He won 900 million in the lottery.

The next day, Chen Sheng and Director Zhang did indeed come to the company.

Director Zhang's eyes lit up as he entered: "You even have a mahjong table here?"

Me: "I have a lot of friends, and I like to play a couple of games now and then. Does Director Zhang like to play too?"

Director Zhang: "I like to play a couple of games when I have nothing to do, mostly to keep Director Qin company."

Director Qin is the head of the Municipal Education Bureau. She is her direct superior.

Me: "If Director Zhang wants to come, he can come anytime. Anyway, there's not much going on at the company."

Director Zhang: "Okay, I'll organize a gathering later."

Enjoying tea.

Director Zhang is a worldly person; she can tell the quality of my tea from the first sip.

Chen Sheng was her adopted brother, and she knew he had no money, so she didn't care much about the quality of the tea.

Director Zhang: "President Shen, I didn't expect you to be so particular about tea."

Me: "I don't have any major hobbies, but drinking tea is one of them. Director Zhang, I haven't reported to you yet, but the bar project has fallen through; the company doesn't agree."

Chen Sheng and I are personal friends. It was my duty to notify Chen Sheng immediately if the project fell through. As for whether Chen Sheng and Director Zhang communicated with each other, that was beyond my control.

Director Zhang: "Xiao Sheng told me that it was an unintentional thing, and it won't have much of an impact if it doesn't work out."

It's confirmed. Chen Sheng and Director Zhang are most likely in a community of shared interests, and their relationship is closer than I imagined.

This is my second meeting with Director Zhang. I think she's just getting acquainted with the place today and won't have any special requests.

Unexpectedly, she actually brought it up.

The topic was brought up by Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng: "Tianyi, over the years I've wanted to do something, but I haven't succeeded. I've reflected on this a lot over the years. Do you know why we haven't made money and have kept failing?"

Me: "Why?"

Chen Sheng: "Because we've always been going it alone! We have no connections, no resources, and we start businesses based entirely on momentary ideas and impulses. Most startups fail because the future is unknown. In this world, you can't make money just by working hard; you need connections, resources, and relationships!"

Chen Sheng finally realized the truth.

If he had had this idea earlier and listened to his family's arrangements, he would at least be a great deputy section chief by now after graduation.

Me: "Bro, you're thinking the same thing as me! I just figured it out myself!"

Chen Sheng: "And here comes the opportunity."

Chen Sheng expressed his meaning, which was actually Zhang Ju's meaning as well. They had this idea a long time ago, but it just happened to be related to me, and it was a coincidence.

Director Zhang's husband is from the provincial capital. His name is Lin Hu. He was a soldier, and his father was once the director of the provincial capital's public security bureau, a full-fledged department-level official. He used to be a carefree second-generation rich kid in the provincial capital.

Until Lin Hu's father passed away, and the relationship cooled down, he eventually came to live in Liancheng. However, according to Lin Hu, he had connections in the provincial physical education department, the discipline inspection commission, and the public security bureau. He could easily name the bigwigs in several departments. In short, they were all friends.

I didn't understand this before, but I've come to realize that when you're traveling, your identity is something you create yourself. The more impressive your claims, the less likely others are to verify them.

Both are from blended families, which can be seen as an integration of resources and connections, involving both affection and interests.

Lin Hu wants to open a club and return to his brokerage business. The club will be a platform where everyone can share and utilize their network of contacts.

Director Zhang has cultivated extensive political and business connections in Liancheng.

Lin Hu controlled all the political and business relationships in the provincial capital.

How do you open a club?

Three people contributed money, and two contributed connections. Besides Chen Sheng and me, there was also Huang Ze.

What was our state of mind back then?

Chen Sheng's feng shui club was on the verge of bankruptcy. He was frustrated and unsuccessful after graduation and was burdened with huge debts.

Huang Ze has a good relationship with Chen Sheng, has some money, is currently not doing well at work, and also has the ambition to make a name for himself.

Putting aside winning the lottery, my life had been filled with frustration and setbacks. Every business I tried lost money. Now I have some money, but I still want to start a business and prove myself.

This new model, where one can get rich by relying on their superiors, is very attractive to those of us eager to prove ourselves.

Huang Ze has a brother-in-law who used to run a similar club, but he stopped doing so later. He wants to ask his brother-in-law for advice.

I naturally agree wholeheartedly.

Chen Sheng organized a dinner party, and Huang Ze's brother-in-law, my brother, Huang Ze, and I attended.

I wonder if you've realized something: opening a shop is opening a shop, doing business is doing business, and socializing is socializing—these are three completely different things.

Do you know any social geniuses?

I have one by my side, Chen Sheng.

During the dinner, while Huang Ze's cousin was present, we asked some very pointed questions. After we finished asking our questions, Chen Sheng excused himself to go to the restroom and left.

He didn't actually go to the toilet; he paid the bill and left. Chen Sheng knew that we couldn't express many of our questions and concerns in front of him, so his departure gave the three of us space to discuss freely.

After Chen Sheng left, Huang Ze's brother-in-law praised Chen Sheng without reservation, saying that this was called having good judgment, and that leaders liked this kind of person.

Huang Ze's brother-in-law said, "Chen Sheng was a very good person; he knew a lot."

Huang Ze: "Brother, what do you think about this club thing? You've run clubs before, haven't you?"

Huang Ze's brother-in-law: "It's not easy to run a club now. There's not much business, and the leadership changes frequently. The government is also having some funding difficulties. I've quit. Why do you guys still want to get involved?"

Huang Ze's brother-in-law made it very clear that there was no need for him to get involved with this club.

Unfortunately, as it turns out, if someone is determined to do something, persuasion is useless.

It's hard to reason with a damned devil.

Ultimately, the three of us pooled together 24 yuan to invest in the renovation of this place.

It turns out that you wanted to profit from other people's connections, but they just wanted to take your 24 yuan principal.

The club has opened; this is just the first step.

Later, quite a few people from the system did come here. As mentioned before, leaders who are always available for meals cannot generate profits, and the same applies to the leaders who come to this club.

They're always available for drinking, they brag during meals, and you have to listen to the younger generation's words of gratitude.

They clearly didn't contribute anything, yet they enjoyed the fine wine and food we paid for.

Lin Hu: "You need to learn how to interact with leaders, how to be obsequious, and how to gain their appreciation. That way, when they have work to do, they will think of you."

Later I realized that this was fucking psychological manipulation.

An idea pops into my head every three days.

I met a new leader in five days.

Originally, I thought that running a club would involve money transactions, bribery, government projects, and kickbacks to leaders.

Later I realized it was all a setup.

My boss called me in, and I'm left to maintain the relationship myself. I have to wag my tail like a dog and pitifully beg him to give me a job.

On what grounds?

Does that leader not have any relatives or friends? Does he think he can give you opportunities just by having a meal with you?

This is all a setup. Do you think I'm stupid? These leaders are just bricks in the system; they don't have that much ability.

They're just vain; they want to see us young fools groveling before them.

Yes, they will have projects, but these projects are just ways to make you jump from a shallow pit into a much deeper one.

I jumped into the club trap without informing Qiuya or contacting Haitao; it was just a private agreement between Chen Sheng and me.

Consider the 8 yuan investment plus the principal and profit of a 10 yuan project a lesson learned.

I saw through it all, so I left.

[Clubs are generally run by construction companies; they have direct, strong connections, and are guaranteed to make money. Others are just scams to swindle money; anyone who's been involved knows that.]