King of Capital

【Xiao Chong Shan】

The scorching afternoon sun penetrates the shade of the trees and shines on the ancient courtyard. A breeze blew through the branches and leaves, making rustling sounds and dancing light and shadows. The inscribed wooden signs hanging on the door beams and wooden pillars of the wing rooms across the courtyard swayed slightly in the wind.

Under the shade of the courtyard corridor, the woodcarving master explained the essentials of the craft in a gentle manner, and Xie Jingxing held the carving knife and carved the words with great interest.

"Yu Lin Ling, Qing Ping Le, Zhe Gui Ling... Master, can we carve three more ci tunes with the remaining materials?"

Song Anli painted the wooden sign in her hand with gold lacquer and hung it on the wooden rack. After receiving a positive response, she picked up a book called "Three Hundred Song Lyrics and Yuan Operas" and happily selected some sad and romantic words and sentences from it to write down.

She was wearing a loose long coat and trousers made of plain white cotton and linen, with her hair draped over her shoulders, her shirt open and her cuffs rolled up, and the small-leaf red sandalwood necklace on her wrist was shining.

Xie Jingxing looked at her, and when he wasn't paying attention, he saw that she looked more mature, elegant, and assertive.

Xiao Chong Shan is not the piece in which Yue Fei describes the loneliness of a hero, but rather the piece in which Li Qingzhao indulges in the graceful and romantic feeling of "spring".

So, in addition to the cross-courtyard where Song Anli lives, the courtyard has three other bedrooms, which is just right for hanging a ci plaque in each.

The agent is currently contacting the owner of the next-door neighbor's house to discuss the selling price. After the two courtyards are purchased, they will be connected and the remaining wood will naturally have a place to be used to carve three ci plaques.

In fact, Xie Jingxing was already fed up with it. Concubine Pei now just maintained a well-proportioned figure that was just right for both appearance and use. When she was filming, she was mocked by the public for being fat and bulgy, and there were constant gossips and scandals about her secretly getting married, having children, and aging.

She has been in a very depressed mood recently and has been shouting that she wants to lose weight. She said that big stars can only be admired from afar and are not suitable for being teased.

"Have you been in touch with Xiaotian recently?" Xie Jingxing blew and sawdust flew away.

"She often comes here to play. Luckily, Xiao Chen is in Beijing recently, so we always invite her to join us for a mahjong game."

Song Anli took the wooden plaque and said with a smile: "She said a long time ago that she would keep a room for her. This tune is for her, and Xiao Chen will take the 'Zheguiling'."

"You can't put it down."

Xie Jingxing chuckled at himself with unclear meaning, wiped the sawdust from his hands, put down the carving knife, stood up and walked towards the study.

Xiao Chen has received tens of millions of yuan in pay for playing the leading female role in many high-quality films, and even made a headlining appearance at a CCTV gala sponsored by JD.com, where she was officially announced as the Chief Brand Experience Officer of JD.com Mall.

So she accepted the name of the tune very naturally.

In this way, Lao Liang’s insistence on offline sales channels is understandable.

Before Jia Yueting's sudden death last year, the last thing he did was to build an offline dealer system. He claimed that within three years, there would be more than 1.7 offline authorized experience stores, creating a LeTV distribution ecosystem with an output value of trillion yuan.

The plan was so large that even though Jia suffered a crushing defeat, the business was still driven forward by inertia and more than 600 authorized dealer stores were established.

This morning in LeTV's office, Liang Jun reported that the strong growth in offline sales was due to this. However, as of now, it has been nearly a year, and the contract period signed between LeTV and its partners is about to end.

Inertia is disappearing fast, continued cooperation is impossible, and claims for debt collection due to the accumulated payment are almost impossible.

Liang Jun was unwilling to sit idly by and watch the strong offline sales growth come to an abrupt end. He would try to keep as many existing dealers as possible, and at the same time build a network of directly-operated stores to open up blank areas in the offline market.

Lezhi+ has demonstrated internally that this solution can break the deadlock of online e-commerce channels that are trapped in price wars and determine their long-term survival.

