The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

It's colder in Shanghai than in Hong Kong; you need to wear a thick down jacket when you go out.

Many shops downstairs were still closed, and the Bund, usually bustling with tourists, was now quiet.

It's the third day of the Lunar New Year, and most people who went home for the holiday haven't returned yet.

It will probably be until the eighth day of the lunar new year that things will return to their usual bustling state. After the Lantern Festival, a large number of people from other places will come to this place to find their own dreams.

Chen An'an carried a bank card with 200 million yuan. Although she could spend it as she pleased, it was still quite a surprise to suddenly have so much money.

I'm still quite confused, and I have a feeling of not knowing where to start.

Chen An'an happened to meet a beggar with a missing leg downstairs and gave him a tip of 500 yuan.

The beggar thanked her profusely, and after she turned and left, the middle-aged beggar who had just looked so pitiful...

I put the bowl away, stood up, and went into the store first to buy a pack of cigarettes.

We should improve our lives during the Lunar New Year.

Chen An'an scoffed dismissively, thinking, "There are so many swindlers in this society."

Then look at her maternal grandmother, Liu Fen. After returning to Shanghai, she immediately started contacting her old friends.

Her hand stretched out unexpectedly long, revealing the gleaming gold watch her son-in-law had bought for her.

They even specifically asked about the time, saying they were going to cook.

She really just wanted people to see her big gold watch.

This is truly dazzling.

My grandmother is so shallow; she actually likes to show off in this way.

Chen An'an hid her electronic watch, worth over two million yuan, in her sleeve. She had been used to wearing designer brands since she was five years old.

Why would someone deliberately show off these things? Only her grandmother enjoys it.

Every time I buy something good, I have to show it off to my girlfriends.

This drew a barrage of flattery, and this time was no exception.

However, her actions still attracted the attention of some people with ulterior motives.

Liu Fen proudly showed off her watch, but two days later, when she took it off to take a shower...

Surprisingly, Song Yanxi discovered that it was a fake Patek Philippe gold and diamond watch that cost over three million yuan.

It became a 1:1 replica of the goods sold at the Guangdong Zhanxi Station.

What's happening here?
"Mom, come out quickly."

Song Yanxi immediately recognized that it had been switched; a real Patek Philippe diamond could never be this low-quality.

If I didn't wear an expensive watch often, she might not recognize me.

People who wear it often will be able to spot the fake even if you make a very realistic replica.

After all, there's a world of difference in cost between a watch worth millions and a replica watch worth a few thousand.

After Liu Fen came out of there making a ruckus, she saw her holding her big diamond watch and asked with a puzzled look, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Don't you know your watch has been switched?"

For someone who's a native of Beijing, to be fooled by such a low-level trick is truly speechless.

"Switching? That's impossible!"

Liu Fen immediately explained, "I've only taken it from my own home, I haven't taken it from anywhere else."

"Grandma, think about it again."

A watch worth three million is nothing to her family; it's just that the feeling of being fooled like a fool is really unpleasant.

Even Chen An'an knew that she liked to show off to her old girlfriends.

If someone asks to borrow her for a look, she will voluntarily take it off and let them see it for a while.

It must have been switched at that time.

Liu Fen also realized something, and her old face turned ashen.

"Yanxi, has this watch really been replaced with a fake?"

"Can I still lie to you?"

Song Yanxi said, "If you took that watch to a second-hand watch shop, you could get at least a million for it. This one, at most three thousand."

Holy crap, they actually managed to fool me! Liu Fen is a seasoned veteran from Beijing, yet she still fell for this kind of trick after coming to Shanghai.

Song Yanxi reminded her again, "You should go to your own home and check first. I reckon you've had more than just one or two items replaced."

She would buy Liu Fen nice things during holidays and festivals, and watches were just one of them.

There are all kinds of designer bags, and countless bracelets and the like.

Liu Fen was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan; her heart was bleeding.

When she went upstairs to check, she found that half of her belongings had been replaced.

Song Yanxi was in a headache, not because of the money she lost, but because she felt it was too foolish.

"Mom, you're almost sixty, aren't you? So many things have been replaced, didn't you notice anything?"

"I don't know."

Liu Fen said angrily, "I only show it to my closest old girlfriends. Everyone used to show it off like this at the Tan Palace Villa."

