2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 1029 "Xu Xinglei, a Winner in Life"

Choosing to distribute year-end bonuses to employees on Lunar New Year's Eve is clearly not normal practice. Large group companies usually distribute year-end bonuses at the same time as their financial reports, sometimes before the New Year and sometimes after. The timing is uncertain, but it is usually around February, after the New Year. Wei Lai is no exception.

The reason for choosing to distribute the year-end bonus on New Year's Eve this year is partly to reduce the heat. This time, not only did Wei choose to distribute the year-end bonus on New Year's Eve, but Shanchi and Chengzi also chose to distribute it today.

Both companies offer very generous year-end benefits. There are too many hot topics during the Spring Festival. Take the recently popular Winter Olympics Bing Dwen Dwen for example, which has captured a lot of top traffic. The internet doesn't need such a hot topic. With deliberate arrangement, it doesn't take long for the hot topic to fade away.

Another reason is to counteract the employees' emotions. For several years in a row, employees have been asked to stay for the Lunar New Year. Most people went from being confused at first to gradually adapting and cooperating, and now they have begun to resist emotionally.

Two years have passed, and almost everyone has reached a critical point emotionally. With so many subsidiaries and employees under Weilai, the emotional state of the employees alone can greatly affect work efficiency.

Tan Jincheng can't control the overall environment. Right now, most companies will do everything they can to avoid discussing this matter, and Tan Jincheng is no exception. He tries his best to avoid this topic in public, and if he can't avoid it, he will be vague.

Choosing to distribute year-end bonuses on Lunar New Year's Eve is also to appease employees. On the most unexpected day, seeing a large sum of cash deposited into their accounts will create a huge psychological contrast for anyone, and can maximize their emotions.

Nothing is more comforting than a large sum of cash.

"Most companies put year-end bonuses after the Spring Festival, or even in the middle of the year, and some even distribute them in several installments. To put it bluntly, they are afraid that employees will take the year-end bonus and jump ship. But our company is not afraid of this at all."

Xu Xinglei, one of the earliest 200 employees of Flashpoint Technology, started as a junior production line worker, then became a skilled worker, then a team leader, then a line leader, and now a production supervisor.

Xu Xinglei, who is nearly 40 years old, has served Flash Technology for 18 years. With age and work experience, he has become more and more composed. However, no matter how composed a man is, he still has the habit of bragging.

Xu Xinglei, who only has a junior high school education, had his own opportunities, but he also worked hard to become a production supervisor in a listed company. The first hurdle to overcome in his career was his educational background.

Flashpoint would never appoint an employee with only a junior high school education to a middle management position; they would at least need an adult education diploma.

The production supervisor at Flashpoint Technology is considered a mid-level manager in the company. He directly manages multiple work teams, is responsible for daily production scheduling, quality control, and cost control, and reports to the production manager and factory manager.

However, Xu Xinglei also knew that going from a production line worker to a production supervisor was basically the ceiling of his career. After all, adult education qualifications still had many limitations, and his own abilities were also a problem.

When most middle managers face a career ceiling, they often choose to leave their jobs and start their own businesses. With years of work experience, they still have a considerable chance to start a business with partners.

However, Xu Xinglei was aware of the current situation and also had a clear understanding of his own abilities. Therefore, he worked at Flash Motors with peace of mind, waiting to retire in 20 years.

To put it bluntly, most people who manage to reach middle management are fortunate to have benefited from the opportunities of the times. They are in a period of industry boom and corporate expansion, and there are many opportunities for promotion within FlashCheer.

In addition, he was one of the original employees of Flashpoint, so he had the opportunity to talk to the boss. The company would never mistreat anyone with a bit of ability.

“Although the manufacturing industry is generally not good at hiring now, our company is not in that category. There are definitely some who leave after receiving their year-end bonus, but someone will immediately fill their place.”

Xu Xinglei, who had already settled down in Beicang, talked freely at the banquet. Most of the people who came today were his relatives, and he didn't care how they talked as long as they didn't discuss confidential company matters.

Besides, a production manager like him wouldn't be guilty of leaking secrets.

Several major corporations deposited year-end bonuses into employees' accounts on New Year's Eve. Although this didn't generate much discussion online due to the suppression by the public relations department, it caused a huge sensation in Beicang.

Today, Tan Jincheng's influence in Beicang is almost unparalleled. At least one-tenth of the families in Beicang are directly or indirectly employed by Tan Jincheng's businesses, and a large number of ordinary employees and families have benefited as a result.

In addition to benefits far exceeding those of its peers, Mr. Tan's businesses are also very generous to local residents of Beicang. For products such as clothing, electric two-wheelers, and cars, those holding a Beicang resident ID card, residence permit, or work permit can receive additional discounts on top of existing offers.

