She turned a 5-yuan bottle of chili sauce into a brand as famous as Moutai;

She sells 1.3 million bottles of chili sauce every day, with annual sales of up to 2.5 billion. Each bottle of chili sauce earns about 9.5 cents;

She has only taken out a loan once in 15 years, and her finances only have two simple accounts: how much comes in and how much goes out;

She has never changed the rules of business transactions in the past 15 years: pay with one hand and deliver with the other;

She is illiterate. She kept shaking her head when faced with the three words of her name: "These three words are too difficult. It’s too complicated.”

At 3 o’clock in the morning, coming out of Guiyang Longdongbao Airport, most of the trees and buildings on both sides of the road were lost in the darkness. What was still on was the three red neon characters "Lao Gan Ma" on the roof of a tall building. Behind it was a row of brightly lit factory buildings.

Every day, about 1.3 million bottles of chili sauce are produced here, which are taken away by trucks waiting at the factory and entered into sales channels, and then quickly sent to supermarkets of all sizes across China, as well as to supermarkets across the five continents. More than 30 countries and regions.

A channel manager of Wahaha Guizhou Branch said: "Wherever there are Chinese, there is 'Laoganma'. Its significance is to increase the Chinese's acceptance and dependence on chili peppers and change the Chinese people's "

Xie Bangyin, general manager of Guiyang Laoganma Flavor Food Co., Ltd., told Financial Weekly reporters that the sales of "Laoganma" this year are expected to be 2.5 billion yuan, with a net profit of more than 400 million yuan.

62-year-old Tao Huabi and her family own more than 90% of the shares of "Lao Gan Ma". She is the queen at the top of the pyramid of this "chili sauce empire".

On the evening of November 22, in a cafe in Xiaoshizi, Guiyang, Xie Bangyin, general manager of "Laoganma", and Wang Wu, director of the chairman's office, were interviewed by a reporter from Financial Weekly.

"The chairman has authorized us to answer some questions." They specifically emphasized this point. Throughout the interview process, these two young men in their 30s appeared to be very cautious, always thinking carefully before answering any questions involving Tao Huabi personally.

"Then where will these poor students go to eat?"

Tao Huabi will write off all the meal money owed by students from poor families. "My impression is that as long as she meets students who don't have enough money, her weight will not be reduced but will be increased."

At the age of 20, Tao Huabi married a geological surveyor from the Guizhou 206 Geological Team, but her husband died of illness within a few years. When her husband was seriously ill, Tao Huabi went to the south to work. She was not used to and could not afford to eat outside food, so she brought a lot of chili peppers from home to make chili sauce mixed with rice. After constant mixing, she made a "delicious" chili sauce, which is the recipe still used by "Lao Gan Ma" today.

After her husband passed away, Tao Huabi, who had no income, started making rice tofu (the most common cheap jelly in Guiyang) at night and carried it to several schools in Longdongbao during the day to sell it.

Due to inconvenient transportation, the raw materials for making rice tofu could only be purchased in Youzha Street, which is 5 kilometers away. Whenever she needed to purchase raw materials, she would catch the earliest bus to Youzha Street, carrying a bamboo basket on her back. Since there were few cars and many people at that time, and the carrying basket took up a lot of space, the driver often refused to let her get on the car, so she had to walk to Youzha Street most of the time. After buying the materials, she carried seventy or eighty kilograms of things on her back. Walk back to Longdong Fort. Due to constant exposure to lime, the raw material for making rice tofu, her hands still peel in spring.

In 1989, Tao Huabi opened an "affordable restaurant" specializing in jelly and cold noodles outside the gate of Guiyang Gongganyuan, Longdongbao, Nanming District, Guiyang City. "It's said to be a restaurant, but it's actually just a 'roadside stall' she built with half-broken bricks, linoleum felt, and asbestos tiles. The back wall of the restaurant is the wall of Gongganyuan." Mr. Han 20, a "regular patron" of the restaurant at that time Years later, the memory of this restaurant is still clear.

