The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

After Chen Pingsheng relinquished his position as head of the family.

He plans to take his wife to Beijing for a while; they are both getting old and have fewer and fewer opportunities to reminisce about the past.

Not to mention the mundane days of married life they would have had together. Both of them started their careers in Beijing, but some events later led them to move to Shanghai.

Since the capital city is where their family originated, Song Yanxi wanted to go there and live for a while in her later years.

Chen Pingsheng naturally wanted to satisfy her, since people their age might leave one day.

If you wait until people leave before you regret it, it will be too late.

After relinquishing all his duties, Chen Pingsheng, feeling carefree and relaxed, resembled an elderly athlete, dressed in a Nike outfit with a camera hanging around his neck.

The first thing they did upon returning to the capital was to climb the Great Wall and admire the magnificent landscape once more.

Then take another look at the vast and richly endowed capital city, with its profound culture.

Song Yanxi is also like a very energetic young girl, and she likes to take photos and check in everywhere, and then give herself a V-sign.

"Old Chen, your photography skills haven't improved at all over the years. You've made me look old."

"Do you think it's possible that we're just old?"

Staring at her graying temples in the photo, Song Yanxi said with a touch of melancholy, "Yes, we're all getting old. An'an even advised me to dye my hair black a few days ago, but I said, 'Isn't that just fooling myself?'"

"It's okay to lie a little."

"You can fool them for a while, but they'll grow back after a month."

There are many people on the Great Wall, and many of them are like these, companions in their old age, their companionship in their youth turning into companionship in their old age.

Chen Pingsheng asked her, "Why have you been so sentimental lately? It's just getting old, it's not a big deal. Everyone gets old eventually."

“I’m just not mentally prepared that you’re almost seventy. Never mind that, let’s relax for a while this time.”

"Hmm..." Ahead were some young university tour groups, whose tour guides were telling them about the history of the Great Wall and the tragic history of the past.

When Chen Pingsheng and the others went to join in the fun, Song Yanxi suddenly had a change of heart and said:
"Beijing is a place with a profound cultural heritage. It was once the capital of the royal family and is now the center of the world. If you come to Beijing and don't experience its exquisite cuisine and amazing shopping, wouldn't that be a regret?"

She meant well, but what she said made her sound like a middleman directing people to shop.

"Grandma... Beijing is nice, but we don't have that much money to spend there."

"Yes, I saved up for this trip to the capital by eating and drinking very little over the past six months."

"Making money is hard these days, where would I get so much money to buy the things I like?"

A group of young girls gathered together and said that if they had enough money, they wouldn't need to join such a budget travel group.

Song Yanxi laughed heartily and said:

“When I was your age, I was also broke. Now I have money and can buy anything, but I can never buy back your youth. I’m happy today, so I’m giving each of you a two million credit line. Eat and buy whatever you want, and my husband will pay for it all.”

"Grandma, are you serious?"

A young girl could hardly believe that such a good thing could happen to her.

She was just an ordinary college girl who had wanted to visit Beijing since junior high school, but it wasn't until college that she finally made it happen.

What does two million mean?
Their family could never earn that much money in their lifetime, not to mention that their group also included more than a dozen budget students from other places.

This grandmother clearly stated that she would give each of them a spending limit of two million.

How much money would that cost?
"Don't worry, since my wife said so, she will naturally keep her word."

Chen Pingsheng waved his hand, and several bodyguards and the affairs team's personal secretary quickly came up behind him.

When he and his wife traveled alone, they were always accompanied by at least a dozen bodyguards, some close and some far away. "Uncle Chen..." a man in his early forties called out respectfully.

Chen Pingsheng instructed, "As my wife said, arrange a car to take them to experience the best food, drink, and entertainment in the capital."

After saying that, he left with his wife.

The remaining tour guide and the dozen or so college students traveling on a shoestring budget were completely bewildered. They felt as if they had encountered an important person, but they didn't know who that person was.

The same leader said, "Let's go. I'll arrange everyone's travel activities for the next few days."

The tour guide, worried, immediately came out to stop them, saying, "This probably won't work; I don't even know who they are."

"As for Uncle Chen's identity, you can only guess as far as the sky is up. You'll probably get the gist of it."

The leader said, "Since the mistress said she would let you experience the best food and entertainment in the capital, we will naturally keep our word."

The tour guide asked, "Could you tell us what you're taking us to eat for lunch?"

The tour guide was quite familiar with Beijing; she could roughly guess someone's identity just by hearing a few names.

"The best restaurants in Beijing are never open to the public. We're taking you to Uncle Chen's private manor restaurant, No. 1, in Beijing. This place is usually only used to entertain Uncle Chen's friends."

I've never even heard of Restaurant No. 1.

However, the young female tour guide still followed along with some skepticism, only to realize upon arrival that it meant the best restaurants in Beijing were never open to the public.

In this environment, no one comes for at least 300 days out of 365.

Those who are left to come are all big shots; financial freedom is a basic requirement for them.

They are among the few ordinary people who have emerged in recent years.

……

When you're young, you can buy happiness with money, but that's no longer possible.

Time takes away not only youth, but also mindset.

Song Yanxi returned to the courtyard house, having not lived there for many years. The house was still kept clean and spotless.

She has many relatives in Beijing, but after the older generation passed away, the remaining ones are mostly younger generations.

Song Yanxi didn't have much to talk about with them, so she called Song Wu first after returning here.

The two sisters hadn't seen each other for a while, so after returning to the capital, they naturally invited Song Wu to come and sit with them.

In addition, Bai Xin has always lived in Beijing, where she lived a carefree life, but now she has returned to an ordinary life.

Song Yanxi then asked Chen Pingsheng, "Old Chen, do you think those girls will be very happy today?"

"Of course you will, you've spent so much money on them."

"That's true. If I had encountered something like that when I was young, I would have been overjoyed."

"You'll be unhappy when you get old?"

"I no longer experience the joy of spending money. Although it's hard to understand, I've truly lost interest in money now."

"It's normal."

Once all material needs are met, the thrill that money provides diminishes significantly.

They've long since moved beyond the stage of buying happiness with money.

(End of this chapter)