Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 474 Jack Ma Lets Go

Huizhou.

noon.

As Cao Sheng was eating alone at the dining table, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door, the crisp sound of high heels climbing the steps.

Soon, there was a knock on the door.

Actually, the door was ajar.

Cao Sheng: "Come in!"

The door was pushed open, and Wang Jing, dressed in a gray business suit, walked in with a smile. Cao Sheng glanced at her, then looked away and continued eating.

Don't be shy with Wang Jing.

Soon, Wang Jing approached him. "Boss! The lunch was great!"

She looked at the three dishes and one soup on the table and praised them.

Cao Sheng: "Have you eaten? If not, go get some rice yourself."

"Okay! Hehe."

Wang Jing responded cheerfully and quickly went to the kitchen to serve the rice.

The three dishes and one soup on the table were actually quite ordinary: stir-fried eggs with chives, braised pork ribs, stir-fried winter melon, and a large bowl of pickled mustard greens and shredded pork soup.

These are all home-style dishes.

It's just that Aunt Qin Xiyue, who makes these dishes, is a good cook, so every dish looks very appetizing. As a result, Wang Jing has been frequently eating at Cao Sheng's place lately.

A moment later, Wang Jing sat down next to Cao Sheng with a bowl of rice, picking at her food as she said, "Boss, Ali called me this morning, saying they want you to be their platform's spokesperson. They offered a very attractive price. What do you think? Are you interested?"

Cao Sheng was a little surprised and looked at her. "They just want me to be their spokesperson?"

Wang Jing smiled and nodded, "Yes! It's just an endorsement, the endorsement fee is one million a year, and we can sign a three-year endorsement contract directly. Would you consider it?"

Cao Sheng shook his head, "I won't consider it."

Wang Jing wasn't surprised and smiled, "I guess they saw that your advertisement for QQ was quite effective, so they wanted to use your influence among young netizens to endorse their shopping platform. I even asked them if they had changed their minds and allowed you to invest, but the person who called me said he hadn't heard about it and was only in charge of negotiating with us about having you endorse it."

When Cao Sheng wanted to invest in Ali, Wang Jing had not yet been transferred back to Cao Sheng's side.

However, she had been transferred back for some time and had taken the initiative to learn about Cao Sheng's recent investments. Naturally, she also knew about Cao Sheng's previous attempt to invest in Ali, which Ali had politely declined.

Cao Sheng smiled and said nothing more.

He is not a celebrity.

The reason for endorsing QQ is to acquire a stake in Tencent.

Ali, did you treat him like a celebrity and invite him to be your spokesperson?

He certainly wouldn't consider it.

There are many ways to make money, and he doesn't lack that little bit of cash.

How could someone possibly become Ali's spokesperson for a million-dollar endorsement fee per year?
Although one million is a huge sum of money for most Chinese people right now.

But this obviously does not include Cao.

Seeing that he had no such intention, Wang Jing did not try to persuade him.

Cao Sheng changed the subject, "How are your talks with that hotel going lately?"

Recently, Wang Jing has been reporting her work progress to him every morning at breakfast.

One of the tasks was to find a hotel for sale and try to acquire it.

Two days ago, Wang Jing reported to Cao Sheng that she had found a three-star hotel that was up for sale.

The hotel has six shareholders. A year ago, the major shareholder suffered a stroke and became paralyzed, making it impossible for him to manage the hotel personally anymore.

Afterwards, the eldest son of the major shareholder took over all of his father's businesses, including the shares in the hotel. However, this second-generation rich kid was clearly not a business genius. In just over a year, the performance of all the businesses he took over from his father declined sharply.

This rich second-generation heir had no choice but to start selling off his father's assets.

Several properties have already been sold.

Recently, they have finally begun selling off their shares in this three-star hotel.

When Wang Jing found out about this, she contacted and negotiated with the wealthy second-generation heir, hoping to acquire his shares in the hotel.

If he can acquire all of them, Cao Sheng will become the major shareholder of this hotel.

The operating rights of this hotel would naturally fall into Cao Sheng's hands.

"Negotiations are still ongoing!"

As Wang Jing spoke, she shoveled two mouthfuls of rice into her mouth, then picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with chives and stuffed it into her mouth to chew.

She was clearly hungry. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she continued, "That rich kid may be ambitious but incompetent, but he has quite the appetite. He can't even keep the business afloat, yet he still wants to sell his shares at a high price. He actually wants to make back the money he lost in the business through us. Ha, I won't tolerate him. I've already started contacting the other shareholders of this hotel today. I just met with one this morning."

At this point, she smiled brightly and continued, "The shareholder I met today only owns 6% of this hotel. His main business is seafood wholesale, so he doesn't know anything about running a hotel. He's also very worried about the hotel's recent situation, which is why he was so enthusiastic towards me. He probably really wants to sell his shares to us, but I didn't agree right away. I want to meet with the other shareholders as well. I guess the other shareholders are also thinking of giving up their shares. After all, the fact that the rich second-generation heir is in charge of this hotel doesn't give them any confidence."

