What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 537 Rampage (5k)

Lingang is a place.

This is Guo Guangchang's first time here in his life.

Like him, Zong Qinghou, Chen Zongnian, Lu Weiding and others were also visiting for the first time.

This place was once called a ghost town by many people. It was the Ningguta of Shanghai and a gathering place for people from the countryside. However, they also praised one of its advantages: crying loudly in the middle of the night would not disturb the neighbors.

However, in the past two years, Lingang has been frequently mentioned because of the existence of an internet company.

It's not Silicon Carbon Group, it's Silicon Carbon Data.

In Lingang, the company behind the dual-carbon silicon data platform now enjoys a wider influence and is a leader among mobile internet companies. In addition to the traffic generated by its software matrix in recent years, its competition with Tencent and Alibaba in short videos through heavy spending has made it a rising star in public opinion recently.

It is worth mentioning that the Internet Conference in the second half of this year has also been confirmed to be held in Lingang.

With such a port and two silicon-carbon facilities, Yu Xingzhi's position cannot be underestimated.

At this moment, Ma Chuan seemed oblivious to the awkward atmosphere and said with a smile, "President Yu is indeed pragmatic and direct."

Yu Xing had already put down his wine glass: "Mr. Ma is absolutely right. When the Silicon Carbon Group was first established, the principle that I, the investors, and the company staff all agreed on was to 'build cars honestly,' and 'Jiuzhou' is such a product."

Ma Chuan inquired with great interest about its authenticity, and the two continued to chat about this topic.

No one spoke when Ying Jianren was talking. Most of the people at the table watched his interaction with Yu Xing with ambiguous smiles.

After Yu Xing spoke, no one paid any attention to Ying Jianren. Only Guo Guangchang turned his head and chatted with him for a few words. Then, this veteran car maker silently returned to his own table.

In a short while, it was as if nothing had happened.

Yu Xing caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, but felt nothing.

For Ying Jianren personally, he came to Lingang to attend a meeting before drinking, but after drinking a few glasses, Lingang became his. This kind of alcohol is not uncommon.

As far as this table is concerned, the circle is nothing more than a threshold and a group of people sticking together. Yu Xing didn't participate in circles before, and he doesn't plan to in the future.

I'm naturally grateful that you came to the press conference today and bought a car to show your support, but everything else is another matter.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was quickly restored without any damage. Even Guo Guangchang, who had introduced them, happily drank two glasses of wine with him, showing no sign of any resentment.

Yu Xing and Ma Chuan finished their conversation. Seeing that they had almost finished greeting everyone at the table, Yu Xing picked up his wine glass, ready to offer a final toast and leave.

Ma Chuan reached out and pressed Yu Xing's arm, bringing up a matter: "President Yu, I heard you're thinking of acquiring Meituan's shares?"

The volume at the dinner table immediately decreased noticeably.

Meituan's betrayal of Alibaba is well-known in the industry, as is Alibaba's sale of shares, but the news that Silicon Carbon wanted to acquire it is something many people are hearing for the first time.

Yu Xing's thoughts only lasted a second. He hadn't expected that Ma Chuan would come to discuss this matter, and Xiao Ying hadn't come either. Bringing out Hong Jun alone at this time would only make people laugh at him.

He nodded and offered an acceptable perspective: "We believe it's a financial investment and shouldn't result in a loss. If it were easy to lose money, Alibaba wouldn't be able to sell it easily, would it?"

Ma Chuan smiled and nodded: "Okay, Mr. Yu is interested, I'm willing to sell it to you for a flat price of $10 billion. If you're willing, then it's your choice; if not, we'll sell it to Tencent. Anyway, they're willing to take it on."

Tencent has already accepted Meituan's allegiance and entered into a deep partnership, and is willing to increase its stake by taking over Alibaba's shares.

Even if Alibaba is furious, it's all the same whether it sells to someone or not. If someone wants to get a bargain, they might as well just give it to Tencent and then the two sides can start competing fiercely in the local life services market again.

