November 9, 9 a. m., Henglong Building 28th floor.
As soon as she got to work, Shen Jue came to Henglong. Everyone at the front desk knew her. Without any notification, she came to Zhao Chen's office first.
After hearing "Please come in", she immediately opened the door and entered.
When she opened the door, Zhao Chen was still holding a cup of unfinished coffee in his hand, with a look of astonishment on his face - he didn't know why the other party came.
Su Wantang happened to come in with tea. When he saw Shen Jue, he nodded with a smile, put the tea on the coffee table, and then quietly stepped aside.
"Zhao Chen, Yunnan Agriculture were rejected, did you read it?"
Zhao Chen raised his head from the document and motioned for her to sit down:
"I saw the announcement yesterday morning."
Shen Jue sat down opposite him, legs:
"I can't understand it more and more now. Eagle tricked Lu Shen into this, and Yunnan Agriculture was rejected again.
How deep is the water in this pig industry?"
Zhao Chen leaned back on the chair and smiled:
"It's not about how deep the water is, it's about looking at the problem from the wrong angle."
Shen Jue looked at him:
"How to say?"
Zhao Chen has no first answer.
He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up his pen.
"I was thinking about something recently. All human business activities can be roughly divided into three categories."
He wrote three words on the whiteboard:
Products | Platform | Foundation
Shen Jue was holding the coffee and waiting for him to continue.
Su Wantang sat quietly on the sofa, his eyes falling on those three words.
Zhao Chen draws a line under the first category:
Category 1: Producing products for the first consumer.
"In this category, brand is the core, followed by cost.
Coca-Cola, Moutai, LV, Tesla—all fall into this category."
He paused:
"Do you know why Tesla is almost never sold, but it can be sold all over the world?"
Shen Jue thought for a while:
"Because Elon Musk? Because he can tell stories?"
Zhao Chen shakes his head:
"That's the appearance. The real core is that its products are the best."
He walked to the window:
"When a Tesla drives past you, the sense of design, the sense of technology, and the impact of 'this is not an ordinary car' are a communication in itself.
Consumers are willing to pay for this experience, are willing to show off their cars on social media, and are willing to recommend them to their friends."
He turned around:
"So for this type of enterprise, the core competitiveness is brand recognition.
Whoever pays the lowest cost and achieves the greatest popularity will be the most successful."
Shen Jue thoughtfully:
"So you voted for Tesla before, and this was what you were betting on?"
Zhao Chen nodded:
"Yes. I bet that its product power can be transformed into brand power, and its brand power can be transformed into continued growth in sales."
Su Wantang was sitting on the sofa, his eyes following the figure of Zhao Chen.
She had heard him talk about business many times, but she had never heard him explain it in such a systematic way.
Product, platform, foundation--three words clearly distinguish the whole world.
There was something different in her eyes.
Zhao Chen drew a line under the second category:
Category 2: Provide a platform for promotion of various products.
"Douyin, Green Bubble, Tao Yitao--all fall into this category."
He walked back to the whiteboard:
"The core of this type of enterprise is content and user scale.
Whoever has the best content, whose algorithm is the most accurate, and whoever can retain the most users will be the winner."
He paused:
"These types of companies don't need to produce their own products, they only need to do one thing - connect."
Shen Jue nodded:
"Understood."
Zhao Chen drew a heavy line under the third category:
The third category: companies that provide basic services for the first two.
He put down his pen and looked at Shen Jue:
"Aquaculture is in this category."
Shen Jue's brow moved slightly.
Zhao Chen continued:
"What does this category include? Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, sideline fishery, resource companies, energy companies - nuclear power, hydropower, wind power.
Even logistics and raw materials Suppliers."
He walked to the window:
"The core logic of this type of enterprise is completely different from the first two types."
He pointed out the window:
"Look at Yangtze Power, why is its valuation so much higher than China Nuclear Power?"
Shen Jue thought for a while:
"Because... it's cheap to generate electricity?"
Zhao Chen nodded:
"Yes. Yangtze River Water costs nothing, it just flows and generates electricity.
