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Chapter 1139: Chapter 997: Wealth, the Aggregation of Trust
It was nearing noon.
Shanghai Stock Market.
Tang Qing had not long descended from the airplane.
Rong Ying’s call came through, "Director Tang, have you arrived home yet?"
"Not yet," Tang Qing said. He wouldn’t be able to return to Fudan University for the time being, as these few days in Shanghai showered continuous heavy rain. Tang Qing planned to quickly wrap up the interview and head back to Sanya for some sunshine.
Rong Ying had been his appointment from yesterday.
"We’re already outside your villa complex," Rong Ying said with a chuckle, her mission today being simply to complete the interview, hence she came early, bringing Sina’s best interview team with her.
"I’ll send someone out to get you," Tang Qing said.
Rong Ying laughed, "Alrighty, thank you, Director Tang."
After ending the call.
Rong Ying waited in the car.
Hearing how familiar Rong Ying was with Tang Qing, everyone else was quite envious, some even mischievously speculated about a ’private affair’ between Rong Ying and Tang Qing—as, after all, Rong Ying too was a beauty.
Not long afterwards.
A fighter rode up to the gate on a motorcycle, spoke a few words to the security guard, and made registration. The motorcycles were there for the fighters’ use, ready for any unexpected need, such as... guiding guests.
"Follow me,"
the fighter said indifferently.
The motorcycle roared to life, leading the way.
"Got it, thanks, mister," Rong Ying knew Tang Qing’s bodyguards were all like this.
"This butler is quite arrogant," the driver said.
"Uncle Chen, Director Tang doesn’t have a butler, this is his bodyguard. They’re all like this, you’ll get used to it," Rong Ying defended Tang Qing’s bodyguard. Besides, she never thought a bodyguard’s job required a smile.
"Oh."
As they chatted.
The car arrived at Tang Qing’s villa.
Once out of the car,
they saw the RV that Tang Qing hadn’t used in a long time.
"That’s a big car."
"Alright, don’t act like it’s your first time seeing the world. In someone else’s home, think before you speak." Leng Mu, the chief editor from Heart Finance accompanying the interview, was also keen to take the opportunity to get acquainted with Tang Qing.
"Yes, chief editor."
"Everyone take something, and be careful not to get caught in the rain," Leng Mu reminded, as it was still sprinkling diagonally, chilly and sharp.
Rong Ying carried some of the lighter equipment.
Leading everyone inside.
"Gentlemen, before our boss gives permission, don’t wander around, and you can’t randomly film the environment and items here," warned the fighter who had guided them upon entering.
"No problem, we’ll just leave our stuff at the entrance for now and ask Director Tang later where the interview will take place," Leng Mu placed his luggage on the ground at the entrance. Others followed suit. When in someone else’s home, you have to follow their rules.
Settling into the sofa.
Leng Mu looked around at the villa’s furnishings. He wanted to take a closer look at the antiques and ornaments on several walls, but a bodyguard stood nearby, so he didn’t dare to approach. Well, nothing to do but wait seated.
The fighter poured everyone a cup of tea.
"Chief Editor Leng, try this. Once you’ve had this tea, you’ll never forget it," Rong Ying eagerly picked up the cup in front of her, took a light sip, and blissfully squinted her eyes.
The aroma of the tea was strong and enticing.
Unfortunately,
most of the tea Tang Qing had given her
had been offered as filial piety to her father, and she finished the rest quickly. She was too embarrassed to ask Tang Qing for more and was figuring out how to pitifully beg him for some after the interview.
As for face?
Can you eat it?
Can you drink it?
"Good tea," Leng Mu exclaimed after a sip, his eyes wide.
"Hehe, tasty, isn’t it? You can’t get this outside, nor can you find a place to buy it. Director Tang only gifts it to friends, never sells it," Rong Ying triumphantly took another sip, feeling her body and mind relax, dispelling the earlier cold.
Hearing it was not for sale.
The others felt a wave of disappointment.
Such delicious tea not on sale.
"If it could be mass-produced, it would surely make a lot of money," one lighting technician sighed.
"Get real, he’s now the wealthiest man in Huaxia, with assets worth several hundred billion. The tea must be grown by him personally. Do you really think he lacks money? Besides, giving it away shows its true value better," a Photographer analyzed pretentiously.
