How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 264

E Star Movies, E Star Commerce, All Come Into My Bowl

Determined to get rich, Yang Chen finished school and logged into his BEEP account to start accepting ride requests.

Around ten o’clock that evening, Yang Chen picked up a couple in front of a cinema.

“Bro, you gotta get us to Normal University in half an hour,” the male passenger said.

Yang Chen glanced at the navigation. “I’ll do my best. It’s over 20 kilometers, and those traffic lights will slow us down.”

Just as Yang Chen was about to pull away, the girl suddenly spoke. “Honey, I’m a little thirsty. Could you grab me a bottle of water? Iced, please.”

The man looked surprised for a moment, then quickly hopped out to buy the water.

The girl turned to Yang Chen. “Hey, handsome, safety first, okay? Don’t drive too fast. Got it?”

Yang Chen was taken aback, then smiled and nodded. “Understood. You’re playing the long game, huh?”

The girl grinned. “I’ve been dropping hints for over a month, and he still hasn’t made a move. He’s so dense! I have to create opportunities for him.”

Yang Chen: “Got it.”

Just then, the man returned with the iced water and handed it to the girl.

The girl immediately adopted a demure expression, smiling sweetly. “Thank you, darling.”

The man seemed anxious. “Driver, please hurry!”

Yang Chen nodded and started the car, heading towards Normal University.

Male passenger: “Driver, can’t you go any faster? We’ll never make it at this speed. Her dorm locks its doors at 10:30; she won’t be able to get in if she’s late.”

Yang Chen: “Okay, I’ll try to speed things up.”

He pressed down on the accelerator.

The female passenger feigned distress. “Driver, please drive a little smoother. I’m getting carsick.”

Yang Chen: “Okay.”

If Yang Chen hadn’t seen so much already, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from laughing.

He was used to guys trying to delay girls from getting back to their dorms so they could take them to a hotel.

This couple was the complete opposite. The guy wanted the girl to get back on time, while the girl was trying to find a way to avoid going back.

Driving twenty kilometers in 30 minutes was already a challenge, and now that Yang Chen was deliberately slowing down, there was no way he could get them back to school before 10:30.

When they finally arrived at the gate of Normal University, it was already 10:35. Yang Chen said with a smile, “Sorry, I was driving as fast as I could.”

The girl pretended to panic. “Oh no! What am I going to do? The dorm is closed. Where am I going to sleep tonight?”

The male passenger immediately said, “Driver, take us to the girls’ dorm building and see if the gate is really locked.”

Clearly, the male passenger had no intention of taking the girl to a hotel.

Yang Chen nodded, drove onto the campus, and pulled up to the entrance of the girls’ dormitory.

Seeing that the dormitory door was indeed closed, the girl visibly relaxed.

However, she still played the part. “Oh no, it’s really closed! What am I going to do?”

Male passenger: “Did you bring your ID?”

Yang Chen and the female passenger’s eyes lit up at the same time. *Finally*, he was getting the idea.

The girl’s efforts hadn’t been in vain.

The girl put on a shy look and said, “Yes, I brought it. Why?”

The male passenger smiled. “I’ll take you to an internet cafe for the night.”

The shyness on the girl’s face instantly vanished.

Go… to an internet cafe… for the night…

Yang Chen couldn’t help but chuckle. “Bro, it’s so hot out. It’ll be uncomfortable spending the night in an internet cafe. You’re better off finding a hotel with air conditioning.”

The girl shot Yang Chen an approving look. *That’s* what a normal man should think.

The male passenger immediately protested. “How can I do that? We haven’t really gotten to know each other yet. How can we do *that* kind of thing? Driver, take us to the nearest internet cafe.”

Such an upright man was a rare find these days.

The girl said angrily, “I’m not going to an internet cafe!”

With that, she flung open the door and stormed out of the car.

The male passenger chased after her, but the girl refused to acknowledge him.

Instead, she hiked up her skirt, tied it around her waist, and climbed over the gate into the dormitory.

Yang Chen shook his head, sighing. The girl was ready for a hotel, but this idiot still wanted to get to know her first. What a waste of a golden opportunity!

Yang Chen immediately turned around and drove off, heading home to sleep.

A few minutes later, the BEEP platform notified Yang Chen that he had received a bad review.

“If you had driven faster, she wouldn’t have had to climb over the gate to get into the dormitory, and she wouldn’t be angry with me.”

