2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 608: Be willful if you have money!
While Mr. Tan enjoys great success in Shanghai, his three major industrial parks in Beicang, Jinmen, and Wangjiang are also bustling with activity.

The once well-organized production process has completely disappeared.

"Holy crap, they actually sent out red envelopes! 440 yuan! Haha, the boss is taking the money himself! The boss is so generous."

Based on the number of employees, Tan Jincheng personally paid out approximately 150 million yuan in red envelopes, and every employee whose personnel file belongs to FlashTech received one.

440 yuan is three days' wages for most employees. The company received such a bonus unexpectedly after going public, and everyone was very happy. Employees from top to bottom were all talking about this good thing.

"Haha, the boss is so generous. It's a pity that such a good thing only happens once. I wish it could happen more often."

"440 yuan, the company has been established for 44 months; the boss is quite particular about ceremony. Do you think if the company were to go public after 100 months, would they give out 1000 yuan?"

"It's not impossible. The boss has always been quite generous, and the year-end bonuses are always good. I just don't know how much the bonus will be this year when the company goes public."

The managers were in a good mood; these days, working for a listed company means you have a resume that's just as impressive as someone working for a typical foreign company.

Scarcity increases value, and employees also feel a great sense of honor. Therefore, it is not forbidden for employees to slack off and discuss things. After all, it is the off-season now, and the Chinese New Year is coming soon. Why spoil the fun when you can be happy?

Chinese New Year is very early this year; January 25th is the 1th day of the twelfth lunar month. Human resources departments in various places are already making preparations for the New Year. According to the boss, there are frequent disasters today, so the annual meeting should not be too high-profile.

The distribution will mainly consist of actual bonuses and gifts. Each branch will simply arrange a New Year's Eve dinner; no large-scale events will be held.

In Wangjiang Industrial Park, Tan Jincheng's uncle, Tan Liye, looked at the red envelope in his hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He and his second brother were both working in Wangjiang Industrial Park, but they couldn't do any heavy work, so Wu Zhenping arranged some easy jobs for them.

Since he was Tan Jincheng's uncle, his salary and benefits were definitely better than others. Tan Jincheng's only requirement was that they keep a low profile, don't cause trouble, do some easy work honestly, the company would buy them insurance, and they could live a peaceful life.

My second uncle is a bit of a show-off and likes to brag about his nephew in the village, but he's not inconsiderate. He doesn't show off much at the factory. My younger uncle doesn't like to joke and is rather old-fashioned.

Tan Jincheng wasn't worried about this. The inspector position seemed tailor-made for him. Although he wasn't very educated, he was able to start working normally after more than half a year of training.

With their child still young, neither brother wanted to buy a house in the city. They traveled between the county town and their hometown by motorcycle every day, and the commute time was nothing to them.

"Third brother, bring some good food home after get off work? Want to eat together?"

The jovial Tan Licheng immediately approached Tan Liye with the red envelope, eager to claim his nephew's gift. It was quite amusing.

“Okay, I’ll go to the market after get off work and buy some vegetables and New Year’s goods to take home. My brother said he’ll be coming home for the New Year this year,” Tan Liye said after thinking for a while.

I spoke with my older brother a few days ago, and he said he would be coming home for Chinese New Year this year. Old Tan, who hasn't been home for two consecutive years, really misses home, and Zhang Suzhi feels the same way. Old Tan can usually drive back to the countryside to visit when he has time, but she really doesn't have the chance.

In addition, his son got married this year, and the family has grown. Lao Tan really wants to go home to pay respects to his ancestors, set off firecrackers, and have a grand celebration.
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After the bell-ringing ceremony, Tan Jincheng patted Xu Xinglei, who was still a little dazed, and asked, "How are you feeling now? Not nervous anymore?"

Xu Xinglei had just given a brief interview, and the questions he answered were nothing more than the lines he had rehearsed beforehand, but he still found it difficult to calm down in the face of this scene.

I finally managed to give a halting and stammering answer.

