6.1734 million!

This was just the sales figure for the first hour! This meant that if the subsequent word-of-mouth, sales, and supply chain could keep up, the total sales for the new product’s first year might reach four or five hundred million!

Old Mr. Cheng’s heart leaped, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the phone. A brilliant grandson and beautiful revenue were naturally good things. But, but…

Old Mr. Cheng slammed the phone back onto the table and said in a low voice, “A beautiful start—but what’s the use of that? Wasn’t the start for the new product they launched in April just as beautiful? But look, what was the result?”

The old butler hesitated. “Then… Mr. Cheng, are you planning to wait a couple of days before looking at their sales figures? That makes sense, it’s also your usual time to rest, so perhaps…”

Old Mr. Cheng glared at him. “Rest? What time is it! Play chess!”

The second hour, the phone vibrated again. The old butler peeked at Old Mr. Cheng.

Old Mr. Cheng said expressionlessly, “If you want to look, then look. What are you looking at me for?”

The old butler looked at his phone. “Hiss—”

“How much?” Old Mr. Cheng asked.

“It’s already broken ten million!” the old butler said excitedly.

Old Mr. Cheng’s eye twitched, and he slammed his hand on the table. “The initial marketing was very well done. But if the efforts aren’t balanced across all departments, and the production chain and logistics can’t keep up, then this performance is just a flash in the pan! …There’s no point in looking at sales figures today. We’ll look again tomorrow!”

The next day. Same time, same place, Old Mr. Cheng had dark circles under his eyes.

The old butler was beaming with joy. “Mr. Cheng, the total sales for the first day reached twenty million, more than double the initial day’s forecast!”

Old Mr. Cheng gripped his teacup tightly, the tea inside sloshing ceaselessly. His voice was calm. “The fact that Little Lin could get Huanzhen to think of and perfect these new designs is worthy of praise. It’s a pity he’s too indulgent with Huanzhen. If he had listened to my advice and combined the strengths of both our philosophies, the results would have been even more perfect.”

The third day.

The old butler was ecstatic. “Mr. Cheng, it’s at 36 million now! The second day’s sales maintained eighty percent of the first day’s, an absolutely excellent result!”

Old Mr. Cheng tremblingly took off his reading glasses. “Where did he get so much energy to do R&D, manage quality control, and monitor after-sales? …Where is the final report for the new product launch? Let me see it, quickly!”

The fourth day.

Old Mr. Cheng sat rigidly in the chess room all day, watching as the sales figures grew steadily from 36 million to 47 million. His lips trembled slightly. “How is this possible… Using his method, he really, really can perform even better?…”

Old Mr. Cheng sat stunned for a long time. Suddenly, at a certain moment, he erupted in fury and knocked over the chessboard!

“How is this possible… How is this possible!! What method did they use… 47 million in sales… double, no, more than double…”

A week passed. The first-week report for the new product launch was out, with total sales reaching a staggering 80 million! Compared to the projected first-week sales, it was nearly three times higher! There was no need for detailed calculations; this number was already far beyond the performance target Lin Chen had proposed back then!

When Old Mr. Cheng saw the number, he staggered a step and nearly fell to the ground. The old butler promptly supported him, comforting him with concern, “Mr. Cheng, Young Master Huanzhen has become more outstanding. No matter what, this is a good thing. You should be happier.”

Old Mr. Cheng mumbled hoarsely to himself, “No, you don’t understand. This clearly isn’t a matter of excellence, this is clearly…”

As Old Mr. Cheng spoke, he suddenly began to gasp for air. He shut his eyes tightly and shouted in a hoarse, loud voice, “Quick! Go invite Little Lin over. See what Little Lin likes to eat and have the kitchen prepare it in advance. Go now!!”

…

When Lin Chen was invited to the old residence, a full table of food had already been served. It was steaming hot and incredibly sumptuous. If not for the fact that only two chairs were placed at the table, one would have suspected it was a dinner party.

Old Mr. Cheng was dressed very sharply today. Upon seeing Lin Chen, he smiled, stood up, pulled out a chair, and said, “Sit.”

