My son is a reincarnated soul; I overheard his inner thoughts and became the richest man.

At first, the forum was quiet, with only a few dozen familiar faces.

Liu Qiangdong was not discouraged. Whenever the store was not busy, he would spend his time on the forum, personally acting as customer service and chatting with netizens.

Over time, thanks to his forthright personality and excellent product quality, he became a familiar face in the industry.

Many veteran gamers and moderators were moved by his sincerity and became his advocates, helping him defeat GG in various hardware communities.

The word-of-mouth effect began to emerge.

The number of registered users on the forum increased from dozens to hundreds, and then exceeded one thousand, and the number of orders also surged.

Looking at the constantly changing data in the background, Liu Qiangdong recalled Chen Feng's words from half a year ago.

Now that the path has been established, it needs to be formalized.

The forum model, being so primitive, can no longer keep up with the growth rate of orders, and it is extremely inefficient to manage.

So, he gritted his teeth, hired a few programmers, and went into seclusion to develop an independent e-commerce mall system.

One month later, in March 2002, "Jingdong Multimedia Network" was officially launched.

The website was created, but problems arose as well.

"I'm out of money."

Looking at the empty accounts, Liu Qiangdong frowned. "If we want to grow bigger, we can't just rely on these few old customers. We need to promote ourselves and invest heavily. And what Chairman Chen said about building our own logistics is a bottomless pit."

"With an investment of this scale, how long would it take to save up the meager profits from selling CDs?"

When he was desperate, his eyes fell on the gold-embossed business cards in the drawer.

He also saw the news a few days ago that Chen Feng ranked second on the Hurun Rich List.

With a net worth of 82 billion yuan, he is the second richest person in the country, a weight as heavy as Mount Tai.

Recalling that day in the store, the business tycoon's heartfelt guidance and the words "Come find me anytime," Liu Qiangdong felt a strong surge of emotion.

Take a gamble!

He took a deep breath and, with trembling fingers, dialed the number on the business card.

......

Fengtian Holdings Group.

Gu Qingcheng knocked on the door and entered the chairman's office.

"Mr. Chen, someone claiming to be Liu Qiangdong just called, saying he wants to visit you. He asked when would be a convenient time for you."

Chen Feng, who was reviewing documents, paused, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

finally come.

It has been almost half a year since we last met in Zhongguancun.

It seems that the butterfly effect has finally stirred up a storm, awakening this future e-commerce godfather ahead of schedule.

According to Xiaotian's script, JD.com should have been launched in two more years. Now it seems I've indeed changed the course of history.

Chen Feng was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly calm.

"Tell him I'll be at the company these next few days and he's welcome anytime."

"Okay, I'll get back to you right away."

......

Two days later.

Liu Qiangdong arrived in Shanghai in a flurry of activity and entered the impressive office of Fengtian Holdings.

Looking at the view of the Huangpu River outside the window, and then at the distinguished young tycoon in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Chairman Chen, I apologize for disturbing you."

Chen Feng smiled and stood up, gesturing for him to sit on the sofa: "We're all old friends, don't be so polite. Qiangzi, did you make a special trip here this time because you have good news?"

Liu Qiangdong rubbed his hands together somewhat awkwardly and got straight to the point: "Chairman Chen, to be honest, I've come here this time to shamelessly beg for alms from you."

Seeing Chen Feng's gentle expression and signaling him to continue, Liu Qiangdong finally calmed down and recounted his experiences over the past six months.

"Ever since I listened to your advice last time, I've devoted myself to studying e-commerce. I started by posting on forums and gradually built up my reputation."

"Over the past few months, I've found that e-commerce really has great potential. It doesn't have the rent pressure of physical stores, and its reach is much wider. So, I recently hired people to develop an independent online store, which is now online and operational."

"Although the user base is still small, the repurchase rate is very high."

At this point, Liu Qiangdong sighed, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness.

"But I've found that having a website alone isn't enough to really make this happen. Promotion costs money, the supply chain costs money, and especially the self-built logistics and warehousing system you mentioned earlier is a bottomless pit of money."

"With the limited resources I have, I simply can't manage such a large operation."

"So... I remembered your promise, and I dared to come and try my luck."

After speaking, Liu Qiangdong stared intently at Chen Feng, his eyes filled with both anticipation and a hint of nervousness at being rejected.

After all, compared to the billionaire in front of him, his fledgling website was insignificant.

After listening to Liu Qiangdong's account, Chen Feng did not show any surprise on his face, but rather a sense of expected composure.

"Qiangzi, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond."

Chen Feng leaned back on the sofa, his tone relaxed, "I promised before that whether you're doing chain stores or e-commerce, as long as you need money, Fengtian Capital's doors are always open for you."

"Now, tell me, how much ammunition do you need?"

Seeing Chen Feng's prompt response, Liu Qiangdong felt much more at ease and quickly stated the figure he had already calculated: "Chairman Chen, based on a preliminary estimate, I need between 15 million and 20 million in funding."

