"It's just a little money,"
Su Yi replied with a smile.
"A little money?"
Lin Minghui said,
"That's not what I heard. Could it be that for Brother Su, a few hundred million... is already considered a small amount now?"
"Rumors, how can they be trustworthy?"
Su Yi said,
"I really didn't earn that much."
"You must have earned two or three hundred million, right?"
Lin Minghui said,
"I heard that your next step is to open a private equity fund company. Is that true?"
Su Yi nodded and replied,
"Mr. Lin, your information is quite well-informed. It's true."
"Has the fund product registration been approved?"
Lin Minghui paused, seeing that it was indeed true, and continued,
"When does the company plan to open? When are the fund products scheduled to be issued?"
"The company's opening will probably take more than a month,"
Su Yi said.
"It's still in the preparation stage."
"Great!"
Lin Minghui smiled,
"I will definitely attend your opening. But for the first fund product you launch, you must reserve some shares for me."
"No problem."
Su Yi asked,
"Mr. Lin, how many shares do you want?"
Lin Minghui thought for a moment and said,
"50 million is enough. Now... I can't compare to Brother Su's financial strength!"
"How can I talk about being rich and powerful?"
Su Yi said,
"In this vast Modu, I'm just a newcomer, a small fry. In the future development of the company, I'll probably still have to rely on the help of friends like Mr. Lin, Mr. Deng, Mr. Lei..."
Lin Minghui laughed heartily and said,
"We're all friends, so mutual help goes without saying. Oh... by the way, Brother Su, the day after tomorrow at noon, at the Peace Hotel, I've prepared a banquet. I hope you'll definitely come!"
"Brother Lin, this is a happy occasion!"
Su Yi said with a smile,
"Okay, I'll definitely be there the day after tomorrow."
Lin Minghui said,
"Actually, it's nothing big, just my elderly father's seventieth birthday banquet. I'm inviting friends and family for a simple meal."
"Then I wish Mr. Lin's father good health and a long life,"
Su Yi said.
"Thank you, thank you!"
Lin Minghui said "thank you" twice.
Afterward, the two continued to chat for a few more sentences before hanging up the phone.
"Mr. Su, are you starting a company?"
Lin Xiaoxiao asked, having vaguely heard parts of their conversation during Su Yi's call with Lin Minghui.
Su Yi nodded slightly:
"I plan to open a small company and try the entrepreneurial path."
"Congratulations!"
Lin Xiaoxiao congratulated him with a smile, then thought of something, and her originally bright eyes dimmed slightly.
She paused, then said,
"Then in the future... will Mr. Su not come to our business department's trading room to trade as often?"
"Probably,"
Su Yi replied faintly.
Hearing Su Yi's words, Lin Xiaoxiao clearly felt a pang of disappointment.
Over this period, she had actually grown accustomed to being Su Yi's 'personal assistant,' and she found the job of being Su Yi's 'personal assistant' quite easy.
If Su Yi rarely came to the business department to trade in the future...
She thought about her job position, fearing that she would have to be reassigned to her previous brokerage sales role.
Also, over this period, she had subtly developed some feelings for Su Yi.
Although she knew there was a huge gap in their social status and no possibility existed, she couldn't help but fantasize and wish to stay by Su Yi's side.
"However, the environment in your business department's trading room is good and very quiet."
Su Yi paused for a moment and continued,
"Perhaps when I'm free and the market is open, I'll still come over to sit for a while."
"Great!"
Lin Xiaoxiao said with a smile, feeling somewhat comforted.
After a brief exchange, Su Yi left the business department.
Later, back home, during dinner, Su Yi's father said that his elder uncle had called that afternoon, informing them that the old house at home had a wall collapsed by a broken large tree behind the house during last night's storm and needed timely repair.
"So... Dad, do you want to go back?"
Su Yi asked.
Su Yi's father replied,
"Of course I need to go back. The hospital currently doesn't have a suitable kidney source, and your mother's surgery will probably have to wait for a long time. During this period, I don't have much to do in Modu, so I might as well go back and repair the old house.
After all, that's our family's roots; we can't let the house just collapse like that. Besides... aren't you going back to our hometown for Chinese New Year? If the house collapses, where will we stay when we go back?"
"If you ask me, there's no need to repair it,"
Su Yi said.
