Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

"I've got some family matters to deal with, Xiaolan, you should head back first."

"This..."

Chen Pingsheng decided to let outsiders leave before dealing with his own family's issues.

Yang Xiaolan originally wanted to explain that none of this had anything to do with her.

But after meeting Chen Pingsheng's gaze, she wisely chose to leave.

All one could say was that damned Hu Shengtian had nearly clinched the deal, but now it was definitely off.

Heading back to the office to wait for further instructions, Yang Xiaolan took one meaningful look at Hu Shengtian before leaving.

It was clear that the second-generation owner was bound to take out his anger on him, which was pretty standard behavior.

She brought over tea leaves worth millions, intending to take this opportunity to establish good relations with Tengying Group.

In the future, it wouldn't have been just advertising partnerships but also cross-sector collaborations on other industries.

Now, it was ruined beyond any hope of revival.

Yang Xiaolan had never imagined that such a huge opportunity could be lost over a subordinate's family issues.

Hu Lele got slapped—a person like her who was full of a sense of superiority.

But that was only towards people from outside the city or those she deemed below her.

Typically, in the presence of higher social circles, such people often act like tail-wagging, pitiful lap dogs.

Those who could afford to live in Tan Palace were definitely not within their league.

"Let's hear it, what happened?"

The old granny also came over, mentioning the humiliating incident from ten years ago, when their family was blocked from entering the house.

After all, the two families were relatives, and quite close ones at that.

It wouldn't be wrong to consider them direct kin, being sisters after all.

In a sense, Hu Lele should have been calling him her cousin.

Over the years, Chen Pingsheng had helped a lot of relatives and also blacklisted some.

As for Hu Lele, a cousin whom he had never met since childhood, she was practically not considered a relative anymore.

Chen Pingsheng didn't want to bother with such matters; Peng Qing was the old granny's sister and someone he had to address as aunt.

Although she had been living in Magic City for years, her life hadn't been as good as some women who married into rural areas.

Perhaps this was the destiny of many women fixated on marrying up—they were never truly valued by the men's side. Stay connected via empire

Now that she was no longer young, and her children were only so filial, her fate depended on how the old granny would treat her.

As expected, after leaving, Hu Shengtian received a call from Yang Xiaolan.

He immediately grabbed his things and got the hell out.

Forget about severance pay—before that, he'd need to address the actual loss he caused the company.

A job with a monthly salary of seventy to eighty thousand was gone in an instant, and Hu Shengtian didn't dare utter a single boast.

He wasn't stupid; how could he not know that if not for this incident, the boss's deal would have been secured?

Being fired without compensation was already a blessing in disguise.

Thinking about suing a top-tier second-generation corporation? He wouldn't win.

When you have neither money nor power, the law is unlikely to be on your side.

Take Chen An'an, for example; she too once helped an elderly person in Capital City.

After kindly taking them to the hospital, they immediately demanded compensation from her.

Chen An'an thought she had done a good deed and eagerly returned home expecting praise from her father, only to face this.

She was infuriated all night long.

And what happened in the end?

Forget medical fees—the entire family of the old woman was laid off on the same day in Capital City.

She also became infamous on that street as that old swindler of a lady.

Other kids would spit when they saw her, and even the hospital kicked her out early.

It never came to a judge questioning Chen An'an about why she helped if she didn't cause the accident.

The relatives of the old lady wanted to curse her to death right there on the street.

That's why you never hear about rich folks' kids getting exposed for mishaps like these.

Extort from the wealthy, and it's your family who ends up unlucky.

You won't stand a chance at receiving any compensation.

The situation now with Hu Shengtian was no different; under normal circumstances, someone in his position being dismissed would definitely have to pay N+1.

He would receive at least half a year's salary.

If it were the old days, because of what his wife's family had gone through, he would definitely start a fight once he got home.

Now, even if you gave him three times the courage, he wouldn't dare.

In today's society, the poor don't fight with the rich, his family might have some money, but in front of Tengying, they are as weak as an ant.

With just one stomp, they could easily send him to jail for a few months.

Do you think they need to break the law?

