Chapter 100: Money and the Young Lady, I Want Them All! (Please Subscribe)

Two hours later, the car exited the highway, crossed the Dongjindu Bridge, and headed toward the old city district.

Along the way, they first dropped Meng Jie off at her home, and Wang Zihao got out of the car at Qipan Street.

Chen Yansen got back into the driver's seat, drove along North Street, and finally parked the car in front of Guobin Bookstore.

With students on winter break, the bookstore was desolate, just like the weather.

Chen Guobin held a novel as thick as a brick, completely engrossed in reading.

"Beep-beep-beep—!"

Chen Yansen honked twice and flashed his high beams at Chen Guobin.

"Damn! Think you're something special just because you drive a broken car?" Chen Guobin raised a hand to shield his eyes, cursed under his breath, tossed the novel aside, and walked outside.

Just as he was about to scold someone, the BMW window rolled down, revealing a mischievous smiling face right before his eyes—his own rascal son.

"If your mother knew her son had turned out so well, she'd probably wake up laughing every day." Chen Guobin swallowed the rest of his curses and sighed.

"Old Chen, you weren't bad back in the day either; that big golden van in the nineties was pretty flashy too." Chen Yansen pointed at the dilapidated car at the entrance and teased with a smile.

That golden van made noise everywhere except the horn.

"Alright, you go home first; I won't be closing up for a while yet." Chen Guobin rolled his eyes and waved his hand.

"The students are all on break; who are you waiting for here? Ghosts? Close up, I'll take you for a big meal, consider it a celebration of the Little New Year." Chen Yansen said impatiently.

Guobin Bookstore is located near the school, with obvious pros and cons; once the break started, the entrance was so desolate not even a sparrow came.

Chen Guobin turned his head to look; indeed, the streets and alleys were quiet, not even a barking dog in sight, so with that mention of "Little New Year," he nodded and agreed.

Turning back to the bookstore entrance, he began organizing magazines, newspapers, and supplementary textbooks, stacking them into boxes and carrying them inside; he had been doing this repetitive, tedious work for twenty years.

Chen Yansen watched for a while, then got out of the car to help.

"Sit there and rest; you're too clumsy, don't mess up my books." Chen Guobin showed no gratitude, his face full of disdain.

Chen Yansen, holding two books, heard this and casually tossed them aside.

After playing the good son for a few minutes, he grew impatient, took out his phone, and started chatting with Meng Jie and Song Yuncheng.

The old man loves being busy, so let him do it alone.

About an hour later, Chen Guobin pulled down the rolling shutter door and called out to Chen Yansen: "Let's go."

Chen Yansen put away his phone, nodded, got in, and sat in the driver's seat.

"Juhongsheng or Chunshen Lou?"

Chen Yansen waited until Chen Guobin fastened his seatbelt before asking.

Both are long-established local restaurants, open for decades, with flavors that suit the locals perfectly; everyone loves going there.

"Just find a food stall somewhere," Chen Guobin muttered quietly.

"Forget it, then Chunshen Lou." Chen Yansen made the decision directly and drove toward the outskirts of the city.

Chen Guobin didn't say anything aloud, but he was quite satisfied inside: first, Chen Yansen was much more steady than in high school; second, this filial piety from his son warmed his heart.

As for Chen Yansen always calling him "Old Chen," he had long since grown used to it.

With the New Year approaching, when Chen Yansen arrived at the restaurant, the waiter said all private rooms were booked, but the main hall was noisy and chaotic.

Seeing Chen Yansen frown, Chen Guobin said softly: "Sitting in the main hall is fine too."

"Arrange a private room for us; the order amount won't be less than double your minimum spend."

Chen Yansen knew the unspoken rules of the catering industry; saying no rooms were available was just judging people by their appearance, fearing their low spending would affect business.

"Sure thing, please follow us this way." The waiter's attitude instantly changed, as if he had become a different person.

"..." Chen Guobin looked at the waiter, then at his son, finally understanding the meaning that money can make a ghost push a millstone.

The father and son entered the private room, and Chen Yansen ordered vigorously, mixing meat and vegetables, picking only the expensive items; three or four dishes already exceeded three times the room's minimum spend.

This was the first time in his life he was treating Old Chen to a meal.

Chen Guobin wanted to advise him, but seeing Chen Yansen's demeanor, he understood: this kid didn't listen before, and he certainly wouldn't listen to him in the future.

"Bring another bottle of Feitian Maotai." Chen Yansen said to the waiter.

It wasn't that he wanted to drink, but Old Chen had never tasted it, so he considered it a gift to the old man.

