Actor: Thank you.

Slurp... Hiss!
Zhang Yuan held a floral porcelain bowl and spun around, drinking a bowl of millet porridge.

"Your millet isn't any good either."

"Next time I'll bring you some that Wang Baoqiang brought from his hometown, that's really delicious."

He smacked his lips a few times and then put down the bowl.

"It's too hot, I'll eat it later."

Upon hearing that he had connections with both the IT department and the telecom operators, Jun'er quickly pulled out the rice cooker he used on the opening day.

Cook a whole big pot of it.

He saw it and said he couldn't drink that much.

The other party explained that in the previous internal shareholding plan, more than 60 employees contributed money.

These people haven't had millet porridge before either, so let's have a piece together.

This group of people invested between 30 and 1000, raising a total of just over 10 million.

Almost everyone spent money to buy shares.

Taking out a loan to start a job is considered...

After listening, Zhang Yuan wondered what the few people who didn't spend any money would think in the future.

What does it mean to have unexpected wealth but not to be rich and to be poor?

Even if a tremendous opportunity is placed in front of you, you won't be able to seize it, and you might even push it away!

They don't even need to wait for the company to go public; once the first product is successful, these people will probably regret it to death.

Seeing all my colleagues so happy, I wonder what kind of torment I'm feeling.

It's probably not regret, but resentment.

They wish the company would fail, just to prove that their initial choice was right.

Those with a slightly weaker mentality would probably resign and leave that day, unable to stay at all.

But then I thought about it again.

30 in 10 years!
Let alone 30, 10 is enough.

At this point, 30 yuan could allow many young people who left their hometowns to work in the city after graduating from university to build a decent house in their hometown.

That's certainly not a small amount.

However, the ideas of different groups are also clearly distinct. Those high-level white-collar workers want to settle down in the city and do not want to go back to their hometowns, so they are willing to invest in the future in the city.

Migrant workers and ordinary workers, on the other hand, have the mindset that they come out to work to earn money and will eventually return to their hometowns.

Therefore, those who benefit from the era's dividends, including the real estate boom, are mostly highly educated individuals, which in a sense can be considered a case of knowledge changing one's destiny.

That's how Jun'er is. He didn't go back to his hometown of Xiantao. Instead, he went to work for his father's company within the system, which is why he has achieved what he has today.

People still have to consider fate and destiny.

Zhang Yuan, on the other hand, prefers to take control of his own destiny.

First, gather all the heads together.

"Everyone should be very familiar with this person." Jun'er introduced him to all the employees in a very formal manner.

"I've seen it on TV and in movie theaters."

"But people may not know him well, just like I didn't know him very well at first either."

"But now we can be certain!"

"We will have plenty of time to get to know each other in the future."

"Everyone, please give a round of applause to welcome Xiaomi's first partner and spokesperson."

"He is a lifelong spokesperson!"

Jun'er gave him a grand title.

This aligns with his professional positioning and also facilitates external publicity.

We can't just assign him the title of development director.

The so-called lifetime spokesperson is like an honorary professor at a university; it's mainly an honor, and you don't have to do anything actual.

Zhang Yuan told Jun'er that he was willing to endorse and shoot commercials, but only in the initial stage and not indefinitely.

It wasn't that he was unwilling, or that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to use other brands of mobile phones in public.

Instead, he wanted to leave food for his subordinates.

I'll just have my own celebrity endorse me; I don't need the money.

Everyone applauded, and then at Lei's command, everyone raised their cups and bowls, which contained symbolically significant millet porridge.

"Today, we first celebrate that many friends have become shareholders of the company through the previous shareholding plan."

"Thank you all for your support of the company. This will be your second home from now on," Jun'er said with deep emotion.

After the company went public, Xiaomi's slogan was to help the first 1000 employees achieve financial freedom.

Whether you've achieved it or not depends on your definition of financial freedom.

Is ten million enough, or is one hundred million enough?