There is no way to stabilize the offline channels of traditional TV brands such as Samsung and Hisense, but at least it is not a problem for them to defeat Xiaomi, which has no offline sales channels.

However, the key is that it requires burning money. Unlike the film and television business, which requires hundreds of millions of dollars in funding at one time, it requires continuous cash flow support.

For example, to open a 20-30 square meter store in a third-tier coastal city, the rent, utilities and labor costs would cost at least yuan a year. It would be difficult for LeTV to cover the operating costs with just two products, televisions and set-top boxes, let alone a long-term strategy.

Liang Jun lived and worked in the factory for less than half a year when he came up with the smart speaker project. His goal was not only to seize the first-mover advantage in the market, but also to enrich the product line and increase the feasibility of offline store profit expectations in order to convince Xie Jingxing.

The retarded speaker product was sent back for redoing, and the result is obvious.

The two argued until their faces turned red and Liang Jun slammed the door and left. Xie Jingxing took the initiative to give in and ran to this courtyard to sulk, and the offline direct store strategy was temporarily shelved.

"Xiaotian has been quite free lately. Why don't you ask her to come over for dinner tonight?" Song Anli followed him into the study room.

"Ask her husband if they can get together."

"..."

Song Anli was stunned and speechless for a moment, her eyes widened, as if saying that this was a bit too much.

Xie Jingxing sat down at the desk in silence, helplessly raising his hand to support his forehead, his temples throbbing with anger.

The new main-line model that Xiaomi should have released last year was delayed and was not launched until February this year. There were rumors in the industry that there was a problem with the supply chain. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Huawei and Meizu took the lead. For a time, the former's sales volume declined and its market share shrank visibly.

It was not until mid-last month that Lei Jun held a special press conference to apologize, admitted that there were problems in the company's internal operations, quickly fired several senior executives, and announced that he would personally take over the supply chain business.

While Xie Jingxing was busy raising funds in the United States, Mr. Lei embarked on a journey of sliding on his knees and running all over Southeast Asia to apologize to suppliers in South Korea and Japan in person in order to regain supply orders.

Meizu and Xiaomi are all-round competitors from product positioning to sales channels. Their offline sales channels are also weak and they rely entirely on online support. JD.com has always been an important partner of the two manufacturers.

Brother Qiangdong watched from a distance, and out of concern he made a private phone call to find out what was going on. After all, the enemy knows the enemy best.

Xie Jingxing has limited energy and has paid insufficient attention to Meizu this year. He only knows that in the first quarter, the shipments of Meizu through the two e-commerce channels of JD.com and Tmall exceeded those of Samsung, and that they can immediately blow up Xiaomi's ass.

By changing places and sharing what they have, he wanted to ask Brother Qiangdong what insights he had on the offline dealer system as the leader of the online sales channel.

Before Jia Yueting passed away last year, half of LeTV's sales of one million mobile phones and TVs were from its own e-commerce platforms and offline channels. Now that its e-commerce business has been incorporated into the Lezhi+ official website, it is almost half-crippled, and its reliance on third-party e-commerce platforms has increased.

Xie Jingxing is well aware that it is very uncomfortable to be stuck in the rhythm of online price wars, but Lezhi+'s existing product line is not enough to support directly-operated stores.

Not to mention a pseudo-hard technology manufacturer, Meizu and Xiaomi, which are the top five domestic mobile phone players, are still afraid of offline direct stores.

Huawei still has its roots as an operator, and its traditional franchise dealer model, which started with VO, has penetrated into third- and fourth-tier cities. Each has its own unique advantages that are difficult to imitate or copy.

So how did Xiaomi build up its direct-operated store system step by step in the cracks ten years later?

"Xiaotian's husband is on a business trip and is not in Beijing." Song Anli floated into the study room again silently like a ghost.

Xie Jingxing sighed: "I'll call him later."

"Xiaotian will be here later. Should we eat out or cook at home? She just so happens to have something to ask you." Song Anli sat down opposite the table.

