Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

I'm rich, I'm rich, how should I spend it?

Before heading back, Chen Pingsheng gazed at the Pudong New Area for a long time, and, in the end, decided to buy a headquarters building there.

To prepare for the future invasion of Lilujiao Coffee, Tenghui Department Store, and Tengsheng Fresh Food into the Magic City.

In the Pudong New Area, those towering skyscrapers symbolize the titans of various industries.

Without absolute power, who could afford to buy here?

He no longer invested in real estate, yet had a special affection for skyscrapers in first-tier cities.

The root cause might still be primal ambition.

When Chen Pingsheng went to the Pudong New Area to look at buildings, he also called Tong Zelan.

To ask her to join him in viewing them.

Those who can develop skyscrapers in this area are basically the top real estate developers.

People like Xiangjiang's Li Ka-shing own their own skyscrapers here.

Tong Zelan came to accompany him, mainly because she was very familiar with the area.

She also knew the developers here.

News of the skyscrapers for sale was actually quite conspicuous.

Chen Pingsheng fancied a square, top-tier skyscraper.
Find exclusive stories on empire

The exterior of the building might not seem extraordinary, but its prestigious location spoke volumes of its noble origin.

It had a total of 22 floors, with an overall area of 56,000 square meters.

The price tag was a steep 1.68 billion.

Tong Zelan arranged a meeting with the developers' boss to discuss the price.

In the end, over the course of a meal, they slashed the price to 1.58 billion.

One small target cheaper, but requiring full payment.

It was half more expensive than the headquarters building in Capital City.

Which was perfectly normal, given it had four more floors,

and, crucially, its location was second to none.

To buy a skyscraper in this place without tens of billions was unthinkable.

Poor thing, his wife fancied a small headquarters building worth half a billion, yet hesitated to buy it; he himself casually spent sixteen billion.

No matter.

Setting aside how the companies would fare once moved in,

this building alone had a highly promising future market value.

Chen Pingsheng signed the contract and paid in full.

There was no point in owing the bank and paying in installments.

After all, a 1.6 billion purchase would end up costing an extra seven or eight billion in interest alone.

Isn't it better to save that money and earn it yourself?

He notified Chu Qiuyan that her Bobo Milk Tea should move in first.

Now that they were a publicly-listed company, renting a few floors in a small building seemed quite discreditable.

This building, just like the one in Capital City, was constructed to meet ultra Grade-A office standards.

It was move-in ready for office use.

A small Bobo Milk Tea, of course, couldn't monopolize an entire skyscraper.

Just like in Capital City, have a reception hall on the first floor.

Floors two to six for the headquarters of Bobo Milk Tea, accommodating two thousand employees at the same time—completely sufficient.

Hang a Bobo Milk Tea sign on the rooftop, and the stock price might well go up quite a bit.

That's called momentum.

The seventh floor would house a gym for employees, as well as an entertainment hall.

The eighth was designated for the employee canteen.

From the ninth to the eleventh floor, Tenghui Department Store.

The twelfth to the seventeenth floor, Lilujiao Coffee.

Allocating six floors for the new headquarters of Lilujiao Coffee also showed his dedication to this new brand.

The eighteenth and nineteenth floors were for Tengsheng Fresh Food's headquarters.

No need to move all the fresh food departments here, just some core ones like finance and procurement.

The top three floors were reserved for his Tenghui Capital and Tengying Entertainment.

While Tengying Entertainment had its headquarters in Capital City, these two floors in Magic City were just a branch office.

When others buy a skyscraper, they usually hang the plaque of just one company.

His building clearly had a few more names on it.

This was quite normal; after all, without several hundred billion in valuation, who has the strength to buy headquarters in such a location?

Being able to fill a skyscraper with his own companies was already a symbol of strength.

From there on, he would just charge rent to his own companies.

All companies that moved here had to pay him rent.

He solely owned the building, but not 100% of those companies.

For example, Tengying Entertainment was only at 60% at the moment.

Chen Pingsheng was clear about the distinction.

Beyond the skyscraper, he spent another 1.2 billion for a luxurious, top-floor apartment spanning over 500 square meters in the area.

Although the little house on The Bund was nice,

it couldn't accommodate his family if they all came over; he needed a spacious apartment.

Living in a luxurious 500-square-meter apartment was very comfortable.

He wouldn't live there when alone; it was reserved for when the family visited.

Can you imagine living alone in such a big house? The loneliness can be truly frightening.

So,

when he was alone, he would stay in the smaller and cozier house on The Bund.

With an actual area of 180 square meters, it was not small at all.

Consider this: people earning a hundred thousand a month here can't afford a house like that in their lifetimes.

Don't think that's an exaggeration—full payment for his was 28 million.

If you were to buy on installments, a 30% down payment would still be at least 8 million.

Then slowly pay off the rest; with current interest rates at five or six percent, 20 million over 30 years would be 40 million.

A hundred thousand a month is not too shabby, but a house like this would take 47 years to pay off without eating or drinking.

Does that sound magical?

Sometimes Chen Pingsheng himself found it quite magical.

Back in elementary school, teachers would often say that with good grades, an annual salary of a hundred thousand was not a dream.

Well, an annual salary of a hundred thousand would take 470 years to pay off—without eating or drinking.

So you see, living in the heart of Magic City with a monthly salary of a hundred thousand still means crying poor.

Unless you don't buy a house.