In addition, the $10 billion price tag is not just an arbitrary figurehead. Alibaba has been investing in Meituan since 2011, investing $3.5 million in two rounds. In addition, Meituan has also received investment from its own ground sales team, which has strongly supported Meituan in achieving its current market position. This price is not considered very expensive.

Hearing Ma Chuan's unquestionable tone, Yu Xing hesitated for a moment, then instead of immediately negotiating, he turned around and called out to Douyin President Lü Haiying, "President Lü, President Lü, come here, come here."

Confused, Lü Haiying got up and quickly walked over.

"This is the person in charge of Douyin," Yu Xing introduced, "and she's also my junior colleague. She's made a huge contribution to Douyin's success."

Lu Haiying greeted the BOSSes present with a smile.

Guo Guangchang sized up the unassuming General Manager Lü and smiled, "This is the school that General Manager Yu is rumored to have used to conquer the world. His reputation is well-deserved."

Lu Haiying said politely, "Just like you, President Guo, are in charge of the top-level strategy, I, your senior brother, am in charge, and I am the one running errands."

Guo Guangchang was amazed.

After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Yu Xing said, "Mr. Ma, here's what we'll do: I won't haggle, I'll add another $1 million to your price. You can sell me Leyin as a package. First, we can quickly suppress Tencent in this area and help Alibaba defeat Tencent. Second, it will ease my regret about selling WeChat back then."

Instead of directly negotiating the price, they added more money, but then added an impossible condition, which eased the atmosphere of the previous fixed price.

Ma Chuan replied with a smile, "Alibaba doesn't need silicon carbide to help defeat Tencent; we can do it ourselves."

Cai Chongxin, who was standing next to him, chimed in, "Mr. Yu, how long are you going to keep using this excuse of selling WeChat? I keep hearing this, and it feels like I forgot to transfer money to you back then. But wait, I heard that when the Silicon Carbon Group was established, you were the one who took the lead in throwing money into it."

While Alibaba has certainly suppressed Tencent with WeChat, without that initial deal, there would be no Silicon Carbon Group today and no "Jiuzhou" launched today.

The money and goods have been exchanged, and the relationship is now settled.

“President Cai, you’re such a pragmatic and straightforward person.” Yu Xing applied Ma Chuan’s earlier assessment of him to Cai Chongxin, and laughed, “I’m even planning to use this to blackmail you guys for the rest of my life.”

Cai Chongxin shook his head repeatedly, while Ma Chuan pointed vaguely.

“Okay, I understand about Leyin, let’s not count that.” Yu Xing’s tone softened, and he smiled, “It’s still $11 billion. How about Alibaba sells its overseas short video business to our MusVid?”

The overseas version of Leyin has only just been launched, and in terms of business scale, it is by no means worth $1 million.

Ma Chuan knew about this and that Alibaba had discussed the development of its overseas business internally, so he couldn't just sell it off like that.

Seeing that he was still shaking his head, Yu Xing feigned anger and said, "You said a fixed price, and I didn't even flinch. You want to add money? This won't work, that won't work, WeChat won't let me say it, and now you're playing the Murong Fu game with our Douyin. I'm a loyal Taobao user, Mr. Ma, are you Feng Qingyang or Murong Fu?"

Business competition is what it is, but bringing it up in front of the parties involved always makes it seem like someone has a moral high ground. In addition, that WeChat transaction is going to be written into the history of Chinese internet business, and "Feng Qingyang" hits Ma Chuan's pride.

Ma Chuan, who was always known for his exceptional eloquence, seemed to be cornered as he pondered this.

Guo Guangchang watched this scene unfold, seeing President Yu directly attack President Ma, and felt that President Yu's response to Ying Jianren was quite restrained.

"Mr. Yu, I think you didn't get to say enough at the press conference," Cai Chongxin chimed in, laughing. "Look at you, you're still talking about being a loyal Taobao user. You're all talk and no action. I actually bought your car today to support you."

