Pei Qian gestured for everyone to be seated, then said, “I’ve called everyone here today to announce some decisions.”

“But before that, I want to express my gratitude to everyone present.”

“It’s thanks to everyone’s collective efforts that Tenda Group has achieved its current scale and accomplishments. I merely happened to become the person who created Tenda by chance, while all of you are the true architects of Tenda Group.”

“I’d like to express my thanks to each of you individually.”

“Huang Sibo, Lü Mingliang, Li Yada, Ye Zhizhou, Wang Xiaobin, Hu Xianbin, Min Jingchao, Zhang Nan, Yu Fei—thank you all for being the heads of the gaming department. Through your boundless imagination and diligent execution, you’ve turned ideas into reality, bringing players one excellent game after another.”

“Director Zhu Xiaocai, thank you for making so many wonderful films that have changed the atmosphere of the entire domestic film market.”

“Bao Xu, although you’ve moved through multiple departments before finally becoming the head of Suffering Travel, you’ve played a crucial role in every position. I’m proud of you.”

“Zhang Yuan, Xiao Peng, thank you for finding a better operating model for Slackin’ Internet Café and supporting Tenda Group’s esports industry; Lin Canrong, Rui Yuchen, thank you for changing the food delivery model of Slackin’ Delivery and the entire Jingzhou catering industry, allowing many people to eat healthy and reliable takeout…”

Pei Qian expressed his gratitude to the heads of all departments and fully acknowledged the contributions they had made during their time as managers at Tenda Group!

This process was lengthy. Although Pei Qian’s praise for each department was very concise, just two or three sentences, Tenda Group now had too many departments, with businesses spanning numerous fields.

There were forty to fifty departments of various sizes, and each department had two or three or even more responsible persons and outstanding contributors. Plus company owners like Li Shi from other companies. It took Pei Qian more than half an hour to thank everyone individually.

Pei Qian had complex feelings toward these people.

When Pei Qian was single-mindedly trying to create losses to convert into personal wealth, these people were the biggest stumbling blocks to his success, always finding ways to backstab him and make money for the company.

Although Pei Qian sometimes hated them to the point of grinding his teeth, at most he would send them on Suffering Travel or to the haunted house, or transfer them to other departments through the first-place elimination system. He never considered demoting or firing them.

Because Pei Qian knew clearly that they were all contributing to the company and society. The greatest credit for Tenda Group’s development to its current scale should go to them.

As for Pei Qian himself, he was probably just a very lucky koi fish.

And for Tenda to achieve today’s accomplishments, to become the most beloved and popular company—clearly, the praise that Pei Qian had received but didn’t deserve should also be credited to these department heads.

So Pei Qian sincerely thanked them, grateful that these heads worked with him to jointly complete this great undertaking!

After Pei Qian had thanked all the department heads, many people were already feeling a bit unsettled.

Bao Xu was one of them.

Bao Xu remembered that he used to be a gaming-addicted youth without any life goals, just wasting his days. But Mr. Pei found him in a dim internet café and invited him to Tenda Group, changing his life ever since.

Although during this process he was forced to travel countless times, now Bao Xu felt fortunate for his experiences and was sincerely grateful to Mr. Pei.

Mr. Pei thanking all department heads in such a setting sent a very dangerous signal.

Obviously, Mr. Pei hadn’t changed his mind. He didn’t plan to continue leading these heads for Tenda Group for another 20 years, but would follow his previous decision. Although he would retain the CEO title, he would still leave Tenda Group for some time.

Perhaps a year, perhaps many years.

As soon as Pei Qian finished speaking, the department heads began to try to persuade him to stay.

“Mr. Pei, you’re not really going to leave the company, are you?”

“Mr. Pei, the company can’t function without you!”

“Yes, if we encounter new business issues or when the company needs to transform, who should make these decisions?”

“Right, a Tenda Group without Mr. Pei is incomplete. I can’t accept it!”

Seeing the department heads’ emotional reactions, Pei Qian waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down.

He smiled slightly: “There’s no need to be so agitated. Actually, Tenda Group is now an entity that can operate perfectly on its own. Whether I’m here or not doesn’t make much difference. It might even develop better without me, since no one will be holding the company back.”

The department heads all took this as Mr. Pei’s consolation or some kind of dry joke, though it wasn’t funny at all.

Pei Qian continued: “I’ve given this decision a lot of thought. As for why I finally made up my mind, there are mainly three reasons.”

