How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 465

Eating Soft, Taking Short—What’s Wrong with Me, a Ride-Hailing Driver, Having Some Money?

Yang Chen told Zhuo Wenjun to pick out a car, whichever one she liked, without considering the price.

Savoff quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, Miss Zhuo can pick whichever one she likes. I’ll pay for it all to express my apologies to Mr. Yang and Miss Zhuo.”

Zhuo Wenjun wasn’t one to take advantage of others. Savoff only said that because he was afraid of Yang Chen. She wouldn’t really pick an expensive car. In the end, she chose the i3.

Savoff secretly breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Miss Zhuo only picked a car worth just over 200,000 [Chinese Yuan, approximately $28,000 USD].

However, to express his sincerity, Savoff said, a bit disingenuously, “Miss Zhuo, you really don’t need to consider the price. You can choose a higher-end model.”

Zhuo Wenjun smiled and shook her head, saying, “Thank you, I don’t need any other models. I think this one is very good. Just give me a red one.”

Savoff: “Mr. Yang, what do you think?”

Yang Chen: “Since Xiaojun has chosen this one, then this one it is.”

Savoff: “Okay! Then Miss Zhuo, give me an address, and I’ll have someone send a top-of-the-line red one to your home immediately. Or, if you have any other configuration requests, you can make them. As long as the car’s technology can accommodate it, we’ll definitely add it for you.”

Zhuo Wenjun: “Ah? Other configurations? No need. I don’t have high requirements for cars, as long as it has a reversing camera [backup camera].”

Savoff: “Okay, then I’ll send an official top-of-the-line red model to your home.”

Yang Chen: “Have someone send the car to the Yida Huafu underground garage, pick either parking space A35 or A36 in Zone A. Just leave the car keys with the security guard and tell them it’s for Yang Chen.”

Savoff: “Okay, okay. I’ll definitely have someone send it over as soon as possible.”

Yang Chen nodded, put his arm around Savoff, and said softly, “This matter will definitely cause a stir online. You need to be prepared for crisis public relations. If the stock price plummets, headquarters will definitely hold you accountable. As long as you perform well, I can protect you. If you don’t perform well, not only will I not save you, but I will also align with the group to punish you.”

With people lower in rank than himself, he had to use both kindness and power to make them truly submit. This was a classic management tactic.

When Savoff heard that Yang Chen would protect him, he was immediately extremely moved.

“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Yang. I will definitely do a good job in public relations. I will always remember Mr. Yang’s kindness in my heart. In the future, if there is anything I can do, Mr. Yang must tell me to do it, okay?” Savoff said very sincerely.

Yang Chen smiled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, “I understand your intentions, I appreciate it. Hurry back and prepare for public relations, we’re going to eat.”

Savoff: “Okay! Then I’ll go back. Next time I have time, I’ll treat Mr. Yang to a meal.”

Yang Chen: “Okay, go back. We’re leaving too.”

Savoff nodded and quickly left.

Yang Chen put his arm around Zhuo Wenjun and asked, “Want to see more?”

Zhuo Wenjun shook her head and said, “No, I’m hungry, let’s go eat.”

Yang Chen nodded and left the exhibition center with Zhuo Wenjun.

The BMW showroom staff finally dared to breathe loudly.

“Who is he? Even the president of the Dragon Country [China] region is so afraid of him.”

“He’s even more powerful than the president of the Dragon Country region. He must be a senior executive from headquarters.”

“Even an ordinary senior executive from headquarters wouldn’t make the president of the Dragon Country region so afraid. At least it would have to be someone at the president or CEO level. But I haven’t heard of any Dragon Country people serving as president or CEO of BMW headquarters.”

“Comrades, guess what I discovered? The photo of that person just now can’t be uploaded to the internet. Any photo can be uploaded except for his. As long as there’s a photo of him, it can’t be uploaded, and it says the photo violates regulations. What exactly is he? He can even control the entire internet to block personal photos?”

“If he can come out openly, it’s definitely not because he’s breaking the law and being blocked. Then there’s only one possibility, his identity needs to be kept secret, requiring the entire internet to be blocked. In that case, his father must be someone like Mr. Ma [Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba].”

“Why are you randomly assigning fathers to people when you’re just discussing?”

“That’s too much!”

…

At this time, the French business delegation was dining at the state guesthouse.

LVMH Group President Bernard Arnault and Michelin President Michelin were chatting while eating.

Arnault: “Edward, eat less. We’re going to have dinner with Mr. Yang tonight.”

Michelin: “Haha… Don’t worry, I have a good appetite. I can eat a lot tonight too, and I won’t make Mr. Yang think I’m not giving him face.”

Arnault: “Haha… What do you want to talk to him about when you see him?”

Michelin: “Listen to his views on the Michelin Group. Alas… Before I knew it, he acquired 67% of the shares. To be honest, I feel a little ashamed of my ancestors. But what’s done is done, and no one can change the status quo. I hope he’s just a simple investor and won’t interfere with the group’s management.”

