Chapter 498: Final Chapter

Over this year or so, Xiao Ping'an could be considered to have completely integrated into modern society; he had also gone back to see the parents of his original body. With those memories in his possession, he felt not the slightest bit of discomfort, and calling them Mom and Dad came very smoothly.

In the following half-year, their followers surpassed two million, and they also began to promote and endorse products for their hometown.

Their hometown county was a coastal city, so the products they promoted were naturally seafood: things like kelp, jellyfish, prawns, shrimp meat, octopus, scallop meat, and so on.

The rapidly growing wealth finally allowed all four of them to shake off their debt-ridden status. Besides his debts, Zhang Ping'an had also paid off his mortgage and even bought a car for commuting, which could be considered the first step toward financial freedom.

Zhang Ping'an recruited more livestreamers for product promotion, while he himself only appeared on camera occasionally, shifting more toward behind-the-scenes work.

"Let's start a talent incubation base. First, let's build up our own individual accounts, then slowly train and lead others. How about it?"

This was also Zhang Ping'an's initial plan. Now that the company account's followers were growing steadily every day and trending toward stability, it was time to start the second round of planning.

"Sounds good."

Naturally, the others wouldn't object. Over this past year or so, they had all experienced the feeling of being debt-free and light-hearted, and now they each had savings of their own, allowing them to stand tall at home. All of this had been brought about by Zhang Ping'an.

"Alright, then we'll blossom in five directions."

That's right, Zhang Ping'an also planned to bring his good brother Dongdong, whom he had invested in back then, into self-media, using their advertising company as a blueprint.

With the previous experience, after the five of them opened their personal short-video accounts, gaining followers was much simpler than when they first made their accounts.

Zhang Ping'an now mainly focused on planning and operations, while simultaneously recruiting more talent to help himself move toward becoming a major streamer.

Once an account is done well, the platform will also give you recommendations; often, the view count for a single video would reach nearly ten million, with a few million likes.

By the end of the year, everyone's accounts had three to four hundred thousand followers, and only Zhang Ping'an's followers had surpassed five hundred thousand.

The four of them also married one after another. They were considered big internet celebrities in the local area, and their wedding banquets were held in a lively manner.

Xiao Ping'an hadn't originally planned to get married so early, but considering his parents were getting older and he had met someone he wanted to protect, everything happened naturally and fell into place.

The woman was a college graduate who had just finished school, named Li Xiaoning, an accounting major. She was a full ten years younger than Zhang Ping'an, though looking at Zhang Ping'an's appearance, she also thought he was the same age.

As for his love interest from his college days, after Zhang Ping'an's account became successful, both sides had met, and after one final in-depth conversation, he considered it completely let go.

Li Xiaoning was also a local, with a very good family background and a simple heart; she could be considered a "white, rich, and beautiful" girl.

Zhang Ping'an was a late bloomer who had achieved success later in life, and now he also had a respectable family business; the union of the two could be considered a match of social equals.

In the first year of their marriage, they gave birth to fraternal twins, which made both families overjoyed. With one son and one daughter, they had perfectly completed the character for "good" (hao).

Moreover, Zhang Ping'an's career became increasingly prosperous. After he married and had children, in less than two short years, the company account's followers surpassed six million, and his personal account also had two million followers.

The farmhouse restaurant also had branches in the hometown county, with one in each of the ten towns. At this point, Zhang Ping'an could truly say he had achieved financial freedom.

At the end of 2025, Zhang Ping'an was thirty-five. With the national real estate market in a slump, Zhang Ping'an bought a detached villa in the county for over 1.9 million, and he also built a new house in his rural hometown.

By this time, the five of them had become the "children of others" in the eyes of people in their respective hometowns. The five of them did not have conflicts because of earning a lot of money; on the contrary, their relationship became even better. Every few days, they would bring their families and children together; they were not biological brothers, but they were closer than brothers.

"Ping'an, if it weren't for your 'burning the boats' three years ago, we might still be living on loans right now."

"Yeah, unlike now, with happy families and both a son and a daughter. Who knows, I might have been destined to be a bachelor for life."

"Indeed. Ping'an, Uncle toasts you."

"Get lost, you big nephew, acting all informal all the time."

Among the five, Zhang Ping'an and Dongdong were the oldest, born in '90, while the other three were born in '91 and '92 respectively. They usually addressed each other as uncle and nephew.

"Hahaha."

After they got married, they all broke the bad habit of liking foot massages and focused on managing their families. Even if they occasionally got a foot massage, it was a "vegetarian" one.

Over these years, relying on his powerful memory, Zhang Ping'an had read books related to law, accounting, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He wouldn't say he was incredibly brilliant, but the average person couldn't swindle him.

Five years later, the company account already had ten million followers, and their personal accounts had all surpassed five million.

The farmhouse restaurant under the company name had also expanded to neighboring counties and was slowly radiating toward the city area.

Because Zhang Ping'an did things rigorously and the company's legal department was capable, and the finance was handled by his own wife, there were no economic disputes.

The streamers under his command were all incubated by his own company, and their salaries were high, so no ingrates appeared; thus, their reputation was very good now.

But in the world of the internet, no one can say for sure. The four partners all listened to Zhang Ping'an's advice, and over these years, they had all set up some physical industries.

Even if things collapsed in the future, they would have physical industries to fall back on; after all, you should never put all your eggs in one basket.

At this time, the forty-year-old Zhang Ping'an was still young. His physical fitness seemed to be calculated as a compromise between his age and Xiao Ping'an's age, which made everyone envious.

"Big nephew, everyone is weak after catching the virus, how come you are getting younger the more you live?"

"Hahaha, it's simple. Uncle will teach you a method: wake up at six every morning and persist in practicing Taoist Kung Fu, like the Taiji Health Technique."

"You all know that when I was staying at home before, I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine. Although I didn't master it, I gained some insights. Since then, I have persisted in exercising every morning, and I haven't stopped for these eight years."

"I can attest to that. Brother Ping'an is indeed like that; ever since he got married, it's been almost exactly like this."

"Then you must be having a great time," the other young wives whispered in Li Xiaoning's ear.

"Go on, go on."

"Hahaha."

In the blink of an eye, another ten years passed. Zhang Ping'an's company account already had over thirty million followers, and at fifty, he completely retired, taking his parents and family to travel and enjoy the scenery.

His parents in this life were also nearly eighty years old, but their bodies were still very sturdy. Over these years, he had achieved success in his career and had a happy family, and his parents were also very gratified. It was as if they had put down the heavy burdens in their hearts, and they were also getting younger the more they lived.

In fact, he didn't really manage the accounts anymore, only doing daily maintenance. Now, his physical industries alone were enough to support his family for several generations, not to mention the nine-figure savings in his bank account.

Although his other partners were slightly worse off than him, they were definitely the best among the post-90s generation.

Meanwhile, in another space-time, Zhang Ping'an was already one hundred and six years old, and the four women were about the same age; the youngest, Li Aihua, was also nearly a hundred.

The Oriental Group was already on its third and fourth generations, and Weidong, Weijun, and the others had long since retired.

At this time, the Oriental Group was already the world's number one multinational conglomerate, with industries involving every aspect, from small things like people's livelihoods to large things like military industry; the shadow of the Oriental Group could be found in all of them.

Qi Tongwei had also retired from the position of Minister of Public Security eight years ago, while Gao Yuliang had retired even earlier, from the position of Provincial Governor of Linhu Province.

Li Dakang was relatively younger and had served one more term than Gao Yuliang, retiring as the Provincial Party Secretary of Handong Province.