Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 303 Social Interactions at a Dinner Party
"Is everyone here?"

A sudden greeting entered the private room.

Chen Xiu followed the crowd and looked in the direction of the sound. She saw Pony Ma, wearing a dark gray crew neck shirt, walking into the private room from the entrance, surrounded by Wang Xin and Liu Qiangdong, the organizers of the dinner.

Standing next to them were two other people, both wearing glasses, whom Chen Xiu recognized.

The square-faced, somewhat shy-looking man is Wang Xiaofeng, CEO of Mobike; the round-faced, more amiable-looking man standing next to Wang Xin is his classmate and business partner, Wang Huiwen.

Seeing this group, Chen Xiu glanced again at Zhu Xiaohu, who had just volunteered to speak up.

As a result, he was seen standing with Cheng Wei, and neither of them looked well.

Chen Xiu smiled slightly, having gained some understanding of the current situation.

During the lunch meeting, Pony Ma specifically mentioned Meituan's acquisition plan for Mobike, and then brought up the rumors of a merger between ofo and Mobike.

To put it simply, these two things are essentially Meituan and Didi competing for Mobike.

To be more precise, both sides are improving their own business ecosystems.

Meituan focuses on lifestyle products and holds a third-party payment license. Shared bikes, which represent timely payment, are an indispensable part of their business ecosystem.

As a dominant player in the ride-hailing industry, Didi is not only consolidating its position in online ride-hailing, but also trying to solve the "last mile" problem. The merger of ofo and Mobike is also aimed at monopolizing the bike-sharing industry.

Both sides have strong demand, and as a strategic major shareholder of Mobike, Tencent has veto power over whether or not Mobike will be sold.

Judging from the current situation, Pony Ma clearly favors the future of Mobike's merger with Meituan, and Didi has already been eliminated from this competition.

"What were you all laughing about just now, making you so happy?"

Pony Ma looked around at everyone and asked about the laughter he had heard when he entered the room.

Looking at his flushed cheeks, Chen Xiu guessed that Pony Ma must have just come from Ding Sanshi's dinner party: "Mr. Ma, we were just talking about who has the best alcohol tolerance! Mr. Zhu has always been a good drinker, and I think he has the best alcohol tolerance."

"Oh, Mr. Zhu, you have a good drink. I've heard that from others often. I'll have to have a couple more drinks later!"

Pony Ma looked at Zhu Xiaohu with great interest.

He was also a heavy drinker and loved to encourage others to drink. At dinner parties, he especially enjoyed having a couple of drinks with like-minded people!

Upon hearing Pony Ma's greeting, Zhu Xiaohu, whose face had been drawn back after guessing who owned the Mobike bicycles, could only manage a forced smile and nod in agreement.

Just as the two finished exchanging pleasantries, Wang Xin, one of the organizers of the dinner, walked up to Chen Xiu with a smile and suddenly punched him on the shoulder.

"Chen Xiu, you've been in Wuzhen for three days, why haven't you asked me out for dinner yet?"

"We got to eat today, didn't we?"

"It's a different matter, but you still owe me a meal!"

"I've never seen anyone freeload like this before..."

Chen Xiu didn't hold back in her criticism, but Wang Xin looked smug.

Anyone can see that their relationship goes far beyond business friendship; they must have a very good personal relationship.

Watching this scene, Cheng Wei secretly curled his lip, thinking to himself: This kid can make friends anywhere. Back in the day, I was in Wang Xin's position...

Pony Ma glanced at Chen Xiu and Wang Xin's interaction, then told everyone to take their seats and look at the menu.

Eighty percent of the people invited today are members of the Penguin Group. Upon hearing the leader's words, they all came to the large round table room one after another, preparing to take their seats in order.

In Chinese dining parties, the seating order is very important.

Although Wang Xin and Liu Qiangdong were the initiators of the dinner, the center position at the table today had to be reserved for Pony Ma, with the two of them only serving as his left and right protectors.

Then, to Wang Xin's right sat Lei Jun, and to Liu Qiangdong's left sat Zhang Lei.

Lei Jun is independent of Tencent, and Zhang Lei is the head of Hillhouse Capital. Their positions can only be described as carefully arranged.

Then, Chen Xiu and Cheng Wei sat facing each other, and Zhang Yiming and Kuaishou CEO Su Hua sat facing each other...

After looking around, Chen Xiu had to admit that the person who arranged the seats was a real genius!

What particularly caught his attention were Cheng Wei and Wang Xiaofeng sitting on either side of Su Hua. The two seemed very close, making it easy for them to hook their fingers and discuss some shady deals, but Wang Huiwen sat right next to Wang Xiaofeng, staring intently at him.

Chen Xiu originally thought that this seating arrangement was already unbeatable.

But when he saw the menu for today's banquet, a thought suddenly popped into his head: There are still experts here!
The menu is filled with unique and creative dish names. Apart from the appetizer Zhaoming Cold Eight Dishes (Zhaoming is the name of the restaurant, Zhaoming Bookstore), the first hot dish is called "Penguin Steamed Lobster"!
Next up are two dishes: "Meituan Liangchen Fresh Flavor Soup" and "Jingdong Purple Snowflake Beef".

Chen Xiu frowned slightly, thinking to herself: "Even eating a meal requires guessing riddles..."

