I'm reborn and I'm an international student again?

Inside the office.

Chen Xi soon received a fine notice, but the company fined was not Huahetong, but related companies such as Quhao, swiping cards, and Xunjie.

“Vice President, why don’t you go and argue with them? This time even Huodudu was fined, for saying that our two companies’ competition disrupts the market… Huodudu is not satisfied and has already gone to demand an explanation.” Qian Jiajia said indignantly.

"Reasoning? Reasoning with whom? Here, reason is about status and relationships, not right and wrong. It's like a child trying to reason with an elder, or a commoner trying to argue with the emperor. Can you make sense of that? Nowadays, many people think that only incompetent people talk about reason, while capable people can say whatever they want. That may sound harsh, but it's not entirely untrue." Chen Xi scoffed dismissively.

"So all that money was paid for nothing?"

"It's not like we're the only ones being fined; Huodudu got caught up in the misfortune too. The fine is already considered lenient; I think someone higher up is giving me a warning." Chen Xi pondered, stroking his chin.

"I'll call my dad and ask him to help me sort this out."

"Do you know who punished us? Go find your dad."

“My dad always brags about how big his business is, and how every department has to give him some face, so this shouldn’t be difficult to handle.”

"Let's forget about it. I can roughly guess who made this move. That person is someone we can't afford to mess with," Chen Xi said with a smile, waving his hand.

There are only a handful of people in the whole country who dare to criticize Fan Hongyuan.

He then asked, "How is the market situation now?"

Qian Jiajia immediately began reporting: "Several safety incidents have occurred with ride-sharing services this year, and regulatory authorities have begun strict rectification. Ride-hailing platforms need to obtain licenses in various regions, their operating vehicles must be changed to the nature of on-demand taxi passenger transport, and they must also meet local requirements for wheelbase, engine displacement, vehicle price, etc., and obtain a network taxi transport permit... In other words, the ride-hailing market has moved from disorderly growth to a stage of standardized development under strong regulation. Compliance costs have increased significantly, and the platform's operational focus has shifted from seizing market share to safety, compliance, and profitability. I estimate that same-city freight will soon face similar regulations."

Currently, in the same-city freight market, QuLaHuo ranks first, followed closely by HuoDuDu, and then the newly emerging FengGou Dache and FengGou LaHuo. These companies are engaged in a fierce subsidy war and market competition.

Although the platforms are becoming more centralized, the actual drivers and vehicles still operate in a highly fragmented manner, with low standardization and inconsistent service quality.

"The introduction of regulatory policies may not be a bad thing. In the future, market competition will gradually shift from price wars to service experience and technology empowerment, such as intelligent order dispatch, route planning, and in-depth cultivation of niche markets," Chen Xi nodded.

In his view, the subsidy war is devoid of any technical sophistication and is purely a game of capital. Even if one side wins and stops the subsidies, new investors will quickly enter the market, and the cycle will continue.

"In addition, Uber has withdrawn from the Chinese market," Qian Jiajia added.

Chen Xi, who had been reborn, was naturally aware of this.

In fact, while large global logistics companies such as Amazon Logistics and DHL operate in China, they primarily focus on large-scale logistics segments like cross-border logistics or warehousing and distribution, and have never entered the highly non-standardized, labor-intensive same-city instant delivery market in China. It can be said that the last-mile nature of this market determines its strong regional characteristics, giving foreign companies no advantage whatsoever.

Therefore, he is not worried at all about foreign companies suddenly emerging to compete with him for goods.

“I think we should take this opportunity to cooperate with certain companies to optimize route planning and algorithms, and crush Huodudu in one fell swoop. Judging from the current situation, Crazy Dog Cargo will be out of the market in less than a year, at which point it will enter a two-horse race. Once Huodudu has a firm foothold, subsequent financing will be easier. In addition, they can mobilize funds from Southeast Asia, so our pressure will only increase!” Qian Jiajia analyzed.

"You mean we should take down Huodudu now? What happens after that? Will we still have competitors? Probably not. Once a monopoly is formed, things will only get worse. Anti-monopoly regulations will only get stricter in the future. I think we shouldn't swallow up others, but rather give up a portion of the market, or even support some small companies, to maintain a superficial competitive situation." Chen Xi directly rejected her suggestion.

Based on his past life's experience, private enterprises, let alone monopolizing the market, might even face restrictions if they only achieve second or third place in the industry. If Huodudu really withdraws from the domestic market, the first to be regulated will inevitably be those involved in hauling goods.

Meanwhile, in Chen Yifeng's office at Huade Technology, the keyboard was clicking away like a machine gun.

