The winter break began.

After only three short days of separation, Nangong Tian was already clamoring to come to Pengcheng to play with Su Yehao.

Upon receiving the news, Su Yehao had no choice but to find an excuse to send Nong Qingying away, once again urging her to go to Si Jiucheng to contact the founder of Sohu.com and ask if they were willing to be acquired.

In addition, the renovation and remodeling of the Siheyuan (courtyard house) had just begun, and the entire house was to be torn down and rebuilt.

The designer planned to use Ming Dynasty city wall bricks for the construction, but these were relatively difficult to collect. It was estimated that some old houses would have to be torn down for the materials, so Su Yehao entrusted the task to Nong Qingying. He also asked her to help keep an eye on the fine pieces in the antique market and to hire some old experts as consultants.

After successfully sending Nong Qingying onto the plane, the girl didn't think much of it, completely unaware that Su Yehao was deliberately assigning her so many tasks.

By the time Nangong Tian arrived in Pengcheng, it was Su Yehao's fifth day in the city.

The tAt instant messaging program had been online for a few days. Through the promotion of Silver Sea and various forums, it quickly accumulated more than three thousand users.

The market was completely untapped, and no one was competing with Su Yehao. The tAt program, which he had painstakingly created, was relatively mature. Whether in terms of function, page design, or practicality, it was enough to crush the popular foreign iCQ. It already had the prototype of chat groups and personal spaces, and its interactivity was excellent.

Since the initial investment, the total cost had quietly risen to more than ten million Hong Kong dollars.

Su Yehao wasn't constantly monitoring it. Not long after meeting the little girl, they boarded a flight to Shangri-La together.

This time, the preparations were even more thorough. Not only did he bring bodyguards, but he also hired a local tour guide.

Nong Qingying, who had gone to Si Jiucheng, also had a female bodyguard hired from Bāoyá Jùn’s people, following her. As long as she stayed in the city and didn't run around, there wouldn't be much of a problem with her safety. Su Yehao had informed Chu Jun, the second shareholder of Silver Sea, in advance, and Chu Jun said that his wife would be responsible for receiving her.

Perhaps knowing that the girls around Su Yehao were all as beautiful as flowers, Chu Jun actively avoided any suspicion...

The scenery of Jiuzhaigou was undoubtedly beautiful.

The city scenery wasn't as good as it would be in later generations, but the natural landscape was still pristine. The stretches of lakes made Nangong Tian exclaim in amazement.

The mountains were covered in snow, and the scenery was refreshing.

After three days of happy fun, they returned to Pengcheng. Su Yehao then found an excuse to let the little girl go home to spend time with her mother.

Su Yehao had originally planned to go to Si Jiucheng to meet up with Nong Qingying, but he unexpectedly heard that the acquisition and financing negotiations had fallen through. The other party quoted a price of eight million RMB for the acquisition, or a valuation of $1.5 million USD for financing.

Was it worth it?

Of course, a small website with no technology and few users wasn't worth it.

Since it was just a portal website with no technical content, and the key was nothing more than traffic, Su Yehao had his employees build a similar website. He also arranged for John Zhou to help find a reliable and accurate search engine, whether by acquisition or by buying out the technology.

The "family bucket" plan was already taking shape in Su Yehao's mind. With the establishment of the Silicon Valley R&D center, he lacked neither money, talent, nor creativity.

The timing was also okay. All Su Yehao needed to do was be patient and wait, and not let the direction of development go astray.

One step ahead, every step ahead. He used to worry before starting a business, but now that he had reached this point, he had gained some confidence...

————————————————————

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of December.

After meeting up with Nong Qingying in Pengcheng, Su Yehao, who felt like a mascot, finally decided to return to Casino, 1997.

Christmas was approaching, and gifts needed to be bought in advance.

Su Yehao ordered a top-quality jadeite necklace for Nangong Tian, a red convertible Ferrari F355 Spider for Nong Qingying, and an apartment for Yin Liuli.

