Chapter 168: Chapter 146: Lu Fan: My Daughter Wants My Help?

This prompted Jiang Sifan to seriously reconsider the key points from Lu Fan’s seminar.

He opened the notebook and began to study intently.

When Wen Wan saw him poring over the notes she had taken, she was delighted.

She was very happy.

’I can finally be of some real help to Jiang Sifan,’ she thought.

This motivated her to work even harder, hoping to lighten Jiang Sifan’s burden.

For the next two hours, Jiang Sifan studied all of Wen Wan’s notes over and over again. "Wen Wan," he asked, a little curious, "why are there a bunch of notes in here on topics I don’t remember him mentioning during the seminar?"

Wen Wan blushed and explained, "Well... actually... I asked him about those things on WeChat later."

"No wonder," Jiang Sifan said, feeling a little ashamed.

After all, that man was his own father.

And he hadn’t bothered to ask him any questions.

But since Wen Wan had already asked, it didn’t matter whether he did or not.

After reading through the notes, he began to reflect on his previous arrogance.

Just as Lu Fan had said, starting a business wasn’t that simple.

The reason things had gone so smoothly for him from the beginning was that different people had helped him at different times.

Because of this, he had never delved deep into operations, management, and risk control after starting his business.

Thinking about this, although Jiang Sifan was reluctant to admit it, Lu Fan really knew his stuff.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have achieved such success in the business world.

Even if he still didn’t know what kind of business Lu Fan was actually in.

’Forget it. I’ll deal with that later. First, I need to get this work done. Tonight, I’ll go find Gao Lao and the others and see if anyone’s interested in a part-time job.’

Seeing Wen Wan so focused on her calculations at the side, Jiang Sifan’s heart ached for her. ’I have to find some help quickly,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, it’s just too exhausting for Wen Wan to handle so many ledgers all by herself.’

「At the same time.」

Jiang Silu and her friends had just finished a class.

Their advisor, Teacher Chen, called out to Jiang Silu from the doorway, "Silu, can you come over here for a moment?"

Jiang Silu walked over and asked, "Teacher Chen, what’s up?"

"It’s like this. I’m planning to take our class on an internship trip. After all, the students have been in class for so long without having any hands-on experience with garden landscapes."

"Following the department head’s suggestion, we’re supposed to go to the four great gardens of Suzhou. But I know of a Jiangnan Garden that is an absolute textbook masterpiece~"

Hearing this, Jiang Silu grew curious. "Teacher, where is it?"

"It’s also in Suzhou, but it’s a private garden in the suburbs. When I was a student, I once peeked through a window from the outside, and the world inside was truly something else," Teacher Chen replied. "The only thing is, this private garden isn’t open to the public."

Upon learning this, Jiang Silu was a little disappointed. "Oh, I see."

"But I think you might be able to help with this," Teacher Chen said tentatively. "You should still be in contact with Elder Meng, right?"

Jiang Silu nodded. "Teacher, I still report my academic progress to Elder Meng from time to time."

"Here’s the thing. As far as I know, this private garden was designed by Elder Meng. I was thinking, if you could ask him, he might be able to put in a word with the owner of the garden. See if they’d be willing to open it for one day to let the students visit," Teacher Chen explained.

After hearing Teacher Chen’s words, Jiang Silu finally understood. So, she was being asked to go communicate with Elder Meng!

She suddenly felt awkward and hesitant.

After all, Elder Meng was one of her father’s connections, which was why she was chosen as his final disciple.

She couldn’t take advantage of that relationship and push her luck!

But faced with Teacher Chen’s enthusiasm, and because she also really wanted to see this private garden that Teacher Chen described as a world of its own, Jiang Silu eventually said, "Alright then, I’ll ask Elder Meng."

"That’s wonderful! In that case, Silu, I’ll be waiting for your good news," Teacher Chen said, not wanting to put too much pressure on her. "If the owner isn’t willing, it’s okay. We still have the four great gardens of Suzhou to see. Don’t feel any pressure~"

"I know, Teacher."

Jiang Silu then returned to the classroom.

After sitting down, she began to compose a message.

After a long while of typing and deleting, Lu Yao asked curiously, "Lulu, what are you doing? I’ve been watching you type and then delete it all."

Jiang Silu stammered, "It’s... it’s nothing."

"Are you sending a confession message to some cute guy?" Lu Yao gossiped.