Take the Exeed S01 as an example. There are currently no discounts on this car, but local buyers in Beicang can get discounts ranging from 5% to 10%.

There's even a joke circulating online that if you want to buy a car from Weilai, you should just find a job in Beicang and work there for a few months. It's much more cost-effective than in some other cities, especially for high-end models like the popular Weilai L1.

This feels a bit like an undercover real estate agent trying to buy a house; and believe it or not, some people actually do it. But Weilai Auto doesn't care. Exploiting bugs is practically a talent of the Chinese, and Weilai doesn't mind that.

How much money did you take?

People from northern Anhui, even if they have settled elsewhere, will still visit each other from time to time as long as they have relatives. During the Spring Festival, the management in Beicang is not very strict. Although Xu Xinglei occasionally needs to be on duty, he still has time to eat and drink.

"Haha, I can't say, but it's quite generous."

Xu Xinglei laughed. He knew what he should and shouldn't say. As the production supervisor of FlashTech, his basic monthly salary was 1.5 yuan. Based on completing the production tasks, his year-end bonus this year could reach up to 18 yuan.

Weilai Group had a breakout year in 2021, and FlashTech also performed well. Throughout 2021, FlashTech achieved sales of nearly 1400 million vehicles and a global market share of 28%, leading the second and third place by a wide margin.

Benefiting from special events and the replacement wave brought about by the new national standard, the sales of two-wheeled electric vehicles entered a period of explosive growth starting in 2020, and Flash Motors became the first company to achieve sales of more than 10 million vehicles for two consecutive years.

With the support of intelligent systems, its high-end models are quite popular among young people, and its high-end image is quite successful. In the high-end market, it is not only new forces such as Niu and Ninebot, but also established brands such as Flash.

With revenue, gross profit margin, and net profit margin all exceeding those of the second and third ranked companies by more than double, it is the most profitable two-wheeled electric vehicle company in the world.

In the lower-tier market of two-wheeled electric vehicles, Flashcar is able to achieve a net profit of 6%, which is comparable to Niu, a similarly high-end electric vehicle brand. The transfer of Weilai technology has played a significant role in this success. It's worth noting that Niu's annual sales are only 100 million vehicles, a significant difference from Flashcar's annual sales.

This can be seen from the average selling price of each vehicle. Niu Technologies' average selling price is as high as 3070 yuan, while FlashDrive's average selling price is only 1946 yuan. Such a large difference in price and the fact that they can achieve comparable net profits is enough to demonstrate FlashDrive's capabilities.

"I can't say it was a lot, but your family had a very prosperous New Year."

"It's okay, it's okay."

Xu Xinglei laughed, raised his glass, and changed the subject, saying that he was living a really good life now, with his annual salary plus year-end bonus, his annual income was basically between 25 and 30 yuan.

This income is enough to ensure a worry-free life for his family as long as he doesn't mess around. In addition, Xu Xinglei's biggest opportunity is his boss. Through several close encounters with his boss, he has learned a lot. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to climb up to the management level step by step.

Based on his interactions with his boss over the past few years, the biggest message Xu Xinglei received was to buy a house as soon as possible, work honestly without making any trouble, and not to engage in any investments or financial management.

He has accomplished all of these. Now, besides two houses, he only owns 10,000 shares of Flash Technology and 2000 shares of Weilai Shares. He does want to buy Orange Group, but it's inconvenient to do so in the US and Hong Kong stock markets, so he's too lazy to do it.

Of the 10,000 shares of FlashTech stock, 1000 were given to him by the company, the rest were purchased by himself, and the other 2000 shares of Weilai shares were also purchased by him when the stock price was less than 90 yuan.

The boss told him not to invest recklessly, but because he was optimistic about the benefits of the boss and his own company, he figured it wasn't reckless to spend some spare money on his own company's stock. Besides, both companies pay dividends every year.

Although it's not much, every little bit counts. These 10,000 shares of FlashTech are now worth 320,000 yuan. FlashTech's market capitalization is currently around 32 billion yuan, and 2000 shares would be worth a lot more.

On the last trading day before the Lunar New Year, Weilai Co., Ltd. closed at 592.60 yuan. Xu Xinglei's initial investment of less than 18 yuan yielded a book value of 118.52 yuan, which gave him a great surprise.

The two stocks have a book value of 150 million yuan. In addition to savings and regular salary, the two houses are also mortgage-free. The car is a Tank 300 purchased with employee discounts.

This is a new car he bought this year. Before, he drove a Yuechi A1. Compared to new energy vehicles, Xu Xinglei still prefers gasoline cars. In addition, his hometown is in a rural area of ​​northern Anhui, and his parents are not used to living in the city. He also needs to go back to his hometown occasionally, so gasoline cars are more practical.

