What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 392, 151: True Stirring Up the Grass to Startle the Snake

Alibaba and Tencent are locked in a fierce battle, while WeChat and WeChat are locked in a life-or-death struggle.

From the beginning to the end of the year, from advertising to on-the-ground promotion, from viral marketing to burning money... the two giants' life-or-death struggle is an unprecedented scene in the history of China's Internet development.

It is said that because of the large-scale burning on both sides, the relevant departments even brought the two companies together for a talk, hoping to quell the competition, but the matter came to nothing.

The reason is that it is unrealistic to force any company to abandon the already established instant messaging market.

One is the core business of a Hong Kong-listed company, and the other is a piece of the puzzle in a story of relisting. How can the competition between them be easily quelled?
The source of such fierce and painful competition is often mentioned, especially regarding Yu Xing, the founder of WeChat.

Now, he casually lamented on Weibo that he regretted not being able to fully utilize his operational skills, but both Alibaba and Tencent were immediately alarmed.

Are you... are you really serious?

With thousands of people pooling their wisdom and efforts in this competition, do you have any brilliant ideas to change the situation?

Logically speaking, it seems unlikely.

However, in terms of reputation, Yu Xing's ideas and operations are precisely the key factors in the fierce competition between the two giants, and the launch of the Fuka activity even prompted Ma Chuan himself to say that he wanted to invite Yu Xing back to be the CEO...

What if something like that happens...?

Yu Xing casually posted a Weibo post, immediately stirring up the turmoil of the last month of the year.

In fact, the first person he received a call from was Alibaba's CFO, Joseph Tsai.

Joseph Tsai exchanged pleasantries with a cheerful smile, but didn't immediately mention the content on Weibo. Instead, he lamented that the WeChat team had made a wrong decision this year, and that the content provided by the current UC Browser was far inferior to the latest trending topics it used to offer.

He hopes that the two sides can resume cooperation.

"Oh dear, what's the point of cooperating?" Yu Xing said sarcastically. "Even Teacher Ma said that information aggregation has no future. There's absolutely no need for us to cooperate. We can't delay the development of WeChat."

Joseph Tsai expressed his apology: "As you know, Mr. Ma sometimes likes to make random comments, so why should you care what he says?"

"Why do you care what I say? Why would you call me directly?" Yu Xing pointed out the other party's intentions and laughed. "There's nothing to worry about. Even if Tencent comes to me, whatever it releases, you just copy it."

This is one of the reasons why the competition between the two sides is so fierce and difficult to resolve; it's so unsolvable that even the penguins themselves can't find a way to break through it.

With his preconceived notions exposed, Tsai Chung-hsin felt even more strongly that President Yu might actually have some good ideas.

He said with regret, "Mr. Yu, if you ask me, it's still a pity. You should have come to Alibaba with WeChat back then. I only realize now that WeChat's strength is at least half due to your strength. We should have tied half of the acquisition value to you in the contract. What a pity, what a pity. If you had come with us, WeChat would have been defeated long ago."

Yu Xing had seen and heard similar remarks before. When the two sides were locked in fierce online debate, there was a saying that "If President Yu doesn't step in, what can WeChat do?" But to hear such nauseating words so fluently coming from someone like Joseph Tsai...

Hmm, why does this feel so good?

Yu Xing didn't expect that President Cai could take such a stance. He chuckled and wanted to say that it was just a little joke to lighten the mood of the intense and heavy competition.

Unexpectedly, after waiting a few seconds without receiving a response from President Yu, Cai Chongxin smoothly said, "President Yu, I've always wanted to see how the Silicon Carbon Group is progressing in Lingang. I heard recently that Zhang Chaoyang and Ding Lei invested money, and I told President Ma at the time that someone like President Yu must be able to build cars very well."

"Why should foreign and joint venture companies dominate such a large domestic market?"

"Mr. Yu, I need to take this opportunity to order a few cars so I can give the Silicon Carbon Group a good publicity boost."

Upon hearing President Cai's statement, Yu Xing swallowed back the words that were about to come out. "If that's how you put it, then I'm not sleepy anymore."

He slowly said, "Then on behalf of Silicon Carbon Group, I would like to thank President Cai for his support. President Cai, rest assured, we will definitely meet the most stringent standards in car manufacturing."

“I think so too,” Cai Chongxin said earnestly. “President Yu, when President Ma has time, I’ll take him to Lingang to take a look. Why should only Zhang Chaoyang and Ding Lei be allowed to invest? We also want to support the domestic car manufacturing industry.”

He then brought up his previous statement: "However, Mr. Yu, the collaboration between WeChat and the latest trending topics is a match made in heaven. We must continue our partnership. As the 'father of WeChat,' you can definitely make WeChat shine even brighter."

Yu Xing was truly out of ideas and declined again: "President Cai, there's no need for that. WeChat has already been sold to Alibaba, and we have our own development plans for the latest hot topics. I shouldn't be giving advice, but Lingang would absolutely welcome President Cai and President Ma."

