Chapter 524 Internet 2.0
““Xiaguo’s richest man shorting Xia’s enterprises, is this a distortion of morality or a loss of humanity?””
“What does Xiaguo’s richest man want to do by shorting his country’s high-tech companies?”
““The richest man dumped the stock and Zhalang broke the IPO price. Was it for personal revenge or profiteering?””
In February 1999, ZHALANG received US$25 million in overseas venture capital from Goldman Sachs, which was the largest investment ever received by a domestic Internet company at the time.
This was a major event that caused a sensation at the time.
Zhalang's listing on NASDAQ is also the first information Internet company from mainland China to be listed in the United States, which naturally attracted attention.
Now, the newly listed Zhalang has not made waves in the international capital market as everyone expected. Instead, its share price fell below the issue price within a few days of listing, and its performance has surprised many people.
The most important thing is that the person who caused the share price of Zhalang to fall was actually Lu Yiming, the youngest richest man in the history of mainland China.
If we find a writer to write a novel based on this outline, we can probably describe the love and hatred involved in this story.
Therefore, when the news spread that the share price of Zhalang was shorted by the Salt Water Fund owned by Lu Yiming, resulting in a drop in price upon listing, various news media, with the mentality of "watching the fun, no matter how big the event", became crazy clickbait, and wrote all kinds of eye-catching "news" content based on gossip and fabricated imagination.
In all the reports, the role played by Lu Yiming was almost always that of a villain.
After all, Zhalang is the first Internet information company in the mainland to be listed on the US stock market, which represents a certain kind of "face". Under this circumstance, people across the country should unite as one and work together to make Zhalang advance rapidly and enhance the prestige of our country.
As a result, the price dropped as soon as it was listed, which was a slap in the face - is Xia Country's Internet so vulnerable?
Not to mention those Internet-related startups that dream of going public in the United States, even ordinary people have complaints about Lu Yiming's behavior and find it difficult to accept.
When the media saw that this matter was worthy of discussion, they were even more happy to see it happen. They were frantically leading the charge in their reports, their minds full of thoughts on how to make the matter bigger and more explosive.
As expected, Lu Yiming's image and reputation plummeted in an instant.
Among them, the promotion and support of many Internet practitioners also played a significant role.
After all, if Zhalang succeeds, it will have a positive impact on the entire Internet industry in Xia Country.
But now it was smashed by Lu Yiming himself, which was equivalent to smashing everyone's rice bowl, and the hatred was aroused.
In some reports, Lu Yiming has become the traitor who "hinders the development of Xia's Internet industry and high-tech industry."
There were constant verbal and written criticisms and condemnations, and there was no end to the crimes.
For a time, Lu Yiming was once again at the center of public opinion.
Li Yiwen, who witnessed the entire process of Lu Yiming shorting Zhalang, and saw the newspapers full of insults against Lu Yiming, couldn't help but say, "See, I told you, but you didn't believe it. You didn't make much money from shorting Zhalang, and you got yourself into trouble. What on earth did you want?"
Lu Yiming looked at the various sarcastic and slanderous reports in the newspapers and didn't take them seriously. He said with a smile, "I'm just trying to save face. He dares to be sarcastic to me in the media. If I don't teach him a lesson, he will probably not take me, the richest man, seriously."
Lu Yiming thought that he was not a person who liked to hold grudges overnight, because if there was a grudge, he would usually want to take revenge on the spot.
Besides, he has been unhappy with Zhalang for a long time. Now that he has the chance to add insult to injury, how can he be polite?
Before my rebirth, I often got high blood pressure from scrolling through Weibo, but I couldn’t do anything about Zhalang. Now that I can mess with Zhalang at will, shouldn’t I give it a good beating first?