"This money will mainly be used to expand product categories, build a basic warehousing system, and cover necessary Google Ads advertising..."

"Twenty million... US dollars?" Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, no! It's RMB!"

Liu Qiangdong was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, "At our current size, we don't need that many US dollars. Twenty million RMB is enough to support our development for a long time."

"Besides, this is just the angel round. We can consider Series A funding later when the business grows bigger and the data looks better."

Chen Feng nodded slightly: "Okay, then it'll be twenty million RMB. How many shares can you offer?"

Liu Qiangdong hesitated for a moment, then cautiously held up two fingers and gestured five: "25%, is that appropriate?"

Before coming, he wasn't sure what to expect. His bottom line was 30%, and it would be even better if he could negotiate it down to 20%.

Chen Feng pondered for a moment.

25%, while not as much as many angel investments that take 40% or more, is definitely a worthwhile deal for a company destined to grow into a trillion-dollar giant.

The key is not to dilute the founding team's shares too much, otherwise they will lose motivation and it will be counterproductive.

"Twenty million for 25%, that's a fair price."

Chen Feng readily agreed, "However, I have one additional condition."

Liu Qiangdong perked up: "Go ahead!"

"It's very simple, I want the priority lead investment right for the next round, that is, the Series A financing."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiangdong realized that this wasn't a condition, but rather a guarantee of protection!

With this financial backer, even if he encounters a capital winter in the future, he won't have to worry about not having enough money to burn.

"No problem! I agree to this condition a hundred times over!" Liu Qiangdong was so excited that his face turned red.

Once the overall framework was finalized, the remaining processes proceeded quickly.

Chen Feng did not intend to take control of JD.com. His goal was clear: to ensure that his shareholding ratio remained between 20% and 25% through several rounds of follow-on investment before the IPO, which would be enough for him to make a fortune.

The two then chatted for a long time.

Chen Feng explained to Liu Qiangdong in detail the "fast, efficient, and cost-effective" strategy of JD.com that Chen Xiaotian remembered, as well as the core logic of building its own logistics.

Liu Qiangdong listened with rapt attention, as if he had opened the door to a new world.

The specific signing matters were handed over to Yu Bo to handle.

With a check for 20 million yuan and a head full of new ideas, Liu Qiangdong flew back to Beijing, completely satisfied.

With money, you can stand tall.

The first thing I did upon returning to Zhongguancun was to "renovate" the website.

Previously, JD Multimedia's website was so rudimentary that it resembled a makeshift operation, with only dry text descriptions of products and not even a single picture.

Now, things are much better. We hired a graphic designer, added images, and expanded our SKUs, giving the entire website a fresh new look.

......

For Chen Feng, investing in JD.com was just a side project; his real focus remained on Fengtian Technology.

Good news kept pouring in from the European battlefield.

Under Lin Wan's command and with the strong resources of Sequoia Capital and IDG, the F2 and T2 media players quickly captured sales channels in major European countries.

Although the European market is highly fragmented with numerous countries, its progress is not as rapid as that in the United States.

However, after two months, monthly sales exceeded 130,000 units.

As distribution channels expand further, it's only a matter of time before this number doubles.

......

In March, spring comes.

Fengchi Electric Vehicle Production Base.

"Mr. Chen, this is our second-generation product—the Wind Chaser II."

Technical Director Wang Jianhua pointed to a new car with a more streamlined design in front of him and introduced it with a proud look.

"Compared to the first generation, we have made in-depth optimizations to the motor controller. More importantly, we have cooperated closely with BYD and adopted their latest optimized battery pack."

"In actual testing, the driving range has increased by a full 20%."

Chen Feng circled the brand-new electric vehicle and nodded in satisfaction.

"Great! The appearance is more stylish, and the performance has also been improved. We should arrange for mass production and launch as soon as possible."

"but..."

Chen Feng's tone shifted, and his expression became serious. "We can't just focus on our current achievements. Although we don't have any domestic competitors right now, that's because others haven't realized it yet. Once the market heats up, competitors will definitely spring up like mushrooms after rain."

"Technology is the core competitiveness; we can't keep resting on our laurels."

At this point, Chen Feng looked at Wang Jianhua and posed a crucial question: "Regarding battery technology, is it possible for us to break away from suppliers and conduct our own research and development?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianhua's smile froze for a moment, revealing a hint of unease.

"Mr. Chen, this... I'm afraid it's a bit difficult."

He scratched his head and said frankly, "Our current technical team is okay at handling vehicle frame structures and motor tuning. But batteries belong to the field of electrochemistry, which is another dimension."

"To develop batteries in our own way, we not only need to build a laboratory from scratch, but also recruit top experts in this field."

"Not only is the investment large, but the cycle is also long."

"With our current staffing, we are indeed willing but unable to do so."