The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 232 Fan Shengmei's Real-Name Jealousy
After listening to Fan Shengmei's complaints, Xu Hongdou nodded in agreement.

"This is the case in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't work so hard just to buy a house of their own."

Fan Shengmei looked around at the high-rise buildings in the community, thinking that with her monthly salary of a few thousand yuan, it was nothing short of a pipe dream to buy a house in Shanghai where the price was over 10,000 yuan per square meter and close to 20,000 yuan per square meter.

The only way out is to find a wealthy and eligible bachelor to realize the dream of settling down in a big city.

That's why Fan Shengmei is so envious of Xu Hongdou.

She met a high-quality guy like Yang Muye as soon as she entered university.

Some people are already a stroke of good luck just to meet them.

As they entered the elevator, Fan Shengmei asked curiously:

"Hongdou, after you graduate, are you planning to stay in Beijing or come to Shanghai to work hard with your sister?"

"I really haven't thought about it yet."

Xu Hongdou smoothed her hair and took the opportunity to steal a glance at Yang Muye beside her.

I'll probably stay in Yanjing... right?

She thought to herself.

"That's true, you're only a freshman, you've had a long time before you graduate."

As Fan Shengmei said this, she also secretly glanced at Yang Muye.

With Yang Muye's qualifications, Xu Hongdou will never have to worry about settling down in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.

After graduation, I'll probably live in a large villa of over a thousand square meters, spend most of my time traveling the world, and buy all sorts of luxury goods until my hands are sore.

Fan Shengmei couldn't even imagine such a life in her dreams.

"Where does Mr. Yang plan to develop his career in the future?" Out of curiosity, Fan Shengmei couldn't help but ask.

"I?"

Yang Muyi didn't expect Fan Shengmei to suddenly bring up the topic of himself:
“I’m definitely going back to my hometown. Our village is being demolished this year, and my old house is quite big. I’ll get six new houses in total. I’ll keep one or two for myself and rent out the rest. Being a landlord will be pretty great!”

A hint of surprise flashed in Fan Shengmei's eyes.

He then raised his hand to cover his mouth and chuckled.

The flowers trembled violently!

"Mr. Yang is so humorous!"

When Fan Shengmei was researching, she only noticed that Yang Muye was from Yunnan Province.

With Yang Muye's wealth, why would he care about the few houses he got in exchange for the demolition of his hometown?
"His hometown is Dali. Recently, the Shanghai Jingyan Group has taken a liking to the old houses in his village and is planning to develop tourism there. If the development goes well, the houses in his village should be quite sought after."

Xu Hongdou explained from the side.

After that, he added a special note: "In this development, he and Jingyan Group are considered partners."

A while ago, Zhu Suosuo posted photos of herself traveling around Dali and Yunmiao Village in the online farming group every day.

Although Xu Hongdou didn't speak in the group, she had been quietly paying attention to this matter.

Fan Shengmei suddenly stopped laughing.

Jingyan Group is a well-known name in Shanghai, having developed several famous residential projects and CBD areas.

Yang Muyi must have such influence and power that he could get Jingyan Group to travel all the way to Dali to invest in tourism development.

If Fan Shengmei hadn't seen Ye Jinyan's photo in a magazine, she would have suspected that Yang Muye was Ye Jinyan's illegitimate son.

“I remember someone once said that his goal was to retire and go back to his hometown before he turned thirty,” Xu Hongdou added, adding insult to injury.

Retire at thirty?
What an unfamiliar combination of words!

If it were before, Fan Shengmei would have thought Yang Muye was joking.

But not anymore.

Even Fan Shengmei felt that Yang Muyi's statement about retiring at the age of thirty was already very modest.

At Yang Muye's current rate of earning money, he will probably achieve complete financial freedom before even graduating from university.

So it's no joke that Yang Muyi returned to his hometown after graduation.

Of course, this is different from those who can't make it in big cities and have to return to their hometowns as "Beijing drifters," "Shanghai drifters," and "Shenzhen drifters."

Yang Muye is going back to his hometown to become a "local tyrant".

The wealthier a person is, the more simple and unpretentious their thoughts about life tend to be.

Seeing that Xu Hongdou was almost killing the day with her chatter, Yang Muye could only cough and change the subject.

"Sister Fan, where is your hometown?"

"A small county town under the jurisdiction of Tongzhou City in Jiangsu Province."

"So, Sister Fan, haven't you ever thought about going back to your hometown to develop your career?"

"go back home?"

