1980 My literary era

As May approaches, spring flowers bloom, and there seems to be an unusual atmosphere surging in the city of Yanjing.

Since March, the domestic Internet industry has suddenly heard that Sohu will hold a national Internet conference and invite many companies in the domestic Internet industry to participate. By mid-April, many companies had received invitations.

However, the organizer marked on the invitation letter is not Sohu. Sohu is just a co-organizer.

There are four real sponsors, namely the Chinese Culture Group, the State Council Office, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Information Industry.

Initially, everyone did not pay much attention when receiving the invitation from Sohu. Although Sohu is the first domestic Internet company listed on Nasdaq and has a great reputation, the domestic Internet industry is in a stage of brutal growth. Although Sohu went public early, it does not mean that it is a one-stop giant.

In the eyes of many domestic peers, Sohu's strength is just that. It does not have the dominance of the giant Internet companies in the United States. Most of the invited companies just want to send people to deal with it.

Some companies that compete with Sohu, such as Sina and NetEase, which are both portal websites, are even more disgusting. They are all companies that are about to go public. Sohu is just a little early to go public. How can He De take the lead in organizing such an event? Internet event?

But no matter what everyone thinks, even if they don’t give face to Sohu, they still have to give face to the other four organizers on the invitation letter.

Needless to say, the State Council Office is a group led by the Vice Minister. It is rumored that the management rights of domestic Internet companies are now being transferred to this unit.

The Ministry of Rites is in charge of publicity and the Ministry of Industry and Information is still the immediate boss in the Internet industry, and they dare not offend.

As for the Guowen Group, which seems to be the most inconspicuous among the four sponsors, unless the boss is not clear-headed, domestic Internet companies will not understand the reason why a state-owned enterprise at the bureau level can appear side by side with the above-mentioned units.

Previously, there were rumors in the industry that the Internet Conference was organized by Sohu. Now after seeing the contents of the invitation letter, everyone has understood that this matter should have nothing to do with Sohu. It is 100% organized by Guowen Group. Otherwise, there is no way you can explain him as a legitimate person. How could a bureau-level enterprise appear together with the above three units?

The most important thing is that Guowen Group can really invite these Bodhisattvas.

The companies that received the invitation letter looked at the names of these units and were filled with wonder. What kind of background and relationships do they have!

And even if we don’t mention Guowen Group’s background and relationships with the government, they are still the earliest investors in Sohu. It is said that they are also shareholders of several websites such as NetEase, Rongshuxia, and Joyo.com. The current development momentum of these websites is very high. Not bad.

NetEase, in particular, is now preparing to go public. Even if Nasdaq is in recession, it is the most recognized technology stock exchange in the world. Being listed there is an honor in itself.

Guowen Group is one of the earliest institutions in China to invest in the Internet. It can also be said that it is one of the few institutions in China that focuses on investment in the Internet industry. For many domestic Internet companies, there are only advantages and no disadvantages in dealing with Guowen Group. Maybe it will be used when the company needs financing in the future.

At the end of last year, there were rumors in the Internet industry that Guowen Group had reduced its holdings in Sohu stocks to cash out after the expiration of the stock ban. If the rumors are true, then Guowen Group today is a rich man.

If you have money and are willing to invest, where can you find such good investors?

On the last Monday before May Day, the United Nations Office of the Chinese Culture Group, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry and Information, Sohu and other units held a press conference for the 2000 China's First Internet Conference in Beijing.

According to a spokesperson at the press conference, the first Internet Conference will be held from May 2 to May 4 and will last for three days.

During the conference, there will be representatives from 105 domestic Internet and computer industry-related companies. The conference also invited representatives from governments, international organizations and industry institutions in many Asian countries. At the same time, the organizers of the conference also invited Microsoft and Amazon of the United States. Founders of heavyweight Internet companies such as , Yahoo and Netscape participated in the exchange.

This conference was held with the theme of "Interconnected World, Embracing the New Century" as the theme for communication. With more than 500 guests participating, the conference was massive and unprecedented.

