Chapter 250 Arabian Nights
Although Li Yiwen is not the kind of person who values money as his life, he is just an ordinary citizen after all. Before he rose to prominence with Lu Yiming, he was the kind of person who would strictly limit his spending to less than 30 yuan when going out for a midnight snack.
As a result, within less than a few months, tens of millions of dollars suddenly came in and out. Anyone would be terrified.
Not everyone is as calm and confident as Lu Yiming.
Facing Li Yiwen's worries and concerns, Lu Yiming smiled and said, "Don't worry, cousin. How can you lose money by investing in Baidu? If you hold these shares for 10 to 20 years, they will be worth at least 100 to 200 billion US dollars. What will your 1.2 million US dollars be worth by then? This deal is a sure win."
Baidu's market value reached its highest in 2017, with a share price of US$233.37 and a total market value of US$80.92 billion. It has been falling since then.
The reason is that there is no flagship product.
Except for Baidu Search, which has always been used by some people, other services have basically no users, because there are so many similar products on the market that they can be seamlessly replaced and there is no learning cost.
There used to be a Baidu Tieba that was the only one in the world, but it was ruined by Baidu itself. All kinds of advertisements were everywhere, which completely destroyed its reputation and goodwill.
In the end, it declined from a social software that could compete with Tencent and one of the three pillars of the domestic Internet to a second-rate player. Its market value once fell to only half of that of a certain food delivery company. By the time Lu Yiming was reborn, it had basically been forgotten by the public.
Lu Yiming didn't have a good impression of this company either.
Of course, making money is not shameful.
You can't not take advantage of others just because they are not human.
The reason why Lu Yiming did not invest in Baidu was because of the non-compete clause. Otherwise, he would have made the money first. Lu Yiming was also confident that if he got deeply involved in Baidu, he could at least try to stop it from going down the same old path.
But Li Yiwen couldn't help but be skeptical about what Lu Yiming said.
After all, the content is really too outrageous.
Buying shares for 1.2 million US dollars, will it be worth 20 billion in 20 years?
Even a nuclear-powered money printing machine doesn’t print money like this, right?
Ten thousand times return?
Even a scammer wouldn't dare to say such words!
If the Internet is so profitable, who would be willing to go into business?
The investment is large, the results are slow, and the risks are high. No matter how you look at it, it is not as comfortable as investing in the Internet.
"One or two billion? Or US dollars... Is money that easy to earn? Hey, cousin, are you getting carried away?"
Li Yiwen felt that if he could really make that much money, he would just retire tomorrow.
One or two hundred billion, as long as you don't gamble or start a business, you will never be able to spend it all in your lifetime.
Seeing his cousin's incredulous expression, Lu Yiming immediately smiled and asked, "Then don't you want to sell it to me? I'll buy it at double the price now."
When Li Yiwen heard Lu Yiming say this, he immediately became alert.
After all, Lu Yiming is a man who won't show his hand until he gets the rabbit. If he is willing to pay double the price right now, it must mean that Baidu has something going on!
"Hey, I'm just kidding you. We've been brothers for generations, how could I not trust you? Cousin, you said it yourself, if you want me to be a qualified capitalist, then I should start with Baidu."
"Tsk, get out of here."
Lu Yiming has plenty of ways to make money, so he naturally doesn't need Baidu. Besides, only if the people around him can make money can he live a more comfortable life.
"It's not enough for you to hold the shares alone. I have to think of some ways to make it more secure. Okay, if you're done with your work, come back with Li Robin. Communicate more and cultivate your relationship. After all, he is now a tool for you to make money, so you still have to care about him."
Lu Yiming felt that it was not enough for Li Yiwen to get 30% of the shares. He wanted to find a few more partners to divide up Baidu's shares directly, at least to keep the right to speak firmly in his hands.
We should try our best to control the future domestic search engine market. This is not only a matter of Internet traffic entrance, but also a matter of having the ability to guide and control public opinion in a certain sense.
The right to speak is so important. There is a huge difference between having it and not having it.
After finishing the call with Li Yiwen, Lu Yiming called Zheng Zhiguang.
"A Guang, long time no see. Did you miss me? Do you want to treat me to a meal at Long Jing Xuan?"
Zheng Zhiguang was flattered when he suddenly received Lu Yiming's call. He would have been even happier if it weren't for the nine words at the end.
