Reinventing the Millennium

Lei Jun called Mr. Fang twice before making an appointment.

On the way here, in addition to considering the changes in the group buying market, he was also thinking about Mr. Fang's character. Although it is biased to talk about the company's style as a founder, it is interesting to confirm it occasionally.

It is said that Mr. Fang came from a rough background, which should be quite different. It is also true that he has fought hard all the way over the years and is said to be indomitable, strong in the wind and strong in the grass, going against the grain and doing things against the will.

It can be said that he used any means to achieve his goals, but without these, he would have fallen into the hands of Xiong Xiaoge.

When it comes to the company, it can be said that Yike seizes the opportunity and advances bravely, adapting to local conditions and soaring.

Over the years, Mr. Fang’s opponents have certainly been restless, but Mr. Fang’s companions can hardly be said to be calm.

Mr. Ma from Penguin and Mr. Liang from Morningstar probably already have their thoughts.

When Lei Jun thought about it, he suddenly became curious about the state of mind of Sohu's Mr. Zhang. Mr. Fang's forced offer to acquire Morning Star would probably shake the entire YMS ecosystem.

When he walked into Yike's president's office, he felt a little regretful when he put himself in someone else's shoes. Perhaps he could have handled it more gently.

"Mr. Lei is here. Sit down while I collect some documents." Fang Zhuo saw his secretary leading Mr. Lei in. He raised his head and smiled, then extended his hand to indicate that he should drink tea first.

Lei Jun nodded. It wasn't the first time he had come back. Yike's president's office was still very familiar...familiar...what was that?

He saw four big characters on the wall behind Mr. Fang, rigorous and neat, with strong writing power - Henglong Hero!

Well...this...

Emotions surged in my heart, and I didn’t know what to say for a moment. If Mr. Chenxing Liang came, would Hang Lung 23 pull down his eyeballs to express his feelings...

When it comes to words, Mr. Fang is indeed extremely good at words.

Fang Zhuo saved the file on the computer and said directly without any polite greetings: "Mr. Lei, the competition in group buying is very fierce. Mi Tuan has been very stable recently."

He had never asked Lei Jun about the handling of group buying competition before, but now that he was here, he would ask.

Lei Jun looked at the Hang Lung "Hero" under "Heng Lung Hero" and had a hundred thoughts in his mind. Finally, he asked sincerely: "Mr. Fang thinks what is Mi Tuan not doing well enough now?"

At this moment, Fang Zhuo suspected that he had just spoken out to ask questions, but he soon confirmed that he was saying that the rice balls were stable.

He smiled and said: "Mr. Lei, you make rice balls, you go to the front line, and you control the overall situation. What do you think is not good enough?"

Lei Jun pondered, his words seemed a bit stressful, but then he felt that he was right.

"If I have to tell you, it seems that Mi Tuan is a little too cautious?" Fang Zhuo smiled and exchanged opinions, "If you buy a group of people, Mi Tuan should start the group first."

Lei Jun can roughly understand this "group start".

Fang Zhuo continued: "Mi Tuan is the first group buying website in China. Since Mr. Lei is determined to spend your own money and has our investment, I thought... Well, Mr. Lei, I didn't mean Criticism, it’s just different from what I imagined, I thought Mi Tuan would be more energetic.”

When Mi Tuan launched a group, its market capitalization was set at US$100 million, and it had 85 million funds on its account. It stands to reason that it has both opportunities and strength, so why not make a killing?

However, in just a short period of time, the number of domestic group buying projects has crazily approached 200, and cities of all sizes have blossomed. Mi Tuan still seems tepid. On the contrary, Qingzi invested by Penguin has made great progress.

Fang Zhuo trusted Lei Jun's ability.

But, having said that, this is Mi Tuan after all, not Xiaomi. After all, Mr. Lei has just gotten excited, so it is understandable that there are some minor problems.

Who can always be right?

Lei Jun sighed, did not respond, and became silent.

His sigh made Fang Zhuo sigh.

what happened? You haven’t achieved any results and you want to be depressed again?

Fang Zhuo suddenly thought of the technical differences within the ice core, and said quickly: "Mr. Lei, you control the rice balls, I am just watching. It is normal to have differences of opinion. We are just having a friendly exchange, and I may not be right."

It’s really not easy for investment projects now to have to worry about the psychological conditions of you people.

Lei Jun took a breath and shook his head slightly: "Mr. Fang, I have been thinking about the development of Mi Tuan recently. There are also different voices within us. It may be that Mr. Fang is the only observer."

Fang Zhuo considered it and said: "That's right, Mr. Lei, if there are different voices, just discuss and demonstrate more. Since Mi Tuan has chosen such a development strategy, there is no need to make a sudden U-turn."