Lin Chen looked at him and also smiled. “Old Mr. Cheng, you’re in high spirits. It looks like you’ve been in a good mood these past few days. How was it? Huanzhen’s performance didn’t disappoint you, I hope?”

Old Mr. Cheng sighed. “Outstanding. Truly outstanding. But I have a question that’s been weighing on my mind these past few days.”

He leaned closer to Lin Chen, his tone full of incomprehension as he asked slowly, “Tell me, how can a person’s ability change so drastically in such a short period of time? Is it that he has hidden potential that had yet to be discovered, or is it that—in the middle of all this, there was some external force at play that I don’t know about?”

Lin Chen was surprised and asked back with amusement, “It’s just a ninety million contract. After deducting the labor costs, how much of a margin do you think is left to fake a full eighty million in sales?”

Old Mr. Cheng stared at him intently for a moment. Seeing that his expression was indeed open and natural, he finally shook his head and said, “Of course, that’s not what I meant.”

Old Mr. Cheng frowned. “I just can’t figure it out—I had already pushed Huanzhen’s time, energy, and potential to their absolute limits. Based on his abilities alone, how did he manage to make such a huge improvement in such a short time?”

Lin Chen smiled faintly and asked in return, “You controlled his time and energy, but did you truly tap into his potential?”

“You saw his body working hard to complete your tasks and commands, but how do you know if his mind, his heart, were truly engaged?”

Old Mr. Cheng’s brow furrowed at once, and he let out a cold snort. “Are you trying to say his efforts all these years were just an act for me to see? Impossible!”

He said, “Look at how outstanding Huanzhen’s usual performance is. If it weren’t for that, why would I have focused on cultivating him as my successor? To achieve such results, Huanzhen could never be the type to act without thinking!”

Dissatisfied, Old Mr. Cheng tapped the end of his chopsticks heavily on the table several times.

Lin Chen maintained his faint smile, his tone calm yet unquestionable. “Because you underestimated his potential, Old Mr. Cheng.”

“When a person’s potential is great enough, he only needs to naturally reveal a small part of it to achieve remarkable accomplishments. But if you mistake that for the entirety of his potential and try to squeeze it dry, then the greater part of his potential will naturally be suppressed, or even extinguished.”

Lin Chen poured a cup of tea, his expression unchanging, and said, “And what I’ve done this past year was simply to help him remove the shackles so that all of his potential could be unleashed.”

Upon hearing this, Old Mr. Cheng’s expression changed instantly, and he slammed his hand heavily on the table! He stood up, incandescent with rage. “Are you trying to say that I, on the contrary, suppressed his potential?!”

He could accept Lin Chen saying his methods were not humane enough, and he could accept Lin Chen saying his methods were not perfect. But to say he suppressed Huanzhen’s potential? Ha! How was that possible! The greatest pursuit of his educational efforts, into which he had poured so many years of energy, was to unearth and develop the potential of his descendants as much as possible!

He was so angry he pointed at Lin Chen and berated him loudly, “Utter nonsense! Take a good look at the people in the Cheng family. Even aside from Huanzhen, all the others, during the time I personally taught them, were absolutely outstanding among their peers!”

“If I hadn’t forced out their potential and arranged the best education for them, where would their excellence have come from?!”

Lin Chen sighed and said with regret, “High-pressure, cramming-style education can certainly allow a child to show better results in the early stages. But it’s like pulling up seedlings to help them grow. Its price is paid in the future.”

“And you can certainly see a part of that price, but… you can only see a part.”

Old Mr. Cheng felt a ball of stuffy, boiling “air” trapped in his chest. Lin Chen’s voice was so calm, his tone so gentle. But with every word the other man spoke, this ball of air roiled and boiled more fiercely in his chest.

How could his methods be wrong? For so many years, he had worked so hard to cultivate his descendants, providing them with the best education, planning the most correct life paths for them, and diligently helping them eliminate all those useless things. Wasn’t it all to stimulate their potential, allowing them to grow up and become successful, thereby bringing glory to the family?!

But now, this young man in his twenties dared to say that his methods over the years not only failed to stimulate the children’s potential but had actually suppressed it? And that it would all come at a “price” in the future?

How could this be possible!!

Old Mr. Cheng’s heart roared incessantly. Yet his memory drifted uncontrollably back to twenty years ago.

