The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 1 A Down-on-his-luck Middle-Aged Man
Beijing.

Outside the Fifth Ring Road, at the vegetable market.

The howling wind was accompanied by the squeals of pigs, and the bustling market was the most lively place.

Chen Pingsheng was smoking a pack of Lao Baisha cigarettes that cost 4.5 yuan a pack, exhaling a white smoke ring. Before long, several stylish middle-aged women came to his tricycle.

They bought durians for 15 yuan per kilogram and sold them for 16 yuan, but they still complained that it was too expensive. They bargained down the price to 8 cents.

We'll sell as many as we can, even if it's just one order.

"The city management officers are coming! Run!"

"Damn, didn't they just come yesterday? Why are they here again today?"

Just as I was about to scan the code to collect the money, he drove off in his tricycle.

If you run too late and get caught, you'll have worked for nothing for half a month.

I don't know when it started, but this local bigwig and school celebrity started living a life full of trivialities.

Fortunately, he got married early, and his wife is five years younger than him. Although they don't have a house or a car, they have a warm little home.

So life as a migrant worker in Beijing isn't so lonely anymore.

After parking the tricycle, he used the key to open the door with a "creak".

There was a little baby hiding behind the door. As soon as he entered, the baby rushed over and clung to him like a little pendant.

Chen Pingsheng picked her up and pinched her little nose. The baby was so cute. No matter how hard he worked outside, it was all worth it to see her when he got home.

This is his five-year-old daughter, Chen An'an.

"Chen Pingsheng, you've come back just in time."

Inside the room, a stylish urban woman with wavy hair was sitting on a small sofa.

She crossed her arms, her face expressionless, and crossed her legs, clearly not intending to be friendly.

"Sister-in-law, when did you arrive?"

"Hmph." Song Wu snorted coldly, completely ignoring his politeness, and said bluntly, "I came here to ask you to let my sister go."

"What do you mean by that? I don't understand."

Chen Pingsheng's expression changed, but Song Wu didn't care about his feelings at all. "Don't play dumb with me. My sister has been with you for six years, from when she got married until now. Do you see if she still has any of her former youthful vigor? Has she had a single good day since she started following you?"

“She had to work as a dishwasher to earn money while pregnant, and she took on two jobs less than a month after giving birth to An’an.”

"Six years."

Song Wu became increasingly angry as she spoke, "For six years, my sister has still been forced to live with you in this dark and cramped rented room. Chen Pingsheng, if my sister hadn't chosen you, would she have had to live like this?"

Chen Pingsheng's breath hitched, his eyes shifting constantly, regardless of his various emotions.

At this moment, there was no way to refute it.

Perhaps everyone would assume it's because he's too lazy.

The truth is quite the opposite; he is very diligent, leaving home before dawn and returning very late every day.

Thinking back to when he first came to Beijing, he had neither education nor special skills.

I worked on construction sites under the scorching sun, carrying cement and bricks for a whole year. Later, I heard that driving a truck could make money, and that people could make money traveling all over the country.

These days, I sell durians by driving a tricycle like a guerrilla, which is not very respectable, but I can still make a net profit of 10,000 to 20,000 yuan every month.

But what's the point?
As his sister-in-law said, with his income, even if he didn't eat or drink for ten years, it wouldn't be enough to pay the down payment for a house within the Third Ring Road of Beijing.

When will this end?
An'an still has to study, and there are elderly people at home who need to be taken care of. Whenever the night is quiet, he always thinks of the vow he once made.

He wanted to provide his wife with a comfortable life before he turned thirty, but he didn't have the means.

I want to be my parents' pride, but I just can't do it.

Life, it not only crushed his back but also his once-cherished ideals.

Song Wu would hurl all sorts of nasty insults at him, but she never once called him lazy.

She just hated her sister for choosing a man with no education and no formal birth at the prime of her life.

If she had listened to her parents and married a city person, her income might not have been as high as Chen Pingsheng's, but her life would have been incredibly stable.

The reason is simple: faced with these exorbitantly priced cement houses, a single apartment is enough to crush the life of an ordinary, unproductive person.

Chen Pingsheng fell silent, and Song Wu stormed off. When his wife returned, she brought a bouquet of flowers.

Once upon a time, his wife was the white moonlight of many people—beautiful, lovely, gentle, and kind.

He always believed that finding a woman like that meant he must have saved the galaxy in his past life.

Song Yanxi is only 25 years old. Although she has already given birth, she still maintains an excellent figure with a slim waist, perky hips, long legs, and delicate features.

It's just a pity that since I married him, I haven't bought a decent set of cosmetics or worn a designer coat.

The once beautiful girl now handles the spoon with delicate hands, casually tying her hair into a low ponytail, with a few stray strands of hair still framing her face.

"Bang..." The door closed, and Song Yanxi changed into her white cotton shoes that she had worn for five years.

"Mom, Auntie came by."

Chen An'an ran up to her and pounced on her. Song Yanxi smiled gently and hugged her.

Chen Pingsheng prepared the meal, as usual, one meat dish and one vegetable dish; his family lived an exceptionally frugal life.

Everything was for the sake of settling down in the capital as soon as possible.

Song Yanxi placed the bag on the table. When she opened it, she found half a roast duck and some spicy chicken feet inside.

Wow... an extra meal today.

Little An'an clapped her hands happily. Song Yanxi patted her head and moved a small stool over for her to sit down.

"Pingsheng, today is our sixth wedding anniversary."

No wonder he spent money on these things; it turns out it was for their wedding anniversary. He might have been happy under normal circumstances, but now it's hard for him to smile.

Six years have passed, and I haven't achieved any of the things I wanted to achieve, nor have I seen any progress in providing my wife with the happy life I wanted to give her.

Why aren't you saying anything? Did my little sister say something nasty again?

Song Yanxi frowned slightly, put down her chopsticks, and grabbed his hand.

Chen Pingsheng didn't want to explain too much on this topic, so he simply made up an excuse: "No, I saw in the weather forecast that it's going to rain again tomorrow. You know, my tricycle can't go out to make money when it rains."

"If you can't go out, then you can't go out."

Song Yanxi said with concern, "You haven't had a few days off all year. Take advantage of the rain to take An'an out to play. Don't go moving with other people when it's raining."

She remained as gentle and kind as ever, and the more she did so, the more ashamed Chen Pingsheng felt.

But that's all the skill he has.

Aside from doing manual labor, he usually sells durians. Like those young people who start businesses on a whim, he only dares to think about it at night before going to sleep.

Life doesn't allow it.

As people reach middle age, the thought that the future might be like this intensifies their anxiety.

"I haven't even found a place to live yet, how can I rest?" Chen Pingsheng shook his head.

Song Yanxi pouted, wanting to say something but not opening her mouth.

She went to see it today, and the small house she liked had gone up in price again.

The down payment was already close to what it should have been, but now it's far short.

There's nothing to complain about in this life; he's already exhausted enough.

When it was time to rest at night, Song Yanxi carried Xiao An'an to the small bed next to her, covered him with a thick quilt, and then quietly lay down next to him.

Chen Pingsheng felt her fullness and tried hard not to let the tears in the corners of his eyes slide down.

He had also thought about going back to his hometown, a small county town, building a big house in the countryside, and living a simple life.

Let's just live our lives like this.

But a voice inside him always told him that a man should at least provide his wife and children with the life he wants.

How long can one escape?

"Ding ~"

A sound came through my hazy mind, but I didn't know what it was. I'll have to check it out tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)