2004.

This year felt both familiar and foreign to Su Yehao. His only impression was of watching the Athens Olympics with the air conditioning on during a scorching summer day.

It seemed nothing as memorable as the SARS outbreak from the previous year happened to him.

Starting from the beginning of the year.

While handling his business affairs, Su Yehao tried to spend his excess free time by indulging in some bizarre little hobbies.

For instance, he found a master teapot maker to tutor him one-on-one.

Using high-quality clay, he spent about half a month personally crafting a batch of teapots stamped with his seal. He kept only one Gongchun teapot for himself, giving the rest away as gifts.

His gift list included Steve Jobs from Apple, Lei Bus from Silver Sea, Chu Jun from Huangzuan Computers, Taobao’s Boss Ma, and Zheng Yongwen, among others.

Somehow, word of this got out, and it even made the news.

Some so-called education experts seized the opportunity to piggyback on Su Yehao’s popularity, commenting that his versatility was due to the excellent educational environment in Casino, and that the cramming style of education stifled interests, which was why they couldn't produce geniuses as outstanding as Su Yehao.

Su Yehao saw plenty of this kind of nonsense online.

He initially wanted to retort a few times, but later found it troublesome and simply gave up, not wanting to argue with fools.

By mid-February.

Su Yehao lost interest in playing with clay. After firing a kiln of teacups, intending to give them to outstanding employees as gifts.

Next, he had people buy an iron meteorite and add other metals to cast badges.

The design was roughly a combination of the letters "su." A total of twelve brooch-style badges were made, to be given to the board members of the family charitable trust foundation in the future.

In reality, they weren't very useful, purely symbolic.

Mainly, he felt that learning some of the Western rules and regulations might allow his family trust to go further in the future, encouraging future generations to work hard and obtain badges representing power and wealth.

Of course.

Relying solely on future generations certainly wouldn't work. The probability of talent emerging from such a small number of people was low. The possibility of infighting for power was very, very high.

Therefore, some top professional managers would also be hired, with a regularly rotating board of directors responsible for specific business matters.

The descendants of the Su family would primarily be responsible for oversight, preventing the trust foundation's assets from being secretly siphoned off.

Considering Su Yehao’s personal wealth had reached an extremely exaggerated figure, if he floated a few more companies, the total assets could very likely exceed $100 billion in the short term.

The issue of the family trust foundation could no longer be delayed.

It had indeed reached the point where donations were needed, using a left-hand-to-right-hand method of concealing assets, to reduce the scale of assets on the books.

In any case, the assets would still be managed by Su Yehao for the long term.

As long as nothing unexpected happened, he estimated he could keep an eye on it first, allowing the family trust foundation to operate on a trial basis for several decades. During this time, he could identify and fix problems, trying not to leave opportunities for others to exploit.

He not only strictly supervised the board of directors of the family trust foundation, but also formulated a series of harsh restrictions targeting his own descendants.

For example, being sentenced to a severe punishment would result in the deprivation of dividends from the family trust. Being a good-for-nothing playboy could also lead to being kicked off the list of those entitled to dividends.

Feng Tiancai, who was in charge of this matter, researched and discussed it with his team for more than a month before coming up with a relatively reliable plan.

After reading it, Su Yehao felt it was simply the epitome of the carrot and stick approach.

If a future descendant was relatively down-to-earth, even if their personal abilities were average, they could still live well, at least without worrying about food and drink, and their life would be extremely secure.

However, if anyone rested on their laurels, the benefits provided by the family trust would be reduced at best, and at worst, they would be deprived of their inheritance rights and forever lose the power to join the board of directors.

For example, Su Yehao felt a little guilty after seeing the clause "Improper private life and causing significant negative impact." Fortunately, he was in control of this family trust foundation; otherwise, he might be the first one kicked out.

Under the guise of learning to paint, Su Yehao occasionally met with Miss Vera.

Most of the time, he really was learning to paint. He had temporarily set a small goal to create a series of animal-themed works in the traditional Chinese style, using ink and meticulous brushwork, based on the Tang Dynasty's *Five Oxen*.

First, he would practice with giant pandas, since they were black and white, and other colors of paint would only be needed when painting their tongues…

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In the blink of an eye, it was mid-March.

Nangong Tian moved to the hospital to await childbirth. Su Yehao was experienced in this regard, though he was a little worried, as the doctor said the baby was a bit large and might require a cesarean section.

This time, they didn't hide it from the media. Paparazzi arrived at the hospital in advance to prepare, taking turns with friends around the clock to grab the first-hand exclusive news.

At this moment.

Nangong Tian leaned against the bed, smiling, and said, "You're so bad, Hao Ge! Linda Yun told me everything. She said you conspired with her to sell information to the media and made a full 100,000! You and she split it fifty-fifty."

Su Yehao shrugged and said:

"People were curious about the baby's gender and were willing to release information, saying they'd spend 100,000 to buy information. Wouldn't it be stupid not to make money when you can? With the fame of Linda Yun, the great secretary, she took a stroll around the newspaper office and immediately got the money back."

"You told me not to tell anyone before, and now you're actually taking the initiative to reveal it to the media? Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you. I just hope to give birth to the baby soon. He's really made me suffer. Not to mention gaining over ten pounds, I'm uncomfortable everywhere."

Su Yehao nodded and looked at the little girl, saying:

"Anyway, I think it's the same whether it's a boy or a girl. I won't be biased when dividing the family property in the future. Telling them will stop the discussion, which is cleaner. Since the doctor recommends surgery, let's listen to her advice. They usually don't suggest it unless they think it's necessary."

"But there will be a scar on my stomach."

Nangong Tian said with a melancholy tone, finally regretting not listening to the nutritionist's advice and always trying to sneak food.

"I don't care. It's just a scar on your stomach, it's better than something unexpected happening. You can ask the doctor again later if there's a way to minimize the impact. You're going to be a mother, you can't keep wearing crop tops and wandering around."

Sitting cross-legged on the chair, Su Yehao reached out and touched her belly. The little guy inside was restless, moving constantly.

He then told her, "Besides, aren't you afraid of pain? A cesarean section shouldn't hurt as much. When the time comes, find a wet nurse to help feed the baby. You can take some medicine to avoid pain from the incision."

After listening.

The little girl immediately said, "How can I be at ease with someone else's milk? It's better to have my own. It's healthier, fresher, and more nutritious."

…