The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

In March, springtime, a light drizzle falls.

With little free time, Chen Pingsheng took his big kid to the auto show to look at cars.

The Shanghai Auto Show showcases the latest and most advanced sedans from various brands.

His self-built new energy super factory, costing 120 billion yuan, is expected to be completed in August this year.

In just one year, China's infrastructure construction speed is the fastest in the world, and that's no exaggeration.

Once the super factory is completed, it will take another three to six months to recruit, train, and debug all the engineering work.

Tengfei New Energy will then be able to officially enter the mass production stage.

Of course, during this period, Tengfei New Energy also needs to integrate the technologies of various motors, electronic controls, batteries, and intelligent driving.

Production is expected to begin around spring 18.

It took two years for his Tengfei New Energy Vehicles to finally achieve mass production.

Produced from a PowerPoint presentation.

The team is still discussing whether their first car should be an SUV family car or a coupe design that younger consumers prefer.

In short, the design and positioning of the first car were crucial.

Since he hadn't made a concrete decision yet, he simply came to the auto show to find inspiration.

What can I say about the 17 auto show? The car models were definitely beautiful.

I don't know who complained to, but the car model girls are wearing more and more clothes.

That's not professional at all.

Before, she was only covered by two pieces of cloth, but those long legs... A, B, C, D, E, whoever had the biggest breasts had the right to speak.

It's a pity we can't see it now.

The Shanghai Auto Show is held several times a year, and it's always packed with people.

My son has two days off, so he has to go out with his dad.

"Dad, we already have so many cars at home, why are you buying another one?"

"Our family is going to build our own cars, so of course we came to take a look!"

There were quite a few people, and the first car Chen Pingsheng looked at was a Land Rover.

This year, Land Rover released a new Range Rover Velar, a mid-size SUV priced between 40 and 60 yuan.

To be honest, among luxury cars in the million-yuan price range, the Land Rover Range Rover Extended Edition has no rival in terms of presence.

Even the G-Class, including the Cayenne, can't compare to the Range Rover's presence.

The car model here is a female college student. Although there are regulations that car models can no longer wear triangle outfits, major car manufacturers still try their best to let them show off their sexiness.

This is how they gained greater popularity.

This young lady must have been a campus beauty in school, as her bodycon skirt was extremely short, revealing everything that needed to be shown.

The Velar's aura is nowhere near that of the Range Rover.

Chen Pingsheng went to the young lady and bought two of the newly released Range Rover Extended Editions.

Various prices are available.

"Just send it to this address."

He rarely drives the car that cost him over two million yuan.

They were all given to Tengfei New Energy for dismantling and research.

He definitely wouldn't need to pay in installments to buy the car. After he finished buying it, Chen An'an was still saying from behind, "Dad, does Mom know you're spending money like this?"

"I didn't know your mom spent the money!"

Chen An'an just blurted out that she hadn't received any extra pocket money during the Spring Festival this year, and she felt really frustrated.

This time, coming out with my dad, I have to try my best to buy a couple of things that I like.

Besides Land Rover releasing various new models, Lexus has also released the more attractive LS500.

The new generation LS features Lexus's signature spindle grille, while the exterior design incorporates the exaggerated design language of the LF-FC concept car, making it appear quite flamboyant.

It comes standard with 19-inch tires and offers 20-inch tires as an option. In addition, the new car adopts a hollow rim structure to reduce tire noise.

This century-old car company is quite mature in its design. Just look at the Lexus LS500, a million-dollar model with stunning looks; it has few rivals.

In its class, the only car that looks better is probably the Panamera.

That's a classic car model; everyone who sees it loves it.

Chen Pingsheng estimates that some new energy vehicle manufacturers will definitely follow Zotye's lead in the future.

They tailor-make their own branded Panamera, producing a one-to-one replica.

After all, this car is undeniably stunning in appearance.

He bought two Lexus cars in one go.

Next door is an Aston Martin, which is the dream of countless young men.

Driving a Martin in your youth, you'll have no worries about love.

Martin DB11 also released a new model with a V12 engine this year.

This British sports car emphasizes elegance and gentlemanly style.

To be honest, this car is really good-looking, and he's owned it for a long time.

If Tengfei New Energy wants to produce sports cars, it can definitely refer to its design.

The final price was only 350 million, but he ordered two at once.

I use one machine myself, and I take the other to the design department of Tengfei for research.

He buys cars whenever he sees one he likes, starting with two at a time. His nonchalant attitude leaves the young women nearby speechless.

Even Chen An'an said from the side, "Dad, you've successfully caught their attention again!"

"If they're paying attention, then let them pay attention."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Your dad has invested so much money in car manufacturing, so I will definitely attend every car show in the future whenever I have time."

Okay... Chen An'an will choose what she likes.

