Chapter 43 Growth

Chapter 43 Maturing

Haicheng wasn't far from Suzhou. That afternoon, Huo Zongzhuo returned to Suzhou and quickly drove back to the old family home on Pingjiang Road in the city.

The house was nestled deep in an alley, its narrow gate opening into a courtyard. Beyond the courtyard stood a two-story building where Huo Zongzhuo’s mother lived alone, accompanied by Auntie Zhao, who assisted with her daily needs.

His mother was delighted by Huo Zongzhuo's return, and Auntie Zhao had already begun preparing dinner early.

As Huo Zongzhuo pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard, his mother sat beneath the eaves, a small white cat she had adopted nestled in her lap.

"Zongzhuo is back," she said.

His mother’s face lit up at the sight of him.

"Mom."

Huo Zongzhuo quickly approached, crouching down with concern. "What are you doing out here? It’s too hot. Let’s go inside."

His mother, still cradling the kitten, rose and turned to enter the house with Huo Zongzhuo, her movements still quite spry. "It’s not that hot. I just came out a little while ago and have only been waiting for you for a short time."

Huo Zongzhuo was a late-life child; his mother was 40 when she gave birth to him, her only son. Now, as he neared 30, his mother had reached 70.

Seventy years old, her septuagenarian years, wasn't considered ancient. In ordinary families, people of that age could still help with grandchildren, and many remained robust and healthy if free from illness.

However, Huo Zongzhuo’s mother had worked in biochemical research in her early years. Perhaps due to the effects of chemical exposure, after turning 60, she aged rapidly, her hair turning completely white, and her legs becoming less agile.

Due to his business, Huo Zongzhuo was often away, but he frequently worried about his mother and made sure to return home regularly to check on her.

Today, his mother was overjoyed to see him, and Auntie Zhao was equally pleased.

Once inside, Huo Zongzhuo stayed with his mother, chatting. She mustered her energy, asking many questions about him.

Mother and son often spoke on the phone, and Huo Zongzhuo would share many things happening around him, even details about his business. His mother enjoyed listening and was always eager to hear more.

As they talked today, his mother suddenly asked, "That young man you’ve mentioned to me several times—do you like him a lot?"

Huo Zongzhuo’s sexual orientation had always been clear to his mother. He had come out to her in his early twenties. Open-minded, she accepted it easily and reassured him not to feel pressured, as their family had no traditional expectations of marriage or carrying on the family line.

Over the years, she would occasionally ask if there was someone special or suitable in his life.

If there wasn’t, she never pushed.

Even when there had been no one for a long time, she only expressed regret that he was alone with no romantic prospects.

Lately, however, Huo Zongzhuo had frequently mentioned a young man in their phone calls, which naturally caught her attention. She had already asked for his name, age, and hometown over the phone.

Only 18 years old—quite young, indeed.

But his mother didn’t mind. As long as he was an adult, it was fine. Eighteen was still young, and she thought it might be a good thing—likely lively, energetic, and unrestrained, complementing Huo Zongzhuo’s calm demeanor.

Seeing his mother’s curiosity, Huo Zongzhuo smiled. "Of course, I do."

"But it’s still too early to say anything definitive."

"For now, we’re just spending time as friends, chatting and having meals together when we have time."

"You know how it is—people like me aren’t common."

"If he’s not like me and only likes girls, I can’t force anything."

His mother replied, "I’m not pushing; I’m just asking out of curiosity."

"Tell me about his personality."

"You mentioned last time that he slept on a bench by the Huangpu River in the early morning? What was that about?"

Huo Zongzhuo smiled as he spoke of Jiang Luo. "He has a great personality—outgoing, daring with his words, and bold. He used to trade stocks, then went to Wenzhou to trade goods, and now he’s started his own company, planning to launch his own clothing brand."

"He’s very capable and knowledgeable."

"When I told him I met with leaders in Pudong, he guessed right away that Pudong was short on development funds and that they were seeking financing from me."

His mother was pleasantly surprised and smiled. "Impressive, truly impressive."

"When you first started out, you were around his age."

"You were smart and capable too, but it took you quite a while to get settled—you hardly made any money in the first couple of years."

"Yet he’s already built a business, even more capable than you were. It seems he’s truly exceptional."

"No wonder you like him."

Mother and son sat together, talking for a long time.

That evening, on the second floor of the old house, Huo Zongzhuo stood on the balcony of his room and used his mobile phone to call Jiang Luo’s pager.

The call was returned shortly after. Before Huo Zongzhuo could speak, Jiang Luo sighed on the other end, "Dad, it’s been less than ten hours since we had lunch together."

"Missing me that much already?"

Huo Zongzhuo laughed. "Where are you? Back at the Hilton? Or still at the company?"

"At the workshop."

Jiang Luo said, "I’m calling you back from the office landline."

