How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 329

The Time Has Come to Exercise Shareholder Power in Mercedes-Benz Group—What’s Wrong with a Ride-Hailing Driver Having Some Money? (1)

Chapter 329: The Time Has Come to Exercise Shareholder Power in Mercedes-Benz Group

Ye Hua was furious and immediately asked, “Ride-hailing driver? Are you kidding me? So many of you can’t handle a few ride-hailing drivers? Are you just freeloading?”

Zhang Qing quickly replied, “Brother Hua, it’s not our fault. A ride-hailing driver named Yang Chen brought five burly bodyguards, and we couldn’t beat them. Moreover, that Yang Chen is especially powerful; even Zhang Lijun has to call him Brother Chen. Brother Hua, do you think we can handle that?”

As soon as Ye Hua heard the name Yang Chen, he understood, saying, “So it’s Yang Chen! He’s launching an attack on our Ye family. You guys go back first and behave yourselves. Wait for my orders. Rest assured, the losses you suffered today will be repaid a hundredfold, a thousandfold in the future.”

Zhang Qing nodded and turned to leave.

Ye Hua urgently returned to the Ye family compound and found his grandfather, Ye Kaien.

“Grandfather, my men just reported that Yang Chen swept their establishments, injured more than a dozen of them, and extorted 500,000 yuan [approximately $70,000 USD]. It seems he’s officially declaring war on the Ye family. He’s trying to probe the Ye family’s reaction by attacking us. If we don’t respond adequately, he’ll definitely become more and more excessive, and we’ll be finished first. Grandfather, you need to discuss countermeasures with Great-Grandfather and the others quickly,” Ye Hua said.

Ye Kaien: “Is that so? It seems Yang Chen is indeed trying to attack from our side to gauge the Ye family’s reaction. If the Ye family doesn’t react strongly, he’ll eat us away bit by bit. He wants to use a slow, incremental strategy. Heh…”

Ye Hua: “Grandfather, we have to find a way to deal with it. Yang Chen dared to break two of Ye Xuan’s ribs; who knows, he might cripple me one day.”

Ye Kaien: “Haha… Ye Xuan deserved to have his ribs broken; who told him to try to sleep with someone else’s girlfriend? You don’t need to be too afraid. Yang Chen is just testing the waters now and doesn’t dare to really attack our Ye family directly. You need to act tough. The weaker you are, the more he’ll take advantage. Tomorrow, I’ll ask my eldest brother to see how his preparations are going.”

Ye Hua nodded, saying, “Okay! I’m going back to sleep. Grandfather, you should sleep early too. Good night.”

Ye Kaien nodded, seeing his grandson out.

The next morning, Ye Kaien took the opportunity to greet his eldest brother and told him about what happened last night.

Ye Kaiguo’s eyes were full of murderous intent as he comforted him, “Tell Hua to be patient for a few days. I’m already contacting people. Yang Chen is quite strong, so we must strike decisively and not give him any chance to resist. First, suppress all the forces he controls, and then we’ll mobilize all our strength to make him disappear as quickly as possible. If we confront him head-on now, his Aegis Security Group will be too much of a hindrance.”

Ye Kaien: “Yes. I also told Hua to be patient. However, if we don’t give any response, will Yang Chen think we’re afraid of him and take advantage of us even more?”

Ye Kaiguo was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Temporary forbearance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t resist at all. When it’s time to show the Ye family’s might, you must bravely draw your sword, but be careful to control the extent so as not to disrupt my plan.”

Ye Kaien: “Okay, I understand. Are you going for a walk?”

Ye Kaiguo: “Hahaha… Let’s go, let’s go for a walk.”

…

Yang Chen had just finished breakfast when Yang Zhen called.

“Good morning, President Yang. Today is the premiere of ‘Lost and Found.’ Andy Lau will be at Yida Cinema to meet with the media and the audience. Will you be attending?” Yang Zhen asked.

Yang Chen quickly shook his head and replied, “No, I won’t.”

Yang Zhen: “Oh, okay. By the way, Andy Lau also asked me for help. He originally booked the Jing’an Sports Center for his New Year’s Eve concert, but the Jing’an Sports Center notified him a few days ago that the Shanghai TV station would be holding an official gala there, and all other commercial performances had to be canceled. However, Andy Lau had already sold the tickets in bulk to the ticketing company, and the ticketing company had already sold more than 10,000 tickets. Canceling his concert at this time will definitely cause a series of troubles. Because it’s a tour, he’ll have to go to other cities after this one, and he won’t have time to make up for it in the next year. So, he hopes we can pull some strings to find him a venue that can accommodate about 15,000 people.”

