After concluding the trip to Chengdu, which was originally hopeless but turned out to be the most breakthrough, Lianzhong booked return tickets for Boss Ma and his companion.
Thousands of meters above the sky, Sun Yu sat next to Boss Ma, looking out the window. The dark shadow cast by the plane on the clouds was moving. At the end of the sea of clouds, there was a straight upward cliff that stretched across the sky and earth.
Flying in the air, we are so small.
Sun Yu was excited. Even though many years later he was used to flying to countless cities in the world, some with a long history and some with rapid changes, he could always remember the feeling he had today.
Having witnessed the whole process, he could feel the weight of this investment, like a twist of fate.
What the boss said in front of their founding employees, "We want to become one of the top ten websites in the world", is like the waterfall of cirrus clouds seen from outside the cabin. Although it is still out of reach, they are no longer looking up at the endless black clouds on the earth. Instead, they can see its grandeur.
It is hard to believe that the person who brought them all this and helped them in times of difficulty when they encountered countless setbacks was actually the young man who appeared in the corner of Chengdu when they first met.
Boss Ma was quick to notice his strangeness and said, "I rejected so many companies, but in the end I chose to accept their investment. You must want to know why?"
Sun Yu nodded on the surface, thinking that he took the train and ate instant noodles when coming here, but took a comfortable plane on the way back. Now you ask me why
Why else could it be that the food given out of pity is really delicious? Anyway, you are right.
"There's a line in a poem that goes, 'The world's ups and downs are created by our generation, and once we enter the world, time will rush us along.' You and I meet different people every day, some are just acquaintances, some just pass by, but there are always some people who, once you see them, are like the light of fireflies in the dark. When you find your kind, you know that there are some things in common. Essentially, he and I are the same kind of people."
Sun Yu stared at his boss and thought that they were indeed the same kind of people, but the difference was whether they were rich or poor.
Boss Ma said, "He runs websites and founded CQ and Lianzhong. He understands operations and can also make investments. When I came to Chengdu, it seemed like I only spent a day visiting Lianzhong and CQ, but in fact, it took less than three minutes from the time we talked about business to when he agreed to invest. This can be said to be my personal brilliance, but you can also think that his vision is unique."
Sun Yu's eye twitched.
"When a swordsman fights with real skills, it's not about fighting to the death for 300 times, but about being able to grasp a lot of information in a short period of time, whether it's intuition or experience, and being able to strike a fatal blow. In my opinion, he has three major advantages. First, he makes precise decisions. The eyes of a master are always the sharpest and can see your weaknesses at a glance. Second, he wants to do great things. I know this from what he told me about the appointment at Mount Emei. Some people's abilities cannot be judged by their age. On the contrary, he seems to be as far-sighted as an old chess player, but his youth makes him fearless once he strikes. His ambition is more than that. The third point is that he can do things completely according to his own ideas. Once he identifies a goal, he will immediately implement it and carry it through."
"I used to hear about some people's legendary stories, such as someone who made plans for the next 50 years at the age of 19 and gradually achieved his goals, but those were all stories of geniuses in developed Western countries. Now at least I can confirm that there is such a person in Chengdu."
“We are all smart people.”
Sun Yu couldn't help but admire that his boss had such qualities. No matter what kind of person he faced, he could handle it with ease. Even when facing people who were temporarily inferior to him, he could communicate with them on an equal footing.
Boss Ma looked at Sun Yu and finally opened his mouth with a shy smile, "Of course there is a difference. I may be pretending to be smart, but he is really smart."
Sun Yu's mouth curved up politely but awkwardly, thinking to himself, Boss, it's a good thing you added that last sentence, otherwise I would have thought it was someone else who needed your help, not you who needed someone else's big investment...
…
In fact, Cheng Ran was quite satisfied with getting 35% of the shares for 30 million.
Thinking about how Goldman Sachs led several companies to ask for 50% of Ma's shares for $5 million, this seems unlikely at first glance, but as long as you know Ma's survival situation at the time, you will know that it is not surprising. This incident probably happened several months later. If he rejected Ma this time, adding another rejection scar to Ma's record, probably in the future, with continuous setbacks and Alibaba in a desperate situation, Ma would eventually agree to give up 50% of the shares. At that time, the only thought was probably to survive.
Sometimes it is like this, the script is beautiful, but reality does not play out completely according to the script. This is not the best result, but it is already the best result. Lianzhong, which he and Cheng Qi founded, finally let Boss Ma come to the door. This has already deviated from the trajectory of the previous life. If Cheng Ran wants to "beat" Boss Ma a few more times to make him accept 50% of the plan, who can guarantee that he will not be intercepted by others in the middle of the process? It is best to grasp it when you can grasp it in front of you.
Zhao Qing said, "30 million. It's not easy to catch the rising trend of the stock market that hasn't been seen in many years. You earned this much money from the securities market. You may not have such an opportunity in the future. Isn't it too risky to do this?"
Cheng Ran looked over and said, "When investing in a company, is it more important to focus on the company's model and concept, or the person you invest in?"
Cheng Ran continued, "If it's a start-up, I believe investors are more important. If you are not in this industry and you are an outsider looking at the company's model, how can you really tell whether it has a future? Some companies look promising and have good models, but ultimately lack people who can implement them, and they die in the end. So it's meaningless to focus too much on these things, and in the end it all comes down to 'people'. Investing means investing in people you think you can trust."
"That's why I'm willing not to be on their board of directors, not to be involved in management, and at most retain the right to veto major resolutions, because I trust this person."
"Secondly, this investment can be made through Cheng Qi's Lianzhong. Once this information is released, both Cheng Qi and Boss Ma will become famous. This is a win-win situation for both companies."
Zhao Qing's eyes lit up. Investing is not just about making money. If one can gain resources and fame, it can also provide impetus for the development of a company.
Cheng Ran may not bring any connections with him, but once the two companies start investing and building bridges, it will inevitably cause a stir in the domestic Internet industry. At this time, there are still many investors with large sums of money eyeing this hot land of China. Not to mention accepting investments, just being surrounded by capital will make the two companies more and more famous, and their valuations will also rise.
"This is what we can bring to Mr. Ma, and I believe he can see this, so this investment can be implemented. But this is not all. We just help his company get through the difficult period of starting up. We did not let him shake the world, but I believe he will get some world-shaking investments in the future. This is just the first step, but after taking this step, the rest will be much easier. If there is a chance, we will also help promote Mr. Ma's next investment, because the entry of these capitals will bring unlimited resources, which will make Alibaba rise, and we will be one of the biggest beneficiaries."
Boss Ma went back to reorganize things this time. He and Cheng Ran reached an agreement on the core issues. The next step is the details of the contract, which will probably be completed within a week. Zhao Qing will issue an investment plan based on the agreement reached by both parties. On the surface, it will be announced to the outside world that Lianzhong has invested in Alibaba, but in fact the investor and shareholder is Tianxing Holding Company established earlier by Cheng Ran.
Boss Ma will come to Chengdu again at that time, and both parties will sign the investment contract.
The process of this matter was temporarily handed over to Zhao Qing, and Cheng Ran devoted himself to the upcoming final exam...