Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Heart in Turmoil
After Madam Pei left, Qu Fulan remained melancholic.
At this point, she couldn’t bother to question why Heir Pei had quietly rented out the house to her initially.
Because when she mentioned the down payment and monthly installment, Heir Pei said he had originally intended to give her the house.
The so-called rent was merely symbolic, and the contract she signed was, in fact, the property deed.
What does a man giving a woman a house imply?
Though Qu Fulan focused more on her career, she wasn’t entirely clueless about matters of the heart.
In modern times, she had never been pursued; at first, she mistakenly thought she was destined for her childhood friend, naturally ignoring other men. Later, she was too much of a workaholic to have the time.
But she had seen how girls around her were pursued.
Receiving flowers and rings.
Proposals or confessions on bended knee at the company’s entrance in front of everyone, making others look on with envy, calling it romantic.
Besides such direct confessions and proposals, Qu Fulan had seen another form.
It was a female colleague at the company who shared her dilemma with everyone, hoping for their analysis.
"I always saw him as a buddy, but then he suddenly took me to a car dealership, asking which one I liked, wanting to give it to me as a birthday gift. That car costs over thirty thousand; isn’t the gift too expensive?"
Another female colleague immediately replied, "So naïve, it’s a disguised confession! Who would give such an expensive gift without affection?"
Qu Fulan then realized confessions could be implicit.
Now Heir Pei gave her a house!
At that time, Qu Fulan was quite bewildered.
This house was far more valuable than that car.
Why give it to her? Even if she had contributed to his business, it didn’t warrant such a hefty gift, especially in this prime location.
So Heir Pei...
She did ask why at the time.
Heir Pei didn’t get a chance to answer because he was urgently summoned, saying the Emperor wanted to see him.
Without an answer, Qu Fulan’s mind was a little chaotic, unable to calm down for a long time.
Could it be as she suspected?
If not, she was simply self-deluding.
If it was?
That would be even more awkward.
Because before all this, she had actually planned to use "I actually fell in love with Heir Pei" as an excuse to completely reject Xiao Shiqing.
This reason was rather unscrupulous, an affront to Heir Pei, especially considering he didn’t like her.
If Heir Pei had some feelings for her, using this as an excuse would be hurtful.
Thankfully, the two men timely proposed a duel, sparing her from a difficult situation.
Qu Fulan tangled over the matter for a long time, ultimately realizing she hadn’t read much of the ledger; thinking about love was indeed a disruption to business.
No matter the truth, she decided to finish her current tasks first and deal with other matters later.
As the saying goes, "The car will get a road when it reaches the mountain; the boat will go straight when it reaches the pier."
Qu Fulan started concentrating on the ledger, and because she was focused, reading went quickly. After finishing the ledger, she still had time left, so she took out her design drafts and began sketching.
She began preparations for the new business; once the sample is completed, see the results, and mass-produce if they are favorable.
Qu Fulan was not involving Heir Pei in every business; at least, the business she was currently preparing involved female intimate products, making it inappropriate for him to participate.
But the private properties in Heir Pei’s hands, especially those losing money or needing support, Qu Fulan managed to turn them profitable, for which she only collected a salary, purely allowing Heir Pei to earn big money.
Thus, she relied on this backing with a solid foundation.
As for this new business at hand, Qu Fulan originally wanted Ren Hua to participate, so she wouldn’t have to manage everything herself.
But last time, when she was "ill," Ren Hua came to visit, and Qu Fulan immediately noticed that the miscarriage had affected Ren Hua greatly and she needed proper recovery. Under such circumstances, having to mind the family left her no spare thought for new business endeavors.
Qu Fulan sighed at the time, thinking how young Ren Hua was, not only married but almost a mother, and once a woman marries, many things become beyond her control.
Speaking of marriage, Qu Fulan thought of Manager Yu’s daughter Yinhua from "Flower Garden Ode"; she was also preparing to marry, reportedly to someone running a small business, from a single-parent family with only an ill mother and a younger sister who had yet to marry. The man was said to be very filial.
Yinhua’s parents initially disagreed, knowing that once married, not only would she have to serve the ailing mother-in-law, but also the unmarried younger sister, it being too much hardship. Though their own circumstances weren’t great, they weren’t bad enough to choose such a burdened family.
But Yinhua was willing; she said she liked families with simple family dynamics, and the man’s filial piety showed good character.
What more could Yinhua’s parents say? Their daughter had rejected even Madam Pei’s grandmother, let alone others? As the saying goes, "A daughter cannot be held back," and so they were helpless too.
Upon hearing this, Qu Fulan felt rather wistful.
While she had never married, she had seen those who did; no matter how fiery the love, it ultimately boiled down to money for necessities, and without money, poverty-stricken couples lament many woes.
Those experienced would advise her that while love could disregard money, marriage should be cautious, choosing a well-off partner to avoid money woes.
Sound advice indeed.
But Qu Fulan felt it was better to rely on earning her own money rather than pinning hopes on a wealthy man.
Qu Fulan spent two days finalizing the design drafts.
Due to the diverse styles—lifting, shaping, seductive, single-layered, padded, and playful among others.
Qu Fulan believed in the market, so she planned to make samples for all these styles simultaneously and see how they turned out.
This required finding a tailor.
Her embroidery skills were poor, unable to stitch a proper pouch.
The two maids at home knew needlework, but couldn’t match external professionals.
There were many embroidery shops during this era, and for her business, Qu Fulan needed to find a reputable, stable place to collaborate long-term.
This required gradual investigation.
Qu Fulan took time to visit embroidery shops, strolling through several, unable to discern good from bad in just a short while.
As the saying goes, "Time reveals true intentions," such matters must be approached with patience, not haste.
What she didn’t notice was that as she left the embroidery shop, Ji Nishang happened to come out of another embroidery shop nearby.
After over a year of operation, Ji Nishang’s clothing store was thriving, necessitating her frequent external supervision.
Who would have thought she saw Qu Fulan while doing rounds near the embroidery area!
Was she jealous of Ji Nishang’s successful clothing business and wanted to snatch her customers?
Utterly shameless.
She wanted to see what kind of clothes Qu Fulan wished to make!