After they ended the call, Meng Qiuyan, who was beside him, said with surprise in her eyes, "I really didn't expect that your buddy is not only so loyal, but also so low-key and has such a large family fortune."
Lu An smiled when he heard this, "I only found out about it recently. That kid was low-key during school and never flaunted his wealth. If he hadn't told me before that he had no choice but to go back and inherit billions of assets, I might not have known even now."
In his previous life, Lu An indeed only found out after graduation.
Of course, with his past life memories, the current Lu An is a different story.
During his time at school, Qin Yiyun was actually also a rich second-generation in the eyes of ordinary people. Lu An's statement about him being low-key and not flaunting his wealth meant that he didn't drive top luxury cars like Ferraris or supercars to show off.
Just as the two were talking, Lu An's phone received a message. He glanced at it and said, "It's arrived."
"So fast?"
Meng Qiuyan's eyes flashed with surprise again. Lu An handed her his phone.
Seeing the SMS message from the bank, five million yuan had indeed been transferred to the account. Meng Qiuyan looked up at Lu An, "Your buddy trusts you so much. He transferred millions without going through a corporate account or signing any agreement. Such a friend is hard to come by."
Lu An smiled, "Indeed, hard to come by."
With the company's startup Capital successfully resolved, the two began to discuss how to proceed specifically.
Lu An said, "Our current entrepreneurial conditions are not suitable for starting in a big city like the Capital circle; the costs are too high."
Meng Qiuyan said thoughtfully, "Although the operating costs in big cities are high, they are also talent hubs. While second or third-tier cities can save on operating expenses, true talents may not be willing to come. In short, there are advantages and disadvantages to each; it just depends on how we choose."
Lu An said in a deep voice, "Given our situation, even in a talent hub, true talents may not even look at your small venture."
Meng Qiuyan nodded in agreement when she heard that, "That's true."
A moment later, Lu An immediately made a decision, "Let's go to Jianing City, a prefecture-level city in my hometown province. The local cost of living is not high, and the operating costs for a business are significantly lower compared to first-tier cities."
"As for the talent issue, don't worry about it. In the initial stage, I'll handle it. We just need to hire some ordinary employees to assist."
"Once the company grows and has ample funds, we can recruit top talents with high salaries. Even if we're not in a first-tier city, as long as the money and benefits are in place, we won't have to worry about not attracting true talent."
Meng Qiuyan smiled when she heard this, "You make the decisions. Anyway, wherever you go, I'll follow you. It saves me effort and a headache."
It must be said that Meng Qiuyan possessed an excellent quality.
That is, when encountering similar problems, she didn't first question the problem itself.
Instead, she thought about how to help Lu An solve the problem and achieve the desired goal, or rather, when Lu An had ideas for his career, her first thought was how to best realize his ideas.
It was this quality that allowed Meng Qiuyan to provide immense help to Lu An in his career.
With things settled, Lu An booked two plane tickets for the next day, preparing to leave the Capital tomorrow. Meng Qiuyan also planned to bid farewell to her parents today and go with him to Jianing City tomorrow.
...
"This is simply absurd! I think you've lost your mind."
At this moment, Meng Yuanqing, upon hearing that his daughter was giving up her Stanford study abroad opportunity, immediately couldn't sit still, especially when he learned that she wanted to start a business with Lu An, which made him instantly furious.
Meng Yuanqing then firmly stated, "Go study abroad obediently! And as for you and that Lu An during university, dating and holding hands was fine; I didn't say anything to you two. But now that you've graduated, you must completely cut ties with him. You can't have any contact with him ever again."
Meng Qiuyan's mother also advised, "Qiuyan, listen to your father. Don't be willful anymore."
Clearly, her parents did not approve of Lu An.
Meng Qiuyan also immediately said angrily, "I just don't understand. Even putting aside the relationship between Lu An and me, how many people can compare to the talent and brilliance he has shown? Can't you see such an excellent potential stock?"
Meng Yuanqing said expressionlessly, "This young man is indeed talented and extraordinary, but that doesn't hide the fact of his humble origins."
Meng Qiuyan looked at her father in disbelief, "Dad, what era is this? You still have such class prejudice? Does our family have a throne to inherit?"
Meng Yuanqing said coldly, "What do you know? Nowadays, background is precisely more important than talent. If you come from humble origins, even if you are Newton, you still have to stand up and toast first."
