The leisurely life of rebirth

Over the past six months, Lei Jun has been promoting the development of new energy vehicles.

Such a major decision, which can be said to be related to the future direction of the company and even determines the life and death of the company, is not so easy to make.

There are also many shareholders and directors in the company.

Not everyone dares to gamble on the future like this.

It is human nature to be risk averse, especially when the future seems good at the moment, why should we gamble on the uncertain future?

Obviously I have won the bet now.

Lei Jun talked and communicated with each of them one by one, and many things could be decided by voting.

However, if we don’t work together, it will be difficult to accomplish this. There are many issues involved, and we need everyone to work together.
Now, only one person is left.

He is also the most critical investor in the company, Wang Yitian.

"Mr. Wang, let me report to you again on the latest progress. We have sorted out the questions you mentioned earlier one by one."

Wang Yitian felt helpless when he saw the persistent Lei Jun.

When we invested in him and worked together, we saw his resilience. It is because of this resilience that the company has been able to get to where it is today.

It can be considered as officially gaining a foothold.

But just as we have gained stability here, they have started to make plans over there. Can we keep up?

"Mr. Lei, we have been together for so many years. It's not that I disagree with making cars. Can we wait for two years and wait until we are stable here before expanding?" Wang Yitian insisted on his point of view.

In fact, if it weren’t for Zhou You, this might have been the safest option, but not the best one.

"Mr. Wang, I know what you said, and I understand it, but there are advantages to entering this industry early. The later you enter, the lower the market recognition will be."

"The mobile phone market and the rice ecosystem have stabilized. What's left is to develop step by step. What's the reason?"

Lei Jun stared into Mr. Wang’s eyes.

Wang Yitian was a little stumped by the question. What else could the reason be?
Several giants control the market, and fierce competition means that new mobile phone companies have no room to develop in the short term.

If it weren't for the rise of smartphones, they wouldn't have had the chance to emerge.

The same is true for new energy vehicles.

But the risk of this gamble is quite high.

Those traditional car companies are also transforming and eyeing this area covetously. Several domestic car manufacturers are working in this area.

Not only that, foreign car companies have also rushed in.

The fierceness of market competition is far greater than that of the mobile phone market.

"What if there is difficulty in capital turnover?" Wang Yitian is still worried about the break of capital chain. Good cash flow is his style.

Upon hearing this, Lei Jun took out an agreement.

This is the agreement he signed with Zhou You. Zhou You invested at least 50 billion yuan, and currently 10 billion yuan has been deposited into the account. In the future, additional investment will be made based on evaluation.

Wang Yitian knew Zhou You's reputation, and also knew that Zhou You was the driving force behind this incident.

To be honest, he admired those investments.

However, this is different. To put it bluntly, the automobile industry is a pillar industry, and cars are the peak of a country's civilian industrial scale.

Moreover, the mobile phone has emerged as a dark horse because of its extreme cost-effectiveness.

However, this is not the case in the automotive industry. There are many cheap cars, and those domestically produced cars are very cheap.

In some cities, parking spaces are more expensive than cars, which is an objective fact.

So this positioning issue is very difficult. We can’t beat the low-end, and we can’t beat the high-end even more.

Then they can only compete in the mid-range car market, which is a naked red ocean. Wang Yitian really has no confidence in this.

Lei Jun continued, "Our rise depends on the development of the new era. Now the automotive industry has entered a new era. If we don't keep up, we will gradually be eliminated in the future."

"And cars are also a very important part of my ecological chain. There is a reason why cars are called the second home."

Wang Yitian held his forehead with his hand, knowing that he could not stop it.

He said very seriously: "Before thinking about victory, think about defeat first, and be prepared for failure."

Lei Jun was overjoyed when he heard this. This was a sign of his agreement, and he nodded repeatedly.

But the other party continued, "No matter how difficult it is, the company has decided to do it. We must, must master the core technology. We can't follow the old path of the mobile phone industry, otherwise we won't go far."

The smile on Lei Jun's face gradually disappeared, he knew that running a business would be criticized.

"This is my last entrepreneurial venture in my life, and it is also the most important one. I want to build my own factory and develop my own technology."

"Not only that, I will continue to improve employee benefits. This business is not for myself, but for all participants. If it succeeds, I want all participants to enjoy the dividends of success."