More than 80% of the people who came to the bell-ringing ceremony today from FlashTech came from humble backgrounds. There were very few people with high education, and several of them only had junior high school education. Xu Xinglei was one of them.

"I'm feeling better. I was so nervous just now, I was afraid I'd say the wrong thing," Xu Xinglei said after calming down.

Today was truly a dream day for him.

When asked by reporters how many shares he owned in the listed company, he honestly replied that he only had 1000 shares, which were a gift from his boss.
As for the portion that the company paid to purchase, he didn't buy it because he had to repay the money he borrowed from relatives to buy a house. His simple words drew a burst of good-natured laughter from the audience.

Tan Jincheng having his own junior employees ring the bell—whether out of genuine intention or for show—is a sensational news story. When it comes to stirring up trouble, our boss Tan is truly something else.

"Haha, don't be too nervous. It's okay if you say something wrong. At worst, we can just ask the reporters not to report it. It's just a formality anyway."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Go back and work hard. With your education, you're unlikely to get a high-ranking position, but you can definitely become a workshop supervisor. Remember to keep learning and improve yourself."

Xu Xinglei's eyes lit up. A workshop supervisor, even a junior supervisor, earns over ten thousand yuan a month.

"Okay, I'll definitely work hard when I get back."

Xu Xinglei patted his chest and assured him that even a junior leader is still a leader. In the past two years, Xu Xinglei has grown a lot and is no longer the young, blond-haired guy who just joined the factory. He has learned to read people's expressions to some extent.

This was the boss's way of giving him a guarantee: as long as he didn't make any mistakes and worked diligently, he would definitely get a supervisor position in a few years.

"Well, as for your 1000 shares of company stock, my advice is to forget about them. Don't pay attention to them or look at them unless you remember them. Just consider them a windfall."

"Like I said before, just work honestly, don't touch this stuff, and live a peaceful life."

Honestly, Tan Jincheng's two sentences came from the bottom of his heart; he had actually considered distributing shares to some of the grassroots employees for a long time.

There's a saying that people can't earn wealth beyond their understanding, and that's actually quite true.

Stock trading doesn't depend on education level, but it certainly depends on the amount of capital. Very few ordinary people get rich through stock trading, which really proves the saying that poor people are not qualified to play in finance.

The dazzling world is irresistible, and Tan Jincheng is genuinely afraid that they will get caught up in it, and all the money they have worked hard for half their lives will become financial consumers, and they will have wasted their whole lives.

"Okay, I'll listen to the boss." This was the second time the boss had said this, which made Xu Xinglei, who was still happy that the stock had risen by more than 1000 yuan that day, much more wary.

My initially restless heart gradually calmed down.

"Alright, go rest for a bit. After lunch, you can go explore on your own, but don't go too far. We'll go back to the hotel at 5 p.m. and then we'll go back together."

Tan Jincheng still has some things to do. Jay Chou's contract expires in six months, and he needs to talk to his agent about renewing it.

FlashTech's three key spokespeople: Liu Yifei's contract expires in 2015, Chris Lee's in 2010, and Jay Chou's contract expires in April 2009. Jay Chou's contract is particularly crucial.

In 2008, Aima was not among the top 10 electric vehicle sellers. In 2009, a new national standard was introduced, and many manufacturers would fall behind. At the same time, it was also the year that Aima rose to prominence.

Hermes entered the top 10 in national sales in its first year on the market, a truly terrifying momentum.

The reason why Aima is so strong is not only due to their marketing methods and powerful channels, but also because Jay Chou, as their spokesperson, played a very important role. Since 2009, Chinese music has basically entered a stage of Jay Chou's dominance.

The Bund, today is the first workday since 2009.

There weren't many people shopping on the Bund during the day, and the weather was quite cold. After entering the elevator from the underground parking lot, Tan Jincheng and his assistant Zeng Jixiang went into a teahouse.

"Happy New Year, Mr. Tan."

Greeting Tan Jincheng at the entrance of the teahouse was Jay Chou's assistant, Da Ni, whose surname was Chen. She met Jay Chou after graduation and became his assistant, a position she held for 20 years. As a true fan of Jay Chou, I knew her.

