2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 443 Boss Tan, who never leaves empty-handed.

"Going boating on the lake in this sweltering heat is just ridiculous," Tan Jincheng muttered to himself.

Fortunately, it rained a little today. Although it was still very hot, it felt somewhat cooler. We chartered a boat and the whole family went boating on West Lake.

This was Gu Qingqing's suggestion, which surprised Tan Jincheng. She had visited West Lake when she was a child, but had never had the experience of boating on the lake.

"When I was a child, my parents were always busy. Although we had some money, it was a pity that we didn't have time. When we came to Hangzhou, it was always because of business or other reasons. I've never had a time like this before."

The Gu Hongshun couple next to them looked apologetic. After dealing with the matters of the agritainment business, they also rushed to Hangzhou to meet up.

When they were young, their generation was busy making money. Their discipline of their children was basically limited to ensuring they were fed and clothed, giving them some pocket money if they had money, and caring about their academic performance. As for the spiritual aspects of life, they really didn't care at all.

I've never thought about taking my kids on trips. I'd rather spend that time recruiting more clients and making my family wealthier. That's the difference in our perspectives.

Gu Qingqing is considered quite good, as her family has some money and she hasn't gone astray or become eccentric. Many children from families like theirs are still in a non-mainstream state at this time.

Those who graduate from high school and get into university are generally doing alright, but many fail to get into high school and end up in vocational school, where they just mess around and cause their parents a lot of headaches.

But if you say it's all because the children went astray, that's not necessarily true. In most cases, it's actually because parents don't pay enough attention to their children's education.

Tan Jincheng was better off than Gu Qingqing. His parents were both paid salaries. Although they earned less money, they received all the benefits that state-owned enterprises should have, and they also had more free time than people who ran their own businesses.

Parents' companionship is very important for their children. When Tan Jincheng was a child, there was always a hot meal waiting for him whenever he came home, which was much better than Gu Qingqing going to her grandparents' or uncles' houses for meals.

Not everyone is unaware of this, but often it's due to the pressures of life. If they don't earn money and stay with their children, life becomes difficult. Tan Jincheng is quite understanding, even though he was already well-off when he had his child.

"Be careful to protect yourself from the sun. Although it rained a bit, it's still quite hot," Tan Jincheng said, changing the subject when he saw that Mr. and Mrs. Gu were a little embarrassed.

He also held down the restless Tan Jinyue and pressed down the brim of her hat.

Tan Jincheng has never visited West Lake in his life, but he did in his previous life, also in the summer. His girlfriend at the time, who later became his wife, was quite curious about Hangzhou, being a northerner who had just arrived in Zhejiang Province.

It was incredibly hot back then, and there weren't the conditions for chartering a boat like we have now. Tan Jincheng almost got heatstroke from the sun, but she was very interested. She visited popular tourist attractions in the Jiangnan region, such as Hangzhou and Suzhou, all in the summer.

This seems to be the only opportunity in my life for the whole family to travel together like this, and with Lao Tan not here, it's a bit of a regret.

Hangzhou was Tan Jincheng's third stop in Zhejiang Province. After meeting Huang Zheng, Tan Jincheng also accepted Boss Ding's invitation to have dinner. The internet is like a martial arts world. If we were to say who has a higher status at this point in time, then Boss Ding would definitely be one of them.

The two companies have developed rapidly, but in terms of industry standing, Ding and Zhang still have to be considered. After experiencing a low point in stock prices, NetEase is now developing better and better, especially in the gaming business, which is doing exceptionally well.

"Hey Xiao Tan, next time you're trying to poach people, try poaching from next door. Don't keep targeting my family."

Not being very familiar with each other, the atmosphere at the dinner table wasn't very lively. Old Ding quickly noticed this and started making appropriate jokes.

Cheng Hao was able to thrive at Orange Technology, but only so-so at Pig Farm. This wasn't because he lacked ability, but because the projects he worked on weren't valued at Pig Farm and weren't the core business for the future.

It was only a matter of time before he left. If he didn't go to Orange Technology, he would go to another company or start his own business. Lao Ding actually knew this.

Therefore, Lao Ding was not particularly concerned about Cheng Hao being poached by Orange Technology, which had no reputation at the time. He didn't even set any restrictions for Cheng Hao and let him leave after handing over his work.

Based on the principle of parting amicably, after all, he was one of the earliest employees to follow along.

"Haha, no more digging. We don't need your company's talent lately. On the contrary, our Orange Products event needs a lot of e-commerce talent. Brother Ding, do you have any outstanding talents you can recommend?"

Tan Jincheng blinked and said, "Old Ding likes to be the big brother, or rather, he has a strong sense of chivalry. Huang Zheng calls him Brother Ding. When he first met Tan Jincheng, he told Tan Jincheng not to call him President Ding."