With so many cars at home, she has a hard time finding one she likes.

Ferrari also released a GT sports car, the Portofino.

Compared to previous models, this car looks a bit like the Aston Martin we just saw.

The chassis is much higher, so you don't have to worry about having to stop and slowly grind through a pothole.

Chen Pingsheng also bought two in different colors.

I'll give one to my wife and take the other apart.

Now the girls in the neighborhood are completely dumbfounded.

I've never seen anyone buy a car like this before; it's like picking radishes and cabbages.

For Lao Chen now, buying a car worth millions is just like choosing between radishes and cabbages.

Clothes can be picked out however one pleases, and cars can be bought just as casually.

On January 16th of this year, BMW released the new M760Li xDrive model.

The M760Li is equipped with the same 6.6L V12 engine as Rolls-Royce.

Although its power figures aren't particularly impressive, it is the fastest accelerating BMW in history.

It takes only 3.7 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h.

It is also the only V12 sedan equipped with a four-wheel drive system.

BMW is also pointing to this car as a direct competitor to the AMG S65.

With a landed price of three million, Xiao Ka swiped his card and drove two BMWs home.

He also bought three of the new Panamera models released this year, whose design is said to never go out of style.

The most beautiful sports sedan is no joke.

He would buy different car designs and send them to Tengfei's design department to reproduce them one-to-one.

Only then can we develop the first car model most suitable for Tengfei New Energy, based on this foundation.

Buying cars isn't the goal; building cars is.

The big kid accompanied him around all morning, insisting on picking out a table he liked.

Her taste is truly exceptional; she overlooked a whole host of luxury cars.

They actually took a liking to the newly released Mercedes-Benz Smart.

A super tiny microcar, yet it costs over 200,000 yuan.

Calling it an "IQ tax" is absolutely accurate.

People who drive a Mercedes E300 may not be rich, but people who drive a Mercedes Smart are definitely wealthy.

Otherwise, this thing looks like an old man's health supplement.

Who would be stupid enough to spend hundreds of thousands to buy it?

Chen Pingsheng bought two cars for his daughter: one sky-blue hardtop and one orange convertible.

Chen An'an really liked it; she felt like it was a big toy.

There's no need to study this kind of car; just put it in a corner.

……

After buying the car, Chen Pingsheng went to his Tengfei New Energy headquarters.

Before the ecological park was even built, they rented a 21-story headquarters building here.

Although his investment in the new energy vehicle sector is the largest in China, it still pales in comparison to Tesla's investment abroad.

Not to mention that it was established a full ten years less, it is also far from having enough funds.

He entered this industry not to compete with those domestic companies that commit subsidy fraud.

Our goal must be global!
First came the super factory, then the eco-park, plus eight research institutes in the fields of motors, electronic control, and AI intelligence.

He is already covering the entire industry.

Crucially, he also spun off the battery factory from the Tengde era, and in less than a year, he had already invested over 40 billion yuan in research and development.

The total investment to date exceeds 65 billion yuan.

Currently, Yan Donghui, the former president of Sany Heavy Industry Research Institute, is still in charge of the entire Tengfei New Energy team.

Zhang Qiming, the former president of BMW Group China, was in charge of component procurement.

As for the consumer business unit, it is under the responsibility of Xu Dong, who is in charge of core research and development areas.

He was formerly the vice president of Huawei.

These three figures form the core of Tengfei New Energy's top management team.

Because he comes from Huawei, Xu Dong himself attaches great importance to research and development, as anyone who has worked at Huawei knows.

Its products don't rely on price to win; the core lies in creating higher value.

In other words, it relies on core technologies to lead the way.

This aligns with the current goal of Tengfei New Energy, but fortunately, Huawei has not yet entered the car manufacturing field.

Otherwise, with its strength, it could absolutely crush 99% of its opponents.

Xu Dong also pointed out directly that what Tengfei New Energy lacks most right now is R&D talent in AI artificial intelligence.

There is certainly no shortage of general talent in China, but top-level R&D talent requires a large number of mathematicians and electronic engineers.

This area is still quite lacking.

Even a giant like Huawei is still in its infancy when it comes to AI compared to advanced technologies abroad.

That is, March 9th of last year.

Google's AI program AlphaGo completely defeated Lee Sedol, South Korea's top Go player.

It shocked the world.

Artificial intelligence subsequently entered the public eye more widely.

Many people may not understand what artificial intelligence is.
Let's put it this way: artificial intelligence could eliminate 90% of production workers on assembly lines in the future.

You need to understand that, starting with the Southern Tour speeches in 1992, the real reason for China's rapid development, besides the formal opening-up policies, was that we had the world's cheapest labor force.

And the most hardworking workers on the production line, who can work overtime day and night.

It is because of this that China has been able to step onto the world stage.

