Chapter Twelve: The Wealthiest Man in the North of the River

At ten o’clock on the morning of January 11th, Zhou Xuan got into Li Yunxi’s car, a Santana.

Seated in the front passenger seat, Zhou Xuan asked, “Mr. Li, why have I never seen you drive to school? I only now realize how low-key you are—not only do you own a car, but you also know Chen Yulin, the richest man in Jiangbei.”

Li Yunxi drove steadily as he replied, “The school is so close, why would I drive? As for knowing Chen Yulin, it’s because we’ve known each other since childhood. I used to tag along behind him. I just never expected his career to become so successful—now he’s the richest man in Jiangbei, while I’m still just a PE teacher at No. 2 High School.”

Listening to Li Yunxi’s somewhat wistful tone, Zhou Xuan guessed that there must be many stories between Li Yunxi and Chen Yulin. Otherwise, with Chen Yulin’s influence as the richest man in Jiangbei, Mr. Li could have easily found a better job and made it big.

But Zhou Xuan didn’t pursue the matter—these were personal affairs, not something to ask about directly.

Speaking of Chen Yulin, the richest man in Jiangbei, he was indeed a legend—at least a prominent figure within S Province. He was only thirty-seven or thirty-eight, but in just over a decade, he had built Tianyu Group, an enterprise worth two or three billion. He started in port transportation, expanded into freight, established a large distillery and other factories, and his “Lin Yuan” liquor was quite famous throughout the province.

In Zhou Xuan’s previous life, Tianyu Group, leveraging its experience in freight, shipping, and air transport, ventured into the express logistics industry in 2000. It eventually became one of the top ten courier companies, only slightly behind the leading brands—a solid leader of the second tier.

As for the title “the richest man in Jiangbei,” it was because the main district of Rongzhou was located on the north bank of the Yangtze; the southern bank only began to develop after 2000. So, being the richest in Jiangbei was essentially being the richest in Rongzhou, since the undeveloped Jiangnan had no one whose assets could rival Chen Yulin’s.

It was said that Chen Yulin valued loyalty greatly and treated his staff and founding partners well. He was a shrewd businessman, quick to seize opportunities, backed by strong connections, and thus rose rapidly—becoming the richest man in Jiangbei in just a few years.

Zhou Xuan had agreed to this meeting partly because of Wei Lian’s matter, and partly because Chen Yulin’s reputation was excellent and his prospects promising. Building a good relationship now would give Zhou Xuan a powerful ally for his own future business in Rongzhou.

As for whether he could win over Chen Yulin, Zhou Xuan was confident—armed with decades of future experience, it would be no trouble at all.

Perhaps he could even give Chen some pointers, encouraging him to enter the courier industry earlier and avoid unnecessary detours. Since Zhou Xuan himself planned to develop in the internet sector, he could bring Chen Yulin in on the future logistics boom—at the very least, they could reach the level of Kuai Feng’s eventual listing and secure a leading share in the industry.

Li Yunxi drove skillfully, keeping the ride smooth even though the provincial road from the county to the city was still old and worn.

As they entered the city, the car noticeably slowed down. However, compared to the traffic jams that would plague the capital and other major cities in years to come, the number of vehicles at this time was still relatively low.

Turning left and right through the streets, after half an hour, they arrived in front of a quiet residential complex.

The entrance was built in a traditional style, surrounded by tall trees and dense greenery, with villas scattered among the woods.

“Judging by the look of this place, could Li Yunxi really be taking me straight to Chen Yulin’s villa?” Zhou Xuan was a bit surprised.

Meeting for the first time at someone’s home—it seemed Li Yunxi and Chen Yulin were indeed close.

Li Yunxi drove straight through the gate and, after two more minutes, stopped in front of a villa built against the hillside.

He parked the car, called Zhou Xuan to get out, and introduced, “This is the Linjiang Liyuan villa district. This is one of Chen Yulin’s villas—he only comes to stay here occasionally.”

