Mixed in 1980

Chapter 442 Meeting Second Brother
"No rush, just let things take their course. If we push that girl too far, she'll throw a tantrum and it'll be harder to handle," Chen Fan said, shaking his head slightly.

The little girl may be lazy, but she's no pushover.

Her temper is exactly like Zhao Yuanyuan's. Back when I got together with Zeng Ali, Zhao Yuanyuan would throw a tantrum and argue with me for almost two years.

After the brother and sister chatted for a while, the second brother and his wife came in carrying their child. Chen Fan quickly took his eldest grandson and saw that he had grown quite a bit since he last saw him in more than a month.

Looking at his eldest grandson and then at his son, Chen Fan teased, "They look more and more alike, but I hope they don't inherit their personalities."

Chen Yanjin quipped, "I follow your example!"

Chen Fan glared at his son with disdain: "I'm not as needy as you. When are you going to Hong Kong? Isn't the harvesting of Russian goods almost over?"

"Mid-September has passed!"

Chen Yanjin touched his nose: "Judging from the trend, it should continue to fall, but the decline will not be too great later. Just to be on the safe side, we should close the net in advance."

"Another thing is crude oil. It has fallen sharply in the early stage, and it is close to $70 per barrel. I plan to take delivery at the price of $70."

Chen Fan nodded slightly: "It's right not to make the last penny. Gold should continue to fall for a while, so we can continue to short it."

"A significant amount of money has already been invested in short positions."

Chen Yanjin glanced at his father and said, "I've made quite a bit of profit in finance in recent years, and I'm planning to stockpile another batch of gold. What do you think?"

"You decide for yourself!" Chen Fan had no objections.

Gold is a safe-haven asset; if you buy it at a low price, you can't lose money. Those who hoarded gold on a large scale after 99 will find that no matter how much the price drops now, it will never fall back to that level.

After a moment's thought, he said, "After you take over, there's still a lack of major infrastructure investment in the mainland. Find a suitable project and make a splash."

"Still doing infrastructure construction?" Chen Yanjin's lips twitched.

The family has invested in many fund projects, including six ports, six canals, and highways. They all share the same characteristics: large investments and long payback periods.

Just like those six Grand Canals, it will take 30-50 years to recoup the investment. It would be better to invest in high-tech industries instead of spending that money.

After rambling on for a while, he was met with a glare from Chen Fan: "You haven't invested enough in high-tech industries? Can you even spend all the US dollars you have?"

"Earning money is faster than spending it."

"The economy has been good these past few years. We've made a lot of money in finance and in various industries and exports. Why keep so many US dollars to earn interest?"

"Infrastructure construction is the fastest way to spend money."

After hearing his father's words, Chen Yanjin's lips twitched even more violently: "We can't just think about spending money, we also have to consider the return, right? What kind of capital is willing to do infrastructure construction?"

"The greater the opportunity, the less others are willing to do it."

While coaxing his grandson in his arms, Chen Fan looked at his son with disdain and said irritably, "It's okay if the return is a little slower. Our family isn't short of money."

"Invest in infrastructure, and you'll gradually make a profit."

“Our family has invested in six canals and established an operating company with the government, which has a 99-year operating right. Your son and grandson will have food to eat in the future. Isn’t that great?”

"Besides that, the most tangible benefit of investing in infrastructure is that you will have someone protecting you wherever you go, for fear that you might accidentally stumble."

"This time, you didn't even have to show your face when you attacked that minor celebrity. Not only did people in western Jiangxi speak up for you, but even CCTV spoke up to protect you. That's the most practical thing to do."

"If I invest in infrastructure, and you also invest in infrastructure, it's both a financial and a political investment. The interests of two generations are highly aligned with those of the nation."

"You're good at making money, but your political acumen is lacking."

After being scolded by his father, Chen Yanjin didn't dare to say a word. What the old man said was correct in general, but he didn't like it.

Making quick money is so appealing, but infrastructure investment yields too slow returns!

But my father was right. Investing in infrastructure costs money quickly, and we did have too many US dollars at home. Every financial harvest brought in huge profits.

Even setting aside finance, other industries generate enormous profits, such as Feixing mobile phones and Chinatown supermarkets, which produce staggering profits.

Besides that, there's the political significance.

For a family to grow to the size of the Chen family, money alone is not enough. You have to adapt to the circumstances, and if you don't do a good job, you deserve to be punished.

This isn't just a domestic phenomenon; it's even more evident in the West. Take the US, for example—where do all those political donations come from? What happens to companies that don't align with the interests of the US and its allies?
They all got punished!

As Chen Yanjin came out of the east courtyard, her eldest sister and brother-in-law came over with their child. Chen Yanjin quickly went over and hugged her eldest nephew, playing with him for a while.

"Brother-in-law, I have a question for you."

"Dad has decided to invest in large-scale infrastructure projects. What suitable projects are there in China next?"

Sun Haoran paused for a moment, then slightly curled the corners of his mouth: "Investing in large-scale infrastructure? Our family's Grand Canal project wasn't even completed for a few years, was it?"

"Investing in large-scale infrastructure projects carries significant uncertainty regarding future profitability. Are you sure you want to proceed?"

Seeing his brother-in-law nod, Sun Haoran pondered for a moment: "At the 2012 conference, the country approved 22 major projects, all of which involved significant investments."

"Among them, the only type of infrastructure that is suitable for our family to invest in is probably railway construction, which includes two projects."

"The Sichuan-Tibet Highway and the Inner Mongolia-China Highway!"

