The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 785 "New Dongfang"!!!
Located on Shengli Avenue in the eastern part of Liujiazhuang High-tech Zone, is the flagship store of the well-known "Holiland" auto parts company.

Just across the street from this auto parts store is the nationally renowned "Xin Dongpei" Liujiazhuang Campus—a training center founded by a famous educational institution, famous for its high-quality teaching and remarkable training results.

When talking about the founding process of "New Dongpei", one must mention its founder, Yu Minhong.

This entrepreneur, who emerged from a university campus, has transformed a small training institution into a nationwide chain of educational brands, thanks to his keen business acumen and unwavering entrepreneurial spirit. He is a true role model for contemporary college student entrepreneurs.

His success story inspires countless young people with dreams to bravely pursue them.

The story of “New Dongpei” began in 1993.

That year, Yu Minhong founded the "New Dongpei" School in Yanjing City and personally served as its principal.

His training school started with just a few dozen students, marking the beginning of the "New Oriental" entrepreneurial journey.

This story encapsulates the hardships and struggles of young people starting businesses in the 90s, and it also embodies the dreams and perseverance of that generation of entrepreneurs.

Having experienced hardship in the countryside since childhood, Yu Minhong set a clear goal after the resumption of the college entrance examination: to attend the best university and to leave the countryside.

Compared to other gifted students, Yu Minhong's path to education was full of hardships.

He took the college entrance exam three times in a row, but failed the first and second years.

In her third year, Yu Minhong studied desperately, and her English score improved from 33 and 55 to 95, finally gaining admission to Yenching University.

After graduation, Yu Minhong stayed at the school as an English teacher.

A few years later, many of his classmates went abroad.

Back then, studying abroad was almost a symbol of success.

Yu Minhong, who came from a poor family and had no money, also wanted to change her fate by going abroad.

However, that year, due to America's tightening of its study abroad policies on Xia, the number of international students decreased significantly.

After the environment changed, in order to make money, Yu Minhong invited Wang Gang and several other close classmates to start a class outside of school to earn tuition fees.

In late summer of that year, Yu Minhong went to work as a teacher at an outside English training center, earning 20 yuan per hour.

However, instead of good fortune, Yenching University decided to punish Yu Minhong, an English department teacher, for privately teaching outside the university, which seriously disrupted the teaching order.

The disciplinary decision was broadcast for three consecutive days, and Yenching University's cable TV broadcast it for half a month.

Yu Minhong was deeply affected by this incident.

When Yu Minhong walked into the classroom, the strange looks from the students told him that he couldn't stay there any longer.

The weather has cooled down these past few days, and it's been exceptionally cold.

After being disciplined by the school, Yu Minhong stood on the steps of Yenching University Library, looking at the torrential rain, but a fire ignited in her heart.

He recalled the slogan "Knowledge changes destiny" on the earthen wall of his old home, and his mother's words as she mended clothes under the kerosene lamp: "Hong, you must strive to be good."

In the autumn of 1993, 28-year-old Yu Minhong left Yenching University, which she loved dearly.

"Since there's no way to get ahead within the system, then we'll forge our own path!" Yu Minhong clenched her fist.

Displaced from her home, Yu Minhong made up her mind to venture into the world of martial arts and use the skills she had honed at Yenching University to become a self-employed individual.

Yu Minhong went to the private Oriental University, where he had previously taught, to discuss establishing the "Oriental University English Training Department." The school would provide the sign, and he would pay 15% of the management fee.

So, Yu Minhong rented a bungalow at the Second Primary School in Zhongguan Village to use as a classroom, and the "Oriental University English Training Department" was officially established. There were only two people: he was the head, and his wife was the cashier and accountant.

In the early stages of starting a business, we were penniless and our desperate efforts in promotion didn't yield much result.

Yu Minhong devised a plan: he filled in 30 fake names on each of the TOEFL and GRE registration forms for overseas exams, using this method to attract students' trust and get them to register.

Yu Minhong even decided to hold free lectures in order to attract students and offer them discounts.

The strategy proved highly effective, resulting in a full classroom and excellent results.

After the lecture, Yu Minhong stood at the classroom door, watching the students leave with enthusiastic discussions, and a long-lost smile appeared on her lips.

He knew he had finally found a breakthrough.

The next morning, before dawn, Yu Minhong rode her secondhand bicycle through the cold wind to the bulletin boards of various universities in Zhongguancun, where she personally posted the recruitment brochures for the training departments.

His fingers, red from the cold, dipped repeatedly into the glue bucket, but his heart was warm—these simple leaflets carried all his hopes.

On the first day of the training course, the classroom was packed with students who had come from far and wide.

Standing on the podium, Yu Minhong looked at the eager eyes of the students below and seemed to see herself from years ago.

He shared his knowledge generously, making full use of the teaching experience he had accumulated at Yenching University.

During the break, a student asked curiously, "Professor Yu, your lectures are so engaging, why don't you teach at a university anymore?"

Yu Minhong smiled but did not answer. Instead, she turned around and wrote the words "As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement" on the blackboard.