Impressive indeed.

Zhou Xuan couldn’t help but marvel at the wealth of the richest man in town. A villa like this, at this time, would cost at least five million. Yet it was just one of Chen Yulin’s properties, a place he only visited now and then.

They had barely walked a few steps when the villa’s main door slowly opened, revealing a courtyard full of flowers and rare plants. In the garden stood a three-story villa built into the hillside. At this moment, a table had been set out in the courtyard, with three or four chairs scattered around. On one chair, a middle-aged man rose to his feet and walked toward them.

There was no mistaking him—it was Chen Yulin, the richest man in Jiangbei.

Chen Yulin was tall and slender, about six feet in height. He wore a tailored long robe, and his thin face was framed by a pair of glasses. At first glance, he looked like a scholar from the Republican era. Zhou Xuan hadn’t expected Chen Yulin to dress so casually and simply for their first meeting. Whether it was out of respect for Li Yunxi or a mark of sincerity toward himself, Zhou Xuan immediately sensed a genuine warmth.

“Yunxi, you’re here,” Chen Yulin greeted Li Yunxi first, then turned his gaze to Zhou Xuan, smiling, “This must be Zhou Xuan, the one you mentioned?”

Zhou Xuan took a step forward, offered his right hand, and smiled, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen. I’m Zhou Xuan.”

Chen Yulin laughed heartily and shook his hand gently, “I’ve heard from Yunxi that you’re quite an extraordinary person. Now that I’ve met you, I see you truly are remarkable.”

“You flatter me, Mr. Chen. You’ve built such a large company from scratch in just over a decade—I’ve always admired you. To meet you today fulfills a long-held wish of mine,” Zhou Xuan replied modestly.

“Haha, in that case, Zhou Xuan, you really ought to thank me. Not everyone gets to meet the richest man in Jiangbei,” Li Yunxi joked, hearing Zhou Xuan’s words.

Chen Yulin invited them to sit and asked a servant to bring two cups of tea.

He gestured politely, “Please,” then picked up his own cup and said slowly, “As I get older, I find myself yearning for peace and quiet. When work allows, I come here for a good cup of tea. Sitting here, with the Yangtze rolling by and chatting with friends—it’s truly a pleasure.”

“I happen to be thirsty. I’ll have a sip first,” Li Yunxi said, raising his cup and drinking deeply. If Chen Yulin was savoring his tea, Li Yunxi was simply drinking water—half the cup gone in one gulp, more like a draft-horse than a connoisseur.

Watching this, Chen Yulin laughed, “Yunxi, you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Sigh, I’m not as free as you. You’re not even forty and already enjoy such tranquility. Meanwhile, I seem destined for a life of toil,” Li Yunxi replied with a sigh, his eyes betraying a touch of melancholy.

Seeing Li Yunxi like this, Chen Yulin, who clearly knew him well, said gently, “Take your time with the child’s situation. Don’t worry too much. Technology is advancing so fast—perhaps soon, there’ll be a cure.”

Now Zhou Xuan understood—they were talking about Li Yunxi’s child, who had a congenital intellectual disability. Thinking of the child, Zhou Xuan wanted to tell Mr. Li that he would one day have a way to treat the condition, but he knew he couldn’t say so yet. At the very least, he’d have to wait until the neural domain development drug was successfully produced, and then find some other way to give it to Mr. Li, never letting it be known that he made it himself.

After a while, Zhou Xuan finally realized why Chen Yulin had invited him. It turned out that something he’d casually mentioned to Li Yunxi about the future prospects of the internet had been relayed to Chen Yulin in conversation.

For someone as business-savvy as Chen Yulin, Zhou Xuan’s words had been a revelation—he had to meet him in person.

“I’d like to hear your thoughts on the internet,” Chen Yulin said, holding his teacup and looking at Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan understood—this was a test. His answer would determine whether he could leave a lasting impression on Chen Yulin.