What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 571 Meeting (4k)

In buying and selling, buyers always want to buy at a low price, and sellers want to sell at a high price.

Even if the transaction size is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the same applies.

When Zhou Hongyi arrived in Lingang with her entourage, she was half-jokingly surprised to hear the official price quoted by Carbon Silicon Data for the Universal Key. She then left the room, saying that she could hardly accept such a price.

He left, and Yu Xing didn't try to stop him, but he didn't just head straight home; instead, he stayed overnight in Lingang.

Both sides are analyzing the true value of "WiFi Master Key" in the current context, based on their initial contact with each other.

Lingang Carbon Silicon was one of the earliest companies in China to develop a WiFi sharing project. It was widely praised both internally and externally when it was used as an entry point into the company's software matrix. Although it was not a globally pioneering idea, it did experience rocket-like growth in the early stages of the mobile internet boom and has consistently been the fastest-growing app in terms of user numbers.

Nowadays, internet companies such as Tencent and 360 offer software with similar functions, but when it comes to universal keys, Silicon Carbon is still the most representative and has always maintained a solid first-mover advantage.

As of May 2015, Universal Key had 530 million users and nearly 300 million monthly active users. Even in a mobile internet era where the number of "hundreds of millions" is no longer a primary concern, its performance was still quite impressive.

However, just like its presence in public opinion and the industry, the tool-like nature of the product means that user stickiness is destined to be low. Most people will not spend much time and money on products like Universal Key, Xunlei, and Meitu, so its potential is naturally not that high.

Zhou Hongyi found the $20 billion price tag for Lingang Carbon Silicon unacceptable. The figure she was really considering was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. What she valued more was not its existing business, but the empowering effect that this wave of traffic could bring.

There's no doubt about the sheer scale of the traffic to the platform, nor is there any doubt about its ability to drive traffic to Douyin.

For the same two reasons, Lingang Carbon Silicon's attitude after announcing its price was also very firm. Of course, the price is negotiable, but there's no need to talk about it if it looks like it's been possessed by a performative personality and wants to buy at the bottom.

However, both sides were aware of each other's mindset, and they met again the next day under some pretext.

Yu Xing led Zhou Hongyi and others on a tour of the carbon silicon group's automobile factory.

Looking at the busy production line, Zhou Hongyi forgot for a moment the purpose of her visit and exclaimed in amazement: "President Yu, in our industry, when we talk about Lingang Silicon Carbon, we just mean Silicon Carbon Data Company. But you've really made Silicon Carbon a household name in the automotive industry. You're amazing, you're truly amazing!"

Fearing the other party might misunderstand, he added, "Mr. Yu, it's the kind of quirky compliment I'm giving you."

Yu Xing said with a smile, "It doesn't matter if you praise me or criticize me, it won't affect our Kyushu sales. President Zhou, have you not test-driven my car?"

Zhou Hongyi nodded. He was indeed curious, but he had been too busy lately, and the decision to privatize the company required raising a lot of funds, so he hadn't had time to try out Kyushu, which was made from silicon carbon.

Yu Xing briefly showed his internet colleagues around the workshop, then offered to give three people a test drive of Kyushu and started promoting it.

"Mr. Yu, you're the boss of Lingang now. I heard that Pony got slapped twice before leaving last time he came. We can't leave without buying something from you this time." Zhou Hongyi joked, just like many internet people who touched and fiddled with the car during their first test drive.

People in the internet industry have a more complex attitude towards Mr. Yu's car manufacturing venture. It wasn't until the actual cars were on sale that they suddenly realized that he was really going to build them and had actually succeeded. Ultimately, it was because of the huge reputation of the WeChat incident back then, followed by the development of silicon carbon data.

Even today, many in the industry still believe that Mr. Yu's deep involvement in the mobile internet will enable Carbon Silicon Data to achieve even greater success.

After experiencing the ride in the car for a while, Zhou Hongyi couldn't help but ask similar questions.

“Zhong Zhiling and his team have done a good job too. There’s no point in making assumptions.” Yu Xing gave a positive answer. “No matter who comes, the products they make will still have to compete with Alibaba and Tencent, whose funds and resources far exceed their own. No matter how much I invest, the 4G network is there, and the smartphone penetration rate is there. At most, it will be a little better than the current data of Carbon Silicon. But Carbon Silicon Group is much stronger than domestic new energy companies.”

"With the foundation of the silicon carbon group, there are many directions for its future upgrades, and its products can be carriers of future technologies."

Zhou Hongyi ignored President Yu's outlook and said meaningfully, "The carbon silicon data is indeed good now, but it is also very dangerous. Once Douyin cannot stand firm, half of the plan for this project will be missing."

Yu Xing smiled and did not follow up on the topic of Douyin's funding needs, which was naturally related to the transaction of the Universal Key.

Having been in the business world for many years, Zhou Hongyi was equally composed. Instead, she took the opportunity to ask another question: "360 is trying to revitalize its gaming business, and I'm very dissatisfied with the company's performance in this area. I arrived in Lingang yesterday and suddenly realized something: why hasn't Carbon Silicon tried to make games?"

