The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Time flew by and it was December.

With only 30 days left until New Year's Day 18, Chen Pingsheng took his two young children to the sea for two days.

Life gradually returned to its ordinary routine.

He would still take Big Pikachu and Little Pikachu to school together every morning.

As for his neighbor Shi Xiaoshan, he seems to be depressed lately as well.

The main reason is that his childhood sweetheart, Shen Bing, has been targeted by his best bunkmate from college.

Shi Xiaoshan was both angry and powerless.

Then one day, his brother suddenly found him and handed him a check.

It wasn't much money, just a million in cash.

The price was leaving Shen Bing; these two college brothers had essentially laid their cards on the table.

Shi Xiaoshan wanted to have backbone, but with a million yuan in front of him, it was really hard to stand up straight.

But what he was really thinking about was getting that million, buying a house, and then coming back to find Shen Bing.

Life is unpredictable, and Shen Bing sadly left Shanghai and returned to her hometown.

His rich second-generation brother also followed, but whether it would work out or not, nobody knew.

But one thing is certain: Shi Xiaoshan is faced with a choice between love and cash.

The choice was undoubtedly cash.

Such things are quite normal in Shanghai. A college student from out of town has a very beautiful girlfriend back in his hometown.

Then they bring each other to the bustling metropolis, only to find that the relationship often ends badly, rather than being a perfect match.

That's exactly what he does.

Nobody knows for sure what you can do with a million dollars.

But it's enough to buy out an ordinary person's love story.

Shi Xiaoshan complained to him once or twice, always lamenting that he was not appreciated for his talents, and that reality had left him battered and bruised.

Chen Pingsheng just listened and didn't take it to heart.

Back when he and Song Yanxi first went to Beijing, weren't there still quite a few bosses who openly and secretly pursued his wife?

The result was that he was severely criticized.

Love requires the joint efforts of both people; if one party backs down, there's basically no turning back.

He's lucky; at least he got a million in cash.

The steamed bun shop downstairs in the apartment complex, which he loves most, opens before dawn every day and stays open until seven or eight in the evening.

The elderly couple's son recently brought home a pretty young woman who agreed to marry him.

The prerequisite is that you must buy a house in Shanghai, which cannot be less than 100 square meters, and cannot be located more than three kilometers away.

Within a three-kilometer radius, that's the most bustling area in Shanghai, with average prices around 12 yuan per square meter.

The couple's son was also good-looking, but after graduating from university a few years ago, his job was just so-so.

A monthly salary of seven or eight thousand is definitely not enough to afford such high housing prices.

What can we do then? We can only pin our hopes on our parents.

One outrageous condition after another: the out-of-town bride, who hadn't even married into the family yet, not only demanded that the house be bought, but also insisted that her name be added to the deed.

After buying the house, the elderly couple couldn't move in yet.

This son is quite something; he agreed to everything.

They even listed all these conditions clearly in front of his parents, as if it were their natural duty to do so for him.

It was early morning, and the family of three was arguing fiercely in this small steamed bun shop.

According to the elderly couple, they would buy a house and help their son get married as soon as possible, no matter how hard it was.

But we cannot allow them to move in; we absolutely cannot agree to this, even if it means death.

What kind of situation is this? They're making these kinds of demands before they're even married.

If they wait until they get married, his son will be completely controlled by his wife.

The elderly couple who run the steamed bun shop are known as Lao Yang and Sister-in-law Yang. They have been running their small steamed bun shop here for more than ten years.

It's impossible for an elderly couple not to have some savings, given that they only have one son.

They can definitely come up with tens or hundreds of thousands.

But they're still crammed into a tiny garage, and even after buying a house, their daughter-in-law won't let them live there. That's truly outrageous.

The son even threatened to remain unmarried for life if he couldn't marry this woman.

Old Yang and his wife, who had worked hard all their lives, were almost driven to their deaths by anger.

Even Chen An'an said, "This is too outrageous!"
To act as a son to this extent is truly the greatest act of filial impiety.

This is what only children are like. They've been spoiled since they were little, and even now that they're this old, they still don't think about their parents at all.

Given their family's situation, if they were to marry a woman like that, they would never have a day of peace.

Chen Pingsheng went to the University of Finance and Economics, and recently his classes seem to have become quite popular on a small scale.

Each lecture attracts four or five hundred people, and all sorts of questions arise.

However, those who were hired were naturally overjoyed after the Tencent Film Academy campus recruitment ended.

Those who didn't get the job experienced a mix of joy and sorrow.

He had just arrived at the office when Jiang Xiaodong invited him to go drinking at noon.

Chen Pingsheng asked him what was wrong, and Jiang Xiaodong said, "Our teacher Yang failed at another blind date yesterday."

"You're drinking just for this?"

"Isn't that reason sufficient?"

Jiang Xiaodong said, "The four of us have the best relationship in the university because our offices are close together. Do you think that if Professor Yang succeeds in finding a partner, she will still drink with us often?"

Chen Pingsheng couldn't help but complain, "This isn't appropriate for us. It's like rubbing salt into someone's wound. I think Teacher Yang is quite eager to get married now."

"She does want to get married, she's just being stubborn about it."

Yang Hong was quite popular at university; she was elegant and had long, wavy hair.

Many teachers also had feelings for her, but unfortunately, they were all married at that age.

Single women are usually divorced with children. Given Yang Hong's personality, it's impossible for her to become a stepmother right away.

"Let's not bring this up when we're drinking later."

Jiang Xiaodong went to call Zhang Changwen again. This guy looked very serious. He heard that Teacher Yang had failed in her blind date, so he had to have a couple of drinks with her.

As for Yang Hong herself, she has failed in many blind dates.

There are various reasons as well.

University professors are certainly excellent enough, so it's understandable to have higher expectations.

Besides reading professional books on economics, Yang Hong usually studies stocks.

He doesn't have any bad habits anymore; at most, he'll go out for drinks and chats with a few of them.

Of the four, Jiang Xiaodong always thought she was the richest.

Based on the stocks she has held for so long, she could easily come up with a deposit of five or six million.

For someone her age, achieving this level of success already makes her a very outstanding independent woman.

This is completely different from the independence that those online girls talk about; that kind of independence is just nonsense.

She relies on men to earn money so she can spend it however she wants, yet she still talks about being independent.

They are notorious for their double standards.

Yang Hong agreed to go drinking without hesitation, as her blind date this time had some requirements.

They also own RVs, and are both divorced with children.

He immediately demanded that she become a housewife after marriage, and she ran away in a flash.

Jiang Xiaodong was secretly overjoyed, but on the surface he wore a regretful expression.

Zhang Changwen often looked down on him, telling him not to bring his state-owned enterprise mentality to his friends.

But he himself was gloating.

That's how friends are; they might not be happy to see you doing well.

But he'll definitely be happy when he sees you not doing well.

Especially popular women within this group.

Yang Hong didn't have many classes in the afternoon, so she could have a couple of small beers at noon without much trouble.

Whenever a blind date fails, she says, "I'm living alone, I'm free and easy."

The next time someone introduces her to a suitable blind date, she eagerly goes over again. (End of Chapter)