From Wage Slave to Tycoon

SCREECH! The piercing sound of brakes drew everyone’s attention.

"Whose car is this? Why is it stopping here?"

"Huh? Isn’t that the boss getting out of the passenger seat? What... what’s going on!"

As they spoke, Master Su got out of the passenger seat, grabbed a water bottle, and started chugging. He muttered under his breath, "What kind of car is that brat Zhuyun driving? I almost threw up."

You couldn’t blame Master Su for feeling sick. The main issue was that Su Zhuyun had been driving a bit fast, but with all the cars on the road for the Lunar New Year, the constant stop-and-go traffic was enough to make anyone queasy.

Su Zhiqi and Su Zhixin, who were in the back seat, weren’t faring any better. They dry-heaved a few times as they got out. Only Su Zhuyun emerged from the driver’s seat looking rather smug.

"Big Brother, Zhuyun, what’s all this?" The older middle-aged man from before walked over. His gaze swept over the group before settling on the white G-Wagen.

The middle-aged man was Su Qingyun, the eldest son of the Su family’s second branch patriarch. The Mercedes S300 parked in the courtyard was his car.

Even the people who had been gossiping earlier gathered around, their eyes wide in disbelief at what they were seeing.

’The eldest branch of the family has really made a comeback!’ This was the thought on everyone’s mind.

As for the possibility that the white G-Wagen was rented, the thought never even crossed their minds. After all, they all knew the eldest branch’s situation. They were the type to pinch every penny; why would they waste money like that?

The eldest branch wasn’t the type to pretend to be rich when they weren’t.

The only other explanation was... the eldest branch had struck it rich.

Master Su had recovered by now. Seeing everyone’s curious gazes, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He patted the white G-Wagen and said with a smile, "Zhuyun’s family bought it!"

There was nothing wrong with that statement. Wasn’t Su Chen part of Su Zhuyun’s family?

The old master was a clever man, deliberately keeping his words vague. To everyone else, it sounded like, "This Mercedes was bought by my eldest son."

Everyone’s gazes naturally shifted to Su Zhuyun. Seeing all eyes on him, he stood up so straight his back was ramrod stiff.

Su Zhuyun calmly greeted all the uncles, then pulled two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and handed one out to each of them.

They all happily accepted, lighting up and puffing away. They started beating around the bush, asking what was going on. It had only been a few months since they’d last seen him, yet such a world-shaking change had occurred.

Su Qingyun was no exception, though he pulled Master Su aside to chat privately.

The old master looked like a simple, honest man, but he was sharp. Plus, on the way over, Su Zhuyun had told him to attribute everything to his son. If anyone asked how the money was made, he could just tell them it was from opening a hot pot restaurant.

When Su Qingyun heard that the most popular restaurant in Wudu right now, Shufen Hot Pot, was opened by his own nephew, he chain-smoked several cigarettes in a row.

The uncles and elders surrounding Su Zhuyun weren’t faring any better. After all, in a small place like Fuzhou, the name Shufen Hot Pot was quite famous.

For a moment, the courtyard was thick with cigarette smoke. Though everyone wore smiles, the melancholy in their eyes was plain for all to see.

If Su Chen had seen this scene, he definitely would have blurted out the classic line: "You’re afraid your bro is suffering, but you’re also afraid he’s driving a Land Rover!"

.......

When Su Chen arrived, the group heading to burn incense was just about to set off. Since they had to climb a mountain, all the firecrackers, incense, and candles were packed into back-baskets to be carried up.

Seeing his dad, second uncle, and third uncle all shouldering back-baskets, Su Chen walked over to Su Zhuyun without a second thought.

"Dad, let me carry that!" he said, reaching out to take the back-basket...

But to his surprise, Su Zhuyun took a step to the side and said, "How could I let you do this kind of rough work? What if something happened to you!"

Just as Su Chen was about to say something, he heard his second uncle speak up from the side, "Exactly. Xiaochen, you should listen to your dad."

Then, he turned to Su Yan, who was standing nearby, and shot him an irritated glare. "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and take the basket from your eldest uncle."

Su Yan, who had been standing idly to the side, was completely bewildered. ’How did I get dragged into this?’

Although he hadn’t figured out what was going on, he still followed his father’s instruction and took the back-basket from his eldest uncle, Su Zhuyun.

’Of course, I understand my second uncle’s thinking,’ Su Chen thought. ’It’s all because Shufen Hot Pot improved life for their families, so they’re grateful.’

Just then, Su Qingyun walked over and asked in a very gentle tone, "Zhuyun, are you all ready? Can we set off?"

Hearing this, Su Zhuyun gave a knowing smile, nodded, and said, "Second Uncle, we’re ready to go!"

Su Qingyun nodded, then called for the others to start heading towards the mountain behind them.

The path was quite easy to walk at first—a concrete road. But after about twenty minutes, it turned into a narrow mountain trail that was very difficult to traverse.

Su Chen mentally patted himself on the back for not trying to be a hero earlier. ’If I had to carry a back-basket on a path like this, I’d definitely make a fool of myself.’

A few uncles at the front, armed with sickles and machetes, cleared the way, hacking a path straight through the undergrowth. Further up, it got so steep they had to use their hands and feet, scrambling and pulling each other to get up.

"Sigh... My dear ancestors, you sure lived far out of the way!"

They finally arrived after walking for nearly an hour. Watching the busy crowd, Su Chen lamented under his breath.