2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 891 The Sense of Urgency After the Lavish Annual Meeting

January 20th was the 1rd day of the twelfth lunar month, less than a week away from the Spring Festival.

"Holy crap, you guys did all this design yourselves? It's so damn over-the-top!"

"Haha, boss, can you be a little more refined? This is called fashion, a sense of technology, and a sense of mystery, you know? By the way, you still have some time, do you want to practice your dance a bit more? You can't let Brother Ma outshine you, haha."

It was indeed quite high-tech, but the flamboyant design still made Tan Jincheng swear. This was the first time he had seen his own design, and he had previously said he would keep it a secret.

A silver suit covered in scales, paired with a silver hat and mask—this was Boss Tan's first appearance at the annual meeting tonight.

Compared to Pony Ma's (Ma Huateng's) all-black leather jacket and sunglasses look at Tencent's annual meeting that went viral online last week, which seemed overly flamboyant no matter how you looked at it.

"That's hard to say. They're a group of high-level executives who sing and dance, while I'm just one person on the show. How can I compare to them?"

What's the hottest thing at the end of the year? It's definitely the annual parties of various companies. Last Friday, Pony Ma, along with Zhang Xiaolong, Liu Chiping and other "Tencent BOYS", went from the chivalrous and tender Swordsman's Dream to the dashing and handsome Breakup Alliance, from Hungry Wolf Legend to the explosive BANG BANG BANG.

At an annual meeting, several of Tencent's long-time "babies" (young, experienced employees) attracted a lot of attention.

When it comes to creative ideas for company annual meetings, the internet industry really takes the cake.

However, it must be said that in today's increasingly competitive environment, executives coming out to promote their products or services has become an important way for companies to conduct marketing and publicity.

Tan Jincheng also paid great attention to cultivating the image of the executives on the internet. He couldn't be the only one to handle everything; even a hero needs a few helpers.

To this end, Boss Tan also hired a public relations firm to train the company's senior executives and help them design their online personas.

CEO Zhang Yong looks simple and honest, and speaks slowly, so he was specially designed as an "honest man" persona. Of course, this honest man is different from the honest man that everyone imagines.

The newly appointed director of the research institute, Hu Zhengnan, is portrayed as a tech guru. He shares information about the technology and various tests of the WILAI platform online, and occasionally answers questions from netizens and car owners on the WILAI app and other social media platforms.

Li Xiang is known for his outspokenness and decisiveness. When Tan Jincheng faces attacks from competitors he can't personally confront, he'll stand up for Boss Tan and deliver a sarcastic remark.

However, not all executives have this requirement. For older executives like Yu Liguo, Tan Jincheng would not force them to frequently appear on social media, as not everyone is suited to the internet.

Some people are better off maintaining a certain level of mystery. In addition, as they get older, their mindset becomes harder to change. Furthermore, having held important positions within the system for a long time, they also find it difficult to cope with the ever-changing nature of internet social media.

Occasionally posting on Weibo is fine, but keeping them in a high-intensity interaction state of mind could very well backfire.

"What's there to be afraid of? They sing, you dance. Besides, in terms of online popularity, you're no worse than them. You'll crush them, okay?"

The person in charge of styling and choreography for Tan Jincheng was a young employee. During the annual meeting, Boss Tan would spend an hour every day practicing the dance together.

After getting to know them for a while, they lost some of their mystique, and their way of speaking became much more relaxed. Today is the last rehearsal before the annual meeting, and everyone is quite relaxed.

However, in this young employee's mind, his boss was definitely no less than an internet mogul, and the big names in the automotive industry were no match for him. Compared to them, his boss was much more interesting.

What kind of activities do other car companies organize at their annual meetings? Guessing riddles, writing Spring Festival couplets? Do you think this is the Spring Festival Gala? Are you kidding me?
"Alright, stop talking nonsense. Practice a little longer. You have to go on stage tonight. If you embarrass yourself, I'll dock your pay."

In recent years, Weilai has rarely organized such large-scale annual meetings with gimmicks. There are too many employees, making it troublesome to organize. Every year, each region organizes its own dinner and employee performances.

For employees, the most important thing during the Chinese New Year is whether the bonus is generous enough. As long as the bonus is sufficient, other forms of celebration are not so important.

However, this year is different. In the ninth year since its founding, Weilai has achieved a breakthrough in sales from zero to 900,000 units. The Yuechi A1 has won numerous honors this year, topped various charts, and gained a lot of attention.

It's been a year of great success and fame, so we definitely need to celebrate. That's the sentiment of everyone in the company.

The annual meeting is being held tonight, which is about a week later than for internet companies, but for traditional businesses, the timing is just right.

