How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 700

## Wang Nianming Exposes Yang Chen’s Identity: What’s Wrong with a Ride-Hailing Driver Having Some Money?

Yang Chen got up to order food and asked, “Big brothers, what is this ‘Cabbage Run’ you’re talking about?”

“It’s Baidu’s self-driving cars, all using new energy vehicles and without drivers. The cost is reduced to the extreme, and the price is more than half cheaper than ours.”

“It’s not just that. They’re also giving out coupons to grab market share. A ride that costs more than 30 yuan only costs a little over 4 yuan. How can we possibly have any business? Customers are all taking their cars.”

“Foreign tech companies are researching how to go to space, while our tech companies are focused on snatching pennies from the bottom of society. Why is there such a big difference?”

…

Yang Chen thought about it carefully. Recently, when driving, he seemed to see cars with ‘Cabbage Run’ painted on them. So, they are self-driving cars launched by Baidu Group.

One of the drivers was right. Technological progress is a good thing, but it also depends on the actual situation. Millions of drivers across the country need to make a living. Introducing self-driving ride-hailing cars at this time is obviously inappropriate.

If they really want to do it, they should wait more than ten years, until the country truly achieves industrial upgrading and there are more job opportunities for ordinary people. That would be really appropriate.

First, there were Alibaba and Meituan and other big groups snatching pennies from vegetable vendors, and now there’s Baidu Group snatching pennies from drivers. These tech companies in Dragon Country [a common, somewhat nationalistic nickname for China] are indeed a bit too eager.

However, it is indeed a good thing for ordinary consumers. That’s true.

It’s just that the national level should consider things more comprehensively. The consequences of so many people losing their jobs are very serious. If people can’t even eat, even the most honest people will become dishonest.

Yang Chen nodded and comforted them, “You don’t need to worry so much. Just do what you need to do. According to reliable sources, the government will introduce policies tomorrow to restrict the use of these self-driving taxis. Don’t hinder other people’s travel in order to fight for your own rights.”

The group of drivers looked at Yang Chen in surprise, carefully sizing him up.

“Brother, where did you hear the news that the government is going to restrict Cabbage Run?”

“Yeah! Is the news reliable? We all depend on this for a living. Brother, don’t make fun of us.”

“Brother, what do you do? Have you really heard that the Cabbage Run is going to be canceled?”

…

Yang Chen smiled and pointed to the car not far away, saying, “I’m in the same business as you. I’m a Didi driver [Didi is a popular ride-hailing app in China]. So, I wouldn’t lie to you. Believe me. Otherwise, how could I be in the mood to come here for barbecue? I’d be as anxious as you guys.”

Hearing what Yang Chen said, the drivers instantly smiled happily.

“Brother, we believe you. We’ll go back after we finish the barbecue.”

“I knew the government couldn’t ignore our survival.”

“Haha… Finally, I can relax. I haven’t smiled for many days. The monthly mortgage, parents’ retirement, children’s schooling, it’s all 压的我喘不过来气 [yā de wǒ chuǎn bù guò lái qì – pressing down on me so I can’t breathe, meaning overwhelming]. If I really can’t get any orders, I might not have the courage to live on. I can’t stand the longing in my family’s eyes. That would be more painful than killing me.”

…

Yang Chen smiled and nodded, then went back and sat down.

Zhuo Wenjun whispered, “Brother Chen, are you going to help them? That Baidu Group is such a big company, will they listen to you? Capital has always been ruthless. They don’t care whether these drivers can eat or not.”

Yang Chen said with a smile, “You’re right, but I’m the second largest shareholder of Baidu Group. If I want them to withdraw these cars, they have to withdraw them. Some money can be made, and some money can’t be made. In the current economic environment, snatching drivers’ livelihoods is obviously inappropriate. If Baidu Group’s autonomous driving is really good, they can cooperate with car companies to develop an assisted driving system. When the country completes its industrial upgrading, the economic situation improves, and there are enough jobs to accommodate these drivers to switch careers, then launching self-driving taxis would be perfect.”

Zhuo Wenjun said with a look of admiration, “Brother Chen, you’re actually a major shareholder of Baidu Group. You’re so amazing. How many companies’ shares do you have? I feel like you have shares in every big company I can name.”

“There’s no way around it. There’s too much money to spend, so I have to buy, buy, buy everywhere. I accidentally bought shares in many companies. Do you have any favorite companies or brands? I’ll buy them for you, and you can be the chairman of the company. How about that?” Yang Chen said with a smile.

Zhuo Wenjun covered her mouth and laughed happily. Then she waved her hand and said, “No, no, I don’t have the ability to be a chairman. Don’t even mention managing a company. Even if you let me manage a small shop, I wouldn’t be able to manage it well. I’m only suitable for doing handicrafts, where I don’t need to use my brain to think too much. That kind of work is the most suitable for me.”

