Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 178 Investing in Pinduoduo, the Conflict Between Meng Ziyi and the Director

After having dinner with Sun Tongyu, Chen Xiu stayed in Hangzhou for three days.

Over the next three days, the two had three meals and chatted three times.

The conversations weren't limited to business; Chen Xiuzhen even taught this engineering student how to interact with girls, and at one point even personally taught Sun Tongyu how to use WeChat...

On the fourth day, in the restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel West Lake, Chen Xiu met Huang Zheng, the founder of Pinduoduo, who had come from Shanghai, through the introduction of broker Sun Tongyu.

"Mr. Huang, hello, I am Chen Xiu."

"Hello, hello, I've heard a lot about Mr. Chen!"

Huang Zheng has a broad, lion-like nose, wears black-rimmed glasses, has short hair, and his eyes squint slightly when he smiles, giving him a kind and honest appearance.

However, Chen Xiu still saw the hidden scheming in his small eyes that occasionally flashed with a sharp light.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the three of them, led by Sun Tongyu, sat down at the dining table and ordered their food without any problems.

During this process, no one mentioned the investment.

When the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill and sat down on the terrace to enjoy the view and sip tea, it was only then that Sun Tongyu, the middleman, began the real introduction.

"Old Huang, isn't the company about to launch its Series B funding round?"

"Correct."

Huang Zheng nodded slightly, guessing that Sun Tongyu had informed him in advance, so when he explained, he didn't pay attention to Chen Xiu sitting to Sun Tongyu's right.

"I plan to merge Pinduoduo and Pinduoduo into one company, with a funding amount of no less than 1 million US dollars."

Pinduoduo is an e-commerce brand, while Pinduoduo is currently an online shopping platform on WeChat official accounts. Although both were developed by Huang Zheng's team, they have different focuses.

Chen Xiu guessed: They probably didn't figure out which business model would succeed at first, so they chose to implement both at the same time, and both Pinduoduo and Pinduoduo performed well.

Merging the two companies now would save on talent costs and increase the company's valuation, making it a win-win situation.

After Huang Zheng finished explaining the Series B financing, Sun Tongyu brought up the real focus of today's conversation.

"Mr. Chen, you have many ideas about Pinduoduo's model that resonate with me. I've had many conversations with him over the past three days and have learned a lot. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you in person, is that alright?"

"Of course, Mr. Chen's confidence in Pinduoduo is great news for me."

Huang Zheng grinned, widening his lion-like nose as he looked at Chen Xiu with a sly smile.

His words weren't entirely flattery.

Looking back at Chen Xiu's resume, starting with the founding of Didi at the end of 11, he then spent three years developing Didi into an oligopoly in the online ride-hailing industry.

Although she later parted ways with Cheng Wei, Chen Xiu voluntarily left Didi.

However, Chen Xiu's brilliant achievements in founding Douyin Betting Live last year and entering the shared bicycle market this year have made people in the entire Internet industry realize that he is truly capable.

The fact that Pony Ma personally tried to poach Chen Xiu to Tencent as Chief Strategic Investment Officer also proves that Chen Xiu's vision has become widely recognized in the internet industry.

Seeing that Sun Tongyu had set up the stage for her, Chen Xiu gave him a grateful look before starting to speak to Huang Zheng.

"Mr. Huang, you are being too modest. Judging from the current performance of Pinduoduo and Pinhaohuo, your business model is definitely ahead of other e-commerce brands in the market."

Does this include Taobao and Jingdong?

Huang Zheng's casual remark had already revealed his ambition.

Chen Xiu's face also revealed a meaningful expression: "If I say 'including' now, it might seem like I'm just trying to attract attention, but the merged Pinduoduo does have the potential to compete with these two companies."

"Oh?"

Huang Zheng glanced at Chen Xiu with great surprise.

Before coming here today, he had already learned about Chen Xiu's situation from Sun Tongyu.

Huang Zheng's intention for this meeting was simply to have a meal with the investors and, incidentally, add Chen Xiu's name to the Series B funding round.

Everyone here is in the internet industry, and Chen Xiu's performance over the past two years has qualified him to become an investor in Pinduoduo.

The so-called "face-to-face chat" is just a formality, involving saying a few polite words.

However, Chen Xiu's statement that "Pinduoduo has the potential to compete with Taobao and Jingdong" piqued Huang Zheng's interest.

"Mr. Chen, could you elaborate?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiu did not start immediately. Instead, she took a sip of barley tea and then remained silent for a moment to gather her thoughts.

Huang Zheng and Sun Tongyu waited for him quietly without urging him.

With preparations complete, Chen Xiu first brought up Taobao: "Under President Sun's leadership, Taobao has become an e-commerce giant. In recent years, its turnover has been rising steadily, its moat is deep, and its product categories are complete. Pinduoduo is currently far inferior to it."

Huang Zheng and Sun Tongyu were both aware of this, and they didn't ask. They were both waiting for Chen Xiu to continue.

