Chapter 863: Chapter 840: Another Year (Part 2) Even if power was ultimately undermined, becoming an executive director of Xiangjiang Ocean Park by finding a new path shows he’s definitely not lacking in ability. Lu Liang knew his decision and prepared a position for him, Vice President of Tianxing Finance, with an annual salary provisionally set at 12 million Hong Kong Dollars. “Thank you, Mr. Lu,” said Liu Mingwei, his voice deep, not mentioning the issue of equity dividends because he knew he wasn’t worthy yet. Lu Liang valued him for his ability to appease Huazhi’s old officials, but that wasn’t his true capability. Only after Lu Liang saw his impact would he be qualified to ask for better compensation. Subsequently, Lu Liang called in Tang Caide and Li Junwei to inform them of Liu Mingwei’s joining. Wen Chao, who had gone to Korea to prepare for the roadshow, also connected remotely to participate in the video conference. “From now on, Wen Chao will handle external matters, Junwei will manage internal affairs, and Mingwei will link the inside and outside, dealing with all miscellaneous tasks.” Lu Liang spoke, glanced at Tang Caide, and said with a smile, “Mr. Tang, you’re still the Finance Director.” He didn’t assign new tasks to Tang Caide, as she was in charge of finance and already wielded considerable power. Moving forward, she only needed to handle fund approvals and daily operations, including business expansion, without needing to delve too deeply into other areas. Tang Caide nodded with a smile, watching as Lu Liang assigned the main tasks for the coming year to everyone, suddenly feeling as if time had passed in a blink. She once merely wanted to find a modest little company to work peacefully until retirement, never imagining that the little company she initially joined would grow to become a giant that even Redwood would look up to. As night fell, the meeting neared its end when suddenly Sun Zheyuan knocked and quietly informed that Li Manli’s flight was about to arrive in Xiangjiang. Lu Liang nodded slightly, looked at the others, and said solemnly, “Next year’s situation will certainly be more complex and volatile than previous years. It’s a crisis, but it’s equally an opportunity. We must seize it!” A crucial decision made by a rapidly developing country must have gone through careful consideration and contingencies for any unexpected factors. Lu Liang chose to trust the country’s decisions. Unlike Tianxing Automobile, which opted to slow down its development next year to withstand the imminent crisis, Tianxing Finance should expand faster and bolder next year. If a crisis truly spreads globally, it will inevitably cause devastating impacts on the real economy of various countries. But as he said, it’s a crisis, but also an opportunity. The offline real economy might stagnate, but the online financial trading market will undoubtedly continue. This is a worldwide black swan that will affect the economic markets of various countries to varying degrees. Thus, before that moment arrives, they must strengthen themselves as much as possible, accumulate resources, and wait for the opportune moment to launch a harvest on Europe and America, and even globally. At 8:20 PM, Lu Liang wrapped up the meeting and hurriedly headed to Xiangjiang International Airport. The traffic delayed him a while, and by the time he arrived, it was near ten o’clock, with a beautiful young girl seen looking around at the airport entrance. Over recent years, Li Manli’s dressing style had constantly changed, from initially cosplaying a beautiful girl, to becoming a fitness enthusiast, and now adopting a simple and sweet style that seemed to hint at a return to simplicity. This year, at age 22, she dressed like a 22-year-old girl, wearing cotton boots, denim shorts, and cotton leggings. Her upper body was clad in a loose pink sweatshirt with large apes, and her hair, unlike before, fell naturally in long straight locks. The make-up on her face was lighter than before, appearing almost bare-faced, relying entirely on her refined features to uphold her beauty. Lu Liang smiled, made a call, then lowered his car window and beckoned, “Here.” Upon seeing him, Li Manli broke into a joyful smile, like a calf, running forward with her backpack. She directly opened the passenger door, reached across the console, and hugged Lu Liang passionately, giving him a big kiss on the cheek, like a kitten lingering close to its owner, “Liang, I missed you.” “I missed you too,” Lu Liang couldn’t help but chuckle. Although it had been a while since they last met, Li Manli’s personality and demeanor had changed, but her way of expressing herself remained as straightforward as