Baidu Headquarters.
Li Yan, who had been sleepless all night, finally felt drowsy and was about to take a nap, but was awakened by his secretary's knock on the door:
"Chairman, the senior management meeting has begun."
Li Yan hadn't slept well for two consecutive nights and had a headache from exhaustion.
He said impatiently,
"Let them discuss it first, they won't come up with any results anyway. I'll be there in a bit!"
"But..."
The secretary hesitated, then finally said,
"Several major shareholders have also arrived. Looking at their stance, they don't seem to come with good intentions..."
"Major shareholders... sigh!"
Li Yan let out a long sigh, could only get up, wash his face with cold water, and with dark circles under his eyes, headed to the meeting room.
Overnight, Baidu's market value evaporated by 15.0 billion, and all shareholders' net worth shrank by 5.3%!
With such losses, the major shareholders couldn't sit still and decisively arrived at Baidu's headquarters early in the morning to demand an explanation!
In such a situation, Li Yan had no choice but to handle it carefully.
After all, shareholders' money is not that easy to take!
In fact, the relationship between shareholders and founders is very delicate.
When Baidu was developing well, Li Yan's word was law, and shareholders eagerly came to invest money.
But now that Baidu has problems, it's completely reversed.
If shareholders withdraw capital or reduce their holdings, it would be a disaster for Baidu!
Sure enough, as soon as Li Yan entered the company, a foreigner immediately questioned him:
"Chairman Li, do you have any explanation for Baidu's current situation?"
That's right, this was Mr. James, the representative of Baidu's largest shareholder, DFJ eStar Investment Company, holding over 25% of the shares!
Although Baidu is a Xia Kingdom enterprise, its top several major shareholders are from the Empire.
Even Li Yan himself holds an Empire green card.
Li Yan had anticipated this and decisively followed the rhetoric he had prepared last night to appease them:
"Mr. James, representatives of all shareholders, please rest assured, a temporary setback doesn't represent anything. Who can laugh last is what truly matters."
A major shareholder frowned slightly:
"Chairman Li, by your tone, you mean you've already thought of a countermeasure?"
Li Yan nodded:
"Please rest assured, after a night of deep thought, I have devised a strategy."
Everyone straightened up, their interest piqued.
Li Yan elaborated:
"The more adverse the situation, the more we must attack! We cannot just look at the gains and losses of a single point, but the success or failure of a whole picture!"
"Since iQiyi is weak in the video sector and can't beat Xingyi Video, then let's leverage Baidu Browser and Baidu Maps!"
"For Baidu Browser, we will increase marketing and promotion efforts to quickly capture market share! Achieving a perfect closed loop of search engine + browser + Baidu Tieba!"
"For Baidu Maps, we will continue to increase investment, launch new features as soon as possible, and comprehensively seize market share from Gaode Maps and Sogou Maps!"
"As long as Baidu Browser and Baidu Maps' market share can skyrocket, coupled with the absolute dominance of Baidu Search Engine and Baidu Tieba, we will still be the absolute hegemon, and our future will still be boundless!"
"As long as our overall performance is better, not only can we compensate for iQiyi's decline in traffic, but the fallen stock price and evaporated market value will also rebound and go even further!"
Everyone nodded, finding some truth in his words.
A lean camel is still bigger than a horse.
The decline in the video sector could be fully compensated by businesses like browsers and maps!
Seeing this, Li Yan decisively continued:
"As for netizens, their enthusiasm is also temporary. Whether it's the boycott of Baidu or the support for Xingyi Video, it's all short-lived. Once this period passes, their enthusiasm will wane."
"At that time, Xingyi Video will be abandoned by them, and they will continue to use our Baidu!"
"Facing Baidu Search Engine's fierce suppression, they absolutely have no way out! Xingyi Video's future situation will be very difficult!"
"Their current victory is only temporary! With this kind of blockade, Xingyi Video will lose its growth points before long!"
"Our Baidu can afford to wait them out, but Xingyi Video cannot."