“First, each of you is very capable. If I’m here, whenever you encounter major problems, you’ll always want to consult me. This isn’t conducive to bringing out your true abilities. I hope you can explore ways not just to perfectly replace me, but to surpass me.”

“I don’t think surpassing me is a difficult thing. You should try it.”

“Second, as Tenda Group continues to develop, it will inevitably go through this process. This company ultimately belongs to all Tenda Group employees and even all users! For the company to continue developing, it must try to use the most appropriate method to incorporate everyone into the decision-making system, allowing it to proceed in a more correct direction.”

“Previously, I only avoided making major mistakes due to repeated luck, but I can’t guarantee that in the future. So everyone needs to contribute their wisdom to bring Tenda Group into a new stage.”

“Those in the midst of it are confused, while bystanders see clearly. I think it might be better if I stand in the position of a bystander.”

“Finally, I don’t want my identity to be limited to just the CEO of Tenda Group. I want to have more identities.”

“I deeply feel that my abilities are still far from adequate, so I want to travel the world. I want more time for deeper learning and thinking. I want to continue growing and gradually become someone worthy of everyone’s praise. All of this requires time and focus.”

“I don’t want Tenda Group to be the ceiling of my life, so I don’t want to be forever bound to it.”

The department heads looked at each other. Mr. Pei’s words seemed excessively humble, but they did make sense.

As the CEO of a company, the effort required to help the entire company develop better was truly too much!

In the midst of complex affairs, many company owners completely lose their time and life.

For those owners who view their companies and careers as the most important part of their lives, this is the life they want.

But if Mr. Pei had higher aspirations and believed his life shouldn’t be limited to just Tenda Group, then he similarly had the right to choose a different life path.

If Mr. Pei was always tied to Tenda Group, constrained by the CEO identity, then he indeed wouldn’t have more time for self-improvement and personal growth.

So in Mr. Pei’s view, his temporary separation from Tenda Group was for both parties to have better development prospects.

At this point, Director Zhu Xiaocai, who had been silent until now, raised his hand and asked: “But Mr. Pei, if all department heads make decisions collectively, how can we ensure that we won’t end up in the scenario depicted in ‘The Future You Choose’ game?”

“Without you, I fear we won’t be able to resist that temptation forever.”

“The phrase ‘without selfish motives’ is easy to say, but how many people can actually achieve it? If truly in some extreme situation, I have no doubt that many department heads would place personal interests or company interests above the interests of ordinary people.”

Upon hearing this, the department heads all agreed.

Obviously, they shared the same concerns as Pei Qian, especially after “The Future You Choose” had clearly highlighted these risks. More and more people recognized the necessity of these concerns.

Currently, Tenda Group was still in a flourishing development stage, and the department heads all had no selfish motives. But no one could be certain if this would still be the case three years, five years, or ten years later.

With Mr. Pei present, he could easily suppress everyone’s selfish motives and take swift measures to prevent problems before they arose if any signs emerged.

But if Mr. Pei wasn’t at the company and a large-scale deterioration occurred among the department heads, who would be there to reverse the situation?

Pei Qian smiled and said, “I’ve considered this issue as well.”

“I’ve made some simple arrangements for this.”

“First, I’d like to share my perspective with everyone.”

“I believe that the so-called ‘richest person’ shouldn’t be judged by how much wealth they possess, but by what they do with this wealth. Owning wealth doesn’t equal mastering wealth. If one only thinks about continuously increasing their wealth, they are actually just a slave to money.”

“If someone who controls wealth can use it to do more meaningful and valuable things, then even if they don’t have much personal assets, they are the true master of wealth.”

“The richest person shouldn’t just have money; they should also possess intangible powers like prestige, trust, cohesion, and so on. Even if a person is temporarily materially poor, as long as they are spiritually rich, they can also be called the richest! Limiting the concept of ‘richest person’ merely to the property a person owns and judging someone by the money they possess is very narrow-minded. This is actually viewing people as slaves to money.”

“People perhaps cannot do without money or material goods, but they also cannot be left with only money and material goods. Money is a resource, and people should know how to use resources well rather than become slaves to resources.”

“I will always constrain myself with this perspective, remembering that with the control of resources comes the responsibility to do things. If I waste these resources or use them for personal gain, then I am a sinner.”

“I hope everyone will always remember this point. All of you collectively form the entity of Tenda Group. What Tenda Group will become in the future depends on each of your choices.”