513: Chapter 513 The Survivor is King

“Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~”

The two stood at the door of 1201, Junyue Mansion, Building A, and rang the doorbell.

All the way there, Xiao Ye couldn't figure out why Chen Cheng wanted to buy a ranch for Anna.

She might be a bit ditzy, but she wasn't stupid.

150 million dollars—that’s a billion right there.

The amount was so large that it made Xiao Ye feel like this wasn't just some simple matter of holding assets on someone else's behalf.

“Coming~” Xu Huanshan, who was sitting on the sofa playing with his son, stood up and walked quickly to the entryway upon hearing the doorbell.

Passing by the dining room, Gu Jia, who was busy at the island counter, looked up.

“Chen Cheng?”

Xu Huanshan nodded in response, “At this time, it should be him.” He walked quickly to the entryway to open the door.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Chen Cheng standing at the doorway with Xiao Ye.

Xu Huanshan was all smiles and very enthusiastic, his gaze sweeping over Chen Cheng's face before glancing at Xiao Ye.

“You’re here~”

Chen Cheng also smiled brightly, “I didn't prepare any gifts for the visit, so I just grabbed a bottle of red wine from my wine cabinet. Let's see if Gu Jia likes it.”

Xiao Ye also greeted him, “Mr. Xu~”

Xu Huanshan ushered the two inside while getting slippers for them.

“Please, come in, come in.”

Xu Huanshan glanced at the logo on the bottle, his mouth stretching ear to ear.

He reached out to take the red wine Chen Cheng handed him and politely added, “You shouldn't have brought a gift just for coming over.”

“Honey, look what Old Chen brought.” Before even entering the living room, Xu Huanshan called out to Gu Jia.

Walking into the living room, Chen Cheng and Xiao Ye greeted Gu Jia with bright smiles.

“Gu Jia~”

Gu Jia looked at Chen Cheng with an unnatural expression, “Oh~ you're here,” she said, averting her eyes the moment they met.

She reached out to take the red wine Xu Huanshan handed her, didn't look at it carefully, gave it a quick glance, and handed it back to Xu Huanshan.

She forced a smile and looked at Xiao Ye, “Xiao Ye, please sit. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Seeing that she hadn't looked at it carefully, Xu Huanshan was a bit displeased, but he still ushered Chen Cheng and Xiao Ye to sit at the dining table.

With the integrated kitchen and dining design, there was only a walkway between the dining room and the Western-style island counter.

Sitting in the dining room made it very convenient to chat with whoever was busy at the island counter.

Xu Huanshan stood in front of the island counter and raised his eyebrows at Gu Jia, “Take a closer look.”

Only then did Gu Jia look closely at the bottle of wine. Her eyes widened immediately, and she whispered to Xu Huanshan:

“A '99 Petrus? That must be over thirty thousand, right?”

Xu Huanshan couldn't hide the smile on his face and nodded gently.

Gu Jia looked up at Chen Cheng, “Chen Cheng, this is too expensive.”

Chen Cheng chuckled, “It's not for you, why are you so excited?”

Gu Jia no longer called him “Chairman Chen” or “Mr. Chen.” Perhaps she hadn't even realized it herself.

As soon as he said that, Gu Jia felt embarrassed.

“Hahaha~~”

Xu Huanshan laughed out loud.

He was satisfied.

Gu Jia glared angrily at Xu Huanshan, and he immediately stifled his laughter.

Gu Jia was satisfied and gave Chen Cheng a defiant look.

The corners of Chen Cheng's mouth curled up. Keep lecturing your son; Xu Huanshan will rebel sooner or later.

buddy is giving him a '99 Petrus today, and tomorrow a '97 UU will appear before him on its own.

Xiao Ye laughed and tried to smooth things over, “Gu Jia, don't listen to him, he's just teasing you.”

Gu Jia smiled and looked at Chen Cheng, “Thank you.”

Chen Cheng: “With our relationship, there's no need to be so polite.”

