Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 847 Chaotic Battle and Sudden Launch

On July 7, the Forbes World's Billionaires List was released as scheduled, causing a stir in the global business world.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates tops the list with a net worth of $860 billion;

Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha," followed closely behind, his net worth of $756 billion making him a legend on Wall Street.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Spanish retail tycoon Amancio Ortega, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took the remaining spots in the top five, with fortunes of $728 billion, $713 billion, and $560 billion respectively.

Seeing the eye-catching name at number six on the list with a wealth assessment of $540 billion, Old Ma, whose wealth was only half that of the other person and ranked in the twenties, sighed helplessly.
In his view, without the other shore, there might be similar products to WeChat, WeChat Pay, mobile games, and Douyin, but they would never develop so rapidly—at least two to three years later.

In that case, Alibaba's social networking and gaming sectors might have already established a firm foothold, and Alipay would dominate the electronic payment field, with its overall market value rising several levels. It wouldn't be unrealistic for him to enter the top ten of the rich list.

But on second thought, if there really wasn't a formidable competitor like the other side, could Alibaba's business have reached its current level?
Many new things, such as WeChat, games, and live-streaming e-commerce, were all new ways of doing things that the other party came up with first.

This thought raised a question mark in his mind, and he felt conflicted, like a tangled mess of yarn, something that would never have happened before.

In any case, the existence of the other side is more of a disadvantage than an advantage for Alibaba.

Of course, he wouldn't say that just because Chen Mo deliberately contradicted him in public. People who achieve great things don't care about such trivial matters.

But a sigh still lingered in my heart. If there were no other shore, no Chen Mo, how wonderful this world would be...

Unfortunately, there is no such thing.

Old Ma's gaze fell on the Alipay sales report on the monitor. The overall data showed a slight recovery, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that the main drivers of this recovery were female users and college students.

He knew very well that this was unhealthy, but he also understood that as long as he could maintain this year's valuation, all the costs seemed worthwhile.

Since returning from Davos, he has been keeping a close eye on the developments of Alipay.

At the end of last month, the two sides went to court, each with their own version of events.

Everyone knows this is just a formality; nobody's really foolish enough to wait for a court ruling—otherwise, it'll be too late.

Even if they win the case, the compensation won't be enough to fill a tooth gap. But if they lose the market, the loss won't be a small loss, but the loss of the entire galaxy.

Therefore, after Peng Lei made a pledge and received his authorization, she personally led the troops into battle.

On July 1, Huabei released an open letter titled "Huabei's Original Intention: Making Credit Equal Wealth," emphasizing that it "helps millions of young people gain financial dignity for the first time" and characterizing the controversy as "the fear of inclusive finance by traditional financial forces (such as banks and WeChat microloans)."

Subsequently, leveraging Alibaba's platforms (Wangsouxin, Weibo) and media (Wangshangtianxia), a documentary was produced to tell the story of "small-town youth achieving success by opening online stores using Alipay's Huabei service," thus countering the negative public opinion surrounding "inducing debt."

At the same time, the company invested in inviting a group of female KOLs to speak out:

Viya, Taobao's top livestreaming influencer:

"Sisters, do you know why I can change into new clothes every day and snag limited edition items?"

Because I have Alipay! Enjoy beauty in advance, with no pressure in installments—that's the smart girl's way of spending!
Don't wait until you're old to regret not dressing up; use Alipay now and be beautiful for yourself!

Sherry, Wang Sicong's ex-girlfriend and owner of the Taobao store "Qian Furen" valued at 10 billion yuan:

"Last year, I opened a Taobao store and relied entirely on Alipay's stockpiling of goods to get through Double 11!"

I now have 500 million in inventory in my warehouse, but I am most grateful to the part of myself that dared to consume ahead of time!
Want to turn your life around as an ordinary girl? The first step is to learn how to leverage your resources—Alipay's Huabei is your first angel investment!

Founder of the WeChat public account "Mi Meng" (every article in 2017 garnered over 10 views; representative works include "To the Jerks" and "The Workplace Doesn't Believe in Tears"):

"Are those who criticize Alipay just unable to bear seeing women spend money?"
Is it true that when a man takes out a loan to buy a house, it's called investing, but when a woman uses Alipay to buy lipstick, it's called vanity?

Heh, shut up, you hypocrite!
Alipay made me realize for the first time that my credit is more reliable than a man's—at least it won't cheat on me!

Girls who use Alipay's Huabei (a credit service) aren't spendthrifts; they're future queens who know how to take control of their lives!

Mobike founder Hu Weiwei:

Why is it that when men work in finance, it's called innovation, but when women work in finance, they're criticized for "harvesting韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting people)"?
This world cannot tolerate a woman who wants to do good deeds.

Without credit-based payment, how can we promote the flow of social resources?

I solved the last-mile delivery problem with Mobike, and Alipay provided the initial startup capital—this is the dual-engine driving force of the new economy!

Finally, Huabei announced that all users can enjoy 30 days of interest-free installments, and its official Weibo account even declared: "I dare to offer interest-free installments, do you dare? We lend, if you dare, then follow suit!"

Unexpectedly, Peng Lei's three-pronged approach actually had some effect.

