My 1999

The Spring Festival of 2008 passed quickly. Before the annual holiday was over, all civil servants in Yidu City were mobilized.

Zhang Liming parked the police car on the side of the road, took out a cigarette and handed it to his colleague next to him.

"Oh, you're smoking Huazi now?" a colleague joked.

"My brother-in-law gave it to me. I can't afford it with the money I earn."

"What does your brother-in-law do?"

"Contractor, I took some small job in the university town last year." Zhang Liming said with a smile.

"No wonder. In recent years, the people who do construction work here have made money. New urban areas, old urban areas, scenic spots, construction is going on everywhere. You can see tower cranes everywhere you go."

"Yes, I never thought that we could build a university town in our small place, and I never thought that Peking University would come here to build a branch!" Zhang Liming exclaimed.

"The reason why Peking University students can come is because Xu Liang spent money, otherwise why would they come?" said a colleague.

"Haha, it's definitely going to cost a lot of money. But he's the richest man, so he has plenty of money."

"That's true. Fortunately, we have Xu Liang here. It is said that he has invested tens of billions in development here. I have seen people who gave back to their hometowns after becoming rich, but I have never seen anyone give back like this. He is so generous. It makes me proud to tell others about it."

Zhang Liming: "Who says I'm not? Now when I go out and tell them I'm from Yidu, they are all very envious."

"Who says it's not true? In my opinion, if we continue to develop like this, Weifang might move the city government here."

"That's a good feeling."

Before they had even finished smoking a cigarette, they heard an urging voice coming from the car walkie-talkie, asking them to go patrol the university town.

After hanging up.

A Boeing 737 passenger plane roared into land at Weifang Airport.

After the hatch opened, figures in suits and ties, with a temperament clearly different from that of ordinary people, walked down from it.

Most of them are Chinese, but there are also quite a few blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners.

Everyone was invited to board the bus arranged in advance by Hanhua.

For the "Hanhua Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting", Torch Group specially transferred a batch of newly produced JAC buses.

Of course, this can also be seen as a form of propaganda.

Ponyma and his old partner Zeng Liqing sat in the back seat, watching the scenery passing quickly outside the window.

They are also one of the invited guests of this conference.

"Boni, it seems that the scale of this 'Hanhua Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting' is quite large, with so many foreigners coming." Zeng Liqing said in a low voice.

“Hanhua is a world-class financial institution. It is a giant on the same level as Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins in the field of venture capital, and has invested in more than a thousand companies.

It's normal to have so many foreigners coming here.

Moreover, if the meeting was not held in China, I am afraid there would be more people coming." Ponyma said.

"If the event is held in Beijing, the effect will definitely be better than here. I really don't understand what Boss Xu is thinking. There should be a limit to giving back to your hometown and remembering the people who dug the well when you drink the water."

Zeng Liqing complained.

He didn't want to travel all the way to this small county town for the meeting.

Ponyma didn't like it either, but he had to come because he was controlled by Hongyan.

After driving for an hour, the car entered the suburbs of Yidu.

Soon, a long viaduct appeared ahead, and a tram roared towards the east.

Zeng Liqing was surprised and asked, "This small county town has a subway?"

"There wasn't any originally, but it appeared when Xu Liang came." Ponyma said with a smile.

Zeng Liqing suddenly realized, "He is really willing to spend. A railway like this would cost at least 20 to 30 billion."

"I've read the information. The total investment is 1.8 billion Chinese yuan and the length is 27 kilometers. But don't think it's a loss.

This light rail connects the railway station, the new urban area, the old urban area, and the four major scenic spots of Songcheng, Jiulongyu, Jingtang Ancient Town and Yangtian Mountain, which are invested by Xu's Global Tourism Group.

During the seven-day New Year's Eve holiday this year, Yidu's four major scenic spots attracted a total of 570,000 foreign tourists, with an average consumption of more than 1,000 Chinese yuan. Adding the locals, even if there were not millions, the difference would not be too big.

Convenient transportation connects all scenic spots into one, greatly improving the travel enjoyment per unit time, reducing costs and bringing greater attraction.

So, even though the urban rail line may lose money, Universal will make it back from tourism, and even more.

Moreover, Yidu has become a famous tourist destination in the entire Qilu Province, and even in the whole country.

The Global Travel Group continues to attract traffic to it throughout China, Asia, and even the world.

