The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 196 New Arrivals at the Coffee Shop

Chen Pingsheng went to cook the meal himself.

The little girl standing nearby could also help out; when she was little and home alone with no one to take care of her, she would cook noodles for herself.

Whether it tastes good or not doesn't matter; the important thing is to fill our stomachs and not cause trouble for our parents.

Aside from slightly lower grades, there aren't really any other shortcomings now.

Big-Fatty helped him pick green beans, while Chen Pingsheng chopped meat and chili peppers.

Outside the courtyard, He Xingfu plucked all the chicken feathers and quickly chopped them up. Chen Qi, who was standing nearby, also went to help her.

When Liu Fen and Peng Ying returned, the two middle-aged women had also bought three particularly large Australian lobsters.

High-end ingredients often require the simplest and most unpretentious cooking methods.

Steam until cooked.

The two of them used the Fierce Dragon Tiger technique entirely based on instructions from Baidu.

After the meal was ready, his wife, Song Yanxi, also returned.

Song Wu was with her.

Song Wu is not the same as before. Everyone in the entertainment industry knows that she has a powerful background, and she is also known as the "Princess of Beijing Circle".

The "Beijing circle" naturally refers to Tengying's connections in Beijing, and she is currently Tengying's only publicly known associate.

This circle refers only to the entertainment industry.

Tencent Film Group is now second only to a few established film groups, such as Huayi Brothers.

It's far ahead in the TV drama industry.

"Brother-in-law."

"It's good that you're all back."

September is the start of the school year, and the little rascal is finally going back to school.

Everyone else was happy except for her.

And then there are the little kids, with sparse, pitifully thin hair.

I sat on the food cart and ate my own hand-grabbed rice.

Chen Qi served him some food: "Brother, my sister-in-law and the others all want to stay in Beijing to make money. What do you think would be suitable for her?"

How would I know what she's suited for?

However, Chen Pingsheng still suggested that she go to Tengsheng Fresh Food, which should be quite suitable for the couple.

Hu Lin's brother-in-law was even easier to talk to than he had imagined, which made him very happy.

They haven't even met people this rich.

I was quite nervous before coming, but I didn't expect them to be so approachable.

"Thank you, brother. I'd like to offer you a toast."

"Forget it, I dare not drink the wine you offer."

Chen Pingsheng said to her, "You're about to get married, you should probably calm down and go work at Shuiyunjian properly."

Come to think of it, aside from his relationship problems, his younger sister has never caused him any trouble.

It's been over three years since I came to Beijing, and I'm about to get married. Time really flies.

"Dad, let me toast you too."

"What the hell are you offering a toast to?"

Chen An'an held a glass of orange juice instead of alcohol, and said with a shake of her head, "I'll be in third grade soon, don't worry, I'll definitely be in the top 30 in the class this year."

He clapped his chubby little hands and kept making promises.

Chen Pingsheng picked up a piece of chicken butt for her: "If I didn't know that each class at the international primary school has no more than 25 students, I would have almost raised a glass to celebrate with you."

Each class must have no more than 25 students, and she vowed to rank within the top 30.

Giving her chicken butts is an overestimation.

Chen An'an was dumbfounded. Were there really so few students in that class?
Not everyone can get better grades than her, right?
Everyone pays high tuition fees, so it's impossible for everyone to be a top student.

There are always a few like her who have no talent for studying.

Chen An'an found herself laughing at the thought.

Chen Pingsheng ignored her. If he had any expectations for her academic performance, he wouldn't have bought all the commercial storefronts of Tenghui Department Store.

My little one can only go to kindergarten at three years old, which is more than a year away, so there's no rush.

My younger sister's sudden decision to get married is a matter for both families.

Many relatives from my hometown will be coming then.

It's understandable that Brother Hu Lin and his wife came to Beijing.

Chen Pingsheng didn't interfere too much; it was entirely up to them how things turned out at Tengsheng Fresh.

Liu Fen also quietly asked him, "Ping Sheng, when do you think is the best time to sell your Vanke shares?"

Chen Pingsheng was a little surprised. Why was she asking this question now? Didn't she see that the battle for control of Vanke was still ongoing?

