Restart life

Chapter 388 0378 [I'm telling the truth, but you think I'm bragging]

(20 mu was indeed too little, so we changed it to 100 mu. Once the supporting facilities are completed, we will acquire land further south.)
Most of the leaders present did not know what cloud technology could be used for.

But that doesn't stop them from valuing this technology.

In fact, at that time, only a handful of Chinese entrepreneurs believed that cloud technology was very important.

Even two years later, when internet giants attended the IT Leaders Summit, Robin Li was still publicly mocking cloud computing as "old wine in new bottles," while Pony Ma believed that cloud technology was too far-fetched and impractical.

However, despite saying that, Pony Ma went back and convened a meeting of Tencent's senior executives, and quietly launched a cloud technology research and development project that same year.

That same year, Huawei officially announced its cloud computing strategy.

And what about Li Yanhong?
The reason he said "old wine in new bottles" is because Baidu had already achieved results in 2008, and the basic research on its underlying technologies can even be traced back to 2003.

However, Robin Li did not quite agree with the concept of cloud computing, feeling that the term was too fancy, and it was only after being opened to third parties that it was renamed Baidu Cloud.

This thing is too important. Even though Chen Guiliang doesn't understand technology, he knows that cloud computing will affect various fields such as government affairs, finance, manufacturing, healthcare, education, and transportation in the future.

By investing heavily upfront and overcoming technical hurdles, industry standards can be established, creating a snowballing patent barrier. Simultaneously, by aligning with the digital transformation needs of various industries, the company can reap the benefits of explosive market growth.

Investing 10 billion yuan over five years is not just something we say to our leaders, but also something we say to the top talents in the country.

Such a massive amount of funding will act like a powerful magnet, attracting top domestic technical talent to join the company.

Of course, Chen Guiliang's ability to spout nonsense is nowhere near as good as Ma Jieke's.

What will Ma Jie say next year?

He said that Alibaba invests 10 billion yuan every year in cloud computing research and development!

Regardless of how absurd this claim is, just ask yourself if it's sensational enough and attractive to high-end talent.
"Mr. Chen, as far as I know, the concept of cloud computing was proposed by Google. What are your expectations for this technology?" a reporter asked on the spot.

Chen Guiliang said, "I think cloud computing is just the beginning. In 10 years, artificial intelligence will be developed based on cloud computing, just like in science fiction."

He knew that most reporters, like the leaders, had no idea about this, or had only recently learned about it.

Therefore, instead of analyzing and explaining the importance of cloud computing, it would be better to directly bring up artificial intelligence.

Otherwise, how can a reporter who knows nothing report on this?
Sure enough, the moment the words "artificial intelligence" were mentioned, the reporters on site were energized.

Reporters who were still unsure how to ask questions raised their hands eager to speak.

Another reporter was selected: "Does Mr. Chen think that artificial intelligence will emerge in 10 years? How advanced will this artificial intelligence be? What can it specifically be used for?"

Chen Guiliang said, "It's just basic artificial intelligence. For example, if it's installed in a car, it can achieve autonomous driving. Especially in special scenarios, such as ports, the entire port can be fully intelligent, requiring no workers at all; loading, transporting, and unloading are all automated. Coal mines often have accidents now; in the future, we can let artificial intelligence mine coal..."

The reporters' eyes lit up. Regardless of whether it was nonsense or not, reporting this would definitely attract attention.

The leaders listened with interest, but they didn't really believe it.

Zhou Ruiping and Xu Shiwei were dumbfounded. They thought to themselves, "No wonder he's the boss; he's definitely better at bluffing than we are. What kind of science fiction story is this, faking a perfectly good signing ceremony?"
Another reporter asked, "What about ten years from now? What about five years from now?"

Chen Guiliang continued, "Everyone talks about the Internet now, but I believe cloud computing can give rise to the Internet of Things (IoT), that is, the Internet of Everything. Your mobile phone, your car, your refrigerator, lights, air conditioner, TV, even the doors and curtains in your home... all can be connected to the network and operated with a mobile phone. If facial and voice recognition systems are developed, you can simply scan your face to open the door when you enter, without having to bother taking out your keys. When you get home, you can just say a word, and the lights, curtains, and TV will turn on by themselves."

"To achieve this level of accomplishment in five years?" a reporter exclaimed in amazement.

Chen Guiliang said, "If five years is not enough, then six years; if six years is not enough, then seven years; we will definitely succeed within ten years."

Throughout the Q&A session, Chen Guiliang talked about a futuristic, science-fiction-like future, and the reporters listened with rapt attention... well, almost no one believed it.

They even had the headline ready: "Investing 10 billion yuan over five years to gamble on the future—Is Chen Guiliang a scientific madman or just daydreaming?"

Chen Guiliang concluded by saying, "The 50 billion yuan investment over five years is just the initial investment. In the future, another 100 billion or 10 billion yuan will be poured in!"

The leaders all turned their heads. They had seen many swindlers, but why did Chen Guiliang seem to have a similar air about him?
However, the leaders did not interrupt his rambling.

Because Chen Guiliang is too knowledgeable about journalism.

The signing ceremony for Sugon's cloud computing center last time was just a dry question-and-answer session. The reporters, who seemed to understand little, asked all sorts of layman's questions. Sugon, in its responses, simply followed its established plans.

At the time, dozens of media outlets reported on it, but it didn't attract any public attention at all.

Things are different now. Chen Guiliang can go all out to fool people, and he's guaranteed to generate a huge amount of buzz.

With increased public attention, Chengdu's support policies for high-tech industries will attract more industry professionals and draw in more high-tech enterprises and high-end talent.

After the ceremony, the provincial leader shook hands with Chen Guiliang and said, "Mr. Chen, you have a really good way with words. If you weren't in business, you would definitely be a great person in the government's propaganda department."

