Chapter 68: The Meng Family’s Bankruptcy
Seeing that he didn’t react, Mu Zhenzhen spoke more plainly.
“What if I told you, she’s planning to adopt a son for you?”
The air froze instantly.
Mu Lantu’s voice was colder than ice, “She’d better keep dreaming.”
Mu Zhenzhen sighed, feeling sorry for her younger brother.
“I’m just afraid they’ll rope Mom and Dad into it. If our parents get convinced too…” it would stir up endless trouble again.
“They won’t.” Mu Lantu smiled lightly and said casually, “Come on, let’s go eat.”
Once on the road, Mu Zhenzhen rode ahead on her own.
Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang trailed behind.
“Baby, what were you guys talking about just now? Both of you looked so serious.”
Mu Lantu didn’t want Xu Huazhang to feel upset as well. “What else? Just complaining about how annoying Big Brother and his wife are!”
Mu Hongtu and his wife?
Yeah, their greedy looks were indeed pretty annoying.
Xu Huazhang pulled out his phone and sent a red envelope to Xu Huafeng.
Xu Huafeng, who was on Blue Water Star, saw the red envelope and calmly accepted it. Over the past few days, he had received six red envelopes from his younger brother.
He’d noticed a pattern. Every time Lantu’s older brother did something annoying, he—who wasn’t annoying—would receive a red envelope.
Xu Huazhang coaxed gently, “If you don’t like them, just avoid them. Next time we invite your parents and sister’s family over, we won’t include them.”
Mu Lantu gladly agreed, “Sounds good.”
Back at the courtyard house, the food was already laid out, waiting for the three of them.
A housekeeper had been hired specifically to cook for the visiting Mu family. Her job was just cooking.
Zhou Ye’s main job was as a bodyguard. It was fine for him to cook for Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang, but he couldn’t be relied on to cook three meals a day for so many people.
After the meal, Mu Lantu took the Mu family out for a tour, planning to retrace the route he had taken when showing Grandpa and Grandma Xu around before.
First stop: Lantu Supermarket—the place the Mu family was most interested in.
After the visit, Mu Hongtu approached Mu Lantu to chat.
“Lantu, I think opening a supermarket in Dream Home has great potential. I’m thinking of starting a small one myself. Do you think it’ll work?”
Everyone quietly glanced at Mu Lantu’s expression.
Mu Hongtu was nervous—what if Mu Lantu humiliated him in front of everyone? His palms were sweaty.
He Cui Fang and Mu Zhenguo held their breath. Brothers united are as strong as iron, they thought. They truly hoped the brothers could get along and support each other.
Mu Lantu showed no change in expression and even nodded slightly. “It’s a good idea.”
But in his heart, he was sneering: Ha, good luck getting a place to rent.
[Little Five, keep an eye out. Never rent any commercial property in Dream Home to Mu Hongtu or Yang Xiurong.]
[Got it, Host.]
Mu Zhenguo and He Cui Fang thought Mu Lantu had forgiven Mu Hongtu and grinned with relief.
A glint of smugness flashed in Yang Xiurong’s eyes. She had said all along: Mu Lantu and her husband were brothers—how could they really cut ties? Good thing she hadn’t gone through with divorcing him.
Mu Hongtu also misunderstood, his smile radiant. “That’s great! With your big supermarket as support, my little supermarket will definitely make money!”
Mu Zhenzhen frowned, puzzled.
Luo Wangjun shook his head at her. He didn’t believe Mu Lantu would let the past go so easily.
Mu Lantu ignored Mu Hongtu and turned to speak to Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang.
“Dad, Mom, where would you like to go next?”
He Cui Fang, in a great mood, said, “Let’s play at the beach for a bit? We live by the sea but haven’t really enjoyed it.”
The kids were excited too.
The tour bus headed back…
Mu Zhenguo and He Cuifang stayed in Dream Home for a week before insisting on returning home. They hadn’t had enough fun, but couldn’t bear to leave their house behind.
As the saying goes, “Gold nest, silver nest, nothing beats your own nest.” No matter how flawed home is, it’s still home.
The three kids didn’t want to leave—this place was way more fun than back home.
Mu Hongtu and Yang Xiurong didn’t want to leave either. They wanted to use this opportunity to open a supermarket and avoid making another trip.
But Mu Hongtu was frustrated—dammit, he refreshed the rental sites countless times every day, but still couldn’t find a suitable place!
“Lantu, your sister-in-law and I still need to trouble you for a few more days,” said Mu Hongtu.
Mu Lantu was providing food, lodging, and entertainment. The kids didn’t have school, and there wasn’t constant work for his excavator. He wasn’t in a rush to return.
Yang Xiurong wasn’t working either, so she was even less anxious.
Mu Lantu said, “It’s no trouble. If you’re not afraid, you can stay here. Huazhang and I are going to live on Earth for a while to spend time with his parents. Brother Tao and the others are coming with us.”
Ge Tao, Zhou Ye, and Zhan Peng were Xu Huazhang’s driver and bodyguards—the Mu family knew this.
Mu Hongtu and Yang Xiurong exchanged glances. This place was too remote; they didn’t dare live here alone.
Mu Hongtu said, “Then we’ll stay at a hotel. Can you help us book a room?”
Mu Lantu: The audacity!
Yang Xiurong, oblivious, turned to Mu Zhenzhen and Luo Wangjun, “Zhenzhen, Wangjun, Xiao Xing doesn’t want to leave. Why don’t you leave him here? We’ll take care of him.”