Baoneng has spent tens of billions of yuan to aggressively acquire shares through several insurance companies.

Hengda has also jumped on the bandwagon, with investments often reaching tens or hundreds of billions.

With so many big players battling it out, they won't give up halfway through until a final winner is decided.

Even so, he still intends to divest Vanke in September.

Buy in May, sell in late September.

Based on the current situation, we should be able to make a net profit of around 200 million yuan, which, combined with the initial investment, would amount to 350 million yuan.

Next month, Bobo Milk Tea will be launched, and he will definitely use that money to boost his company's stock price.

The reason is simple: the money earned from the stock market cannot trigger the random increase in the Golden Finger Grandpa's fortune.

However, they can own 9% of the shares in Bobo Milk Tea.

Comparing the two, he would definitely find it more worthwhile to use money to prop up the stock price of Bobo Milk Tea.

"There's no rush."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Just watch the news. When the final control of Vanke is revealed, that's when we'll sell it."

These people are now vying for control of Vanke.

Whoever gets this will truly end the Vanke battle.

The current situation is like a stunningly beautiful woman openly seeking a husband.

Three burly men had fought tooth and nail for her, as long as the final destination of this beautiful woman remained undecided.

Then this war will not stop.

As long as they keep going, the retail investors below naturally don't need to think about selling their shares.

In fact, many large investors have already entered the market; he knows that Tong Zhelan has invested over 100 million yuan.

The other classmates, even those who bought the least, spent tens of millions.

With so many powerful figures supporting us, there's no need to rush at all.

Having made up her mind, Liu Fen secretly posted in the Liu family group that she would continue to increase her holdings in Vanke.

Chen Pingsheng ignored her; he still had to attend to matters at the coffee shop.

Tong Zhelan's 200 million has already been received, as have Yang Mi's and Bobo Milk Tea's 25 million. He himself has only invested 100 million so far, and plans to wait until the TV series produced by Tencent Video recoups its investment before investing the remaining 1.5 million.

Yang Mi's "Eternal Love" should break even by September.

The TV dramas she produces never lack buyers from television stations.

Chen Pingsheng drove his Bentley to the company, drove around for a bit, and then went to that little coffee shop.

He has already invested 100 million yuan in storefront renovations.

It takes at least two months from finding a storefront to completing the renovation.

These two months were just enough for him to assemble the founding team and train the service staff.

The same old tricks.

Don't be fooled by the fact that 100 million seems like a lot; at least half of that will be spent on the transfer fee for a coffee shop storefront.

The reason is simple: their coffee shops have no reputation whatsoever, and they can't compare to brands like Starbucks that already have a built-in following.

For example, in a large shopping mall, to bring in an LV store, you might not even have to pay rent, let alone give them subsidies.

This is the power of big brands; they come with top-tier traffic.

Coffee shops must be located in the CBD, where are there any available storefronts?
They plan to invest two million in a coffee shop here, half of which will be spent on the transfer of the storefront.

"Hey old man, what brings you here again?"

"Young lady, you really don't know how to talk. Isn't it good enough that I'm here to patronize your business?"

This young girl is quite naive; at eighteen or nineteen, she's at the most innocent age.

Where is your aunt?

"She went to buy something and will be right back. Uncle, what kind of coffee would you like? How about I make it for you?"

The little girl said expectantly, "Since you can't taste the coffee anyway, why don't you try my cooking?"

"Okay, then give me a cappuccino."

Chen Pingsheng sat in his window seat again, and soon his aunt Qin Xue returned.

She was 28 years old, with a full figure, yet slender in all the right places.

Some of the areas that should be fat have exceeded the size of a D.

She doesn't usually dress up much; she just looks like an ordinary person.

Those who appreciate the simple pleasures of everyday life know that stunningly beautiful ordinary people are often the most alluring.

She was followed by a middle-aged man who was a bit overweight and had a large belly.

He also had a bunch of Mercedes keys hanging from his waist, and to show his low-key nature, he had tucked his long-sleeved shirt into his waistband.

His Mercedes key became a conspicuous bag on his person.

