From Wage Slave to Tycoon

After passing through the security gate and showing the staff proof of their private jet, they swaggered inside under everyone’s gaze.

"What’s going on? Didn’t they say it’s not time yet? The earliest business flight isn’t for another hour. Who are those people, just waltzing in like that?"

"We’ve all been waiting for over an hour. I can’t stand sitting on these cold airport benches for one more second. Let’s go, we should ask too. We all paid, so why can’t we wait on the plane?"

Many people in the business lounge were murmuring amongst themselves.

Just then, a few fuming passengers marched toward the security staff. In an instant, the security checkpoint became the focus of the small business lounge.

The staff member looked at the angry crowd with perfect composure. They knew these people would, at most, ask a few questions but wouldn’t dare get physical. After all, people who could afford to fly business class still cared about their reputation.

"I’d like to ask... we all paid for our tickets, so on what grounds do they get to go in right after they arrive while we have to sit here and wait?"

"Yeah... on what grounds? You have to give us an explanation."

Hearing this, the staff member let out a loud snort of laughter. "On what grounds? On the grounds that they have a private jet! If you had one, you could swagger right in too. I wouldn’t stop you for a second!"

"A private jet?" The group’s gazes passed through the glass curtain wall. They could faintly make out Su Chen and his companions boarding a large private jet.

They gulped, and at the same time, a flicker of relief crossed their embarrassed faces.

’Thank god we were just questioning the staff. If we had tried to stop that big shot, we wouldn’t just be kicking an iron plate, but a plate of special-grade steel!’

Under the staff’s strange looks, they tucked their tails between their legs and quickly returned to their seats.

The conversation between the group and the staff had been quite loud, so most of the other passengers had heard it. They now looked at the group as if they were watching a bunch of clowns.

Yet they didn’t stop to think that they had also been part of the murmuring just moments before.

Too bad... Su Chen missed this little drama. The ugly side of human nature was on full display.

..........

「Shanghai Airport!」

The moment Su Chen got off the plane, he saw Pei Rang leaning against a Bentley, looking around.

Seeing Su Chen disembark, he quickly jogged over to greet him.

"Boss, you’re finally back!"

Su Chen was speechless. ’Just how badly did he want to see me? He came all the way to the airport to ambush me.’

"President Pei himself coming to pick me up... I’m a bit overwhelmed by the honor!"

"Ahem~ I just missed you, Boss!" Pei Rang said with a perfectly straight face.

"Alright, let’s get in the car. We can talk about whatever it is on the way." Su Chen could tell at a glance that he had something to discuss. Otherwise, Pei Rang wouldn’t have come to the airport to pick him up.

It was the busiest time of the year. Otherwise, Pei Rang wouldn’t have called and asked him to return to Shanghai early. There were many matters that required Su Chen’s approval, as well as the company’s annual summary and so on.

It wasn’t something that could be explained in just a few words.

The moment they got in the car, Pei Rang’s first words were, "Boss, the company’s accounts are out of money!"

Su Chen was taken aback. Yunmengze Capital’s accounts had over 300 million in them. After subtracting the 100-plus million spent on the Byte investment, there should still be more than 100 million left. ’Could they have invested it all in just two months?’

"Tell me what’s going on."

"Besides the eighty million the investment team has in the stock market, the company only has less than three million in liquid capital left. All the other funds have been invested."

"Currently, our company has invested in over a hundred enterprises. We have full ownership of twelve, a stake of over fifty percent in thirty-six, and the rest are all stakes ranging from ten to fifty percent!"

"The industries span every sector, but because the investment period has been too short, there haven’t been any returns yet." As he spoke, Pei Rang took a file out of his briefcase and handed it to Su Chen.

He briefly flipped through it. The file contained information about the various companies, the investment amounts, and the ownership percentages.

"Huh? Tianfu Cola... tell me about this." Su Chen saw a very familiar name. It was a memory from his childhood. It was a shame it later vanished without a trace. He never thought he’d see it again.

"Tianfu Cola’s story is quite tragic. In its early years, it did exceptionally well, even becoming a state banquet beverage. But with the later entry of foreign capital and its partnership with Pepsi, Tianfu Cola was gradually pushed out of the market."

"Just in the last two years, they won a lawsuit against Pepsi and successfully got their formula and techniques back. As it happened, a company executive was on a business trip to Wudu a while ago when Tianfu Cola happened to be opening a round of PE (private equity) investment. We spent twenty million and acquired the entire offering."

"They’re currently preparing for a brand relaunch. It should happen any day now!"

Hearing this, Su Chen fell into thought. In the early days, many high-quality domestic brands were infiltrated by foreign capital and eventually disappeared from the public eye. Now, most of them were just barely surviving.

"You handled this well. From now on, pay more attention to companies like Tianfu Cola that have been suppressed by foreign capital. At the very least, it proves their products were good enough to have an impact on those foreign investors!"

Pei Rang gave a knowing smile. "Hehe~ Boss, I had a feeling you’d say that. Many of the companies we now have a controlling stake in have similar stories to Tianfu Cola. We’ve invested quite a bit in companies like Vigor 28, Lotus MSG, and Baixiang."

"After receiving our investment, they’re all rapidly expanding their production lines. I expect we’ll see them make a big splash this year!"

Su Chen shot Pei Rang an exasperated look. "You’re deliberately putting me on the spot, aren’t you? Pei Rang, are you trying to get on my bad side?"

"Boss, I’ve been wronged!"

Su Chen didn’t go to the company with Pei Rang. Instead, he had him drop his group off at One Hyde Park. As for company matters, Su Chen pushed them all off until tomorrow.