Talk turned to serious matters.

At that moment, Mr. Ma shifted the topic, asking Su Yehao:

"I was wondering, Mr. Su, has your family been selling any residential properties in Hong Kong recently? I've managed to save some money and would like to buy an apartment there, which would also make it easier for my son to study."

Su Yehao looked at him strangely and inquired, "What made you think of sending him to study in Hong Kong?"

"Well, I've been so busy with work that I've neglected his education. It's becoming a problem whether he'll be able to get into university at all. I heard that the competition is less intense in Hong Kong, making it easier to get into international prestigious schools. Plus, he can receive an international education, which will help broaden his horizons."

Upon hearing this, Su Yehao shook his head:

"People often ask me about buying property, but I never recommend it in Hong Kong. The prices are too high and there's little room for appreciation. The living experience is pretty much the same everywhere. Since you have spare cash, why not buy some easy-to-sell two- or three-bedroom apartments and keep them for rental income? Wouldn't that be better?"

"...Are you suggesting I buy property in the mainland?" Mr. Ma pressed.

"Yes, my dad and I went to great lengths to acquire land up north, precisely because we see the potential for appreciation. You're lucky you asked me first, or you'd be missing out on earning several times more. It's even more impressive if you buy with a loan. Earning ten or twenty times your principal isn't too difficult. The core areas of major cities like Pengcheng, Hu City, and Si Jiu City are all very promising."

A small matter of moving his lips was akin to borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha.

Su Yehao didn't lose anything, but he could take the opportunity to do someone a favor. There was no need to be secretive. His optimistic view of the property market was already public knowledge. Years ago, he had posted online, advising people to buy as early as possible if they could.

Mr. Ma certainly wouldn't doubt Su Yehao's vision. Although he felt that buying a house in Hong Kong would be prestigious, he was particularly tempted when he learned that housing prices in major mainland cities had the opportunity to rise so much. He immediately made a decision, smiling as he said:

"Since it's Mr. Su's suggestion, I must listen. It's a rare and invaluable opportunity to have you spell things out and guide me in person."

Su Yehao chuckled and didn't think there was anything wrong. He readily agreed, only asking, "Does the company currently provide housing subsidies for employees?"

"Yes, top talent gets housing provided by the company, and other employees receive housing subsidies ranging from five hundred to fifteen hundred yuan."

"In the future, stop those. Instead, increase the housing provident fund and housing subsidies to encourage company talent to settle down and buy houses. Consider it a special benefit from our company."

Su Yehao actually attached great importance to the mainland's internet market.

The reason he usually seemed less concerned was that there were constant minor troubles, but not many major problems. Often, they were resolved by senior executives before they even reached him.

The competitors were not strong enough. Occasionally, some bright projects appeared, but most of them were acquired and incorporated into Su Yehao's vast internet ecosystem.

In addition, compared to being involved by foreign capital from the US and Japan, the authorities clearly favored Su Yehao more. This led to the smooth rise of tAt, tot, Tao Bao, and other companies, without ever being investigated for potential market monopoly issues.

Compared with instant messaging software, portal websites and other projects, the most attention was actually paid to Credit Treasure. The transaction volume of this product was nearly 10 billion RMB last year. However, Su Yehao was too sensible. From the beginning, he pulled UnionPay to invest together, letting it hold 35% of the shares.

This one move reduced Credit Treasure's troubles by 90%.

The promotion of various new functions was unimpeded. Because the cash pool was dispersed among various banks, they scrambled to cooperate with Credit Treasure.

With Su Yehao's ability to make money, as long as he was willing to share dividends with others and acted according to the rules, he was indeed particularly popular.

For example, 5s Asset Management Company. The scale of assets under management snowballed and quickly grew to exceed 200 billion RMB. It hadn't even received a fine from the China Securities Regulatory Commission in the few years since its establishment, and had received numerous certificates and awards.

The reason for this was that it could provide financing for enterprises, and through 5s International Financial Investment Bank, it provided many rectification suggestions, revitalizing many companies and setting a good example.

Since no one dared to play tricks and hold him back, and a large group of smart people helped him work, Su Yehao, the boss, naturally lived a comfortable life...

————————

Using the excuse that Qianxin International had some matters to attend to.

Su Yehao visited Nong Qingying and his eldest son in the evening before taking a car to Pengcheng.

Miss Vera had gone to her new Chinese-style courtyard in advance, supposedly planning to cook dinner herself and wait for him to arrive.

Originally, the area around the villa was relatively desolate, with weeds growing everywhere except for a road.

Out of privacy considerations, more than thirty mu (unit of area, approximately 667 square meters) of land, originally planned for building villas, were separately enclosed. Trees and scenery were planted around Su Yehao's mansion. Construction started a few months ago and has now been completed. Bamboo forests, cherry trees, peach trees, red tallow trees, pine trees, etc., were transplanted, combined with large lawns, and the scenery had changed dramatically.

When he went to Vera's courtyard and saw her, she talked about this, excitedly saying, "The surroundings have become so much more beautiful after you decorated them. Does that mean my little courtyard has also appreciated in value?"

"What, are you planning to sell it?"

Su Yehao hugged her waist from behind. The girl was making suancai yu (a dish of pickled mustard greens and fish), and all the ingredients were semi-finished products bought from the supermarket.

Vera replied, "Of course not, but it makes me happy when my house appreciates in value."

"I guess only a spendthrift like me would take more than thirty mu of land from a residential project just to build a garden for myself. Compared to the money brought by the appreciation of your small courtyard, the cost this time is very high, okay? Since you've benefited, how are you going to compensate me tonight? Or should I eat you before dinner? You look very charming in an apron."

There were only the two of them in the courtyard, and Su Yehao spoke shamelessly.

Vera smiled:

"I'll be done soon. You can go watch TV first and don't disturb me cooking. Also, I might have to leave the day after tomorrow to continue holding art exhibitions in Japan. The location seems to be near Roppongi? I'm not too sure."

Painting was her career, and Su Yehao rarely interfered. He told her at the moment:

"I've already privately told Linda Yun to push more articles about you online, so that more people know about your existence."

"Really? No wonder the gallery said there were many news reports about me online. You didn't need to do that."

"Why didn't I need to? I'm just helping you out. There are countless painters all over the world, but very few can become famous. Even fragrant wine is afraid of being in a deep alley. If you want to support yourself by painting, you mainly rely on hype and promotion. This is a common practice in the art industry, isn't it?"

Su Yehao said calmly, and then continued:

"Even someone like Van Gogh became famous because of a processed biography, *Lust for Life*."

"If Van Gogh's sister-in-law hadn't held seven art exhibitions for Van Gogh in a row, and hadn't met a good writer, those oil paintings would probably have been piled up in a corner, covered in dust."

"As for how much of the content in the book is true, and whether the gallery had someone hype it up, we still need to ask a question mark first. Anyway, it's hard for me to imagine that someone would inexplicably spend a lot of time and energy to actively help a deceased, unknown, mentally ill painter write a book, and it's still an unpopular biography."

After listening to him, Miss Vera, for the first time in her life, considered how Van Gogh became famous.

She had read that book, *Lust for Life*, a long time ago and hadn't considered it from a marketing perspective, only thinking it was a good book.

After a long silence, Miss Vera turned her head, her expression quite helpless, and told him: "You're too dark, why can't it be that the writer felt some kind of calling from Van Gogh's works and then decided to create for him?"

Su Yehao spread his hands and said:

"I'm just being more rational. The possibility you mentioned also exists, but it's less likely. People like the artistically processed Van Gogh. The real situation is no longer verifiable..."