Let them fight, the more intense the better. Although these tasks are important, there are more important things for him.

These were merely smokescreens to distract Chen Mo and keep him preoccupied with other matters.

In his mind, Chen Mo was a troublemaker, a reckless man who believed that "a lose-lose situation is better than a win-lose one," and a bastard who had no sense of martial ethics.

According to the plan, the ultimate goal is for Ant Financial to go public.

However, before that, there was another pioneering force—Didi's lightning-fast IPO. Why are live-streaming e-commerce, office social networking, and micro-lending all launching attacks simultaneously?
Assessing the potential of Jiang Fan, Peng Lei, and Chen Hang is one aspect, while testing our own fighting strength is another.

And that was his true, hidden purpose.

All of this was part of the meetings and discussions he had held there at the beginning of the year.

When he recalled Chen Mo's words at Davos, "I know what you're doing right now," his heart skipped a beat. But then he wondered, did Chen Mo really know what he was doing?

No matter how hard this guy racked his brains, he would never have guessed this "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass" tactic.

Thinking of this, Ma Yun dialed Liu Qing's number: "Niece, you can start it up on your end now..."

At this time, in the micro-credit sector, microloans and Alipay's Huabei are engaged in fierce competition.
In the office software market, DingTalk and WeChat Work are locked in fierce competition.
In the live-streaming e-commerce arena, Taobao is firmly ahead of Douyin.

Meanwhile, Didi, which holds 37% of China's ride-hailing market share, has already quietly begun preparations for its IPO.

At 11 p.m. on July 12, the conference room on the top floor of Didi's headquarters building was still brightly lit with a glaring white light.

In the next office, Liu Qing looked out the window and asked in a cool voice, "Is everyone here?"

"Except for President Cheng, who is still on his way and will arrive in 10 minutes," the assistant whispered. "The other senior executives are already in the conference room."

"Then wait another 10 minutes."

Ten minutes later, Cheng Wei rushed into the conference room and felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw the company's core executives gathered there.

Although Didi underwent internal power adjustments after the ride-sharing controversy last year, allowing him to gain some control, over the past year, he has ultimately lost the upper hand, and the power has once again fallen back into Liu Qing's hands.

He, a former employee with the title of CEO and some shares, was slightly better than Puyi, but only to a limited extent—otherwise, he wouldn't have been summoned to the company for a meeting in the middle of the night by Liu Qing's phone call.

After taking his seat, he noticed that even senior executives who were on business trips in other cities were present, which made him realize that this meeting was unusual.

During the conversation, he learned that the others were just as confused as he was.

"Tap tap tap..." The crisp sound of high heels striking the ground grew louder as they approached.

Liu Qing pushed open the door, walked to the head seat, and glanced at both sides of the long table: Chief Technology Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Operations Director, and Head of Public Relations and International Business, all present.

"Everyone," her voice made everyone look up instantly, "I'm sorry to have called you all here so late, but it's an emergency, and there's no other way."

"Before the meeting, there is a confidentiality agreement that everyone needs to sign."

The assistant immediately distributed the documents he had to everyone.

The executives looked at the terms of the confidentiality agreement, especially the amount of money involved. Even Cheng Wei's eyes lit up with excitement, not to mention the other executives.

The subsequent breach of contract clauses are even more shocking. If the information is leaked, it's not just a matter of losing the company; it could even lead to complete financial ruin.

Those who are called to this conference room are basically all from the same boat, and everyone has signed this confidentiality agreement.

Upon seeing the confidentiality agreement, Liu Qing's icy expression melted away, revealing a smile.

"Just three hours ago, I received confirmation that the final version of the 'Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Ride-Hailing Services' has been completed and will be released at a later date in the second half of the year."

Liu Qing's voice was soft, but every word struck the heart of everyone present like a heavy hammer.

There was dead silence in the conference room.

Look at the partial terms displayed on the screen.
Everyone knows what this document means—stricter driver qualification checks, vehicle standard restrictions, and pricing mechanism regulation.
Each of these measures could directly impact Didi's existing business model.

This interim measure had been rumored for some time, but like a shoe hanging in the air, it had yet to land.

What they feared even more was Liu Qing's ability; a document that hadn't even been released yet could appear in this conference room. No wonder they had to sign a confidentiality agreement earlier.

Then, everyone's faces showed obvious annoyance, and they began to discuss among themselves.
"Why is it being announced now? Wasn't it rumored to be implemented next year or the year after?"

"Previously, in order to compete with ride-hailing services and expand our market, we recruited many drivers and vehicles. If the new regulations are implemented, at least half of the drivers and vehicles will not meet the requirements."

"It's foreseeable that if this policy is implemented, various regions will attach different conditions, and some of the cooperation agreements I just reached may need to be renegotiated."

"We're having a headache, and taking a taxi probably won't be much better."

"Please note that ride-hailing services are already publicly listed, while we are not!"

Liu Qing looked around at everyone. "I just spoke with several key investors on the phone. They're worried that once the new policy is implemented, our valuation might be reduced by 30% to 40%. More importantly—"

She paused for a moment, then said, "The existing listing channels may all be closed, so I propose to launch Didi's IPO listing plan!"

This sentence exploded like a bomb in the meeting room.
(End of this chapter)