The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 346 The Cocktail Party and the Future

Zhou Ye and Meng Ziyi are both newcomers at Tencent Entertainment.

Jiang Peiyao is about the same age as them, but she has been at Tengying for three years, so she is still considered their senior.

Jiang Peiyao treats all newcomers very well, mainly because she believes they are there to make money for her brother-in-law.

She still drives that white Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible worth over ten million yuan.

This car was a gift from Chen Pingsheng, and she's been driving it for several years.

Meng Ziyi graduated from university in 95.

Zhou Ye entered university in 98.

The main reason she was able to join Tencent Film Studio was because of her stunning looks; her face was the epitome of youthful beauty.

The three of them rode in one car. Meng Ziyi's family was well-off, but not so well-off as to drive a Rolls-Royce.

She was quite surprised; in fact, she had the opportunity to join Tencent Entertainment two years earlier.

At that time, she felt that it was really too outrageous for the company to let a little girl be in charge.

It was only a short time before it went bankrupt.

It's quite surprising that it survived even after Huayi Brothers collapsed.

"Senior Sister Peiyao, are we going to meet the big boss?"

"Yes, he said he'd treat you two to lunch."

"That's rare. Yezi has been with the company for so long, and this seems to be the first time she's met the big boss, right?"

Zhou Ye is from Guangdong. From a young age, he was popular wherever he went, if not adored by everyone.

"I've met Secretary Bai several times, but I haven't met the big boss yet."

Jiang Peiyao chuckled, "My brother-in-law is a very nice person. Don't be nervous when you meet him later. If he takes a liking to you, you can have any resources you want. Wan Ning is the one he favors the most. He went to film the National Master movie as soon as the trainee competition ended. His start is really something else."

Meng Ziyi is very outgoing and has a rather aggressive appearance. She is beautiful, but lacks a bit of innocence.

She has become much more charming.

"Yezi, when you meet the big boss later, try to be more relaxed. It would be best if your clothes were barely visible."

"Nonsense, my brother-in-law doesn't like that."

Jiang Peiyao said with a stern face, "You must not have any ulterior motives. In the past, many girls in the company had such thoughts, and they were all fired in the end."

"Just kidding, I just think Noko is a little too nervous."

Meng Ziyi herself was nervous, but she wouldn't say it, deliberately teasing Zhou Ye who was next to her.

The three of them soon arrived at Sheshan.

The private club is not located in the bustling city center, but in a scenic mountain forest.

Located on the mountainside, surrounded by large trees, the building has three floors.

Each floor has an area of over 1,000 square meters.

Meng Ziyi's family was already quite well-off, but even so, she was still speechless at the sight of such a luxurious private club.

As for Zhou Ye standing to the side, he was clearly even more so.

This was Jiang Peiyao's first time here, since her brother-in-law had just bought the place.

Driving in, you'll be greeted by a large, beautiful garden.

There is also a dedicated butler service inside. After she parked her car, the butler took her to a private restaurant on the third floor.

Chen Pingsheng wasn't the only one here; Song Shuiqing and her old classmate Yao Anni were also there.

Once Jiang Peiyao and the others arrive, we can officially begin the meal.

The dining style inside the club is similar to that in Hong Kong, where guests order food themselves using tablets.

It offers a variety of cuisines and flavors.

The dishes are also diverse, covering a wide range of famous Chinese and Western dishes.

Private clubs are designed specifically to entertain guests, so their basic standards are naturally quite high.

"Brother-in-law, why did you wait for me?"

"You said you were coming, how could I not wait for you?"

Chen Pingsheng stared at the other charming and alluring woman beside her. "Meng Ziyi, you stood my daughter up two years ago. She used to ask all the time, 'Why isn't that Sister Ziyi here at work?'"

"Um...you still remember this?"

Meng Ziyi was embarrassed and scratched his head. "I couldn't come because I had something to do. You see, I've already joined Tencent Entertainment. It's just that I'm two years late. It doesn't matter."

"You're quite talented too."

Chen Pingsheng said, "My daughter likes you quite a bit. She said you don't look very smart, just like her. I didn't expect you to be so."

The big boss still remembers her dark past, what should I do?
Even Jiang Peiyao was unaware that the two had this past relationship.

Zhou Ye, standing to the side, was clearly even more bewildered.

"I'm not going to say anything more. I'll punish myself with three cups first." Meng Ziyi raised his cup.

"Boss, your Moutai is here!"

"Isn't it beer?"

With Meng Ziyi's limited alcohol tolerance, he passed out after just three cups of baijiu.

There's no need to do any work in the afternoon.

"Alright, nobody really wants you to drink. Find a seat."

Meng Ziyi's outfit today is quite fashionable; he's wearing a short, unique shirt.

A small knot was tied around the belly button.

Below are timeless tight jeans, and on top of that, a half-up bun and half-down wavy hair covering her chest.

She was thinking of staying away from Chen Pingsheng, but Zhou Ye played a trick on her and made her sit opposite him.

Looking up, all I saw was the boss's slightly serious face. How could I possibly eat in peace?

"Brother-in-law, this place is so big! Can I come here often in the future?"

"Of course you can. This place is used for private parties. The top floor is an open-air balcony. If you like, you can invite people over to host a party. Just tell the butler if you need anything."

"Brother-in-law, you're so sweet!" "Come on, you're over twenty and almost at the age to find a boyfriend, but I've never seen you bring one home."

