Li Yuhua now considered Chen Pingjiang her prospective son-in-law, and seeing Chen Pingjiang carrying a pile of bags, she said with a smile,
"Child, we have all these things at home. Next time, come empty-handed."
"Those were gifts from others; how could they be the same as gifts from me?"
Chen Pingjiang smiled as he offered Old Yan a cigarette.
Old Yan, understanding implicitly, led Chen Pingjiang to their destination—the balcony.
The two puffed and puffed, exhaling smoke.
"I heard your position is changing after the New Year?"
Chen Pingjiang asked.
Yan Liming looked at Chen Pingjiang with some surprise:
"Your information is quite well-informed, isn't it? But until it's officially announced, it doesn't count."
Chen Pingjiang just smiled,
"As long as it's not announced, my headquarters building won't break ground."
Even though Yan Liming knew Chen Pingjiang was saying it for him to hear, he still greatly appreciated it, and he smiled, nodding at Chen Pingjiang in the air.
At noon, the father-in-law and son-in-law drank heartily, finishing nearly two jin of baijiu between them, truly getting drunk.
If it were anyone else, Li Yuhua would probably be scolding them relentlessly.
Yan Yan sat by obediently pouring wine back and forth for Yan Liming and Chen Pingjiang; even when Chen Pingjiang clearly said he would do it himself, she refused.
After drinking too much, Chen Pingjiang and Yan Liming each returned to their rooms and lay on their beds, groaning.
They woke up from their sleep around three o'clock.
Chen Pingjiang opened his eyes to see Yan Yan quietly leaning against the headboard, reading finance-related books.
The fragrant quilt and Yan Yan's body scent made Chen Pingjiang feel very peaceful.
He moved his body and snuggled into Yan Yan's arms.
"You're awake? Do you want some water?"
"Mm, a little, I am a bit thirsty."
Yan Yan shuffled in her slippers and quickly ran to the living room to pour a glass of water.
"Where should we go in the afternoon?"
"Aren't you busy this afternoon?"
Yan Yan asked, but her eyes curved into crescents.
"What is being busy compared to spending time with you?"
Chen Pingjiang asked with a smile,
"How about watching a movie? 'Assembly', 'The Warlords', 'CJ7', or 'Kung Fu Dunk'?"
Yan Yan was truly easy to please; even such simple romantic words, which barely counted as endearments, made her beam with joy.
"'CJ7' then."
"You're not watching Takeshi Kaneshiro or Jay Chou?"
"No, watching you is enough."
"Oh my, is this still the cool and aloof Yan Yan I know?"
Chen Pingjiang put on a surprised expression, making Yan Yan blush deeply.
Chen Pingjiang lay on Yan Yan's lap, chatting idly.
Even through a pair of coral fleece pajama bottoms, he could feel Yan Yan's well-proportioned, slender thighs.
Meanwhile, Yan Yan slowly massaged Chen Pingjiang's temples to help him sober up.
In the evening, the two took a taxi to watch a movie and had dinner.
......
Although the New Year hadn't fully passed, Chen Pingjiang had already entered work mode and was busy.
After the holiday, Renren.com held a shareholders' meeting.
"The company's board of directors proposed a list of candidates and submitted their resumes and professional background information to the shareholders' meeting. The shareholders then reviewed and voted on the candidates. Li Xi, President of Renren.com Business Group, and Tian Hongrui, President of Renren Games Business Group, became new board members."
"The shareholders' meeting approved the increase in board members through voting. The election results for the board members will take effect immediately after the meeting and relevant departments and board members will be notified."
Right at the start of the year, a bombshell exploded within Renren.com.
The "Resolution on the Shareholders' Meeting Decision to Increase Board Members" was distributed to all company departments in both paper document and intranet formats.
Although it was a shareholders' meeting, it was essentially shaped by Chen Pingjiang; he could mold it however he wished.
The appointments were all predetermined.
Both Li Xi and Tian Hongrui had, to some extent, proven their capabilities.
Although to most outsiders, their achievements seemed to be gained by Chen Pingjiang setting up the framework, and they merely reaped the benefits.
Investor representatives had not yet expressed opposition, and Renren.com's internal team was also very supportive, but external rumors and discussions were rife.
Both within and outside the industry, there were widespread doubts about whether Li Xi could manage the position of President of Renren.com Business Group.
Unlike Tian Hongrui, he was simply too young, his resume wasn't solid enough, and he was promoted purely because he was Chen Pingjiang's direct subordinate.
In this promotion, Li Xi also had the "acting" title removed from his former president position.
In response, Chen Pingjiang released a statement through certain channels.
"Renren.com itself is a young team. As one of the core members of Renren.com's founding team, Li Xi has long proven his capabilities through experience in various work positions. If we're talking about youth, I'm also very young, does that mean I'm also unsuitable to lead Renren.com?"
Chen Pingjiang's endorsement made this personnel appointment final.
Li Xi had never imagined achieving what he had today.
When Chen Pingjiang hinted at it beforehand, his jaw nearly dropped.
He was both awe-struck and so excited he almost cried.
Chen Pingjiang was undoubtedly his benefactor in life.
In just a year and a half, Li Xi had long shed his youthful innocence and naivety as a student, becoming more capable and decisive.
