How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 300

Chapter 300: Scheming Threat to Old Yu, Being Played by Yang Chen

(In the previous chapter, the items mentioned were Tiffany’s silver wire ball bracelet, LV’s air vest, straw hat, beach pants, and Gucci’s rubber crystal sandals. The author isn’t making this up; these items actually exist. You can search for them online. It’s just for the sake of the plot that the Tiffany and Gucci items were swapped. This section is meant to show that the protagonist can create popular items even when just playing around, impressing those designers. In the subsequent plot, the gold and silver jewelry store that the protagonist is collaborating with two foreigners on should also open, and these designers will actively join, saving the trouble of slowly recruiting them. I’ve included pictures in the comments section for your reference.)

Three days passed quickly, and Freeman had samples produced at the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) factory.

It must be said, these items were a bit unusual, but they looked acceptable.

For example, the steel wire ball bracelet, made of silver to justify a high price, was set at 81,000 Dragon Country currency [Chinese Yuan] after a group discussion.

The straw hat was priced at 8,200 Dragon Country currency, the vest at 26,000 Dragon Country currency, the beach pants at 5,000 Dragon Country currency, and the crystal sandals at 4,500 Dragon Country currency.

After the samples were made, Freeman quickly returned to the LVMH Group’s Dragon Country headquarters, where a professional photographer took pictures of the products. Detailed images were created for online sales, along with large posters for in-store displays.

As soon as midnight struck, all the stores in the Dragon Country region replaced their posters with these products, and the Dragon Country official website also uploaded detailed images.

Simultaneously, LV’s official Weibo [Chinese Twitter] and Douyin [Chinese TikTok] accounts released updates on these new products.

Soon, netizens flocked to the posts.

“I heard that LV has new products again, and each one is more bizarre than the last. Do they even have the straw hat my grandpa uses for rice planting?”

“I don’t believe anyone would actually buy these things. Are rich people all crazy? My second uncle doesn’t even wear this kind of hat when he’s farming in the fields. And these crystal sandals, I swear, aren’t these the same cheap nylon sandals that are sold for ten yuan [~1.5 USD] a pair at rural fairs?”

“Air vest, haha… I’m going to die laughing. No one would actually buy it, right?”

“It’s good that the big brands still have a conscience; they don’t rip off the poor. We can just look at them. Only someone with a screw loose would buy them.”

…

Anyone who makes such comments is definitely not an LV customer, so their opinions are irrelevant.

And the real LV customers give completely different feedback.

“Wow, LV’s products are always so unique! I have to buy them. I’m going to the store to pre-order tomorrow.”

“I’ve already pre-ordered on the official website. Those who know, know. There’s no need to explain to those who don’t. Just wear your street stalls; why is every Tom, Dick, and Harry commenting on LV?”

“Haha… Some people’s thinking is still stuck on the idea that clothes are just for wearing and must be affordable and durable. Please, it’s already 2022. There can’t still be so many poor people whose only requirement for clothes is to keep warm and cover up their ugliness, right? Haha…”

“I have to say, LV designers are really working hard; they are definitely master-level designers. Why do I say that? Just wear these products on the street, and anyone with eyes can tell they are LV products. If you can’t see the brand logo on other products, can you tell which brand they are? What I want is for others to recognize at a glance that I’m wearing LV from head to toe. Do you poor people understand this logic?”

“We’re not on the same channel at all; we’re not in the same circle. There’s no need to force ourselves in. You wear your street stalls; let us suffer this loss. Haha…”

…

This is the power of the brand.

Just like Apple phone users would rather spend 60 yuan [~9 USD] to buy a SIM card eject tool than use the one that comes with an Android phone. Android users think they’re brain-dead, but they laugh at you for being too poor to afford it.

It’s also like some people complain that Dragon for Huawei phones sell for 9,000 yuan [~1300 USD] even with 4G, but it still doesn’t stop many people from choosing Dragon for Huawei, and even the new phones are sold out.

The logic is the same.

