The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Song Yanxi bought a lot more cars for her family.

The youngest sister, Chen Qi, was the happiest. She always thought that she didn't need to buy anything; she could just stand behind her brother and sister-in-law and have everything she needed.

This handsome Aston Martin was delivered right to my doorstep.

My younger sister, Chen Qi, immediately wanted to take it for a spin and experience the roar of this new sports car.

……

It wasn't until late December that Shanghai returned to normal, and the three little ones went back to school.

However, something not so big happened at home: Xiao Le, the eldest sister's youngest daughter, got her driver's license.

While driving his Aston Martin, a gift from his wife, slowly near the school, he accidentally bumped into a classmate.

It's not a big deal, but that classmate's parents are quite formidable.

They just wouldn't let their son leave the hospital. After a series of examinations, it was clearly a minor injury; he only had a small scrape on his foot.

The parents are demanding compensation for emotional distress, tuition waivers, and damages for psychological trauma.

All these fees added up to seven or eight hundred thousand.

It was all a small amount of money anyway. Although Chen Yao was a little angry, the trouble was caused by her daughter.

Moreover, she plans to take the civil service exam in the future, so she definitely doesn't want to leave behind any negative records.

Chen Yao is an honest person, and she apologized to the person as soon as she arrived.

She even openly told people that her daughter was the one who hit the person, and that she would definitely take full responsibility.

She even told people that she would pay for whatever amount of money was needed.

What could have been done for a few thousand dollars turned into a huge success after she explained it like that.

The stupidest thing she did was tell people directly that Xiao Le wanted to take the civil service exam in the future and couldn't keep those bad things.

That's bad, since the boy's parents weren't good people to begin with.

Both of them were the kind of people who were somewhat idle, spending their days loitering around mahjong parlors doing nothing.

The family's finances depend entirely on the demolition of the old house left by the older generation.

That's how we manage to stay afloat. Now that we've finally encountered such a situation, how can we not take a hefty cut?

What should have cost only a few thousand yuan ended up costing hundreds of thousands.

Xiao Le remained silent, feeling as if he had made a grave mistake.

Only after Chen Yao paid the compensation did the two men relent, and her son immediately left the hospital, looking refreshed.

It has to be said, this family is quite talented.

Even when Chen Pingsheng came, he didn't say anything, mainly because this amount of money really wasn't much.

Learn from your mistakes.

Xiao Le learned a lesson by paying for it. She also had a bit of a show-off mentality, which is why she drove a top-of-the-line sports car like an Aston Martin around outside the school when she wasn't very skilled.

This kind of thing is not unusual; recently, there has been an even more remarkable talent.

He bought a sports car worth hundreds of thousands of yuan and then went to the school's lawn to drift.

After calculating the losses, it turned out that even selling the car wouldn't cover the costs; it was a complete disaster.

Chen Pingsheng took Xiao Le to his home. With her older sister's way of speaking and handling things, she would never be able to raise a good civil servant.

If you can improve your grades, that's already a blessing from your past life.

Judging from how this matter was handled, Xiao Le and his elder sister Chen Yao are nowhere near being worldly-wise.

If someone has this level of ability, even if they pass the civil service exam and become a civil servant, they will be just like Hu Lin, unable to get by at all.

They'll be quickly identified by people in that circle.

Chen Pingsheng took her out shopping in his Bugatti, and also invited his wife along.

After the three of them found a small coffee shop and ordered a few cups of coffee, Chen Pingsheng said:
"Xiao Le, how's it driving the Aston Martin?"

Xiao Le's face turned pale instantly. "Uncle, I will never dare to cause trouble like this again."

"You didn't cause any trouble at all."

Chen Pingsheng shook his head and said, "Do you think I called you out to criticize you? You're wrong. It's impossible for someone your age not to have any desire to show off, unless you're like Erpiya and An'an, who grew up in luxury."

"The best way to overcome ostentation is not to make it poor, nor to make it unable to enjoy life, but to make it take it for granted."

"Your uncle called you out today to tell you that you have four years to fully enjoy the best material world in the world. Today I will take you to experience it."

There's nothing we can do about it. We've come this far, and if he doesn't put some effort into nurturing his eldest sister's two children...

His sister's honest nature is simply not a good fit.

"Uncle, is this...is this really necessary?"

Xiao Le never expected that her uncle would call her out because of this.

"It's absolutely necessary."

Chen Pingsheng said, "I know you've suffered a lot since you were a child. Even though your uncle gives you tens of millions every year, you've hardly ever spent any of it. Do you think that's a good habit?"
"Then you're wrong. Luxury goods are something you can never ignore just by being frugal; they're part of a person's confidence."

