The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

The Maybach stopped in front of the imposing skyscraper that forms the headquarters of the Dream Foundation.

Chen Pingsheng stopped at the entrance and asked the security guard to find him a parking spot.

After Mu Qingqing and Mu Lanqing got out of the car, the three of them entered the reception hall on the first floor of the Dream Realization Foundation.

A woman in uniform approached and asked if I had an appointment.

Mu Qingqing took out her work badge and said, "I have an appointment with President Li, who just left your company."

"Oh...you must be Reporter Mu. President Li is waiting for you in the coffee shop on the eighth floor. Just take the elevator up here."

The receptionist gently led Mu to the staff elevator; there are a total of eighteen elevators in the building.

Slight congestion only occurs during peak commuting hours for employees; otherwise, it is very fast and convenient.

When she arrived on the eighth floor, there were people waiting for her at the elevator entrance. Despite the large size of the Dream Realization Fund, the etiquette was always impeccable.

President Li's full name is Li Xiaoman. She and Chu Qiuyan are from the same university and were even classmates.

I've been making bubble tea with her since college, and I don't know how many years it's been.

Li Xiaoman is also over forty years old. Her generation is now all around the same age, not much different.

She now possesses a commanding presence that far surpasses that of ordinary people.

Mu Qingqing was able to interview her only through Mu Lanqing's connections, which was by no means a simple interview for Tengying Group, which is currently in the eye of the storm.

Li Xiaoman sat by the window in a relaxed and unhurried manner. Today's conversation and interview were all voluntary on her part, and also to give outsiders a better opportunity to understand Tencent Film Group.

After Mu Qingqing sat down opposite her, Mu Lanqing was there to help, and the video camera was recording all their interactions.

All employees in the surrounding area were cleared out, and the area remained absolutely quiet.

Mu Qingqing, holding the prepared interview transcript, asked, "President Li, it's an honor that you've agreed to this interview. Regarding the issue that the outside world is most concerned about, I have a question for you. What are your thoughts on the group's three-generation succession? Do you harbor any resentment for leaving early?"

Li Xiaoman shook her head elegantly, "How could I harbor resentment? You must know that this succession of the third generation was handled personally by Chairman Chen. He hasn't issued any orders in the group for thirteen years. We will only obey his orders."

Mu Qingqing excitedly took notes immediately. She had prepared for this interview for a full half month, so she naturally knew what the outside world was most concerned about.
"Since there is no resentment, there is no such thing as discarding someone after they have served their purpose. Judging from what Mr. Li said, he seems to respect your former chairman. Could you tell us about your story with the former chairman?"

"The former chairman is what outsiders call him; we all call him Uncle Chen."

Li Xiaoman looked out the window, as if she had traveled through time and returned to that most passionate period of her youth.

“We used to be just selling homemade milk tea in a tiny shop outside the university town. We thought that was pretty good, until one day Uncle Chen rode his bicycle over and told us that we could do something big.”

"We thought we had encountered a scammer, but later we found out that he was actually the chairman of Tengying Entertainment and the person who was praised the most online."

"Under his leadership, we sold milk tea all over the country in less than a year, which was something we never dared to dream of before we met Uncle Chen."

Mu Qingqing was even more excited. She felt that President Li was not at all pretentious and even spoke to her about his past like an elder.

And this is what everyone wants to know about that person's story.

"Mr. Li, what was your biggest takeaway from this process?"

"Of course we should learn from Uncle Chen. Do you really think that a few girls who haven't even graduated from university can build a listed company with a market value of 10 billion in just one year?"
"How could that be? It's just that Uncle Chen sheltered us from the wind and rain and gave us enough time to grow."

"Whenever Bobo Milk Tea encounters a big problem, Uncle Chen always appears as if he has appeared out of nowhere and can solve it in the blink of an eye. Don't ask me if I have any resentment. I believe that none of the people who left this time have much resentment, because most of our growth experiences are similar."

"It's not that we have great abilities that have enabled us to achieve financial freedom today; it's just that we met the best Uncle Chen during the best of times. He gave us everything and taught us the true principles of being a person and running a business."

"Most of those people he mentored are now in high positions within the group. Uncle Chen suddenly left the group 13 years ago, becoming semi-retired, and then fully retired three years later. Only today has he made a new choice for the group. We all grew up under his protection, and now we are just listening to him and giving up our positions to more suitable newcomers."

