Financial freedom starts with smiling at life

Chapter 350 There's still plenty of money!
Jiang Beicheng slapped his son Wei Cong several times, and Wei Hua, as the father, also lost face.

It's one thing to criticize Wei Cong, but it's quite another to save face.

He was very interested in this young man named Jiang Beicheng.

Being able to sit at Liu Qiangdong's dinner table and have a good relationship with the Li family's son, Wei Hua was eager to see his true strength.

If you don't have any real skills, you won't go far in the capital world by just relying on connections and a carefully crafted persona.

I happened to be having tea with Liu Qiangdong today, and after learning that Jiang Beicheng had increased his investment in JD.com, I made a point of mentioning Jiang Beicheng to Liu Qiangdong.

Liu Qiangdong called Jiang Beicheng and invited him to come over for a chat.

As soon as Jiang Beicheng sat down at the table, Wei Hua poured him a cup of tea, but the tea was choking.

This veteran in the investment banking industry was trying to intimidate him.

They immediately questioned his professional competence.

They even thought it was foolish of him to increase his investment in JD.com, and started to help him analyze the advantages of Meituan.

When Wei Hua took over Meituan, the power struggle between the two began quietly.

Jiang Beicheng admitted that Meituan's core algorithm is very powerful, and it would be very difficult for JD.com to break through Meituan's moat. However, he now understands very well the real purpose of Da Dongzi in launching JD.com's food delivery service and is gradually figuring out Da Dongzi's business thinking.

They do not believe that the $1 million investment in JD.com by the three capital firms they have are impulsive or what Wei Hua calls a childish investment.

Wei Hua proposed an algorithm, in which he mentioned "human nature".

Clearly, these old capitalists do not believe that "people's hearts" are worth investing in.

You could tell from Wei Hua's expression.

He looked at Jiang Beicheng with a puzzled expression, and even felt a little like laughing.

In my two or three decades of investment banking experience, this is the first time I've heard of investing based on "human nature."

That's too amateurish.

Suddenly I feel that Jiang Beicheng is over-packaging himself; he doesn't have much ability, he's just so-so.

"President Jiang, let's talk this over," Wei Hua said, spreading his hands in front of Liu Qiangdong.

He also wanted Liu Qiangdong to hear about Jiang Beicheng's investment philosophy.

I suspect Liu Qiangdong would feel the same way, thinking that Jiangbei City is too immature.

Jiang Beicheng said, "There's a popular saying on the internet. I wonder if President Wei has heard it?"

What you see may be what someone else wants you to see.

Wei Cong nodded: "I've heard of it. What is President Jiang trying to express?"

Jiang Beicheng continued, "The entire capital market knows that the competition between JD.com and Meituan is a competition of business and traffic."

Meituan Flash Delivery's daily order volume has exceeded 1800 million, squeezing JD.com's market share. From this point of view, Liu Qiangdong and Wang Xing will also have a showdown.

Mr. Wei just asked me a question: Why is Meituan so popular with investors in the capital market?

Is it simply because of its monopolistic position in the food delivery market?

Obviously not. Mr. Wei, do you remember that when Meituan went to Hong Kong for a roadshow before its IPO, it shouted a slogan: "If you can deliver food, you can deliver everything."

What truly attracts capital is these three words: "giving away everything."

Meituan has indeed been doing this in recent years, relying on its hundreds of millions of daily active users to focus on local services, e-commerce, logistics and other fields.

This is what's giving Mr. Liu and JD.com's management the biggest headache.

Liu Qiangdong smiled and nodded.

Wei Hua frowned slightly. Jiang Beicheng was quite capable to be able to see this.

I feel like I was speaking too loudly just now.

Looking at it now, Jiangbei City isn't too unprofessional.

Jiang Beicheng continued, "This is the first point that JD.com wants the capital market to see."

Mr. Liu also wants the capital market to see that JD.com's takeaway business is grabbing traffic from the takeaway market, and increasing JD.com's daily active users through traffic conversion and sharing.

The capital market is willing to invest as long as it sees these two points.

Wei Cong nodded in agreement, then turned the question on Jiang Beicheng, "What does this have to do with the people's hearts that President Jiang mentioned?"

Jiang Beicheng said, "This is the business mindset of top entrepreneurs like Mr. Liu, and it's also the real reason why I'm willing to invest in JD.com."

Liu Qiangdong, sitting next to him, smiled upon hearing this.

He really wanted to hear Jiang Beicheng's thoughts.

Had this young man seen right through me?

"Mr. Jiang, you flatter me," Liu Qiangdong said modestly.

Jiang Beicheng smiled and replied, "Over the past forty years, from the reform and opening up to the present, we have created a robust commercial society."

In this hard-business society, what are we pursuing?
Development is the fundamental principle!

Business is the core!
Making money is the key!
...This is a consensus reached by the entire business community over the past forty years.

The reason I say times have changed is because this rigid, commercial society is no longer suitable for the current national conditions.

The public is bypassing businesses, the main players in the market, and businesses will lose their strong momentum for development.

Under these circumstances, we should use the money we've earned over the past forty years to build a more robust business environment.

This soft business environment takes into account people's emotions, needs, and inner feelings. From an investor's perspective, it is necessary to see the social value of a project over the next ten or twenty years.

JD.com has realized that times are changing and it urgently needs a way to adapt to the times. In Mr. Liu's view, JD Takeaway is the way to become a source of social value.

This is also why he is willing to buy insurance for his employees and reduce profits.

