1994: From a young man from a small town to a second-generation resident of Shanghai

After the gathering of people from the same hometown ended, everyone else had left.

Chen Yong and Ye Huiling's universities were right next to each other, practically facing each other, making it very convenient for them to visit each other and get meals together.

After learning that Chen Yong was at Fudan University, Chen Hui had given up on Ye Huiling.

The two were standing so close together, and Chen Yong was far more outstanding than him; it would be strange if they didn't fall for each other!

When the goddess finally thinks of him, she'll probably be pregnant and have him take over her life.

Even if he wanted to wait, Chen Yong, this second-generation rich kid, might not agree.

After everyone else left, Ye Huiling was secretly delighted, as this would give her and Chen Yong a chance to be alone together.

To everyone's surprise, Chen Yong was completely oblivious to romance, saying, "If there's nothing else, let's go back to our respective schools."

"Why--"

Chen Yong just left like that? Ye Huiling panicked and called out to him, "Why are you leaving so fast? Don't you...don't you want to say a single word to me?"

Chen Yong turned around. "You have something to say?"

He continued, "I've been quite busy since I became the class monitor, and I only managed to find time to come today because it's the weekend."

Hearing his explanation, Ye Huiling felt much better. "You really have something on your mind? You don't dislike me?"

Chen Yong said with a wry smile, "Why would I dislike you for no reason?"

Then, his eyes lit up, and he said with a grin, "You don't actually like me, do you?"

Ye Huiling's cheeks flushed red. "Shameless! Who likes you! You've changed since you became class monitor."

"How did things change?" Chen Yong looked around at himself. "I didn't feel anything."

"I've become more confident, and I'm much bolder when talking to girls."

"Does anyone in your class like you?"

A girl is still a girl; when she meets a boy she likes, she can't hide her feelings.

"Now that I'm the class monitor, it's normal for one or two girls to have a crush on me!"

Ye Huiling immediately became agitated, "You seem quite smug! Do you like them too?"

"Right now, I just want to make money; I don't want to be in a relationship."

Ye Huiling was initially happy, relieved that Chen Yong didn't like them, but then she said bitterly, "Aren't you planning to date in college?"

"We'll talk about it later. You should go back soon. It's not safe for you to be out alone for so long. Be careful, or human traffickers might kidnap you and take you to some remote mountain forest."

In the 1990s, quite a few female college students were trafficked.

Moreover, they all married old bachelors from deep in the mountains and forests.

Later, when technology advanced, these people were finally found, but decades had passed, and the woman's life was ruined.

Ye Huiling felt a warmth in her heart when she heard his concern for her. Chen Yong must like her; he was only trying to earn money for her sake. "Could you take me back to school?"

"Take you back to school? It's so close, why should I take you? I can't just give you a free ride! You have to treat me to something nice."

There's usually a food street outside the school. Chen Yong got some food from Ye Huiling before agreeing to take her back to school, which was only a few hundred meters away.

…………

Commercial office buildings in Pudong.

In the conference hall on the fifteenth floor, Chen Yong was teaching business knowledge and management models to five business owners from various provinces on the screen.

Now Chen Yong has transformed into a course seller.

Selling courses is a long-standing and enduring industry.

It can be said that the demand will always exist, and there will always be laymen who need to learn the knowledge of the experts.

Most of the business owners who made their fortunes in the 1990s lacked professional knowledge and relied on luck to grow their businesses. When they tried to expand further, they found that their businesses encountered various problems.

What should you do in this situation? You'll have to find someone more professional to learn from!

Chen Yong accurately grasped the pain points of these people. When giving them award certificates, he also introduced his courses, and those who were interested could try them out.

"This is a special course offered by our Private Enterprise Development Center to address the development challenges faced by business owners."

The entry fee is only 1000 yuan, which is nothing to the bosses.

After listening to one of Chen Yong's lectures, my interest was immediately piqued.

Because Chen Yong accurately pinpointed their pain points: how to change the management model, how to conduct publicity, and issues such as supply chain and expansion.

But after teaching them one lesson, Chen Yong stopped teaching.

Mr. Zhang, who runs a beverage factory in Sichuan, had to personally inquire about the follow-up courses.

