On February 25, 2024, Zong Qinghou, a famous Chinese entrepreneur and founder of Wahaha Group, passed away due to illness at the age of 79. The death of the business tycoon marked the end of a long career in business.
With the departure of Zong Qinghou, the outside world is most concerned about who will fall into the hands of the commercial empire he has established. The answer is relatively straightforward – Zong Fuli, a direct descendant of the business magnate and his only daughter, will be his successor.
However, life is always full of regrets, despite Zong Qinghou's remarkable achievements in the business world, but there are few descendants of the Zong family, Zong Fuli, as his only daughter, is still unmarried, and it is reported that her love history is still blank.
Zong Qinghou once expressed a wish before his death, that is, he hoped to see his daughter get married. He even half-truthfully said, "As long as it's a man, it's healthy!" It's a pity that Zong Qinghou, as a father, finally failed to witness the moment when his daughter walked into the wedding scene in a wedding dress.
Zong Fuli, born in 1982, was rarely accompanied by her parents in her childhood. At that time, Zong Qinghou and his wife were busy with the development of the business, and they had little time to take care of their daughter, and missed many important moments of her growth.
Despite the lack of parental companionship, Zong Fuli did not feel lonely, but instead cultivated a self-reliant character in loneliness, which also laid the foundation for her to become a business magnate in the future.
When she was a student, she had to deal with various affairs of life on her own, which made her more mature and independent than her peers.
She has always maintained a low-key lifestyle, and even her classmates do not know her family background, Zong Fuli seems to be born aware of her responsibilities, so she is more focused on her studies.
Her parents often taught her: "Don't be too public, rely on your own strength to earn the respect of others." This has become the creed of Zong Fuli's life. Later, she chose to go abroad for further study and stood out among the rich second generation with a low-key attitude.
At the age of 16, she went overseas and was admitted to Pepperdine University in Los Angeles in just four years, majoring in international business, in preparation for the family business.
Unlike other rich second generations, Zong Fuli's study abroad life is not a luxury and waste, she knows that her goal is to learn knowledge, not just for a diploma.
During her four years of university, she studied Western management concepts and business thinking in depth, which laid a solid foundation for her future success in the business world.
After graduating and returning to China, Zong Fuli joined the family business in 2004. Unlike other family businesses that allow children to start from the grassroots level, Zong Qinghou chose to let his daughter directly participate in the management work.
Zong Fuli, who was only 22 years old at the time, faced a huge challenge, but she did not back down. She deliberately avoided her father's protection and began to show her skills in the company.
Her diligence was recognized by her colleagues, who were the first to arrive at the company and the last to leave.
As a rich second generation, she gave up irrelevant social activities, almost did not appear in entertainment occasions, and devoted all her energy to work, showing a strong "strong woman" temperament, because of her decisiveness, she was called the "Iron Lady" by her colleagues.
As a result of accepting the influence of Western culture, Zong Fuli has a more open mind. She doesn't have any title printed on her business card, and her colleagues can call her by her first name, which virtually shortens the distance between her and her employees.
However, Zong Fuli is very principled in her work and does not treat people well. If she finds that an employee is not suitable for the position, she will not hesitate to make adjustments and will never compromise because of personal feelings.
She believes that once you get into a personal affair, sooner or later the company will have problems. This decisive work attitude demonstrates her excellent management skills.
For those talented employees, Zong Fuli never hesitates to reward, even if it is a newcomer, as long as she performs well, she will give promotion, which reflects her wisdom in employing people.
Such a Zong Fuli, someone has long predicted that she will eventually inherit the family business. But Zong Fuli knew that in order to shoulder this heavy responsibility, she must have enough ability, so she never gave herself room to slack off.
She is hardworking, efficient and has a work attitude very similar to that of her father, so both father and daughter have left an indelible mark on the business world.
Before taking over the company, Zong Fuli had already become the head of Wahaha Xiaoshan No. 2 Base through her own efforts, managing 6 companies with business covering various fields such as convenience food, daily chemicals and beverages.
In 2012, 30-year-old Zong Fuli made it to the Forbes list with her own strength, becoming one of the five Chinese women selected.
In the same year, she also won the title of "2012 Zhejiang Entrepreneur of the Year", which is a testament to her unremitting efforts.
In 2020, Zong Fuli was included in the official list of the 30 most influential business women in China. These honors have nothing to do with her family background, but are the result of her personal persistence, hard work, and self-discipline.
Although there is a platform to showcase her talents, what really makes Zong Fuli the focus of the business world is her perseverance and self-sacrifice.
Since 2004, she has grown from a young girl to a business elite after 20 years of tempering.
Zong Fuli does not shy away from her family background, but she believes that although she was born in a wealthy family, the most important thing in life is to have an independent and strong personality.
Her words show her extraordinary outlook on life and doom her to the top of the competitive business world.
In addition to the battle on the business battlefield, Zong Fuli is also committed to philanthropy. After achieving herself, she did not choose to enjoy success alone, but hoped to pass on her love to more people in need, which reflects her pattern as an entrepreneur.
Zong Qinghou is naturally full of satisfaction to have such a smart, virtuous daughter who can face challenges independently. Whenever he mentions his daughter, he, like all fathers, has a hard time hiding his pride.
However, Zong Qinghou also has her own worries, that is, her daughter is busy with her career and neglects her personal love life. Time is in a hurry, Zong Fuli has entered middle age, but she is still blank on the emotional road.
Zong Qinghou has repeatedly expressed his hope that his daughter can find a home as soon as possible, but this wish has not been realized after all. Now, Zong Qinghou has passed away, and although Zong Fuli has inherited a huge amount of property, she is still alone.
Regarding the problem of feelings, Zong Fuli said very calmly when facing **: "Over the years, I have put my mind on my career, and I really don't have the energy to fall in love. ”
Now that her father has passed away, Zong Fuli's responsibility is even greater. She had expressed a desire to live an ordinary life, but this was obviously impossible for her.
Whether she will have a breakthrough emotionally in the future, we don't know. But for this "Iron Lady" in the business world, it is indeed not easy to find the right partner.
We still hope that Zong Fuli can find her own happiness in addition to her success in the business world, so that this business empire can continue to prosper.