Yang Chen: “Did our company invest in his concert?”

Yang Zhen: “Yes, we hold 25% of the shares.”

Yang Chen: “What about the Mercedes-Benz Arena? It can accommodate 18,000 people, which should meet his requirements.”

Yang Zhen: “I asked, but they’re also holding an event on the 31st, it seems to be a concert. Mainly for foreigners in China and some so-called refined people.”

To hold a concert in a venue that can accommodate more than 10,000 people, only the Jing’an Sports Center and the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the entire Shanghai can meet the requirements.

Yang Chen: “Okay! I understand. Tell Andy Lau to come see me after he finishes tonight, and I’ll talk to him about the venue in person.”

Yang Zhen: “Okay.”

…

Yang Chen drove out to work. Not far from the entrance of the residential area, Zhao Chunxue sent him a message.

“Dear Brother, are you free tonight? Can you pick me up? I’m going to a dinner party tonight, and I’m worried about danger.”

Yang Chen replied, “You already foresee danger, why are you still going? Why don’t you ask your dad to pick you up?”

Zhao Chunxue replied, “I joined Legendary Model Agency. The agent arranged a job for me to represent Mercedes-Benz on Sunday. The agent called and said that all the models participating in the event have to go to the private room 305 of the Binhai Hotel for a dinner party tonight. I want to take this job, can I not attend? If my dad finds out that I’m a model and have to attend dinner parties, he’ll definitely stop me. According to his plan, I should study hard, graduate, and then be cultivated in the company. But everyone has their own ideas. I think being a model is interesting. What if I become a supermodel? It won’t be too late to retire and join the company when I’m almost thirty. That way, my life will be more exciting. Don’t you think so? Good brother, please come pick me up. I’ll allow you to make a not-too-excessive request as a thank you. Okay?”

Yang Chen replied, “Then you really have no chance.”

Yang Chen looked at the man wearing glasses, who was Zhang Yongjun, the CEO of Zhongxing Mercedes-Benz Co., Ltd., as Huang Li said.

Zhongxing Mercedes-Benz Co., Ltd. is Mercedes-Benz’s partner in China and also the largest dealer.

Mercedes-Benz has a total of 120 dealers in China, of which Zhongxing Mercedes-Benz Co., Ltd. accounts for 45% of sales. Many dealers even have to get goods from Zhongxing Mercedes-Benz Co., Ltd.

Why is Zhongxing Mercedes-Benz so awesome?

The equity distribution of Mercedes-Benz China Group is 51% held by Mercedes-Benz Group and 49% held by Zhongxing Group. This is the reason why Zhongxing Mercedes-Benz Co., Ltd. is so awesome.

In the 1960s, Zhongxing Group purchased dozens of cars from Mercedes-Benz Group, becoming Mercedes-Benz’s largest customer in Asia. Since then, Zhongxing Group has become a loyal partner of Mercedes-Benz in expanding its territory in China and even Asia.

The two complement each other. Mercedes-Benz relies on the sales channels developed by Zhongxing Group to make a lot of money in China, and Zhongxing Group also relies on Mercedes-Benz to successfully list in Hong Kong and use it as a springboard to represent local automobile brand dealerships in South Korea, Singapore, and other countries.

Three years ago, Zhongxing Group successfully privatized and delisted from the Hong Kong stock market. Now it is intensively absorbing shareholders to prepare for listing on the A-share market in China.

The Ye family group is one of the main shareholders absorbed recently.

Yang Chen: “President Zhang, are you using your position to prepare to have unspoken rules [a euphemism for sexual favors] with these girls? You have a big appetite, wanting six at once? Can your little body handle it?”

Zhang Yongjun: “Don’t talk nonsense, we’re just having a drink, nothing like what you said. President Huang, I think we’ll stop here today, I’ll leave first.”

After speaking, Zhang Yongjun got up and left.

Huang Li quickly got up and tried to persuade him to stay, but failed.

This made him very angry, pointing at Yang Chen and saying, “Kid, are you deliberately causing trouble? If you have the guts, tell me your name, and see how I deal with you.”

Yang Chen: “Yang Chen!”

Huang Li: “What do you do? Where do you work?”

Yang Chen: “Ride-hailing driver, also work part-time as a delivery driver, and occasionally do some investing.”

