Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 440 - 358: Tormenting Shen Qingning Again

Chapter 440: Chapter 358: Tormenting Shen Qingning Again

Yun Province, Shen Minglang was holding his mobile phone with the speakerphone on.

A breeze blew by, and his hair became increasingly disheveled in the wind.

"Damn it, I originally thought that the meeting with Tiancheng Capital, where my cousin was a minute late and had to add a hundred million, must be the pinnacle of his grandstanding."

"Little did I expect, little did I expect, you’ve pulled this shi*t again today!"

"Pulin Capital is offering you 1.6 billion, and you’re still not eager to agree!"

"Alright, alright, alright!"

"Performing like this even before someone as big as Yue Dongyi, I really underestimated you, cousin!"

Shen Qingning, listening at the side, couldn’t help but picture Cheng Zhu’s unabashed face.

For some reason, she almost managed to mentally sketch out his expression at that time.

"But cousin, didn’t you say that we needed to burn a billion at the baseline in 2015?" Shen Minglang was somewhat puzzled.

If the cash on hand was too tight, it would be hard to function later on; it always felt like being tied hand and foot.

No matter what, you’ve got to have some surplus, right?

"The money doesn’t necessarily have to come from Pulin Capital." Cheng Zhu chuckled.

He hinted enough without saying more.

After all, Shen Minglang’s say in front of Mr. Shen was practically nil, so discussing with him was meaningless.

On the contrary, due to his image as a wastrel deeply rooted in people’s hearts, repeatedly offering advice to his own ’emperor father’ was likely to backfire.

"This matter, Uncle Shen has to mull over it himself," was what Cheng Zhu was thinking.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Minglang was still in a state of immense excitement.

"Holy shi*t, Pulin Capital! Pulin Capital investing a billion!" He was completely fired up.

These past few days had been quite tiring for Shen Minglang, he had been on the move all day.

when had Mr. Shen ever endured such hardship?

But now, he felt no weariness at all, only an overflowing urge to press on.

The investment from Pulin Capital wasn’t just a matter of money; it also represented a form of recognition!

It wasn’t just material satisfaction but also spiritual satisfaction.

For Shen Minglang, who had faced setbacks in entrepreneurship over the years, this was particularly hard to come by.

Even if he wasn’t steering the ship at Youu Tea, this feeling of shared glory was indeed exhilarating!

Moreover, Cheng Zhu had already repeatedly emphasized the importance of the supply chain, so Shen Minglang firmly believed that he was doing something both great and significant!

You know, it really did feel quite fulfilling!

Shen Qingning, watching her brother from the side, also felt quite moved.

She had always been worried about her big brother, who tended to fool around.

"It seems that after working with Cheng Zhu, he seems to have changed a bit?" Shen Qingning thought to herself.

However, the next moment...

"Cousin! How should I brag about this to the people around me in a way that is really grandstanding?" Shen Minglang humbly sought advice.

Shen Qingning: "..."

Alright, some things had changed, but other aspects had gotten even worse.

What made her speechless was that Cheng Zhu actually gave advice.

"Please, this is the first round of financing and we’ve secured a billion. Anyone with a bit of business sense should know what that signifies, so, you could only allude to this matter indirectly," Cheng Zhu said.

"The specific process should definitely be completed this week, I’ve already arranged with Mr. Yue of Pulin Capital, and the news will be released next Monday."

"So, all you need to do is to tell them in advance..."

Cheng Zhu spoke with an indifferent tone: "Remember to watch the news on Monday."

Upon hearing this, Shen Minglang gasped.

"Right, right, right! No need to show off ourselves, the news will do it for us!" He immediately entered an excited mode again.

What a rush, this round is absolutely thrilling!

In comparison, making them check the Weibo trending rank of [Youu Tea] during the dinner was just small-time bragging!

Alright, alright, this is how it should be done.

Shen Qingning, listening to the "immature" conversation between these two men, found herself both laughing and crying at the absurdity.

It wasn’t until Cheng Zhu hung up the phone that she suddenly realized something and turned into a figurative Qingningg, with a heart full of sourness and bitterness.

Her brother had told him, "I also came to Southern Province." Qingning thought to herself with tight lips.

But whether it was Cheng Zhu’s previous communications with Shen Minglang or the content of the conversation just now, he had never once mentioned Shen Qingning...

...

...

Hang City, the Shen’s Villa.

The young stepmother, Wang Yushan, sat in the living room, where her newly bought vase and a bunch of fresh flowers adorned the coffee table.

She was recently learning floral arrangement, finding it quite interesting and enjoying herself.

The spacious villa felt rather deserted these past days with just her and the housekeeper there, so she needed to find something to do.

But today was different.

Today, Shen Guoqiang, the head of the Shen family, just back from a business trip, was coming home for dinner.

Speaking of which, there indeed was a bit of discordance when putting their names together, no wonder Shen Minglang would say to his stepmother who was only two years his senior:

"Your name is Wang Yushan, my dad’s name is Shen Guoqiang, do you think your names look like a couple when put together?"