Coupled with the rich cultural, geographical and other tourism resources, there will definitely be more and more tourists here.”

Zeng Liqing then asked curiously: "Boni, how do you know this?"

"I checked it out before coming here."

"No wonder."

Ponima glanced at his old partner, there was one more thing he hadn't said.

In another one or two years, the headquarters of Harvest Group and Torch Group will move here, and the China headquarters of Taihua Group, Vivendi China headquarters, and Unocal China headquarters will also move here.

The industrial base of Kunlun Industrial Group, the production bases of BOE and SMIC, etc. will all be concentrated here.

It can be said that this will become a center of the 'Xu family' in China, a center that is more important than first-tier cities.

With so many large enterprises and top technology companies in the industrial park, a huge industry agglomeration effect will be formed.

More and more companies will move here.

Peking University branch, Harbin Institute of Technology branch, Shandong University branch, etc. will provide a large number of high-quality talents.

With talents, jobs, convenient transportation, and a dense population around, even a county town can develop rapidly.

The convoy soon arrived at the Jiulongyu Scenic Area, where there are two large hotels.

One is the three-star 'Universal Jiulongyu Hotel' and the other is the express hotel 'Universal Resort Hotel'

Global Tourism Group has two such hotels in each of the four major scenic spots in Yidu.

The 'Universal Hotels' and 'Universal Resorts' are also two hotel brands under the Universal Travel Group.

They are mainly distributed in all scenic spots and resorts developed by Global.

——

In the study room on the top floor of the backyard of the Xu's Manor in Jiulongyu, Xu Liang stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the desolate and bleak mountain scenery beneath his feet, which was full of vitality.

“How many invited guests have arrived?”

Li Jinling quickly said, "346 companies and 432 people have already arrived. Excluding the companies that responded that they would not participate, 80% of the companies have already arrived."

"Is the venue ready?"

"We have prepared everything. In addition, we have received a letter from the Qilu Province, saying that Governor Liu hopes to attend our annual meeting."

"Promise me."

He organized such a big business opportunity, so the higher-ups would definitely participate.

Curiosity is one thing, but the key is to figure out what you are talking about.

"Anything else?"

"Ponima is here today, do you want to see him?"

"Let's arrange it for tomorrow. Let him rest today."

"OK."

Xu Liang waved his hand and Li Jinling also left.

Not long after, Jiang Xiaoyang pushed the door and walked in.

"Are Yangyang and the others asleep?"

"Yeah, mom just coaxed me to sleep."

I poured her a cup of black tea and they both sat down.

"Among the 12 major studios of Hanhua this year, the performance of the Magic City studio is ranked first again. This is the third consecutive year that they have won the first place." Xu Liang said with a smile.

Hanhua's performance evaluation of each studio is not just about how much money it makes.

But how much money is earned per unit of capital.

That is the rate of return.

Although Xiangjiang Studio ranks first in terms of making money, its return rate is not as good as Shanghai Studio.

"Shen Nanpeng is indeed capable, especially in venture capital."

Jiang Xiaoyang echoed.

"We must respect talents and provide them with a platform to fully demonstrate their abilities."

"You want him to take over Liu Zhiping's position?"

"No. I plan to make him the CEO of Hanhua Securities. Shen Nanpeng joined Citibank in 1992, returned to China in 1994 and joined Lehman Brothers Asia, responsible for investment banking projects, and then moved to Deutsche Bank.

He is very familiar with investment banking, especially the business processes of Lehman Brothers.

This year we will acquire Lehman's South American, Asian and European businesses. Having a CEO who is familiar with Lehman will help Hanhua digest Lehman more smoothly."

Jiang Xiaoyang pondered for a moment, "What about Lao Jiang? He has been in charge of Hanhua Securities for so many years, and has tripled the company's total revenue and increased its net profit threefold.

Bond underwriting and stock underwriting ranked in the top three.

The results are outstanding.

If we replace him without sufficient reasons, it will discourage other senior executives in the company and will not be conducive to Shen Nanpeng's work. "

"Lao Jiang is indeed very good, so I plan to let him serve as the president of Guangdong Development Bank."

“President of China Guangfa Bank?”

Xu Liang nodded and said, “The current president of Guangdong Development Bank, Liao Zhongtao, is too conservative. After a year, there has been no significant improvement in the financial situation of Guangdong Development Bank.

