The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

I don’t know where.

Chen Pingsheng rides his little electric scooter to pick up Chen Lu from school every day.

On the way, he would hum a little tune or something.

Chen Lu asked him curiously, "Dad, why do you still like to sing on the street?"

"What's wrong? I'm already this old, can't I enjoy life a little?"

"No, it's not that. I just felt a little embarrassed, especially when my classmates' parents saw it."

"What's the big deal? You're just too shy."

Chen Pingsheng dropped him off at the school gate, and on the way he would greet a few parents he knew.

After he returned to his neighborhood, he went to the farmers' market to see if there was anything he wanted to eat that he could buy.

Chen Pingsheng chose to retire so early because he wanted to focus on teaching his youngest son, Chen Lu.

Secondly, and most importantly, he doesn't understand technology.

Now that I'm older, it's inevitable that my judgments about future technologies will be flawed.

At present, all sectors of the Tengfei Group have appointed technically skilled leaders.

In other words, professional talents.

Over the years, one phenomenon has become very clear.

Technology companies typically appoint CEOs or chairpersons with backgrounds in sales or finance.

Businesses are essentially committing slow suicide.

Chen Pingsheng has handed over all the power in his hands to those in the group who truly understand technology and leadership.

Good products don't need marketing.

Only bad products get bombarded with advertisements.

Go through all sorts of comparisons.

Over the years, he has mainly focused on product logistics, including customer feedback.

He has now handed over the power of this sector to his most trusted secretary, Tang Jing, to take full charge.

Tang Jing has been transferred to Tengfei Group, where he is now in charge of the group's logistics department, including customer feedback and other comprehensive services.

The logistics support service department remains independent of the group and has the authority to handle customer feedback, including complaints, as quickly as possible.

They can even offer direct feedback and suggestions for improvement to the technical and management departments.

The power must be immense, and it must be immense.

This is because it is the first department that directly handles customer feedback and understands customer needs.

If this department catches a bad person, or if it lacks sufficient power...

They could use the power from above to suppress the sounds below completely.

A few years ago, a well-known female entrepreneur in China did something similar.

Now, her air conditioners are selling far less than those of her competitors.

Even Tengfei air conditioners couldn't sell as well, which shows that when the times want to eliminate someone, it really happens silently.

Many people may not realize that delegating power is more difficult than holding onto it tightly.

Because few people would be willing to give up the feeling of having the highest level of executive power.

Chen Pingsheng was able to let go because of the habits he had developed over the years. Moreover, he knew very well that he did not understand technology and could not truly lead Tengfei Group to become one of the world's most outstanding companies.

In the mobile phone sector, it lags behind Apple and Samsung.

In the field of new energy vehicles, we are still far behind Tesla.

Their market value exceeds 800 billion US dollars, while his is only 300 billion US dollars.

The AI ​​sector is also five or six times behind world-class leaders like Nvidia.

The ones that truly stand out are short videos, including short dramas.

This is what happens when your knowledge is limited.

Under his leadership, Tengfei Group was destined to fail to become a world-class top-tier technology company.

It's just that his overall ranking is extremely high; it's all because he's spent so many years buying it with money.

Even though Chen Pingsheng tried his best not to think about these things, he would still think about them from time to time.

When he finished buying the groceries and was carrying them home, he ran into Mo Yao and the others taking a walk downstairs.

The three girls all worked at the same company and lived in the same room, so their relationship was naturally good.

"Brother Chen, are you buying groceries alone and planning to eat at home alone?"

"Pretty much. My son went to school, and I don't like eating out, so I have to cook for myself."

Mo Yao stopped and asked him, "Brother Chen, why do I feel like you have so much free time every day? Don't you have a job?"

"Jobs are hard to find these days. I'd like to find a job too, but I don't want anything too strenuous. If you know of any suitable jobs, you can introduce me to them!"

"Brother Chen, you've come at a good time. Our boss is hiring a driver recently. She's very capable, and the job isn't too tiring. You just need to drive for her occasionally."

"That's great. I've been driving for over ten years and have never had an accident. I can definitely be a good driver for your boss."

Chen Pingsheng has never been involved in an accident while driving, mainly because his driver usually drives for him.

Furthermore, if someone else hits his car, he won't ask for compensation as long as the damage isn't serious.

Too lazy to waste time.

In Guangdong, many wealthy people still work as motorcycle taxi drivers or similar jobs.

Not surprising at all.

