Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 97 The First Meeting... U-Shaped Architecture

The next morning, Chen Xuebing led Ren Ying to the 45th floor of New York New York (hereinafter referred to as "New York 45").

The college entrance examination has just ended, and the office is filled with a relaxed and bourgeois atmosphere.

Coffee, sunshine, music.

A group of people chat on Wangwang from time to time, and play on QQ from time to time.

"Shoot the arrow, draw the bow, and sell your Mercedes... I'll vomit this life's handsome man..."

On Gou Hongyi's desk was an external speaker playing "Iron-Blooded Worry," and he sang along, singing the Cantonese version of "Iron-Blooded Loyal Heart" with his eyes closed, completely absorbed and howling like a banshee.

Chen Xuebing was so moved by Xin Mengzhen's singing that he missed her Cantonese, which sounded like a clear spring, and wanted to call her to ask how her exam went.

Unfortunately, the soldier's heart had already been devoted to the booming market, and he hadn't figured out how to explain to her the importance of love in his heart.

Let nature take its course.

Thinking about this, Chen Xuebing felt a little annoyed and didn't really want Gou Hongyi to have too much fun.

He walked up to Gou Hongyi, who was howling with his eyes closed, with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.

Ni Cheng, who was standing next to him, quickly patted him on the shoulder.

"Huh? Holy crap!" Gou Hongyi opened his eyes and was startled.

"Boss, why do you walk so quietly?"

Chen Xuebing ignored him and turned around to clap his hands.

"Put everything down! Clean the biggest room and get ready for a meeting!"

"What the heck... a meeting?"

Since none of us have had a single meeting yet, hearing this all felt a bit strange.

But seeing Chen Xuebing's serious expression, they all quickly got to work.

Before long, several workers came up from downstairs, brought over a long, brown wood-grain table that seemed completely out of place in this DIY office, placed it in the largest room, and quickly assembled it.

So that room became a conference room.

Then, the eight people held a meeting.

Chen Xuebing, Ren Ying, Lu Gouliang, Huang Yuzhang.

Ni Cheng and Wu Duo were temporary workers hired during the college entrance examination period and are still busy outside, so they did not attend the meeting.

"throat."

Chen Xuebing cleared his throat, and everyone else sat up straight.

"You probably never imagined the company would come to this point, did you?"

All six laughed, but Ren Ying took the meeting very seriously and started taking notes in a small notebook.

She is a serious person by nature. When Chen Xuebing started taking the college entrance examination, her previous job ended. Now it is a new job search period for her. During this time, she has been reading books on job assistants and secretaries. The company's operating model and profitability have become more and more stable, and the future is gradually showing. She approves of Chen Xuebing as her boss, and of course, she also wants to prove that she can handle a new job with a salary of 2,500 yuan.

The other six have different mindsets. From the initial consensus of "following Brother Bing," everyone's thoughts have changed.

As the company grew and the number of people increased, Bing Ge gained some other subordinates, but the six of them were still grouped together here as salespeople, feeling both anticipation and trepidation.

Chen Xuebing didn't intend for them to guess; he raised his hand and tapped the table.

"I have made progress during this period."

He first affirmed everyone's point of view before commenting on each one:
"Lu Yiwen is too conventional and overly composed. He lacks the daring and aggressive spirit he used to have and has not met my expectations."

“Gou Hongyi, you’re starting to have a team spirit now, but you still have too many distractions and too much cleverness. You’re the opposite of Lu Yiwen. You need to learn to stay calm.”

“Liang Hui, you are the most hardworking and the most reliable, but you lack initiative. As for you… I’ll be frank, I’m planning to have you take charge of some engineering matters for me. However, you have no technical skills and don’t understand management. I will arrange for you to go to the project in a while. You need to learn well. Once you’ve become familiar with the industry and understand it, I will appoint you as the deputy general manager of Gu’an Labor Service Company, specifically in charge of recruitment, and help me build up the company’s manpower.”

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately cast envious glances at Liang Hui.

Deputy General Manager of Engineering!
That was the position everyone was most looking forward to. Didn't everyone initially just want to work on construction sites with the soldiers?
Ever since Bing Ge got his first sewage treatment plant project, they felt that the position was definitely for Lu Yiwen.