always. Just like she once said, liking someone means letting them know, and if she could, she would even want to become a pendant, hanging on her beloved person 24 hours a day. A sharp horn broke their tender moment, seemingly accompanied by blessings for the entire family. After all, Xiangjiang celebrates New Year’s Day, and every year at Victoria Harbor, there is a countdown fireworks display to celebrate the arrival of the new year. “Fasten your seatbelt, we’re heading out.” Upon hearing Lu Liang’s words, Li Manli responded cheerfully and obediently returned to her seat. Driving off the airport expressway, Lu Liang cast a sidelong glance at Li Manli, “Did you wait long?” “Actually, not really. It took quite some time just to walk out of the airport,” Li Manli constantly stared at Lu Liang; her gaze seemed like it was magnetically fixed on him, conveying all her tenderness and anticipation through her eyes. “Tomorrow’s New Year, there are more cars on the road, so it took longer than expected.” Facing that gaze, Lu Liang suddenly felt an indescribable sensation. He held the steering wheel with one hand, reaching out a hand to firmly grasp Li Manli’s icy hand, “Isn’t Su City cold? Why didn’t you wear a jacket on your way here?” Content orıginally comes from 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝕟𝕖𝕥 “Not cold, just my hands feel a bit chilly, but they’re fine now.” Li Manli chuckled, covered Lu Liang’s single hand with both of hers, their eyes forming crescent moons, “It’s warm.” She suddenly smiled slyly, whispering, “Liang, do you want to see the magic trick I recently learned?” “Will it be a surprise or a scare?” Xiangjiang Disneyland was along the way from the airport to the city, Lu Liang turned the steering wheel, entered the park, and parked under the hotel. “It’s definitely a surprise~” Li Manli suddenly pulled Lu Liang’s left hand and placed it inside her sweatshirt, fiddling with something inside, and giggled, “Liang, take your hand out and see for yourself.” “But it’s so warm inside, I don’t want to come out,” Lu Liang grinned, pinching Li Manli’s little belly, which was soft again compared to the evident abdominal muscles half a year ago. “Aw, can’t you show some respect for the magician?” Lu Liang eventually took a look and found he’d gained a wrist cord strung with five agate beads. “How’s it? Does it look nice?” Li Manli beamed and explained the origin of her bracelet, “A while back, the Five Mountains challenge was quite popular, so I joined in the trend. Each agate bead stayed a night at the big temple hall atop the mountains. The master said wearing it consistently wards off misfortune and brings good luck.” “Thank you, I really like it.” Lu Liang gazed at the bracelet, silent for a while, then patted Li Manli’s little head guiltily, “I just feel a bit bad since I just came from the office and didn’t manage to prepare a New Year gift for you.” “Who says there’s no gift?” Li Manli cupped Lu Liang’s cheeks, “Us being able to celebrate New Year together again is the best gift.” “Oh, you’re getting better with words,” Lu Liang laughed helplessly, and Li Manli proudly said, “After all, I am a host!” “Come on, let’s go up and see. Xiangjiang’s Disneyland should be more interesting than Modu’s.” Lu Liang held Li Manli’s hand, and the two went up to the hotel, taking the elevator to the castle suite on the top floor. As the door opened, a floral scent burst forth, and the European-style suite was arranged like a garden, filled with fresh flowers and colorful lights. Li Manli exclaimed, ran with open arms throughout the room before returning to Lu Liang and leaping onto him. “I’m so happy,” Li Manli choked, voice quivering, not anticipating that Lu Liang would prepare such a grand scene for her. “As long as you like it,” Lu Liang gently patted Li Manli’s head, glancing around the room decor, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He didn’t expect Xiao Sun to be rather romantic. He had given Sun Zheyuan only the task of planning a date with a girl, leaving the specifics entirely in Sun Zheyuan’s hands. “I love it so much,” Li Manli sniffed back tears, determined not to shed a drop on this blissful night. Just then, the wall clock chimed, and outside, a beam of light shot skyward, exploding into a brilliant firework. Li Manli stared blankly at the fireworks, snapping back after a while, and hurriedly grabbed the wine glass on the table. She turned to Lu Liang, smiling, “Liang, Happy New Year. This is our third year together.” Lu Liang laughed softly, “Happy New Year, for all the upcoming fifth year, tenth year, twentieth year, we’ll spend them together!” “We will always love each other forever and ever.”