Back then, he had an outstanding second son, whose excellence before adulthood was completely comparable to Huanzhen’s. He had wanted to cultivate his second son as the family’s successor with all his heart, spending a great deal of thought and resources on his education.

But unexpectedly, at the age of 19, his second son secretly fell in love with a female student at his university. After that, it was as if he had become a different person. He began to talk back, oppose him, and resist everything he had arranged. In just one year, the conflict between father and son had escalated to the point where they would argue the moment they met!

If rebellion and arguments were still within the range he could barely tolerate, what he found most unacceptable was that the heir he had spent so much effort and resources cultivating actually told him that after graduation, he wanted to leave the family company and become some… some astrophotographer with his girlfriend?

Nonsense!!!

He had been furious at the time. He had no doubt that the reason his second son had become so “decadent” was definitely because of that girlfriend! Thus, he went to great lengths to try and break them up.

He never expected his second son’s rebellion to go too far. One day after graduation, while he wasn’t paying attention, his son eloped and disappeared with the girl!

Heavens! Elopement? For such a scandal to befall the Cheng family was like wearing a shameful hat that couldn’t be taken off for ten years! He was instantly enraged. On the very night his son eloped, he publicly announced his expulsion from the Cheng family, and that from then on, this person no longer existed in the family.

He had always firmly believed that his second son’s tragedy was caused entirely by that girl. Therefore, when cultivating Huanzhen, he learned his lesson and paid special attention to teaching Huanzhen to restrain his desires and emotions, to never let feelings override reason and efficiency.

And Huanzhen had indeed not disappointed him, growing up very smoothly along the way.

But according to Lin Chen’s words, his educational methods were bound to incur a “price” in the future… then was the problem with his second son back then also his fault? How could that be possible!!

The more Old Mr. Cheng thought about it, the more agitated he became, and the more intense the emotions in his heart grew. This stuffy ball of air became more solid, more turbulent, until finally, at a certain moment—Bang! It exploded.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”

Old Mr. Cheng suddenly burst into a violent fit of coughing, and in a moment of rage, he actually coughed up a large mouthful of blood!

The old butler’s expression changed instantly. He hurried forward to pat Old Mr. Cheng’s back while ringing the bell to call the family doctor.

“Mr. Cheng, you…”

Old Mr. Cheng pushed the old butler away. His eyes were fixed on Lin Chen, his tone incredibly hard as he gritted his teeth. “You should be glad you said these things to me only after achieving absolute results. But aside from this result, you have nothing else to prove your point.”

Lin Chen calmly retorted, “But having this result, isn’t that already the best proof?”

Old Mr. Cheng glared at him. “But on what grounds do you say that I’m pulling up seedlings to help them grow, suppressing his potential? What’s the difference between your methods and mine? How exactly did you get him to do all this? …What on earth did you teach him??”

Lin Chen shook his head. “I don’t need to teach him anything.”

“I simply guided him, letting him strive for life, for goals, and for dreams, rather than for someone’s command or a series of cold numbers.”

“Let his motivation come from within, rather than from external forces.”

He smiled. “That’s all.”

Old Mr. Cheng fell silent. The family doctor had already rushed to his side, examining him and giving him medicine. But he remained silent from beginning to end, just clenching his jaw, his lips pressed together, sitting without a sound.

After about ten minutes of silence, during which Lin Chen had finished half a bowl of rice, Old Mr. Cheng finally spoke. He called for the old butler and whispered two sentences in his ear. The old butler received his orders and turned to leave the dining room.

About five minutes after the old butler left, Lin Chen’s phone vibrated lightly. He took it out and looked, his chopsticks immediately pausing—a transfer had been received to his bank card. Ten million.

Old Mr. Cheng finally spoke again. He didn’t mention the ten million, nor did he mention the argument just now. It was as if nothing had happened. His hoarse voice asked calmly, “Will you stay for a few games of chess tonight?”

Lin Chen nonchalantly put his phone back in his pocket, revealing a smile worth a hundred million, and said, “Oh, I’d better not. I’m a blind man now. If I disappear for too long, your grandson will get anxious. I’ll head back after I finish eating.”