"Our old house is older than I am; it's long been a dangerous structure. Dad, why don't you tear it down and rebuild it after you go back?"
As he spoke, Su Yi looked at his mother, wanting to hear her opinion.
Su Yi's mother thought for a moment and felt that since the family's financial conditions were currently comfortable, and everyone was in Modu and didn't need to live in the old house for the time being, rebuilding was indeed better than repairing.
So, she couldn't help but say,
"Then let's listen to our son. After you go back, call the villagers and tear down our old house to rebuild it. Otherwise, patching it up every year is not only troublesome but also exhausts people."
"Okay."
Su Yi's father nodded with a smile, feeling very happy in his heart.
In recent years, many of the neighbors in their hometown village who worked elsewhere and had some spare money had built new houses.
As for his family's old house, it was still a product of the 1980s.
To say that he wasn't envious of the brand-new houses built by the neighbors, relatives, and friends in the village would be a lie.
It was just that in the past, constrained by the family's financial situation, he had no choice but to prioritize his son's education and his wife's medical treatment.
The matter of rebuilding the old family house... had been repeatedly postponed.
But now...
His son had achieved great success, and the family now had money.
Naturally, the old house in their hometown should be torn down and rebuilt into a brand new villa.
Although he wasn't one to show off, he still cared about face.
With him currently staying in Modu, no one in their hometown knew whether he was living well or not.
Perhaps everyone was still guessing wildly behind their backs, thinking they were living a hard life in Modu.
But if he tore down and rebuilt the house in his hometown, building a beautiful villa, the change in the family's circumstances... would undoubtedly spread rapidly throughout the surrounding villages.
"Dad, after you go back, don't skimp on the money for building the house,"
Su Yi instructed.
"Our family isn't short of money now. Build it however you want. If it's not enough, I'll transfer another 5 million to you."
"Enough, that's enough,"
Su Yi's father said.
"Building a house in our hometown, at most a few hundred thousand would be plenty."
His son had given him several million in pocket money.
He wasn't worried about not having money now; he was worried about having no place to spend it.
After discussing the repair and rebuilding of the old house in their hometown, Su Yi then mentioned that he had recruited Su Jiahao and Tang Xiaoling into the company.
And told his father not to spread rumors after returning home.
Lest all the relatives back home try to push their younger generation's youths onto him.
Making it impossible for him to accommodate them.
He genuinely wanted to help his relatives, friends, and neighbors in his hometown escape poverty, but he also knew the idiom 'a small kindness is repaid, a large kindness breeds resentment,' and understood that his current capabilities were not enough to help so many people, and helping them shouldn't be in the form of finding jobs for their young family members.
"I know this, don't worry,"
Su Yi's father said.
"Regarding Jiahao, your elder uncle spoke up, and I couldn't refuse. For others... I absolutely won't agree, nor will I let you, my son, help them find a way."
"I'm just afraid you're too soft-hearted,"
Su Yi's mother said.
"After three cups of wine, whatever others say, you'll agree."
Su Yi's father lightly coughed and said,
"Am I that kind of soft-hearted person?"
"Mm-hmm."
Su Yi chuckled and nodded, but didn't say anything more.
After having dinner amidst casual chatter, Su Yi watched TV with his parents for a while, and then practiced singing with Chu Wan for a bit before returning to his room to sleep.
The next day, early morning.
After breakfast, Su Yi first drove Chu Wan to Teacher Zhang's music training base.
Then, he received a call from a headhunter.
The other party sent him several resumes that he had previously specified and that met his recruitment requirements.
After reviewing the resumes, Su Yi selected one of them, asked the headhunter to continue contact, and scheduled an interview time.
Immediately after, he went to the company's renovation site to check on it and urged the progress.
Following that, he thought about Mr. Lin's father's birthday banquet tomorrow, realizing he needed to prepare a suitable gift.
So, he inquired about Mr. Lin's father's preferences from Deng Youwei, who had a good relationship with Lin Minghui.
After learning that the elder enjoyed tea, he decided to re-gift the several cans of 'Mountain Stream Whisper' tea that Fang Xingyuan had given him as a birthday present to the elder.
After finishing these matters...
Unconsciously, it was Sunday.
Su Yi got up, had breakfast, changed into slightly formal clothes, and then, as noon approached, he arrived at the Peace Hotel as per Lin Minghui's invitation.
(End of Chapter)