Some time ago, taking advantage of the residual heat of the Beijing Winter Olympics,
Zhang Lan, a strong woman who has always "loved to live a whole life", also rubbed a wave of winter Olympic heat on the social platform.
However, others can at most take a video and dry their own ice piers.
Zhang Lan said in the video that she would invite the vice chairman of the International Olympic Organizing Committee to dinner.
The location is in her latest restaurant, Ma Liu Ji.
As soon as this video was released, it immediately caused extensive discussion among netizens.
Some people praised Zhang Lan for making a wide range of friends, but there are also many people who do not believe that she can have such a great ability.
There are even many netizens who have begun to coax,
Let her post a video of her having dinner with the vice president of the Olympic Organizing Committee later,
In order to prove their "strength", but with the more and more comments of netizens,
Zhang Lan deleted the video that he had sent earlier to invite the vice chairman of the Olympic Organizing Committee to dinner.
And her move, without exception, is interpreted by netizens as a lack of heart,
After all, in recent years, Zhang Lan really likes to "make something out of nothing",
Some time ago, she made a fuss about her casual remarks to the point of apologizing to Chen Jianzhou.
Counting Zhang Lan's confused behavior in recent years, it is really difficult to connect her with strong women.
Once she was fierce, said what she said, and was mixed in the elite business version for many years,
Now, she has become the "porter" of gossip and gossip, and the entertainment version is where she appears most often.
Seeing Zhang Lan's sensational performances, it is inevitable that some people will say that Zhang Lan has "fallen".
She has long forgotten her original intention of starting a business, but is the truth really as we think?
Maybe her absurdity today is just her disguise, she may be lying down to taste the guts,
Store energy for tomorrow's struggle, if you don't believe in this possibility,
Then you might as well look at what she's done before, and maybe you'll understand it.
01
Zhang Lan was born in Beijing on April 7, 1958.
Regarding her real family background, there are several theories on the Internet,
Some people say that her parents are ordinary people,
But some people say that she was born in an intellectual family, and her father was a professor of civil engineering at Tsinghua University.
Zhang Lan, on the other hand, prefers to say that she is from an aristocratic background and is a descendant of the Zhenghuang Banner of the Eight Classics of Zheng'er.
Although Zhang Lan has always flaunted that she has a prominent origin,
But the truth is that her origin did not bring her a smooth life.
On the contrary, her life path is always paved with thorns and forks.
When Zhang Lan was still in her mother's belly, her parents were forced to separate for political reasons.
Then her mother found her a stepfather who was an engineer.
At this time, Zhang Lancai finally had a complete home.
However, the integrity of the family did not bring Zhang Lan a happy life.
When she was 9 years old, she was sent to a farm in Hubei with her parents.
Because his stepfather and mother always quarreled, Zhang Lan naturally became the stepfather's pump.
Obviously, Zhang Lan is a crazy who picks up bird eggs in the upper room,
But as soon as she meets her stepfather, she must follow the rules and do everything with a stopwatch.
However, it is precisely under this kind of tempering that Zhang Lan has had a clear goal since childhood.
And once a goal is set, it will inevitably be achieved by all means.
When she was in middle school, she looked at her mother, who was still sick, and her brother, who did not have enough to eat.
Determined to change the situation, she sneaked on a train to Beijing.
As soon as she arrived in Beijing, she immediately went to find her elementary school classmates.
Because she found out that the father of this classmate could help her family with the formalities for returning to Beijing.
In order to get a return permit to Beijing, Zhang Lan was around the father of his classmates all day.
Every time she went to his house, Zhang Lan also brought braised pork made by her grandmother.
Food bribery did not work, Zhang Lan hugged the other party's thigh,
Crying and telling the tragic life of their family, with her tenacity to grind hard bubbles,
She was stunned to take her mother's certificate of illness and retirement, and completed the procedures for the whole family to return to Beijing.
After returning to Beijing, Zhang Lan is still working hard to improve the living conditions of her family.
She was reading and helping to take care of her brother,
In her free time, she even subsidizes her family by doing handicrafts.
02
After graduation, Zhang Lan came to a soy products factory as an accountant.
Here, she met her future husband, Wang Zehan.
Wang Zehan is a typical literary and artistic young man, low-key and introverted,
His appearance is also very beautiful, and Zhang Lan fell in love with him at first sight.
And it just so happened that Wang Zehan had just broken up with his girlfriend and was sad all day.