After the annual meeting is over and I've finished all the work, I'll receive the prizes and bonuses, and then it'll be time to take my annual leave.

When Tan Jincheng arrived backstage that evening, he couldn't help but burst into laughter upon seeing the executives dressed in bizarre outfits.

"I can imagine that everyone's outfits are rather flamboyant, but it's still hilarious to see everyone standing together like this; haha, come on, let's learn from Little Ma and take a group photo to post online."

For Weilai, the 2016 annual meeting was a summary of the era of gasoline-powered vehicles, and the company's focus will shift completely to the new energy sector going forward.

Executives including Zhang Yong, Yu Liguo, Hu Zhengnan, Thomas, Li Xiang, Zhang Li, and Zhao Xinyi, who rushed back from Zhuhai, made a group appearance. Zhang Yong, Hu Zhengnan, and Li Xiang, among others, arranged to perform.

The gala has been in preparation since last month. In addition to the executives performing monkey shows on stage, there are also programs selected from internal employees and celebrity performers. There are plenty of handsome men and beautiful women.

"Haha, if we post this image online, people will think we're cosplaying."

"I'm so old, why should I have to play this game with you young people?"

Yu Liguo wore a wry smile. His outfit was somewhat similar to the four great scholars in the movie "Flirting Scholar". He felt quite ashamed when he went on stage to perform an exaggerated drama.

"Haha, don't think too much today. Let's just relax and have fun together. Do whatever makes us happy."

In addition to senior executives from the headquarters of Weilai, executives from subsidiaries such as Lotus, Yangzi Motors, and Huanghai Motors also attended the Weilai Annual Meeting held at the Beicang Sports and Arts Center.

The executives of Weilai have never been so gathered together before; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them Weilai's All-Stars.

"The boss is right. It's rare for everyone to get together like this, so let's do whatever makes us happy."

Thomas, the design director of Weilai, who has lived in China for many years, speaks good Chinese and can even use idioms.

Thomas, dressed in an oversized Tang suit, looked quite comical with his shiny bald head. His performance was a stark contrast to the serious image of Germans, and he was about to do a rap.

"Yes, Thomas is right. Everyone get ready. I'll go up first and make a fool of myself."

The opening dance was naturally performed by Boss Tan, and given today's outfit, he was to do a segment of Michael Jackson's moonwalk. However, his performance was rather mediocre; this is not something you can learn in just a few days of rehearsal.

However, these executives only came on stage to amuse everyone; how they danced is not important.

"Is that my brother up there?"

Twelve-year-old Tan Jinyue has grown into a graceful young woman. Unlike the employees of Flash, who have watched her grow up, not many of the employees of Weilai know her. However, the fact that she can sit with the boss's wife, the boss's two sons, and his parents speaks volumes.

"It should be. Didn't your brother say he was going to perform the moonwalk? There'll probably be a mask-removal process later, then you'll see."

Tan Jincheng was dressed in an exaggerated and unconventional outfit, including a hat and a mask. She hadn't seen the performance program and could only make some judgments based on his physique.

"He jumped like a crab."

Once her sister-in-law confirmed it, Tan Jinyue didn't hold back and offered her comments.

"Haha, it must be him. But just like Jin Yue said, he really does jump like a crab."

Zhang Xupeng's family sat with Tan Jincheng's family. Today, not only employees from various companies in Weilai were present, but also suppliers and partners. Tan Jincheng's other business managers in Beicang were also welcome to watch the performance if they had time.

Wei Lai's performance was lively and entertaining. After Boss Tan finished his first monkey show, one performance after another and executives took to the stage to act silly, making everyone laugh. Big stars such as Jay Chou, Hu Ge, and Liu Yifei also took to the stage to perform, which drew screams from the audience.

Of course, what excited everyone the most was the lucky draw interspersed throughout the event.

As this was a celebratory annual meeting, Boss Tan was naturally generous with the prizes. The first prize was five top-of-the-line Weilai ES8s, and the grand prize was two Lotus Lotus cars.

This thing is a sports car! Who would give away a sports car as a prize at their company's annual party?
In addition to these, mobile phones, televisions, and other luxury items were also provided, making it arguably the most extravagant annual meeting in the automotive industry this year.

"Hehe, now the cars I win in the lottery are all mine. Doesn't that feel amazing?"

Zhang Xupeng winked at Tan Jincheng, and after the performance, he went to be with his family.

"Hehe, it's alright, at least the procurement costs can be reduced a lot."

The prizes at Wei Lai's annual meeting were actually a grand showcase of his own products and the entire supply chain. All the prizes came from Wei Lai himself, the supply chain, and partner brands. Even the participation prize of 300 yuan Orange Products shopping voucher that everyone received was from his own business.

True wealth should not be left to outsiders!

