Mixed in 1980

Chapter 546 Finale
"Can't you just hope the kids do better?"

Zhao Yuanyuan was still unconvinced. She believed that it was a completely different concept for one person to have the final say in a company versus it was a group of people.

That's Chen Fan.

Although there are many joint ventures, it's because they can't manage them all. When have they ever let outsiders interfere with wholly-owned enterprises that they can control?

They'd rather let the meat rot in the pot than let anyone else touch it.

Feixing Mobile is doing quite well under the third son's leadership. Even if a joint venture is to be established, it should wait until he is close to retirement or until his children take over.

"What goes up must come down, can't you see that?"

Xu Jinqiu walked over and pulled Zhao Yuanyuan to sit down: "Our family has been prosperous for two generations. It's not that we don't have a chance to be prosperous for three generations, but it's very difficult."

"It's not a bad idea to prepare an escape route in advance."

"When a family declines, what it fears is not admitting its decline, but rather lacking the ability yet unwilling to accept it, and trying to make trouble. The more it tries, the faster it declines."

"Shrinking up actually helps it hold up."

"When someone capable comes along in the future, with our family's resources, we can still make a comeback."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanyuan sighed, tacitly agreeing to the matter, but she was still unhappy, feeling that her son was not assertive enough and lacked some pioneering spirit.

Unlike his father.

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings." Chen Fan smiled, inwardly agreeing with his third son.

Unlike other industries, Feixing Mobile is a leading technology company that requires a great deal of resources, and joint ventures are more conducive to resource integration.

By cooperating with official entities, we can obtain more resources.

As for those who leave the core of the company a few generations later due to a lack of ability, that's not something I should worry about, and it's inevitable.

Chen Yancheng clearly saw through it all.

After his father agreed, he got busy and sent his intentions to the authorities. In fact, the authorities had wanted to invest for a long time, but Chen Fan had always disagreed.

The government prefers to inject capital.

Following his father's instructions, Chen Laosan insisted on selling the company, arguing that financing was meaningless for Feixing Mobile and that there was already a large amount of money in the company's account.

They haven't distributed dividends for decades.

“If you want financing, that’s fine too. I’ll withdraw the funds from the account,” Chen Laosan said bluntly.

In the end, they decided to sell it.

Several banks jointly invested to acquire 30% of Feixing Mobile's shares and also took a rotating board seat.

A signing ceremony was specially held for this purpose.

The announcement sparked considerable public discussion. Feixing Mobile has always been a wholly-owned subsidiary, and the sudden sale of shares raises questions about its potential impact on the company.

In fact, apart from public opinion, the calm market environment has actually made investors more optimistic.

Feixing mobile phones now feature state-owned banks as a background.

Many investors approached Chen Yancheng, wanting to acquire Feixing's shares at a premium, but Chen Yancheng dismissed them all and wouldn't even bother to meet them.

These people are not qualified!

"Why don't we do what Third Brother did?"

Chen Yanche, holding the baby, sat next to his wife: "Introducing official capital will add another layer of supervision to the supermarket project, which will save us a lot of trouble."

Zhou Jingshu shook the baby bottle and joked, "Ask your child, maybe he'll agree."

"Third Brother is quite prudent."

Chen Yanche took the bottle and fed the baby: "It's good to hope your son will become a dragon, but things often don't go as planned. Taking the opportunity to cash out is not a bad idea."

Zhou Jingshu hesitated for a moment, then said, "That works too!"

Chen Yanche smiled and said, "There's no rush. Let's talk about it in a few years. If we keep following Third Brother, people will think there's something wrong with our family."

Zhou Jingshu looked at the little baby: "We really can't rush things. We have to take it one step at a time, just like Third Brother, and only bring in official capital."

"Western capital must be avoided at all costs."

"The Li family recently sold off the port. Good heavens, their already bad reputation has been completely ruined now. They're really shameless."

"Just a comprador." Chen Yanche sneered.

A few years ago, the Li family even came to us, joining forces with some capital, wanting to acquire our port. The old man ignored them completely and told them to get lost.

What good things are you thinking about?

The country owns many ports. The Hong Kong Kwai Chung Port is wholly owned, while the six major ports in the mainland—Yantian Port, Shanghai Port, Tianjin Port, Ningbo Port, Lianyun Port, and Huizhou Port—are joint ventures with the government.

In addition, there are numerous ports in Southeast Asia.

These ports were acquired at low prices during the economic crisis of 1997 and 1998, and besides their official backing, they also had a group of allies in Hong Kong.

These ports have caused quite a few incidents.

It was acquired at a bargain price back then, but as the economy developed, the local government wanted to take it back and tried to sabotage it behind the scenes.

Western capital also wanted to take the opportunity to invest.

The constant open and covert struggles have been a long-standing issue, and it is only thanks to the strong official backing that these ports have been able to maintain stability until the last decade.