Tao Huabi’s rice tofu is cheap and plentiful, attracting students from several nearby technical secondary schools to frequent it. Over time, many students owed a lot of food money on credit because they had no money to pay their bills. Through Tao Huabi's understanding, all the meal money owed by students from poor families will be written off. "My impression is that as long as she meets students who don't have enough money, her weight will not be reduced but will be increased." Mr. Han recalled.

In the "Price-Friendly Hotel", Tao Huabi mixes the jelly with her own black bean spicy sauce. After eating the jelly, many customers want to buy some spicy sauce to take back. Some people even don't eat the jelly but come here to buy her jelly. Spicy sauce. Later, her jelly business got worse and worse, but she couldn't sell enough spicy sauce no matter how much she made.

One day at noon, after Tao Huabi’s spicy sauce was sold out, there were no customers eating jelly. She closed the shop door and went to see how other people's business was going. She visited more than a dozen restaurants and food stalls selling jelly and found that every business was very prosperous. Tao Huabi discovered the same reason why these restaurants were prosperous - they were all. Use her spicy sauce.

In 1994, Guiyang built a ring road, and the formerly remote Longdongbao became the main road of Guiyang's South Ring Road. The number of truck drivers passing through here increased day by day, and they became the main source of customers for "affordable hotels". Tao Huabi's almost instinctive business wisdom came into play for the first time. She began to give away home-made black bean chili sauce, spicy vegetables and other snacks and condiments to drivers for free, which became very popular.

The word-of-mouth communication among truck drivers is obviously a form of advertising. The name "Longdongbao Laoganma Chili" has spread like wildfire in Guiyang. Many people even make a special trip just to taste her chili sauce. Drive from the city to the "affordable hotel" outside the gate of Gongganyuan to buy Tao Huabi's chili sauce.

For these customers who come here because of their reputation, Tao Huabi always sells half of the food and half gives it away, but gradually there are too many people coming, and she feels that she "cannot afford to give it away." In November 1994, "Beneficial Hotel" was renamed "Guiyang Nanming Tao Flavor Food Store". Rice tofu and jelly were no longer available, and chili sauce series products began to become the main products of this small store.

Despite adjusting the product mix, the store’s chili sauce production is still in short supply. Cadres from the Longdongbao Subdistrict Office and the Guiyang Nanming District Industrial and Commercial Bureau began to lobby Tao Huabi to give up the restaurant business and set up a factory to specialize in the production of chili sauce, but Tao Huabi simply refused.

Tao Huabi’s reason is simple: “If the shop closes, where will these poor students go to eat?” "Every time we talked about this topic, she would say this, making people unable to speak at all, and she would burst into tears every time," Liao Zhenglin, then deputy director of the Longdongbao Subdistrict Office, recalled the scene at that time. .

The clamor for Tao Huabi to set up a factory became louder and louder, so much so that the students under his care participated in lobbying for "godmothers". In August 1996, Tao Huabi borrowed a hotel in Yunguan Village, Nanming District A chili sauce processing factory was set up in two houses of the committee, and the brand name was "Lao Gan Ma".

“If you don’t give me a bottle, I won’t leave.”

Whether it is purchasing chili peppers from farmers or selling chili sauce to dealers, Tao Huabi always has cash on hand, “I I never owe anyone a penny, and others can never owe me a penny.” From the first time I bought a glass bottle for a few dozen dollars, I have continued to sell it now with daily sales exceeding 10 million.

The newly established hot sauce processing factory is a simple manual workshop with only 40 employees. There is no production line and all processes use the most primitive manual operations.

"Laoganma" employees recalled that at that time, pounding and cutting peppers was a chore that no one wanted to do. The droplets splashed during manual operations will make your eyes shed tears. Tao Huabi took matters into her own hands. She held a kitchen knife in one hand, swung the two knives up and down, and kept saying: "I cut the peppers like apples, and it won't hurt my eyes at all. It will be a bit painful for the young baby." What are you afraid of?"

Under the leadership of the boss, the employees also picked up the kitchen knives to "cut the apples." The cost of Tao Huabi's leading the charge was severe periarthritis of the shoulder, and the nails on all 10 fingers are now calcified due to long-term mixing of spicy sauce.

