Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 149 A conflicted person needs a lover they can't push away.

Lu Weibing knew very well that the chairman was probably looking to recruit senior executives.

Moreover, he should be a senior executive above him; otherwise, he should be allowed to contact Jiang Yunzhou directly, just like before.

These past few days, his cooperation with Chen Xuebing has been very pleasant. Chen Xuebing has a broad mind, decisiveness, and a relatively empowering attitude, and he also has capital support, which has given him a glimpse of the future of this company and his own future.

As for the other senior executives, those young people, although Lu Yiwen held a higher position than him, were merely Chen Xuebing's eyes and ears. They were very self-aware and only assisted without interfering, so they did not hinder his work at all.

But if it's someone Emerson poached, it's different; they'll definitely be there to do things.

I heard that the position of group president is still vacant and is being held concurrently by Chen Xuebing.

Seeing the hesitant look in Lu Weibing's expression, Chen Xuebing knew exactly what he was thinking. He got up, walked to Lu Weibing's side, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, we are a holding group. All the work of the group is to support the subsidiaries. Personnel changes will not affect your decision-making power. As the company president, you should also actively cooperate with the group's development, recruit professional talents, and strengthen the depth of our team. You introduced Zhang Hao very well. I think he is very suitable to be the head of the R&D department in the future. By the way, I will arrange for two newspapers to interview you after the holiday. Your salary is advertised as 200 million. I also believe that you can get that figure in the first year with your salary and bonuses, and it will be higher in the future."

Lu Weibing seemed to be deep in thought.

They even need to hire newspapers to advertise, going to such great lengths, it seems the person they're trying to poach is really the CEO.

"Is this person hard to hire?" he asked.

Chen Xuebing pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"I'm based in Shenzhen. Just be there when they need you."

……

It took a long time to call Jiang Yunzhou back.

From the time he called Jiang Yunzhou to mention Liu Chiping, Tencent's Chief Strategic Investment Officer, to the time Jiang Yunzhou called back, only 40 minutes had passed.

Chen Xuebing offered a full 200 ​​million yuan annual salary and promised to pay a 50 yuan commission, which got their entire company moving and made them incredibly efficient.

A complete set of information was obtained in 40 minutes, the information coming from a middle-level manager who had just been poached by Tencent.

The content is surprising.

Liu Chiping's annual salary at Goldman Sachs was over $30, or over 200 million RMB. After joining Tencent, it was only over 80 RMB, a reduction of two-thirds.

What attracted him to Tencent was not the salary.

This news gave Chen Xuebing a headache. He knew that the Asian "Emperor of Hired Managers," who would later earn a peak annual salary of 4 million yuan and hold nearly 200 billion yuan worth of Tencent shares, would be difficult to deal with. They even prepared an executive director position and 1% of the equity for him, but he did not expect that the man would give up his position at Goldman Sachs and his original annual salary of more than 200 million yuan.

After much deliberation, Chen Xuebing also decided to give up.

Jiang Yunzhou, however, clearly did not intend to give up such a high commission. He said that Liu Chiping had given up the high salary but had not joined the board of directors. Moreover, the "Chief Strategic Investment Officer" position was just a nominal one. Liu Chiping now only had one assistant and had been frequently traveling back and forth to Hong Kong to persuade wealthy people to help Tencent maintain its stock price. Emerson had a way to create conditions for him to meet with Chen Xuebing, but the operation would take a long time, at least two or three months. He also advised Chen Xuebing not to leave Shenzhen during this period.

When recruiting a senior executive from a listed company, the client's boss must be present, while the headhunter is only responsible for the initial and final administrative coordination. The time and place of the meeting may be highly random.

Chen Xuebing gritted his teeth and agreed to an annual salary of three million, with commissions also increased.

But he can only stay in Shenzhen for a month.

Upon hearing the price, Jiang Yunzhou simply said, "Okay, Mr. Chen, don't worry," and then hung up.

……

The next day, March 6th.

Tencent Holdings has a total share capital of 21.16 billion shares, a current share price of HK$8.44, and a market capitalization of HK$178.66 billion, approximately RMB189 billion. Based on the profit of the first three quarters, the annual profit is less than RMB5 million. Internet companies generally have a high price-to-earnings ratio, currently close to 38 times.

Gu'an Holdings Group has not met the listing standards, but its subsidiaries have earned nearly 3000 million yuan in profits in the past six months.

If we consider recent profitability, the gap between the two companies isn't that large; it's only 7 to 1.

However, with the support of the stock market, Tencent has become a star company in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.

Despite the vast difference in size between the two companies, Chen Xuebing brazenly launched a surprise attack.