However, the most profitable business right now is definitely not engineering projects, but the Shenzhen business on the mobile phone side. It's normal to send Liang Hui to be the vice president of engineering.

"Soldier, I..."

Liang Hui stood up excitedly, wanting to say something.

But Chen Xuebing waved his hand and suppressed it.

"Last winter solstice, I decided where you would go. Although the situation has changed somewhat from what I estimated, the general direction will remain the same."

Lu Yiwen, Gou Hongyi, and Huang Jin went to Shenzhen, while Liang Hui, Yu Yi, and Zhang Hang stayed in Chongqing.

"Let Liang Hui be a vice president to help with service and handle miscellaneous tasks. I have other arrangements for the general manager position. I'm telling you all now, none of you six are capable of a full-time position; you're all just vice presidents, the only difference being the department you're in."

All six of them were a little confused.

Are they all deputy positions?

Aren't they just two companies? Gu'an Labor Services and Pokong Technology!
Chen Xuebing continued:
"As for Pokong Technology, we'll integrate all our mobile phone businesses, including counters and factories. Huo Xiaowen will be in charge of the counters, and Huang Jin will go to the factory as an intern deputy factory manager once the factory is built. This is a highly specialized field. You said you were willing to learn, so you'd better learn it well."

Huang Jin immediately stood up: "Don't worry, soldier! I'll definitely keep an eye on the production line for you!"

"Oh?" Chen Xuebing's eyes widened slightly. "You know what I mean?"

Huang Jin, who was usually quiet and reserved, revealed a shrewd smile at this moment: "You're asking us all to be your deputies, so you can keep an eye on the accounts, I know that."

The others seemed to understand what he meant.

Chen Xuebing nodded slowly, but after pondering for a moment, he shook his head slightly.

"That's what I mean. Our business will be more decentralized going forward, and each department needs to have someone I trust. But it's not just about having you guys be there as moles; you also need to assist with communication. External managers might have concerns, but you don't. If you find any problems in the department or need any help, you need to communicate with me so I can keep track of the situation and handle it. So, you can learn gradually, but you can't be lazy. You need to go out more and observe more."

"Zhang Hang, you'll be studying finance; you'll be the deputy chief financial officer in the future."

“Yu Yi… I think you should stay in this office. Our third company, a financial company, will be set up here.”

The four men, having been assigned their positions, all nodded in approval.

Lu Yiwen kept his head down and remained silent, while Gou Hongyi seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Chen Xuebing smiled as he looked at Gou Hongyi, memories of his past life flooding back.

"You're the one I worry about the most."

Gou Hongyi looked extremely aggrieved: "Brother! Why don't you trust me? I'm the top performer in selling mobile phones, and I've never let anyone down before!"

Chen Xuebing ignored him and continued, "But I don't have anyone else available right now, so you can go to Pokong Technology as the vice president for now."

Gou Hongyi's eyes widened, and he fell completely silent.

Within two seconds, tears welled up in her eyes.

All of the company's most profitable businesses are in this company!

"Brother! I'll definitely do my best! This company's performance at the end of this year will definitely be..."

Gou Hongyi was about to make a guarantee when Chen Xuebing waved his hand dismissively: "Shut up, shut up. I set the performance targets, not you. You're still an apprentice, just a nominal vice president. I'll only give you authority when I think you're qualified."

Gou Hongyi was humiliated, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his face and chuckled smugly.

Although Chen Xuebing verbally expressed his disapproval, he still appreciated Gou Hongyi's work.

Of course, we remain vigilant.

"The two existing companies, as well as the third company that may be established in the future, will be wholly owned by me and Lu Yiwen. Each of them will have a finance officer and a cashier, but ultimately they will all be consolidated."

"As for your equity issues, once I adjust the equity pools of each company, you will hold shares in whichever company you are in. The specific shareholding percentage will depend on your capabilities, but it won't be too high overall. I hope you won't sell your shares, no matter how much they are worth in the future. Your income will mainly come from your salaries and equity dividends."

"Lu Yiwen".

Chen Xuebing called the last one.

“Here.” Lu Yiwen stood up.

