What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 549 I Loved (7k)

Liu Chiping decided to bring his talent to Mus.

It's not the carbon and silicon data from Lingang, but MusVid from Singapore.

This is not only because Mus does not have direct business competition with Penguin, but also because it provides a lot of room to circumvent Penguin's non-compete agreement.

Singapore-based MusVid is a short video company that is said to operate independently and focus on overseas markets, while Lingang-based Carbon Silicon Data is its investor and partner. As for whether such related companies can be truly avoided, there is at least room for maneuver in terms of procedures.

Before making the final decision, Liu Chiping was actually very conflicted and hesitant, often going to his study at night to ponder silently.

Knowing what her husband was thinking, Tang Minyi grabbed his arm after noticing him get up again and asked, "Isn't it better to just make investments?"

Liu Chiping replied, "I thought I could do it before, but now it seems I can't."

Transitioning from a corporate executive to an investor is a common path, as exemplified by Zeng Liqing, one of the "Five Tigers of Tencent." Although he left Tencent, he still has the resources of a giant company to rely on, making it an easy path to success.

Tang Minyi then asked, "If you don't have much interest in investing, you might as well just go to Singapore."

Liu Chiping shook his head and sighed: "That's not Singapore, that's Lingang."

Although it's called Singapore, it's essentially still a port city.

He then added after careful consideration, "If I make a move, I'll be condemned by everyone."

Tang Minyi calmly said, "It's nothing more than a bad reputation. If you can build a business, your reputation will change. Lingang had some turmoil in the automotive industry last month, wasn't it because that Mr. Yu really made a good car? Why doesn't Li Hui criticize BYD? The key question now is, do you think MusVid can succeed?"

Liu Chiping remained silent for a while before carefully saying, "It's rather difficult."

Tang Minyi nodded and said, "Then let's go."

Liu Chiping was taken aback: "Why?"

Tang Minyi replied, "If it's not difficult, we don't need you."

The scales in Liu Chiping's heart seemed to have tipped.

Tang Minyi looked at her husband's furrowed brows and slowly said, "I see you've been thinking about this for a long time, and I've been thinking about it for a long time too. I don't understand those short videos and mobile internet. I just feel that if you're willing to invest, there will be many more opportunities in the future. But if you don't go to Singapore this time, even if you achieve success in investing, there will always be a lingering assumption in your mind—what if I had gone to Mus back then?"

If you miss out on an investment, you can still invest later; but if you miss out on Mus, there will always be a "what if".

Liu Chiping grasped his wife's hand: "You're right, let's go to Mus."

The former president of Tencent has now made a new decision in his career.

This was naturally warmly welcomed by Lingang authorities, and the relevant position and benefits were quickly and discreetly confirmed. Liu Chiping will serve as the global president of Singapore's MusVid, responsible for its business development and operation in the US and European markets.

However, Liu Chiping's complex and happy mood did not last three days before he saw the revelation about his whereabouts on the Baixiaosheng Forum.

He hoped that President Yu could suppress this public opinion, but he was refused.

“Unless it’s due to force majeure, I won’t interfere in this situation.” After refusing, Yu Xing used an easily understandable example, “Just like if you go to Mus, I will absolutely respect your decision and will not interfere easily, it’s the same.”

Liu Chiping understood but felt helpless: "I didn't want Tencent to know I went to MUS so soon."

Yu Xing disagreed: "What's there to be afraid of? Pony will find out sooner or later. If it works out, great; if not, it doesn't. You've already driven him away, why do you have to put a memorial arch for him?"

Liu Chiping felt that President Yu was not so refined at times, but then realized that he had already experienced this before.

He sighed silently to himself, realizing that the storm was bound to come sooner or later, and ended the call.

The phone call had just ended when I received a message from Pony on WeChat.

Pony: ?
Liu Chiping looked at the question mark, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, turned off his phone, and changed to a new number.

The former president of Tencent held real power for many years and had countless connections in the industry. Now that they couldn't reach him, they immediately turned to Yu Xing. Most of them first verified the authenticity of the news, and then found it hard to believe.

This is none other than the penguin's... little boss.