If you need 100 million to be considered free, then only the first 100 employees have achieved that.

But it also proves one thing: at least Jun'er didn't resort to any underhanded tactics or dig traps in the shareholding agreement, like some unscrupulous bosses who evade the promised dividends to their employees.

"Everyone, don't rush to drink yet," Jun'er said, gesturing for everyone to stop.

"There is a second thing, which is to welcome Mr. Zhang Yuan once again."

"Become a partner in the company."

"We will have a long-term partnership going forward, not just in terms of endorsements."

Jun'er spoke solemnly, turning to look at him.

Looking back on this period, Zhang Yuan's performance repeatedly exceeded his expectations.

He never imagined that an artist could be such a great help to his mobile phone and software company!
If dealing with the Sharp issue demonstrates sincerity and determination, then the latter two matters are different.

The other party gave a general explanation of how he arranged things at Foxconn, and Jun'er understood.

But it was still incredibly shocking.

This shows that China Film Group is willing to help him, which is quite commendable.

What stirred him most was the relationship between the information department and the telecom operators.

When he asked, the other party refused to answer.

When pressed for further information, the other party remained vague and showed no intention of expressing anything.

He was afraid the other person was bragging, so he pressed them for an answer and finally got one.

Zhang Yuan squinted, glanced at him sideways, and said in a gloomy tone.

"Mr. Lei, it's your good fortune that you don't know."

"Some things you should know, you will know; some things you shouldn't know, knowing them is a disease."

"Just focus on getting things done; being a little oblivious to the details is a very good quality."

Jun'er is a smart person; he knows he shouldn't ask any more questions.

Asking again could easily lead to trouble.

But this incident also confirmed that the other party was definitely not just a celebrity.

Especially during their first meeting, he felt that the other party was an artist and therefore of no use to him.

What's the use of having some money?
I have the ability to raise funds; I don't need this little bit.

I've only just realized that being rich is their smallest advantage.

How could it be useless? It's very useful!

“I have a suggestion.” A sly glint flashed in Jun’er’s eyes: “Mr. Zhang Yuan had already contacted me before our company was established.”

"They also offered to help us."

"I've just been busy dealing with MIUI, so I forgot about it."

This gave them a respectable excuse to cover up what had happened before.

"Therefore, in theory, Mr. Zhang Yuan was one of the earliest people to participate in the company's development."

"Earlier than any of our employees."

"So I plan to give Mr. Zhang Yuan an employee number and make him our company's employee number 0."

The company now has dozens of employees; if you go back in the queue, his employee number would be 7 or 80.

Of course, you can also choose not to provide an employee number.

But employee ID numbers are like a lifetime endorsement; they represent an honor.

It is also a form of emotional bond.

He certainly hoped for more support, especially like this time, so that if he encountered any problems in the future, someone could help solve them through different channels.

Giving a number like 7 or 80 would not show sincerity.

Why not give it number 0, placing it ahead of everyone else?

Add more sense of honor and mission, so that you can use this employee number as an excuse when you need help from others in the future.

We also want to thank him for his help to the company; he's ranked ahead of us, number 1.

"Thank you for the honor, Mr. Lei. I am truly unworthy of it." He immediately chimed in, praising the other person.

"I have long admired Mr. Lei and have used many of the software and games he led the development of during his time at Kingsoft."

"It was this admiration that drove me to follow in his footsteps and come to Xiaomi."

Zhang Yuanming knew that the title of "Employee No. 0" was just a gimmick, but he was still quite satisfied with it.

It's not just about people praising each other; it also shows that Jun'er is exceptionally flexible and adaptable, able to assess situations and act accordingly.

Two years later, Jiangsu TV produced a program called "Win in China," which brought together a group of business tycoons as judges and mentors, and a group of business "rising stars" as team members.

The so-called rising stars are people like Liu Qiangdong, Jun'er, and Wang Xiaofei...

