Mixed in 1980

Chapter 538 The Former Joe

"Brother Niu Zhuang has found his biological parents." Zhou Jingshu's eyes lit up slightly.

She was grateful to Niu Zhuang.

He once accompanied his biological father, Yang Fusheng, on his wanderings in search of relatives. His biological parents treated him as one of their own and always wanted him to stay, get married, have children, and live a stable life.

Unfortunately, Niu Zhuang was a simple-minded person.

Over the years, Niu Zhuang's life has remained unchanged, or rather, it has changed every day.

The search for relatives remains unchanged.

What changes is that every day, riding my motorcycle on different roads, I see different people and different scenery.

"Found it? That's really not easy. After searching for so many years, how did you find it?"

"Found it during the live stream."

"Tell me more about it," Chen Yanyin asked curiously.

The matter wasn't too complicated. Over the years, Niu Zhuang has been traveling and livestreaming, offering different scenery every day, which has attracted many fans.

A few days ago, a new fan recognized his information and notified his biological parents to come and identify him. After a paternity test, the two sides have been reunited as family.

Niu Zhuang's parents lived in Tianjin.

The family is well-off; they run a small business. There's an older brother and a younger sister; it's quite a large family.

The day before yesterday, Niu Zhuang called Yang Fusheng, saying he wanted to come to Beijing to visit them.

I'm also grateful to their family.

Zhou Jingshu explained the situation again: "After meeting Brother Niu Zhuang and his family, we will head to Hong Kong to sort out the company's affairs."

"With my aunt watching over me, I don't really need to go."

Starlight Investment has always been managed by Zeng Ajing, and Zeng Ali has rarely interfered in matters, especially after Chen Yanxi was born.

Zhou Jingshu also rarely participates in management: "I still have to go and see. My aunt said the other day that she was considering retiring."

puff...

Chen Yanyin couldn't help but laugh: "Come on, Auntie retired? What kind of person is she? A total career-driven strong woman, how could you not know that?"

"Letting her retire and live the life of an ordinary old lady is more painful than killing her. Just watch, she may not even retire when she's seventy."

After thinking about it carefully, Zhou Jingshu agreed.

Zeng Ajing probably encountered something and was just expressing her feelings. She was just venting her frustrations. If you really asked her to step down, she definitely wouldn't be happy.

Back then, she refused to have children no matter what, because of her career.

In the end, Zeng Ali threatened to suspend her job if she didn't have a child, and Zeng Ajing had no choice but to have one child. Later, she absolutely refused to have a second child.

They even went so far as to call it "responding to national policy."

One child is best!

Two days later, Niu Zhuang's family came from Tianjin. Zhou Jingshu entertained them for three days before setting off for Hong Kong after seeing them off.

When Zeng Ajing saw her, she couldn't help but complain: "You little ungrateful thing, you've dumped everything on me for a whole year."

Zhou Jingshu rolled her eyes at her.

If I were to interfere, she would be unhappy. With my aunt's personality, no one but my mother-in-law can control her, and even my father-in-law wouldn't dare to stand up to her.

He was talking about retiring a while ago, but after I came here, he stopped talking about it and has been busy with business. He doesn't look like he's going to retire at all.

Fourth Sister is right.

Even when she's seventy, she won't retire; she might still be on the job when she's eighty.

Not everyone likes a comfortable life. Zeng Ajing likes to fight in the business world. If she were to retire, she might develop depression.

"Auntie, do you still want to retire?"

Zhou Jingshu teased Zeng Ajing on purpose, and unsurprisingly, she got a beating: "What's wrong? You're not happy that your aunt is in charge?"

"You're using your seniority to pressure me. I wish my aunt could work until she's a hundred so I can have a few more decades of peace and quiet," Zhou Jingshu quickly begged for forgiveness.

Zeng Ajing spat, "Dream on! You really think you can treat your aunt like a beast of burden, working her until she's a hundred? I'll quit when I get tired of it."

"Then you'll have to hold on for a few more years."

Zhou Jingshu narrowed her eyes and said sarcastically, "Once my eldest son gets married, I'll dump this mess on her and save her the trouble of worrying about it."

"You're lazy too."

Zeng Ajing spat and said, "Pack your things, we're going to your Aunt Ying's house later. Your sister Xiaoxiao is there too, we'll have dinner at her house tonight."

Zhou Jingshu didn't dawdle and quickly went to change her clothes.

Whenever I come to Hong Kong, I always make sure to visit Li Hongying's family. The relationship between the two families is such that I feel comfortable there, just like at home.

When they arrived at the Li family home in Repulse Bay, Li Hongying was very welcoming, pulling Zhou Jingshu aside to ask her all sorts of questions, mainly showing concern for her two children.

She also complained that she hadn't brought her two children.

Li Hongying is now old and has completely retired. She no longer cares about business matters and just enjoys gatherings with the younger generation.

