The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

A small restaurant.

Yet it can reflect the endless joys and sorrows of human life.

In just a few days since it opened, some people have been coming here early in the morning and returning late at night, while others have been studying by lamplight late into the night.

Some classmates even gathered and sighed with regret.

Those young brothers who once dreamed of roaming the world with swords are now working day after day in the same shoe factory.

There was also a migrant worker father who had saved every penny his whole life, but finally decided to be generous at his son's upcoming graduation ceremony.

He hosted a banquet for his old friends at the construction site to celebrate his son's upcoming college graduation.

Perhaps in this father's eyes, once his son graduates, he will be the family's most promising son.

Hope for the future.

But is that really the case?

This father often told his son that money should be spent frugally.

With less than a thousand yuan of pocket money each month, his son had no social life in the small society of university.

It can even lead to a silent sense of inferiority.

of course.

His college student son is quite sensible; he wants to buy a laptop for studying, but his father doesn't understand the significance of it.

I only gave him a few hundred yuan to buy a few more books.

His son wanted to treat his classmates who were doing well to a meal, but his father said that making money is hard and that money shouldn't be spent unnecessarily.

His son liked a college girl, but his father said that college students shouldn't date.

Being a father is not easy.

At over fifty years old, he still had to work under the scorching sun for eight or nine hours every day on the construction site.

My son is sensible.

He listened to his father's every word without question, but he forgot one thing.

The father only had a primary school education and didn't even finish first grade, while he himself was a college student.

My father's understanding of things was still limited to the construction site stage.

Is it really good to educate your college student son with this kind of thinking?
The unspokenness of the world is often reflected in these aspects.

Take this college student, for example. He's almost graduating, yet he's still quiet and reserved, with no confidence on his face.

All they felt was the endless inferiority complex of their peers.

His father thought that once he graduated, he would be able to find a job at a big company and work in a CBD office building that he himself had never been to.

They have the most respectable jobs and the highest salaries.

They no longer have to sleep in the workers' shed like they did, sweating profusely every day.

But the truth is quite the opposite.

His son had submitted countless resumes six months ago, and was almost always rejected when the HR department conducted its assessments.

Without exception.

The son tried his best not to show his confusion and inferiority complex in front of his father.

Of course, none of this could escape Chen Pingsheng's notice.

Many wealthy people choose to raise their children frugally, but it doesn't mean raising them to be truly destitute.

Take Chen An'an, for example; her confidence is ingrained in her very being.

Once she steps out, she becomes Princess An'an.

This confidence stems from her casual spending habits since childhood and her disdain for luxury goods.

This college student's inferiority complex also stemmed from deep within.

The main reason is his father's words, which he taught him since childhood: money should be spent frugally.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for children from poor families to achieve success, and this is not only reflected in their knowledge and their parents' background.

This is further reflected in the different educations received from childhood.

After tidying up the kitchen briefly, Chen Pingsheng finished cleaning the entire place.

Chen An'an also obediently took a large mop and mopped the floor until it was spotless.

Jiang Peiyao went to wipe the windows; the dishes at home still didn't need to be washed by them.

Someone will come to handle things every night, and they will also deliver the freshest ingredients of the day.

Even at 10 p.m., the urban village is still bustling with activity.

This is the busiest time for the street vendors, and also the happy time for those young migrant workers.

Many people will meet up with a few friends at this time for a beer and barbecue feast.

Chen Pingsheng has only been here a few days but has already become familiar with the place.

As he walked past, quite a few people called out to him, "Master Chen, are you off work?"
These stall owners were all quite polite.

"Dad, it's so lively here tonight!"

"That's right. In a 24-hour day, only the few hours after get off work are considered personal time, so naturally you have to enjoy yourself."

"Dad, let's go buy some food!"

"Okay, what do you want to eat?"

Chen An'an craned his neck and looked around, but finally pointed to the steaming beef offal stall.

A small bowl costs twelve yuan, and a large bowl costs eighteen yuan.

A small amount of beef offal, along with some radish, meatballs, seaweed, etc.

Many girls like to eat this.

"Then let's buy a small one."

In Chen Pingsheng's memory, the stall owner was an obese middle-aged man who was not yet forty, with a particularly large belly.

