Chapter 405

This year's Economic Person of the Year selection was the fourteenth edition, having been established for over a decade.

There's a saying that this is the Oscar of the economic world, the highest honor.

This year's Economic Person of the Year event gathered business titans from all sides, including rising stars like Xiaomi's Lei Jun, Liu Qiangdong, Yutu, and Chang'e Fang Hong.

Also present were established giants like Gree's Dong Dajie, Alibaba's Jack Ma, Wanda's Lao Wang Zong, Lenovo's Yang Yuanqing and Liu Chuanzhi, Tencent's Tony Ma, Red-Clad Sect Leader, Baidu's Li Yanhong, Suning Zhang Jindong, and Sina Cao Guowei.

Now that Suning has aligned with Alibaba and embraced e-commerce, a major trend, Alibaba alone achieved 35 billion in sales on Double Eleven—truly at its zenith.

Huayi Big Wang was also here; his company's market value once surged past forty billion, becoming the highest-valued company on the Growth Enterprise Board, hailed as: the First Stock of the Cultural Industry!

This was due not only to a string of favorable developments in the film industry this year, but also because Yutu wasn't competing with him.

If Yutu had competed with him, its market value wouldn't have been lower—just the shows Dad Where Are We Going and Let's Get Married alone could have boosted it.

After all, Yutu isn't a publicly listed company.

In the multipurpose conference hall of Big Pants, people streamed in continuously, guided by staff to their assigned seats.

Everyone had their designated seat, even if they brought family members.

This wasn't just a business event—it also drew top political figures from various ministries: the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the TV Station Chief, SASAC, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Civil Aviation Administration, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the State Taxation Administration, and the General Administration of Customs.

Plus some international guests, like former prime ministers and former presidents.

They sat in the front row; all other business figures sat behind them in tiered rows of seats, each occupied by corporate celebrities.

The hall buzzed with quiet conversation—people chatting softly with neighbors or gazing ahead, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Jack Ma, Lao Wang Zong, Liu Chuanzhi, and other business titans sat together, chatting as if unaware of Fang Hong, their rival, behind them.

Fang Hong, dressed in a sharp suit, arrived with Liu Tianxian, guided by staff to a seat midway and toward the back, unremarkable in appearance.

He was a powerhouse in the entertainment circle, but here he was just a small fry.

Even if everyone knew him and cast curious glances his way, no one treated him as significant—not him, not even if Elon Musk showed up, these people wouldn't give him a second thought.

In this era, Chinese entrepreneurs were simply that powerful.

Jack Ma, up front, laughed and chatted with others, completely oblivious to his old rival behind him.

Liu Tianxian had never attended such an event before, but she adapted easily—after all, even in entertainment, she frequently dealt with brand partners and was accustomed to it.

She remained as calm as ever, chatting with Fang Hong about daily life and amusing anecdotes.

Sitting side by side, she leaned her hand over her mouth: "My mom says as soon as I get home, I run out again—can't even spare a glance for her."

"You didn't tell her you were coming with me to this event," Fang Hong said, glancing at her.

She had her hair tied up, wore a woman's suit, looking sharp, fresh, and formally proper.

This wasn't entertainment—there, you wore gowns, bare-chested or bare-legged; here, attire still mattered.

Even Milk Tea Sister dressed with care.

"I did mention it—just complained a little," Liu Tianxian said.

The two chatted as if no one else was around, when two more people arrived beside them—they looked up and saw Lei Bus and his wife Zhang Tong.

"Hey, Principal," Lei Bus seemed warmly enthusiastic, sitting down with his wife beside them.

His wife Zhang Tong sat on the outer seat, her gaze passing over Lei Jun, curiously studying the two.

"General Manager Lei, hello," Fang Hong nodded.

"I've long admired your name; meeting you today, I see you truly are extraordinary," Lei Bus said with his signature smile, his words witty.

"General Manager Lei, your name is legendary—I hear of Xiaomi's brilliance even from home," Fang Hong replied.

This year, Xiaomi was indeed brilliant: crushing counterfeit phones, sales surpassed thirty billion, many times Yutu's, yet profit was pitifully low—only 347 million.

That profit was less than one hit TV drama from Yutu, but you couldn't compare them that way—they were fighting for market share.

With market dominance, their influence and stature were beyond Yutu's reach.

Though they earned less than Yutu, no one thought Xiaomi inferior—instead, they respected Xiaomi and looked down on Yutu.

This was the reality: industries had their own hierarchies, and entertainment always sat at the bottom, helpless.

That's why Fang Hong wanted to climb higher.

"We're just tinkering—you fought Youku, that was a real lesson for us," Lei Bus sighed.

They relied on marketing; you competed head-on with Principal—there was a difference.

"What do you mean?" Fang Hong didn't understand.

"When you were battling Youku, and Alibaba entered the fray, our business friends were already saying: how will you back down? You were already on a tiger's back—some guessed you'd be worn down, or abandon video and cut your tail to survive.

We'd already planned every possible solution for you, even bet on which path you'd take—we thought of everything, but never imagined you'd play politics, forcing a ceasefire."

Lei Bus spoke with great enthusiasm.

