Rebirth of the Age of Wealth

Chapter 626 Gambling

Only cheap things can have a chance in China, which is why Li Weidong likes Ma Yun. Ma Yun is the first person in China and even the world to use the platform to maximize the price advantage.

And while taking advantage of this advantage, he also avoided many risks, created many new business models, changed domestic trade rules, and even became the spiritual leader of many C-stores, making these C-store owners grateful to him.

As for future expansion, that is a story for another day.

Everyone in the world knows that Taobao sells a lot of fake goods, including buyers and sellers. If you spend dozens of dollars to buy an LV bag, whoever believes it is a stick!

It is precisely because of this situation that Dong Ge later made a classic saying, "If you find any merchant selling LV bags for less than 100 yuan, close the store directly."

Because everyone knows that 100 yuan cannot buy genuine goods, and Dong Ge claims that what he sells is always genuine. If anyone is found to be selling fake goods, he will be fined and bankrupted.

However, as a platform that only provides trading channels, Taobao does not believe that it is obligated to ensure that all sellers on this platform sell genuine goods.

Although this kind of indulgence has made three-no products popular to a certain extent, it has caused immeasurable domestic product credit losses and even collapse.

But we have to admit that the Chinese economy and the American economy are at different stages of development. Some high-quality and high-priced products in the United States can sell well.

However, under the current domestic consumption level, most people are pursuing "good quality and low price". If they cannot have both, they will have to go for "low price".

As long as it works!

This is the most honest evaluation that many users later gave to things purchased on Taobao or Pinduoduo.

Yes, as long as it works, it sounds very sad, but this situation will continue in China for at least 20 to 30 years, or even longer, because there are too many low-income people.

Li Weidong remembers that there was a 315 party in later generations where it was exposed that the cables produced by a manufacturer selling cables were substandard, but this manufacturer had amazing sales.

It's not that I don't know it's unqualified, but the price is really cheap. Besides, some cables are even for one-time use. It seems that it's not surprising to do this out of luck and cost considerations.

In fact, at this stage in China, although it cannot be said that there are a huge number of e-commerce companies, if you search carefully, it is not a problem to find hundreds of them.

Xinsheng Holding Group also has many second- and third-level subsidiaries engaged in e-commerce. In this Internet era, it seems that it would be outdated not to engage in e-commerce.

Even now Li Weidong himself doesn't know how many e-commerce companies he has invested in or even indirectly controlled.

But e-commerce is nothing more than three permutations of B and C, but the only person who can do all three combinations well in later generations is Ma Yun.

Even Dong Ge later only focused on B2C. Although he also had C2C business, he probably could only be regarded as "having this business". Even he himself admitted that it was "shameful".

So Li Weidong chose Ma Yun. Of course, Li Weidong will definitely invest in some people in the future, but the intensity will definitely not be that great, and the price/performance ratio is not as high as Ma Yun, even though he has various problems.

"Sit down and say, don't be nervous. In fact, I am very optimistic about you!" Li Weidong saw that Ma Yun was still nervous and comforted him. If it dampened his enthusiasm and had a bad impact, it would not be what Li Weidong wanted to see.

result.

"Thank you, Chairman, for your trust!" Ma Yun cheered up a little. Not many people could make Li Weidong say this.

Li Weidong picked up the cigarettes on the table, took out one and lit it, then threw the cigarette case to Ma Yun and said, "You guys should also smoke a cigarette to stimulate consumption!"

Ma Yun took the cigarette and seemed a little relaxed on the surface. She first gave one to Zheng Sijing, then took out one herself and put the cigarette case back on the table.

Cigarettes are available on the market, and although they are not cheap, they are not legendary cigarettes, let alone cigars imported from abroad.

Ma Yun had some regrets again. He often smokes cigars now, and one cigar is worth more than this box of cigarettes.

It is said that smoking cigars and drinking red wine are the quality of life with style, but in front of those who are truly wealthy, these so-called styles are nothing compared to bullshit.

Li Weidong continued: "Sometimes I quite admire you. No matter how capable or lucky you are, the key is that you are good at deceiving people!"

Zheng Sijing had just taken a puff of cigarette and had not yet exhaled the smoke. After hearing Li Weidong's words, he almost choked to death with a breath of real breath, and smoke was coming out from his nostrils and mouth.