Damn, was this guy serious?

The girl gave him an opening, but he blew it, and then blamed the innocent driver?

Unbelievable…

Just then, the system issued a notification.

“Congratulations to the host for receiving a bad review. The system rewards the host with 29% equity in E Star Movies, making him the second-largest shareholder of the company. Equity transfer documents and other materials will be delivered to your door by SF Express [a Chinese delivery service] tomorrow morning. Please be ready to receive them.”

E Star Movies Co., Ltd.’s largest shareholder was E Star Investment Co., Ltd., with a shareholding ratio of 40%.

The largest shareholder of E Star Investment Co., Ltd. was Wang Zaolin, with a shareholding ratio of 98%, which meant that Wang Zaolin indirectly held 39.2% of the shares of E Star Movies Co., Ltd.

The shareholding ratios of other shareholders of E Star Movies were very small. The third-largest shareholder was E Star Culture Group, with a shareholding ratio of 2%, followed by the National Pension Fund and other fund holdings, with a maximum of no more than 1%.

Therefore, even though Yang Chen only had 29% of the equity, his right to speak at the shareholders’ meeting was significant.

Soon, Yang Chen arrived home.

He had just finished showering and was lying in bed when Yang Zhen, the CEO of Xingchen Entertainment Company, called him.

Yang Zhen: “Mr. Yang, am I disturbing your rest?”

Yang Chen: “No. What’s up?”

Yang Zhen: “It’s about *Zhu Xian Zhen* [a fantasy movie]. It’s been completed, and now several production companies are debating whether to release it online or in theaters. As you requested, this movie was produced to theatrical standards, costing over 30 million in production costs. However, because the movie lacks big-name stars who can draw audiences, the theaters are reluctant to screen it. Therefore, several production companies want to release it directly online. But I think releasing it online would be a waste. So, I wanted to get your opinion.”

Yang Chen: “We produced it to theatrical standards, so of course it should be released in theaters.”

Yang Zhen: “Alas… but we’ve contacted E Star Cinemas, Hengdian Cinemas [a large cinema chain in China], etc., and they’re unwilling to give us screenings, or can only offer some ‘ghost screenings,’ playing at midnight and early morning, which is essentially useless.”

Yang Chen: “Does E Star Cinemas have any blockbusters showing right now?”

Yang Zhen: “Yes! *Moon Man* [a popular Chinese sci-fi comedy] is currently playing, and it occupies almost 80% of the screenings. Then there’s a small production, *Return to Dust* [a critically acclaimed Chinese drama], which has been performing well at the box office recently, and its number of screenings is also increasing. Moreover, E Star Movies’ investment in *Ip Man* [a series of martial arts films] is about to be released, and they’ll probably want to reserve all the screenings for that movie.”

Yang Chen: “Okay, I understand. Tell the other investment companies that this movie must be released in theaters. I’ll take care of it as soon as possible, so you can start preparing.”

Yang Zhen: “Okay! Then I won’t disturb your rest, Mr. Yang. Good night.”

Once he had the equity transfer documents in hand the next day, Yang Chen planned to call Wang Zaolin for a chat.

Even though *Zhu Xian Zhen* didn’t have any investment from E Star Movies, it was the first film project that Yang Chen had focused on creating, and Wang Zaolin had to give him face and ensure the film was shown in E Star Cinemas.

Just after eight o’clock in the morning, the SF Express delivery guy dropped off the equity transfer documents.

Yang Chen went out for a drive first, and then called Wang Zaolin’s secretary, Liu Lin, at ten o’clock.

Liu Lin quickly informed Wang Zaolin, who then called Yang Chen.

Wang Zaolin: “Hello, Mr. Yang. Thank you for your support of E Star Movies.”

Yang Chen: “Hello, Mr. Wang. I think your company has great development potential, and I couldn’t resist investing. I have a favor to ask, and I hope you can help me out.”

Wang Zaolin: “What is it? Please tell me, Mr. Yang.”

Yang Chen: “I invested in a movie and I’m preparing to release it. But because it’s a small production with no big names, the theaters won’t give it any screenings. I’d like E Star Cinemas to give it some screenings. Is that possible?”

Wang Zaolin: “That’s definitely possible! A movie invested in by Mr. Yang should be released in our own theaters. It’s a matter of course. I’ll have my secretary send out an internal notice later, instructing all E Star Cinemas across the country to give Mr. Yang’s movie screenings.”

