The Surge

Song Yanxi always felt that Chen Pingsheng's idea of investing in a TV drama was unreliable.

To her, the entertainment industry was a high-end cultural sector, while they were just ordinary small business owners struggling to get by.

They didn't have much money to begin with, yet he had silently thrown five million into the entertainment industry. Forget about making a profit—just the sheer risk of it was terrifying.

The scale of the matter was so overwhelming that she momentarily forgot that her husband had never even managed the money from their fruit store before.

Where did he get millions from?

"Honey, what made you suddenly decide to invest in a TV drama?"

The couple was at home, helping little An An with her homework.

She was still at the stage of counting on her fingers to figure out if two plus two equaled four or five.

"It's mainly because Liying has been working so hard. She's always playing maid roles, which doesn't seem right."

"That's the reason?"

Song Yanxi shot him a suspicious look, as if saying that if he didn't give her a proper explanation, he wasn't getting on the bed tonight.

"Of course not."

Chen Pingsheng explained, "Look at what's happening online. There's this new ride-hailing app, Didi, and over in Hangzhou, Mr. Ma has invested in another one called Kuaidi. These startups have only been around for a few months, but each is already valued in the billions. Like Mr. Ma said, traffic is business."

"Now, we might not be able to compete with them, but we can still learn from them. Look at the big stars in the film industry—every single one of them is high-profile. They all walk around like they're worth billions, yet do you know how much the total domestic box office revenue was last year? Just 17 billion."

"Do you realize what that means? It means that the entire film industry's annual revenue isn't even comparable to a few years' worth of revenue from some startups. So, with such a limited market, why do these so-called big stars act so high and mighty?"

The conversation had veered so far that Song Yanxi took a moment to process it.

Mr. Ma? The film industry? Box office revenue?

In reality, Chen Pingsheng was just trying to make two points.

First, the rise of the mobile internet era.

Second, the entertainment industry wasn't actually that profitable.

Out of that 17 billion in box office revenue, only six to seven billion actually went to film companies after deducting theater shares.

It seemed like a lot, but that was the total for the entire country.

With so many film companies and actors sharing the pie, to real big capital players like Mr. Ma, this industry wasn't even worth their attention.

And yet, people still rushed to invest in entertainment.

Why?

Two reasons.

First, because the industry was full of beautiful women—no exaggeration, they were everywhere.

Second, because the industry controlled public visibility and media exposure.

He wasn't investing for the women; he was investing in public visibility.

With great confidence, Chen Pingsheng explained, "Wife, five million might seem like a lot, but what if we produce a B-list celebrity? Or better yet, if Liying becomes an A-list actress? Imagine how that would impact our fruit business—wherever we open a store, it'll instantly be popular!"

"People would be lining up to throw money at us to open franchises!"

This wasn't just wishful thinking—it was entirely possible.

It might sound like daydreaming, but what if it actually happened?

Song Yanxi, overwhelmed with excitement, quickly went to prepare the bed for the night.

Her delicate waist, her perfectly curved hips—she was practically inviting him to work extra hard.

Meanwhile, Zhao Liying had no idea she was already cast as the lead actress. She was still daydreaming about the day she'd finally land a main role.

---

The next day, when she arrived on set, Yang Jiancheng pulled her aside and told her something shocking.

He was officially becoming a director and producing his first self-funded TV series.

And—he wanted her to be the lead actress.

Zhao Liying was thrilled, yet also nervous.

"Director Yang, why did you choose me as the lead?"

It was a huge deal for both of them, so she couldn't help but feel anxious.

Yang Jiancheng chuckled, "Oh? You don't know yet? I thought he told you already. Pingsheng invested five million and personally insisted that you be the lead actress. If it's not you, then no one else."

"What?"

Zhao Liying was in disbelief.

When she first met Chen Pingsheng, she thought he was just another struggling migrant worker like her, grinding away in Beijing to make a living.

She still remembered how he took on triple shifts just to afford his moving expenses, braving wind and rain to earn every penny.

Later, he opened a fruit shop and became a business owner for the first time.

She could still recall how he felt that night—both excitement and hardship mixed together.

Then, he succeeded.

And now, he could casually invest millions to help a friend like her achieve her dreams.

She knew this wasn't just about making money.

He genuinely wanted to help her.

How could she not be grateful? This was the kind of kindness she would remember for a lifetime.

---

Back at their newly rented office.

A big "Tengsheng Fruits" sign now hung at the entrance, but the office was so empty that it felt like a waste of money.

His five fruit stores, even including partners like Liu Jing and Chen Hao, had fewer than fifty employees combined.

Now, they had an office space that could accommodate over a hundred people—definitely overkill.

Chen Pingsheng had no money left.

The second store's recharge event was scheduled for May 1st, with the other three stores following suit around the same time.

It wasn't until then that he could expect a major cash flow boost.

For now, it was time to negotiate with suppliers like Old Guo.

The goal was to standardize procurement and distribution, lowering costs and building a large-scale cold storage facility.

All five stores would be fully integrated into the headquarters' operations.

This would be just the first of many cold storage facilities.

The current one was specifically for the Beixinan area, with an initial investment target of one million.

It would be big enough to store a week's worth of stock for all five stores.

That was enough.

And he wouldn't even have to put up the money—Song Yanxi had over a million in cash flow at her disposal.

A fraction of that would cover the investment.

On April 3rd, they finalized the site and officially began construction of the cold storage facility.

To support this, Chen Pingsheng also proposed buying a massive 9.6-meter Dongfeng refrigerated truck for 280,000 yuan.

From now on, all inventory would be transported in bulk to their cold storage, then distributed to individual stores.

This strategy had clear advantages:

1. Lower procurement costs.

2. Reduced labor expenses and improved efficiency.

By the time these adjustments were made, Song Yanxi's cash flow was nearly drained.

And just like that, their humble fruit business had officially evolved from a single-store operation into a full-fledged retail chain.