Chapter 2 the second part

Chapter 30: Crazy Bullpen Life (1) Serial (16) Crazy Bullpen Life If an investment bank is compared to a pyramid, analysts living in Bullpen are at the bottom, and only the managing director is the king who sits firmly at the top of the tower.The main job of a managing director is to get projects from clients.Most of the lives shown in Wall Street-themed movies are their portrayals. I remember that in the early winter of 1996, I attended the celebration dinner for the first time at 21 Club, one of the most famous restaurants in New York.During the banquet, the two managing directors of the chemical group of M*A and Corporate Finance smoked cigars and talked with the CEOs and CFOs of Arco and Olin. Sometimes they were private yachts, sometimes private jets, and sometimes An eight-bedroom duplex overlooking Central Park on the Upper East Side... It made me, just out of college, feel like I was listening to a Martian tell a story about Mars.

Later, it dawned on me that yachts, planes and apartments were nothing.Star traders with the title of managing director often earn tens of millions of dollars in annual income consisting of cash, stocks and options.Owning a private island in the Caribbean Sea for leisure and vacation is a normal way of life in their view. The lower level of the pyramid is the director.Star-level directors can be promoted to managing directors in two years, but if they still linger after four or five years, it means they will be kicked out. The next level is the vice president, whose responsibility is the execution of the project.It also takes at least two years for them to step up to the level of directors.Most of the vice presidents are around 30 years old and earn a lot of money, but they never seem to have time or leisure to spend.They often plan romantic vacations such as South Africa or Egypt, but a day or two before their departure, they are told that a certain project requires them to stay.Then, they had no choice but to endure the fuss from their fiancee and cancel the trip.Of course, all the resulting costs will be borne by the company.

Chapter 31: Crazy Bullpen Life (2) The post of manager is mostly held by an MBA from a well-known business school.Their quality of life is comparable to that of analysts, and the only silver lining is getting promoted to VP after three and a half or four and a half years. In the pyramid, the most vulnerable are us analysts. Life in Bullpen is our life because we spend at least a dozen hours in Bullpen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During my two years in New York, the M*A market was more active than ever.I often walked into the Bullpen at two o'clock in the morning, the lights were still on, the computers were still running, and all the analysts were still hard at work.In an ordinary job, the working hours may only be divided into morning and afternoon, but in Bullpen, a working day is divided into four parts: morning, afternoon, evening and late night.

We have a dinner allowance of $25 per person per day.365 days a year, more than 200 dinners are ordered in the company. Bullpen's characteristic dinner usually looks like this: at least five or six people, as many as a dozen people, gather in the conference room in a mighty manner, and the long and gorgeous conference table is used as a dining table. Looking at their different projects, and incidentally scolding those unlovable managers and vice presidents. The air in Bullpen is often tinged with the strong smell of gunpowder.Just hearing the most unrefined words like "fuck," "asshole," "shit" and "dick" come out of the mouth of an irate analyst is a sign of some troubled manager and vice president. Another unreasonable request.

Due to the severe lack of sleep, once out of the Bullpen, attending the meeting with the client turned into the most painful torment.The stagnant air in the meeting room, the long-winded speeches of customers and managing directors, are like a lullaby, making people drowsy.We all have unique ways of struggling to stay sane.Some people tortured themselves on their arms with the tip of a pencil they carried with them, and some boys put their hands in their trouser pockets and kept pulling the hair on their legs. Chapter 32: Tortured by "Iron Man" Mom (1) Serial (17) Tortured by "Iron Man" mother

When I was at M*A in New York, there was an "iron man" vice president Vanessa who was known for her super long Book.The record she set is a book that is unprecedented and unprecedented, with a length of 117 pages. In the autumn of 1997, I was unfortunately tortured by "Iron Man" for three days. At that time, an oil drilling company was looking for M&A opportunities in the industry and asked Morgan Stanley to give them advice in three days.It just so happened that my best friend John at M*A just took up the post of Assignment Associate, and he couldn't convince anyone to work for "Iron Man", so John took me as the last resort.

For the sake of my friends, I took out the courage to fight against the odds and faced difficulties.Three days later, I left the company safely with John's support and escort. At that time, "Iron Man" was already pregnant, and "Little Iron Man" was going to be born in 4 months, but "Iron Man" ignored the safety of "Little Iron Man" at all. Modify Book day and night.For a while, the red in the chart will be changed to blue, and for a while, the vertical chart will be changed to horizontal... What is the logic of the change?I never know. In order to complete the valuation of 10 companies, calculate the impact of acquisitions on earnings, and revise the Book according to the opinions of "Iron Man", I spent more than 70 hours between my Bullpen, the office of "Iron Man", WP and Graphics Running around during the day, except for going home to take a shower and change clothes, I only rested in my seat for an hour and a half.

