Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 302 Dongxin's Dinner Party: Encountering Cheng Wei Again

"Distinguished guests, good afternoon. It is a great honor to be here again at the World Internet Conference..."

While listening to Pony Ma's presentation on stage, Chen Xiu's thoughts drifted to Douyin (TikTok) and e-commerce.

It's not surprising that Ma Yun could notice the impact Douyin had on e-commerce, after all, the other party started in e-commerce and had the foresight to do so.

However, his appearance and proposal were a question posed to Chen Xiu: Should Douyin enter the e-commerce field ahead of schedule?

Based on its current development, Douyin only needs to continue to improve its content ecosystem, increase its user base, and enhance user stickiness.

Live-streaming e-commerce will naturally follow in the future and will not require special intervention.

Chen Xiu herself does not advocate Douyin entering the e-commerce field now, feeling that the timing is not right.

However, another suggestion from Ma Yun at the dinner party gave him a new idea.

If we support a cross-border e-commerce platform, or even build one ourselves and use TikTok to drive traffic to it, could we be the first to open up a new e-commerce market overseas?
Chen Xiu and Zhang Yiming had both thought of this idea, but given the presence of two horses at the dinner party, they could only consider its feasibility in their minds for the time being.

"...Recently, we launched a product called 'Ride Code,' which has already been implemented in 12 cities. It involves generating a special QR code through a mini-program within WeChat..."

Listening to Pony Ma talk about this breakthrough in WeChat functionality, Chen Xiu's thoughts shifted from the big topic of overseas e-commerce platforms to the matter that Pony Ma had asked him about after the dinner.

What is the progress of Meituan's acquisition of Mobike?

Since her last phone conversation with Hu Weiwei, Chen Xiu has arranged for Wang Xin to meet with Hu Weiwei twice.

The talks between the two sides went relatively smoothly. Meituan has already assessed Mobike's market value and the amount owed to its upstream supply chain.

The two sides still have many details to discuss regarding the specific payment method for the acquisition.

Normally, once negotiations reach this stage, the remaining issues are mainly price negotiations, and there shouldn't be any further problems.

However, the increasingly difficult situation of bike-sharing has also prompted other investors to take self-rescue measures.

For example, Zhu Xiaohu, a major investor in ofo bikes, called for ofo and Mobike to accelerate their merger and stop the vicious competition.

When Chen Xiu saw the relevant Weibo post, he had only one thought in his mind: Did he mistake ofo and Mobike for Didi and Kuaidi?

The business war between Didi and Kuaidi back then was resolved when Pony Ma called Ma Yun, which led to the merger of the two companies, successfully ending the battle and making Didi an oligopoly in the ride-hailing industry.

Now Zhu Xiaohu wants to replicate the merger tactic, and Hu Weiwei seems to have the same idea.

This has brought the previously smooth Meituan acquisition to a standstill, and it is estimated that there is still room for negotiation between the two parties.

However, the longer it drags on, the greater the risk of Mobike's cash flow drying up, and the merger of ofo and Mobike will not be so easy.

Chen Xiu saw Hu Weiwei's hesitation more as an attempt to use the opportunity to inflate the price of her shares. When it came to matters of interest, he, as a middleman, couldn't do much.

So when Pony Ma asked her, Chen Xiu replied: I don't know, I don't understand, it has nothing to do with me!
After Pony Ma shared his thoughts on internet development, Robin Li, who took the stage with his PowerPoint presentation, became one of the few remaining highlights of this year's Internet Conference.

Li Yanhong's content is basically what Zhang Yiming said this morning: to fight AI to the death!

He divided the new driving force of AI into three parts: data, algorithms, and computing power.

Baidu, as a giant in the search field, certainly has data, but their algorithm doesn't work, especially for health-related questions, where Baidu's answers are typical examples of quack doctors.

In comparison, the big data algorithm-based recommendations from platforms like Toutiao or Douyin are clearly several levels superior...

The first two issues are relatively easy to resolve, but the key issue lies in the third one: computing power.

Currently, the computing power of domestic chips is not up to standard, and even chips that meet the standards cannot enter the market. The future of AI still depends on DeepSeek, which carries mysterious power, to perform a mechanical deus ex machina.

After listening to Li Yanhong's presentation, the afternoon's tasks were completed.

Chen Xiu contacted Wang Xin and, together with Zhang Yiming, headed towards the "Dongxin Dinner Party".

……

Unlike Ding Sanshi's farmhouse-style restaurant, Wang Xin chose a more business-like location for the dinner.

When Chen Xiu and Zhang Yiming arrived, they saw many "old friends" in the private room, such as Shen Nanpeng from Sequoia Capital, Lei Jun from Xiaomi, Zhu Xiaohu, an investor from GSR Ventures, Su Hua, CEO of Kuaishou, and Cheng Wei, CEO of Didi...

After looking around, Chen Xiu's gaze settled on Cheng Wei.

Cheng Wei hesitated for a moment, then pushed up his glasses, stood up awkwardly, walked up to Chen Xiu, and extended his hand to him.

"Chen Xiu, it's been a long time!"

"Haha! Brother Wei, it's been quite a while since we last met."

Chen Xiu smiled and shook Cheng Wei's hand, her attitude as warm as if there had never been any discord between them.