In addition, after tonight's annual meeting, there will be a supplier conference for Weilai. Over the next three days, Weilai's first-tier and second-tier suppliers will discuss project cooperation plans with Weilai for the new year. Tan Jincheng will also need to attend.

"If you want to show off, then show off. Wei Lai certainly deserves to show off this year."

"Haha, calm down, calm down. There are reporters here, and everyone has a mobile phone. It's probably all over the internet by now." This is the first time that the Beicang Sports and Arts Center has been booked for the annual meeting. In the past, it was usually held in hotels or factories. The generous lucky draw attracted a lot of reporters. In addition, Orange Live is broadcasting the event live, transmitting the annual meeting footage to employees who cannot attend in person.

The city is bustling with activity, and the other side of the Pacific Ocean is just as lively tonight.

The old man held his inauguration ceremony today, during which he arrested 217 protesters, marking the beginning of his highly controversial four-year career.

It's funny, really. This guy is incredibly popular in China. There was even a stock on the A-share market that jumped on the bandwagon and hit its daily limit up the afternoon of the day he won.

However, for domestic companies like Weilai that want to do global business, this guy is really unfriendly.

On November 23, the first thing this guy did after taking office was to withdraw from the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement).

"See? I told you time was of the essence."

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, by this time of year, most factories in Weilai have already closed for the holidays, allowing Tan Jincheng more time and energy to handle other matters.

The buzz surrounding Wei Lai's extravagant annual party is still going strong, but he no longer has time to care.

"Just like you said, boss, he's an abstract person."

Cheng Linfeng now completely trusts his boss's judgment. In just three days since taking office, he has been handling one abstract matter after another, and he is as active on social media as an internet celebrity, posting more than a dozen updates a day.

"In business, I'm not afraid of encountering greedy people, nor am I afraid of encountering people who don't follow the rules. What I'm afraid of is encountering abstract people."

Tan Jincheng sighed, then said to Cheng Linfeng, "You'll be busier this year. Do everything you can to make our assets over there more discreet. Also, you need to speed up the process of stockpiling graphics cards."

There's no ban on selling them right now, so as long as you're not afraid to spend money, you can buy as many as you want.

The news that ByteDance was going to build a data center had already been circulating for the past few months, and Zhao Xinyi had also expressed her preference for your province to Tan Jincheng.

He has been very busy these past two months and hasn't had time to conduct site visits, design, or build anything. However, he has already started contacting suppliers for the hardware facilities needed for the large data center.

Chips such as CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators, as well as power supply and security hardware, are all being prepared.

In the words of the newly formed data center preparation team, the boss's move is called "preparing supplies before the troops move."

Selling stocks in the US, buying the necessary equipment, shipping it back home, and using the money from these years to build my own large data center—it sounds pretty great.

"Okay, I understand. I'll speed things up."

“If necessary, you can represent me on a trip to Wall Street and work with Wall Street institutions.”

Reducing holdings every three months is too slow. Right now, it seems that negotiated transfers and block trades are faster. If we wait until the end of the year, it will be too late.

According to Tan Jincheng's plan, he only intends to keep about 200 million Tesla shares, which is about 1.33% of his current shareholding, and about 1000 million Nvidia shares, which is about 1.85%.

This shareholding ratio will definitely be diluted in the future, but I don't care anymore.

The two companies whose shares need to be reduced have a combined market value of approximately $60 billion. Not only is it troublesome to do it slowly on my own, but it's also uncertain whether I can successfully recover the $60 billion.

By partnering with Wall Street capital, the $60 billion is just a drop in the bucket; some of it can even be converted into special currencies or gold, reducing potential losses.

In January 2017, the price of gold was around $1200 per ounce, while the price of 999 gold in China was around 345 yuan per gram, indicating significant room for further price increases.

In his previous life, Tan Da was a leek (a term for someone who is easily taken advantage of) who lost money in the stock market, but he was very successful in investing in gold. He started buying gold at around 280 yuan per gram and continued until it reached around 370 yuan, which lasted for several years.

He initially bought gold simply because he was too lazy to put thought into choosing a gift; after all, no one dislikes gold, and the price of gold had already risen to a very high level before his rebirth.

"Boss, aren't you going by yourself?"

This is a $60 billion cash-out! The boss actually sent him, putting Cheng Linfeng under immense pressure.

Tan Jincheng shook his head: "I don't have time. I'm not much freer than you during the Spring Festival. I have to go to your province for an inspection in the first few days of the new year."

The data center project has been launched, and a suitable location has been found. Now it needs to be implemented as soon as possible. Early construction and early operation will benefit the entire business system.

According to the data provided by your province, Tan Jincheng prefers Gui'an New Area, which is a national-level new area and is positioned as a comprehensive big data pilot zone.