He wasn't very good with computers to begin with, but this incident forced him to become a typing expert.

Since he posted online in an attempt to incite cyberattacks against banks, he has not only failed to achieve his goal, but has also attracted criticism from netizens.

"These people are simply unreasonable, their hatred for the rich is too severe! They keep shouting to overthrow capitalists and achieve common prosperity, but I think in the end it will only lead to common poverty! If all the smart people are overthrown, how can the economy not be in chaos with a bunch of idiots?" After a long while, Chen Yifeng slammed his fist on the keyboard and couldn't help but curse.

During this period, he spent a lot of money, not only to incite netizens to denounce the banks, but also to convey a message: the wealth of private entrepreneurs is also hard-earned and should not be arbitrarily swallowed up by state-owned capital.

Of course, Chen Yifeng was not the first to encounter this situation.

Before him, several industry leaders had encountered similar situations, with their bank deposits disappearing and even lawsuits proving futile.

Those who become bosses are not fools; they see further than most people.

This series of signals has alerted many wealthy people: the money they earn may not truly be theirs, and it can be incredibly easy for someone to make them impoverished overnight.

Chen Yifeng took a sip of tea, casually opened a news website, and saw several news articles about the sudden death of industry giants, which made him increasingly uneasy.

"Knock knock." There was a knock on the office door. An employee walked in with a package: "Mr. Chen, there's mail for you." He put the package down and left.

"Could it be court documents?" Chen Yifeng excitedly picked up the package, hoping for a turn of events.

After opening the envelope, he frowned. He pulled out the letter and began to read. After a long while, he suddenly slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Paternity test, male best friend... This brat is getting more and more outrageous! Secretly sending this kind of letter, does he really think I don't know it was him? He's clearly trying to sow discord!"

Chen Yifeng guessed correctly; the letter was indeed sent by Chen Xi, with the purpose of reminding the other party.

After all, a significant portion of Chen Yifeng's wealth was earned through his and Chen Caiyue's joint efforts, and given the size of Huade Enterprise, Chen Xi was determined not to see it fall into the hands of outsiders.

As for whether Dad will believe it?

Chen Xi thought it was possible.

His father was extremely suspicious, and having climbed up from the bottom, he never easily trusted anyone.

Zhang Xuan is an exception, after all, people tend to become blind when they fall in love.

However, Chen Xi remembered that when he chatted with his father in his previous life, his father lamented, "I made a wrong move in this life."

Chen Xi didn't know whether this referred to business or his marriage with Zhang Xuan.

Chen Yifeng was always very proud, so Chen Xi from his previous life naturally didn't press the matter further.

“Male best friend? Wu Yan? Xiao Xuan said they're just old classmates, good friends. How can this be linked to cheating? It's ridiculous! That chubby guy, is he as handsome as me? As rich as me? That brat always said I was old-fashioned, but I think he's the real old-fashioned one, he doesn't even understand what a male best friend is. Xiao Xuan said that nowadays every woman has a male best friend…” Chen Yifeng was still muttering to himself.

"However... there doesn't seem to be any harm in doing a paternity test." He suddenly calmed down.

The Chen family had never had a daughter. Of the two children Zhang Xuan bore him, the son did resemble him, but the daughter looked nothing like him. Thinking about it carefully, her small eyes did bear some resemblance to Wu Yan's... The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became, and Chen Yifeng's doubts continued to grow.

"Knock knock." The door was knocked on again.

This time, it was Leo who came in. The German man in the sharp suit walked straight to him and sat down opposite him.

"Why are you here? Weren't you in Beijing?" Chen Yifeng was somewhat surprised by this uninvited guest.

"Well, you saw what happened at this World Manufacturing Convention. Huade's market share and reputation are declining, and it's only a matter of time before it's overtaken by Xinde," Leo said bluntly.

"That's all plagiarism! Stealing! Chen Caiyue is taking advantage of our past relationship to blatantly steal the institute's technology! She thinks I won't sue her, that's why she's so brazen. Yes, I didn't expose her on the spot because of our past relationship, but that doesn't mean Xinde can surpass Huade! I will thoroughly reorganize the institute and prevent technology leaks. What future can a company that started by imitation have?" Chen Yifeng said disdainfully, leaning back in his executive chair.

“These words are meaningless. The German headquarters has its own evaluation team. Huade’s overall performance has been declining in recent years, and you’re not focused on the company, so they decided to terminate the cooperation.” Leo shook his head.

"Terminate the cooperation? Then who will they contact? Xinde?" Chen Yifeng asked anxiously.

