Struggling son learns of family's true value

Zhang Zilong had trouble finding a good job after he graduated from college, but his parents did not tell him that the family is rich.

The 24-year-old went to secondary school in Changsha, Hunan province, and lived in a small apartment in Pingjiang county during school vacations. His father often said the family had heavy debt due to running a latiao company. It was only last year, that they moved into a mansion in Pingjiang.

"Many people in Pingjiang own a latiao factory, so I didn't think I was special," he said.

He was raised as a regular child and lived in a village home until he was 8 years old and attended a local primary school. After graduating from a university in Ningbo in 2022, he was unable to find a good job after a long search.

His father then invited him to work for the family company, Malawangzi.

Zhang did not get the job he applied for after he was rejected by the human resources department, but he later landed a position in the branding department after "someone" did him a favor.

"I had doubts about joining the company as it might be awkward to work as the boss' son, he said. "After a while, I saw most people in the department were young, and they did not treat me any differently," he said.

Zhang Yudong, his father, said he did not deliberately lie to his son about the family's financial situation.

In 2013, as latiao became a stronger, cleaner industry, the company ditched 300 million yuan ($41.9 million) worth of outdated production lines. It made big investments in building new factories and equipment as well as research and development, which resulted in the company being in debt for a long time.

Zhang Yudong does not believe that he should necessarily hand the company over to his children. "People who are the most capable and have made the most contributions to the company should take over, so I am still looking," he said.

On his son's prospects of running the business one day, he said: "He still has room to grow. If after 10 to 20 years he has won approval from the team, I might consider letting him run the company."

Zhang Zilong is now in charge of the company's e-commerce platform on Douyin. The company's Douyin account has more than 400,000 followers and his personal account has more than 52,000.

"People do not have high opinions of children of affluent families, but I don't deny the fact that my family is rich," Zhang said.

Since a video of his story was posted on Douyin late last year, he has become famous online, with many netizens saying they want their parents to tell them they are rich one day. Some critics have questioned the authenticity of the story.

His father does not approve of his son being the new face of the "rich second generation", which he believes goes against the values of the company.

Zhang likes to call himself the child of entrepreneurs, and adds he holds himself to high standards as he has been under great public scrutiny.

The public attention and fame have forced him to work harder to advance his career. He spends most of his time surfing the internet to gauge feedback on the company's products. Zhang also tries to enlighten people on the origins and culture of latiao through short videos and livestreams.

"As someone who has grown with the latiao industry, I believe it has great prospects and I want to make it a national brand through our efforts," he said.