Mu Qingqing was somewhat moved; this was truly a case of one word commanding ten thousand actions.

These people in high positions were able to retire without reservation. How can one not admire their righteousness and awe-inspiring spirit?

Mu Qingqing said, "But Mr. Li, you are only forty-five years old this year, which is the best period of your career. Shouldn't you work for the group for another ten or eight years?"

"Yes, I retired before I was even fifty, which should make outsiders very angry."

Li Xiaoman smiled and said, "But do you know how old Uncle Chen was when he retired at the height of his career?"

"Less than fifty?"

"A more accurate figure is his early forties. Uncle Chen said that he was too mythical during his peak. If he hadn't retired, it would have been difficult for those who came after him to truly rise to prominence. Once people develop a little dependency, they will always think of finding others to solve many problems, or they will always think that as long as Uncle Chen is around, the sky won't fall down."

"Until that day, he announced his semi-retirement, which he had been planning for a long time, and stopped handling any group affairs for us. All the power of the group was handed over to us. This gave us three years of rapid growth. Three years later, the group did not experience any major crises, and we finally managed to support our own group. It was only after three years that we were able to understand Uncle Chen's good intentions and his unpredictable vision and perspective."

"And now, ten years have passed since that day. In these ten years, we have all been doing our jobs, and in the end, we have become numb to handling official business."

"So, Mr. Li, do you support the former chairman's call for a three-generation succession?"

"Of course I support it!"

Li Xiaoman said, "If you stay in one position for too long, it's easy to lose your original passion. We just haven't realized it yet. Now, Uncle Chen is just reminding us to hand over the opportunities and hopes to more passionate young people, so that they can reawaken the vitality and passion of our business empire."

"Mr. Li, you describe your company as a business empire?"

"Of course, if it weren't for Uncle Chen's consistently low profile, do you think anyone would be more deserving of the title 'God of Business'?"

Li Xiaoman's tone was startling: "Outsiders don't know about our business empire. You financial reporters and business associates, who doesn't call us the uncrowned kings of business?"

"Uncle Chen has developed to this point, and there is hardly any news about him outside. People have almost forgotten about him. Only those of us who experienced his entrepreneurial era know how many poor students he sheltered and what he did for that era."

"Now, it's just his plan to take the group a step further. How can there be so many unfounded speculations online, saying that Uncle Chen is paving the way for his only son to take over? These are all nonsense. Uncle Chen is not someone they can speculate about."

"And I'm not afraid to tell you that Uncle Chen's only son is currently working as a small market researcher under our Dream Fund. He will only be able to make his way up step by step on his own. As for those of us who have retired, we are not completely leaving the group. We are just changing positions and continuing to make our own contributions to the group."

Mu Qingqing knew that, having gone this far, President Li wouldn't say much more.

There are very few questions left for her.

Finally, she asked the question that everyone wanted to know.

"Then, Mr. Li, what are your plans after retirement?" "All the presidents who are retiring will join the Global Economic Research Institute of Tengying Group. I will be a junior business development consultant there, responsible for supervising and helping new companies under Tengying Group to avoid detours in the future."

"Someone like you can only be a lowly development consultant?"

"What else can we do?"

Li Xiaoman smiled and said, "Uncle Chen is both the president of the Economic Research Institute and the head of the advisory group. Everyone in there is either a top expert or scholar in the world, or a retired president of a Fortune 500 company. I am already very satisfied to be an advisor there. Outsiders only see a small part of the overall strength of our group."

"Uncle Chen said something that we all agree with: the only thing that can defeat us now is ourselves."

Mu Qingqing was deeply shocked. Everyone knew that Tengying Group was very powerful.

Let's not even mention its AI smartphones, chips, robots, new energy vehicles, batteries, AI intelligence, and other technologies that lead the world as a technological giant.

Even traditional domestic enterprises are scattered throughout every corner of the city.

It can be said that no one can completely avoid the influence of Tencent Group.

Yet, over the years, its reputation has remained consistently good.

And its industries in so many countries around the world have so many aspects that are completely unknown to people in China.

It's worth noting that between 2018 and 2023 alone, Chen Pingsheng invested over 500 billion yuan overseas.

Adding in what has been accumulated over the years, it has long exceeded one trillion.

These are investments in Minsheng Health and Wellness, excluding the company's market value and assets.