Tao Huabi soon discovered that she could not find a suitable glass bottle to hold chili sauce. She found Guiyang No. 2 Glass Factory, but Guiyang No. 2 Glass Factory, which had an annual output of 18,000 tons at that time, was not willing to deal with this small customer who wanted a pitifully small amount of goods, and refused her request to customize glass bottles for her workshop.

Facing the director of Guiyang Second Glass Factory, Tao Huabi started her first "business negotiation": "No child is born big, they all grow up slowly. If you don’t give me a bottle today, I won’t leave.”

After a few hours of hard work, the two parties reached the following agreement: the glass factory allowed her to use the basket to pick up a few bottles at a time. Take ten bottles back for use, and don’t talk about the rest. Tao Huabi returned satisfied.

No one expected at the time that this “agreement” would later become the reason why Guiyang Second Glass Factory could survive the frenzy of bankruptcies of state-owned enterprises and even develop and grow.

After the explosive expansion of the production scale of "Laoganma", there are many large enterprises in Chongqing, Zhengzhou and other places among the cooperative enterprises. Compared with these enterprises, Guiyang Second Glass has no cost and quality advantages, but Tao Huabi has never reduced the supply share of Guiyang Second Glass. At present, 60% of the glass bottles of "Lao Gan Ma" are produced by Guiyang Second Glass Factory. Three of the four production lines of Second Glass are operated 24 hours a day for "Lao Gan Ma".

Although the output of "Lao Gan Ma" in the workshop era was very small, the jelly shops around Longdongbao could no longer handle it. She had to open up another market. Tao Huabi felt the pressure of management for the first time.

Tao Huabi used a "clumsy method": she packed the chili sauce in a basket and walked around the streets to sell it to the canteens of various units and roadside shops.

At first, food stores and work canteens refused to accept this little-known bottle of chili sauce. Tao Huabi negotiated with merchants to put the chili sauce on the counters of stores and canteens, and then collected money after selling it. If it doesn't sell, return it. Only then did the merchants agree to test sales.

A week later, stores and canteens called her and asked her to double the delivery; she sent her employees to double the delivery, but it was quickly out of stock again. Tao Huabi began to expand production. She made a phone call to Mao Liwei, the director of Erbo: "I want 10,000 bottles, cash on hand."

Whether it is purchasing chili from farmers or selling chili sauce to As a dealer, Tao Huabi always pays in cash. "I never owe others a penny, and others can't owe me a penny." From the first time I bought a glass bottle for a few dozen yuan, I have still persisted in selling more than 10 million yuan a day. "Laoganma" has no inventory, no accounts receivable and accounts payable, and only has a cash flow of over one billion yuan.

“These three words are too difficult and too complicated.”

Tao Huabi’s memory and mental arithmetic skills are amazing. She doesn’t understand things like financial statements at all. “Lao Ganma "There are only simple accounts, which are read to her by the financial staff. She can remember them after listening to them once or twice. Then she can mentally calculate the general ledger of financial transactions and know immediately whether there is any problem with the numbers.

In August 1997, "Guiyang Nanming Laoganma Flavor Food Co., Ltd." was established, with the number of workers increasing to more than 200. Tao Huabi's job is no longer just to take the lead in chopping peppers. She has to personally review various financial and personnel reports. She also has to deal with many external affairs such as industry and commerce, taxation, and urban management. Relevant government departments often issue documents for her to implement. In addition, she often attends various meetings held by government authorities and is sometimes asked to speak on stage.

After learning about her difficulties, the eldest son Li Guishan, who transferred from the army to work in the 206 Geological Team Automobile Team, took the initiative to resign to help his mother. Although Tao Huabi was already a well-known businessman at this time, she still felt that Li Guishan's resignation from his "iron rice bowl" to help her was a "scholar in trouble", so she strongly opposed it. In desperation, Li Guishan could only "kill first and then show off". It was only after she quit her job that she found Tao Huabi and became the first general manager of "Lao Gan Ma".

The first thing Li Guishan, who has a high school education, helped Tao Huabi do was process documents. One reads and the other listens. When he hears something important, Tao Huabi will suddenly stand up, point to the document and say: "This is very important. Write it down with a pen and do it immediately."

