Financial freedom starts with smiling at life

"Now, if you want to have a meal with me, you have to make an appointment in advance, just like a big star in the entertainment industry. You have to see if I'm available."

Jiang Beicheng entered the private room, and Zhou Hongyi stood up to greet him, offering a few words of flattery with a smile.

He doesn't like to flatter, but there are two entrepreneurs in China whom he often mentions as role models.

One is Ma Huateng of Tencent, and the other is Lei Jun, who is also present today.

Both of these people almost ruined his career.

It left a deep impression on him.

If you can't afford to offend them, then imitate them.

In building an entrepreneur's personal brand, he has indeed closely followed in Lei Jun's footsteps.

Ma Huateng even joked that he is now an internet celebrity.

It had a slightly sarcastic tone, but Zhou Hongyi really had no temper in front of him.

Now there's another person he likes to talk about, someone he frequently mentions online and uses as an example in various circles.

That is Jiangbei City.

Jiang Beicheng was actually quite curious as to why Zhou Hongyi was praising him so highly. After all, he was a billionaire with a net worth of tens of billions, so why was he so eager to flatter him?

I don't think I've ever disciplined him.

"Old Zhou, comparing me to celebrities in the entertainment industry is just sarcasm," Jiang Beicheng said jokingly as he shook hands with him.

Applying this analogy to Zhou Hongyi is a bit of a letdown.

But now, if his friends want to invite him to dinner, they really have to ask in advance.

The schedule is quite full.

Lei Jun laughed and replied, "It seems I'm lucky to have caught up with President Jiang's downtime."

"General Jiang, I've long admired you."

Jiang Beicheng smiled and shook hands with Lei Jun, "Mr. Lei, are you also joining in the commotion with Lao Zhou?"
"I've heard so much about you, Mr. Lei."

He then shook hands with Robin Li to get acquainted, and, as the restaurant owner, invited the group to sit down.

Zhang Chaoyang: Is this your first time eating here?

Lei Jun: "This is my first time here, but I've heard a lot of recommendations from friends. Mr. Jiang, belated wishes for your business to prosper."

"Mr. Lei, you're too kind."

The two laughed and clinked glasses.

Li Yanhong: "I have been here twice, once for a gathering of senior executives of the group, and once to receive foreign friends."

This place, near President Jiang's residence, is quickly becoming a base for friends in Beijing's elite circles.

What he said is true.

Executives from many companies in Beijing like to gather here.

Even at the very back of the fourth courtyard, there were often some friends from the political world.

This place is private, has a nice environment, good service, and a high-class atmosphere. Ordinary people can't even afford to eat or drink here, so no one is too worried about being exposed to the public while eating or drinking here.

Even if it exists, the big shots will handle it.

Moreover, Jiangbei City can now easily get negative information removed by a single phone call from Weibo and Douyin, the two most influential social media platforms.

That makes people feel even more at ease.

Of course, the services offered here are not the same as those previously available at "Heaven on Earth".

It's just about having meals and gatherings, drinking wine and sipping tea, pursuing a social aspect and a leisurely and elegant lifestyle.

Jiang Beicheng raised his glass and smiled, "Thank you for your patronage, Mr. Li."

Li Yanhong smiled and said, "If President Jiang spent a hundred million US dollars to snatch a genius engineer from a Silicon Valley tech giant, and that money was earned from the Beicheng Hotel, then I'd be happy to accept your offer of 'favor'."

I am also honored to have contributed to Mr. Jiang's great undertaking in artificial intelligence.

"Mr. Li, that's a difficult question to answer. Are you forcing me to drink this cup in one go?" Jiang Beichen joked.

Jiang Beicheng knew why Li Yanhong brought up his talent acquisition efforts during a meal.

Baidu is upset because it may have another strong competitor.

In the initial battle for mobile internet traffic, Baidu was the first to lose and voluntarily back down. Then it set its sights on artificial intelligence, preparing to make a big splash.

They are trying to regain face by drawing on Jack Ma and Pony Ma in this arena.

