Wutai Mountain, one of China's four famous Buddhist mountains, is located in Wutai County. It is surrounded by five peaks, which are tall and flat on top, resembling earthen platforms, hence the name Wutai Mountain.
The distances between Beijing, the ancient city, and Wutai form an almost equilateral triangle. Han Chufeng, who had previously visited Wutai Mountain twice in summer for a vacation, set out alone in a Mitsubishi Jeep to Wutai County, intending to meet Ding Yuanying for a more profound purpose—discussing Buddhist philosophy. He had cleared all his work commitments to make this trip. Han Chufeng waited for Ding Yuanying's bus at the last national highway toll station from the ancient city to Wutai County.
Han Chufeng waited for about ten minutes when the bus from the ancient city to Wutai arrived at the toll station at 2:40 PM. Ding Yuanying got off the bus and greeted Han Chufeng with a handshake. It had been over a year since they last met in Beijing, and their reunion at a highway toll station in Wutai County felt particularly warm.
Ding Yuanying put his travel bag in the back seat of the Jeep but left the car door open. He lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply as he hadn't smoked in five hours.
Han Chufeng said, "You can smoke in the car. Let's find a place to eat first."
Ding Yuanying replied, "No need to look for a place. Xiaodan said being with you attracts thieves and advised against eating by the roadside. She prepared some pancakes for us. With road police around, we can eat right here." He took out a small plastic bag with pancakes and two sealed containers from his travel bag. The containers held thinly sliced beef and tea eggs. He also took out a pair of disposable chopsticks and some bottled water. Finally, he handed Han Chufeng a folder, a pen, and a box of red ink.
Han Chufeng took the folder, glanced at the "Ouyang Xue Loan Agreement to Han Chufeng," and signed three copies inside the car. He stamped his fingerprints and wiped the red ink off his fingers with a tissue.
Ding Yuanying, sitting beside Han Chufeng with the car door open, placed two of the signed documents back in his travel bag along with the pen and ink, apologizing, "You'll have to tighten your belt for a few months since we're borrowing money from the ancient city."
Han Chufeng, stuffing beef and tea eggs into a pancake, said, "My finances have been a mess for years. Whether I have more or less money doesn't matter. I can always scrape together a few hundred thousand. I know about Chen Ru taking money from you. It was my fault you had to sell your records."
Ding Yuanying asked, "Who told you?"
Han Chufeng, chewing, said, "If you had difficulties and didn't tell me, you must have needed to avoid me for a reason. Besides my wife causing trouble for you, I can't think of anyone else. Chen Ru said you did it to embarrass her, haha..."
Ding Yuanying laughed, "Tell her it's my fault, and I apologize."
Han Chufeng handed a small black leather bag to Ding Yuanying, saying, "There's 200,000 yuan inside, with an extra 100,000 for contingency. I prepared four envelopes. If 50,000 yuan opens one door, the extra 100,000 gives us two more chances. If all four doors are blocked, we're out of luck. After all, monks are still people, and many monasteries are busy making money. True monks dedicated to their faith are rare."
Ding Yuanying threw away his cigarette, took an envelope from the black leather bag, and put five stacks of 10,000 yuan each aside. He then stuffed a pancake with beef and tea eggs, saying, "On Buddhist ground, we must go with the flow."
Feeling uncomfortable eating in the car, Han Chufeng got out and leaned against the car door, holding a pancake and a bottle of water. "You went to the ancient city for peace. Why get involved with a bunch of audiophiles and even start a poverty alleviation project?"
Ding Yuanying, opening a bottle of water, said, "Xiaodan wanted a gift, which led to this project. Wangmiao Village is a poor village in a poor county. Xiaodan's gift request was for me to create a miracle there."
Han Chufeng was stunned, momentarily forgetting to chew. "A miracle? That's unheard of. What's her connection to the village?"
Ding Yuanying replied, "No connection. It's not about enlightenment or levels but about cultural attributes. According to her, if the poverty of Wangmiao Village is a result of cultural attributes, what does it mean if a miracle changes the village?"
Han Chufeng was lost in thought, "That's the real Zen. This girl is remarkable!"
Ding Yuanying said, "What miracle? It's just a forced redistribution of wealth. It's like looking over the edge of a well, not solving the root cause. No one dares to gamble the fate of a village's farmers just to test this idea. If truth were created by people, it wouldn't be truth; it would be ideology."
