Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

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Selling vegetables.

It's something that's expected, and yet somehow surprising.

Tengsheng Fresh Produce, he had started planning for it quite early, originally intending it to support agriculture projects.

Now these internet giants are competing in the vegetable-selling arena.

He simply decided to sell Tengsheng Fresh Produce sooner rather than later.

Who knows if the country will intervene in this situation.

Chen Pingsheng always felt there was a risk of that happening.

Internet giants are companies worth hundreds of billions of US dollars, swooping in to obliterate the livelihoods of small traders and compete with them over selling vegetables.

It doesn't seem very ethical, no matter how you look at it.

Chang Fu doesn't care about these things, what he cares about is that Tengsheng Fresh Produce is apparently worth 1.2 billion US dollars.

That's really unexpected!

Old Chen makes money everywhere, truly.

"There's a class reunion coming up in a few days, do you want to go? Everyone is really looking forward to your attendance!"

"For people our age to hold a reunion, they're supposed to bring their kids, right?"

"Most of them are definitely married with kids, a smaller portion are still single."

Chang Fu said, "Yang Kang will probably go too, do you know what his wife is doing now?"

"What, is she an internet celebrity or something?"

"Can't exactly say she's an internet celebrity, she's just a female streamer, dancing provocatively on live broadcasts every day."

There's no need to guess, she's certainly not mixing well.

If anyone ever had it good, which man would let his wife dance suggestively in front of the camera every day, calling for 'big brothers' to tip her?

"Does he know that you, the well-known Master Fu, have become the forefather of internet celebrities?"

"Definitely not, no idea what's up with that guy, he used to come from the wealthiest family but now he's getting scolded by his wife every day."

Chen Pingsheng thought for a moment, "Since he doesn't know, then let's go see him sometime later. Let's not reveal our identities for now. In our situation, it's easy for past relationships to sour."

After reflecting for a moment, Chang Fu also felt it made sense.

They were all too wealthy, many classmates and fellow villagers came looking for them, under the guise of catching up.

In the end, it almost always turned out they had some difficulty at home.

It became uninteresting.

Even Chang Fu kept over a million in cash in his office, handing out thirty to fifty thousand to acquaintances who visited.

Once, never twice.

Life at home was very comfortable, especially since they had a huge swimming pool on the first floor.

His wife swam there for half an hour every evening.

She said it was to keep fit.

Naturally, she wouldn't swim when others were around, but as for the spoiled brat Chen An'an, she would splash around aimlessly in dog paddle.

In Tan Palace, she came to know every child.

In no time, she blended in and became the kind of 'An'an sister' everyone recognized.

Undoubtedly the social butterfly, while little Chen Xinyi, now over two years old, spent her days causing trouble behind her sister.

After dinner, Chen Pingsheng would take them for a walk.

Those who could live here were essentially in the same social circle.

Being in this circle, people generally have higher standards, greeting one another upon meeting.

They were either CEOs of international corporations or owners of several listed companies.

By moving here, he also got to know many of Magic City's influential people.

Of course, he himself was an influential person too, it was just that Chen Pingsheng never really had that awareness.

Sharing a similar status, it was easier to have common topics of conversation.

They all enjoyed drinking tea and chatting, whether it was about national policies or future economic trends.

Or about major changes about to happen in certain industries, always with an eye on the future.

New energy is also the future. In Tan Palace, he alone invested tens of billions in the new energy sector.

He was also the seed player who had invested the most hard cash in this field to date.

This community had people from every industry.

Even if their main business wasn't that, they'd have several side businesses in different sectors.

This is how a house can change one's social circle.

Living here meant conversations revolved not around earning a few billion as a modest goal, but about the future.

Take these houses, for instance, nearly all homeowners agree that property has lost its speculative value.

The future real estate market will undoubtedly encounter an unprecedented turning point.

This viewpoint was something Hangzhou's Ma repeated many times.

If the real estate market hits a turning point, the direction of the economy in the future will become unpredictable.

Plainly speaking, the current economic growth is too reliant on real estate.

...

No one can say for sure which year will be the real turning point.

Chen Pingsheng can't either.

They talk about these things all the time anyway.

Besides that, there is another point worth noting.

Last September, Pinduoduo went online. An e-commerce company going live isn't usually noteworthy.

Hangzhou's Ma had dominated the e-commerce sector, not even the giant Penguin could make a dent.

Let alone the newly established Pinduoduo.

The strength of Pinduoduo lies in its investor, Duan Yongping.

A legendary name, achieving financial freedom in the nineties with the Little Tyrant.

Latter on, during the prime of mobile phones, he supported two top-five companies on his own.

Oppo and Vivo, the blue and green factories, were both his doing.

This man withdrew from the scene a long time ago, but the legend continues.

A truly Feng Qingyang-level figure.

Even Tong Zelan holds him in high regard.

Now, his biggest move in the e-commerce field is marching in with Pinduoduo.

No one believes he can defeat Hangzhou's Ma.

But in the set landscape of e-commerce, Pinduoduo might tear open a new market niche.

That's e-commerce on the internet.

If you can tear open a niche, it's worth several hundred billion to a trillion US dollars in valuation.

Pinduoduo, having completed its A round of funding last August, is already racing for a B round.

He even came to Magic City to meet several people he knows.