Huang Li: “Damn! I thought you were some amazing person. So you’re just a ride-hailing driver! How dare a ride-hailing driver like you do this? All of you listen up, if you want to continue working part-time as models, accompanying clients is a must. There are plenty of beautiful and well-figured models out there. If you don’t make the clients happy, why would they use you? If you dare to leave tonight, the company will immediately terminate your contracts, and you’ll have to pay the company 1 million in liquidated damages. If you make President Zhang happy tonight, you’ll continue to have the event on Sunday, and I guarantee that your appearance fees will increase by at least 50%, and you’ll have more job opportunities. Choose carefully!”

Does he mean he’s blatantly asking these girls to sleep with clients?

He’s running this model agency comfortably, taking these models to please clients for free.

In return, the models get a pitiful few thousand yuan, and the model agency gets through all levels of connections.

Tsk tsk tsk…

This is even more pitiful than those streetwalkers.

Zhao Chunxue immediately said, “We’re just working part-time as models, there’s no need to sleep with someone for a part-time job. Sisters, let’s go, there’s no need to give up our dignity for such a job.”

Sister Liu: “Chunxue, don’t be confused! This opportunity is too good for you. You’ll be slept with by your boyfriends anyway, without any benefits. Since you can’t avoid being slept with, what does it matter who sleeps with you? Why not bring some benefits to yourself?”

The other girls were tempted. Sleeping with a boyfriend is still sleeping, and in the end, they might get nothing after graduation and break up, having been slept with for four years for nothing.

According to Sister Liu, since they’re going to be slept with anyway, why not exchange it for a better possibility for their future?

So, those girls sat down again.

Once a woman figures it out, she can be terrifying, and she’ll have no bottom line in doing anything.

Zhao Chunxue was stunned, saying, “Are you guys okay? Didn’t you hear what he meant? He wants to use you to please that President Zhang! Just for a few thousand yuan in appearance fees, it’s not worth it, right?”

Those girls lowered their heads and didn’t speak. They knew it wasn’t good to do this, but they were willing to.

Yang Chen didn’t want to change the world, but as long as he encountered it, he would definitely change this immoral rule within his ability.

“Legendary Model Agency, right? I’ve remembered you!” Yang Chen said.

Huang Li: “Haha… What are you? What can you do even if you remember us? As long as they serve President Zhang well, all of Mercedes-Benz’s events will use our company’s models in the future, and each of their job opportunities will increase. What can you do even if you remember us?”

Yang Chen: “Oh? Is that so? Who can say what will happen in the future.”

After speaking, Yang Chen hugged Zhao Chunxue and left.

Zhao Chunxue: “Brother, why aren’t they leaving? For a few thousand yuan, they’re selling their souls and bodies like this? Sleeping with a boyfriend is because of love, mutual affection, and naturalness. Sleeping with that President Zhang is selling their souls and bodies, how can that be the same? Why did they sit down?”

Yang Chen: “How should I put it? You were born in Rome, while others were born in the countryside. To go to Rome, they must pay a price that ordinary people can’t imagine. For you, it’s just a matter of a few thousand yuan, but for them, it may really be an opportunity. If you can’t make it, you can go home and inherit the family property. If they can’t make it, they can only ask their future husbands for more dowry.”

Yang Chen threw Zhao Chunxue into the car, saying, “Where are you going now? Home or school?”

Zhao Chunxue: “You decide, anywhere is fine.”

Yang Chen: “Then I’ll take you home.”

Zhao Chunxue was stunned, enduring her dizziness, she sat up and said, “Brother, did I hear you right? You’re taking me home? I’m drunk now. You said you’re taking me home?”

Yang Chen: “Otherwise? Precisely because you’re drunk, taking you home is the safest thing to do.”

Zhao Chunxue: “Shouldn’t you have some thoughts about me at this time? That’s what a normal man should do.”

Yang Chen fastened his seat belt, turned his head to look at her, and replied, “Little brat, why do I feel like you’re plotting against me?”

Zhao Chunxue: “Big brother, I think you’re abnormal! As long as it’s a normal man, when a girl is drunk, he’ll try to take advantage of her, or even just do her. You’re too insulting, actually wanting to take me home!”

Damn, women are really hard to deal with.

If you take advantage, you’re worried she’ll call the police.

If you don’t take advantage, she thinks you’re insulting her.

Tsk tsk tsk…

Hard to deal with.

At this time, Andy Lau called Yang Chen.

“President Yang, I’m done here, where are you now? I’ll come find you,” Andy Lau said.

Yang Chen: “So fast? I’m at the Binhai Hotel, I’m driving over now. Wait for me there for a while, I’ll be there in half an hour at most.”