It's even more exaggerated than a ten-month pregnancy. He sells beef offal here, and his wife runs a separate pancake stall next to him.

The son was grilling chicken legs across the street; the whole family of three was there.

"Master Chen, you guys get off work so early. Why don't you work a little longer?"

The stall owners couldn't understand it; wasn't this the busiest time in the urban village?

If we close at 10 PM, how can we make any money?

Chen Pingsheng said, "There's not much business, so we might as well close up shop early."

"Yeah, your restaurant must have cost you several hundred thousand yuan to set up..."

"almost."

A few hundred thousand isn't a lot of money. Most stall owners who have been in business for a while and whose businesses are doing well have this much savings.

Those who have just gotten married don't count.

Ah Qiang's fried rice doesn't even count; this guy is a genius.

He frantically fries rice every day to support his college-student girlfriend's education.

He said he'd get married right after graduation, but who knows if she'll still be interested in him after graduation?

Many stall owners advised him against it, but it was no use.

A lovesick fool is beyond help, no amount of persuasion can change his mind.

Every stall owner has their own story.

Take Ah-Qiang, who makes fried rice, for example. He's only twenty-two years old.

After graduating from junior high school, he started learning to cook and had always liked a female classmate from the village.

The two used to have a good relationship, but everything started to change after the girl came to Shanghai to study at university.

I want to use the best mobile phone and buy the latest clothes.

She used to be a very simple girl, but after coming to Shanghai, she started comparing herself to others in everything.

Even a pair of women's underwear they wear costs several hundred yuan.

She's a college student from a rural area; she doesn't have those advantages.

It's all thanks to that idiot Ah Qiang's crazy cooking of rice.

He works sixteen or seventeen hours a day cooking, and his college student girlfriend only calls him when she needs money.

Once, when A-Qiang had a rare day off, he went to see his college student girlfriend.

As a result, she was angry for a week, and it was only after A-Qiang transferred 50,000 yuan in cash to her that she calmed down.

The reason for his anger was particularly ridiculous: it was because Ah Qiang's identity was too shameful.

When she took his money, why didn't she think of Ah Qiang as just someone who makes fried rice?

Ah Qiang is an exceptionally hardworking guy. If he didn't have such a clueless girlfriend at his age...

In a few years, you can build a small villa in the countryside and even buy a BMW to drive.

When they return to the village, they will definitely still be among the best of their peers.

There would be countless women lining up to meet him on blind dates.

A few young people his age can earn two or three hundred thousand a year.

Every time she went back, Chen An'an would ask him to buy her a bowl of fried rice with eggs.

There are fools every year, but he's a particularly foolish one.

Ah Qiang earns a lot of money, but he never wears designer brands; he always wears a dirty black T-shirt and casual shorts.

I wore the same outfit all summer long.

"Master Chen, it's ready."

Ah Qiang doesn't charge him. Whenever a nearby stall owner comes to his stall to cook fried rice, he doesn't charge them.

She had a rather innocent smile.

Chen An'an asked him, "Brother Qiang, when is your girlfriend coming to see you?"

"She's busy with her studies, but she'll have time after she graduates."

"It's summer vacation, how could we be busy?"

The nearby stall owners remind him every day, but it's no use.

Ah Qiang just smiled and didn't say anything.

What a fine young man, it's a pity he can't find a good woman.

Even Chen An'an had to call him Brother Qiang; she'd never seen anyone so foolish.

I walked through the crowded streets and arrived at my home.

My little girl's bathing methods have been outrageous since she was little; we need to prepare a small swimming pool for her.

The water temperature should be controlled at a comfortable level of 37 or 38 degrees Celsius.

Then she started padding and padding inside.

When you're tired of paddling, you've finished your shower.

Chen Pingsheng built her a small swimming pool on the rooftop, with the water kept at a constant temperature.

Change it after each wash.

If the nearby stall owners knew about her bathing method, they would definitely scold her for being wasteful and extravagant.

But this is perfectly normal in wealthy families.

Raising a child in poverty makes it difficult to cultivate innate self-confidence.

It also doesn't cultivate the relaxed feeling of truly wealthy people.

Despite their two mischievous kids at home, they are quite well-mannered and confident when they go out.

(End of this chapter)