Although the profit margin of this type of investment is not high, its advantage lies in the fact that it can generate a steady stream of cash income every year.

Their group's cash reserves, including cash flow, are sufficient to allow them to cope with any risks with great ease.

Furthermore, the group has no debt, and although everyone appears to be operating independently, they are actually all tied together.

With such formidable strength, is it wrong to call it a business empire?

There is no problem, of course, but it still won't be publicized.

At least Chen Pingsheng wouldn't allow it.

No matter what Mu Qingqing interviews about, if she wants to publish it, she will eventually have to submit it to headquarters for review.

Only after they have finalized their decision can the manuscript be presented to the public.

Therefore, the so-called big news that ordinary people see is basically filtered.

It's just a small glimpse of the truth that these people want everyone to see.

Thanks to Li Xiaoman's complete cooperation, Mu Qingqing was very satisfied with the results of the interview.

After she returned, Chen Pingsheng was still upstairs talking with Chu Qiuyan.

This time, it wasn't just Chu Qiuyan; many of her group's newly appointed executives, including those who haven't been promoted yet, were also involved.

Chu Qiuyan asked him, "Uncle Chen, most of the presidents who leave their jobs go to the Economic Research Institute to become ordinary industry analysts, and only a small number can become consultants or team leaders. Shouldn't you change your idea of ​​not prohibiting them from starting their own businesses?"

In Chu Qiuyan's view, these departing presidents all knew Tengying Group very well. They had worked there for at least ten or even twenty years and possessed a great deal of internal resources. If they were to start their own businesses, it would still have a certain impact on Tengying Group itself.

Chen Pingsheng said, "There's no need to worry or discuss this here. Most of the people who left are under fifty. They've just been in the same position for too long and lost their passion. Once they start their own business again, it will be completely different. The novelty will motivate them to go a long way. As for your suggestion of prohibiting competitors..."

"If one day our group's businesses are defeated by our own executives who have left, I will only think that there is arrogance and overconfidence within our own ranks. Otherwise, how could we be defeated?"

"If they can really do it, I will only feel gratified, and I will not have any objections or try to stop them in the slightest."

"The best way to strike at competitors is never to use our existing resources to block and suppress them, but to continuously improve our own group. Without this, the once dragon-slaying prodigy will eventually become a vicious dragon that hinders industrial development and prevents the rise of new enterprises."

"You must have confidence in yourselves and in our future. We have never been afraid of anyone along the way, not to mention that we have already grown into towering trees."

Chu Qiuyan sighed softly, “Uncle Chen, you really should consider working for another ten years. Compared to you, our vision is still limited. Even after decades, we are still far inferior to you. When the company was small, we had no fear. But now that the company is big, we worry about this and that. Little do we know that the best progress comes from our own continuous improvement.”

"Yes, Uncle Chen, you really should reconsider."

"With you here, we are sure we can climb a few more steps."

"Stop flattering me. Since I chose to leave thirteen years ago, I will not be returning to the group today."

Chen Pingsheng said, "The reason for sending this internal letter is that the group has indeed reached the point where a generational change is necessary. I have given Zhang Wanyi two years. After two years, she must cultivate a new successor and also revitalize her right-hand men. Qiuyan, you also have two years. The road ahead is still long. You should also broaden your horizons and not let the power in front of you cloud your judgment."

"Two years from now, whether it's you or Zhang Wanyi, you will both become vice presidents of the Economic Research Institute. Apart from working there, I will not restrict any of your other business activities. Even if Zhang Wanyi chooses to gather another group of people to start a media company, or you start another Dream Fund, I will not object."

"What I can give you is never a limit, but a wider sky."

Anyone who can work as an economic researcher, even in a minor position, will have an annual salary starting at one million.

That's nothing compared to the crucial part: there's also a three-generation insurance plan.

All immediate family members within three generations can receive a monthly living allowance of 100,000 yuan from the research institute.

Most companies certainly don't have this capability, but Chen Pingsheng could do it with ease.

Because he allocated 100 billion to support the three-generation insurance plan.

This is very attractive, at least it can guarantee that future generations will have no worries.

Even with plenty of money, if you still want to grow, the most crucial thing is still talent.

These people are all very capable. If they go there and want to start a business, they will still ask them for money and investment.

The chicken or the egg, it's like a cycle that just keeps going on and on.

(End of this chapter)