Chen Yanjin is also considering the port issue, as the operating rights of ports in mainland China and Southeast Asia are all in the hands of the government.

Only Kwai Tsing Harbour is an exception.

“Aunt Wenya, notify the authorities that we are selling 60% of the shares of Kwai Chung Port and handing over the management rights. Our family is making a statement.”

"You're so cunning!" Zhou Wenya said, both amused and exasperated.

At this critical juncture, Chen Lao Er's actions were tantamount to slapping the Li family in the face and then stomping on them, all to demonstrate his own family's sentiments.

"Let's make a big fuss about it," Chen Lao Er said with a smile.

Zhou Wenya rolled her eyes and teased, "No problem. But if the Li family tries to trip you up later, don't blame me."

"They don't deserve to trip us up!"

"..." Zhou Wenya smiled bitterly. Chen Lao Er was just like his father, extremely arrogant. The Chen family also had the right to be arrogant.

Following Chen Lao Er's instructions, Zhou Wenya held a grand and extravagant event, launching a comprehensive media offensive.

That's really mean!

"They're trampling the Li family underfoot."

"One side is positive, the other is negative, it's hilarious!"

"To be honest, Chen Lao Er is really astute, doing the most appropriate thing at the right time."

"This was satisfying to do. Just like Chen Laosan said, only people without ideals and beliefs would run away. Sure enough."

……

Chen Fan couldn't help but laugh when he received the message: "See? The second brother is a cunning fellow. He gains fame by stepping on others. Well done!"

Xu Jinqiu was both amused and exasperated.

After this incident, whenever the two sides met again, they naturally considered themselves superior to each other, but they also thoroughly offended each other, inevitably leading to open and covert attacks.

They don't care either.

The Chen and Li families are not even in the same league.

To put it bluntly, the Chen family looks down on the Li family's size. They wouldn't even look at the second son, let alone the third or fifth son.

After laughing, Xu Jinqiu looked at her husband and asked, "What has the second son been busy with lately?"

Chen Fan shrugged: "How would I know? He's retired and the family business has been divided. Let him do what he wants. I won't interfere."

"Can you really trust me?" Xu Jinqiu complained.

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, lit it, and slowly exhaled the smoke: "What's there to worry about? Can he really squander the family fortune? Your son is cunning."

"Right now, they're probably thinking about contraction."

Chen Lao Er was implementing a contraction strategy. After dealing with the Kwai Chung Port issue, he immediately set his sights on the investment department and completely changed his strategy.

The Chen family is quitting!
Chen Lao Er doesn't plan to touch the stock market or futures market for the next few years. He can't see the future situation clearly, and leaving the market is the best option. But he can't just lay people off like that.

They are all talented people; it would be a waste to lay them off. We'll need them again when the overall economic environment improves in the future.

We can't just keep them for nothing.

Transformation is imperative. In the past, we invested with our own money; now, we need to invest with other people's money, just like normal financial institutions.

In the 1980s, when Xinghuo Investment was first established, it operated for a while. Yu Jing's role when she joined Xinghuo Investment was to attract investment from all over the place.

As their own funds increased, they gradually stopped playing that game.

It's back to normal now.

In addition, Chen Lao Er focused his energy on the companies he invested in. His father had invested in many companies since the beginning of the new century, and he continued to do so after taking over.

These investments are all capital games.

Financing, listing, inflating market value, arbitrage and leaving... Chen Lao Er was no exception, always repeating the same things.

Now that the contraction has begun, many low-value businesses will have to be abandoned.

Until June!

Chen Lao Er finally reached an agreement with his superiors, and another trillion-level investment was secured.

"Finally finished!"

After finishing his business, Chen Lao Er returned home, lay down on a recliner, and his four children surrounded him, complaining that their father had been gone for too long.

Chen Lao Er sincerely admitted his mistake.

"Summer vacation is less than a month away. Dad will do nothing but take you on trips everywhere. Is that alright?"

"Yes, we still need to go to the countryside."

“We’re not going to the desert this year. Your great-grandmother and great-grandmother are going to some remote mountain villages. We’ll go together and stay for a month.”

"I'll take you all on a trip for the remaining month."

After shooing the children away, Ye Ling sat down and said, "You just spoil them. They play for two whole months during summer vacation. How will they get back into a serious mindset when school starts?"

Chen Lao Er curled his lip: "How old are the kids? They're all elementary school students. We can't keep them in check. Besides, you're the one who's in charge."

"I'll just be the bad guy then," Ye Ling said angrily.

Not only his own four children, but also the children of his eldest, third, fourth, and fifth sons—he had to manage them all, constantly playing the role of the "good cop."

The children are all afraid of themselves.

There's no way around it. A bunch of mischievous monkeys always need someone to keep them in check. But Chen Lao Er's generation is different; they're all managed by Zeng Ali.

Zeng Ali could manage her children's generation, but not her grandchildren's.

The affection between grandparents and grandchildren is the same for everyone.

