After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 510 - 505: Power Struggle Finally Settles

"Mr. Lu, long time no see. I heard you quietly caused another big stir."

Lu Liang entered Cheng Wei's office, and Liu Qing was also present. She wore a smile on her face, showing no sign of defeat.

Back when she arrived at DiDi, she was backed by capital and resources, making a grand entrance. Now that she's leaving, she should do so with style.

To put it mildly, she holds 1.85% of DiDi's shares, currently valued at over 900 million US Dollars.

Annually, three hundred million US Dollars, amounting to more than 2 billion in RMB. A figure many wouldn't even dare to dream of.

"All just rumors, nothing to it."

Lu Liang smiled contentedly. How could he possibly support the harmful growth of products boycotted by the nation?

It was all Sun Yutao acting on his own, all Mitsui Sumitomo's actions, and none of it directly related to him.

"Mr. Lu speaks in such an impeccable way." Liu Qing squinted her eyes, sounding both teasing and mocking.

Lu Liang's behavior is like an ostrich burying its head in the sand when facing danger, covering only the head but not the tail.

But I have to admit, it's effective. Company actions unrelated to personal matters, as long as Lu Liang insists on denying involvement, there's nothing anyone can do.

"Mr. Lu, Mr. Liu, have some tea."

Cheng Wei smiled apologetically, brewed some tea, and glanced at his watch: "Mr. Lu, Mr. Zhu will arrive shortly. Should we meet first?"

Mr. Zhu, appointed by Lu Liang, was called back from the international division the day Liu Qing returned from New York and has been handling the transition ever since, now nearly complete.

Normally, the COO of a company takes at least two months for transition, up to a year or more.

But as DiDi is preparing for IPO, aiming to present a new image to market investors, much of the business doesn't need further organization, reducing the workload for transition.

Plus, Liu Qing strongly requested simplification, so if all goes well, all procedures should be completed by mid-next month, before the Spring Festival.

"Let's meet then."

Seeing Lu Liang nod, Liu Qing uncrossed her legs, smiling: "Then I won't disturb you all, see you in the meeting room."

"See you in the meeting room."

Both nodded, Liu Qing left, while Cheng Wei couldn't help but sigh: "Mr. Lu, I've always felt a sense of unreality."

He thought the situation was set, but assumed it would be much harder to make Liu Qing leave, didn't expect it would go so smoothly.

"An outsider can press the rightful owner so much that they can't even raise their head. Besides her funds and resources, she's inherently an extremely formidable person."

Lu Liang chuckled lightly, sipping tea, not hiding his admiration for Liu Qing at all.

If the direction is wrong, all efforts are meaningless, a truth many understand but few can act upon.

Rather than wasting time at DiDi, it's better to let go, a testament to her absolute confidence in herself.

She believes she made DiDi what it is, not that DiDi made her. In a different field, she could create another legend.

Cheng Wei remained silent for a long time.

Lu Liang jokingly remarked, "Mr. Cheng, is it that you can't bear to see Mr. Liu leave, or can't function without Mr. Liu around?"

"Nothing like that, just a bit of melancholy, after all, we worked together." Cheng Wei quickly explained.

In earlier years, he dealt with many VCs and understood deeply an adage in the investment world: creativity has no value; investing in companies is investing in people.

Most VCs, including Zhu Hu and Shen Peng, do not consider business plans when investing in startups.

They generally talk with the founders, think they have potential, and then invest.

If he even showed a hint of insecurity, Lu Liang would likely turn into the next Liu Qing.

Managing DiDi until a suitable manager is found, and he would become a mascot.

"Mr. Liu leaving so decisively must mean she's thought through her next step, no need to worry. You might meet again."

"True enough."

During their conversation, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Zhu Jingshi entered after knocking, 42 years old, tanned from being in the field for a long time, looking very lean and efficient.

He nodded at Cheng Wei, greeted him, then turned to Lu Liang: "Hello Mr. Lu, I'm Zhu Jingshi."

Although Cheng Wei had discovered his potential, it was Lu Liang who brought him back, otherwise, he'd still be floating around abroad.

This is a debt of gratitude he will always remember.

"Mr. Zhu, please have a seat." Lu Liang smiled, asking Zhu Jingshi about his short-term plans for the next three years.

The COO, or Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for formulating the company's long-term strategy and supervising the work of general managers in various subsidiaries.

Their main responsibilities include implementing company decisions, plans, and directives, and managing company operations.

The difference from the CEO, in simple terms, is one focuses internally, the other externally, so Lu Liang wanted to hear his views.

Zhu Jingshi pondered for a moment: "The first step is to address the internal issues regarding gender rights before the IPO."

"How do you plan to address it?" Lu Liang smiled with a hint of intrigue.

In recent years, women claim enlightenment across various industries, even subway systems have instigated women-only carriages.

This year, DiDi has had two major incidents with negative impacts, and numerous disputes, where women appeared as victims.

