Deanna held the two little ones in her arms and asked, "When did you come back?"
"Just a little while ago. Mommy, did you have fun outside?" Gregory asked curiously, looking up at her.
Deanna, holding their hands, walked them towards the sofa and smiled, "We had a good time. Most importantly, Mommy made some new friends for you. Next time we go, I'll introduce you to them. By the way, they prepared gifts for you. Did you see them?"
"Yes, Daddy gave them to us when we got back," the two little ones nodded obediently.
Deanna continued, "Since you received gifts, shouldn't you prepare a gift for them next time you meet?"
Hearing this, the two little ones exchanged glances and said in their sweet voices, "Mommy is right. We will prepare gifts for them next time."
Deanna nodded in satisfaction.
The following days returned to their usual peaceful and warm routine. During the day, everyone went to work or school. In the evenings, they gathered for dinner and spent time together.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
One day, Deanna was at the office handling documents when she suddenly received a call from her master.
"Master, are you back?" Deanna asked with pleasant surprise upon answering the call.
Her master apologized, "I haven't returned yet. I'm contacting you because I need your help with something."
"What is it? Just tell me directly, no need to be so polite," Deanna replied with a smile.
Her master explained, "I've set up several research institutes abroad with good results. Now I want to establish one domestically."
"That's great. How can I help?" Deanna agreed enthusiastically.
Her master laughed, "You can help in many ways. Since I'm abroad and can't leave, I'll need you to oversee the establishment of the institute. I'll send an assistant to help you. If you have any questions, you can ask him. He won't interfere much; you'll be in charge of the entire institute."
"In charge?" Deanna was surprised.
Her master confirmed, "Yes. Since I can't return, I'll need your help managing the institute later on."
Hearing this, Deanna was even more surprised. She thought her master just wanted her to oversee the construction but didn't expect to be involved in management as well. However, since her master asked, she wouldn't refuse. She replied seriously, "I'll do my best not to let you down."
"If you encounter management issues, you can consult Brent or me," her master added. Then he explained, "Brent has been with me for many years and will be the assistant I'm sending to help you."
Deanna nodded, "Okay. When will Brent return? I'll pick him up."
"He should arrive in the next couple of days. He'll contact you when he gets there," her master said and then talked about the institute's purpose. "This institute will focus on developing new traditional medicines. You have a talent in this area. I'll send you the successful research data from here. Based on that data, you can innovate new medicines. I'll also provide some rare herbs. If you encounter problems, feel free to ask me."
"Alright. I'll look into potential sites for the institute in the next couple of days," Deanna said, outlining her plan.
Her master agreed and added, "There's also someone else who will assist you in developing the medicines."
"Is he coming back with Brent?" Deanna asked.
Her master denied it, "No, it's someone you know. You collaborated with him in Sealand before."
Hearing this, Deanna realized who he meant. "Are you talking about Mr. Grant?"
"Yes. He has unique ideas in drug development. Since your previous collaboration went well, I believe working together again won't be difficult and might even exceed my expectations," her master explained.
Deanna recalled her discussions with Lionel at the research institute and agreed with her master's assessment. She and Lionel shared many similar views. If they worked together on new medicines, they might indeed achieve surprising results.
After talking for a while longer, they ended the call.
Deanna then called her assistant and instructed, "Check which plots of land are up for auction in Cloudmere recently."
"Is the chairman planning a new project?" The assistant asked out of curiosity to better understand the task.
Deanna understood and replied, "Yes, there's a new project but it's not related to the company. Find a plot suitable for building a research institute with absolute ownership."