Since Liu Chiping left Tencent, there have been companies in the industry that wanted him to join them, but his reclusive lifestyle and rumors of switching to the investment industry quickly made those ideas fade away.

Nobody expected him to go to Lingang!

They call it Singapore Mus, but everyone knows that's just a carbon and silicon company that went to Yuxing!

Discussions about Liu Chiping possibly joining other companies have also appeared on Baixiaosheng and Zhihu. Popular posts on both websites have used the process of elimination, and the company that everyone thinks is most unlikely to go to is... Lingang.

Even Alibaba, which has been in a constant standoff with Tencent, could only come in second.

Liu Chiping could not go to Lingang because Yu Xing was there, and Yu Xing had dealt Tencent the most painful and far-reaching blow, which is still brought up for discussion every now and then.

So, the least likely option was suddenly exposed, and even Ma Chuan called.

When Ma Chuan saw that his call to Yu Xing went through, he immediately asked in a flurry, "Really? Liu Chiping went to your place?"

Yu Xing corrected, "No, it went to MusVid overseas."

"Don't give me that nonsense. How did you manage to recruit him?" Ma Chuan exclaimed. "If I had known he was willing to move, I would have gone to find him myself!"

Yu Xing laughed and said, "He can't go to Ali anyway, so I told him that overseas music can't beat MusVid. He thought what I said made sense, so he was willing to come."

“You are… well, you are just honest with people.” Ma Chuan used his earlier assessment of being one step behind in the game as a joke, and then said, “You wait for Pony to sue you.”

Yu Xing just smiled and didn't discuss the topic.

He had just hung up the phone with Ma Chuan when Zhang Chaoyang from Sohu called in, with similar questions and expressions of surprise.

After hearing Yu Xing confirm the news, Zhang Chaoyang said sincerely, "President Yu, you're really something. Back then, it was Liu Chiping who wanted to acquire WeChat, and now you've poached him from Tencent. This world really changes too fast!"

Yu Xing said, "It's all about the opportunities of the times, Mr. Zhang. If you'd like to come to Lin Hong Kong, I'd warmly welcome you."

Zhang Chaoyang laughed heartily, but after laughing, he asked, "Really?"

Yu Xing was taken aback by Zhang Chaoyang's question; Zhang Chaoyang's mental state was unusual.

He laughed and said, "Of course I'm joking. I think Sohu still has a lot of room for growth in the future, and you can't come even if you do."

Zhang Chaoyang was quite satisfied with this answer: "I'll visit your Lingang when we have a meeting in winter."

He was referring to the internet conference held in Shanghai this year.

Yu Xing welcomed the call, but after checking his WeChat and text messages on his phone, he felt he couldn't do his job if things continued like this. So he created a WeChat group for media reporters to confirm Liu Chiping's information.

First of all, Liu Chiping has indeed been appointed as the president of MusVid.

Secondly, although MusVid was previously invested in and incubated by Silicon Carbon Data, it is now an independently operated Singaporean company.

Finally, the collaboration between Mus and Martin Lau was only recently confirmed, with both sides agreeing that the overseas short video market has enormous potential for growth.

As for the questions asked by media reporters on WeChat, they were nothing new; they all wanted to find out exactly how this happened.

Yu Xing briefly held an online press conference, then had to return calls from President Xiong and President Xu, among others. Finally, he suddenly remembered the victim and asked his secretary, Zhang Yangxu, "Is there any movement from Tencent?"

Zhang Yangxu had been browsing related information and shook his head, saying, "I haven't seen any movement. There are no senior executives on Tencent's Weibo account saying that they don't believe it. But Ren Yuxi and President Ma don't know what's going on."

It's absolutely unbelievable what's going on inside Penguin!

A perfectly good president, no, a perfectly good former president, just jumped ship to Lingang like that?
Why go to Lingang of all places? That's practically treason!
When did the shady dealings between the two sides begin when he went to Lingang?

Could this be a contributing factor to the penguin's previous strategic failures?
After listening to his secretary's words, Yu Xing felt something was off. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Let's leave it at that. It's not like Tencent doesn't have a new president. We didn't force him to resign Liu Chiping."