The two exchanged a glance, but no conflict erupted, mainly because Chen Pingsheng was ignoring him.

"Hey bro, you come here for coffee often?"

Xiao Ben asked him, and Chen Pingsheng nodded.

"You like the coffee here?"

"I don't like it, I can't taste anything."

If someone doesn't like the coffee here but still comes often, then that's quite obvious.

The real intention wasn't the wine, but the proprietress.

The young man silently took out his car keys and placed them on the table: "Brother, how did you get here?"

Chen Pingsheng glanced at him and asked with amusement, "Brother, are you showing off your wealth?"

"I didn't mean that. I just bought a Mercedes-Benz E-Class a few days ago. It's so-so, costing over 500,000 yuan. It's not very classy."

This guy has been single for a while now; he only started working hard after his wife ran off with someone else.

With the help of his sister-in-law, he successfully made a fortune.

When I came over for coffee, I was completely captivated by the proprietress.

I came almost every day for three months.

Qin Xue had rejected him several times, but Xiao Bennan firmly believed that as long as he persisted, he would succeed.

One day, an iron rod can be ground into a needle.

"The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a luxury car among ordinary cars, it's pretty good."

The young man looked proud; if it weren't for his sister-in-law, he wouldn't be able to afford such a nice car.

Just as he was about to boast a little more, Qin Xue came over on her own initiative.

Chen Pingsheng asked her, "How much money does your coffee shop make each month?"

"A little over twenty thousand."

Qin Xue said, "Business is not bad, but the rent is too high, almost 700,000 a year. We are just working for the landlord."

"More than 20,000 is quite good."

The young man immediately chimed in, afraid of not showing enough.

“It’s tough to run a physical store these days, so it’s really impressive that you can make a stable profit.”

Qin Xue smiled faintly, never thinking of herself as particularly capable.

Chen Pingsheng nodded: "If you make 25,000 a month, that's 300,000 a year. I'll offer 6 million to buy out your coffee shop for 20 years. What do you think?"

Surprisingly, Qin Xue didn't seem too surprised.

"It seems you really want to get into the coffee industry."

"Yes, we do want to enter the coffee industry."

Chen Pingsheng said, "I went to Shanghai a while ago and met a friend. I got 200 million yuan in investment from her. I'll add some more myself and make a total of 500 million yuan to open a coffee shop."

Qin Xue remained somewhat indifferent.

"It seems that another real tycoon has entered the coffee industry."

Chen Pingsheng shook his head: "You don't seem surprised by what I said. I think you already know me."

"I only found out a few days ago."

Qin Xue said, "Just a couple of days ago, you must have gone to Shanghai on a business trip. The newly moved-in Tengying headquarters building next door ordered more than a dozen cups of coffee from us."

“My niece wasn’t feeling well, and I happened to be the one who took her there. I even went to the top of your 18th floor and accidentally saw a picture of your president hanging there.”

"That's when I found out you were the boss of Tengying, the one who spent 1 billion to buy a building a while ago. After doing some research, I also found out you were the angel investor of Bobo Milk Tea, the guy I only heard about online, the guy on the bicycle."

Qin Xue smiled and said, "You really have a lot of identities. I'm just curious, what do you see in us?"

The guy next door quietly used his big, fat hand to grab his Mercedes key and put it back in his pocket.

What a joke! How could you possibly flaunt your wealth with a Mercedes-Benz in front of such a big shot?
Isn't this like hitting a brick with your head, or trying to test your strength?

Chen Pingsheng put down his coffee: "Just as you guessed, when I wanted to make coffee, many people came to me asking for cooperation. Many of them were already well-known in the coffee industry. When I asked them why the coffee tasted so good, the answers were varied and even absurd."

"I really appreciate your sincerity in telling me that coffee is addictive, and you can't appreciate its goodness if you're not addicted."

Qin Xue nodded and smiled calmly: "It's my honor to be noticed by the famous cycling uncle on the internet. No matter how you look at it, I can't find a reason to refuse, can I?"

The young girl went to the restroom and loosened her belt, and in the time it took, the shop had already been sold.

(End of this chapter)