Chen Xuebing smiled and said, "Do you understand what I mean? You and I are shareholders of three companies. You are my legal representative and my deputy. No matter whether the parent company holds shares or the shares are held separately in the future, your shareholding ratio will remain unchanged at one percent. You will receive commissions from all three companies. My requirements for you are also the highest. You must understand the business of all three companies. Wherever I focus my attention, you will go there. Shenzhen, Chongqing, or other places in the future, you will have to go there."

Everyone thought to themselves, "Just as I expected."

The soldier trusted Lu Yiwen the most.

At this moment, the soldier's image seemed even more imposing in their eyes; with a single word, he could decide their fate. Lu Yiwen gritted his teeth: "Brother, if you've made the arrangements, I'll definitely do a good job. I was too lazy before; starting today, I'll learn properly."

Chen Xuebing smiled and waved his hand:
"I don't have high expectations for you. Just keep your drive and follow my instructions. If you want to learn to work independently, you'll need to hone your skills for a few more years."

Today, he has essentially finalized the company's management model, which is based on the classic U-shaped architecture, also known as a unitary structure.

This structure is typically suitable for startups, where managers have direct access to every aspect of the process. This model requires top managers to be "all-rounders" capable of correcting errors in any环节.

In other words, he makes almost all the decisions, and others are only responsible for execution; as long as the execution is effective, that's enough.

This is also the result of Chen Xuebing's careful consideration over this period of time.

The U-shaped architecture is not simple and can be further developed. It can be achieved by establishing a holding company, controlling business companies, functional companies, and project teams.

The business companies are the construction, internet, and finance companies.

Functional companies provide central support services to business companies, such as finance, human resources, marketing planning, procurement, and legal services, and are established according to needs.

The project team should establish a separate company for each project, which is essential for four reasons: risk isolation, financing convenience, tax clarity, and qualification protection.

For example, if there are large projects in the future, a project company can be established and its qualifications can be affiliated with a construction company. The project company's finance, human resources, and procurement personnel can be employed by a functional company through labor dispatch contracts or lump-sum contracts. The salaries will be paid by the functional company, and the project company will make contract payments to the functional company. In this way, the finances of each link are independent and clear.

Each functional company operates independently, which makes it easier to track their own work efficiency, supervise each other, and maintain professionalism. In the future, they can even engage in "tertiary industries," providing functional services to other companies. One set of personnel can generate multiple sets of output, thus increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

However, the cost of laying out these in-depth parts is too high, so it is not necessary at the moment. There is not even a holding company. For now, as long as the equity of the business company is in his hands, he can control all the links.

For a company to grow, it must have a clear framework to guide its direction. Huawei has spent tens of billions of yuan in consulting fees over the past 20 years to complete the company's structural update and the "Huawei Basic Law" management outline, which shows its value.

The company structures vary, including the H-type structure with decentralization to branches and the M-type structure with decentralization to business units (groups), but all require a large number of experienced management talents and each has its own advantages.

Chen Xuebing knew that choosing the U-shaped architecture would be very tiring for him.

But it can save a lot of money.

Once this U-shaped structure is completed step by step, a commercial aircraft carrier will have taken shape.

Once we have developed combat capabilities and resource allocation abilities, it's not too late to study a better architecture.

Looking at his six brothers, who were excitedly whispering among themselves, Chen Xuebing knew that they still needed time to grow and couldn't yet grasp these deeper concepts. So he didn't explain it in too complicated a way, but simply treated it as an expectation in his heart.

He also hopes that the company's future management team will be of a high caliber, capable of discussing the merits and demerits of the structure with him.

To hire such a person, you first need to make a profit; you definitely can't afford to keep someone with a monthly profit of several hundred thousand.

"Bang bang."

Chen Xuebing patted the table, signaling them to be quiet.

"The Taobao sales department will be moved to Shenzhen next month. Lu Yiwen and Gou Hongyi, you two need to go to the Shenzhen office first to build a new customer service team. Everyone else will hold their positions until Shenzhen takes over completely."

Lu Yiwen immediately said, "Brother, we each have our own accounts. As long as we have a computer and internet access, we can work from anywhere. I will keep track of shipments, so it won't affect the business."

Chen Xuebing nodded: "In addition, Ren Ying will be my assistant. Lu Yiwen, give her a cell phone and a SIM card. In the future, you should try to communicate with Ren Ying if you have any issues. She will report to me."

Ren Ying, who was taking notes, froze for a moment, then hurriedly stood up and said, "The phone, I... I'll buy it!"

