2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 347 Financing and sharing of money!

We often say that the festive atmosphere of the New Year and other holidays has disappeared, but actually it's just that the atmosphere no longer belongs to us.

Tanjiacun was very lively this Mid-Autumn Festival. Many parents who worked away from home returned, and the children, who usually only spent the festival with their grandparents, were exceptionally excited.

Children's world isn't that complicated. They're happy as long as their parents are around, they have food, drink, and fun.

On the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Tan Jincheng brought two bottles of wine to the village chief's house. Tan Lihua had decided to renovate the house, but the village chief had to agree to build a new house.

After all, their family's household registration is not in the village, and the old house is still under the grandfather's name. If someone in the village objects, it could cause some trouble.

The standard gift for people from Yicheng, or rather, people from Anhui Province, during the Spring Festival is two bottles of wine.

Tan Jincheng, the old village chief, was overjoyed to see how successful he had become these days, with even the county's top leaders visiting his home. He carried two bottles of wine into the house in the morning.

"Come on over, why bring any wine? Don't worry about building the house, your grandfather is still alive, no one in the village will say anything about you."

"Of course, it's already a bit impolite of me not to visit since I've been back for so many days."

"Hey, you're a busy man, and you're bringing your wife back, so you must have a lot of people to meet. Don't worry about these things."

These days, village chiefs are usually older people with a certain level of prestige in the village. They may not be very educated, but they are certainly shrewd.

Those who manage to become village chiefs usually come from well-off families. For example, the village chief of Tanjia Village has a son who runs a small shop at the entrance of the village, handling all the daily necessities and other goods. He also runs a pesticide retail store. His life is much more comfortable than working in the city.

Of course, there is no such thing as a village bully. He usually does business with his fellow villagers, and he can even buy on credit when some people are short of money, and pay them when he has the money.

Although it is a poverty-stricken county, it is not a remote mountainous area. It is close to the developed areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, and most of the people there have seen it. In fact, the conditions in Tanjia Village are not bad, and there are not many people who are particularly poor.

Except for families with insufficient labor or those with chronic illnesses who need to take medication year-round.

Farmers tend to be direct, and the old village chief, having finally caught Tan Jincheng by chance, asked bluntly, "Does your father still stand by what he said about raising funds to repair the village road, with your family contributing the lion's share?"

Tan Jincheng smiled: "Of course it counts. In addition, I will also pay for the renovation of the village primary school, and the ancestral hall may also be renovated. We will also build a cultural square for the village. As for the land, you can decide for the village chief."

Now that the decision has been made to locate the third factory in the county town, the village must repair it so that the villagers can benefit from it; otherwise, they would have no face to come back.

The old village chief immediately laughed: "Really?"

"Of course it's true. In addition, I give each of the 70-year-olds in the village 1000 yuan a year as pocket money. Also, I pay the tuition for the children who are admitted to key universities."

"Are you kidding me?" the old village chief asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Damn, how much money is that? 1000 yuan for everyone over 70 years old, plus tuition fees, which is no small amount. Conditions are better now, but there are still many families struggling to pay tuition fees, and many families have to borrow money for tuition.

"Why would I tease you? But let me make this clear first, it's a key university. You should know what a key university is. It has to be at least a first-class undergraduate institution, like the 211 or 985 universities in Anhui Province that I didn't attend."

When he was building the factory in Tianjin, Tan Jincheng interacted with many people in the village and learned about the situation in rural areas. He knew that there was no point in telling them anything else; he could just give them the numbers.

In addition, people in southern Anhui attach great importance to ancestral halls. My grandfather often mentioned that the village wanted to build an ancestral hall, but when they calculated that it would cost more than 1000 yuan per person, and nearly 10,000 yuan for families with many members, who would be willing to spend that much?
The matter was left unresolved, and it was probably a lingering worry for their generation.

Since we've already done it, we might as well solve it for them. It won't cost Tan Jincheng much money anyway.

He is actually quite wealthy now. On October 4th, Orange Technology reached an agreement with Qiming Venture Partners for Series A funding, with Qiming Venture Partners acquiring a 15% stake in Orange Technology for $4 million.

In other words, Orange Technology's valuation has exceeded 2 million!

Why is it so high? Simply put, there are two different concepts between an internet company being able to solve the problem of making a profit model and not being able to solve it. When they couldn't solve it, Tan Jincheng dared to ask for 1 million, but with Happy Farm, doubling it is really not a big problem.