"I'm driving; drinking isn't appropriate." Chen Guobin shook his head and refused.

"No problem, just call a designated driver." Chen Yansen said lightly, cutting off Old Chen's retreat.

After the waiter left, the two stared at each other, neither saying a word.

After a long silence, Chen Guobin suddenly said: "Your third uncle came to me last month; he wants you to go pay New Year's respects to Grandpa and Grandma during the holiday."

"Did you agree?" Chen Yuncheng asked, lifting his teacup and taking a sip.

"No, I told him to let you decide for yourself." Chen Guobin said in a muffled voice.

"Old Chen, it's not that I'm heartless; when you took me to Grandpa's house as a child, I still remember all those cold sneers and sarcasm. Do they think because I was young, I forgot everything?"

Chen Yansen let out a cold snort; the meaning was clear: No!

"Sigh, alright, next time I'll make it clear to your third uncle." Chen Guobin knew the ways of the Liang family.

Nowadays, wanting to cultivate a relationship was simply because they heard Chen Yansen had made a lot of money from his startup, using the excuse of New Year's greetings to scoop up benefits.

"Talk about you; you're only forty-one this year, do you really not plan to find another one? I have no interest in supporting you in your old age and seeing you to your funeral; you need to find a wife and provide for yourself."

Chen Yansen spoke in an old-fashioned manner, as if scolding a son.

"I really have no such plans." Chen Guobin widened his eyes, waited over ten seconds, sighed, and said in a muffled voice.

"Then when you get old, I won't care." Chen Yansen chuckled, not caring at all about Chen Guobin's feelings.

"I have money; I don't need you to worry!" Chen Guobin snorted coldly.

After that, the two fell silent again.

For over ten years, they had grown accustomed to this mode of interaction.

The wine and dishes arrived; the two tentatively clinked glasses, and after a few cups, Chen Guobin finally relaxed a bit.

"That Miss you mentioned last time—she goes to the same school as you?" Chen Guobin, slightly tipsy from wine, asked with a smile.

"Yes. Her father is the president of the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Bank, her mother is an English teacher at Experimental Primary School, she's an only child, and all her family's assets will belong to me in the future."

Chen Yansen said it casually.

"You're not only set on that Miss, but you're after her family's assets too?" Chen Guobin felt both indignant and amused, truly unable to believe this creature was actually his own son.

"What else should I do? Or should I learn from you?" Chen Yansen retorted.

Chen Guobin had three brothers-in-law; two of them looked down on him, and only the youngest brother-in-law, due to his good relationship with Liang Huizhen, was willing to associate with him.

His father-in-law treated Chen Guobin worse than he treated his own dog.

"By the way, last time I asked you to buy several more apartment buildings from the Salt Company; did you buy them?" Seeing Old Chen with his head down, looking dejected, Chen Yansen quickly changed the subject.

"I bought two. When the demolition actually happens, I'll..." Chen Guobin stopped halfway through his sentence, with nothing more to follow.

At that moment, he also realized that, given Chen Yansen's current speed of making money, there was absolutely no need for him to prepare a wedding house.

This shameless kid was after both the Miss and her assets; why would he need Chen Guobin to worry about buying a house?

"Buy another ten or so. If you don't have enough money, I'll lend it to you. After the demolition, go buy several more commercial shops on Chunshen Commercial Street to collect rent."

With just a few words, Chen Yansen had already planned out Old Chen's retirement life.

"We'll see about that." Chen Guobin couldn't bring himself to use Chen Yansen's money, even as a loan; he simply couldn't bring himself to ask.

Chen Yansen smiled; this was the reason Old Chen had been poor his whole life. Even when given opportunities to make money, he couldn't seize them; his skin was too thin, and his sense of morality was too strong.

Having figured it out, Chen Yansen didn't push Old Chen, planning instead to find an agency later and handle the matter himself.

The two clinked glasses and drank; they interacted like friends, or like buddies, but certainly not like father and son.

"I'm going to the restroom." Old Chen stood up unsteadily, squinting his eyes and smiling as he spoke.

Chen Yansen acknowledged with a sound, opened the picture Meng Jie had sent, saw a family of three with only home-cooked dishes on the table, the cooking skill looking quite good, and replied: "Mom's cooking is really great; can I come over tomorrow to mooch a meal?"

"Mom, Chen Yansen praised your cooking skills and wants to come to our house for a meal?" Meng Jie didn't think much of it and relayed it truthfully; Chen Yansen's phrase "our mom" made her cheeks flush red.

"Ah!?" Meng Jie's mother, Zhang Yanni, was stunned and exchanged a glance with Meng Zhenguo.

