It was very obvious that Boss Pei did not want everyone to discuss this award in public. At the very least, none of them could discuss it then and there. Otherwise, he would not have been so harsh. He even insisted that everyone go home as soon as they could.

  In addition, the award itself was very suspicious. There must be something wrong since things went this way!

  Everyone frowned, thinking about Boss Pei’s deeper intentions behind such actions. The entire conference room fell silent.

  All of a sudden, Huang Sibo looked up. Soon after, Lin Wan, Lu Mingliang, Zhang Yuan, and Chang You followed suit. They all exchanged a meaningful look as if wanting to say something. However, it would have been inappropriate to discuss it aloud there. After all, they were right in front of Boss Pei.

  Boss Pei had clearly wanted them to realize it on their own. He did not want them to discuss it openly.

  Thus, Lu Mingliang stood up, picked up the trophy, and walked away. However, before he left, he waved his cell phone at everyone else in the meeting room.

  Huang Sibo and Lin Wan quickly followed closely behind him. They, too, gestured at their cell phones before they left.

  All the heads returned to their own workspaces.

  On the way, Lu Mingliang added all the heads of Tengda Corporation into a chat named ‘Tengda Higher Management’s Internal Chat’. Of course, he did not add Boss Pei into the group. Strictly speaking, Boss Pei was the boss of Tengda Corporation. Naturally, he could not be considered part of ‘higher management’.

  However, the main reason was that—while Boss Pei had set a riddle for everyone-he seemingly didn’t want everyone to spread the correct answer. Instead, it seemed like he wanted everyone to solve the riddle on their own and slowly come to understand it in private.

  Each time Boss Pei noticed that the ‘correct answer’ seemed to be spreading around, he would become upset.

  Yet, they could not just keep mum.

  Boss Pei’s riddle was too difficult. When would they ever be able to figure it out if each of them tried to find the answer on their own?

  The group would only be meant for discussion and inspiration. It would not count as cheating. All of them were so close. They could skip the pleasantries and cut right to the chase.

  Lu Mingliang, “What do you think Boss Pei is trying to tell us through this award?

  “I’m referring to the first two lines in particular.

  “[Image).” Although everyone had a different understanding of the Tengda Spirit, each department in the company was faced with a different situation as well. That meant each of the departments held information that the others would not have access to.

  The only one who had a full picture and who understood everything like the back of his hand was Boss Pei.

  Naturally, all of them had to work together to figure out Boss Pei’s true intentions behind his actions. The departments had to piece all the information together to successfully reach a comprehensive answer.

  Huang Sibo, “You’re the one who won the prize. You should go first.” Zhang Yuan, “That’s right. You go first.”


  Lu Mingliang, “Alright. Everyone knows that Upwind Logistics has been incurring losses ever since it was established. However, after being transferred to this company, I realized that Upwind Logistics has made significant contributions to Tengda Corporation.

  “From its delivery services to its support to departments like ROF and Otto Technologies, one can tell how much Upwind Logistics has changed the logistical state and living habits of Jingzhou’s locals.

  “We’re not purely delivering goods to people’s doorsteps. We’re also establishing a close relationship with our users. Now, our old users only engage us for deliveries and not any other company. Although we’re losing money, we have full control of our customers. They are our most important resource.

  “On top of that, tracing over our users’ images allows us to analyze the market well. That means we can conduct research for the other department and leave deep and lasting effects.

  “Maybe Boss Pei gave Upwind Logistics the ‘Cornerstone Award’ because he thinks that Upwind Logistics is critical and foundational to Tengda Corporation.”


  Zhang Yuan, “Yes, that makes sense. Without Upwind Logistics, ROF’s business would not have developed so smoothly in the beginning. We would also be having a lot of trouble with the after-sales services.”


  Chang You, “I agree, too. Boss Pei obviously views Upwind Logistics as Tengda Corporation’s lifeline. The name ‘Cornerstone Award’ says it all.”


  Lu Mingliang, “Do any of you have anything else to add?”


  Lin Wan, “Boss Pei emphasized that only companies that incur a lot of losses can earn this award. He even said we may win it in the future. That means being a ‘lifeline’ is not the only criterion for the award.

  “The meaning behind incurring losses is more important.

  “Shang Yang Games incurred losses first before it generated profits. It could only turn losses into profits because it learned from its past mistakes and accumulated experiences.

  “Since failure is the mother of all success, we can also say loss is the mother of all profits. Boss Pei should be trying to tell us that if we want to learn how to run, we must first know how to fall; if we want to learn how to make profits, we must first know how to incur losses.”


  Zhang Yuan, “I completely agree! It was the same for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. “If Boss Pei had not insisted on incurring losses, it would not have achieved its current success.”


  Ma Dubiao, “The same can be said about Zhongdian Chinese Network.

  “On top of that, I think we can analyze those two lines.

  “A chip off a mountain of gold does not affect its height; an immeasurable sea remains deep despite a blight.”


  “That’s so philosophical!”


  “The second line is especially so. It’s saying that the ocean of wealth has no boundaries. One might not be able to find the limits even if they dedicated their entire lives to doing so. However, if you already have enough financial power, you can still continue to accumulate more riches.