Xiao Hong pulled out the price list, "This is a unified requirement from headquarters. The courses will be taught personally by our professional Harvard Business School PhD, Mr. Chen."

The price list only lists a general business management course. It's equivalent to a modern MBA, and the full course costs 150,000 yuan, consisting of three classes, each lasting two hours.

That's equivalent to 5 yuan per lesson!

Mr. Zhang actually bought the course without hesitation.

And the factory's finance department quickly transferred the money to the designated account.

Over the next few days, he spent two hours each day in class, while also communicating with business owners from other places.

After finishing today's lesson, Chen Yong left twenty minutes for the bosses below to answer their questions.

"Mr. Chen, the market has been clearly declining for the past two years, and there's been a lot of internal debate. One side says the overall environment is bad, and we should just hold on; the other side says our strategic direction is wrong and we need to transform immediately. How should we judge this situation?"

Chen Yong: This is the most real and painful problem facing Chinese private enterprises in the past two years.

Here's a very practical way to differentiate, without resorting to theory: If the industry leader is still making money while you're losing money, it's most likely not a cyclical issue. You need to ask three questions:

Are there any people in the same industry who are doing well?

If so, it means the market isn't dead; it's your strategy that's flawed.

If everyone is losing money, that's a cycle.

Have your customers changed, or are they just become more discerning?

The customers are still there, but they're pushing for even lower prices, which means the demand hasn't disappeared.

A true structural downturn only occurs when demand has completely disappeared.

Are you losing money because of declining sales or out-of-control costs?

Many Chinese private enterprises treat "cycles" as a psychological comfort.

But the reality is: you used to make money with extensive methods, but now you can't keep up with the refined methods.

This isn't a cycle; it's a mismatch of capabilities.

Chen Yong has a wealth of theoretical knowledge, which is more than enough to deal with small business owners in this era.

The person who asked the question was very satisfied after hearing it.

Chen Yong then answered two more questions, and the morning's classes came to an end.

After the trainees left, Xiao Hong walked into Chen Yong's office with the documents in her arms. "Mr. Chen, this is the list of the next batch of trainees. The money has already been transferred to the headquarters account. Please check it."

"How much tuition have we collected recently?" Chen Yong was more concerned about how much money they had made than the beautiful Xiao Hong.

"That's 120 million in total. Mr. Chen, now that we've earned so much money, does headquarters really approve of our work?"

"How much is this? 120 million is nothing to headquarters."

"When they go out to win awards, they provide us with clients, which incurs significant operating costs. However, we are gradually becoming more standardized and streamlined. Headquarters sees our efforts. Let's keep up the good work!"

Xiao Hong was somewhat suspicious, but out of trust in President Chen, she didn't say much.

"Xiao Hong, don't think too much. Just work hard with me. Everyone feels a little lost when they first start working. You've only been here for a month, and our branch has only been open for such a short time. Any achievements are all thanks to us."

When headquarters sent me here, I never imagined it would be completed within a month.

The phone on Chen Yong's desk suddenly rang.

He picked up the phone and said, "Oh, it's Mr. Zhu. What can I do for you?"

Zhu Tianliang was a little confused when he heard this. Chen Yong called him "General Manager Zhu"? Perhaps it was out of respect for him.

"Chen Yong, the class needs to discuss something with you. You didn't come to class today? There's an event at the college, you can't miss it."

It's common knowledge that Chen Yong often skips classes; who knows what he's up to when he's out so often?

However, Chen Yong is still very responsible when it comes to matters concerning the class.

"Okay, okay."

After listening to Zhu Tianliang's explanation, Chen Yong hung up the phone.

"We just got a call from headquarters. They said they received the money and also praised us."

Xiao Hong believed it to be true, which dispelled many of her previous doubts. Lately, she kept feeling that Chen Yong's development center was not legitimate, as there were no other employees besides her.

Ms. Chen always says that since the business has just opened, she doesn't want to hire any new employees because she's exhausted from working alone.

Chen Yong had already taken good care of her. Zhou Qiang was the one who worked the hardest, doing most of the heavy lifting, and he received less reward than Xiao Hong.