Yu Xing simply took out his phone and said to Lü Haiying with a smile, "Xiaoying, let me tell you what it means to treat others with sincerity."

He placed his phone on the table and said to Ma Chuan and Cai Chongxin, "How about this, Mr. Ma, Mr. Cai, let's make a small bet. If I open Taobao and I'm truly a loyal user of yours, you can give me a discount on my Meituan shares. No more than 10% off isn't too much, is it? How about it?"

There was a cell phone on the table, supposedly a small bet, but it turned out to be worth a hundred million US dollars.

Everyone at the table seemed to be holding their breath at that moment.

Although everyone came together, they were unaware that Mr. Ma would be discussing such a $10 billion deal, and they never expected that this deal, from the largest to the smallest, would end up on a Taobao account whose authenticity was unknown.

Gambling in moderation is fun, and watching people gamble is the most interesting part.

Ma Chuan's gaze darted back and forth between Yu Xing and his phone in an instant. Cai Chongxin was unlikely to cooperate with him, but he used those words to manipulate the transaction. Lingang was so busy, yet he could actually be a loyal user of Taobao.
He had a gut feeling that it was just a risky tactic, a deception.

Ma Chuan laughed and pointed to the phone on the table: "Then I'll see if you, President Yu, are truly sincere."

This statement undoubtedly convinced him to agree to the small bet.

Yu Xing shrugged, picked up his phone, opened Taobao, and handed it to Ma Chuan.

Ma Chuan tapped the screen, Cai Chongxin leaned over to look, Guo Guangchang subconsciously craned his neck, Chen Zongnian and Lu Weiding were all full of curiosity, and even Zong Qinghou, who hadn't said much, looked up to wait for the answer.

You can view your orders directly on Taobao on your phone; swiping down reveals a dense list of shopping records.

Ma Chuan scrolled down in disbelief and soon saw that Yu Xing had actually bought nearly 30 yuan worth of goods during last year's Double Eleven... If this isn't a loyal user, what is?

It wasn't a risky tactic, but simply treating people with sincerity.
Ma Chuan found it amusing: "President Yu, why...why do you buy so many things on Taobao?"

Yu Xing pointed at Ma Chuan and complained, "Look everyone, the boss of Alibaba is openly turning away customers, complaining that they bought too much."

Joseph Tsai took the phone, looked it up and down in disbelief, then shook his head repeatedly and handed it back.

Ma Chuan was not angry or upset. Instead, he smiled and said, "A bet is a bet, Mr. Yu is truly sincere."

Yu Xing smiled slightly, put away his phone, and acknowledged that half of this sincerity was thanks to his mother. He didn't dwell on whether or when the promised $100 million would be honored; instead, he raised his glass to toast these senior business figures from the province.

After Yu Xing put down his wine glass, Zong Qinghou said to him, "Mr. Yu, nice car."

Yu Xing chuckled and replied, "President Zong, good water."

“Our water is definitely good.” Zong Qinghou, dressed simply, said slowly, “When I was at your company, I looked at the water bottles. You purchased Nongfu Spring, right? From now on, use our Wahaha water.”

Yu Xing was surprised that Lao Zong would still remember to do a small business deal at this time, and replied with a smile, "Sure, Mr. Zong, give me a good discount."

Zong Qinghou was also surprised that the young man didn't just agree outright. He had just gotten a $1 million discount, and now he wanted a discount even on water.

He laughed.

Yu Xing didn't find it funny. The old Zong and the young Zong were quite interesting to talk about. In short, both father and daughter were greedy. The old Zong had the opportunity to privatize the property but thought it was too expensive and insisted on using the property to continue to make profits. The young Zong was even more greedy than her father.

He gently patted Lao Zong on the shoulder and made a phone gesture: "Don't forget the discount. I'll have my secretary contact the people at Wahaha."