"Isn't this moving too fast?" Zhang Yanni said; she knew Chen Yansen and had heard her daughter talk about his achievements at university.

Just starting his freshman year, he had already built his company to a valuation of 2.8 billion; he was indeed excellent, and she had no objection to the two of them dating.

But meeting the parents this early was still something she found hard to accept.

"This kid is just coaxing you; if you really let him come, he'll definitely find an excuse to back out." Meng Zhenguo pouted, his tone very certain.

"Great! Mom said she'll go to the vegetable market first thing tomorrow morning to prepare a few of her signature dishes for you." Hearing her father say this, Meng Jie felt unwilling to yield and decided to test Chen Yansen.

"Tomorrow? What bad luck. My mom appeared in my dream, saying she doesn't have enough money down there, and asked me to burn some for her." Chen Yansen replied instantly.

"I told you so! This kid is like a fox spirit reincarnated, always talking nonsense." Meng Zhenguo pointed at the message, looking as if he had predicted it all along and his judgment was infallible.

"How about noon the day after tomorrow?" Chen Yansen sent another message.

Meng Jie held up her phone, waved it in front of Meng Zhenguo's eyes, pouted, and said, "Dad, you guessed wrong!"

Meng Zhenguo widened his eyes, thinking inwardly, "Why doesn't this kid follow the usual pattern? I really don't want to entertain Chen Yansen."

On the other side.

Chen Yansen waited in the private room for a long time, but Chen Guobin still hadn't returned; he muttered to himself: "Could it be that Old Chen got too drunk and fell asleep in the restroom?"

Thinking of this, he stood up, went out the door, and walked toward the restroom.

After walking just a few steps, he saw Chen Guobin arguing fiercely, face red and neck bulging, with a man in his fifties.

"Old Chen, what's going on?" Chen Yansen stepped forward, pushed the man arguing with Old Chen aside, and asked Chen Guobin.

"Look at this! The child you raised has no manners at all; he doesn't even greet his eldest uncle when he sees him." Liang Anguo pointed at Chen Guobin's nose and scolded.

Eldest uncle?

Chen Yansen turned to look at him, grinned, and said, "Mr. Liang, you run a supermarket business? Do you believe I'll open another one right across from yours and force you to close down?"

What the hell of an eldest uncle!

Chen Yansen would not spare him any face!

"Kid, you dare!" Liang Anguo clutched his chest, furious, pointing at Chen Yansen, wanting to curse loudly but too afraid to do so.

He had heard that Chen Yansen made a fortune in the internet industry, with sums often in the hundreds of millions; his own small supermarket couldn't withstand such trouble.

"Get lost!" After cursing, Chen Yansen added a warning: "From now on, show respect when you see my father, or I won't mind spending tens of millions to swallow up your entire business."

Liang Guoan hadn't expected Chen Yansen to be so unyielding; his face turned green then pale, and he stood frozen, at a loss for what to do.

Chen Yansen led Chen Guobin back to the private room; he had no desire to deal with the Liang family.

"Sigh, he is, after all, your eldest uncle." Chen Guobin sighed.

"Next time, I want you to be tougher. If someone points at you and scolds you, hit back; I'll cover for you." Chen Yansen lectured.

"You rascal! I'm not a child; I'm of an age now, and I'm supposed to fight with people?" Chen Guobin couldn't help but smile bitterly, holding his wine cup, his eyes turning red; obviously, he was thinking of his wife again.

Chen Yansen smiled carefree, thinking: Even if I meet a girl like my mother, it wouldn't stop me from falling in love with another Miss.

Life is so long; loving only one person is such a damn waste!

After eating and drinking their fill, Chen Yansen called a designated driver and drove the car back to the Salt Company's staff residential building.

Nearby neighbors saw the BMW downstairs and began discussing whose car it was.

Only when they saw Chen Yansen helping Chen Guobin up the stairs did they confirm that the news hadn't lied; Old Chen's son had indeed become wealthy.

Room 401.

Chen Yansen lay in bed and opened the news link forwarded by the intermediary; the headline was clearly—Amazon Internal Cleanup: Former Channel Director Zhang Hanhua Detained for Criminal Investigation.

"Director Zhang, it seems you won't have to worry about food or drink from now on; after five years when you get out, you'll even have an extra skill to support your family. Don't thank me too much."

Chen Yansen smiled slightly and muttered to himself.

Whether he was actually responsible for the fake liquor incident didn't matter anymore.

Chen Yansen was the kind of person who, once he suspected something, would treat it as if it were true even if it wasn't you; he would crush you to death. This was his consistent style of operation.

(End of chapter)