Of course, such a high valuation wasn't something Kuang Ping could just agree to casually mention; his money didn't come from thin air.

Kuang Ping, who believes that investing is about investing in people, agreed to such a high valuation only after listening to Tan Jincheng's plans for Kaixin001 and Orange Technology, as well as his judgment on internet trends.

"Mr. Tan, to be honest, I originally thought that you were able to make Kaixin.com successful just because of luck and your very strong marketing skills. But after today, I realized that you really understand the internet. It's a real pity that you're not in the internet industry."

No wonder Cheng Hao said that their boss is an excellent product manager. Working with the boss is much easier and more profitable than starting your own business. It's just that the boss's mind doesn't seem to be on the internet.

"Since you, Mr. Tan, have recognized that the internet will impact offline businesses, why are you still focusing your efforts on the physical retail sector?"

"Some things have to be done by someone, and besides, not everything will be affected by the physical world," Tan Jincheng said involuntarily.

The physical businesses that the internet can reach are mainly those deeply tied to real estate. Some other industries are less affected, such as beverage retail stores, electric bicycle shops, and automobiles.

No one would order a bottle of water online, and even in 2023, very few people would buy electric bikes online. As for cars, you can order them online, but you still have to go to the store to pick them up.

Regarding Tan Jincheng's current business, the clothing business may be impacted by the internet in the future, but GXG's original plan was a factory + e-commerce model, which does not require distributors to make profits in the middle.

In addition, the offline flagship stores were all purchased during a period when housing prices were relatively low, rather than rented. Therefore, the impact of housing price fluctuations is negligible for the GXG brand, and may even be beneficial.

After the Series A financing, Orange Technology's equity structure changed. Tan Jincheng held 61% of the shares, Gu Qingqing held 22.5%, Qiming Venture Partners held 15%, and Cheng Hao held 1.5%.

Tan Jincheng did not dilute Cheng Hao's shares; it was only 1.5%. If it were diluted proportionally, it would be gone. The technical director had to be given something in return, especially since Cheng Hao's abilities were more than enough to match the 1.5% equity.

After the financing, Cheng Hao's equity stake was valued at $40, which is approximately RMB 320 million. With this 1.5% equity stake, Cheng Hao no longer needs to rely on a salary to make a living.

If there is another round of financing, the value of Cheng Hao's shares will be even higher. In addition, he has 3.5% of his stock options that have not been exercised. All things considered, his equity value is in the tens of millions. Why would he betray Orange Technology and start his own business?
People in their 30s, after their morale has been dampened and with family burdens to bear, no longer have much desire to start a business.

Of the $400 million raised, $100 million was transferred to the personal accounts of Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing. It is perfectly reasonable for company founders to cash out a portion of the funds they receive.

Cheng Hao's shares were not diluted, so there was no need for him to cash out.

In addition, Qiming Venture Partners will provide Orange Technology with a $2 million interest-free loan for Kaixin001's subsequent promotion and development, with a loan term of one year. Of course, Kuang Ping also symbolically set a condition: Kaixin001's user base must exceed 10 million within the loan period; otherwise, the $2 million will be converted into shares corresponding to the Series A funding round.

Besides money, Qiming Venture Partners is also a resource that Tan Jincheng values ​​most. Qiming Venture Partners will act as a lubricant in the future competition and cooperation with Tencent.

Kuang Ping is from Guangzhou. Before becoming a partner at Qiming Venture Partners, he had experience as an investment director at a large company, so he has resources and connections, which is what Tan Jincheng values ​​most.

Personal connections are far more important than funds. On the other hand, Kuang Ping has invested so much money that he can't just stand by and watch Kaixin001 be bullied by Tencent.

After its Series A funding round, Kaixin001 will receive $5 million, or 40 million yuan. For a small social networking site, 40 million yuan is enough to last a long time. At this point, it would not be an exaggeration to describe Kaixin001 as having deep pockets.

After the financing agreement was reached, Tan Jincheng quickly informed Gu Yanning and Cheng Hao. Cheng Hao was very grateful that his boss had not diluted his shares, as he did not want to cash out at this time.

Since the boss and shareholders have made a fortune, the employees naturally have to share in the profits. The stock options that Tan Jincheng had promised will also be honored. The two founders will each take 5% of their shares, totaling 10%, for future equity incentives.

Of course, this 10% cannot be distributed all at once now, otherwise the company would not receive any in the future. What is being exercised this time is just an option, commonly known as a pie.