At 5 pm on the third day, "Iron Man", who had just flown to Chicago in the morning and was about to return to New York, called from the airport to confirm with me her final opinion on the Book.Thankfully, Iron Man's changes are mostly minor.Although I can't remember that this is the tenth revision in 3 days, but imagining that I am about to get out of the sea of ​​suffering, I still breathe a long sigh of relief, and even the pace of going to WP and Graphics has become much lighter. Chapter 33: Tortured by "Iron Man" Mom (2) However, 1 hour later, before the last round of changes was completed, I actually received a new message from "Iron Man": "Zimo, I am calling you from the plane. I will contact you directly after landing at 8 pm. Back to the company. I read tomorrow's Book again, and the final appendix "Morgan Stanley's professional capabilities" needs further revision. Page 68 should be changed to a new page 65, and the curve chart on the left is changed to a column chart. The original 64 pages have been deleted and a new 72 pages have been added, entitled Morgan Stanley's Global Market Leadership in M&A..."

God!She must be crazy!A full 5 minutes of leaving a message made me lose all hope in an instant. The saddest thing in the world is that you have to do your best when you know it's useless.I sat at my desk, motionless, wishing I could swear like my male colleagues in Bullpen. At 9 p.m., the puffy-looking "Iron Man" staggered back to the office in maternity clothes.Only then did we figure out that what she was reviewing on the plane was the Book of another project, not my Book that we had discussed when she was at the airport. I was angry and angry and found it ridiculous, as well as a kind of deep pity for "Iron Man".Even the "iron man" himself can't tell the difference between a version of Book. What will customers gain from this endless change?

It is conceivable that the Book was continuously revised during the willful and unreasonable play of "Iron Man", until 11 o'clock in the evening, I had no time to eat all day, and suddenly I felt an unbearable severe abdominal pain. The second half of 1997 was the hardest day in my investment banking career.For 6 months, I didn't take a day off.Exhaustion, stress, hunger, helplessness... all the physical overdrafts were concentrated and exploded at that moment. Chapter 34: Mysterious person next door (1) Serialization (18) Mysterious person next door Sam is my colleague at M*A.He joined the company a year later than me, and sat next to me in the same Bullpen.

When we met for the first time, I didn't feel that there was anything special about Sam. He was just an ordinary American boy with light yellow hair, a strong southern accent, not tall, and wearing glasses. It wasn't until the end of the training and the first day of work that I suddenly discovered that Sam's office phone was ringing non-stop.The caller is the person in charge of M*A for a while, and the managing director with senior qualifications for a while.There must be some reason behind the fact that a newcomer "little carrot head" is favored by so many big shots.But at the time, I was so focused on the project I was working on that I couldn't care less about Sam. The next day, Sam's phone finally went quiet, but the pager on his desk was buzzing again. Sam frowned and complained to me while calling back: "This fucking number has been paging me all day long. (This number has been paging me all day long)" Even though we've only been sitting next to each other for more than a day, I already know Sam's catchphrase all too well.This boy who said "Yes Sir" in his mouth, sounded like a soldier in the army treating the officer, but now he is full of F words, what kind of person has such a unique language habit?I have another curiosity in my heart. With a "Yes Madam", Sam hung up the phone.He turned around and looked at me suspiciously: "Who is fucking Joe Perella? (Who is Joe Perella)" No way!Don't you even know Perella's name, Sam? Perella, who joined Morgan Stanley in 1992, is not only one of the firm's top executives, but also a Wall Street legend. In the early 1970s, he started working as an M*A at First Boston. In the mid-1980s, he founded Wasserstein Perella * Co. with his colleagues, and became a godfather figure in the wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s.He was the head of investment banking when I was working in New York. Chapter 35: Mysterious person next door (2) I gave Sam a crash course for a few minutes, and Sam suddenly realized, thanked him again and again, and finally added a sentence: "His secretary said that he would like to invite