Chapter 118 Peace Talk Ideas
The cold smell of disinfectant diluted the smell of cigarettes and alcohol. Song Anli was curled up on the hospital bed, sleeping. Her pretty face was pale and her soft long hair was disheveled, covering her furrowed brows.

"It's not a big problem. The girl is in good physical condition. She will be better tomorrow after staying in the hospital for observation overnight."

Several doctors stood in front of the bed and observed and talked boredly for a while. Finally, the vice president with gray hair and superb medical skills gave the consultation result.

Xie Jingxing nodded in thanks, and cast his eyes on the IV needle inserted into the back of Song Anli's hand: "May I ask what medicine was used?"

"There are drugs to protect the gastric mucosa and liver function, mainly to prevent gastrointestinal bleeding... There are also glucose saline and hangover drugs that promote metabolism... In fact, you can also use a monitor to prevent heart and other body functions, but the girl is young after all, there is no need to toss..."

The vice president patiently and carefully explained in a low voice for a long time, and personally called the names of the two attending nurses and the attending physician before saying goodbye and leaving with the doctors.

Song Anli's hands are very beautiful, with fair and delicate skin, slender fingers, and even bones and flesh. The shape of the blood vessels can be clearly seen on the back of her hands.

The medicine dripped from the plastic outer tube, flowed into the body through the needle and dissolved in the blood. Xie Jingxing watched the whole process quietly.

Liu Qiming waited for a moment and reminded him, "Boss Xie, the hospital has arranged a special nursing suite for you to rest. I'll take care of you here."

"It's okay as long as the nurse is here. Go and thank the hospital leaders. I need to talk to Liu Qing." Xie Jingxing patted his shoulder.

Liu Qiming's face became increasingly gloomy, and he hung his head and said, "Boss Xie, it was my fault today."

"Don't be hypocritical, it has nothing to do with you, this is the money she earns."

Xie Jing Xing shook his head and paused for a moment before continuing, "If I have to say, it's the local taxi company in Harbin that's a bit arrogant. We'll have many opportunities to deal with each other in the future, and the accounts will be settled sooner or later."

The business model of online ride-hailing seems to have a foreseeable end. It competes in the market with low-price subsidies regardless of cost. If it is not restricted, it will sooner or later force the traditional taxi industry to crawl on the ground.

When passenger growth reaches its upper limit and the number of online ride-hailing drivers increases indefinitely, the increasingly optimized artificial intelligence algorithms of online ride-hailing platforms will squeeze the profits of each transaction to the limit.

When drivers need to work twelve hours a day to fill their stomachs and passengers are once again trapped in poor transportation services, it is time for Xie Jingxing to reap the profits. The money that he is burning crazily now will roll back to him doubled.

Smart people know this, but the entire online ride-hailing industry is still growing wildly under layers of official restrictions in various places, because smart people stand on the bridge to see the scenery, while people who see the scenery are on the top of the mountain.

Giving the online car-hailing industry a certain degree of freedom will break the monopoly of the traditional taxi industry, inject competitiveness into the market and force the traditional taxi industry to improve its operating conditions.

This is what ordinary people need today, and it is also a macro perspective of looking at the scenery from the top of a mountain - a dual-track system, with online ride-hailing services and traditional taxis running in parallel.

Therefore, Didi will inevitably have a lot of intersections with the traditional taxi industry in the future. As for how much intersection there will be, it depends on how the top-level macro rules of the game are set.

“The only reason we can acquiesce and accept a wrong theory is because we have not found a better alternative. Similarly, the current injustice can only be tolerated if it can avoid greater injustice.”

In the small garden downstairs in the inpatient department, Liu Qing paced slowly and said, "So your logic is that maybe the future prospects of online ride-hailing are not so optimistic for people's livelihood, but the traditional taxi industry has reached a point where it cannot be tolerated."

"Therefore, the national macro-level will definitely recognize the compliance of the online car-hailing industry in terms of legal principles, but there is still a lot of room for discussion in terms of policy regulations."

Xie Jing Xing put his hands in his windbreaker pockets and shrugged: "This is obvious."

"If there were no online ride-hailing services, ordinary people would seem to have no choice but to continue to tolerate traditional taxis." Liu Qing raised his eyebrows.

Xie Jingxing tilted his head and looked at her: "Do you need to find justice for your current job?"

"I stated a fact."

Liu Qing does believe that he is doing the right thing. At least at this stage, online ride-hailing is a warrior on the road to defeating the dragon.

Xie Jingxing remained noncommittal. He said that founders need to have a sense of conviction, but it is meaningless for investors to talk about good and evil.

"Didi needs to set up a government public relations (GR) department to deal with the formulation of the next rules of the game." He continued to get to the point.

Liu Qing asked without hesitation: "When do you think the country will issue policy provisions?"

"I have no interest in controlling Didi's internal operations." Xie Jingxing said bluntly.

"You are more annoying than Zhu Xiaohu."