However, Li Yiwen had been with Lu Yiming for such a long time, and he knew Lu Yiming's temper very well, so he naturally didn't believe such nonsense, and immediately said: "Tell me the truth, you are a person who will not do anything without profit, and you will squeeze oil out of a stone. I don't believe you are just venting your anger."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "I have to vent my anger. By the way, I will kick Wang Zhidong out and then prepare to acquire Zhalang."
Li Yiwen was shocked: "What the hell? Acquire Zhalang? Didn't you say that portal websites have no future? You want to buy such garbage?"
Lu Yiming said calmly, "The company is trash, but the people inside are not. Besides, Zhalang is still worth some money at the moment. We can dismantle it and sell it later to make some pocket money."
"Okay, just keep it in mind."
Li Yiwen has become numb to Lu Yiming's trouble-making everywhere. It has only been a few days since he came back from the United States, and he has started to confront others again. There is really no peace for a moment.
Lu Yiming read all the news.
Although the sources are varied, he is very sure that many of them must have come from Zhalang's hand.
Lu Yiming thought he understood Zha Lang's character.
After reading all the news, Lu Yiming began to plan how to fight back.
Wang Zhidong is quite good at hype. Now he puts himself in the position of a vulnerable group to gain sympathy and direct public opinion towards Lu Yiming.
Various news outlets were reporting on the issue every day, and under the influence of public opinion, Lu Yiming was almost becoming the unforgivable .
So when Chen Li, the beautiful host of China Overseas Financial Channel, called and said she wanted to do a special interview with him, Lu Yiming agreed immediately.
On the day of the show, Lu Yiming arrived at the TV station early. He didn't like waiting for people on a date, nor did he like being waited for too long. Just like he would show up at the station at least an hour in advance every time he took a plane or a high-speed train, Lu Yiming also arrived at the TV station a long time in advance.
Increase fault tolerance.
This is a good habit that Lu Yiming has always maintained.
When Lu Yiming appeared in the TV station building, the staff members who saw him all had strange expressions on their faces, wondering why Lu Yiming suddenly came to the TV station.
It was not until Lu Yiming walked away that these people started discussing in groups of three or four.
"What is Lu Yiming doing at our TV station?"
"I don't know. Zhalang was maliciously shorted, and now everyone says that Lu Yiming was the one who did it. Is this guy planning to come to us to advertise and clarify?"
"That's not the advertising department. If you ask me, Lu Yiming is most likely taking the blame. Think about it, Lu Yiming came back in March, and Zhalang went public in April and was shorted. Can this be blamed on Lu Yiming? Who doesn't know that U.S. stocks are shorted now? Going public at this point, isn't that just sheer stupidity?"
"That's right. Besides, it was Wang Zhidong who was the one who was foul-mouthed and talked bad about Lu Yiming. He just asked for trouble. If you ask me, I would have preferred that it was Lu Yiming who did it so that I could teach this guy a lesson."
"You sound petty, don't you? It was just a quarrel, but Lu Yiming took action against his country's Internet companies. It's a bit too overbearing and he doesn't care about the overall situation."
"That's right, he's too narrow-minded, and he's the richest man."
"Others are just talking nonsense, it's not like he's going to lose a piece of flesh."
"He was only scolded a few times, but many people lost their jobs, or even went bankrupt and jumped off buildings."
I have to say that there are quite a lot of people who think that Lu Yiming's actions are not honest.
After all, the Internet bubble has burst and the economic crisis has arrived. Finally, an Internet company from Xia country has gone against the trend and given everyone a little hope. As a result, you, Lu Yiming, pushed Zhalang's head into the water. This is too much.
The argument of "I am weak, so I am right" has always been popular in Xia Country. Putting aside the facts, you were just scolded a few times, but you actually fought back? It's really too much.
Of course, Lu Yiming didn't know about these discussions. He was familiar with the route and soon arrived at Chen Li's office.
Chen Li didn't expect Lu Yiming to come so early. The instant noodles she had just eaten halfway suddenly seemed much more noticeable.
"Ah, Mr. Lu, you're here."