Cai Chongxin offered a few more sincere words of advice, but seeing that President Yu's attitude was firm, he had no choice but to firmly express his support for the Lingang car manufacturing business.

Yu Xing ended the call, holding his phone thoughtfully. He hadn't expected that his Weibo post could have such an extortionate effect.

But... this was definitely not my intention!

He thought for a moment, shook his head, put away his phone, and prepared to continue his work.

However, soon more familiar numbers started calling, almost all of them inquiring about the authenticity of the "golden idea".

It might be one thing if it were someone else, but Mr. Yu is the kind of man who carries the burden of "operations." Regardless of the far-reaching impact of WeChat, Carbon Silicon Data Company, despite the recent problems it has encountered, is still operating successfully.

Previously, running WeChat was about operating a single software application; now, with silicon carbon data, it's a complete software matrix. Mr. Yu, who is so deeply involved in the mobile internet field, is truly a force to be reckoned with.

By the time Yu Xing received Xiong Xiaoge's call, he had gone from being both amused and exasperated to feeling that it was absurd.

He inquired about the purpose of his visit: "Mr. Xiong, are you also here to discuss brilliant ideas?"

"Hmm? I'm here to discuss the new round of financing for Silicon Carbon Group." Xiong Xiaoge's tone was casual, but he added with a smile, "However, I might have some funds raised specifically for investment in Silicon Carbon Group, from your old friend in Pengcheng. What do you think? Are you interested?"

Yu Xing chuckled and said, "Is it really necessary? Just copy it directly."

“Yes, that’s definitely possible. The only problem is that we might be caught off guard by a surprise attack. You’ve never been attacked before, so you don’t know the pain,” Xiong Xiaoge said. “Instead of burning money later, we should see what happens now.”

Yu Xing remained silent, feeling that the matter had escalated beyond his expectations.

Seeing that President Yu remained silent, Xiong Xiaoge offered a word of advice: "President Yu, Tencent has improved now."

Yu Xing was surprised that Boss Xiong would say something like that, and couldn't help but burst into laughter. The more he laughed, the more absurd it seemed, so he laughed even louder.

Xiong Xiaoge waited patiently for President Yu to finish laughing, and then said seriously, "Look, Alibaba is just like that. They announced their cooperation with Carbon Silicon Data without even saying hello. Besides, this kind of financing is not about money; it's about business."

Yu Xing sneered.

At this moment, Xiong Xiaoge asked, "So, President Yu, you really do have some invaluable advice hidden away?"

Yu Xing said calmly, "So what if I have it? So what if I don't?"

"President Yu, although Tencent asked me to help, we're on the same side. I think if we don't have it, we should pretend we do, and if we do, we shouldn't say it publicly. These two companies are fighting to this extent. Even if there were some brilliant advice, could it quickly change the competition?" Xiong Xiaoge analyzed carefully. "The last Fu Card was indeed very good, burning through so much money from both companies, but now it's back to a stalemate."

He earnestly suggested, "So, let's pool our resources, then remain neutral, and ignore whether they live or die!"

Yu Xing felt that reality was a huge dark joke.

He laughed and said, "Is Tencent really willing to spend money? What if I raise the money and then turn around and cooperate with Alibaba?" Xiong Xiaoge immediately said, "I'll vouch for you."

Yu Xing asked, "How will you guarantee it?"

Xiong Xiaoge immediately added, "You can vouch for me."

Yu Xing: "..."

“He trusts me, and I trust you, so this matter will be settled, right?” Xiong Xiaoge pondered. “Besides, the silicon carbon group itself is a good project. It’s not like we’re really trying to extort money from them; they want to invest willingly.”

Yu Xing hesitated for a moment: "This... I never thought that financing could be so easy."

A glint flashed in Xiong Xiaoge's eyes as he spoke into his phone: "President Yu, times have changed. I won't ask you what your operational ideas are. This money is being handed to us, let's just take it!"

Yu Xing hesitated: "This..."

Xiong Xiaoge advised, "President Yu, what's there to hesitate about?"

Yu Xing explained, “Mr. Xiong, Alibaba also contacted me. Since that’s the case, whether you insure one or two, it’s still the same. Can you charge double the amount? Anyway, I’m familiar with both sides.”

Xiong Xiaoge: "Uh."

Yu Xing further expanded on the topic: "Also, could you help me talk to Carbon Silicon Data about collaborating on news from Tencent's portal or UC Browser? We're willing to pay according to market rates."

Since they've come knocking on our door, we might as well go all the way.

Xiong Xiaoge thought for a moment: "Let's talk about this."

Yu Xing said seriously, "Anyway, you can vouch for it. This is a normal business cooperation. Didn't you say that Tencent has made improvements? Just help us out."

After much deliberation, Xiong Xiaoge agreed and resolved to make the most of her role as a middleman.