As soon as Boss Ding saw Tan Jincheng's expression, he knew what he wanted to say. With his connections, he naturally knew more about his neighbors than Orange Technology, which was far away in Ningbo.

If he wanted to find out which operations and marketing talents were outstanding, he would definitely have better information than Tan Jincheng.

Old Ding shook his finger and laughed in annoyance, "Haha, you kid, just like they say, you never go anywhere empty-handed. I heard from Xiao Ma that you went to their company to discuss investment and took a group of people with you?" "No way, I really did go to discuss investment, and I even went to Hong Kong for a few days in between. Where would I take his people? That's slander."

"Don't deny it. Your two drivers were secretly handing out business cards to the game project team. Do you think the company doesn't have surveillance cameras?"

"What does that have to do with me? Maybe it's my driver who wants to switch jobs."

"Fine, fine, you're just being stubborn. But I'll grant your request. I'll personally ask around for you when we get to work tomorrow."

It's something no one can control when it comes to poaching people from other companies, but I've never heard of someone like Tan Jincheng having his driver secretly hand out business cards in someone else's office. This guy is really something else.

This is still a business partner, so it seems that his hiring a headhunter to poach talent from his side is actually a sign of respect.

As expected, comparisons are always detrimental. The moment he compared things, Xiao Ma was deeply hurt. As for sowing discord among his neighbors, he didn't mind doing it, as it would also repay the favor he had done for them.

In the internet industry, Tan Jincheng is considered a junior, but if you really treat him like a junior, then you are being rude. The fact that he took time out of his busy schedule to make a special detour to Hangzhou to accept his invitation is indeed a great honor.

Since the other party was being accommodating, Lao Ding couldn't refuse. After all, it was using his neighbor's resources, so there was nothing he couldn't agree to; it was all a small matter to him.

Tan Jincheng did indeed intend to recruit more people from Ali's side. The development of Orange Products Club had entered the final stage, and it was about to be put into internal testing, followed by its official launch.

Contracts for leftover stock with some major brands have already been signed. There weren't many manufacturers in the first batch of signings; besides sports brands like Adidas and Nike, most were footwear and apparel brands from Ningbo and Wenzhou.

The brand resources in Ningbo belong to Tan Jincheng himself. As for Wenzhou, some were introduced by Zhang Congxun, and some came to him on their own initiative. The brands that came to him were all fast-moving consumer goods brands. These businessmen have a really keen sense of smell.

Orange Shopping Club naturally welcomes those who come to them, but there are certain requirements regarding the brand's reputation. Orange Shopping Club mainly helps brand-name clothing clear out their leftover stock and does special sales business, so brands without a certain level of brand recognition are definitely not acceptable.

The first batch of brand suppliers has been secured, and the next step is to enter the actual trial operation phase. Although the hastily organized Orange Products Club project looks promising and has attracted great interest from investors, it is still a rather rudimentary operation.

However, Tan Jincheng was not sure if it could be done. Poaching some outstanding operations talent from Ali would definitely be the most urgent need right now, and the more such talent the better.

These days, shop assistants aren't as corrupt as they were a decade or two later, and they're more ambitious. Recruiting a group of excellent shop assistants would be a huge boost to Orange Products' workforce.

"Speaking of the neighbors next door, I did hear a rumor, but I don't know if it's true."

"what news?"

"You know Sun Tongyu, right?"

"I know him, he's the boss of Taobao, so what? You could say he founded Taobao single-handedly."

"Since you know him, you're aware of his abilities. Are you interested in taking him down?"

"Holy crap, him? Dude, you're kidding, right? Orange Products Club is a huge company, Taobao is a huge company. Would he give up Taobao to join Orange Products Club? Even JD.com wouldn't want to go there, would it?"

Old Ding smiled noncommittally: "That was before. It's not necessarily the same now. If you show sincerity, it might really work."

He heard a rumor that Sun Tongyu might be dismissed. He didn't know the specific reason, but it was something that could be expected in a big company. What could be the reason that Sun, known as the father of Taobao, was to be dismissed?
If this news is true, then Orange Products might still have a chance. Old Sun is still quite young; it's impossible for him to retire immediately after leaving Taobao.

However, how to persuade him depends on Tan Jincheng's own abilities. Such a person will not easily go to another company because of salary issues; he may start his own business or transform into an investor.

Tan Jincheng was shocked by the news. Recalling his past life, he seemed to have seen such news before, but he really couldn't remember the specific year. Old Ma's halo to Taobao was too heavy. It was said that there were 18 Arhats, but there were really not many ordinary people who could be respected.

If Sun Tongyu's departure occurred within the last two years, then Orange Products could have waited. The significance of such a heavyweight figure to an e-commerce company is self-evident.

How about giving Old Ma a stab? That seems like a good idea.

Third update.

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(End of this chapter)