"When you see a newly bought Aston Martin, the first thing you think of is driving it to show off to your classmates. This is actually very normal; most people are like that."

"But what your uncle wants to tell you is that this is just the mentality of an ordinary person, and it should never happen to you."

"The same thing happened to Erpiya. Do you know what she was thinking? She was thinking about whether she could lift this car into the lake, put a few super air cushion tires underneath, and make it float, turning it into a mobile water sports car fishing platform."

There's no right or wrong in this kind of thing.

Xiao Le's lips twitched involuntarily a few times; she knew her uncle hadn't lied to her.

A car worth over four million is just a toy to Er Ya Tou; she can play with it however she wants.

She would never show off such a small toy; that would be embarrassing for her.

Abbreviation: 丟份.

This is a difference in level. The reason Chen Pingsheng told her this was because anyone who could be an intern in Shanghai was no ordinary person.

They either have a privileged family background or top-tier academic qualifications.

You need to have one of these two qualities to gain a foothold in the circle of civil servants in Shanghai.

A timid and insecure person can never stand out in that circle.

If one lacks interpersonal skills, then it becomes even more impossible.

It's obvious that Xiao Le lacks even the most basic self-confidence.

After finishing their coffee, Chen Pingsheng and his wife Song Yanxi took her shopping at one of Shanghai's most prestigious shopping malls.

The IFC in Lujiazui has always been a top-tier shopping mall.

This place boasts some of the world's most high-end brands. It's safe to say that any ordinary person who takes a stroll through this place will feel that the currency of Shanghai is completely different from that of other cities.

Because an apple here can sell for 2000, and a razor can sell for tens of thousands.

Even a small hair clip or earring can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

Luxury goods never cheat ordinary people, unless they are so foolish as to want to keep up with the Joneses even when they have no money.

This time, Chen Pingsheng didn't plan to buy Xiao Le anything.

Instead, it's about letting her pay for it herself, learn to buy luxury goods for herself, and spend big money.

Boost a person's self-confidence in the most direct way possible by spending money.

This wasn't Xiao Le's first time visiting a place like this; she always came with her uncle's family before.

Then she watched her uncle buy it.

This time it was different; Song Yanxi picked out an outfit for her, a new Chanel winter collection.

The price isn't very high, only a little over 300,000.

"Le'er, this outfit suits you quite well, would you like to try it on?"

"I... I don't want to!"

"Why not? It's only a few hundred thousand. As long as it looks good, go ahead and swipe your card to buy it."

They also picked out three or four more sets for her, totaling 1.3 million.

Although Xiao Le took her uncle's money, she never spent it much.

She was even thinking of returning it to her uncle later.

Now things are great, a few outfits cost over a million.

That's not all; Song Yanxi also picked out two more bags for her, both of them being young and trendy styles. Bags are something that top-tier wealthy women in Shanghai all own a ton of.

Song Yanxi herself has more than a hundred, which, when added together, would be no less than 200 million, if not four or five hundred million.

Xiao Le is nothing compared to this; he only spent a little over a million to buy two.

As Xiao Le strolled around, he ended up carrying a large pile of things and even ran into two classmates on the third floor.

They were all her female classmates from university with whom she had a good relationship.

The two classmates were named Hu Xin and Zhang Ya, and neither of them were from Shanghai.

This is my first time here, and I didn't buy anything except a cup of milk tea that cost a little over ten yuan.

When Xiao Le saw them, he greeted them shyly.

Zhang Ya and Hu Qing were quite happy to run into her, and they came over to greet her cheerfully.

They were all first-year university students, a stage where they were most knowledgeable.

The material world outside is what attracts them the most.

"Xiao Le, it's great to run into you here."

"Um... I went shopping with my uncle and his family."

"Your uncle?"

Xiao Le was embarrassed because she used to brag to people that she had a very powerful uncle.

She was afraid that if these words reached her uncle's ears, it would upset him again.

"Oh? Your uncle personally brought you shopping?"

"Hello, Uncle. We are Xiao Le's best friends in class."

"Really? That's great! Your uncle will treat you to dinner later."

Chen Pingsheng took them shopping together, and the two girls chattered away, clearly having a lot to talk about.

It was their first time visiting such a place, and just seeing those price tags made them feel a little uneasy.

Not to mention going to buy it.

I passed by a top-tier watch store, Patek Philippe.

When we went in together, the waiters inside were incredibly professional and attentive.

They were all wearing white gloves and elegant suits.

As for the watches inside, each one was incredibly luxurious.