Luo Wangjun replied, “No need. If we’re not around, Xiao Xing will throw a fit.”
Yang Xiurong was just being polite—she didn’t actually want to take care of someone else’s kid.
“Lantu, then could you book a hotel room for your brother and me?”
Mu Lantu said blandly, “Booking a hotel on your phone is easy. You can do it yourselves.”
Yang Xiurong wanted to say, How is that the same? If we book it, we have to pay for it ourselves.
He Cuifang interjected, “Booking it yourself means you get what you want. Just do it yourself.”
Yang Xiurong muttered, “So rich and still fussing over this…”
Everyone heard her.
Mu Zhenguo gave Mu Hongtu a fierce glare.
Mu Hongtu still hoped Mu Lantu would help with the supermarket, so he yelled at Yang Xiurong, “Just book it already! Why so much nonsense?”
After seeing off Mu Zhenguo and the others, Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang visited the Xu elders, then moved into Maple Grove Villa.
“I’m exhausted.” Mu Lantu collapsed onto the couch. “You know what? I really wanted to punch Mu Hongtu a few times.”
Xu Huazhang hugged him and comforted, “I’ll figure something out to make sure he doesn’t stick around Dream Home and annoy you.”
Mu Lantu couldn’t reveal that he was the owner of Dream Home. “Alright, I’m counting on you.”
Mu Hongtu and Yang Xiurong stayed in the hotel for three days and still hadn’t found a suitable store. Xu Huazhang had also been working behind the scenes. The couple was getting anxious.
In their eyes, opening a supermarket was guaranteed money. Every day of delay meant a day of lost profit.
Mu Hongtu, not entirely without smarts, tried negotiating with other supermarket owners to buy them out.
But the owners weren’t dumb. They wouldn’t agree unless Mu Hongtu was willing to pay a hefty price.
But Mu Hongtu didn’t have that kind of money, so that road was a dead end too.
He had no choice but to call Mu Lantu for help, hoping he’d leverage his network. After all, Mu Lantu ran a huge supermarket—he must have plenty of connections.
With Mu Zhenguo and the others gone, Mu Lantu had no reason to be polite anymore. “Do I need to remind you again? We’ve already severed ties.”
Mu Hongtu was shaken to the core. He finally realized that Mu Lantu was serious about cutting ties.
The call was hung up. When he tried to call again, Mu Lantu didn’t answer.
“What’s wrong?”
Yang Xiurong, sitting at the vanity, drawing her eyebrows, asked.
Mu Hongtu swept everything off the coffee table in a rage.
“That bastard Mu Lantu really doesn’t recognize me as his brother anymore!”
Yang Xiurong was furious, but quickly calmed down.
“Honey, we can’t rush this. We need to get pregnant as soon as possible!”
Mu Hongtu stared at her for a long while, then nodded.
“You’re right.”
The two checked out of the hotel and returned to Anfeng with their child that same day.
Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang stayed at Maple Grove Villa for two more days. Then Xu Huazhang’s vacation ended, and he returned to the research institute.
Mu Lantu lived alone in the villa, but wasn’t bored. He kept busy managing Dream Home’s affairs and visited Grandpa and Grandma Xu every few days. Life was fulfilling.
Until one day, while debating what to eat for lunch, he got a call from Gu Yingwu.
“Lantu, hahaha! Three days before the deadline—just half an hour ago, Meng Xinda filed for bankruptcy!”
“Really?” Mu Lantu jumped up and grabbed his iPad.
Top trending on Weibo: “RuMeng Corp Chairman Meng Xinda Announces Bankruptcy”!
“Heh…” Still on the call, Mu Lantu exclaimed, “Uncle Gu, thank you! I’ll send you a proposal when I get a chance!”
He opened his class group chat and posted the same message three times.
[Mu Lantu]: Today is a good day! Get ready to snatch red envelopes.
Classmates who usually lurked suddenly appeared.
“President Mu, you’re such a busy man. What brings you to the class group today?”
“Good morning, President Mu! Did something great happen?”
“Do we even have to ask? He must’ve just closed a billion-dollar deal! Big shot, we’re starving—feed us!”
“Whatever it is—congrats, that’s all that matters! Congrats, President Mu!”
“Congrats, President Mu!”
“Congrats, President Mu!”
“Congrats, President Mu!”
…
Mu Lantu sent out eight password red envelopes, each worth ¥99,999. The password was “Today is a good day.”
They were snatched up in under 30 seconds.
Those who came too late were filled with regret. Over ¥500,000 in red envelopes—split evenly, they could’ve gotten tens of thousands each. Missing out was agony.
After the frenzy, everyone began speculating about the cause of Mu Lantu’s joy.
They were all young and avid Weibo users. It didn’t take long for them to find out—
Meng Jiaqi’s father had declared bankruptcy!
Some began to wonder: Could this be Mu Lantu’s doing?
A few close friends quietly made a small group chat to discuss.
“Could President Mu have really done it?”
“No way… he probably doesn’t have that kind of power yet. The Meng family’s company was worth over a billion!”
“I think it’s possible. Mu Lantu—President Mu—managed to build a net worth of tens of millions in under half a year. He’s not ordinary!”
Someone saw an opportunity and reported the speculation to Meng Jiaqi.
Not long after, Mu Lantu got a call from Meng Jiaqi—he wasn’t surprised at all.
He had saved her number just for this day.
