It had only been an hour, and Shen Huang was already ready to leave and let his business associates deal with their own problems. They were supposed to discuss if the Shen Group should renew their partnership with these smaller companies; however, they were perfectly content with their idly chatter.
Today, their Little Qing Qing would be visiting and staying with them while Shen Yi was on a business trip with his wife. It’s been a while since the couple traveled together. With Qing Qing finally able to sleep and eat without causing much trouble, she was spending more time having a sleepover with the Tangs.
However, this time, Shen Huang had been the one to volunteer to look after his grandchild for the first time.
A knock disturbed his thoughts as his assistant entered the room informing him of Qing Qing’s arrival.
“What? She’s here? Let her in! What are you waiting for?!” He exclaimed, silencing everyone within the room with his outburst.
One of his business partners smiled knowingly at Shen Huang.
“Oh, yes, I heard that your daughter-in-law has given birth. Your granddaughter must be stunningly beautiful.”
“But of course, she’s a Shen after all. The Shens are known for being good-looking.” Shen Huang grinned proudly. “Sorry for the disturbance, but you may continue your reports for the current cash flow.”
They opened each of their folders in the previous year and scanned to see how their incoming was faring. Shen Group was doing well on sales, and there wasn’t a delay on their projects since Shen Yi had prepared a five-year plan that Shen Xue could follow before his departure.
Shen Huang raised a brow. No wonder they were idling today because there weren’t any problems that arose so far. His attention was once again caught by the giggling laughter as Qing Qing arrived with Jiao Jiao. She was wearing a light pink dress with her hair tied in pigtails.
“Ah, there she is. Come to Grandpa, Qing Qing!” Shen Huang clapped his hands and leaned his body forward, gesturing the little girl to take steps towards him.
Little Qing Qing grinned widely and ran towards him with wobbly legs. She almost tripped and planted her cute face on the floor, but Shen Huang managed to catch her on time.
Qing Qing pressed her lips together and was about to cry.
“Hush, baby. Sorry, Qing Qing, it’s Grandpa’s fault. No more running later, okay?”
“Okay.” Shen Lingqing slightly nodded her head in response.
The girl scrambled to sit on his lap and looked over the long table with old men staring at her with awe and surprise.
Shen Lingqing was a spitting image of her father except with her doe-shaped eyes which she got from Lu Xinyi. At one year old, she had already weaned from her mother’s milk and preferred to eat food and was able to say a few words clearly to tell what she wanted.
The meeting resumed while Shen Huang calmly stroked his granddaughter’s head like a villain with a cat. Their curiosity piqued up when he allowed Shen Lingqing to draw random lines on his copy of reports and contract proposals. It’s like he wouldn’t need them.
His assistant laughed awkwardly. How could Chairman Shen allow Little Qing Qing on those important documents? Then again, Shen Lingqing could get away with almost everything. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
An hour later, the meeting ended in peace; but the assistant had to print another set of contracts for Shen Huang to sign. As the businessmen left the conference room, Shen Xue stepped inside and found his niece on his father’s lap. He almost forgot that his brother had left this morning with his Big Sis.
“No wonder everyone was busy chatting outside. Our Qing Qing is here,” He muttered as he loosened the top buttons of his dress shirt.
Shen Huang eyed his son before turning his gaze back on Qing Qing who was drawing a crooked circle on one of his documents.
“How was your meeting? Did you sign the deal?” he asked and flipped the next page for his grandchild, her tiny fist holding his pen tightly.
“It went well, but I’m hungry. What’s for lunch?” Shen Xue grunted. He was starting to have a withdrawal symptom from his Big Sis’ cooking. He didn’t have enough time to crash at his brother’s place lately to get free good food.
“Why don’t you call Oriental Bliss? Didn’t they start offering deliveries lately? I’m sure Qing Qing would enjoy her Uncle’s cooking. Right, Qing Qing?” Shen Huang inclined his head and asked the little girl.
“Qing is hungry.” Shen Lingqing patted her small tummy and pouted to her grandfather.
Shen Xue burst into a round of laughter upon seeing his niece’s face. It should be noted that this girl’s appetite was very huge. However, just like her mother and deceased grandfather, it seemed that Little Qing Qing had also inherited a superb palate.
She was also very picky with the foods she ate, pushing away plates of dishes that she’d tasted with her face one of disgust. Qing Qing didn’t like salty food and sweet desserts, unlike her mom. Her food was personally prepared fresh and cooked by Lu Xinyi, and she disliked eating any dishes not prepared by her mother.
That was until Little Qing Qing tasted Tian Lingyu’s steamed pork buns. It was only then that He Haotian came into the conclusion that Shen Lingqing was gifted with an ‘Absolute Tongue’.
“Qing Qing, let’s give your Uncle Lingyu a call! What do you want to eat?” Shen Xue pulled out his phone and browsed the menu of Oriental Bliss on the food delivery app. This idea was really convenient for someone like him.
Qing Qing slipped out of Shen Huang’s lap and went to her Uncle excitedly. Balancing the little girl on his right leg, Shen Xue continued to tap the dishes and added them to his cart.
—-
Meanwhile, while Shen Lingqing was busy choosing what to eat for lunch, Lu Xinyi found herself on a bank with her husband. On her right hand was her mother’s safety deposit box key she found on her mother’s villa while the bank staff had taken their own key to open Sun Meixiu’s safety deposit box.
Like any other businessmen, Sun Meixiu didn’t have all her money sitting in the bank; Most of them were invested in stocks, bonds, government bonds, and start-up companies. Most of these carry risks, but they were diversified. The amount of her mother’s assets had shocked Lu Xinyi to the core.
The deposit box’s rental fee was covered already by Sun Meixiu by paying in advance. While Lu Xinyi was her nearest kin, Lu Xinyi had to collect the proper documentation needed for her to be able to retrieve her mother’s belongings.
As expected, only documents and files sat inside the box; but what took her and Shen Yi’s attention was the black velvet box that came with it.
Lu Xinyi picked the small box up and opened it.
Taking a peek over her shoulder, Shen Yi was also confused by what he’d seen. His wife took out the ring and looked at him.
“Isn’t this ring part of the jewelry set your mother passed to me as next Madam Shen? Why is it here?”