Including Shen Nanpeng.

```

Chen Ping made a phone call to Old Shen, asking him about the specific situation at Pinduoduo.

In Series B funding, they wouldn't dilute too many shares; the development funds they needed were roughly about one hundred million US dollars.

To be honest, this sum wasn't even enough for his investment in Melon Seed Used Cars.

Moreover, one smart aspect of Pinduoduo in seeking investors was that they didn't just want money.

They also needed investors or institutions with certain resources.

To put it plainly, the investors behind them didn't lack this bit of money; what they wanted was everyone's resources to collectively develop Pinduoduo.

Chen Pingsheng had established Tenghui Capital for a few years, primarily investing in his own family's enterprises.

The only exception was Melon Seed Used Cars, which last time was valued at three billion.

Having secured 1.2 billion in funding, they were rapidly expanding across the country.

After contemplating for a moment, in less than three seconds, Chen Pingsheng decided to invest in this new concept of social e-commerce.

Mainly because he himself was deeply rooted in the traditional retail sector.

He needed to place some stakes in the e-commerce field.

Taobao was beyond reach, and the situation was the same with Qiangdong.

He could only focus his attention on newly established e-commerce platforms, following the old saying about beating the drum whether or not there were dates to be had.

What if one day it became a success?

Chen Pingsheng joined the fundraising feast at Pinduoduo through Shen Nanpeng.

What you call top-tier fundraising, Pinduoduo was definitely it.

Over a hundred million US dollars, an amount Chen Pingsheng could easily come up with, but Pinduoduo would definitely not accept it.

The main reason was his limited personal resources.

In the end, after several rounds of selection, the confirmed investors were five parties.

These included Tenghui Capital, represented by Chen Pingsheng, along with Penguin, Gao Rong, Xin Tianyu, and other four well-known investment institutions.

Among them, one person was particularly noteworthy - Sun Tongyu, the father of Taobao.

Chen Pingsheng invested 150 million, but his shareholding ratio was pitifully small, only about 3%.

It didn't at all fit with his philosophy of demanding a major stake with his investments.

He might as well make friends with such a small stake; he didn't even think it would make much money.

It was just 150 million, no big deal.

A vice-president from Penguin even pulled him aside, clearly indicating their wish to invest in his Tengying Entertainment.

Tengying Entertainment's market value was already over fifty billion.

He held 60% of the shares.

Setting aside the size of the market value, his personal wealth was prestigious even within this top-tier social gathering.

He didn't need to bow down to anyone.

Penguin had long been wanting to invest in Tengying Entertainment and had sent people to Capital City to discuss it several times.

Chen Pingsheng simply disagreed.

Thinking about it now, he felt he could actually sell a bit of it.

Mainly because being a bit cooperative with Penguin could facilitate smoother expansion of his own industries in the future.

Penguin wanted a 15% shareholding, with an initial offer valuing the company at 15 billion three months earlier.

That was during Tengying Group's dark period.

If it weren't for their impressive standing, Chen Pingsheng wouldn't have allowed them in the door.

Two months earlier it was 25 billion.
Experience more on empire

By June, the offer had increased to 32 billion.

Despite three rounds of negotiations without success, Penguin was still patient.

Their persistence in joining Tengying Entertainment was mainly because their annual production of TV shows and films was too profitable.

Penguin Video under Penguin.

It was locked in a hard fight with Baidu-supported iQIYI, and Alibaba-backed Youku.

Joining Tengying Entertainment was absolutely a strategic goal.

It could significantly boost the status of Penguin Video.

It could even potentially become the number one.

Seeing their sincerity, Chen Pingsheng didn't swindle them.

He gave them a genuine price.

Six billion for a 10% shareholding.

The vice-president was so stunned, he wanted to ask if he was serious.

Chen Pingsheng stuck to his price; if you can't make the decision, then go find Old Ma.

To be honest, if he hadn't spent so much in the new energy sector,

he wouldn't need to sell that 10% stake.

Of course, even selling it wouldn't affect his position as the major shareholder.

In fact, if he made a success in the new energy field, compared to his own independent investment status,

everyone present would be considered junior.

Only the two Mas could sit at the same level as him.

This wasn't an exaggeration.

Others struggle to make one company successful by diluting shares and raising funds, while he alone took big stakes with his own money.

Even if your company's market value is one hundred billion US dollars, you only hold about 5%.

At most, not exceeding 10%.

His own company, worth a hundred billion yuan, he holds 50%.

Dare you claim you're better?

Unless you're someone like Sir Ren, it's all about the money.

Of course, his business influence might be a bit lacking in comparison.

But there's no scenario where he needs to flatter anyone at a gathering.

Chen Pingsheng achieved this by various share transfers or by selling one or two companies.

Focusing all his efforts solidly on new energy vehicle manufacturing.

Supporting a tech enterprise would truly elevate his social status from quantitative to qualitative change.

A sixty-billion investment was too much for the vice-president to decide.

He had to go back and consult with Old Ma.

Chen Pingsheng was in no hurry, knowing he had many ways to make money.

His wife was still bringing in two to three billion a month from Water Cloud Space and all the group's subsidiaries.

Would he lack pocket money?

Only when you don't lack money can you talk with them calmly and composedly.

If Penguin didn't accept the offer, Alibaba and Baidu were still options, right?