I'm back in 1990

Chapter 342: The Blend of Classical and Modern

After making a phone call, Huang Xiaochuan rushed back to Shanghai. Yu Xiang said that his second sister was about to give birth and her weight had exceeded 180 pounds before delivery, which really gave Huang Xiaochuan a headache. She had become like an elephant!

Moreover, the baby in her womb was wrapped in the umbilical cord around its neck, making it difficult for the second sister to avoid surgery. This naughty child caused this trouble even before being born.

After the plane landed, it took a while to go through customs and collect the luggage, and Huang Xiaochuan was extremely anxious in that short time.

After getting on the bus, we went straight to the hospital. My uncle and aunt were there when we arrived, but my grandmother was too old to come.

"How is it?"

When Huang Xiaochuan's aunt saw him return, she quickly asked him, "Have you eaten?"

"I ate on the plane. How's my second sister?"

"She's fine, just complaining about pain in her incision. The baby is doing well too, the girl weighs six pounds, eats a lot and cries a lot, and finally managed to fall asleep."

The aunt's eyes showed a hint of regret when she mentioned the child.

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan exclaimed, "Wow, she's carrying a six-pound baby and weighs 180 pounds? It's all from eating and not exercising all the time. Now that the baby is born, she can't get the weight back."

But hearing that the mother and daughter were safe and sound put my mind at ease.

When Huang Xiaochuan's uncle, Zeng Jiahua, saw him return, he frowned and said, "Weren't you doing your internship? What are you doing back here?"

Huang Xiaochuan initially went to the United States under the pretext that the school arranged for him to do an internship in another city, so he still has to keep up the lie.

"My internship is over, and I'm back to prepare my thesis."

Upon hearing this, the uncle stopped saying anything.

"I'll go in and take a look."

The uncle waved his hand: "Go ahead."

Upon entering the ward, Huang Xiaochuan found the adults and children asleep. He tiptoed around and saw his second brother-in-law, Huo Miao, inside. Huo Miao quickly got up to greet Huang Xiaochuan, but Huang Xiaochuan immediately put his index finger to his lips and shushed him.

After watching for a while and seeing that his second sister and the child were both fine, Huang Xiaochuan finally felt relieved.

He then gestured to Huo Miao and went out.

After going outside, he asked his aunt, "Where's my eldest sister?"

"I went back to work, and Xuanxuan went back with me."

"Oh!" Huang Xiaochuan nodded, indicating that he understood.

My older sister has taken a long enough maternity leave and should go back home. Although the family doesn't need her salary to support them now, Huang Xiaochuan thinks it's better to have a job than to stay at home and get sick from being idle.

Huang Xiaochuan didn't stay at the hospital for long before his uncle and aunt sent him home. He had originally planned to wait for Yu Xiang to go home together, but when he found her, she was busy seeing patients with her mentor and was so busy that she couldn't even lift her head. Huang Xiaochuan thought it best not to cause her any trouble and went home first.

Once inside the courtyard, Big Stick and Little Stick immediately rushed over excitedly, wagging their heads and tails, and kept licking Huang Xiaochuan's hands while making soft whimpering noises.

After petting the dogs' heads a few times and patting their backs, Huang Xiaochuan went inside to visit his grandmother.

"Grandma, I'm home!"

Grandma was busy tidying up the children's things when she saw Huang Xiaochuan return. She happily asked, "You're back? Have you eaten?"

Seeing that his grandmother was about to get up to go to the kitchen, Huang Xiaochuan quickly stopped her, saying, "I've already eaten. I just got back from the hospital. Don't get up."

Grandma asked with a smile, "Did you see your niece?"

"I saw it, it's been sleeping the whole time."

"They're all like this when they're first born. They grow up while they're sleeping. You were like that when you were little too."

Huang Xiaochuan chatted with his grandmother for a while and took out the gift he had brought for her.

It mainly consisted of snacks bought in Hong Kong. Considering his grandmother's teeth, Huang Xiaochuan bought her some soft pastries.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Huang Xiaochuan went out and opened the gate; it was Mai Guangde.

"Mr. Huang, Mr. Nan said he has something important to discuss with you."

Huang Xiaochuan laughed, "Did she plant a tracking device on me? I just got back and she's already here? Set it as your homepage to get daily updates on works like '1990 I'm Back.' Tell her I'm in Xujiahui this afternoon."

