Only after being reborn did I realize how fascinating the world of the rich is.

While Li Xiaofeng was planning his business empire, the Qin Group, with Qin Kai at its core, somehow acquired a large sum of money and, taking advantage of the current sluggish real estate market, began buying land and acquiring projects from small developers.

The real estate industry in Shanghai, and even nationwide, is undergoing a major transformation, with large companies acquiring smaller ones and smaller ones acquiring smaller ones.

Small and medium-sized real estate companies in first-tier cities are being gradually eliminated or are starting to move to second- and third-tier cities, or even fourth- and fifth-tier cities, because they cannot acquire land.

The previous collaboration with the Jiang family failed, and a few days later, Cao Jinpeng invited Li Xiaofeng to his villa.

"Boss, what brings you here today?"

"Third brother, do you know? Second brother and fourth brother were tricked by that Qin guy!" Cao Jinpeng was in a low mood, and his tone was very heavy.

Li Xiaofeng was also taken aback and quickly asked, "How did you get scammed?"

"Before, the guy surnamed Qin made all sorts of promises, saying that he would put the second son in charge of the construction company and the fourth son in charge of the entertainment sector. But after the two of them invested all their money, the guy surnamed Qin bled them dry!"

"What do you mean?"

"The money they invested was not used to expand these two sectors, but was all transferred by the Qin family into real estate."

Li Xiaofeng frowned slightly and said in a serious tone, "So, the money from those two families was essentially used by the Qin family with zero interest and indefinitely?"

Cao Jinpeng sighed and said, "Theoretically speaking, that's true. Previously, the companies owned by the second and fourth brothers were essentially affiliated with the Qin Group."

However, ever since the second and fourth brothers borrowed money from Qin Kai, their shares were incorporated into the group. As a result, they lost all decision-making power and became two small shareholders who could be manipulated by others.

The so-called several sections have actually become mere decorations.

The Cheng family's nightclubs and the Lü family's construction company became tools for funding the Qin Group, having no chance to grow or expand, let alone receive any further funding from the Qin Group.

"Don't they understand the principle of 'better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox'? They handed over their initiative, and now look what's happened!"

Cao Jinpeng sighed again and said, "They also feel that the industry is difficult and they don't want to fight alone anymore."

Now, the two are nominally shareholders of the company and members of the board of directors, but in reality, they have become completely idle, even less so than their two wives, Shen Jiayi and Shen Jiaqi.

These two women, relying on their family background and connections, are now senior executives in the Qin Group, holding company shares, and actually have more say than the two of them!

"How are the second and fourth brothers doing now?"

"What else can we do? The company isn't listed yet, so who can we sell our shares to? Who would buy them? Now the two of us are just idle employees of the company, going to work and coming home like ordinary people, living off the meager salaries the company gives us each month."

From two carefree rich kids to two scrimping and saving working people, relying on company dividends, who knows when that will ever happen. I think it's pretty tragic.

"No wonder the Qin Group's funds have suddenly increased so much!"

"The second and fourth sons don't have much money. The main funds come from the port area. It seems the Qin family has injected a lot of money into Qin Kai's side!"

Li Xiaofeng sighed and remained silent.

Cao Jinpeng continued, "Third brother, recently people from Lejia contacted me, saying they want to cooperate with me to enter the entertainment industry. Do you think it's a good idea?"

"What, you're not planning to continue speculating on real estate?"

"Speculating on real estate is not a long-term solution. I plan to try out another industry. Besides, didn't you also get involved in other industries?"

Electric vehicle factories and gyms—I have no idea what your investment direction is; it's completely baffling!

In response to Cao Jinpeng's complaints, Li Xiaofeng smiled and said, "I don't really have any investment direction right now. I just do whatever makes money and whatever is easy to do."

Make money first, and then slowly choose the real investment direction. Without strong capital to support it, no matter how good the track you choose, it will be swallowed up by others.

Fortunately, the major capital players are now focusing on the real estate industry; otherwise, countless competitors would have already entered the LCD screen advertising market and been vying for my business.

Cao Jinpeng didn't seem to care much about Li Xiaofeng's situation, and shifted the topic to himself: "Xiaofeng, do you think it's reliable for me to cooperate with others in the entertainment industry?"

"Whether it's reliable or not depends on the resources you have. In the nightlife industry, resources are more important than money. This is also the main reason why Lejia doesn't do it on its own but instead wants to cooperate with you."

Cao Jinpeng nodded in agreement.

Li Xiaofeng seemed to remember something and suddenly asked, "Who from the Le family has been in contact with you?"

"It's Le Mengyao, the eldest daughter of the Le family. She's been very active in the entertainment industry in Shanghai lately, looking for people to collaborate with. The Le family's film and television company has many Hong Kong and Taiwan stars and artists."

Li Xiaofeng smiled and said, "You can't handle the women in the Le family!"

Cao Jinpeng looked at him strangely and said irritably, "If I can't control it, how can you?"

Recalling the scene of Le Mengyao teasing his calves with her smooth, delicate feet, Li Xiaofeng's expression became somewhat complicated.

This woman is definitely a formidable character. She has clear goals and objectives, knows what she wants, knows what means to achieve them, and is adept at using herself as a weapon.

Li Xiaofeng, having lived two lives, felt that this woman was difficult to deal with, let alone someone like Cao Jinpeng.

The port area has been developing for decades, and its development trajectory has already been rehearsed there. Therefore, businessmen there have a more intuitive understanding of some business logic than mainland businessmen.

The merchants there had long been experienced in all sorts of deceit and trickery, and knew all kinds of business methods. They were far more mature than the merchants on the mainland; otherwise, the second and fourth brothers wouldn't have been so easily fooled.

Of course, this doesn't mean that the second and fourth sons' money will definitely go down the drain.

Rather, it means that by losing the initiative and decision-making power, even if the second and fourth brothers invested the same amount as Qin Kai, their actual future gains would be far less than what Qin Kai received.

In the era of communal cooking, even the cooks responsible for distributing the food knew to add an extra spoonful to their own bowls, let alone in this day and age.

Li Xiaofeng wasn't concerned about Cao Jinpeng's career; he was just casually reminding him not to let outsiders take advantage of him.

For him, even his own people were stratified: first himself, then his woman, and finally these so-called friends.