As of 12:00 noon, the total number of pre-orders for these items on the LV official website exceeded 10,000, and the number of pre-orders in each store also exceeded 1,000.

For LV, which has very high unit prices, having so many pre-orders confirms that they can be mass-produced and put on the market.

Taking the steel wire ball bracelet as an example, with a price of 81,000 yuan, 10,000 pieces would be 810 million yuan [~117 million USD] in sales, so of course it can be mass-produced.

This is just pre-orders; when the actual products come out, there will be even more people rushing to buy them.

At this time, Yang Chen was delivering food.

Wu Yue called him.

Wu Yue: “Mr. Yang, it’s a hit! It’s a hit!”

Yang Chen: “Who’s a hit?”

Wu Yue: “Those unusual designs of yours… oh, no, those hot-selling products you designed are all a hit. Pre-orders on the official website have all exceeded 10,000, and pre-orders in each store have also exceeded 1,000. According to your requirements, pre-orders require a 30% deposit. Since those customers are willing to pay the deposit, it means they really want to buy them. This is just the sales situation for pre-orders. If they are mass-produced, they will definitely sell out. Mr. Yang, you are too amazing. Just playing around, the things you design are more popular than the works of those professional big-name designers.”

Yang Chen: “I was just playing around. Since they’re a hit, then you have to make those designers fulfill their promises.”

Wu Yue: “Understood! I’ll have someone contact them immediately to fulfill their promises.”

At this time, the designers who had bet with Yang Chen were all lost in thought as they looked at the sales volume of over 10,000 on the LV official website.

Could it be that their designs are really too old-fashioned?

Could it be that their design concepts really can’t keep up with the trend?

Why do consumers like designs that they think are very rustic and bizarre?

At this moment, these arrogant designers began to question their own profession and ability.

Soon, Arnold also received a report from his secretary and learned that several of the items designed by Yang Chen were selling like crazy.

Arnold quickly called Yang Chen.

Arnold: “Haha… Mr. Yang, congratulations, congratulations. I didn’t expect Mr. Yang to have talent in design. The several items you designed have all become bestsellers.”

Yang Chen: “Just lucky.”

Arnold: “This is not just luck; this is Mr. Yang’s true strength. How about this? I propose to give all the deposit money from customers who pre-ordered up to 12:00 Dragon Country time to Mr. Yang as your design fee. What do you think?”

Yang Chen: “Is that okay? Will the group still make money?”

Arnold: “Haha… All of our products have a profit of more than ten times. Giving you 30% of the deposit as a design fee will not have much impact on our profit margin.”

*Damn*, no wonder luxury brand products don’t look that great, but they sell so expensive.

It turns out that each product has to guarantee at least ten times the profit. Isn’t this a huge profit?

Then Yang Chen wouldn’t be polite; there’s no reason to get his design results for free.

Yang Chen: “Haha… Okay! Then I’ll do as Mr. Arnold says.”

Arnold: “Haha… Okay! I’ll have the finance department settle it first and then transfer it to your Swiss bank account. Okay?”

Yang Chen: “Okay! Then it’s settled. I have to deliver food; I won’t talk to you anymore.”

Arnold: “Okay. Ah? Deliver food? Aren’t you a Didi [Chinese Uber] driver?”

Yang Chen: “My main job is driving Didi, and I work part-time delivering food during meal times. Hanging up, busy.”

Arnold looked black. No wonder Dragon Country caught up with the development achievements of Western countries in 200 years in just 40 years.

Yang Chen is so rich, but he is still so hardworking, doing two jobs. Aren’t those ordinary workers more diligent than him? How can such a country not rise?

Taking the steel wire ball bracelet as an example, with a price of 81,000 yuan, 10,000 pre-orders, and a 30% deposit, that’s 246 million yuan [~35.6 million USD]. Yang Chen’s design copyright fee can be said to be sky-high.

Adding in the year-end bonus, the several single product designs that Yang Chen messed around with can bring him at least 2 billion yuan [~290 million USD] in income.

Luxury goods are so easy to make money!

