The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chen Pingsheng had considered many scenarios.

The only thing I didn't expect was that Zhang Tao would actually do something so drastic as to jump off a building.

He met his current ex-wife when Tengsheng Fruits was just starting out.

Back then, nobody had any money. Suddenly, everyone was incredibly excited to be able to earn hundreds of thousands or even millions a year.

His ex-wife's name is Zuo Yao. When she was in college, she worked part-time as a real estate salesperson.

That's when she met Zhang Tao. He bought a four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment from her in full.

Perhaps in Zuo Yao's heart, what moved her was never love, but Zhang Tao's wealth.

Regardless, Zhang Tao and Zuo Yao have been married for five years, and Zhang Tao has respectfully called him Brother Chen for the same five years.

He had actually called Zuo Yao when the divorce proceedings were underway.

To everyone's surprise, Zuo Yao cried so hard that she was even willing to give up custody of the child, wanting only the property.

Upon hearing this, Chen Pingsheng decided not to interfere any further.

No matter what, he was still an outsider, and in his mind, even if Zhang Tao lost the lawsuit, his 300 million investment would be completely lost.

If only he wanted to, or even if only he could properly analyze this mistake.

Chen Pingsheng would definitely give him hundreds of millions to start a new business without hesitation, since hundreds of millions of dollars is nothing to him.

The only thing I didn't expect was that he would die.

To leave in such an undignified manner is a bad thing. The business world is like a battlefield, and ups and downs are normal.

That's why he couldn't persuade Zuo Yao, and he couldn't use the resources at his disposal to deal with a woman who had respectfully called him Brother Chen for five years.

That's why he refused to help.

He just wanted him to learn from this experience; he never imagined he would lose his life because of it.

April 27th, rain.

All the top executives of the Tencent Film Group set off for Beijing. Gao Hu, Yang Qian, Chu Qiuyan, and even Zhao Liying and Yang Mi all rushed to Beijing from various places to attend Zhang Tao's funeral.

No matter how grand the funeral is, it is still just a funeral.

There's no way to bring any more comfort to the deceased, and even less way to make Zhang Tao's parents forgive them.

As more and more reporters arrived, hoping to dig deeper for news material,...

Chen Pingsheng directly removed all negative news about Zhang Tao during this period.

Therefore, no effort is spared in mobilizing any amount of resources.

They even directly removed him from the Zhang Jingwen incident, keeping him away from that media storm.

No matter what he did, he couldn't face the helpless look in Zhang Tao's two children's eyes as they lost their father.

Once upon a time, they rode tricycles together to sell goods on the streets of Beijing, ate New Year's Eve dinner together here, and dreamed of buying a house together.

After everything was achieved, they discovered that preserving wealth was even harder than making money.

When you have nothing, everyone only has one thought: to make money, to work hard and desperately make money.

Pure and simple.

Only when people have money can society move beyond simply having enough to eat and wear.

It has become a society rife with materialism, power, and the allure of money and beautiful women.

Often it's not that they want to drift apart, but rather that none of them are prepared to face these challenges.

Gao Hu was like this, and Zhang Tao was like this in Zhang Jingwen's case as well.

When Zhang Jingwen, a well-bred and educated young lady, knelt on the bed and called him "father."

Chen Pingsheng believes that it was from that time that Zhang Tao changed.

He became restless and forgot that he was still a father of two.

Regardless of the circumstances, the deceased is gone, and Chen Pingsheng will handle his funeral arrangements.

He couldn't blame Zuo Yao, just as he couldn't forgive himself for refusing to meet Zhang Tao back then.

Chen Pingsheng gave her two choices: one, she could leave the Zhang family with 2.7 million yuan, and he wouldn't care whether she married someone else or not. But her two children had to be handed over to Zhang Tao's parents, and he would take them to Shanghai.

Zhang Tao's two children will be cared for by him for the rest of their lives.

Secondly, she must never remarry in this lifetime. She must raise Zhang Tao's two children steadily until they are eighteen years old. He will then guarantee Zuo Yao a lifetime of wealth and honor.

He would never allow Zhang Tao's two children to call anyone else their father.

This is the bottom line.

Zuo Yao hadn't actually thought Zhang Tao would die; she just wanted to secure her own interests and protection.

Zhang Tao's passing was an unexpected event for everyone.

Whether it was his former brother or his ex-wife Zuo Yao, at this moment, grief overwhelmed everything.

As for the options Chen Pingsheng offered, one was to leave with the money.

Another condition is that she should honestly raise her two children to adulthood.

What seemed like a simple choice turned out to be exceptionally difficult for Zuo Yao.

Because she realized that since marrying Zhang Tao, she had lost herself in this life.

Now she wants a life of her own, and to leave with the money.

As for her two children, they were taken to Shanghai and raised by Zhang Tao's parents.

This may be the best outcome, but it's also an outcome that no one is satisfied with.

Because the children lost their father, and even more so, their mother who had always been there for them as they grew up.

Chen Pingsheng returned to the old rented house in Beixin'an, the place where their dreams took flight.

That was also the spot where they had lived together for four or five years.

Chen Pingsheng poured a glass of wine on the ground, one to Zhang Tao and one to himself.

Chang Fu brought Gao Hu to see him. Of the four brothers, Zhang Tao had died, and Gao Hu was now homeless and making fried rice.

Only he and Changfu haven't changed much.

"How are you doing now?" This was the first time he had asked Gao Hu in several years.

Gao Hu laughed and said, "What else can I do? I'm stronger than Taozi. It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death."

"Have you ever thought that Chung-kun might forgive you?"

“I never thought that I still owe billions of dollars, and I dare not drag them and their child down with me.”

Chen Pingsheng nodded. "Perhaps you've changed your ways, or perhaps you'll still be the same as before after you have money. In any case, we all grew up together. I'll have Zhang Wanyi buy you an apartment downstairs in Chunshu, and I'll give you 20 million in cash. I hope you'll cherish it."

"You give me the money, what are my creditors supposed to say?"

"If they have any complaints, tell them to come to me."

Chen Pingsheng left, and Gao Hu cried bitterly. The only thing he was better off than Zhang Tao was that he was still alive.

But Taozi, unable to cope, jumped off the building.

He doesn't owe billions, so why is he more depressed than him?

Fate is truly ironic, making them rich overnight before they were even ready.

But they don't give them a chance to start over.

Taozi died, perhaps out of guilt or for other reasons.

Gao Hu regained Chen Pingsheng's help, and he was certain that if Zhang Tao hadn't died so directly...

His life will definitely not be too bad.

No matter what, they all have a brother named Chen Pingsheng.

Old Chen wouldn't let them live a bad life; at the very least, he would ensure they had a comfortable, well-off life.

(End of this chapter)