...

Today in Hong Kong, it's just an ordinary Thursday, and the stock market hasn't stopped.

Hong Kong also celebrates National Day after its return to China, but only on October 1st.

In the morning, Tencent's stock price plummeted, falling two points before noon.

Queen's Road Central, the first bustling street in Hong Kong after its opening to foreign trade, features the HSBC Building at No. 1 and the Cheung Kong Center at No. 2, which is also home to Goldman Sachs (Hong Kong).

A hub for finance.

Liu Chiping and his assistant emerged from the elevator of a building, looking extremely flustered. Two renovation workers were putting up a large advertising banner on the wall of the lobby.

The colorful butterfly logo on the advertising banner was so eye-catching, with three prominent white letters next to it—MSN.

Liu Chiping glanced sideways.

“MSN ads are even posted here…” the assistant next to her sighed softly.

Two girls happened to walk in and saw the pretty advertising banner, and they started chattering away.

"MSN China! Is MSN still working in Hong Kong?"

"Yes, I heard! The account can be used globally!"

"Then I won't use ICQ anymore. ICQ5 has been updated recently and added a lot of features, which makes it feel stupidly complicated."

"ICQ5 is alright, but there's a knock-off version called QICQ, I've logged into it..."

"what happened?"

"Huh~"

One of the girls didn't describe it, only using a chilling expression and an interjection to express it.

The two of them happened to pass by Liu Chiping.

Liu Chiping frowned.

He didn't really care what the two little girls were saying.

What he cares about is Microsoft's MSN—the global leader in communication software, which just entered China this year and has already captured 10% of the user market in just a few months without even doing a single advertisement. Moreover, these users are people with great spending power who also understand online consumption.

Microsoft has not yet resorted to underhanded tactics to force computer system updates to include this software.

They have many more tricks up their sleeve.

This news is also one of the important reasons why Tencent's stock price has been declining from a high of 9 yuan recently.

He went out with his assistant. The two workers who were putting up the advertising banners looked back and made sure he was far away before taking down the banners, raising their hands to apologize to the security guards in the lobby, and then rolling up the banners and walking outside.

The security guard was a little confused.

The two men had been waiting in the lobby for an hour with a roll of cloth, constantly offering him cigarettes. They said their company had sent them to check the effect of the advertising cloth and that they wanted to come to the building to discuss advertising cooperation.

As a result, it was hung on the wall for two minutes, and no one even glanced at it or took a picture before they left?
A few seconds later, the two girls who had just entered the elevator also came out, met up with the two men at the door, and then walked in the same direction.

...

As Liu Chiping was about to get into his car at the parking line on the side of the road, he suddenly noticed a promotional brochure stuck in the back door handle. It seemed that a newspaper was rolled up inside, and the angle at which the brochure was rolled up revealed a colorful butterfly.

It's MSN again.

He pulled out the sketchbook, opened it, and looked at it. Finding there was little text on it, he frowned again, then threw the sketchbook into the nearby trash can. Across the street, a young man smiled.

……

At this moment, in Shenzhen, a vibrant young couple has chosen a 140-square-meter apartment and is preparing to decorate it.

Holding his phone, Chen Xuebing listened to the voice coming from the other end as he looked around the furniture store.

"...Mr. Chen, please arrange for Lu Weibing to be interviewed in the newspaper as soon as possible. We are now trying to create anxiety for him and keep your company's name in his sight. We will make sure he sees the newspapers about you."

"Hmm..." Chen Xuebing nodded with a smile: "You guys really know how to do things. It seems that seeing is believing from now on."

"Hehe, time is tight and the task is heavy. If you can give us three months, I can actually find a way through other channels."

Chen Xuebing raised his eyebrows: "Our group has another piece of news coming up. Our private equity fund will be approved after the holiday. Should we ask a Shenzhen newspaper to publish it?"

"Your fund company is called Changzheng, right? It's not the same name as Qidian. When the news is published, could you please use your group name in the headline?"

"okay, I get it."

Chen Xuebing hung up the phone, feeling slightly better.

In October, his foundation will finally be officially established, and the technology company will finally begin operating. Once the new president is in place, he will be able to gradually relinquish many of the complicated matters.

Moreover, this person is an expert in investment, and can help him handle some early-stage investment matters to earn some extra money.

He doesn't plan to do PC internet business for the time being; he doesn't have the energy for it, and it doesn't fit his strategy. However, he knows a lot of well-known internet companies, many of which are still in their infancy. He can definitely do the business of exchanging a small amount of money for a large stake.

A legendary CEO always needs some success stories to bolster his confidence. He can help Liu Chiping explore the vast oil fields of the internet and dig a few more holes for him.