His salary and bonuses last year exceeded 200,000, which greatly improved the impoverished life of Li Xi's family.
The entire family had already moved out of Shanghe Village and bought a brand new four-bedroom, one-living room apartment in Changqing City.
This was a leap in class!
His younger siblings no longer had to walk dozens of li to school, entering bright and spacious classrooms.
His parents no longer needed to hunch over to toil in the yellow soil, and were currently running a snack shop in Changqing City.
As for himself, he had transformed from a rural student doing odd jobs into an executive at a major internet company.
Everything felt like a dream.
If this was truly a dream, he hoped never to wake up.
Such a leap in class was incredibly difficult, requiring not only strength but also luck and the help of a benefactor.
Chen Pingjiang was Li Xi's benefactor.
Without Chen Pingjiang, Li Xi knew that as a college graduate from a second-tier university, at best he would find an ordinary job after graduation, earning two to three thousand a month, living a muddled existence, and buying a house or even moving his parents and younger siblings out of the countryside would be completely unrealistic.
Chen Pingjiang looked at Li Xi, who was visibly moved, and just smiled, patting his shoulder encouragement:
"Your efforts deserve such rewards, but it seems it's not enough yet. There are still people outside who doubt you. All you can do is defeat all doubts with your work achievements. This is not only for your reputation but also the only way to prove my judgment."
Li Xi nodded vigorously, his eyes a little red,
"Boss, I will work hard."
Li Xi's promotion, besides his own diligence, was also inextricably linked to Renren.com's internal power structure.
Tian Hongrui was a professional manager brought in from outside, and as DNF grew increasingly popular, a promotion and raise were well-deserved.
At this point, another person had to be promoted from the founding team, both as a check and balance and to convey a message to everyone in the company: those who follow Chen Pingjiang to build this empire will be greatly valued, regardless of their education, background, or work experience.
This was extremely important.
If only Tian Hongrui were promoted, there would definitely be more dissenting opinions.
The selection of senior company executives essentially follows two models: 'internal promotion' and 'external recruitment'.
To put it simply, the former are 'natives', and the latter are 'parachuters'.
The advantage of 'parachuters' is that for an outsider to establish an industry enterprise, directly poaching executives becomes the fastest method.
Tian Hongrui was such a case.
However, external recruitment also carries risks.
'Parachuters' may face difficulties adapting to the environment and may not have a strong sense of belonging.
Natives, on the other hand, have an appropriate progression and alignment with the founder in terms of personal ability, management style, and understanding of company culture.
For example, Alibaba has both 'parachuting' experts like Cai Chongxin, and Tong Wenhong, who used to be a receptionist and later became the group's Chief Human Resources Officer and Chairperson of Cainiao Network.
Just as Chen Pingjiang was pondering, Wan Yuqian knocked on the door and entered the office with a man in his mid-twenties.
"Li Fu, this is CEO Chen. From now on, you will be responsible for Chairman Chen's safety and also be his driver."
As the group's Chief Human Resources Officer, Wan Yuqian consolidated opinions from all sides and ultimately chose Li Fu, a military veteran, for Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang looked at Li Fu's sharp and dark-tanned appearance, and asked curiously,
"Which unit were you originally from?"
Unexpectedly, Li Fu shook his head with a straight face,
"Sorry, Chairman Chen, that's classified."
Chen Pingjiang nodded, roughly understanding Li Fu's background.
Special forces soldiers in China are required to sign confidentiality agreements upon retirement.
Typically, the declassification period for general personnel involved in classified matters is 1-2 years, for important personnel it is 2-3 years, for core personnel it is 3-5 years, and some even longer.
Wan Yuqian then added,
"Due to Li Fu's special personal circumstances, if he needs to travel abroad during his confidentiality period, the company will need to vouch for him and apply in advance. You need to be aware of this."
"Mm, I have no objections. You can arrange the other tasks."
As mentioned before, at Chen Pingjiang's position, it was very necessary to have a driver and bodyguards.
This was being responsible to the company and its investors, not just what others might call showing off.
To give a distant example, Yu Minhong was kidnapped in 1998, and became the sole survivor due to sheer luck.
More recently, after Youzu's founder Lin Qi was poisoned, the company's stock price plummeted.
These are all grim historical facts.
With a driver, Chen Pingjiang's car also needed to be replaced.
The company specially customized a Maybach 57S as Chen Pingjiang's daily vehicle.
Wan Yuqian had actually asked Chen Pingjiang for his opinion on whether he wanted a Rolls-Royce.
However, Chen Pingjiang quickly shook his head.
"Who drives a Rolls-Royce these days? Later generations of various internet celebrities would each have one, directly lowering the car's prestige."
In addition, a GL8 van modified to the teeth was also provided.
From a certain perspective, Chen Pingjiang had thus completed a full transformation of his identity.
After leaving Chen Pingjiang's office, Wan Yuqian very solemnly instructed Li Fu:
"Before every trip, you must thoroughly inspect the vehicle. Absolutely no drinking! This is a fuel card; when the balance is low, report to the administration department for timely top-up. Do not pay for fuel with cash. Keep daily records of all activities. Also, remember not to drive while fatigued. Chairman Chen's safety is now in your hands."
Li Fu immediately stood with his legs together and saluted,
"Please rest assured, Leader!"
(End of Chapter)