I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 793 Boating Night Talks and Tea Debates
[Wuzhen Special Dispatch] Under the spotlight of this year's World Internet Conference, three keywords outline the vastly different visions of the future held by China's internet leaders.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma's vision of a "skyline" is captivating—"The internet will be as invisible as air, yet omnipresent"; Tencent CEO Pony Ma's meticulously constructed "Tower of Babel" reveals a pragmatic ambition—"We want to be the connector of the digital ecosystem"; but the most discussed is the "geological map" laid out by Fang Qingye, the helmsman of the "Tuofang Group," who calmly points out in his speech: "Before heading to the stars, it's best to first see the fault lines beneath your feet."

This debate over key terms resonated deeply with the attendees. One founder of a unicorn company, who wished to remain anonymous, frankly told our reporter during a tea break: "Ma Yun's vision is inspiring, Ma Huateng's path is clear and feasible, but Fang Qingye's warning woke me up in the middle of the night." This contradictory mindset was evident throughout Wuzhen: while innovators envision a data-driven new world, they also have to confront weighty issues such as algorithmic ethics and financial security.

Fang Qingye saw this news when she attended a dinner hosted by Yao Jinbo, Chairman and CEO of 58.com, at a fisherman's round house that evening.

He wasn't familiar with Yao Jinbo and had almost no interaction with him, but Ma Huateng called and invited him to attend, so he came—but Ma Huateng himself was late and took the initiative to send a red envelope in the group chat.

Compared to Ding Lei's Wuzhen dinner party 3.0, Yao Jinbo's party represents the future of the post-80s generation.

These include Cheng Wei, CEO of Didi Chuxing; Zhou Yuan, founder of Zhihu; Zhao Wei, founder and CEO of Knownsec; Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Sogou; Wang Xiaofeng, founder of Mobike; and Chen Xiaohua, founder of 58 Daojia. They are all relatively young, and the vast majority are from the post-80s generation.

Later, some people jokingly referred to this dinner as a Tencent-affiliated gathering, as most of the guests were from Tencent and many of them had close ties with the company.

In fact, Tencent has invested in all of Fang Qingye's companies under Tuofang Technology, as well as ByteDance and Ele.me, with Tencent being the second largest shareholder of Ele.me.

During the meal, while everyone was eating and chatting, Lei Jun, who loves to browse his phone, saw the news on his latest Xiaomi Mi 5 Premium Edition and told Fang Qingye about it.

"Mr. Fang, you're really debating with the two Mas," Lei Jun said with a smile.

Fang Qingye took out her phone, glanced at it, and immediately replied, "President Lei, please don't say that. I don't want to get myself into trouble."

"Hehe, it's not up to you."

Fang Qingye chuckled and immediately changed the subject. Little Ma, who was sitting opposite him, was a kind person and did not engage in a debate on the issue. Everyone then happily chatted about other things.

The dishes were very plentiful, unlike Ding Lei's dinner party which mainly featured pork. The table had everything: braised sea cucumber in golden broth, spicy blood curd with seafood, and steamed Taihu crab. However, the wine was still Shaoxing wine.

It was almost ten o'clock when the party ended. Fang Qingye was slightly drunk. After the party, she took a car to return to her residence. A few minutes after getting in the car, her phone rang. She saw that it was Ma Yun calling and immediately answered.

Ma Yun's leisurely voice came through the microphone, "President Fang, is the dinner party over? How about we find a place to have tea?"

“Sure, I was just thinking of having some tea.” Fang Qingye immediately agreed: “Would you like to go to your place or come to my place?”

"Sitting indoors drinking tea is so boring. Now that we've come to Wuzhen, with the bright moon shining and the night sky as smooth as silk, let's follow the example of the ancients, take a boat on the water, and enjoy a pot of fine tea, so as not to waste this night."

Ah?
Why has he suddenly become so literary?

Fang Qingye glanced at the full moon in the night sky through the car window and indeed felt a sense of poetry.

"Okay, where can I find you?"

"Come to An Du Fang Wharf, my boat is all booked and waiting for you."

OK! Coming right away!

Fang Qingye asked Yue Kai to drive to Andufang Wharf. When they arrived at their destination, Fang Qingye noticed a Volvo S80 parked on the side of the road, and a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a dark gray trench coat was standing by the wharf.

It was Ma Huateng.

Seeing Fang Qingye approaching, Ma Huateng chuckled and said, "President Fang, I was about to go back to rest, but Teacher Ma called me and insisted that I have tea with you."

"Mr. Ma, this isn't about keeping me company," Fang Qingye said jokingly. "The moon is high in the sky, and the night is as smooth as silk. On such a beautiful night, let's follow the ancients' example, take a boat ride on the water, and enjoy a pot of fine tea. That would be a perfect way to make the most of this night." Ma Huateng was taken aback.

"President Fang, I didn't expect you to have such profound knowledge of classical literature."

"Hehe. These are Teacher Ma's exact words just now, I'll borrow them for now."

"Haha." Ma Huateng couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The laughter startled passersby, and some recognized him.

It turned out to be Ma Huateng and Fang Qingye. What were these two big shots doing standing on the riverbank dock at night?
A candlelit stroll at night?

The answer was soon revealed.

On a rowing boat, Ma Yun stood at the bow and greeted the two.

"Pony, Aoba, get on board!"

"okay."

The three quickly disappeared into the cabin, and the rowboat slowly sailed westward along the river.

shit
It turns out it was three big shots having a late-night chat on a cruise ship! This is breaking news, I have to share it on my WeChat Moments right away.

What will they talk about?
The passersby became curious.

Fang Qingye and Ma Huateng then entered the cabin, where they found a tea table and a complete tea set.

"I'd like to invite you two to tea today. First, try Wuzhen's specialty smoked bean tea," Ma Yun said with a smile, pointing to the three bowls of tea as the three sat cross-legged at the small tea table.

The so-called smoked bean tea of ​​Wuzhen is a unique local tea drink. Locals call drinking tea "eating tea" because this cup of tea is very rich in content.

It uses smoked beans as the main ingredient, and often adds osmanthus flowers, roasted sesame seeds, orange peel, shredded radish, and other ingredients. It tastes salty, fragrant, and sweet with a rich flavor profile. Having a cup of this in winter is both warming and satisfying.

Fang Qingye had drunk wine once in Wuzhen, and today, after finishing her wine, she had another bowl, which she felt was quite good.

The three chatted over tea, but it wasn't just idle chatter.

Ma Yun sipped her tea and looked at Fang Qingye: "Qingye, in your speech today, you mentioned the idea that 'we are like riding in a car with unprecedented performance speeding along.' I also mentioned cars in my speech yesterday, specifically the Red Flag Act."

“Hehe.” Fang Qingye smiled: “Teacher Ma, I guessed that you invited me to have tea and talk about this today. Actually, last night, at the Wuzhen Coffee Gathering that I hosted, someone also mentioned the Red Flag Plan that you mentioned.”

“That’s true.” At this moment, Ma Huateng interjected with a smile, “I can tell on him, Cheng Wei said so.”

Of course, Ma Huateng was joking.

It's not a trade secret, so there's no question of it being leaked.

The Red Flag Act requires each vehicle to be driven by three people, one of whom must lead the way with a red flag 50 meters in front of the vehicle, and the speed must not exceed 4 miles per hour.
Ma Yun recounted the core content of the bill, then looked at Fang Qingye: "Qingye, tell me, is there any bill more absurd than this? Shouldn't it be repealed?!"

(End of this chapter)