"Chairman, what you said is too serious. I almost lost half of my life..." Zheng Sijing finally stopped coughing, but still rubbed his chest and said.

Ma Yun was also a little embarrassed. If it was said that he had deceived people, he had deceived people. Ma Yun had always been brave enough to admit this advantage, but he really did not deceive Li Weidong.

I sent the money without any deception, but he still deceived me so much that I didn't even give him a chance to show off, which is quite depressing to say the least.

Now, many of the people who are starting a business with him are his former students, who were deceived by him. In Ma Yun's view, this is not a shortcoming, but an absolute advantage.

But now that Li Weidong said this, he didn't dare to talk nonsense. He could only smile back, thinking that he was the most beautiful and gentle.

"Being able to speak is an advantage, but too much talk is bound to have shortcomings. Being slow to speak and quick to act are also inherited from our ancestors. There is always some truth to it!" Li Weidong said lightly.

Ma Yun knew that Li Weidong was giving him advice, so she said sincerely: "Thank you, Chairman, for the advice!"

"You are a smart man, I won't say these words!" Li Weidong couldn't say any more. He was neither someone else's parent nor a godfather, so he was not qualified to teach them how to behave.

Even between superiors and subordinates in business, it can only be regarded as a cooperative relationship. If you talk too much about this kind of preaching, it will only bore each other and even have the opposite effect.

"Are you interested? Let's take a gamble?" Li Weidong adjusted his sitting position and said to Ma Yun.

"Betting, what are you betting on?" Ma Yun was a little confused. She hadn't heard that her boss still had this hobby, and even restricted pornography, gambling and drugs in the whole company!

"Of course it's a business bet. Can you still make money by gambling?" Zheng Sijing echoed from the side.

"Let's bet on what scale you can make Alibaba. If you can achieve a main business revenue of 100 million within two years, I will transfer 1.3% of the stock to the company's management team for free. Of course, if you cannot achieve it, you will also get the same

Offer me so many stocks, are you interested?" Li Weidong said seductively.

There is a reason why he said 1.3% of stocks, neither more nor less. Alibaba has currently gone through two rounds of financing, both invested by companies under Li Weidong's name.

Especially the second time, it was a one-time investment of 100 million U.S. dollars. At that time, Ma Yun and his team struggled for several days as to whether to take the money or not.

This involves the issue of control. They naturally know how much the company is worth. Taking this money means the disappearance of control. Losing control means losing the right to speak.

As the founder of a company, many people regard the company as their child and have a natural desire to control the company. Is a child who doesn't listen to them still a child?

But if I don’t take this money, I always feel like I’ve lost it; and taking so much money will also have an advertising effect. An investment of 100 million US dollars will not only attract people in the industry, but also those who don’t care about the investment community.

The melon-eating crowd also took a solid bite of the big melon, which made Alibaba’s reputation much louder.

After difficult negotiations, Li Weidong finally made the decision and gave Alibaba an extremely unlikely valuation. At the end of the financing, Li Weidong obtained 51.3% of the shares.

This share ratio is more embarrassing for the management team. Although they still hold 48.7% of the shares, in a sense, their adopted daughter has been married and their son has been taken away by Baicai and has become someone else’s child.

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In order to dispel the anxiety of the management team, Li Weidong took the initiative to entrust the voting rights of some shares to the management team until the company went public.

Li Weidong naturally has his own considerations. When he knows that a stock is a potential stock, it is natural to invest as early as possible. Even if it means spending more money, it is worth it.

Now Li Weidong has taken the initiative to transfer 1.3% of the shares, which will result in Li Weidong and Alibaba's management team each holding half of the shares.

It seems that Li Weidong has suffered a loss. In fact, he is still the controlling shareholder. The entire management team has more than a dozen people. If you want to shake Li Weidong's position, it is simply impossible. The more strategists in Hezonglianheng, the better.

What's more, Alibaba's development will involve several rounds of financing, and Li Weidong will have plenty of opportunities.

For Ma Yun, it seems a bit difficult to achieve 100 million in revenue within two years, but in fact, for a company with several hundred million in cash flow, if it really wants to achieve this, it is not that difficult.

