Ablue suit and office with black leather furniture decorated with traditional Chinese art reflect only the recent years in the life of Li Xiaohua, chairman of the Huada International Investment Group and one of the mainland's richest men.
His resume includes eight years farming the frozen earth of northeast China, two years in a labour camp, stints selling watches, iced drinks and hair restorer and time spent showing kung fu movies.
But that is all behind him now, and with his wealth has come the trappings of a luxury lifestyle such as Mercedes and Ferraris which he enjoys driving along an 18-kilometre stretch of expressway from the Beijing city centre to the airport.
What is remarkable about Mr Li is his personal story and the fact that he operates successfully as a millionaire in the heart of Communist China, a stone's throw from the city government office and a minute's drive in one of his Ferraris from Zhongnanhai, home of the national leaders.
He got where he is by combining determination and business acumen with good political connections and well-placed and generous donations to educational causes, sports and disaster relief.
One of his smartest moves was a one-million yuan (about HK$931,000) donation to the Asian Games - hosted by Beijing in September 1990 - just 15 months after the military crackdown in June 1989 when the government was in need of friends.
In a country where politics and economics are inseparable, you must know who to be photographed with and who to avoid as well as being on top of interest rates and property prices.