me to lunch the day after tomorrow." What?The famous Perella wants to "invite" Sam to dinner? "Perella might know my father…" Sam explained slowly. It turned out that Sam's father was the chief of staff of the White House at the time, and he was also a good friend of President Clinton.He had been working at Morgan Stanley in the late 1960s and early 1970s and met Sam's mother, one of the first female professionals at Morgan Stanley. With such a family background, it's no wonder that big-witted people call Sam one after another to inquire about his health. What impresses me more than Sam's prominent father is Sam's attitude.Whether it’s the first mention of his parents’ background, or inadvertently mentioning that their family often watched movies with Clinton in the White House, or that his mother owns various companies and occupies seats on the boards of directors of many companies. , Sam will never be humble or overbearing, calm and calm, will not cover up and avoid carefully, and will not show off in a high position. In 1998, Clinton visited China, and Sam's father was one of the entourage.I heard from Sam that as soon as they arrived in Xi'an, the first city, the president and his party were locked in the elevator of a certain building for several minutes, and then the elevator suddenly continued to descend.At this time, everyone realized that it was a false alarm, and that the elevator was just a mechanical failure. Similar "inside information", Sam often talks to me.And the calmness on his face always makes people feel that no matter whether his father is the president of the United States or a taxi driver, it will probably not change. Chapter 36: The Prominent Little People (1) Serialization (19) Prominent Little People One morning, as soon as I walked into the office, Sam said excitedly: "Zimo, today is a big day, we should all take a day off and celebrate!" "What big day?" I was confused, from Sam's birthday to his parents' wedding anniversary, and even Clinton's birthday, I guessed seven or eight times but never got the answer. Sam pointed to the golf putter in the corner and said, "Today is the U.S. Open!" For two days, the televisions in the M*A's internal conference room were locked on to the U.S. Open.Many colleagues are a little absent-minded when they work, and they are always willing to go around the conference room when they come out and go in, just to take a look at the progress of the game. Sam said that from the time he first picked up a golf club at the age of 5 until he graduated from high school, in more than ten years, he did not practice golf for no more than 10 days.From children to teenagers to youth groups, he has won numerous trophies.Among them, the only one I can remember is the North Carolina junior championship he won in high school. Probably because of the rebellious mentality after years of practice, since entering the threshold of college, Sam is no longer willing to touch the club.It wasn't until he graduated and came to Morgan Stanley that Sam took golf as a hobby again, swung off the golf course again, and found that his style remained the same as before.As a result, Sam has also become the closest friend of many managing directors in the department. More than once, Sam wanted to teach me how to play, and said that the coach in the public court would cost $60 an hour, and he was willing to teach for free, but I didn't appreciate it.Love, in fact, I have already understood it, but unfortunately, at that time, I thought that life was work and work was life. I failed Sam's enthusiasm and missed such a good opportunity. At Morgan Stanley, there are many analysts with prominent backgrounds and wealthy families like Sam.Among them, there is the daughter of the chairman of Continental Airlines, the daughter of the founder of KKR, the heir of the largest automobile transportation company in the United States, and the son of the boss of the largest commercial bank in Indonesia... They don’t need to pay for this salary. There is no need to choose such a dark life for work, but they, like us, regard Morgan Stanley's experience as the best experience and work hard because of it. Chapter 37: The Noble Person (2) At work, they are the same as us, not only have to stay up late to catch up with work, but also endure the inexplicable and unreasonable demands of individual vice presidents.Even for the grades of year-end appraisal and dividends, they stand on the same starting line as us and accept fair judgments with the same standards. Like Sam, his hard work is legendary. I remember that during the Thanksgiving holiday in 1997, colleagues had already