"Perhaps, the final partner hasn't been decided yet. But haven't you been focusing on financial companies for a while now? Why are you so excited?"

"How could I not be excited? I built Huade from scratch!"

“You didn’t say that before. I’ve reminded you many times, but you always say that manufacturing profits are declining and that finance is more profitable.” Leo said sarcastically.

Leo had discovered Hua De's problems long before Chen Xi returned to China.

Unfortunately, all these years have passed, and Chen Yifeng has never listened to any advice. His current predicament is entirely his own fault.

"Okay, go and talk to headquarters again. Next year, I will definitely carry out a comprehensive reform of Huade!" Chen Yifeng patted his chest and guaranteed.

"You should call and say that yourself." Leo shook his head, stood up, and silently left.

After Leo left, Chen Yifeng immediately called Chen Caiyue over.

"Now that you're in charge of the factory, and you're aware of Huade's situation, tell me, how do you plan to save it?" Chen Yifeng asked, taking a sip of tea.

Looking at the boss's gloomy face, Chen Caiyue swallowed hard: "The atmosphere in the factory is terrible, there are too many people with connections. These people don't do any real work, they just fight for power and profit."

Chen Yifeng's face darkened even more.

He certainly understood that "connections" referred to relatives of the Chen and Zhang families.

To be honest, the main responsibility for this problem lies with him.

Once people become successful, they always want to show off in front of their relatives. This is true not only for him, but also for Chen Kaiwen and Chen Mingli.

As a result, more and more people joined the company without an interview, taking advantage of connections to shirk their duties and cheat, which discouraged ordinary employees.

As for Zhang's relatives, they took advantage of Chen Yifeng's deteriorating relationship with the Chen family and didn't even respect the Chen family.

"Should we expel them all?" Chen Yifeng had a headache.

If he were to do that, his reputation would definitely be ruined.

After these people leave, they will surely spread rumors about him everywhere, and when Zhang Xuan gets home, she will fight them to the death.

Seeing Chen Yifeng's predicament, Chen Caiyue seized the opportunity to suggest, "It is indeed inconvenient for the chairman to handle this personally. Why not have someone else drive the reform?"

"go on."

“Huade is currently not doing well, and the expenses for its factories, global sales outlets, and maintenance departments are staggering. According to my estimate, it will suffer large-scale losses in less than two years. Why not lease the brand to someone else and we can share the profits annually? Just like the reform of state-owned enterprises into private ones... What you want, Chairman, is the profit and the continuation of the Huade brand, isn't it?” Chen Caiyue suggested.

"Who should we rent to? New Delhi? Or the JMMs in the Bay Area?" Chen Yifeng immediately thought of these two competitors.

“I’ve been with Huade for so many years, and although my position isn’t low, I’ve never been able to fully utilize my abilities. I can’t touch those people with connections, but if I could actually control the company, reforms would go much more smoothly. Over the years, quite a few senior executives have left Huade to start their own businesses. They may seem successful on the surface, but their situation isn’t good. I have an emotional attachment to Huade and don’t want it to collapse. I believe that among those who left, many still have a deep affection for the company. My idea is… to bring them back together.”

Chen Yifeng frowned slightly.

This idea sounds good.

If someone else could remove the cronies, Huade might actually be able to revive.

You can enjoy dividends without having to worry about anything, which is like hiring a professional manager. Why not?
Should we hand over the company to someone else to manage?
The image of his son briefly flashed through Chen Yifeng's mind, but he dismissed the thought just seconds later.

If Chen Xilai were to lead the reforms, it would be tantamount to slapping ourselves in the face.

Doesn't this mean admitting that you're incapable and have to ask your son for help?

Moreover, Chen Xi had previously submitted a reform plan that explicitly recommended purging Chen family members from within the company.

If I refuse to follow your advice now, where will I put my face?
Thinking deeper, if Chen Xizhen comes to power, what will happen to the two children he and Zhang Xuan have?
Should we give them a lump sum of money, or allocate several separate companies to them?

This was merely wishful thinking on his part; Zhang Xuan would absolutely not agree to it.

After all, Huade had been a stable source of profit for him, while the financial industry was too risky.

After this ordeal, Chen Yifeng has a deeper understanding of this.

At that time, the Zhang family will inevitably cause a huge uproar.

“I will consider this matter. Tell me about the research institute first. Why was Xinde able to obtain our technology?” Chen Yifeng narrowed his eyes and changed the subject.

"It must have been Hu Jian who leaked it. Chairman, you previously wanted to groom him into an all-around senior executive; he's been involved in almost every aspect, from orders to technology," Chen Caiyue replied without hesitation. (End of Chapter)