Recently, in response to high tariffs, JD.com launched a 2000 billion yuan support plan to shift exports to domestic sales, which is also an adaptation to the soft business environment.

However, Meituan and Wang Xing's business thinking is still stuck in the traditional, hard-sell business world.

Regardless of whether JD.com's food delivery service can break through Meituan's competitive advantage, JD.com has already taken the initiative by taking this step. I believe that Mr. Liu will be able to lead JD.com and its employees to greater success.

The core of a soft business society is people's hearts, not algorithms.

Mr. Wei, if your question today is a test for me, your junior, I hope my answer hasn't disappointed you. If you haven't grasped this point yet, then your mindset needs to change.

Because times have truly changed.

Wei Hua picked up his teacup, deliberately avoiding Jiang Beicheng's gaze.

Very embarrassing.

He didn't actually think about the soft business society that Jiang Beicheng mentioned.

If this is Liu Qiangdong's business mindset when he started JD.com's food delivery service, he was completely unaware of this.

Because the investment logic of the past two or three decades has been based on products, core competitiveness, and other such things.

This Mr. Jiang is so young, yet he has such a clear understanding of the business world; his inner strength is exceptionally well-cultivated.

Wei Hua chuckled to himself.

The son got slapped in the face, now it's the father's turn.

However, the father is more tactful than the son.

Wei Hua smiled and said to Liu Qiangdong, "Qiangdong, you've met a kindred spirit."

Liu Qiangdong smiled and patted Jiang Beicheng on the shoulder, then personally poured him a cup of tea.

Jiang Beicheng's description of the changes in the business world basically reflects his thoughts.

My appreciation for this young entrepreneur has increased significantly.

"Actually, Mr. Wei, we are allies," Liu Qiangdong said with a smile.

Rongkai Capital is indeed interested in cooperating with JD.com.

Wei Hua's investment logic was based on JD.com's assets and Liu Qiangdong as a leader, without considering as much as Jiang Beicheng analyzed.

He just positioned himself as an opponent and stood on Meituan's side, purely to test Jiang Beicheng and see how capable he really was.

As a result, Jiang Beicheng slapped him again.

He smiled and offered tea to Jiang Beicheng: "As an ally, I should at least know President Jiang's strength. This battle is large in scale and requires huge funds. No one can hold us back."

Please don't take offense, Mr. Jiang.

Jiang Beicheng smiled, picked up his teacup and said, "President Wei, if I were petty and narrow-minded, I wouldn't be sitting at this tea table."

Wei Hua and Liu Qiangdong smiled along.

But after laughing, Wei Hua's eyes became deep and thoughtful.

He believed that this General Manager Jiang would definitely become a dark horse in the capital market.

The three of them sat and drank tea for an afternoon, and also had dinner at the club.

After finishing the meal, Wei Hua said goodbye and left.

Jiang Beicheng and Liu Qiangdong sat and chatted for a while.

Jiang Beicheng mentioned JD.com's "Double 100" goal.

JD.com's workforce has surpassed one million.

JD.com's full-time delivery riders have exceeded one million.

JD.com now has 76 employees, a staggering number for a private company.

JD.com, the only private enterprise in China with annual revenue exceeding one trillion yuan, has a net profit of only tens of billions of yuan, which is several times lower than its peers.

One reason is its massive asset base, and another is the expense of employee social security.

If Liu Qiangdong's "Double 100" plan is realized, JD.com will definitely become a tiny fraction of the soft business community.

Jiang Beicheng admired his character and business acumen.

So I'm willing to take this gamble with him.

Let's test the waters with $100 million first.

Da Dongzi, who had been out of the public eye for several years due to a certain case, had some big moves brewing.

"Brother Beicheng, thank you for your trust," Liu Qiangdong said with a smile. "I hope we can go further together."

They seem to be kindred spirits.

Jiangbei City is a place where capital plays a role; it doesn't need to worry about JD.com's operations and management.

If Da Dongzi can maintain this original aspiration and sense of social responsibility, he will continue to hold shares in JD.com and stand with it through thick and thin.

If JD.com makes him uncomfortable that day, he'll just cash out and leave.

For now, Jiang Beicheng thinks Da Dongzi is pretty good.

"Do you have enough money?" Jiang Beicheng asked with concern.

"That's enough. Even after deducting financing, we still have a considerable amount of cash reserves on hand," Liu Qiangdong stated frankly.

To compete head-on with Meituan, money is the foundation.

JD.com's free cash flow cannot compare to Meituan's. Meituan has hundreds of millions of orders every day and takes higher commissions, while JD.com's takeaway only has a few million orders and still needs to provide subsidies and pay social security for its employees... This really tests JD.com's financial strength.

If the cash flow runs into problems, JD Takeaway will severely deplete JD.com's e-commerce revenue-generating capacity and become a burden.

Jiang Beicheng chuckled and said, "If you don't have enough money, Brother Dong will just ask."

Liu Qiangdong smiled and looked at Jiang Beicheng: "Anything else?"

Jiang Beicheng nodded: "Yes."

I clinked glasses with Liu Qiangdong, and after finishing my drink, I added, "And quite a lot."

"Hahahaha!" Liu Qiangdong laughed out loud, then asked a question that seemed off-topic: "Do you hate Wang Xing that much?"

At the service industry CEO summit in Beijing, Jiang Beicheng subtly criticized Meituan.

Beicheng Hotel also had a major falling out with Meituan's Black Pearl.

Liu Qiangdong felt that Jiang Beicheng and Wang Xing had some personal grudges between them.

(End of this chapter)