Fifty Years of Keeping a Low Profile

In 1970, bricklayer Chen Shouzhuo woke from a high fever with seventy years of memories in his mind. He remembered how he had missed every opportunity and died full of regret.

This time, he would rewrite everything.

He started by growing vegetables and made sure his whole family had enough to eat. Then he formed a construction crew and built his first apartment block. Seizing the opportunities of reform and opening up, he went on to build a real estate empire. But making money wasn’t the hardest part: holding on to it was.

His cousin struck it rich twice and lost it all twice. His son questioned whether shifting into new ventures was too risky. And his rivals were quietly laying a deadly trap. Over fifty years of upheaval, he rose from bricklayer to head of a billion-yuan enterprise. His success did not come from seeing the future, but from three words: keep a low profile.

This is the story of a family taking root, growing, and passing things down through the tides of the times.