But reality proved the internet joke true: Baidu got up early but arrived late. In Jiang Beicheng's eyes, Baidu does have some merit, after all, it has been deeply involved in this industry for so many years, but that's about all it has to offer.

Enough to look at, but not enough to use.

This is inextricably linked to Baidu's family-style business management model.

Baidu has serious internal management problems.

"Mr. Jiang, it was just a joke, please feel free to drink as you please," Li Yanhong said with a smile, and then drank first.

Jiang Beicheng, holding his glass, said, "President Li, there's still a difference between what's rumored and what's real."

Since you're willing to bring this up at the dinner table to test my attitude, Jiang Beicheng will simply lay it all out to make you even more flustered.

Li Yanhong still had a smile on his face, but there was already some doubt in his eyes as he pondered the meaning of Jiang Beicheng's words.

Is the news report about Jiangbei city offering exorbitant prices to poach talent untrue?
Or did Jiangbei City spend more money?

One hundred million US dollars is already enough to make domestic peers sigh in despair. Lei Jun, who was sitting at the same table, spent 1200 million RMB to poach an AI genius, which broke the upper limit of talent salaries in this industry.

Zhang Chaoyang asked, "It cost more than 100 million US dollars? Mr. Jiang still has a lot of money."

That's why Jiang Beicheng likes to be friends with Zhang Chaoyang. This old friend is the straight man; he can chime in and flatter you in any situation or on any topic.

Jiang Beicheng said, "Close to three hundred million!"

Zhou Hongyi was stunned for a moment, then asked Jiang Beicheng for confirmation: "US dollars?"

Jiang Beicheng smiled and nodded.

Lei Jun and Li Yanhong remained silent.

Three hundred million US dollars, more than two billion RMB.

This number is terrifying.

“Mr. Jiang, from a rational perspective, I think you have overestimated the potential of the domestic AI market,” Li Yanhong said frankly.

He felt that it was irrational for Jiangbei City to spend so much money to poach someone.

The investment is too large.

It has a bit of a pure flaunting of wealth and a desire to save face.

Is it all just to embarrass Zuckerberg in the talent war?
If that's the case, then the domestic business community has overestimated Jiangbei City.

Jiang Beicheng smiled and replied, "President Li's prediction of the domestic market is very accurate."

However, looking at the global picture, my investment in talent is only at the beginning.

Lei Jun gazed at Jiangbei City and sensed its ambition.

He's going to compete with AI giants like Meta and OpenAI.

Lei Jun added, "Mr. Jiang, there are better options available in the country with 300 million US dollars."

Jiang Beicheng joked, "President Lei really understands cost-effectiveness best."

Everyone at the table laughed.

Lei Jun's "cost-effectiveness" marketing strategy remains highly effective in today's fiercely competitive market, even in the automotive industry.

Lei Jun smiled and took it as a compliment from Jiang Beicheng.

He is indeed very good at marketing.

Jiang Beicheng continued, "Pang Ming indeed only spent one hundred million US dollars."

Another $200 million was used to recruit six brilliant AI engineers.

They are all core team members of those tech companies.

They spent two billion to poach seven geniuses and bring them back to China.

Li Yanhong cleared his throat, saying that the domestic market was becoming increasingly difficult to penetrate.

Jiangbei City had barely begun to exert its strength when he already seemed to be having second thoughts.

The combined salaries of Baidu Group's AGG (AI Cloud Group), with its thousands of employees, don't even equal the annual salaries of these seven individuals.

These seven individuals have received recognition from the world's leading AI technology giants. Even though the compensation for high-end talent in China is not as high as in the United States, the gap is not this large.

The seven geniuses recruited by Jiangbei City are equivalent to the salaries of an entire business group at Baidu.

Perhaps in terms of ability, these seven people could be equivalent to an entire business unit.

"President Jiang's sudden appearance has made the domestic market quite murky. Now nobody knows who will have the last laugh," Li Yanhong said awkwardly, raising his glass to Jiang Beicheng. (End of Chapter)