CHAPTER 391: CHAPTER 391: LET’S TALK NEXT YEAR

Ruby Sullivan received a message from L before bedtime: Are you planning to trade yourself for my help today?

Compared to the acquisition contract thrown at her by Ethan Sterling, L’s question seemed insignificant.

She quickly and honestly responded, I think you’ll be more interested in Nirvana’s method of changing the scent than in my body.

Having worked at The Lawson Group for so many years, she knew L’s perfumes lacked soul, which, although not affecting The Lawson Group’s market now, might do so in the future. As for other matters... in Ruby Sullivan’s heart, L had already gotten what he wanted, anything more would be tedious.

She didn’t know that across the ocean, L’s face wasn’t looking good upon receiving the message.

But that night, Ruby Sullivan slept soundly, knowing who her enemy was, at least understanding to what extent she would suffer, and thus developed a carefree attitude, feeling much more relaxed.

Although it seemed like she was walking through the trough of life at the moment, there was still some good news: Metamorphosis’s sales were very successful, even exceeding Sasha’s expectations, which made more high-end consumers aware of Nirvana, and the notoriety brought significant sales.

Two days later, Ruby Sullivan departed for Ankoria, where she met several local merchants, but ultimately no cooperation was reached due to various issues.

With only a few days left until the New Year, Ruby Sullivan thought about her two children at home and decided to leave all matters to be resolved after the New Year, hoping that celebrating it well might bring better luck.

At year-end settlement, Nirvana’s net profits were still very substantial. Not only were the sales figures for the two fragrances impressive, but the development of products like scented candles and handmade soap also proved to be a very wise decision in terms of sales.

The budget fragrance that Zoe formulated under Ruby Sullivan’s guidance saved on costs by not continuing with natural ingredients but rather used preferred raw materials from various synthetic fragrance options under Ruby Sullivan’s guidance. The delivery timelines were agreed upon with the manufacturing plant, and as the target consumer group was primarily students, it was decided to launch before the new school term.

After Ruby Sullivan and Howard checked Nirvana’s profit data, they decided to take a holiday three days early and made sure each person received an appropriate bonus.

Among this batch of newcomers, Ruby Sullivan valued Zoe the most, not because she was nearby and easy to observe, but because Zoe’s performance in the company was indeed commendable, naturally earning her a super red packet as a year-end bonus.

Moreover, Claire, Tina, and Howard received satisfying bonuses along with a share proportion dividend.

Claire and Tina were truly stunned by the account balance figures, even suspecting Ruby Sullivan made a mistake with the amounts. At The Sterling Group, they never received so much money.

After receiving Ruby Sullivan’s confirmation, the two young girls were so emotional they almost burst into tears. Although the money was indeed plentiful, the most exciting part was realizing they could create such great value, giving them a strong sense of accomplishment.

Watching their excited expressions, Ruby Sullivan once again affirmed that creating Nirvana wasn’t a reckless act; even if someday it couldn’t continue under her management, it still had its significance.

What’s a bit saddening is that the dividend that seemed like a huge amount to the two young girls, wasn’t ideal for Ruby Sullivan.

Ruby Sullivan initially planned to use this money to buy a house in Sasha’s neighborhood to become her neighbor, but now that plan was directly called off, and seeing the current situation, if financing is not considered next year, this money might have to be used to supplement the company’s working capital.

After returning home, she gave Mama Bennett a super big red packet, bought a pile of gifts for her and the family, and saw her off at the train station with the two little ones.

After leaving the train station, Ruby Sullivan took the two little ones to see the big movie Honey had always wanted to watch, "My Little Pony," though Seth thought the film was mindless, but it didn’t affect his approval of the popcorn.

Ruby Sullivan felt A City’s winter was a bit cold, and since she didn’t need to take the kids to visit relatives, she thought about taking them to the warm southern coast for the New Year. That night, the mother and her two children returned home, discussing this plan in the living room while playing with Lego.

Previously, Seth was sent to his grandmother’s place during holidays, so he had some basic knowledge of New Year customs.

"Aren’t we going to visit Vivian for New Year?"

Honey didn’t understand these things, "What is visiting for New Year?"

Seth didn’t wait for mom to answer; he explained to his sister, "Visiting for New Year means going to the old house on New Year’s Day, wishing Vivian, Auntie, and Uncle a happy new year, and then receiving red envelopes."

Although the elder Mrs. Sterling is in Crestfall, she never misses a traditional holiday, and even takes Seth to Celestian Quarter and The Chinese Community to meet friends and celebrate together, so Seth is quite familiar with these things.

Ruby Sullivan hadn’t expected Seth to be thinking about this, "If you want to go out of town for the New Year, then we don’t need to visit for New Year. I think Vivian can understand this."

Seth could see his mother’s thoughts, so he didn’t say anything. Honey was still curious about receiving red envelopes.

She didn’t know what a red envelope was, but she knew what money was. As she grew older, she had some vague understanding of money and naturally knew that money was a good thing.

"Mom, Honey never received a red envelope." She tilted her head looking at her mom, her big eyes twinkling, her intentions unspoken.

Ruby Sullivan pinched her little face and smiled, "Mom can give you a red envelope too."

"Hmm... Then we’ll listen to mom." Honey was actually willing to stay at home.

Despite her young age, she had been running around these last two years, moving places and changing schools, always adapting to new environments, and really wished for a more stable life.

But she could sense that mom was very eager to go out of town for the New Year, and being with mom is good enough, so she didn’t mind.

Just suddenly thinking about dad, she couldn’t help but ask, "Will dad join us?"

"Dad will spend the New Year with Vivian and them; this time it will be mom, brother, and Honey going south for the New Year, how do you feel about that?" Ruby Sullivan explained to her daughter with a smile, hoping she would overlook dad’s importance.

But she noticed a clear hint of sadness in her daughter’s eyes.

This hard-won father, perhaps more precious to Honey than one who had been with her from the start, even though he and mom lived apart, the idea of leaving dad was not appealing in Honey’s heart.

Ruby Sullivan thought of Ethan Sterling’s girlfriend, considering he might soon have a new family, new children, and felt a bit troubled.

She didn’t know how much of these matters Honey could understand, but she knew it would certainly wound her daughter’s heart.