In fact, the gambling agreement can be regarded as a gamble, but it is not a gamble in the sense of gambling, but an equity adjustment based on the company's future profitability.

The capital market uses profitability or revenue as an indicator to measure the value of a company. The higher the profit and revenue, the higher the value of the company.

When the investment amount is given (such as Li Weidong's investment of US$100 million), the higher the value of the company, the lower the equity proportion corresponding to the investment amount.

On the contrary, the lower the value of the enterprise, the higher the equity proportion corresponding to the investment amount.

Therefore, if Alibaba's revenue meets Li Weidong's requirements, it also means that the company's value is high in a sense, and his shareholding ratio should be lower.

If Alibaba fails to meet this requirement, Li Weidong's shareholding ratio should be higher. Of course, it is just a high point, which does not mean much to Li Weidong.

In fact, this is also an incentive given by Li Weidong to the company's management team. It is not a bet, let alone gambling.

Li Weidong's gambling agreement looks very attractive, especially to their management team. This number does not only mean millions, but also control.

However, Ma Yun's words went beyond Li Weidong's expectations, and Li Weidong admired him even more. Success is not just based on luck, but also on the so-called background.

Ma Yun thought for a while and said: "Thank you very much, Chairman, for your kindness, but the valuation of this financing is already high. If we are coveting the Chairman's shares, then we are too greedy!"

Zheng Sijing also looked at Ma Yun with some surprise. When we first discussed investment, he participated in and led the entire process, and he understood the requirements of Ma Yun and others very well.

The only difficulty in negotiating was control. He had said so many words and traveled so much for this matter, but now that he had this opportunity, he gave up!

But he soon understood that it was his duty as a founder to argue hard and not give in during negotiations, and his stance was different; now if he wanted to take advantage, he would have lost his duty, and he was even more afraid of losing Li Weidong's friendship.

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Moreover, Ma Yun had a vague hunch that Alibaba would have to go through several rounds of financing if it wanted to develop. As long as Li Weidong wanted to, it would be easy to take back control.

Therefore, compared with this small amount of shares, it is particularly important to obtain the support of Li Weidong. After all, Li Weidong once said that he has no intention of controlling the company.

"That's a pity, but I respect your decision!" Li Weidong leaned behind the sofa and said lightly, but there was a bit of surprise on his face, and he felt like he was picking something up.

"Chairman, don't worry, even if there is no gambling agreement, we will not slow down. We will definitely work hard to make the company bigger and stronger, achieve profitability as soon as possible, and return investors!" Ma Yun said.

"I'll wait and see!" Li Weidong said with a smile.

Relying on the company's profits to pay dividends to investors in return, I'm afraid the company will go bankrupt and won't be able to earn the money they invested. What investors want is to sell stocks, and what they want to do is to spread the word by beating the drum. As for who gets the last stick, that depends.

Who is unlucky.

As their chat ended, the children who came back had already taken a shower, changed their clothes, and came to the reception room to tell Li Weidong their experiences.

In the morning, several children went to Badaling to see the Great Wall, but they regretted it after going there. As children who grew up in mountainous areas, they were not too surprised to see the stretching Yanshan Mountains. On the contrary, they felt tired.

In the end, they just took a few photos as a souvenir, and the words "If you don't come to the Great Wall, you are not a hero" were written on the photos, proving that they once went to the Great Wall as heroes.

However, the meal of Yanshan game was quite good to the children.

However, the tour guide who recommended them to see the Great Wall was fired by Doubian because he led the way carelessly and exhausted several children.

The tour guide happily accepted the day's salary and left work early. If he was more diligent, he could pick up another wave of tourists and make a fortune.

He listened to several children chirping and introduced him to various stories about the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and the Old Summer Palace. I guess he learned these from the tour guide and learned them now.

Li Weidong rubbed his daughter's head dotingly. Among the children, she talked the most and the fastest. She couldn't explain the key points clearly. She said one sentence over and over again several times, and she kept talking incessantly.

Already.

"Think about it before you say it, think about it before you say it, slow down, no one will compete with you!" Li Weidong had to correct it over and over again. Children of this age cannot keep up with their brains and their mouths have already started talking before they have thought about it.

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(End of chapter)