"Unless they can achieve a breakthrough in the search engine field, but this is simply not realistic!"
"After all, what Tencent, Sohu, and Ali can't do, Xingyi Technology is even less likely to achieve."
"Wang Yi is good at making phones and hardware, but he can't handle software and search engines!"
"The ultimate victory still belongs to our Baidu. Facing continuous blockade by Baidu, Xingyi Video can only expect failure and acquisition!"
Watching Li Yan's confident demeanor, the senior executives nodded in agreement.
Several shareholders also felt much better!
Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief, having finally gotten through this hurdle.
Xingyi Technology.
Wang Yi had just finished reading Sohu's material when Jian Ziyan walked in:
"Boss, Niluo is here."
"Niluo?"
Wang Yi came back to his senses:
"Please invite her in."
Niluo was the author of "Wuxin Fashi".
A few days ago, Wang Yi discovered that she had also signed with Meiyou Novels, so he invited her to the Imperial Capital.
While Wang Yi could write an outline and Yu Wanwan could write the novel, it was better to have the original author do it herself.
Soon, Niluo walked in, looking a bit reserved.
Wang Yi smiled slightly and chatted with Niluo.
He found that the novel she was currently preparing to write was not "Wuxin Fashi", but she had contemplated writing a novel with an eerie Republican era theme.
Wang Yi decisively guided her in this direction, discussing some plot summaries and settings of "Wuxin Fashi" with Niluo.
Niluo beamed with joy and immediately decided to temporarily put aside her new book and start a Republican era-style novel!
The title, as Wang Yi suggested, would be "Wuxin Fashi"!
Wang Yi was very satisfied:
"This theme has potential, keep up the good work, you can do it."
"Thank you, Chairman, I'll start writing as soon as I get back!"
After seeing Niluo off, Wang Yi was in a great mood.
Once the first part of "Wuxin Fashi" was written, filming could begin in the second half of the year, and it could be released the year after next, absolutely no problem!
As for the subsequent matters, he would leave them to Kucha; Wang Yi was too lazy to bother.
Then, Gu Qing walked in:
"Chairman, the contracts with Tangren are complete. Hu Xiaoyao has signed a 20-year long-term contract, and Gulina has signed a fifteen-year one. Should the filming of "Langya Bang" be put on the agenda?"
Wang Yi nodded:
"Yes, Hu Xiaoyao as the male lead, Zhao Xiaodao as the female lead. As for Gulina, arrange her for female lead three, four, or five. Let Noon Sunshine push forward with full force and start filming as soon as possible!"
"Alright!"
Wang Yi was too lazy to deal with the subsequent matters.
From now on, matters concerning artists and filming would be handled by Gu Qing.
Matters concerning Xingyi Video and copyright acquisition would be handled by Ye Changpeng.
[PS: The entertainment plot will be written simply like this later.]
Ignoring these, Wang Yi continued to ponder Sohu's issues.
As one of the four major portal websites, it was the Whampoa Military Academy of the internet.
Currently, Sohu was a declining aristocrat.
And the reason for its decline was also diversified development!
But unfortunately, BAT's diversified development still had leading core businesses as support.
Even if other businesses failed, Baidu still had search, Ali still had e-commerce, and Tencent still had social networking.
With a stable foundation, no matter how many failures, they wouldn't perish.
But Sohu's diversification lacked a fundamental core!
Sohu did everything but did nothing well, losing even its fundamental core!
Sohu Video was inferior to Youku, Tudou, and 56.com, and was even close to being surpassed by the rising iQiyi.
Search engines were inferior to Baidu and Google.
Browsers were inferior to 360 and IE.
Changyou Games was inferior to Tencent and Netease.
Sohu Weibo was inferior to Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo.
Even its most core fundamental portal website was successively surpassed by Sina, Netease, and Tencent.
Once, Sohu was a TOP2 portal website!
Now, it was almost fourth!
Sohu, with its fundamental core, could continue to be brilliant, but once it lost its fundamental core, Sohu's future could only be described as dim.
