The King of Power

The King of Power is an urban-rebirth industrial novel by Qiannian Jingshou. Running about 5.23 million Chinese characters, it was serialized on Qidian from the 2010s and completed in March 2021. At the start, Chen Geng, once the head of a multinational group, wakes up to find himself thrown back to 1978 Detroit, the "Motor City," where he becomes a mediocre salesman at a local used-car company—a young overseas Chinese with deceased parents and a green card, whose English name is Fernandez. He first uses the contract terms to withstand his boss's harassment, then takes out a mortgage on his property to buy the nearly bankrupt dealership. Through standardized management, vehicle reconditioning, dismantled-parts trading, and modification services, he gradually gains a foothold in Detroit, even splicing two straight-six engines into a V12, which shocks companies such as Honda. He then leverages capital operations and accumulated technology to enter complete-vehicle manufacturing, becoming involved with brands such as Lamborghini, and after China's reform and opening-up begins, returns home to invest, cooperating with FAW, SAIC, and others, taking part in joint-venture negotiations, investment promotion, and industrial layout—rising from a used-car dealer to the owner of a multinational automotive and industrial group. The auto industry forms the skeleton of the book, interwoven with technical details, business battles, and period atmosphere, and colored by a strong emotional undertone of "industry for the nation." Because it was serialized online, it is extremely long and densely packed with gratifying moments, and reviews are polarized.