This was his inner feeling after talking with Zhou You. If it was just for money, he could have retired long ago.

He is a technician at heart and a bit of an idealist.

A trip to Pangdonglai further strengthened this belief.

You still need to have some beliefs in life, otherwise it’s really meaningless.

In fact, he knew a lot of rumors, but Lei Jun understood one thing, just like what was said in a short story.

The father and son were driving their donkey into the city. Someone on the road said, "How stupid! You don't know how to ride a donkey."

So the father let him ride on the donkey, and some people said: "The son is unfilial, making his father walk."

Next, it was the father's turn to ride the donkey, and some people said, "The father is cruel, for letting his son walk."

As a result, the two had no choice but to ride on the donkey. Someone else said, "They are so cruel. Aren't they afraid of crushing the donkey to death?"

Finally, the two men had no choice but to carry the donkey. But some people still said, "How stupid! You carry the donkey."

The story ends with the two men and their donkey falling into the river and drowning.

This is actually a short story from Aesop’s fables. I didn’t understand it when I was a kid and just thought it was funny.

As I grew older, I realized that these stories are full of profound truths.

In society, it is impossible to satisfy everyone. Other people have their own mouths and you cannot control them.

You don't have to listen to everything others say. If you do, you'll be exhausted to death.

So, slowly, Lei Jun became very determined.

Believe in yourself and this is what has brought you to where you are today. Whether you ride a donkey or not, it is your own choice and you have to bear the risks yourself.

Suffering is borne by oneself, happiness is enjoyed by oneself,
Now everything is ready, we can start.

The current timing for entry cannot be said to be good nor bad. There are many new forces in the domestic car manufacturing industry. Some come in and some fall.

Even though they have ample funds, if they really want to grow bigger they still have to rely on their own funds.

No, they are prepared to lose at least 200 billion.
This determination is huge!
Everything is moving in a good direction.

At the beginning of 2018, we were hit hard.
The economic crisis is coming!

However, for a small number of people, this is an opportunity, and the opportunity has come.

ByteDance’s financing has reached a critical moment.

Why does capital invest everywhere? In addition to pursuing profits, it is more because there is too much money and it needs to find a way out.

However, looking around, there are not so many good companies. ByteDance's actions last year have already proved its money-making model. If it doesn't invest, it will be profitable soon.

One after another, they rushed to give money.

Even more exaggerated than DJI.

Zhang Yiming couldn't bear it anymore, it was really a mixture of joy and sorrow.

In such a bad global situation, it is already remarkable that we have bucked the trend and risen.

Zhou Youdu has already moved to Beijing. Zhang Yiming is worried about such a large financing without him.

In March, there was still a little chill in the air in the capital, but tender green buds had already begun to sprout on the trees.

However, the faces of the workers on the street were still expressionless as always.

Only those young people who have just graduated still have some expectations for the future on their faces and can still be seen with youthful looks.

Of course, there are also many people who live a peaceful and healthy life.

Zhang Yiming paced back and forth in the office, constantly looking down through the window. He certainly couldn't show that in front of his subordinates, and he really felt uncertain this time.

After walking around for a long time, I finally saw Zhou You getting off the bus.

He immediately opened the door and went down to greet him.

Originally, I wanted to take the subway when traveling so as to avoid traffic jams.

But, thinking of the morning rush hour on the Beijing subway, I killed the idea.
I can squeeze in relying on my strong body, but the space inside is limited. If my group of people squeeze in, some people will definitely not be able to get in. If I delay other people's work and get deducted for attendance, it would be a serious sin.

It doesn’t matter if there is a traffic jam. Just drive slowly. There is no rush anyway.

"Brother You, you are finally here." Zhang Yiming walked quickly to Zhou You and said excitedly.

Zhou You waved his hands repeatedly. He was really crazy. "Brother Ming, don't get excited. This is just a small scene."

Of course he could understand the other person's feelings.

A 50 billion US dollar investment, or a 10% stake, is more than several times the amount.

The company’s market value was directly increased to 500 billion US dollars, which is almost 4000 billion yuan.

People say the Internet is exaggerated, but I didn’t expect it to be this exaggerated. The last time it was only 100 billion.

