The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

June is already halfway over, and it's time for all students to start their summer vacation.

Chen Pingsheng went to the University of Finance and Economics. He also has a teaching assistant named Jiang Yilan there.

For some well-known reasons, he decided this year to take Erpiya and Dapiwa to the mountains for more than a month.

The main purpose is to improve Erpiya's princess-like habits that she has had since she was a child, and also to help Dapiwa better understand the children in the mountainous areas.

Jiang Yilan was born in a mountainous area, and her ideal after graduation was to help her hometown get rich together.

Chen Pingsheng had investigated her hometown, and it was indeed very remote.

There aren't even any common roads; children have to walk or cycle five or six kilometers to get to school.

Given such poor transportation conditions, it's easy to imagine how impoverished their area is.

If we want to drive development in mountainous areas, the first thing we need to do is build roads.

This is simply impossible without a small goal of several hundred million.

Leaving aside the past, this year Chen Pingsheng directly used his private jet to take Erpiya and Chen An'an there for a month.

This is also a small condition for Er Yatou's account not to be banned. There are three children in the family, and the youngest, Chen Lu, is not even one year old yet.

Big-kids can adapt to anything, but little ones are different.

She only likes the life of the wealthy, and once she gets used to luxury, it's especially difficult for her to be frugal.

This year is clearly a test for her.

Erpiya started filming short videos on the plane, and then started doing live streams after getting off the plane.

They were busy and having a great time along the way.

When she arrived at Jiang Yilan's hometown, she pouted and almost ran away.

What place is this?

Besides mountains, there were only a few scattered thatched huts.

Their house is quite nice; it's at least a small flat-roofed house of 150 square meters.

While the transportation in Jiang Yilan's hometown is indeed a bit poor, the scenery is exceptionally beautiful.

With mountains in front and a small lake behind, the countryside evokes the rural charm of my childhood.

After Erpiya toddled inside and looked around, her big eyes were already brimming with anticipation for little pearls.

She is going home!

I don't want to live in this kind of rural place.

Chen Pingsheng brought her here specifically for this transformation; how could he let her go back so easily?

"If you stay for thirty days, Dad won't block your account. You can go wherever you want for the remaining thirty days."

Erpiya complained, "Dad, there's not even a toilet. When I poop, mosquitoes bite my butt. I want to go home."

The little girl has a lot of princess syndrome, the most obvious being that she's not used to ordinary environments.

And now this house is obviously ordinary in every way.

"Going home is fine, I'll have someone ban your 'Second Smart' account right away."

Erpiya was whining and making a choice.

Her sister is more adaptable; after looking around here, she doesn't think it's a big deal.

It's only a month, it'll be over soon.

Chen An'an asked, "Dad, we're not just staying here for a month, are we?"

"Of course not!"

Chen Pingsheng had made arrangements in advance. He took out a small map and said, "Look, I bought this fishpond in advance. There are a lot of crayfish and some edible fish in it."

"Our family's improved meals this month mainly come from this fishpond. We also have an acre of land where Dad takes you to plant rice seedlings. In addition, we have two old hens and a puppy. That's all the conditions our family has."

When Erpiya heard about a small fishpond, her eyes lit up. She was also told that she would have to go and farm the land herself.

She instantly lost her spirits again.

In any case, she definitely can't avoid these thirty days.

First day of living in the mountains.

Erpiya carried a small shrimp fishing rod on her back, preparing to go to her family's small fishpond to catch a few French blue lobsters to improve her life.

Anyway, her father raised the fish in the pond beforehand, so he couldn't possibly not know that she loves French blue lobster the most.

Chen An'an went fishing with her, and she even whistled a little tune, looking just like a little hooligan.

She found the rustic charm of the countryside quite interesting.

The fishpond is right behind my house; it's not too big, and it's not too far away.

The two little ones quickly caught something. With her small arms and legs, Erpiya could only catch some small shrimp and nothing else.

However, she was too inexperienced. After she caught the crayfish, she excitedly tried to grab it with her chubby little hands.

The bright red crayfish looked at her with ill intent, then suddenly snapped its two small pincers shut.

Erpiya cried loudly.

It kept running around and jumping.

"Sister, please save me! Sister, please save me!"

The inexperienced girl was so badly pinched by the shrimp that she cried almost half a pound of tears.

When she went fishing again, she simply asked the chubby boy next to her to help her.