"Le'er, you haven't bought yourself a watch like this before, have you? Pick out a couple, and buy one for your classmate too."

"Huh?" Zhang Ya had just never been here before, but she wasn't completely ignorant. How could Patek Philippe and the others possibly accept her?

The money he gave Xiao Le has always been in his card, but he hasn't spent much of it.

This won't work.

My older sister is really something, constantly teaching her how to save money.

This is completely inconsistent with the educational philosophy of a large family.

No matter how much you save, you can't afford an apartment in Shanghai with 5000 yuan a month.

Conversely, if you have 5 million a month, even if you spend 3 million, you can still save 2 million.

Small amounts of money can be saved, but large amounts of money are spent.

The funniest news story Chen Pingsheng had ever seen was about a Hong Kong resident who wore a Citizen watch worth several thousand dollars for decades.

Is this teaching people to be frugal?
This is teaching people to be fools. They have countless works of art in their homes, and a single house can easily be worth billions.

Even when the Miss Hong Kong pageant is held, people can spend tens of millions of dollars in one night to buy their virginity.

This has absolutely nothing to do with saving money.

Anyone who uses examples of the wealthy to teach people to be frugal is acting with malicious intent.

Chen Pingsheng gave Xiao Le money so that she could spend it, not so that she could just keep it in the bank as a number.

Xiao Le looked around in a daze and finally chose the three cheapest women's watches.

That adds up to over 800,000.

A Patek Philippe watch costing over 200,000 yuan is only considered the most affordable entry-level model.

However, her two classmates were still very happy, not to mention Xiao Le herself.

Paying for it yourself makes the wearing experience feel completely different.

Before long, Chen Pingsheng and Song Yanxi led them to buy a bunch of odds and ends.

From watches to clothes to bags and shoes, and those expensive crystal necklaces, etc.

More than eight million are gone.

Chen Pingsheng would make her buy the same set for her classmates whenever she chose it.

It's just like giving a gift.

When rural residents meet with leaders, they bring some of their own free-range chickens to their door.

When wealthy people meet with leaders, the mooncakes aren't for eating, but filled with gold.

Any leader who can't resist the temptation of free-range chickens will be a laughing stock.

Hu Lin is that kind of person.

When it happened to be the leader's birthday, he brought a bundle of sugarcane, a local specialty from his hometown.

If this guy doesn't go to the grassroots level, who will?

If Xiao Le were to give her classmates something worth a few dollars or even tens of dollars, it would show that she doesn't understand the most basic gift-giving culture.

These days, there's no such thing as a small gift conveying deep feelings.

The thickness of the banknotes represents the intensity of the emotions involved; it's that straightforward.

Look at her two classmates, they gave them all these incredibly valuable gifts today. From now on, if anyone in school dares to say a bad word about Xiao Le...

It's no exaggeration to say that they would immediately unleash a barrage of wild punches upon entering the room.

I can't give too much.

After buying almost all the odds and ends, Chen Pingsheng drove his Bugatti to take her to look at cars.

As for his wife, she was driving a Bentley Continental, with Zhang Ya and Hu Qing following behind.

There are many used luxury car dealerships in Shanghai, and even more dealerships specializing in top-tier luxury cars.

The culture here seems to lack the concept of being low-key, which is completely different from that in Guangdong.

Chen Pingsheng asked Xiao Le to buy him a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Top-of-the-line sports cars are hard to drive, but this kind of SUV is no problem.

As for her two classmates, they don't have driver's licenses yet, so naturally they don't need a car.

That's not all; Chen Pingsheng also bought her a top-tier apartment in Shanghai.

She'll be able to move into her own house soon after graduating from university.

Top-tier apartments in Shanghai come in all sizes, with the better ones costing over 100,000 yuan per square meter.

It's just a small apartment of 160 square meters, and the full amount is only around 20 million.

In one day, Xiao Le had spent almost all of the money Chen Pingsheng had given her.

She's going to live independently.

However, the next day, Chen Pingsheng gave her another 30 million, ensuring she wouldn't lack money for the next few years.

It's just a matter of getting her used to the process quickly.

Just think about it, a freshman driving a Rolls-Royce Cullinan worth over six million.

He lives in a top-tier apartment he bought for over 20 million yuan.

Carrying a bag worth hundreds of thousands and wearing an outfit worth hundreds of thousands.

She's wearing shoes that cost tens of thousands of yuan a pair. With that kind of setup, what kind of confidence does she lack?

What woman wouldn't dare run up to him and say "I love you"?

If someone can still be so submissive and obedient to women, then it's truly indescribable.

(End of this chapter)