Chapter 19: Squandering Fifty Million, My Whole Family Praises My Investment Acumen?
Lu Family Manor, dining room.
A giant crystal chandelier cast a soft glow, and the table was laden with top-grade blue lobsters and black truffles, freshly air-freighted from Australia.
Lu Shixuan sat brazenly in the main seat, his right hand wrapped in an exaggerated bandage. His Third Sister, Lu Hongyi, had insisted on bandaging it for him, calling it a "hero's medal."
He clumsily grabbed a lobster leg with his left hand, snapped it forcefully, and juice splattered onto the expensive Persian rug.
"What is this garbage? The meat is so tough, is this what's left after feeding the pigs?"
Lu Shixuan tossed the lobster leg onto the table and glared at Lu Qingwan, who was in the main seat, his face contorted in a scowl.
"Big Sister, I'm not trying to criticize you, but our family's chef needs to be replaced. How can such substandard food be served? People will think our Lu Family is bankrupt!"
While scolding, he was frantically complaining in his heart.
Damn it, this lobster is so fresh my tongue is melting.
But for the villain persona, I must find fault!
Big Sister must think I'm being unreasonable right now. Hurry, deduct my allowance, hurry and kick me out to a hotel!
It's best if the cost of this rug is deducted from my trust fund, so I can experience what poverty feels like.
Lu Qingwan's hand, cutting steak, paused slightly.
She looked up, her eyes showing no anger, but rather a profound affection that seemed to see through everything.
"A Xuan is right, this lobster isn't fresh enough."
She turned to the butler, her tone cool: "Go, fire the procurement manager. Also, from now on, for A Xuan's ingredients, send a private jet directly to the origin to catch them fresh. They must be on the table within half an hour."
Lu Shixuan's eyes widened, and the lobster meat in his mouth almost sprayed out.
No, Big Sister, are you crazy?
Freshly caught by private jet?
How many times will that multiply the cost?
I told you to save money, not to burn it!
If you keep this up, when will I ever squander the Lu Family fortune?
Ye Chen, sitting nearby, had a ashen face at this moment.
He was grounded and could only huddle at the far end of the dining table, eating the lobster that he considered a delicacy, but Lu Shixuan deemed "pig slop."
"Big Brother, Big Sister is doing this for your own good. Isn't it a bit excessive for you to squander money like this?"
Ye Chen spoke weakly, trying to demonstrate his frugality in front of the sisters.
Lu Shixuan's eyes lit up; he was just looking for an outlet for his anger.
He slammed the table, making the wine glasses clatter.
"Excessive? This Young Master is spending his own money, what right do you, an outsider, have to butt in?"
"Since you think I'm squandering, then I'll show you how I squander!"
Lu Shixuan pulled out a bank card from his pocket—it was the fifty million the system had just rewarded him.
He slapped the card onto the table, pointed towards the West Suburbs outside the window, acting extremely arrogant.
"Big Sister, I've taken a fancy to that abandoned West Suburbs Chemical Industrial Park. I want to buy it and build the largest... stray dog shelter in all of Jingcheng!"
"That place is barren, the soil is full of heavy metals, it has no investment value whatsoever."
"I'm going to burn money there, I'm going to throw all fifty million into it like it's nothing! Do you dare to support me?"
Lu Shixuan was overjoyed in his heart.
Hahaha, West Suburbs Chemical Plant!
That's Jingcheng's famous 'ghost zone,' a polluted area that even the government has a headache over.
As long as I buy it, the environmental remediation fees alone will be an astronomical figure every year; these fifty million will go in without even a sound.
Surely this will be squandering, right?
Surely this will make Big Sister think I'm a hopeless good-for-nothing, right?
However, the atmosphere at the dining table suddenly became eerily quiet.
Fourth Sister, Lu Shuyao, pushed up her glasses, a red pen spinning rapidly between her fingers.
Her deep eyes stared at Lu Shixuan, as if trying to unearth some shocking foreshadowing.
"West Suburbs Chemical Plant?"
Lu Shuyao's voice trembled slightly.
"A Xuan, are you sure you want to buy that place?"
"Absolutely and definitively!" Lu Shixuan stiffened his neck, "This Young Master just likes to hear the money disappear there. What, Fourth Sister, do you have an objection?"
Fourth Sister must have realized that place is a bottomless pit.
Quick, persuade Big Sister, let her see my true colors!
Lu Shuyao suddenly closed her script, stood up abruptly, walked quickly to Lu Shixuan, and grabbed his shoulder.
"A masterpiece! A Xuan, you are simply a business genius!"
Lu Shixuan: "Huh?"
Lu Shuyao turned to Lu Qingwan, her tone fervent: "Big Sister, you don't know yet, do you? I just got internal news that the state will issue the 'Green Ecological Compensation Plan' next week."
