CHAPTER 338: CHAPTER 338: IDEAS FROM ABOVE

Lei Jun sure has a big reputation.

The day after Chen Yiyang made the request, Lei Jun arranged for Chen Yiyang and Liu Qiangxi to sit down for dinner together.

But this was a very private dinner party, and it was just the three of them in the private room of the restaurant.

It was here that Chen Yiyang met the famous Liu Qiangxi, known as one of the idol entrepreneurs among young businesspeople.

Ever since the incident in the United States, Liu Qiangxi had become much more low-key.

There were even rumors online that Liu Qiangxi was going to give up control of Jindong.

But actually, he was just being low-key, not really retiring.

After all, before the Minnesota incident, Liu Qiangxi’s public image was always good, and he had the qualities of a people’s entrepreneur.

Plus, due to his background, many people viewed him as an idol.

The family backgrounds of the two Mas were impressive, and Lei Jun was simply a genius.

Only Brother Qiang seemed closest to ordinary people, making him the easiest to emulate.

No one expected Brother Qiang would become the butt of national jokes over something as minor as what happened in his pants.

In such cases, even those with a semblance of pride would lay low for a while.

If not, by continuing to make a high-profile appearance online, he’d open the comment section to find everyone discussing that incident, which wouldn’t be good for his mindset.

They had a simple meal in the restaurant’s private room and then had a chat.

Lei Jun suddenly said, "I have something to attend to, shall I head off first?"

"No, Lei Jun, you’ve misunderstood." Chen Yiyang knew Lei Jun thought he wasn’t talking about business and assumed he didn’t want him to hear his conversation with Liu Qiangxi.

So he hurriedly responded, "Today, I’m meeting Brother Liu to ask him something." He immediately brought up Tengxu’s intention to sell him 2% of Jindong shares.

Initially, Chen Yiyang expected Liu Qiangxi to look displeased upon hearing this affair.

After all, the logic behind Tengxu’s sudden withdrawal must hint at a lack of optimism for Jindong’s future.

However, as soon as Chen Yiyang finished speaking, Liu Qiangxi and Lei Jun exchanged a glance and laughed.

"You’re overthinking, Chen." Liu Qiangxi said directly, "If you’re willing to buy those shares, just pay for them.

If not, you can sell them to me later. I’ll take them for five billion."

Hearing Liu Qiangxi say this, Chen Yiyang realized he had indeed been overthinking.

There must be a reason behind Tengxu’s withdrawal from Jindong shares, but the act of selling the shares was not problematic.

Actually, Chen Yiyang was quite curious about the reasoning behind Tengxu’s decision to sell Jindong shares.

But Wu Changxun wasn’t sharing, and Liu Qiangxi didn’t seem to have plans to explain either.

Chen Yiyang wasn’t sure if he should ask.

However, Lei Jun was more straightforward, he noticed Chen Yiyang’s thoughts and explained from the side,

"Due to the overall economic environment these years, the country has imposed novel expectations on large enterprises, hoping they would shoulder more social responsibilities, avoiding excessive competition and the malicious destruction of the commercial environment in particular domains. Can you understand that, Chen?"

"Understood!"

With Lei Jun explaining this much, Chen Yiyang finally understood what was happening.

For Tengxu as a company, you might label it bad, but certainly not stupid.

Among the domestic giant companies, Tengxu is arguably the most proactive in responding to national policies.

So once the higher-ups voiced their focus, Tengxu promptly withdrew from the e-commerce field.

The current e-commerce field is not only competitive but also hostile.

Major giants restricting payments and engaging in malicious competition for their sponsored e-commerce platforms have become commonplace.

This was precisely a key focus for the higher-ups.

Therefore, Tengxu urgently withdrew from the e-commerce domain to set an example.

Meanwhile, Chen Yiyang happened to lend a hand regarding the Ubisoft affair to Tengxu, so Tengxu simply unloaded the remaining 2% shares onto him.

After listening to Lei Jun’s explanation, Chen Yiyang finally felt relieved.

It seems Wu Changxun is still a reasonable man, not intending to set Chen Yiyang up.

Just like Wu Changxun mentioned, Tengxu actually views him favorably and plans to invest in Yiyang Automobile, hence offering this chance to Chen Yiyang.

After dining with Liu Qiangxi, Chen Yiyang returned to the hotel.

Upon entering the hotel, he saw a pile of takeout packaging boxes on the table in the suite’s guest room.

"You ordered takeout, huh." Chen Yiyang glanced at the boxes and immediately asked the accountant lounging on the sofa, wearing oversized clothing and shorts, engrossed in a show.

"You went out alone to enjoy gourmet food, leaving me at the hotel, and I can only order takeout, right?"

The accountant remarked without looking up.

Actually, Chen Yiyang could’ve taken the accountant along today.

But fearing Brother Qiang might arrange something, he opted to leave the accountant behind to avoid any issues.

It turned out, perhaps Brother Qiang was quite reformed, and the three simply had dinner and chatted.

Chen Yiyang sat down and recounted the day’s conversation with Lei Jun and Liu Qiangxi to the accountant.

After listening, the accountant suddenly suggested, "Your business scale isn’t small now. Even if the higher-ups haven’t taken notice yet.

But Lin’an City Government has been supporting you all along, you’ll eventually make it to the forefront, why not seize this opportunity to make a gesture?"

The accountant’s suggestion lit up Chen Yiyang’s eyes.

That’s well said.

With Lin’an City’s support, Chen Yiyang would inevitably step into the broader spotlight.

When that time comes, they’d think you, as a capitalist, haven’t done much for the populace.

That would immediately lower impressions.

Since top companies like Tengxu, Jindong, and Rice are all actively responding to the higher-ups’ summons, Chen Yiyang tagging along should surely garner goodwill.

However, what to do?

Chen Yiyang pondered.

His companies don’t operate in monopolized or viciously competitive realms.

Because currently, Chen Yiyang controls few companies, the largest being Yiyang Automobile.

However, Yiyang Automobile is still small fry; not to mention comparing it to those established companies, it’s not even on par with the likes of Rice who hasn’t yet produced vehicles.

Still, Chen Yiyang used to be an employee.

Thinking from an employee’s perspective, Chen Yiyang quickly devised a plan.

A method requiring little effort yet capable of increasing goodwill among the populace and higher-ups.

With this idea in mind, Chen Yiyang immediately returned from the Imperial Capital to Lin’an, then headed to Yiyang Automobile to oversee and announced a meeting for all employees.