Andy Lau: “Okay! Then I’ll wait for you here. President Yang, drive safely.”

Hanging up the phone, Yang Chen quickly drove to Yida Plaza.

“I’m going to Yida Plaza to meet Andy Lau to talk about something. I’ll take you home after I finish my business,” Yang Chen said.

Zhao Chunxue was immediately dumbfounded and quickly asked, “Brother, what did you just say? Who are you meeting? Andy Lau? The Andy Lau who starred in ‘A Moment of Romance’?”

Yang Chen nodded.

Zhao Chunxue excitedly grabbed the front seat and handed a pen to Andy Lau, saying, “Can… Can you give me an autograph? I’ve been watching ‘A Moment of Romance’ recently. My roommates and I have watched it several times. I really like the scene where you ride a motorcycle with the heroine, bleeding from your nose all the way.”

Andy Lau laughed and said, “Thank you, thank you.”

Then he signed his name on Zhao Chunxue’s white down jacket.

Zhao Chunxue was very excited and said, “I won’t wear this piece of clothing anymore, I’m going to collect it.”

Andy Lau laughed.

Yang Chen waved his hand and said, “Go down and wait, I have something to talk about with Andy Lau.”

Zhao Chunxue was stunned, then reluctantly said oh, and got out of the car to wait in the freezing cold wind.

Yang Chen talked to Andy Lau about the concert venue.

The two largest indoor venues in Shanghai are the Jing’an Sports Center and the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center [also known as the Mercedes-Benz Arena].

The Jing’an Sports Center was used by the Shanghai TV station, so only the Mercedes-Benz Center was available.

Andy Lau quickly said, “We asked the Mercedes-Benz Center, and they said that Legendary Entertainment had booked the 31st and 1st. Then we also communicated with Legendary Entertainment, hoping they could transfer the night of the 31st to us. We are willing to pay them the fees for the whole day, but they just don’t want to.”

Yang Chen: “It’s okay, I’ll take care of this matter. Just tell me if the Mercedes-Benz Center can meet your requirements.”

Andy Lau: “Yes! It can accommodate 18,000 people, and with a slight modification of the venue, more than 20,000 people is no problem. In the current market, this scale is acceptable.”

Yang Chen nodded and said, “Okay! You wait for the news, I will definitely get you this venue. Do you want the 31st or the 1st?”

Andy Lau: “Thank you so much, President Yang. If possible, give me both the 31st and before 3 am on the 1st. Later, I will have the ticketing company send President Yang some VIP tickets. President Yang can bring friends to the scene to play when you have time, which can also be regarded as supporting me.”

Yang Chen: “Okay! This is easy to handle. You go back, I won’t send you off.”

Andy Lau smiled and nodded, shook hands with Yang Chen and said goodbye.

Zhao Chunxue, who was shivering from the cold outside, quickly got into the car.

“I’m freezing to death, dizzy and cold! Brother, what did you talk to Andy Lau about?” Zhao Chunxue asked.

Yang Chen: “Andy Lau is going to hold a New Year’s Eve concert, and there was a problem with the venue. I’ll think of a way for him. Let’s go, I’ll take you home.”

Zhao Chunxue: “Oh. You don’t want what’s delivered to your door, I suspect you have erectile dysfunction.”

“Little brat, you can’t talk nonsense about this. Brother told you, brother’s fish pond is full, even if you squeeze in, you have to wait in line. Wait, when brother remembers you, I’ll turn your sign and favor you,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Zhao Chunxue had a sad face, pouting her mouth and looking unconvinced.

Soon, Yang Chen took Zhao Chunxue to the entrance of Tomson Riviera [a luxury residential complex in Shanghai].

“Go to Zhang Sanfeng Law Firm tomorrow to find Zhang Xiang, and let him talk to Legendary Model Agency about terminating the contract. I’ll say hello to Zhang Xiang later, you can go directly to him tomorrow,” Yang Chen said.

Zhao Chunxue: “No way? Zhang Xiang? The Zhang Xiang with more than 30 million fans [likely referring to social media followers]? You even know him?”

Yang Chen: “When you’re out there, how can you not have a decent lawyer.”

Zhao Chunxue: “Damn, Oppa [a Korean term for ‘older brother’ used by females, often used affectionately], you’re a bit awesome! No wonder you don’t like me, you’re too unfathomable.”

“Huh? Shouldn’t unfathomable describe you?” Yang Chen said with a smile, then pinched Zhao Chunxue’s chin and said, “You should say brother is strong and powerful.”