Bernard: “You can rest assured about that. He’s been investing in our LVMH Group for almost three years and has never interfered with the company’s operations. However, that may be because I give him enough face, sending him LV [Louis Vuitton] and stuff during festivals. There’s a saying in Dragon Country, ‘Eat soft, take short [accepting gifts makes one amenable to requests].’ I’m someone who deeply understands this truth of human nature, which is why I have a good relationship with him.”

Michelin put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth, and said with great interest, “What does that sentence you just said mean? Explain it to me so I can understand the truth of human nature too.”

Bernard proudly shared his understanding of Dragon Country culture with Michelin. The two Frenchmen were actually talking about Dragon Country culture, which stunned the other business representatives next to them.

However, as they listened, they suddenly felt that what Bernard said made a lot of sense, and they all gathered around to listen carefully.

After lunch, Michelin went to the hotel and met with the factory directors of Michelin’s two factories in Dragon Country.

Haicheng Factory Director Huang Kai, who was Zhang Lin’s brother-in-law who wanted to sleep with Xu Xiaowan.

The factory director of Shencheng Factory is called Gao Peng.

The two quickly reported the situation of the factories to Michelin, focusing on showing off the productivity of their respective factories.

Michelin nodded and affirmed the work performance of the two factory directors.

After discussing official business, Haicheng Factory Director Huang Kai took out two bottles of Romanée-Conti [expensive French wine] to give to Michelin.

Michelin said with a smile, “I just learned a sentence from Bernard from your Dragon Country called ‘Eat soft, take short.’ If I accept your wine, and you ask me to do something, I’ll be embarrassed to refuse. If you make a mistake, I’ll be embarrassed to punish you. No, I can’t accept it.”

Huang Kai laughed and said, “Respected Mr. Michelin, please don’t think too much. I just want to express my respect for you.”

Michelin actually liked Romanée-Conti wine very much and really wanted it.

“Haha… Okay then. I’ll accept it, and I’ll definitely take care of you in the future where I can,” Michelin said with a smile.

Huang Kai quickly put the wine on the table and said, “Thank you, Mr. Michelin. Then I have a private matter here, no, it should also be considered official business, that I want to tell you about.”

Michelin: “What is it? Tell me about it.”

Huang Kai: “This is Zhang Lin, the purchasing manager of our Haicheng Factory. Let him report to you.”

Michelin nodded.

Zhang Lin quickly stepped forward humbly to say hello, and then, with deletions and additions, embellishing the story, he turned his ugly behavior of wanting to sleep with Xu Xiaowan into Yang Chen relying on being the owner of Tang Ge [a restaurant] to not give him face, even after he revealed his identity, Yang Chen still didn’t give him face.

“Not giving me face isn’t really an important matter. He’s the owner of Tang Ge, and I’m just an employee. It’s true that I can’t get face in front of him. But Tang Ge is a Michelin three-star restaurant, and as the owner, he doesn’t give the Michelin Group any face at all, which is a bit too much. His Tang Ge has to rely on our group’s star ratings to sell so expensively, why shouldn’t he give our group face?” Zhang Lin complained.

Michelin: “Oh, I’m going to Tang Ge for dinner tonight. I’ll ask their boss what’s going on then. If it’s really as you said, and he doesn’t give the Michelin Group face, then I’ll take back his star rating.”

Zhang Lin: “Okay, okay. But he’s a very cunning and rogue person. He will definitely quibble and deny it, and even falsely accuse me. Mr. Michelin must be careful to distinguish and not be deceived by him.”

Huang Kai: “Does that need you to say? Mr. Michelin has seen countless people, is experienced, and can tell who is a person and who is a ghost at a glance. How could he be deceived by him?”

Zhang Lin: “Yes, yes, I was overthinking it.”

Michelin: “Hehe… Don’t worry, I will definitely ask clearly. However, I’ll say the ugly things first. If the truth is not as you said, you must bear all the consequences. You must know that negating Tang Ge is equal to negating Michelin’s authority. You better not have deceived me.”

Zhang Lin’s heart trembled, and he immediately became nervous.

However, Huang Kai didn’t know what the truth was. He thought the truth was what his brother-in-law told him.

Therefore, he immediately patted his chest and said to Michelin, “Mr. Michelin, don’t worry, we absolutely didn’t deceive you. If the truth is not like this, we are willing to accept any punishment.”

Zhang Lin subconsciously wanted to stop his brother-in-law from continuing, but the words came to his mouth and then he swallowed them back.

Wouldn’t stopping his brother-in-law at this time be equivalent to indirectly admitting that he was guilty?

Why guilty?

Michelin would definitely think that he was lying.

Now he was riding a tiger and it was difficult to get off [in a difficult situation], so he could only continue riding it with a stiff head.