"I'm not in a hurry. I'll wait until my brother-in-law turns thirty-six before we talk about it."

"That's about two years."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Time flies. I still remember how chubby you looked when you were a baby, running around naked."

I'm so envious! The big boss really treats Jiang Peiyao exceptionally well.

Furthermore, one shouldn't stay in such a luxurious environment for too long; it's too easy to corrupt one's mind if one stays too long.

Only those who work for big bosses can enjoy this kind of lifestyle.

Meng Ziyi felt like he was a fake second-generation rich kid.

"Brother-in-law, you're bringing this up again."

Jiang Peiyao blushed. Even without Chen Pingsheng, she would still be earning two or three thousand a month in that shady factory.

"I just think you were really funny when you were little."

The dishes were all served, but he didn't come here because he wanted to eat.

The main issue is his group's major projects; those that needed to be cashed out have already been cashed out.

Most of the remaining ones will still take a long time.

He should start cultivating some new projects for listing now, otherwise it would be embarrassing if he had no projects to list in the next few years.

Meng Ziyi and Zhou Ye both knew about it.

Although the big boss is the number one capitalist in the entertainment industry.

However, he has not focused his energy on the entertainment industry at all; on the contrary, new energy has always been his main investment focus.

In addition, the group has many other large projects.

It's hard to imagine how he manages to keep up all the work by himself.

Now, when the big boss invites them to dinner, isn't it better to just listen quietly than anything else?

Yao Anni said, "Brother Chen, Douyin is rising rapidly, and user data in all aspects is growing explosively. It is still in a period of rapid, unregulated growth. I estimate that in another year, it will be its best period of traffic dividends."

Tengyou Media has not yet started to cash out; on the contrary, it spends five or six hundred million yuan a year.

The goal is to create a large number of internet celebrities during this period of rapid, unregulated growth.

When the golden age arrives, it will be able to transform along with Douyin and begin to explore its own monetization path.

"Times are changing so fast. It used to be the era of internet entrepreneurship, but now the traffic dividend has shifted to short videos. Who could have imagined this a year ago!"

Chen Pingsheng said, "Whether it's Tengyou Media or Xinteng Live, their rise proves one thing: the era of short videos has truly arrived. The new internet economy has also begun to be dominated by short video traffic. In the future, large companies may have to compete for traffic on this platform. The reason I called you here this time is to give you another billion yuan so that you can open an offline physical clothing store."

Uh… Yao Anni asked in surprise, “Brother Chen, didn’t you tell me to close the physical store and focus on online sales?”

"That's right. I did tell you to close your physical clothing store and focus on developing online live-streaming e-commerce back then. That was because I considered that you had limited energy, and putting all your business focus on this was obviously more in line with your development situation at the time. It has proven to be the right move."

Chen Pingsheng said, "As for asking you to take another billion to open a clothing store now, that's to pave the way for the next five or even ten years. You should understand if you've ever run a clothing store yourself. The biggest operating costs for a traditional clothing store are two: rent and inventory."

"Now that you have access to online live-streaming sales channels, you should have a deep understanding of this. If you were given another chance to open a clothing store and use online live-streaming to clear inventory, the profits of your offline clothing store would definitely increase significantly."

"Moreover, a more crucial point is that short videos are still in their golden age. At this time, capital is still growing wildly, and the young people involved are like headless flies, bumping around everywhere."

"This situation will only occur in the early stages of short video development. Once it reaches its peak, the number of people entering the industry every day will increase exponentially. At that time, the influx of companies or individuals will definitely shorten this peak period to 1-3 years."

"In the future, it will be just like the competition in the internet and physical industries that you are seeing now. Everything will return to its essence and become a crazy involution."

"The reason I'm having you open a clothing store now is to prepare for the upcoming era of intense competition. To put it bluntly, while others make money by selling goods and earning a profit, you can make money from the capital market by selling goods and earning a premium in stock prices. From a competitive perspective, these are two completely different levels."

"Plan before you act, and think five steps ahead before taking one step, so that you can calmly deal with everything in the future."

Yao Anni was completely shocked.

Her old classmate has such a far-sighted business acumen.

When she was still just average, we made her leave the physical clothing industry and focus on online sales.

When she was doing very well in selling products, she even became a little arrogant.

Then, to make matters worse, they told her that what she did was nothing.

They simply caught the wave of the short video boom.

To truly remain invincible in the future, one must be prepared for potential dangers even in times of peace.

Spend 90% of your time planning for five years from now, so that when the period of high returns ends and everyone is caught up in the involution of competition, you can sit back and relax.

Laugh at the myriad faces of humanity.

All of this is based on his personal judgment of the future.

If their judgment was correct, and they took this step five years in advance, they would definitely be able to stand at the pinnacle of the fashion industry.

If the judgment is wrong.

That's unlikely, since he took out a billion himself.

Even if it means losing money, he will bear the entire burden.

Tengying Group has lost a lot of money on its small projects.

Countless, and none of the major projects have ever failed.

It's mainly his old classmate who is personally in charge of the major project.

As for the smaller ones, they were simply used as practice for the newly appointed investment managers in the group.

It doesn't matter if we lose.

Without a lot of failures, how can you cultivate truly outstanding investors?

Yao Anni finally understood why Tencent Group's major projects could achieve rapid success at crucial moments.

The main reason is because of his old classmate, who would personally step in and remind us at every crucial moment.

And they'll promptly pour cold water on your enthusiasm.