Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1218 Beat the master to death with random punches

Li Dongling glanced at the red-robed cult leader, whose eyes were full of excitement. At this time, Old Zhou was not indifferent to fame and fortune; on the contrary, he was eager to achieve success.

Whether it's fame, luxury cars, private jets, or yachts, they are all incredibly attractive to Lao Zhou.

Just like Zhang, the founder of Sohu, he didn't reach the "desireless" state he would later achieve from the beginning. On the contrary, when Sohu was at its peak, he was constantly partying in bars and nightclubs every night, dating celebrities, hiking and climbing snow-capped peaks, and even became an Olympic torchbearer.

Then came Mr. Zhang's famous saying: "Having too much money is a kind of pain." Later, Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, inherited this pain and said that he was not interested in money...

But that doesn't stop Mr. Ma from buying villas, private jets, yachts, and other things he's not interested in.

Whether it's Boss Zhang or Boss Ma, they both acquired everything that money could buy and experienced the life of extravagance and reckless indulgence before becoming indifferent to fame and fortune.

There must be a priority between being indifferent to fame and fortune and indulging in a life of luxury and pleasure. If the latter comes first, then the former, that is a return to simplicity and authenticity.

If you only have the former and not the latter, that's utter nonsense. What kind of life of luxury can you have if you don't have money? What kind of worldly wisdom can you have? You can't understand the suffering of Mr. Zhang and Mr. Ma.

Zhou Hongyi has just become famous and has not yet experienced the glitz and glamour of life, so he is naturally not indifferent to fame and fortune. In addition, given his combative personality, he is currently ambitious and ready to make a big splash!
"Once the 3721 is released, I think you'll be able to buy your own yacht!"

Li Dashanren told his fellow disciple that the major shareholder of 3721 was Yahoo! China, and Zhou Hongyi, as the founder, also received a portion of 3721's shares.

Although not a major shareholder, it won't be difficult for Zhou Hongyi to achieve financial freedom once 3721 goes public.

But being able to afford to buy a yacht is one thing, and being able to afford to maintain it is another.

After purchasing a yacht, the annual expenses for maintenance, insurance, personnel, dock fees, fuel, etc., are also a major expense.

Whether Zhou Hongyi can buy the yacht and cover the subsequent expenses depends on how high 3721's market value can rise, and also on how far Yahoo's mainland China company, under Zhou Hongyi's control, can go.

But Li Dashanren's words still excited Zhou Hongyi. Listening to the implication, Li Dongling claimed that he could buy a yacht after 3721 went public. Doesn't that mean he is very optimistic about the future of 3721?
Even if Zhou Hongyi were to release Li Dashanren's words, 3721's valuation might increase by a few points. There's no other reason than that Li Dashanren is optimistic about 3721. Isn't that reason enough? Now, who would dare to question Li Dongling's vision?
"Was this round of financing for 3721 led by SoftBank's Masayoshi Son?"

Li Dongling entrusted the valuation and financing of 3721 to Lin Xianhui, Liang Botao, and Zhou Hongyi, without much interference, as it was always necessary to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Moreover, there will be many more such incidents in the future, and it's impossible to have Li Dongling keep an eye on things every time.

However, Li Dongling had heard some rumors about 3721's financing. Just because Li Dongling didn't ask about it didn't mean that Lin Xianhui and Liang Botao would dare not let Li Dongling know.

To Li Dongling's surprise, the first to invest in 3721 this time was not a Hong Kong tycoon or a Southeast Asian conglomerate, but SoftBank of Japan.

Li Dongling knew that SoftBank had a passion for investing in the internet industry. Regardless of whether there was a return, they would invest first to secure a foothold. However, he did not expect that SoftBank would also set its sights on the Silicon Harbor project.

Zhou Hongyi was unsure of Li Dongling's attitude, but still told the truth, "This time, SoftBank took the lead in investing in 3721, and UBS Hong Kong City Company, BNP Paribas and CITIC Hong Kong City Company also invested."

With this financing arrangement, after the investment, Zhixing Foundation will still be the largest shareholder of 3721 with 57% of the shares, Yahoo will hold 23%, Zhou Hongyi will hold 8% as the founder, SoftBank will hold 6%, and CITIC Port City, BNP Paribas, and UBS Port City will each hold 2% of the shares.

SoftBank alone took $1500 million of 3721's funding, acquiring nearly 6% of 3721's equity, while the other three companies shared the remaining 6%.

Compared to SoftBank's bold approach, the other three institutions are basically testing the waters of the internet industry.

"At present, only a letter of intent has been signed; it has not been formally finalized yet. If necessary..."

Zhou Hongyi was unaware of Li Dongling's attitude and assumed that Li Dongling did not want SoftBank to take away too much of 3721's equity.

"No need!"

"Since SoftBank wants 3721's shares, then give them to them!"

"It's not just SoftBank; when companies like Tianya Sports seek financing, SoftBank wants equity, and we'll give it the opportunity, as long as it can afford it. There's no need to stop it."

Li Dongling originally intended to first attract local wealthy families and conglomerates in Hong Kong to invest in projects like 3721.

Unexpectedly, the local investment institutions in Hong Kong were more conservative than imagined, and even more unexpectedly, SoftBank had such a big appetite.

