After Wang Zhefei arrived, he caught everyone’s attention for a mont, but they soon went back to what they were doing.
They continued to eat and drink.
Lin Chu gave Wang Zhefei a tour of the house. When they ca back down, they rejoined the crowd.
By now, Liu Junfeng and the others had turned the conversation to business.
One by one, they were all complaining about how broke they were, saying how hard business had been this year and that they were just barely hanging on.
"Fuck , I still haven’t collected the six million owed from that governnt project. It’s been two years, and they’re still dragging their feet. Now they want to bid on another project? Bid on my ass. I can barely afford to pay my workers."
"Don’t even start, man. I had four million in Evergrande comrcial paper, and it all went down the drain. What can you do? Just have to write it off. Those sons of bitches."
"Can anyone be more miserable than ? My wife divorced and took three of my properties. I wanted to kill soone."
This comnt made even Lin Chu glance over. The guy who spoke had eaten with them once before. He was decked out in luxury brands, wearing a Patek Philippe, and looked incredibly wealthy. If Lin Chu rembered correctly, his na was Dongzi.
"Dongzi, don’t talk about that. You were a fucking idiot. Who else can you bla?"
"Back when your family’s property was getting demolished and compensated, everyone told you not to get married. Don’t get married! But you just had to, didn’t you?"
Soone next to him teased with a laugh.
It was only then that Lin Chu confird his background. ’Huh, one of the demolition-rich!’
In Peng City, that group was the absolute elite—the glittering, old-money natives.
Lu Ming was one of them too.
Although his family hadn’t gotten rich from demolition, they owned several buildings and collected rent.
Dongzi put his arm around his young, influencer-faced girlfriend and said helplessly, "Sigh, my family was pressuring back then. My dad said if I didn’t get married, he’d kick out. He’d give five thousand yuan a month and leave to fend for myself. Fuck!"
The others all roared with laughter.
Losing money in business was understandable. After all, in this market, losing money had nothing to do with personal ability. You just had to endure it.
But getting your pockets cleaned out by your ex-wife? That just made you a massive schmuck.
Just then, Lu Ming glanced at Xiaolu, who turned to look back at him.
Their eyes t for a second before they both looked away.
In this circle, Lu Ming was the sa age as Lin Chu and, relatively speaking, the most "innocent" of the bunch. He just liked to have a bit of fun, but compared to those old dogs, he was far from their level.
Hearing them talk about this kind of topic, Lu Ming felt a ripple of unease in his heart.
’Another day, another dose of marriage phobia.’
Xiaolu squeezed Lu Ming’s hand but didn’t say anything.
’There’s no point in saying anything at a ti like this. When n start calculating money, they’re at their most clear-headed and rational.’
Because the ones who weren’t clear-headed and rational usually lost badly.
Li Haohong chose this mont to jump in with a smile. "Hey, hey, hey, fellas, let say it again: get a prenup before you get married. Co to . For you guys, it’s free. Purely pro bono."
Dongzi shot him a look. "Well, I didn’t know you back then, did I... Big Boss Xiong!"
Liu Junfeng laughed and teased, "You two, maybe next ti."
Although they were all laughing while talking about these things, Lin Chu felt the atmosphere had beco a little strange.
The strangeness mainly stemd from the topic the n were discussing, which seed to be making the few won present uncomfortable. But none of them dared to show it, bottling up their displeasure.
"Let’s stop talking about this stuff. Let’s talk about sothing happy,"
Lin Chu said in a calm tone.
Liu Junfeng looked at Lin Chu. He’d had a bit to drink, was feeling a little buzzed and in a good mood, so he said jokingly, "Making money is the happiest thing there is! Brother Chu, got any projects recently? Bring us brothers in on it."
In an instant, all eyes fell on Lin Chu.
After knowing each other for so long, Liu Junfeng felt he had laid enough groundwork. He decided to take advantage of Lin Chu’s good mood today and see if there was an opportunity.
After all, they’d been watching Brother Chu flex every day; they wanted to get in on the action too.
Besides, Lin Chu’s financial power was self-evident. He’d bought this thirty-six-million-yuan house just like that.
’He’s truly rich.’
Most of the guys present didn’t have a total net worth that high. Or if their families did, it wasn’t their turn to take over yet, like Lu Ming and Dongzi.
Hearing Liu Junfeng’s words, Lin Chu smiled. He’d sensed from the start of the party that Liu Junfeng was after sothing. He had asked, but Liu Junfeng hadn’t said anything.
Now, he was finally being honest.
"Sure, no problem. How about this: anyone who wants to follow , put up a million each to join. You’ll get a 30% profit at the end of the year. We’ll settle up once a year. After that, if you want out, you take your principal and interest and leave. If you don’t want out, you can keep playing. You can even invest more."
