Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 293 Dongzi
Zhongguancun, Left Bank Workshop.

This is another circuit board in China outside of Zhangjiang, Shanghai, where the setting sun paints the asphalt road below with a layer of golden solder.

Mr. Chen toured Shunwei Capital, the investment division in Beijing.

Actually, there's not much to see. Lei Jun is busy right now, and so is Chen Xuebing. The company hasn't found a leader yet, so it relies entirely on Lei Jun to come over after get off work at Kingsoft every day to keep an eye on things. That's why Chen Xuebing specifically chose to come over at 5 PM.

Everyone had left work, and only two people were still in the company, waiting to report to Lei Jun. There were only a dozen or so workstations in total, all in a spacious open office area. They spent their days studying the progress of the projects that Chen and Lei had in their hands. Recently, they had found a few projects, but Chen Xuebing didn't seem very interested in them.

Finding projects is like finding gold in shit; even shit isn't easy to find. Without a specific target, you're lucky if you can come up with a good project in a few months.

Chen Xuebing wasn't in a hurry.

Entering the chairman's office, looking down at the people coming and going through the glass curtain wall, President Chen remarked:

"It is September, the beginning of autumn!"

"Brother, the 'Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng' describes the ninth month of the lunar calendar, which is mid-October in the Gregorian calendar, not now. It's still mid-autumn!"

"Tsk tsk, Jun'er, you're a science student and you're trying to show off to me. Did the term 'lunar calendar' even exist before? The lunar calendar is a modern term. Wang Wei lived more than 1300 years ago, and it was called the Xia calendar, okay?"

Chen Xuebing looked at Lei Jun with his hands behind his back, displaying the demeanor of an older generation of young people.

Lei Jun wanted to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he remembered something: "I heard from Lin Bin that your smartphone is finished? Can I take a look?"

Chen Xuebing, who had been showing off his "big treasure" to everyone he met lately, simply shook his head at this moment.

"No."

"Tsk, don't be stingy! Aren't you guys about to hold a press conference? It's not like it's a secret!"

Lei Jun patted Chen Xuebing's arm as he spoke: "Hey, you're going to hold a press conference for just one phone? What were you thinking?"

"Why can't it be opened?"

"It's not that you can't hold it, it's just not worth it. You actually advertised for the press conference! Sony Ericsson and Motorola both held industry summits to introduce many phones released that year."

"Oh? Lin Bin told you quite a bit."

"What did he reveal? I asked him to show me actual pictures of your phones, and he told me to look for them in the ads at the launch event!"

Lei Jun looked utterly defeated, and Chen Xuebing finally smiled.

“I’m afraid that after you finish reading this, you’ll bow down and beg me to cooperate, crying and pleading with me. That would put me in a difficult position.”

Lei Jun was speechless: "You're talking nonsense!"

"Alright, you can see for yourself."

Chen Xuebing took out his phone and handed it to him.

Two whole hours passed, and it was almost night outside.

Chen Xuebing had just woken up from a nap on the sofa when he saw Lei Jun engrossed in playing with the Kirin phone.

"Hey, hey." Chen Xuebing kicked the coffee table. "What time is it? Still playing? Find me a place to eat."

Lei Jun turned around with a bright and innocent look on his face, appearing completely harmless.

"I'd like to offer some feedback on your phone!"

"You're talking nonsense."

"Seriously! I think my ideas can turn your phone into a work of art! You definitely need a partner like me."

"Stop, stop. Only those who started the company together can be called partners. Those who came later can only be called employees. I don't have partners, only employees."

"."

"You just said that it would be difficult for you if I asked you for a favor."

"It's not difficult now."

"."

“President Chen.” Jun’er’s eyes sparkled.

"Alright, alright, I'll find you something else to do." Chen Xuebing waved his hand: "Go find me a company called JD.com."

"Hmm?" Lei Jun's attention was drawn slightly: "BOE?"

"It's JD.com, no 'Fang'. The founder is Liu Qiangdong, who used to sell hard drives in Zhongguancun."

"Selling off stock?" Lei Jun asked with a puzzled look. "What are you doing, hyping up BOE?"

"Give me back my phone, I'll go find it myself."

As soon as Chen Xuebing stood up, Lei Jun immediately hid his hand behind his back.

"I'll find it for you!"

The next day.

The people at Shunwei Capital were all dressed in suits and looked very energetic.

The legendary behind-the-scenes investor, Mr. Chen, has finally come to the company.

His Long March Capital is renowned in the investment world. Its No. 1 Securities Fund is far ahead at the top of the list, its No. 2 Fund ranks sixth in annual returns, its No. 3 Fund raised more than 300 million yuan in just three days, and its PE fund has also achieved great success, starting with 800 million yuan and more than doubling in half a year.

Within a year of entering the industry, he managed over 30 billion yuan in funds, most of which were profits.

The King of Private Equity.

Especially in the secondary market, many managers of large institutions are now inquiring about Changzheng's investment trends.

There are many legends.

Some say that the behind-the-scenes information from former securities godfather Kan Zhidong propelled Changzheng Capital to new heights; others say that Changzheng Capital harbors many once-famous fund managers; still others say that Changzheng Capital's big boss, Mr. Chen, is a master trader who immersed himself in the stock market after graduating from high school, and after years of research, his actions have amazed the entire stock market.