Liu Qing was silent for a few seconds before she smiled. "Shareholding restructuring, women's charity, and now the establishment of a GR department. You and Cheng Wei are throwing all these tasks to me. It's simply too much."

"I can give you some suggestions on policy research. Of course, they are just suggestions." Xie Jingxing emphasized.

Liu Qing smiled mischievously and said, "If the suggestion can effectively reduce my workload, why not adopt it?"

Didi's development to date has had Zhu Xiaohu teaching Cheng Wei how to capture the Beijing market, Tencent later joined in to teach him how to burn money, and now there's Xie Jingxing.

He was the one who orchestrated the bloody battle with Bumblebee in Shanghai, he was the one who led the C round of financing, and he was the one who easily resolved the most serious public relations crisis at the moment.

During this process, the actual control of Didi's management was lost invisibly. Although it sounds a bit painful to talk about it now, Liu Qing believes that it is necessary to lay the cards on the table and draw a clear line.

Xie Jingxing could only make suggestions, and the specific implementation was up to her.

The U.S. government public relations industry is very well developed, and major companies have long-term lobbying teams stationed on Capitol Hill. In comparison, domestic government public relations is in its infancy.

Go to the relevant official departments of the industry to poach a few frustrated leaders in office to switch jobs, or hire retired leaders as strategic consultants. At most, use their resources to interpret policies, utilize policies, and avoid risks.

It is foreseeable that in the next 20 to 30 years, it will be basically difficult for Didi to participate in policy making as deeply as its foreign counterparts. Didi's opportunity lies in the shallow "policy making opinion solicitation" link.

After what happened last night, the relevant departments in Beijing will most likely call in Didi, Kuaidi, Bumblebee and other market leading platforms for talks. According to procedural justice, there must be rules for management, which will lead to the legal recognition of the online car-hailing industry.

The normal process for identifying legal principles and policies is mainly carried out by an advisory team composed of experts and scholars and relevant departments, during which industry representative companies will be given the opportunity to express their opinions.

For example, every issue such as the protection of online car-hailing drivers' rights and interests, business scope, pricing standards, etc., concerns Didi's direct interests and the future development direction of the entire industry, and there are huge benefits.

Liu Qing believed that no one could do this better than her, and Xie Jingxing agreed with this, after all, she also had a good father.

"I'll email it to you later."

Xie Jingxing verbally stated a few key points based on the policy tone ten years later, and did not intend to nag about the other details: "If there is nothing else, I will leave first."

"Want to go back to the ward and wait so that Assistant Song can see you first when he wakes up? President Xie is so romantic."

Liu Qing suddenly acted like a jerk. In the pocket of his windbreaker were cigarettes and matches that he had taken from the dining table in the afternoon. Xie Jingxing fumbled around and took out the cigarettes and lit them slowly: "You should give her a gift of consolation."

"Assistant Song's food, accommodation and transportation are all top-notch, and female celebrities are no different. I really don't know what to give her. Can you please give me some advice, Mr. Xie?" Liu Qing continued to be a jerk. Xie Jingxing raised his hand and pointed to the small supermarket downstairs in the inpatient department not far away: "Buy a grapefruit basket and a box of canned yellow peaches."

"Why does it sound like something you like to eat?" Liu Qing asked with a blink.

Xie Jing Xing stopped and took a deep puff of cigarette, then waved to her to come closer, closer, and then, the blue-gray smoke slowly sprayed onto her face: "You have to go to Korea for a facelift."

"Ahem, I'm going to give you a hard time!"

Liu Qing was choked and coughed, speaking in a Beijing accent. She was actually disliked for being ugly. She took a breath and said angrily, "You are so boring. I won't tease you anymore. As a friend, is it okay for you to accompany me for a walk?"

Xie Jingxing was speechless. Harbin at the end of September was already somewhat bleak. The weather turned cooler in the evening. In the dim little garden, the grass was yellow and the leaves were withered. It was a ghost walk.

He unconsciously tightened his windbreaker, walked into the small pavilion in two or three steps, sat down, and gestured for invitation.

Liu Qing sat opposite him and restrained his expression: "As of today, we have burned 4.8 million in cash in September. Other investors can't afford it."

"How much money is left in the account? Financing can be started at any time. I will provide a bridge loan for turnover." Xie Jingxing was well prepared.

Liu Qing had no choice but to further explain: "After last night's conflict, I estimate that relevant departments in Beijing will organize a meeting soon, which means that the relevant policies for the online car-hailing industry will be roughly finalized by the end of the year at the latest. In addition, the scale of burning money exceeded expectations, and both Didi and us are under great pressure."

"You want to negotiate with Kuai?" Xie Jingxing seemed to be thinking about something.

Liu Qing nodded vigorously: "Not only the fast ones, but also the Bumblebee."

"what can I do?"

"I need you to at least remain neutral."

"Anyone object?"

Liu Qing breathed a sigh of relief: "It's just a little resistance."

Before she joined Didi, the expected plan led by Xie Jingxing, Pony Ma and Cheng Wei was to fight the subsidy war until the end of the year. Burning more than one billion yuan would almost expand the market to its short-term upper limit.

