The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

The older generation in the family.

Most of them helped Comrade Chen open the Red Star Hotel, which was quite a meaningful thing for them.

As for Erpiya, her tone has changed completely since she became the CEO.

Even her online account, "Er Congming," has been changed to "Three Big CEOs," and the cover photo features her wearing a red trench coat fluttering in the wind, with the labels of various companies ranging from small to large.

This little brat really enjoys being a mini-CEO even more than her sister. Her sister only played it for a month before giving up, but this little girl seems determined to play it from the beginning to the end of the year.

Chen Pingsheng didn't bother to care. At seven o'clock in the evening, he still drove his Rolls-Royce Phantom to pick up guests, just like before.

I also wanted to bring my older child to experience life, and I originally wanted to bring my younger daughter, but the little one probably wasn't too keen on it.

The neon lights of Shanghai shone brightly at night. Da Lao set off from his neighborhood and drove aimlessly.

Chen An'an even prepared a bottle of boiled water for him in the car, so he could have a sip now and then, living a leisurely life.

"Dad, you've come all this way and still haven't gotten any orders?"

"I don't even think I've opened Didi, no wonder I have no customers."

Chen Pingsheng quickly parked the car on the side of the road. His memory was terrible; he had forgotten to turn on the software after he had already gone out for a drive.

Once he starts accepting customers, orders will be dispatched nearby immediately.

As the car drove along, it came to the vicinity of a university. Two girls who looked like college students got into the car, and they were very well-groomed.

Judging from her appearance, she's most likely a live-in prostitute.

There are many types of escorts in Shanghai, with cheaper ones costing around 700-800 yuan per session.

Many white-collar women also occasionally take orders for luxury goods because they can't afford them due to peer pressure.

Those games cost at least two thousand per session, and you need an intermediary to introduce you to them.

There is an even more bizarre type: respectable women.

The price is even higher if you buy a house but are forced to go into the water because you can't afford the mortgage.

You only need to take two orders a month to pay off your mortgage. After a good night's sleep, you'll still be one of the most respectable homeowners in Shanghai.

It can only be said that as long as there is a demand in the industry, there will always be people who make money from it.

No matter how much you try to ban it, you can't completely ban it.

Somewhat surprisingly, the two girls who got on the bus were college students from out of town; they were the only two from out of town in their dormitory.

Seeing that her roommates' underwear cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, while her entire outfit cost less than a thousand dollars.

The pride I felt from getting into university vanished, leaving only endless inferiority in my heart.

That's just how Shanghai is; if you can resist its temptations, then you're fine.

If one cannot resist the temptation and tries to compete, then this bustling metropolis can easily devour a young and innocent heart.

It never needs to actively persuade you; everything around you can push you slowly toward the abyss.

Chen Pingsheng didn't chat with them, and the two girls didn't say anything either, they just curiously looked around at everything inside the car.

After they arrived at their destination and went upstairs...

Chen Pingsheng lit a Lao Baisha cigarette. If he wasn't mistaken, the two of them would be down in less than half an hour.

I wonder how much they were paid for this job. Do their parents know that the female college students they raised with such difficulty have ended up doing this?

"Dad, are you going to wait for them?"

"No, I just wanted to have a smoke."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Over the years, many people have given your dad special cigarettes, but I still prefer to smoke the Lao Baisha brand that used to cost only five yuan a pack."

After finishing his cigarette, he drove away.

Chen An'an wanted to persuade him to quit smoking and try to smoke less in the future, but then she thought better of it.

Her dad doesn't seem to have many hobbies anymore.

I'm either working or staying home taking care of the kids, and I haven't been to university much. At most, I'll smoke one or two cigarettes while driving for Didi.

"Dad, do they do that kind of thing?"

"You can see it too."

Chen Pingsheng drove seriously, "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, who knows? Do you know that there used to be a girl in our Wangcai Village who was second only to your mother?"

“Her family was not well-off. She left after graduating from junior high school. Every time she came back, she would bring a lot of gifts home, which made her parents very proud.”

"and then?"

"Then some bad rumors started circulating in the village, saying that the girl was selling herself outside, and then she never came back."

"Huh?" Chen An'an thought the story would have some twists and turns, but it turned out to be just like this.

Since they're not coming back, it probably means you weren't wrong.

As I was walking around the city, I ended up in Dongguan to work as a young lady.

There used to be many people like that.

In the past, it could be said that it was out of necessity, but now that everyone has been admitted to university, it is entirely a spontaneous act.

I never exceed two orders a day; the second order is much simpler.

I picked up a guy who works overtime and has to work until around 9 p.m. every day.

And there was no overtime pay.

The only benefit of working overtime might be avoiding being laid off in the next round of layoffs.

For outsiders living in this city, regardless of their level of education, life is actually quite tough.

If this were a local, you'd be dreaming if you asked him to work overtime every day without pay.

I'm quitting right now and I'm going to report you, you bastard, to the labor bureau.

Outsiders, however, would never dare to do so.

Some are overwhelmed by mortgage payments, while others are simply used to being treated like slaves.

If you're not willing to do it, someone else will.

Once this trend takes hold, many companies simply stop enforcing labor laws altogether.

Labor laws are only meaningful when employers need them; when they don't, all sorts of good fortune will come your way.

Suffering is a blessing.

"An'an, when you grow up, have you ever thought about which family business you want to inherit?"

"Huh? Isn't that too early? Grandma used to talk to me about this a lot before Xiao San was born, but no one has mentioned it since."

Chen Pingsheng smiled and said, "Your grandma is overthinking it. I'm still very fair and I won't do anything that favors boys over girls. All three of you will be treated equally. It's up to you to decide."

Chen An'an hadn't really thought about this question; it was too early for her.

The second daughter is only five years old, and the third daughter is not even two years old yet; she's the only one who will be starting junior high school soon.

"Dad, why did you suddenly ask that?"

"I just feel that you have matured. Of the three in the family, you are still the most likely to inherit the family business."

Chen Pingsheng said, “Our family’s future does not lie in having a lot of money, but in firmly following the national strategy and supporting the country’s development. Once we leave the country’s support, a family like ours may look strong, but in reality, it will be extremely vulnerable. That’s why I brought you to Beijing.”

Well... if possible, she hopes her father can remain the president of Tencent for another sixty years.

However, this timeframe will become shorter and shorter as she grows older.

They will eventually step onto the path of inheriting the throne.

(End of this chapter)