"Does that mean I not only recouped the 300 million yuan my dad gave me in just a few months, but I also gained a large portion of the shares?"

The moment the agreement was signed, Gu Qingqing truly felt the wealth-creating power of the internet. On the workdays after the National Day holiday, she would receive $50 in cash, which would be deposited directly into her personal account.

"Yes, isn't it amazing? It feels great and you're more motivated, right?"

"It's quite strange, but besides stock options, shouldn't the employees also receive some bonuses? They didn't get a single day off during this National Day holiday, and they worked very hard."

This automatically puts her in the role of CEO.

"You've decided on this. The bonus will definitely be paid out, and we have to pay it in cash. It's far more impactful to have it deposited into your account than to have cash in hand."

Tan Jincheng agreed, and Gu Qingqing was very happy: "How about we each contribute 5 dollars as a bonus?"

"Haha, you don't feel bad about it? It's an 80 yuan bonus. Orange Technology only has less than 30 people in total. The average bonus is tens of thousands of yuan."

"If you're going to give money, be generous. Anyway, it's from President Kuang, and neither of us has to contribute a single penny."

"Haha, okay, I'll listen to you."

Gu Qingqing can spend her $450,000 however she likes, but Tan Jincheng plans to invest most of it in the development of his hometown, which is why he came to the village chief's house today to spend so much money.

Qingqing is right. It was our CEO Kuang who made the investment, but he won't lose money either. New investors will come in later to help him recoup his costs.
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"Dad, how about we have a bottle of this wine that Jincheng gave us tonight for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

"What are you drinking? This is Moutai. Do you deserve to drink it? Save it for when Xuanya takes his college entrance exam."

"Give me those cigarettes, I'll sell them and make some money, several hundred yuan."

"roll roll roll."

When the old village chief's son came home for lunch, he saw two bottles of Moutai and a carton of Zhonghua cigarettes on the table and started to have designs on them.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Jincheng is really generous. These two items aren't cheap," Tan Zhongfu said with envy.

The old village chief rolled his eyes at his son and said, "This is nothing. Go to your shop and get me two sheets of red paper."

"What do you need red paper for? It's almost time to eat. Bring it back after you finish eating."

“Go when I tell you to. I need it urgently. Xiao Tan has done a lot for the village. I need to write it down on red paper and post it here so that the villagers can be happy.”

"What good news is it that you're in such a hurry? You can't even wait to eat."

"Repair the ancestral hall!" the old village chief glared at his son and said.

Tan Zhongfu didn't say anything, and turned to leave. The existing ancestral hall was already dilapidated. His father's wish was to repair the ancestral hall before he died; he was almost obsessed with it.

This might not be a big deal for Jincheng or anyone else, but it was a huge deal for his father.

Wow, Jincheng really knows how to give his father the perfect gift. No wonder his business is so successful; his thoughtfulness is truly admirable.

When Tan Zhongfu brought the red paper back and saw his father write down all the benefits, Tan Zhongfu was stunned.

Each household needs to contribute to the construction of roads and ancestral halls, but Tan Jincheng promised to cover 80% of the costs. He will also be fully responsible for the construction of schools and village cultural squares.

Paying tuition fees for students who are admitted to top-tier universities is an incalculable expense, but it also motivates children in the village to study hard, which is a great achievement.

Upon seeing the last message, Tan Zhongfu said leisurely, "Dad, you must live a few more years. If you live to be 100, you can get 3 yuan from Jincheng."

"Nonsense, does living to 100 make you an old monster?"

"Jincheng is a good kid. He remembers his fellow villagers even after he made a fortune. There aren't many young people like him these days."

The old village chief nodded in agreement: "Yes, unlike those young people in the village who get all high and mighty after making a little money, Jincheng is very humble."

When the village builds something, they usually post a red notice and carve a monument to commemorate it. Tan Jincheng asked him to put the money he donated into the account under his father Tan Lihua's name. What else could this be but humility?
His vision was limited to the small village of Tanjia. He was willing to swallow his pride for the sake of Tanjia, but he was also prepared to be rejected.

Tan Jincheng only lived here for a few years when he was a child, so he has no connection with the village anymore. Now that his career is so successful, he has even fewer opportunities to come back. Perhaps after this visit with his wife, he will never have the chance to run into her again.

This young man, who is also a businessman, donating so much money to the village is not just because of his parents and elders.

Calling him a great philanthropist wouldn't be an exaggeration!
There's no double reward this month, so I'm asking for a guaranteed monthly vote!

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(End of this chapter)