Zhang Lan took advantage of the void and launched a fierce attack on Wang Zehan.
Naturally, the window paper between them was quickly punctured.
In 1981, the two entered the palace of marriage hand in hand,
In the same year, their son Wang Xiaofei was also born.
On the surface, Zhang Lan's family at this time is happy, and there is a stable job,
Logically, she should be satisfied, but in fact, she is very distressed,
Because she is born strong, she does not like to live a step-by-step life at all.
So, while encouraging her husband to quit his job and start a business,
While dumping his 2-year-old son in the care of his mother,
She herself was preparing to study management at Beijing Institute of Technology and Business.
In 1987, the 29-year-old Zhang Lan successfully graduated, and she could finally show her fists in The Commercial Sea.
But at this moment, her marriage was lit up with a red light.
It turned out that even if he got married and had children, Wang Zehan still did not completely forget his ex-girlfriend.
Letters were still exchanged between them, and Zhang Lan also discovered the ambiguity between them.
In addition, Wang Zehan's entrepreneurial road is not smooth, and he is always used by others because of his good nature.
Several times of entrepreneurship are only lost and not earned, which makes the strong woman Zhang Lan can't see it.
Because of these two things, Zhang Lan and Wang Zehan did not know how many times they quarreled,
In the end, the two could only end in divorce.
And it just so happened that at this time, my uncle who was far away in Canada returned from visiting his relatives,
He looked at the newly divorced Zhang Lan depressed and invited her to Go to Canada for a walk.
It was this proposal of her uncle that woke up Zhang Lan, and the reason why she was unhappy was that
Not because of the divorce, but because she wanted to start a business and didn't have the start-up capital at all.
So, in 1989, Zhang Lan left 8-year-old Wang Xiaofei,
She came to Canada in the name of visiting relatives, and in fact, she came here for only one purpose.
That is to work "black labor", earning enough twenty thousand DOLLARs and she will return to China immediately.
In order to earn the twenty thousand DOLLARs as soon as possible, Zhang Lan's desperation is unimaginable.
She works 4 jobs a day, 16 hours.
She would wash the dishes in the restaurant and wash other people's hair.
She would even carry pork with black men who were several times stronger than her.
At that time, she had to carry 80 pieces of meat a day and cut several baskets of fries.
In order to save on accommodation costs, live in the basement of the landlord for free,
She would get up hours early and make cereal for the landlord.
It is also necessary to scrub the body of the elderly who are sick and bedridden in the landlord's house.
Don't look at Zhang Lan, who is bent on making money, who is not afraid of heaven,
In fact, she also has a weak rib, that is, her son, in fact, every night late at night,
Zhang Lan fell asleep holding a picture of her son.
And such a night surrounded by thoughts, Zhang Lan spent a total of 2 years,
In 1991, Zhang Lan, who had saved enough $20,000, finally returned to China as she wished.
03
Just after returning to China, Zhang Lan immediately opened the entrepreneurial model.
For entrepreneurship, Zhang Lan has already had a preliminary plan,
In the two years of being abroad, Zhang Lan felt the most deeply in the eyes of foreigners.
Chinese food is surprisingly cheap and low-end, but it is clear that Chinese food is the most exquisite and rich.
This made Zhang Lan very unacceptable, so she decided to devote herself to the catering industry.
Try to change the stereotype of foreigners about Chinese food, plus "the people take food as the sky",
As long as the taste of the restaurant is not bad, then opening a restaurant is definitely a profitable entrepreneurial project.
In the summer of 1992, Zhang Lan opened an "Alain Restaurant" with only 130,000 yuan in his hand.
Specializing in Sichuan cuisine, this is a decision she made after a long time of researching outside on her bicycle.
In order to be different from ordinary restaurants, Zhang Lan thought that she had seen the bamboo forest when she was a child in Hubei.
She wanted to incorporate the decoration of the restaurant into the bamboo forest elements, so she came to Sichuan alone.
Together with the local farmers, she picked and cut bamboo, and finally she brought back a train of bamboo from Sichuan.
The bamboo is all 13 meters long and the bowl mouth is thick.
Zhang Lan asked the workers to use these bamboo to build a small bamboo building in front of the restaurant to attract traffic.
Zhang Lan's trick is really useful, and the guests are attracted to the bamboo building,
And the high-quality dishes of Alain Restaurant have also developed many new diners into repeat customers and loyal customers.
