Given that this company was basically just the two of them, Ms. Huang hadn’t really thought about that before. She also didn’t quite see herself as a “boss” yet. But now that her daughter pointed it out, she had to admit it made some sense—even if she tried to defend herself. “I know that. It’s just because you’re back today that I asked. Usually Xiao Hu and I eat separately.” 

Lu Nan smiled and, as instructed, stepped out of the office to ask, “Xiao Hu, I’m going downstairs to get some takeout. Want to eat together?” 

Xiao Hu shook her head. “No need, thank you, Sister Lu.” 

Anyone with a bit of emotional intelligence would respond that way. 

Lu Nan nodded and didn’t push. But when she came back, besides their own meals, she brought a dessert made in-house by the restaurant downstairs. “I’m not sure if you’re allergic to dairy. I got both double-skin milk pudding and herbal jelly. Pick one.” 

Xiao Hu was about to politely decline, but Lu Nan smiled and insisted, “There are three servings. One for each of us.” 

In the end, Xiao Hu took the milk pudding. 

After lunch, Lu Nan explained her schedule. “I’m visiting Teacher Zhang tonight and seeing a client tomorrow, so don’t wait for me for lunch or dinner. I’ll pack up the next morning and head home around noon—just in time to pick up my brother from school.” Perfect! 

This plan happened to match what Ms. Huang had in mind. She nodded and said, “Then let’s get up early that morning and go to the market to buy some seafood to bring home.” Hailin City was close to the coast, and the seafood was affordable and fresh. 

Lu Nan had no objections. That afternoon, she went to an empty desk outside and started typing rapidly. The sound of the keyboard was crisp and fast. 

Xiao Hu glanced over curiously from her desk—noticing only Lu Nan’s focused profile, not what was on the screen. 

In the end, Xiao Hu didn’t ask what she was writing. 

Lu Nan made a temporary judgment about her: seems like she’s quite grounded and reliable.