At the press conference, hundreds of reporters from many news media were excited after hearing the introduction of the conference speaker, and their cameras flashed in their hands.

If it goes as described by the spokesperson, this Internet conference will probably become a major event in China's Internet industry, and its impact will be immeasurable, and it may affect the entire process of China's Internet industry.

After the press conference, news reports about "China's First Internet Conference" quickly spread throughout the country in a short period of time.

With the participation of several units including the State Council Office, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the coverage of the conference was immediately filled up.

CCTV, local satellite TVs, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, Economic Daily, Reference News and many other heavyweights have reported on it, and more than 50 local media have followed up with reports, attracting many followers.

Within a few days, a wave of news reports about the Internet Conference swept across China, making the name of the Internet Conference instantly familiar to the general public.

On May Day this year, the Capital Airport was extremely busy.

The flow of people is so busy that even the VIP channels are filled with passengers coming in and out.

In such a busy scene, staff from the Yanjing Municipal Government have been working in an orderly manner.

Lin Weimin created an Internet conference and asked Sohu to take the initiative. Then Lin Weimin contacted several other government departments. With his eloquent words, he successfully persuaded several units to participate in such a grand event.

The State Council Office was directly under the leadership of the higher-ups, and the team leader was also the deputy prime minister, so they reported the matter to Prime Minister Zhu.

Prime Minister Zhu was very interested in this and specially called Lin Weimin to the sea to inquire in detail.

The Nasdaq on the other side of the ocean has just exploded. At this time, what kind of Internet conference is Lin Weimin planning to hold, and he is dragging many government departments to do it with such great fanfare. Naturally, Zhu Xiang wants to know.

After some frank exchanges, Zhu Xiang finally recognized Lin Weimin’s point of view and believed that the future Internet industry must have great potential.

With his approval, the preparations for the Internet Conference became smoother. Even the Yanjing Municipal Government participated and became the organizer of the conference, and the standards of the conference were also raised to a higher level.

In the two or three days before May Day, representatives from participating Internet companies from all over the country appeared at Yanjing Capital Airport.

Ding Lei just flew back from the United States. NetEase has now launched its listing and is conducting a roadshow in the United States. It will soon become the third domestic Internet company to be listed on Nasdaq.

He is about to own a listed company before he is even thirty years old. Now he is very proud, but at the same time there is some hidden worry on his face.

Nasdaq is currently experiencing a deep dive that is rare in history. It is really not a good time for NetEase to go public at this time.

During the road show, the subscription of NetEase stock was not ideal. Now many American investment institutions and investors are trapped, and the market has already surpassed its previous enthusiasm. NetEase is not as popular as Sina, which went public two months earlier.

Of course, Sina is also in a miserable state now.

Ding Lei was also very helpless about this. NetEase's listing was determined half a year ago. It was impossible to change the agenda casually after passing through each hurdle.

After landing in Yanjing and setting foot on the soil of the motherland, Ding Lei felt a little more at ease.

After the Yanjing City staff checked his identity information, their attitude became subtly enthusiastic, which made Ding Lei feel a little relieved.

No matter how its future listing performance is, at least NetEase is indeed the leader in China's Internet industry now. If they cannot succeed in this market, then the performance of other peers will only be worse.

"Sorry, all the conference vehicles have been sent away at the moment. Please wait a moment." The staff said to Ding Lei.

Ding Lei said: "I'll take a taxi myself."

"You'd better wait a moment. Our conference car can take you directly to the hotel. It's very convenient and saves you the trouble."

Ding Lei nodded, "Okay then."

After the two communicated, a short man who looked like ET came out of the passage and started chatting with the staff.

After a while, ET was also asked to wait for the time being. He came over and said, "Brother, are you here to attend the Internet Conference too?"

Ding Lei nodded, "Yes."

"Hi, I'm Jack Ma, from Hangzhou."

"My name is Ding Lei. Are you Jack Ma from Alibaba?"

"It's me." Ma Yun smiled brightly, "Are you Ding Lei from NetEase? Oh, I've been admired for a long time, I've been admired for a long time!"