As word spread, the number of students in the training courses increased.

Yu Minhong had to call his wife to help, and the two of them often worked until late at night.

In winter, when there was no heating in the classroom, he bought a coal stove at his own expense; when there weren't enough teaching materials, he stayed up all night to hand-carve wax paper and mimeograph them.

Once, when his wife had a high fever, she was still organizing registration forms. Yu Minhong said with heartache, "Take a break."

His wife shook her head: "We've finally started to see some progress, we can't let this go to waste."

At that moment, Yu Minhong secretly vowed that she would make sure that everyone who suffered with her could live a good life.

Hard work pays off.

The following spring, the students in the training program achieved excellent results in the TOEFL exam, and the news spread throughout the capital like a spring breeze.

People lined up to register with Yu Minhong, so he had to rent a larger classroom.

It was at this time that he conceived a bold idea: to turn this small training department into the best English training institution in the country.

This success gave Yu Minhong great confidence and hope.

The "free lectures" pioneered a new form of private education at Yanjing University, opening up new avenues for Yu Minhong's overseas exam preparation.

The following year, Yu Minhong remembered November 16th as clearly as if it were her own daughter's birthday.

On this day, the "Yanjing Xindongfang Training School" was established in an abandoned factory in western Yanjing.

In a drafty, illegally constructed office of only a dozen square meters, the "Xin Dongfang" foreign language training institution began its arduous development process.

However, Yu Minhong's purpose at the time was very simple: to make money faster and more so as to fulfill her dream of studying abroad.

The road to entrepreneurship is certainly difficult, with early-stage "malicious competition" and troublesome issues encountered in America's external examinations.

With her natural eloquence and optimistic attitude, Yu Minhong always manages to turn danger into safety.

Through such trials and tribulations, Yu Minhong grew from a scholar into a "principal" capable of managing all aspects of life.

By 1994, Yu Minhong had finally earned enough tuition fees to study abroad with her university classmates Xu Daping, Wang Qianggang, and others.

By the third year, "Xin Dong Fang" had 15,000 students.

Stopping and looking back, Yu Minhong realized that the "Xin Dongfang" carriage had already traveled a long distance.

Yu Minhong's wife, who had initially wanted to go abroad, also realized that this was a promising career and began to fully support her. Yu Minhong finally made the most important decision of her life: to stay and develop her training institution.

While "Xin Dongfang" is growing vigorously, Yu Minhong has never forgotten the secret to its initial success—sharing profits with students.

When "Xin Dongfang" started its business, there were already more than 30 companies in the domestic overseas exam preparation market. Yu Minhong quickly broke through the encirclement by taking advantage of preferential policies.

By this time, Yu Minhong had already tasted the sweetness of success and felt the allure of the education industry.

The purpose of running schools is no longer just for money, but for long-term development plans.

Yu Minhong made an important decision: he will open a larger branch school in the "Liujiazhuang Education Industrial Park". The Liujiazhuang area is the place in the entire Yanjing City with the strongest atmosphere of education, industry and research.

With the "Education Industrial Park" as a solid foundation and a clear belief, "Xin Dongfang" entered a golden age of rapid development.

When Yu Minhong realized that "New Dongfang" would be his lifelong career, he thought of his old friends abroad and he needed to invite them back to work with him.

By the end of the year, "Xin Dongfang" had sufficient strength and development prospects to attract old friends from abroad back to the company.

The new educational model of "Xin Dongfang" brought high profits and a fresh educational perspective, which attracted Yu Minhong's old classmates Xu Daping and Wang Gang.

Ultimately, Yu Minhong, Xu Daping, and Wang Gang "united as brothers," and the return of their old classmate to join New Oriental injected fresh blood into the company.

At the same time, "Xin Dongfang" began to form its own culture - "Heroes are not judged by their origins, nor by their age".

For example, Luo Yonghao, who did not even graduate from high school, stood on the "New Dongfang" podium with his real talent and hard work.

The "New Dongfang" is thriving by "recruiting talents without being bound by conventions".

Since the opening of the new campus in Liujiazhuang in 1995, "Xin Dongfang" has entered a period of rapid growth.

Enrollment numbers are increasing by more than 150% every year!
In just a few years, the number of students at New Oriental has increased from less than 4000 in 1994 to 60 this year.

Moreover, New Oriental has established a relatively complete teaching system for overseas test preparation, basic foreign language training, and overseas study services, as well as an emerging related industrial system, extending its market competition radius to major central cities.

Thus, "New Oriental" established its dominant position in the Xiamen foreign language training market.

By the year 2000, "Xin Dongfang" training school had captured approximately 80% of the overseas training market in Beijing and 50% of the national market.

The success of "New Oriental" has also attracted the attention of investors.

"Jingxi Capital" had the advantage of proximity, having already invested in "Xin Dongfang" through its angel round.

Jingxi Capital, including Liu's Financial Investment Group, has invested heavily in startups incubated by industrial parks like "Xin Dongfang".