They also pretended to comply with the operating strategy given by Standard Chartered.

I have already communicated with China Resources and we have unanimously decided to replace him.

Lao Jiang has experience working at China Construction Bank and has excellent abilities. He is the most suitable candidate I can think of at the moment.”

Jiang Xiaoyang nodded. Although China Guangfa Bank is not one of the top five banks in China, it is also a joint-stock bank with top strength in China, with nearly 800 branches nationwide and assets of nearly 300 billion Chinese yuan.

It is indeed a larger platform than the current Hanhua Securities.

For Jiang Ji Zeng, this is also a step forward in his career.

"If Shen Nanpeng leaves, who will be in charge of the Magic City Office?"

"Let Zhang Ying take charge. She has been in the company for more than three years. Although the venture capital fund she is in charge of is not as outstanding as Shen Nanpeng's, it has also performed well."

Zhang Ying joined Hanhua in 2004. She is now in charge of the Shanghai No. 2 Venture Capital Fund, which has a total fundraising amount of US$500 million. Over the years, it has invested in high-quality targets such as Xueda Education, Quanjude, Donglaishun, Xiaofei Yang, Xizhilang, and Daniang Dumplings.

A total of 23 companies entered the B round and 7 companies entered the C round.

The only drawback is that there is currently no listed company.

But the fund she is in charge of has increased in value fourfold.

"Sister Zhang is indeed a suitable candidate."

"If you think there's no problem, then start talking to them one by one," Xu Liang said.

"Lao Jiang is one of the seven members of the company's executive committee. If Shen Nanpeng takes over his position, should he also be included in the executive committee?"

The Executive Committee of Hanhua Group is the real highest authority.

Truly responsible for the strategic development of this financial giant.

"Not yet. Putting him in charge of Hanhua Securities is a reward for his past performance. If he is given the qualification of executive committee member, he will not be able to be promoted any higher once he makes achievements.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

So, let's wait and see if he can make achievements in his new position before giving him this position." Xu Liang said.

Jiang Xiaoyang nodded in agreement.

The result of no further promotion is to leave.

She also didn't want to give up on a top talent.

——

It was Friday, February 15th, and Valentine’s Day had just passed.

In the Jiulongyu Scenic Area and Universal Jiulongyu Hotel, the international conference center hall, which can accommodate 600 people, is almost full.

“So many people?”

Reid Hoffman looked at the crowd of people, his wealthy face full of surprise.

"It's normal to have so many talents. After all, this is Jin Caesar's speech."

Jeremy Stoppelman said.

One of them is the founder of LinkedIn, and the other founded Yelp in 2004.

They are also members of the well-known PayPal gang in the Silicon Valley venture capital circle.

It also accepted venture capital from Hanhua.

It was because of this experience that the two flew to China together to attend the "Hanhua Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting".

It was their first time visiting China and they found that it was very different from the China reported in the media.

Even though it is just an ordinary county town, its infrastructure is comparable to that of Phoenix, Detroit, and New Orleans, and its safety is even more amazing.

"Musk and others should really come and take a look. This place is much better than expected," Hoffman exclaimed.

After Jeremy nodded, "Our media is shit."

"They always are, Jeremy."

As the two were chatting, the bustling chattering noises around them suddenly disappeared, and then more and more people stood up from their seats and began to applaud.

The two of them stopped, subconsciously stood up and looked forward.

A young man wearing a gray jacket, sweatpants, and white sneakers, with a strong and imposing figure, walked in from outside with the gait of a dragon or a tiger.

Under everyone's attention, Xu Liang strode to the center of the rostrum.

He put the speech in his hand on the table and quickly swept his deep eyes through the dark crowd in front of him.

"Good morning, colleagues and friends."

The voice was deep and powerful, and it spread throughout the venue through the microphone.

People from overseas also understood what he meant through the simultaneous interpretation equipment in their hands.

The noise from the audience gradually died down, and everyone's eyes were focused on him.

"Today is the day of the first 'Hanhua Entrepreneurs Annual Meeting'. I am very grateful to all of you for flying thousands, even tens of thousands of miles, to attend today's event.

The theme of today’s meeting is - Crisis! "

He paused and glanced at the crowd below the stage.

“It’s not an ordinary crisis, but a financial storm that could sweep the world.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the originally quiet crowd in the audience began to whisper to each other.