"Been discussing with Old Zhang how to adjust the sample garments."

Huo Zongzhuo asked, "Am I interrupting? Should I hang up?"

Jiang Luo ignored the question and countered, "Where are you? I didn’t ask at noon, and you didn’t mention where you were going after leaving Haicheng."

Huo Zongzhuo replied, "I came back to my hometown first to see my mother."

Jiang Luo asked, "Is everything okay with her?"

Huo Zongzhuo chuckled, "Shouldn’t you be calling her grandma?"

Jiang Luo laughed too, "Stop trying to take advantage of me, or I’ll throw your Omega into the river."

Huo Zongzhuo wasn’t fazed, "Go ahead, throw it. I’ll buy another one for you when I get back."

"Whoa!"

Jiang Luo teased, "So generous, big spender. Truly worthy of being Boss Huo."

Nearby, Zhang Ningfu, wearing an apron, glasses, and a measuring tape around his neck, looked at Jiang Luo in confusion.

He wondered why Jiang Luo was getting so chatty with someone over the phone.

His dad?

So it's Boss Jiang’s dad.

Zhang Ningfu thought, no wonder Boss Jiang got into business at such a young age and even drives a Mercedes-Benz—it turns out he has a father who is also a big boss.

Makes sense now.

A couple of days later, Wang Chuang returned from Jinling.

He didn’t give any advance notice or call ahead; he simply showed up at the company quietly and without a word.

Jiang Luo was designing clothes in front of the dress form in the office when the door suddenly burst open. He turned his head and saw Wang Chuang, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, stride in like a star making an entrance, spreading his arms wide across the room with a "The king is back!" vibe.

Jiang Luo laughed: "Did you fly back?"

Wang Chuang thumped his chest: "Nailed it! All sorted!"

"Our brand can now get into department stores in Jinling!"

"OK! Everything's settled!"

Jiang Luo teased: "Stop showing off."

He put down the pins in his hand, stuck them into the fabric on the dress form, stepped forward, and extended his hand to Wang Chuang.

Wang Chuang extended his hand as well, and the two shared a knowing high-five before drawing nearer to bump shoulders in a brotherly gesture.

Jiang Luo was generous with praise: "You did great."

Wang Chuang bragged: "Of course!"

Jiang Luo stood in front of Wang Chuang, sizing him up. He noticed Wang Chuang had lost some weight since leaving and understood. He said, "It couldn't have been easy. You must have gone through a lot this time, right?"

"No way."

Wang Chuang shot back: "You're the man; I can't afford to fall behind you."

He stood tall, chest out, chin up, with a cocky look. "Let's go to Huating. You're buying me a welcome-back dinner."

"Alright, I'll treat you to welcome you back."

Jiang Luo smirked.

And so, after two weeks, Wang Chuang returned with the good news that he had secured a deal in Jinling’s department stores.

Feeling pumped, Wang Chuang also invited several colleagues from the company, and they all went to Huating together.

At Huating, they got a private room, enjoyed a joyful meal, chatting and laughing, making it a wonderful evening.

Wang Chuang also shared all his stories and experiences from Jinling.

At one point, sitting off to the side, Accountant Xue whispered to Jiang Luo, "Our Boss Wang is only talking about the successes, not the hardships."

Jiang Luo figured, who doesn’t do that?

In front of others, who would bring up the tough parts?

Who doesn’t care about saving face?

Jiang Luo knew that with so many people around, Wang Chuang wouldn’t talk about the struggles.

Maybe he wouldn’t even mention them in private.

Sure enough, in the private room at Huating, Wang Chuang talked proudly and left out the rest.

After the meal ended and they left Huating, hopping into Jiang Luo’s car, Wang Chuang still didn’t bring it up.

Wang Chuang just stayed quiet for a moment after his cheerful boasting, then said calmly, "Damn, baijiu is really awful to drink."

"Way too awful."

Jiang Luo then realized that during his trip to Jinling to meet with the department store executives, Wang Chuang had gone through a rough time.

Jiang Luo had experienced the same thing in his past life; he knew it all too well. When asking for favors, sometimes it’s not just about swallowing your pride—it’s almost like willingly trampling on it yourself, or even letting others step on it.

The path to making money, especially climbing upward, is never easy.

Jiang Luo drove while listening to Wang Chuang, then asked, "Did you throw up from drinking?"

Wang Chuang, leaning back in the passenger seat, waved his hand dismissively, denying it: "No, of course not. I can hold my liquor."

Jiang Luo gave an "Mmm" and said calmly, "Even if you don’t say it, I know. You must have smiled and nodded a lot for people this time."

"Was it hard?"

"Did it feel really difficult?"

Jiang Luo said calmly, "If you feel it’s too much and don’t want to continue, then don’t go again."

"We can find other ways to expand the market later."

"After all, we’ve already broken into Haicheng’s market and department stores."