Xie Jingxing was confused: "What's the matter?"

"The day before yesterday, Suning announced the acquisition of European football club Inter Milan, and Alibaba also invested in Evergrande Football Club. JD.com analyzed that the brand promotion effect was good and was interested in following up and acquiring a football club."

Song Anli pointedly said, "Xiaotian wants to help her husband share his worries and lead this acquisition project."

Xie Jingxing couldn't help laughing. These women around him really had something to show for themselves. Their hair was full of ambition. Song Anli frowned and pondered, "The main problem is that the day before yesterday, Suning issued a purchase announcement, and yesterday, the central bank leader named another listed company, saying that it does not encourage companies to go overseas to acquire sports and entertainment assets such as football clubs."

"Wait, let me take a look."

Xie Jingxing immediately stopped smiling and searched for news releases on his phone. The head of the central bank spoke personally, naming the listed company Rhine Sports.

The company, which mainly operates a chain of comprehensive gymnasiums in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, plans to acquire 2% of the shares of Premier League team Southampton for 80 million pounds, with the intention of building brand value and entering the football industry.

After reading the news, Xie Jingxing sighed. He didn't want this crappy team, but there was another Chinese investor who wanted it, so he had no choice.

Jingxing Group has decided to bid 2650 million pounds to acquire the English League One team Leeds United. Due to the complex administrative review of cross-border transactions, the acquisition process is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

The derivative title sponsorship cooperation has been realized ahead of schedule. It won’t be long before the Elland Road Stadium will have the sign of Jingxing (China) Investment Group erected, and the players’ jerseys will have the logo on their chests. It will also include advertising sponsorships from Mobike and Hisense Group…

The red shared bicycles from China have successfully landed on the streets of Manchester, showing the momentum of China's full-scale invasion of Europe.

In the field of football clubs alone, there are Leeds United, Suning Inter Milan, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wanda Atletico Madrid, and the newly emerged Rhine Southampton. A rough calculation shows that there have been more than a dozen overseas acquisition transactions by Chinese capital in the past two to three years.

"Xiaotian is worried that substantive regulatory regulations will be issued in the future to prohibit the outflow of funds. If there is no other choice, she can only acquire a domestic football club." Song Anli thought of a solution for her good sister.

"It is inevitable that overseas investment guidance regulations will be issued, sooner or later."

Xie Jing Xing shook his head, paused for a moment and added: "Even if she uses US dollars to buy European clubs now, the club will need US dollars in the future when it is short of money. It is better to just buy it in China."

“When the overall regulation of currency outflow is tightened, all domestic companies holding overseas assets will have to face the problem of cash flow conversion.”

He doesn't mind that all the assets of Taihe's Singapore office are in foreign currency. It seems okay for JD.com to raise funds in US dollars for its US stock listing, but most of its domestic financing, mainly bank loans, is in RMB.

Young people are better off listening to their mothers and not being too unbridled, as that will be of no use.

“If monetary policy urgently turns conservative, then Wanda?”

Before Song Anli finished speaking, her imagination ran wild. It turned out that the opportunity to swallow up Wanda Cinema Line fell here. The tightening monetary policy caused the overseas assets in her hands to lose cash flow, and her business was affected and her revenue declined. She further lost blood and was unable to repay her loans.

By then, selling off assets to survive and using Xier to pay off debts will be a natural transaction.

Xie Jingxing asked leisurely, "Is Wanda's privatization going smoothly?"

"I don't know. Isn't this Xiyou's project?" Song Anli pretended to be shy and turned her head away to tuck the hair beside her ears.

Xie Jing Xing tapped, “Strange, then why do I feel that you know better than me?”

"Maybe they care about you. If you don't like me asking you questions, I won't ask you anymore in the future." Song Anli spoke softly and considerately.

Xie Jingxing hummed with emotion and said, "I am very pleased to have you share my worries. Keep up the good work and help me keep an eye on Wanda's return to the A-share market."