And he did have a point.
The others nodded in agreement.
If it’s only gifted, then it carries a different significance. With its taste, like fruit wine, gifting it to anyone wouldn’t seem low-class. Seems like they shouldn’t get their hopes up.
Better to hurry up and drink.
Soon enough,
the cup of tea was empty, and using the original tea leaves, they brewed another cup. Although the bodyguard prohibited them from shooting at will, they were allowed to look around the living room. Eventually, their gaze fell upon the luminous pearl.
"Why is there such a big piece of... marble here?" Leng Mu asked in confusion.
"Different strokes for different folks."
Rong Ying knew it was a luminous pearl but saw no need to mention it.
Before long,
Tang Qing returned.
"Welcome, everyone," Tang Qing greeted with a smile.
Leng Mu approached with a beaming smile, "Director Tang, nice to meet you. I am Leng Mu, the chief editor of Sina Finance. Thank you for your support of Sina." His eyes briefly flickered towards Lin Jiaxue; he knew there couldn’t be anything between Rong Ying and Tang Qing.
"Hello," Tang Qing extended his hand.
After everyone else introduced themselves.
"No one has eaten yet, right? Let’s eat together," Tang Qing invited.
"Thank you, Director Tang, but we’ve already had lunch before coming, as per the company’s rules. Enjoy your meal," Leng Mu quickly gestured with his hand.
"That’s fine then," Tang Qing didn’t insist.
"Director Tang, I haven’t eaten, would it be possible to add a set of chopsticks?"
After speaking a few words with Lin Jiaxue, Rong Ying cheerfully came over. Foregoing her work lunch and even breakfast, she had been waiting with an empty stomach, ready to indulge in delicious food.
Seeing Rong Ying’s eager foodie expression, Tang Qing laughed, "You... alright, let’s eat together, go wash your hands first."
"Alrighty," Rong Ying cheered.
Dragging Lin Jiaxue to the restaurant, there was a hand-washing basin inside the restaurant.
"You guys get ready first, after we finish eating, we’ll start the interview. The location... let’s do it on those chairs over there by the living room corner," Tang Qing pointed out to Leng Mu and the others a small seating area by the corner of the living room.
"Okay," Leng Mu replied.
Only then did Leng Mu understand why Rong Ying had just taken a sip of water, not touching any food, when they mentioned lunch earlier. It turned out she was planning to mooch off Tang Qing’s meal. Leng Mu thought that he too wanted to chat with Tang Qing while eating.
But their relationship wasn’t that close.
"Hurry, set up the equipment, make sure it’s adjusted properly," Leng Mu stood up and instructed.
"Yes."
Inside the living room.
Leng Mu got busy.
Inside the restaurant.
Rong Ying was wolfing down her food like there was no tomorrow.
"Slow down, you know my place," Tang Qing chided. "You won’t be able to finish everything here, no matter how hard you try."
"It’s been so long since I’ve had this, and who knows when I will next have the chance. I’ll stuff myself, even if it kills me," Rong Ying grumbled slightly, pondering why the heavens would let her taste such food.
It was one thing for it to be expensive, you could look forward to it and treat it like a delicacy, but it’s impossible to find the same elsewhere.
She felt stifled.
"You’ll look ungraceful during the interview if you suddenly have a stomach bulge," Tang Qing pointed out.
At that, Rong Ying’s movements froze, and she remembered that the upcoming interview was on video—if the audience thought she had gained weight... If she got mercilessly lampooned by netizens... how would she ever get married?
She swallowed the food in her mouth.
She gave the table of dishes a pitiful look.
"You can stay here for dinner tonight, eat to your heart’s content."
"Jiaxue, your Tangtang is so nice."
"..."
...
After the meal.
They took a short break.
The interview began.
But unlike the seriousness of "Dialogue,"
the questions from Sina Finance seemed a lot more down-to-earth.
For example, Rong Ying’s first question was, "President Tang, a few days ago, Hurun released the Huaxia Rich List. With a net worth of 43.7 billion RMB, you ranked top of the list. What do you think about that?"
