this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!
Liu Zhentian and Hu Qiuju soon received a notification from Xu Yao. The New Youth Games required samples from their toy factory to confirm the factory’s workmanship quality. It seemed like they had little confidence in the quality of Hua Country products.
Although the couple instinctively felt displeased by the foreigners’ arrogance, they could also roughly tell that the merchandise licensing was already about half successful. They immediately proceeded to make more thorough preparations, and planned to fly to Country E for a meeting and negotiation with the organising committee of the New Youth Games.
Before Liu Zhentian and his wife went to Country E, they reminded their son to seize the last moments before the competition to practice well so as not to let Xu Yao’s efforts go to waste.
In recent days, Liu Feiyang seemed to like he had been injected with chicken blood1. If it weren’t for Coach Yan Hong specifically emphasizing the dangers of potential injury due to intense training done too close to the competition, Liu Feiyang would have wanted to stay in the pool 24 hours a day.
Several classmates who also qualified for the New Youth Games stood dumbfounded on the side of the pool, stammering as if they were still in a dream, “Feiyang, is this… your home?”
A few days ago, Liu Feiyang said that his family had a swimming pool that was much better than the one they were using to train at school, and had warmly invited them to come over.
When they arrived, they finally realized what Liu Feiyang meant when referring to “his own swimming pool”—it was the Water Cube! This aquatic center not only has several pools, but it’s also equipped with the necessary facilities for high diving.
The school’s training ground was instantly overshadowed.
Liu Feiyang was quite pleased with himself. “Yeah, my family recently rented a place and we just so happened to move here. Coach Yan Hong will be coming over soon to help you check for any shortcomings before the competition.”
His group of teammates hadn’t even had time to fully digest the fact that Liu Feiyang now lived in the most luxurious private swimming center in the capital when Liu Feiyang dropped another bombshell on them.
“Feiyang, you’re not talking about Coach Yan Hong, the former head coach of the national swimming team, are you?” a boy asked in shock, his voice unconsciously growing louder.
“That’s right, it’s that Coach Yan.”
Liu Feiyang looked at their astonished expressions, feeling an indescribable satisfaction well up from inside him.
Yes, yes, yes, their expressions are just like he had been back when he hadn’t seen much of the world, haha.
Several teammates looked around the swimming center, touching here and there, each with the expression of Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
To have such a good training venue before the competition, and with even a professional coach guiding them, this was definitely a stroke of luck! They had heard that Liu Feiyang used to be a rich second-generation heir, and now it seems to be true!
“Feiyang, you rented Xu Yao’s property, right?” A teammate who was holding his phone suddenly asked Liu Feiyang.
Liu Feiyang was a bit surprised that his teammate would think of Xu Yao so quickly, but he became even more excited. “Yes, that’s right! Who else but Xu Yao could be so generous?!”
“It’s already trending on Weibo.”
Liu Feiyang immediately became nervous. “What’s trending on Weibo? Sister Yaoyao wouldn’t publicly support me on Weibo, would she? That can’t happen!”
As it turned out, Liu Feiyang was clearly overthinking things; Xu Yao wouldn’t do something so thoughtless. The attention from so many people before the competition would be another form of invisible pressure weighing on him, and Xu Yao didn’t want anything to affect Liu Feiyang.
What was actually spreading online was—
Xu Yao Rentals’ latest employee benefit: Landlady Xu would be taking her employees to Country E for a vacation, with the senior employees collectively taking Xu Yao’s private jet, while the remaining outstanding employees would take a chartered flight!
How long would they play there for?
Apparently it would be at least half a month.
[Hahaha, I’ve only been in Xu Yao Rentals for three months, so I thought such good fortune couldn’t possibly come my way. But this morning, my boss suddenly asked me if I wanted to go to Country E with her. Of course, I said yes!]
[I got the news too! Waaaah, I never expected that my first trip abroad would be with my boss. With so many people going, I won’t have to be worried about my crappy English!]