Facts have proved that everyone was too obsessed with the competition. In this month alone, Didi and Kuaidi have burned a total of nearly one billion yuan. Small investors on both sides, led by Zhu Xiaohu, are so anxious that they want to vomit blood, but they are trapped in the prisoner's dilemma and cannot stop.

Seeing that the scale of money burning was approaching 30 to 40 billion, coupled with the external policy pressure in the industry, Liu Qing wanted to broker a merger between Didi and Kuaidi.

She went home and asked her father to help mediate the fight, trying to persuade Pony Ma and Mr. Ma to sit down and have a talk. The two Ma's had an ambiguous attitude and did not agree but did not refuse either. They gave her father enough face and said with a smile that Didi and Kuaidi could negotiate on their own and Tencent and Alibaba should not interfere.

As long as Xie Jingxing also does not interfere, there is no need to care about the opinions of other small investors. Liu Qing is confident that he can talk to Kuaidi.

In fact, her most important target is Bumblebee. Li Yanhong's stamina is not good enough and the second round of money-burning subsidies has withered. This month, Bumblebee is in a miserable situation and its market share has plummeted.

Even if the merger negotiations with Kuaidi fail, Didi can temporarily reduce the intensity of competition and take a breather. It can then seek to acquire Bumblebee.

In recent days, Liu Qing has heard the news that Baidu seems to be changing its strategic development direction again and wants to abandon Bumblebee and enter the online car-hailing market from Yidao Yongche.

Yidao Yongche is the market leader in the high-end private car-hailing segment of online car-hailing. Baidu invested in it a long time ago, but unfortunately it specializes in high-end private cars and has been slow to develop the mid- and low-end ride-sharing and taxi markets.

Baidu did not treat it as its own son. Now it feels that the competition in the mid- and low-end market through Bumblebee is too fierce, so it turns around and thinks of its godson.

"No matter what you want to do, the next round of financing should be put on the agenda." Xie Jingxing reminded meaningfully.

Liu Qing opened his mouth and said: "There will have to be new investors in the next round. We will discuss the investment shares between Xiyou and Tencent."

"Grapefruit must account for at least 40% of the next round of financing." Xie Jingxing offered a price.

Liu Qing glared: "You don't think I can broker a successful merger between Didi and Kuaidi?"

“Give it a try. A few months ago, no one thought I could successfully broker Tencent’s acquisition of WhatsApp,” Xie Jingxing encouraged.

Liu Qing laughed out of anger. Her father, Er Ma, and Xie Jingxing all essentially looked at her efforts to set up a matchmaker with an indifferent attitude, as if they were watching a child messing around.

If the merger between Didi and Kuaidi is successful, it means that the shareholdings of all shareholders will change significantly. However, Xie Jingxing seriously talked about the distribution of shares in Didi's next round of financing.

The more I listen to the words of encouragement, the more sarcastic they sound, which is really contemptuous.

But since he had something to ask of him, Liu Qing managed to calm down and humbly asked for advice: "What angle do you think Didi should take to acquire Bumblebee?"

"Let your father do it."

Xie Jingxing told him frankly, and before Liu Qing could no longer hold back and start to curse, he made a downward gesture: "I met Uber founder Travis Kalanick in Silicon Valley a few days ago. He has the idea of ​​entering the domestic market, and it shouldn't be too late."

"Under this circumstance, I don't know why Baidu would give up Bumblebee, except for asking your father to take action."

Liu Qing regained his composure instantly, even breaking out in a cold sweat: "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Xie Jingxing had previously told Pony Ma and Cheng Wei separately about the possibility of Baidu acting as a guide for Uber, because Uber has conquered cities all over the world and is invincible. Judging from business intuition, it will definitely take a long time to digest the market, and everyone is skeptical about his judgment.

Hearing that Uber has set its sights on the domestic market gives me a completely different feeling. Baidu is wondering whether it has given up on Bumblebee and turned itself into a strategy of confusing the enemy, like Guan Yu who may emerge from Huarong Road at any time.

"Because it doesn't matter. Sooner or later, we will defeat Uber head-on." Xie Jingxing gave a matter-of-fact explanation.

Liu Qing was speechless for a long time. He carefully observed his expression in the moonlight, and repeated several times: "Are you really a genius?"

"...If admitting that I am a genius can make you feel less frustrated, then I am." Xie Jingxing commented carefully.

Liu Qing stood up and gathered her hair around her ears. "I'll be in Harbin for a few more days, trying to get taxis connected to Didi so that we can enter the Longjiang market."

"Tang Man will stay with you. I will go to Beijing tomorrow. Please help me make an appointment with Cheng Wei to meet and discuss the subsequent subsidy plan." Xie Jingxing breathed a sigh of relief tiredly.

Liu Qing finally said shyly: "Today...I was slow to react at the table."

"You may have a misunderstanding about Song Anli. She never thought of herself as a white flower."

Xie Jingxing's expression could not be seen clearly in the darkness, but his tone was slightly smug.

(End of this chapter)