Looking down, skipping over the names of Xiaomi and Gaoling, Chen Xiu found her own dish: Pan-fried Yellow Croaker with Douyin Sauce!
Next up is "Lenovo Jade-Infused Fragrant Crab," huh? What's going on?
Thinking she had missed something, Chen Xiu stared intently at the menu, glancing up and down twice.

The above is correct. The following Toutiao, Mobike, Kuaishou, 58.com, etc. also have dish names.

Confirmed, the menu is missing only the names of Didi, Jinshajiang, and Sequoia.

Chen Xiu glanced at Shen Nanpeng, who seemed completely unconcerned, and thought that since the other party had little to do with Tencent, it was normal that he wasn't on the list. But wasn't it a bit too much that Didi wasn't on the list?

"Mr. Ma, let me toast you first!"

Chen Xiu looked to her left and saw Wang Xin smiling broadly as he toasted Pony Ma.

Watching the two clinking glasses, Chen Xiu turned to look at Cheng Wei across from her, and as expected, forced a smile.

After offering one toast, Wang Xin immediately offered another, and then a third. Only after three toasts did he stop; the murky situation was now crystal clear.

Chen Xiu stared at the wine glass that had been put down and then picked up again, gazing at it for a long time, various thoughts rushing through her mind.

His previous definition of business warfare was to use any means necessary, both overt and covert, to boost one's own morale while simultaneously demoralizing the enemy, as long as victory was achieved in the end.

However, after watching today's dinner, Chen Xiu suddenly realized that the real high-end business battle is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Before a fight even began, the outcome was already decided; there was no point in resisting!

Thinking of this, he suddenly turned to his right and looked over, just in time to meet Zhang Yiming's gaze.

Their eyes met, and they both saw the same meaning in each other's eyes.

"A true man cannot remain subservient to others for long! Douyin needs to develop, and e-commerce must be done as well. We'll have a meeting as soon as we get back!"

After exchanging glances, Chen Xiu and Zhang Yiming continued drinking and eating as if nothing had happened, putting on a friendly and harmonious facade with the others.

Just as the banquet was in full swing, with everyone toasting and drinking, a suggestion appeared in the private room without any warning.

"Mr. Ma, how about we take a picture together to commemorate this moment?"

"Okay!"

Pony Ma pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, let's create a group chat, then take photos using time-lapse photography. I'll post the photos in the group, and anyone who needs them can take them!"

Upon hearing this, everyone at the banquet immediately chimed in with their own comments.

"I'll go ask the hotel for a phone stand."

"Why do we need a tripod? We can just have our assistant come in and take the photos!"

"Why do we need our assistants present when we're having dinner?"

"..."

After a loud "addition," the group still went to the hotel to ask for a phone stand and didn't let their assistants come in to take pictures.

Once the phone stand was brought in, everyone sat down, struck a pose, and maintained their smiles, creating a photo that will be remembered by the internet for many years to come.

After the group photo, the group, already somewhat tipsy, began the tedious socializing that marked the end of the dinner.

However, when people are down on their luck, they often do unexpected things when they are under the influence of alcohol.

"Mr. Chen, you just said you like to drink, how about we have a couple of drinks?"

Zhu Xiaohu, whose face was flushed and whose forehead was covered with blush, held his wine glass and spoke to Chen Xiu in a provocative tone.

Upon seeing this, the other people at the dinner party also stopped their own social engagements and turned to look at the two of them.

Chen Xiu moved her chopsticks and said in a casual tone, "Mr. Zhu wants to drink with me, of course no problem, but I've never liked drinking without a drink. How about we have a little wager?"

"Hey, this is good!"

Zhu Xiaohu, who was so drunk that he took the bait on the first try, said sternly, "What kind of prize do you want? It can't be money, can it?"

"That's so boring!"

Chen Xiu put down one chopstick, continued to play with the remaining one with her right hand, and picked up a decorative cylinder from the table with her left hand, showing it to everyone.

"Let's all assess what the diameter of this cylinder opening is?"

Everyone offered their opinions, and the answers were all between 7 and 10 centimeters, none of them exceeding 10 centimeters.

After hearing the answers, Chen Xiu pointed the cylinder at Zhu Xiaohu and said, "Mr. Zhu, the diameter of this cylinder opening is less than 10 centimeters. I'm sitting about six or seven meters from the door. How about we use chopsticks as arrows and gamble on pitch-pot?"

"Pitch-pot?"

Zhu Xiaohu looked troubled and couldn't help but have second thoughts.

However, given the current situation, he cannot back down.

After a quick thought, Zhu Xiaohu suddenly smiled at Chen Xiu and said, "President Chen, I've never played pitch-pot before, but I can play with you. If you hit the target, I'll drink; if you miss, you drink. How about that?"

"President Zhu is truly a master at playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses. In that case, how about we go all out and drink a whole bowl at once?"

Chen Xiu spun the cylinder around the bowl, effectively doubling the prize money.

At the dinner party, those who loved to watch the drama unfold collectively became the atmosphere-maker.

"Mr. Zhu, we've all made our way in the drinking world, we can't afford to lose face!"

"Yes, cheer up!"

"Mr. Chen might not be able to make the shot, don't be a coward!"

"..."

After a burst of "mental stimulation," Zhu Xiaohu, who was already tipsy, suddenly felt his heart surge with excitement, and a sense of heroic spirit immediately welled up within him.

He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and pointed at Chen Xiu, saying, "Fine! I'll take your bet!"

(End of this chapter)