Chapter 266 Back Wave
On November 11, the first World Internet Conference was held in Wuzhen, where the mortal enemies of Tubie Tunpao gathered together.

Xie Jingxing walked the red carpet in a light grey casual suit without a tie and was unrivalled, with only Li Yanhong barely able to compete with him. Pig farm director Ding Lei whispered to himself who was the protagonist.

Have we come to the wrong place? Is this the World Financial Summit?

Fortunately, he was given limited room to put on airs. At the opening ceremony, leaders gave speeches and discussions in various venues. It was like enemies meeting and they were extremely jealous of each other. Ma Da and Ma Xiao led a group of old enemies in a fierce verbal battle.

"This is my new assistant, Hu Weiwei, an outstanding young founder invested by our Xiyou. She is also involved in the sharing economy, Mobike, and the product has been launched. I believe you will be familiar with her name next year."

Nearing the lunch break, Xie Jingxing was waiting for Xiao Ma Ge at the backstage interview area, simply dealing with random interviews.

Hu Weiwei is a journalist by profession but she was quite nervous in front of the camera. She kept blinking her eyes and spoke slowly about the origin of the name "Mobike".

"He's quite sentimental. After graduating from university, he went to Beijing on his own to make a living. Last year, he went abroad to participate in the Future Auto Expo and then resigned to start his own business." Xie Jingxing introduced softly.

Brother Ma smiled slyly: "Are you well from your cold?"

"...Zhu Xiaohu joined the game and invested in a competitor. He is making trouble on the campus of Beijing University and is about to be beaten."

Xie Jingxing waved his hand, and Hu Weiwei finished the interview and walked over quickly. He continued to introduce the situation: "Their users are very active. It costs 50 cents to ride a bicycle for half an hour. The low customer unit price leads to high frequency transactions."

"The price will go up in the future, right?" Xiao Ma pushed his glasses.

Hu Weiwei clenched her hands at her side and said, "Our current idea is to accumulate platform user traffic first to seize the market. The accumulation of the product itself will bring a highly loyal user base."

"Isn't your product just a bicycle?" Xiao Ma asked in a gentle tone.

Hu Weiwei unconsciously glanced at Xie Jingxing, and seeing that he had his hands in his pockets and looked like he didn't care about anyone, she had to hold her nerve and answer, "We are making an O2O sharing economy product, and the bicycles are just a carrier. On this basis, we have precise positioning information services based on GPS, and the construction of public infrastructure for the urban transportation network."

"It sounds more like an Internet company, but should you be considered an asset-intensive industry? Bicycle manufacturing and operation and maintenance require the management team to have relevant experience." Pony Ma cut one blow after another.

Hu Weiwei gradually adapted: "Our management team has a background in the online car-hailing industry, and our Series A financing will introduce Didi."

“The success of an enterprise is definitely inseparable from the boost of capital, but not all enterprises boosted by capital can succeed. What capital gives you will be taken back double sooner or later. You have to think clearly about how to balance this with your own philosophy.”

Xiao Ma Ge finished his evaluation after three cuts, then turned his head and asked, "How far has the A round progressed?"

"Once the rice is cooked and the production line is up and running, it will be rolled out to first-tier cities by the end of the year. This project is faster than online ride-hailing, and the cash flow is strong so subsidies will start next year. However, the smart lock technology is not easy to develop, which may limit the industry's growth rate." Xie Jingxing gave his opinion.

Brother Ma said thoughtfully, "Zhu Xiaohu invested in your competitor for a reason."

"This person hasn't thought it through. Voting for the other party will only make him feel worse."

Xie Jingxing was annoyed. This guy had recently been publicly complaining more than once that big capital was holding vulnerable investors hostage and burning money, and that a commercial monopoly law should be introduced as soon as possible to restrict it. Many people thought that it was a young genius who tortured the old senior crazy.

He shook his head and said, "You and Didi can discuss how to divide the 5000 million US dollars. I will follow up with the investment in the next round."

“It’s still too early.”

Pony Ma remained noncommittal about what he could accomplish with $5000 million, but the potential technology of superimposing real-time positioning on mobile payment ports was somewhat interesting.

The key lies in the high transaction frequency. Fifty cents for a bicycle ride is much cheaper than online car-hailing. The subsequent rental deposit can be used to develop WeChat Pay's credit transaction business.

The business model doesn't matter.

The investment was finalized in a few words. Hu Weiwei seemed to understand what she was listening to, but she didn't quite understand. As for the so-called return on capital, what Tencent wanted was a battle for the agency of mobile payment ports.

They have chosen sides in a daze, the iron triangle of Tencent + Didi + Xie Jingxing; then the opponents are Zhu Xiaohu + Ofo, which are obviously not strong enough and lack a real father, Alibaba or Baidu?

Hu Weiwei began to think about Li Bin. Although Li Bin also liked to help her make decisions, he would never start so aggressively and participate in the battle of real fathers.

“WhatsApp will be next year?”

"Almost. We need to prepare in advance. If we start, the US will start moving as well."

“In fact, Southeast Asia’s internet infrastructure needs to grow, so maybe we can slow down a bit.”

"It is expected that the number of WhatsApp users will exceed one billion next year, with around 7 million monthly active users. It will pass this hurdle sooner or later."

Xiao Ma sighed helplessly and was a little excited. Xie Jingxing shrugged speechlessly.

Song Anli had previously attended a meeting at Tencent's headquarters in Shenzhen for several days. The focus of the debate was that once WhatsApp launched its mobile payment function, there was a 99% chance that Apple and other American shareholders would lobby Congress on the issue of Internet financial security, and Zuckerberg, the hanged man, would definitely jump out to disrupt the situation.