Fan Shengmei stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Her hometown hasn't been demolished, so what would she do if she went back?
If you take the civil service exam, you'll at most earn a salary of 3 or 4 yuan.

They live a predictable life, surrounded by mundane matters like firewood, rice, oil, and salt.

Although Fan Shengmei's salary in Shanghai is only a little over 6000 yuan, after deducting living expenses, the money she receives is even less than what she earns back in her hometown.

However, Shanghai offers many opportunities for upward social mobility, unlike small towns where social classes are already firmly entrenched.

Especially for a woman like Fan Shengmei who plans to change her life by marrying a rich man, staying in Shanghai definitely offers more opportunities than in her hometown.

Yang Muye originally wanted to say that with Fan Shengmei's qualifications, going back to her hometown and marrying a Brahmin from a county town would definitely give her a better future than staying in Shanghai to work hard.

But as soon as he was about to speak, he realized that it was 2008, and the Brahmins in the county were still in a low-key, hidden phase of making money quietly.

Most people still believe that big cities are better.

In big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, there are far too many girls like Fan Shengmei who come from small towns, have mediocre abilities, and whose only redeeming quality is their beauty, which scores 7 or 80 points.

In college, Fan Shengmei was at least considered a beauty of the department's most beautiful girl, a goddess in the eyes of many classmates, and had many suitors.

During my student days, I was surrounded by a group of boys and experienced all the conveniences that beauty brings.

They don't plan a life that requires hard work and struggle like ordinary girls.

Because she's beautiful, her thoughts are beautiful too.

I always felt that beauty is a scarce resource, and that with it one can find a wealthy man in a big city like Shanghai with a million-dollar annual salary or several properties.

During a period of economic growth, Fan Shengmei's life plan cannot be entirely dismissed as wishful thinking.

After all, some of these women have indeed successfully "made it ashore".

Survivorship bias leads many "Fan Shengmei" types to dream of marrying a wealthy businessman and achieving upward social mobility.

Ironically, most girls like this lack ambition in their careers.

Just like Fan Shengmei, being excellent and ambitious is a kind of self-packaging, a deliberately created persona.

The goal is simply to increase one's value in the marriage market and make oneself more sought after.

Living under the same roof, Xu Hongmi was more rational and had a clearer understanding of reality than Fan Shengmei.

Despite possessing similar beauty, she still diligently hones her money-making skills and focuses on building her career.

The gap between the two will widen over time.

In the future, Fan Shengmei will be thirty years old and still just an ordinary white-collar worker, sharing an apartment with others, while Xu Hongmi will have become a manager of a company.

"Ding!"

The elevator arrived at the 22nd floor.

The elevator leads to a north-facing public balcony, with both elevators and the stairwell entrance on one side.

The entrance to apartment 2202, which Fan Shengmei and Xu Hongmi shared, faced this shared balcony.

There are also passageways on both sides, leading to rooms 2201 and 2203 on either side.

When the door opened, Fan Shengmei gave Yang Muyi and Xu Hongdou a brief introduction to the houses on both sides.

Apartment 2201, which has an area of ​​over 200 square meters, has been sold, but the owner has not yet renovated it. The apartment has been empty since Fan Shengmei and her friends moved in.

Meanwhile, unit 2203 next door is still available for sale.

This is pretty much what Yang Muye guessed.

"Teacher Bai" Andy should be on Wall Street right now, while Qu Xiaoxiao is probably still abroad as a child and hasn't returned yet.

As Fan Shengmei spoke, she opened the door.

The interior layout of room 2202 differed considerably from Yang Muye's memories of his previous life.

Upon entering, you'll find a south-facing living room with a floor-to-ceiling window at the far end.

On the left is the bathroom, and on the right is the open-plan restaurant and kitchen.

The two bedrooms are located on the left front and right front, respectively.

A very well-organized two-bedroom, two-living room, one-bathroom apartment.

Compared to my memories of my previous life, there's one less bedroom.

Yang Muyi guessed that the landlord probably wanted to rent the house for a while and then sell it when the price rose to a reasonable level.

Therefore, the layout of the house was not significantly altered.

Later, when they realized that the house prices kept rising and wouldn't peak anytime soon, the landlord decided to hold onto the property long-term. So, they added a glass door in the middle of the living room and converted it into a third bedroom.

This way, they can collect an extra rent.

After entering, Fan Shengmei took the suitcase from Yang Muyi and helped Xu Hongdou push it to the door of the bedroom near the restaurant kitchen.