This made Zhang Lan make a lot of money, and in a few years, her daily turnover could even reach 40,000 yuan.
Zhang Lan originally looked good, when he was in Canada,
She won the Toronto Division Championship of the Chinese Beauty Contest.
Coupled with being able to speak the Tao, drinking wine to "two pounds without getting drunk", especially suitable for engaging in such a service industry as catering,
As a result, she gradually opened up her popularity in the Beijing catering circle.
With the popularity of Zhang Lan continues to expand her catering territory, in addition to the Alain Restaurant,
She opened several Aran Shark Fin Seafood Hotels and Alain Roast Duck.
Relying on the management of the road, Zhang Lan's seafood hotel in 1997 can earn 500,000 yuan per day.
At this time, Zhang Lan had long since become Zhang Zong, who was respected by everyone.
In life, she also encountered a love full of literary atmosphere,
Met and fell in love with the famous photographer Tian Yibin, and once again entered the palace of marriage,
And her son Wang Xiaofei was also sent to France to study.
It is said that Zhang Lan has nothing to worry about, life is already very happy as long as it is step by step,
But it didn't take long for such a peaceful day for her life to suffer a heavy blow.
04
Zhang Lan has also encountered rude guests before, and there have been customers who want to eat "Overlord Meal",
Not only did not give money, but also wanted to beat her employees, Zhang Lanben thought of calling the police to solve,
As a result, the man put a weapon against the back of his head, and saw that the situation was urgent,
Zhang Lan's eyes were fast, and when the man was not paying attention, he grabbed a wine bottle and slammed it on the counter.
Immediately, the sharpest part of the bottle was pressed against the person's neck, and finally the other party was scared away.
However, sooner or later, it is necessary to pay back in the jianghu, but what Zhang Lan did not expect was that
Those whom she had offended would take her own brother.
In the summer of 1999, Zhang Lan's brother was slashed 16 times in the dark corridor.
Finally died in a pool of blood, and zhang Lan learned afterwards that this group of evil people had originally targeted her.
As a result, she went abroad, so she changed her target to her brother.
Although half a year later, the group of bad guys who killed his brother was brought to justice,
But this incident eventually became the pain of Zhang Lan's life, because she loved the most in her life.
In addition to her son Wang Xiaofei, it is her younger brother.
In the six months after his brother's death, Zhang Lan washed his face with tears all day and had no time to take care of the business.
But she finally figured it out, since she didn't know which of tomorrow and the accident would arrive first.
Then she must complete her dream as soon as possible, and she will live well for her brother.
In 2000, Zhang Lan sold the restaurant in his hand for 6 million yuan.
Since then, she has had only one goal in her life.
That is to create a world-renowned Chinese food brand, she wants to make her restaurant into a LV in the catering industry.
In the first step, she gave the restaurant a sufficiently Chinese name - Pretty Jiangnan.
The second step is the location of the restaurant, this time Zhang Lan chose a high-end office building,
Because her target customers are white-collar workers who pursue exquisite life.
As for the food, it is still her best Sichuan cuisine.
And the last step, which is also the most finishing touch, is the decoration of the restaurant,
This time it is not the bamboo building in Sichuan, but the small bridge in Jiangnan, but in addition to the arch bridge at the entrance,
There are also Italian chandeliers in the hall, which can be described as a combination of East and West, showing a noble atmosphere.
Relying on accurate positioning, Zhang Lan's re-entrepreneurship this time is still successful,
She began to make a profit in the 5th month, and in just a few years, Pretty Jiangnan opened high-end office buildings across the country.
In 2006, Zhang Lan further improved the high standard of her clubhouse.
She spent more than 300 million yuan to create the Lan Club, and she wanted to use the specifications of Western food to package Chinese food.
To do this, she spent up to 12 million,
Please come and design the French designer Phillip Stark of the Bacca-rat Crystal Palace in Paris,
Come and help her design the Lan Clubhouse, and in the hall of the Lan Clubhouse,
There was also a painting "New Immigrants in the Three Gorges" that she shot back with 20 million yuan.
It can be seen that Zhang Lan has been committed to improving the high-end level of her company.
In the direction of "LV in the restaurant industry", her efforts have also been rewarded,
In 2008, Pretty Jiangnan became the only Chinese food enterprise among the designated catering providers of the Beijing Olympic Games.
