After Wang Zhefei arrived, he caught everyone’s attention for a moment, 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 came 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 me, I still haven’t collected the six million owed from that government project. It’s been two years, and they’re still dragging their feet. Now they want me 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 commercial 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 me? My wife divorced me and took three of my properties. I wanted to kill someone."

This comment 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 remembered correctly, his name was Dongzi.

"Dongzi, don’t talk about that. You were a fucking idiot. Who else can you blame?"

"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?"

Someone next to him teased with a laugh.

It was only then that Lin Chu confirmed 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 me back then. My dad said if I didn’t get married, he’d kick me out. He’d give me five thousand yuan a month and leave me 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 met for a second before they both looked away.

In this circle, Lu Ming was the same 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 time like this. When men 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 moment to jump in with a smile. "Hey, hey, hey, fellas, let me say it again: get a prenup before you get married. Come to me. 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 time."

Although they were all laughing while talking about these things, Lin Chu felt the atmosphere had become a little strange.

The strangeness mainly stemmed from the topic the men were discussing, which seemed to be making the few women 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 something 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 something. 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 me, 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 scheme, 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 method of filtering was crude, it was highly effective.

Liu Junfeng knew how to seize the moment, 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 summed up in one sentence: If you don’t trust me, 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 mean?

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 method really did sound too much like a Ponzi scheme, 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 plume of smoke. "I can’t reveal anything. I can lead you all to make money, no problem. But first, you have to trust me. Without that, let’s not even talk about it. Isn’t it fun enough for everyone to just eat, drink, and have a good time?"

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 moment, Wang Zhefei grinningly threw his arm around Lin Chu’s neck and chimed in, "Count me in! I’ll put up a house to join! Brother, Foster Father, carry me 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 me?"

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 me just say something. 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 me in. Now someone can give me an allowance."

Lin Chu glanced at them and smiled.

’They’ve spent more time with me, after all. They trust me 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 mean?"

"It’s President Lin’s housewarming. Everyone’s eating, drinking, and having a good time. 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 someone 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 schemes, 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 embarrassment 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 comes 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 moment...

Lin Chu felt as if he could hear music in his ears. The theme from *The Godfather*.

...

...