Even its current brilliance was just a mirage, a castle in the air.
Wang Yi burst into laughter, Sohu and HTC were practically born from the same mother, both outwardly glamorous but inwardly fraught with crises!
However, it was precisely because of this that it gave Wang Yi an opportunity.
If Sohu had unlimited prospects, it wouldn't have spun off Sogou, introduced Ali, and certainly wouldn't have bundled and sold it to Tencent a few years later.
This time, Wang Yi had to acquire it in advance!
Currently, Sogou wasn't worth much. If 1.5 billion RMB could acquire the entire Sogou, suddenly having Sogou Search Engine, Sogou Browser, Sogou Maps, and Sogou Input Method, it would be extremely cost-effective!
At 2 PM, Wang Yi arrived at Sohu's headquarters.
"Chairman Wang, welcome to Sohu!"
Zhang Yang said with a smile, extending his hand.
"Chairman Zhang, hello!"
Looking at the person in front of him, Wang Yi's expression was somewhat complex.
If BAT were the current internet giants, then Sohu, Sina, and Netease were the old internet giants!
In fact, the development of the domestic internet has gone through several eras.
The first era, the era of the old internet giants.
From the 90s until 2005, the domestic internet giants were the three major portal websites: Sina, Sohu, and Netease!
Back then, Chairman Ma was greatly inspired by Sohu founder Zhang Yang's speech and founded Tencent.
Jack Ma also applied to Sohu but was turned down!
Later, Zhang Yang invited Jack Ma for dinner, and Jack Ma talked endlessly about e-commerce and Taobao, hoping for Sohu's investment.
But unfortunately, Zhang Yang dismissed Taobao, missing out on this immense fortune. Instead, Old Sun of Softbank got the bargain!
The second era, the Seven Warring States!
From 2004-2005, Shanda, Tencent, and Baidu successively went public, rapidly surging and beginning to challenge the old big three.
The domestic internet landscape transformed from the old big three of Sina, Sohu, and Netease into the Seven Warring States: Sina, Sohu, Netease, Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba, and Shanda!
At that time, the Seven Warring States had little difference in strength, each with its own advantages, and no one could completely dominate.
The third era, the BAT era.
In 2011, Baidu, Tencent, and Ali emerged from the Seven Warring States, ushering in the new big three era of BAT!
Of course, at the current stage, BAT isn't absolutely dominant. There are still several major giants like 360, Lei-series (Kingsoft + Xiaomi), and JD, which should not be underestimated!
So, besides BAT, there was another term called "BAT3," which was BAT + 360.
Or "TABLE," BAT + Lei-series + 360.
And "BATJ," BAT + JD.
In his past life, a few years later, there was also a new "TMD" combination: Toutiao + Meituan + Didi.
But soon, Didi self-destructed and failed.
Toutiao had terrifying strength but remained unlisted, becoming a super unicorn.
Then the "MMP" combination appeared: Meituan, Xiaomi, and Pinduoduo!
...
But these were all from his past life; with Wang Yi's appearance, everything had changed.
And the juncture of Wang Yi's appearance was precisely the end of the Seven Warring States and the beginning of BAT!
"Chairman Wang, have you ever heard of the term BAT?"
Zhang Yang asked casually while showing Wang Yi around Sohu.
However, despite Zhang Yang's casual tone, Wang Yi could clearly see the complexity in his eyes.
After all, his own juniors and fans had become the big three, surpassing him!
This feeling would be hard for anyone to bear!
How could his expression not be complex?
Wang Yi chuckled:
"I have heard of it."
"You've heard of it, and you still dare to go head-to-head with Baidu, that's really impressive! Their market value is 280 billion, they are the head of BAT!"
Zhang Yang said, both amused and exasperated.
"It's 265 billion!"
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"Last night, I made them lose 15 billion!"
"..."
Zhang Yang was stunned, momentarily speechless.
Then he burst into laughter:
"Hahahaha!"
"Chairman Wang, well done!"