When Lei Jun was recruiting, he intentionally included Chen Xuebing's name in the company's promotional materials. Many people applied because of the reputation of this financial tycoon, fantasizing that their abilities would be noticed by the tycoon and promoted to a position at Changzheng Capital.

As a result, the company has achieved nothing in the two months since its establishment.

But as soon as Mr. Chen arrived at the company today, he gave him a task: to find JD.com.

The dozen or so people in the company are all trying to figure out who JD.com is.

Chen Xuebing, however, sat in the chairman's office, leisurely searching for the names of some venture capital fund partners.

After all, it's a company he invested in and manages so many projects, so he has to do his part and help find people. Lei Jun is actually a very insightful partner, but he's been busy with Kingsoft's IPO lately and doesn't have much time.

In the next decade, the most famous investment management figure will be Shen Zhangxiong.

Zhang Lei works in private equity, specializing in in-depth pre-IPO restructuring.

Shen Nanpeng is involved in both early and late stages of VC/PE, covering the entire lifecycle.

Xiong Xiaoge is a pure VC and has extensive experience in transforming startups.

What this company lacks most is a manager like Shen Nanpeng, who has worked at Citibank, Lehman Brothers, and Deutsche Bank, and co-founded Ctrip and Home Inns, personally taking both companies public before entering the investment world.

However, they are not short of money, so it would be difficult to entice them with high salaries.

Shunwei Capital manages projects with high ownership stakes, including YY, UC, Lakala, and its three projects. If JD.com is added to the portfolio, and if these are properly managed, their future achievements will be no less than those of Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, and Hillhouse Capital.

As I was pondering this, there was a knock on the door.

"Mr. Chen!"

Chen Xuebing was stunned when the door opened.

"Mr. Chen, the person has been found!"

Two company employees led in a young man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a chubby face.

Chen Xuebing thought they were there to report, but after looking closely for a while, he realized that they had actually brought the person in question.

He's fatter than I remember.

"Mr. Chen, hello!" Liu Qiangdong had obviously heard something on the way here. When he saw Chen Xuebing, he was very polite and took the initiative to shake hands with both hands.

Chen Xuebing put on a warm smile: "Where did you come from?"

"Suzhou Street, Yinfeng Building! Their shop is in Yinfeng Building, less than a kilometer from here!" the young man next to him answered quickly.

"Oh, that's our old shop, it's no longer in use. I'm packing things up there with my staff."

Liu Qiangdong tried to save face, since the two men had just found his shop, which was only a few square meters in size and just a counter.

His company was located upstairs in the Yinfeng Building. Although it wasn't big, it was still more upscale than that counter.

"Oh, hehe, sit down."

Chen Xuebing offered him a cigarette, but Liu Qiangdong waved it off.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen, but I won't smoke."

"Never smoke?" Chen Xuebing asked with interest.

"I never smoke," Liu Qiangdong confirmed.

Chen Xuebing smiled and found it quite amusing.

In his previous life, Dongzi had a rather rough image and surprisingly didn't smoke. Jack Ma, on the other hand, was very image-conscious, yet he had a cigarette in his hand the whole time at the gathering.

He didn't light his cigarette, but put it on the table and said with a smile, "I looked at your website. It's a bit rough, but the categories are well done and clear, and there are no ads."

These days, JD.com's domain name is still "JDLASER.COM".

JD Laser.

"Haha, Mr. Chen is joking. We also want to make money for our investors, but we haven't received any valuable advertisements yet."

Since he started his website in 04, Liu Qiangdong has been eager for investment and has learned a lot of talking techniques for dealing with investors.

Investors are interested in whether you can make money for them.

You must be firm in your belief in the company's future profit prospects.

However, this sales pitch has not been used yet.

Chen Xuebing countered with, "Oh? How many investors does your company have now?"

"Yes, one is Henan Ancai Group. They are the largest colored glass shell manufacturer in China. They have great foresight and invested 500 million yuan in us. We still have enough money, so we didn't look for a second one."

Liu Qiangdong's eyes were bright and his gaze was full of confidence.

Chen Xuebing paused for a moment, then laughed.

Henan Ancai?

I wouldn't have remembered if you hadn't mentioned it.

He didn't say anything, but picked up his phone and made a call.

"Old Xu, can you help me check Henan Ancai?"

"Ah."

"Ah."

"Okay, I get it now."

During the less than three-minute phone call, Liu Qiangdong shifted his position three times.

When someone who can't lie tries to, it just looks unnatural.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Xuebing looked at Liu Qiangdong and smiled meaningfully, "Mr. Liu, what was the contract you signed with Henan Anhui?"

Liu Qiangdong was internally screaming.

Can this be found out?

Chen Xuebing then smiled faintly and said, "Henan Anhui Ancai has lost 1 billion yuan in the past two years, and its stock price has fallen by more than half."

He knew more than that.

He just remembered that in his early days, when Liu Qiangdong was desperate, he accepted a 500 million yuan contract from a company, which prohibited him from seeking financing from other companies.

Later, the company only paid 150 million yuan. Due to poor performance, JD.com demanded the 150 million yuan back from Liu Qiangdong, broke the contract, and thus gave JD.com a way out.

"Mr. Chen, I shouldn't have kept this from you. It's like this: I feel that Anhui Cai Group is not a suitable investor for our development, so recently, I plan to voluntarily terminate our cooperation with them."

(End of this chapter)