He's been famous for 20 years, changed companies and agents, but he's only ever had one assistant.

Happy New Year, Ms. Chen.

He shook hands lightly and gave the somewhat plump woman wearing glasses a barely perceptible look. Her appearance was plain and unremarkable, not like Louis Koo's.

Such an ordinary woman has stayed by the side of the perverted Zhou, the Milk Tea King, for 20 years, which shows that her abilities should not be underestimated.

Da Ni was also sizing up the young tycoon. In recent years, the value of her own artist had skyrocketed, and the 2400 million yuan endorsement fee over three years had made him a fortune.

Especially this year, thanks to the Olympics and Xiao Zhou's soaring popularity, it directly topped the list of the world's best-selling electric vehicles. This time, it must get a price commensurate with its status when renewing the contract.

Upon entering the private tea room, Tan Jincheng was surprised to find Jay Chou there.

"Huh? Jay Chou is here too? Long time no see! You're really popular this year. Will you be on the Spring Festival Gala again? What are you singing?"

With no outsiders around, Tan Jincheng was quite relaxed.

"Haha, I can't say that. Mr. Tan is a very busy person, why did you come in person?"

When it comes to emotional intelligence, Zhou Hongyi is definitely not lacking. When he first signed with Flash, Flash was not very strong, and he could be on friendly terms with Tan Jincheng. But now Tan Jincheng is a wealthy man with billions in assets and controls two listed companies. He knows how to speak properly.

"Since you're here, how could I not come? Alright, we're all busy and familiar with each other, so let's skip the formalities. I wonder if Mr. Jay Chou still intends to renew his contract?"

Old Zhou's mainland agent was also present. They had already exchanged greetings, and the three of them looked at each other.

The agent smiled and said, "Of course we're thinking about renewing the contract, otherwise we wouldn't have wasted Mr. Tan's precious time."

What a joke! They signed with that weak company before, and now they've signed with an industry leader and a listed company. This young boss is also said to have a very powerful background. Why wouldn't they sign with them?

However, the price certainly can't be 800 million a year anymore; it has to double.

Besides, if they don't sign a contract, they can't sign with other electric vehicle brands either; the first contract included an exclusivity agreement.

If Flash Motors is willing to pay 800 million yuan, they will not be allowed to accept endorsement contracts with other electric vehicle brands for three years; damn it, how could they have been so brain-dead as to agree to this agreement in the contract?

“Okay, if there’s an intention to renew the contract, that makes things easier. Jay Chou is a top-tier star now, so the previous contract is obviously no longer suitable. The endorsement fee will definitely need to be changed.”

Tan Jincheng smiled and didn't waste any words: "20 million a year, the endorsement fee is based on the level of a superstar, two years or three years, you can choose, how about it?"

Aima spent 3000 million yuan a year to poach Lao Zhou. 2000 million yuan is not expensive. This (future) fat guy is worth that price.

Holy crap! Even Jay Chou himself was shocked. They had previously agreed to double the endorsement fee, since that exclusive agreement was such a headache. If Tan Jincheng brought that up, they really couldn't ask for too high a price.

The 800 million contract is locked up for three years. As for breach of contract and signing with another manufacturer, they don't have the guts, and neither do other manufacturers.

They really are rich and capricious! They just asked for 2000 million yuan, which is comparable to the endorsement fees of superstars!

I just saw on the news that this big boss gave out red envelopes to all 3000+ employees of his company after it went public. That's pretty generous!
Jay Chou was overjoyed: "President Tan is so generous, then it's settled. As for whether it's two or three years, let's discuss it first, shall we?"

It's not that I, Lao Zhou, love money. I was second on the 08 Golden Melody Chart again. This has been going on for several years now. If I can't win first place in the Golden Melody Awards, then I have to prove that I have the status of a superstar in terms of endorsement fees.

Mr. Tan's 2000 million yuan is just in time!

(End of this chapter)