It's worth mentioning that Meng Qiuyan's family background was not ordinary; her ancestors participated in the two-bomb project and made great contributions.
However, by today, the Meng family's social standing had clearly declined significantly.
Meng Yuanqing was not only unable to advance further, but even maintaining their current social status had become exceptionally difficult.
On the surface, it seemed that Meng Yuanqing looked down on Lu An's humble origins, but the real reason was that he was afraid Lu An wouldn't succeed. Meng Yuanqing didn't have a God's perspective; Lu An was like a blind box in his eyes, whose future achievements could not be determined to be soaring to the sky or falling into an abyss.
From Meng Yuanqing's perspective, having talent and potential did not necessarily mean soaring to the sky, and he had seen many talented young people who ultimately did not achieve much.
If Lu An couldn't start strong and continue strong, but instead started strong and then declined, and his daughter Meng Qiuyan married him, in Meng Yuanqing's eyes, that would mean the Meng family's social status would decline once again, and it would be a cliff-like fall.
These were all superficial. The true, deeper reason was that the Meng family could increasingly not afford to lose. Because they couldn't afford to lose, some opportunities had to be reluctantly given up for the sake of stability.
This is also common in other fields, essentially similar. For example, a well-capitalized investment institution can attack on all fronts, seize more opportunities, and even if an investment fails, it's not a big deal; they can afford to lose. But if they are in a period of decline, to avoid a vicious cycle, they will contract their strategy and become conservative, adopting a more stable approach.
If the Meng family were currently thriving, Meng Yuanqing would certainly not strongly object. As long as his daughter liked him, it would be fine. If Lu An had potential, he might even provide certain family resources to help him, which would form a positive feedback loop where the strong become stronger.
The biggest problem was that the Meng family was now struggling just to protect themselves.
This made Meng Yuanqing conservative, and thus he strongly objected.
Class decline was the core reason for Meng Yuanqing's anxiety. More critically, his son Meng Liangyu also seemed to have mediocre aptitude, almost failing to get into a Double First-Class university. This trend of each generation being worse than the last exacerbated Meng Yuanqing's anxiety by another three points.
However, Meng Qiuyan was determined about Lu An and would not change her mind. She had a big fight with her parents because of this and, despite their objections, left home in anger.
...
Meng Qiuyan returned to her private residence with Lu An. Her parents did not know that she and Lu An were secretly living together; if they knew, they would probably faint from anger.
At this moment, Lu An saw her looking dejected and immediately asked with concern, "Why the long face?"
Meng Qiuyan didn't hide anything and briefly recounted the details of her big fight with her parents.
After listening, Lu An was silent for a moment, then looked at her and slowly said, "Trust me, give me a year or a year and a half, and I will definitely rise."
"Mm-hmm, I certainly believe you can do it." Meng Qiuyan smiled slightly and nodded. A moment later, she gazed at Lu An and added, "It's just that my parents have become anxious and snobbish because of our family's decline. I don't ask for too much; I just hope you don't dislike them, after all, they are my..."
Her words were interrupted by Lu An, who smiled and said, "Your parents having class prejudice against me is their business. I'm not living with them. I only care about your attitude, your thoughts."
Lu An candidly added, "Don't worry. Even if I don't particularly like your parents, I won't dislike them. For no other reason, I won't let you be caught in a dilemma between family and love."
Hearing this, Meng Qiuyan's beautiful face immediately blossomed, and the worries in her heart vanished like smoke.
Speaking of which, in Lu An's previous life, Meng Yuanqing and his wife also strongly opposed their daughter being with him due to his humble origins and repeatedly tried to break them up.
However, Meng Yuanqing and his wife never expected that Lu An not only didn't start strong and then decline, but instead maintained a strong upward trajectory.
Within a few years, he reached a height that even the Meng family had to look up to. Meng Yuanqing and his wife's attitude also completely reversed, no longer opposing them, and even proactively put aside their elder status to apologize to Lu An for their previous attempts to break them up.
This shift from arrogance to deference was nothing more than hoping Lu An would put aside past grievances and help the constantly declining Meng family.
This also illustrates a reality: when one becomes powerful enough, everyone around them becomes kind and benevolent. That is just how reality is.
In this life, Lu An, with the blessing of over five hundred years of accumulated memories, knowledge, and experience, and with such profound support, his rise will only be faster than in his previous life.