What about nuclear power? Nuclear fuel needs to be purchased, nuclear waste must be processed, safety standards are high, and operating costs are high.
For the same one kilowatt hour of electricity, Yangtze Power makes more money than China Nuclear Power."
He turned around:
"Another example is mining. It's the same iron ore. If one is a high-grade open-pit mine and the other is a low-grade underground mine, which one has a higher valuation?"
Shen Jue said:
"Open pit mine."
Zhao Chen said:
"Yes. Because the mining cost is low, you can make money by digging it out.
The underground mine requires drilling holes, ventilation, and drainage, and the cost is several times higher.
The price of ore is the same, but the profit is much different."
He walked back to the whiteboard:
"So, the core logic of the third type of enterprise is only one word -"
He wrote on the whiteboard:
cost
"Whoever can control costs to the lowest will live the longest and earn the most."
Su Wantang's eyes fell on those two words.
cost.
Such two simple words can explain the life and death of so many companies.
She raised her head and looked at Zhao Chen's back.
This man just used a few words to clearly dismantle the logic of the entire business world.
The thing in her eyes became even stronger.
Shen Jue looked at the words on the whiteboard and was silent for a few seconds.
Then she asked:
"So the difference between Yunnan Agriculture Group and Eagle Group is this?"
Zhao Chen nodded:
"Yes."
He walked to the whiteboard and drew a cross under "Eagle":
"What is the problem with Eagle? It is that it is not willing to only be in the third category.
It wants to play in the second category - building platforms and channels.
I also want to play in the first category - building brands and developing terminals."
He paused:
"What's the result? The cost of raising pigs has not been controlled, finance cannot be understood, and Shaxian Snacks cannot be integrated.
I want to catch everything, but I can't catch anything.
In the end, we can only beat the odds."
He drew a circle under "Shennong":
"Yunnan Agriculture is different. Cheng Jiaxun is focused.
He just raises pigs, and his cost is second in the industry.
He doesn't do those fancy things, doesn't cross borders, and doesn't make random investments.
So although he can't be listed on the market, his foundation is solid."
Shen Jue looked at the words on the whiteboard and was silent for a long time.
Then she raised her head:
"So your judgment is that Yunnan Agriculture is worth investing in than Eagle?"
Zhao Chen shook his head:
"It's not a question of whether it's worth it. It's a question of price."
He sat back on the sofa:
"Eagle 23 times, that's the price of blowing out the future.
Yunnan Agriculture If calculated based on the current profit, it is not even 15 times.
Once the news of its failure to go public is digested, the valuation will continue to fall."
He looked at Shen Jue:
"That's when it's time to take action."
Shen Jue leaned on the sofa and looked at him, with something complicated in his eyes.
"Zhao Chen," she said, "You really understand."
Zhao Chen shook his head:
"It's not that I understand, I've seen too many failures."
He paused:
"Those who died did not regard themselves as the third category."
Shen Jue didn't ask again.
She picked up the cold coffee and took a sip:
"Okay, I believe you."
She stood up:
"Yunnan Agriculture, tell me when you will take action."
Zhao Chen nodded:
"Okay."
The door is closed.
The office became quiet.
Su Wantang stood up and walked to Zhao Chen.
She didn't speak.
Just look at him.
There was something shining in those eyes.
Zhao Chen felt her gaze and turned around:
"What's wrong?"
Su Wantang shook his head slightly:
"Nothing."
She paused, but couldn't help but say:
"What you just said, I have never seen anyone say it like this."
Zhao Chen smiled:
"Just thinking about it."
Su Wantang said:
"It's not just a random thought. You can explain such a complicated thing clearly in just a few words."
She looked at him:
"Zhao Chen, you are really amazing."
Zhao Chen was stunned for a moment.
Then he smiled, the smile was short but real:
"Are you praising me or yourself?"
Su Wantang also laughed:
"Praise you."
She leaned gently on his shoulder:
"I praise the person I chose. I believe that no matter what conspiracy Lu Shen has, it will not be difficult for you!"