"That chemical plant in the West Suburbs is the only pilot zone! If we buy it now, not only will we receive huge environmental subsidies, but the future change in land use will increase the value of that land by a hundredfold!"
"A Xuan... he's using the name 'stray dog shelter' to strategically position us in advance!"
Lu Qingwan's pupils suddenly constricted.
As the group's president, she naturally knew the value of this news.
It was just that the plan was still in a top-secret phase, and even she had only heard rumors. How did A Xuan know?
Unless... he had been secretly monitoring national macroeconomic policies and, for the future of the Lu Family, was willing to bear the reputation of a "prodigal son" to seize the initiative!
"A Xuan..."
Lu Qingwan's voice was somewhat choked.
"How much have you sacrificed for this family?"
Lu Shixuan was completely dumbfounded.
Damn!
What green compensation?
What pilot zone?
I just wanted to buy a wasteland to burn money!
System, did you change my script again?
I'm really not investing, I'm courting death!
Ye Chen sat aside, his chopsticks snapping with a "crack."
His heart was bleeding.
He originally thought Lu Shixuan was genuinely stupid, but he never expected this guy to be even more informed than Big Sister?
"Big Brother... are you really just investing?" Ye Chen asked unwillingly.
"Investing my ass! I just want to lose money!" Lu Shixuan roared, "Big Sister, don't listen to Fourth Sister's nonsense, she's gone crazy writing scripts! That place is full of poison, buying it will just be a loss!"
Lu Qingwan gently stroked his head.
"Alright, A Xuan, stop acting. Sister understands, Sister understands everything."
She turned to the butler, her eyes becoming sharp and decisive.
"Notify the finance department to fully acquire the West Suburbs Chemical Industrial Park in A Xuan's name. Additionally, add an initial capital of five hundred million, and according to A Xuan's wishes, build the best stray dog shelter."
"We want everyone to see that our Lu Family not only has business acumen but also a sense of social responsibility!"
Lu Shixuan sat in his chair, feeling like the sky was falling.
Fifty million turned into five hundred million?
And his reputation got even better?
Ding!
Detected host has completed the "Crazy Squandering" mission.
Due to the host successfully anticipating national policies, acquiring strategic resources worth tens of billions for the Lu Family, and earning the provisional title of "Jingcheng's Foremost Philanthropist."
System judgment: The host's villainous behavior possesses extremely strong deceptive and forward-looking qualities. Rewards doubled!
Reward: One hundred million yuan in cash (already deposited into a secret Swiss bank account).
Reward: God-tier Business Acumen (passively triggered; as long as the host wants to lose money, they will inevitably hit a hot trend).
villain points: -5000 (host, you have become a role model for all the wealthy young masters in Jingcheng. Please continue to work hard... oh no, please act with dignity).
Lu Shixuan looked at the notification of one hundred million yuan arriving and just wanted to bury his head in a lobster shell.
"System, is this 'God-tier Business Acumen' serious?"
"As long as I want to lose money, I'll inevitably hit a hot trend?"
"Is this a villain system, or a God of Wealth simulator?!"
Just then, Second Sister, Lu Zhirou, suddenly walked over with a bowl of dark, murky soup.
"A Xuan, you slammed the table quite hard just now. Did your hand wound open up?"
"This is a Qi-Tonifying Soup I specially brewed for you. Drink it, and tomorrow, Sister will take you to a nice place."
Lu Shixuan looked at the soup, smelled that familiar, scalp-numbing scent, and instinctively wanted to run.
"Second Sister, I'm really not weak, I don't need tonifying..."
"Be obedient." Lu Zhirou's gaze sharpened, and her aura as a divine physician instantly fully activated.
Lu Shixuan recoiled, only able to drink that expensive "poison" with tears in his eyes.
Bitter!
Too bitter!
Second Sister must want to poison me, it must be!
But... after drinking it, why does my body feel so warm?
It feels like all the bruises from the boxing arena just now have disappeared?
Lu Zhirou looked at her brother's flushed face and nodded contentedly.
"Tomorrow, Jingcheng University is holding a seminar on 'New Biopharmaceutical Development,' and Ye Chen will also be there. A Xuan, how about you accompany Sister to crash the party?"
Lu Shixuan's eyes lit up.
Crash a seminar?
Act like a clown in front of academic bigwigs?
I'm good at this!
"No problem! Second Sister, watch me infuriate those old pedants until their windpipes explode!"
Lu Shixuan clenched his fists, his fighting spirit rekindled.
Tomorrow, I, Lu Shixuan, will truly solidify my persona as someone "unlearned and incompetent"!
Ye Chen watched the Lu family sisters doting on Lu Shixuan, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
"Tomorrow, the seminar..."
"Lu Shixuan, I will make you utterly disgraced in the academic world!"