The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Time flew by and it was already late September.

A grand and prestigious economic forum and development conference was held in Shanghai.

Chen Pingsheng sat in the front row next to Teacher Ma, followed by a large group of top investors including Shen Nanpeng, Guo Guangchang, and Tong Zhelan.

Such a grand economic forum must have been organized by the local government.

It can only be done officially, with the mayor of Shanghai taking the lead directly.

The topic of discussion was roughly the economic trends over the next ten years.

And the planning of Shanghai, etc.

Mr. Ma may not be the richest person in the business world, but he is definitely the most eloquent.

He spoke eloquently on stage, and the reporters and guests in the audience applauded continuously.

Of course, everyone was very clever.

They would only clap along when the mayor clapped.

Even when the mayor is not moving, they will listen attentively.

The real world of Shanghai is incomparable to any other place; the difference is so vast that only those in the know can understand.

At least in most places, Chen Pingsheng would most likely refuse an invitation from a mayor.

Shanghai definitely wouldn't accept this; I really can't refuse it.

He is now based in Shanghai, and both Tengfei New Energy and Tengying Group are, to some extent, inseparable from the support of the local government.

Even if Teacher Ma is such a good talker, do you think he can talk so fluently in front of the city's prime minister?
A collective low profile is inevitable.

There are too many top companies in Shanghai, and even if Tencent Group is placed here, it is not the most outstanding.

At best, it's first-rate.

In Zhejiang, Alibaba was indeed a well-deserved leading enterprise.

In previous years, Mr. Ma's commercial status was very high, but in recent years, the attitude of the authorities towards the Internet has undergone a fundamental change.

Since 08, internet companies have been second only to real estate companies.

Mr. Ma's high status is due to the development of pillar industries.

They were glamorous wherever they went, but ten years later, everyone suddenly realized that while the internet was powerful, it had indeed brought convenience to their lives.

But fundamentally, everything it does is based on internal friction.

What does it mean?

In other words, while e-commerce has flourished, the traditional economy has visibly declined.

This is not a good thing for any place.

The so-called internet-driven employment comes at the expense of the real economy.

When the government's attitude towards supporting internet companies undergoes a fundamental change, Jack Ma's position becomes quite delicate.

Seriously speaking, when people are rich to that extent, they're no longer competing on money.

Just like if Huawei's founders came over, they would all have to step aside.

This is absolute status.

This is also one of the reasons why Chen Pingsheng insisted on developing new energy sources.

This economic forum reveals that Shanghai's future focus is on supporting an export-oriented economy.

What does that mean?

It means giving strong support to companies that can make money from foreigners.

If you only rule over your own territory, you are dispensable to the country.

Once you can make money from foreigners, it's a completely different story.

In fact, many people have realized a problem.

Teacher Ma even directly pointed out that housing prices will become dirt cheap in the future.

Why did he shout that?
It's not just because housing prices are too high, but more importantly, the current situation is very similar to the economic situation faced by people born in the 1990s.

Back then, the housing market collapsed, with prices falling by more than 80% within a few years.

Countless people jumped off buildings, and many lost their jobs.

Why was it able to rise rapidly again later?
The key reason is that the electronics and automotive industries in China can make money from people all over the world. This applies to companies like Toyota, Sony, Sharp, Honda, and Mitsui & Co.

Those are all industrial products sold globally.

On the other hand, domestically, there is a lack of companies that can make money from foreigners once housing prices collapse.

That would undoubtedly be very dangerous.

In recent years, the support for new energy from the government has revealed that the core slogan has always been industrial upgrading.

The so-called industrial upgrading does not refer to basic industries, but rather to the ability to produce electronic products that can be sold globally.

Of course, the core is to have our own products.

Those that manufacture for foreign companies definitely don't count.

When Chen Pingsheng attends this meeting, he is not representing Tengying Group, but Tengfei New Energy.

One can glean some insights from this.

Even after the meeting ended, there were still many private gatherings.

Chen Pingsheng attended a gathering of top entrepreneurs, with about a dozen people sitting at their table.

If you add up all of his wealth, it would be at least over a trillion.

Mr. Ma is definitely in the center position; no one in the business world can replace him.

There are some special events planned after the party ends.

Chen Pingsheng did not go.

When it comes to arranging such events, Xu Pidao is second to none.

When he returned, Song Yanxi was teaching the mistress a lesson: one shouldn't be too honest, or one will easily be bullied by other girls.

The mistress looked at her mother with a bewildered expression. "What are you talking about?"
I don't understand either!

Erpiya was still causing trouble nearby, and she liked to pull her little brother's ears all the time.

Song Yanxi wouldn't let Erpiya bully her younger brother. The mistress is already so well-behaved, why are you still bullying him? If he grows up and becomes a simp, who will take responsibility?
"Yanxi, you're worrying too much. Given our family's situation, who would be qualified to have a mistress act like a lapdog?"

"That's possible!"

Song Yanxi said, "I've noticed a lot of rich sycophants on TV lately, and they especially like to fawn over those naive and innocent girls."

"Are you not mistaken?"

Chen Pingsheng looked at his wife in shock. "Aren't these plots in TV dramas just made for those dreamy little fairies?"
"In reality, which wealthy person would pursue a naive and innocent girl like that?"

"That's true."

Song Yanxi didn't care about these things before, but after seeing the mistress, she became more and more worried.

"Didn't you reorganize the company last time? How come there are still so many outrageous plot twists?"

"I'm not the only film company. If I don't make them, plenty of others will. It's just that women these days like to watch these kinds of things."

Song Yanxi didn't dwell on the issue with him, but instead asked him how his trip to the conference went.
To be honest, Chen Pingsheng wasn't too optimistic.

To put it bluntly, no other industry has yet been able to replace real estate as a new pillar industry.

The real estate sector's contributions to consumption, tax revenue, and employment are far beyond what other industries can replace.

If housing prices collapse too quickly, it will be an absolute disaster.

The severity of this situation is at least a hundred times greater than that of the 08 global financial crisis.

Even so, the real estate bubble cannot be ignored.

Once housing prices lose their support, the chain reaction is beyond what most people can imagine.

Perhaps in the next ten years or even longer.

The situation will only get worse year by year.

Their family is considered relatively well-off; at this level, it certainly won't have too much of an impact.

Other ordinary business owners would probably find it difficult to survive the next five years.

Of course, all of this is just Chen Pingsheng's own prediction.

As for the outcome, he could only wait and see.

(End of this chapter)