Pretty Jiangnan also took advantage of this to be attracted the attention of the world, the next year, Zhang Lan also with these years of impressive achievements,
It ranked third on the Hurun Restaurant Rich List, with a wealth valuation of 2.5 billion yuan.
At this time, Zhang Lan is definitely a typical representative of China's strong women, who can think and dare to do it.
But no matter how you can do it, there will be a day when you will look away, and it is still her own son who will take her to the ditch.
05
Since Wang Xiaofei entered Pretty Jiangnan, his business acumen has been in stark contrast to his love talent.
With the help of the wealth accumulated by his mother for him, he joined the ranks of the "Four Young People in Beijing",
And with this title to break into the entertainment industry, but also became a famous "actress harvester".
But in the mall, he is a bit too ambitious,
Cloaked in the cloak of a hotel management major he had studied abroad, he was bent on pushing Pretty Jiangnan to the market.
But the world knows that "once you enter the capital, it is as deep as the sea", not to mention that the beautiful Jiangnan has only been standing firm for a few years,
How to withstand the test of listing, but Zhang Lan, who has always been steady and steady, still listened to his son's advice.
In 2008, Pretty Jiangnan signed a VAM agreement with CDH Venture Capital.
CDH purchased 10.526% of the shares of Pretty Jiangnan for 200 million yuan.
The condition is that Pretty Jiangnan must complete the listing in 2012, and if it is not completed, it will lose money.
In order to complete the goal of listing, Zhang Lan began to use the power of the media,
This is also the fundamental reason why she has gradually become "absurd".
In 2011, she wanted to do a grand wedding for her son that did not allow media reporters to attend.
This way of "hanging the appetite" has greatly attracted the majority of the media.
And when Zhang Chaoyang accidentally leaked photos of the wedding day,
When the wedding was therefore labeled "extravagant and wasteful",
Zhang Lan immediately rubbed a wave of Wang Jianlin's heat, saying that it was sponsored by Wanda and did not spend any money.
However, he was punched in the face by Wang Sicong, and there were several hot searches for such a wedding.
Until now, Big S and Wang Xiaofei are divorced, and their wedding that year is still talked about.
It can be seen how influential this wedding was at that time, and the winner behind this is none other than Pretty Jiangnan.
And the reason why Zhang Lan agreed that Wang Xiaofei could marry Big S,
I also want to use the influence of big S on both sides of the strait, as well as the heat of the topic queen,
Whether this is to increase the popularity of Pretty Jiangnan, or to open a Pretty Jiangnan branch in Taiwan, it is beneficial.
Seeing that there is no hope of listing, Zhang Lan, who has always been patriotic, even hesitated to cancel his Chinese nationality.
This increases the likelihood of listing, but her practices,
Not only did it not change the fate of the failure of the listing, but it also pushed herself to the cusp of public opinion.
During the Spring Festival in 2015, the official seal of the pretty Jiangnan was taken away by more than 20 men dressed in black.
Subsequently, the lawyer took a bunch of documents and formally informed Zhang Lan that she would no longer be the chairman of Pretty Jiangnan in the future.
This matter then went to the court, and the final result was that Zhang Lan struggled for more than 20 years.
At that time, Pretty Jiangnan, which was already worth 2 billion yuan, would no longer belong to her in the future, and she was completely kicked out.
At the age of retirement, but encountered the "country and mountains" destroyed,
Anyone who encounters this may collapse, or even collapse.
But according to Zhang Lan's personality, she is only allowed to cry once a year,
So even after experiencing the company being taken away, she was sad for a few days at best.
When asked about it, she even laughed and said, "It's time to pay the tuition."
In 2019, Zhang Lan published a book on the mental journey of the past 28 years of entrepreneurship, titled "My Nine Lives".
Through the title of this book, we can feel Zhang Lan's tenacious vitality,
It can also explain why she is still trying to live broadcast at the age of 65.
It's even more proof of why she's always liked "eyeballs" lately.
In fact, she is just pandering to this era filled with self-media, trying to explore new outlets.
Zhang Lan is still the strong woman who dared to go to Canada to work alone 30 years ago.
Although the way she strives to fight these days may not be very recognizable, she does attract your attention,
Her new creation, Ma Liu Ji, has also officially grown in this attention.
So yeah! Don't underestimate a strong woman's ability to bottom out in adversity,
Don't laugh at her means, because the moment she catches your attention, she's already victorious.