Zhang Yangxu had some reservations. Come to think of it, it's hard to say that the relationship between President Liu and Tencent didn't exist when Liu left.

Lingang's response has shaken the industry; all major internet companies are astonished by the news of Liu Chiping joining Silicon Carbon. As for the parties involved...

Pony has already boarded a plane to Shanghai.

He tried to contact Liu Chiping via WeChat but received no response. He called Liu Chiping's phone but it was switched off. He also tried calling Liu Chiping's wife but her phone was switched off. He then tried contacting his friends but could not reach them. Finally, he called Liu Chiping's father-in-law directly and learned that Liu Chiping was in Lingang.

Liu Chiping's father-in-law is Tang Weiqi, a well-known entrepreneur in Hong Kong whose business covers toy manufacturing, international trade, warehousing and logistics. He has met Pony Ma on many occasions, and with Liu Chiping's past relationship with him, they both think highly of each other.

Tang Weiqi did not hide her son-in-law's whereabouts, but after informing him, she added, "I heard that this Mus company is based overseas. Mr. Ma, since he has already left Tencent, let him go wherever he wants."

Pony Ma replied, "Mr. Tang, don't worry, I just wanted to ask him."

He just wanted to ask, he wanted to ask in person.

I didn't even think of what to ask, but I just had to ask.

Xu Chenye, one of the "Penguin Five Tigers," was also on the same flight as Pony Ma. He noticed the newspaper Pony was reading and asked, "Why are you looking at this?"

Pony simply replied, "Just looking."

He was reading a report in the Southern Daily about the new energy vehicles of the Silicon Carbon Group. The headline was very long: "Silicon Carbon Group's new cars are selling well, marking a milestone for independent new energy vehicles."

—In March 2015, an unusually strong sales event was unfolding at a carbon silicon 4S store in Shanghai, with many consumers queuing up for more than ten meters in front of the "Jiuzhou" car from the carbon silicon group.

—The store manager of the carbon silicon store couldn't hide his excitement: "In just one month since its launch, orders nationwide have exceeded 21,000 vehicles. In Shanghai, the waiting list for delivery is almost up to May. This level of popularity is even hotter than when the Highlander was being sold at a premium."

—A reporter interviewed Mr. Zhang, who had just experienced the "Jiuzhou" and received the following evaluation: "Its space is more spacious than the Highlander, and its quietness is comparable to the Mercedes-Benz ML. Its intelligent vehicle system and various rich functions far exceed those of BBA (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi) in the same price range, which is something I never dared to imagine before."

—Shi Jianhua, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated that the Carbon Silicon Jiuzhou product has precisely targeted the mainstream family SUV market, proving that new energy vehicles can fully meet the all-scenario needs of family users. This breakthrough has directly driven the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of the industry chain, increasing the production capacity of CATL's power batteries by 30%, and order books for other suppliers are also booked until the end of the year.

—As senior automotive industry commentator Jia Xinguang pointed out, "The significance of this car is comparable to Chery QQ breaking the foreign monopoly in the small car market back then." Carbon Silicon Kyushu achieved both volume and price increases for the first time in the price range above 20 yuan, paving the way for the subsequent development of domestic new energy enterprises. Its emergence has not only changed the domestic market landscape, but also given independent brands a head start in the global new energy competition.

As the head of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said at a recent industry conference: "The hot sales of Jiuzhou are not only the success of a single car, but also a turning point for China's new energy vehicles, from technology follower to market leader. When independent brands can compete with international benchmarks in the mainstream market, China's dream of becoming a strong automotive nation will have solid support."

Xu Chenye noticed that Pony kept flipping through the newspaper in his hand, as if trying to find something interesting in it.

As the plane was about to land, Pony finally put down the newspaper, let out a long sigh, and said, "It seems that the Silicon Carbon Group's car project has truly been a success."

Xu Chenye nodded slightly: "I've seen a lot of reports lately, so it seems to be a preliminary success."

Pony chuckled: "No wonder, now that he's successfully built the car, he's thinking of messing with us again."

Xu Chenye didn't detect any amusement in those words.