Wang Wu and Xie Bangyin introduced Tao Huabi's memory and mental arithmetic ability. It’s amazing that she doesn’t understand anything like financial statements at all. The “Lao Ganma” only has simple accounts, which are read to her by the financial staff. She can remember them after listening to them once or twice, and then she can mentally calculate the general ledger of financial incomings and outgoings. , you can immediately know whether there is a problem with the numbers.

For documents that require signature, Tao Huabi draws a circle in the upper right corner - this is what she saw on TV. Li Guishan felt that this was very unsafe, so he wrote the three characters "Tao Huabi" on a piece of paper and asked his mother to practice when she was free. Tao Huabi looked at these three words again and again, shook her head, and sighed in embarrassment: "These three words are so hard to hit my head (Guiyang dialect: too difficult)!" But in order to write her name well, she was like a little girl. The child wrote stroke by stroke as if he were tracing red lines for three days.

Someone asked her how she felt about practicing calligraphy. Tao Huabi used her "characteristic language" to summarize: "It's more difficult than chopping peppers. It's more difficult than chopping peppers."

Three days later, when she finally "trace" her name, she was so happy that she invited all the company's employees to an extra meal.

Until now, "Tao Huabi" is the only three words Tao Huabi knows.

“I am old-fashioned, but you don’t want to be like me”

“Laoganma” has no board of directors, vice chairman, and deputy general manager, and only has 5 departments, Tao Huabi Next are Xie Bangyin and Wang Wu, one in charge of business and the other in charge of administration. Xie Bangyin said with a smile that he is a "business manager" because he always has to rush to the front line to fight for his life.

In 1998, with the help of Li Guishan, Tao Huabi formulated the rules and regulations of "Lao Ganma". The Financial Weekly reporter was unable to obtain the original text of this system, but Xie Bangyin said that they do not have an employee handbook, and the so-called rules and regulations are actually very simple. There are only some sentences such as "can't be lazy", which are more like the teachings of the elders than a system that employees must implement.

Relying on such a simple system that has not changed a word like the U.S. Constitution, "Lao Ganma" has remained stable for 11 years, and there has never been any problem within the company.

"Tao Huabi has his own way, which you can call 'godmother-style management'." Xiong Fang, a lecturer at Guizhou University, has interviewed Tao Huabi many times as a reporter. He said: "For example, Longdong Fort is far away from downtown Guiyang. It was relatively far away and there were no places to eat nearby. Tao Huabi decided that all employees would be provided with food and accommodation by the company. From the beginning of the small factory with 200 people, 'Laoganma' had dormitories, and now it has 2,000 people. Their wages and benefits are also provided. It is the best in Guiyang.”

In Tao Huabi’s company, no one calls her chairman, everyone calls her “Lao Ganma”. She can name 60% of the company’s more than 2,000 employees. She also remembered the birthdays of many of them, and she personally served as a witness for every employee’s wedding.

In addition, Tao Huabi has always adhered to some of her "local principles": visiting employees' homes every once in a while; every employee will receive a gift from her on their birthday. and a bowl of longevity noodles with two poached eggs; when some employees were on a business trip, she cooked a few eggs for them as if sending her children on a long journey, and took them to the factory and got in the car before turning back; during the New Year and festivals in Guizhou, there were As for the custom of dog meat, Tao Huabi built a dog farm and kept more than 80 dogs for many years. Every winter solstice and Spring Festival, the dogs were killed for the whole company's dinner.

In addition to "godmother-style" management, Tao Huabi also has her own characteristics in the company's structure. "Lao Ganma" does not have a board of directors, vice chairman, or deputy general manager, and only has 5 departments. Below Tao Huabi are Xie Bangyin and Wang Wu, one in charge of business and the other in charge of administration. Xie Bangyin said with a smile that he is a "business manager" because he always has to rush to the front line to fight for his life.

Starting in 1998, Tao Huabi rotated the company's managers to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other places to inspect the market and learn advanced management experience from some well-known companies. She said: "I'm old-fashioned, but you don't want to be like me. The unit can't be like this. When you kids go out, bring some culture back to me."