Lu Yiming said casually: "Eat less instant noodles and more fresh and healthy vegetables. The teacher said that health is the capital of revolution."
Chen Li said somewhat embarrassedly: "This is just laziness."
She stood up and walked around the workstation, saying, "Boss Lu, how about I take you to put on makeup first?"
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "You'd better finish eating first. This thing will taste even worse when it gets cold. To be honest, even if you're lazy, you should try Zhenxiang Fast Food if they can deliver it here."
After a few minutes, Chen Li finished her instant noodles. She didn't know whether it was because she felt embarrassed to be caught by Lu Yiming eating instant noodles, or because the noodles tasted too spicy, but her face was flushed and her forehead was slightly sweaty.
"Boss Lu, let's go. I'll take you to put on some makeup first, and then we'll go over the script a little bit."
"OK."
Half an hour later, the talk show officially began.
In the studio, everyone took their seats. After Chen Li finished her speech, she looked at Lu Yiming and asked, "Mr. Lu, it's being said that you targeted a domestic Internet company like Zhalang purely out of personal vengeance. Many people think that you are ignoring the overall situation. What do you think about this matter?"
Lu Yiming calmly refuted each point one by one: "First of all, I want to say that it was Salty Water Fund that shorted Zhalang, not me, so don't say anything nonsense, this is slander and defamation against me."
Chen Li was surprised and couldn't help asking, "Isn't the Saltwater Fund a company under your name, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Yiming immediately denied it: "Who said that? I just invested in Saltwater Fund and own shares of this company. I'm not even the largest shareholder. How can you say that this company is mine? It's nonsense!"
These words are of course true. Lu Yiming only owns less than 8% of the shares of Saltwater Fund. Among all shareholders, he barely ranks in the top three, and there is no question of controlling the company.
But controlling a company does not necessarily require a controlling stake.
Saltwater Fund Company, what is the core asset?
Lu Yiming had brought in those investors with terrifyingly powerful backgrounds, and they had invested huge amounts of money. All of this money was under the control of Lu Yiming, so he didn't need to have a controlling stake at all. He could control the entire Saltwater Fund.
However, such a truth naturally cannot be made public. Instead, Lu Yiming must immediately distance himself from the Salty Water Fund to avoid becoming a target of public criticism.
Then, Lu Yiming continued, "As for the second point, I doubt that Zhalang is a Xia country company. After all, most of the shares of this company are in the hands of foreign capital, and the founder's remarks are also very biased, so I doubt whether their position is on the side of our Xia country."
This is an open questioning of Zhalang's position. Lu Yiming wants everyone to know that this is a banana company, yellow on the outside but white on the inside, and it worships foreign things and fawns on foreigners.
Chen Li was extremely surprised—and she wasn't pretending: "Boss Lu, do you mean that a Xia country portal like Zhalang has actually been completely controlled by foreign capital?"
This news is absolutely explosive. The domestic Internet companies that people regard as proud are actually controlled by foreign capital?
If the show were to be broadcast, it would definitely cause a huge uproar!
This is totally subversive to people’s cognition!
However, Lu Yiming also expressed a point of view that shocked countless people: "In fact, I am not optimistic about the future of such portal companies. Not only domestic companies such as Zhalang, Sohu and NetEase, but even Yahoo in the United States, in my opinion, is too big and inappropriate. Sooner or later, it will not be able to keep up with the pace of the times and will eventually be replaced by latecomers."
Never stop until your words shock people!
You know, at that time, the three major domestic portals were the backbone of Xia Country's Internet.
As for the BTA troika, even the horses are gone and they are still struggling on the line between life and death.
Yahoo in the United States is at its peak. Even though its share price suffered a heavy blow during the stock market crash, its potential is still huge and it is favored by many investors.
But Lu Yiming expressed pessimism about the future of portal websites?
If he hadn't been the richest man in Xia Country, he would have been called a fool by everyone.