After chatting about everyday things, Zhou Jingshu and Gu Xiaoxiao got together and talked about the clothing industry, which was how the Li family made their fortune.

However, it began to shrink after the turn of the century.

Many brands and factories have been eliminated. It's no longer possible to make big money in the clothing industry. The Li family only has two brands with decent profits left.

In 1997 and 1998, the Asian financial crisis broke out. The Li family, along with Chen Fan, not only made a lot of money, but also acquired many properties.

Nowadays, more energy is focused on these industries, and some of the projects that were initially collaborated on are now managed by the Li family.

"I plan to sell the remaining two brands."

Gu Xiaoxiao smoothed her hair and smiled wryly: "Since the beginning of this year, sales and profits have dropped significantly, so I'm too lazy to bother with this."

"Instead of wasting time on this, you might as well focus on developing industries in Southeast Asia."

"Aunt Ying is willing to part with it?" Zhou Jingshu teased.

"Whether I'm willing to sell it or not, I'm going to either hand it over to someone else to manage, or I don't want to get involved."

Speaking of this, Gu Xiaoxiao was quite resentful.

Keeping the garment business feels like a waste, but it's also a pity to give it up. My family started out in this industry, and I always wanted to keep something to remember us by.

Gu Xiaoxiao doesn't have that kind of sentiment.

The family owns many businesses, but given the current economic climate, we should streamline and reduce them. Besides, I'm not a career-driven person, so I can't manage that much.

Gu Xiaoxiao didn't really want to get involved in the mess that belonged to the Li family. It wasn't that she disregarded family ties; she simply didn't have the energy to manage so much. Her mother had left her enough.

Gu Xiaoxiao was never a strong woman.

Compared to being a powerful businesswoman, she prefers to be a wealthy landlady, ideally giving up her entire career and indulging in the life of a landlady.

My mother owns a lot of properties.

The conversation somehow drifted to real estate, and Gu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but feel envious: "Uncle Chen was really farsighted, leaving you the whole neighborhood."

"Unlike our family, we have one house on the east side and one house on the west side, which is very troublesome to manage."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingshu joked, "Sister, be content. You have a large sum of rent coming in every year. Nothing could be more comfortable than this."

Hong Kong is such a small place.

Despite the poor economic climate and falling housing prices in the past two or three years, making it difficult to sell properties, the rental market is booming, with no shortage of tenants.

Chen Fan valued this point, which is why he left ten residential areas.

Every time Zhou Jingshu comes over, she visits her own residential community. Although coming and going is normal, the overall occupancy rate remains high.

After having dinner at the Li family's house, Zhou Jingshu went home. She worked diligently for the next few days, getting a general understanding of the company's situation, and then couldn't wait to return to Beijing.

My youngest son was born not long ago, and I'm still very fond of him.

When it comes to kids, they're most fun when they're little. Once they start elementary school, they reach the age where everyone hates them. But there are exceptions, like my fourth sister's little devil. He was already a nuisance when he could run and talk.

She looks just like Chen Yanche when he was a child.

Chen Yanche cherishes his little devil who resembles him the most. Whenever he has free time, he is happy to play with his little devil. Now, the little devil says, "Uncle is the best."

Even your own mother has to come in second place.

Chen Yanyin sometimes gets jealous, but what can she say when her uncle dotes on his niece? She can only yell at Xiao Wu: "Go find your two sons, don't try to steal my daughter away."

Chen Yanche ignored her.

Holding his niece, he said, "It's almost the end of the year. We're going back to our hometown for Chinese New Year this year. Your uncle will buy you a bunch of fireworks so you can set them off as much as you want, okay?"

"Play it every day!" The little devil's eyes lit up.

Chen Yanche nodded and said, "I'll do as you say, starting from New Year's Eve and continuing until the end of the New Year."

"My little uncle is the best."

"You only have this mouth like your mother's; she's good at sweet-talking people." Chen Yanche picked up his niece and walked out.

I ran into my dad and stepmother as soon as I stepped out.

The two of them sneaked off, and it was obvious they were heading to the market. This was their own private romantic getaway, and Chen Yanche pretended not to see it.

If you're not perceptive enough to bother them, you'll definitely get a beating from the old man later.

Seeing that the little devil in his arms was about to call for help, Chen Yanche quickly covered her mouth and didn't let go until the old couple drove away.

"Xiao Wu is quite sensible." Chen Fan said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he drove.

Zhao Yuanyuan found a comfortable position: "Come on, the child is all grown up and knows how to care for others. Don't talk like an old hooligan."

Chen Fan choked.

I had to change the subject and spend the whole day shopping at the market with my wife. By the next day, it wasn't just the two of us anymore; we were followed by ten children.

Xu Jinqiu and Zeng Ali also followed.