This chubby boy is from their next-door neighbor's house. Two children came to the village, and he came right away.

Kids can easily play together.

He's a native of the mountains, and he especially loves fishing; he's mastered all sorts of skills with ease.

Erpiya went fishing with him and never got bitten by a shrimp again.

Day two of living in the mountains.

Erpiya carries a small hoe and goes with her sister to chop firewood as usual.

The main thing is that Chen An'an was cutting in front, while she was sticking out her fat chicken butt behind, preparing to dig up the Imperial Seal of the State.

Even a little girl of a few years old likes to fantasize about everything.

If she could unearth the Imperial Seal of the State, the first thing she would do is buy up her father's entire company.

From now on, she will be the eldest child in the family, and her older sister will be the youngest.

Make her prepare bathwater for herself every day.

She was under the blazing sun; if she hadn't been so convinced she could find the Imperial Seal of the State, she wouldn't have been digging here for two hours straight.

Chen An'an carried a bundle of firewood down the mountain, while Erpiya, covered in dust, hadn't even dug up a single hair.

I was so unhappy.

After they got home, Chen Pingsheng asked her to catch some eggs. The two old hens had laid eggs, and they planned to have seaweed and egg soup that night.

Erpiya obediently went to catch eggs, completely ignoring the old hen and the like.

Even the most skilled chicken can't be as skilled as her.
Don't joke.

Before long, she was being chased around by two clucking hens.

Erpiya is really good for nothing.

The number one way to run away with your butt sticking out is...

She can even imagine digging up the Imperial Seal of the State from a mountain.

She can catch an egg and then nonchalantly kick the protective mother hen.

This chaotic rural life is enough to keep her going.

I cry at least three or four times a day.

After finally getting some peace and quiet, I still get bitten by mosquitoes while taking a shower and end up running around naked.

Chen Pingsheng lay in the front yard of his house, covering his old face with a palm-leaf fan.

Erpiya was chased by mosquitoes so badly that she had to run around naked. That's something else.

It seems that this rural experience was really necessary.

The little girl has absolutely no life experience.

Having been waited on since childhood, I suddenly find myself in the countryside with no one to wait on me, and I'm not used to it at all.

This habit is not good at all.

……

As dawn breaks, roosters crow and dogs bark.

A ray of sunlight pierced through the mountaintop and reflected onto their small, flat-topped house at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Pingsheng got up very early and practiced a set of Tai Chi.

People must take care of their health in middle age, otherwise they are very prone to health problems.

Big-nosed Chen An'an also got up. Life in the mountains has no big shopping malls, let alone luxury cars and villas.

All that remained was that quiet passage of time. "Dad, Er Ya is covering her head and isn't getting up!"

"That's easy. Go turn off the air conditioner in her room and see if she gets up."

"Yes."

Chen An'an turned around and went to turn off Erpiya's air conditioner. The little girl had become clever and actually wanted to lock herself in the room and not get up.

She couldn't even stay in the summer heat for an hour after the air conditioner was turned off.

Sure enough, Er Yatou came out with a pout and messy hair, looking very unhappy.

Chen Pingsheng steamed three ears of sweet corn at home and also made some white rice porridge.

I don't brush my teeth with abalone, and I don't rinse my mouth with bird's nest.

Life at home is ordinary and low-key.

"Dad, I want to protest."

What are you going to protest this time?

Erpiya grumbled, "Why are there no mosquitoes in my sister's room, but so many in mine?"

"Because she lit mosquito coils, but you didn't!" Chen Pingsheng said calmly.

Erpiya immediately bristled upon hearing this, "It can be like this? Dad, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"These are basic common sense things; if you don't know them, who can you blame?"

"I..." Erpiya has only been here for three days, and with her appearance, she doesn't look like a little princess at all.

Even a little beggar is comparable to her.

After quickly finishing her breakfast, she immediately went to her room, lit a large mosquito coil, and left the door open.

Her little hand guided the mosquito towards her sister's room. "Her sister is plump, go bite her!"
Erpiya's actions are truly outrageous.

Today, instead of fishing or chopping firewood, Chen Pingsheng led them to the fields to plant rice seedlings.

This was an essential skill in rural areas during their time; even ten-year-old children could do it.

Erpiya isn't afraid of getting dirty, but she's terrified of the little creatures in the fields.

Chen Pingsheng still prepared a set of one-piece boots for her, the kind that would basically not let water in.