flown home to reunite with their relatives.On Wednesday afternoon, there was a rare desertion in the office. On the 35th floor, there are only four or five people left to work, including me and Sam.I booked a car for 5pm to go to my brother's house in New Jersey for the holidays.Before we left, Sam, who was pale and had red eyes, and I said happy holidays to each other, then went back to the computer and continued to focus on his financial model. However, not long after I left, Sam passed out in the office and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.The diagnosis revealed that Sam had a tumor in his brain. As of Wednesday, Sam has been fighting for three days and two nights.After his operation, I went to see him in the hospital, only to learn that he was already feeling unwell, but the heavy work made him forget about his body, and instead his mind was full of how to sell that publishing company. After more than two months, Sam recovered from his illness and returned to the company. All the analysts of M*A temporarily put down their busy work and gathered at the Thai restaurant downstairs to have dinner with Sam to celebrate. Sam has earned our respect and love for his own dedication, not his family. Chapter 38: Battle for Sina (1) Serialization (20) Battle for Sina The listing of Sina was the last project I participated in at Morgan Stanley. In mid-September 1999, I had just returned from a vacation in Puerto Rico.The first day I returned to Hong Kong with a healthy tan, I was told to fly to California immediately on the next flight—just a few days ago, Morgan Stanley snatched Sina! Sina was indeed "robbed" by Morgan Stanley, and it was blatantly and abruptly snatched from Goldman Sachs. The first official meeting between Morgan Stanley and the Sina team was in July of that year.In order to express their sincerity, the senior leaders of Hong Kong decided to go out in person.At that time, the Internet was far from being as popular as it is today. Many high-level executives had little knowledge of these new things, and very few had browsed the Sina website.However, in order to show that Morgan Stanley is extremely proficient in high technology and the Internet, the leaders deliberately found the person in charge of the project 10 minutes before the meeting to make up for it.After that, everyone assigned their respective roles in the meeting in a planned way, and they entered the venue with confidence and calmness. The leader is indeed a leader. The short 10-minute training has already made these investment bank veterans sound and look like Internet experts.From the excellent situation of the international Internet to the bright future of the Internet in China, one or two professional words are added as the finishing touch, which fully reflects the unparalleled knowledge and experience of Morgan Stanley's senior management in this field.If there were 10 more minutes of training, I am afraid that even the following small accident could have been avoided: When the Sina team mentioned "Portal" in Chinese, which was then translated into English as "Portal", one of our senior leaders lowered his head and hid Shut up and quietly ask the project leader sitting next to you: "I thought they are in the internet advertising business. What do they need a gate for?" ?)" Although the meeting was almost perfect, at the beginning of August, there was still news that Sina had "lost Goldman Sachs". Things turned around from Wang Zhidong. At the end of August and early September, Sina's management changed, and the leadership was transferred from the Silicon Valley team to the mainland team headed by Wang Zhidong.As the new CEO, Wang Zhidong decided to choose an investment bank again.Morgan Stanley's opportunity has finally come! Chapter 39: Battle for Sina (2) In the high-tech and Internet frenzy at the turn of the century, Mary Meeker was an indispensable figure.As a researcher at Morgan Stanley, the proud Internet queen can make clouds and rain in the stock market.Her comments on Internet companies are like magic. As long as she is a little sure, the stock price will immediately go straight to the sky. In order to win the favor of Sina, Morgan Stanley moved out the trump card of Mary Meeker.However, the "Queen" has a lot of things to do every day, and one side is hard to find. In the end, the chairman of Morgan Stanley's Asia-Pacific region personally came forward and accompanied the whole process, and the hot "Queen" agreed to squeeze out two precious hours to visit Sina's headquarters in Silicon Valley. For the capital market at that time, Sina was still an unknown junior, and