Yang Chen: “Haha… Okay! Then I’ll thank you in advance, Mr. Wang.”

Wang Zaolin: “Haha… We’re all on the same team, no need to thank me. I’m going to Haicheng [a city in China] in a couple of days. Please do me the honor of having a meal with me, Mr. Yang.”

Yang Chen: “No problem! Just let me know in advance, Mr. Wang. That’s all, I won’t disturb your work.”

Hanging up the phone, Yang Chen sent a message to Yang Zhen.

“It’s done. E Star Cinemas will contact you. Follow up with them.”

Yang Zhen quickly replied: “Understood! Mr. Yang, you’re amazing. You even managed to settle things with E Star Cinemas. With your connections, our movies can be released in theaters in the future. Even if other theaters don’t screen them, at least we can guarantee they’ll be released in E Star Cinemas.”

Yang Chen replied: “I spent real money to buy the equity in E Star Movies to have this kind of power. I’ll clear all obstacles for you. Just do your job well.”

Yang Zhen looked at Yang Chen’s message and didn’t know how to respond.

How rich did you have to be to do something so incredible?

Because the theaters wouldn’t give them screenings, he actually spent money to buy equity to *make* the theaters give them screenings.

The way rich people did things was truly simple, direct, and effective.

While Yang Chen was eating lunch, the BEEP customer service called him.

Customer service: “Mr. Yang, your recent bad reviews are proving difficult to remove and have seriously affected your overall service score. We suggest you be careful. Another bad review, and you may not be able to accept orders.”

Yang Chen: “There’s nothing I can do about that. If they want to give bad reviews, I can’t stop them. For example, the bad review from last night: the woman wanted to go to a hotel, but the man didn’t. As a result, the woman got angry, and then the man blamed me and gave me a bad review. What am I supposed to do? I’m helpless, and completely innocent.”

Customer service: “Actually, sometimes when you think a passenger might give you a bad review, you can discuss it with them. Maybe you can avoid it.”

Yang Chen: “Are you kidding me? Do I look like the kind of person who admits defeat? They can give bad reviews if they want. I won’t be discussing anything with them.”

Customer service: “Okay. Then, Mr. Yang, carry on. I won’t disturb you any further. I wish you a pleasant day.”

Although Yang Chen was unwilling to admit defeat, if his service score got too low and affected his ability to get orders, he would have to find a way to deal with it.

After resting for a while, Yang Chen started accepting orders again.

Yang Chen drove for BEEP purely to pass the time and get bad review rewards.

Therefore, he took orders randomly, without considering the distance or the fare.

Sure enough, he accepted an order for 30 kilometers with a fare of 38 yuan [approximately $5.30 USD].

This had to be the BEEP system giving users discounts again and transferring the cost of the discount to the driver.

However, Yang Chen didn’t care, as long as he didn’t lose money.

The passenger was a chubby middle-aged man who didn’t sit in the back row but got directly into the passenger seat.

Yang Chen verified the last four digits of the phone number with the other party according to the regulations and then set off.

Before the car had gone far, the male passenger asked angrily, “30 kilometers, 38 yuan. You actually take orders like this?”

Yang Chen, not noticing the passenger’s anger, replied with a smile: “There’s nothing I can do. The platform sent the order, and I can’t refuse it. Besides, you’re going to Jiading North District [a suburban district of Shanghai], and I wanted to go there for some fresh air, so I took it.”

Male passenger: “Do you know that the online ride-hailing market is being ruined by people like you! You take 38 yuan for 30 kilometers. After deducting fuel costs, wear and tear, and the platform commission, do you even make any money?”

Yang Chen realized that the passenger was very angry, so he quickly explained: “I don’t drive to make money. I just have nothing to do in my spare time, so I come out to pass the time. The cost of 30 kilometers is just over 20 yuan. After deducting the platform commission, I can still earn enough for a bottle of water. That’s enough. I don’t have high expectations.”

Male passenger: “But it’s because of drivers like you that other drivers have nothing to eat. If everyone refused to take these kinds of orders, would the platform offer so little? We drivers who rely on ride-hailing for a living don’t take them, but you people have to take them.”

Yang Chen: “Brother, are you deliberately placing an order to cause trouble?”

