The village chief smiled kindly and handed Sophia a piece of paper.
"The house construction application you submitted a while ago has been approved. Now, how do you want to build your house? How will you set up the warehouse? You need a plan, then get the planning permit and the construction permit, and you can start building officially."
The village chief clearly explained the process to Sophia.
Construction in the village is different from the city—there's no professional construction team. People form their own groups to work.
Sophia had been in the village for some time but hadn't really met many people.
"Village chief, I'll need you to recommend someone."
Even though asking for a favor, it also helped to build a relationship with the village chief.
Finding work for others, letting them earn money, makes people grateful.
When the village chief recommends someone, that person will feel thankful.
Later, the workers might bring some good tobacco or wine as a thank you gift. Sophia could give a little back too. The village chief just needed to connect the two sides.
The village chief agreed quickly.
That afternoon, someone came to talk to Sophia.
She brought Ronin along.
They discussed and negotiated for a long time.
They decided to have the planning drawings made first and send them to Sophia to review. But the final decisions would wait until she returned from the provincial city.
The other party agreed, saying it wouldn't be decided quickly.
Early the next morning, Sophia drove to the high-speed train station and took the train to the provincial city.
After getting off the train, she followed information from Auctioneer Zhena and went straight to the hotel she booked to check in.
Deron Group is very large and involved in many industries.
This auction is held in one of Deron's five-star hotels.
Sophia checked in smoothly and then heard voices and laughter behind her.
"Mom, Dad, I heard the old lady of the Jessica family loves Tang Dynasty Qingmei vases. We must get this piece at the auction! Next month is her big birthday."
Hearing a familiar voice, Sophia turned instinctively.
Seeing a family of three, she instinctively wanted to hide.
But they already saw her. The three stopped walking; their smiles froze and slowly disappeared.
They faced each other in a tense moment.
Sophia turned to leave.
Jessica called out, "Stop!"
Her eyes were sharp, watching Sophia carefully as she walked toward her.
"How are you here?"
At the same time, she glanced at her father and mother, confirming they had not given Sophia any money.
Then she said, "You're not working at this hotel, are you?"
Jessica thought for a moment, then seemed to remember, "I think you studied animal husbandry in college, raising pigs, cows, and sheep, just like your parents. No success! What, does the hotel have pigs for you to raise? Or are you here to collect food scraps?"
Her face was full of mockery.
Seeing Sophia made Jessica think of the life she lost in the past ten or twenty years, a life that should have been hers.
Jessica was angry, wanting to crush Sophia. Her eyes locked onto her.
Sophia looked at her calmly. "What am I doing here? Seems like it has nothing to do with you."
She waved her hand. "Move! A good dog doesn't block the way!"
Jessica was very unhappy with Sophia's reaction. She angrily accused her, "You thief! How dare you show up in front of us? Don't you feel any guilt? Because of you, I suffered with my parents, our family was torn apart, and you act like nothing happened!"
"Apologize!"
Jessica faced Sophia directly, saying what she really thought.
Sophia laughed angrily. "Apologize? Apologize to who? To you? What do I owe you?"
"Jessica, don't forget who secretly changed my college entrance exam choices? You want me to apologize to you?"
Jessica's eyes showed no guilt. "So what if I changed it? You stole the life I lived for eighteen years. The college exam is just one thing. If it weren't for my family, do you think you could get into university?"
Sophia smiled, calm and steady. "Jessica, just because you can't get in doesn't mean others can't."
Jessica had always been a poor student. Before she returned to the Jiang family, she was like a spoiled village girl.
Even Sophia doubted if someone like Jessica was really the child of her biological parents.
From what the villagers said, her biological parents had a good reputation. Although Sophia never met them, the villagers said both were university graduates, people with ideas and opinions, and wouldn't have raised their child to be like Jessica.
"Sophia, that's enough! You still bully Jessica in front of us? What an ungrateful child! We raised you for so many years!"
Madam Jin no longer pretended to ignore it and shouted at Sophia.
Although Sophia had been trying to accept this for years, hearing Madam Jin's scolding again made her heart ache.
Her expression turned cold. "Our lives were switched without my permission. If you want to blame someone, blame the hospital's nurses and doctors. What do I have to do with it?"
After saying that, Sophia pushed past them and walked away quickly.
She went back to her room and calmed down for half an hour until her phone suddenly rang.
It was Amelia sending a message, saying she would also attend Deron's auction.
Sophia's attention shifted, and her mood eased. She replied to Amelia, "See you tonight."
When Sophia went downstairs that evening to meet Amelia, she realized she was actually early. Most people arrived later in the evening to check in.
With Amelia came Expert Shuxun. At that moment, Expert Shuxun was talking with another older man with gray hair slicked back in a pompadour style. Sophia didn't go over to interrupt.
It took Amelia about half an hour to finish the check-in.
"Let's go, Sophia."
Sophia helped carry Amelia's luggage.
"The man your teacher was talking to is the top authority in the antique world, Expert Shuxun Jiang. He came mainly because of this collection from the Yuan Zhaonian period," Amelia explained in advance.
The two quickly approached Expert Shuxun and Ronin. Amelia introduced Sophia first.
"Expert Jiang, this Yuan Zhaonian collection is provided by Miss Sophia Jiang."
Professor Yang smiled and nodded at Sophia, then introduced her to Expert Shuxun.
Higher status people have the right to know first. After introducing Sophia to Expert Shuxun, Professor Yang introduced himself.
"Expert Shuxun is known as the number one collector in the country."
Expert Shuxun leaned on his cane and looked kindly at Sophia. "Young lady, where are you from? You look a little familiar."