the strange English letter combination of SINA was probably unheard of.What's more, the lengthy translation from Chinese to English and back to Chinese at the meeting is really drowsy.In the warm sunshine of California, in Sina's comfortable conference room, under the gaze of everyone, including Wang Zhidong, who has the power over Morgan Stanley, Mary Meeker actually dozed off. The chairman of our Asia-Pacific region sat aside, anxious like ants on a hot pot, but he didn't want to get angry.Amid Mary Meeker's heavy breathing, he had no choice but to maintain an elegant demeanor, talking and laughing happily, while using the cover of the table to make small movements.It is said that it was not until Mr. Chairman gave the "Queen" a hard kick that Mary Meeker woke up like a dream and returned to her normal glorious image. Chapter 40: My Friend Zhidong (1) Serialization (21) My Friend Zhidong The first time I saw Wang Zhidong was in the office of Sina Law Firm in Silicon Valley. When I flew across the Pacific Ocean and took a taxi from San Francisco to Silicon Valley, it was already the evening of the second day.At that time, several of my colleagues were busy drafting the prospectus with Sina's management team and lawyers. Among the crowd in the room, Zhidong was unremarkable.It wasn't until a colleague introduced me that I realized that the distance between the two eyes was a little far, the lips were unusually large and thick, the belly of a general was round, and he was wearing cotton cloth that looked like it came from Silk Street. The low-key young man in the shirt and casual trousers is Wang Zhidong, who has long been famous in Morgan Stanley Hong Kong.Perhaps because the IPO is coming soon, he will also join the ranks of Internet upstarts. That day, he kept laughing foolishly. At that time, I thought, the so-called "great wisdom and stupidity" and "wide-minded and fat" describe people like Zhidong! Looking back on the seven months before and after Sina’s listing, one of my greatest gains was meeting a good friend like Zhidong.And one of the solid material foundations of this friendship is the more than 1,000 crab legs in Hong Kong. At the end of September 1999, the preparations for Sina's listing were basically completed in Silicon Valley. However, the domestic approval process in China was like a tight spell, and it was not known when it would be released.As of the road show in April 2000, we have been waiting for that paper approval. While waiting, the autumn singing and dancing in Hong Kong is peaceful.Whenever night falls, I must have dinner with Zhidong and his wife.Eating with customers is the "work focus" of investment banks, especially for big customers like Sina.So, from Central to Wan Chai and then to Causeway Bay, we almost swept all the famous restaurants. October to November happens to be the season for eating hairy crabs.Crabs are a must for every meal, and everyone has a tendency to "run wild" when they walk.In the future, the delicious crab really became an inseparable memory of "Sina listing".We always try to calculate, how many crab legs have we killed?I also remind Zhidong from time to time that every time he alone has to order two crabs with a total of 16 legs, not counting the legs that were broken off from my crab and given to him. He is brilliant at work, but clumsy and clumsy in life. This is what makes Zhidong so cute. Chapter 41: My Friend Zhidong (2) In 1995, when Zhidong went to the United States for the first time to learn Buddhist scriptures and seek venture capital, he rented a car by himself, checked the map in half-baked English, and wandered around Silicon Valley.One day, he made an appointment to meet a friend, and drove around countless times, but he couldn't find the agreed place.So Zhidong called for help, saying that he was lost. My friend asked, "Where are you now?" Zhidong looked around and said, "I'm on First Avenue." The friend was very surprised and asked, "Are you sure it's the First Avenue? There is no First Avenue near here?" Zhidong swears, saying: "It must be the first avenue, it is clearly written on the road sign!" The friend still didn't believe it, and asked again: "What is written on the road sign? Impossible!" Zhidong was even more unconvinced, and said with a very standard pronunciation: "One Way is clearly written on the road sign!" When my friend heard this, he couldn't help but laugh: "One Way? That's called a one-way street!" This story was told by Zhidong's wife Liu Bing at the dinner table not long ago.Zhidong, who was sitting on the side, listened with a smile, neither arguing nor annoyed, and ate oysters in