According to current standards, Xu Xinglei is now definitely middle class. As a post-80s generation with little education, he couldn't be more satisfied to have achieved this level of success by the time he enters his forties.

In the dead of night, he couldn't help but think that he should have bought more shares of Weilai Co., Ltd. back then. In fact, with his financial resources at the time, he could have bought even more. If he had sold his shares of Shanchi Technology and added some money, he could have bought at least 5000 shares without affecting his family.

5000 shares, that's almost 300 million! Having over 300 million in cash flow and a stable job with an annual income of nearly 30—that's incredibly fulfilling.

However, he only thought about it; he wasn't the kind of person who liked taking risks, and he didn't regret his decision.

"After working at a company for 18 years, do you think I would do something so risky?"

Xu Xinglei is essentially a person who seeks stability. His fellow villager Zhao Xinbin, who was with him back then, had already resigned a few years ago and returned to his hometown to do business. He completed the resignation procedures after paying social security for 15 years.

However, this guy's life was a mix of good and bad. When he returned to his hometown to settle down, he sold his house in Ningbo at the peak of the market, which should have been a cause for celebration. But his misfortune came when he opened a shop back home, and everyone knows what's been going on with him these past few years.

"Xu Xinglei and Zhao Xinbin represent two different aspects of our post-80s generation."

At the home of Zhang Xupeng, president of Flash Group, Tan Jincheng and his old partner Zhang Xupeng were talking about the group of employees they had when they founded Flash. These people were basically the same age as them and had similar levels of education.

Back in the day, when undergraduates were relatively scarce, Flashcart really didn't attract many college students. It was considered good if they could recruit someone with a high school diploma.

"Yes, opportunities, choices, and social experiences all influence us."

Of the original 200 employees, very few, like Xu Xinglei, remain. Working in a grassroots position at a private company for 18 years is extremely difficult for a migrant worker far from home.

To meet this standard, in addition to the company's benefits and work environment meeting psychological standards, the employee's own choice is also very important. Back then, FlashCheer was the first company from Ningbo to be listed on the A-share market, and it was still enjoying a halo.

But nowadays there are countless listed companies, and the halo has long been gone. The pace of life is also much faster now, and the manufacturing industry, which is no longer the first choice for employment, is even more difficult. People like Xu Xinglei need to meet the right timing, the right place, and the right people.

"Now you're completely ignoring FlashDrive, aren't you afraid I'll ruin it?"

In its early days, Weilai needed financial support from Flashpoint. Of course, Flashpoint didn't have much money at that time, so Tan Jincheng simply used Flashpoint's existing channels to raise funds, obtaining funds through means such as pledging equity.

However, this "tool" is no longer needed, and Tan Jincheng has paid much less attention to FlashDrive.

In 2021, FlashTech's revenue was approximately 270 billion yuan, and its net profit was only a little over a billion yuan. This performance would make it an absolute leader in the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry, but within Tan Jincheng's current business system, it is not even worth mentioning.

This revenue level is similar to that of Meizu. The revenue of the entire Flash Group, including Jinpeng Industrial and Bafang Shares, is not high. Flash Technology accounts for 77% of the total revenue of the Flash Group.

Tan Jincheng laughed and said, "To be honest, as long as you don't mess things up, it will be really difficult for you to destroy Flash Group."

He has resigned from several positions, including president and legal representative of Flash Group. Apart from still having actual control, Flash Group is no longer officially related to him.

Flash Group's three main businesses are electric vehicles, apparel, and trade. Apart from electric vehicles, which have undergone a series of expansions due to the market environment in recent years, the other two businesses have been affected by different trade environments.

The apparel industry is becoming increasingly difficult, and it's also hard to grow in scale. As for trade, it goes without saying that both of these major business segments are following a contraction strategy. Flash Group's annual revenue largely depends on Flash Technology's performance.

It's not wrong to say that FlashTech represents FlashTech Group.

"Hehe, that's hard to say."

Under normal circumstances, it is not easy for a company with annual revenue of over 30 billion yuan and more than 10,000 employees to be easily brought to bankruptcy. Lifan, a company that has made many mistakes, has been struggling for so many years without actually going bankrupt.

Zhang Xupeng was clearly joking; he said it simply to confirm Tan Jincheng's attitude.

"Don't worry, now that the company is in your hands, it's really in your hands. I don't have the energy to manage Flash."

Weilai Group's revenue has already exceeded 3000 billion yuan, and it will definitely reach a new level this year. Jinshidai's production capacity has expanded very rapidly, and it has maintained a high growth rate over the years.

In 2022, it is almost certain that Jinshidai's revenue will double, and Weilai Auto's revenue will inevitably reach a new level.