Michelin: “Okay. Do you have anything else? If not, leave. I want to sleep for a while. I have to attend a symposium this afternoon.”

Huang Kai and others nodded, said goodbye to Michelin, and left the hotel.

Huang Kai chatted with Shencheng Factory Director Gao Peng for a while, and then left with Zhang Lin.

In the hotel room, Michelin looked at the two bottles of red wine that Huang Kai had sent, and a thought suddenly came to his mind. Should he also prepare some gifts for Yang Chen, so that Yang Chen would also “eat soft, take short”?

After all, even Bernard had to send gifts to please Yang Chen, and he had to please the controlling shareholder of the Michelin Group even more.

Michelin originally wanted to open the wine and taste it, but now he could only restrain his desires. He would take these two bottles of wine to give to Yang Chen tonight.

Huang Kai got into the car with his brother-in-law, feeling vaguely uneasy.

After a few seconds of silence, Huang Kai turned around and asked, “Xiaolin, tell me seriously now, did you lie to me? Why do I feel that the owner of Tang Ge is unlikely not to give the Michelin Group face? Doesn’t he know that if he offends the Michelin Group, Tang Ge’s star rating can be revoked at any time?”

Zhang Lin was extremely flustered, but still stubbornly said, “Brother-in-law, don’t you even believe me? Then should I have my sister tell you?”

Huang Kai: “Forget it, what would your sister tell me? She doesn’t know about this either. Let me remind you, if you cause me to lose my position as factory director, you won’t be able to be the manager either. You need to understand this fact.”

After speaking, Huang Kai drove away.

Zhang Lin was extremely flustered. He also vaguely felt that he might have messed up this time and that there might be serious consequences.

But what’s done is done, and he had no way to retreat.

Because there was a symposium to be held at 3:00 PM, and after the symposium, he had to go to Tang Ge for the appointment.

Bernard deeply understood the meaning of “eat soft, take short,” and took advantage of his lunch break to go to SKP [a high-end shopping mall in Beijing] to buy gifts for Yang Chen.

At this time, Yang Chen happened to be passing by SKP with Zhuo Wenjun, so he took her in to buy something.

Yang Chen was very generous to his women, buying them whatever they wanted.

As Yang Chen had said before, even if his money was calculated from the beginning of Pangu creating the world [a Chinese creation myth], living a life of luxury every day, he wouldn’t be able to spend it all by now.

So, why not buy some gifts for his girlfriend from time to time?

If they’re happy, any position is fine, isn’t it?

“Ah Chen, you’re giving me so many things, I feel very uneasy. Do you think I’m only with you because of money?” Zhuo Wenjun asked softly.

Yang Chen: “It’s definitely not because of money, it must be because I’m handsome.”

Zhuo Wenjun chuckled and said, “Actually, I was indeed attracted to your looks at first sight. Now I think you’re not only good-looking, but also very useful.”

Yang Chen: “Uh… what do you mean by useful? Can you explain in detail?”

Zhuo Wenjun patted Yang Chen’s chest and said coquettishly, “I hate you…”

At this moment, someone called Zhuo Wenjun’s name.

“Zhuo Wenjun, what a coincidence!”

Zhuo Wenjun quickly looked up and saw that it was her university classmate Gao Minmin.

Back then, Zhuo Wenjun and Gao Minmin were known as the unparalleled beauties. In terms of appearance, the two were on par, both belonging to the level of beauties who could bring disaster to the country and the people [extremely beautiful].

But!

The two had completely different personalities and temperaments.

Zhuo Wenjun belonged to the type of girl who was as light as a chrysanthemum, a celestial maiden descending to earth, untouched by the mundane world.

Gao Minmin belonged to the type of girl who was arrogant and strong.

The choices the two made in life were also related to their personalities.

Zhuo Wenjun chose to come back to take over the family’s traditional handicraft production work, hardly contacting outsiders.

Gao Minmin went to work as a model, and later developed in the film and television industry. Now she is also a somewhat famous model, a small actor with a familiar face to the audience.

Zhuo Wenjun: “Minmin, what a coincidence, I actually met you here. Didn’t you settle in Hangzhou? Why are you in Beijing?”

Gao Minmin leaned her head on her male companion’s shoulder and said with a happy face, “I came here with my boyfriend on a business trip to handle some matters. Let me introduce you, this is my boyfriend Xu Yang. He is the owner of Ailu Leather Co., Ltd. He came here this time to visit Mr. Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LV Group [Louis Vuitton]. Is this your boyfriend? He’s so handsome, like a celebrity.”

Zhuo Wenjun’s eyes were full of Yang Chen, and she said, “Yes, he is my boyfriend Yang Chen.”

Yang Chen: “Hello, Mr. Xu, hello, Miss Gao.”

Xu Yang: “Hello, Mr. Yang. Where does Mr. Yang work?”

Yang Chen: “Oh, I’m Yang Chen, the owner of Xingchen Investment.”