The father and his two daughters, wearing straw hats, bent over to plant rice seedlings.

"When I hoe the field at noon, my sweat drips down to the ground. Who knows that every grain of rice on the table is the result of hard work?"

"Dad, I can recite this too."

Er Yatou stood up proudly, “Sow a single grain in spring, reap ten thousand grains in autumn; though there is no idle land under heaven, farmers still starve to death.”

"Not bad, you can recite it, but do you understand what it means?"

Erpiya tilted her head and thought for a moment, clearly not quite understanding.

She can only recite it by heart, not understand it.

Chen Pingsheng told her that the general idea was that farmers work hard in the fields and that we should cherish food.

When the sun was high in the sky, teaching assistant Jiang Yilan brought them a pot of tea.

Because of dietary health concerns, Chen Pingsheng forbids his children from drinking iced beverages.

The two little ones have only ever been allowed to drink tea since they were little.

Jiang Yilan wanted to help them farm, but Chen Pingsheng smiled and declined.

How much land he cultivates is not important to him; what matters is that Big Paw and Little Paw remember the process.

"Professor Chen, my grandmother would like to invite you to our house for lunch."

"That's unnecessary. Your grandma is already quite busy, how can we ask her to cook for us? You can all just come to my house for lunch."

Jiang Yilan thought for a moment and agreed quickly.

This girl is quite thoughtful.

After she left, the chubby kid who had been playing with Erpiya for the past two days came back.

He was quite lonely; his parents were gone, and he was raised by his grandparents.

Like most people in the village, my parents went to work in Shenzhen.

Those who remain here are either older people or younger ones like him.

The number of left-behind children is increasing.

The second girl was just here to experience life, but the chubby boy had to grow up in this environment until he was fifteen or sixteen.

Then he would follow in his parents' footsteps, either going to Shenzhen to work in a factory.

Either go to another city, where you'll still end up living a mediocre and miserable life.

This is perhaps the reality for most left-behind children in rural areas.

There is little joy, and I can't find my direction in life.

For them, simply being alive is what it means to be alive.

Unlike Chen Pingsheng, he has clear stage-specific developmental goals for his child.

Children under five should play.

Children aged five to ten should begin to learn and understand the various aspects of life.

When they are between ten and fifteen years old, we will let them do what they like.

In high school, they, like all other students, strive for the college entrance examination.

To understand the meaning of life and one's ultimate goal.

When they get to university, they inherit certain projects or funds from their families.

The plan to cultivate a successor must be fully implemented.

This is the life path he planned for Big Pippy and Little Pippy.

Clear and unambiguous.

The situation is different for chubby kids; their parents are both working-class and lack foresight.

It's absolutely impossible to secure an easy future for one's own child.

Most left-behind children grow up influenced by their friends or relatives.

Go wherever you want to go.

Some of them started committing crimes before they were even eighteen, while others ended up working as street prostitutes in alleyways.

Parents play a significant role in a child's development.

The helplessness of life lies in the fact that if you want to give your children a good life, you have no choice but to leave your hometown.

This reflects the heartache of countless parents and the helplessness of many young parents.

Erpiya didn't understand any of this. She only knew that the chubby boy was a country bumpkin, and was only very familiar with these things from the countryside.

There was absolutely no impression of the city.

Perhaps in his eyes, this small mountain village was the whole world.

He would never understand that there is a bustling metropolis in the city, a place of dazzling prosperity and dreams.

Erpiya tried to play marbles with him, but she didn't know what was so fun about it.

The chubby boy, however, was having a great time.

Later, he taught her how to fish for shrimp and catch loaches in the fields.

These are all things that the chubby kid excels at, but that Erpiya can't do at all.

She was just curious and wanted to see for herself.

The things she does start with are accounts with tens of millions of followers, like the "Second Smart" account.

Any short video posted can generate tens of thousands of comments.

The pandas she bought were all made of pure high-grade wool, and each one cost at least tens of thousands of yuan.

Not to mention the birthday gifts she receives every year.

It can only be said that the gap was already completely widened from the moment of birth, and is now insurmountable.

Once she leaves this place, she may never be friends with someone like the chubby kid again.

The novel rural experience brought them together.

They also argued because of their different lifestyles.

Erpiya thought that marbles and the like were things only ignorant kids would play with.

The chubby boy thought this was the most fun.

Nothing else can compare.

Chen Pingsheng ignored them and let them laugh and chatter away.

(End of this chapter)