Chen Xuebing waved for her to sit down, scanned the room, and smiled:

"Also, starting today, your holidays are over. From now on, everyone has a position. Use your position when you're working, and be serious at work. Don't form cliques!"

Everyone's mouth twitched.

The holiday had just begun, and it's already over?
“Brother, I’m also General Manager Liang. If I call you General Manager Chen, wouldn’t that be the same as you? Or should I just call you Boss?” Liang Hui raised his hand and said.

"Yeah! Boss sounds great!"

"Big brother is fine too!"

Chen Xuebing was speechless; these bastards couldn't be turned around so easily.

"Okay, boss then! Meeting adjourned!"

After Chen Xuebing finished speaking, he stood up with a grin.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lu! From now on, you're the Second King!"

"Mr. Gou, congratulations to you too!"

"Mr. Zhang! Oh, no, Director Zhang!"

"Director Huang!"

"Hahaha…"

The only thing I'm a little confused about is the metaphor.

"Holy crap... I'm unemployed now? I don't even have a company, I'm nobody! Bro... Boss, does this mean I won't get a salary anymore?"

At this moment, Chen Xuebing, who had reached the door, turned around, waved to Yu Yi, and smiled:
"Who said that? This stock trading studio is probably our most profitable department in the last two years! Come on, I'll teach you how to trade stocks!"

Yu Yi was stunned for a moment: "More advanced than space-breaking technology?"

Chen Xuebing nodded.

"Holy crap? Holy crap?" Yu Yi's pale face immediately brightened, and he quickly caught up.

Everyone else was also stunned.

Wow, that's incredible! 60 last month! Are you kidding me?!
A brief silence fell over the group. The five exchanged glances and then all ran out.

"Brother, I want to learn too!"

"Damn it, when you say 'job,' use your job title!"

……

I excitedly turned on my computer, only to find that Lao Hong was still working on his account.

Chen Xuebing could only call repeatedly to urge them on.

"Uncle Hong! The stock market is almost closed, and it's still not done?"

"It's already Thursday. If we don't do anything now, the market will stabilize by Friday. Don't waste the opportunity."

At 2 PM, Chen Xuebing finally received the account from Hong Yongqiang after the investment was completed.

I rubbed my hands together, then turned on my computer.

Adrenaline began to surge.

I haven't traded stocks for six months.

Six months ago, he was still in August 2024, nineteen years later.

The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted from 3150 in May to 2860, initiating another fierce battle to defend the 3000-point mark. The Shenzhen Composite Index also dropped by more than 1000 points, and the S&P 500 in the US experienced a similar two-week plunge, with the world criticizing Buffett.

Global markets are declining, just like yesterday.

At that time, he was still a fearful investor, struggling to find stocks to buy at the bottom amidst the storm, but also afraid of buying halfway down the mountain and getting burned again.

At this moment, he is already a stock market tyrant who has mastered prophetic information for 19 years.

Upon opening the stock selection interface, I selected a telecom network main site and immediately saw 600031, Sany Heavy Industry, prominently displayed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange A-share list.

It also shows the stock price on June 1st before the trading halt: 19.68 yuan, up 2.77%.

Chen Xuebing frowned and called out, "Wu Duo! Isn't Sany Heavy Industry 19.68 yuan? Why did your text message say it's over 17 yuan?"

Yesterday, he was bragging to Hong Yongqiang that Sany Heavy Industry's stock price was over 17 yuan before it was suspended from trading. But it turned out that the stock price he told others was wrong, and he immediately felt guilty and annoyed at his failed attempt to show off.

Temporary employee Wu Duo rushed over, stared at the trading screen for a long time, and said in a bit of a panic, "Oh dear! I misread it! This... it's so dense, I can't see it clearly. I'm so sorry, Mr. Chen! I'm so sorry!"

The little girl was terrified, fearing she might cause Chen Xuebing some harm.

"Forget it."

Chen Xuebing frowned; in fact, he wasn't used to this primitive interface either.

The current stock trading software is a bit crude, only providing transaction information, which has left him scratching his head for a while.

There's no fundamental analysis, no specific sector information, just some technical indicators. Where do I even begin?

Damn it, why don't you make your own stock trading software?

(End of this chapter)