Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

People are not distinguished by rank or status.

This kind of talk depends on who says it. If it's a young person fresh into society, speaking righteously to their boss, or to those wealthy colleagues.

Someone in middle age like you might just smile and mock them in your heart.

They are indeed fresh into society, fearless like a calf that does not fear the tiger.

They see the world as far too beautiful, maybe they'll understand when they reach our age.

From the moment of birth, people are already divided into ranks.

To the Chubby Woman, she's just a lowly dishwasher, doing dirty and tiring work every day.

What's there to talk about dignity and pride?

The only thing that makes her happy is looking shiny and bright on her return trips.

Then handing out a lot of money to her little nieces or nephews.

It is exactly because of such dirty and tiring work that countless people like her clamor to do it.

When you live in such an environment, what dignity is there to speak of?

Looking at those young girls who ride in Rolls-Royces from birth, if you still can shout that people are not differentiated by ranks.

Then I really admire you.

Chen An'an never expected that the Chubby Woman would compare herself to a lowly life, she's only nine after all.

No matter what, she didn't know how to respond to such talk.

She just felt a little heartache.

She couldn't understand why she had to belittle herself like this.

If it wasn't because her Dad made a good amount of money these years, would she grow up to be like this, living off washing dishes every day?

Who could say for sure, after all, her grades are not that good.

She looked for help and turned to Shen Youwei beside her. The Chubby Woman called her a little princess, but she didn't feel happy at all.

"Aunt, An'an is very sensible, why do you criticize yourself as a lowly life?"

"Youwei, it's not that I intentionally say so. In front of them, we are indeed considered lowly lives."

The Chubby Woman didn't mean to belittle herself, but people often called her that.

She had habitually called herself a lowly life in front of those wealthy souls.

The bitterness is hard to explain to others.

Like when she first came to Xiangjiang, just for a job as a dishwasher, she had to fight with others as if her life depended on it.

At that time, countless small business owners mocked them as lowly and worthless lives.

Over time, she naturally came to think the same.

It wasn't that she wanted to think this way, but everyone around her was telling her through their actions that they were indeed the lowly class.

Like an acquaintance of hers, who accidentally bumped into a dining table causing the water from a teacup to splash onto a customer.

She was immediately slapped twice by that person and then had to kneel and apologize.

The boss wouldn't even offer a word of explanation for them.

That's the harsh reality.

And it constantly reminded her not to offend those of higher status.

The Chubby Woman didn't want to explain too much about this matter. It was normal for her niece who had just arrived in Xiangjiang to keep some naive thoughts.

In a few years, she might understand that the gap between herself and the daughters of big bosses is as wide as a ravine.

To say they are worlds apart is no exaggeration.

She has saved a little money from her years of work.

She doesn't like to spend on herself, but she's very generous with her great-niece.

How could Shen Youwei spend her money?

The Chubby Woman's face grew stern, "Your aunt has neither son nor daughter, if not spending on you, then on whom?"

Suddenly, Shen Youwei felt that maybe her aunt spending money on her was also a way to make her happy.

It turned out not to be a wrong thought, isn't the meaning of earning money to spend it?

The Chubby Woman worked so hard, and her biggest desire every year was to return home in splendor.

Spending money on Shen Youwei, she was genuinely happy.

Temple Street has plenty of snack stalls, but also a lot of small clothing stores.

The branded clothes in physical stores in Xiangjiang are not more expensive than in the mainland.

Mainly due to lower taxes.

She picked out several nice outfits for Shen Youwei, spending over two thousand yuan.

Shen Youwei also bought her a pair of nice shoes and carefully put them on her feet.

The Chubby Woman was very happy, always feeling that her great-niece was especially filial.

Chen An'an watched from the side, and after a while, she began to ask about the Chubby Woman's experiences when she first came to Xiangjiang.

It was heart-wrenching and hard to put into words.

The Chubby Woman felt there was no point in deliberately boasting. She was just a countryside bumpkin from the mainland with no money, who arrived in the prosperous city and desperately tried to earn a living.

Those she lived with were all living like that, one of them worked as a nanny in a rich family's home.

She could only eat squatting in the corner after the homeowners finished, and she would bring back some leftovers or expensive treats for them.

Ordinary people don't have that many stories to tell, they just struggle for their daily bread.

Chen An'an was listening attentively; she felt that she was becoming more and more distant from such a life.

She didn't know when it started, but fifty thousand yuan a month as pocket money seemed too little for her.

It wasn't enough to spend.

Yet this money could buy several dozen people a month's time.

The time of ordinary people is that cheap.

When she went back, she didn't take Shen Youwei with her, they had just met in Xiangjiang, and surely had a lot to talk about.

She took her little sister and, as always, left in the top-tier Phantom.

Seeing this display, the Chubby Woman knew the young girl must come from a wealthy family.