Huh?

Xu Huanshan paused for a moment, feeling like something was off.

He thought about it again; living upstairs and downstairs, there really didn't seem to be a need to be too polite.

So he didn't think about it anymore.

Hearing his words, a faint blush spread across Gu Jia's fair face. She gritted her teeth and cursed Scum Cheng under her breath, “Pervert!”

“Daddy~” Just then, Xu Ziyan walked over.

“Hey~” Xu Huanshan responded, then asked Xu Ziyan to greet Chen Cheng, “Son, this is Uncle Chen. You've met him before, do you remember?”

Xu Ziyan looked at Chen Cheng with a dazed expression, feeling like he had met him, but also like he hadn't.

Xu Huanshan touched his son's little face, “Say hello to Uncle Chen.”

Xu Ziyan said in his childish voice, “Hello, Uncle Chen~”

Chen Cheng smiled, “Hello, Ziyan~”

Xu Huanshan turned his head to introduce Xiao Ye to Xu Ziyan, “This is Auntie Xiao Ye.”

Xiao Ye was typically great with kids; seeing the child, she couldn't help but beam with a fond smile, “Little Ziyan, hello.”

“You are so cute.”

“Hee hee~” Xu Ziyan, having been complimented, curled his mouth into a crescent shape, “Thank you, Auntie~”

Chen Cheng glanced at the landscape feature on the island counter at the end of the dining table and started chatting with Xu Huanshan.

“Old Xu, your place is much cozier than mine.”

Chen Cheng pointed, “Having a waterfall feature on the dining table really creates a nice atmosphere.”

Xiao Ye nodded along.

“Ah,” Xu Huanshan said, feeling a bit embarrassed, “Gu Jia did all of this.”

“She said since we work with fireworks and fear fire the most, she put in a water feature to balance it out. That way, it can keep our family safe and sound.”

As he spoke, he looked at Gu Jia with a grin, “Don't you think she's superstitious?”

Chen Cheng pondered for a moment and nodded.

“It actually makes some sense.”

Although he didn't believe in these things, it did actually make some damn sense when put that way.

Once the conversation started, Xu Huanshan had a lot to say.

“Now that the label of 'environmental protection' has been slapped on, fireworks are being banned everywhere across the country. We can't even set them off during the Spring Festival.”

“Only some large amusement parks have the ability to get approval for fireworks displays.”

“But even those are becoming fewer and fewer.”

“By my estimation, regular weekend fireworks shows will be cancelled in the future, replaced by big ones on major holidays.”

“Our line of work is tough.”

The corners of Chen Cheng's mouth curled up. In two years, you'll probably have an even harder time.

Large amusement parks won't even be able to open their doors, let alone set off fireworks.

“In the current climate, every industry is struggling.”

“Only industries related to cutting-edge technology are on the rise, and those working in them are doing pretty well.”

“Others are just struggling to survive.”

As he spoke, Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, “Why haven't you considered doing drone shows?”

“The overlap between this industry and your current clients should be very high.”

“Doing this wouldn't even count as changing professions.”

Xu Huanshan nodded, “Gu Jia and I actually discussed it before.”

“But this industry is typically driven by minor technology. You don't own the drones; you don't even need to buy them. When there's an event, technicians program them, and you can just rent the machines to do it.”

Chen Cheng nodded; it was true.

If Xu Huanshan, a designer, were to do drone flight control programming, he definitely couldn't compete with those programmers.

If you can't master the core technology, your employees can leave at any time.

And it's not just them leaving; they'd also take some of the company's clients with them.

The fact that it only requires a small capital investment means there are many market participants, and the competition is fierce.

Chen Cheng smiled, “Then the only option is... survival of the fittest!”

Xu Huanshan nodded, a bright smile on his face. My buddy understands me.

“That's exactly what I mean.”

“It's impossible for the fireworks industry to disappear. The market size will just get smaller.”

“Only after a battle royale can the final winner be decided.”