"I’m giving you the opportunity. Those who are willing can get in. If you think it’s a Ponzi sche, then hold on to your wallets and just pretend I’m full of shit."
Lin Chu said with a wave of his hand, his voice carrying a sharp edge.
’I need to start filtering people, too.’
Although this thod of filtering was crude, it was highly effective.
Liu Junfeng knew how to seize the mont, making this request when everyone was at their happiest.
Lin Chu could understand it. After all, just eating and drinking together didn’t make you true brothers. Being able to lead your brothers to make money—that’s what made you a real "big brother."
For him, that wasn’t a problem at all.
But of course, he also had to be selective.
The principle for his selection could be sumd up in one sentence: If you don’t trust , why should I trust you?
After Lin Chu finished speaking, a slight silence fell over the group.
A 30% rate of return.
What did that even an?
You could say that most ordinary businesses on the market right now couldn’t achieve that kind of profit margin.
But to be honest, Brother Chu’s thod really did sound too much like a Ponzi sche, which naturally made people uneasy.
Liu Junfeng now felt like he’d been put on the spot.
He was the one who started this.
And Lin Chu had given a solution.
He knew Lin Chu used to be in finance, and this proposal was indeed very "finance."
He also guessed that Lin Chu definitely had connections in this area.
"Brother Chu, what exactly is the business? Can you reveal just a little bit?"
He asked with an even brighter smile. He didn’t rush to agree, otherwise he’d look like a shill.
Lin Chu glanced at him, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a long plu of smoke. "I can’t reveal anything. I can lead you all to make money, no problem. But first, you have to trust . Without that, let’s not even talk about it. Isn’t it fun enough for everyone to just eat, drink, and have a good ti?"
Liu Junfeng took a deep breath and nodded with a smile.
"Of course I trust you, hahaha! Alright, I’ll transfer the money to you tomorrow. What’s the cap?"
Lin Chu pursed his lips. "There is no cap."
At that mont, Wang Zhefei grinningly threw his arm around Lin Chu’s neck and chid in, "Count in! I’ll put up a house to join! Brother, Foster Father, carry to the moon!"
Lin Chu, staring into his eyes from point-blank range, felt like throttling him. "Get the hell out of here! I’m the one who fucking bought you that house! And you’re turning around and using it to invest in ?"
Wang Zhefei squealed with laughter like a pig. "Yup."
Lin Chu: ... "Go to hell!"
"Hey, don’t be so serious, sheesh..."
Just then, Li Kai suddenly cut in with a smile, "Uh, let just say sothing. The maid cafe has already picked a location. Brother Chu invested five million in this shop."
"I think Brother Chu is right. If he’s willing to let us in on it, he’s giving us an opportunity. We should just take it. A night of drinking for him costs more than this."
Lu Ming also smiled. "Count in. Now soone can give an allowance."
Lin Chu glanced at them and smiled.
’They’ve spent more ti with , after all. They trust enough.’
Just then, Zhang Peng suddenly walked over quickly. He glanced at Lin Chu, then at Liu Junfeng, gritted his teeth, and said calmly, "Brother Feng, what you just did... that wasn’t cool."
"What do you an?"
"It’s President Lin’s housewarming. Everyone’s eating, drinking, and having a good ti. Even if you wanted to talk business, did you have to bring it up now? Of course, you’re a big brother too, so I’ll give you face. But I just have to say, the way you handled this was a bit crude. Don’t you think?"
Zhang Peng felt that this dirty work of offending soone had to be done by him.
’To hell with so-called friends or big brothers. In my heart, there’s only Brother Chu.’
’While these people are busy with their sches, Brother Chu’s status prevents him from saying anything too harsh, but I have to say it.’
Zhang Peng felt that Liu Junfeng was the main one stirring the pot. ’You want to get rich, and you want to do it with your dignity intact? Who the hell do you think you are?’
Liu Junfeng was a bit stunned by the question, and a flash of embarrassnt appeared in his eyes.
’Everyone was weighing the situation in their minds.’
He had wanted to handle this matter gracefully, but he hadn’t expected Lin Chu’s little brother to call him out in the most ungraceful way possible.
Lin Chu smiled again.
"Alright, Pengzi, have you had too much to drink? Go wash your face and sober up."
Zhang Peng nodded and headed inside.
’My objective has been achieved.’
’The rest is up to Brother Chu to smooth things over.’
Liu Junfeng took a deep breath, looked at Lin Chu, and laughed. "Heh, I’ve had too much. My bad, my bad. Goddammit, I’ve just been driven crazy by being broke lately, you know? When our buddy cos back out, I’ll have a drink with him."
Lin Chu gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. He didn’t say anything, just smiled, raised his glass, and clinked it against Liu Junfeng’s.
In that mont...
Lin Chu felt as if he could hear music in his ears. The the from *The Godfather*.
...
...
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