Walking around the company, I saw many employees greeting Zhang Yiming on the way, many of whom were strangers to him.

Only occasionally would I meet a few elderly people who would come over excitedly and call me Brother You.

"Lao Zhang, you can't treat us old brothers unfairly." Zhou You said in front of these old men.

Among this group of old people, some had strong abilities, some had average abilities, some were promoted quickly, and some were promoted slowly.

There are many reasons.

However, Zhou You is an emotional person, and in a sense, he still wants to see the people he is familiar with make progress.

I have read some history books before, and the official selection systems of different dynasties are very interesting.

He had discussed these things with Datou before.

There are hereditary ones, bloodline ones, exam-based ones, recommendation-based ones, and the Nine-Rank System.

However, it was gradually replaced by the imperial examination system and became the orthodoxy.

However, after the imperial examination, there is still promotion.

The words in that are very interesting.

Sometimes we choose based on character, sometimes we choose based on talent, and sometimes we choose based on seniority.

According to most people's understanding, it must be both virtuous and talented, right?

However, this involves a criterion for judgment.

What are the criteria for judging virtue?
What are the criteria for judging talent?
Most importantly, who has the final say?
Therefore, there is no unchanging system, let alone a system that can be used for a lifetime, as it will always be used out of place.

These systems, in their original intention, may, possibly, be good.

It’s just that these are all carried out by someone, and personal emotions will be mixed in the execution process.

There was a period of time in history, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when this phenomenon existed for a long time.

Officials were selected by drawing lots, which is also called picking lots.

There is no way. There are too many people asking for favors and too few positions. They all have backgrounds and I cannot afford to offend them. What should I do?
The person who came up with this idea is really a talent. It avoided the intensification of conflicts to a certain extent and maintained the balance among all parties.
This existed for a long time, but later on it became possible to cheat.

As for the lottery, it is relatively simple to operate, but the way it is done is not that ugly.

Datou's understanding is actually the deepest. According to him,
In fact, seniority-based promotion is really to protect some people, such as ordinary people and hard-working people. At least there is a standard and the time is rigid.

However, the reality now is that there are no standards.

It is a recognized fact that selecting officials is a metaphysics.

They are all metaphysics, so let’s not talk about anything else.

I can’t control other things about Zhou You, but I can still give some suggestions for this company.

Smells good from afar, stinks near.

As the company grew bigger and bigger, more and more people joined, and Zhang Yiming often began to gradually forget his old brothers who started the business with him.

Gradually, I saw fewer and fewer faces at meetings.

Some people even resigned and sought better opportunities.

There isn't much left.

"Well, the company is developing very fast, and sometimes we neglect our old colleagues and brothers. It's my fault." Zhang Yiming took the initiative to say that he is usually busy and doesn't pay much attention to this area.

Zhou You nodded and patted the shoulders of the old people: "Call everyone who is here, and go sing in the evening."

"Okay." The others answered readily.

Still the same taste, still the same atmosphere,
We go to work to earn money, and meeting each other is fate. At the moment, it doesn’t seem to be a bad fate.

Being able to meet in such a huge crowd is fate, and we should keep it going.

Zhang Yiming didn't say anything. It was not a problem to arrange for a few elderly people, and it was okay to do some small management.

Looking at this scene, he seemed to be back to the beginning. At that time, everyone was still very happy and full of energy. Zhou You also cheered everyone up from time to time, and he also adopted this method.

I couldn't help but think of those people who left. It's hard to say whether they were right or wrong.

I just miss it a little.

"Brother You, some of our old friends have resigned. Do you want to invite them?" Zhang Yiming asked.

"Well, anyone in Beijing can come, and we can also ask if they are willing to come back. The company is expanding so fast, it will definitely be easier to use acquaintances." Zhou You said with a smile.

I couldn't help but pat Zhang Yiming's shoulder: "Don't be too stressed, you are already very good. As for me, you know this person, sometimes I talk about feelings."

"Ah, I am deeply involved in it, and sometimes I am affected subtly."

Many times, there are so many things to think about that after a long time, we will subconsciously forget some things that we think are not important.

Perhaps, feelings are the most important thing.

Yes, he was the first one to be abandoned by most people! (End of this chapter)