"Damn it, I've disliked Baidu for a long time, but I just couldn't beat them!"
"When I was at my peak, old Li was still a student!"
Wang Yi could tell that old Zhang was feeling very suppressed by Baidu!
Sohu had core business conflicts with Baidu and Tencent, but not much with Wang Yi.
The only conflicting business was Sohu Video and Xingyi Video, which was minor.
Internet giants have always competed and cooperated simultaneously.
There was no way around it.
But the conflict between Sohu and Baidu was serious!
Not only was the Sogou Search Engine, developed with huge investment, completely suppressed by Baidu Search Engine, its market share was less than a fraction of Baidu's.
Even Sogou Maps was surpassed by Baidu Maps.
Baidu Video + iQiyi also severely impacted Sohu Video.
And if that wasn't enough, last year, Baidu started developing Baidu Input Method, targeting Sogou Input Method!
And this year's launch of Baidu Browser was another attack on Sogou Browser!
Whatever Sohu had, Baidu would try to make!
This posture was clearly meant to crush Sogou to death!
How could anyone tolerate this?
How could Zhang Yang not be furious?
He was absolutely furious!
It was this anger that united Wang Yi and Zhang Yang in common cause, forming a basis for cooperation.
Wang Yi smiled:
"Indeed, old Li acts without principle. Unable to beat our Xingyi Video, he directly uses his monopoly position to block and suppress, how shameless!"
"Haha, Baidu went too far with this!"
Zhang Yang nodded in agreement:
"Once Xingyi Phones grow big and have over 50 million users, we'll directly counter-blockade them!"
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind for now."
Wang Yi was amused; old Zhang was also a man of passion:
"But a gentleman's revenge is best served now. Waiting two years for Xingyi Phone sales to exceed 50 million is too slow, I want to deal with Baidu now!"
Old Zhang opened his mouth, not knowing what to say: "..."
After a long while, he patted Wang Yi's shoulder:
"My young brother Wang, I understand your feelings and your great ambitions, but things take time. It's worth it to spend two or three years building up strength to take on Baidu. But right now, hope is slim!"
"Is that so?"
Wang Yi smiled slightly, not agreeing with him.
Vengeance for a blockade, taken two or three years later, was truly too slow!
Zhang Yang nodded:
"Yes, our Sohu also wants to take on Baidu, but we can't. After years of biding our time, we couldn't find a suitable opportunity, so last year we spun off Sogou and brought in Ali's capital! We thought of using their strength to fight, to take down Baidu through an alliance with Ali..."
At this point, Zhang Yang fell silent.
Wang Yi took over:
"Unfortunately, ideals are rich, but reality is lean. After Ali invested, they didn't have intentions for large-scale investment, so Sogou still couldn't beat Baidu, and was still firmly suppressed by Baidu. Even Ali is preparing to abandon its cooperation with Sohu."
Zhang Yang was a little surprised that Wang Yi saw through it so clearly, but still nodded:
"That's right. Sigh!"
A sigh, full of helplessness.
One was a declining old giant, the other was the head of the emerging BAT!
Their businesses were almost completely in conflict.
Sohu wanted to snatch something from Baidu's jaws, and Baidu also wanted to completely stifle Sohu, leaving no room for reconciliation!
However, Ali was not strong enough, and Sohu alone simply couldn't withstand Baidu.
"To be frank, my young brother Wang, whether it's Sohu or Sogou, facing Baidu, we are powerless. Their market value is 265 billion, and ours is 27 billion, a difference of ten times!"
Looking at Zhang Yang's dejected expression, Wang Yi waved his hand:
"Whether it's Xingyi Technology or Sohu, both are far behind Baidu. But in reality, taking on Baidu is not without hope; the key is to concentrate our strength!"
"Concentrate strength?"
Zhang Yang frowned slightly:
"Chairman Wang, what do you mean?"
Wang Yi elaborated:
"We are inherently small trying to challenge big. If we launch an all-out attack, we will have no chance of winning and will ultimately be worn down by Baidu. But if we integrate resources, concentrate our strength, and launch a powerful attack on a single weak business of Baidu, making a strong breakthrough, then there is hope!"