"Red Bean, this is your sister's room."

Yang Muyi walked around the kitchen and dining room, and was about to take a look into Xu Hongmi's room when his gaze was blocked by Xu Hongdou at the door.

"Don't look around girls' rooms."

If you don't want to watch it, then don't.

Yang Muye shrugged. Guan Juer would be living in this room in the future, so Yang Muye wasn't particularly curious about what the room looked like.

Fan Shengmei poured a glass of water and presented it to Yang Muye with both hands.

"Mr. Yang, have some water."

"Thank you."

After taking it, Yang Muyi continued to examine the layout of the entire house.

After Xu Hongdou pushed her suitcase into the bedroom, she came out and closed the door.

Seeing that it was getting late, Yang Muyi put down his water glass and took his leave.

Xu Hongdou and Fan Shengmei escorted Yang Muye to the elevator.

After entering the elevator, Yang Muye pressed the open button.

"I'm going to practice with Yu Tu and the others tomorrow morning, so I won't be able to go with you to pick up your sister from the hospital."

Xu Hongdou waved to the elevator.

"Okay, good luck in your competition!"

Xu Hongdou didn't look away until the elevator doors closed.

At this moment, Fan Shengmei's voice rang out from the side.

"Hongdou, Mr. Yang is playing a ball game tomorrow. Aren't you going to cheer him on?"

Xu Hongdou shrugged.

"I haven't decided yet, we'll see when the time comes."

Fan Shengmei smiled and took Xu Hongdou's arm, her eyes full of envy.

"That's true. Girls should be more reserved. Men don't cherish relationships that are too easy to get."

"Sister Xiaomei, Yang Muyi and I are just—"

Fan Shengmei interrupted Xu Hongdou with a smile.

"I know that he's a college classmate and a good friend."

Girls are shy, how could they possibly admit to something like this?
After returning to her room, Fan Shengmei removed her makeup, put on a face mask, and came out to find Xu Hongdou making a phone call in front of the living room's French windows.

"I just arrived in Shanghai and I'll be staying at my sister's rented apartment tonight."

“She shares an apartment with an older woman, who is a really kind person. That night, thanks to her, my sister was taken to the hospital. Don’t worry, I will definitely thank her properly.”

"You guys get some rest and don't worry. My sister will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow morning, and I'll have her call you then."

Xu Hongdou had just finished her call and put down her phone when she turned around and saw Fan Shengmei walking over with a plate of washed fruit.

"Red Bean, call your parents to let them know you're safe."

"Yes, I didn't dare tell them the day my sister was hospitalized for surgery, because I was afraid they would rush over in a panic."

"This shows that your parents love you and your sister very much."

At this point, Fan Shengmei suddenly sighed.

If she were to suddenly fall ill like Xu Hongmi, her parents' first reaction upon receiving the news would definitely not be the same as Xu Hongdou's parents, who would rush to see their daughter as quickly as possible.

On the contrary, their first concern will be whether they have enough money for medical expenses and whether they will have to borrow from them.

If it really comes to that, Fan Shengmei thinks her parents will most likely force her to write an IOU, specifying a repayment period and even including interest.

Since graduating from university, Fan Shengmei has never received a penny from her family; on the contrary, she has been constantly sending money home to them.

Just recently, Fan Shengmei's mother called her to complain.

Fan Shengmei's brother kept running into obstacles when he went on blind dates. The reasons were either that the bride's family asked for too high a dowry or that the other party required him to buy a house before getting married.

Whether it's for the bride price or buying a house, there's still a significant shortfall in the family's savings.

The mother wanted Fan Shengmei to send more money home each month.

Anyway, her parents felt that they had worked hard to support Fan Shengmei through college, so it was only right that she repay the family.

The preference for sons over daughters is deeply ingrained in parents.

Unfortunately, Fan Shengmei was also a good student, got into a university in Shanghai, and found a decent job there after graduation.

Fan Shengmei works hard to earn money in Shanghai, but when will her brother Fan Shengying be able to get married back in their hometown?
Furthermore, Fan Shengmei, Fan Shengying's younger sister, will need to help with the down payment and loan for her future house purchase, as well as the expenses of raising her children.

All of these things were like mountains weighing down on Fan Shengmei's head, so heavy that she could hardly breathe.

Xu Hongdou noticed that Fan Shengmei might have some problems with her relationship with her family.

Fan Shengmei herself didn't want to talk about it, and Xu Hongdou didn't feel comfortable asking too many questions.