In 2005, Li Guishan left the post of general manager. , after the general manager position was vacant for a while, professional manager Wang Haifeng took office, and current general manager Xie Bangyin was the assistant to the general manager at the time. What the Financial Weekly reporter learned is that Li Guishan was only in name for a long time before he was "dismissed" and no longer participated in the company's management.

The management team of "Laoganma" is probably the most mysterious among China's large enterprises. One of Tao Huabi's requirements for them is that they cannot accept interviews from outsiders. Common evaluations of this team are: loyal, diligent, and low-key. The reason why his eldest son Li Guishan resigned has always been a mystery.

“The government is also in difficulty, so we won’t borrow any more.”

During her entrepreneurial period, Tao Huabi never had to deal with banks. The only loans she got were after she became prosperous, and banks kept asking people to find her. He came to ask her for a loan, but he reluctantly gave her a loan out of kindness.

In 2001, in order to further expand the scale, Tao Huabi planned to build another factory. At that time, most of the company's funds were tied up in raw materials, and someone suggested that she seek help from the government. The Nanming District Committee took it seriously and immediately coordinated with China Construction Bank to give her a loan. After the coordination was completed, the district committee office called her and asked her to come to the district committee to discuss the matter.

Tao Huabi brought the accountant to the district committee and took the elevator to the third floor where the district mayor's office is located.

Because the elevator was very old and the door was broken, when Tao Huabi walked out of the elevator, her clothes got caught on the elevator door and she fell to the ground.

After Tao Huabi got up, the entourage thought she was going to get angry, but she said, "Look, the government is also in a difficult situation. The elevators are so bad, we won't borrow them anymore."

The entourage thought she was joking, but she sighed and said: "We borrow money from the government (Editor's note: Tao Huabi doesn't know what the government coordinates bank loans means, and thinks it means borrowing money from the government) to give the country It’s too much trouble. I really don’t want to borrow money anymore. Let’s go back.”

During her career, Tao Huabi had never dealt with a bank. After she became successful, banks kept asking her for loans. But the loan was forced out of favor. A staff member of Guiyang Commercial Bank said that the most common thing Tao Huabi said to them was: "You just want to ask me for some interest money."

"Am I still afraid of fakes? ”

Sun Guoqiang is currently the Vice Governor of Guizhou Province. He can communicate smoothly with Tao Huabi. He can use very straightforward words to explain some economics things so that Tao Huabi can understand them and is willing to follow them. Many important decisions made by Tao Huabi during his development may have been influenced by Sun Guoqiang.

With the continuous development of the enterprise, the "Laoganma" brand has become widely known. However, "people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong." When something sells easily, counterfeiting will naturally occur.

In the early days of the establishment of "Lao Gan Ma", Li Guishan applied to register a trademark, but was rejected by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on the grounds that "'God Ma' is a commonly used title and is not suitable as a trademark." This gives counterfeiters an opportunity.

More than 50 kinds of "laoganma" appeared all over the country, and Tao Huabi began to make great efforts to crack down on counterfeiting. We sent people to conduct undercover investigations, allocated millions of yuan every year to establish the first anti-counterfeiting team for private enterprises in Guizhou, and began to crack down on counterfeiting across the country.

But the counterfeit “Lao Gan Ma” is like leeks, cropping out again and again, especially Hunan “Lao Gan Ma”, the trademark is almost exactly the same as Guizhou “Lao Gan Ma”.

Tao Huabi was stubborn this time. She fought with Hunan's "Lao Ganma" for three years, starting from the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court to the Beijing High Court. There were also several legal battles. at the National Trademark Office. This case became one of the top ten typical rights protection cases in China in 2003.

On August 10, 2000, the court of first instance found that the "Laoganma" flavored tempeh produced by Guiyang Laoganma Company had a certain historical process, and Hunan Laoganma constituted unfair competition, and ruled that it should be discontinued Use and destroy packaging bottle stickers similar to those of Guiyang Laoganma Company before obtaining the design patent, and compensate for economic losses of 150,000 yuan.