[The best part about traveling with Xu Yao is… you won’t have to pay a cent at all! The boss covers everything, from food, to accommodation, and transportation. To be honest, I joined Xu Yao’s rental team with a monthly salary of ten thousand, and in four months, I’ve already saved forty thousand… With the various benefits and subsidies, I’m hardly able to find places to spend my salary.]
Netizens saw many employees from Xu Yao Rentals sharing their experiences, almost turning green with envy.
This morning, news suddenly spread online that Xu Yao thought the summer was getting too hot and wanted to take her employees to Country E to watch the competition and also conveniently escape the heat.
[I saw the news online: Xu Yao is taking nearly two hundred employees to Country E to watch the competition. Who taught her to give her employees such benefits?]
[Xu Yao’s rental team probably only has around four to five hundred employees, right? Is she taking half of them out to play? I really want to tag my boss and tell him to come and take a look!!!]
[What competition is it? I found out online that Country E is hosting the New Youth Games or something. Is this competition really that prestigious?]
[To the sister upstairs, the New Youth Games is an international competition. Its prestige can’t compare to the Olympics, but it’s not bad, just not very well-known.]
Originally, not many people in the country knew about the New Youth Games, but when Xu Yao suddenly decided to take her employees to Country E to watch the New Youth Games, mobilizing two hundred of her employees at once made #NewYouthGames trend, as everyone wanted to see what was so special about this competition that attracted Xu Yao.
Netizens instinctively wanted to see which athletes from Hua Country would participate, and sure enough, they found several national team athletes going to participate, immediately rushing to their comments on Weibo to cheer them on.
#NewYouthGamesMascotIsUgly also trended, with the mascot being a frog with a rather strangely shaped large mouth.
[If it weren’t for Xu Yao, I wouldn’t have even known that Country E has a New Youth Games starting soon. I checked the official website for the mascot, and holy shit, it’s so ugly, I can’t take it anymore.]
[Which designer created this mascot?! Who taught them to design like this?! It’s absolutely hideous.]
[Just because the New Youth Games might flop doesn’t mean they can just throw together a mascot like this. My daughter came over to take a look and said it looks like a monster.]
[Is this competition not even planning on selling merchandise? The mascot looks so ridiculous it’s laughable.]
The previously ignored New Youth Games mascot was thus dragged out to be ridiculed by the netizens of Hua Country.
It really is quite ugly; it doesn’t look like something that could sell at all.
Liu Zhentian and Hu Qiuju, along with the elite employees and factory head sent by Xu Yao to handle this project, had already met with the organisers of the New Youth Games, bringing along the factory’s finished mascots.
As expected, with Xu Yao’s financial power, they successfully secured the merchandise licensing rights for the Asia region after a brief negotiation.
With the licensing now secured, they would be able to produce merchandise without infringing on the copyright.
However, Liu Zhentian wasn’t very happy. In fact, he felt rather anxious inside, and after seeing the trending topics on Weibo, he felt even more faint with anxiety.
Those young people online were already relentlessly mocking the New Youth Games mascot for being ugly…
If it didn’t meet their aesthetic standards, they probably wouldn’t spend their own money on it, right?
“Miss Yaoyao, we’ve secured the merchandise licensing,” Liu Zhentian called Xu Yao as soon as he returned to the hotel.
Xu Yao wasn’t surprised; money is the greatest power in this world. Since this wasn’t the Olympics, she had been quite confident.
Liu Zhentian thought about those comments and felt he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep tonight. “It’s just… those comments online…”
Xu Yao probably knew what Liu Zhentian was thinking, and smiled. “That depends on the factory’s capabilities. After all, even ‘ugly-cute’ designs have their own market nowadays.”
They had only obtained the licensing agreement. That didn’t mean they could change the mascot’s design, but refining the craftsmanship could still yield different results.
It didn’t matter if the design was ugly, as long as they could add a touch of cuteness on top of that ugliness. Then, it would be worth pursuing.
Liu Zhentian vaguely caught on to something. As an excellent businessman, he needed to be good at turning disadvantages into advantages, and this could very well become the key to their profits!