"Mr. Lu, how can I help you?"
Although Zheng Zhiguang was woken up in his sleep, as soon as he heard Lu Yiming's voice, he instantly threw away the anger in his heart.
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "What do you mean by service or not? I'm here to give you money this time."
"Send money?"
Zheng Zhiguang frowned, skeptical about this statement.
Although he made a small profit by following Lu Yiming in speculating on the ruble, if you count them carefully , Lu Yiming cheated him more times than he helped him make money.
Lu Yiming heard Zheng Zhiguang's hesitant tone and immediately became unhappy: "Why? You don't seem to believe it. You don't think I want to take advantage of you? Am I that kind of person?"
Zheng Zhiguang quickly said , "Mr. Lu, you are joking. Why would I think that?"
Lu Yiming's expression eased a little. "I've recently taken a fancy to a project, but I can't invest because of a contract. I've asked my cousin to invest $1.2 million. Are you interested in joining? If this project succeeds, I guarantee you a 100% return rate within ten years."
"One hundred thousand percent? One thousand times? Mr. Lu, why do you sound like bragging to me?"
What kind of project can make a thousand times more money in ten years?
Invest 10,000 yuan now and it will turn into 10 million yuan in ten years?
Oh my god, even Kennedy’s imagination wasn’t that big. Have you been shot on the head with a cannon?
Lu Yiming naturally didn't care what Zheng Zhiguang thought. He said calmly, "When have I ever boasted? I always speak and act with sincerity, and never make empty promises. If you think it's unreliable, forget it. I'll find someone else. Goodbye..."
He remembered that in the original time and space in 2000, in the ninth month after Baidu was founded, Robin Li received 10 million US dollars from venture capitalists Draper Fisher Jurvetson and IDG.
Zheng Zhiguang has some spare money now, and he has connections with foreign banks and comes from a wealthy family. He can at least provide Baidu with a lot of valuable help.
After several collaborations, Lu Yiming gradually recognized his abilities and attitude, so this time he called Zheng Zhiguang to get on board and give him a chance to make a fortune.
Although Zheng Zhiguang felt that what Lu Yiming said was so exaggerated that it was hard to believe, when he thought about the past few months, everything Lu Yiming had done was earth-shattering and extraordinary. In addition, when it came to making money, Lu Yiming had never failed once, and could be said to have won every battle.
So after thinking it over and weighing the pros and cons in his mind, Zheng Zhiguang responded with the mentality of "better to kill the wrong person than to let him go": "How can that be possible? Since Mr. Lu said there is money to be made, then there must be money to be made. I will follow him this time."
Then, Lu Yiming thought of another person, nodded, and said, "By the way, you can tell Lin Shuyi, if she is interested, she can also participate. I won't remind her separately."
"OK."
Zheng Zhiguang naturally did not dare to neglect Lin Shuyi. After finishing the call with Lu Yiming, Zheng Zhiguang immediately called her.
If he didn't make this call, if he really made a lot of money in the future and Lin Shuyi knew the truth, she would skin him alive and cut him into pieces.
Half an hour later, Lu Yiming was just beginning to feel sleepy and was about to take another good night's sleep when his cell phone next to him suddenly rang.
"yawn……"
Lu Yiming picked up his phone and saw that it was Lin Shuyi. He immediately complained helplessly, "Ms. Lin, you started working so early?"
On the other end of the phone, Lin Shuyi didn't bother to be polite with Lu Yiming at all. She asked directly, "A Guang said that you asked him to invest in a project called Baidu, and asked me to invest as well. Is that true?"
Lu Yiming was amazed at Lin Shuyi's swiftness and decisiveness, but he did not deny it: "Yes, I called him to help him earn some pocket money. What's the matter? Miss Lin doesn't want to earn this pocket money anymore?"
On the phone, Zheng Zhiguang's words were so exaggerated that the investment returns made Lin Shuyi think they had discovered a new world. Lin Shuyi herself was a person who was used to thinking rationally. Before meeting Lu Yiming, she was always very cautious and careful in doing things. Of course, she would not believe in the nonsense of a return rate of thousands or tens of thousands of times in a few years.
The most critical issue here is that Lu Yiming did not invest any money in such a good project!
This is beyond the pale of the world!