After lunch, Lin Yiren also saw the news online.

She immediately called Yang Chen.

“Honey, you’re so amazing; those designs are really popular,” Lin Yiren said excitedly.

Yang Chen: “I said that the products of luxury brands such as LV can’t be designed too mediocre; they must have enough personality. Those designers are stupid and didn’t understand the situation, and they even bet with me.”

Lin Yiren: “Hee hee… That’s because their abilities are limited; they’re not as smart as you, honey. Let’s have dinner together tonight; I want to reward you.”

Yang Chen: “Reward me with what?”

Lin Yiren: “Reward you with doing push-ups.”

Yang Chen: “Huh? Isn’t this rewarding you?”

Lin Yiren: “Hee hee…”

…

Buffett and Gates settled their business in the US and came to Dragon Country, Haicheng again.

This time, they were going to South Myanmar with Yang Chen to finalize the investment in Jiaye Mining Group.

In addition, they have registered a gold and silver jewelry company named “SS” in New York, USA, and also use this name as the brand of the product.

Currently, the company has opened a store in New York, but the area is not very large.

Buffett and Gates’ idea is to have Yang Chen register a shell company, take the SS Dragon Country agency rights, and then start expanding stores in Dragon Country.

However, because this brand is just starting, Yang Chen needs to start from scratch in the Dragon Country region.

Design – production – channel layout – sales – after-sales; the entire complete chain needs to be completed by Yang Chen himself.

Yang Chen felt that there was no need to engage in any shell company agency, imitating the LVMH Group to set up the Dragon Country headquarters in Haicheng, managed by Yang Chen, and the Dragon Country headquarters is responsible for the Dragon Country business, from design to after-sales one-stop service.

After the Dragon Country market is stable, Yang Chen will expand his business to other Asian countries, while Buffett and Gates are responsible for markets outside of Asia.

After the three of them agreed, Yang Chen sent Zhang Lijun to South Myanmar with Buffett and Gates.

Although the actual controller of Jiaye Mining is Yang Chen, he has never shown his face. Zhang Lijun is his agent, and the money he earns is transferred to his Swiss bank account.

In this way, even if Jiaye Mining and Zhang Lijun have an accident, it will not affect Yang Chen.

Unless one day the Swiss bank no longer keeps customer information confidential and discloses Yang Chen’s account information.

However, this day should not come, unless humanity is destroyed.

Early in the morning, major news websites and apps suddenly hyped up news about the Oriental Education Group.

“Subject to the state’s ban on extracurricular tutoring policies, the Oriental Group has completely suspended classes, and Lao Yu [Old Yu, a respectful way to call someone] is suspected of running away with the money, and the employees’ wages have not been paid.”

“Outlets are closed, teachers can’t be contacted, and tens of thousands of students have no way to get refunds. The Oriental Group is about to explode!”

“Dozens of parents are pulling banners and crying at the entrance of the Oriental Group’s store. Their children have paid tens of thousands of tuition fees, and now they are not attending classes and the tuition fees have not been refunded; it is really a tragedy.”

…

After this wave of news was exposed, the stock price of the Oriental Group undoubtedly plummeted after the opening, falling by 23% within half an hour.

If Star Investment hadn’t taken the opportunity to sweep the goods [buy up the stocks], the decline would have continued, and it would have been impossible to stop the decline.

Yang Chen sighed: “Lao Yu is really an honest person! I asked him to release some negative news to cooperate with my sweeping of the goods, but he actually released such fierce negative news.”

At this time, Lao Yu’s phone came in.

Yang Chen answered the phone and praised with a smile: “President Yu, you are loyal! I asked you to release negative news, but you really released fierce news!”

Lao Yu cried and laughed and said, “President Yang misunderstood. I called to tell you that these negative news were not released by me. It is obvious that someone wants to mess with me.”

Yang Chen: “Ah? I said why you are so honest and released such fierce news. It seems that someone has taken a fancy to your company and wants to take the opportunity to suppress the stock price and buy it. Has anyone talked to you about acquisition intentions?”