"No, it’s not that," Jiang Silu said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Lu Yao then continued on the topic of cute guys, bringing up Jiang Sifan. "By the way, I’m going to the School of Science and Technology to hang out this afternoon. I wonder if your brother is free?"

As she said this, Liu Shiting’s expression subtly changed.

Jiang Silu hadn’t expected Lu Yao to be so forward, but she couldn’t be bothered to get involved in Jiang Sifan’s love life.

As long as he didn’t end up with Huang Hui, anything was fine.

So she said, "You have my brother’s WeChat anyway. When you get to the School of Science and Technology, just send him a message and ask him to show you around."

"Okay, okay!" Lu Yao grew excited. "I’ve heard there are a lot of handsome guys at the School of Science and Technology, but I don’t think any of them are as handsome as your brother. He’s the most handsome guy I’ve ever seen."

"You should save that speech for when you get to the School of Science and Technology and see my brother. Say it to his face," Jiang Silu teased.

Lu Yao feigned shyness. "Haha, I’d be too embarrassed."

Song Miaomiao then threw in a jab, "Yaoyao, you can feel shy?"

"Oh, stop it! What nonsense is that? I’m a respectable young lady, you know," Lu Yao said with a proud huff. "Don’t be fooled by how forward I am. I’ve never even been in a real relationship."

After their brief banter, Jiang Silu once again found herself caught in her earlier dilemma.

Finally, she decided it was better to rip off the band-aid and sent a message directly to Elder Meng. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The moment she sent it, she worried that Elder Meng would be angry with her.

But to her surprise, Elder Meng replied: [No problem. I’ll help you ask the owner. What’s the name of the garden? Or where is it, specifically?]

Jiang Silu was shocked when she saw the message and immediately shared the address Teacher Chen had sent her.

But after Elder Meng looked at the address, he replied with just a few words: [Haha, so it’s that place.]

It was clear that Elder Meng immediately remembered the garden he had designed.

Jiang Silu waited with curious anticipation.

「After class.」

She saw Lu Yao skipping excitedly toward the campus gate, apparently really going to find Jiang Sifan.

So, Jiang Silu gave her brother a heads-up: [Bro, my roommate Lu Yao seems to be heading to your school. She said she wants to hang out with you.]

But Jiang Sifan didn’t reply.

Jiang Silu didn’t mind when she saw that. ’He’s busy starting a business, so he’s probably swamped,’ she thought. ’He might not even have time for Lu Yao.’

As for Liu Shiting, she saw Lu Yao leave but wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, she forwarded the company operations summary her father had sent her two days ago to Jiang Sifan.

She attached a note: [Sifan, this is a summary of company operations and management my dad sent me. I hope it helps.]

「At the same time.」

Lu Fan had just returned to Jinling.

Jiali reported to him, "Boss, the young master is offering to provide a month of bookkeeping and tax filing services to those five shops for free, not costing them a single penny, in an attempt to retain them."

"Using that method to retain clients is not a sustainable solution," Lu Fan said, cutting straight to the heart of the problem. "If you give clients a taste of freebies early on, they’ll use it as an excuse to demand more discounts at the drop of a hat. It seems my son didn’t pay much attention to what I said at my seminar."

Jiali asked curiously, "But Wen Wan seems like a good girl who would listen carefully in class. Didn’t she notice this problem?"

"I’d guess the young lady has already noticed, but she doesn’t dare to speak up. After all, when she’s with Sifan, she mostly just listens to him," Lu Fan explained.

He then offered a suggestion. "Anyway, the due date for the first batch of bookkeeping and tax filings is approaching. Why don’t we see how they do? If there’s any sign of a delay, you are to notify those shop owners to terminate their contracts immediately. Do not hesitate."

"Yes, Boss."

Lu Fan sighed感慨. "I need to let my son know that starting a business is not an easy thing. He’s been getting too full of himself lately. It’s time he learned a lesson."

"By the way, I’ve rented a shop next to the pastry shop. I want to sell oden. Remodeling it within two days shouldn’t be a problem, right?" Lu Fan asked Jiali.

Jiali nodded. "No problem. I’ll take care of it."

"Good. Thank you for your hard work."

Lu Fan had just sat down to rest when he received a call from Elder Meng.

"Hello, Elder Meng, what’s up?"

Elder Meng chuckled on the other end of the line. "Your daughter has asked me to ask you for a favor."