Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

Chen Pingsheng returned home.

There, he saw the spoiled brat, Chen An'an, holding a magnifying glass larger than her own face, meticulously inspecting a small bowl.

His mother, Peng Ying, anxiously watched beside her, while Chen Bufan and his wife stood nearby.

"Well, is it from the Ming Dynasty or not?" he asked.

"This chicken on it doesn't quite look right," she replied.

A few days earlier, news that a Ming Dynasty Chicken Cup had sold for over two hundred million had caught Peng Ying's attention.

Seeing how valuable old items could be, the elderly lady promptly started keeping an eye out for them.

Today, she had come across a man dressed like a beggar who pulled out a small bowl, claiming it to be a family heirloom.

His earnest words would move any normal person.

Peng Ying brought out her bargaining skills and after haggling eighteen times, she finally bought it for eight thousand.

She then had the pretentious spoiled brat examine it.

Chen An'an instantly turned into a drama queen. When she first came to Nanluo Gu Alley, she had dabbled in antiques for a while.

She had mostly started because everyone around here seemed to enjoy it.

With two hundred thousand in pocket money each month, at most it meant buying a few less clothes.

The first time, she gleefully spent twelve hundred on a birdcage.

Whether it was luck or something else, to her surprise, she had struck gold on her first attempt.

When she took it to the antique store, it turned out to be an item from a Qing Dynasty noble's household.

Worth more than two hundred thousand.

After that, there was no stopping her.

From Qing Dynasty relics, she moved on to Ming and then the Song and Yuan dynasties.

She simply bought whatever others suggested.

In just three months, she had spent over a million and didn't find a single genuine item.

Thus, the spoiled brat lost interest in antiques and decisively switched to playing the erhu.

Little did she know, her zeal would soon fade, but her grandma would take it up.

After moving into the Siheyuan, there was a persistent feeling among the locals that treasures were everywhere; what if she happened to find one?

The money didn't matter; the key was the joy it brought.

After watching for a while, Chen Pingsheng took a glance and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Dad, grandma says she bought a Ming Dynasty Rooster Cup."

He had heard of the Chicken Cup, but the Rooster Cup was definitely new to him.

Chen Pingsheng looked around and pointed at the blue mark on the bottom of the bowl, "This obvious modern symbol, and you need a magnifying glass to see it?"

Chen An'an had already seen it. She handed the oversized magnifying glass to her dad, "It's too obvious, I thought it was intentional," she said weakly.

Chen Pingsheng was left speechless; the spoiled brat had always been unreliable.

If she ever started thinking normally, he would actually be surprised.

It was only eight thousand; there were plenty of people being scammed buying antiques.

It hardly counted as anything.

The old lady looked utterly disappointed. Chen Pingsheng had never been interested in antiques, no matter how wealthy he was.

The neighbor surnamed Jin, on the other hand, had brought a few old items to show him.

He had never wanted them.

"Dad, grandma and the others are leaving tomorrow."

His sister's wedding was done, as was their time in Capital City. Chen Pingsheng had arranged for the customized Coaster at home to take them back.

As for his father, Chen Jianjun, he had flown back earlier due to some road construction issues in the village.

The countryside had been heavily investing in road construction in recent years; some roads built this year would need repairs the next.

And the year after that, they would start patching them up again.

It was a never-ending cycle of short-lasting, bumpy roads.

Chen Jianjun had mentioned it several times. This year, he intended to hand all the road construction projects in the village over to outsiders.

To avoid those with connections.

There had been several arguments over it; the gist was that some people disagreed.

There were too many wanting a slice of government-funded projects, grueling for someone to serve the public as a tiny rural official.

If they couldn't benefit from public projects, they might as well starve on their salaries.

Chen Pingsheng often heard his old man talk about it over the phone, always with a tone of disappointment.

A village chief dedicated to serving the people, facing opposition every day.

The old man couldn't understand what was wrong with society these days.

Peng Ying used to run to the village officials' homes to argue about such matters when she was home.

She'd be upset for days on end.

But now, she simply didn't think about it anymore; the old man could do whatever he wanted, as she'd stay in Capital City to enjoy a comfortable life.

With grandma and grandpa about to leave, Chen Pingsheng especially invited them to dine on the most authentic Capital City cuisine.

The chefs were those who could appear at state banquets.

Without connections, these places were extremely hard to book, even with money.

They operated on a membership basis, where even a single dish could cost several thousand.

The wine served was Guojiao 1573 "360."

A single bottle was priced at three hundred fifty thousand.

Guojiao 1573 "360" was a top-tier custom brew from Luzhou Laojiao, crafted together in the national treasure cellars by a few state-appointed master blenders.

With each bottle consumed, one fewer remained.

Chen Pingsheng occasionally indulged in a tasting at home but never drank much.

His grandfather really liked such old wines, while Chen An'an enjoyed dining here.

In such places, a meal costing hundreds of thousands was quite ordinary.

Each bottle of wine started at a minimum of twenty thousand.

Not rip-offs, but genuinely priced.

They had suffered through a hard life. As children witnessing enemy troops invade their village, they saw many relatives die right in front of them.

After barely making it through that time, they faced famine.

With sons and daughters multiplying, they ate anything edible—tree bark, tree roots, all had been part of their diet.

