Shen Wansan's father first led his family to move to Zhejiang to reclaim land for a living. Later, a lot of heaven and earth were accumulated, and food was the main business. When he inherited his father's business, he still took grain as the main business project, and at the same time opened up many trade industries related to food, clothing, housing and transportation at that time, and gradually expanded. The giant merchant Lu gave all his industries to Shen Wansan, making his industry richer. He began to do foreign trade, transporting tea, silks and satins, porcelain, grain and so on. In exchange for ivory, jewelry, medicinal materials, etc. , enriched his business model and established his position as the largest wealthy businessman in the Yuan Dynasty.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there were insurgents everywhere, actually several big warlords. Shen Wansan's donation of silver to Zhang Shicheng is actually a protection fee. Later, he offered money to Zhu Yuanzhang to rebuild the Nanjing city wall, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not buy it. He was demoted to Yunnan, and his assets were naturally confiscated. In the later period, the ancient tea-horse road once again started with tea and other businesses, and quickly accumulated a lot of wealth. Later, he died in Yunnan, and his fortune was soon gone.