Although there is still nearly a year before the official wedding, wedding preparations have already begun. Due to the near standstill of trade in Hong Kong, the owner of the Britain Tai Ping Trading Company, Mak Qizhi, is preparing to return to the Britain to retire. His garden villa on Mount Central Kellett Road in Central was bought by the Chu Family for Hong Kong dollars 1.6 million, which they plan to use as a wedding home for Chu Xiaoxin.
The Hong Kong dollars 1.6 million was paid by Chu Xiaozhong for Chu Xiaoxin. It wasn't that Chu Xiaoxin -hsin didn't have the money, but rather that Chu Xiaozhong, the eldest son of the Chu Family, was naturally the heir to the Chu Family on Bowen Road. Chu Yaozong had considered many things. It didn't matter that Chu Hsiao-hsin was still living in the mansion while Chu Xiaoxin was single, but after he got married, if he continued to live in the Chu Family, there might be some discord between the two brothers after his death, and it wasn't impossible for them to fight over the inheritance of the Chu family mansion. Therefore, he simply used Chu Xiaoxin's marriage to make it clear that the original Chu Family would be inherited by Chu Xiaozhong, and Chu Xiaozhong would pay for another wedding house for his younger brother, Chu Xiaoxin. In this way, outsiders would see that the Chu Family was harmonious and Chu Family to each other, and internally, the possibility of brothers fighting would be completely eliminated.
Hong Kong dollars 1.6 million. The entire Bivero Building in Central, Hong Kong, is only worth a little over a million Hong Kong dollars. Chu Xiaoxin's wedding house is worth the price of one and a half buildings, so it is naturally not just an ordinary villa. First of all, this villa is located on Kellett Road in Mount Kellett, next to Tai Ping Shan. It can be said that it is neighbors with the Britain high-ranking officials living on Tai Ping Shan. It belongs to the same Peak mansion. You can greet the Foreign Devil villas not far away by opening the window.
This south-facing, north-style, two-story British villa features five secondary bedrooms, a master bedroom, a garage, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a 4,000-square-foot outdoor garden and swimming pool. If you want to enjoy the view, you don't need to stand on the balcony; you can simply soak in the garden and swimming pool and easily gaze northwards, taking in the entire view of Victoria Harbour.
Although smaller than the Chu Family on Bowen Road, it has a better location and more exquisite architecture.
Not only was Lu Peiying happy with the wedding room prepared by her husband's family, but Lu Wenhui was also said to have privately expressed her satisfaction with Chu Xiaoxin.
The wedding is not until next year, but the furniture and decorations for the villa are already being prepared, and even five servants and gardeners have been purchased through the agency.
Hearing Song Tianyao instigate Lu Peiying to make exorbitant demands on him, Chu Xiaoxin sat on the large sofa in the living room, legs crossed, with Lu Peiying nestled against him, and said triumphantly:
"Think carefully. What nonsense are you spouting today? I'll say the same thing when you get married. Not only will I say it, but I'll also have Peiying stand on the bride's side and offer advice."
A maid brought in washed and cut fruit. Lu Peiying smiled and sat up from Chu Xiaoxin's lap, handing the silver fork next to the fruit plate to Song Tianyao and Chu Xiaoxin: "A-Yao, Brother Sin, have some fruit."
Chu Xiaoxin picked up a slice of watermelon with a silver fork. "Business at the Pharmaceutical Factory is a bit bad right now. I heard that factories in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have started producing the same Flower Pagoda Candy Hoxin Brand, so shipments from Southeast Asia have been very low recently. The money they earn in a month is less than what Likang Company earns in a week. Chen Qingwen is the Pharmaceutical Factory manager; he's obedient and loyal, but he only knows how to produce. When it comes to sales, he still thinks it's like when he was running a candy shop. I'm planning to shut it down. What do you think?"
"Shut it down? It's not easy to stop Oxfam's medicine donations for the time being?" Song Tianyao glanced at Chu Xiaoxin: "It should last at least two years, four donations, and then we can change to a different form of Big Brother. Besides, you should consider expanding it instead of constantly complaining that it's too small and doesn't make enough money."
"The Flower Pagoda Candies we're producing now are just piling up in the warehouse. Do you expect me to spend money to expand the business?" Chu Xiaoxin asked, puzzled, as he put a watermelon in his mouth.
Song Tianyao toyed with the exquisite silver fork in his hand, pondered for a moment, and then continued, "You are now the head of the Pharmaceutical Association, and everyone is following you to make money from Western medicine. Western medicine is in high demand, while traditional Chinese medicine has been neglected lately. I think you should contact more than a dozen established pharmacies such as Zheng'an Hall, Tianxi Hall, Hexing Hall, and Yongming Hall. These pharmacies are currently selling their own traditional Chinese medicine while also purchasing and reselling Western medicine from Likang. Why don't you invite these established pharmacies to invest in your Pharmaceutical Factory using the formulas of their respective flagship Children's Stomach-Strengthening Pills, Sisters-in-Law Pills, and Sea Dog Pills? In the future, their traditional Chinese medicine will also be produced by the Pharmaceutical Factory, packaged uniformly, and sold to Southeast Asia by Likang. They can also earn more from the factory's profits. However, the formula patents will belong to the Pharmaceutical Factory in the future."
"What if a pharmacy disagrees? Is Likang going to threaten them with suspending the supply of Western medicine?" Chu Xiaoxin shook his head and said to Song Tianyao in a serious tone, "I am the president of the Pharmaceutical Association and Justice of the Peace, yet I'm robbing these people in the industry? Do you want people to laugh at me if word gets out? If not, we'll find another way."
Song Tianyao put the silver fork back in the fruit plate, lit a cigarette, and continued to ponder.
Song Tianyao wasn't surprised that Second Young Master Chu righteously rejected his suggestion to rob his industry colleagues. Chu Xiaoxin's personality, inherited from his mother Madam Chu, was really not suited for navigating the business world. If it were Chu Xiaozhong, he probably wouldn't have even blinked.
"Then let's go to them one by one, be polite, and directly offer to buy their formulas. We'll guarantee that once the Pharmaceutical Factories obtain the formulas and produce the medicines, they can sell them to Southeast Asia, without stealing their business from Hong Kong. Doesn't that sound like robbery? The Chinese medicine business is very difficult now, so some pharmacies might sell their formulas because of the high prices," Song Tianyao said to Chu Xiaoxin.
Chu Xiaoxin thought about it carefully, "This sounds pretty good, but is it profitable to sell those Chinese medicines to Southeast Asia?"
"As long as it's effective, we should be able to make money in countries with large Chinese populations like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. And we can have the lawyers the Chu Family usually uses draft the contract; they know what to do." Song Tianyao rubbed his temples. He realized that his two statements essentially conveyed the same meaning, only the first time he spoke forcefully, while the second time he was more tactful.
After Lu Peiying and the other person finished discussing the Pharmaceutical Factory, Lu Peiying chuckled and asked Song Tianyao, "Does A-Yao have a girlfriend? You're so handsome and smart, lots of girls must like you."