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"Wait, how did you know?" Shen Chengyan was utterly astonished. He had never mentioned Fang Chang'an's name to his older brother. Realizing his words sounded suspicious, he quickly added, "I'm not admitting anything. I'm just curious who told you about Fang Chang'an."

Cheng Mengfei happened to come downstairs just then, overhearing him and laughing as she said, "Me. What's wrong?"

Shen Chengli laughed over the phone, "You don't want to tell me, so I have to find out what you're up to. Momo mentioned this classmate too."

"I originally thought he was just a clever child, but listening to you, he seems quite remarkable!"

Shen Chengyan shot a look at his wife, then settled onto the sofa, saying to his brother, "Well, now you know. I wasn't planning to hide it from you anyway; I just hadn't gotten around to mentioning it yet."

He quickly changed the subject, "By the way, there's something else. Do you think it's still worth buying Maotai stocks back?"

"Just hold onto them, don't rush... Wait, what?" Shen Chengli was giving his usual advice without thinking, then stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing, "You sold them?"

"Yeah, the prices dropped too sharply recently, so I thought I'd cut my losses early."

Shen Chengli sighed, "I've been busy lately, haven't paid much attention. Otherwise, I should have sold earlier and waited for the bottom—that way, we could've made a bit. But since we missed it, it's not a big deal."

"You didn't consult me, so I thought you were just keeping calm. Turns out you quietly sold them." Shen Chengli found it amusing. In recent years, Shen Chengyan had often acted out to rebel against his family's arrangements, so it wasn't surprising. He didn't take offense, instead laughed, "No matter, you can always buy them back. But you didn't sell all the stocks I recommended, did you?"

"No, just the ones that dropped too much."

"That's fine. You need some patience. You're grown up now; don't act like a child..." Shen Chengli started to lecture his younger brother, then suddenly caught himself, "If you sold them, why do you want to buy them back now?"

"Uh..." Shen Chengyan hesitated, unsure whether to preserve his dignity, but Shen Chengli immediately caught on, asking, "Don't tell me it's related to that kid again? He knows about stocks too?"

"Not really. He just thinks Maotai liquor will keep getting more expensive."

Since his brother had already guessed, Shen Chengyan didn't hesitate further, recounting what Fang Chang'an had said that day. During the conversation, it seemed Shen Chengli had arrived at his company; occasional greetings from others could be heard in the background.

When Shen Chengyan finished, Shen Chengli drew a sharp breath, clicking his tongue, "That boy... he's got something uncanny about him! I thought he was just a—"

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing the phrase sounded familiar, as if he'd just said it, so he cut himself off. "Tell me more details."

So Shen Chengyan shared everything he knew about Fang Chang'an. Shen Chengli listened, then pondered for several seconds before responding, "Keep an eye on him, guide him; this boy could grow up to be someone noteworthy."

He paused, then added, "But you never know. Children who mature too early often don’t achieve much later... Well, of course, who knows exactly how old he really is. In any case, help him if you can—do good by others; two or three decades from now, he might become a great asset to you."

Shen Chengyan's brows furrowed; he sighed, annoyed and helpless, "What I dislike most about you and Dad is this—the way you do everything so opportunistically. You don't need money, so why live so exhausted?"

"Fine." On the other end, Shen Chengli seemed about to say something, but refrained, finally sighing, "In the long run, when it comes to dealing with people, I really am not as good as you. Your sister-in-law said so the first time she visited our family, and at the time, I didn't quite accept it."

He laughed, "Alright, from now on, I'll learn from you."

Shen Chengyan was stunned. Shen Chengli was seven years older than him; when he first brought his now-wife Shumei home, Shen Chengyan had just started high school and was at the peak of his rebellious phase. He couldn't stand his parents or his brother, and even got into an argument with Shumei over some trivial matter he could no longer recall, causing an embarrassing scene. To this day, he still felt ashamed and guilty when he remembered it.

He never imagined Shumei had given him such high praise.

For a moment, Shen Chengyan didn’t know what to say. Shen Chengli sighed, "After thirty, you begin to appreciate the true meaning of the 'Cheng' character Dad gave us in our names. You're handling things well now, trust me. Quit your job if you want to; don’t avoid my calls or get emotional with Dad. Just focus and do your best."

Shen Chengyan was silent for a while before mumbling, "Brother..."

"Hmm?"

"I... I think I’d feel better if you just scolded me. I’m not used to you being like this."

"..."

Shen Chengli seemed caught off guard, paused for two seconds, then laughed and cursed, "You just need a good scolding! Alright, I’m hanging up. Got work."

"Don’t forget what I said!" Shen Chengyan hurriedly reminded him, then heard the call end. He put down the phone, reflecting on the conversation.

He’d left home early, hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. Cheng Mengfei helped the aunt bring over the dishes and said, "Eat first. What did your brother say?"