He knew very well that Song Anli was drooling at Wanda Cinema Line, so he used this carrot to hang her on the wall, saying that the real result would have to wait until at least next year.

By then, Xiaoma Pentium will have completed its pre-IPO financial and shareholding system processes and formally started the IPO approval process. If it goes ahead, it will be successfully listed. If it goes behind, it will merge with Wanda Cinema Line, which has already been listed on the A-share market, to achieve an indirect listing.

Song Anli's mind was full of thoughts, and she was slow to react and heard the voice-over.

If the currency outflow policy is tightened, Wanda's return to the A-share market will be blocked and fail. I'm afraid that selling off the property and using Xier to pay off the debt is just the beginning. It's a question whether Prince Wang can keep his identity as a rich second generation...

Song Anli suddenly showed a bright smile and said in a sweet voice: "Husband, the son of Suning boss Zhang Jindong has become famous in the past few days because he led the acquisition of Inter Milan."

"He is the same age as you and also graduated from an Ivy League school in the United States. He also interned at Morgan Stanley. The online media is comparing him to you."

She walked lightly around the table and squeezed into Xie Jingxing's arms. She laughed more and more excitedly until her stomach hurt. "And there's more. There's gossip that he and Xiaotian were high school classmates. It was a fleeting time for the school beauty and the outstanding rich second generation!"

"Outrageous." Xie Jing Xing was confused and did not waver.

Song Anli had smiled foolishly in his arms, and she lifted her face and held his cheeks with her delicate hands. She looked at him carefully with her eyes full of light, and the smile on her lips turned into a hint of disdain and mockery.

The statue of god sitting in the temple in her eyes at this moment is always prophetic and omnipotent. How can a mere mortal be comparable to him?
There is no joke funnier than this.

…………

"Lightning strikes every time she moves."

"And everybody's watching her."

"But she's looking at you, oh, oh..."

The night sky is filled with lights from thousands of houses, and the aroma of cooking smoke fills the courtyard. Song Anli goes to the kitchen to show off her skills.

Xie Jingxing has an appointment with Zhang Yiming tomorrow, and he will use his free time to watch Douyin to experience the product. The background music for six out of the ten videos is this song by Shandong pop diva Rihanna.

With the rhythm of the lyrics of "She was born to be a big star, but she only has you in her heart and eyes", in the video, Pei Fei wore a mask and a baseball cap and did street dance moves like limb rehabilitation. The street dance teacher who was holding a mobile phone next to her and filming it actually praised her for her good dancing.

It's crazy.

Xie Jingxing racked his brains to organize words to reply to her private message, saying that she danced really well. Concubine Pei replied immediately and shared a series of videos of male and female couples interacting with each other, and sent a screenshot of her account's 8000 followers to show off.

Without any publicity, Douyin was quietly launched in early May.

Concubine Pei downloaded the software after seeing the application link he shared on WeChat Moments. Since top-tier actresses are extremely popular, it is easy to make the data abnormal during the product function testing phase.

Xie Jingxing didn't allow her to show her face, but she turned out to be a superstar born to be the center of attention. She started from scratch and posted videos frequently but still gained followers.

The videos included shots of her luxury RV, the crew's boxed lunches, and her dancing. The content of the videos was disorganized and the background music was unusually uniform.

After Xie Jingxing finished watching all the videos she posted, he went to watch the videos on the homepage. The background music was repeated very frequently. From a communication perspective, this trend goes against Kuaishou's concept of decentralization, but it is in line with Zhang Yiming's philosophy.

——The user is the center of the universe. Feed him what he likes to eat naturally, even if he likes to eat shit.

So the conclusion is obvious, Douyin has succeeded!

"Master, it's time to eat."

A greeting came from outside the study. Xie Jingxing recognized the person and temporarily put the short video project aside, and continued to think about the LeTV dealer system.

Madam, you don’t want your husband to lose an important client, do you?

Xie Jingxing cheered up and walked out of the study room with a grin. Although his good disciple obviously didn't know what offline dealers were, he had to interrogate him first since he was here. He was too busy that day. (End of this chapter)