This was her good friend Nina Rice. When she heard that Jane was short of funds, she directly slapped several cards in front of her and was even willing to touch the foundational assets left to Jane by Granny Sampton and Grandpa Sampton.
"My mother didnât agree with me doing this, but I persuaded my father. He wonât stop me, nor will he support me. I sold my house in the city center, and with my savings from the last few years, combined with what youâve given me, we definitely have enough to start construction." Nina said, "Jane Sampson, I wonât stand on ceremony then. Consider this money as your investment, and weâll own shares proportionately to the amount of funds each of us put in."
Jane nodded, "Okay, if weâre still short on money later on, just let me know, and Iâll find a way to gather some more."
Nina bent the corner of her mouth in a smile, ummed a response, and the cards from Jane felt almost too hot to handle in her palm.
Jane receives a considerable amount of dividends from the Sampton Clan every year, so Nina could easily guess how much money these several cards might contain. "All the passwords are the same, the last six digits of my WhatsAPP account," Jane said.
"Come on, hereâs to us making a fortune! When we open for business, you, as a shareholder, must definitely come!" Nina poured Jane a generous glass of beer with a grand gesture, "Cheers!"
Jane hadnât thought about investing before coming. She had just considered it as lending the money to Nina, because she always felt that Nina could succeed in whatever she set out to do. To offer money as an investment when Nina was strapped for cash seemed like taking advantage of her.
Now that Nina had brought it up herself, after pondering a bit, Jane didnât refuse. She figured if they did incur losses, Nina wouldnât be under as much pressure.
So, in the time it took to share a meal, Jane unexpectedly became a shareholder in Ninaâs future hotpot restaurant.
One meal was all it took for Nina to solve her immediate financial issues, and she was quite happy. And as Nina felt relieved, Jane was happy for her as well.
Jane always admired Nina, who, from childhood to adulthood, was able to do what she wanted, free and unfettered.
For her own entrepreneurial dreams, Nina could leave her consulting firm without fearing anyoneâs gossip, nor the opposition from Mother Rice.
This was the life Jane admired, but could never live herself. So, she was willing to help Nina to the best of her abilities.
The two left the dining hall and headed home separately. Neither of them was keen on nightlife, but due to a bit of traffic congestion, Jane didnât get home until around nine oâclock.
It was also 8 oâclock when the nightlife in Capital Province was just beginning, while over at the guard team, James Black had just barely finished his evening training.
After taking a shower, breaking his usual routine of reading, James sat at his desk and pulled out his mobile phone to open the photo album.
There werenât many photos in Jamesâs mobile phone. Aside from the photos that Jane had saved on his phone last time, the only other photos were the group shots his teammates took for him with Jane at Tooth Spring.
In every photo, Jane was smiling especially happily. There were also two pictures where she was standing on tiptoe behind his back, making funny faces and rabbit ear gestures behind him.
James flipped through them one by one, painstakingly revisiting each photo once more.
After exiting the album, James downloaded WhatsAPP from the App Store and then went to find Peter Gingery.
At this time, Peter was in the dormitory. Several roommates were huddled together, discussing topics without any taboo. The sudden appearance of James at the doorway scared the people inside into utter silence.