"Can the Tan Palace be the same?"

Song Yanxi understood; her mother had brought her palace habits to this place. The result was that they were treated like pigs to be slaughtered.

Who are the people living in the Dan Palace? They would never do such a thing.

The situation is different here. Many people don't buy their houses through their own hard work; they are able to live in these luxury communities where the price per square meter exceeds 100,000 yuan simply because their homes are demolished and they receive compensation.

"You'd better think about it quickly, who's the most likely suspect?"

“I’ve known my old girlfriends for a while now, and their families are all quite well-off.”

They're supposed to be a group of old friends, but there are really only two or three of them.

They usually get together to play mahjong or do square dancing.

For a moment, Liu Fen really couldn't figure out who it could be, but she always felt that those people were quite sincere.

"Should we call the police?"

"What's the use of calling the police? You have no evidence to prove that someone switched your things."

"I have a solution."

The quick-witted Chen An'an said, "Instead of guessing who the suspect is, why not take another bag and lure the suspect out? Mom has more than one or two bags worth millions. Grandma, you can take an even more expensive one and go fishing without making a sound."

"Great idea! My granddaughter is the smartest."

Liu Fen's eyes lit up, but it seemed that going fishing wouldn't be so easy.

The key issue is that she herself can't quite distinguish between a 1:1 replica and a genuine product.

"How about we put some hidden marks on the bag first?"

"That won't do."

Chen An'an said, "Since they've been able to easily switch the real items from you so many times, they must be a skilled old hand. They would definitely check carefully before switching them. Why don't you take your second sister with you?"

"Second Girl, does she really have that kind of discernment?"

“Grandma, you underestimate my second sister. She grew up surrounded by luxury goods. She’s been to every high-end store. She can tell the difference between the real and the fake at a glance.”

Erpiya does have that insight; it's not some superpower, it's just that she's been raised with money.

It's difficult for someone who isn't from a top-tier wealthy family to develop this kind of discerning eye.

The second daughter, who was munching on a bag of potato chips, was dragged out by her older sister to solve a case.

Upon hearing this, her eyes immediately widened.

She really enjoys doing this; most people wouldn't be wary of such a young child.

She is the most suitable person to go.

Those ordinary goods would hardly make someone commit another crime in such a short period of time.

To catch fish quickly, you have to invest heavily.

Liu Fen followed Song Yanxi to her walk-in closet, and when she opened it, what she saw was so dazzling it practically blinded her.

Watches priced over a million yuan filled three entire watch cabinets.

As for those limited edition bags, there are countless varieties.

And there were dozens of strings of car keys hanging on the wall.

Can she still tell which car each key belongs to?
This life is so wonderful that even she, as a mother, would say it's the pinnacle of a woman's life.

I'm not here to see anything unusual; I just want to pick one of them to catch a big fish.

Chen An'an thought for a moment and then pulled out a limited edition Hermes bag belonging to her mother.

It was worth over five million, and she even let Er Yatou take a closer look first.

Erpiya looked disgusted. "What's so interesting about this?"

It's just a crappy H package, isn't it?

She can tell what's true or false just by the slightest twitch of her little nose.

It's not surprising at all; she simply grew up surrounded by luxury goods.

It's hard for her not to see through those fakes.

"Grandma, you can take it and show it off first, and then take Erya with you in a couple of days."

"Why does it take two days?"

"Of course we have to wait for the counterfeit goods to arrive before we can exchange them."

Chen An'an said, "These kinds of things are only most abundant in Guangdong. If they want to swap your genuine bag, the prerequisite is to first buy a super A-grade replica from there."

Well… Liu Fen herself was so angry that she was almost in a frenzy, otherwise she would have easily figured out the key factors behind it all.

The case is clear: the perpetrator must be one of her very close old friends.

Once they're interested, we can just go and catch them red-handed with the sharp-eyed Erpiya.

As for worrying about others causing trouble and denying it, that's not the case.

Half of the security guards in the community were arranged by her father; they're no ordinary people.

Their family lives in this neighborhood, and they have at least eighteen bodyguards scattered around.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for anyone to harm them.

Once you catch them in the act once, the rest is easy.

(End of this chapter)