Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Chapter 102 Taking Down Ahri

In Hangzhou, the room was dimly lit.

Several empty wine bottles were on the table. Sun Tongyu had a stubble beard and looked haggard. She was no longer the spirited person she was when she was the CEO of Taobao.

He used to be Ali's third employee, nicknamed "God of Wealth," and his status was second only to Jack Ma and Cai Chongxin.

Taobao was built from scratch to an annual sales volume of over 40 billion yuan under his leadership. Just as he was preparing to further cultivate the lower-tier market and expand into mobile platforms, a board resolution removed him from his CEO position and sent him to an overseas business school for "further study".

What Sun Tongyu finds hardest to accept is that his wife, Peng Lei, knew all along but never told him a single word.

He even cooperated with Jack Ma and others to put on a show, coaxing himself to fly abroad.

He gulped down a few mouthfuls of the bitter liquor, which stung his throat and made his heart ache. Just then, his cell phone rang.

The caller ID showed someone I didn't want to see but had to face. I pressed the answer button and didn't say a word.

"Let's stop torturing each other. We've been separated for a year."

Peng Lei said, "Even if you disagree, I will have my lawyer file for divorce in court."

Sun Tongyu said, "I can get a divorce, but I must have custody of the children."

"impossible!"

Peng Lei said in a serious tone, "You have already resigned from Ali and are unemployed. I have no reason to hand the child over to you."

"Don't you know why I left Ahri?"

Sun Tongyu gritted her teeth, never expecting that her husband of many years would betray her and divorce her when she was at her lowest point.

"This is a board resolution, and it's a company secret."

Peng Lei said, "Even if we're husband and wife, I can't reveal a single word to you. What, do you want to see us both kicked out by Ahri?"

"So you're so eager to divorce me and sever all ties with me?"

Sun Tongyu sneered, "Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately."

"disaster?"

Peng Lei countered with a question: "You still hold shares in Ali. If Ali goes public in Hong Kong or the US stock market in the future, you'll be financially independent and worry-free for life. What have Mr. Ma and I done to wrong you?"

"Whether it is or not, you know it in your hearts."

Sun Tongyu said, "Who helped him build the 'Iron Army' of Alibaba's supply chain and enabled Ali B2B to successfully go public? Who took Taobao from nothing and defeated eBay and EachNet? Who made Taobao the number one e-commerce platform?"

"So what? No one can rest on their laurels forever."

"Haha, before I could even bask in the glory, Jack Ma removed me from the list."

"Don't you understand what you did wrong?"

"My mistake was that my philosophy differed from Jack Ma's!"

Sun Tongyu scoffed, "I want to cultivate the lower-tier market and support local brands, not some superficial branding."

"Without branding and internationalization, how will Ali's valuation increase? How will the capital market view Ali in the future? Is it destined to be forever associated with white-label products and counterfeit goods, dragging down Ali's overall image and reputation?"

Peng Lei paused for a moment, then said, "You're also a shareholder of Ali, don't you want to see its valuation keep rising?"

"There's no point in saying more," Sun Tongyu said. "Time will tell who's right."

"The person who can prove it definitely isn't you."

Peng Lei's tone revealed a hint of impatience, "Alright, there's nothing more to say. Hurry up and come to the law firm to sign the agreement."

After ending the call, Sun Tongyu picked up the bottle and took a few more gulps without muttering anything.

"Forget about fortunes changing every thirty years; don't underestimate the poor in middle age!"

This makes it seem like you can't accept defeat, causing you to lose both face and substance.

"Just because I can't prove it doesn't mean no one can."

Sun Tongyu muttered to herself, her gaze falling on the newspaper on the table, which featured news about Pinduoduo.

Whether it's the C2M model or direct sales from the place of origin, it perfectly aligns with Sun Tongyu's strategic policy of cultivating the lower-tier market and nurturing local brands. To his surprise, Pinduoduo is even more outstanding than he expected.

Providing fruit and vegetable support to farmers, and offering affordable ginger and garlic, every step taken by Shenmo is methodical and well-planned.

Just as I was half-drunk and half-awake, my phone rang again. This time it was a call from the headhunting company I had communicated with a few times.

"I've said it many times before, I don't want to come out of retirement now, and I won't consider going to any e-commerce company."

"If it were a regular company, I wouldn't have taken the liberty of making this call."

"Oh, which big company contacted you?"

"Mr. Sun, have you heard of Pinduoduo?"

"Did Pinduoduo send you to contact me?"

"Yes, Mr. Shen and Mr. Huang are very keen to meet you and would like to personally invite you to join Pinduoduo. What do you think?"