Cao Sheng frowned. "How many shares do these minority shareholders hold in total? Can they exceed the number of shares held by that rich second-generation?"

If they can't surpass it, then there's no point in them acquiring the shares held by these minority shareholders.

Wang Jing chuckled, “Boss, the shareholding structure of this hotel is different now than it was a year ago. A year ago, before this rich second-generation father suffered a stroke and became paralyzed, he held 51% of the hotel’s shares, which was considered a controlling stake. But things are different now that the major shareholder has become paralyzed. He has not only an eldest son, but also a second son and a youngest daughter. After his paralysis, the 51% of shares he held fell into the hands of these three children. Among them, the rich second-generation currently in charge of operating this hotel actually only holds 30% of the shares. The other 21% is held by his younger brother and sister. Therefore, we have the opportunity to acquire more than 50% of the shares.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Sheng nodded, understanding.

"I see. It seems there is an opportunity. However, acquiring shares from so many shareholders must be quite troublesome."

Cao Sheng raised a question.

He was a little worried that something might go wrong before they acquired more than 50% of the shares. If they didn't get controlling rights, they wouldn't get management rights either, which would be like getting on a sinking ship. It would be difficult to get off the ship then.

Wang Jing picked up a piece of pork rib and gnawed on it. Hearing this, she smiled and said, "It's alright! Boss, I'm just putting on an act for that rich kid by contacting these minority shareholders. I'm putting pressure on him! When he hears that I'm contacting those minority shareholders, including his brother and sister, he'll definitely panic. Plus, his other businesses are in trouble and he needs funds to survive. I believe he'll definitely contact me on his own initiative and lower the price. Don't worry!"

Seeing her confidence, Cao Sheng nodded and said nothing more.

He could tell that Wang Jing was much more confident than before after her experience in Shenzhen.

……

"You declined?"

Hangzhou.

Ahri Headquarters.

Jack Ma looked somewhat surprised after listening to the report from the head of the publicity department.

He instructed the publicity department to contact Zhongyuan Yidianhui, hoping to invite them to endorse Ali. They offered a very high price, but unexpectedly, they received news of a polite refusal so quickly.

The head of the publicity department smiled wryly and nodded, "Yes, Mr. Ma, I called Zhongyuan Yidianhui first, but no one answered. Then I called his assistant Wang Jing. Wang Jing said in the morning that she would report this matter to Zhongyuan Yidianhui as soon as possible, but... she called in the afternoon to politely decline our offer on behalf of Zhongyuan Yidianhui."

Jack Ma frowned, got up and paced back and forth in the office a few times, looking conflicted.

During this period, Ahri's survival was quite difficult.

It's still a long way from going public.

Alibaba's shopping platform has made a lot of noise but accomplished little.

The concept of e-commerce has been hyped up by Ali, and many people have heard of e-commerce and online shopping.

However, there are two major challenges currently hindering the development of this shopping platform.

One is a payment license.

Ali hasn't obtained payment qualifications yet, and Alipay is nowhere to be seen.

Another issue is express delivery and logistics. Currently, there is no robust express delivery and logistics system in China. If you want to send something, the main way is through the postal service.

And the postal service... its delivery speed is truly appalling.

Therefore, although Ali's shopping platform is at the forefront of the times, it is too far ahead of its time. Not only are many consumers hesitant to shop on this platform, but most investors are also reluctant to invest in Ali.

This current situation completely diminishes Jack Ma's ambition for a future.

Currently, he gives the impression of being more like a big liar.

His eyes were always darting around, giving him an air of shrewdness that made it hard to believe what he said.

Suddenly, he stopped, the conflicted look on his face faded, and he turned to the head of the publicity department, laughing, "It seems this online novel author is only interested in investing in our company, and has absolutely no interest in earning endorsement fees!"

The head of the publicity department forced a smile and said with a forced smile, "Yes, that should be the case."

Jack Ma walked back behind his desk, sat down, picked up the teacup on the table, and smiled, "However, we have to admit that his influence among young netizens is indeed unmatched by most celebrities. If he can endorse our platform, I believe it will definitely have a good effect."

The head of the publicity department maintained his smile, nodded, and did not offer any comments.

Jack Ma doesn't need his opinion either.

"Since he's so eager to invest in our company, let's let him! We're not exactly flush with cash anyway, and since he's so keen to share the risks with us, tell him—investment is fine! As long as we can agree on the terms."

The head of the publicity department was quite surprised.

Because he knew very well that Jack Ma was always very picky about the qualifications of investors and held onto his shares very tightly.

They not only want investors' money, but also want to leverage their influence.

And now?
Jack Ma actually abandoned his usual financing principles and agreed to let Zhongyuan Yidianhui, a novelist, invest in Ali.
"you sure?"

He worried that Jack Ma was acting on impulse.

(End of this chapter)