However, at this point, Cyberport and Silicon Harbour have no way out. Since SoftBank wants to throw money at them, let them in, no matter how much they throw at them!
If SoftBank can attract the Japanese conglomerate into the project—no, let them see the potential of the Silicon Harbor project and start betting on it—that would be a wonderful story.

After all, success is built on the bones of countless failures. If the Silicon Harbor project is to be successful, setbacks are inevitable. If SoftBank and the Nippon Benzo Group invest in 3721 and other companies involved in Silicon Harbor projects, and if they encounter problems such as their stock prices being halved or even bankruptcy, it is no wonder that Cyberport is in trouble.

Once you place your bet, whether you become rich overnight or lose everything depends on luck!
As for the shares that were released, if needed, Li Dashanren can have Cyberport and Zhixing Foundation buy them back in two years. Hearing Li Dongling's words, Zhou Hongyi felt relieved. 3721 had finally completed its financing, and if anything went wrong, all his previous efforts would be in vain, and his dream of becoming the number one internet person in Zhongguancun would be ruined.

"What new plans does Yahoo! China have after 3721 goes public?"

Li Dongling asked Zhou Hongyi a question. He knew Zhou Hongyi's personality; she was definitely not one to stay put and would never settle down.

"Browser!"

Zhou Hongyi made no attempt to hide anything from Li Dongling, stating directly, "Yahoo! Mainland is going to develop the world's first browser for the Chinese internet!"

Like web browsers, web browsers are gateways for users to access the internet. Zhou Hongyi clearly wants Yahoo! China to become the true gateway to the Chinese internet!

When Lin Xianhui heard that Yahoo! China was going to develop a Chinese browser, even though he was unaware of the complexities of this industry, he was still taken aback.

There's no other reason than that browsers are Microsoft's foundation in the internet industry. To deal with its browser rival Netscape, Microsoft used countless methods, both overt and covert, and finally managed to eliminate Netscape by bundling its browser with the operating system.

Now Zhou Hongyi is saying that Yahoo's new project in mainland China is to develop a Chinese browser. How could Lin Xianhui not be surprised?

Li Dongling wasn't too surprised by Zhou Hongyi's words, which was in line with the bullfighter personality of the Red-Clothed Cult Leader.

Knowing full well that there are tigers in the mountains, he still ventures into the tiger's den. As long as he doesn't kill Old Zhou, he's truly indiscriminate in his pursuits.

Others may fear Microsoft, but Zhou Hongyi is not among them; she's directly targeting Microsoft!

In America, it's one thing that Netscape can't beat Microsoft, but does that mean the "Red-Clothed Cult Leader" is afraid of Microsoft in the Chinese internet?

Putting aside whether he can actually do it, if Zhou dares to challenge Microsoft, then he is one of the most courageous men in Zhongguancun. Not to mention now, in any future generation, how many people would dare to challenge Microsoft?

"Now is indeed an opportunity!"

When Lin Xianhui saw that Li Dongling actually supported Zhou Hongyi's ideas, he felt that the madness of this world was beyond his imagination.

For the next one or two decades, browsers will remain one of the most important sectors of the internet industry, serving as the gateway and pathway for countless people to access the internet.

The idea that whoever controls the browser controls the world is a bit of a stretch, but in the PC internet era, all kinds of internet companies, whether e-commerce, social networking, or online video, first launched web versions, and all relied on browser promotion.

After all, the cost of promoting a website through a browser is completely different from the cost of directly recommending users to download and install your website program. This is the advantage of browsers.

"Microsoft is currently embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit against Netscape, and the American Department of Justice has intervened. Things are not going well for Microsoft right now."

In addition, Microsoft is investing heavily in the development of game consoles to compete with Sony and Nintendo in the game console market.

In the short term, Microsoft is unlikely to have time to focus on Yahoo! China, and Yahoo! America also holds a 30% stake in Yahoo! China—a stake Yahoo! can't just take for free!

Li Dongling said that Microsoft is currently at its peak, but there are undercurrents, and Netscape's antitrust lawsuit is making Microsoft increasingly dangerous.

Furthermore, with its game consoles challenging Sony's dominance, Microsoft is already bleeding money, and the situation is only getting worse.

At this time, Yahoo! China launched the 3721 browser, subtly seizing the market share of Internet Explorer in the Chinese internet. Microsoft probably didn't have time to compete with 3721.

If the 3721 browser succeeds, it will be a way to reclaim a piece of lost ground for the Chinese internet.

As for what Microsoft will do if it discovers the existence of the 3721 browser and is dissatisfied, what can it do? If the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up.

Don't forget, 3721's parent company is under the Yahoo name. Yahoo America did nothing but take away 30% of the shares.

If something really goes wrong, wouldn't Yahoo have to step in? So Microsoft should be contacting Yahoo America!
At that point, it will be a matter between Microsoft and Yahoo. As for whether Microsoft can deal with Yahoo, that remains to be seen. It all depends on whether Microsoft is more capable or whether the Wall Street institutions behind Yahoo have the tougher methods.

If Microsoft is so capable, it should acquire Yahoo.

Wait, it seems Microsoft did make an acquisition offer to Yahoo...

(End of this chapter)