The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Just as Chen Pingsheng was preparing to go to the school with his wife to attend a teachers' gathering.

Chen Lu has returned to his workplace, carrying a large bag like any other office worker.

However, if you open this big bag, you'll find that it's filled with a bunch of Hermès wallets.

These were all brought by him for his colleagues. Chen Lu is quite popular in the company. He is popular not only in this place, but also in other places.

He is mainly mild-mannered and kind. Whenever a colleague asks him for money because of family difficulties or other problems, he will support them without hesitation.

Under such circumstances, one's network of connections will naturally be quite good.

Chen Lu has been here for almost half a year. He knows he will be leaving soon, but he hasn't decided on his next destination yet.

Or perhaps he simply hasn't made a formal decision in his mind yet.

In private enterprises, backstabbing and factionalism are everywhere, and small-circle culture is not lacking anywhere.

Chen Lu doesn't do those things. "Third brother, this is the wallet I bought for you."

Zhao Kai took the wallet and glanced at it. The Armani logo was very prominent. "Fourth brother, this wallet must be expensive."

"It's not expensive either."

He bought them for many people, and everyone thought he was a wholesaler, getting high-quality counterfeit goods from Zhanxi in Guangdong.

"Chen Lu, you bought so many Armani bags to give away, is there some good news at home?"

My daughter was born last month.

"Then congratulations on becoming a father at such a young age."

His colleagues sent him their blessings to celebrate becoming a father for the first time. Chen Lu smiled and said, "I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight."

"Alright then, everyone should contribute something too, we can't let you spend all your money."

The junior manager in my workplace is quite nice; he's always considerate of his subordinates and knows that new fathers have many expenses, so naturally, he helps them save money.

"No need for monetary gifts. You can choose the location yourself. I may be leaving soon, and who knows when we'll get together again."

Zhao Kai was somewhat surprised. "Fourth brother, you're not planning to work here anymore?"

"Maybe. My wife is going to settle in Hong Kong, but I don't have any specific plans for my next step yet."

Someone like him, who dared to say he wouldn't stay at the company for long before even deciding on his next step.

Anyone who has worked in the corporate world knows that their family is generally not short of money.

If you have a mortgage and car loan to pay, who would dare to quit their job easily?

"Chen Lu, could you lend me another 20,000?"

A female colleague from his department came over to him for help, her face expressionless.

Chen Lu had a deep impression of her; this female colleague was very down on her luck and never dressed up.

I rarely interact with other people at work; I mostly do my own work.

She would never eat with them; she always brought her own food.

A few steamed buns and some pickled vegetables.

It's hard to imagine just how bad her family's circumstances must be for her to continue living like this.

Chen Lu didn't ask her why, he just said "okay" and then transferred 20,000 yuan to her via mobile phone.

"Is 20,000 enough? If not, I can lend you some more."

"That's enough for now. My child is sick, and I need to take her to the hospital tonight, so I won't be able to join you for dinner."

"Sure, it's not a big deal for me anyway."

After the crowd dispersed, Zhao Kai, the third brother, came over to him and asked, "Chen Lu, how many times have you lent money to Zhang Qing?"

"Twice, I think. Last time she only borrowed five thousand."

"Sigh... Zhang Qing is quite pitiful. Her child is only three years old and has been diagnosed with congenital leukemia. Even working three jobs at the same time is not enough to cover her child's medical expenses."

"It's so bad, how come I didn't know?" Chen Lu asked in confusion.

Zhang Kai explained, "You never eat late-night snacks with your colleagues; you go straight home after get off work. How would you know about their private affairs? Zhang Qing's husband is also the child's father. After finding out the child had this illness, he immediately gave up treatment and refused to pay a single penny for medical expenses. Zhang Qing is a pitiful person. She came to you to borrow money because she probably had no other choice." "Doesn't the company have an internal charity fund? Someone in her situation could obviously apply for it."

"She applied, but it wasn't approved."

"Why?" Chen Lu asked, puzzled.

"Of course it doesn't comply with the regulations."

Zhao Kai said, "Our company does have employee charitable medical care, but there are clear regulations. One condition is that you must have been employed for more than a year, and the second is that you must discover the illness of an immediate family member after you have been employed. Only then can most of the expenses be reimbursed. Zhang Qing tried to hide it, but unfortunately, she was found out and almost lost her job."

Chen Lu understood. Zhang Qing had been eyeing the company's medical insurance for a long time. She had concealed her child's illness before joining the company and immediately started applying when the year was up.

As a result, the investigation and evidence collection by the authorities uncovered this.

This raises suspicions of deliberately defrauding employees of their internal medical insurance.

Think about it and you'll understand: what if a family member has a serious illness, like sclerosis?

Knowing full well that her family couldn't afford the medical expenses, she still managed to find a way to come here and work as an employee.

How high must the employee charitable medical insurance fund be in that year?
Chen Lu suggested to Zhao Kai that they go see Zhang Qing's child together that afternoon.

Zhang Qing lives in a very ordinary single room in an urban village, with a monthly rent of 800 yuan.

Not only does she live here, but her mother also lives here.

Fate seems to only pick on those who are destined for hardship. I thought that once I got through university and started earning money, everything would be alright.

As a result, I ended up with such an irresponsible father.

Perhaps it's not so much irresponsible as it seems. Faced with bottomless medical expenses, who would dare to stand up and say with righteous indignation that they would save the child no matter the cost?

Putting aside online moral crusaders, the reality is that if ten people encountered this situation, at least eight would choose to give up.

Zhang Qing works during the day and takes care of her child and does live streaming at home at night.

She wants to earn as much as possible; for her, her child is her only hope.

Chen Lu rarely encounters this situation because almost no one in his circle worries about money.

Those second-generation rich kids, including himself, often spend lavishly.

He once lost his father tens of billions of dollars, so he simply stopped messing around.

There's nothing shameful about admitting to your father that you don't have much talent for making money.

"Zhang Qing, we've come to see you."

Zhang Qing was flustered when two large men suddenly squeezed into the small room, making it difficult for her to move around freely.

"Chen Lu, Zhao Kai, how did you get here?"

Zhao Kai explained, "Chen Lu heard about your child's situation and canceled his dinner party tonight to come see your child first."

"Hello, uncles." The little girl looked up and greeted them, her face unnaturally pale.

But she is very optimistic.

"This child is quite cute."

Chen Lu asked Zhang Qing, "What did the doctor say? Should I recommend a better hospital to you?"

"The doctor said I'll have to undergo chemotherapy long-term. Don't worry, Chen Lu, I will definitely pay back the money I borrowed from you."

"Zhang Qing, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to ask you for money."

Chen Lu said, "On the contrary, I can cover all your child's future medical expenses."

Zhang Qing was very surprised; this was the first time she had ever heard of someone being willing to help her in this way.

If Chen Lu hadn't already been married, she probably would have thought he liked her.

After all, Zhang Qing is quite pretty; she just never dresses up.

(End of this chapter)