Chao News client reporter Zhu Cheng came to Yichen.
Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha Group, in his office in Hangzhou (photo taken on April 29, 2015). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Chuanhao.
On February 28, at the Xiasha base of Wahaha Group, people rushed to bid farewell to Zong Qinghou, the founder and former chairman of Wahaha Group.
This outstanding entrepreneur who is a late bloomer has practiced the "Four Thousand Spirit" of "traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers, speaking thousands of words, trying every possible way, and enduring thousands of hardships". His down-to-earth spirit of doing business inspires and inspires people.
The trendsetter of the times
Zong Qinghou always said that he was "a mortal who rose from the bottom, but he was lucky to catch up with the good times". Zong Qinghou is positive and inspirational, as a trendsetter of the times, he is also a vivid footnote to the development of the times.
When he was young, he went to the countryside and went to the farm, and took rural life as an opportunity to hone his will and strengthen his physique. In 1978, when China's reform and opening up kicked off, he returned to Hangzhou and worked diligently in the school-run factory for 9 years. In 1987, the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly proposed to vigorously develop the commodity economy, and at the age of 42, he started a business with a loan of 140,000 yuan, pedaling a tricycle to deliver stationery and sell popsicles; In the 90s of the last century, the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly proposed the establishment of a socialist market economy system, and he merged Hangzhou Canned Food Factory with "small fish eat big fish", established Wahaha Group, closely followed market changes, developed Wahaha children's oral liquid, Wahaha pure water, AD calcium milk and other products and sold them to the whole country, realizing the leapfrog development of the enterprise. Rooted in the real economy for more than 30 years, Zong Qinghou has built Wahaha from an unknown small factory into one of the largest and world-leading beverage manufacturers in China, with 81 production bases and 187 subsidiaries in 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities across the country, with nearly 30,000 employees.
Since the reform and opening up, the first generation of Zhejiang businessmen in China has an extraordinary entrepreneurial and innovative spirit and a strong sense of historical mission. Shi Jinchuan, a senior professor of liberal arts at Zhejiang University, remembered that one evening many years ago, Zong Qinghou invited him to talk about the economic situation and the development of enterprises. For more than four hours, Zong Qinghou's surging feelings impressed him deeply: starting a business is not entirely to make money, but to make a career in the country's reform and opening up and economic development, and to contribute to society.
When people cherish the memory of Zong Qinghou, it is a respect for entrepreneurs, a recognition of the contribution of private enterprises, and a determination to continue to work hard.
Take social responsibility
In the last few months of his life, Zong Qinghou was still emphasizing social responsibility and corporate responsibility in a roundtable interview. He said that this should be one of the basic connotations of entrepreneurship. The development of enterprises is inseparable from social development, inseparable from the support of the people, and it is the duty and responsibility of enterprises to give back to the society.
On the obituary on Wahaha's official website, the promotional video is rolling**, and Zong Qinghou's voice and smile are still there: "The more money you make, the greater the social responsibility I think." "We should help everyone get rich together, reflecting the value of wealth and the value of your life." ”
In Zong Qinghou's eyes, enterprises shoulder social responsibility and do public welfare, and it is never about donating some money to finish. What he has promoted has always been a "hematopoietic" way to help the poor. A total of 8.7 billion yuan has been invested in 17 provinces and cities in the central and western regions of the country and underdeveloped areas, and 76 branches have been established to absorb and train 130,000 local laborers.
In the underdeveloped areas of the central and western regions, there are 23 hope primary schools and 100 sunshine playgrounds built with the assistance of Zongqinghou; Impoverished children in 8 provinces, 26 counties, and 52 schools have moved into dormitories he helped build and slept in warm beds. With his help and encouragement, more than 100 volunteers went to the poverty-stricken mountainous areas of Sichuan, Guizhou and Guizhou to teach, and tens of thousands ......of students in need fulfilled their university dreamsFrom donating funds to build infrastructure, setting up scholarships to strengthening investment in education, Zong Qinghou has contributed nearly 500 million yuan to education in his lifetime.
Zong Qinghou is gone, and his responsibility and warm love for the society will remain in people's hearts.
Inspire entrepreneurs to move forward bravely
Zong Qinghou once revealed his heart emotionally: "There will be a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people, and there will be a thousand Wahaha in the eyes of a thousand people, but for me, there is only one Wahaha, it is my whole life, all my dreams, all meanings, values, labels and symbols, it is the proof of my existence in this world." ”
My father, he is a dedicated, persistent person, faith and dreams have always occupied my father's world, he is a beacon on our way forward. Zong Qinghou's daughter Zong Fuli choked up for a while.
Zong Qinghou's dream is true and pure. His road to chasing his dreams has been bumpy, but consistent. For this dream, Zong Qinghou struggled until the last moment of his life.
Wang Shuifu, chairman of Xizi United Holdings, was touched by Zong Qinghou's continuous attention and investment in manufacturing and deep understanding; Chen Miaolin, the founder of New Century Tourism Group, remembers his simple and generous distinctive characteristics; Wang Zhentao, chairman of Aokang Group, was inspired by his practical spirit of anchoring industry and people's livelihood; Hu Jiqiang, chairman of Kangenbei, lamented Yu Zongqinghou's ambition and pride in his career, and said that "I will continue to learn from Brother Zong, live to be old, learn to be old, be old, contribute to the old, and love to be old."
Nan Cunhui, Chairman of the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, President of the General Association of Zhejiang Entrepreneurs, and Chairman of Chint Group, wrote a eulogy and sighed: "He left the world far more than a 'Wahaha', far more than a legend of outstanding Zhejiang businessmen, and a precious spiritual wealth. ”
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