I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 593 Wang Xing and Fang Qingye's Heart-to-Heart Talk

"President Wang?" Fang Qingye asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"Yes, you're not welcome?" Wang Xing said with a faint smile.

"How could that be? Please come in." Fang Qingye greeted her warmly.

"I've heard that you run a nursery in Nanxin, Mr. Fang. The scenery there is quite nice, and I've always wanted to come and see it," Wang Xing said as they walked.

"It's alright, but it's raining today, so the weather isn't great."

“Yes, it was sunny when I left Shanghai, but I didn’t expect it to pour down just before I reached Nanxin,” Wang Xing said, admiring the scenery in the nursery.

It's the weekend, and apart from one worker on duty, everyone else is off work, so the nursery is very quiet.

After showing Wang Xing around the nursery for a while, Fang Qingye went upstairs to her office, poured Wang Xing a cup of tea, and the two sat on the sofa and chatted.

"Chairman Fang, I've come today to visit your nursery and also to submit my resignation."

"Resignation letter?"

"I have decided to resign from my positions as a director and vice CEO of Ele.me," Wang Xing said.

"Are you leaving? Are you hungry?" Fang Qingye immediately understood Wang Xing's intention.

“Yes, I’ll be leaving sooner or later. Rather than being kicked out later, I might as well leave gracefully now. You never even liked me back then.” Wang Xing said with a self-deprecating smile.

Fang Qingye did not reply.

Wang Xing was right; he would leave sooner or later.

This has little to do with my decision not to join Meituan back then.

No entrepreneur who loses their own company will stay in a new company.

If he stayed with Ele.me, he would be a destabilizing force. The old guard at Meituan would become an extremely dangerous faction because of his presence, which Fang Qingye absolutely could not allow to exist.

Of course, Fang Qingye didn't say these words aloud; she only expressed her regret.

"What a pity, Mr. Wang. Your achievements at Meituan are obvious to all. I was hoping to work with you in the future."

"Can we not leave?" Fang Qingye asked sincerely.

"I've already made up my mind, Mr. Fang, you don't need to try to persuade me anymore."

They offered a few words of persuasion, but everyone was just putting on an act anyway.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I need to tell you. I've transferred all my shares in Meituan—oh, I should say Ele.me—to Tencent," Wang Xing added.

Selling everything to Tencent?!

Fang Qingye suddenly looked up at him.

Wang Xing owns 30.2% of Meituan's shares, and according to the agreement between the two companies, the shareholding ratio is 3 to 1.

In other words, Wang Xing has a 7.55% stake in the new Ele.me, while Tencent originally had a 6.25% stake in Ele.me, which translates to 4.68%, for a total of 12.23%.

Not only did it surpass Alibaba, but it also surpassed Zhang Xuhao and his group, becoming the second largest shareholder after Tuofang Technology!
After several rounds of financing and the merger with Meituan, Ele.me's shareholding is extremely dispersed. Tuofang Technology, the largest shareholder, now only owns 18.5% of the shares!
Why did Wang Xing do this?
Is this just creating trouble for myself later?

Fang Qingye sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, asking, "What are you planning to do? Start a new business?"

It's worth noting that Ele.me is currently valued at a staggering 800 billion yuan, meaning a 7.55% stake would be worth 60.4 billion yuan! It's highly likely that Tencent is acquiring it at a premium.

Why not do something with over 60 billion yuan in funds?
You can't retire at only 35, can you?

Wang Xing didn't seem to care much. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and casually said, "Let's rest for a while first."

"Oh." Silence fell in the room.

Actually, the two weren't familiar with each other, and Fang Qingye didn't think there was anything to talk about.

He doesn't like Wang Xing, and he guesses the other person doesn't like him either.

"Chairman Fang," Wang Xing finally broke the silence, "When I was CEO of Meituan, I pondered a question. I wonder if you've thought about it?"

"what is the problem?"

"Regarding the social security contributions for delivery riders, the food delivery industry is booming and needs more and more riders. Neither Meituan nor Eleme pays social security contributions for their riders."

Fang Qingye nodded: "Yes."

"But this problem objectively exists, and it becomes more and more prominent as time goes on. Public opinion and regulatory pressure are also forcing us to face this problem squarely."

“You’re right, this problem will have to be solved sooner or later,” Fang Qingye agreed.

"However, providing social security for delivery riders would be a huge expense that neither Ele.me nor Meituan could afford. But if we don't provide social security, we still can't withstand the pressure of public scrutiny. I can't think of a solution."

Fang Qingye paused for a moment before saying, "I've also considered this problem; it's very tricky."

"Alright. But I don't need to think about that now, you can take on all the pressure." Wang Xing said easily, and then stood up.

"I want to go back to Shanghai."

"What's the rush? Stay for a meal," Fang Qingye urged.

"Thank you. No need."

Fang Qingye saw him off at the door and arrived at the entrance of the nursery.

The sky had cleared by then, and a rainbow appeared in the western sky.

The two waved goodbye, and Wang Xing got into the car. Suddenly, he stuck his head out of the car window with a slight smile on his face.

"Chairman Fang, I'm watching you solve this problem." With that, the car window slowly closed, and the car quickly disappeared around the bend ahead.

Fang Qingye pondered for a moment, then turned and entered the nursery.

Fang Qingye drove to her villa by the lake to pick up Bai Ou. On the way back to the nursery, Fang Qingye told Bai Ou about Wang Xing's arrival and their conversation.

Bai Ou was not surprised by Wang Xing's resignation.

"He's leaving? It's to be expected. There are rumors going around that you two are incompatible." Bai Ou said with a coquettish smile.

"Tch, it's not like I'm looking for a partner," Fang Qingye scoffed.

“However, the problem Wang Xing mentioned is becoming increasingly urgent. Now that Ele.me and Meituan have merged, according to Deng Ye’s materials, the number of active riders on both platforms has exceeded one million, forming a huge employment group. Their treatment and social security will increasingly attract social attention,” Bai Ou said.

"Yes. After the internal integration of Ele.me and Meituan is completely completed, I plan to start a pilot program in a certain region. This can't be rushed. Ele.me is facing many difficulties and problems right now, and these issues must be addressed first."

Bai Ou nodded in agreement.

Yes, there are many problems.

The two companies faced a difficult internal restructuring, a gradual reduction in subsidies that led to merchant and consumer boycotts and decreased business volume, rapid expansion that caused management chaos, and the looming threat of Taodiandian and Baidu Waimai.
Ele.me has a long way to go.

However, Fang Qingye was quite optimistic. The merger of the two largest food delivery companies in history was the most difficult thing to handle.

After all, we're not groping our way across the river; Meituan, JD.com, and Ele.me, before their rebirth, had already made beneficial attempts in this area.

In early August, good news came from the Fang family: Bai Ou was pregnant.

(End of this chapter)