Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Two hours later, the car exited the highway, crossed the Dongjin Crossing Bridge, and headed toward the old district.

They dropped Meng Jie off at her home along the way, and Wang Zihao got out on Chessboard Street.

Chen Yansen got back into the driver’s seat, drove along North Street, and finally parked in front of the National Guest Bookstore.

The students were on winter break, so the bookstore was as cold and deserted as the weather.

Chen Guobin was engrossed in a novel as thick as a brick.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Chen Yansen honked the horn twice and flashed his high beams at Chen Guobin.

"Damn it! Think you’re hot stuff in that piece of junk car?" Chen Guobin shielded his eyes, grumbling as he tossed the novel aside and walked outside.

He was about to start cursing when the BMW’s window rolled down, revealing a roguish, smiling face—his own rascal of a son.

"Your mother... If she knew her son was so successful, she’d probably wake up laughing every day." Chen Guobin swallowed the second half of his curse and sighed.

"Lao Chen, you weren’t so bad yourself back in the day. That big Jinbei van you had in the nineties was pretty damn cool, too," Chen Yansen said with a grin, teasingly pointing at the dilapidated van by the entrance.

The only thing on that van that didn’t make a noise was the horn.

"Alright, you head home first. I still need a while to close up," Chen Guobin said, rolling his eyes and waving him off.

"All the students are on break. Who are you waiting for, ghosts? Close up. I’m taking you out for a big meal. We’ll call it an early Little New Year celebration," Chen Yansen said impatiently.

The National Guest Bookstore was located near the school, which had its clear pros and cons. As soon as the holidays started, the storefront became so deserted that not even a sparrow would visit.

Chen Guobin glanced around. It was true; the streets were eerily quiet, without so much as a barking dog. That, combined with the mention of the "Little New Year," made him nod in agreement.

He turned back to the front of the bookstore and began organizing magazines, newspapers, and textbooks, stacking them into boxes and carrying them inside. He had been doing this same repetitive, tedious work for twenty years.

Chen Yansen watched for a moment, then got out of the car to help.

"Just sit over there and rest. You’re so clumsy, you’ll mess up my books," Chen Guobin said dismissively, not appreciating the gesture.

Chen Yansen, who was holding a couple of books, casually tossed them aside at his father’s words.

After playing the part of the good son for just a few minutes, he lost his patience. He pulled out his phone and started chatting with Meng Jie and Song Yuncheng.

’If the old man loves to keep busy, then let him do it all himself.’

About an hour later, Chen Guobin pulled down the rolling shutter door and said to Chen Yansen, "Let’s go."

Chen Yansen put his phone away, nodded, and got into the driver’s seat.

"Ju Hongsheng or Chunshen Building?"

Chen Yansen waited until Chen Guobin had fastened his seatbelt before asking.

Both were old, established local restaurants that had been open for decades. Their food suited the local palate, and everyone loved going there.

"Any old food stall will do," Chen Guobin muttered under his breath.

"Forget it. We’ll go to Chunshen Building," Chen Yansen decided directly, driving toward the outskirts of the city.

Chen Guobin didn’t say anything, but inwardly, he was very pleased. For one, Chen Yansen was much more mature than he had been in high school. For another, his son’s filial piety warmed his heart.

As for Chen Yansen always calling him ’Lao Chen,’ he had gotten used to that long ago.

With the New Year approaching, when Chen Yansen arrived at the restaurant, the waiter told them all the private rooms were booked. The main dining hall, however, was noisy and chaotic.

Seeing Chen Yansen frown, Chen Guobin said softly, "The main hall is fine."

"Find a private room for me. My bill won’t be less than double your minimum charge."

Chen Yansen knew all about the restaurant industry’s unwritten rules. Saying there were no private rooms was just a way of sizing up customers, afraid their low spending would hurt business.

"Right away, sirs. This way, please." The waiter’s attitude changed in an instant, as if he were a different person.

"..." Chen Guobin looked at the waiter, then back at his son. It was only then that he truly understood the meaning of the saying, "money makes the world go ’round."

Once the father and son were in the private room, Chen Yansen went on an ordering spree, picking a mix of meat and vegetable dishes, specifically choosing the most expensive ones. Just three or four dishes already surpassed the room’s minimum charge threefold.

This was the first time in his life he had ever treated Lao Chen to a meal.

Chen Guobin wanted to advise him against it, but one look at Chen Yansen’s demeanor and he knew: the kid didn’t listen to him before, and he certainly wouldn’t start now.

"And a bottle of Moutai," Chen Yansen said to the waiter.

It wasn’t that he wanted to drink, but Lao Chen had never tried it before. He considered it a treat for the old man.

