Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 159 Tragedy on Renren.com, Wang Xing: Thank you, Chairman Wang, for avenging me!
Even Paipai.com and Baidu Youa are experiencing poor revenue.

Adding to the blow of the financial crisis, the school's online store dared not go online.

In particular, the reverse engineering of "WeChat Farm" was once again outmaneuvered by Dai Hede, which is why "Campus Farm" will not be launched until February next year.

Without the farm's user growth potential, Sun Yizhou lost even more confidence.

Until yesterday, when Sun Yizhou saw the news broadcast about the four trillion yuan infrastructure project, he was excited!

The opportunity is coming!

With a four trillion yuan investment, the economy is beginning to recover, and everything can flourish.

The campus online store can also take this opportunity to develop!

"Immediately contact major media outlets and hold a press conference tomorrow to officially announce the launch of the campus network store. It must be done with great fanfare."

"At this point, traffic is the key to revenue. Give them more travel expenses and invite all kinds of media outlets, big and small."

"Buy another batch of media outlets, write press releases, and buy headlines on the four major portal websites! The theme is to provoke Vipshop and promote Renren.com."

"We don't need to directly criticize Vipshop, but we still need to deliberately create a stir to let users know that our Renren.com Mall and Vipshop have the same positioning and the same future!"

"Yes!" The subordinate immediately took action.

Sun Yizhou breathed a long sigh of relief:

"I thought the campus mall was going to go under! But then the four trillion yuan stimulus package came along, and our luck turned around!"

When luck comes, there's no stopping it.

"Let's get the campus mall up and running first. Once we've made some money, we can leverage the resources of the campus network to do group buying on campus. That's another way out."

"Compared to WeChat, Renren.com is clearly more suitable for campus group buying!"

“YouTuan Group Buying is becoming increasingly rampant. Once we have money on Xiaonei.com, we can do it too.”

“There are so many cities and schools across the country, and Wang Junshan can’t possibly manage them all. It’s only natural that we get a share of the pie.”

It must be said that Sun Yizhou's idea was very good, excellent.

Soon, invitation emails were sent out and phone calls were made.

Upon hearing that there was a travel allowance, they gave quite a bit.

Some media outlets, especially small and medium-sized ones, were overjoyed and readily agreed.

But some of the major media outlets lost interest.

This puzzled Xue Qian, the head of the public relations department of the school's intranet:
"Mr. Wei, is it because our travel expenses are insufficient? As long as NetEase News can give us the top story, we can add as much as you want!"

"I'm sorry, it's not about the travel expenses. We also have an interview tomorrow, which is very important."

"How important could it be? More important than the launch of our campus online store?"

"Sorry." With that, the other party hung up the phone.

He also wanted travel expenses.

But tomorrow's headline on NetEase News has already been decided; it's not something money can solve.

There was more than one similar rejection.

Basically, all four major portal websites rejected it outright.

Or, to put it another way, "We can arrange other sections, but not the headline."

Xue Qian was completely bewildered: "How could this be?"

This time, the usually stingy company has finally shown some generosity, allocating the full budget just to buy Toutiao!
The goal is to amplify the impact and promote the on-campus online store.

Unexpectedly, even adding more money didn't work.

Xue Qian could only report this matter to Sun Yizhou:
"Chairman, something's not right. Those small and medium-sized media outlets are all fine; they readily agreed."

"But even if we spend a lot of money to buy headlines on the four major portal websites, it won't work."

"He stated frankly that it wasn't about the money, and that they could discuss it with other sections, but not with Toutiao."

"Toutiao won't work? Even paying more won't work?" Sun Yizhou was completely bewildered.

"Yes."

"Looks like we've met our match. I bet someone offered more money and got all four major portal websites to give the top spot to them!"

Sun Yizhou instantly made a plan.

Xue Qian was somewhat puzzled: "Why don't the smaller platforms care? Why did they give them all to us instead?"

"Why do you think that is? Naturally, it's because the other party is powerful and doesn't care about small and medium-sized platforms, so they directly seek cooperation with the four major portal websites."

"I see. But which platform has that kind of power and influence? Is it Baidu? Or Paipai.com?"

"That's hard to say. Of course, it's also possible that there are official arrangements, but in any case, things can't be done."

"Should we postpone the launch of our on-campus shopping mall?"

Another vice president shook his head decisively: "We can't postpone it. We've already reached agreements with other small and medium-sized media outlets and spent the money. If we postpone it again, wouldn't all these marketing expenses be wasted?"

Sun Yizhou also spoke up, "This kind of thing has already been decided. It would be bad luck to postpone it any further!"

"That's true. Then I'll continue."

"Well, let's go."

The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning, many reporters arrived at the headquarters of Renren.com.

Sun Yizhou, dressed in a suit and looking refreshed, said: "Thank you to all the media and all the guests."