The two chatted for a while longer. After washing up, Xu Hongdou returned to her room and turned on her computer.

Xu Hongmi's room is the master bedroom in the apartment, second only to the living room in size.

Besides a 1.5-meter bed, there is a large space inside for a desk and a bookshelf against the wall.

There were many documents and materials piled on the table, showing that Xu Hongmi often worked overtime here after going home.

After turning on the computer, Xu Hongdou first logged into QQ.

She had promised Chen Nanxing that she would video call him to let him know she was safe once she arrived.

After logging into QQ, Xu Hongdou habitually checked her friend list to see who was online.

The first thing I noticed was that Yang Muye's profile picture was still lit up.

Xu Hongdou immediately sent a message.

"You're back at your place?"

Two seconds later, Yang Muye replied with a message:
"Are you still awake, or can't you sleep?"

"I'm going to video chat with Nan Nan for a while before I go to sleep. What about you?"

"I'm chatting with someone right now too."

"Oh."

Xu Hongdou originally wanted to ask Yang Muye who he was chatting with, but she deleted all the messages before sending them.

Yang Muyi volunteered to be Xu Hongdou's "mouth substitute".

"Aren't you going to ask if it's a man or a woman?"

Xu Hongdou replied decisively.

"Do not ask."

Unless you confess honestly!

Yang Muye readily sent a message:

"I'm chatting with the director who's going to shoot the commercial for Qiao Jingjing and Bei Weiwei tomorrow."

"Wasn't the advertising script already finalized?"

“We weren’t talking about advertising scripts. He was very interested in the development model of ‘Starry Sea’ and was talking to me about some things related to internet celebrities.”

"Okay, you guys continue chatting, I'm going to video chat with Nan Nan."

Love Apartment, Room 3602.

Yang Muyi sat in front of the computer and glanced at the last message Xu Hongdou sent.

"Drip drip!"

There was another message on QQ, but it came from another chat window.

The QQ number with the ID "Free Flying" belongs to Xu Qifei.

Since his "chance encounter" with Yang Muye at the bar, Xu Qifei quickly obtained Yang Muye's QQ number from Cheng Yun.

However, Xu Qifei did not rush to add Yang Muye on QQ at that time.

At that time, Yang Muyi had just been "exposed" online, so he was at his most vigilant.

Without any clear connection between the two parties, it would be almost impossible for a stranger to add Yang Muye as a QQ friend.

Xu Qifei had been waiting for an opportunity.

Just a week ago, Xu Qifei learned through industry channels that Xingchen Dahai was looking for a suitable director for an advertisement, so he took the initiative to contact them and won the advertising shoot at a low price from many competitors.

Taking this incident as an opportunity, Xu Qifei finally managed to add Yang Muye on QQ.

"From Old Boys to Plastic Brothers, and then to Sisters Who Make Waves and Loser Boys... all the collaborations of these internet celebrity groups seem to me to be more than just seniors from the same company mentoring juniors. I always feel that President Yang is playing a big game."

Yang Muye smiled after reading the message sent by Xu Qifei.

Then he only replied with one word.

"Oh?"

Xu Qifei knew Yang Muyi was testing him, and he hesitated for a while before replying:

"To use a perhaps imperfect analogy, the collaborations among these internet celebrities incubated by Xingchen Dahai are very similar to the various characters in the movie 'Young and Dangerous'."

"For example, Old Boys can be seen as Chan Ho-nam, Plastic Brothers as Chicken, Sisters Who Make Waves as Thirteen Sister, and Loser Boys as Big Fei."

"The 'Young and Dangerous' film series uses these characters to create a passionate and gritty gangster world, and now it seems that Mr. Yang is also building such a world of internet celebrities by incubating different types of internet celebrities."

After giving his "answer," Xu Qifei waited anxiously for Yang Muye's "score."

This time, Yang Muyi's reply speed was noticeably slower than before.

"Mr. Xu wouldn't happen to be a fan of director Wang Jin, would he?"

Xu Qifei was stunned when he saw the message.

Many people only know that Liu Weiqiang was the director of "Young and Dangerous," but they don't know that one of the owners of the best partner company that invested in and made this movie is Wang Jin.

Before creating the world of the movie "Young and Dangerous," Wang Jin had also created a gambling movie world built around the God of Gamblers, the Saint of Gamblers, and the Knight of Gamblers.

When Yang Muye mentioned Wang Jin at this moment, was he implying that he... had answered correctly?

　I'm taking half a day off, so there will only be one update today. Sorry!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)