Zhang Yang understood Wang Yi's implication:
"Chairman Wang, do you mean to invest in Sohu?"
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"No, Sohu is your enterprise, I have no intention of encroaching. At most, it would be a resource exchange and integration. Currently, both Sohu and Sogou are trying to contend with Baidu, attacking on two fronts, but they are overstretched and don't have enough resources."
Zhang Yang nodded:
"That's right, even a single front is difficult."
Wang Yi cut to the chase:
"So, Chairman Zhang, you can sell Sogou to me! With Sogou, our Xingyi Technology can launch a strong counterattack against Baidu in search engines and browsers. And with sufficient funds, Sohu can also launch a strong offensive against Baidu's other businesses!"
"This..."
Zhang Yang fell into deep thought, very hesitant.
He thought Wang Yi came today to invest.
But unexpectedly, it was to acquire Sogou!
It made sense; with Xingyi Video blocked by Baidu Search, Wang Yi could only look for other search engines, and if he were to acquire one, he could only choose Sogou!
After all, Tencent Sougou wouldn't be sold!
But selling Sogou like this, he was also reluctant!
Seeing Zhang Yang hesitate, Wang Yi continued:
"Chairman Zhang, if you don't sell Sogou, neither Sohu nor Sogou can beat Baidu. But if you sell it, we can work together, each concentrating our strengths, and our chances of winning will greatly increase!"
Zhang Yang thought about it:
"What you say makes sense, but this is a huge matter, I need to consider it carefully."
"Consider it carefully?"
Wang Yi smiled:
"Chairman Zhang, you should be very clear about Sohu's current situation. Five years ago, Baidu was inferior to Sohu, but now, Baidu is equivalent to 10 Sohus!"
"Trying to do everything means doing nothing well. If you want both Sohu and Sogou, ultimately both Sohu and Sogou will fail."
"If you don't integrate resources and launch a strong attack soon, in another five years, how much market value do you think Sohu will have left? To what extent will Baidu develop? And how much market share will it leave for Sohu?"
"This..."
Zhang Yang felt utterly unsettled.
Wang Yi was not alarmist; on the contrary, every word was logical.
Sohu + Sogou, both wanted, but with limited funds, neither would ultimately develop.
It would be better to sell Sogou, obtain funds, and use Sohu to launch a focused attack!
As for selling Sohu and keeping Sogou...
That was unrealistic.
Firstly, Sohu was the foundation, and Sogou was just a new business.
Secondly, portal websites, Changyou Games, etc., were all very mature, major profit earners, and even listed.
But Sogou Browser and Sogou Search Engine had low market shares and were still developing, only continuously burning money with little revenue!
Sohu simply couldn't support this level of money burning.
For example, to make Sogou Search as good as Baidu Search would require tens of billions, which was unrealistic.
Sohu simply couldn't afford it!
It was for this very reason that Sohu introduced Ali and spun off Sogou.
Search engines were too expensive; Sohu couldn't afford to burn that much money.
Seeing Zhang Yang still hesitating, Wang Yi continued:
"With Xingyi Phones as a base, even with Baidu's blockade, Xingyi Video won't lack users; at most, its development will be a bit slower and take a bit longer. But what about Sohu?"
"There's a large number of pirated videos on Baidu, and iQiyi is a legitimate platform snatching users. How long can Sohu Video sustain itself if it continues to develop like this?"
Zhang Yang was speechless: "..."
Wang Yi continued:
"And portal websites, the future is the mobile internet era; PC portal websites are destined to decline, or even be abandoned by the times. Once the fundamental core of portal websites is lost, how much development can Sohu still achieve? Time is running out for Sohu."
Listening to Wang Yi's earnest words, Zhang Yang broke out in a cold sweat, thinking a lot in an instant.
As Wang Yi said, once the fundamental core of portal websites was lost, and other businesses couldn't bear the main responsibility, Sohu would be finished!