"Xiaonei.com was established in 2005, and by 2008 it had become its fourth year."

"Through thick and thin, we have made great strides, with our user base exceeding 2500 million, becoming the number one web-based social networking platform for acquaintances!"

Wang Xing, who was watching the live stream, couldn't help but spit out a curse:
"Bah! Shameless!"

"I created Renren.com, and you shamelessly stole it from me!"

Thinking about this makes Wang Xing so angry that he can't sleep!

In 2005, Wang Xing, imitating Facebook, founded Xiaonei.com.

By 2006, it had covered more than 300 universities and had over one million users.

This put Oak Pacific Interactive Group on high alert.

5Q.com, a subsidiary of Oak Pacific Interactive Group, also followed Facebook's lead and was established seven months earlier than Xiaonei.com, but its development speed was not as fast as Xiaonei.com.

So, Oak Pacific Interactive Group started using its financial power, offering 5Q coins for registering on 5Q.com, which could be redeemed for physical goods, and giving away computers in a lucky draw...

This move quickly attracted the attention of the students.

Furthermore, in terms of functionality, it completely replicates the real-name registration, alumni directory, and log functions of Renren.com.

Qianxiang Interactive Group also began to exert capital pressure, aiming to acquire Xiaonei.com.

They even declared, "If Renren.com doesn't sell, we'll beat them until they go bankrupt!"

Furthermore, they used their industry connections to obstruct Renren.com's financing.

Wang Xing was helpless as his funding chain broke down and he faced difficulties in obtaining financing.

Oak Interactive Group has received tens of millions of dollars in investment from SoftBank, which is injecting capital into 5Q. By giving away 5Q coins upon registration, they could crush Renren.com with money.

In the end, Wang Xing had no choice but to back down and sell Renren.com.

If the other party is willing to offer a fair price, selling it for over 100 million would be considered a fair deal.

But Oak Interactive Group is too greedy!

They only offered a little over 200 million US dollars, or 1600 million RMB, to force Wang Xing to sell Xiaonei.com.

That's an absolute steal!
Thinking about this, Wang Xing gritted his teeth in hatred:

"rogue!"

"Shameless!"

“CNM!”

"Don't wait for me to make a move. The day I make a move will be the day your Oak Interactive Group goes bankrupt!"

Wang Xing was furious. The promising Renren.com was being forced to sell for a paltry 1600 million!
Who can bear this?
"In comparison, Wang Junshan is lucky. No, he's incredibly clever!"

"Before Qianxiang Interactive Group could even make its move, YouTuan.com and WeChat had already taken off. They were flush with cash." "Wang Junshan's brilliance lies in his gradual, step-by-step approach."

"We started with campus group buying, developed quietly, and only later launched WeChat."

"By the time Renren.com noticed it, campus group buying had already made a lot of money, and YouTuan International made even more money selling grey market iPhones."

"If Renren wanted to use underhanded tactics, it wouldn't even have time."

"The subsequent 'WeChat Farm' completely stunned the Oak Interactive Group."

"I reckon even the guy surnamed Sun doesn't know how to make a move."

Wang Xing reviewed the entire process.

His failure stemmed from his inability to find a profitable business model and his underestimation of the ruthlessness of capital.

Wang Junshan's success lies in his early profitability, low-key development, and gradual progress.

By the time investors started to pay attention, YouTuan Technology already had hundreds of millions in cash reserves, and money was flowing in like a tidal wave.

Even if capital wants to block financing channels, Wang Junshan has money and profits in hand, so he is not afraid at all.

Moreover, BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) are all vying to invest, while Oak Pacific Interactive Group doesn't even dare to show its face.

To put it bluntly, a company like Qianxiang Interactive Group can bully Wang Xing, but it can't bully YouTuan Technology.

Especially now, they've long been crushed by YouTuan Technology.

"I'd like to see what kind of trouble Oak Interactive Group will cause this time."

Wang Xing stared intently at Sun Yizhou on the television, his fists clenched tightly!

If it weren't for this bastard, Renren.com would still be his!

"Today, Renren.com will begin a new era and officially launch the Renren Mall, focusing on 3C products, cosmetics, and imported baby products."

"Many discounts available on our first day of launch! Thank you for your support, and welcome to shop with us!"

"Shameless! Utterly shameless!"

Wang Xing cursed, "They're plagiarizing YouTuan International again. I dare say, 'WeChat Farm' is also plagiarizing. It's truly shameless."

"Damn it!"

"But to be fair, vertical e-commerce is indeed a way out. If Sun Yizhou actually makes money from it, I'll be really upset! Sigh!"

A sigh, filled with helplessness.

This applies not only to Renren.com, but also to Fanfou.com.

After selling Xiaonei.com, Wang Xing founded Fanfou.com, the Chinese version of Twitter!
The model is also completely modeled after Twitter, with 140-character short posts, one-way following, and a simple and fast information flow.