Lao Yu: “No! I even suspected that you did it.”

Yang Chen: “That’s not the case. I have already discussed it with you, and you released the negative news; why should I bother? Then you wait; someone will definitely contact you. When he contacts you, tell me.”

Lao Yu: “Okay! Then I know what’s going on. We keep in touch.”

According to the current situation, the Oriental Education Group will definitely be delisted. That is, Yang Chen thought of a business growth point that he could try, so he dared to spend money to buy stocks.

Now someone suddenly released such intensive negative news to suppress the stock price of the Oriental Education Group, definitely wanting to buy it at a low price.

Who would buy stocks that are about to be delisted?

No one will!

That means that the person who deliberately released the negative news must also have his own ideas.

Either he, like Yang Chen, thought of the next main business of the Oriental Education Group, or he wanted to use the Oriental Education Group as a shell to list his company.

Regardless of which of these two situations, Yang Chen is very interested in who this person is.

After the stock of the Oriental Education Group fell sharply for three consecutive days, Lao Yu finally received a strange call.

This person is called Tong Hu, the founder and controlling shareholder of Wanyou Education Group, a training education company, with a shareholding ratio of up to 60%.

The nature of Wanyou Education Group is the same as that of Oriental Education Group, but the main business is different.

The main business of Oriental Education Group is extracurricular training in mainstream courses such as Eagle language [English], so after the national double reduction policy [policy to reduce homework and extracurricular tutoring] came down, they suffered a devastating disaster.

However, the main business of Wanyou Education Group is skills training, such as driving schools, computer, auto repair, electronic product repair, chefs, hairdressers, and training education in subjects such as Eagle language.

However, the training and education business of mainstream courses such as Eagle language only accounts for less than 10% of all businesses of the company, so the national double reduction policy has little impact on them.

Moreover, with this wave of national double reduction policy, Wanyou Education Group has instead developed rapidly against the trend.

Tong Hu called Lao Yu and told him two things.

First, he admitted to releasing the negative news online.

Second, he revealed Wanyou Education Group’s plan to list through a backdoor listing with Oriental Education Group.

In essence, Tong Hu deliberately spread both true and false negative news to suppress Oriental Education Group’s stock price, aiming for a cheap acquisition. He also intended to force Lao Yu to submit, threatening delisting if he refused to sell.

However, Tong Hu was unaware that Yang Chen had already targeted Oriental Education Group. His actions were essentially a death wish.

Lao Yu, a seasoned businessman, remained calm upon hearing Tong Hu’s words. He used ambiguous language to placate Tong Hu and promptly contacted Yang Chen to discuss countermeasures.

Lao Yu detailed the situation to Yang Chen and sought his opinion.

Yang Chen had limited knowledge of Wanyou Education Group, only knowing they operated driving schools.

Lacking a comprehensive understanding of the company, Yang Chen couldn’t offer specific advice.

“President Yu, give me some time. I’ll call you back,” Yang Chen said.

Lao Yu was now entirely dependent on Yang Chen to rescue Oriental Education Group and had to follow his guidance.

Hanging up, Yang Chen messaged Qiu Yuhong, instructing him to immediately investigate all available information on Wanyou Education Group and Tong Hu, both positive and negative.

The following morning, Yang Chen received Qiu Yuhong’s report.

The key points were:

First, Tong Hu had recently secured funding from Laurie Murphy, an ETH Zurich alumnus, by selling 30% of his shares, in preparation for the backdoor listing.

Second, Wanyou Education Group’s business model had significant flaws.

For example:

Students could become lifetime VIPs of Wanyou Education by paying 15,000 yuan [approximately $2,100 USD]. This VIP status granted access to all of Wanyou Education’s courses. After five years, the 15,000 yuan tuition fee would be fully refunded.

Alternatively, students could pay an additional 9,000 yuan [approximately $1,260 USD] to permanently access all of Wanyou Education’s courses.

After five years, this additional tuition fee would also be fully refunded.