What could be done?
Unless resources were concentrated to find new breakthroughs.
Before losing the fundamental core of portal websites, they needed to find new pillar industries.
Looking at the current businesses, Sogou Input Method and Sogou Browser couldn't bear the heavy responsibility, so they were out of consideration.
That left only Sohu Weibo, Sohu Video, Changyou Games, and Sogou Search Engine!
But Sogou Search Engine was too far behind Baidu and too capital-intensive, offering no hope.
So, it could only be Sohu Weibo, Sohu Video, and Changyou Games that would take center stage!
These three also faced numerous competitors and required significant capital investment to stand out!
Thinking this way, selling Sogou to Wang Yi, getting the money, and focusing on developing Sohu Video, Sohu Weibo, and Changyou Games was also a way out!
Zhang Yang, having thought this through, looked at Wang Yi:
"To be frank, I'm not planning to sell Sogou for now."
Wang Yi smiled, not believing that after such a thorough analysis, Zhang Yang wouldn't be tempted.
It was probably Zhang Yang waiting for Wang Yi's offer!
"Chairman Zhang doesn't need to rush to a conclusion, I will offer a beautiful price for Sogou!"
Wang Yi said with a smile.
"What price?"
Zhang Yang's eyes lit up, then quickly returned to normal.
But this momentary change in expression was still seen by Wang Yi.
Sure enough, Sohu was very short on cash right now!
This guy didn't not want to sell, he just wanted a high price!
"Last year, Ali acquired 10% of Sohu's shares for $15 million, valuing it at $150 million, which is roughly 998 million RMB."
"Yes, but that was last year's price!"
Wang Yi nodded:
"This year, I'll give you a fixed price, 1.5 billion RMB! In one year, an increase of over 50%, this price should be very attractive."
"This..."
Zhang Yang's expression was somewhat complex; it was false to say he wasn't tempted.
Currently, Sohu's market value was only 27 billion, and a small subsidiary, Sogou, not yet listed, was valued at 1.5 billion, which was indeed very good.
But when selling something, everyone wants a higher price!
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"Chairman Zhang, as long as you are willing to sell, I will immediately arrange the acquisition and transfer. With this capital, Sohu can take a significant step forward, no problem. Without this capital, Sohu and Sogou, developing on two fronts, will only be crushed by Baidu on two fronts. They will only be stretched thin, with a dim future."
Zhang Yang nodded:
"Chairman Wang, I understand your meaning, but this is a big matter. Give me two days, I'll think about it!"
"Alright! Then I will await Chairman Zhang's good news."
Wang Yi smiled, exchanged some pleasantries, and left Sohu.
For such a major matter, Zhang Yang would definitely need two days to consider.
After Wang Yi left, Zhang Yang immediately called Sogou founder Wang Dachuan:
"Dachuan, Chairman Wang just came by."
"Chairman Wang of Xingyi Technology!"
Wang Dachuan beamed:
"Is Chairman Wang going to form an alliance with us to jointly fight Baidu?"
Zhang Yang stared at Wang Dachuan for a moment, then shook his head:
"No, he wants to acquire Sogou!"
"This..."
Wang Dachuan was startled, momentarily speechless.
He never expected Wang Yi to play by different rules, coming straight out with an acquisition!
Bold!
"Dachuan, what do you think of this?"
Wang Dachuan's mouth twitched: "..."
What do I think?
How can I think?
On one side is the financial backer, on the other is the old boss, I can't say anything.
Zhang Yang patted Wang Dachuan's shoulder:
"Don't feel pressured, say whatever you want!"
"Okay!"
Wang Dachuan took a deep breath and elaborated:
"Currently, both Sohu and Sogou are struggling under Baidu's suppression. Our market value is only one-tenth of Baidu's; fighting on two fronts, we truly have no chance of winning. If we sell one front for ammunition and concentrate our firepower to attack Baidu fiercely from the other front, there's still hope."
Hearing this, Zhang Yang said nothing, just stared at Wang Dachuan for a long time!