When you're out and about, it's inevitable that you'll be recognized. Along the way, many people took photos and videos of you, and unavoidably, you became popular on Douyin again.

The market became very popular as a result.

Seeing the Chen family's children having so much fun at the market, many parents also brought their children out to experience it, resulting in a lot of videos of people going to the market.

Chen Yanyin also jumped on the bandwagon, joining the market and filming the children there with her phone before posting the footage to her Douyin account.

It didn't stop until two days before Lunar New Year's Eve.

The Chen family has already started preparing for the New Year, returning to their hometown in batches to celebrate the New Year, pay respects to their ancestors, and register their two newborn children in the family genealogy. They will not return to the capital until after the ninth day of the Lunar New Year.

It's already 2024!
Chen Lao Er is undoubtedly the happiest person in the new year. Gold prices plummeted last October, but only a few months later, they have already rebounded.

It has returned to the price level of $2000 per ounce.

Those who bought long futures contracts back then have made a fortune by now that the price has risen to this level.

But this is just the beginning.

The desert is getting increasingly chaotic, with everyone fighting like dogs. Geopolitical factors are having a significant impact on gold prices, and further price increases are only a matter of time.

"A surge in prices is expected!"

Chen Lao Er picked up the phone and called Zhou Wenya, telling her to continue buying long positions, to buy as many as she could, and to go all out.

The situation is now very clear.

The credit system of the US dollar has been shaken, and the world is moving towards de-dollarization, with central banks around the world adjusting their currency reserve ratios.

Furthermore, central banks around the world are buying large amounts of gold.

During this market rally, the stock market for raw jade also surged, only to plummet by 40% in October of last year, wiping out over a trillion yuan in market value.

Now everything has recovered.

Those who sold off their shares last year are now crying in the bathroom.

Chen Yanyin bought a lot of shares back then, so it's understandable that he's excited now. Although he can't make as much money as Chen Lao Er, he's still happy to have made some money.

Moreover, it's not a small amount.

I really want to slap myself.

In contrast, blogger Amu is very frustrated. Last year, when the price of jadeite plummeted, he couldn't resist and sold all of it. Now he regrets it terribly.

Watching others make money made me feel uneasy, so I opened Douyin (TikTok). Just then, Chen Yanyin posted a video with only one sentence in white text on a black background.

This year's target: 3 trillion!
"It will go up again?" Amu asked in surprise.

The stock market for raw jade has risen to an all-time high, even higher than during last year's crash.

In his view, there was no room left.

After thinking about it, Amu decided to follow the big shot. How could his judgment be as accurate as someone else's?
The Chen family has never made a mistake in releasing information; they can even accurately predict things like biological warfare, let alone the jade stock market.

After making the purchase, Amu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the days that followed, I kept an eye on the seed stock. This time, I focused on listening to advice. The Fourth Princess said the target was three trillion yuan.

I'll sell everything when it reaches three trillion.

There's no need to wait for it to rise to three trillion; you can sell off your holdings as soon as that figure approaches to avoid another sharp drop.

"You made the right choice!"

Entering April, the average increase in the seed stock market was 20%. Only two months have passed, and if this growth rate is maintained, breaking through three trillion yuan will not be difficult.

In mid-April, Chen Yanyin released another video.

It's also white with black lettering, and it says: I, Chen Laosi, am about to do something big again.

This line of text is very attractive.

Chen Laosi has posted several videos like this, and not a single one of them is empty talk. He has covered everything from jade identification to markets and the stock market without exception.

Amu was very curious and looking forward to it.

The following day, Chen Laosi released another video, but it disappointed Amu. It wasn't about any major economic event; instead, it was an announcement of a charity celebration.

The event was jointly organized by the Xu Jinqiu Charity Foundation and the Liyuan Charity Foundation.

All volunteers are invited to come to Beijing to participate.

The date is set for May 1st!
Amu wasn't very interested, but by the next day he had changed his mind. Chen Yanyin released another video, this time featuring a superstar.

"I am delighted to receive the invitation and have the honor of performing at the charity celebration."

"May 1st, Bird's Nest, see you there."

On the third day, the fourth day... every day new superstars joined, all of them veteran stars in the entertainment industry, none of them were slacking off.

Then, Chen Yanyin started selling tickets.

Such a large stadium can hold 80,000 to 90,000 spectators, but with all the volunteers, there are only a little over 10,000. Leaving the remaining seats empty is a waste.

They might as well sell tickets to the public.

The tickets aren't cheap, but all ticket revenue will go to charity.

"The fourth brother did a good job."

Chen Fan went to the basement and took out a framed bridge deck: "This is a reward for you. Be sure to keep it safe. If you break it, your mother will beat you to death."

"Dad, are you really giving it to me?" Chen Yanyin's eyes gleamed.

She'd been eyeing this for ages.

Unfortunately, the old man cherished her dearly, and she had tried to coax him many times without success.

(End of this chapter)