The total value was more than six million Hong Kong dollars, which was considered a year-end reward.

He hadn't come across anything he particularly wanted to buy for himself, so he could only arrange things for the girls. After thinking it over, he also decided to give Jiang Yu a Patek Philippe ladies' watch, since she was his adopted sister, and taking care of her wasn't a big deal... as long as the little girl didn't find out.

Zhuang Wei, the assistant in charge of arranging these matters, felt helpless and absurd.

On December 23, 1997, Zhuang Wei accompanied Su Yehao to Yin Liuli's apartment building, arranged for the workers to put the furniture in place, and hired a cleaning service to clean up.

The apartment, with a usable area of more than 170 square meters, was more than twice the size of Yin Liuli's current apartment. It was also on a higher floor with a wider view, and it was a corner unit, with a clear view of Taipa Island to the south.

Su Yehao casually pointed and told his assistant, Zhuang Wei, "Remember to find someone to decorate it. The new home should have some sense of ritual, with balloons and flowers, but keep it simple."

"Okay, the Ferrari sports car is no problem, but the necklace for Miss Nangong may not be ready in time. It will take a week to adjust the size," Zhuang Wei said. This girl was quite serious about her work. Since coming to work for him, she had no pressure or worries, ate well, slept well, and was in excellent spirits.

She had come across a boss who was always lazy, with an average daily work time of no more than one hour, and her quality of life had improved dramatically.

So even though Zhuang Wei clearly disapproved of Su Yehao's womanizing ways, she turned a blind eye to it.

Young masters like Su Yehao, who put in so much effort, were considered quite reliable.

Su Yehao stroked his chin and continued, "Then give it to her first, and then take it to get the size adjusted later. Remember to help me come up with a reason to go to Hong Kong City on the 25th. I can't count on Christmas Eve. I definitely have to see Xiaoying that day, otherwise I won't have a good year next year."

Suddenly thinking of something, he turned his head and asked, "Is *Titanic* the only movie that's been released recently? It's too miserable to watch the same movie three times. Wait for my notification, and we'll discuss a code word. Just say you can't buy tickets."

"...Pork chop bun," Zhuang Wei said.

Su Yehao asked her in confusion, "What?"

"The code word. You say 'pork chop bun', and I'll buy tickets for another movie. Who told you to have so many girlfriends? It's inevitable that you'll have a headache during the holidays. What's the plan for Christmas Eve?" Zhuang Wei asked again. As an assistant, she needed to know the itinerary in advance.

After considering for a moment, Su Yehao said, "Prepare a few more excuses, and we'll still act according to the code word. I'll spend the daytime on the 24th with Liuli, and Nangong will definitely not let me go at night. Then I'll go to Hong Kong City to see Xiaoying the next day. Perfect."

"...Okay."

Zhuang Wei sighed inwardly as she walked around. The 170-square-meter house was only divided into two bedrooms and two bathrooms, so the walk-in closet, living room, and kitchen were all very spacious.

The light coffee-colored walls, walnut floors, and kitchen with an island showed that the previous owner had put a lot of thought into the renovation.

It was originally intended to be a wedding room for their children, but they didn't expect their children to immigrate to New Zealand. In addition, the price of the house had fallen, so it was sold for a total price of 2.2 million Hong Kong dollars.

Compared to Hong Kong City, the house prices in Casino, 1997 were really cheap now.

After Su Yehao received a call, he got up and told Zhuang Wei, "Liuli is back. I'm going to her house to play. You can go straight home after you're done here. You don't have to wait for me."

Assistant Zhuang Wei, relying on being a few years older than Su Yehao, teased him, "Okay, I'll have someone make soup tomorrow to nourish you."

Hong Kong people have a laid-back and free-spirited way of doing things, and the work atmosphere is indeed not that serious.

Su Yehao didn't care at all and smiled:

"Okay, I'll drink crucian carp soup. And buy me some good wolfberries..."