On this program, Jun'er was repeatedly rejected during street interviews, but he remained calm and composed, showing little emotional change. This contrasts sharply with Li Xiang, who was then the owner of Autohome and later founded Li Auto.

He roared and cursed on the show like a madman.

This is how personality differences lead to differences in corporate style.

To achieve great things, it's better to be a cunning old fox than a hot-blooded youth.

Xiaomi's success is largely due to Jun'er's personality.

Therefore, when Zhang Yuan said he was following in Jun'er's footsteps, he wasn't just making things up; he was quite sincere.

Everyone raised their cups and bowls, tilted their heads back, and drank them down in one gulp.

It was still a little hot, but just the right amount of hot.

He served a large portion, drank it slowly, and returned to the office with Jun'er to discuss "serious business" alone.

Now comes the most crucial point.

Money and shares!

For Zhang Yuan, the more the better.

But it can't be too much; it depends on the other party's wishes.

"I hope we can have a long-term partnership," Jun'er said with a smile, her hands clasped together.

"The company does need funds right now."

"Especially in preparation for the subsequent product launch."

“Oh, right…” He took a model out of the drawer.

It was a prototype model hand-crafted by the company's design department staff.

Just like when designing a car, you first make a one-to-one model out of clay.

Most clay car models are made by building half a car and then placing it in front of a mirror to reflect it as a complete car. This saves time and effort and also creates perfect visual symmetry.

No matter how convenient or realistic the modeling software is, physical models are ultimately irreplaceable in the field of industrial design.

Just as a digital wind tunnel can never replace a physical wind tunnel.

The reason why the United States has slowed down its development of hypersonic missile technology is that after the Cold War, it felt that it was invincible, and with the help of a group of think tanks, it began to develop digital modeling technology, believing that this was the most advanced technology and that no other country had it.

Digital simulation is not impossible and it is indeed convenient, but it is not as good as a real physical model and a physical wind tunnel.

Everyone says that fully automated production lines are good and that dark factories are high-end, but for cutting-edge military and aerospace industries, there are a lot of things that require skilled workers to operate by hand, which machines can't do.

Zhang Yuan took the model machine, and from his perspective and aesthetic point of view, it looked a bit old-fashioned.

But by today's standards of aesthetics for smartphones, it's already pretty good.

“Apple on the front, Samsung on the back.” Zhang Yuan flipped through his hands and looked at Jun’er: “It also has a bit of a Motorola feel to it.”

The other party smiled somewhat embarrassedly: "Let's learn from successful companies."

The hardware team was poached from Motorola.

4GB RAM, a battery of less than 2000mAh, an 800-megapixel camera... these were the high-end features of early smartphones.

Zhang Yuan felt nostalgic for that era because early smartphones had a truly diverse range of designs, unlike the later ones which were largely similar.

"Okay, I'll take him to Hollywood to arrange product placement in the movie."

"But it would be best to give me a few working prototypes, not just models."

"Okay." Jun'er thought, if it doesn't work out, we can buy a few other brands of Android phones, take them apart, and put our own casings on them.

If production doesn't work, then possession will surely work.

“I’ll accept this, you should accept something from me in return.”

"How much financing do you want?" Zhang Yuan leaned forward, revealing his aggressiveness.

“At least $2 million to $2.5 million,” Jun’er replied confidently.

Zhang Yuan hesitated little when he heard the number.

My brain is working at lightning speed.

Uku's current market value is close to 60 billion US dollars.

My 6% stake is worth approximately $3.5 million.

After going through many twists and turns, and taking into account recent extra expenses, the amount of money I can scrape together is roughly what the other party mentioned.

But it's not that I was lucky, or that the other person was lucky, and that they just happened to be right.

There's no such thing as a coincidence in the world!

It was clear that he had also done a thorough investigation into my situation.

I am capable, but the other party is no less so.