From that point onward, students could permanently enjoy all courses offered by Wanyou Education for free.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s a classic Ponzi scheme, using money from new students to pay refunds to older ones. Many fundraising scams, as well as education and training institutions, gyms, beauty salons, etc., employ this tactic.

Initially, if the cash flow is healthy, the money from new users can cover the refunds of older users.

However, once the influx of new users decreases, and the money is insufficient to cover the refunds, the system inevitably collapses.

Tong Hu’s willingness to sell 30% of his shares to a foreign ETH Zurich alumnus indicated that his cash flow was strained, and he needed funds to address the refund obligations to existing students.

Third, Wanyou Education and MB Investment Company, where Laurie Murphy was located, had jointly established a financial investment company. Wanyou Education held 70% of the shares, while MB Company held 30%.

This financial investment company didn’t invest in other companies or projects. Instead, it loaned the tuition fees collected by Wanyou Education Group to MB Investment Company at an agreed annual interest rate of 10%.

At first glance, this seemed like a profitable 10% annual interest rate investment.

However, if MB Investment Company absconded with the money, Wanyou Education Group would be in serious trouble.

What recourse would Wanyou Education Group have against a company registered in the United States that fled with the funds?

Even government intervention might not be able to recover billions of yuan.

But Tong Hu wasn’t concerned about MB running away.

Why?

Because he had a contract with MB Company stipulating that he would receive 50% of all profits generated from Wanyou Education Group.

In short, Tong Hu was preparing to abscond with the money.

Once the cash flow dried up, or he accumulated enough tuition fees to satisfy him, he would undoubtedly flee without hesitation.

If he could get the company listed before running away, first reaping a wave of *jiǔ cài* [韭菜, literally “chives,” a Chinese slang term for naive investors who are easily exploited] and then cashing out, he would profit even more.

Listing the company through normal channels would take at least three years, and the listing review might not even be successful.

Using the soon-to-be-bankrupt Oriental Education Group for a backdoor listing would be much faster, potentially allowing him to cash out next year.

Having understood the situation of Tong Hu and Wanyou Education Group, the matter became straightforward.

Yang Chen messaged Lao Yu, detailing the next steps.

After understanding Yang Chen’s plan, Lao Yu immediately called Tong Hu.

“President Tong, I’ve considered your proposal and I’m rejecting it. I won’t let you succeed. I’d rather the company be delisted than allow you to use it for a backdoor listing!” Lao Yu stated firmly.

Tong Hu chuckled. “President Yu, why be so stubborn? Your company is doomed to be delisted. Not even gods can save it. Once delisted, you’ll have nothing. If you agree to our acquisition for a backdoor listing, you can hold up to 20% of the shares and remain a billionaire.”

Lao Yu: “Forget it. I can’t agree. I’d rather the company be delisted, at least to protect my reputation. If I let you use it for a backdoor listing and something goes wrong, my reputation will be ruined in my old age. I’m willing to refund tuition fees with billions of yuan; do you think I care about that money? President Tong, please consider other companies. Don’t even think about acquiring our company.”

Tong Hu: “Hehe… President Yu, if you don’t appreciate my kindness, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Lao Yu: “President Tong, don’t try to scare me. I’m old enough to be your father. Do you think you can intimidate me? I still have connections and resources in the business world. President Tong, it’s best not to push things too far, lest we all end up in a situation we can’t resolve!”

Tong Hu: “In the capital market, only the winners matter; nobody cares about the losers. You overestimate your importance! Haha…”

Hanging up, Lao Yu’s face was flushed with anger, and he was grinding his teeth, clearly enraged.

Tong Hu, frustrated by Lao Yu’s rejection, instructed his secretary to continue feeding negative stories about Lao Yu and Oriental Education Group to the media.

To play along with Tong Hu, Lao Yu deliberately leaked news that he was planning to immigrate abroad.

This delighted Tong Hu, who immediately spent money to promote the story on platforms like Weibo and Douyin [popular Chinese social media platforms].

Soon, the headline “Yu Hong of Oriental Education Group Confirmed to be Absconding with Funds” topped the trending charts on Weibo and Douyin.

