From Wage Slave to Tycoon

Su Chen reviewed the contents of the file, somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected Pei Rang and his team to be so bold as to propose integrating all the subsidiaries under the Vast Sea Group into nine divisions.

The nine major divisions—including electronics, industrial manufacturing, food service and animal husbandry, finance, and medicine—were massive. Each one, if spun off, could be considered a major corporation with a market cap in the hundreds of millions, some even exceeding a billion.

"How long do you estimate the integration will take?" Su Chen asked, closing the file.

Hearing this, a hint of joy flashed in Pei Rang’s eyes. It meant Su Chen had approved their proposed plan.

"Boss, even if we implement this plan at the fastest possible pace, we estimate it will take one to two months!"

It couldn’t be helped. The company only had a handful of senior executives. Even if each one led a team, their manpower would be stretched thin. Besides, integrating a subsidiary wasn’t a simple matter; even a single one would take several days at a minimum.

Su Chen understood that integrating all the subsidiaries couldn’t be done overnight. If the timeline was too tight, complications were bound to arise.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Two months. I’ll give you two months to execute this plan perfectly. That should be plenty of time, right?"

"More than enough!" Pei Rang had estimated it would take at least a month and a half, so two months was ample time.

With that assurance, Su Chen handed the file back to Pei Rang and gestured for him to take a seat.

Pei Rang quickly pulled over a small chair and sat down.

Su Chen’s gaze drifted toward the distant horizon. After a long moment, he spoke. "I’m planning to establish a charitable foundation."

"A charitable foundation?" Confusion flickered in Pei Rang’s eyes. He never imagined his boss would want to start a charity.

’Charity isn’t something just anyone can get into,’ he thought. ’Sure, there are plenty of foundations in the country, like the Red Cross and the One Foundation, all claiming to do charity work. But who knows how much of it actually gets done.’

’It’s like that story that broke not long ago—a certain crowdfunding platform was actually planning an IPO. Can you even imagine? A company supposedly doing charity work was preparing to go public. The thought alone is horrifying.’

’To become a publicly listed company, you first need to be massive. Your financial reports have to be impressive—you have to be a profitable enterprise.’

’But a charitable organization going public... what does that even mean? It means the company figured out how to profit from charity. And not just a small profit, either. Otherwise, where would they get the audacity to file for an IPO?’

’But Su Chen isn’t short on cash. He doesn’t need to start a charity to rake in money, and he certainly doesn’t need it for the tax write-offs. I remember when the company was founded, Su Chen himself told us not to engage in tax evasion or avoidance. He said he didn’t need that little bit of money.’

’Otherwise, he wouldn’t have registered the company domestically in the first place. If he wanted to avoid taxes, he could have just followed the example of other well-known Chinese corporations and registered in an offshore haven like the Cayman Islands.’

’So, Su Chen isn’t in it for the money, and he’s not in it for the tax breaks. The only other explanation is... my boss genuinely wants to get into philanthropy.’

’But the world of charity is a small, murky pond. Even if you go in with the purest intentions, wanting nothing to do with personal gain, trouble will find you. There are plenty of cautionary tales out there.’

’Look at Chen Guangbiao, who used to be so famous. He spent a fortune on philanthropy, but he was too high-profile about it. Eventually, he retreated from the public eye, and even his charity work became much more low-key.’

’You could say charity is a double-edged sword; one wrong move and you can easily get cut.’

"Boss, are we sure we want to wade into the muddy waters of a charitable foundation?" Pei Rang asked tentatively.

Su Chen hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Pei Rang. Still, he briefly recounted his experience with the San Yuan Canteen on Zheng Island.

After hearing Su Chen’s story, Pei Rang couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"Boss, we could just establish a department within the group dedicated to charity. We don’t have to go as far as founding a separate company."

"That way, we can do our charity work quietly, since we’re not in it for profit or fame anyway."

Pei Rang then briefly explained some of the complexities and pitfalls to Su Chen.

When Pei Rang finished explaining the potential consequences, Su Chen clicked his tongue. He had been naive about starting a charitable foundation.

He had no idea there were so many unspoken rules involved.

"Alright, we’ll do it your way. Let’s move forward with this plan after the corporate integration is complete," Su Chen said, ultimately agreeing with Pei Rang’s proposal.

’The priority right now is integrating the subsidiaries. If we don’t get this sorted out, things will only get more chaotic down the line.’

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Noticing Pei Rang’s bloodshot eyes, Su Chen patted his shoulder. "Alright, go home and get some rest. You need to recharge. Don’t run yourself into the ground."

Then he turned to Chen Fei, who was standing nearby, and gave him a meaningful look. "Get some of those local specialties we brought back for Pei Rang."

Hearing the words "local specialties," a look of anticipation crossed Pei Rang’s face. But when he saw Chen Fei walk over carrying a bag full of vacuum-sealed salted duck and pressed duck, he was completely dumbfounded.

"Boss... this isn’t what you meant by ’local specialties,’ is it...?" Pei Rang asked, turning his head slowly to look at Su Chen.