Volume 4 Crazy Growth 2017 Chapter 878
The small town in the south of the Yangtze River, with its pavilions and terraces, is shrouded in the thick night and is slightly chilly.
The orange-yellow lanterns dotted around make people feel inexplicably warm. As the night deepens, such a quiet night scene makes people feel inexplicably at peace.
This may be the beauty of Wuzhen, revealing the gentleness of the Jiangnan water town.
Zhou Dongsheng and Ding Sanshi sat opposite each other across the tea table, waiting for the water on the stove to boil while admiring the night view of Wuzhen through the window.
"Although I come here every year, I still think Wuzhen is so beautiful that I can't help but linger. It's just as beautiful as Xizi."
Ding Sanshi sat in his seat calmly and composedly, and sighed to himself. If it weren't for the red glow on his round face and the clarity in his eyes, he wouldn't have looked like a drunkard at all.
It was as if the drunken appearance at the dinner party was just an illusion.
"That's right. As I've seen more and more of the scenery here, I have a different feeling when I revisit the old place. The ancient and modern concepts blend together here, and it's extremely harmonious..."
Zhou Dongsheng agreed that as an Internet conference representing the forefront of technology and the times, it was chosen to be held in such a historic water town in the south of the Yangtze River. Perhaps there is such a deep meaning in it.
"You know, we've been fighting for a year. Isn't it good to have a rare opportunity for everyone to sit down, eat, drink, and speak freely?"
Ding Sanshi suddenly sighed and said, although no one was mentioned by name, everyone was a smart person and would naturally understand it immediately.
In fact, the reason why the Wuzhen dinner has always attracted so much attention since it came into being is that the public can get a glimpse of the down-to-earth appearance of the bigwigs.
If there had been no Wuzhen dinner, it might have been difficult for the general public to imagine in their minds a group of industry leaders with net worths easily in the tens of billions or even hundreds of billions, sitting together, eating snacks and drinking wine, just like ordinary people.
More imaginations may be as distorted as the "Emperor's Golden Hoe".
Of course, what is known to outsiders is often just the tip of the iceberg. As for how deep the iceberg hidden underground is, it is naturally hard to imagine.
Although human imagination is endless, it still needs to be based on something, and it is impossible to create something out of nothing in the true sense.
After all, the realm of creating something out of nothing is attributed to the "realm of God" in both Chinese and Western culture, and only gods can do it.
To put it in simple terms, that is the happiness of rich people, which you can't even imagine (funny).
However, the development of things is never subject to human will. Even if the original intention is good, some things will often go against one's wishes and go against one's will in the end.
Just like Ding Sanshi who organized the Wuzhen dinner in the first place, whether it was his experience in the world or his nature, he was destined to do this thing without any abruptness and it was very logical.
In comparison, no matter from which angle you look at it, the Dongxing Bureau next door is Sima Zhao's intention, and everyone knows it.
Zhou Dongsheng smiled and said, "Where there are people, there is a martial arts world. Fighting with others is the source of endless fun..."
Although Ding Sanshi was so emotional, Zhou Dongsheng was naturally not naive enough to think that Ding Sanshi was an idealistic person who could reach his current height step by step.
It just happened to be a coincidence.
"I'm indeed old. I need to learn from you, a young and energetic person." Ding Sanshi smiled cheerfully and started to make tea in an orderly manner.
This premium West Lake Longjing tea is truly extraordinary. Once rinsed with boiling water, the aroma of tea fills the air instantly.
"It's fine for others to say this, but Brother Ding, you are old but young at heart, so it's inappropriate to say this. When I was your age, I wasn't necessarily as carefree as you, playing DJ with my left hand, raising pigs with my right hand, and watching the clouds rise. It's so comfortable..."
Zhou Dongsheng joked with a smile.
"Not only is your ability to make money improving day by day, but your ability to kill people is becoming more and more unbearable. Have some tea!"
Ding Sanshi scolded with a smile, but he brewed the tea without hesitation and brought it to Zhou Dongsheng.
"Okay, this tea is really good. Bring me some later..." Zhou Dongsheng asked without any hesitation.
"No problem. I was in a hurry this time so I brought only average stuff. Come to my place next time. I have better stuff..."
The old man and the young man were chatting and tasting tea. It was obvious that a small amount of tea, no matter how precious it was, was not a big deal to them.