a hurry. Chapter 42: Dragon and Phoenix Chengxiang Family Serialization (22) Dragon and Phoenix Chengxiang's Family On the day I first met Zhidong, there was another person in the law firm.She was neither a member of Sina's management team, nor a lawyer or investment bank professional, but she was very important to Sina at the time. She is Wang Zhidong's wife, Liu Bing. When mentioning Zhidong, one cannot fail to mention Liu Bing, because the two of them are always sweet and go hand in hand.From Peking University to Sitong Lifang, from Sina to Click Technology’s second venture, wherever Zhidong appears, Liu Bing must be within a few meters. When Sina went public, Liu Bing also followed him all the way from Silicon Valley to Hong Kong, and even the subsequent road show. Not a family, do not enter a door.Like Zhidong, Liu Bing is also very simple.The year before last, she took her daughter for a walk in her own community in Beijing, passing by the tennis court, and her daughter wanted to go in to play, but unexpectedly her daughter went in, but she was stopped by security guards.The security guard said that the sports facilities in the community are only for the use of the owners, and the aunts are not allowed to come in and out at will. Even though the blow was so heavy, Liu Bing still went his own way, and blatantly dismissed my consumption concept.When we met, she would always point to Zhidong's new clothes and say, "Well, we just bought them from 'Yaxiu' (a clothing market in Sanlitun, Beijing), and we can buy many pieces for hundreds of dollars! I think It's no different from your famous Italian brands!" Liu Bing was not at all affected by girls' dressing problems.Moreover, she is outspoken and often makes people dumbfounded.Once, we had dinner together, and I wore a Max Mara black sweater with a hollow pattern on the waist.Before I was seated, Liu Bing yelled in a fuss: "My God! Zimo! What are you wearing? It's so tattered that your waist is exposed!" When Sina was preparing to go public, Zhidong and Liu Bing often talked about their children. Zhidong said that they planned to have a baby in 1997, and they had chosen the name, "Wang Private Fund", but unfortunately they failed to do so. This time, if they can create a century baby that was "listed" at the same time as Sina in 2000, then With double happiness at the door, it was simply named "Wang Shang". As one wished, during the listing period of Sina, Liu Bing gave birth to a pair of very cute twins.This made Zhidong laugh from ear to ear, saying that there were both men and women, and that it did not violate the basic national policy of family planning. When the children were born, Sina had already successfully listed.Friends are very worried whether Zhidong will give them two names similar to "Wang Baibai", because according to his logic, the most meaningful thing right now is to hope that Sina's stock price will reach $100. Fortunately, the son's name is Longlong, and the daughter's name is Fengfeng. Together, it is the ancient Chinese dragon and phoenix Chengxiang. As soon as Fengfeng was born, Liu Bing said that her daughter looked like her father.This made my friends sweat.Zhidong's eyes, nose, and lips are installed on a girl's face. This... I can only say that the consequences are unimaginable. When Longfeng was over one year old, I finally saw the little guy at Zhidong's house.Fengfeng does look like Zhidong, her eyes are a little far apart, and her lips are thick... But all the features are concentrated on her small face, how can she look more and more beautiful, she looks so much like Shu Qi? It is said that like father, like son, the growing Longlong is indeed a copy of Xiao Wang Zhidong.At a young age, he was not only full of ambitions, claiming that he must go to Harvard to find a girlfriend, and practiced English hard for this, but also played with the radio, and even assembled the radio.As a father, although his radio skills are no longer so great, Zhidong, who graduated from the radio department of Peking University, is quite proud of his son's signs of pushing the waves forward. Verse 43: "Lang Yilang is called Sina." (1) Serialization (23) "Lang Yi Lang, called Sina." In the early years, Sina was formed by the merger of Huayuan.com in North America and Stone Lifang in Beijing.The new company continues to use Huayuan's English domain name SINA, but also wants to give it a refreshing Chinese name. According to Zhidong’s recollection, he and Liu Bing racked their brains to determine a word “new” corresponding to “SI”, and then wanted to use the word “na” to correspond to “NA”, taking the meaning of the