DiDi was already not favored by women, so Liu Qing could only establish the Diversity and Inclusion Alliance, increase the number of female employees in the company, and shift public opinion's focus under the banner of being female, empathizing with women, and caring for women.

Currently, the company has a total of 7,200 employees, including 5,472 female and 1,728 male employees, with a female-to-male ratio of 76:24.

To solve the women's rights issue within the company, at least this ratio needs to be adjusted to 40-60, but to dismiss half of the women, if handled even slightly poorly, public opinion would explode directly.

If you intend to increase the number of male employees to adjust the ratio, it will undoubtedly raise substantial labor costs.

Lu Liang must question whether this COO is competent.

"All opposing issues are essentially class issues, Mr. Lu, you've used it before; it works very well."

Zhu Jingshi, without showing any emotion, praised and explained his plan: "By division, promote several women to replace Mr. Liu in female employees' minds, and slowly move some women away from important management positions."

"By stock option incentives and going public, introduce a bottom elimination system, if they want equality, give them equality. Once gender equality is implemented, it's believed many women will find the pressure unbearable and voluntarily resign."

"Finally, let the tech department develop several features, allowing female passengers to choose drivers themselves, prioritize female drivers, and require each driver to equip monitoring devices to please female users."

Women like to express themselves online, while contemporary men's money is predominantly spent by women, so the market has a saying: win over women to win the world.

As for men, they are the silent majority anyway, too lazy to express themselves, fight for their rights, or are restricted by the notion of not being petty; you can simply ignore them.

Lu Liang chuckled quietly,

What he said is cruel, but it's the truth; some corporate leaders have even remarked that men's purchasing power isn't even as strong as a dog's.

He said, "Mr. Zhu, please go on."

"Step two, while consolidating the market, actively explore overseas markets..."

"Step three, develop autonomous driving technology, layout the new energy industry..."

When Zhu Jingshi mentioned the new energy industry, he deliberately glanced at Lu Liang: "Mr. Lu, perhaps we can explore deeper collaboration."

After all, DiDi holds 20% of Tianxing Technology's equity, while Tianxing Technology holds 2% of DiDi's equity; they are natural partners.

"Certainly, let's find a time for discussion."

Lu Liang checked his wristwatch, smiled, and said: "Time's about up, let's go to the meeting room together."

He got up from his seat, walked past Cheng Wei and Zhu Jingshi, and patted them on their shoulders: "The future of DiDi relies on both of you."

The two exchanged a glance and nodded heavily.

The meeting commenced at two because many important matters were announced, attracting many attendees and lasting for a considerable duration.

That night, several news reports,

swiftly shot to the top trending list, sparking online discussions.

"Power Struggle, Settled at Last"

"Liu Qing Departs DiDi, Lu Liang Takes Charge"

"Super Unicorn Soon to Launch IPO"

"Decline of the Liu Dynasty Begins, Emergence of a New Giant"

"DiDi: Urgent Safety for Female Passengers, New Policies Announced"

"The Rise and Fall of the Battle Between Lu and Liu..."

Out of the top ten trending topics, seven are related to DiDi.

Ordinarily, business affairs rarely make it to the top of trending lists, which are typically dominated by the entertainment circle.

However, the news was too sensational, relating not only to the power transition of a unicorn group but also involving the dispute between contemporary independent outstanding female representatives and young business leaders.

Moreover, just a few days ago, Bitcoin surged and then plummeted, Little Wang sued Binance, and the public speculated that Lu Liang was the mastermind behind it.

The multitude of heat buildup turned DiDi's power transition from a business matter to a widespread hot topic, breaking through into other circles.

Nonetheless, Lu Liang did not expect that the number of people criticizing him was much fewer than anticipated.

The reason was a self-media blogger revealing why Liu Qing left DiDi and the inside story of how Lu Liang seamlessly took charge.

Earlier this year, DiDi submitted a listing review, but was rejected by the Ministry of Commerce, leading to the introduction of Lu Liang for assistance in going public.

The previous Old Liu specialized in lawsuits for foreigners, accumulating a network for this generation of Old Liu.

This generation of Old Liu turned into comprador, the 5G voting scandal was vivid, causing Huawei to lose its 5G customization rights.

Liu Qing is also a graduate of Goldman Sachs, highly educated in the United States, according to the Liu family's tradition, she was supposed to possess some rare attributes.

DiDi is also a domestic high-precision map license holder; maps and road information have been military secrets throughout history.

Therefore, it is reasonably suspected that Liu Qing submitted some data that shouldn't have been during the last review leading to rejection by the Ministry of Commerce.

The 5G voting scandal, though overshadowed by various tax evasion cases and Dual Contracts in the entertainment circle, doesn't mean the internet forgets.

Last year's southern incident, this year's western incident, and mid-year's 6 billion box-office hit War Wolf 2, all prove the increase of national pride.

At this time, Liu Qing attempted to follow ancestral traditions, becoming one of 'a family of loyal martyrs,' akin to risking universal condemnation.

Lu Liang was enforcing justice on behalf of the moral order, indirectly protecting national information integrity.