He mentioned the gaming business not without reason, but last night when he discussed the user acquisition effect of the universal key with his subordinates, he also took the gaming business into consideration. 360's gaming business revenue mainly comes from game downloads and promotion, which involves joint operation and distribution.

However, this model has encountered bottlenecks, and the company is considering restructuring its game department and establishing a self-developed mobile game team.

As they chatted for a while, they suddenly realized that Carbon Silicon Data, which possessed the universal key, did not have a gaming business.

“We still have limited energy. Come to think of it, whether it’s the latest trending topics, Universal Key, or karaoke, including Douyin, any of Carbon Silicon Data’s software will encounter competition from Alibaba, Tencent, and your 360.” Yu Xing shook his head slightly and explained, “I’m not blaming you, it’s just that Carbon Silicon Data has always faced a lot of competitive pressure. If we have more resources and funds in the future, then we might be able to give it a try.”

Zhou Hongyi disagreed with this idea. He shared his views, believing that traffic naturally provides an advantage in expanding business, and who knows which area might become a hit.

Yu Xing silenced Zhou Hongyi with a single question: "President Zhou, according to you, 360 has expanded so much, which segment is currently booming?"

Zhou Hongyi paused, unusually unable to speak fluently.

Seeing that his boss was not reacting, Senior Vice President Chen Jie in the back seat said, "It may not be particularly explosive, otherwise it would have reached President Yu's ears, but our development in all aspects is quite good, otherwise we would not have the spare money to buy a master key."

She indirectly pointed out that 360 was the buyer, while Silicon Carbon was the seller who needed funds to sell its business.

Yu Xing hummed in agreement: "I see. It's a pity that 360 chose to go private. Otherwise, the NYSE would have realized sooner or later that it had undervalued your stock."

Two flashes of anger crossed Zhou Hongyi's mind. Regardless of the details, this matter really touched a nerve.

"Sigh, I just have to change my personality." Yu Xing knew when to stop, so he slowed down a bit and gestured for them to look at the roadside they were passing by. "Those people taking pictures by the roadside should be employees of Silicon Carbon."

Zhou Hongyi's face was somewhat cold: "What are they filming?"

Yu Xing sighed: "They call this place 'Yu Ma Gu Battlefield' in private."

This is the very spot where Pony and Liu Chiping had their initial conversation, and where Yu Xing chased them over. Not only do employees of Silicon Carbon come here to smoke and chat when they have nothing to do, but it's also said that other companies occasionally come here on business trips and take photos here as souvenirs.

Yu Xing was unaware of this matter at the company; he only saw the industry discussions and jokes after visiting the Baixiaosheng Forum.

Zhou Hongyi's anger vanished instantly. Oh well, Yu Xing is the kind of person who can resort to violence, so it's normal for him to say something harsh.

He said, "It's a pity I only found out later, otherwise I would have definitely come to help."

Yu Xing laughed heartily, Zhou Hongyi's grudges ran deeper.

Zhou Hongyi also laughed, thinking about the photographer who had just passed by, and felt that Yu Xing, who was both a WeChat user and a talent poacher, really had a great feud with Pony.

The slightly tense atmosphere between the two parties was dispelled by a third party.

Yu Xing held another meeting and asked, "President Zhou, why don't you give it a try?"

Zhou Hongyi refused, saying, "I don't have a driver's license."

Yu Xing was stunned; he really didn't know that.

Chen Jie, sitting in the back seat, volunteered: "President Yu, let me try. You two chat." The driver was changed, and Zhou Hongyi and Yu Xing also moved to the second row.

Zhou Hongyi watched the TV on the entertainment screen for a while, then brought up the target of this trip: "President Yu, your price is too high. How can you rip people off like that?"

"5.3 million users, 2.9 million monthly active users, and 28.5 billion successful connections per day." Yu Xing asked rhetorically, "With this performance, is this price expensive? I think it's very fair."

Zhou Hongyi gave reasons for counter-offering, including but not limited to the utility attributes of the universal key and the current market situation where it is priced but not available.

Yu Xing spoke frankly: "President Zhou, I don't know what you think, but I asked President Xiong, and he said that Baidu thinks the more traffic the better, and they are currently lacking a blockbuster mobile internet product."

"You say the value of the universal key is not high enough, but calculating its own traffic is one algorithm, and calculating how it drives traffic to other products is another algorithm."

“If you’re hoping to buy the Master Key app to generate advertising revenue, then I advise you not to buy it. Let’s not waste our time. But if you have the same considerations as Baidu, then we can talk.”

These are two ways to calculate the price of a master key.

Zhou Hongyi shook her head: "How can the universal key attract traffic? Does Baidu expect to create another Douyin with it? There's no such opportunity now. If Li Yanhong thinks like that, she's really out of her mind."

Yu Xing chuckled and said, "If the universal key can really incubate another Douyin, do you think it will still be the same price? It will be a completely different price."

Zhou Hongyi disagreed, saying, "President Yu, you have quite the appetite. 360 doesn't have this kind of traffic acquisition strategy in mind."

Chen Jie, who was driving, silently pricked up his ears. High-level negotiations are nothing more than face-to-face deception.