After all, in Lin Shuyi's view, Lu Yiming is a man who is good at calculating. When it comes to making money, he is more daring than anyone else and treats risks as nothing.
If there really is such a good project that can make money, why doesn't Lu Yiming invest in it himself?
So, without saying anything, Lin Shuyi called Lu Yiming directly to verify the matter, and at the same time to test his thoughts.
Therefore, facing Lu Yiming, Lin Shuyi was too lazy to talk about other things and asked bluntly: "This is not a question of whether I want to make money or not. If the project is really that good, why don't you invest in it yourself?"
This question is the key.
Lin Shuyi doesn't care about whether there is a return or not. As long as the project is indeed good, no matter how outrageous it is, Lin Shuyi dares to go for it. After all, investment is essentially gambling. Winning or losing is a probability. Fortune and wealth are sought in danger.
But the key point now is that Lu Yiming, the most greedy person, didn't get on the bus himself, but actively encouraged others to get on the bus. This is problematic no matter how you look at it.
A person who values money more than anything else suddenly tells you that he has a great project that can make a lot of money and you will get rich if you invest in it. Can you believe it?
He is a living Lei Feng. He doesn't do the money-making work himself, so why would he ask you to do it?
Even my own parents wouldn't be so selfless.
Facing Lin Shuyi's questioning, Lu Yiming curled his lips disapprovingly: "Do you think I don't want to invest? I just invested in another company, and there is a non-compete clause in the contract."
When Lin Shuyi heard this, she immediately realized that something big seemed to be happening.
Lu Yiming is a shrewd man to the core, and he has never lost money in business. Lin Shuyi even feels that letting Lu Yiming make no profit or earn less would be more painful than letting him die.
What does it mean that such a shrewd person would abandon Baidu, which has an incredibly high return rate, and instead sign a non-compete clause with another company?
This means that the company invested by Lu Yiming will have a higher rate of return than Baidu and has greater potential!
Baidu's rate of return itself is already a fantasy-level project. If there is a higher rate of return than investing in Baidu, what level of company would that be?
Just thinking about it made Lin Shuyi feel a little numb.
Lin Shuyi naturally didn't want to miss such an opportunity, and at the same time, she was curious about who Lu Yiming had signed such an agreement with: "Okay, you actually secretly went to eat meat behind our backs, and you only gave us a few sips of soup! Is this appropriate?"
Lu Yiming originally didn't want to tell anyone about Google, but he didn't expect that he would accidentally let it slip.
However, he remained calm and didn't take it to heart: "What do you mean by eating meat and drinking soup? It makes me sound like I've abandoned you after having an affair. The other project is in the same business as Baidu, so we are in the same industry. However, the other party's main battlefield is in Western countries such as Europe and the United States. I just don't want the domestic market to be divided up by outsiders, so I invited you guys to get on board. As for the business in Europe and the United States, does your Jingwan Group have the strength to do so?"
Lin Shuyi felt that Lu Yiming looked down on her, and she snorted in dissatisfaction: "How can you know if you don't try? Are you looking down on me?"
Lu Yiming sighed, "I'm not looking down on you. Just because I can do something doesn't mean you can do it, too. Just like you can have children but I can't. It's not that hard work is useful. Don't think too much. In fact, it's good enough to be able to invest in Baidu. If you don't invest now, you won't be able to invest at this price in the future."
Lin Shuyi also knew that she had nothing to restrain Lu Yiming, and Lu Yiming did not need to report any decisions he made to her.
She called just to confirm the information about Baidu.
After hearing what Lu Yiming said, he already believed it to a certain extent, so he stopped pestering him: "Okay, I'll trust you for once. How much do you think I should invest in Baidu?"
Lu Yiming was simply a non-stick pan. After hearing this, he immediately said, "Then this is your own business. I don't know and I don't want to ask. Anyway, my cousin paid 1.2 million US dollars and took 30% of the shares."
Lu Yiming is a smart man, and Lin Shuyi is also a smart person. She knows very well what Lu Yiming meant by this, which is nothing more than "my cousin only took 30% of the shares, you can do whatever you want." In this way, when investing, Lin Shuyi has to consider this factor of Li Yiwen, and cannot casually use capital to reduce the value of Li Yiwen's shares.
After all, in Lin Shuyi's opinion, offending Lu Yiming to death for such a project would be a loss-making thing for both Jingwan Group and herself.