Xu Yao then asked, “Can we finish producing the first batch before I take the employees to Country E? I’d like to take a few to the competition.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhentian immediately agreed without thinking, “That definitely won’t be a problem.”
You absolutely couldn’t underestimate the speed of Xinyi Trade City; if they started producing samples today, with a bit of overtime, the finished products could be ready by tomorrow! For small commodities to make money, time is everything. Liu Zhentian was very experienced in this regard, and the timeframe could definitely be guaranteed.
In order to make a profit from the merchandise during the New Youth Games, Liu Zhentian and Hu Qiuju didn’t dare to stay in Country E for too long and booked the next flight directly back to the capital in Hua Country.
Once they returned, the couple didn’t even go and see their son, immediately throwing themselves into the factory, busy making the New Youth Games official mascot merchandise!
*
pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:
The Guanya Museum was as quiet as ever, with only a couple of visitors occasionally wandering in. Ironically, the allure of the exhibits inside was overshadowed by the few fat cats that Grandma Ke Meiru kept in the museum, with several visitors coming in just to pet the cats.
The young woman in charge of selling tickets said with a hint of sadness, “Miss Xu Yao seems to have not helped promote the museum on Weibo after she returned.”
Not only was there nothing on Weibo, but she hadn’t mentioned a word about Guanya Museum on any of her other social media platforms either.
The young woman that sold tickets knew in her heart that helping a tenant was a matter of goodwill and not her obligation, yet she still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She believed the museum was truly worth it.
The young woman had been working as a ticket seller at the Guanya Museum for nearly two years now. Although the pay was low, the job was leisurely, and most importantly, Curator Ke treated her very well.
Curator Ke was an extremely cultured and patriotic elderly lady. When the former curator wanted to take the donated artifacts away, she stood in front of him, disregarding the risk of her reading glasses being smashed, and shouted angrily, “If you dare take these donated cultural relics away today, I’ll bang my head against the wall and die right here!”
Despite the museum’s dire situation, lunch was still provided. The ticket seller occasionally discovered that sometimes, the meals were cooked by the elderly lady herself. How many people could say they had eaten food cooked by the curator herself? The snacks made by the curator were the best!
With nothing else to do, the ticket seller often listened to the old men in the museum gossip, saying that the old curator’s mother was a wealthy young lady who studied cultural relics during the Republic of China era, and that the old curator had become a cultural relic restorer in her youth due to her parents’ influence.
The ticket seller continued to refresh Xu Yao’s Weibo, with the latest post being a repost of another new rental promotional event from Xu Yao Rentals official Weibo account.
Curator Ke sat in her office, looking at last month’s visitor report for the museum, sighing repeatedly as she took off her glasses.
The old-fashioned landline in the upper left corner of her desk rang, and Curator Ke answered the call.
“Hello, Curator Ke, I am He Fan, Miss Xu Yao’s assistant. We have learned about the museum’s financial difficulties, and after discussion, Miss Xu Yao has decided to waive the museum’s rent for three months.”
Just as Ke Meiru was about to express her gratitude, He Fan paused and added, “Additionally, Miss Xu Yao would like to convey that she hopes the Guanya Museum can hold on until the day she returns from Country E.”
Curator Ke was momentarily taken aback. She had been keeping up with the news about global cultural relics, and if she remembered correctly, there seemed to be an upcoming auction in Country E, with the most eye-catching news about the auction being one of Hua Country’s Twelve Zodiac Bronze Heads2: the Snake Head.
It should be noted that several of the Twelve Zodiac Bronze Heads were still unaccounted for, with the Snake Head being one of them. The news of the auction had sparked significant attention both domestically and internationally, although it was still unclear whether the news was genuine.
Curator Ke instantly stood up, a terrifying guess forming in her mind. Her usually calm voice rose involuntarily, “Could it be that Miss Xu Yao is going to participate in the auction?”
He Fan smiled but did not reveal Xu Yao’s whereabouts.