"You’re driving. It’s not right to drink," Chen Guobin said, shaking his head in refusal.

"It’s fine. We can just call a designated driver," Chen Yansen said nonchalantly, cutting off any of Lao Chen’s excuses.

After the waiter left, the two looked at each other, neither saying a word.

After a long silence, Chen Guobin suddenly said, "Your third uncle came to see me last month. He wants you to visit your grandpa and grandma for the New Year."

"Did you agree?" Chen Yansen asked, picking up his teacup and taking a sip.

"No. I said it’s your decision," Chen Guobin said in a low voice.

"Lao Chen, it’s not that I’m heartless. I still remember all the mockery and scorn from when you took me to Grandpa’s house as a kid. They can’t possibly think I’ve forgotten it all just because I was young, can they?"

Chen Yansen snorted. His meaning was clear: Not going!

"Sigh... Alright. I’ll make it clear to your third uncle next time." Chen Guobin knew how the Liang Family operated.

They wanted to get close to him now simply because they’d heard Chen Yansen had made a lot of money with his startup. They were just using the New Year’s visit as an excuse to get something out of him.

"Let’s talk about you. You’re only forty-one this year. Are you really not planning to find someone else? I have no interest in taking care of you in your old age. You need to find a wife and be self-sufficient."

Chen Yansen spoke with the air of a world-weary elder, as if he were lecturing his own son.

"I really have no plans for that." Chen Guobin’s eyes widened. After a dozen seconds, he sighed and said in a muffled voice.

"Well, I’m not taking care of you when you’re old, then," Chen Yansen said with a sly grin, completely ignoring Chen Guobin’s feelings.

"I have my own money! I don’t need you to take care of me!" Chen Guobin snorted.

After that, the two fell into silence again.

They had grown accustomed to this dynamic over the past ten-plus years.

The food and wine arrived. They tentatively clinked their glasses. After a few drinks, Chen Guobin finally began to relax a little.

"That girl you mentioned last time, does she go to the same university as you?" Chen Guobin asked with a smile, slightly flushed from the alcohol.

"Yep. Her dad’s the president of the Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Bank, and her mom’s an English teacher at the Experimental Primary School. She’s an only child, so all her family’s assets will be mine someday."

Chen Yansen said it casually.

"You’re not just after the girl, you’re after her family fortune too?" Chen Guobin was both exasperated and amused. He couldn’t believe this... thing was his own son.

"What else? Should I learn from you?" Chen Yansen retorted.

Chen Guobin had three brothers-in-law. Two of them couldn’t stand him. Only the youngest brother-in-law was willing to associate with him, and that was only because he had been close to Liang Hui Zhen.

His father-in-law treated him worse than his own dog.

"By the way, did you buy those apartments in the Salt Company’s staff building like I told you?" Seeing Lao Chen looking downcast, Chen Yansen quickly changed the subject.

"I bought two. If they really get demolished, I’ll..." Chen Guobin’s voice trailed off.

It was then that he realized, with the speed at which Chen Yansen was making money now, he didn’t need him to prepare a marital home at all.

This shameless kid was after the girl and her family’s fortune; he didn’t need him to worry about buying a house.

"Buy a dozen more. If you don’t have enough money, I’ll lend it to you. After the demolition, you can go to Chunshen Commercial Street and buy a few storefronts to collect rent."

In just a few sentences, Chen Yansen had planned out Chen Guobin’s entire retirement.

"We’ll see." Chen Guobin couldn’t bring himself to use Chen Yansen’s money. Even if it was a loan, he couldn’t ask.

Chen Yansen smiled. ’This is why Lao Chen has been poor his whole life,’ he thought. ’He can’t even seize an opportunity to make money when it’s handed to him. Too thin-skinned, too much of a conscience.’

Chen Yansen understood. He decided not to push Lao Chen and planned to find an agent later to get it done himself.

They drank and chatted, their dynamic more like friends or buddies than father and son.

"I’m going to the restroom," Lao Chen said, standing up unsteadily with a squinting smile.

Chen Yansen acknowledged him and opened a picture Meng Jie had sent. It was a photo of her family of three, with a table full of home-cooked dishes. ’Looks like she’s a good cook,’ he thought, and replied, "Our mom’s cooking is amazing. Can I come over for a free meal tomorrow?"

"Mom, Chen Yansen said your cooking is amazing and he wants to come over to eat," Meng Jie relayed honestly, not thinking too much of it. Chen Yansen’s use of "our mom" made her cheeks blush crimson.

"Huh!?" Meng Jie’s mother, Zhang Yan Ni, was taken aback and exchanged a look with Meng Zhen Country.

