Preface
Among these Internet tycoons, Robin Li's background is the most ordinary, his father is an ordinary boiler worker, and his education level is also quite weak.
Robin Li has said many times that his father has a deep influence on him, it can be said that without Li Guifu, there would be no Baidu, what is hidden behind this ordinary father?
The source in this article comes from the official media [Zhejiang Daily], published on March 11, 2015, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be edited, please read sensibly, for reference only!
1
Robin Li's father, Li Guifu, is a boiler worker who has worked in Shanxi coal mines for many years, with a boring job and a meager income.
Other people's children went out to work in elementary school, but despite his poor family, he insisted on sending all five children to high school or even college.
At first, the neighbors thought Li Guifu was crazy and was willing to spend the money.
However, many years later, when the five children were admitted to the university one by one, and some of them went abroad for further study, and achieved achievements that impressed everyone, people suddenly realized that Li Guifu had a vision.
The year when the eldest daughter Li Xiuhua graduated from high school, it coincided with the resumption of the national college entrance examination, she was admitted to the university, becoming the first person among the children of coal mines at that time, and after graduation, she returned to her hometown and became an outstanding middle school teacher.
The second daughter, Li Xiumin, worked in the postal system successively, and with her diligence and hard work, she started from the grassroots level and eventually became the general manager of a communications company, and won the title of "model worker" many times.
The children are all promising, Li Guifu is not only relieved in his heart, but also strengthens his belief in supporting them to study.
Despite the fact that life has been tight, he still struggled to raise his youngest daughter, Li Xiufang, who worked as a teacher for several years, then joined an electrical company, and finally achieved a senior position such as vice president.
In addition to his daughters, Li Guifu's only son, Robin Li, has even more amazing achievements.
After graduating from high school, Robin Li got his wish to enter Peking University, and then went abroad to study and find a job in Silicon Valley.
However, behind Robin Li's achievements, few people know that his third sister Li Xiuling has made great contributions.
Li Xiuling is a few years older than Robin Li, and after being admitted to Peking University, she went abroad for further study, and obtained doctorates from the University of California and the California Institute of Technology, and eventually became a professor at a top university.
It was Li Xiuling's example that broadened Robin Li's horizons for studying, allowing him to apply for Peking University and continue his studies abroad.
The two sisters and brothers went abroad one after another, opening up a new world for this ordinary working family.
2
In fact, when he was a child, Robin Li was far less diligent than he was later, and even had a tendency to be tired of studying.
Most of the students plan to inherit their parents' jobs and work as workers in factories after graduation.
Robin Li is also deeply affected by this environment, he prefers to play with his friends after class, and often does not hand in his homework.
One day, he gave Robin Li two slaps and warned Robin Li that if he did not cherish the opportunity to learn, he would only become a boiler burner in the factory for the rest of his life.
This awakening made Robin Li realize that he had to change the status quo, and from then on, he began to work hard, choosing self-study rather than playing in his spare time.
Li Fugui's change made Li Fugui very happy, Li Fugui himself was just an ordinary worker, and his family was poor since he was a child, and he did not have the opportunity to receive higher education.
He didn't want his son to repeat the mistakes of the past, so he had high hopes for Robin Li, hoping that he could change his fate by studying.
After Robin Li successfully entered high school, his father once again gave him positive guidance, Li Fugui emphasized that they were ordinary working families, without any background, and could only rely on learning to change their fate.
At the suggestion of his father, Robin Li chose science, a decision that had a profound impact on Robin's future development.
In the college entrance examination, Robin Li was admitted to Peking University with the first score in the city, which made his father proud, and the whole family had high hopes for Robin Li, believing that he would be able to change his fate and live a different life from them by his own efforts.
But the good times didn't last long, the university coursework was too simple, and Robin Li once again showed an attitude of disgust with learning, this time, Li Fugui did not criticize him, but asked him to go to the train station to sell popsicles and feel the hardships firsthand.
3
One summer in 1988, Robin Li came to the train station and began a hard life as a hawker.
In the scorching sun, he had to shout and sell popsicles all day long, and endure tanned skin and dusty clothes.
It was a torturous time for Robin Li, but he finally rediscovered the value of knowledge, and this experience rekindled Robin's enthusiasm for learning.
After graduating from university, Robin Li decided to study abroad, and his father fully supported this decision, even though his mother and sister were worried about the hardships of a foreign country.
For Robin Li, this decision is not only the pursuit of his dreams, but also the reward of his father's expectations.
Sure enough, when he first arrived in the United States, Robin Li fell into a huge adaptation crisis, and once wanted to give up, he missed the food in his hometown, and it was difficult to adapt to the high-intensity pressure of his studies.
At this time, a letter from his father woke him up again - to succeed, you must put in hard work, and his father's encouragement allowed Robin Li to regain his strength, endure loneliness and pressure, and finally successfully complete his studies.
In the United States, Robin Li finally completed his studies and gained work experience at well-known companies such as Dow Jones.
In the 90s of the last century, the Internet began to rise in the United States, Robin Li keenly grasped the opportunities of the times, and had the idea of returning to China to start a business.
4
In 2000, Robin Li, who was working in Silicon Valley in the United States, resolutely decided to return to China to start a business with the support of his father.
At that time, China's Internet was just starting, and traditional Internet companies controlled the search engine market.
In the beginning, Baidu worked very hard, with only a dozen employees, and even the office location was not fixed.
Robin Li was busy raising funds during the day, and he had to personally participate in technical work at night, and at that time, the biggest support was his father Li Guifu.
Although Li Guifu is just an ordinary boiler worker, he always encourages his son to be innovative, independent, and not to follow the crowd.
He said: "The three armies can win the commandery, but the horseman cannot win the ambition." This old saying was greatly inspired by Robin Li and became the driving force for him to start his business.
Three years later, Baidu went public and became China's largest search engine, and reporters flocked to interview the entrepreneurial story behind it, and Robin Li invited his father to the company for the first home visit.
Li Guifu said that his son has been active in thinking since he was a child, always wanting to improve the items at home, although he is only an uneducated worker, he still tries his best to support his son's innovative spirit.
He proudly said that Baidu's success was the result of China's technological progress, and his son was just one of them.
With the development of Baidu, Robin Li has become a new generation of technology leaders, but in private, he is still the filial son.
In 2016, Li Guifu and his wife were named "the most beautiful family in the country", but soon after, Li Guifu, who was almost old, passed away in a hurry.
He said in public that his father taught him to think independently and insist on innovation, which played a key role in Baidu's growth.
Although Li Guifu has passed away for many years, Robin Li still lives in the old house left by his father and maintains a simple life
Now, every time his father's death day, Robin Li will take his family back to his hometown and tell his father's story as he walks.
He often recited his father's words silently: "If you recognize it, you will do it, do not follow the trend, and do not waver." These golden words will always guide him to continue to move forward.