As a result, Oriental Education Group’s stock in the Hong Kong stock market plummeted, falling by 75% before Starlight Investment’s buying stopped the decline.

At this point, the stock price of Oriental Education had reached a historic low of 2.8 yuan per share.

It’s no wonder stock trading plots in Hong Kong TV dramas often depict people going bankrupt and jumping off buildings in a single day.

There are no limits on price increases or decreases in Hong Kong’s stock market. If you bet everything, even with leverage, and someone manipulates the stock to fall by 80% in a day, anyone would be driven to suicide.

Yang Chen felt the time was right. At least 80% of retail investors had already sold. The remaining stubborn ones would hold on until the bitter end, and the price wouldn’t fall much further.

That evening, Lao Yu posted a video explanation on his personal Weibo, Douyin, and other accounts.

The main points were:

First, he would never leave Dragon Country [China]. This was his homeland, and he would die there.

Second, he had found a strategic investment partner, and the remaining tuition fees of less than 300 million yuan would be refunded as soon as possible.

Third, the company’s stock would not be delisted. He and his strategic partner had developed new development plans and would get the company back on track as soon as possible.

Fourth, he had discovered that Tong Hu, the president of Wanyou Education Group, had instructed his secretary to spread the false news online to force him to agree to Wanyou Education Group using Oriental Education Group for a backdoor listing.

Fifth, he was reporting, under his real name, that Wanyou Education Group and Tong Hu were suspected of illegal fundraising, financial fraud, colluding with foreign investment companies to transfer assets, and embezzling students’ tuition fees. He requested that relevant departments immediately freeze the relevant accounts and promptly recover the funds transferred abroad. He also urged Wanyou Education Group students to immediately apply for tuition refunds, as it might be too late if they waited any longer.

Lao Yu’s statement was a bombshell, causing an uproar online.

Tens of thousands of Wanyou Education Group students panicked and quickly called the outlets where they paid their fees to request refunds.

This was equivalent to a bank run. If only a few people withdraw money, the bank can still operate, but if everyone tries to withdraw their money, no matter how large the bank, it will collapse, and a stampede will inevitably occur.

Lao Yu’s reputation and personal image were far stronger than Tong Hu’s.

Everyone believed him, and all the students were demanding refunds. Wanyou Education Group couldn’t withstand the pressure. The crisis that could have been delayed for a few years had now exploded immediately.

To prevent Tong Hu and Wanyou Education Group from fighting back, and to ensure the relevant departments took notice and minimized the students’ losses, Yang Chen organized the information gathered by the Aegis Security Group and sent it to Lao Yu, instructing him to publish it on his personal Weibo and other accounts.

Lao Yu promptly posted the new updates on Weibo, Douyin, and other platforms.

“This is the evidence found by my strategic partner. Please review and supervise it. In addition, I want to say to President Tong, sorry, but I’m just that ungrateful.”

Tong Hu, who was preparing to retaliate, saw the overwhelming evidence, including email exchanges, text message records, bank statements, internal meeting recordings and videos, and immediately abandoned any resistance.

Run!

That was his only thought!

But as soon as he left the villa, he was intercepted by members of the Aegis Security Group.

Since Yang Chen intended to deal with him, he wouldn’t leave him any escape route.

Shortly after, the police arrived, arrested him, and sealed off his villa.

With the compelling evidence provided by the Aegis Security Group, the police didn’t need to spend much time investigating the case.

Faced with irrefutable evidence, Tong Hu had no chance to deny the charges.

He didn’t even understand who had defeated him, and he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Lao Yu called Yang Chen.

Lao Yu: “President Yang, amazing! Haha… The police have already arrested Tong Hu and the others. Faced with the conclusive evidence provided by President Yang, they didn’t even have a chance to quibble and admitted everything. With billions of yuan involved, they will either die or spend the rest of their lives in prison. President Yang, you are truly incredible. You cleaned them all up in one day.”