But apart from tea, the two of them obviously enjoyed this moment of spiritual freedom more.
But in the end, he had to return to reality. After drinking a few cups of tea, the alcohol was almost gone, and Ding Sanshi spoke calmly.
"Wang Xing is planning to acquire Mobike. He informed me a while ago that he wants to take over my share. Coincidentally, the price he offered is similar to the price you offered before..."
Ding Sanshi said happily, his eyes showing no sign of hiding his admiration, as if to say that you are worthy of being her.
It has been nearly two and a half years since Ding Sanshi first met Zhou Dongsheng. He can be said to have witnessed the sudden rise of this amazing boy Zhou Dongsheng.
Although Ding Sanshi never helped in times of need, he did add icing on the cake, and facts have repeatedly proved how right it was to choose Zhou Dongsheng.
To date, whether it is the game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds", the investment in Mobike, or TikTok, none of them have failed and made him a lot of money.
Of course, making money is secondary. What interests Ding Sanshi more is the infinite possibilities he sees in Zhou Dongsheng.
After all, for a man who had already become the richest man in China more than a decade ago, wealth is naturally no longer his primary goal in life.
Otherwise, the Zhuchang Cloud Music project, which has suffered huge losses year after year, might have been cancelled long ago.
It is true that Ding Sanshi is a businessman, but perhaps he is not a pure businessman. In comparison, Pony Ma is undoubtedly more pure than him. A loss-making project like this will probably not last long in the hands of Tencent.
It’s hard to say who is good or bad, but simply speaking from a personality perspective, perhaps more people would be willing to make friends with the former, but if it’s for the sake of profit, then the latter might be a better choice.
This may be the origin of Ding Sanshi's reputation as a good guy in the circle.
"Meituan's focus on life services is indeed the best choice to go hand in hand with shared bicycles. It can not only further expand Meituan's life ecology, but also improve Tenda's payment ecology. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone..."
Zhou Dongsheng said this without any surprise. After all, these were things he had witnessed with his own eyes. Any nonsense based on facts was naturally reasonable and convincing.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Alibaba will definitely make a move and seek corresponding chess pieces in the field of shared bicycles to compete with Tenda in the field of payment..."
Upon hearing this, Ding Sanshi said as a matter of course: "It seems that Ofo will fall into Alibaba's hands sooner or later. No wonder you chose to cash out in advance. Now it seems that both the timing and the price... are indeed the best time."
Although the market value of the two companies is still expanding, once the market value expands to a certain level, it may not be possible to sell them at their market price. Instead, they may fall into the dilemma of having a price but no market.
After all, any market transaction follows the most basic principles of buying and selling, and both buyers and sellers need to adhere to the premise of willingness to fight and to be beaten before they can reach a consensus.
However, this delicate balance may not be maintained all the time. Whenever there are some unexpected external factors, it is possible to break this balance, leading to an imbalance in buying and selling.
Once the price is inflated and no one is willing to buy, it will naturally fall back the same way it went up. This process may take several transactions, but the result will not change.
This is true for the financial market, and it is probably true for other markets as well. After all, all crows are black.
The expansion of shared bicycles has gradually entered an embarrassing situation. It relies on crazy financing and subsidies to maintain superficial prosperity, but in fact it has fallen into a vicious circle.
That is the essence of the profitability issue.
Even though the business has grown so big, its profitability is still unable to support such huge future expectations. When market rationality gradually returns, some people with discerning eyes will naturally begin to realize this...
No matter how much capital is hyped, someone will eventually have to pay for the result. The most ideal situation is naturally to go public and reap the profits, have the investors pay the bill, and then cash out and leave the market before looking for the next target, repeating the cycle over and over again.
If it cannot be listed, then naturally we have to step back and look for a suitable buyer to take over, otherwise... this plate will fall to the ground sooner or later.
At the beginning, there is a layer of window paper, supported by a hazy beauty, which may still make the market imagine, but once the window paper is broken, the reality will naturally be laid out before the eyes.
Whether it is rough or smooth, it is naturally clear at a glance. Seeing is believing, no matter how hard you try to deceive yourself, you can no longer deceive yourself.
After being inspired by Zhou Dongsheng, Ding Sanshi finally realized this.