Cheng Wei, not being a professional actor, forced a smile that looked rather awkward in comparison to Chen Xiu's.

Upon seeing this, everyone else in the private room turned their attention to it.

They were all curious about how this reunion of the former "friends" would unfold. Sensing the gazes around them, Chen Xiu remained composed, while Cheng Wei's expression shifted from sullen to embarrassed.

He glanced at the seat out of the corner of his eye, thinking: It would be too awkward to just sit back like this. I should chat with Chen Xiu for a bit first, and hopefully take the opportunity to clear things up. That way, when we meet again in the future, I won't feel inferior to him!

Thinking of this, Cheng Wei regained his confidence from his usual work at the company.

“Xiu, in the past two years, Douyin, which you have collaborated with President Zhang on, has developed very well, and you have also filmed a lot of TV series and movies.”

"Didi is also developing very well."

"So leaving Didi back then wasn't necessarily a bad thing..."

"I don't think it's a bad thing. I originally planned to leave Didi at that time. You haven't even forgotten about that, have you? When we were celebrating with drinks at the school bar, I even rejected your offer to stay!"

Chen Xiu spoke of the past without any reservations, and seeing Cheng Wei's bewildered eyes, he was certain that the other party had probably really forgotten.

After glancing at the crowd around her who wanted to eat melon seeds, Chen Xiu didn't want to bring up old grievances with Cheng Wei.

"Brother Wei, we're all here to eat today, so let's not chat too much, shall we?"

"you're right."

Cheng Wei nodded, intending to end the awkward conversation there.

However, Zhu Xiaohu of GSR Ventures was more interested in watching the drama unfold.

He stepped to the side of the two men and said, "Mr. Chen, it's not a good idea for Mobike, which you helped build up, to keep fighting with ofo, which Cheng Wei and I invested in. Why don't we shake hands and make peace, and discuss a merger?"

These words made the atmosphere between Chen Xiu and Cheng Wei awkward again.

GSR Ventures participated in Didi's Series A funding round. Zhu Xiaohu knew Chen Xiu and Cheng Wei, and he was always outspoken.

Last year, he boldly declared on Weibo that ofo would end the bike-sharing war and unify the market within 100 days. He also had several debates with Pony on the development of Mobike and ofo in his WeChat Moments.

To this bumbling man, Chen Xiu simply looked at him and smiled, "President Zhu, it's been a long time since we last met."

"Hehe, oh dear~, you've become successful and forgotten your old friends. When Douyin was raising its Series B funding, I begged you so many times!"

Didn't I already promise you?

"Is that a yes?"

Zhu Xiaohu frowned, his face turning grim, and his voice unconsciously rose in pitch.

Hearing the two's ambiguous conversation, Zhang Yiming, who also represented Douyin, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Mr. Zhu, I'm sorry, but Douyin's Series B funding is limited, so we have to make some trade-offs. Chen Xiu didn't mean to reject you."

After saying that, Zhang Yiming turned to look at Chen Xiu and thought to himself: Why didn't you use your usual smooth-talking skills today? I can understand you going against Cheng Wei, but what grudge do you have against that scoundrel Zhu Xiaohu?
The doubt lingered in Zhang Yiming's mind for only a few seconds before Zhu Xiaohu impatiently offered his answer.

“Mr. Zhang, what you’re saying makes a bit of a mistake. If it were just about rejecting GSR Ventures’ investment, I could understand, but what Chen Xiu did was unethical.”

"How is it not authentic?"

"Chen Xiu, shall you speak or I speak?"

"I trust Mr. Zhu's character. Go ahead and say it."

Chen Xiu said dismissively, such an attitude was indeed very different from his usual style of dealing with people.

Provoked by this, Zhu Xiaohu said directly to Zhang Yiming, "Chen Xiu told me that participating in Douyin's Series B financing is no problem, but I have to have a drink first. As long as I can outdrink his assistant Xiong Ben, then it's settled. Xiong Ben can't even get drunk from ten catties of baijiu. If I drink with him, I could drink my life away and it still wouldn't be enough!"

"Mr. Zhu, I thought you liked this approach..."

Chen Xiu spoke softly, her smile turning somewhat sinister.

Zhu Xiaohu, utterly bewildered, exclaimed, "How could I possibly like it!"

"Huh? That shouldn't be the case! When I came to talk to you about Didi's Series A funding, didn't you point to an opened bottle of baijiu and say to me: 'Drink first, then we'll talk.' If I remember correctly, that bottle of baijiu was Maotai, right?"

When Chen Xiu uttered those last two words, Zhu Xiaohu's momentum instantly dissipated, and his original accusatory stance turned into resentment.

"That was all in the past, how do you remember it so clearly?"

"Please don't misunderstand. I just thought that since you like to drink, Mr. Zhu, that's why I'm communicating this way. We can have a normal meal together."

"Um, what about Douyin's next round of financing?"

"I can't agree to that!"

Chen Xiu smiled and turned to look at Lei Jun and Shen Nanpeng, teasingly saying, "If I agree to your request now, President Shen and President Lei will probably come over to chat too. What if we don't have enough shares to go around?"

"Hahaha!" *N
Everyone burst into laughter, instantly dispelling the awkwardness and confrontation from before.

(End of this chapter)