new economy and new company to be open to all rivers.But after that, Zhidong was not very satisfied with the word "Na".One day, he had an idea, why not use "waves"? "浪" and "NA" are not only similar in pronunciation, but also in English, browsing the Internet means surf on the net, literally translated as "surfing the Internet".Although Zhidong is an authentic "earth turtle" and has never experienced a day in the life of a "returnee", but at critical moments, he is not ambiguous about the English words related to the Internet. According to the official history, Sina got its name from this, but according to insiders, the origin of Sina is outside the official history, and there is another widely circulated folk "unofficial history". It is said that one day, a senior executive of Sina was facing the computer, worried about the word "NA", lost all inspiration, and couldn't think of a good name.The wife leaned beside her, and couldn't bear to watch her husband fall deeper and deeper into the trap of the name, so she half-jokingly and half-persuasively said: "Take a break first, and come here for a while." Shouting: "Lang Yilang, that's great, let's call it Sina!" Verse 44: "Lang Yilang is called Sina." (2) Sina is not registered in China, and most of its shareholders are overseas venture capital funds. However, it is still not easy to obtain the approval of the Chinese government.Many industry elites specially designed a complex restructuring structure, the sole purpose of which is to allow Sina to list overseas without violating relevant Chinese policies and laws. Many policies and regulations in China are vague and changeable, and are left to the interpretation of government departments. Moreover, the relevant departments are numerous, overlapping, and often contradictory.Of course, if everything is transparent and efficient, the Chinese colleagues in these investment banks and law firms will probably lose half of their usefulness.It's just that the wisdom of the Chinese people always seems to be wasted on dealing with the Chinese. No wonder people often say that China has been a society with serious internal conflicts since ancient times. The approval of Sina's listing, in addition to being a red chip, also involves advertising, information technology and other fields.More sensitively, Sina has dabbled in the news media.It is controlled by foreign capital and listed in the United States. Naturally, no department dares to make a decision on such a new thing.Everyone is in charge, but no one dares to take responsibility. During the half year of waiting, we constantly updated the company's status and figures, and reported to the US Securities Regulatory Commission.However, the greater risk lies in the market.The bubble component of Nasdaq has been getting higher and higher. If it cannot be listed before the downgrade, it may miss this fleeting window in the capital market. One morning in early 2000, Zhidong called from Beijing.He shouted excitedly on the phone: "I admit it, I admit it, I agree to learn it!" Several members of our project team stood by the phone, looking at each other. It couldn't be that Zhidong started talking nonsense because the approval was nowhere in sight! After some excited and confusing explanations from him, we finally understood the whole story.It turned out that through various channels, Wang Zhidong was finally interviewed by the head of a certain department in charge.Moreover, the meeting was unexpectedly smooth, and the leaders were very supportive of Sina's development and overseas listing, and even stated that he and Zhidong were classmates at Peking University. Zhidong's excitement is not difficult to understand.In addition to facing market competition, Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs also have to fight wits and courage with various departments. Any support is invaluable to them. This meeting may have rewritten the fate of Sina and the fate of China's Internet. Chapter 45: Unbelievable Choice (1) Serialization (24) Incredible Choice In early May 2000, on a Sunday evening, I boarded a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Singapore, dragging the black Tumi suitcase that followed me all over the place.The warm greetings and considerate service of the stewardess did not resolve the clouds in my heart. A day ago, I just received a new project, which is the merger of two telecommunications companies in Malaysia, and we acted as the financial advisor to the buyer.At this time, I have been promoted to a manager, but my enthusiasm and desire for new projects are cooling down day by day.I know that in the next few