  “The more eroded the sea bed, the deeper the sea would become.

  “The erosion refers to losses. In other words, we might be incurring losses on the surface, but that just means we would be able to generate much more wealth.

  “That confirms that Boss Pei is encouraging us to spend as much money as possible to push our boundaries just like Upwind Logistics. They’re not spending money for the sake of it, but they’re spending money to enlarge their scale!” Zhang Yuan, “1024 Digital Day was the same.”


  He Desheng, “Er, bosses, I thought of something else, but I’m not sure if it’ll be appropriate to say it.”


  Lin Wan, “We’re one family. There’s no need for nonsense like that. Just speak your mind.”


  He Desheng, “Er, alright. I thought about more things from the word ‘cornerstone’. I don’t think Upwind Logistics is just Tengda Corporation’s cornerstone. It’s also society’s cornerstone.

  “One could even say that one of Tengda Corporation’s missions is to become a cornerstone of society! “I’m in the investment department, and so I feel especially strongly about this. When Boss Pei was personally in charge of Dream Realization Ventures, he only invested in two projects: the shared phone booths and Top Student, Come Quick’. He didn’t even spare other profitable-looking projects a second glance.

  “Both projects that he invested in were very advantageous to society.

  “The shared phone booths provided independent spaces for ordinary consumers to rest while shopping in malls. They also became landmarks that boasted our malls’ culture. On the other hand, the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ project gathered everyone in academics and steered them toward a common noble goal of ‘breaking boundaries and sharing knowledge’.

  “Compared to Dream Realization Venture’s current situation and results, Upwind Logistics is obviously more practical and outstanding.

  “That’s why I think turning Tengda Corporation into a cornerstone of society is one of Boss Pei’s goals. One important criterion in awarding the ‘Cornerstone Award’ must be whether a business has contributed enough to society or not.”


  Lin Wan, “That makes a lot of sense!”


  Hu Xianbin, “You’re speaking too quickly. I just opened the app and saw 99+ unread messages. I was so stunned. Would a class rep summarize the answers to the homework that Boss Pei gave us? I want to copy them.”


  Lin Wan, “Let me.

  “The ‘Cornerstone Award’ has four main motives.

  “First, it rewards departments that provide essential services. Second, it encourages us to be bold and incur losses for the sake of profits, so that we can learn from our mistakes. Third, it encourages far-sightedness because spending huge sums of money pushes our boundaries and increases our market share. Fourth, it motivates us to be responsible members of society.”


  Huang Sibo, “Exactly! Exactly!”


  Lu Mingliang, “Yes, that should be all that Boss Pei intended.”


  Zhang Yuan, “That means that Upwind Logistics truly deserves the award. They’ve accomplished all four points. I’ve thought of a way to win the next award!”


  He Desheng, “Let’s compete to see which of our departments would get it first, then.” Zhang Yuan, “.…… D*mn, I forgot that I am no longer the head of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe or ROF Computer-Installation. Why am I still talking so much? @XiaoPeng, let’s chat in private.”


  Xiao Peng was supposed to be in charge of the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branches in Lincheng

  Ever since he was ‘forced to retire’, Zhang Yuan had been thinking about promoting Xiao Peng to become the next head of ROF Computer-Installation and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, given his outstanding performance in Lincheng.

  Lin Wan, We’ve figured it out. Dismissed!”


  Li Yada, “Hold on!”


  Ma Dubiao, “?”


  Hu Xianbin, “Big Sister Li, aren’t you overseas?”


  Lin Wan, “Eh? Yada, what time is it where you are?”


  Li Yada, “That’s not important. I woke up in the middle of the night because I felt thirsty, and I just so happened to read this conversation. I have some things to add!

  “I think there’s another meaning to ‘cornerstone’.

  “Ma Yiqun only analyzed half of the saying, but he left out the first half: ‘a chip off a mountain of gold does not affect its height’.

  “Why did Boss Pei say that? It’s precisely because a mountain of gold has deep roots. That’s why whatever little it lacks would not cause it to collapse.

  “Additionally, this award is called the ‘Cornerstone Award’. That means we have to keep working on our foundation.“The saying about the mountain of gold comes before the saying about the immeasurable sea. That means the foundation should be our priority. Only after we’ve settled that would we have a solid foundation to spend money and increase our share of the market.”


  Ma Dubiao, “That makes sense! Ai, why didn’t I think about that? I’m embarrassed, I’m embarrassed.”


  Li Yada, “No, no, no. I only thought about this because you analyzed the second half of the saying. You humanities majors are still better at these things than I am.”


  Hao Yun, “Yes, all of you make so much sense!

  “I think those five points can be summarized as the ‘cornerstone spirit’. From now on, it’ll be one of the aspects of the Tengda spirit.

  “That gives the HR department a clear direction for work in the future!”


  Soon, the chat became filled with encouraging comments. The more the heads read through the conversation, the more logical everything seemed.

  Boss Pei was a philosopher indeed. In just two lines, he could include so many lessons. That made him as good as the great nobility from the past!