Chu Rong placed Quan Jiu in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and then moved to the driver's seat.
After the car started moving, Chu Rong explained, "The four great families are the Qu family, the Zhuang family, the Gong family, and... the Quan family."
"The Quan family? Haha, that's just a surname." Quan Jiu understood Chu Rong's earlier meaning and chuckled, surprised that Chu Rong could tell such a dry joke.
Seeing her smile, Chu Rong's gloomy mood improved significantly, and he continued to talk about Su Lian.
"Su Lian is the illegitimate daughter of the current head of the Taishu family."
"Illegitimate daughter?" Quan Jiu was startled again. "The head of the Taishu family has concubines?"
"In normal society, this is impossible, but the new urban area is equivalent to another society, so many things we consider natural are not applicable there."
Quan Jiu nodded slightly, "As the daughter of the family head, she has to take risks to go on missions. She must not be highly valued at home."
"For these great families, the legitimate line is the precious one. In the new urban area, there is a clear distinction between high and low status."
Quan Jiu nodded silently, then asked again, "Then how did you and Su Lian meet?"
"The Taishu clan has a deep presence in City A, and the Chu family also has business dealings with them. Although Su Lian is an illegitimate daughter, she is still a young lady, and we met a few times on business."
So that's how it was. Quan Jiu couldn't help but tease, "A few meetings made her unforgettable, Mr. Chu is so charming."
Chu Rong's eyes curved with a smile, "But I'd rather be your driver."
Quan Jiu rolled her eyes and feigned nausea, "Don't, I can't stand it."
The atmosphere in the car gradually relaxed. Chu Rong asked Quan Jiu, "Is Grandma's embroidery exhibition going to be canceled? If so, I'll have someone bring back all the embroidery. It's not safe to leave them at the exhibition hall."
Quan Jiu's brows furrowed slightly, and she pondered.
The exhibition was originally scheduled to last for a month, but given the current situation, if it continued, people from the new urban area might come again and again until they stole everything.
"Cancel it. Since I know they want to steal, I can't just stand by and wait for them." Although this would be difficult to explain to the art museum and the public.
"I'll talk to Cheng Xuhai first. He might know something about what happened tonight."
Quan Jiu opened Cheng Xuhai's chat window. "Manager Cheng, weren't you supposed to inspect the exhibition hall tonight? Why didn't I see any of your people?"
Cheng Xuhai replied almost instantly, "Zhi Da, are you alright? You've already left the art museum, right? Did you encounter anyone?"
Quan Jiu paused before replying, "Tell me about your situation first."
Then Cheng Xuhai typed a long message.
It turned out that during their inspection, they suddenly received a notice from their superiors, ordering everyone to leave the exhibition hall immediately. At the same time, their network signal was inexplicably interrupted.
Cheng Xuhai knew Quan Jiu was still in the exhibition hall and wanted to go in to find her, but all the doors that could be entered were automatically locked, and his access card also failed.
Cheng Xuhai had no choice but to leave. Later, he received another notice from his superiors to cancel Wang Huiping's embroidery exhibition. Although he was full of questions, he couldn't disobey his boss's orders. As soon as he got home, he canceled all subsequent appointments, posted announcements, and sent apology letters. Just as he finished these tasks, he received Quan Jiu's message.
"Zhi Da, I don't know why it was suddenly canceled. I'm very sorry, but my superiors told me to cancel, and I couldn't do anything about it. I also asked for the reason, but my superiors warned me that the consequences of asking might be severe."
Cheng Xuhai replied apologetically.
So that's how it was. No wonder the staff disappeared so neatly and quickly. It turned out that people from the new urban area had infiltrated the upper echelons and, through some unknown means, exerted pressure, forcing Tonghua Art Museum to obey them.
"It's okay. Since it's canceled, there must be a reason. I'll take the embroidery back myself."
That was good, it saved her the trouble of explaining.
"Ask Uncle Li to take everything back," Quan Jiu said to Chu Rong.
Chu Rong immediately called Old Li and asked him to go and get the embroidery right away.
"The banks are closed now, so we'll have to take them home tonight and deposit them tomorrow," Quan Jiu said.
"Deposit them in the bank?"
"The bank is safer than home, at least those people won't come to my house to cause trouble." Quan Jiu said, "Besides, I have a special password for the bank, and it will be deposited into my account. Even if they want to steal, a place like a bank won't be so easy for them to succeed."
Chu Rong had no objections to this. He subconsciously stroked Quan Jiu's hair, "Don't worry too much, I'm already looking into the grievances between Grandma and the Taishu clan."
Mentioning Grandma, Quan Jiu's expression darkened again. "No matter what the grievances are, I will settle this score with them."
Thinking that her grandmother, even in the afterlife, was still being harassed by those people, Quan Jiu felt a pang of hatred and heartache. However, she also knew that confronting the new urban area with mere words was not enough.
From now on, she had to accelerate the expansion of her financial power and influence. The new urban area, one day, she would stand at a height that those people could not afford to provoke.
...
Perhaps Su Lian needed to heal, or perhaps due to some other circumstances, the Taishu clan did not bother Quan Jiu for a while. Quan Jiu finally welcomed the premiere of her first screenplay film in China.
On November 8th, the weather was cold, but because it was a weekend, the streets and malls were still bustling.
Quan Jiu, along with the two children and Wang Feifei, went to a mall near their home. After lunch, as it approached two o'clock, the four of them entered the cinema.
Jiang Nan Chen and other studio staff were already seated. Half a row was filled with their own people.
"I'm so nervous, Jiu Jiu. If the opening box office breaks fifty million, I'll be laughing in my sleep," Wang Feifei said as she sat down and placed Mi Mi on her lap.
Quan Jiu also sat down, picked up Tu Tu, and teased, "Don't you have confidence in my script?"
Wang Feifei waved her hands and shook her head, "Your script is definitely worth more than that. Fifty million is just my minimum expectation."
Quan Jiu chuckled, full of confidence, "Don't worry, as long as the plot, costumes, makeup, acting, and lines are all in place, it's impossible for it not to be a hit."
"We will definitely become the dark horse of the year-end," Jiang Nan Chen said confidently. He believed in Jiu Jiu and his team. He knew the quality of the work they had produced.
...
The two-and-a-half-hour movie felt incredibly fast once they were immersed in it. By the time the movie ended, the audience was still engrossed, and the noisy discussions continued.
Quan Jiu was very satisfied with such a response. Although she knew her script would receive good reviews, seeing the audience's enthusiastic reception made her very happy.
Tu Tu whispered, "Mom, everyone likes this movie so much. Can we earn a lot of money?"
Quan Jiu affectionately pinched Tu Tu's cheek, "Yes, Mom invested a hundred million, and now we're just waiting for the dividends."