As the two were chatting, hundreds of drivers walked over in a mighty manner. They surrounded Yang Chen, and the scene looked tense. The bodyguards responsible for protecting Yang Chen quickly squeezed in, protecting Yang Chen and Zhuo Wenjun in the middle.

The drivers were dumbfounded when they saw this scene. Is this a ride-hailing driver?

Which ride-hailing driver goes out with bodyguards?

“No, brother, are you really a Didi driver?”

“How could a driver go out with bodyguards? You must be a young master from some wealthy family.”

“If you’re a rich second generation, just be one. Why did you have to lie to us?”

“In the end, it was all for nothing. I knew capital couldn’t be so kind. Alas, it turns out a rich second generation was making fun of our sadness.”

“I just passed on your words to the brothers, and everyone came over to confirm the news with you, but you’re a rich second generation. Sigh…”

…

Yang Chen was very speechless and explained helplessly, “I won’t explain anything else. I’ll just say one thing: I will definitely fulfill what I said to everyone.”

Fulfill?

One driver asked, “Does that mean you didn’t actually know that Baidu Group was going to recall Cabbage Run? Was it really just you making it up?”

Another driver said, “That’s definitely not what he meant. This brother means that he has the ability to make Baidu Group recall Cabbage Run, and he will definitely fulfill what he said. Your understanding is too poor. You probably can’t even understand the navigation.”

“Haha…” Everyone laughed.

That driver was still a little unconvinced and said, “Stop it. How could someone who can order Baidu Group to do things be eating at a roadside stall? It would have to be a five-star hotel, with a Michelin three-star chef in charge. That’s the only thing that would be worthy of their status.”

Another driver said, “You get tired of eating delicacies all the time, so it’s normal to change your taste once in a while. Look at Wang Nianming, he often takes girls to eat at roadside stalls. For us ordinary people, this is daily life, but for rich people, eating at roadside stalls is called being down-to-earth. You just don’t understand.”

“Haha…” Everyone laughed again, and this time Yang Chen also laughed.

The world is so wonderful. Poor people eat at roadside stalls because they are poor, and rich people eat at roadside stalls and have to invent a term called being down-to-earth. It’s like some girls who date rich people don’t care how much money the other person has, they just purely talk about feelings, but when they date ordinary people, the first thing they consider is whether the other person has money. The same thing is treated completely differently for poor people and rich people.

Yang Chen didn’t want to explain too much and let them talk about it as they pleased.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, “Damn, speak of the devil.”

Everyone looked in the same direction, and Wang Nianming was walking over with a delicate little girl in his arms.

His aesthetic hasn’t changed; he still likes internet celebrity faces, and he still maintains the frequency of changing to a new girlfriend every two or three months.

“Young Master Wang, out to be down-to-earth again?”

“Haha…”

“There’s a rich man here who’s just as down-to-earth as you, and he can supposedly order Baidu Group to do things.”

“Haha…” “His ride is a JAC ride-hailing car [JAC is a Chinese automobile manufacturer].”

“Haha…”

Wang Nianming didn’t plan to pay attention to these people, but when he heard about the JAC ride-hailing car, he immediately perked up. He asked with a smile, “Where is it?”

Some drivers pointed to Yang Chen, who was surrounded, and some drivers pointed to the JAC Didi car parked not far away.

Wang Nianming took a closer look at the license plate number and immediately smiled with delight.

“Brother Chen, it’s you!” Wang Nianming shouted loudly and signaled the drivers to make way.

The drivers were still laughing and joking, but when they saw Wang Nianming excitedly shouting “Brother Chen,” their expressions immediately became serious. Seeing Wang Nianming’s change in expression, could it be that the guy who claimed he could order Baidu Group to recall Cabbage Run was really a big tycoon?

Wang Nianming pushed through the crowd and finally squeezed in front of Yang Chen. Yang Chen didn’t get up but just smiled and invited him to sit down.

“Brother Chen, why are you eating at this kind of roadside stall? Are you trying to learn from me and be down-to-earth?” Wang Nianming said with a smile.

“Down-to-earth my ass, I just happened to be passing by. It’s been a long time since I ate this, so I came down to taste it,” Yang Chen said.

Wang Nianming quickly said to his female companion, “Xiao An, quickly say hello to Brother Chen.”

The little girlfriend next to him had almost never seen Wang Nianming be so “humble” to someone of the same age. As a smart girl, she immediately knew that Yang Chen’s identity was not simple.

“Hello, Brother Chen, my name is Chen Ya’an, and I’m very happy to meet you,” Chen Ya’an said very politely.