After getting off the plane and into the car, he suddenly saw Pony Ma fiddling with the Silicon Carbon Group's app on his phone and asked curiously, "Pony, what are you doing?"

Pony, without even looking up, said, "I want to cancel the Kyushu order."

Xu Chenye: "..."

After a while, seeing that Pony had calmed down, he asked, "Did you quit?"

Pony Ma said calmly, "The deposit cannot be refunded."

Xu Chenye: "..."

He suddenly realized that life and career are like this; you'll always encounter unpleasant things. Yu Xing was unaware that the head of Tencent had launched a surprise attack on Lingang.

Even when Pony Ma was on the ground, he still managed to meet with Cai Haoyu of Zhejiang Investment Group.

Zhejiang Investment Group, like IDG and Today Capital, has invested in Silicon Carbon and has always had a good relationship with the company. However, this time they came for a different reason: the province hopes that Silicon Carbon Group can help evaluate new energy projects.

"President Cai, you are..." Yu Xing was both amused and exasperated by Cai Haoyu's implication. "Are you trying to make me offend people? President Xiong already dragged me to Anhui Province to offend people before, why are you doing this again?"

Cai Haoyu nodded: "I heard about this, and when the leader asked around, he thought you were one of us. You've offended people over there, so you're definitely not afraid of offending people in the province."

Yu Xing: "..."

Cai Haoyu sipped his tea and said with a smile, "If President Yu finds it difficult, there is actually another matter that I particularly hope Carbon Silicon Group can do. If Carbon Silicon Group comes to the province to do a project, then there is absolutely no need for evaluation. You nod here, and they will start laying the foundation next month."

Yu Xing shook his head slightly: "Not yet, President Cai, this really isn't feasible. Jiuzhou has only just had a good start. The second phase factory has already been decided on Lingang, and that can't be changed. Other plans will depend on the overall market feedback."

Cai Haoyu was naturally aware of this.

Zhejiang Investment Group has been quite nervous about Kyushu's listing for the past two months, and now it is naturally overjoyed. Part of the silicon carbon supply chain consists of companies in Zhejiang Province, and it seems that making a profit from the investment is a very likely thing.

He said at the opportune moment, "President Yu, the province knows the difficulties you face in running a business. As for this matter, we'll wait for you to decide when the time is right, and then we'll act accordingly."

Seeing that President Yu nodded, Cai Haoyu brought up the matter again.

Yu Xingshang responded that Mr. Xiong was getting what he wanted, and he really had no interest in agreeing this time.

Cai Haoyu spoke at length, but seeing his resolute attitude, he could only shake his head helplessly: "The domestic new energy policy is very strong, and the determination is also very high. Carbon silicon sold several thousand cars worth 300,000 yuan last month, which caused a great stir in the province. They really want to launch a representative enterprise in the new energy field. This time, Huzhou has connected with LeEco and feels that the Internet ecosystem factory will be a good fit..."

"Wait, wait, Mr. Cai, who did you say?" Yu Xing suddenly heard a phrase, "Connected with whom?"

Cai Haoyu was stunned: "LeEco, LeEco wants to build the world's first Internet ecosystem factory, with a planned positioning as a global eco-car super factory and a theme park tourism destination."

Yu Xing laughed: "What kind of term is this 'themed amusement tourism'?"

"We also plan to build a car-themed amusement park, where users can experience virtual storylines from IPs like Fast & Furious and Transformers on themed tracks using LeEco's super cars. LeEco also has businesses in music and film, so we want to create a brand effect that combines technology and culture," Cai Haoyu said.

Yu Xing asked, "Do you believe it?"

Cai Haoyu said seriously, "I didn't believe it at first."

Yu Xing waited for the next part.

Cai Haoyu said earnestly, "But, President Yu, if you make Silicon Carbon Group a success, who will dare not believe that internet-based car manufacturing can succeed? If anyone dares not believe it, I'll smash Silicon Carbon's weekly and monthly rankings in their face!"

Yu Xing: "..."

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "How about this, Mr. Cai? Lingang won't be so busy in the second half of the year, so I can talk about industrial development then."

Cai Haoyu was somewhat surprised: "President Yu, what's wrong with you..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the change in President Yu's attitude was obvious.