Chen Pingsheng thought that perhaps he should find himself an easier job, otherwise he would still be thinking about remotely controlling his companies even though he was already semi-retired.

He always thinks that no one else does a better job than him.

This is a kind of control problem for the group and its subsidiaries.

There will be absolutely no benefit to it.

For details, please refer to a major air conditioning manufacturer.

Chen Pingsheng must learn to completely delegate authority; understanding how to delegate is the true wisdom of life in the end.

Mo Yao's female boss was not someone who started from scratch.

Believe it or not, there are very few self-made big shots these days.

Anyone who claims to have started from scratch is either a fraud or a complete idiot to believe them.

Boss Mo Yao is a woman, only twenty-six years old this year, and she has a very imposing presence.

His work style is decisive and efficient, and he always keeps his word.

She's considered impressive because after returning from studying abroad, she immediately asked her family for three small goals to start her own business.

In just two years, she has achieved what she once called three small goals, now valued at over two billion.

This is indeed one of the most promising second-generation players.

At that age, Chen Pingsheng could only be described as a young girl.

Mo Yao is in charge of human resources at her company; the job posting was only released this morning.

She ran into Chen Pingsheng at noon; what a coincidence!

Moreover, Brother Chen's temperament perfectly matches the requirements.

The female boss's hiring criteria was that the candidate should be mature and stable, which means she wanted to hire someone older.

Furthermore, one must know how to conduct oneself, which roughly means speaking less and absolutely not saying things that shouldn't be said.

These points, one by one, made Mo Yao feel as if they were tailor-made for Chen Pingsheng.

Moreover, their boss is a workaholic and rarely goes out for leisure.

All I need to do is pick you up and drop you off at work, and also provide transportation to parties and events.

Overall, this job is quite easy.

This is a job that would be perfect for Chen Pingsheng.

To express his gratitude, he specially invited Mo Yao and the others to his home for dinner.

"Brother Chen, your house renovation must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"Not much, just some relatives who do this." "Brother Chen, I really envy you for having such a big house in this place."

"I envy you all for being young."

Chen Pingsheng laughed and said, "A house is just a place to shelter from the wind and rain. Besides, look at my age now. In our time, the house price here didn't even need to be 40,000 or 50,000."

His words implied that there was nothing to envy.

Youth is the greatest blessing.

Mo Yao enjoyed chatting with him and always felt comfortable talking to Chen Pingsheng.

Everything he says makes you feel comfortable.

This is what we call downward inclusion.

What level is Chen Pingsheng at? When he talks to most people, he only shows tolerance towards those below him.

"Brother Chen, I always feel like you can do everything, but I don't know if it's just my imagination!"

"Of course not. Let me tell you, I'm not bragging, but my wife says I'm good in the kitchen, I'm good in the living room, and when we go out, I can act like a big boss."

“Brother Chen, who knows, you might be a big boss?” Mo Yao said with a smile.

"What kind of big boss like me takes care of kids every day and also drives for others? I'm going to the company with you guys this afternoon, and I don't even know if your boss will approve of me."

"I'm sure I'll like it. Brother Chen, you're so capable and can do everything, there's absolutely nothing to worry about."

Okay... Her words made Chen Pingsheng feel more confident.

As the saying goes, when a person reaches sixty, they can do whatever they want.

Chen Pingsheng felt that he had already reached halfway to this stage.

He only needs to completely let go of any lingering attachment to power within the group to truly hand it over to the next generation.

I simply cooked a few dishes at home, and Mo Yao and the others enjoyed the meal.

Chen Pingsheng also parked several cars here. He usually drives a top-of-the-line Volkswagen Phaeton when he goes out.

They changed it to the one with the English letters at the end.

When he needs to go to work or when friends come over, he drives the top-of-the-line Longteng.

This car holds a place among the world's million-dollar luxury cars in terms of both sales volume and battery performance.

It has firmly established itself in a certain overseas luxury car market.

In the afternoon, he accompanied Mo Yao and the others to their company to apply for a position as the boss's secretary.

Moyao Company mainly focuses on investment.

Investing in this sector is too broad, and it is further divided into countless sub-sectors.

Which sector a business can succeed in depends entirely on the owner's personal understanding and strengths.

In the early years when AI was all the rage, many giant companies, including investment firms and local governments, provided strong support for it.

Mo Yao's company is also doing this, but they're just investing in some niche areas of AI.