Curator Ke was startled by her own speculation, muttering, “Okay, okay.”
The elderly lady paced back and forth in her office. If that were the case, not only could they hold on until Xu Yao returned from Country E, but she could even go without eating or drinking just to ensure that the museum could hold on for another year!
Having now stabilised the Guanya Museum, which had been in dire straits, Xu Yao was now preparing to head to Country E!
The invited employees, with the few exceptions of those who couldn’t make it, had all prepared their passports and visas for Country E in advance.
Everyone boarded the plane in turn. Since it was Xu Yao’s private jet, they were able to choose their seats freely once on board.
“Can we take photos and videos?” Li Xiaoli, who was holding a selfie stick, asked the flight attendant assigned to them by Xu Yao.
The beautiful flight attendant smiled and replied, “Miss Yaoyao mentioned beforehand that it’s absolutely fine.”
Li Xiaoli faced the camera and recorded a video: “Friends, if you want to find a boss, you need to find someone like Xu Yao. We are about to set off to eat and drink our fill! This is Sister Yao’s private jet.”
A senior executive nearby nudged his head over and said, “It’s ten times more comfortable than business class!”
He had flown on many planes before, but this was his first time on a private jet!
A group of senior employees looked around, delighted beyond measure. Besides the incredibly comfortable seats, there was also a long table in the middle for dining. But that wasn’t all; one employee was astonished to discover that there was even a large bed and bathroom on board!
Li Xiaoli also noticed that the seats they were sitting on seemed to be made of some kind of rare leather. She secretly checked online and found that a whole piece would cost tens of thousands of dollars!
This was not just flying; it was like they had moved a mansion into the plane!
First class was nothing compared to a truly impressive private jet!
“There’s a professional bartender on board. Would anyone like a drink?” the flight attendant asked with a smile.
Li Xiaoli and a few others couldn’t resist the temptation and nodded in agreement.
Li Xiaoli also applied a simple filter for colour correction to the video and posted it on her social media, attracting a swarm of curious netizens.
People had all heard of private jets, but no one really knew what they were like inside!
[Even working for Xu Yao requires effort. Ordinary outstanding employees can only take charter flights, while hardworking senior executives can fly on Sister Yao’s private jet.]
[Is this the interior of Xu Yao’s private jet? Wow, this is too extravagant! It was previously used to send Old Master Cui Guoqiang because he was worth it, and now she’s even willing to let her employees ride in it. Sister Yao really doesn’t treat money as money!]
[Waaaah, I’m so jealous! I’ll only say that once. I was already very satisfied to be chosen as an outstanding employee to take a charter flight to Country E, but now, seeing Sister Xiaoli sharing the experience of a private jet, I suddenly feel that the charter flight isn’t appealing anymore. I will definitely work hard to help Sister Yao collect rent when I return!]
[Sister upstairs, aren’t you being way too Versailles3? You’re already an employee of Xu Yao, so your starting point is already way higher than ours, okay?]
[What are those plushies? Why is there one at every seat? It looks a bit cute.]
Some netizens noticed that in Li Xiaoli’s video, there was a green plushie at every seat, which seemed to be a gift for each employee.
Li Xiaoli also discovered the plushie, which was a big-mouthed frog, and when she reached out to touch it, the texture felt surprisingly good.
“Uh… this seems to be Froggy, the mascot for the New Youth Games that everyone’s been roasting,” an employee beside her remarked after staring at it for a while.
Li Xiaoli turned the plushie over in her hands and indeed saw the logo of the New Youth Games. She squeezed the plush toy and couldn’t help but say, “I think it’s got an ugly-cuteness to it, definitely not as ugly as other people say.”
Previously, Li Xiaoli had seen screenshots online, and that mascot really did look ugly to her, but when she held the actual plush toy in her hands, she didn’t expect that after looking at it a few more times… it actually seemed quite adorable.
Unable to resist, Li Xiaoli took several selfies with the ugly-cute mascot, Froggy, and shared them on her social media.
“Where’s Miss Yaoyao? I haven’t seen her yet,” someone asked.
