Brother, just how powerful is our family?

In the western suburbs of Yanjing, a low-key clubhouse is nestled under the shade of an ancient locust tree.

The gray-blue walls were covered with ivy, the black gate was tightly closed, there was no sign at the entrance, and only two security guards in plain clothes stood quietly.

Their posture was upright and their eyes were sharp, clearly indicating that they had received professional training.

The interior of the clubhouse, however, is a completely different world.

Passing through the screen wall, you enter an exquisite Suzhou-style garden with artificial hills, flowing water, pavilions, and winding corridors.

It was early autumn, and several old osmanthus trees were in full bloom, their sweet fragrance wafting faintly in the air.

In a tea room deep within the garden, five young people are sitting around a rosewood tea table.

This tea room is small, about 30 square meters, but every detail is unusual.

The wall displays authentic works by Wen Zhengming from the Ming Dynasty, the antique shelves are filled with celadon from the Song Dynasty, and even the teacups are imperial kiln porcelain from the Qing Dynasty palace collection.

The air was filled with the rocky aroma of top-grade Da Hong Pao tea.

Strangely, there were only these five men in the tea room today, without the young women in cheongsams who would usually be there to keep them company.

Everyone's expression was somewhat serious, which seemed a little out of place with the elegant setting.

These five people are all around the same age, between twenty-eight and thirty-two.

The outfit appears casual, but those in the know can immediately tell that the light gray cashmere sweater is a custom-made piece from a niche Italian luxury brand, priced at least in the six figures.

That seemingly ordinary watch is a special edition from Patek Philippe, limited to ten pieces worldwide.

Even the sneakers she was wearing were a collaboration between a trendy brand and a luxury brand, and they've been fetching astronomical prices on the secondhand market.

They come from some of the most elite families in the Dragon Kingdom.

The names of one's father or grandfather often appear in reports of important meetings.

From the day they are born, they are destined to live in a circle that ordinary people cannot imagine.

"Hey guys, what have you been up to lately?" the young man sitting in the main seat asked.

He had neat short hair, regular features, but his eyes always carried a hint of playfulness.

In the industry, everyone calls him "Young Master Chen".

"What else can I be busy with? Just messing around." The young man sitting across from him took a sip of tea. "Playing ball, playing with cars, and recently I've become obsessed with sailing. I got a small yacht in Sanya."

The speaker's surname is Lin, and he is Lin Shao.

His skin was tanned to a healthy wheat color, and he wore a string of small-leaf sandalwood beads on his wrist, which had been passed down from his grandfather.

"Sailboat? You've got some fun," laughed a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses beside me. "I'm currently setting up a private art museum and collecting works by contemporary artists. If you're interested, why don't you come and take a look sometime?"

This is Wang Shao, the most highly educated of the five, with a PhD in Art History from Oxford University.

But his art museum is less of a hobby and more of an investment; the works of contemporary artists that he "collects" often see their prices multiply several times over.

"Forget about art museums, I don't understand those abstract things." Another slightly chubby young man waved his hand. "I've recently started an e-sports club, invested some money, and it's quite interesting."

Zhao Shao is the one from a relatively "ordinary" family among the five—"ordinary" in the sense that his family assets are "only" a few hundred billion.

He has a straightforward personality, dislikes pretentiousness, and prefers down-to-earth things.

The last person who hadn't spoken was Zhou Shao.

He sat in the seat closest to the window, looking at the artificial hill and flowing water outside, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, as if he was thinking about something.

"Young Master Zhou, what are you thinking about?" Young Master Chen asked, looking at him.

Zhou Shao snapped out of his reverie and smiled, "It's nothing, I was just thinking that it's not good for the few of us to keep hanging around like this."

The tea room fell silent for a moment.

This statement struck a chord with everyone.

They had all returned from studying abroad a few years ago.

They have diplomas from Harvard, Cambridge, Stanford, MIT... the world's top universities.

But after returning to China, he found that his knowledge was somewhat powerless in the face of the "rules of the game" in China.

When they first returned to China, they were ambitious and eager to make a name for themselves with the modern business management knowledge they had learned.

But reality quickly taught them a lesson: in this industry, connections are far more important than ability, and family background is the biggest passport.

So they started to "live life freely".

Luxury cars, yachts, private jets, top-tier clubs, celebrity models...

Everything that ordinary people dream of is readily available to them.

It's exciting and novel at first, but it gets boring after a while.

More importantly, they know in their hearts that this kind of "carefree" lifestyle cannot last a lifetime.

The family needs them to take over, to explore new areas, and to maintain and expand that vast and complex network of relationships.

"Yeah, it's time to find something serious to do," Lin Shao sighed. "But what to do? Ten years ago, we could easily make money in real estate. But now? Real estate is failing, and we can't handle the internet stuff—they really have the technology, what can we use to compete?"

"Technology?" Young Master Wang pushed up his glasses. "We don't need to have technology ourselves, we just need to invest in companies that do."

He paused, then continued, "I heard that the Li family member joined an AI startup last year as an advisor and took a 5% stake. This year, the company's valuation increased several dozen times, and he made hundreds of millions without lifting a finger."

A few soft laughs echoed in the tea room.

This kind of thing is very common in their circle.

The so-called "onboarding" and "consultant" positions are nothing but a facade.

The real deal is behind the scenes—using family influence to solve problems related to policies, approvals, and resources for the company in exchange for shares.

Businesses were protected, and they gained wealth—a win-win situation.

"My father has already made arrangements for me," Zhao Shao said. "I'll be working at a new energy company, on a temporary assignment, but my annual bonus will be no less than this amount."

He held up two fingers.

"Twenty million?" Lin Shao asked.

"Two hundred million," Zhao Shao said calmly.

The tea room fell silent again. Although they were all worldly people, the prospect of a 200 million yuan dividend a year was still tempting.

Chen Shao slowly took a sip of tea, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "Of course, these things can be done. But don't you all think they're just small-scale operations?"

"Just a small stunt?" Young Master Wang raised an eyebrow. "What brilliant idea does Young Master Chen have?"

Chen Shao put down his teacup, leaned forward, and lowered his voice slightly: "Have you heard of Huanyu Group?"

The name instantly changed the atmosphere in the tea room.

Huanyu Group, Qin Feng.

This name has become a hot topic of discussion in their circle over the past few months.

From the events in northern Myanmar to the nuclear test in Black Africa, from the 500 billion yuan investment in Huai County to carbon-based chip technology, every move has been awe-inspiring.