At this moment, Lei Jun felt that Mr. Fang did have many thoughts or opinions about Mi Tuan. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Mr. Fang, we have made an internal summary and outlook of the current market. I left it in the office when I came today. Now let the company send an electronic version."

"No problem, I'm just talking in general terms. It still depends on the opinions of your professionals." Fang Zhuo said.

Now his impression is that Lei Jun wants to perform some sophisticated operations in this wave of group buying craziness, but now many companies are expanding their scale roughly.

Mi Tuan does have funds, but... it has never been possible to succeed on the track with money, not to mention that other companies are also rich.

Fang Zhuo can still tolerate Mi Tuan's progress now.

Mi Tuan sent the files via email, and Lei Jun chatted with Mr. Fang about the current market chaos. Now almost all major cities have group buying projects, and there are also hot words on the Internet - "Are you doing a group purchase today?" ".

This is of course considered market cultivation, but there have also been cases where group buying websites developed rapidly and then collapsed quickly.

Fang Zhuo and Lei Jun chatted for a while, and received Mi Tuan's internal market analysis on the computer, which was quite long.

He flipped through it briefly and said: "Mr. Lei, let's do this. I'll have a dinner at noon to see your professional analysis. Let's chat over dinner in the evening. It just so happens that Mr. Xiong from IDG is coming to Shanghai today. Let's chat together. .”

Lei Jun is naturally willing, and Mr. Xiong is also a very insightful person.

In this case, he briefly talked about his thoughts on rice balls and left, preparing for dinner in the evening.

Fang Zhuo waited until Lei Jun left and thought about this person's mentality for a while. Development problems in companies are often pushed to the execution level, but good execution requires a clear strategy.

And, he also thought about other people's attitudes towards him.

The day passed by in a blink of an eye. Xiong Xiaoge came to the door in the evening to say hello. He heard that Lei Jun was attending the evening, but he didn't take it seriously.

"Let Wang Fengyi come. I didn't invest in rice balls. Let China's number one investor come and give Mr. Lei some guidance."

Xiong Xiaoge is interested in the group buying market and is also observing the current situation. However, his main focus now is to acquire IDG Group.

He does know the owners of Miduan.com, one is Lei Jun and his team, the other is Yike, and the third is Shenxin Technology.

Look at how much work Wang Fengyi has done for Mr. Fang, he has to be taken with him no matter what.

"IDG." Fang Zhuo simply mentioned the acquisition execution after the Spring Festival.

Xiong Xiaoge’s reverse acquisition of IDG Group has basically been finalized and will be carried out after the Spring Festival if nothing unexpected happens.

"Investors should actively contact entrepreneurs so that they can promote each other." Xiong Xiaoge said with a smile.

Fang Zhuo felt that Little Bear had regained his former glory.

However, at night, when he heard the announcement from Xiong Xiaoge, he realized why he felt different.

"Hey, it's not easy to run a business. I've discovered that being a good investor may not necessarily lead to a good business." Xiong Xiaoge sighed while holding the wine, "I will completely withdraw from Zhihu's management in the future. Do your duty as an investor.”

Fang Zhuo said in surprise: "Huh? Aren't you very interested in Zhihu? Aren't you still trying to trick Shen Xin into investing? Why are you withdrawing just like that?"

Xiong Xiaoge is the co-founder of Zhihu and has been deeply involved in the development of Zhihu. It can be seen that he really likes the community atmosphere of this kind of knowledge question and answer.

The old bear turned into a little bear in his mouth precisely because Xiong Xiaoge gradually transformed from an investor into a dedicated entrepreneur at Zhihu.

Now this is a reverse takeover of IDG Group, has the old bear returned?

"Everyone has their own areas of expertise. If you are not good at it, then leave your position to someone who is better at it." Xiong Xiaoge said seriously, "Fortunately, it's not too late."

Fang Zhuo smiled and nodded, Lao Xiong can teach you.

There were only three people at the dinner party tonight. Lei Jun listened to these two people talking about what they were good at and what they were not good at. He felt that Mr. Xiong was trying to impress him...

Are you saying that I, Mr. Lei, am not good at starting this kind of group buying project?

Or do I just need to take on a role similar to Mr. Xiong’s role of finding funds but not participating in management?

Lei Jun felt quite depressed.

But soon, his perception was reversed.

Xiong Xiaoge drank several glasses of wine with them, and naturally turned the topic to the most popular group buying track in the country, and said: "Group buying will definitely kill a lot of people this year. Mr. Lei's rice dumplings are good, and they will definitely survive until the end. .”