The flight attendant replied, “Miss Yaoyao has taken another private jet.”
Xu Yao, accompanied by Lu Ye and He Fan, boarded Ji Zhengqing’s private jet. Her own private jets were not enough for all her employees, so she even had to resort to chartering another plane.
The three of them were heading to Country E to attend an auction for cultural relics, but Xu Yao ended up bringing along an additional two hundred people. To this, Ji Zhengqing remained quite calm, and didn’t seem to be angry at all.
When Xu Yao arrived, Ji Zhengqing had a work laptop in front of him, as the flight from the capital to Country E was long, and he needed it for work.
Assistant Li, who was diligently working nearby, suddenly noticed He Fan behind Xu Yao and showed a hint of envy in his eyes.
“Fiancé, you do your thing, we’ll do ours,” Xu Yao said thoughtfully, not intending to disturb Ji Zhengqing’s work.
The private jet’s cabin was divided into two sections: one part was a workspace that could accommodate seven or eight people sitting around to work, while the other part was a soundproof resting area.
Xu Yao, Lu Ye, and He Fan were in the resting area, lying on luxurious recliners and getting massages while watching a pre-downloaded drama about palace intrigue.
The actress on the oversized LCD TV exaggeratedly exclaimed, “What a huge bed!”
The resting area was filled with the sounds of Xu Yao and He Fan’s laughter. Lu Ye habitually maintained his usual straight face while watching the TV. He didn’t like this kind of drama, but since Miss Yaoyao liked it, he tried to make an effort to watch it.
The plane flew steadily through the air, and at noon, Ji Zhengqing suddenly woke up from his busy state and asked Assistant Li to remind Xu Yao to come out for a meal.
Overwhelmed to the point of dizziness, Assistant Li rubbed his temples and gently knocked on the door of the resting area.
After receiving permission, he entered and immediately heard Xu Yao and He Fan’s laughter, “Haha, catching them cheating in the act, how exciting!”
Assistant Li looked at his former colleague, He Fan, who was laughing joyfully, and his mind was suddenly filled with thoughts—
Why hadn’t he been the assistant who went with President Ji to meet Miss Xu Yao back then?
“Yaoyao, aren’t you hungry after watching TV all morning?” Ji Zhengqing’s magnetic and gentle voice came from outside.
Xu Yao climbed up from the recliner, stretching her slightly sore neck as she said, “I’m tired of lying down. Lu Ye, He Fan, let’s go eat something and continue watching in the afternoon.”
Seeing Xu Yao come to him while twisting her neck, Ji Zhengqing raised his hand and gently touched Xu Yao’s fair neck, applying just the right amount of pressure, “It must be the quality of the recliner, it’s been tough on you.”
Assistant Li’s mouth twitched. Miss Yaoyao really had a tough time; she’d been laughing all morning.
The lunch was also quite sumptuous, consisting of Xu Yao’s favorite dishes.
“He Fan, have the tickets for the New Youth Games been booked in advance?” Xu Yao asked while eating.
He Fan confirmed that he had booked two hundred tickets for each event, as Xu Yao planned to take her staff to watch the games, so naturally, they needed to cover the cost of the tickets.
“Lu Ye, remember to take stock of the Xu family’s properties in Country E. Since we’re going there, we should take a good look at the properties there,” Xu Yao instructed.
Upon hearing Xu Yao’s instructions for him, Lu Ye felt a sense of relief.
He… really didn’t enjoy the “harem-infighting” drama they had just watched and didn’t understand why Xu Yao and He Fan were laughing so happily. He’d rather go and sort out the property documents instead.
Ji Zhengqing reminded, “Yaoyao, there are many cases of squatting and trespassing in Country E. You need to be careful.”
The Xu family had too many properties, and when her rental team went to investigate the situations at her properties, they discovered several cases of squatting. Some people even renovated the Xu family’s houses and lived in them for two years.
