Financial freedom starts with smiling at life

Chapter 339 Liu Qiangdong Invites You to Dinner
It's normal for Shi Chuan, the newly appointed Chief Content Officer of iQiyi, to be uninterested in projects previously handled by Liu Tao.

Ishikawa rejected the collaboration between iQiyi and Yizhi Culture Media Group, which had a somewhat tense tone.

It's just unclear whether he came for Liu Tao or for Jiangbei City.

However, none of that mattered to Jiang Beicheng; Liu Tao was determined to make up for the loss.

Only then can he live up to the stock option rewards that Jiangbei City promised him.

If he can't even solve this little problem, then all those years he's spent in this industry have been for nothing.

Jiang Beicheng dared to use him, so he must have confidence in him.

He doesn't need to personally handle every problem that arises in the companies and industries under his command.

Rather than dealing with those bad projects, Jiangbei City's current priority is to raise more money for Yizhi Culture Media Group.

They quickly established themselves in the entertainment industry.

Before going to bed, I called my stepmother, Qian Li.

"Can't our son sleep? Does he need his stepmother to coax him?" Qian Li coaxed Jiang Beicheng in the same tone she used to Jiang Yucheng, which Jiang Beicheng was already used to.

"Let's get down to business, Ms. Qian," Jiang Beicheng said.

Qian Li immediately switched back to work mode, "President Jiang, please give your instructions."

Jiang Beicheng said, "I'll email you a company; take a look."

Qian Li understood Jiang Beicheng's meaning: "research" was just a polite way of saying that he actually wanted to take money from the two overseas investment companies.

“Okay, I’ll go see it after I dry my hair,” Qian Li replied.

"Ah."

"Nothing else?"

Jiangbei City: Goodnight.

"Good night." Qian Li smiled and hung up the phone.

She couldn't really tell whether her feelings stemmed from an elder's love for Jiang Beicheng or from simply enjoying teasing her eldest son.

Anyway, I'm quite happy.

……

Jiang Beicheng's criticism of the food delivery industry at the CEO summit has put Meituan in the spotlight, but Meituan has not responded.

This was expected in Jiangbei City.

The last Black Pearl incident was due to pressure from three parties, forcing Wang Xing to personally step in and urge his subordinates to resolve the matter.

Meituan's top management doesn't seem to care much about the current public opinion and criticism.

Already used to it.

It hasn't even reached the point of resorting to public relations.

Not to mention sanctioning and suppressing Jiangbei City.

This incident also reflects a problem: the capital circle does not have a high level of recognition for Jiangbei City.

In the eyes of major internet companies and investment gurus, Jiang Beicheng, this young entrepreneur, is not yet considered to have enough prestige.

After all, Jiangbei City's wealth, which is on the surface, cannot compare with theirs.

We still have to climb up slowly.

Once you have a few classic investment cases and several listed companies in your portfolio, people will naturally consider you one of their own.

Jiang Beicheng has a very clear understanding of himself, so he has a very peaceful mindset.

However, to his surprise, while Meituan remained silent, JD.com's CEO, Da Dongzi, offered to treat him to dinner.

To some extent, any negative information about Meituan is a boost to JD.com's newly expanded food delivery business.

Food delivery is also a major group strategy personally deployed by Da Dongzi.

Jiang Beicheng's criticism of Meituan at this national forum has given JD.com a significant boost.

After hearing about it, Da Dongzi also learned about this young man from Jiangbei City.

I learned that his businesses included more than just the Beicheng Hotel; his main business was private equity investment.

Lian Capital has already gained a great reputation in China, but the founder, Jiang Beicheng, is not as well-known as some of the partners.

With the intention of making friends, Da Dongzi took the initiative to invite Jiang Beicheng to dinner.

When Shen Jun told Jiang Beicheng about this, Jiang Beicheng was stunned for a moment, he really didn't expect it.

Da Dongzi is also an entrepreneur he admires.

The main reason is not his actions of providing social security for his employees, which demonstrate his sense of social responsibility as an entrepreneur, but rather the boldness with which he runs his business, which Jiang Beicheng greatly admires.

While JD.com was locked in a fierce battle with Taobao, no one expected it to invest tens of billions in heavy assets, build its own warehouses, and establish its own logistics network.

At the time, no one in the capital market was optimistic about him, thinking that Da Dongzi was doomed.

On the contrary, Xu Xin of Capital Today got a great deal, and Hillhouse Capital, which followed suit, also got a share of the pie.

JD.com's self-operated model is now unique in the e-commerce industry, and other platforms are learning from and imitating it.

Jiang Beicheng greatly admired Da Dongzi's courage in taking that gamble.

Actually, he had bigger ambitions at the time, but he didn't dare to get involved in internet finance due to funding constraints.

All the money was poured into logistics and warehousing.

If Ant Financial had started its internet finance venture a few years earlier, it probably wouldn't have had those golden years of smooth sailing development.

Since Da Dongzi personally extended the invitation, it wouldn't be right for Jiang Beicheng not to give him face.

We arranged a time to visit JD.com's headquarters.

Da Dongzi's secretary greeted him at the door, and Xu Ran, the current CEO of JD.com, also waited for Jiang Beicheng at the door for a moment.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang." Xu Ran shook hands with Jiang Beicheng with a smile.

"President Xu," Jiang Beicheng addressed him.

Xu Ran expressed her welcome.

After meeting Jiang Beicheng, she got into her car and left. She was going on a business trip out of town today. She heard from Chairman Liu that a friend was coming over, so she met with Jiang Beicheng first, said hello, and then left.

