I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

"Why are you putting the invitations to the 100-day celebration on the black market? Our Jiangjia Village isn't short of money from reselling tickets!"

"Short of money? Every day when I open my eyes, the interest I earn could buy a dozen LaFerraris cars." Jiang Chen spat out the grape seeds in his mouth and grinned.

He leaned back in the wicker chair, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"I want to see just how deep the waters really are in Nanjiang Province!"

"Releasing out these tickets is like throwing a few pieces of fat meat into a pond," Jiang Chen said, pointing towards the gate. "I want to see just how far those arrogant, self-important big fish will go to tear off their masks just to get through the gates of our Jiang Family Village!"

Su Qing rolled her eyes at him.

"You're so mean! If you throw these tickets out, the outside world will have gone completely crazy!" Su Qing hugged Xiao An Yan and glared at Jiang Chen reproachfully.

The provincial capital. Inside the largest business teahouse.

Several big bosses sat around in the private room, not in the mood for tea at all. They were all sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Have you heard? Old Ma just spent a whole ten million to pry a ticket to Jiangjia Village out of a distant relative!" A fat boss with a beer belly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Ten million for a seat? Has Old Ma gone mad?" the skinny man opposite exclaimed.

"Seat my ass! He spent ten million on a standing ticket for the last row! There wasn't even a folding chair! He was just supposed to stand against the wall!" The fat boss slammed his teacup heavily on the table.

There was a two-second silence in the private room, followed by a collective gasp.

"Good heavens! Ten million for standing room only? What's Old Ma getting out of that? He could be treated like royalty at a bathhouse for ten thousand yuan!"

"You know nothing!" the fat boss yelled, pointing at the skinny man's nose. "Just by standing in the courtyard of that grand mansion, raising a glass in front of Village Chief Jiang, and showing your face, you can easily slip a few orders through the cracks in Jiang's Logistics Park—that's hundreds of millions in profit! Ten million? That's an investment with a guaranteed return!"

"No wonder!" A bespectacled shop owner next to him exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "I heard that young master Wang from Xicheng Real Estate drove a Ferrari to Jiangjia Logistics Park this morning!"

"What's he going there for? To buy tickets too?"

"Buy my ass! He went to Li Qiang and begged to be a waiter at the baby's 100-day celebration! He didn't even want a salary, and he even wanted to pay a million yuan deposit to the security team!" The bespectacled boss's voice was trembling.

"A real estate tycoon's son working as a waiter? Did Li Qiang even agree to that?"

"Agree my foot! Li Qiang kicked him out on the spot! He said that only the Jiang family members are qualified to serve Jiangjia Village! Outsiders don't even have the right to touch the plate!"

After hearing this, all the big bosses in the teahouse slumped down on the sofa, their faces filled with despair.

The same despair permeated the Zhao family's luxurious villa.

Zhao Tai, wearing a gaudy, flowery shirt, paced anxiously in the living room. His hair was a mess, like a bird's nest.

"Dad! You better think of something! All the prominent families in the entire provincial capital have received invitations, but our family hasn't even gotten one!" Zhao Tai shouted at Zhao Chengzhi on the sofa.

Zhao Chengzhi had a gloomy face and didn't say a word.

"Dad! If we can't get into Jiangjia Village, how are we supposed to get along in the provincial capital's social circles?" Zhao Tai slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "If our family doesn't show up at the banquet tomorrow, the bank will cut off our loan the day after! All our business partners will think Jiang Chen has blacklisted us! We'll be completely marginalized!"

Zhao Chengzhi gritted his teeth. The muscles in his cheeks twitched.

"You think I don't know? You think I don't want to go?" Zhao Chengzhi slammed his hand on the coffee table and stood up abruptly. "That brat Jiang Chen has set the bar higher than the sky! I've asked over a dozen intermediaries, and they've all turned me away!"

Zhao Chengzhi was panting heavily. He turned around and opened a mahogany drawer, pulling out a property certificate with gold lettering.

He slammed the property certificate onto the coffee table.

"Take it!" Zhao Chengzhi roared, pointing at the property certificate. "This is our 50 million yuan ocean-view villa in Yunhai Bay! Fully furnished, paid for in full!"

Zhao Tai was stunned. "Dad, what are you going to do with this house?"

"Go to Jiangjia Village! Find that security captain, Wang Dagou!" Zhao Chengzhi's eyes were bloodshot, filled with heartache. "Transfer this house directly to him! Make sure he gets our family a ticket back, no matter what methods he uses!"

Zhao Tai swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Dad, fifty million for a single ticket? Isn't that too much of a price to pay? Our family's cash flow is already tight!"

"You know nothing! Now's the time to fight with bayonets drawn!" Zhao Chengzhi kicked Zhao Tai in the shin. "If we don't get this ticket, our family business will go bankrupt next year! Stop talking nonsense! Get your ass to Jiangjia Village!"

Two hours later.

The main entrance of Jiang's Logistics Park.

Wang Dagou was wearing a tank top, his bald head gleaming in the sun. He was standing at the doorway, munching on a slice of chilled watermelon.

Zhao Tai rolled off the car, bent over, and handed over the property certificate with both hands, holding it above his head.