Zong Qinghou shook his head helplessly and could only agree.

Yu Xing went to greet his friends at the other tables.

There was a slight awkward silence at the Zhejiang businessmen's table for a moment.

Guo Guangchang lightened the mood by saying, "The cars that President Yu builds are interesting, but he himself is even more interesting."

Ma Chuan laughed heartily: "Treat people with sincerity."

Everyone at the table laughed. Mr. Ma was willing to offer a $1 million discount to verify Mr. Yu's sincerity, so today's meal was well worth it.

Yu Xing found entertaining a group of Zhejiang businessmen quite tiring, but he was very happy to see his friends from investment institutions.

However, he soon encountered direct questioning with dissatisfaction.

After Mr. Yu finished toasting him, Shen Haiyin, the founder of Singulato Motors, asked in front of everyone: "Mr. Yu, I heard that you give investors your opinions on new energy projects. Do you not rate Singulato Motors highly?"

Yu Xing didn't expect the new car launch to go so smoothly, but he encountered a series of minor problems during lunch.

However, it's not surprising that problems arise when all sorts of strange and unsavory characters mingle together.

Although Yu Xing was at the half-step peak of the Lesser Perfection of the Divine Transformation realm, considering that the other party's presence here represented support for the Carbon Silicon Group, he did not respond directly and gave the other party an opportunity: "President Shen, would you like to discuss the project with me in this setting?"

Shen Haiyin has a solid resume. When he was the vice president of 360, he directly suggested that Zhou Hongyi enter the car manufacturing industry. However, when Zhou refused, Shen Haiyin simply resigned and founded Singulato Motors, and received investment from 360.

What is today's singularity may very well be tomorrow's carbon and silicon.
He was filled with arrogance and ignored President Yu's half-hard and half-soft tone, saying directly, "Yes, President Yu, I would like to hear your evaluation of Qidian."

Seeing this, Yu Xing decided to let the other party have what they wanted and commented in public, "I don't care about Curiosity Motors."

Not only this table, but people at other tables also turned their attention to this table.

Shen Haiyin pressed on, asking, "Why?"

“I heard you’re going to do joint R&D on the three core components (battery, motor, and electronic control system) with Japan’s GLM. I don’t think this is the right path,” Yu Xing said calmly. “Another important point is that you can’t invest too much money yourself.”

Without their own money as a foundation, they are easily subject to pressure from investors.

Shen Haiyin sensed the change in emotions in the eyes of others, stood still for five seconds, and then said, "Okay, President Yu, your car is good, but you and Qidian Motors will run into each other in the market someday."

He turned and left immediately, thinking, "Don't underestimate a poor middle-aged man!"

We'll meet again someday.

Shen Haiyin has a clear stance: he does not blindly follow authority and remains confident in his project.

Half an hour after he left, he suddenly received a call from the leaders of Tongshi City.

"President Shen, I heard that the launch of the new car by the Silicon Carbon Group has been well received. If you have time, you can come to our Tongshi City, and we can sit down and have a chat," the Tongshi City leader said warmly.

The launch event for the new car by Silicon Carbon Group has been circulated on Douyin (TikTok), with clips showing the rich features receiving much praise.

It's still expensive, but the price reflects its value.

The leaders of Tongling City noticed the public opinion at the first sign of trouble and simply contacted the person in charge of the new energy project directly.

When Shen Haiyin heard that the other party contacted him because of the popularity of silicon carbide, he paused for two seconds and quickly said, "Yes, yes, the new car of the silicon carbide group is very good. I have also had a lot of exchanges with Mr. Yu of silicon carbide. His is range-extended, and mine is pure electric. We have the same views and different opinions, but he and I both believe that the prospects of new energy are very promising."

Well, don't underestimate a poor middle-aged man, but I'll borrow your name for now.

Yu Xing was unaware of this scene involving Shen Haiyin after he left. He drank a couple more drinks with the table that had fallen silent, chatted about his views on research and development, and then continued to entertain the guests.