Chen Li didn't expect that Lu Yiming would bring up such a powerful argument in her show. She asked nervously, "Mr. Lu, are you serious?"
Lu Yiming, who is familiar with the future development trend of the Internet, naturally said without hesitation: "Yes, this is my opinion. In the future of the Internet, portal websites will no longer be the mainstream, and may even be swept into the corner and linger on."
Chen Li was shocked by this view and asked, "Mr. Lu, why do you make such a judgment? Do you have any basis for it?"
Lu Yiming said: "The rise of the three major domestic portals is entirely due to the fact that our news channels are still scarce. They are taking advantage of the information gap and are essentially information middlemen. The gradual rise of the Internet has doubled the number of people who go online to obtain information. It is also for this reason that domestic portals have sprung up like mushrooms after rain."
Chen Li didn't understand any of this and asked reflexively, "Is there anything wrong with this?"
Lu Yiming shook his head slightly and said, "There's nothing wrong with that, but such a portal website is nothing more than moving the old media news model to the Internet. It can be said that there is no innovation at all, and it does not reflect the real core advantages of the Internet at all."
At this point, Lu Yiming changed the subject and his tone became sharper: "I call the current Internet industry dominated by portal websites the Internet 1.0 era. When the real 2.0 era comes, the situation will be completely different from now."
Chen Li was obviously interested in Lu Yiming's words and asked, "Mr. Lu, what do you think the Internet 2.0 era will be like?"
Lu Yiming recalled his passionate days of surfing the Internet and being a keyboard warrior. In front of Chen Li, he also spoke out his feelings.
He said in a melodious voice: "In the current Internet 1.0 era, the dissemination of information is still professionals who output opinions and information, and ordinary Internet users can only passively accept it. But the 2.0 era is different. Ordinary netizens will have the right to express themselves. Everyone has the right to express themselves on the Internet without violating the law! Using the Internet, we can not only communicate with each other and express our ideas, but also transfer technology and knowledge. Under the collision of ideas, endless sparks of wisdom will flash."
Chen Li was shocked by Lu Yiming's description, but she also felt deeply skeptical : "Can the Internet really do this?"
It's no wonder she has doubts. The current Internet model is still very superficial, and the so-called business innovation of Internet companies is still at the superficial stage, with little impact on traditional industries.
It doesn't seem like the future at all. Thanks to technological advancement and the increasing popularity of smart devices, the Internet has already penetrated into every aspect of people's livelihood and economy.
Lu Yiming said firmly: "Of course it is possible, and this is the only correct path. Only Internet companies that follow this path will have a future."
As they chatted, the program had already exceeded the time limit. Listening to the conductor's voice coming from the headphones, Chen Li said with an unsatisfied look: "Okay, thank you Mr. Lu for giving us such a novel perspective..."
A few days later, this talk show was broadcast.
Lu Yiming's novel point of view directly caused public opinion to explode.
Especially the people inside Zhalang, whose stock price had already plummeted and whose employees were in a panic, were frightened by Lu Yiming's words.
My goodness, Mr. Lu keeps opening and closing his mouth. Does that mean portal websites have no future?
Wang Zhidong was so angry that he was shaking. He cursed: "It's alarmist and nonsense! Portal websites are the future of the Internet. What 2.0 era is all nonsense. Don't listen to his nonsense. Ordinary people don't have the ability to obtain information on the Internet. We build portal websites to serve as a bridge of communication..."
But Lu Yiming is the richest man after all, and the several Internet companies he invested in are all booming. For example, Google has basically not been affected by the collapse of technology stocks, and its valuation has continued to rise.
It is definitely not true to say that Lu Yiming does not understand the Internet. If someone with such an investment vision does not understand the Internet, who dares to say that they understand the Internet?
So even though Wang Zhidong was trying to comfort Zhalang’s employees, he was actually very panicked inside.
Is the portal website really going to be a failure?
Isn’t this just the beginning?
So where is the next stop?