Based on the publicly announced sales target of 141 million new energy vehicles, and using the average selling price in 2021, Weilai Auto's revenue in 2022 alone will exceed 3000 billion yuan.

With the addition of Yuechi Auto and Zhidou Auto, which will be consolidated into the financial statements this year, the three major automotive subsidiaries are expected to generate 4000 billion yuan in revenue in 2022.

With the addition of Jinshidai, Weilai Group's revenue for 2022 is expected to reach an unprecedented range of 6500 billion to 7000 billion yuan.

What is this concept?
SAIC Motor, the leading company in China's automotive industry, had revenue of around 7400 billion yuan in 2020. It is highly likely that Wei Lai will challenge SAIC Motor's position as the leading domestic automaker. These figures can be calculated without much financial knowledge.

This explains why the market paid so much attention to Wei Lai's annual report after he announced his 2022 sales forecast. For normal companies, the annual report is not actually that important, especially for automobile manufacturers.

The quarterly reports for the first three quarters have been released, and the sales figures for the fourth quarter can be found as scheduled. For investment institutions and even some ordinary investors, it is not difficult to calculate the approximate annual revenue.

The attention given to Weilai's annual report is less about Weilai's performance over the past year and more about its challenge to SAIC's revenue expectations.

"That's true, you really don't have the energy to manage other companies."

Zhang Xupeng is not part of Weilai's system, but he still knows a lot about Weilai's internal affairs. Weilai is aiming for 6000 billion yuan in revenue this year, which is quite a challenge. One can imagine where Tan Jincheng's work focus will be this year.

This was actually evident starting in the second half of the year. In addition to Zhang Xupeng becoming the legal representative of Flash Group, Orange Group also underwent a business registration change, with Gu Qingqing becoming the legal representative.

Although she still retains the position of president of Orange Group, it is obvious to everyone that this position will belong to Gu Qingqing in the future.

"Actually, my plan is very simple. I will hand over the management of Orange Group to you now. When we get old, we will learn from Midea Group and manage it using the professional manager model. Then we can retire peacefully."

This professional manager can be hired from outside or trained internally. He can be a direct relative of Tan Jincheng or a descendant of Zhang Xupeng. In short, the key is to maintain stability.

As for his other two major groups, they are destined to be taken over by his descendants. Compared to the Weilai Group, the management model of the internet company Orange Group is more transparent. There are no problems with the strategy. With a spiritual core, and a group of capable managers, it will be pretty much done.

Of course, there is also the risk that the management may undermine the actual control of the company. However, these are not important. When a large group company undergoes a power transition, all sorts of problems will inevitably arise. It all depends on the ability of the successor.

As for the Weilai Group, succession is relatively more difficult. Successors of large intelligent manufacturing companies often face enormous pressure.

"Hehe, I'll wait for that day. Fortunately, neither of us has any illegitimate children, so we don't have to worry about any messy things."

Sometimes Zhang Xupeng's thought process is quite interesting. The two of them have two children. Tan Jincheng's youngest daughter is almost seven years old, and Zhang Xupeng's youngest son is five years old. All the children attend schools within the Giant System.

Tan Jincheng has already chosen a school for his younger sister, Tan Jinyue, who will be attending Zhejiang University in the second half of the year. After learning more about her future, Tan Jincheng has completely given up on the idea of ​​sending his children abroad for education.

We're all just amateurs; it doesn't matter where we study. His sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters don't need academic qualifications to embellish their lives; as long as they have the ability, that's enough.

"Your thought process is really something."

Tan Jincheng was speechless. For a rich person to claim that their private life is pure and flawless is utter nonsense, and he was no exception. However, he could still uphold the bottom line of not allowing offspring to be produced, as could Zhang Xupeng.

"I'm telling the truth. Isn't this what you've been preparing for?"

With Zhang Xupeng now the legal representative of Flash Group, the future strategy is basically clear. Meanwhile, Orange Group quietly changed its legal representative to Gu Qingqing, which is precisely to resolve future family property issues.

In fact, he was quite envious of his old friend, who had a son, a daughter, and a younger sister whom he raised like a daughter. The three of them owned three major companies, and any one of them could provide for them.

"But to be honest, there's still one thing you haven't figured out yet."

Which one is missing?

"What could be wrong with it? It's the ByteDance engine."

In truth, Tan Jincheng's greatest asset is not actually the three major groups, nor the numerous subsidiaries, but rather ByteDance's ByteDance Engine. By controlling ByteDance Engine, he essentially controls the entire industry.

Tan Jincheng nodded: "That is indeed a problem."

The modification of ByteDance's engine is indeed within his plans, but it's not easy to make a decision yet.

(End of this chapter)