As Lü Haiying sat down again, she noticed that her senior brother seemed to be killing indiscriminately and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Was he treating people with sincerity or with murder?

"What did Xing-ge call you for just now?" Zhong Zhiling asked, sipping his drinks and guessing what had just happened. "Was it about the Douyin distribution?"

Lu Haiying shook her head: "No, it's because I chatted with Mr. Ma about short videos a couple of times, and now my senior doesn't know that Douyin does content recommendation."

Zhong Zhiling frowned and said, "Brother Xing must have his reasons for not allowing Douyin to promote 'Jiuzhou' content."

"He's thinking his thing, I'm thinking mine. I'm the CEO of Douyin, he isn't," Lu Haiying scoffed. "Besides, are you stupid? If the car deal falls through, my senior brother is practically dead. What's the point of keeping our treasure in his arms?"

She took a bite of food and then laughed, "Blame my daughter for stamping it with my hand."

Zhong Zhiling: "...I thought you weren't afraid."

Lu Haiying glanced at her senior brother and saw that another customer had left. She shook her head and said, "Nonsense, you have to be afraid when you should be, but you still have to do what you're afraid of."

Yu Xing toasted half the guests, drinking quite a bit, and coupled with his excitement, he felt a little dizzy.

He took a step back and, seeing his secretary Zhang Yangxu supporting him, couldn't help but say, "Slow down, slow down."

Zhang Yangxu felt that they really needed to slow down; they couldn't keep killing like this.

"How's it going on the front lines?" Yu Xing asked the most important question.

Zhang Yangxu reported in a low voice: "The growth rate of the 847 large order seems to be slowing down."

"It looks like today's large orders will exceed 1,000. We only have 20 stores, and in the coming week we will have to deal with at least 5000 small orders and also make deliveries. The workload is very heavy." Yu Xing had already thought through all sorts of scenarios, and although he was a little dizzy, he still said accurately, "In addition, this situation is better than expected. The new direct-sale centers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai will be opened ahead of schedule."

If I reach over 1000 Great Perfections today, that means... I'll go from a Lesser Perfection to a Half-Step Peak Great Perfection Deity Transformation.

Yu Xing felt a dizziness as if he were breaking through a new realm, and suddenly instructed him on another matter: "Go and contact someone to work on the sales rankings for mid-to-large SUVs for next week."

Zhang Yangxu asked doubtfully, "Next week? Weekly sales figures?"

"If it exceeds expectations, we should release it to strengthen the potential audience's recognition of us. We haven't lied, so what's there to hide?" Yu Xing confirmed.

Zhang Yangxu felt that the boss not only wanted to rip off customers indiscriminately, but also wanted to unleash the emotions that had been building up for years.

Yu Xing felt his phone vibrate, picked it up and glanced at it, only to see that it was a message from Liu Chiping, the former president of Tencent.

He glanced at the screen and roughly watched the live broadcast of the launch event, congratulating himself on building a great car. He had previously promised to come to the event to see the car, but due to personal reasons, he couldn't come.

Yu Xing looked at the gibberish text message and replied with three words: Come to carbon silicon.

Liu Chiping, who was squatting at home, stared in astonishment at President Yu's reply. He was stunned for a while before replying, expressing his gratitude while politely declining the offer and explaining that he needed to rest and think.

Yu Xing replied with three words: "Come with carbon silicon."

At this moment, Liu Chiping seemed to feel the difficulty of dealing with that opponent again, and this time he firmly stated that if he finished his rest, he would consider trying his hand at investing.

Yu Xing: Come with carbon silicon.

Liu Chiping isn't replying this time; what kind of invitation is this...?

He took a slow breath, and his heartbeat, which had been racing without him noticing, gradually calmed down. He couldn't go. If he went to the carbon silicon plant, how would the world view him?

Defecting to the enemy is something you must not do.

(End of this chapter)