Ding. Detected that the host is a wealthy but unkind individual. Second-tier plot character Zhuo Yun is furious and humiliated. Reward: one thousand dollars.
One thousand dollars?
Upon hearing this number, Su Ning blinked in disbelief:
“System, did I hear that wrong?”
The system’s tone was equally dreamlike. “No, you didn’t hear wrong. I checked, and there’s no error on my end either.”
So why on earth was this happening?
A second-tier plot character, and all she dropped was one thousand dollars? Completely illogical… Wait. Su Ning snapped out of her shock and thought carefully.
Zhuo Yun.
In the original story, she was indeed a notable figure. After Ye Tang married Huo Xiang, she suffered no small amount of grievances at his hands, and Zhuo Yun was a concubine in Huo Xiang’s household who enjoyed considerable favor.
Seductive in appearance, arrogant in personality.
A typical supporting villainess. Since that was the case, the problem wasn’t her—
It was Huo Xiang!
“Tsk tsk tsk. For his own woman, he strikes without hesitation like that,” someone might think. Anyone who didn’t know this was a fictional world would assume losing fortune was bad for a person.
With that thought,
Su Ning was almost certain that the plot characters surrounding Huo Xiang were basically “ruined.”
“Ah! Then what do we do?”
“Just deal with it.”
At that moment, Lin Sen came to fetch her off the plane. The luggage had already been moved and packed, and the car was arranged. Su Ning nodded, then heard him say:
“But a small incident happened midway. Someone mistook your plane for an airport plane.” By itself, that wouldn’t be worth reporting to Su Ning. The key point was—
“That person was Huo Xiang of the Huo family?”
“Yes.”
Lin Sen nodded.
Based on past experience and his own observations, he had keenly noticed that Miss paid special attention to the Huo family, or more specifically, Huo Xiang.
Strange, since the two had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
But he said nothing extra.
Nor did he do anything extra.
Just like every time before, Lin Sen looked up and indeed saw Miss’s fleeting frown. All he needed to think about was how to do his best to help Miss get what she wanted.
“I think Huo Xiang brings me bad luck.”
“Huh?”
Su Ning said gravely, “I come, and he leaves. What’s that supposed to mean?”
…………
Even so,
Su Ning didn’t plan to leave directly. After all, since she was already here…
She wasn’t the only one sharing Huo Xiang’s thoughts.
At the time, even cars were insanely precious, let alone airplanes. Having a private plane was simply a fantasy. Most people guessed the airport had somehow acquired a new plane through some back channel.
But unlike Huo Xiang, few people would directly demand ownership.
So when the news got out, it caused a huge uproar.
“Good heavens, a private plane? Where did this powerhouse come from? Could it be a king, president, or general from some country visiting us?”
“I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Honestly, not every president or king is rich enough to afford a plane.”
When insiders revealed that the plane was painted with the Chinese character “Su,” the place went even more crazy.
As everyone knew, there were many Chinese in Nanyang, and plenty of them had risen to prominence. They had a natural affinity for China. No matter where you went, rich people were few, and those surnamed Su, Chinese, and wealthy were even rarer!
Soon, someone guessed Su Ning’s identity—
The owner of Su Shi Shipping.
A mega-tycoon!
For someone like that to suddenly arrive in Nanyang, people were both puzzled and quick to send invitations and visiting cards. There was no hesitation or doubt.
Her private plane was the best proof of her status!
They had to ask themselves: Could they afford a private plane? And even if they could, could they maintain it?
No.
If it were just a money problem, some could cough up the cash. But the key was that it drew too much attention, inviting covetous looks from all kinds of people.
When you could keep a low profile, you did.
So many thought this Miss Su was indeed as flamboyant and reckless as the rumors said—uninhibited and without caution.
Su Ning: …
To be fair, she hadn’t wanted to be this flashy.
But Wu Yi and the others had contributed so many lottery spins, and they were just sitting there. Since she was coming to Nanyang, she figured she might try her luck on something useful.
Good news: She did get lucky.
More rubber plantations, coffee plantations, orchards… plus various mansions, docks, and shares.
The place she was staying now was one of them.