Little did he know Wang Yushan was thinking, "What couple or not, he’s away from home more than 200 days a year; it’s like I’m living in widowhood."

This woman had one thing going for her: a good disposition. No matter how foul-mouthed Shen Minglang was, she never got angry.

She had the advantage in seniority, so she let it slide on verbal issues.

At the moment, Wang Yushan was humming a tune while fiddling with the fresh flowers in her hands.

She wanted to impress her husband with her new skill when he returned home.

Unfortunately, in the end... the result was too embarrassing to display in the living room.

"No way, is the video tutorial a scam?" Wang Yushan wondered.

She clearly remembered learning it!

At 5:30 PM, a Rolls-Royce Ghost appeared outside the garage of Shen’s Villa.

Shen Guoqiang got out of the car first while the driver began to reverse into the garage.

The design of the Rolls-Royce is a bit problematic, with its rear door opening the opposite way to the norm, termed the coach door.

If there’s not enough space to fully open the door upon exiting, the maneuver looks awkward rather than grand.

—This must be the main reason why most people don’t buy a Rolls-Royce, right?

For someone like Shen Guoqiang who has a driver, these issues don’t apply.

Shen Guoqiang, now in his fifties, had maintained his appearance quite well.

For middle-aged men, as long as you don’t get too overweight, the greasiness decreases significantly.

Standing amongst his generation at a full 1.8 meters tall, Shen Guoqiang was definitely considered tall.

Shen Qingning’s height could be attributed to her father’s genes.

As he walked into the house, Wang Yushan wanted to greet him but saw that he was busy on a call, so she held back.

The call went on for a while, continuing even as he sat at the dinner table.

When he finally hung up, Wang Yushan stood up to serve him a bowl of soup.

"Has Ningning not returned yet?" Shen Guoqiang asked, accepting the bowl.

"Hmm, how could she be back so soon," replied Wang Yushan. "If she’s coming back, she’ll surely be with your son."

At the mention of Shen Minglang, Shen Guoqiang’s brow slightly furrowed, put down the bowl with lotus root soup and said, "I don’t know what he’s messing around with every day; this time he even dragged Ningning along."

"It always seems to me that Ningning actually wanted to go; she seems to be taking it quite seriously," Wang Yushan said.

"Taking what seriously? That milk tea shop?" Shen Guoqiang glanced at her quizzically.

"Yes, that’s right."

"Well, I also heard from Jiang and the others that this Youu Tea is doing exceptionally well, boosting customer traffic in our Star City mall." Jiang was one of the other major shareholders of Star City.

"Yes, who would have thought a milk tea shop could have such an effect?" Since Wang Yushan was in charge of the Star City project, she was the most qualified to speak.

She continued, "But you see, after people queue up and buy the milk tea, there’s quite a while before it’s ready, so many likely wander around the mall."

"This certainly does benefit the mall."

Shen Guoqiang nodded slightly, then remarked, "Deciding to bring this shop to Star City was the right decision by you and Ningning."

He then changed the subject, "But Youu Tea is still in its infancy of small ventures."

How much can one shop really make?

To Shen Guoqiang, Youu Tea really was just a minor operation.

And what was Shen Minglang up to?

Stubbornly refusing to work at the family company and take over the family business, he would rather follow his friend around and be an assistant to a university student younger than him!

This seemed like a very rebellious and foolish act to Shen Guoqiang.

Of course, compared to the previous entrepreneurial failures of this profligate son, his current foolishness had slightly decreased.

"I had hoped that letting him stumble on his own for a while would mature him, but it seems I was wrong, he’s still so unsteady and brainless," Shen Guoqiang lamented.

"Er, isn’t that a good thing? I called Ningning last night, and she said that Shen Minglang is now very motivated and has become practical," Wang Yushan voiced.

"If he had any brains, he would know the most important thing he should be doing isn’t running around China being someone else’s subordinate, but coming home to ask me for money!" Shen Guoqiang frowned, with more authority.

Clearly, some of Shen Qingning’s demeanor stemmed from him.

"Ask you for money?" Wang Yushan was taken aback.

"What do you think Youu Tea needs the most right now? Money! They’re short of money and need a lot of it!" He tapped lightly on the tabletop.

"Why do I say that milk tea shop is just small-time now? It’s because despite its current popularity, without enough funding, it simply can’t succeed long-term! It will only be a flash in the pan, benefiting someone else in the end," Shen Guoqiang elaborated.

"You’re telling me this, but I don’t understand much..." Wang Yushan served him food, saying, "Should I call them, tell them to come home, and hint to him to ask you?"

"No need, let him mess around in Yun Province," Shen Guoqiang waved a hand.

"I’m just informing you of Youu Tea’s current situation and needs." He stated, "Running such a project isn’t something ordinary people can handle."

"Even if he asks me for money, I won’t give it to him," Shen Guoqiang declared indifferently.

...

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