The company is currently valued at just over two billion, and its annual net profit is less than one hundred million.

It's impossible to own your own standalone office building in a place like Shenzhen.

The company rented two floors of office space as its headquarters, on the sixteenth and seventeenth floors respectively.

This skyscraper, which is over fifty stories high, houses countless small and medium-sized enterprises.

That young female boss was able to rent two independent office floors in this kind of place as her headquarters.

That's already quite good.

"Brother Chen, our female boss dislikes people talking too much in front of her. When you go in, just answer whatever she asks."

"Okay...don't worry, I won't say a word more than necessary."

Mo Yao explained a lot along the way, perhaps because she was afraid he wouldn't get the job.

A harsh reality is that jobs are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

It's not just hard to find, it's extremely hard to find.

Especially for those jobs with good pay and easy, stable employment, without the support of parents' connections, finding a professional job is nothing short of a pipe dream.

When Chen Pingsheng arrived on the seventeenth floor, the young and beautiful CEO was still busy, so he needed to sit outside and wait for a while.

Mo Yao arranged for him to sit in the reception waiting room. He sat there alone, drinking tea and taking a look at some of the company's internal brochures.

It's probably over twenty pages long, and it portrays the beautiful boss, Su Zi, as quite perfect.

He returned to China at the age of 23 to start his own business, never mentioning the three small goals his parents had set for him.

In 2026, Huiyan Shijin will invest in three high-potential projects.

All three projects have now been successfully listed, and the beautiful CEO, Su Zi, has earned a considerable amount of money.

In addition, between 2027 and 2029, she successively established a brand-new investment philosophy for the company, as well as a series of advanced management experiences.

This company isn't big, but it has cultivated a pretty good personality cult.

In many places, there are photos of beautiful female bosses and their quotes.

If this photo is indeed of her and there is no excessive use of beauty filters.

That's really quite beautiful.

Soon it was Chen Pingsheng's turn. Since he was applying for the position of the beautiful CEO's personal driver, only the beautiful woman herself could conduct the interview.

When it was his turn, Mo Yao came over and called to him, "Brother Chen, our CEO Su has five minutes now. Please remember what I said later."

"Okay, no problem!"

Chen Pingsheng followed Mo Yao inside, unsure of what the young female CEO would ask.

However, the mindset after achieving financial freedom is often relaxed and casual.

They don't place too much importance on the results of one or two job applications.

Su Zi worked diligently inside; she had a mature and sophisticated air about her and rarely smiled.

He speaks very little.

Wearing a blue fitted jacket, she was about 1.65 meters tall and had a very elegant demeanor.

She has long legs and a slim waist, but because she wasn't standing up, you couldn't see the curve of her back.

Just looking at her from the front, she is definitely the kind of beauty that scores eight points or higher.

It's even close to nine points, which is quite rare.

"You're Chen Pingsheng, here to apply for the driver job?"

"Ok!"

"Not bad, I quite like your name. It's amazing that you share the same name as a very important person my father knew."

"It's probably a coincidence."

"Of course it's a coincidence, and it can only be a coincidence. Otherwise, if such an important person wanted to apply for my driver job, my grandfather would have appeared to me in my dreams every night."

Perhaps the name reminded Su Zi of something, because she became a little more talkative.

"You're not getting any younger. I heard from Mo Yao that you own a house and a car in Shenzhen, which is something that ordinary workers can't compare to. Can I ask you why you're applying for a driver job?"

"I'm just bored and want to find an easy job that's close to home."

"boring?"

Su Zi, with her mature and sophisticated demeanor, seemed to recall something, and simply smiled faintly as she said:
"I've never heard of an applicant applying for a job because they're bored. Come to work tomorrow. Mo Yao will tell you the specific job duties and details. I have three cars. The two I usually drive are a Ferrari and an Aston Martin, and the one you'll be in charge of is a Maybach S680."

Maybach, a synonym for top-tier luxury cars.

Since Rolls-Royce became the car of countless internet celebrities, the top-of-the-line Maybach has become the exclusive vehicle of many bosses.

Sitting in a Maybach, you don't need to say much; it will give you all the respect you desire.

Of course, this respect also comes in different levels.

Many luxury cars in China have tried to benchmark against it, but without a doubt, no car has ever dared to say that it has truly surpassed it.

This is the pinnacle of traditional automotive craftsmanship accumulated over a century of brand history.

He's always been imitated; he's never won online, but he's never lost in real life.

(End of this chapter)