"Jingdong has bet on its own logistics and focused on 3C products in its e-commerce strategy, choosing a differentiated competition approach. Even with Taobao's strong presence, it can still carve out its own niche. Pinduoduo absolutely cannot compete with it before it reaches a certain scale."

“Mr. Sun’s development strategy, which focuses on fourth- and fifth-tier cities, happens to be the lower-tier market that these two companies haven’t paid much attention to. The future e-commerce landscape will inevitably be dominated by Pinduoduo, Taobao, and JD.com. Unless a new force that can change user habits enters the market…” Chen Xiu’s last sentence was very vague, and he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate.

Huang Zheng and Sun Tongyu assumed he was just cautious and didn't like to make definitive statements, so they didn't think about it further.

After expressing her thoughts, Chen Xiu silently drank her tea.

Huang Zheng sat there deep in thought, as if carefully considering the future implications of Chen Xiu's words.

The silence lasted for a while before Sun Tongyu broke it: "President Chen, what you just said sounds a bit like the 'Longzhong Plan' about dividing the world into three kingdoms."

"How can my superficial understanding compare to the 'Longzhong Plan'? Mr. Sun, are you mocking me? Hahaha."

Chen Xiu smiled, and Huang Zheng and Sun Tongyu laughed along with her.

The three people belong to the 70s, 80s, and 90s generations, which are three different age groups, but they don't seem awkward getting along.

After laughing, Huang Zheng asked Chen Xiu a few more questions after hearing what she had said.

Chen Xiu shared her insights without reservation, outlining several key points about Pinduoduo's future development, which Sun Tongyu would then supplement and optimize based on her own experience.

The discussion among the three drew Huang Zhengting's attention, making her focus intently on it.

In the end, he, the founder of Pinduoduo, also extended an investment invitation to Chen Xiu.

"Mr. Chen, after Pinduoduo and Pinhaohuo merge, they will launch a Series B financing round. Are you interested in participating?"

"of course."

After saying a lot, Chen Xiu suddenly became very concise at the crucial moment.

However, given all the groundwork laid so far, there's really no need to try and evoke empathy in this final statement.

Chen Xiu and Huang Zheng shook hands again, and the two smiled at each other.

Today's meeting has reached a consensus on financing. Chen Xiu will have someone else handle the remaining investigation and negotiation work. He only needs to listen to the reports and communicate with Huang Zheng online.

Although it was a small amount, we still managed to get a share from Pinduoduo.

After finishing their business, Huang Zheng and Sun Tongyu, two very busy people, left the hotel one after the other.

After settling the expenses for the past few days, Chen Xiu got back into the car she had come in and headed towards Xiangshan Film and Television City once again.

Meanwhile, at the Xiangshan Film and Television City, the crew of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" had just arrived when a minor conflict broke out between Meng Ziyi and director Jiang Jiajun.

"You mean, you want to use a stand-in for the kiss, or find a kissing double?"

Jiang Jiajun, with a gloomy face, repeated Meng Ziyi's application.

Meng Ziyi's natural insensitivity led her to believe that the director's face was just tanned, completely unaware that he had already entered the stage of brewing anger.

"Director, I don't really want to film a kissing scene. Could we use a camera angle to fake it and just film the male actor, not me?"

"hehe."

Jiang Jiajun laughed in exasperation. In all his years of acting, he hadn't heard such an outrageous request in a long time.

Meng Ziyi's lack of tact had long annoyed him.

However, considering that Meng Ziyi got the role of Mu Nianci at the request of the production company Huace, Jiang Jiajun managed to control his displeasure slightly.

Coming from a port city, he still had some reservations about actors with such investor backgrounds.

"The production team didn't prepare a kissing double. As a professional actor, I don't think filming kissing scenes is difficult. Do you have any other questions?"

"Um, I don't want to film kissing scenes..."

Meng Ziyi shook her head, her tone soft and sweet, yet her attitude resolute.

Jiang Jiajun's face darkened further, but he remained calm: "If you don't know how to film kissing scenes, then go buy a mask and practice in your room. Anyway, the script won't be changed."

"Hmm, if I go to the producer and ask, can it be changed?"

Meng Ziyi smiled politely at Jiang Jiajun, her bright eyes sparkling.

Her idea was simple: since the director couldn't change the script, she would go to someone higher up to apply. The person above Jiang Jiajun in the "Legend of the Condor Heroes" production team was producer Guo Jingyu.

However, these words were said directly to Jiang Jiajun's face.

Not only did it bypass his level, but it also made him feel like he was being bullied in the workplace by Meng Ziyi.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Jiajun's dark face suddenly twitched twice, and the masseter muscles on both sides of his cheeks bulged out noticeably.

He stared at Meng Ziyi, gritted his teeth, and said, word by word, "You can apply, but I can guarantee that the kissing scene can't be changed, not even Jesus could change it, I'm telling you!"

After saying that, Jiang Jiajun turned around and left. He felt that if he didn't leave soon, he would have to go and greet Meng Ziyi.

Watching Jiang Jiajun's departing figure, Meng Ziyi frowned, tilted her head, and pursed her lips, not understanding why the director would bring up Jesus during a perfectly normal conversation...

(End of this chapter)