Fanfou.com, with its microblogging model, attracted elite users, including some media professionals, scholars, writers, programmers, and public intellectuals, as soon as it was launched.

However, the scale is very small, with only a few hundred thousand people.

In addition, Wang Xing has limited funds and is unable to promote the business, making it difficult to scale up.

Of course, he was also worried that if development was too rapid, it would lead to fierce competition and takeover by capital.

Therefore, he has been studying Wang Junshan's model and experience during this period.

"Sun Yizhou is such a scheming woman. Under the guise of responding to the four trillion yuan stimulus package, she launched the Renren.com online store. What a clever scheme!"

"We'll bribe some more media outlets to give them focused coverage, and then spend some more money to buy the headlines on the four major portal websites."

"It would be difficult for the campus network store not to become popular."

"Fuck! He actually made a profit?"

Wang Xing angrily shut down the live stream on the school's intranet, opened NetEase News, and then burst into laughter:
"Hahaha!"

"Evil people will be punished by Heaven!"

"If the Renren.com online store makes even the slightest splash, I, Wang Xing, will consider it a loss!"

"Hahaha!"

The headline on NetEase News prominently featured the following report:

In response to the 4 trillion yuan stimulus package and to boost warehousing and logistics infrastructure, Vipshop will invest 5 billion yuan to build ten international warehouses across China.

Wang Xing then opened several other portal websites and saw similar reports on them as well:
[Tencent News: With a three-year investment of 50 billion yuan, Future Technology will build a 250 million square meter self-built warehouse, which, together with its existing eight central warehouses, will comprehensively improve delivery efficiency!]

[Sohu News: Ten major international warehouses, each with an area of ​​20-30 square meters, will bring about a qualitative leap in China's logistics infrastructure once completed!]

[Sina News: The US has Amazon's massive warehouses, and China has Future Technology's international warehouses!]

"Hahaha."

Wang Xing grinned from ear to ear: "10 major international warehouses, 250 million square meters of storage space, and a 50 billion yuan investment over three years!"

"Future Technology has such a grand vision!"

"In comparison, the campus mall launched by Oak Interactive Group is really not worth mentioning."

"Sun Yizhou, Sun Yizhou, all your scheming has come to nothing."

"Why didn't you launch your e-commerce service at some other time? Why did you have to do it now?"

"Now it's better, isn't it? Not a single drop of water splashes up."

"The four major portal websites and all mainstream platforms are reporting on Future Technology's 50 billion yuan investment in logistics and warehousing infrastructure. Who's reporting on your little online store?"

"You're a joke for responding to the four trillion yuan stimulus package!"

"Wang Junshan, he's to my liking, hahaha."

Wang Xing laughed heartily; he hadn't been this happy in a long time.

Especially thinking about Sun Yizhou's humiliated appearance, Wang Xing immediately called his secretary: "Open champagne at noon to celebrate."

"Boss, is this some great news? Someone has invested in Fanfou.com?" The secretary beamed with joy.

Wang Xing waved his hand: "This makes me even happier than if someone invested in me, hahaha!"

Headquarters of the campus network.

After the media left, Sun Yizhou was in high spirits: "How about that? Right now, the whole internet is full of reports about our campus online store, right? All netizens are paying attention to this, aren't they?"

Public Relations Department Manager Xue Qian's lips twitched: "..."

Xie Fei, president of the school's online store, was even more ashen-faced: "!!!"

"What? What happened again?" Sun Yizhou suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Chairman, take a look for yourself." Xie Fei pushed the notebook over.

Sun Yizhou glanced at it and was immediately struck dumb:

"Fuck!"

"Three years, 5 billion yuan, ten major international warehouses, 2.5 million square meters!"

"I...I...I..."

Sun Yizhou stammered, unsure of what to say for a moment.

After a long while, he finally sighed:

"No wonder we couldn't get the headlines on the four major portal websites even with extra money; they all went to Wang Junshan."

"This kind of explosive news will be widely reported, not only by the four major portal websites, but also by provincial and municipal TV news stations, and even CCTV and daily newspapers!"

"When our campus online store goes live, it coincides with a major move by Future Technology. I'm afraid it won't even make a ripple. Nobody will pay attention to us."

"Yes, Chairman, even if some small and medium-sized media outlets report on it, it won't make a difference."

"Moreover, those small and medium-sized media outlets also quickly reported on the future technology warehousing infrastructure, and they all gave it headlines!"

“I…” Sun Yizhou didn’t know what to say.

Xue Qian sighed: "If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off avoiding it."

"Take a break? How long are you going to take a break?"

Xie Fei laughed: "Wang Junshan's big move is like the light of the bright moon. Even if we postpone the release by a week, it won't make a ripple."

"That's right. Against an opponent like that, a 'dimensional reduction' attack is simply futile. It's karma!"

(End of this chapter)