"The Meng-Hua line is a dedicated coal transportation line and can be profitable in the future. As for the Sichuan-Tibet line, its potential may be 50 or 100 years from now, and it will be difficult to break even."

“The purpose of building this railway is not to make money; you understand its significance without me having to explain it.”

"I'll think about it!" Chen Yanjin frowned.

Sun Haoran nodded and said, "The Meng-Hua route is worth considering. You can weigh the others slowly. I'm going to see my parents first, and we'll talk in detail later."

"Go on!" Chen Yanjin carried her eldest nephew to play.

The little one, weighing six pounds and 6 ounces, was very mischievous. He quickly struggled out of his arms and ran around the yard, just like a child with ADHD. It's all hereditary. Auntie, eldest sister, and little five are all the same.

Nephews resemble their uncles; Liu Jin Liu looks just like Xiao Wu when he was little. His older sister will have a headache in the future.

"Six pounds and six ounces, do you miss your aunt?"

When Chen Yanyin returned, she immediately saw Liu Jin Liu and ran over quickly. She picked up the little guy and tried to kiss him, but the little guy was disgusted and pushed her away forcefully.

Chen Yanyin was so angry that she kissed him several more times before putting him down. The little guy ran off on his short legs, muttering, "Auntie, stinky."

"You just need to be taught a lesson."

Chen Yanyin was so angry she wanted to bite him. She was about to chase after him when Chen Lao Er stopped her: "I heard you and Lu You have made progress. What's going on?"

"It's settled!" Chen Yanyin touched her nose.

Chen Lao Er was slightly taken aback, then scratched his head: "That's good. Now that it's settled, you set a time, and I'll treat him to dinner."

"I plan to go with my eldest sister first." Chen Yanyin glanced cautiously at her second brother. This guy was a real pain, and Lu You probably couldn't handle it.

"Let's do it tomorrow!" Chen Yanjin turned and left.

Chen Yanyin waved, trying to call the person back, but Chen Lao Er ignored her, which made her stomp her feet in anger: "What kind of person is he? He's so unreasonable."

Left with no other option, he could only call Lu You.

Lu You breathed a sigh of relief. Women are masters of probing, and having dinner with Chen Yanyin's older sister meant he was bound to be interrogated.

Men shouldn't be like that!
The next morning, I took a shower before leaving home, feeling refreshed, and headed to Xinghuo No. 2 Building according to the address sent by Chen Yanyin.

When he arrived, Chen Yanyin was waiting for him on the first floor: "My second brother is a real swindler. Be careful later, don't fall into his trap."

"It's not that exaggerated, is it?" Lu You said with a smile.

"Just be careful yourself." Chen Yanyin took his arm and took the elevator to a private restaurant on the eighth floor.

When Lu You saw Chen Lao Er, he felt that Chen Lao Er looked very familiar.

"My second brother, Chen Yanjin!"

Upon hearing his girlfriend's introduction, Lu You realized what was happening and felt an urge to run away. This was the financial tycoon who had been exposed on Weibo a few days ago.

At 19, he earned two master's degrees; at 22, he received a doctorate. He became the vice chairman of Spark Investment and made billions of dollars in just three years.

What kind of amazing girlfriend did I find?
I knew her family was wealthy, but I didn't realize they were this rich; the gap between us seemed even wider.

"Don't back down!"

Taking a deep breath, I greeted Chen Yanjin and exchanged a few pleasantries before sitting down and starting to chat aimlessly.

Lu You discovered that Chen Yanjin was also particularly good at talking.

They can talk even better than Chen Yanyin, especially when men sit together. If they don't talk about women, they will inevitably talk about politics, economics, and military affairs.

Chen Yanjin always has something to say.

Even when discussing his major, Chen Yanjin can still launch into a whole host of topics, no wonder he's called a genius.

But to say there are any pitfalls, there really aren't.

Even Chen Yanyin found it strange that Chen Lao Er was just chatting casually and never set any traps or deliberately made things difficult for her.

This is so unlike Chen Lao Er!

Even after they parted, Chen Yanyin linked arms with Chen Lao Er and said, "Second Brother, you're not like yourself today. I thought you would make things difficult for Lu You."

Why would I make things difficult for him?

Chen Lao Er curled his lip and said sarcastically, "We finally have a chance to marry you off. If you scare the man away, we'll be stuck with him."

Chen Yanyin gritted her teeth and pinched her second brother: "Is your sister really that bad?"

Chen Lao Er joked, "Of course! I'm a twenty-five-year-old bachelor. If I dare to scare him away today, my stepmother will tear me apart."

"Screw you!"

After joking around for a while, Chen Lao Er didn't explain much. In fact, his purpose had been achieved: to understand Lu You's temperament.

He has a good personality, but he's a bit bookish.

They are very accomplished academically, but their view of the outside world is still somewhat naive and idealistic; there are many people like this in academia.

That's all good.

The academic community needs people like this. What's most disgusting are those scholars with ulterior motives; hearing them speak makes you want to slap them. For example:
"Everyone has 50 yuan. It's normal to have total assets of 300 million yuan."

“Low-income people should rent out their spare rooms and use their own cars to pick up passengers to increase their income.”

"After hoeing two acres of land, farmers go back to sleep. While they sleep, seeds are sprouting and crops are growing. Farmers have little to do with the food we eat, and they make almost no contribution."

……

The brother and sister chatted idly, and Lu You returned to school. Instead of rushing back to his dormitory, he bought a pack of cigarettes, walked to a deserted grassy area, and lit one.

"Cough cough..."

Even though I choked on it, I didn't throw it away; I needed that kind of stimulation to wake myself up.

(End of this chapter)