Chapter 730: Chapter 261: Visiting Yan Qiuwen’s Home
After staying at home for two nights, Su Zelin went to Lin’an again.
First, there was the year-end event to attend.
With the opening of the Jiang-Zhejiang-Suzhou market, the company’s personnel structure had expanded, and both the scale and budget of New Era’s second annual meeting had been elevated to a higher level. Including hotel expenses, year-end bonuses, and raffle prizes, it burnt a hefty sum of one million.
This year’s event also had two special groups of guests.
The first group was Old Ma and a few senior members from Ah Li.
With a long-term partnership established, New Era and Taokin were already good allies and partners. Their relations were quite amicable, and later, Su Zelin even visited Ah Li’s headquarters to have tea with Old Ma twice, which led to inviting them to show support.
The second group of guests was unexpected for Su Zelin—the National’s interview team.
Media coverage from Zhejiang Province, Shenghai, and Suzhou was, of course, indispensable. However, the National proactively offered to send reporters to Lin’an to cover New Era’s annual event, which was a pleasantly surprising turn of events. It’s uncertain if the previous collaboration with Taokin, where a considerable sum of five million was invested to purchase value-added services, caught the National’s attention.
For New Era, which intended to expand nationwide and aimed at becoming a giant in the domestic digital retail chain, exposure from the National was undoubtedly an inspiring piece of good news.
It implied that the company’s influence was starting to subtly radiate across the country. If they continued to work hard in the Jiang-Zhejiang-Suzhou area for another year or so, they could aim to conquer the entire Xia Country market.
After the National’s news broadcast, mocking comments about New Era being foolish and spending excessively decreased, transforming into remarks about their abundance and capriciousness.
Then, a few days later, the three major figures from New Era also became honored guests at Taokin’s annual meeting. Ah Li reciprocated the favor, and Old Ma was genuinely grateful to Su Zelin. The five-million investment opened up a good start for Taokin’s value-added services, with the promotion proceeding more smoothly than anticipated.
After attending Taokin’s annual event, as he was leaving the hotel, Su Zelin suddenly thought of something and took out his phone to make a call: "Hey, Qiu Wen, I’m planning to visit your place tomorrow. Can you check with your parents if they’re available?"
This was the last important task before the New Year. They had previously arranged the visit, and it was a must to visit the Yan family, otherwise, it would be very disrespectful.
"They’re available, you can come over."
From the other side of the receiver came Yan Qiuwen’s calm, almost emotionless voice like a synthetic girl.
Her father was a scholar who didn’t relish socializing and spent his free time either pursuing knowledge or accompanying family. Knowing the couple’s personality, others usually didn’t disturb them. They rarely had visitors and spent the New Year idly at home.
"Alright, I’ll come over tomorrow then."
"We’ll be waiting for you!"
"..."
The next evening, at the lakeside villa.
When Su Zelin arrived at the Yan family residence, based on the address Yan Qiuwen had sent him, he was quite surprised.
Don’t be fooled by the unimpressive-looking old villa, nestled among the trees, even somewhat hard to find.
However, considering its prime location by West Lake, it was fair to call it a siheyuan of Lin’an!
Both parents of Yan Qiuwen were professors and scholars, with connections to the National Social Sciences Academy. Su Zelin anticipated that her family’s financial condition would be robust, but he didn’t expect them to own such a property.
It seemed that the couple had a keen eye for investment when they were younger. In today’s terms, it’s not easy to buy such a lakeside villa even for those with money. The location is strategically excellent, a feng shui treasure, owned by some of Lin’an’s largest riches, considered a status symbol. Unless one goes bankrupt, who would be willing to easily transfer it?
Su Zelin pressed the doorbell, and after a short wait, the vermilion door opened.
It was Yan Qiuwen who opened the door, and the Yan family hadn’t hired any servants, it was just the three of them living there.
The chilly wind of the last lunar month was biting, and there was a considerable amount of snow; the temperature was quite low. Today, Yan Qiuwen wore a white fox fur cloak-styled hooded coat, with a slightly vintage style, which surprisingly suited her temperament.
Such a style often appears on women in period dramas, though it poses quite a challenge to the actress’s looks, figure, and demeanor.
If one can’t pull it off, it might end up looking like a nouveau riche.
But if one can pull it off, it’s very fairy-like, just like the current Yan Qiuwen, paired with a simple yet elegant ancient-style side-fringe braid, even someone as experienced with women as Su Zelin couldn’t help but steal a few more glances.
It was his first time seeing Qiu Wen dressed this way, and she truly resembled a cultured and elegant daughter from an esteemed scholarly family in period dramas.
"Come in, my parents are expecting you."
Yan Qiuwen closed the door, gracefully leading the way forward.
Amidst the snow and wind, her solitary and aloof figure was like an ethereal, elegant spirit fox.
Su Zelin took the opportunity to observe the courtyard’s environment, which wasn’t lavishly decorated and even had a small vegetable garden, indicating that her parents enjoyed a pastoral lifestyle.
Located in the most bustling area of Lin’an, yet it was the most tranquil place, akin to a paradise.
It exuded a sense of hidden grandeur amid the busy city.
Upon entering the main hall, a rich fragrance greeted them.
The scent was peculiar, seemingly a blend of honey, milk, and floral fragrances, very pleasant, instantly calming the mood.
Agarwood!
Su Zelin quickly made the connection.
This was the scent of burning agarwood, as he had dabbled in it in a past life.
Burning agarwood has multiple benefits, the first being the purification of indoor air, killing bacteria and viruses, especially useful for epidemic prevention during flu seasons.
However, its more significant benefit is to regulate and soothe emotions.
The aroma released during its burning can directly affect the human central nervous system, controlling feelings of anxiety, calming the spirit, promoting deep relaxation of the brain, and improving sleep quality.
In his past life, after Qin Shiqing’s departure and cutting ties with his parents, Su Zelin went through a period of extreme depression and irritability, frequently suffering from sleeplessness at night. Later, he found this substance for calming the mind, and it did have some effect.