Yang Chen nodded with a smile and said, “Do you want to eat barbecue? Sit down and eat together.”

Chen Ya’an looked at Wang Nianming, and Wang Nianming said with a smile, “Brother Chen told you to sit, so sit down. Thank you, Brother Chen.”

Chen Ya’an nodded and said, “Thank you, Brother Chen.”

This made the surrounding drivers even more confused. Who exactly is this guy who drives a Didi ride-hailing car with bodyguards?

Wang Nianming’s attitude can’t be described as polite; it’s simply humble.

“Young Master Wang, who is this big brother?”

“He said he’s a ride-hailing driver, but he doesn’t look like one. Which ride-hailing driver goes out with bodyguards?”

“Most importantly, how could a ride-hailing driver have such an ethereal girlfriend?”

“Haha…”

…

Wang Nianming asked, “Why are you asking so many questions? Why aren’t you out driving, and instead you’re all here eating barbecue?”

The drivers immediately complained to Wang Nianming and explained the purpose of their gathering here.

Wang Nianming nodded and said, “Oh, so that’s how it is. Actually, I also look down on Baidu Group. Others develop self-driving technology to use on cars, but they research self-driving to compete for the money that millions of drivers use to support their families. Such a big company has no sense of social responsibility at all. It’s really lacking in vision.”

“Now is indeed not the time to launch self-driving ride-hailing cars. We should wait a little longer. Everyone, go home. It’s not right for you to block other people’s passage. I guarantee that Baidu Group will soon recall Cabbage Run and will not compete with you for the ride-hailing and taxi market,” Yang Chen said.

The driver who had been questioning Yang Chen said, “Is what you’re saying true? What exactly is your identity? Can you really order Baidu Group to do things?”

Wang Nianming immediately scolded, “Why are you talking so much nonsense? You really don’t know what’s good for you. If Brother Chen says he can, then he definitely can. Would he be here teasing you in the middle of the night for no reason?”

The drivers quickly said nice things.

“Young Master Wang, don’t be angry, and this brother, don’t be angry either. We just want to confirm; these days have really been too depressing.”

“Yes, yes, yes, we’re just confirming, so we can sleep well tonight. We haven’t been eating well or sleeping well these days, and our bodies can’t take it anymore.”

“We’re just asking for peace of mind; we don’t mean anything else.”

…

Wang Nianming said with a smile, “Then you have to listen carefully. The person sitting in front of you is Yang Chen, the boss of the Star Chen Group. If he says Baidu Group will recall these cars, then Baidu Group will definitely recall them. You can rest assured; now go home and drive home to sleep, eat and drink, and wait to see the news.”

There was a burst of exclamations at the scene, and the drivers quickly took out their phones to take pictures of Yang Chen.

“Ah! He’s the boss Yang of the Star Chen Group!”

“Oh my god, no wonder even Young Master Wang is so humble to him. Now everything makes sense. Driving a Didi ride-hailing car with bodyguards, that’s right, the legendary Boss Yang is like that.”

“Okay, I can finally rest assured. Boss Yang is helping us, so we’re all saved.”

“Boss Yang, please, you must help me.”

“Thank you, Boss Yang, I wish Boss Yang a long life.”

…

Yang Chen gave Wang Nianming a helpless look, and Wang Nianming immediately smiled guiltily and explained, “Brother Chen, don’t mind; I just wanted them to leave quickly so they wouldn’t disturb our chat or obstruct traffic.”

Yang Chen said with a smile, “Okay, I understand. Everyone, go back. Tomorrow I will go to Baidu Group headquarters to understand the situation and definitely make them recall Cabbage Run. Everyone, rest assured; go home and get some rest.”

The drivers thanked Yang Chen one after another and quickly dispersed.

Wang Nianming said with a smile, “Wow, I suddenly feel that the air is much fresher. It was all the smell of sweat just now.”

“You don’t go to high-end places, but you come here to suffer. Sometimes I even suspect that you’re deliberately showing your face from time to time to avoid losing your popularity,” Yang Chen joked.

Wang Nianming laughed and said, “Brother Chen, don’t expose me. I still have to show my face occasionally to boost my popularity. I don’t need popularity to eat, but my girlfriend does.”

“Haha… That’s frank enough; have a kidney to replenish yourself [a common Chinese saying implying to take something that enhances virility], don’t let your sister-in-law be dissatisfied with you,” Yang Chen continued to joke.

“Haha… Do I need it? My body doesn’t need it at all,” Wang Nianming said with a smile.

The little girlfriend next to him also had her eyes opened. In the past, she always saw Wang Nianming teasing others, but now she actually saw others teasing Wang Nianming, and Wang Nianming not only wasn’t angry but also smiled along with him.

There are mountains beyond mountains, and there are people beyond people. This is absolutely true.