Jin Xia briefly learned about An He's past and her work experience.
She was a single mother who had only recently divorced and was now living alone with her daughter. Faced with the pressures of life and left with little choice, she had decided to become a driver.
Most other large companies would reject An He outright upon hearing about her work experience, but Jin Xia saw in her a sense of responsibility that was rare in others.
A mother who had overcome every difficulty to raise her daughter alone after a divorce...
As the car came to a stop in the hotel parking lot, Jin Xia glanced at An He. "This is fine, An He. You should head home and get some rest too."
Early the next morning, Jin Xia had An He drive her to the old Western-style house.
The owner, Song Min, was an artist who had been planning to emigrate to Country M with her husband, so the old house had been left vacant.
Since Jin Xia had received quite a bit of "artistic cultivation" at the socialite training course in her previous life, the two hit it off as soon as they met and chatted about everything under the sun.
Even as Jin Xia was leaving, Song Min stopped her to exchange contact information and said with a smile, "Then remember to contact me if you go abroad, Miss Jin. I'll invite you to my husband's art exhibition."
Jin Xia waved and smiled. "Of course, Song Min. I'll be heading back now."
Song Min nodded. "Just leave the rest to the agent. Your studies are more important at this stage."
The real estate agent stood there watching Song Min go back inside, disbelief flashing across his face. "This owner is really difficult to deal with. I've brought quite a few clients here before, including some very wealthy ones, but for some reason, the discussions always fell apart halfway through. You actually managed to win her over!"
"Maybe it was just meant to be."
Jin Xia looked back at the old Western-style house behind her.
Although she had yet to fully move in, she had already planned out the layout of the rooms.
The agent personally escorted her to the car, then bent down to speak to her through the window. "I'll head back to the office to prepare the contract. Tomorrow, I'll have our company lawyer join us. We'll first hold your purchase funds with our company, then help you arrange the installments and transfer of ownership. Would that work?"
"Yes, sorry for the trouble."
Jin Xia nodded, then looked up toward the driver's seat. "An He, take me back to the hotel."
An He looked at Jin Xia through the rearview mirror. "All right."
Back at the hotel, Jin Xia took a shower and lay on the bed, checking the balance on her phone. She still had 21 million.
But once she signed the contract tomorrow, according to the agent's estimate, she would have to pay another 3.5 million, leaving her with 16.5 million. Such a large sum... she ought to do something else with it.
It was Jin Xia's first time experiencing the thrill of making money with money!
If she had been a little bolder a few days ago and used all the money she had to buy self-built houses in the urban village...
She would probably have achieved financial freedom by now!
Jin Xia casually scrolled through her chats and paused when she saw a familiar profile picture. It had already been a month since the welfare home's director, whom she called Mama, had last messaged her. She stared blankly, lost in thought.
She wondered where Mama was at this moment and what she was doing.
For Jin Xia, the greatest regret of her previous life was that she had not been able to attend Mama's funeral in person.
After winning the lottery, she had begun preparing to attend a socialite training course in Hong Kong City. In her second month there, Mama had suddenly died, the cause of death unknown.
On top of that, the welfare home had been included in the urban village's redevelopment project and was demolished around the same time. With the welfare home's address gone, Jin Xia had completely abandoned the idea of finding her former teachers.
As she recalled the past, life at the welfare home had truly been hard.
Yet despite all that, Mama had never uttered a word of complaint, devoting her entire life to orphans like them who had no family.
Jin Xia considered it. Since she had come back, she ought to do something for the welfare home and Mama.
Her fingertips touched the screen as she quickly typed a message. "Mama, what have you been busy with lately? I found an angel investor. She said she's willing to put up one million to help cover the welfare home's daily expenses!"
To her surprise, the reply came almost instantly. "Really?"
Immediately afterward, the director called her. "Xia, your news couldn't have come at a better time! I've been at my wits' end over this these past few days!"
As it turned out, the welfare home's expenses were too high, and the subsidies were not enough to cover its daily operations. There was not even enough for the children's most basic medical expenses, and they owed a full five years of rent...
The landlord had also been left with no choice but to urge them to move out as soon as possible.
The director had no way of bringing in money and had no choice other than to close the welfare home.
But closing it would bring an even greater problem.
Most of the children at the welfare home had physical or psychological disabilities.
Most families who came here to adopt were ordinary people. Why would they choose a child with physical disabilities?
The director could only placate the landlord, saying she would place the children with adoptive families as soon as possible, putting things off again and again.
Hearing this, Jin Xia's eyes immediately lit up. "Mama, don't worry yet. With this money, we can find another suitable place to open a welfare home and keep it running. At the very least, we can give children who have nowhere to go, just like me, a home!"
Besides that...
She also wanted to buy the welfare home from the landlord.
The Tongxin Welfare Home was in a remote location on the outskirts of the city. At current market prices, the building and its land would cost no more than one million at the very most.
Demolition compensation was calculated by area, so it would be worth at least several times that amount.
At noon the next day, after waking up, Jin Xia wasted no time. She went downstairs, got into the car, and had An He drive her to the old Western-style house to sign the contract.
Everything went more smoothly than she had imagined.
Once that was done, she had An He drive her to the welfare home.
Sitting in the car, Jin Xia spotted the director from far away, standing at the gate and craning her neck to gaze expectantly down the road.
The car slowly stopped outside the welfare home's gate. The door opened, and she swung her long legs out and stepped from the car.
The director stepped forward and pulled Jin Xia tightly into her arms. "I'm sorry, Xia. Your mama is useless. These past few months have been so difficult that I haven't sent you any money for living expenses."
Jin Xia's nose stung, and she replied softly, "I'm doing well, Mama. This is the investor, An He."
She had spoken with An He beforehand and arranged for her to pose as the angel investor, with a payment of ten thousand once it was done.
The director excitedly reached out to shake An He's hand. "Miss An, thank you so much. Without your donation of one million, we really wouldn't know how to keep the welfare home going."
An He instinctively glanced at Jin Xia and forced a smile. "It-it's nothing. Contributing to society is what we should do."
They walked into the old welfare home together. The director led the way, explaining as she went, "The most pressing problem right now is the rent. The landlord has given me a final deadline of three days, but we have more than fifty children here. Where could we possibly find that many kindhearted people to adopt them all at once?"
"Mama, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Jin Xia took a folder from her bag and handed it over. Inside were property listings she had gathered and researched before coming.
Even if they did not move out now, according to her memories of her previous life, if she remembered correctly, this place would be demolished at the beginning of the month...
Preparing early was better than being caught at a loss when the time came.
She pointed to the property on the first page. "This used to be a nursing home, so it has all the necessary facilities, and the grounds are bigger than what we have now. An He would like you to move somewhere else."
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