Due to high labor costs, many large foreign manufacturers have outsourced their production to us.

This will solve the employment problem for a large number of people and the income problem for grassroots workers.

This was also the way investment was attracted in that era.

However, this advantage will be completely destroyed once artificial intelligence develops further.

Large foreign manufacturers can directly use robots produced by artificial intelligence to replace production.

All you need to do is add an artificial intelligence program to it.

If it really comes to that, it means that a large number of factories overseas are very likely to return.

This means that people move back to their own countries, leading to an unlimited rise in unemployment.

When assembly line production can be completely replaced by artificial intelligence, only a small number of people are needed to complete the production volume of a Foxconn factory.

This will greatly change the situation of insufficient basic industrial chains abroad.

In short, this is definitely not a good thing for the country.

And this is just one application scenario of artificial intelligence.

After all, we have over a billion people here who need jobs and food.

Once major foreign manufacturers start bringing their products back to China, the consequences are predictable.

More and more people are forced to join low-barrier-to-entry industries like food delivery.

This is what makes artificial intelligence so terrifying.

This is also a fiercely contested area by top tech giants like Google, Apple, and Nvidia.

I don't know how much money is being poured into this every year.

China started its research and development in artificial intelligence too late, and also lacks such talent.

The core technology in new energy vehicles is still autonomous driving. Although it sounds simple, it requires continuous calculations based on a large number of models.

This requires a lot of top-notch talent in mathematics and electrical engineering.

These kinds of talents are only easy to recruit from top universities, otherwise you have to poach them from other big companies.

Everyone is short of top talent, and everyone is too picky about average talent.

It's already very difficult to get a job at a big company after graduating from an ordinary university.

Education is still very useful, of course, you need to have a high level of education.

Most universities will no longer recruit top-tier companies like Tengfei New Energy, which have invested 60-70 billion yuan.

According to Xu Dong, there are only two ways to achieve rapid breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.

One option is to buy R&D teams from abroad and directly acquire technologies that are not yet fully mature.

They established their own R&D center on the spot.

The second approach is to poach students from top universities, such as the renowned University of Science and Technology of China, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and National University of Defense Technology.

Top talent in places like this are highly sought after by major companies.

The core of future competition will still be the competition for talent.

After all, many top companies are not short of money, so at this point it comes down to whose strategy is more far-reaching.

Besides artificial intelligence, Tengfei New Energy also lacks some basic car manufacturing technologies.

This includes chassis tuning, transmission, and drive shaft.

This is also the real reason why Chen Pingsheng wanted to buy a well-established car company abroad. If the underlying foundation is not perfect, all intelligent driving will be castles in the air.

At first, it's flashy and attractive, which can draw in some people.

Over time, all sorts of problems will emerge.

This is a common problem encountered in the domestic automobile market.

Even without including the independent Tengde Times battery plant, Tengfei New Energy already has over 8,000 R&D personnel.

To build a truly good car, you still need to spend more money.

Another common way to save money is through contract manufacturing.

They directly outsource the production of the entire vehicle to domestic automakers.

Once the car is ready, add some artificial intelligence and your own brand label.

First, it doesn't require an investment of tens of billions to build a factory; second, it doesn't require much research and development.

Chen Pingsheng himself didn't trust those contract manufacturers. The reason was simple: they couldn't even produce good cars themselves, so how could you expect them to manufacture good cars for you?
After careful consideration, I realized that acquiring established car manufacturers from overseas was an inevitable step.

We will thoroughly improve the technology on the Tengfei New Energy infrastructure and then further upgrade it.

In addition, he also has to poach students from top universities.

Besides attracting talent, establishing research centers overseas is also an essential step.

After all, many students who study abroad are unwilling to return to China to work.

He never even thought about building a truly good car.

The investment of over 60 billion is far from enough; at least 100 billion is needed.

Every year, they spend at least 20 billion yuan on research and development.

Perhaps only by persisting like this for three to five years can we cultivate a reasonably competitive new energy technology company.

The seven or eight hundred million US dollars in my pocket suddenly didn't seem so appealing anymore.

That's far from enough.

Chen Pingsheng returned to the headquarters in Shanghai. It seems he still needs to make money before he can establish a firm foothold in the tech industry.

It's important to understand that competition in the technology sector is different from that in traditional industries; it involves facing competition from the world's strongest rivals.

There is no room for carelessness.

He still needs to figure out how to solve the talent problem first. The headquarters in Shanghai is getting busier and busier, and there are no more days of idling around at work like before.

It mainly consists of businesses under the Tencent Group, which have already ventured into the traditional fields of food, drink, and entertainment.

The number of projects they have invested in is countless.

Everyone was busy and having a great time during this process.

As of now, Tencent Entertainment remains the company with the highest market value in the Tencent Group.

