"In a few days," Ning Yue said, "specifically next Friday, December 1st, Southern Home Furnishings will hold a press conference. They are going to launch their first fully smart home system, and their stock price will continue to soar, nearly tripling."
Li Zhengmin was slightly surprised. He blurted out what he was thinking, "You dreamt of this again?"
"Yes."
Li Zhengmin leaned back against the old sofa, his eyes unfocused. He tapped his fingers on his knee. Another dream. Should he believe her or not?
If he didn't, she had dreamt of his suicide. If she hadn't appeared on the rooftop of the Li Building that day, he would have definitely lost his life. They would have made it look like a suicide, and then all his shares would have been sold off by that bitch, who would then run off to live happily ever after with her lover.
But if he did believe her... how could he? Dreaming of the future was just too surreal!
Yet, what if it was true? Wouldn't he be missing out on a massive money-making opportunity for nothing?
After considering it for only a moment, Li Zhengmin pulled out his phone. Without hiding anything from Ning Yue, he issued a series of orders. Hanging up, he asked her, "What do you want?"
"Money, naturally!" Ning Yue replied.
Mr. Li stared into her eyes for a long moment. Having navigated the ups and downs of the business world for nearly two decades, he could guess Ning Yue's intentions with just a little thought.
This mess had nothing to do with the child, and the Ning Family was entirely faultless. Yet, simply because the Yan family was rich and powerful, they had caused Mr. Ning and Ning's mother to lose their jobs over their biological daughter's slightest dissatisfaction. Why wouldn't a child who abandoned a life of luxury, insisting on returning to her biological parents, want to seek revenge against them?
Moreover, from what he could see, the young girl before him was no fool. On the contrary, she had a sharp mind for business. She definitely wouldn't remain obscure in the future.
"You saved my life. I originally planned to give you an apartment near the First High School, but since you want money, I'll just give you its equivalent value in cash instead. Additionally, I've already sent my assistant to investigate whether Southern Home Furnishings is developing any new products. If the information is accurate, I will immediately acquire their stock—as much of it as possible. Regardless of how much profit we make in the end, I'll give you a twenty percent cut."
Ning Yue raised her eyebrows. A twenty percent information fee? It was a bit high, but she could handle it!
"Then I thank you, Mr. Li."
Seeing her accept it so readily, Mr. Li felt no aversion. For one, Ning Yue really had saved his life. For another, trading twenty percent of the profits for such vital information was well worth it in his eyes.
Of course, without concrete proof that Southern Home Furnishings was actually about to skyrocket, he wouldn't invest, no matter how smoothly someone pitched it to him.
Since she was straightforward, Li Zhengmin was equally forthright. "I'll have someone prepare a contract and send it over. In addition, it will take three days at most; once the news is confirmed, I'll immediately buy Southern Home Furnishings' stock. The apartment I was going to buy for you is worth roughly thirty million. Should I transfer the money directly to you, or invest it alongside the rest?"
"Just invest it for me," Ning Yue said.
In truth, thirty million was already a significant sum. Even if Mr. Li didn't give her a cut, it would be enough for her to accomplish many things.
Li Zhengmin made a call and had the funds transferred to her immediately. At that moment, the door opened. Mr. Ning and Ning's mother entered, carrying bags of varying sizes. They weren't surprised to see Li Zhengmin sitting in the living room, as Ning Yue had already mentioned over the phone that they had a guest.
"Mom, Dad, you're back. This is Mr. Li Zhengmin, the CEO of the Li Family. I helped him out with a small favor a few days ago, and Mr. Li was so polite that he came all the way to our home just to thank me in person."
Li Zhengmin was speechless. If saving a life counted as a "small favor," was there anything in this world that qualified as a big deal?
Fortunately, he knew Ning Yue phrased it that way to keep her family from worrying. He took the initiative to greet Mr. Ning and Ning's mother. "Hello, Mr. Ning, Mrs. Ning. I apologize for dropping by so unexpectedly today. I hope you can forgive the intrusion."
Mr. Ning and Ning's mother weren't used to dealing with high society. Hearing titles like "CEO" immediately made them a bit timid. However, seeing that Li Zhengmin's attitude was fairly amiable, their nervousness eased a little. Old Ning replied good-naturedly, "Not at all, your presence graces our humble home. Please, have a seat. Join us for a simple, home-cooked meal for lunch, if you don't mind the modest fare."
Hearing the commotion, Li Ming Rui also emerged from Ning Yue's room to greet Mr. Ning and Ning's mother.
Li Zhengmin said, "Then my son and I will trouble you. Please don't go to too much trouble; a simple meal will be perfectly fine."
Unable to keep up a conversation with the grand CEO, Mr. Ning and Ning's mother hurried into the kitchen with the groceries.
Mr. Li's assistant acted quickly, drafting the contract according to the requirements. After reading it over and finding no issues, Ning Yue signed her name.
The father and son enjoyed a hearty yet home-style lunch at the Ning Family residence before taking their leave.
After they left, Mr. Ning and Ning's mother asked about Mr. Li. Ning Yue smoothly glossed over it, claiming they had met during her time with the Yan family. Then, she called the couple over to look at the jobs she had found for them over the past few days.
"Mom, look. I registered an online store for you and Dad to sell clothes for young women. I've also contacted a supplier for the merchandise. The contact, Dai Ye, agreed to advance us twenty thousand yuan worth of stock upfront. If it doesn't sell, we can return it directly.
"Don't we have a basement? We can use it as a makeshift warehouse for now.
"You and Dad will just need to learn how to photograph the clothes and upload them to the website for promotion. The Double 12 shopping festival is coming up soon; no matter how slow business is, we'll still make a profit.
"If there are too many orders, we can coordinate with the factory to ship them out directly, which will save you and Mom from getting overwhelmed."
Mr. Ning rubbed his hands together. "Will... will this work? We've never done anything like this before. What if..."
"Why wouldn't it work? You can slowly learn. I've already finalized everything with the factory. They'll ship out that twenty thousand yuan of stock this afternoon. You can use it as practice. It doesn't require any capital anyway. If you make a profit, great! Then you can just work from home. If you don't make any money, you can simply return the goods without losing anything."
Getting an advance of twenty thousand yuan worth of stock was actually impossible. Naturally, Ning Yue had paid for it herself, all just to build up the couple's confidence.
Hearing her daughter's words, Ning's mother gritted her teeth. "Old Ning, let's just listen to our daughter. At our age, we have neither academic degrees nor technical skills. If we look for work, we can only find jobs like cleaning, sweeping the streets, or hauling bricks at construction sites. Those jobs are exhausting, and they don't even pay well. At worst, you can continue job hunting tomorrow. If you find something, you can take it to bring in some income for the family, while I manage the online store at home by myself. If it takes off, you can stay home and help me."
Ning Yue didn't object to Ning's mother's suggestion. Having never dabbled in this industry, they understandably lacked confidence. But she believed that the clothes she had handpicked would definitely win over those young girls. The business was bound to succeed.