This means that two "laoganma" can coexist. This was unacceptable to Tao Huabi, and she quickly appealed.

During this period, many people persuaded Tao Huabi to give up the lawsuit, but Tao Huabi said one sentence to those who came to persuade her: "I am the real 'Lao Ganma', they are fake (Guizhou dialect: fake (goods), should I still be afraid of bad goods?"

In the end, the lawsuit between Tao Huabi and Hunan Laoganma was settled between two Guizhou officials: Sun Guoqiang, the then mayor of Guiyang, and China's "entry into the WTO" "With the great mediation of chief negotiator Long Yongtu, Guiyang Laoganma finally defeated the "Laoganma" of Hunan. In May 2003, Tao Huabi's "Lao Gan Ma" finally obtained the registration certificate from the National Trademark Office. At the same time, the previous registration of Hunan's "Lao Gan Ma" with the National Trademark Office was cancelled.

Sun Guoqiang is currently the deputy governor of Guizhou Province. “It is not easy for him to communicate smoothly with Tao Huabi.” Xiong Fang, a lecturer at Guizhou University, told the Financial Weekly reporter, “Sun Guoqiang can use very straightforward words. He made Tao Huabi understand some economics and was willing to follow it. Many important decisions made by Tao Huabi during his development may have been influenced by Sun Guoqiang. "

Tao Huabi is almost at odds. Dealing with government officials, as a provincial and municipal third-level government enterprise, at the completion ceremony of the second phase of "Lao Gan Ma", Sun Guoqiang, as the deputy governor who is not in charge of "Lao Gan Ma" related work, was still invited to attend. Rumor has it that he and Long Yongtu are the only people Tao Huabi is willing to "buy into".

“I am working so hard because I am working for you.”

Even when it comes to expanding the company’s production scale, Tao Huabi maintains her stubborn caution.

Guiyang city officials also found it very difficult to persuade Tao Huabi. Finally, Tao Huabi reluctantly agreed after several visits from key officials at the urban and municipal levels to persuade her.

In 2003, some government leaders in Guiyang suggested that Tao Huabi could help the "Laoganma" company go public through a backdoor listing and raise funds to expand the company's scale.

This thing that other companies think is a dream, was rejected by Tao Huabi. Tao Huabi's answer was: "I am confused about these weird things like listing and financing. I only know how to stir-fry chili peppers. I just do what I know how to do.” Some officials lamented that it is more difficult to discuss financing and diversification with “Lao Ganma” than with foreign businessmen.

Even when it comes to things like expanding the company's production scale, Tao Huabi remains stubbornly cautious. Guiyang city officials also found it very difficult to persuade Tao Huabi. Finally, Tao Huabi reluctantly agreed after several visits from key officials at the urban and municipal levels to persuade her.

Now, Tao Huabi hardly goes to her office, and her Mercedes-Benz is rarely used because "sitting is uncomfortable." Apart from going to the factory two or three times a month, her whole life consisted of playing mahjong with a few old ladies.

One day at the mahjong table, someone asked her: "You have made so much money that you will never be able to spend it all in a few lifetimes. Why are you still working so hard?" Tao Huabi did not answer at the time. She lay in bed at night. Thinking about this issue over and over again, I stayed up almost all night.

The next day, the company was holding an all-employee meeting. According to the arrangements before the meeting, as the chairman of the board, she wanted to tell the employees about the current economic situation and how to deal with the situation after China's entry into the WTO. challenges, and then specific work targets will be issued by the general manager.

According to Tao Huabi’s practice of speaking in public, Li Guishan had drafted a speech for her. After listening to it three times, Tao Huabi was able to memorize it almost accurately.

But when speaking at the meeting, she suddenly remembered the question yesterday and changed the topic: "A few old aunties asked me, 'You already have so much money, how can you work hard? I thought about it all night, but I couldn't come up with anything. Seeing you guys, I came up with something: I can't take away the enterprise, and I can't take away this card. Chairman Mao said that the future is. It belongs to you. When I think about it, I am working so hard for you! Do you think this is true? For your own sake, you must work harder!"

Venue After a few seconds of silence, there was warm applause.