With its comprehensive success in short dramas, variety shows, movies, TV series, and investments, its market value has reached 1200 billion.

Even if we only consider his shares in Tencent Entertainment, his net worth is already 600 billion.

He is undoubtedly one of the top-tier wealthy individuals in China.

Zhang Wanyi also returned from Manhattan. They didn't hire many employees there, only about a hundred.

Most of them are dedicated to following Wall Street and global developments.

It is imperative to send information about major events abroad back to China as soon as possible.

Besides repurchasing shares of Deer Antlers Coffee, the Manhattan branch's current goals are to search globally for established automakers that might be willing to sell.

"Uncle Chen, March and April are the spring recruitment season for universities. Our group has been invited by sixteen top universities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Here is the list and the schedule."

Being invited by top universities to conduct spring recruitment reflects the current core strength of Tencent Film Group.

Chen Pingsheng took a look, and it included well-known art schools such as Beijing Film Academy and Shanghai Film Academy.

There are also top-tier 211 universities such as Shanghai University, Zhejiang University, and Fudan University.

This year, the group's human resources department has announced a recruitment plan of 5,000 additional employees.

Most of these funds will be allocated to companies such as SnackRunner (which is about to IPO) and Dream Fund.

Tengfei New Energy's recruitment plan is not included in this schedule.

They only recruit the highest-level R&D talent.

This requires going to the top research universities.

Even with a market value exceeding 100 billion, they still haven't received admission invitations from Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

Chen Pingsheng said, "Let's proceed according to this plan. In addition to Chu Qiuyan, let Yang Qian and Zhao Mingyu, the president of Snack Run, also give a public recruitment speech at the university."

"Also, the group donated 100 million yuan to Chu Qiuyan's alma mater in her personal name."

Chu Qiuyan was someone he had picked up from a tiny milk tea shop that was less than ten square meters in size.

He holds the dual positions of President of Bobo Milk Tea and Vice President of Deer Antler Coffee.

She has certainly achieved financial freedom long ago, and to this day she remains a representative of college student entrepreneurship.

The inspirational goddess is also the group's golden brand.

"Uncle Chen, should we talk to President Chu first?"

"No need. Let's just treat it as a surprise for her. Giving back to her alma mater after her success is a wonderful thing, not to mention she's so young, having graduated less than two years ago."

Zhang Wanyi openly expressed her envy, saying that this is the true pinnacle of life.

The hardships of the first half of life have turned into the sweetness of the second half.

Chu Qiuyan joined Tengying Group and achieved a perfect leap in social class in less than three years.

A true winner in life.

Representatives from all branches of the group went to the university to recruit, but Tengfei New Energy did not.

Chen Pingsheng stroked his chin. Logically speaking, Lao Yan, Xu Dong, and the others were all qualified.

Unfortunately, Tengfei is still a startup technology company and hasn't even started brand promotion yet.

If they want to poach talent from top research universities, he has to go there himself.

Tengying Group has developed its own unique operating system.

There are processes and standards in place to implement them. The most important thing for the next five years is to make Tengfei New Energy a success.

After thinking it over, Chen Pingsheng decided to go to the research university himself.

He wasn't familiar with other places, but he knew Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan like the back of his hand.

He asked Zhang Wanyi to arrange a time and contact people in Wuhan to recruit people at Huazhong University of Science and Technology under the name of Tengfei New Energy.

Zhang Wanyi's phone contains a high-end network of contacts connected to the entire Tengying Group.

If the boss goes in person, he's qualified to give a speech at Tsinghua or Peking University, let alone a 211 university.

He's the fastest-rising business tycoon in the last five years, and that's no joke.

Upon hearing that his father was going to Wuhan, the little rascal immediately rushed over.

She wanted to go too, and after thinking about it, Chen Pingsheng decided to take her with him.

The main reason was to let her see the atmosphere of those top universities.

In any province of northern China, if a child gets into Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, the family will be so excited that they'll have to pay respects at their ancestral graves for three days straight.

Companies that can recruit at such universities are all leaders in their respective fields.

To be honest, Tengying Group already has a great reputation in China.

Few people know about Tengfei New Energy; the few times it has been in the news, it has all been related to investment.

Chen Pingsheng doesn't plan to advertise domestically; he wants to advertise during the English Premier League season.

Furthermore, Tengfei will sponsor Leicester City throughout the process to enhance its global reputation. Any brand that becomes famous abroad will give people a psychological illusion of high-end status when it returns to China.

The main focus of our publicity efforts in the coming year will still be on the football field.

Therefore, he was willing to spend any amount of money to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo or De Bruyne.

To ensure Leicester City can reach the Champions League final from the Premier League.

Once Tengfei New Energy gains global recognition, recruiting will definitely be much easier.

His considerations from multiple perspectives are quite profound.

(End of this chapter)