Chapter 156: That Year's Madman

CCTV is the most important public opinion department in the country, and also a sub-provincial unit. Its security has always been very tight, but on May 5, 2015, several special police vehicles drove into CCTV early in the morning, upgrading the security here to the next level. At

At 9am, several black cars escorted a SUV into CCTV. A middle-aged man in his fifties got out of the car. The CCTV station manager personally greeted him at the door, and the special police, who had been deployed long ago, quickly took up positions at strategic points. This move undoubtedly indicated the man's identity and status.

He went to the designated studio. This time, he was invited to participate in the recording of an interview-type programme. The host in charge of this programme was called Zhang Ling, and she was the most experienced host of CCTV's interview-type programmes. In her nearly 20 years of hosting, she has interviewed many domestic and foreign business and political celebrities, including foreign business tycoons and well-known politicians, and she has even interviewed the heads of state of some countries.

He went on stage after a quick touch-up in the dressing room. Zhang Ling greeted him with a smile, and they sat down together. Zhang Ling began, 'As we all know, with our economic development, many companies in our country have gone global. Many entrepreneurs have been born in these companies, and the gentleman sitting in front of me, Mr Du Peng, is one of them.'

After Zhang Ling's introduction, Du Peng waved to the camera to say hello. Zhang Ling continued, 'Mr Du Peng's Jinpeng Group may not be the best in the country, but it is certainly the most dynamic and enterprising.'

Zhang Ling took out a document and read from it: 'According to the information I have, Jinpeng Group was founded in 1988. At that time, it was just an ordinary company operating entertainment venues. However, after 27 years of development, Jinpeng Group has grown from a small company to a national giant, and its business has also expanded from entertainment and leisure to real estate and finance, with all of them developing very well. There is no other enterprise that has had such a big growth and yet has not encountered any problems. So we cannot help but ask, what exactly is it that has enabled you, Mr. Du Peng, to create such a miracle?'

In response to Zhang Ling's question, Du Peng replied, 'Ms Zhang Ling, I actually think there is a problem with the way you have phrased your question, because the success of the Jinpeng Group is not down to me alone, but to the collective efforts of the 50,000 employees of the Group, whether they are managers or junior staff.'

'It seems that Mr Du Peng is still very humble,' Zhang Ling said. 'However, we know that in the 27 years of development of the Jinpeng Group, you have always been the chairman of the group. I know that you mentioned in an interview with a foreign media outlet not long ago that the success of the group is to give full play to the initiative of each individual as much as possible. Is that right?'

Du Peng nodded and said, 'That's right. Because I remember very well that a great man once said that only people are the real driving force behind history, and that only people are the real creators of all wealth... I agree with this statement very much, and I have also applied it to the management of my company. I believe that in a company, too, only by getting everyone really moving can the vitality of the company be ensured.'

'So Mr Du Peng, is it because you let everyone move that you always say you are only a titular chairman?' Zhang Ling asked.

'That's right. If everyone finishes their work in the group and I have nothing to do, then I will become a titular chairman, don't you think?' Du Peng said with a smile.

'I know that many people advocate a wolf-like corporate culture nowadays, and there is nothing wrong with this in itself. A wolf-like corporate culture can make a company more disciplined and collaborative, and more aggressive externally. It is an effective means of improving a company for a period of time.'

Du Peng emphasised as he said this: 'But please note that I'm only talking about a period of time, because in the long run it's not advisable, at least that's what I think. In a wolf pack, there is always a leader, and the whole pack submits to the leader's leadership and relies on the leader heavily. But the leader is not omnipotent after all, and the leader can make mistakes and have accidents too. Then if an accident happens, the whole pack will be completely ruined as a result.'

'To give a very simple example, in winter when food is scarce, the wolves are forced to hunt for other food. If one of the wolves below suggests a different hunting method, the leader will suppress it in order to maintain his absolute authority and continue to rely on his own experience. The result is that the wolves will starve because they cannot catch any food.'

Du Peng added, 'From my own perspective, I am a rather lazy person who doesn't want to do so much. I don't want to get involved in anything that I can delegate to others. Otherwise, if I hire staff but still do the work myself, I'll feel that I'm being underpaid.'

'Mr Du Peng is also very humorous,' Zhang Ling said. 'But compared to other private entrepreneurs, Mr Du Peng is a bit more calm. Is this also related to your thinking? How did you form this way of thinking?'

'The reason for this way of thinking is actually a person. It was he who taught me with his actions what it means to be diligent: the top people work hard, the middle people work hard with their minds, and the bottom people work hard with their bodies.'

