In 1998, nineteen-year-old Chen Haisheng boarded a green train heading south with just eighty-seven yuan in his pocket. Less than half a day after arriving in Guangzhou, a job broker swindled him out of fifty yuan. That night, he couldn't even afford a place to stay.
To earn five yuan for hauling goods, he followed a tricycle into a wholesale clothing market, and wound up at Minglan's struggling stall. The owner was stuck with a warehouse full of clothes that wouldn't sell, while a northern merchant was pressing for an order to be delivered. Across the aisle, Liang Shengda came by every day asking about prices. He wasn't waiting to buy anything: he was waiting for Minglan to go under so he could take over the stall.
Chen Haisheng didn't know any grand principles. He only knew that you shouldn't cheat people out of the little money they had set aside for emergencies. He inspected fabric, cleared stock, ran between factories, chased up debts, and pieced together small orders. He learned the hard way and saw the price people put on favors in the world of business. Others thought he had no capital, but he traded on his credibility, hard work, and an IOU for five yuan to earn his first seat in Guangzhou.
Back then, he had no idea that many of the big deals he'd make in the years to come would all begin with those five yuan…