The legal risks at this stage are difficult to overcome. Since Tencent acquired WhatsApp, it has suffered a net loss of US$3.2 million to date, most of which is due to legal lobbying and public relations expenses with various governments.

However, Southeast Asia’s network infrastructure is currently unable to fully meet the needs of mobile transaction payment scenarios. Expecting a country where the bank card penetration rate is less than half to jump directly into the mobile payment era is no less than a primitive man holding a lightsaber.

"What was Jan Koum's reaction?"

Xie Jingxing looked at Hu Weiwei who was beside him with a dull face, and thought of the more idealistic founder. Brother Ma was very open-minded: "According to the previous deal, he can get shares to join our board of directors next year. If it doesn't work out, prepare a breakup fee and cooperate to part ways amicably... How about you go and persuade him?"

"I was afraid he would scold me publicly."

Xie Jingxing self-deprecatingly said that Tencent needs a team of American executives to serve as a facade, but a founder with actual control is not a good choice.

Pony Ma is being reserved. It seems that the pressure on Tencent's overseas mobile payment strategy next year will be greater than he imagined, and the determination will be greater.

"Come for a drink tonight. Invite Cheng Wei and Zhang Tao. It's my treat."

Time was tight, and they quickly exchanged their ideas about mobile payment. Then the media came to interview Pony Ma. Xie Jingxing left a message and took Hu Weiwei to have lunch.

The event was of a high standard, with thousands of people running around in Wuzhen during the lunch break.

Xie Jingxing stopped every three steps and shook hands every five steps. He made do with what he had and bought two cups of oden at a convenience store to fill his stomach. Hu Weiwei took the opportunity to socialize and added the contact information of many people.

“We’re going to burn money next year, right?”

Finding a rest bench in a secluded place and sitting down, she poked the meatballs in the cup one by one.

Xie Jingxing encouraged: "It won't cost much money. 4G network has just become popular, and the overall market size will grow only slightly next year."

"When you gave me this entrepreneurial idea and invested in me, you thought about competition in mobile payment ports." Hu Weiwei stated in an affirmative tone.

"…You have a tear mole."

Xie Jingxing felt a pair of eyes staring at him and suddenly found something strange. He nodded vaguely while eating tofu buttons: "No wonder he looks so artistic."

Hu Weiwei stared at him angrily, and after a moment of stalemate, she gave in: "Is it delicious?"

"good to eat."

"If it tastes good, just eat more."

Hu Weiwei stuffed the whole cup of oden in her hand to Xie Jingxing, smoothed her slightly rough hair, and walked away.

The entrepreneurial ideal she worked hard for had already been destined by capital when it was still a seed, serving as fertilizer for mobile payments.

The financing and burning of money to hype the market ended in a dismal mess.

Of course, with Xie Jingxing's style of doing things, this investment will definitely not be a loss. Someone will take it over, and everyone will make money more or less.

"Hey, Mr. Xie, nice to meet you."

When Xie Jingxing returned to the venue in the afternoon, he happened to bump into Zhou Hongyi head-on. It was the first time that the two people, who had been scolding each other from a distance, met.

"Sorry, I'm busy. Let's talk later."

He pointed at Hu Weiwei who was walking towards him and avoided the spotlight for a while. In the past few days, while the shipment volume of Meizu MX4Pro has been growing rapidly, the professional evaluation media that had been previously involved in public relations have been lifted.

Negative reviews mainly focus on two aspects: the 2K screen causes the phone to overheat and affects the actual experience, and the security of fingerprint touch needs to be verified in the long term.

The internet trolls maintained by various domestic mobile phone manufacturers were very dedicated. At this time, there was no need for Xie Jingxing to discuss the relevant issues publicly, as it would be easy for him to be caught.

Zhou Hongyi watched him and Hu Weiwei walk away side by side, smiling with a naughty look in his eyes.

"Two months ago, when I attended a domestic Internet conference, I said that our generation of Internet entrepreneurs are 50-year-old men leading 30-year-old CEOs and making products for 20-year-old kids. We actually don't understand their needs at all, so we have to find a girlfriend born in the 90s. Zhang Chaoyang has done a great job in this regard."

At the afternoon discussion, Zhou Hongyi sat on the stage with his legs crossed and boasted, while the audience below laughed.

The host cooperated and continued, "Just like recently investors have started to invest in people born in the 90s, especially beautiful women born in the 90s. Mr. Zhang even made a TV series specifically for beautiful women born in the 90s, right?"

"It's a TV series that the post-90s generation will like to watch. I think it's more accurate to say that Xie Jingxing invested in the post-90s generation. He obviously does a better job in this regard." Zhang Chaoyang is afraid that the world will not be in chaos.

Zhou Hongyi continued to be mean: "Xie Jingxing himself is a post-90s generation with a trendy and dynamic mindset. He actually prefers to invest in post-85s generation. Mature and experienced founders are more suitable for him."

Xie Jingxing sat in the first row and smiled indifferently. What else could these two guys do except talk big? They were terminal cancer patients, so it was understandable that they struggled before death.

"We still have to thank Mr. Zhou and his generation very much for the path they have taken and the hardships they have endured, which have pushed the Internet forward. Regardless of whether the new wave pushes the old wave out or the old wave dies on the beach, they are still working side by side with the new generation of post-90s Internet people with their own persistence. Let's give them applause." The host forced the topic back.

Hu Weiwei covered her mouth with her hand and whispered in between clapping: "They seem very anxious."

"Normal, the real discussion will be tomorrow."

Xie Jing Xing joked: "The people on the stage are the former waves who are afraid of being beaten to death on the beach as soon as they open their eyes before going to sleep."

(End of this chapter)