Guan Yuemei never held back in disciplining Chen Fan, and she also disciplined her two daughters quite a bit. But when it came to Chen Lao Er's generation, she doted on them to the core.

Summer vacation is here again in the blink of an eye.

The five Chen siblings traveled together, bringing their families with them, and went to the rural areas of Guizhou in batches.

Zeng Ali and Zhao Yuanyuan followed.

Or rather, the two of them are the main characters. Every year at this time, they go to the countryside to carry out one-on-one assistance projects with the help of volunteers.

Chen Fan didn't plan to stay at home. He went to Guizhou with Xu Jinqiu, his parents, and three sets of fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law to escape the summer heat.

Although the elderly person is old, they are willing to go out.

Since the 1980s, I have gotten used to going out once or twice a year, and each trip takes a long time.

He only stayed home for a few years during the biological warfare period.

Chen Min and his wife also accompanied them. As soon as they arrived in Guizhou, they heard the father sigh, "Every day that passes is one less day to live, so we have to get out and travel."

"Dad, can you say something nice?"

Chen Min, holding her elderly father's arm, gritted her teeth inwardly: "We're here to have fun, so don't always say things that upset people and upset them."

Chen Musheng said disdainfully, "That's because you're upset. Look at your brother, you're not as insightful as him."

Chen Min abandoned her father, grabbed her younger brother, and started hitting him.

"Sis, what are you doing?"

"What did I do? It's all your fault. You're always spouting nonsense, like 'Don't take life and death lightly, it's better to live a wonderful life than to live a long one.' You've corrupted our father."

"You're right!" Chen Fan said with a wry smile.

My older sister is unreasonable. When she can't argue with our father, she uses herself as a shield: "I'll tell Dad later that we can't stop taking care of our health for even a day."

Chen Min then let him go.

Xu Jinqiu pinched him again: "Our sister is right, you just can't keep your mouth shut, and those three fathers-in-law are all influenced by you."

"They're all mentally unstable."

"Live each day to the fullest, even a little comfort is a bonus. At this age, it's time to enjoy life, eat meat to your heart's content, and drink wine to your heart's content..."

"What a mess."

"To put it nicely, they are open-minded; to put it bluntly, they don't take their health seriously."

After listening to her ramble on, Chen Fan teased, "Take a break, did I teach you that? It's the old folks who are open-minded, unlike you people who always have to be so strict with the elderly."

Xu Jinqiu felt annoyed and pinched him again.

Life is so good now, we should live it to the fullest and let the elderly enjoy a few more years of happiness.

Upon arriving at the rented resort, Xu Jinqiu immediately got to work, settling the elderly one by one and having the nanny keep an eye on things in the kitchen to prepare dinner.

This place is for escaping the summer heat.

There were no travel plans; they just did whatever came to mind, focusing on a leisurely pace. It was a group of elderly people, so they couldn't really enjoy themselves like the younger generation.

After a leisurely month, Zeng Ali and Zhao Yuanyuan finished their work and came over. As for the children, they went out to play with their parents.

"I couldn't run anymore, I almost died from exhaustion."

As soon as Zhao Yuanyuan arrived, she collapsed onto the sofa and asked Xu Jinqiu to pour her a cup of tea: "I'll only work for another two years at most, then I don't want to do it anymore."

Zeng Ali agreed, saying, "Starting next year, we'll spread out our time, going out for several days at a time, two or three times a year, so it won't be too tiring."

"That's it!"

Zhao Yuanyuan took the teacup and drank a few mouthfuls: "Hurry up and tell the kitchen to prepare some food, some home-style dishes. We really can't get used to the food in the mountains."

"Always good at bossing people around," Xu Jinqiu said reproachfully.

Her feet were busy, though. She went to the kitchen to give an order, and before long, a table full of food was served. Zhao Yuanyuan's chopsticks never stopped moving.

After eating and drinking my fill, I even let out a burp.

He patted his stomach and said, "This is the most enjoyable meal I've had in a whole month."

"Next time I go out, I'll bring the chef with me."

Xu Jinqiu joked, pulling Zhao Yuanyuan along: "Let's go for a walk. There's a path behind the villa that leads straight to the top of the mountain. The environment there is quite nice."

"Go hiking?" Zhao Yuanyuan quickly shook her head.

"It's about seventy or eighty meters high."

Xu Jinqiu then pulled Zeng Ali and called Chen Fan along, and they slowly climbed to the top of the mountain, the afterglow of the setting sun falling on everyone.

The rosy blush on the horizon was breathtaking.

"How many years?"

"What do you mean, how many years?" Chen Fan didn't understand.

Xu Jinqiu slightly raised the corners of her mouth, revealing a sly smile: "Comrade Chen Fan, calculate how many years you've each been with the three of us sisters?"

"If you can't figure it out, you'll have to sleep with a pillow by yourself for the next month."

(End of this chapter)