"Nothing much. I want to order some custom lunch boxes, and asked him to help."

Shen Chengyan reached for a steamed bun. Cheng Mengfei slapped his hand away, scolding, "Wash your hands first! Are you a child?"

He went to wash his hands, came back and sat down. She asked, "Why order lunch boxes?"

"I think the profit margin on the buns is too high, so I wanted to lower the price. Chang'an suggested instead of lowering prices, we should focus on health and hygiene. Get a batch of lunch boxes, number them, one for each person..."

He briefly recounted his conversation with Fang Chang'an. Cheng Mengfei nodded, "I agree. Who would do business if there's no profit? Chang'an sees things more clearly than you."

She sipped millet porridge, then asked, "Are you still going to the factory yourself?"

"Of course, otherwise how would I know what they’re making?"

Cheng Mengfei nodded, sighing, "Well, you’re not working now, so you have plenty of time."

"I’m actually busier than when I had a job! But it’s a comfortable kind of busy; look, my appetite’s even better."

Cheng Mengfei smiled and rolled her eyes at him, then mused, "Still, I can't help but feel... Chang'an is only twelve. Don’t spend all your time chatting with him; I’m counting on him to make me proud. What if his grades suffer?"

Shen Chengyan laughed, "I don’t have much left to do myself. But Momo says he barely pays attention in class, just learns on his own. Aren’t you worried?"

"I’ve talked to him. He says the teachers are too slow, and he learns better his own way. I can only wait and see."

Cheng Mengfei sighed. She wasn’t entirely happy about it, but Fang Chang'an spoke with such confidence and behaved so reliably, she decided to wait and see. "Let’s see after the unit exams. If his grades drop, I’ll deal with him then."

Shen Chengyan chuckled, "You don’t expect him to be top of the grade every time, do you?"

Cheng Mengfei replied matter-of-factly, "If he doesn’t come first, why should he get special treatment?"

"Well, that's not my concern."

Shen Chengyan didn’t argue with his wife. In truth, he worried about holding Fang Chang'an back because of his own involvement, and actually hoped his wife would be stricter with the boy—then she’d go easier on him.

With his decision made, Shen Chengyan finished breakfast and went to buy stocks.

What he didn’t know was that on this day, September 23rd, 2003, Maotai’s stock reached its lowest point in history.

The closing price was 20.88 per share, with the lowest transaction at 20.71.

Out of trust for both Fang Chang'an and Shen Chengli, Shen Chengyan not only invested all the money he’d gotten from selling stocks, but also put in extra funds, buying a total of two thousand shares.

Given Maotai’s price per share of over 1,800 in 2020, plus dividends and bonus shares over the years, these forty thousand yuan worth of stocks would grow to more than ten million!

Of course, Shen Chengyan knew none of this when he bought the stocks. He wasn’t particularly hoping to make money; he was simply used to speculating, more out of habit than any real expectation.

Shen Chengli was efficient; by evening, he called back with addresses and contacts for two factories, both in a neighboring province, not far away. Shen Chengyan didn’t delay, contacted them the next morning, and set out, arriving by noon.

Currently, about three hundred people at No. 2 High School ordered buns daily, and the numbers were sure to rise. Shen Chengyan planned to promote at No. 1 and No. 3 High Schools as soon as he returned, so he ordered a thousand lunch boxes for the first batch.

For the manufacturers, this wasn’t a large order, but Shen Chengli’s intermediary carried weight. Shen Chengyan seemed unassuming, which only made people suspect he had strong backing, so the suppliers treated him well and offered a very favorable price.

Shen Chengyan, though uneasy about making too much profit, wasn’t naive enough to lose money; he didn’t demand much from the lunch boxes, just wanted them simple and thin, as long as they were clean and healthy.

The final price was forty cents per lunch box—a figure that stunned Shen Chengyan, since he’d researched prices beforehand and found most started at two yuan and up.

Because of this, he hadn’t dared to ask for much, but was surprised by how cheap it was.

He considered ordering a more expensive type, but thought better of it. Since they were just for buns, it wasn’t necessary. The drinks, after all, would be sealed separately. So he dropped the idea.

When he returned, Shen Chengyan waited for the lunch boxes to arrive while starting promotions at various schools. With Fang Chang'an at No. 2 High, he didn’t need to worry much, but students at No. 1 and No. 3 High Schools had weaker foundations and required him to start from scratch.

At first, Shen Chengyan was a bit nervous, but after visiting a few classes, he found the students surprisingly well-behaved, and soon relaxed.

Meanwhile, he noticed that since he bought the stocks, Maotai’s price really was slowly recovering. With encouragement from both fronts, he felt his life had transformed completely from the days of sipping tea and reading newspapers just a week earlier!

That weekend, the Fang family would experience a significant change.