Yu Xing nodded and made a request: "Okay, President Zhou, swear that 360 has never considered this."

Chen Jie: "..."

It seems that President Yu also understands some high-level negotiation methods.

"What oath are you making? Does it count as considering it if I had a fleeting thought?" Zhou Hongyi didn't make any oaths. "You keep mentioning Baidu, and last time you even mentioned LeEco. I think you really think 360 is a cash cow. I really lost out when you sold me that 'Ad Buster' last time."

Yu Xing asked in bewilderment, "How did you lose so much? Your stock price went up at the time."

Zhou Hongyi said irritably, "I didn't cash out back then."

Yu Xing scoffed: "Your failure to cash out is due to your poor judgment, what does that have to do with me? Besides, I didn't actually contact Baidu at your request, and now you think I used Baidu to whet your appetite? That makes no sense."

Zhou Hongyi said with a smile, "President Yu, don't play these tricks. President Ma said you treat people with sincerity, but this isn't sincere enough. Don't use Baidu and LeEco to drive up the price. I think $5.5 million is the fairest price, and it's the highest price we can offer."

Yu Xing frowned: "Forget it, President Zhou, let's not talk about this today. I'll just show you the car and help me boost Kyushu's sales."

Zhou Hongyi decided not to discuss it further, believing that President Yu's reaction to the price indicated that his expected price was not particularly high.

I looked at cars in the morning, had lunch, and then nothing happened in the afternoon. I heard there was another meeting in the evening.

Zhou Hongyi respected the busyness of the Lingang area.

However, the next day, when he didn't receive a call in the morning, he asked Chen Jie to call back. However, he received a reply from the other party's secretary, Zhang Yangxu, that "President Yu is currently taking President Li Yanhong on a test drive of Kyushu."

Zhou Hongyi was taken aback. Besides being skeptical of Li Yanhong's arrival, she also discovered that President Yu's personal test drive was not an exclusive event.

He abandoned the idea of ​​placing an order to boost sales and arrived at the Silicon Carbon Group from the hotel.

When Zhou Hongyi arrived, she saw Yu Xing and Li Yanhong finish their test drive.

“President Li, Linggang’s lidar has great potential. If you have a problem with me personally, that would be unfair to the scientists who came back from Silicon Valley. Linggang itself is also an independently operated company,” Yu Xing said as they walked.

Li Yanhong was a seemingly refined person, and upon hearing this, she simply said, "I will have someone look into this matter."

Xiong Xiaoge walked beside her, trying to smooth things over: "Which company doesn't have some competitive friction? If you have any grudges, think about the ancient battlefield we just saw."

Everyone laughed.

As Zhou Hongyi stepped forward and listened to their jokes, she realized that even the ancient battlefield wasn't just something they were talking about to her alone. She also didn't expect that Li Yanhong would actually come to discuss this potential deal in person.

He greeted him, asking, "Mr. Li, what brings you here?"

Li Yanhong shook hands: "I'm here to help President Yu boost car sales."

Zhou Hongyi suddenly felt that it would be better to secure the car orders.

He was starting to have trouble figuring out what kind of person President Yu was, and it seemed like he didn't need to be so honest with him anymore.

After only a few sentences, Zhou Hongyi posed a question: "Why did Baidu buy Universal Key? Do they just want to use it to incubate short videos? Would Silicon Carbon sell software with such an effect?"

This can be discussed privately, either with Yu Xing or Li Yanhong; it just doesn't seem very magnanimous to discuss it in public.

Yu Xing answered the question: "President Li said he is confident."

Li Yanhong smiled and said, "We are also discussing this. We came here this time with the intention of learning from Carbon Silicon's experience in short videos."

Zhou Hongyi retorted, "Your confidence was about the same as when you bought 91 Assistant."

Before Yu Xing could even get angry, Li Yanhong frowned: "President Zhou, what are you here for? Are you trying to obstruct Baidu again? Did you succeed last time? Isn't 360 going to privatize?"

Both are top figures in the internet industry, but they don't have the demeanor of senior figures, mainly because they attacked each other face-to-face in court back then.

Li Yanhong said that Zhou Hongyi must have deleted the Baidu plugin. Zhou Hongyi said that Li Yanhong was the one who did all the bad things first, and also ridiculed Baidu for its "shitty user experience," and only took action after the trial.

Seeing that both sides were starting to get impolite, Yu Xing smiled and suggested, "President Li, President Zhou, this is Lingang. How about we decide the winner based on who bids the most for the universal key?"

Li Yanhong and Zhou Hongyi glanced at Yu Xing, who spoke bluntly, and immediately fell silent.

Zhou Hongyi, showing familiarity, said, "Let's go upstairs and have a seat. Mr. Yu's tea is quite good."

He lagged behind by two steps, complaining, "Mr. Yu, you don't have to go so far as to directly call Baidu over to raise prices, do you?"

Yu Xing blinked: "President Zhou, I told you, but you didn't believe me. I haven't even called LeEco over yet. They're someone who likes to tell stories. Maybe they just want to use the 'Master Key' to inflate the stock price."

Zhou Hongyi remained silent, believing that President Yu's judgment was very accurate.

(End of this chapter)