However, the domestic laws protect the rights of homeowners, and when those families realized that the long-abandoned house belonged to Xu Yao, they were frightened at the thought of the Bo’en Law Firm under Xu Yao.
Xu Yao thought about how vast and sparsely populated the land abroad was. They could barely manage their properties domestically, let alone abroad, so Ji Zhengqing’s concern was valid.
Xu Yao kept this matter in mind and acknowledged it.
In the afternoon, Xu Yao and He Fan watched TV for a while longer, but Xu Yao couldn’t resist her drowsiness and fell asleep. He Fan simply turned off the TV and sat down next to Lu Ye, and the two began to sort out the Xu family’s properties in Country E together.
One private jet after another landed on the airport tarmac. Back home, it was already dark, while in Country E, it was a sunny afternoon.
Many foreign media outlets, having received the news, were already waiting at the airport, marveling at the private jets, especially since they had a dedicated on-site team to serve them!
“The wealthy young lady from Hua Country has arrived! She’s the one who stirred up the global fashion industry, Xu Yao!”
A photographer operating a camera exclaimed, “How rich is she to bring over two hundred employees to watch the games?”
“I heard that Miss Xu has a private jet filled with bodyguards. Think about it, she brought an entire plane of bodyguards with her.”
Xu Yao indeed brought a plane full of private bodyguards. She wasn’t very confident in public security abroad, and she, Landlady Xu, valued her life greatly.
The Ji family had been developing their business in Europe for many years, and they actually owned a private airport here. However, since their engagement was a secret, Xu Yao thought it over and decided not to land at his private airport. This decision allowed the media to capture her arrival in Country E.
Xu Yao allowed them to take things off the plane, so almost everyone, including Li Xiaoli, took away the big-mouthed frog plushie, with even Xu Yao holding one in her hand. This scene was also captured on camera.
Aside from Country E, who was the host nation and was naturally busy promoting the New Youth Games, the surrounding countries were actually not very interested, after all, this wasn’t the Olympics.
But this set of photos was simply too eye-catching.
Xu Yao, who had once shaken up the fashion industry, had brought over two hundred people to come and watch the competition!
Those who didn’t know the situation might have thought this was just Xu Yao creating hype for the New Youth Games; but surely Xu Yao hadn’t invested in this, right?
However, it must be said that Xu Yao’s grand presence indeed attracted a wave of attention for the New Youth Games.
Not only did some foreign fans start to pay attention to the New Youth Games because of Xu Yao, but domestic fans were even more enthusiastic.
[Waaaah, it’s great to be Xu Yao’s employee! We can even be the first to get all the New Youth Games merchandise!]
[?? What’s going on? I remember this frog was really ugly before, it was even roasted online for having the ability to scare kids. Has my aesthetic sense suddenly changed so drastically in less than a month?]
[Ummm, it shouldn’t be a drastic change in aesthetics, it just looks better than the screenshots. It’s still ugly, but now it looks kind of cute too. Why do I suddenly want to buy it?]
[Ugly things are actually quite cute if you look at it for long enough QAQ, wait—did someone just hold Xu Yao’s hand? It looks like a man’s hand?]
[Holy shit, sis, your eyes are so damn sharp! It really does look like a man is holding Xu Yao’s hand. Hmm, to be honest, the hand looks pretty good; could it be the pretty boy engaged to Xu Yao?]
The screenshot of the mascot had been roasted all over the internet back then. Although the product itself was the same, it felt like the factory had saved its ugliness, and now, it had been turned into something that was ugly-cute.
What Xu Yao wanted was exactly this effect; now this ugly-cute big-mouthed frog had attracted the attention of netizens, just waiting for the New Youth Games to kick off!
“Colleagues, grab your luggage and get on the bus.” He Fan was making arrangements for his colleagues.
“Then I’ll head back to my own place first,” Xu Yao said as she smiled up at Ji Zhengqing.
With so many employees around, Xu Yao didn’t plan to invite Ji Zhengqing to her home in Country E.
Ji Zhengqing smiled. “No problem, I’ll come to pick you up when it’s time to watch the competition.”
