Belief in Safety: 18 Years of Safe Journey

Author: Liang Hongyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: Captures the essence of a generation's journey south in search of employment, condenses the entrepreneurial trajectory of Ping An Insurance, reflects on career challenges, and highlights that success lies in persisting just a little longer. Half of our lives are inevitably spent in a career. This career is not solely for survival, not just for providing for one's family, not merely for promotions, fame, or wealth, nor for making a fortune. It is also for another kind of truth, for striving, for pouring one's heart into it, for enduring hardship, and even for risking everything. This simplicity is the pursuit of dreams and aspirations. "I wrote The Belief in Ping An because I wanted to share the stories from my personal experiences at Ping An, or the changes in my career, to illustrate how from a young age, life has been driven by an insatiable desire and relentless effort for 'a longing.'" The Belief in Ping An tells an inspiring story. It is a journey that starts from within; desire flows from here; love cannot be stopped; happiness is either a shortcut or a maze; passion has the simplest annotation; belief leaves the last courage in life; love is the only reason; and the path forward is bright.
I stood in the foyer, which was paved with black marble, and felt that the new company, Ping An, was elegantly and uniquely decorated, like a warm and exquisite home. People from the mainland might share similar feelings, because compared to the later renovations of Ping An when it had grown, the image of Ping An in Shenzhen's Shekou was more memorable: the lobby wasn't large, but its layout was distinctive. Except for the reception desk directly opposite and the wide, crimson-backed wall behind, the large golden characters "Ping An Insurance Company" were not flashy. Connected to the lobby were two relatively sized reception areas. The larger one was elevated 15 centimeters off the ground, enclosed by wooden railings, with golden sand-colored carpet and light gray fabric sofas, stylish yet elegant. The curtains were vertical, cream-colored with fine, dense fabric patterns, obscuring the scenery of the Zhanqiao Road outside. Light shone from dozens of round tubes in the ceiling, contrasting with the black marble floor, creating a more tranquil and comfortable atmosphere.
Many years later, when Ping An built its own historical exhibition hall, a design company asked me how the company had struggled in its early days. They asked if the desks and chairs were all broken and simple, and if dozens of people were crammed into one room. Hearing such formulaic questions was frustrating—it felt as if mentioning hardship meant starting from a shack. I took them to Shekou, to the original site of Ping An, and showed them what it was like back then. I told them that at the time, Ping An was already a pride of Shekou, using the best furnishings and office supplies, even surpassing those in the Zhanqiao Building. Ping An's start wasn't low. Eighteen years ago, it was already a decent company in Shekou, just new and small, so many outside didn't know it. Adding to this, Ma Mingzhe was low-key, refusing interviews and advertisements, so even fewer people knew about it. Thus, this dark horse quietly gathered its strength, though no one believed it could break out of Shekou.
Li Yumeng came out, looking as if he had a limp, and acted carelessly. From a distance, he spread his arms wide and then plopped himself into the sofa (I was worried about the sofa), completely lacking the grace and manners I had imagined. I carried my suitcase around the large leaves of the bird-of-paradise tree and sat opposite him. He took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, smoked a few puffs, and then asked, "How did you get here?" I said, "I walked." He immediately widened his eyes in astonishment, saying in an exaggerated manner, "Why walk? There are minibuses." His demeanor was somewhat aggressive, as if not taking a minibus was foolish.
However, this seemed like a characteristic of both Shenzhen and Shekou. To say "there was no other choice" would be no exaggeration. The city is either raining or windy (anything with wind is called a typhoon, and it's categorized) all year round (or two seasons), or it's sunny and scorching. The sides of Shenzhen's main roads almost have no sidewalks (either railings or flowerbeds). A decade later, if you lived in Meilin Village and wanted to walk to Baoguiling for work, you wouldn't even know how to go because there were no sidewalks. So people here are accustomed to either driving or taking transportation when they go out.
I smiled at Li Yumeng and didn't say anything.