Chapter: 4641

Ye Zhen seemed to have guessed something and nodded slightly before changing the subject: "By the way, Ms. Liu, your Ph.D. is almost done, right? What are your plans after graduation?"

Liu Manjiong was startled by Ye Zhen's sudden change of topic, paused for a moment, then realized that Ye Zhen was deliberately diverting attention from something painful and smiled: "I'll graduate in the summer, and after that, I plan to go to Africa, further develop my charitable projects, and then come back to find a job related to my expertise. Meanwhile, I'll continue to engage in charity work as much as possible."

Ye Zhen asked curiously: "Why do you still need to find a job? Can't you just join your dad's company? You're the eldest child at home, and his business will probably be passed down to you eventually."

Liu Manjiong shook her head and laughed: "I'm not interested in that kind of thing, and I've been studying Chinese literature all the way through university and graduate school. I have no idea about finance or economics, so I couldn't possibly do a job in that field."

As she spoke, Liu Manjiong made a wry remark: "Besides, look at me - I'm not exactly cut out for business. I've been running a loss of HK$200,000 per month from the small shop, and my dad has to make up for it. If he really passes down the company to me, I'm afraid I'll lose his fortune in no time."

Ye Zhen asked curiously: "How long have you had the small shop?"

Liu Manjiong thought for a moment and said: "Well, it's been around for 10-15 years, since my dad got married and bought it."

Ye Zhen asked her: "Do you know how much he spent on it when he first bought it?"

"Forget about it...," Liu Manjiong said awkwardly, "Actually, I'm not sensitive to this aspect, and at that time, I wasn't even that old. I just felt like I wanted to keep the street intact, so my dad invested in buying it down, but I really don't know how much he spent."

Ye Zhen asked again, "So how do you know there's a loss of HK$20,000 per month?"

"It's because the manager told me," Liu Manjiong said. "Before I turned 18, this small street was run by someone else on behalf of my dad, and after I turned 18, it was handed over to me to manage, but I didn't know how to manage it either. So I just thought about keeping everything normal, not increasing rent for everyone, and also the environment is generally quite dirty, especially with a lot of trash and rats, so I asked the manager to arrange a dedicated cleaning staff every day to help us clean up, dispose of trash, and catch rats and cockroaches..."

As she spoke, Liu Manjiong added, "Oh, by the way, we didn't used to have such big losses each month. It's only because labor costs have been rising constantly, with one person costing over HK$10,000 per month, so the losses are getting bigger and bigger, from tens of thousands to now HK$20,000."

As she finished speaking, Liu Manjiong's expression couldn't help but become embarrassed, saying, "Am I not a failure at doing business like this?"

Ye Zhen smiled, "I don't think so. Your small street is very prosperous and well-maintained, and the property prices must have risen significantly over the years. Who knows, it might even have increased exponentially. As for your losses, they might not even be making a profit."

"Really?" Liu Manjiong suddenly came back to her senses, looking rather regretful, saying, "You're right... I haven't thought about this aspect at all these many years. I've only been thinking about my dad's business getting bigger and bigger, and not caring about the small street's monthly losses, but never considering the issue of property appreciation..."

After that, she couldn't help but laugh and shake her head, saying, "I really lack sensitivity when it comes to doing business... it's a natural talent I lack..."

Ye Zhen asked him, "What about your younger sister? Is she talented in this area?"

"Yes," Liu Manjiong nodded, smiling, "My sister is very capable. She's studying finance in the UK and her biggest dream is to take over from my dad, so she's working very hard in this field."

Ye Zhen smiled slightly, speaking seriously: "If you don't like doing business, it's indeed possible to choose a job that you enjoy."

As she was saying this, Ye Zhen asked her, "What kind of work do you most want to do?"

Liu Manjiong spoke seriously: "The job prospects for Chinese majors are actually quite narrow in Hong Kong. On the island, the most common career paths and those on the mainland are similar, mostly taking civil service exams, except for media and schools, which are also two relatively common career directions. If I read a doctorate, then becoming a professor at a top university would be a very good development direction, and that's what I tend towards myself."

Ye Zhen was astonished and asked: "You want to be a teacher?"

"Yes," Liu Manjiong nodded, speaking very seriously: "Teaching is a sacred thing in my mind. If I could become a professor at a university in the future, I would be completely satisfied."

Ye Zhen smiled and asked her: "I've heard you're studying for your Ph.D. at CUHK and plan to stay at CUHK as a lecturer?"

Liu Manjiong was silent for a moment, lightly shook her head, and then opened her mouth: "After all, Hong Kong is too small, always staying here will give one the feeling of being confined." JrNovels.com