"Okay, I'll tell her right away!" Mai Guangde immediately dialed Nan Hui's number.

During lunch, Huang Xiaochuan casually asked his uncle, "Has the baby been named yet?"

The uncle said, "She's been given the name. Her nickname is Liujin, and her formal name is Huo Xinyuan. Her formal name was given to her by her grandfather."

Huang Xiaochuan did not object. The child's surname was Huo, and it would be against the rules for the maternal family to take over the naming. According to old customs, the family that takes the child's surname should be responsible for naming the child.

When Huang Xiaochuan thought about naming his child, he thought of a story from later generations about a young couple auctioning off the right to name their child. The bride's family and the groom's family fought fiercely over the right, but in the end, the father-in-law was richer and won the right to name the child. The young couple then happily used the money to buy a new car. This is because young people born in the 00s no longer care about naming their children.

After the meal, Huang Xiaochuan took out the gifts: imported liquor, cigars, and some high-end lighters for his uncle. These were to impress his uncle, as he was fond of such things. He figured these lighters would soon change hands, since it wasn't the first time. So Huang Xiaochuan always bought him extra lighters each time.

Every time he drank too much, he would show off his lighter in front of his friends, only to have it stolen. His uncle seemed to enjoy it and would do it again next time. However, Huang Xiaochuan didn't tell him that the cheapest of these lighters cost three hundred dollars. As long as he was happy, that was all that mattered.

The gift I bought for my aunt was gold jewelry. I also gave the jewelry and bags I bought for my two older sisters to my aunt so she could pass them on to them.

Auntie was both happy and distressed. She was happy that Huang Xiaochuan would think of buying her gifts whenever he went out, but distressed that Huang Xiaochuan had spent money again.

"I won't be back for dinner tonight, so don't wait for me." After handing out the gifts, Huang Xiaochuan said goodbye to his grandmother and aunt and went to his office in Xujiahui.

Nan Hui arrived at Huang Xiaochuan's office on time. Her main purpose this time was to show Huang Xiaochuan the simplified design drawings of the Pudong headquarters building.

After seeing the drawing, Huang Xiaochuan was quite satisfied with Nan Hui's execution ability. The drawing basically met some of the requirements Huang Xiaochuan had put forward, namely, to build a library.

Therefore, the architectural design firm's proposed solution is the current drawing.

The main building will be the future headquarters of the group, the other building will be the library, and the lower podium will be commercial space.

However, Huang Xiaochuan was not very satisfied with the architectural design of the library, as it looked rather ordinary and lacked a striking visual appeal.

"You should discuss the library design with the design firm again. This design is a bit too simplistic. I don't think it reflects the characteristics of a library."

"I suggest they consider a blend of classical and modern styles in the library's design. Also, in the interior decoration, use vintage elements like wooden bookshelves and leather sofas in specific areas, while using modern design elements in public areas. This way, both the interior and exterior will incorporate a blend of classical and modern styles. Furthermore, they should emphasize artistic and cultural elements, incorporating traditional Chinese painting and folk customs."

Nan Hui recorded all these requirements and will then provide feedback on these suggestions and requests to the design firm.

Then Nan Hui reported to Huang Xiaochuan on the land she had recently purchased in the land auction.

"What? They also bought two plots of land on Huaihai Middle Road?"

Huang Xiaochuan didn't expect this woman to be so resourceful; in just a few months, she bought five or six plots of land in Pudong and Puxi, all of which were commercial land.

"Yes, the city and district governments have given us a lot of favorable policies. Moreover, based on your expectations for the future commercial real estate in Shanghai, we have already contacted Hilton Hotels Group and Ritz-Carlton Hotels Group. We will build the buildings, and they will handle the decoration and operation, sharing the profits according to our shareholding ratio."

Huang Xiaochuan nodded: "Well done."

Nan Hui continued, "We plan to develop the remaining plots of land in stages, building commercial complexes or large office buildings based on the characteristics of the plots and the surrounding facilities and planning."

Huang Xiaochuan was quite surprised by Nan Hui's transformation. It hadn't been long, and now she could talk about real estate development fluently. This woman was indeed smart.

It took nearly two hours for Nan Hui to give Huang Xiaochuan a detailed report on the preliminary and subsequent work plans.