months, I will be living the life of flying to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday night and flying back to Hong Kong on Friday night.The two points and one line between the hotel and the company, all three meals a day in the hotel, and countless sleepless nights, with a first-year analyst to make models, meetings, negotiations... Dozens of reincarnations The process has to go through again, which makes my heart full of boredom and resistance. In fact, when I left New York just two years ago, I decided that investment banking should be my life's career choice. "It would be great if Zimo could be cloned, even if only one Zimo could be cloned!" "This is like your home, if you are unhappy in Hong Kong, come back anytime!" "It seems that we need to find more Chinese girls like Zimo in the future!" ... In July 1998, I returned the apartment just across the street from the company, sold the furniture, and left the United States, the country where I had lived for 6 years, amidst the sighs and blessings of my colleagues. Chapter 46: Unbelievable Choice (2) One month before my departure, from lunch to dinner, my daily schedule was full.Colleagues use the most traditional way of inviting me to dinner to express their hearts and see me off. At that time, I finally understood that human memory is selective.When I was about to say goodbye to New York and my colleagues, all the bitterness and tiredness seemed to melt away.The struggle of not being able to sleep for several days and nights, and the severe headache that must come every afternoon as scheduled, seem to have disappeared from my memory, leaving only those exciting and beautiful fragments. The moment the plane took off from Kennedy Airport, I was filled with emotion.Declined every call from headhunting companies, and gave up the high-paying appointment of Tiger Fund. I insisted on returning to Hong Kong, because I knew that it was time, it was time to go home! As I headed home, I was still attached to investment banking.I have never doubted or wavered, and I have always been convinced that I will and will definitely reach the top of the pyramid at the fastest speed and obtain the title of "Managing Director". Since I was a child, I have been instilled with the most mainstream concept: to be a good child at home, to be a good student at school, and to go to work, I must do the best job.However, I never really used my brain to think about it, what is "good"?是别人都认为好的才是“好”？还是追随自己的心声，让自己开心快乐的才是“好”？ 那一刹那，我想我是在冥冥之中受到了上天的点拨。我突然大彻大悟，投资银行不过是众人眼中的一道光环，我为什么一定要牺牲自己的快乐，去点亮别人眼中的光环呢？我终于明白了为什么那么多的美国同学都会在大学毕业后去非洲、亚洲、去世界上最贫穷落后的地方做志愿者，为什么金钱、地位和稳定的生活从来都被他们不屑一顾。 毕竟，生活是属于自己的。 而后，一种从未有过的简单、轻松和愉悦笼罩了我。我就这样毅然决然地作出了一个在别人看来多少有些不可思议的决定。 同事问我，是不是有了新的工作，待遇比现在要好；朋友劝我，说再忍半年，到年底就可以拿到那笔数目可观的奖金了；连公司的运营官都和我打赌，赌一年半载后，我一定还会回来。 只有我自己才明白，我一刻也不能再等了，我也永远不会回头了。 第47节：走进凤凰(1) 连载（二十五）走进凤凰 我来凤凰，牵线人是石宁宁，人称石老，我却一直叫他宁宁。 初识宁宁，完全是因为凤凰上市。2000年春天，我还是摩根斯坦利的经理，宁宁在凤凰担任财务总监。因为凤凰准备登陆香港创业板，摩根斯坦利和美林、所罗门美邦等投行一起，参加了角逐主承销商的“选美”。 进入投行生涯的第四年，我已经懂得客户资源的重要性。记得我爸说起过，凤凰卫视董事长刘长乐曾在广院念书，与我爸也算是相识。现在，恭逢凤凰上市，我马上想到动用这层家庭关系，希望籍此来敲开凤凰的大门。 我爸妈都是大学老师，并没有四通八达的人际网络。唯独这一次，算是天赐良机。 而且，我爸很少求人帮忙，但这次，他却按照我的设计，首先找到刘老板的手机，然后亲自致电，说明原委。结果是，我没有能够和同事在正式“选美”前拜见刘老板，却第一次见到了宁宁。刘老板告诉我爸，宁宁是上市工作的具体负责人之一，和宁宁谈就等于和他谈。 通过了电话，吃过了饭，与宁宁也算是相识了。10天后，我和摩根斯坦利的七八位同事一起，声势浩大地走进凤凰位于九龙红磡的办公室。 第48节：走进凤凰(2) 会议室里，摩根斯坦利和凤凰的相关人士各自坐在会议桌的一侧。彼此寒喧时，宁宁特意指着我，向刘老板介绍：“这就是曾子墨！” 刘老板连忙转过他魁梧的身躯，笑眯眯地与我握手：“你就是曾子墨啊？曾老师身体怎么样？现在还给学生上课吗？见到他，替我向他问好！” 2000年秋天，因为宁宁的穿针引线，我再次拜见了老板。坐在明亮宽敞的办公室里，老板依旧慈眉善目，闲聊一样地谈凤凰上市，谈我的经历。在那样轻松和坦诚的氛围里，没有人会犹豫、胆怯，我也一样，想都没想，就直截了当地说出了心里话。 我说，离开摩根斯坦利，就是因为厌倦了金融，BD我可以做，IR我也可以做，但是我更想做的是一份新鲜的、不同的工作，更直接地说，就是真正的电视工作。毕竟，在告别了枯燥乏味的财务数字和通宵达旦的工作方式后，媒体和电视这两个词，对我有着无限的诱惑。 老板一听就乐了：“你会用对编机吗？” 我傻傻地摇摇头，坦白说，对编机这个词我还是第一次听说。 老板还在乐，继续说：“那你连记者都做不了啊！记者可是需要自己剪片子的！” 是啊，老板说得没错，我的确什么都不会！我既没学过一天新闻，又没在报社或者电视台工作过，我会做的只有财务分析，但在媒体，那是完全派不上用场的！ “不过，说话还是会说吧！”没等我开口，老板便乐呵呵地说，“看院长在不在，请院长过来安排一下试镜！” 院长？试镜？或许是两个全新的名词太陌生，又或许是一切来得太快、太简单，一时间，我竟没太听懂老板在说什么。坐在一旁的宁宁忙向我解释，院长就是中文台台长王纪言，因为曾经担任广院副院长，所以得此称呼。 院长人未到，爽朗的笑声和高高的嗓门就已经先声夺人。紧接着，他穿着鲜红T恤，风风火火地跑进来，一边雷厉风行地安排试镜，一边对我说：“你等我们电话吧，让我们的化妆师、造型师好好给你包装一下！” 就这样，短短几分钟内，我竟然成为了即将开播的凤凰卫视资讯台的候选主持人。 第49节：刘老板——时尚弄潮儿(1) 连载（二十六）刘老板——时尚弄潮儿 或许因为初次见面，刘老板就是一副和蔼可亲、拉家常的样子，所以日后当他真的成为我的老板，我也还是觉得对他的亲切远远超过了对老板该有的敬畏。 虽然有溜须拍马阿谀奉承的嫌疑，我却不得不承认，古今中外，天上地下，大到国际政治的风云变幻，小到凤凰员工的恋爱家史，雅如李白屈原音乐绘画，俗如八卦新闻花边消息，不雅不俗如美食佳肴豪宅盛装，老板几乎无所不知无所不晓。我常常好奇，老板的大脑到底装了多少东西？ 虽然到了知天命的年龄，老板却精力旺盛，保留着许多新新人类的明显特征。尤其是对数码电子产品，他永远是“时尚弄潮儿”。 在凤凰，有许多摄影发烧友，老板和院长都属于“高烧族”。早在2003年10月，我随他们去九寨沟，老板就用他的顶级数码装备为我拍下了无数红叶美景，再加上院长用他的长枪长炮为我拍的照片，至今还被我妈认为是我现存的最好照片。 老板还有一个爱好——酷爱时尚新款手机。只要一两个月不见，手机型号必然更新。 今年4月的一天，我和Tiger在北京主持某个颁奖典礼。或许因为会议太过冗长，流程还未过半，坐在台下的嘉宾们就耐不住寂寞了，纷纷拿出手机发短信。在整整一排低着头的部长和著名企业家中间，唯独老板，端坐在正中央，始终面色凝重，神情专注，仰头望着台上。