Zhao Chunxue’s face instantly turned red, and she quickly opened the door and ran into the residential area.

Yang Chen smiled, turned a corner and went home.

Back home, Yang Chen called Jin Ming and arranged three tasks for her.

First, use the 15% equity of Mercedes-Benz Group held by Xingchen Investment to order the Mercedes-Benz Center Operations Department to rent the venue from 0:00 on the 31st of this month to 3:00 am on the 1st of next month to Andy Lau for a concert.

Second, use the 15% equity of Mercedes-Benz Group held by Xingchen Investment to order Mercedes-Benz China Group to blacklist Legendary Model Agency, permanently not cooperate with it, and contact Zhao Chunxue to represent Mercedes-Benz Auto Show on Sunday.

Third, Zhang Yongjun, CEO of Mercedes-Benz China Group, must also be immediately dismissed for using his position to seek personal gain and accepting sexual bribes from Legendary Model Agency.

It would be best if Mercedes-Benz China Group cooperates. If they do not cooperate, then, as the largest shareholder, request to convene a shareholders meeting to discuss these issues at the shareholders meeting.

…

The next morning.

Zhang Yongjun, CEO of Mercedes-Benz China, was still enjoying himself in the hotel room when Huang Li, the owner of Legendary Model Agency, rushed in with Zhang Qing and his gang of hooligans.

This scared the girls, and they quickly put on their clothes and ran away.

Zhang Qing and his gang of hooligans looked at the girls putting on their clothes in a panic with a smirk on their faces.

“President Zhang, you’re quite fierce!” Zhang Qing gestured with a knife in front of Zhang Yongjun.

Zhang Yongjun asked in shock, “President Huang, what are you doing?”

Huang Li said angrily, “Zhang Yongjun, you are too unkind! I have given you all the benefits, how can you let Mercedes-Benz China Group send a message to notify us to permanently cancel the cooperation? So you slept with these girls for nothing, ate the food for nothing, and took the money for nothing, right? If you don’t explain things to me clearly today, don’t even think about leaving this room!”

Zhang Yongjun was shocked and said, “Impossible! I haven’t even returned to the company, who gave the order?”

Huang Li: “Still pretending? Look, this is the termination notice from your company. Any affairs under the Mercedes-Benz Group will no longer cooperate with Legendary Model Agency, and it is permanent.”

Zhang Yongjun took the termination notice and looked at it. There was an official seal on it, so there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

“How is this possible? I really don’t know about this. What happened? I’ll call and ask, don’t worry. Okay?” Zhang Yongjun explained, quickly took out his mobile phone and turned it on to call his secretary.

Soon, the call went through.

The secretary whispered, “Hello, President Zhang, why has your phone been turned off all the time? Something big has happened. The largest shareholder suddenly sent two orders to the chairman, clearly requesting him to dismiss you and permanently blacklist Legendary Model Agency. The chairman has agreed to blacklist Legendary Model Agency, and the secretary of the board has sent them a termination notice. Now the chairman is communicating with the representative of the major shareholder by phone, hoping to let you go. However, what the chairman said doesn’t seem very good. The major shareholder doesn’t seem to be willing to give in and must dismiss you. If the chairman disagrees, the major shareholder will request to convene a shareholders meeting to remove you from your position as CEO.”

Zhang Yongjun: “Ah? How could this happen? I didn’t offend Beijing Automotive Group, why are they doing this to me?”

The secretary whispered back: “I just heard the secretary of the board say that the major shareholder has just changed. It is no longer Beijing Automotive Group, but something called Xingchen Investment.”

Zhang Yongjun: “Xingchen Investment? Then I have offended them even less. What’s going on! Wait for the chairman to finish the call, and you immediately notify me, and I will call him to ask what’s going on.”

Secretary: “Okay.”

Hanging up the phone, Zhang Yongjun said to Huang Li: “It’s over, something big has happened. Xingchen Investment, the new major shareholder of Mercedes-Benz Group, suddenly attacked me, demanding that the chairman dismiss me and permanently blacklist your Legendary Model Agency. I’m wondering, I have no intersection with Xingchen Investment, why are they doing this to me?”

Huang Li: “Don’t you understand? They definitely want to get you off the horse and replace you with their people!”

Zhang Yongjun: “That makes sense! Hehe… I am a member of Zhongxing Group, and it is absolutely impossible for him to get me off the horse casually! Damn, I will call Liao, the chairman of Zhongxing Group, now, and he will definitely be able to protect me!”