“We’re all on the same side,” Yu Xing said with a smile. “This is all I can do for the province and my hometown. You don’t even need to come over; just give me a call.”

Cai Haoyu felt a strange unease. After a moment's thought, he decided that as long as the other person agreed, that would be fine.

He didn't know how President Yu viewed the impact of the Silicon Carbon Group's March sales rankings, but he had already attended several meetings in the province specifically to discuss the development of the new energy industry and the success achieved by the Silicon Carbon Group.

If the Silicon Carbon Group has new factory plans, Mr. Yu will be an honored guest in any province he visits now.

Cai Haoyu wanted to chat for a bit more, but suddenly saw the door to the president's office being knocked on and then pushed open.

Yu Xing frowned, looking at his secretary Zhang Yangxu who rushed in: "What is it?"

Zhang Yangxu leaned closer and whispered, "President Ma has arrested President Liu!"

Yu Xing looked bewildered: "Which Mr. Ma or Mr. Liu? Who?"

Zhang Yangxu said urgently, "It was Mr. Ma from Tencent who kidnapped Mr. Liu and drove off!"

Yu Xing exclaimed in astonishment, "Who?!"

However, he no longer needed to answer; he was simply genuinely surprised.

Yu Xing never expected Pony Ma to appear in Lingang like this, or perhaps he was already in Shanghai before.

He got up and walked out, then said to Cai Haoyu, "Mr. Cai, I have some business to attend to today. Have some tea. Xiao Zhang, pack some of the tea leaves you bought last time for Mr. Cai and let him taste them. I can't tell the difference between good and bad."

Yu Xing hurriedly left the president's office.

Zhang Yangxu received his task and began packing tea leaves for General Manager Cai.

Cai Haoyu vaguely heard some whispers and asked, "What happened? Who's here?"

Thinking about Cai's relationship, Zhang Yangxu only said, "It seems that Mr. Ma from Tencent is here, but I don't know the specifics."

Cai Haoyu found out. What else could it be but the victim coming to his door?

He almost wanted to go out with President Yu to see what was going on, but he silently held back.

Yu Xing made two phone calls and quickly learned the situation: Liu Chiping received the call at the Carbon Silicon Data Company, went downstairs to meet Pony Ma who had flown to Shanghai, and was then seen being pushed into a car by everyone upstairs.

"Brother Xing, should we call them?" Zhong Zhiling asked his senior brother when he ran into him downstairs.

Yu Xing glanced at Zhong Zhiling: "What, you want to arrest him? What's going on with you guys? How could you just snatch him away from your hands?"

Zhong Zhiling said somewhat sullenly, "In broad daylight, I thought they were just talking downstairs, I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

"Alright, get the men together and follow my car." Yu Xing had already contacted Liu Chiping's wife and received the location information, so he wasn't worried about Liu Chiping's safety. Besides, Pony didn't personally handle the arrest of the man in red.

Zhong Zhiling perked up and quickly selected several strong men, thus moving six or seven vehicles to follow his senior brother's movements.

In just ten minutes, the convoy from Lingang Carbon Silicon locked onto their target. Two cars were parked on the road near the sea, the same group of penguins that had been downstairs earlier.

"Alright, Zhiling, you come with me, the rest of you wait here." Yu Xing gestured for them not to get too close and then called out Zhong Zhiling's name.

The cars were parked in a row, and everyone got out to look around curiously. Some people were even ready to sprint over to help.

Yu Xing strode closer and laughed loudly, "Haha, Pony, why didn't you say hello when you came to Lingang? Oh, and Mr. Xu too, long time no see."

Pony Ma and Xu Chenye ignored Yu Xing, but Liu Chiping nodded at him, while Tang Minyi, who was next to another car, smiled and gestured to Yu Xing.

“Come back with me,” Pony Ma said to Liu Chiping.

Yu Xing didn't mind that the head of Tencent ignored him, and when he heard him say that, he interjected, "Go back where? You can't go back, Pony."

Pony still ignored him, and seeing that Liu Chiping remained silent, he said again, "Martin, I want to ask you, you..."