Such familiar words, exactly the same as what Wang Yi had said!
Could it be that Wang Yi had already met Wang Dachuan before coming here?
Had the two already reached some consensus?
Or had Wang Dachuan already become Wang Yi's man?
Even if he didn't sell Sogou, Wang Yi could poach Wang Dachuan to create their own search engine!
If that were the case, it would be troublesome.
Being stared at by Zhang Yang like this, Wang Dachuan felt a bit intimidated and quickly said:
"Chairman, I was just talking nonsense, don't take it seriously!"
"Heh heh, it's fine."
Zhang Yang came back to his senses:
"What you said is very accurate, just as accurate as what Chairman Wang said!"
Wang Dachuan: "..."
"You go back to work first, I'll think about this."
"Okay, Chairman."
Wang Dachuan left the office, but a hint of sadness filled his heart.
'From the Chairman's tone, he suspects my relationship with Chairman Wang is too close!'
'Unjust!'
'I haven't even met Chairman Wang at all!'
'Sigh! Once this suspicion arises, it becomes even harder to regain trust!'
Wang Dachuan's expression was extremely complex.
The relationship between Sogou and Sohu was too delicate at the moment.
Sogou wanted to develop, but Sohu couldn't afford the money.
Sogou wanted to open up financing, but Sohu held on tightly, refusing to agree!
This was the biggest contradiction at the moment.
And because of this, the rift between Sogou and Sohu was growing wider and wider.
In his past life, a big reason Sohu bundled and sold Sogou to Goose Factory was precisely this.
Trust is hard to build, but easy to destroy.
After Wang Dachuan left, Zhang Yang immediately called his subordinate:
"Go, check who Wang Dachuan has met recently? Also, check Xingyi Technology's current business development!"
"Yes!"
The subordinate replied and quickly went to work.
A day later, Zhang Yang looked at the information his subordinate had compiled, his brows furrowed:
"Wang Dachuan and Chairman Wang haven't met?"
"No, let alone Chairman Wang, Wang Dachuan hasn't even met a single person from Xingyi Technology!"
"Good, very good."
Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief and then began to look at Xingyi Technology's current businesses:
"Started with apparel, vertical e-commerce, beauty, 'Defend the Grapefruit', novels, mobile phones, Xingyi Video, Xingyi Music..."
Zhang Yang sighed:
"Now he also wants to acquire Sogou Search. Chairman Wang's ambition is huge; he wants to build an ecosystem, aspiring to become the fourth pole beyond BTA?"
The subordinate nodded:
"That should be the case. Chairman Wang also built a new apparel factory in Jizhou and a mobile phone factory with an annual output of 50 million units!"
"How many?"
Zhang Yang was completely shocked.
"50 million!"
Zhang Yang fell silent: "..."
"The Imperial Capital factory is expanding; after capacity ramp-up, annual capacity will reach 30 million. Jizhou factory 50 million, adding up to 80 million! Is Xingyi Phone's sales next year aiming for 80 million?"
"How is that possible?"
"Crazy!"
"He's really f*cking crazy!"
"???"
The subordinate was also startled:
"Boss, Chairman Wang is crazy!"
"If he's not crazy, then he has a bigger scheme! How can he sell 80 million units a year? Does he want to be a contract manufacturer? A second Foxconn?"
Zhang Yang scratched his head, unable to understand the reason for a moment.
"Oh, by the way, Chairman, Chairman Wang is also preparing to invest in building a tablet factory, a smart TV factory, and a smart home factory in Jizhou and Daocheng!"
"Xingyi Phone + Tablet + Smart TV + Smart Home + Xingyi Video + Xingyi Music + XUI Ecosystem, plus Sogou Search Engine + Sogou Browser + Input Method + Sogou Maps!"
Zhang Yang smiled:
"Chairman Wang's ambition is extraordinarily grand!"
"It seems Chairman Wang is determined to become the fourth giant beyond BAT!"
The subordinate nodded:
"That should be the case. It's estimated that next year or the year after, it will become BATX!"