Then, growing older during the era of economic reform, it took decades of hard work to turn their modest straw hut

into a two-story red brick house.

Behind them, petty household matters caused constant quarrels, leaving everyone's faces flushed and ears crimson.

Having never enjoyed many days of fortune in their lives, it was only by coming to Chen Ping'an's side that they truly experienced the ultimate luxury.
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Shopping without ever looking at the price tags.

Whenever they dined out, if it wasn't at their own Fei Yangyang, the starting cost was usually ten to twenty thousand.

Now, dining here was on par with a state banquet.

Eighty-eight thousand per table.

The wine was hundreds of thousands per bottle.

Peng Ying, who had been thrifty all her life, seemed to have gotten used to it.

Actually, Peng Ying was not used to it when she first arrived.

She used to preach about saving daily, but after living here for a while, she naturally conformed to the local customs.

Anyhow, it's not like they could run out of food or clothing.

Only a nuclear bomb could perhaps reset everyone to the same starting point.

"Grandma, why don't you stay here longer?"

"We have things to handle at home, can't stay in Capital City every day."

When old, no place is more comfortable than one's own hometown, regardless of the external prosperity.

Perhaps this is what they call 'returning to one's roots.'

Chen Pingsheng also tried to keep his grandparents, but they insisted on returning to the countryside, so there was nothing he could do.

However, his aunt had a small wish, she hoped Chen Bufan could stay here.

The grandparents also hoped he would stay in Capital City.

Although Chen Bufan was born with intellectual deficits, he was actually a good person.

Not temperamental or stubborn, he did whatever he was told to do.

Usually, he just smiled foolishly.

As for his normal wife, they were young people who, after seeing the prosperity of Capital City, would hardly want to return to the countryside.

Chen Pingsheng didn't mind.

After all, his cousin was quite obedient.

He absolutely wouldn't go to places crowded with strangers on his own.

He wouldn't think of causing trouble either, just being completely straightforward.

He just wasn't very smart.

The grandparents hoped that he could have a job while here.

That was quite easy to arrange.

Chen Bufan was different from other relatives; he was born with significant deficits, so they had to help him.

Otherwise, just by relying on his uncle and his aunt, he would be stuck in the countryside unable to do anything for life.

After returning home,

his wife was still in the room, fiddling with a small calculator, calculating something that Chen Pingsheng couldn't figure out.

"Honey, if I spend over five hundred million to buy a headquarters building in Magic City, it would take at least thirty years to break even. After thirty years, when the property rights expire, will it still be ours?"

"In theory, definitely, but in practice, no one can be sure."

Chen Pingsheng thought she was pondering something else; it turned out she was still hesitating over buying the Water Cloud Space headquarters building.

She had been considering it for several days now, only settling down after her younger sister's wedding ended.

Song Yanxi was wearing white pajamas.

It was the end of October now, and the temperature in Capital City at night was only about ten degrees.

In a little while, they would have to wear down jackets again.

"I'm just afraid that decades later, that building won't be ours anymore."

"That probably won't happen."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Isn't it just a few billion? Are you really considering it for so long?

"The property rights for a house expire after seventy years, and when those seventy years are up, the house is still yours; it's impossible otherwise."

Nowadays, buying a house practically drains the wallet of three generations.

And you still have decades of mortgage payments to make.

It can't just disappear for no reason; it's just a matter of what other ways might be used to make up for it."

Song Yanxi thought about it and agreed, as Chen Pingsheng playfully slapped her uplifted bottom.

The richer you are, the more timid you become.

She wasn't this hesitant when she used to speculate on properties.

Perhaps it's mainly because there were more people involved in property speculation, making it less fearful with the crowd.

But now, speculating on commercial buildings definitely wouldn't result in losses.

It's just that there are fewer people involved in this, making her hesitate.

Song Yanxi gave him a glare. Why go around slapping one's own bottom?

Is it that enjoyable to hit?

She stretched out her leg to kick him aside, then covered herself with the blanket to sleep.

Next time they go to Magic City, she must buy herself a big foreign-style house.

To let Water Cloud Space flaunt itself there too.

As the Water Cloud Space annual meeting was approaching, they were likely to make eight or nine hundred million.

They definitely wouldn't be short of money.

Chen Pingsheng told her to relax, buying a building wasn't a big deal.

It was her sister, Song Wu, who was dating someone in the entertainment industry that was the real issue.

It was quite normal for her to have a boyfriend at the age of twenty-five or twenty-six.

Chen Pingsheng asked her for her opinion?

Song Yanxi didn't really like those male celebrities from the entertainment industry; she always felt none were reliable.

But her sister was a celebrity too, and she was in that circle.

Those were the people she came into contact with the most.

"What else would she find outside the entertainment industry?" he asked.

Chen Pingsheng was just casually asking if she knew.

Song Yanxi definitely knew; Song Wu had told her several times and had even brought that person to meet her and asked for her opinion.

Song Yanxi's opinion was to have no opinion and let her decide for herself.

Chen Pingsheng marveled at how open-hearted she was as an older sister.

He didn't intentionally inquire; it was Bai Xin who told him.

Matters of the entertainment industry, even if he was unwilling to know, lots of people would bring them up to him.

He couldn't avoid it even if he wanted to, so he just treated it as gossip.

The next day, after saying goodbye to the grandparents, he went to Tengying Entertainment to work as usual.