Chapter 5
Mr.Alexie is from Chicago.American.He is a gentleman in life. I respect him a lot.
How did I come across Mr. Alexie? We need to begin from here.
My father was a diligent worker, extremely responsible and remarkably humble. Consequently, he has made numerous friends, which has been truly fortunate for me. I met his friend from HK when I was approximately 6 years old, his Japanese friend when I was 17, and his Korean friends when I was 18. As I keep on with my language studies, it has become more and more important for me to understand the significance of English. It influences my entire life.
In 2002, after graduating from college, I got a job to work as an assistant at a real estate company. With the guidance and support of my young leaders. I understood that I needed to work hard. At that time, the boss of the group was President Wei, who led the team to achieve remarkable success in developing Pudong Century Park. Working as a junior assistant, I frequently had the opportunity to be inspired by collaborating with many influential figures. Looking back now, it was truly the golden era of the property business in China. In my department, Mr. Lee from Inner Mongolia, who was always a top student returning from Stanford with master degree, along with Wang Jing from Wu Han University with master degree, Zheng Jianping from Fujian and Wang Xinyan from Fudan University with master degree. Later, they were assigned to the Sales Department and the Financial Department as assistants, and were also sent to HK twice for temporary work. It broadens my horizons.I respect them and miss them.
For instance, President Wei loves playing football. Thus, our group could join Shanghai coach Ma Liangxing, Mr. Fan Zhiyi( former captain of Chinese soccer team), President Sun Wen（former captain of Chinese female soccer team）, the Shanghai team star Mr. Shen Si (who is also sponsored by him), as well as attending celebrities like movie director Tang Jili, star Lu Yi, his wife and soccer star Sun Ji brothers for a game. During the recording process, I was in charge of accompanying the reporters.
My company was flourishing - we even sponsored the wedding of a local soccer star, like Mr. Shen Si! As a representative of the company, I had the honor of attending his wedding and saw Director Tang Ji Lee and star Lu Yi, among other celebrities. There were even some amusing moments - like when I had to ask Mr. Lu Yi to wait for a moment because my photographer’s battery ran out! Needless to say, I received some teasing eye rolls from Mr. Lu Yi.
Also Mr. Wei is also interested in art. So when we had the opportunity to work together, we met with Mr. Chen Yifei’s team and pianists Mr. Kong Xiangxi and Mr. Liu Shikun. One of the most fascinating experiences was being appointed to participate in the delegation of Qingdao Mayor and the visiting delegation of French President Jacques Chirac while working in the planning department. I was eager to cooperate and learn everything at that time. Somehow, it broadened my mind. It’s part of the real world. Woow. OK.
During that period, one thing was quite funny. I met the CEO of Mobike, Hu Weiwei. She was a reporter from Shanghai Properties and I answered all her questions after offering her a glass of water. She was very happy to tell me that she had a bad day.
After several weeks. She became a friend of my team.I heard from her that she was from Dong Yang city. Zhejiang. Her parents divorced and grew up with their grandparents. Her boyfriend was studying at Zhejiang university and I helped to move her luggage back to Shanghai during my company trip to Hangzhou and offered some petty cash for her leaving for Beijing. It`s a very magic story after I found her in a magazine about her interview of Mobile.
Another important thing was that one day around 2003, my father paid a sudden visit to my company. He seemed a little worried. After we sat down and had a chat, we found out that my uncle had been arrested as a legal person because he was involved in an economic case for guaranteeing others’ debts. My grandparents had passed away. Remembering that my elder brother was like a father, my father suggested that our family should help pay the mortgage for my uncle’s family, and my sister-in-law’s family would provide subsidies for the living expenses of my uncle’s mother and daughter.
I remembered my uncle’s kindness to me when I was a child. Therefore, I readily agreed and began to hand over my salary to my father every month. Then, I accompanied my father to meet lawyers, the police, and later to visit the prison. Fortunately, my uncle’s child was very hardworking and became a doctor in Longhua Hospital without his presence. The lesson here is never to guarantee for anyone.
It is truly an exceptional lesson for my future business decisions with Mr.Alexie. I would assert at present that it has shielded me from several significant risks in my subsequent business endeavors.
Although I wasn’t quite sure about what I needed, this work experience had a significant influence on me, making me aware that I had to work hard and not neglect my English. The renowned concept is Lian Yang Nian Hua in collaboration with artist Chen Yi Fei. Since I’m the assistant of my group, I often visit Mr. Chen Yi Fei’s office at the cross of Jiang Su Road and Yan An Road. Unfortunately, he passed away during our cooperation. And my group took over the responsibilities of his famous drawings.