Yu Xing interrupted, "What are you asking? He loved me, but he doesn't anymore. You guys were the ones who removed him first."

Pony finally glared at Yu Xing: "Yu Xing, don't interrupt. This is a conversation between Martin and me."

Yu Xing chuckled: "You and Martin? Sorry, he's the president of Mus now. I don't know any Martin from Penguin. I only know Liu Chiping from Mus."

Pony Ma warned, "Yu Xing, do you really think we can just poach him? I don't agree!"

"You disagree? Is this Nanshan?" Yu Xing laughed. "This is Lingang. Do we need your consent?"

Pony Ma sneered, "So what if it's Lingang? What are you going to do to me by bringing a whole group of people here?"

“Who said anything?” Yu Xing clicked his tongue in amazement. “I wouldn’t dare, Pony. If you had told me you were coming to Hong Kong earlier, I would have worn that ‘If you catch him, you can’t catch me’ outfit that I treasure at home, and we could have taken a group photo together. Wouldn’t that have been wonderful?”

"Yu Xing, you won't succeed, I'm telling you, you won't succeed!" Pony Ma's eyes were filled with rage. "You think you can just poach Martin like that? You think he can get to Lingang so easily?"

Yu Xing patiently said, "Pony, I'll say it again, listen carefully. It was Tencent that fired him. You all say nice things, but isn't that the truth? It was Tencent, no, it was you. Without your approval, who could have removed him as president? You don't approve of him, so why are you acting like this today?"

Pony Ma suppressed the urge to punch him and looked at the silent Liu Chiping: "Martin, speak up! Is this how you told me to make investments? Is this how you told me to wait for a suitable opportunity to return to Tencent? Is that it? Speak up!"

Liu Chiping is genuinely grateful to Pony for giving him a stage to showcase his talents. Without Pony's trust, he would not have been able to become the president of Tencent and direct its operations. This appreciation and opportunity has made him one of the most well-known professional managers in China.

But, but...

Times have changed.

What could Liu Chiping say in the face of Pony Ma's questioning?

He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Why didn't Ren Yuxi come?"

Yu Xing translated for him, "This means, 'Why isn't the new CEO of Tencent here?' Pony, speak up, Chiping is asking you, why isn't the new CEO of Tencent here?"

The anger in Pony's eyes turned into disappointment upon hearing Liu Chiping's words, but it reignited after hearing Yu Xing's words.

He couldn't take it anymore, and finally, he punched Yu Xing with all his might!
Yu Xing reacted quickly, raising his arm to block the punch, which landed squarely on his arm.

Pony glared angrily at Yu Xing.

Yu Xing met his gaze sharply and slowly said, "Very well, Pony, you can't sue him if you hit me, okay?"

Pony looked at Liu Chiping again and finally asked, "Are you really going to Lingang?"

Liu Chiping sighed: "It's not Lingang, it's Singapore, it's an overseas market."

Pony finally gave up and got into the car without looking back.

As Xu Chenye passed by, Zhong Zhiling suddenly reached out and punched him on the shoulder.

Xu Chenye was stunned. "Wait, why did you hit me?"
Zhong Zhiling glared at him but remained silent.

The black sedan slowly started up and then sped away.

Yu Xing watched the car disappear into the distance and asked, "Chiping, what did he say when he came over?"

Liu Chiping shook his head, not wanting to talk about it anymore, but no matter what, it was a done deal that he would take over MusVid.

He saw the new boss rubbing his arm and asked, "Mr. Yu, are you alright?"

Yu Xing laughed and said, "Pony's punch wasn't strong enough. I was still thinking of talking to him about cooperating with Pinduoduo, but he just left like that. Chiping, if you take over Mus, I believe Mus will become the strongest punch from silicon carbide overseas."

Liu Chiping was somewhat invigorated; the overseas market was a key reason for his joining Lingang.

Whether a non-compete lawsuit will break out between Tencent and Silicon Carbon remains to be seen, but news of Tencent's blitzkrieg attack on Lingang and its confrontation with Silicon Carbon spread quickly.

Rumors claim that the two bosses clashed at the beach, nearly obliterating the East China Sea.

(End of this chapter)