This is certainly not because Ding Sanshi is not as good as Zhou Dongsheng, but before this, Ding Sanshi had never focused on this, and naturally would not think about it too much. After all, it was just icing on the cake.
After figuring it out, Ding Sanshi couldn't help but marvel at it, especially after further confirmation from reality...
The combination of the two further highlights the magic of Zhou Dongsheng.
"It's not the shared bikes. Based on my understanding of Dai Wei, he might be an outstanding person, but definitely not a hero..." Zhou Dongsheng chuckled and said very decisively.
Although he is a variable that interferes, it is difficult to change one's nature. Zhou Dongsheng can only be considered a person who picks peaches, but he does not have the ability to change other people's nature.
This immediately aroused Ding Sanshi's interest. After all, in his opinion, this seemed to be the best choice. Could there be any other variables?
"Does that mean you think the two companies will eventually merge, just like Didi?" Ding Sanshi thought about it for a moment and immediately thought of another result.
As he said, with the precedent of Didi, this result does not seem impossible. After all, although the two companies are incompatible on the surface, they have indeed shaken hands and made peace with Didi and become one of its shareholders together.
If there is one, there must be two. It seems reasonable to score twice...
"I don't think so. From the outside, the merger of Didi and Kuaidi is a successful case, but the parties involved may not think so..." Zhou Dongsheng said with a playful expression.
In fact, this is true. Alibaba has stated more than once that this is an example of failure and they do not want such a mistake to happen again.
From this, it can be seen that they have no intention of stopping, and the two carriages will even ignite the flames of war again. It seems that this mountain not only cannot tolerate two tigers, but also cannot tolerate two horses.
"Interesting, I didn't expect you to have figured it out to this level. I thought you only thought about things, but I didn't expect you to not only think about things, but also about people. You haven't neglected either side. It's really amazing!"
Ding Sanshi clapped his hands and gave a thumbs up.
"If we can't take over Ofo, and we can't give up the competition for the payment ecosystem, then... we can only start over?" After sorting out his thoughts, Ding Sanshi came up with an answer.
"As expected of you, Brother Ding. It took me a lot of effort to come up with this idea, but you came to this conclusion in no time. It's true that the old ones are the wisest..."
Zhou Dongsheng returned the thumbs up and also gave a powerful flattery.
"Come on, stop insulting me. If you hadn't said that, I really wouldn't have thought of it this far. After all..."
"After all, Brother Ding is not interested in this. But this is just my little guess. Who knows if something unexpected will happen..."
Zhou Dongsheng also did not forget to patch up his "butterfly effect" in advance, just in case
"Okay, I've let you say everything, but now that we've come to this, what are you going to do next..."
After the appetizers, the wine had almost sobered up, and Ding Sanshi finally asked such a random question, which seemed to be about Zhou Dongsheng's next plan, but it didn't seem to be entirely true...
"To be honest, I don't have any lofty ambitions or ideals. I just walked step by step to where I am now. I always feel that if I don't do something, it seems to be a shame to have come this far. If it is possible..."
"It seems like it would be nice to be a dragon slayer."
Zhou Dongsheng said it lightly, but it was like a bolt of thunder that suddenly exploded, causing waves in Ding Sanshi's heart.
"You call this having no lofty ambitions and ideals?" Ding Sanshi was dumbfounded. He almost imitated Kong Ming and said: I have never seen such a shameless person!
"As long as I show my utmost sincerity and have the determination to do something even though I know it is impossible, even if the final outcome is not satisfactory, at least I will not be unwilling and will not regret not choosing another path..."
Zhou Dongsheng said this with a smile, but his determined eyes proved that he was not joking, but had been brewing it in his mind for a long time.
Just a little bit of information leaked to the outside world is enough to cause quite a stir.
At this moment, Ding Sanshi felt for the first time that he needed to re-examine the young man in front of him. He had never thought that he actually had such a great ambition hidden in his heart...
But this seems to be more fun!
"Interesting, young people are still interesting!"
That night, the old and the young had a long conversation, and they couldn't help clapping their hands in admiration when they talked so excitedly.
However, just as the topic of the dinner in Wuzhen is rarely spread outside, the content of the conversation at this ordinary tea party is also unknown to outsiders.
However, you have to fire a shot first to know where the bullet will land in the future.