You played capital; you played politics—that truly impressed them. Their phone industry competition was fiercer than internet or entertainment.

"Oh, I see. So who won the bet?" Fang Hong had a peculiar train of thought.

They praised his victory, yet he cared only about who won the bet.

Liu Tianxian stayed quiet, proud inside as others praised her man.

Now she loved watching Fang Hong succeed, chatting with successful people—it felt like watching him move from one success to another, deeply fulfilling.

"No one won—you solved the problem in a way we never anticipated," Lei Bus shook his head, asking: "Hey, how did you even come up with that solution?"

"It's simple—step back and look at the problem from another angle. The core issue is Chang'e competing with Youku; we're really fighting over content rights," Fang Hong said.

"Ah, I see!"

Lei Bus understood—it made perfect sense. Solve the content issue, and you solve the conflict.

As they talked, the ceremony began. Three hosts stepped onto the dazzling stage: Wang Xiaoya, Chen Weihong, and Ji Xiaojun.

They delivered their script, lauded the remarkable achievements of today's economy, and introduced the political leaders in the front row.

Then they introduced the thirty candidates for Economic Person of the Year—state-owned and private enterprises alike: Lei Bus, Dong Dajie, and Fang Hong.

Their images flashed one by one on the big screen—dynamic, stirring, electrifying.

"You, yeah."

Liu Tianxian nudged Fang Hong's arm. On the big screen, his figure appeared, and he even said a line to the camera: "Retain talent, and you retain the technology."

The shot flashed by in an instant, not lingering long.

This was being broadcast live on CCTV-2's Finance Channel, and also on Sina's Finance Channel.

"Filmed just a few days ago." Fang Hong said proudly, keeping his voice low.

Just a short clip, sent to CCTV.

"Not bad, not bad at all—really great." Liu Tianxian was happy too, giving him a thumbs-up.

Being recognized by CCTV and being selected by the higher-ups as someone who drives the economy proved this man had indeed done some real work.

It hadn't been for nothing, all these years of effort.

Fang Hong was very pleased with himself. He leaned back in his chair, draped his arm over her shoulder, looking thoroughly smug.

"Sit up properly!"

Liu Tianxian slapped his leg, oblivious to the setting, and added: "You haven't even won the award yet and you're already showing off. Right now you're only nominated."

Fang Hong sat up straight and asked softly: "What if I do win? How will you reward me?"

"If you win, you win—what reward do you want?" Liu Tianxian fixed him with her phoenix eyes.

Fang Hong took her hand, stroking her soft, smooth hand-back: "How about we get our marriage certificate?"

Those words made Liu Tianxian's heart skip a beat. She couldn't help feeling a little nervous, a little delighted, a stirring deep inside.

Was this a proposal? It seemed this man had never proposed to her—he'd just quietly walked into her life.

"We haven't even gotten married and you're talking about getting the certificate!" she said.

"The two don't conflict. Get the certificate first and live together, then get married—same thing." Fang Hong said.

"Oh, so you're only saying this so you can move in with me, huh? The fox tail's showing." Liu Tianxian said it in a cute, coquettish way.

"Ah, how is it that I can never hide even this little thought from you?" Fang Hong's words were clearly flattering.

"The moment you stick your butt out, I know what you're about to do." Liu Tianxian lapped it up.

"Yes, yes, yes." Fang Hong probed: "So, what do you say?"

"Wait till you bring me the award, then we'll talk." Liu Tianxian neither agreed nor refused.

"Deal!"

Fang Hong was fired up, looking toward the stage.

Liu Tianxian turned to glance at him, her heart inevitably touched. She didn't know why she was touched, but somehow, when this man said he wanted to get the certificate with her, she was inexplicably moved.

It was just that, over all these years, apart from when he was courting her, this man had mostly been passive—the progress of their relationship had largely been pushed by her.

For example, when it came to getting married, it was she and her mother pushing it forward; this man just passively accepted, going along with whatever they said.

He gave her absolute autonomy.

So a man so restrained and passive, suddenly taking the initiative to say this, couldn't help but add a few extra touches of emotion.

Actually, Liu Tianxian liked it when Fang Hong took the initiative!

The two whispered to each other. The camera basically didn't point at the guests' seats—if it did, it pointed at the leaders in front and Jack Ma and the others.

Beside them, Lei Jun and his wife kept their attention on the stage, not on the conversation of the two next to them.

Even if they had noticed, they weren't the type to gossip.

The awards were already being presented on stage. The presenters were from the State Taxation Administration and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology—ministerial-level figures, very high-ranking.

The first awards went to central and state-owned enterprises. The winners were the Chairman of Xinxing Cathay and the Chairman of Greenland Group.

After the two winning Chairmen shared their success stories and proud achievements up on stage, the awards continued.

Most of these awards went to state-owned and central enterprises, presented by ministerial-level figures. For private enterprises, it was the private-sector leaders.

The slots for private enterprises were extremely few—just two.

Every person who went up to receive the award talked a bit about their strengths; some were quite funny.

Of course, there were inevitably touching moments in between, and inevitably song-and-dance performances—these were standard features, perfectly normal.

(End of chapter)