Xu Liang ignored all this and continued:

“I know a lot of people think I’m being alarmist.

After all, the global economy still looks prosperous.

Although there are some problems in the U.S. real estate market, the government and the Federal Reserve are actively intervening. Although stock markets in various places have declined to a certain extent, they are generally very stable.

But I want to tell you that all this may just be the calm before the storm.”

He pressed the remote control in his hand, and a set of data charts appeared on the huge screen behind him.

“This is what happened to subprime mortgages in the U.S. over the last few years.

Starting from 2001, the scale of subprime loans increased year by year and reached its peak in 2006.

These loans were packaged into various complex financial products and sold to investors around the world.

On the surface, these products appear to offer low risk and high returns.

But in reality, their underlying assets are borrowers with extremely low credit ratings.”

The audience began to take it seriously, and many of them took out their notebooks to write down every word Xu Liang said.

"The problem is that these borrowers' repayment capacity is extremely fragile."

Xu Liang's voice became more serious. "Once house prices stop rising, or even start to fall, these borrowers will not be able to repay their loans. And once the default rate rises, those seemingly safe financial products will instantly become waste paper."

He switched slides, and a chart of the U.S. house price index appeared on the screen.

“House prices in the U.S. have been falling since 2006.

Although the decline is not huge, it is just the beginning.

As house prices fall, default rates will rise rapidly and a chain reaction in financial markets will be inevitable.”

The atmosphere in the audience began to grow tense. Many people frowned. They had heard about this in the media before, but they never felt that the problem was that serious.

“I believe many people think the problem is not that serious. Let me give you some data from Hanhua’s investigation over the years.

First, the size of the U.S. subprime mortgage market has exceeded $2 trillion.

I believe many people know this data. Given the current GDP of the United States, this number is within the acceptable range.

But let’s look at the second data.

Everyone knows that a large number of derivatives have been generated around subprime mortgages.

CDO, compound CDO, CDS, etc.

According to our research, the value of all these derivatives exceeds $60 trillion!”

Wow...

Exclamations echoed throughout the hall.

“Some people may think I am talking nonsense, but I will not joke about Hanhua’s reputation. You can calculate how fragile the inverted pyramid structure of $60 trillion supported by $2 trillion is.

It can be said that as long as the real estate market collapses by more than 10%, the huge subprime debt derivatives market will collapse.

Ladies and gentlemen, please think about this: which country in the world can bear such a huge loss?

I believe many people have the answer in their hearts.

That’s right, NO.

There aren't any.

All countries combined cannot bear a loss of 60 trillion US dollars!

Even the intervention of various governments cannot fill such a big hole.

The crisis is inevitable.”

“So, what impact will this crisis have on us?”

Xu Liang's voice suddenly became louder.

“First, the global financial market will be plunged into turmoil. Financial institutions holding a large number of subprime loan-related products will face huge losses or even bankruptcy.

Second, credit markets will tighten rapidly, and financing costs for businesses and individuals will rise sharply.

Finally, the global economy will fall into recession, demand will fall, exports will decrease, and our businesses will face unprecedented challenges.”

He paused and glanced at the crowd below the stage.

“I know that many people may feel that this crisis is far away from us.

After all, we are in China and our economy is still growing rapidly.

However, I would like to remind everyone that globalization has made the world closely connected.

The financial crisis in the United States will inevitably be transmitted to the world, including China, through channels such as trade, capital flows, and market confidence. "

The audience began to stir uncomfortably. Someone raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Xu, when do you think this crisis will break out?"

Xu Liang: "I am not a deity, much less God, so I cannot predict the exact time.

But I can tell you that the crisis is brewing where we can't see it.

Maybe it's a month, maybe three months, maybe longer.

But we have to prepare in advance.”

He switched slides and a diagram of global capital flows appeared on the screen.

“There are several things we need to do before this crisis breaks out.

First, reduce leverage and reduce debt.

Second, maintain sufficient cash flow to cope with possible market freezes.

Finally, we need to re-examine our business model and look for opportunities that can survive and grow in an economic downturn.”

“Of course, in crisis there are opportunities.”

“Every crisis is a process of reshuffling.

Those companies that can survive a crisis tend to become stronger after the crisis. So, I hope everyone will not be too pessimistic, but see this crisis as a test and an opportunity. "

He switched to the last slide, and a sentence appeared on the screen: "The storm is coming, and only the strong will survive."