Yang Chen: “These are all small matters. Later, I will register a new company to accept the shares bought by Starlight Investment, and President Yu will give me another 5%, which will give me about 25% of the shares. However, this is obviously not enough, and I don’t want others to profit from our work. I hope President Yu, as the major shareholder, will do a private placement to increase my shareholding to about 35%. Still according to the previous agreement, I will retain voting rights but will not interfere in daily operations and management, and will vote with you at the shareholders’ meeting. Any problems?”

Lao Yu: “No problem, we will do as President Yang says. Then what about our live streaming?”

Yang Chen: “I will arrange my affairs as soon as possible and then take the anchors all the way to the Western District, broadcasting while traveling.”

Lao Yu: “Haha… Okay, that’s settled then. We’ll go our separate ways, hoping to bring the company back on track as soon as possible.”

Yang Chen: “Okay. President Yu, let the six teachers who stayed behind start broadcasting. While it’s not popular yet and there are few viewers, let them get used to it first.”

Lao Yu: “Okay! I’ll have them start broadcasting tomorrow, in pairs, in three shifts. President Yang can also watch it when you have time. Our Douyin live broadcast account is called ‘Oriental Selection’.”

Yang Chen: “Okay. I’ll watch it when I have time. I’m hanging up; I have to go drive.”

The live broadcast of the Oriental Selection account is an opportunity for Oriental Education Group and an experiment for Yang Chen.

If this experiment is successful, Yang Chen can have the anchors under Starlight Entertainment also join the live streaming business.

Now, almost all anchors, celebrities, and merchants are selling goods on various platforms.

Consumers are also accustomed to the convenience of meeting their needs without leaving home. If they don’t seize a share of the live streaming market, they will miss out.

……

Yang Chen logged into his Didi [Chinese ride-hailing app] account and picked up a female passenger.

The passenger was young, with a youthful look. She was likely a recent graduate.

After a moment, the female passenger suddenly said to Yang Chen: “Master, my name is Zhang Jingmei, what’s your name?”

Yang Chen: “My surname is Yang.”

Zhang Jingmei: “Hello, Brother Yang. Can I ask you for a favor?”

Yang Chen: “What favor? Tell me.”

Zhang Jingmei: “It’s like this, I’m going to have an interview at Juxiang Creative Design Co., Ltd. Can you pretend to be an interviewee, go up for the interview first, and then come out and tell me how they interview?”

Yang Chen: “Isn’t this cheating?”

Zhang Jingmei: “Yes, I know it’s not right. But I’m a person… how should I put it? I’m very introverted and afraid of communicating with people. I’ve interviewed at many companies, and they are all satisfied with my designs, but they are not satisfied with my communication skills. Maybe I’m just a bit socially awkward. I’m worried that this company will encounter the same problem, and I’ll be eliminated because of communication issues. If you go in first and write down their interview content and tell me, I can prepare before my interview. It should be better. Please, brother, if I can’t find a job again, I won’t have enough money to spend.”

Social phobia sounds a bit far-fetched, but some people do have this problem.

If you let them communicate through the Internet and text, they can describe a bizarre world for you, but once they communicate face-to-face, they may not be able to say a word, especially for young people who have just left school; this situation is most common.

If you’re in sales, you really can’t succeed without good communication skills.

But if you’re in design, it doesn’t seem to be a big problem if you can’t communicate, as long as you can design a product that satisfies the customer’s requirements.

Seeing that this young woman was also very pitiful, Yang Chen nodded and replied: “Okay, I’ll go up and see what’s going on first.”

Zhang Jingmei: “Brother Yang, thank you, thank you. If I pass the interview, I’ll buy you a drink.”

Yang Chen: “Haha… Aren’t you quite good at talking?”

Zhang Jingmei: “I don’t know what’s going on. I can talk a lot to some people. But when I talk to some people, I can’t say a word. I think Brother Yang, you are handsome and easy to talk to, so I can communicate with you very well. When I see those people who interview me, I get nervous and then I can’t speak well.”

Yang Chen: “That’s a communication disorder.”