After going through a series of immigration procedures, they finally boarded the pre-arranged bus.
This was Li Xiaoli’s first time abroad, and with so many colleagues around, she didn’t feel particularly nervous despite not being very good at English. To her, everything outside the bus window felt exceptionally fresh.
On the bus, a group of colleagues started chatting casually, “Come on, let’s make a bet on where we’ll be staying later.”
Li Xiaoli immediately said, “It must be a five-star hotel; Miss Xu always does this, and I’m already used to it.”
Miss Xu could be quite particular about appearances. She never skimped on herself, and was even more generous to her employees.
Since her own private jet could be provided for her employees, there was no need to worry about their accommodation either! Xu Yao would definitely arrange the best accommodation for them, at least to the standard of a five-star hotel!
“I bet it’ll be at least a five-star hotel. Doesn’t our Sister Yao have hotel investments in Country E?” a girl speculated while holding onto the seat in front. “The hotels are all chains. With Sister Yao’s current net worth, she must own an international hotel chain, right?”
“Ahhh, do you think we’ll have the chance to stay in a presidential suite?” another girl asked with wide eyes full of expectation.
As soon as this was said, many employees recalled when Director Zuo Ning and the others stayed in the platinum suite of the Cloud Summit Hotel, which was comparable to a presidential suite.
Many of them had seen those videos and couldn’t help but feel shocked at the thought of a presidential suite; it was truly the epitome of luxury.
Li Xiaoli cupped her face and said, “I don’t need to stay in the presidential suite. I’d be satisfied just by taking a few beautiful photos.”
They were all in great spirits, feeling extremely relaxed the whole way there. Some chatted with colleagues while taking photos of the scenery outside the window, occasionally sharing them with family back home.
“Wow, is that a manor house? A pure European-style manor house, so beautiful.”
“Is that a castle? I’ve seen it in dramas before, quick, take a few pictures!”
“Looks like a private residence. I wish we could stay there for a night.”
The highly artistic relief sculptures, the stone pillars towering over a dozen meters high, and the Gothic architecture with its soaring spires all gave the place an ethereal artistic atmosphere. This castle was extravagant to an astonishing degree. Beyond the vast interconnected complex of buildings, there was even a river resembling a castle moat.
Even some male colleagues who weren’t fond of taking photos couldn’t help but pull out their phones to snap a few pictures of the artistic building.
The bus took a turn and headed towards the extremely extravagant castle.
The vehicle stopped in front of the small river, and the driver said something into the intercom. In front of everyone, the castle opened its drawbridge!
That’s right, a drawbridge!
Once the drawbridge was lowered steadily, the driver stepped on the gas and drove the bus into the private castle. Through the windows, they could see the neatly trimmed greenery and towering pines lining the road.
The bus stopped at the main entrance. The driver turned off the engine, removed the keys, and turned to the astonished crowd, smiling as he said, “Welcome to Country E, everyone. This is Miss Xu Yao’s private castle.”
Inside the buses, everyone fell silent, staring in awe at the exaggeratedly large private castle, which reportedly covers an area of forty hectares.
A butler in a tailcoat led a group of servants, and a very exquisite red carpet was laid out in front of the bus.
Xu Yao had already stepped out of her private luxury car with Lu Ye and He Fan, and the butler greeted her with the utmost sincerity.
“Miss Yaoyao, welcome home.”
Xu Yao smiled and nodded. “Thank you for your hard work.”
This was Xu Yao’s private property, one of over a hundred buildings she had chosen to inherit.
Li Xiaoli closed her mouth, which had dropped open in shock, and suggested, “How about… we get off the bus first…”
As if waking from a dream, all of her colleagues hurriedly grabbed their luggage and got off the bus.
When the people got out of the vehicle, their senses seemed to be amplified to their maximum sensitivity. Facing the towering, artistically rich private castle before them, they felt incredibly small, and everyone was still in disbelief.
This castle was truly a private estate, not something out of a fairy tale.