There's a big difference between a wealthy family and just being rich. There are many rich people in Xiangjiang, but truly wealthy families are rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Just look at those mansions on the mountain top to understand.

"Youwei, how come your boss allowed you to take the kids out to play?"

"It wasn't my boss who asked me to take them; An'an likes me. She called and asked me to come."

"I see."

The Chubby Woman felt much relieved. Although she lived in a pigeonhole apartment shared by eight people, she was still keyed into some of the gossip from within the wealthy households.

In Xiangjiang, where speech is free, the affairs of wealthy families are always of great interest to outsiders.

She was terrified her pretty little niece would be fancied by one of those big-time bosses.

Wanted as a concubine or something.

If things went awry and offended the legal wife, those without power or influence wouldn't even know how they died.

Shen Youwei took her to her modestly sized apartment, where she shared a room with Zhao Yingying. This room, compared to the tiny pigeonhole, was leagues better.

At the very least, if it were rented out, it would cost at least twenty thousand a month.

Seeing her living conditions not too shabby, the Chubby Woman felt much more at ease.

She was already in such a situation herself, she hardly wished her great-niece to follow in her footsteps.

...

Returning home, Chen An'an immediately went to find her Dad, as she had many questions she wanted to ask.

She didn't know when it started, but she had somehow developed the profound misconception that the world was full of rich people.

Only after meeting the Chubby Woman did she realize that there were so many people struggling at the bottom every day.

Living just for their daily bread.

The breeze on the mountaintop, when it blew, was refreshing to the core.

Outsiders who took a couple of breaths might even feel invigorated and refreshed.

Of course, this was more of a psychological effect, yet from this mindset alone, one could detect how stark class distinctions were.

At this moment, Pingsheng was not asleep. He sat in the faintly lit yard, gazing at the sea with his wife.

While sipping on some Dahongpao tea from Wuyi Mountain.

This mansion cost eighteen billion Hong Kong dollars, with permanent property rights; even the land beneath was his own.

So his wife felt that although houses in Xiangjiang were a bit costly, the perk was buying a villa that came with the land.

If they ever grew tired of this large house, it could be torn down and rebuilt.

Chen An'an came running over, "Dad, Dad."

"What's the matter with you, in such a hurry!"

"Dad, are there still many people in the world who don't have money?"

"That's an odd question to ask."

Pingsheng turned his head to look at her, "Do you think there are a lot of rich people?"

"So many, so many, Dad. All of my classmates' families are rich, and so are the neighbors where we live. And also, Uncle Chang Fu and the others, they all have money."

Heh... Pingsheng smiled and said, "That's because your dad is rich, so the circle you're exposed to is wealthy. Whether it's the international school you attend or the places your little sister often goes to play, those are places only the rich can afford."

"This doesn't mean that the majority of people are rich. It only means the circles you frequent are such that those without money can't enter. Did you see something today? Why do you ask such an odd question?"

Chen An'an nodded earnestly and then told her Dad about the Chubby Woman, recounting everything in great detail.

"Dad, why would someone say their life is worth less? Didn't our teacher tell us everyone is equal?"

"I couldn't be happy at all when the Chubby Woman called herself lesser."

Pingsheng patted her head. The spoiled brat might not do well in school, but her morals were pretty decent.

In contrast, her little sister wouldn't have any sympathy for the Chubby Woman.

At two and half years old this was the case, and it would undoubtedly be the same at five or ten years old.

Because she simply wouldn't come into contact with this class of people.

It wasn't that she was bad, it was simply the environment she had been raised in from birth.

"Your question, even if your dad gives you an answer, you wouldn't be able to truly understand it.

"It requires you to experience it to understand. The knowledge in textbooks will always just stay on the pages, while the reality of society is the true school.

"The reason some people say their lives are lesser is merely a sense of helplessness towards society, a helplessness about their own situation.

"You can go out and shout about equality, but when they shout it, they often just invite ridicule."

"An'an, when you have a vacation, Dad will take you to the countryside to experience the raw realities of society, for you and your sister to understand that the ordinary life is summed up in seven words.

"The daily necessities."

Ordinary, that's the greatest truth.

Clearly, whether it is Chen An'an or Chen Xinyi.

They are no longer ordinary.

Therefore, he needed to let them learn what ordinary means.

Pingsheng believed that for parents,

Their children's growth is a matter of a lifetime.

He planned to take the two sisters out of their wealthy circle.

To look outside, to see what an ordinary world is, what is an ordinary life.

For those people, all they seek in life may just be a matter of wealth.

But for Pingsheng,

It was important to let his two daughters pursue their own goals and dreams.

Only with enough money can one explore and strive for this elusive spiritual realm.

To find their own ideals and ways of living for the future.

This was also his responsibility as a father.