"The truth is, tycoons in Huaxia prefer ’concealing wealth and biding by time.’ It might work for a while but not forever. Every tycoon’s wealth is actually a concentration of societal wealth."
"Gathered from millions of households, small amounts have added up to our present day. Therefore, this money comes from the people, and they have a right to be informed. My only hope is to manage it well."
"Of course, it’s impossible not to care. I also hope our subsidiary companies grow bigger and stronger, to help more people, to change society, to change the way people live."
"The amount of wealth reflects how many people you serve, how many trust you. They trust you, your products, and that’s why they give you their money. Thus, wealth is about social responsibility."
It’s also about trust. If a company is irresponsible and betrays consumer trust, it will never go far or last long, and no one will respect such a company, such an entrepreneur..."
Although Tang Qing’s words were a bit self-righteous, 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
they made a lot of sense.
Leng Mu and his team nodded repeatedly.
He even thought of the interview’s title on the spot— "The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Huaxia’s Richest Man." Subtitle— ’Wealth, the Accumulation of Trust.’ There was certainly no issue with this concept.
"Could you talk about how Sheng Tang Group came about? Why did you decide to start with the challenging and fiercely competitive clothing industry, where it can be hard to quickly gather funds?" Rong Ying asked the second question.
Sina knew.
The only content from "Dialogue" had been Comet Group, without a single word about Tang Qing’s other enterprises. Thus, their interview didn’t plan to delve into the significance of Comet Group in the film industry.
But Tang Qing’s rise to wealth.
That’s what the audience was most interested in, as they were not an official media platform.
This question, of course, couldn’t be answered with a whim.
"Food, clothes, shelter, transportation—clothing is of primary importance. Huaxia’s high-end clothing has always been dominated by foreign brands, but I refuse to believe that the clothes designed by Huaxia people are inferior. One day, Sheng Tang stores will be all over the world."
This response was faultless.
It was, in fact, one of Tang Qing’s actual thoughts at the time.
"It seems President Tang has high hopes for Sheng Tang Group. I believe they too will be inspired upon hearing this. I really like the clothes from Sheng Tang; the styles are definitely on par with foreign brands..."
Advertisements are ubiquitous.
"President Tang, Sky Eye has now become Huaxia’s largest business consultation and corporate services platform and has created a third-party financial supervision model, with deeper regulatory reach than International Accounting Firms."
"This model has provided a new financial supervision opportunity for many companies, with numerous large enterprises creating their own supervision companies. Regarding this, do you think it will affect Sky Eye’s business?"
Tang Qing shook his head.
"It won’t. This kind of financial supervision is actually a trust-based model, not suitable for large-scale promotion; it can’t grow big, as it’s very consuming. So, Sky Eye has never offered this business publicly, only helping some friends out, reducing some of their management workload."
"..."
Rong Ying, with her experience, was effortlessly eloquent.
After more than an hour.
The interview concluded.
There wasn’t a single retake, much to the joy of Leng Mu and his team. Today’s program was sure to garner plenty of views, and as "Dialogue" would be broadcast that evening, Sina planned to release their interview the next morning.
He had heard that the Comet Group interview was scheduled to be posted last, meaning on Tuesday.
He mentally commended Tang Qing for being a good networker.
"President Tang, we should be heading back to do some editing, and we’ll publish the interview tomorrow morning," Leng Mu stood up to take his leave.
"Alright, goodbye, please excuse me from seeing you out."
"President Tang, please stay."
Leng Mu left.
Rong Ying stayed behind. With her day’s work complete and free to arrive at the company a bit later the next day, she happily chatted with Lin Jiaxue, enlivening the villa atmosphere with her background as a gossip journalist.
In the afternoon.
Mother Tang made a phone call.
"Son, I heard you’re going to be on TV, and we all plan to watch it at your uncle’s house; your uncle went back to Qingyan City yesterday."
Tang Qing was speechless, "Mom... Is such a big deal really necessary?"
"It’s necessary. My son is going on CCTV; what an honor!" Mother Tang was thrilled. Tang Qing’s CCTV appearance meant more to her than topping the Huaxia Rich List; it was official recognition.
"Alright, enjoy it."
Tang Qing felt a bit like a monkey on display.