They were able to accurately investigate and assess my approximate capabilities, unlike first-time entrepreneurs who are completely defenseless in front of investors.

It's certainly not as much as the third round of funding of 5 million US dollars in my previous life.

Even if you're very confident, you'll underestimate yourself before the product is even released.

"Hmm," Zhang Yuan responded softly. "And what are the conditions you're willing to offer?"

"At most 15%," Jun'er replied calmly.

Zhang Yuan did the calculations again, then chuckled.

"You think the company is worth $15 billion to $16 billion right now."

"It wasn't worth it originally, but with your help, we obtained such good prerequisites, so it's definitely worth it."

Zhang Yuan: ...

No wonder he's in big business; he says such shameless things without batting an eye.

I also have to pay for the added value I create.

Well, that self-righteousness alone is worth a hundred million.

"I'll consider it."

"Please draft a detailed financing prospectus first, and my legal team and I will study it."

“Besides the shares, there are additional conditions,” Jun’er continued.

Firstly, he bought Class B shares, which, even if he owns 15% of the shares, only gives him 5% of the voting rights.

Furthermore, they also need to sign a separate 8-year agreement to act in concert with Jun'er.

His goal in doing all this is the same: even if he raises funds and sells a large number of shares, he cannot affect his control and say in the company.

Jun'er wants to maintain more than 51% of the voting rights indefinitely so that the remaining shareholders cannot unite against him in decision-making.

Zhang Yuan nodded in agreement, after all, he was the soul of the company.

After shaking hands and saying goodbye, Zhang Yuan got into his car and went home.

I sat down in the courtyard, feeling a mix of exhaustion and excitement.

He told the other person that he had burned out, that he had truly burned to ashes.

He has exhausted all his available abilities, and this is the craziest investment he has ever made.

I feel completely drained.

Even after Cheng Hao returned from rehearsals at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, he was still resting on a recliner.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Seeing his weak appearance, his older sister went over and touched his forehead.

"Could it be radiation sickness?"

"No, it's worse than radiation exposure?"

"what happened?"

"I don't have enough money." Zhang Yuan clutched his chest, trembling.

The rich man who just got rich is about to be emptied out again.

“Youku just went public...you wouldn’t!” Cheng Hao said, then felt a chill run down her spine, sensing that something terrible was about to happen.

Is this kid up to something big again?

"Yes, I found an investment plan worth several hundred million US dollars."

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Cheng Hao's eyebrows were practically knotted together.

Zhang Yuan: ...

"I can't stand having any money in my pocket; I have to spend it to feel good!"

"With your personality, how can you possibly live a decent life?"

"How much money would be enough for you to build it?"

Zhang Yuan suddenly stood up, one hand behind his back, the other pointing at the other person.

"Womanly compassion!"

"To be a man, you have to be tough on yourself!"

Several hundred million US dollars, that seems like a lot.

But Xiaomi's market value could exceed one trillion in the future!
The year Jun'er started making cars, the company's revenue soared to 1.5 trillion yuan.

It almost surpassed Moutai...

I spent ages digging into this, all just to buy a "retirement insurance" policy.

"Besides, even if I lose money," Zhang Yuan said, putting his arm around the other person, "you'll still support me."

"Bullshit!" His older sister pinched his cheek. "With your looks, who could afford to support you!"

“If you won’t raise it, then I’ll have no choice but to go abroad to work.” Zhang Yuan pulled out his plane ticket: “I’m leaving after I finish eating.”

“You have to think of it this way.” Zhang Yuan spread his hands: “Investing money is better than using it to buy cars, boats, or airplanes.”

"Not necessarily, at least I can still use the plane I bought." Cheng Hao pursed her lips and shook her head.

A few years ago, when he had a plane, he could go home and go out to play in a much more respectable way.

"It's alright, it will happen." Zhang Yuan confidently reached out and grabbed a handful of the newly risen moon. "Don't worry." (End of Chapter)