After concluding his friendly communication with Mr. Yu, he immediately called back Tencent President Liu Chiping. He did not exaggerate or use statements about Yu Xing's close cooperation with Alibaba to highlight or pressure him; he simply stated that "Mr. Yu can remain silent."

In any case, neither Silicon Carbon Group nor Silicon Carbon Data has any conflict of interest with Tencent.

Similarly, after Alibaba severed its cooperation with him on information portals, Mr. Yu also had little friendly interaction with Alibaba.

Tencent has had many opportunities to resolve crises with small sums of money. This time, it even held a small meeting to discuss the alleged extortion. Although this approach seems strange and odd, Tencent has learned from its stingy experience in this year's operations after the share issuance. It spends money whenever possible and does not want to cause any more trouble.

Ultimately, Xiong Xiaoge received a satisfactory response and began collaborating with Alibaba on a guarantee agreement for a sum of $1500 million from Tencent.

Tsai Chung-hsin took charge of the matter and then relayed the information to Ma Chuan, who had brought up the issue.

Ma Chuan found it amusing: "What does this mean? We've fought this far, what's there to be afraid of?"

After weighing the pros and cons, Tsai Chung-hsin advised, "What do you think is there to be afraid of with Tencent? It's about getting big results with little money. Xiong Xiaoge isn't some scoundrel. To put it another way, consider it as supporting the domestic car manufacturing industry. And to take it a step further, I don't think Yu Xing's last Fuka event, which cost $1500 million, was too much."

Ma Chuan retreated by a great deal, but still tacitly approved of this action.

Yu Xing received a call from Xiong Xiaoge the very next day, informing him of the initial success. He was astonished and shared the news with Liu Wanying.

Liu Wanying remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

After a long pause, she exclaimed, "This is truly high-quality stuff! You really stirred up trouble..."

"This world is a huge makeshift operation. Your reputation is the result of effective management. I now have even higher expectations for 'over the peak to scare the enemy.' 'Over the peak' is also a reputation built through real short selling."

"These two giants... are truly..."

Liu Wanying found a phrase: "These two giants are really down-to-earth."

Yu Xing still felt this was a huge dark joke: "Maybe Pony saw that Teacher Ma agreed, Teacher Ma saw that Pony agreed, and then Boss Xiong pushed it through?"

However, upon further reflection, he realized that Mitsubishi Motors had been falsifying data for twenty years, Ghosn had fled Japan by hiding in a suitcase, China Forestry had falsified 99% of its revenue, and Vania had monopolized drug prices... so it didn't seem so strange after all.

Liu Wanying found it amusing: "Alright, I really don't want to bet that your gun is out of bullets."

She paused for a moment on the phone, then laughed and said, "Blatant extortion, fine. When you have no status, it's called extortion; when you have status, it's called operations. Mr. Yu, this... this is hard to judge."

Yu Xing also found it difficult to evaluate.

What made it even harder for him to comment was the phone call from Xu Xin.

Two days later, he thought Xu Xin was asking about the "golden idea" a belated time, but he didn't expect her to want to talk about 360's operations.

Yu Xing chatted with 360 for a while for no apparent reason, then asked in confusion, "Mr. Xu, why are you suddenly interested in 360? It's already listed, and there aren't any worthwhile investment projects in this sector."

Xu Xin gave an awkward laugh: "Can't I just learn about the market? You, Carbon Silicon Data, also made 'Ad Buster' and sold it to 360, so I wanted to ask you."

She finally revealed her true intentions: "Do you think that, based on the data from your 'Ad Buster' project, 360's data is inflated?"

This is actually a fairly normal discussion about business operations.

The one who was acting strangely was Yu Xing, who casually joked, "Data manipulation? Why do you care about that? Do you want to switch careers and become a short seller?"

Xu Xin's heart skipped a beat, and the phone fell silent for several seconds.

Yu Xing has always been sensitive to topics about short selling. Sensing this unusual silence, he suddenly had a bold thought: Could it be...?

Xu Xin took a breath and laughed, "What are you thinking? I hate short sellers the most, just like you."

Yu Xing has always liked to express his disgust for short sellers, but...

He suppressed his strange feelings and said carefully, "I haven't studied 360's data, but it should be normal. I haven't heard of any strange things happening. Well, it's hard to say. Judging from her reputation, the woman in red hasn't been very good in the past."

Xu Xin's eyes lit up, and she said casually, "Well, I was just chatting. Okay, that's all for now. Let's exchange ideas on project operations when we have time. We can learn from each other's experiences."

Yu Xing listened to the busy tone on his phone. Usually, whenever President Xu called, he would ask a few questions about the Silicon Carbon Group or Silicon Carbon Data. But now he hung up so hastily.

He wondered if he could exchange short-selling experiences with Mr. Xu sometime in the future...

Yu Xing put his phone on the table, stared at it blankly for a long time before shaking his head repeatedly. He never expected the year to end with such dark humor.

(End of this chapter)