Lei Jun likes to hear this.

Fang Zhuo drank a few glasses of wine and felt a little relaxed. He took a sip of wine and said "hey": "Mi Tuan should pursue living to the end and living the best. I think Lei always feels that the account is Money is more valuable than gold, so I’m not willing to part with it.”

Xiong Xiaoge retorted: "That's right. Of course, Mr. Lei's hard-earned money must be cherished. How can it be compared to Mr. Fang who always burns investors' money."

Fang Zhuo looked at Lei Jun and said, "Let's throw the old bear out and talk about something serious tonight."

Lei Jun only smiled, and it could be seen that the two people had a good relationship.

"Mr. Lei, let me tell you, don't look at Mr. Fang's kind-hearted intentions. On the way here, he complained to me about your rice balls. I said, what's the point of burning money? Just make rice balls slowly." "Xiong Xiaoge broke the news.

Lei Jun's heart was moved. First of all, he didn't feel that Mr. Fang was kind and kind. Secondly... we were chatting while eating at this dinner. Mr. Xiong's appearance did not seem to be random.

Did Mr. Xiong want to say this, or was Mr. Fang using Mr. Xiong to talk?

Lei Jun picked up the wine glass and said solemnly: "Mr. Xiong, Mr. Fang also said in the office today that different voices should be discussed more, and I can accept it."

"It's just that it costs money but not money." Xiong Xiaoge waved his hand and said, "Some group purchases cost money. If he sees that the rice balls are not burning, he says it doesn't necessarily have to cost a lot of money, as long as it can match the efforts of other companies. , moderate cash burn.”

Lei Jun nodded slightly, raised his glass and gave a toast to Mr. Fang.

Fang Zhuo drank it with a smile. Sometimes people are used to talking about things at the dinner table.

Xiong Xiaoge glanced at the two people. He had some thoughts but did not overthink them. He had a clear understanding of their state.

Mr. Fang... Let’s not talk about it. He must be trying to make the group buying project successful. There is absolutely no doubt about this. At the very least, he is definitely not considering including rice balls in his pocket now. There is no sign of success. How can this be done? Where to follow?

Mr. Lei, he just has the fear that any entrepreneur should have. Mr. Fang secretly cultivates Morning Star, and backhand cashes out Yongke Real Estate. Everyone has to weigh whether they can pass this test.

At this time, if someone like me, who has no investment relationship at all, comes out to chat, the situation may become much more harmonious.

Xiong Xiaoge guessed that Fang always considered it this way, and regardless of whether it was true or not, he just did it.

"You have to pay attention to both internal development and external competition. This is a compromise." Fang Zhuo put down his wine glass and said this.

Xiong Xiaoge hasn't been drinking much lately, and after drinking like this for a while, he suddenly felt a little drunk.

He smiled and said: "Compromise, compromise, hey, Mr. Fang, just tell me, if it were you, how would you engage in group buying now? Zhihu had a hot topic a while ago. If you were doing group buying, would you be able to laugh? At the end."

Lei Jun also saw the problem on Zhihu, which was said to extend from Mr. Su Wei and Su.

Oh, yes, I heard that Yixin’s Yixin will also launch something similar to QQ Space. These two giants are really going to fight to the end.

Fang Zhuo held the wine glass and was silent.

Xiong Xiaoge glanced over. How could there be any trace of alcohol in Mr. Fang's eyes?

He went to see Lei Jun again, and Mr. Lei's eyes were also extremely clear-headed.

Xiong Xiaoge decided to quit Zhihu's management today, and he was in a very happy mood. He couldn't help but knock the table with his wine glass: "What's wrong with this? You're right, Mr. Lei listens, but it's wrong, we don't Will laugh at you.”

"Am I the kind of person who is afraid of others laughing?" Fang Zhuo refuted.

Xiong Xiaoge nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, you are the kind of person who is afraid that others will not cry."

Fang Zhuo ignored Lao Xiong, took a sip of wine, and said: "If I were in Mr. Lei's position, I would naturally supervise the rice group with all my strength and show bravery. Regardless of whether the business has spread to all cities, the group buying should be done first. The flag is up!"

"How to put up a flag?"

"The Spring Festival is coming next month, and there are definitely more than 200 domestic group buying projects. How can we raise the flag?"

Fang Zhuo asked himself and answered: "Of course, if you use your competitors to sacrifice the flag, you have to pick a target."

"Just like Qingzi from Penguin Investment. What's the name of Qingzi's group buying website? Oh yes, Dangtuan.com. We are chasing after Dangtuan.com. With such a target, everyone knows what to do."