Ma Yun shook hands with Ding Lei and started chatting with him enthusiastically.

Ding Lei is an optimist and can chat with anyone, but he doesn't have a good impression of Jack Ma.

After the two chatted for a while, he felt that this person was a bit slippery, and the key was that he was too bragging. Through chatting, he learned that Jack Ma had previously launched a Chinese Yellow Pages. Later, because Hangzhou Telecom also launched a Chinese Yellow Pages and shared the market, Jack Ma decided to merge with Hangzhou Telecom.

In 1997, Jack Ma fell in love with the field of e-commerce and decided to abandon the Chinese Yellow Pages. He had been providing technical support to the government and planning to start a business again.

Last year, he founded Alibaba and successfully obtained Series A financing of US$5 million. This investment was led by Goldman Sachs Group, and was also favored by several institutions such as Fidelity Investments, the Singapore Government Technology Development Fund, and Yinruida.

What Ma Yun and Ding Lei talk about the most is about the field he operates. In Ma Yun's words, e-commerce has simply become the most potential investment field for the future Internet. His company, which was just born not long ago, will also become China's most promising investment field. Even world-renowned e-commerce companies.

While Ma Yun was chattering away, Ding Lei was distracted and couldn't help but think that if he sent this guy during the road show, the effect might be much better than if he was on stage.

After waiting for a short time, the conference car that went to see someone off came back.

Ding Lei and Ma Yun were riding in the same car. As soon as they got in the car, Ma Yun looked around and said, "Guowen Group is quite willing to pay for this. They use Audis to pick up people."

He asked Ding Lei again, "I heard that Guowen Group is also a shareholder of NetEase?"

Ding Lei said truthfully: "Yes. Guowen Group is our earliest investor in NetEase. In 1998, Mr. Lin made a special trip to Guangzhou for us."

When Ma Yun heard this, he sighed with emotion: "Time flies so fast. Teacher Lin and I haven't seen each other for many years."

Ma Yun pretended to be very fresh and refined. Ding Lei asked curiously: "Are you and Teacher Lin old friends?"

Ma Yun waved his hand modestly, "It's out of the question. In the early 1980s, Teacher Lin went to Hangzhou on a business trip and I received him."

Ding Lei's eyes were a little surprised. He looked at Ma Yun twice. The early 1980s was almost 20 years ago. How old was he at that time?

Looking at Ding Lei's expression, Ma Yun felt proud, but his expression remained calm.

"You can't tell, right? In fact, I was still in high school at that time..."

Ma Yun took out a photo from his wallet and handed it to Ding Lei, "Look!"

Ding Lei looked at the photo. It was a black and white photo and it looked old. In the background is the West Lake, a scenic spot printed on banknotes that everyone across the country knows.

There are two people in the middle of the photo. The young version of ET is particularly easy to recognize. It is Jack Ma who is sitting next to him. Standing next to Ma Yun was a handsome young man, with his hand on Ma Yun's shoulder and a smile on his face. The two seemed close to each other.

When Teacher Lin was young, he was a bit too handsome!

"Teacher Lin was very handsome back then, wasn't he?" Ma Yun asked with a smile.

Ding Lei nodded, "Indeed."

"I thought too at the time. How can a person be like this? He is handsome, talented, and has a very good personality..."

Then, Ma Yun naturally talked about the process of his acquaintance with Lin Weimin, and also told the story of when he went to the West Lake to work as a free tour guide for foreign tourists in order to practice English.

It seems to be telling how he met Lin Weimin, but the protagonist of the story becomes him, a young man with an unspectacular appearance who failed the college entrance examination, but who is always working hard and has great ambitions.

When the car arrived downstairs at the hotel, Ding Lei held Ma Yun's hand and his impression of him changed greatly.

"Brother Ma, I believe that with your talent and perseverance, Alibaba will one day become an outstanding Internet company."

Ma Yun smiled all over his face and said, "I'd like to lend you some good words."

I was confused when I wrote it, only to find that the timeline was mixed up. The content of this chapter has been modified. Jack Ma has founded Alibaba and obtained financing.