Bad news—Well, not exactly bad news—the lottery also included a plane.
Having your own plane had pros and cons.
Pro: Safety for long-distance travel was guaranteed.
Con: It was too flashy. Su Ning might seem arrogant, but she never forgot this was Republican China. She had already revealed a lot on the surface: fertilizer plants, oil, Su Shi Shipping.
Profit tempted people.
Now, with a private plane appearing, Su Ning couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t be the last straw… If she had to have one, it should have been after the hype died down and the heat settled.
“Saying all this, you still accepted it, didn’t you?” the System rolled its eyes.
The plane was safely in the system space. Su Ning could just not redeem it.
“You don’t understand.”
Su Ning let out a long sigh. “With past lottery examples, suddenly having a plane appear—I don’t dare gamble that it might mean I’ll be ambushed or sabotaged if I take another plane.”
So, between unknown risks and known risks, she chose the latter.
At least it was under her control.
System: …
Maybe you’re overthinking it?
Su Ning figured she should look on the bright side. While the extra attention increased danger, it also proved her strength and saved a lot of hassle.
“How many people have sent me invitations?”
Lin Sen answered without hesitation, listing a number. Unless someone was seriously out of the loop, basically every upper-class family in Nanyang had sent an invitation or visiting card.
“That many?”
Even Su Ning was shocked. Nanyang really had a wild business atmosphere.
“What about the Huo family?”
“They were among the first to send one.”
Su Ning smiled.
“Put them all on hold for now. Spread the word that I need to handle matters related to my own businesses first. Everything else can wait until later.”
“Yes.”
…………
Various parties reacted differently when they heard the news.
At the Huo family,
“Handle her own business matters?”
Old Master Huo frowned. “Does Su Ning have businesses in Nanyang? I haven’t heard of them… Never mind, whether true or not, at least she’s giving a signal. She hasn’t refused outright. First, send some local specialties and gifts over to leave a good impression.”
Then his expression darkened again:
“Huo Xiang was reckless and offended someone. Now that there’s a chance to make amends, he’s disappeared, leaving me to clean up his mess!”
The servants in the room exchanged glances.
Internally, they felt sorry for Master Xiang. The old master was being too unreasonable.
It was just bad timing.
Someone tried to soothe him: “Master Xiang won’t be gone long. I heard it’s just a few days. Maybe by the time he returns, Miss Su will have finished with her business and have time to meet.”
Others chimed in with similar reassurances.
Smart people could see that although Old Master Huo still held the reins of power, it was only a matter of time before Huo Xiang took over, and there were plenty of people eager to cozy up to the rising star.
“Hmph, let’s hope so.”
Old Master Huo snorted coldly.
On the other side,
Concubine Zhuo learned of this matter, her pretty face turning frosty as she muttered resentfully:
“The old man really is something, scolding his own child for the sake of an outsider. He can’t even tell who’s close and who’s not. That Su Ning might be impressive out there, but once she’s in Nanyang, she’ll be nothing compared to our Huo family. She should be the one coming to pay respects to us.”
The servants felt the words were too arrogant.
But Concubine Zhuo had been overly favored lately, and as the saying goes, a local official is better than a distant one. That Su Ning, no matter how powerful, had no authority over them.
So they all chimed in agreement,
Flattering Concubine Zhuo until she perked up and lifted her chin:
“Forget it. I don’t want to get involved in outside matters. In a few days, my family is hosting a birthday banquet. Go urge the household to see if the gifts are ready.”
In truth, when a concubine’s family had a birthday gathering,
the Huo household wouldn’t normally bother preparing gifts.
But still, as the saying goes, because Concubine Zhuo was favored, the subordinates fawned over her. Preparing a gift wasn’t a big deal—as long as it didn’t come to the attention of proper authorities like Old Master Huo.
…………
The others didn’t know,
but the industries under Su Ning’s control naturally knew this was real—
She really did have assets there.
And plenty of them.
She was also truly dealing with matters related to her businesses, which left many people scratching their heads. In the end, it all came down to the usual embezzlement schemes.
For a moment,
they hurriedly began to discuss the matter.