The karst mountain structure provides natural insulation, explosion protection, and data security. The unique natural environment, low electricity prices, and preferential policies offered by your province can greatly reduce the operating costs of data centers.

Speaking of which, your province is quite farsighted in this regard. Your neighboring province, Sichuan, is still mining everywhere, wasting a lot of cheap and high-quality electricity.

Before long, mining will be banned.

Cheng Linfeng thought about it and agreed: "Well, that's true. Boss, you have your own things to do, but I'm really under a lot of pressure with such a large sum of money."

He manages a considerable amount of capital, but this is truly the first time he has ever transferred such a large sum of wealth from overseas back to China in one go.

"You can contact Musk and Huang; don't worry, they will find a suitable buyer for you."

The reduction of ByteDance's stake in Nvidia and Tesla is something Musk and Jensen Huang would definitely like to see, as they need funds and resources from the world's largest market during this special period.

However, as the company grows, no one wants a foreign partner with a huge influence. It would be fine if it were just an investment institution, but this person is not just an investor, but an entrepreneur with many businesses.

Musk, in particular, while unafraid of competition, genuinely doesn't want ByteDance to hold too much Tesla stock anymore.

Business partnerships are subject to change.

"I'll contact Lao Ma and Lao Huang in the next few days and introduce you to them. You'll be leading the team. The main thing is to thoroughly study the laws and regulations; there shouldn't be any other problems."

"Besides, it would actually be better for you to go than for me to go. My target is too big."

Among the post-80s generation, Americans admire Zuckerberg, while in China, Tan Jincheng is the most popular. They are about the same age, but Zuckerberg mainly focuses on the internet, while Tan Jincheng focuses on real industries. In terms of prestige, Tan Jincheng is more prestigious.

Although WILRA's cars are not officially sold in North America, it does not mean that WILRA's cars do not exist in the North American market, especially the ES8. This model can be described as a blue ocean model in the large pure electric SUV market, with almost no competitors.

Some electric vehicle enthusiasts in the US have managed to get their hands on the ES8 through various channels. In the eyes of some electric vehicle enthusiasts in North America, the ES8 is still a very excellent model and can be used as a benchmark against Tesla's Model X.

In addition, Tan Jincheng's humble origins and astonishing wealth growth are very much in line with the cultural atmosphere in the United States. In fact, Tan Jincheng's popularity in the United States is not much lower than that of Lao Ma.

"That's true, okay then, I'll go and make the arrangements."

Cheng Linfeng thought about it and agreed. If the boss were to show up, it would indeed be too much of a target, while he would be much smaller. Moreover, the Americans' attention was currently focused on the newly appointed old man, so there was no need for the boss to draw attention to him.

"Okay, thank you for the hard work."

Cheng Linfeng stood up and smiled: "It's not hard work, it's just something I should do."

That makes perfect sense. First, it's one of his main jobs, and second, he's also a shareholder and partner of ByteDance's advertising platform.

Tan Jincheng controls a series of assets in China through the investment company ByteDance, possessing enormous wealth and its added value. ByteDance is also a company that belongs entirely to Tan Jincheng.

As one of the only two minority shareholders of ByteDance's advertising platform, Cheng Linfeng, like Huang Ming, holds extremely few shares in the platform, even only having dividend rights. However, given the resources ByteDance currently controls, the dividend rights of even this insignificant share are an astonishing figure.

Aside from those who trade stocks in the secondary market, ByteDance's investment platform, Ocean Engine, is not well-known to the public. Most people have never even heard of the company, but once they learn more about it, they realize how formidable this investment firm is.

Cheng Linfeng also became a wealthy man in the industry thanks to his shares in ByteDance. This wealth is not only reflected in dividends. For example, he and Huang Ming both have their own companies. Their status and access to resources have also brought them their own businesses.

Within the entire business empire of Tan Jincheng, there are many executives like Cheng Linfeng who own their own companies. In fact, each of them is a boss, and this is true for almost every large group company.

"Let's go out after the New Year. No matter how urgent things are, a few more days won't make a difference."

"It's okay, I'll take care of it. If there's nothing else, I'll go and make the arrangements."

He couldn't take the boss's politeness seriously. We were celebrating the New Year, but Americans don't. Even someone of the boss's status would be busy during the New Year. He had to prepare for his trip to North America as soon as possible.

However, spending the Lunar New Year at home is not a problem, since it takes time to complete the formalities and such.

Tan Jincheng nodded. Dealing with Tesla and Nvidia shares before the abstract school could react was the most important thing at the moment. They were all long-time partners, and Tan Jincheng wouldn't force Cheng Linfeng to slow down just for the sake of some so-called consideration for his subordinate.

(End of this chapter)