"Burn money and fight Dangtuan.com head-on. If you don't pursue knocking down this target, let other group buying websites in the city where Mituan is located follow suit. First burn a group of small and medium-sized websites, and then clean up the remaining websites one by one, and continue to burn money." , just spend money for mergers and acquisitions.”

"Draw a target, sacrifice a flag, make mergers and acquisitions, raise money, and have a decisive battle to see who can have the last laugh."

Fang Zhuo's tone softened at the end and he filled himself up with wine.

Lei Jun couldn't help but look at Xiong Xiaoge, and they both had the same feeling. Mr. Fang was really murderous!

"It's really Mr. Fang." Xiong Xiaoge seemed to sigh but not sigh, and picked up a glass of wine.

Lei Jun also drank, feeling a hot line running down his throat and urging the alcohol to go up.

Mr. Fang’s thinking is really different from mine!

"Li Guoqing's Dangtuan.com is indeed very popular." Xiong Xiaoge added.

Dang Tuan.com is Li Guoqing’s project in the group buying market. “Dang” is taken from the homophone of his previous e-commerce company Dangdang.com, and is related to the website’s features – when the group purchase is full, there will be a “dang” sound.

Li Guoqing has made great strides in group buying. It has started operations in ten major cities simultaneously and is known as the largest group buying website in China.

Of course, he's not alone in trying to claim that title.

Fang Zhuo felt that Qingzi had taken a big step this time, which was a bit opposite to Lei Jun. Lei Jun wanted to play micro-management, starting from small to big, while Qingzi wanted to go from big to small.

He commented: "Qingzi has made progress."

However, although Qingzi received investment from Penguin this time, Penguin has now entered the market itself and launched a "QQ group purchase". It is still using QQ traffic to enter the market.

In addition to this old method, it is said that QQ Group Buying also wants to build a group buying platform. It wants to contact group buying project resources from various places and build an e-commerce platform similar to Taobao.

This is relatively new.

"Mr. Fang's words are worth ten years of reading." Lei Jun said slowly.

Fang Zhuo didn't know that Mr. Lei was not talking about the situation, so he just said: "Mr. Lei said to go with the flow. When the trend comes, don't hesitate."

Lei Jun said "hmm".

Xiong Xiaoge observed the words and said with a smile: "Follow the trend. You are always so domineering. If it were me, I would be afraid of being bullied."

"The semiconductor field is different." Fang Zhuo said briefly without defending his intention of hostile acquisition.

"Yes, yes, I believe what Mr. Fang says now." Xiong Xiaoge said, "No matter what, if it were me, I would have to make the project look like it before I worry about this."

This is very straightforward.

Lei Jun smiled, filled the glass with wine, and became straightforward: "Mr. Xiong is trying to persuade me, Mr. Fang, I have no other intention, I just want the rice balls to be good, and I just want to do it again." A career.”

Fang Zhuo also laughed and joked: "I can understand, Mr. Lei, if Mi Tuan has any concerns, he should wait until he has a market value of tens of billions, otherwise, um..."

As soon as the words were spoken, the scene suddenly became much more refreshing.

It was also at this point that Fang Zhuo talked about the internal analysis report of Mi Tuan that he saw at noon.

He is a very serious person, especially when it comes to business matters. This conversation lasted for an hour over wine and food.

Lei Jun still talks less and thinks more, but these all revolve around the development of rice balls and the entire market.

A thousand cups of wine with a close friend is too little, and half a sentence without speculation is too much.

Reluctantly confidant, the atmosphere of the dinner was quite harmonious.

It wasn't until 11 o'clock in the evening that the three of them broke up and Lei Jun took the car back to the hotel to rest.

"Mr. Lei is quite sensitive." Xiong Xiaoge said, half drunk, "Mr. Fang, you have to thank me today. Without me, how would you say this."

"I don't have any plans for rice balls." Fang Zhuo shook his head.

"Then you have to be believed by others." Xiong Xiaoge laughed, "Didn't you say the same thing to Mr. Liang of Morning Star?"

Fang Zhuo thought about it seriously and replied simply: "I forgot."

If Xiong Xiaoge smiles again, Mr. Fang will be like this.

He then said with a sense of guilt: "Unfortunately, Mr. Li is still on the opposite side."

"The edge of a sword is sharpened." Fang Zhuo said lightly, "Group buying is not necessarily a bad thing. The more money you raise, the more you sell yourself."

Xiong Xiaoge nodded and finally asked: "When will you go to the capital?"

He vaguely knew that Yi Xin was having a big event in this year's Spring Festival Gala.

"We'll be together in three days." Fang Zhuo said the time. This year, he would arrive in the capital early to supervise the New Year greeting event.