Han Chufeng asked, "Who are you taking from? Who are you giving to?"
Ding Yuanying didn't answer directly. "Have you heard of the Lesheng Company?"
Han Chufeng said, "Lesheng is a top brand in China's Hi-Fi audio industry, led by Lin Yufeng. He's a well-known figure, rumored to have started by smuggling electronics. He's got connections in both the legal and illegal worlds."
Ding Yuanying said, "Lesheng has 64 million in assets, with 17% of the Hi-Fi market share, never venturing into AV audio. Lesheng claims to have only offense, no defense, always attacking. It's a very aggressive company. Online, someone nicknamed their flagship speaker 'Invincible.'"
Han Chufeng looked incredulous, "Redistribution of wealth—finding a rich target. But with your few hundred thousand, some audiophiles, and a village of poor farmers, is it possible?"
Ding Yuanying said, "Lesheng doesn't need defense because of its sharp offense. I have neither offense nor defense, so I'll borrow Lesheng's offense. In Beijing, I plan to use Berlin, London, and Paris as references, with Sleek Company as enforcers, courts and media as spectators, and Earl Electronics to add fuel to the fire. I believe it's possible to get some leverage from Lesheng. The core is a clever trick. If done well, it can lead Lesheng's intelligence into a trap, disguising wisdom as folly."
Han Chufeng ate silently for a long time before saying, "Private equity funds are risky, but this is life-threatening. Lin Yufeng won't let you off easily."
Ding Yuanying said, "If the shoeless dirties the shoes, Lin Yufeng will still have his honor. Killing me would give him a nameless tombstone, an embarrassing legacy. If he kills me, I'll accept it as fate."
Han Chufeng understood and no longer worried. After finishing his pancake, he got back into the car and started the engine. Ding Yuanying moved to the front passenger seat. They both lit cigarettes and continued their journey.
Han Chufeng said, "This isn't an easy task. If we fail, we'll have seen the edge of the well but fall back into the abyss."
Ding Yuanying said, "We must divide the project into two parts: the audiophiles' company and the farmers' production. Let the shareholders take risks; their success depends on themselves. For the farmers, we must not give them false hopes. I can't save them. The only thing I can do is let them adopt a market economy mindset. They must save themselves."
Han Chufeng pondered, "You're dealing with farmers on their turf. Without integrating them into the company's management, how will you control product quality and costs? How will you resolve conflicts of interest?"
Ding Yuanying said, "We can't manage them. Management would kill the project before it starts."
Han Chufeng didn't understand, "Why?"
Ding Yuanying explained, "Farmers will have to find space in their homes for production, breathe toxic paint fumes, endure harmful dust, and noise. There are issues with working hours, child and elder labor, social insurance, and environmental pollution. What can farmers compete with? They can only compete by doing inhumane work in inhumane conditions. If we integrate them into the company, we won't survive a day under legal scrutiny. Farmers will come complaining about crowded sleeping conditions and discomfort at work, turning all conflicts into conflicts with the company. Then, it's no longer about product quality and costs but about how to serve the masters."
Han Chufeng said, "Management would turn into a disaster. Makes sense. But without control, things will be chaotic."
Ding Yuanying said, "Farmers are not a monolith. There will always be conflicts. With economic incentives, let them fight it out. Use peasant mentality to govern peasant mentality."
Han Chufeng asked, "How?"
Ding Yuanying said, "Establish a petty economy system among the farmers. Grinding board specialists buy raw boards from cutters. Painters buy primed boards from grinders. Packers buy finished boards from painters. Cash transactions create a chain of mutual constraints. Whoever fails bears the loss, without affecting others' profits. Allow them to produce substandard goods and inflate prices. Let the market correct them. Use economic leverage to solve quality and cost issues. This isn't for the academia; it's a grassroots method."
Han Chufeng nodded lightly, "Flexibility in methods, adapting to the situation. Makes sense."
They chatted leisurely as they drove towards Wutai Mountain. At the entrance, they paid 80 yuan each for the entrance fee and continued up the mountain. By this season, there were few visitors. The higher they went, the colder it got. Among the rolling peaks, temples appeared sporadically, evoking a sense of awe and mystery, as if they were under the invisible control of a higher power.