"Time and place."

Sun Tongyu became much more sober, and her cooled blood began to boil again.

The prices of ginger and garlic continue to soar, with their price increases almost surpassing those of 99.99% of stocks in the A-share market.

More and more people are starting to hoard ginger and garlic for speculation, much like how masks and other supplies were sold at high prices during the pandemic.

Some even went so far as to use Pinduoduo, mobilizing relatives and friends to place orders using different accounts, buying dozens of items at once, and then reselling them on the second-hand market at a higher price, or simply selling them offline to wholesalers.

Shen Mo was prepared for this.

The technical team, led by Xu Kun and Zhuang Bifan, immediately took action. First, the same IP address or the same device was only allowed to place two orders within 24 hours.

Second, the same delivery address can only correspond to one valid order, preventing users from circumventing the restrictions by switching accounts.

Third, conduct dynamic verification of inactive accounts that place orders frequently, such as identifying abnormal group-buying behavior.

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In short, Pinduoduo opens its doors to everyone, allowing them to buy ginger and garlic, but it absolutely cannot tolerate being taken advantage of.

Especially after being reported by state media, more and more media outlets have been publishing numerous positive reports about Pinduoduo.

"Pinduoduo's Direct Coverage: How Affordable Ginger and Garlic from the Fields Reach Thousands of Households"

"Garlic prices soar, ginger prices soar, Pinduoduo bucks the trend by lowering prices to reassure consumers."

Pinduoduo partners with Anqiu Cooperative in eastern Shandong to open up new direct supply channels for ginger and garlic from production areas.

The same goes for major online platforms; besides H1N1, the most discussed topics are Shenmo and Pinduoduo.

Ma Huateng couldn't help but sigh: "I don't know if Shen Mo was lucky or smart, how did he come up with the idea of ​​starting with fruits and vegetables?"

""

"Whether it's luck or intelligence, one thing is certain."

Liu Chiping said, "Through the battle with ginger and garlic, Pinduoduo has thoroughly established its reputation. Its product categories have expanded from fruits and vegetables to all categories. Merchants and traffic from YiTao GO are continuously flowing into Pinduoduo, and user registrations have exceeded 500."

Ten thousand."

"What do you think about us investing in Pinduoduo?"

Ma Huateng tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

Liu Chiping said, "Pinduoduo is certainly a good project, but we need to be prepared to suffer huge losses."

Wu Xiaoguang said, "Yes, Pinduoduo can earn hundreds of millions just from ginger and garlic, not to mention the brand premium it brings. Its Series A valuation is probably no lower than that of YiTao G0 and Jingdong now. It should start at least at 5 million US dollars."

"Let the investment and M&A department conduct an evaluation first."

Ma Huateng did not hesitate at all: "If Pinduoduo is willing to open up its quota, Tencent can offer better terms than YiTao G0, such as primary traffic entrances like the QQ panel and navigation bar."

Liu Chiping said, "Actually, instead of investing in Pinduoduo, we should focus more on YiTao GO."

"I agree!"

Wu Xiaoguang said, "QQ Space is now basically relying on YiTao GO to do social e-commerce, and its sales performance and growth rate are much better than Paipai.com. It can be said that YiTao GO is the lifeline of Tencent's social e-commerce line, and we can't let it remain in Shen Mo's hands forever."

"In that case, let's use the pretext of Series C funding to sound out Shen Mo's opinion."

Ma Huateng's eyes gleamed: "If he's unwilling to sell YiTaoGO, we'll add fuel to the fire in the competition between YiTao and YiTaoGO, letting Ali drive YiTaoGO to the brink of despair, forcing YiTaoGO to have no choice but to surrender to Tencent."

Two days later, Pinduoduo.

-

Sun Tongyu appeared downstairs at the Sands Century Tower on time, looking much cleaner and more organized than she had been the previous two days.

When the elevator doors opened, he was stunned for a moment. Shen Mo, Huang Zheng, and their group stood in a row at the door, welcoming him.

Shen Mo extended his hand. "Mr. Sun, I've long admired your name."

Sun Tongyu couldn't help but get excited: "I'm very happy to accept your invitation, President Shen. You are even more young and promising than I imagined."

"Haha! Please!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shen Mo got straight to the point: "Mr. Sun, you probably already know why I invited you here."

Sun Tongyu asked bluntly, "Why me? Is it because I'm a former subordinate of Ahri and I know Ahri well?"

Shen Mo held up one finger: "No, it's because we all have a common goal, which is to take down Ahri."

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