Male passenger: “What trouble? I just want to see what kind of people are messing up the market! You’re young, you’re not worried about anything, and you don’t care about earning more or less. But we drivers who rely on ride-hailing to support our families can’t do that! We want to make money! We want to eat! I’m definitely giving you a bad review for this order. I want you to pay the price for destroying the market!”

Yang Chen immediately pulled over and stopped, saying: “If that’s how you feel, I won’t take you there! Get out of the car!”

Male passenger: “Yo, look how proud you are. Are the drivers on your BEEP platform all so high and mighty? You dare to kick passengers out of the car halfway?”

From what he was saying, he was a driver from another platform, deliberately placing a discounted order to cause trouble.

Yang Chen wasn’t going to put up with that. This bad review could definitely be deleted.

“Damn it, are you out of your mind? Which platform are you a driver from? Did you come here to deliberately cause trouble?” Yang Chen snapped.

Male passenger: “I don’t care which platform I’m a driver from, but you taking this kind of order is stealing our jobs. You deserve to be struck by lightning!”

Yang Chen immediately opened the car door, pushed him out hard, and yelled: “Go to hell! I’ll take whatever order I want. You have no right to tell me what to do. Even if I lose money, I’m willing to take it. You can’t control me. If you’re so great, why don’t you force the platform to change the rules? What kind of ability is it to come and cause trouble for your peers? It’s normal for the platform to give out coupons to attract new users. If you can’t accept that, then why are you even doing this? Make your own platform and charge as much as you want.”

No matter the platform, it was normal to give out coupons and have other promotional activities to attract customers.

As long as it was profitable overall, it was fine. After all, consumers wouldn’t spend money for no reason. They had to be given enough discounts to attract them.

For example, a platform like Pinduoduo [a Chinese e-commerce platform], attracted consumers with a discount once, and they would buy a lot of things on the platform, and the seller would benefit from it sooner or later.

If you couldn’t even accept that, then you shouldn’t join the platform and should rely on your own offline traffic to scrape by.

The key was, even if he couldn’t stand this kind of promotional policy, he should complain to the platform. He didn’t dare to trouble the platform, so he came to his peers for trouble. What kind of stupid idea was that?

Yang Chen closed the car door and drove away.

The passenger immediately gave him a bad review.

“Garbage driver, just pushed me out halfway. I’m definitely going to complain to the end, and I’ll call the police. It’s because of garbage drivers like you that it’s becoming more and more difficult for us ride-hailing drivers.”

Yang Chen smiled disdainfully, not caring at all.

At that moment, the system issued a notification.

“Congratulations to the host for receiving a bad review. The system rewards the host with 20% equity in E Star Commercial Group, making him the second-largest shareholder of the group.”

E Star Commercial Group?

That was the parent company that developed E Star Plaza, E Star Cultural Tourism, E Star Hotels, and other projects?

Wow, this reward was worth a lot of money.

Yang Chen felt happy, feeling that the air was filled with the smell of money.

“I’m too tired these last two days. Let’s find a place to have a cup of coffee and relax,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

He had just arrived at a coffee shop and sat down when the BEEP customer service called him.

Customer service: “Mr. Yang, a passenger just called to complain that you assaulted him and kicked him out of the car halfway. Is that true?”

Yang Chen: “You can watch the video from my car yourself. After watching it, you’ll know how to handle it. You’re a mature customer service representative. You should learn to find your own solutions when you encounter this kind of thing in the future. Don’t call me at every turn. Got it?”

The customer service was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied: “Oh, oh, oh, I understand, I understand. I’ll watch the video from your car first. I’m sorry, I disturbed you.”

Yang Chen: “Yes. You can watch it yourself. I have to drink my coffee.”

The customer service was stunned again, then replied: “Okay, okay. Enjoy your time. I’m sorry, I disturbed you.”

Yang Chen: “Yes. It’s okay. Handle it well. If you encounter such a thing in the future, call me again only when it’s absolutely necessary. Don’t call me if it’s not necessary.”

With that, Yang Chen hung up the phone.

Just after he hung up, the system issued another notification.

“Congratulations to the host for receiving a complaint, triggering a critical reward. The system rewards the host with an increase in equity in E Star Commercial Group to 40%. The equity transfer documents have been sent by courier. Please wait patiently for their arrival.”

Oh, I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but does this coffee also have the smell of money?