Zhang Yang smiled slightly:
"Whether it's BATX or XBAT, it's going to be fun. With Chairman Wang joining, the BAT free-for-all will become even more interesting. The more fiercely they fight, the greater our opportunities!"
"Chairman, do you mean to sell Sogou to Wang Yi?"
"Why not?"
Zhang Yang said with a smile:
"If Sogou remains in our hands, we won't have enough funds to develop it, and it's destined to be suppressed to death by Baidu, ultimately losing everything. It's better to sell it to Chairman Wang now.
We gain 1.5 billion, which allows us to develop Sohu better. With Sogou, Chairman Wang can also directly confront BAT and give BAT a headache. Then, during the BATX melee, we will have more opportunities!"
"Good idea!"
The subordinate gave a thumbs-up.
"Convene the board meeting!"
"Yes!"
December 15th.
Song Sining arrived at the investment promotion conference room, commencing a tripartite meeting.
The meeting was organized and led by the province, with Jizhou, Daocheng, and Xingyi Technology attending.
Director Huang from the province spoke first:
"The matter of Xingyi Technology's three factories and one center has been delayed for a long time. There must be a result today; the construction of the factories and the development of the enterprise cannot be delayed!"
"???"
Director Lin from Daocheng was puzzled:
"Isn't it three major factories? What is one center?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Xingyi Technology wanted to invest in building a data center two days ago,"
Director Hong said with a smile.
Director Lin's face turned black: "..."
He hadn't received any news, making him completely passive.
Most likely, this data center would fall to Jizhou!
But it was fine, he had to secure two of the remaining three major factories!
Director Huang continued:
"First is the smart TV factory!"
Director Lin immediately said:
"Daocheng has Hisense and a complete TV industry chain. Placing Xingyi Technology's smart TV factory in Daocheng offers a huge advantage and can further unite with Hisense to form a complete TV industrial cluster!"
After speaking, Director Lin looked at Song Sining:
"President Song, we will provide Xingyi Technology with a smart TV factory with an annual capacity of 10 million units for free, along with a vacant plot of the same size for future expansion, and a series of subsidies including preferential tax policies!"
"Thank you, Director Lin, Chairman Wang is also willing to place the TV factory in Daocheng!"
"Very good, then the smart TV factory will be in Daocheng."
Director Huang smiled:
"As for the second tablet factory..."
Director Hong asserted:
"Tablets and mobile phones are similar in business, and many components are interchangeable, so it's best to place it near the Xingyi Phone factory in Jizhou. Jizhou will provide a tablet factory with an annual capacity of 10 million units for free, also with a vacant plot for developing a second phase! And preferential tax policies."
Song Sining was secretly delighted; this would be perfect.
A capacity of 10 million was sufficient for now.
If it wasn't enough, they would just expand to a second phase!
The same applied to the TV factory.
"Alright, then the tablet factory goes to Jizhou."
Director Huang nodded:
"The remaining data center and smart home factory, one for each!"
Director Hong agreed heartily:
"No problem, our Jizhou will build a data center capable of accommodating 100,000 servers for Xingyi Technology, and provide a special electricity subsidy for cloud data, bringing the price down to 0.35 yuan per kilowatt-hour!"
Song Sining beamed with joy:
"0.35 yuan, that's so cheap!"
Industrial and commercial electricity typically peaks around 1 yuan, with off-peak rates at 0.3 yuan.
A data center operates 24 hours a day; even averaged out, it would cost around 0.6 yuan.
Now Jizhou was directly subsidizing it to 0.35 yuan, which was incredibly cheap!
This was also why Wang Yi chose to build the data center in Jizhou: leveraging the strategic partnership with Jizhou to secure the most favorable policies!
This special electricity subsidy for cloud data was exceptionally approved by Director Hong just these past two days!
It could only be said that to secure Xingyi Technology's cloud data center and build a data center industrial cluster, Jizhou was fully committed, pouring in money for subsidies!
(End of chapter)