Du Peng said. His words surprised Zhang Ling very much. Du Peng could see the doubts in Zhang Ling's heart. He said, 'Let me ask you a question. If your company and another company are competing for the same project, would you be willing to cooperate with the boss of the rival company and completely hand over the project to him?'

'How is this possible? That's crazy!' Zhang Ling exclaimed.

Du Peng said with emotion, 'Yes! How could this be? How could we hand our project over to the competition? This is the behaviour of a madman, but back then there was a madman who dared to do this, and he did it very successfully!'

...

Time returned to 1989 in Krisko, and in the hall of the manor in the southern suburbs, Li Cheng, Tong Gang, and Il'yev were all exclaiming in amazement like Zhang Ling, although they were of course more excited than Zhang Ling, because just a moment ago, Zhou Ming had announced to them that he would be returning to China soon and would ask Mr. Meta to help manage the 100 billion US dollars in Swiss bank accounts and all their funds in Northern Russia.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, I ask you to pay attention to your identity. You are not playing a childish game. You must take responsibility. To flee at the last minute is the act of a coward. And you are not just handing over the funds to Mr. Meta, you are simply messing around!' Tong Gang was so angry that he pounded on the table.

Compared to Tong Gang, Li Cheng was not so emotional, but he also said to Zhou Ming very seriously, 'Zhou Ming, I don't understand what prompted you to make this decision, but I just want to say that you are being too reckless. You haven't even discussed it with us.'

And Irbedov said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, you can't do this! If you really have something going on, we can discuss it and solve it. My friends from Northern Russia and I will do our best to help you. We just hope that you can also take us seriously!'

Facing the accusations of Li Cheng and Tong Gang and the shocked words of Irbedov, Zhou Ming's face was calm. He first asked Meta to go for a walk in the courtyard, and after Meta walked out and closed the door, Zhou Ming invited them to sit down.

Zhou Ming looked around the room and then said, 'I know you all have questions, but before I get to that, I have a few questions for you. Do you think that Mr. Mata knows more about finance and securities capital, or do we? Or do we together know more than Mr. Mata?'

Li Cheng, Tong Gang and Irbedov looked at each other, and in the end, Tong Gang answered, 'Although I don't want to admit it, Mr. Mata is the expert.'

'Okay, then the next question: Regarding the direction of the Dota project, does Mr. Meta know better or do we know better?' Zhou Ming asked again.

Hearing Zhou Ming's question, Tong Gang immediately frowned: 'Little brother Zhou Ming, I know what you are going to say, so you don't need to ask anymore. I can admit Mr. Meta's accomplishments in financial warfare, but that is not a reason for him to manage these. You know he is our opponent.'

'In the past!' Zhou Ming corrected, 'Chairman Tong, I know that you all don't trust him and are worried that he will stir up trouble inside. Then allow me to ask here, with Mr. Meta's abilities, if he wants to stir up trouble inside, can we detect it in time? Or should we just keep him here and not let him get in touch with our financial activities?'

Li Chengtong and Irbeldov were both silent. Zhou Ming's words hit the mark. They hoped that Meta would come over and use Meta's ability in financial warfare to help them make more money, but at the same time, they were afraid that Meta would take advantage of the opportunity to meddle.

In the end, Li Cheng said, 'Zhou Ming, I understand what you mean, but we can set up some obstacles and supervision here. There is no need to leave this entirely to Mr. Meta. Compared to that, what I don't understand is why you want to return to China at this time.'

'Chairman Li, in fact, I think it is most normal for me to return to China, because that is my home. No matter how well or badly we do here, I will have to go back one day sooner or later. I don't think there is a problem right now.'

Zhou Ming answered his own question: 'The reason is very simple. With a wealth of 20 trillion dollars, the plan to take over the tower is simply unrealistic. No matter how sophisticated the financial means, it is impossible to evaporate so much capital at once. According to Mr. Meta's plan, the whole process will last for several years. So during these years, we don't think it is necessary for us to stay here all the time. Let's just go our separate ways if we have things to do.'

Tong Gang and Ildar Belev had something they wanted to say, but in the end they didn't say it. Zhou Ming continued, 'I know you don't believe him, but I do. Mr. Maita is a very arrogant person with a strong sense of personal integrity. If he didn't, he wouldn't be the US President's financial warfare expert. He could have set up his own business. I think with his abilities, he could set up a hedge fund or something, no problem, right? But he insists on staying in the US government and on his Project Tower, which shows his ideals. He would not betray if it was not necessary.'

Faced with Zhou Ming's explanation, Li Chengtong and Ildievdov could no longer say anything, and could only mutter, 'Crazy, this is just crazy!'