"Mr. Jiang, Chairman Liu is in his office." The secretary led Jiang Beichen to the chairman's office. "Mr. Jiang, this way please."

Upon reaching the door, the secretary knocked gently. After receiving permission, she opened the door and reported, "Chairman Liu, President Jiang has arrived." Liu Qiangdong stood up, greeted him with a smile, and shook hands with Jiang Beicheng, saying, "Brother Beicheng, it's finally time to meet you."

He addressed me very warmly.

Jiang Beicheng then addressed him as "Brother Dong".

"I am flattered that Brother Dong invited me to dinner."

Liu Qiangdong smiled and invited Jiang Beicheng to sit down, then beckoned to his secretary to arrange tea.

"I've been following the Service Industry CEO Summit recently. To some extent, we also belong to the service industry, and we're learning from our outstanding peers." Liu Qiangdong said modestly, praising, "Your speech at the CEO Summit left a very deep impression on me."

I truly didn't expect to find such an outstanding colleague in China.

The secretary brought the tea over, and Liu Qiangdong extended his hand to Jiang Beicheng: "President Jiang."

"Thank you!" Jiang Beichen took the teacup and took a sip.

"Good tea."

"These are all our own products."

"JD.com's self-operated products are indeed good; I am a loyal customer of yours."

Liu Qiangdong said with a smile, "It shows that our team members have done a good job."

He never took credit for himself, giving all the credit to his team, his "brothers".

Jiang Beicheng smiled and nodded.

This also demonstrates the wisdom of a manager.

Many business owners do the exact opposite, severely hindering the growth of talent.

For example, the Oriental company that caused such a stir some time ago still has its leadership feeling good about themselves, but the result is obvious: the losses are getting bigger and bigger.

"Brother Dong has a grand vision," Jiang Beicheng said with a smile.

Liu Qiangdong asked, "Mr. Jiang, do you think JD.com's current delivery model has a future?"

Jiang Beicheng was stunned.

This is a very broad topic.

Da Dongzi thinks too highly of him.

Jiang Beicheng humbly replied, "My vision is limited, and I dare not make any rash conclusions."

However, one thing is certain.

Liu Qiangdong: "Please go ahead."

Jiang Beicheng smiled and said, "If your opponent is having a hard time, it means your strategy is working."

Judging from the current state of the food delivery market, I hope that Liu Qiangdong (Liu Qiangdong's founder) can carve out a path to success.

This is not flattery.

Judging from the current model of JD.com's food delivery service, both delivery drivers and merchants are doing relatively well, and consumers' food safety will be significantly improved.

"Thank you for your kind words," Liu Qiangdong said with a smile, then asked with concern, "Does President Jiang have any dietary restrictions? I'll have the cafeteria make arrangements."

"No, Dong-ge, I'm very easygoing. You can order me a JD.com delivery right now, I think it's a good idea."

"Hahaha, you're definitely trying to trap me with those words. The founder of Beicheng Hotel said he's very casual about food, but I don't really believe it."

"No, no, Dong-ge, just kidding," Jiang Beichen said with a smile, waving his hand.

Liu Qiangdong smiled along.

The two sat in the office for a while, drank tea, chatted, and then moved to JD.com's reception room for dinner.

Since we had to go to work in the afternoon, we didn't drink alcohol at noon and just had a simple meal together.

Today's main purpose is to get to know each other and make friends.

After the meal, Liu Qiangdong and Jiang Beicheng exchanged contact information.

"Mr. Jiang, let's keep in touch." Liu Qiangdong saw Jiang Beicheng downstairs.

"Brother Dong, please stay. No need to see me off. Thank you for your warm hospitality today," Jiang Beicheng said as he took his leave.

Get in the car and go back to the hotel.

Da Dongzi and his generation of internet professionals truly fought their way out through bloodshed.

Jiang Beicheng feels especially honored to have made his friend today.

We also look forward to more exchanges and business dealings between the two in the future.

……

After Liu Tao resolved the mess that iQiyi had dumped on her, she proactively reported her work to Jiang Beicheng.

Jiangbei Cheng visited Yizhi Culture Media Group, located in Guomao.

"President Jiang, I've found a new partner for the variety show project that the company is currently producing. Youku has agreed to the revenue sharing model we proposed."

It's slightly lower than iQiyi's.

The TV series we've invested in has already been contacted by several satellite TV stations in conjunction with other production companies, and they've all expressed their intention to purchase it. We expect to sign contracts soon.

We are in discussions with Tencent Video regarding the IPs we have and the content we are incubating, hoping to establish a strategic partnership.

Finally, I poached all the top-notch production teams from iQiyi's entertainment division, leaving Ishikawa as a lone commander with no troops at his disposal.

His three attempts at reforming the system failed to ignite.

After listening, Jiang Beicheng smiled with satisfaction.

Just as he had expected, he didn't need to do these things personally; Liu Tao could handle them.

And they did it very well, incidentally getting revenge on iQiyi as well.

Jiang Beicheng said, "I will personally invest another 200 million. In addition, I have introduced three other investors to the company, all of whom are willing to invest."

"Conservatively speaking, with my 200 million, we should be able to raise around 500 million this time."

Looking at Liu Tao, he smiled and said, "Five hundred million, is that enough for President Liu to fight a big battle?"

Liu Tao looked at Jiang Beicheng in surprise, not expecting him to have such strong financing capabilities.

Coming to his senses, he nodded repeatedly, "That's enough, Mr. Jiang. Give me the five hundred million, and I'll make a big splash in the entertainment industry for you."

(End of this chapter)