"Isn’t this a bit too soon?" Zhang Yan Ni said. She knew of Chen Yansen and had heard from her daughter about his accomplishments at the university.

He’d built a company with a 2.8 billion valuation as a freshman. He was certainly outstanding, and she didn’t object to them dating.

But meeting the parents this early was still hard for her to accept.

"The kid’s just teasing you. If you actually invite him, he’ll definitely make up an excuse to get out of it," Meng Zhen Country said with a purse of his lips, his tone certain.

"Okay, my mom said she’ll go to the market first thing tomorrow to prepare a few of her specialties for you." Hearing her father’s words, Meng Jie felt a little defiant and decided to test Chen Yansen.

"Tomorrow? What a coincidence. My mom visited me in a dream and said she’s short on cash down below, so I have to burn some for her." Chen Yansen replied in a second.

"See? I told you. That kid’s like a reincarnated fox spirit, just full of nonsense." Meng Zhen Country pointed at the message, wearing an I-told-you-so expression, as if he were a god of prophecy.

"How about the day after tomorrow, at noon?" Chen Yansen sent another message.

Meng Jie held up her phone, waving it in front of Meng Zhen Country’s face. She pouted and said, "Dad, you guessed wrong!"

Meng Zhen Country’s eyes went wide. ’Why doesn’t this kid play by the rules?’ he cursed inwardly. He really didn’t want to host Chen Yansen.

「Meanwhile.」

Chen Yansen waited in the private room for a long time, but Chen Guobin still hadn’t returned. He began to wonder, ’Don’t tell me Lao Chen drank too much and fell asleep in the bathroom?’

At that thought, he got up, left the room, and headed toward the restrooms.

He had only taken a few steps when he saw Chen Guobin arguing with a man in his fifties, both of their faces red with anger.

"Lao Chen, what’s going on?" Chen Yansen stepped forward, pushed aside the man arguing with Lao Chen, and looked at his father.

"Look at this kid you raised! He has no manners at all! Doesn’t even greet his own Eldest Uncle when he sees him," Liang Anguo cursed, pointing at Chen Guobin’s nose.

Eldest Uncle?

Chen Yansen turned to look at him and grinned. "Mr. Liang, you’re in the supermarket business, right? Believe it or not, I could open another one right across from yours and run you out of business."

’Eldest Uncle, my ass!’

Chen Yansen wasn’t about to give him any face!

"You brat, you dare!" Liang Anguo clutched his chest, furious. He pointed at Chen Yansen, wanting to unleash a torrent of curses but not daring to.

He had heard that Chen Yansen made big money in the internet business, dealing in units of hundreds of millions. His little supermarket couldn’t withstand that kind of assault.

"Get lost!" Chen Yansen swore, not forgetting to add a warning. "Show my dad some respect next time you see him. Otherwise, I don’t mind spending a few tens of millions to swallow up your entire family business."

Liang Anguo hadn’t expected Chen Yansen to be so merciless. His face went pale, and he stood frozen on the spot, at a loss.

Chen Yansen pulled Chen Guobin back to the private room. He couldn’t be bothered to deal with the Liang Family.

"Sigh... He is your Eldest Uncle, after all," Chen Guobin sighed.

"Next time, have some backbone. If someone points a finger at you and curses, you hit them back. I’ll cover for you," Chen Yansen lectured.

"You rascal! I’m not a child anymore. At my age, you want me to get into fights?" Chen Guobin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He raised his glass, his eyes turning red. He was clearly thinking of his wife again.

Chen Yansen gave a carefree laugh and thought, ’Even if I met a girl like Mom, it wouldn’t stop me from falling in love with other girls.’

’A lifetime is so long. Loving only one person... what a damn waste!’

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Yansen called a designated driver to take the car back to the Salt Company’s family housing complex.

The neighbors saw the BMW downstairs and started gossiping about whose car it was.

It wasn’t until they saw Chen Yansen helping Chen Guobin upstairs that they were sure: the news hadn’t been wrong. Lao Chen’s son had really made it big.

「Room 401.」

Lying in bed, Chen Yansen opened a news link forwarded by his contact. The headline was stark: "Internal Purge at Amazon, Former Channel Director Zhang Hanhua Detained."

"President Zhang, it looks like you won’t have to worry about room and board for a while. When you get out in five years, you’ll even have a new skill to support a family. Don’t thank me too much."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and muttered to himself.

Whether he was actually behind the counterfeit liquor incident didn’t matter anymore.

That was just how Chen Yansen operated. Once he became suspicious of someone, it didn’t matter if they were truly guilty or not. He’d treat them as if they were and crush them completely.