Chen Guiliang remarked, "I'm telling the truth, not boasting at all. We will strive to develop along this path." The leader said, "I believe you're telling the truth. Scientific innovation should involve bold hypotheses and careful verification."

You'd be a fool to believe that.

Other leaders also came over to shake hands, and everyone went to have a meal together with the reporters.

Chen Guiliang mingled with many leaders, drank until he was half-drunk, and then went to give a media interview.

It's impossible to give exclusive interviews to all of the dozens of media outlets.

They only selected the China Youth Daily, Sichuan Daily, Xihua Metropolitan Daily, and Daily Economic News. In addition, Sichuan TV conducted a close-up interview with a camera for a few minutes.

On the television cameras, Chen Guiliang looked radiant, seemingly excited about the investment, but in reality, he had simply drunk too much with his superiors at lunch.

Several newspapers, after some discussion, each focused on a different aspect of their interviews.

However, both mentioned predicting an economic crisis.

Reporter: "Before Professor Lin became Vice President of the World Bank, he wrote a paper predicting an economic crisis. Mr. Chen was the second author of the paper and was also noted for his special contribution. How did you guess that an economic crisis would break out?"

Chen Guiliang: "Last year, I spent a whole year preparing for the IPO, and the IPO roadshow stage happened to coincide with the hellish period for listing. So I carefully observed and analyzed the economic situation in the United States and the world. Perhaps it is because I am an outsider that I can see things more clearly. I think that the subprime mortgage problem in the United States has become too deep to be solved, and many financial institutions around the world are involved. Once it explodes, it will inevitably lead to a global economic crisis."

Reporter: "This is different from Professor Lin's analysis in his paper."

Chen Guiliang: "I was just speculating from a very superficial perspective. Professor Lin's paper, on the other hand, discusses the issue from the perspective of global economic structural imbalances. He has a global view and a high-level perspective. I only have a local view and can see the big picture from a small part."

Reporter: "The analogy of 'seeing the big picture from a small detail' is brilliant. Seeing the big picture from a small detail requires a very keen sense of smell. Right now, most industries are struggling, but social networking sites and online games are experiencing explosive growth. Did you predict the future of these two industries when you initially chose to work on social networking sites and online games?"

Chen Guiliang: "I believe our government will invest heavily and rapidly in communications-related infrastructure. Therefore, the number of internet users will inevitably surge. With a surge in internet users, how can the number of online game players not increase? Also, there's Web 2.0, which I've always believed is an inevitable trend in internet development. Despite so many people being pessimistic last year, I remain convinced."

Reporter: "Why is Web 2.0 considered an inevitable trend?"

Chen Guiliang: "We can broaden our perspective to ancient times, starting from the pre-Qin period. What did people write on in the beginning? Oracle bones, bronze vessels, bamboo slips, and silk. Some of these items were valuable, some were heavy, and some were both valuable and heavy. Therefore, knowledge, education, and writing were all in the hands of a small group of people."

Reporter: "This is a very novel perspective. Please continue."

Chen Guiliang: "Later, paper came into being, and the imperial examination system emerged, allowing knowledge, writing, and education to spread to the general public. By the Song Dynasty, paper had become widespread, and literary genres could change accordingly. Song Dynasty lyrics and songs became popular, representing more accessible literature and art. In the Ming Dynasty, paper became cheaper, and printing technology became more advanced. Thus, novels emerged."

Reporter: "Could you give a comprehensive overview?"

Chen Guiliang: "Haha. I mean, computers and internet access were very expensive in the past, just like oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, and the works of various philosophers from the pre-Qin period. They were things that only a few people could afford. They inevitably possessed authoritative dissemination attributes, just like portal websites in the early 2000s. Later poetry, lyrics, and novels were like today's SNS websites. Everyone can create, and everyone can disseminate."

Reporter: "That makes perfect sense. Studying history can enlighten us."

Chen Guiliang: "In fact, the record industry has already gone through this development process. In the beginning, recording equipment was expensive, and record companies had to invest heavily in it. Later, recording and performance became electronic, and small and medium-sized record companies emerged. Further development led to personal record companies, and even online music. Aren't the emergence of personal record companies and online music just like the lyrics, music, and novels in the record industry, and SNS websites in the online community? This is the common essence of similar development. From authority to the people, from portals to individuals."

Reporter: "No wonder Mr. Chen's predictions were so accurate; it's because he was able to grasp the essence of how things develop."

Chen Guiliang: "Actually, I had long expected e-commerce to develop so rapidly, which is also thanks to the country's infrastructure development. But Alibaba and others entered the market first, and I think it would be very difficult for them to break in as well, so I had to give up."

Reporter: "E-commerce is currently a hot investment area, with major companies entering the e-commerce market. Which company do you think has the best prospects?"

Chen Guiliang: "Taobao and JD.com. They represent two different development models of e-commerce."

Reporter: "Could you provide a more detailed analysis?"

Chen Guiliang: "No."

Reporter: "Why?"

Chen Guiliang: "Unless they pay me to do the analysis."

Reporter: "Haha, you're very confident."

Chen Guiliang: "If you don't have confidence, you shouldn't be in business."

Chen Guiliang continued his interviews with several media outlets until late afternoon, after he had sobered up.

He drove directly from the underground parking garage to Shuangliu to catch his flight.

The young people outside the signing ceremony had been squatting there from morning until evening, eating a boxed lunch by the roadside at noon. They didn't go to inquire until evening, but the staff didn't reveal any information.

After squatting there for two days, he went to an internet cafe to check the news and learned from Chen Guiliang's social media account that Chen Guiliang had already returned to Beijing.

So he quickly bought a plane ticket and went after them.

(End of this chapter)