Then let Liu Chiping use his professional investment skills to dig deeper; he will definitely do a better job than I can.

Yang Qingyue, who was standing next to him, saw that he seemed to be deep in thought after hanging up the phone. She pursed her lips and did not disturb him. She walked to the mattress area next to him, looked around, and then quickly ran back to follow him.

Chen Xuebing snapped out of his daze, glanced back at the bedding store she had just visited, and asked:

"You like it?"

Yang Qingyue nodded subconsciously, but then quickly shook her head when she realized there was something wrong with what she said.

"Hmm...you weren't too happy with that bed, right? Changing the bed is too much trouble. If we change the mattress, you'll be more comfortable sleeping on it."

Chen Xuebing smiled.

"You were going to help me clean, right? I chose that apartment in Nanshan because it's closer to your school, so it'll be easier for you to come and clean. I don't care if the bed is nice or not, I can sleep in any of them."

Actually, there's another reason: not only is Shenzhen University located in Nanshan District, but Tencent is also in Nanshan District, making it very convenient for him to poach talent from outside the university at any time.

But he won't say that.

Hearing this, Yang Qingyue thought about how much he cared about the commute distance before, yet he actually rented a house in Nanshan for her. Her face turned red again, and her chest heaved slightly.

The pink shirt tied at the waist was also undulating, and from the side, its curves were upright and high.

Her eye-catching appeal was in no way inferior to the fair and slender legs under her denim shorts.

Yang Qingyue has a really good figure; from her head to her waist, and down, there are curves that are hard to ignore.

Coupled with her fair and moisturized skin, it elevated her overall appearance by at least three points.

She rarely showed herself before, and Chen Xuebing only had a few fleeting glimpses of her during his three years of high school.

But since the holiday began, every time he saw Yang Qingyue, he rediscovered her perfect figure through her different outfits.

Neither of them spoke. Chen Xuebing's arm, hidden under his casual short-sleeved shirt, accidentally touched hers, and then they separated.

But the amazing smoothness he felt at that moment made him want to touch it again.

On a whim, Chen Xuebing reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Maybe we should go back and take a look. I think buying a mattress would be a good idea."

Yang Qingyue was pulled by him and suddenly became a little nervous.

She shouldn't be so nervous. She met Chen Xuebing at the mall during the Chinese New Year and they even had a warm hug. She hadn't even graduated from high school yet.

Now, she's a college student.

But... that time she did it on purpose, this time, she felt that Chen Xuebing did it on purpose.

Chen Xuebing wanted to hold her hand.

However, Chen Xuebing walked quite fast, and pulling her along... seems quite reasonable.

When they arrived at the bedding store, Chen Xuebing seemed to have forgotten, as he neither let go of her arm nor reached down to hold her hand.

When the proprietress saw a couple come in to inquire about mattresses, she was very enthusiastic, praising the two as a handsome couple who were a perfect match, and then introducing the mattresses to them.

Chen Xuebing didn't refute, but kept asking questions, selecting with unprecedented seriousness.

But they didn't listen to the boss and go upstairs to try it out.

If he didn't let go of Yang Qingyue's hand, it would seem very abrupt.

Yang Qingyue felt that Chen Xuebing's palms were damp and hot, so she bit her lip, reached up a little, and took his hand.

"Let's... sit down and give it a try."

At that moment, she was terrified of receiving any rejection.

Chen Xuebing, however, felt very fulfilled.

Relieved to receive a positive response, he let go of her hand.

Then, in a moment of slight panic for Yang Qingyue, he raised his hand, put his arm around her shoulder, and smiled:
"Okay, let's give it a try."

The two slowly sat down on the edge of the mattress. Chen Xuebing released her shoulder and instead put his arm around her waist, playfully swaying his buttocks on the mattress.

His arm around her waist swayed slightly, almost touching her most sensitive spot.

Yang Qingyue's face was almost dripping with water, but she refrained from struggling.

Looking at her bright red ears, Chen Xuebing thought to himself that this must be the best mattress in the world.

At the same time, he remembered a saying.

"A conflicted person needs a lover who can't be pushed away."

...

"How is it?" Chen Xuebing asked.

"Mmm." Yang Qingyue, who had been sitting on the mattress with Chen Xuebing's arm around her waist for two minutes, was already very shy and nodded quickly.

Chen Xuebing finally let go and cleared his dry throat.

"Boss, I'll take this mattress. Have someone deliver it to Xuefu Garden."

"Oh, this is on sale! It's 93% off..."

"No need for a discount, just have someone deliver it to me right now."

(End of this chapter)