"As long as I'm able to."
Mu Lan's gaze was resolute, her tone devoid of any hesitation.
"Even if it means mortgaging all your Mu Corporation shares to me? Is that also acceptable?"
Huo Tingxiao's demand was tantamount to looting a burning house!
In order to deliberately make things difficult for her, the usually composed, emotion-concealing Huo Tingxiao became sharp and caustic, which really didn't suit his style.
Even if he were deeply heartless, he wouldn't covet the few shares she held at this time.
But having already spoken, he was never good at regretting his words.
"Are you sure you want to make such a tasteless request?"
Mu Lan appeared calm on the surface, but on the inside, she had cursed him countless times already.
"I'm a businessman, and it's only natural to seek profit."
The clear, unfeeling voice nearly pushed Mu Lan to lose her temper again, but then Auntie Li hurried in from outside.
"Sir, Madam, the young lady and Mr. Mingxu are here."
Mu Lan looked towards the entrance and saw a luxuriously dressed middle-aged woman in her fifties coming in, followed by a flashy young man who, at a glance, clearly had the look of a spoiled rich second-generation.
Auntie Li busied herself preparing tea in the kitchenette, arranging tea snacks and fruit on the coffee table to serve the guests.
"Tingxiao is also here."
The Huo family patriarch had five children in total, two sons and three daughters.
Huo Tingxiao was the only son of Huo Qidong, the eldest son of the Huo family—The patriarch recognized only this one grandson. The unexpected visitor today was Huo Qitang, the Huo family's eldest daughter. She had long ago eloped against her father's wishes, giving birth to her son He Mingxu. Her husband had passed away early, leaving her a widow to this day. This eldest daughter was accustomed to creating trouble, disturbing the peace of the Huo family.
Of course, Mu Lan had completely forgotten all this information, resulting in her response lacking the humble and attentive demeanor of the past.
Huo Qitang was also keen on finding faults, and her face immediately darkened.
"Tingxiao, I'm not trying to nitpick as your aunt, but your wife is really out of line. I've been here for quite a while and she hasn't even greeted me—how can she be so lacking in manners."
Mu Lan raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself where on earth this old fossil that took offense over a mere greeting had crawled out from. Was it really necessary?
She wanted to greet her too, but with no memory of the person, how could she begin?
Just as she was about to retort, Huo Tingxiao uncharacteristically grew a conscience and defended her.
"I left the old residence precisely because I thought there were too many rules to follow."
The indifferent tone made Huo Qitang struggle to maintain her demeanor, but she did not dare to offend Huo Tingxiao and could only vent her anger on Mu Lan.
"Just keep spoiling her then, the more you do the worse she gets, becoming increasingly brazen.
It's been several years since you married, yet there's still no child. The whole family is expecting news from her belly.
You're so dedicated to your business that you have no idea what the rumors on the outside are saying, and how nasty they are."
"We can't control the mouths of others, now can we?"
Having said this, Mu Lan left Huo Qitang's face as red as a pig's liver.
Today, this nephew's wife must have taken the wrong medicine, to dare to talk back so brazenly to her own face? She had always been extremely respectful, never daring to utter a word of dissent.
"Look at you, is there any respect for your elders in those eyes? Daring to talk back too? You..."
"Aunt, did you come today just to say these things? If so, then there's no need to bother yourself, as I am well aware of what's going on.
Moreover, since grandfather hasn't mentioned anything about this matter, it seems a bit excessive for you, auntie, to come here accusing and meddling.
Auntie Li, please show the guests out."
Huo Tingxiao hated dealing with these trifling family matters and spoke with impatience.
Seeing his attitude, Huo Qitang quickly put on a smile, switching topics and sticking to the sofa, unwilling to leave.
"Ah, I'm just prattling on a bit, but today's main purpose is still for your cousin Mingxu's matter.
Tingxiao, Mingxu..."
Glancing at his useless son, Huo Qitang no longer cared about losing face.
"Mingxu has been back in the country for a while now, and I was thinking, why not let him take a General Manager position or something at Huo's? What do you think..."
"Aunt, I can't decide on this matter.
Since I started my own business, except for the annual shareholders' meeting, I don't get involved in any other affairs of the Huo Family.
So, you've got the wrong person."
Huo Qitang was caught off guard by Huo Tingxiao's refusal to give face, making it awkward for him.
"Tingxiao, are you unable to manage, or do you not wish to?
With just one word from you, would the old man not give face?
I am your own aunt, don't you care about me at all?
All these years, I've been raising Mingxu on my own; it hasn't been easy for me!
You won't even help out this little bit, you've truly let me down... sob sob..."
She played the emotional card slickly, but Mu Lan wasn't foolish and immediately understood what was going on.
It was likely that this aunt didn't hold much status within the Huo Family, otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to come to Huo Tingxiao because she couldn't sort out her own son's job. How intriguing the Huo Family was! Initially, she should have kept a low profile and stayed away from the drama.
Yet, thinking about her own situation, Mu Lan's cunning thoughts emerged one after another, and then she gathered the courage to speak up.
"Aunt, you shouldn't blame Tingxiao for not speaking up for you."
Huo Tingxiao looked at Mu Lan, his gaze playful; she was certainly adept at gauging the direction of the wind.
"What do you mean?"
Hearing this tone, Huo Qitang glared at Mu Lan displeasedly, blaming her for speaking out of turn.
"After all, Huo's is a publicly listed company. Suddenly parachuting in a General Manager will definitely cause controversy."
"But Mingxu is overseas-educated and smart; it's just a minor General Manager position, what controversy could there be?"
She started to feel that this niece-in-law must have something wrong with her brain; she was never daring enough to speak to the elders like this before, nor did she ever dare to meddle in Huo Family affairs. What was going on today?
Mu Lan looked innocent, took a strawberry from the fruit plate, and answered while eating.
"These days, overseas degrees aren't that sought after, even if it's from a top twenty world-ranked university. You still have to let the HR department review the resume.
There are rules in a company, and you're really making it difficult for Tingxiao like this."
Her reasoning sound and seemingly serious, she didn't at all resemble someone who had never been part of the workforce and had always been a housewife.
Huo Tingxiao had never seen Mu Lan like this before and found her somewhat refreshing all of a sudden; his gaze landed on her and seemingly couldn't be moved away.
The person before him was clearly Mu Lan in appearance, but her mannerisms seemed like someone else entirely.
Could it be that a person's personality changes completely when they lose their memory?
"You stop causing trouble here. Isn't it only right for family members to work in their own family's company?
What do you know about the company's matters? A full-time housewife like you should speak less and avoid embarrassing yourself.
If you have nothing better to do than shop for bags and sip afternoon tea, don't overreach yourself."
Mu Lan smiled and wasn't offended in the least.
"Aunt, that's not correct. Even if I am just a full-time housewife, having grown up immersed in it, I still understand some things about the company.
Even my brother, who graduated from Harvard Business School at the age of eighteen, started from the bottom at Mu's; why can't my cousin do the same?"
Huo Qitang was at a loss for words, blocked by Mu Lan's reply, and could only glare at her furiously, unable to find a rebuttal.