What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 406 The Little Short Seller

Penguin's highly anticipated new business has already drawn criticism from well-known figures in the industry.

If it were someone else, the psychological impact on everyone would be somewhat better, but it was precisely my old friend Yu Xing.

This old friend...

Putting aside the industry reputation he built through WeChat, his current carbon silicon data company has also made a name for itself.

Penguin and Silicon Carbon Data do not have much direct competition. Even though they are aware of each other's moves in the pre-installed market, given the number of apps that can be pre-installed on smartphones, they are quietly pursuing their own strategies.

However, whether it's the observations of third-party consulting firms about Silicon Carbon Data Company or the influence of Silicon Carbon Data itself, its development is gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Many senior executives at Tencent initially thought the "software matrix" was a joke, but with each new release and subsequent streamlining and consolidation, the "Latest Hot Topics" and "WiFi Master Key" prototypes have been placed on Tencent's internal research list.

Tencent has its own "Penguin News," which is just a general overview of the "latest hot topics" to see if there are any advantages to learn from. Meanwhile, "WiFi Master Key" is seriously considering launching a competing product.

This is someone who has lived up to the reputation of operating at Silicon Carbon Data Company, yet he talks about Tencent and Weishi in such a way...

Xing Hongyu, at least, felt quite uncomfortable.

What's even more distressing is that he's worried that the business he's in charge of this time still won't improve.

From search engines to Weibo, time and time again, and now in charge of Weishi, can it happen again?
If I suffer repeated defeats, how can I still have the face to stay at Tencent?

Xing Hongyu knew that some people within the company had objections to his appointment to this position, and that Weishi was under a lot of pressure because it had received so many resources.

He wasn't afraid of Yu Xing's scolding, but he was afraid that Yu Xing was actually right...

Tencent couldn't easily respond to Yu Xing's criticism, so President Liu Chiping took the opportunity of a public appearance to give a witty response.

Liu Chiping simply said, "Has Mr. Yu recovered from his car manufacturing struggles? We welcome him to use our products. If there are any shortcomings, we will correct them; if not, we will strive to improve."

The CEO of Tencent responded generously and did not engage in debate on specific issues.

However, just as Yu Xing finished speaking, Liu Wanying of Red Falcon Capital mentioned Weishi at a venture capital summit held in Beijing.

Unlike Yu Xing, who discussed Tencent's product operations, she raised a discussion topic: given the current industry trends, is long-form video or short-form video more valuable for development?
In the short video arena, there's Vine, backed by Twitter, abroad, and Weishi, recently launched by Tencent in China. It's also rumored that a similar project from Weibo is about to be released.

In the long-form video arena, both foreign and domestic players like Youku Tudou, Tencent Video, Sohu Video, iQiyi, Funshion, and LeTV are either backed by giants, listed companies, or industry leaders with strong competitiveness, making them a wealth of talent.

In fact, there is no formal distinction between "long and short videos" in the industry. People still refer to many websites as online videos or video websites.

On this topic, Liu Wanying took a clear stand on the team leader's video, believing that short videos would only be a good supplement to the former and were not worth putting all her effort into.

“I’ve been using Vine since it launched at the beginning of the year, and I even asked about the Twitter acquisition. Overall, it’s quite interesting, but the format is rather rigid.”

"It's not that it can't be done, especially for established video websites like Youku Tudou and Sohu Video, which hold a lot of film and television copyrights. They can definitely try this themselves."

"However, I do not agree with the way Penguin is doing now."

"I think the penguins are making desperate attempts to find a cure."

Liu Wanying still focused on the penguin's actions, saying that it was possible to do it, but there was no need to elevate it to a strategic level.

It's not that all the well-known institutions showed up at this venture capital summit. Because in recent years, Red Falcon Capital has mainly focused on Yu Xing's side and usually keeps a low profile, so people don't have much contact with Liu Wanying.

However, objectively speaking, the competition in long-form video is still fierce. Instead of continuously investing in Penguin Video, is Tencent rushing into Weishi with such a strong push?
If Tencent were at its peak, it would naturally be right about everything. However, its stalemate with Alibaba in the past two years has diminished the authority of its "traffic myth," and its several defeats have inevitably led to a tendency for people to act as know-it-alls. This discussion from the perspective of investors has naturally spread.

Regardless of their identities or the nature of the matter, this is something worth noting.

Tencent has not responded to public opinion or discussed its strategy; it has simply continued to quietly advance the development of Weishi.

"Your advocacy won't work; nobody's paying attention to you."

Yu Xing went to the financial center on the weekend, filming the street scene downstairs with a short video app while teasing Liu Wanying about her actions.

“If I could shut down Weishi the moment I gave the word, I’d be the CEO of Tencent,” Liu Wanying said irritably. “Tencent will definitely need to reach a certain stage before reassessing, but there are certainly differing opinions within the company regarding Weishi’s prospects. We are here to provide external support.”

She continued, "I also had a serious talk with several investors about this, and everyone felt that short videos don't have that much of a future."

Yu Xing nodded slightly: "That's normal. Making products is a process of exploration, and so is making investments."

Even large companies like Tencent and Twitter are wavering on this issue, so it's not surprising that investment institutions have differing opinions.

The two chatted about penguins for a while when there was a knock on the office door.

"President Yu, President Liu, coffee." It was Liu Wanying's secretary, Xiao Yuening, who entered the room. She brought in two cups of coffee and casually said, "There was a news report just now. 360 was attacked by a research institution, which said that users were fabricating data and inflating their numbers."

Yu Xing accepted the coffee, thanked him, and then chuckled, "What kind of shady research agency?"

He had just finished saying that when he suddenly met Xiaoying's eyes. Wait, wait, 360?

Xiao Yuening thought for a moment and replied, "I don't know which organization it is, but I think it's called 'Real Research'."

Yu Xing took a sip of coffee and offered no further comment.

After the secretary left, he exclaimed in astonishment, "Real Research, this isn't an attempt to short 360, is it? Have you heard of this research firm? This can't be..."

Liu Wanying was very familiar with the research institution. After thinking it over carefully, she shook her head and said, "Never heard of it, definitely never heard of it."

The two men looked at each other, both thinking of Mr. Xu who had come to inquire about 360 a while ago.

Ten minutes later, Yu Xing received a call from Li Song.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Song got down to business: "President Yu, I just saw the news that a short seller is shorting 360, accusing it of data fabrication. What's your opinion on this?"

Yu Xing almost wanted to cover his face, and asked with great difficulty, "President Li, why are you asking me? Go ask 360, it's not like they're shorting my company."

"Just chatting," Li Song laughed. "You're the all-knowing one here, and you've even sold the project to 360, so let's just chat casually."

“I didn’t see how the evidence was presented in detail,” Yu Xing said, expressing his feelings. “But I’ve never heard of this ‘real research’ before. How could this sham short seller, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, successfully short 360?”

Li Song's smile faded: "Well... well, you can take a look when you have time. Let's have dinner together sometime. I was thinking of going to Lingang sometime to see how your car is doing."

Yu Xing readily agreed, and they chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call.

Liu Wanying sighed, "No way, judging from this situation, they really went to short sell? Could it be a coincidence?"

Yu Xing shook his head, then found it amusing: "I don't know, but if it really is them, this...this is truly depraved...insane."

(End of this chapter)