"Brother Gou! No, no, no, Mr. Wang! This is a 50 million yuan sea-view villa in Yunhai Bay! Paid in full!" Zhao Tai's face was plastered with an extremely obsequious smile. "Could you please make an exception and get our Zhao family an invitation to our 100-day celebration? Standing tickets are fine too!"

Wang Dagou threw the watermelon rind in his hand into the trash can next to him.

He took the property certificate and casually flipped through it.

"Fifty million? A sea-view villa with a swimming pool?" Wang Dagou sneered.

"Yes, yes, yes! The scenery is absolutely stunning! Just say the word, and we'll transfer the property anytime!" Zhao Tai nodded frantically, thinking he had a chance.

With a flick of his wrist, Wang Dagou slammed the thick property certificate onto Zhao Tai's greasy face.

Snapped!

The property certificate hit Zhao Tai on the bridge of his nose, causing him to scream in pain.

"Go to hell!" Wang Dagou's hoarse voice exploded on the spot, spitting all over Zhao Tai's face.

"Trying to embarrass me with this piece of rubbish? In our Jiangjia Village, even the cleaning ladies drive custom-made, top-of-the-line Wuling Hongguangs! They even get their year-end bonuses in sacks of cash!" Wang Dagou stood with his hands on his hips, pointing at Zhao Tai's nose and cursing loudly.

"In our eyes, your dilapidated house isn't even as good as a fertilizer shed!"

Zhao Tai was so scolded that he took two steps back, covering his nose and not daring to utter a sound.

"Get out of here! If you dare come here again and stuff this junk into my hands, I'll have the security team smash your beat-up Lamborghini into a pancake!" Wang Dagou roared and gave the order.

The dozen or so security guards from Jiangjia Village standing guard at the gate all drew their batons from their waists.

Zhao Tai was so frightened that he scrambled into the car and disappeared in a flash.

At the same time. The headquarters building of the Su Group in the provincial capital.

Su Tianhao walked down the corridor with a ruddy complexion.

"Old Zhang! Don't go! Come and look at my phone!" Su Tianhao grabbed a passing group director.

"Mr. Su, this is..." Chairman Zhang was completely bewildered.

"See that?! This is my eldest grandson, Jiang Tianci!" Su Tianhao shoved his phone screen directly into Chairman Zhang's face, loudly boasting, "Look at that forehead, look at that aura, he's exactly like me when I was young!"

Chairman Zhang quickly smiled ingratiatingly, "Yes, yes, the young master is clearly an exceptional individual. Brother Su, about the invitation to the 100-day celebration..."

"You want to go? No way!" Su Tianhao interrupted him rudely. "This 100-day celebration is the most extravagant event in all of China! A one-of-a-kind event of unparalleled prestige! I've already given away all ten tickets I had! You can just watch the broadcast on the news!"

Su Tianhao laughed loudly and strode away, leaving Chairman Zhang standing there, stomping his feet in envy.

Qinghe County. In an ordinary barbershop.

Jiang Xiaoyan, dressed in cheap work clothes, was washing the hair of a fat woman.

The television on the wall was playing local news on a loop.

"Breaking news from our station! The 100-day celebration for the twins in Jiangjia Village is about to be held! Currently, ordinary invitations on the black market are being sold for tens of millions of yuan! Wealthy families from all walks of life have booked out all the hotels in Qinghe County in order to secure a spot..."

Jiang Xiaoyan stared at the news on the screen.

Her eyes were completely red.

Her distant cousin, who always acted like a socialite and looked down on the villagers, has now been completely blacklisted by Jiangjia Village and has been completely deprived of even the right to come back to the village for a visit.

"Why! Why can they live such a heavenly life!" Jiang Xiaoyan screamed wildly in her heart, the flames of jealousy burning away all her reason.

"Ouch! You're going to strangle me!" The fat woman in the shampoo tub suddenly let out a pig-like scream.

Jiang Xiaoyan was consumed by jealousy, and her fingernails dug deep into the guest's scalp.

"Are you crazy?! Is washing my hair going to kill me?!" The customer jumped up and slapped Jiang Xiaoyan across the face.

Jiang Xiaoyan covered her face, watched the aerial footage of Jiangjia Village on TV, squatted on the ground and wailed.

On the eve of the 100-day celebration.

The ancestral hall square in Jiangjia Village is brightly lit.

Jiang Youfu had a shaved head and wore a brand-new bright red apron around his waist.

He brandished a large ladle, directing eighty strong young men behind him. All of them were dressed in matching white chef's uniforms.

Hundreds of large iron pots were set up in the square, with firewood burning underneath them, crackling loudly.

The firelight illuminated half the sky in red.

Jiang Chen, dressed in casual clothes, strode over with his hands in his pockets.

"Brother Chen!" Jiang Youfu shouted at the top of his lungs, striding forward to greet him. "The ingredients for a thousand top-quality state banquet dishes are all ready!"

"Everything that flies in the sky, swims in the sea, or runs in the mountains is the finest stuff airlifted from all over the world! Just say the word, and the feast will start promptly tomorrow morning!" Jiang Youfu patted his chest and guaranteed.

Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction.

He turned his head and looked at Ding Xiu, the fully armed security captain beside him.

"Ding Xiu!" Jiang Chen shouted, "How's the security setup outside?"