Wang Chuang tsked, turned to look at Jiang Luo, and said, "I’ve been thinking, and now it’s starting to make sense."

"I used to wonder: since doing business in small markets is possible, why didn’t we start with small markets from the beginning instead of focusing on department stores?"

"Why did we stop working with Manager Guo at Pacific Department Store and switch to Manager Yu at Wing On Department Store?"

"So your goal was always department stores—to get our own brand into them?"

Jiang Luo smiled: "Took you long enough?"

"Hell."

Wang Chuang gave a thumbs-up: "Genius!"

"You’re still the best."

He had been playing the long game.

Jiang Luo steered back: "So, are you still going to Jinling? Do you still want to keep expanding the market?"

Wang Chuang raised his hand and tucked it behind his head: "Expand? Of course, I’m expanding. I’ve already taken this first step."

Then he licked his lips and sighed: "When I went to Wencheng before, I thought business was just about moving products from one place to sell in another."

"Later, when the deal with Pacific Department Store fell through and we couldn’t continue, we switched to small markets. I thought getting our products into small markets and selling things others didn’t have was what business was all about."

"This trip to Jinling taught me..."

"Damn it," Wang Chuang cursed. "Those bastards are inhuman. They drink baijiu like it's water. Every night I was hanging over the toilet and vomiting in the hotel."

"When you're out there, I thought of myself as a boss. I expected them to call me Boss Wang, but instead they called me Xiao Wang."

"Xiao Wang, Xiao Wang—if you didn't know better, you’d think they were calling a dog."

"Damn it."

Jiang Luo knew exactly what was going on—it was all part of the business world, especially the socializing and networking at banquets.

In his previous life, he had gone through the same thing.

Not just him, but Wang Chuang, who was with him, had also been through it.

Was it hard?

Of course it was hard.

For business, for money, to put it bluntly, it wasn’t just about being the subordinate—you could even act like a dog.

In the face of profit and the corporate ladder, dignity and face once meant nothing.

But in this life, Jiang Luo reborn with a clearer, firmer direction and goal. His mindset had changed, and his perspective had matured and broadened.

Now, Jiang Luo felt that a lot of these social obligations were unnecessary.

If Wang Chuang wanted to go out and make his way, then let him. If he found it too hard, couldn’t take it, and didn’t want to go again, that was fine too.

Reborn, Jiang Luo didn’t want his good brother to have to brownnose people and be the subordinate at banquets again.

But the wonder of life and fate is that different people, going through different experiences, will have completely different feelings and realizations.

Jiang Luo felt that Wang Chuang had been to Jinling, tasted some of the entrepreneurial struggle—bitterness that didn’t necessarily have to be endured. If he wanted to come back, he could. It was no big deal—Jiang Luo would support him.

But after two weeks in Jinling, being the subordinate at banquets, Wang Chuang had some epiphanies. His inner self underwent significant changes, and his worldview was shaken.

Wang Chuang finally realized that the path of doing business wasn’t actually easy.

His past success wasn’t because he was so capable—it was because Jiang Luo had sharp vision, which made it easy for them to earn money and even start a company.

But could he always rely on Jiang Luo?

If he left Jiang Luo, could he really accomplish nothing?

Wang Chuang wasn't having it. He was seething with determination.

So in Jinling, he dug in his heels, mustered all his strength, and was determined to seal the deal no matter what.

He started thinking strategically, began figuring out how to do things and how to succeed on his own.

Wang Chuang even said: "Although being the subordinate and enduring with them made me humiliated, the moment the deal was successful and the other side finally nodded in agreement, I felt damn good, totally worth it."

Wang Chuang had made up his mind: "Of course I’m going back to Jinling. There are two other major commercial centers there."

"Later, I’ll also go to Beijing, to Xi’an, to all the big cities."

"I’m going to expand our brand nationally!"

Jiang Luo, driving, looked over at him: "You’re willing to be the subordinate and endure?"

Wang Chuang: "Absolutely! If I have to be the subordinate, then I’ll be the subordinate."

"As long as we can make money, as long as our brand can go national someday, what’s a few days of being the subordinate?"

Wang Chuang wasn’t stupid: "Once we make enough money, we’ll come out on top."

"Right now we’re taking orders, but someday others will be the subordinate for us."

"What goes around comes around!"

Hearing this, Jiang Luo knew Wang Chuang had already made up his mind. He said nothing more, only smiled quietly.

Yes, what goes around comes around. They would come out on top sooner or later.

But even this aspiring Boss Wang, waiting to fight a beautiful comeback, still had to fetch water with a basin to wash up when he returned home to his cubicle apartment in the cinderblock apartment.

Wang Chuang, holding the basin: "..."

"Damn it," he muttered, "Before coming out on top, maybe it’s better to first upgrade to an apartment with a proper bathroom."