A girl, pulling her pink suitcase, looked up in a daze at the castle that could only be described as magical, incredulously saying, “I thought Sister Yao would at least arrange for us to stay in a five-star hotel suite, but…”
Their most audacious fantasy was merely to imagine staying in a five-star presidential suite!
As it turns out, reality proved that their imagination was still too lacking, not daring to dream big enough.
All the employees stared blankly at the building before them, their minds filled with—
Their divine boss had brought them to stay in a top-tier castle!
there’s definitely discussions on both sides about the ethics of being able to auction of stolen cultural relics vs. repatriation to the original country, with critics of repatriation arguing that:
1. ‘encyclopediac museums’ can prevent culture from being ‘fixed national culture’ and spreads their culture to a wider audience, and
2. even stating that if not for the cultural artefacts being taken away, perhaps they may not have been preserved to the best of their condition by their original home countries… if that were the case, and the sole argument is that you’ve preserved the relic to the best of anyone in the world’s ability, fine—maybe that might’ve been the case 100 years ago, but now, the gap between the developed west and its previous colonies have drastically shrank, so if you’re doing it purely for the love of the game and those original countries now have the proper facilities to preserve these relics’ integrity, then what’s stopping you from giving them back? especially because many of these cultural relics remain relevant to the native people, whether in terms of cultural relevance or national sentiment.
anyway, my personal opinion that absolutely doesn’t represent the author or anyone else’s is firmly against the auctioning of stolen goods. i think it’s unethical that in the end, the people that took the artefacts/the auction house end up profiting when they themself paid next to nothing to obtain it in the first place.
3. the argument that many cultural relics that were taken “legally” back then were actually done so under coercion and a threat of violence—how could that be considered “willingly given up”? that’s why i think that argument is bullshit.
of course, because these things can be auctioned off, there’s also the monetary incentive it gives to grave robbers and ultimately helps maintainsa lucrative market for stolen goods.
i think the quote below perfectly describes why i’m against the argument that western countries could keep it better than their original home country:
The CEO of Poly Culture (an offshoot of China Poly Group focused on art-repatriation and antiquities), Jiang Yingchun, has been quoted as saying: “The [twelve zodiac bronze] heads represent our feelings for the entire nation; we love them and we weep for them. We can try many ways to get the heads back. The auction is just one method. We can’t ignore that the art was taken illegally,” even if it was being well cared for, he said. “If you kidnapped my children and then treated them well, the crime is still not forgiven.”
anyways, long rant is over. it’s definitely a nuanced discussion, and i’m not saying that there’s a straightforward solution. perhaps i’m just quite passionate about the looting of treasures during the century of humiliation since it hits quite close to home as someone of chinese descent. i’m not too clear on the cultural relics of other countries, but i do cry a little whenever i think of the last greek “lost sister” still standing alone in the british museum and the spot specially reserved for her if she ever returns to greece QAQ WHEN I GET YOU BRITISH MUSEUM ISTG.
if you’d like to watch a short video on a stolen artifact from china, here’s a short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajZSAMjjsXM it’s quite a cool watch, tho i can’t lie, i did cry watching this the first time QAQ maybe my threshold for tears is just super low. it’s sad how many cultural relics from india, china, and other previously colonised or looted countries remain in their coloniser’s museums.
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- “Injected with chicken blood” is a Chinese slang expression meaning suddenly becoming extremely excited, energized, or motivated. It comes from a past health fad involving chicken-blood injections and is now used humorously to describe overenthusiastic behavior. ↩︎
- The Old Summer Palace bronze heads represent the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, serving historically as an 18th-century, European-style water clock fountain in Beijing. Designed by Jesuits for Emperor Qianlong, they symbolize a blend of Chinese and Western culture, and are now considered potent symbols of Chinese national heritage, cultural repatriation, and historical suffering. ↩︎
- “Versailles” (凡尔赛) is Chinese internet slang for humblebragging—showing off wealth, success, or privilege while pretending to be modest. The term references the luxurious Palace of Versailles and is often used jokingly online. ↩︎