No, they just need to spend a little money and lift a finger to find evidence of his solicitation of prostitution.

How could you fight against such a group that could turn you upside down with the flip of their hand?

If Hu Shengtian knew he had such a powerful nephew, not to mention hitting Peng Qing all these years, he would have definitely held her in his palm like an ancestor.

So, if you marry well and want to live well, the strength of your natal family is crucial.

Isn't Zhong Xiaoyi in "Name of the People" the perfect example?

Dare to disobey, and in a minute, you'll have nothing left.

...

Magic City villa.

As soon as his wife Song Yanxi came back, she heard about this melodrama, how are things now?

Other than Chen An'an's excitedly animated storytelling, it seemed her husband didn't even want to mention the matter.

And it was even less likely that he would acknowledge these relatives again.

Song Yanxi couldn't be bothered with that and brought up the main issue instead.

"Husband, do you know how many people have signed up online after the first batch of Water Cloud Space Academy students graduated?"

Water Cloud Space had reopened its biennial enrollment channel back in June.

"How many? Tens of thousands?"

"Tens of thousands? It exceeded one hundred thousand in twenty days."

Song Yanxi took out the enrollment data from the Water Cloud Space headquarters to show him, "A big part of them are introduced by our internal staff, either from the same village or some distant relatives. We're only recruiting a thousand people in total. With such a high number of applicants, I don't even know how to handle it."

Water Cloud Space will only open around thirty to thirty-five stores in top-tier cities.

Each store, including the management team, will only prepare about forty to forty-five beauticians.

The students they're recruiting now are being prepared to expand into Guangzhou and Shenzhen in two years' time.

Chen Pingsheng thought for a moment and said, "This should be good news, right?"

"Definitely good news."

Song Yanxi said, "You see, husband, most shops in this industry are short-staffed, especially lacking skilled beauticians. Only our establishment is never short of staff. Even the most capable managers from outside must undergo at least six months of training before joining us. Now, there are over one hundred thousand people who want to join our platform. I feel like if I could train all these people well, I could lead them to dominate the beauty industry."

Song Yanxi was brimming with ambition, almost like The Invincible East, which made Chen Pingsheng laugh.

"We need to plan this out a bit more."

Chen Pingsheng encouraged her to calm down a bit, "Don't be too quick to refuse anyone. The wellness market in the beauty industry definitely has a promising future. Our Water Cloud Space is currently only sieging the highest-end market, but there's still a wider audience in the luxury market, and the upper-middle tier markets."

"If we can seize this opportunity, we might be able to break through the mid to high-end markets of the beauty industry in one fell swoop."

"What do you mean by that?" Song Yanxi's eyes lit up with keen interest.

"Didn't you say most shops are short-staffed?"

Chen Pingsheng said, "We can leverage the brand influence of Water Cloud Space and enter into direct partnerships with those small beauty chain stores by supplying talent and management. This way, we can definitely expand Water Cloud Space nationwide rapidly."

Smacking her lips, Song Yanxi excitedly said, "Husband, you're so smart, this method will definitely work."

"Don't get too excited. If we bring in ten thousand people, just paying a salary of three thousand a month would cost three billion. Who can afford that?"

Chen Pingsheng said, "Let's recruit ten thousand for now. Subsidizing over seven billion for two years won't put too much pressure on us. After two years, we'll invest twenty billion in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to open sixty to seventy top beauty salons."

"Water Cloud Space, this top luxury brand, can't be used for the mid to low-end market."

Chen Pingsheng grandly decided the future development of Water Cloud Space with a wave of his hand.

He now had to work hard to make money.

He entered the technology field too late; he had to invest a massive amount of capital to hope to surpass his competitors ahead.

At this point, there's no chance of winning big with a small bet.

The right way to use capital is to sweep through the industry like a behemoth.

No matter how talented you are, they have the resources to roll right over you.

This is his current reality.

Deeply rooted in traditional industries, advancing into the technology sector.

This is also the real vision for the future of Tengying Group.

There's so much more he wants to do; he can only take it one step at a time.

After all, you don't get fat from eating one big meal.

And the same applies to his situation: the larger the group, the more cautious he has to be.