Economic strength and reputation have attracted talent to "Xin Dong Fang," and this talent has in turn created greater fame and wealth for "Xin Dong Fang," making it a super brand with unlimited commercial potential.

However, the continuous expansion of the educational scale has also brought about management model problems for "Xin Dongfang".

Yu Minhong is already finding it very difficult to manage her own affairs.

In order to ensure the healthy development of the business, he began to seek internal reforms.

At the turn of the century, Yu Minhong began the process of transforming "Xin Dongfang" from a handicraft workshop into a modern enterprise.

For Yu Minhong, the change from personal management in the past to collective decision-making by the board of directors today is enormous.

However, not everything is ideal.

During the process of corporatization, "New Dongfang" experienced growing pains time and time again.

Thus, the corporate restructuring of "Xin Dongfang" officially began on May 1, 5.

However, the group's senior management was not of one mind, and conflicts continued.

With minority shareholders losing their territory and their control over personnel, finances, and resources, the company has no profits, and their equity is in jeopardy. Naturally, they fall into panic and doubt Yu Minhong's motives for "reform," which is interpreted as a "conspiracy" by Yu Minhong to "release military power over a cup of wine."

Yu Minhong and his "New Oriental" team are facing a complex situation of internal interest adjustments during their second entrepreneurial venture.

The crisis finally arrived, and not long after, partner Wang Gang resigned.

The next day, another partner, Xu Daping, also submitted his resignation as a director to Chairman Yu Minhong in support of Wang Gang.

At this time, two of the "three pillars" that "Xin Dongfang" was so proud of had already left.

One evening in August two years ago, "Xin Dongfang" held an emergency board meeting at its headquarters in the "Education Industrial Park" in Liujiazhuang.

Unexpectedly, the board meeting turned into a critique session.

Besides representatives from the second-largest shareholder, "Jingxi Capital," other institutions and shareholders directly targeted Chairwoman Yu Minhong.

Ultimately, Yu Minhong, who was attacked by the masses, turned the tables and chose to resign from her position as chairman and general manager of "Xin Dongfang".

A group of shareholders and investment institutions were dumbfounded. Who is Yu Minhong? He is the founder and key figure of "Xin Dongfang".

"Xin Dongfang" cannot do without Yu Minhong, no matter who else it may be.

At the critical moment when the two sides were deadlocked, Duan Yongping, the representative of "Jingxi Capital", the second largest shareholder after Yu Minhong, stood up and spoke out in support of Yu Minhong.

With Duan Yongping of "Jingxi Capital" backing Yu Minhong, other investment institutions and minority shareholders no longer dared to pressure him.

"Jingxi Capital" is a hidden financial behemoth, an entity that no one dares to mess with.

With the strong support of "Jingxi Capital", Yu Minhong persuaded Wang Gang and the other person to stay, and forcefully "reduced the power of the small shareholders", ending their illusion of "going back to the past", quickly establishing a new salary system and organizational structure, and establishing an option system, thus truly ending the "feudal division" in "New Dongfang".

Correspondingly, this completely eliminates the insecurity of minority shareholders, leading to compromises on the level of interests, in order to stabilize the "New Dongfang" team.

Ultimately, partner Wang Gang stayed, a new system was established, and the reformed "New Dongfang" was revitalized.

At the end of that year, "Xindongfang Education Technology Group" was officially established.

"New Dongfang" avoided a mundane ending of collapse due to internal strife through its great wisdom, courage and unity.

With the full implementation of the new system, "New Dongfang" has undergone a complete transformation.

At the board meeting, Yu Minhong proposed a strategic vision of "second-stage entrepreneurship," setting her sights on the broader field of educational technology.

He personally led the team to establish a research and development center, invested heavily in developing an online education platform, and pioneered the "online + offline" OMO teaching model in the industry.

Last spring, "Xin Dongfang Online" was officially launched, and the number of registered users exceeded 5 on the first day.

This number thrilled the entire team. Xu Daping excitedly slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "Old Yu, we've made the right bet again!"

Wang Gang led his technical team to optimize the server overnight to cope with the sudden surge in traffic.

At the same time, Yu Minhong began to work on building the corporate culture system of "New Dongfang".

Every Friday at the all-staff meeting, he would share a "New Dongfang Story," from the hardships of the early days of entrepreneurship to its current glory.

In terms of talent strategy, Yu Minhong launched the "Distinguished Teacher Program" to recruit top education talents from around the world with annual salaries of one million yuan.

Surprisingly, several veteran teachers who had left returned, saying, "This is the place where we can realize our educational ideals."

Luo Yonghao even volunteered to lead the team in developing the blockbuster course "30 Days to Break Through GRE Vocabulary".

By the end of 2001, "Xin Dongfang" had established 25 directly operated branches across the country, and its online courses covered more than 300 cities.

Even more remarkable is that the group achieved its first annual revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan, a figure that is 1000 times that of when it was founded.

At the year-end celebration, Yu Minhong raised her champagne glass and said emotionally, "This is not the end, but a new beginning."

(End of this chapter)