2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 346 The Dog-like Little Tan
Kuang Ping had never experienced such a unique investment experience before.

"Most of the investments aren't exactly high-end, but this is the first time I've actually come to a real rural area to discuss investment."

On the way from Shanghai to Yicheng, following the address given by Cheng Hao and after obtaining his contact information, Tan Jincheng sent Li Yaohui to pick up Kuang Ping in the county town and arrange accommodations for Kuang Ping and his assistant.

They arrived at 5 p.m. Tan Jincheng originally intended for Kuang Ping to rest for one night and meet in the county town the next day.

However, since Kuang Ping has already run so far, one more shiver won't make a difference.

So he followed Lai Yiu-fai to Tam Kam-ching's house for a free meal. It was a half-hour drive from the county town through the town and then to the countryside.

Kuang Ping comes from a well-off family. He was born in Guangzhou and studied at a prestigious university in the United States. He had never been to a small county town or a real rural area like this before, so it was quite a unique experience for him.

"There's not much to offer, but it's fresh, so I hope Mr. Kuang won't find it offensive."

"I apologize for disturbing you, Mr. Tan, thank you for your hospitality." Kuang Ping and his assistant were both touched by the table full of dishes.

Rural people are hospitable. Knowing that Tan Jincheng had guests coming, Grandpa slaughtered his own old hen without saying much, and Grandma went to the field to pick vegetables.

For Kuang Ping, who was used to delicacies, a large table of local specialties was not particularly expensive, but he could feel the warmth and hospitality, which made the two of them, who hadn't eaten well on the road, feel hungry.

Tan Jincheng ladled a spoonful of chicken soup into each of their bowls: "Have a bowl of chicken soup to warm your stomachs first. This chicken was just slaughtered this afternoon and was not fed any feed. It tastes quite good."

Kuang Ping exchanged a glance with his assistant and smiled, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'm actually a little hungry."

"Don't be shy, make yourself at home. Let's eat first and talk about everything else."

Before meeting him, Kuang Ping's impression of Tan Jincheng was that he was arrogant and avoided meeting him after several attempts to express his investment intentions. He even refused to give Tan Jincheng his contact information. Today, when they met, Tan Jincheng only sent a driver to pick him up.

Please, they're investors, after all. Shouldn't they show some respect?

However, after meeting him, Kuang Ping's impression of Tan Jincheng changed somewhat. The table was full of dishes, which obviously could not have been prepared in a short time.

They also thoughtfully prepared two tables. This table was for myself, my assistant, Tan Jincheng, and his girlfriend—the four of us—to make it easier to discuss business.

After finishing a bowl of chicken soup, Kuang Ping said somewhat awkwardly, "How about we put the two tables together? That would be more lively."

To be honest, he had never experienced this kind of scene before. Elites who had returned from abroad were very knowledgeable about business, but he knew nothing about rural etiquette.

If his assistant hadn't reminded him, he would have forgotten to prepare a gift before he arrived; indeed, it's the Mid-Autumn Festival, how can you visit someone's home without bringing a gift?

"No need, no need. My grandparents don't speak Mandarin well, and my parents have to take care of my sister's meals. It's fine as it is."

Then Tan Jincheng poured wine for Kuang Ping and his assistant. Although Tan Jincheng was not a big drinker, no feast is complete without wine, so he could have a few drinks.

The assistant quickly stood up and said, "Thank you, Mr. Tan, but I have to drive later, so I won't drink."

"It's alright, all guests are welcome. I'll have my driver take you back to the hotel in a bit. Of course, if you can't drink, don't force yourself. I'm not much of a drinker either."

The assistant glanced at Kuang Ping, who nodded.

After a few rounds of drinks, the relationship seemed to have grown a little closer. Kuang Ping said, half teasing and half seriously, "President Tan and President Gu, you two had a very leisurely National Day holiday hiding in the countryside, but you turned the internet upside down."

Before coming here, Kuang Ping had already learned that Tencent had quickly conducted tests after learning that Happy Farm had been launched, and the test results were not good for Tencent.

A large group of game developers who were already on vacation were quickly recalled, and they must be just as furious as I am.

Compared to QQ Zone, Renren.com was hit the hardest. QQ Zone, Renren.com, and the rapidly rising Kaixin.com are currently the top tier of social networking sites. The internet has always been a winner-takes-all market.

QQ Space has a strong foundation in attracting traffic from QQ, and it's almost certain that it will secure a place in the market.
With MSN driving traffic, Kaixin001 has also launched Happy Farm, which has the potential to become a huge hit, and it can also take a share of the market. If this continues, will Xiaonei.com still have a place to survive?

However, what Kuang Ping admired most was that Tan Jincheng had registered domain names and trademarks containing the word "happy," thus completely blocking the risk of imitators trying to use the word "happy" to gain popularity.

Don't ask him how he knew. The answer is that he had never had such an idea before, nor had he checked the trademark registration application of the State Trademark Office.

What Kuang Ping didn't know was that Tan Jincheng, that scoundrel, had registered both QQ Farm and QQ Ranch, but not under the name of Orange Technology.

In the name of his father-in-law, Gu Hongshun, he bought a piece of land in Yiwu, set up a farmhouse inn, planted some vegetables, raised some chickens, and started it up in a respectable manner. As for the categories, they included agriculture, agricultural product processing, and so on.

Before registering, Tan Jincheng checked and found that although Tencent had registered many trademarks in the QQ category, most of them were concentrated in the information service category, which is essentially internet-related. They had not registered any agricultural trademarks.

This tactic is actually quite shameless and illegal. If a lawsuit actually goes to court in the future, they will most likely lose to Nanshan Invincible.

However, Tan Jincheng didn't care. This was to prevent him from deliberately using it to annoy his opponents in future competitions. Anyway, even if he lost the lawsuit against Tencent, he would still become famous, which would be equivalent to free publicity.

As for the reason, Tan Jincheng had already thought it through: his father-in-law's daughter was named Gu Qingqing; Qingqing, using the initials QQ to register, was perfectly fine.

Currently, only Gu Qingqing knows this. Although her father-in-law set up this farm at Tan Jincheng's request, he doesn't understand its purpose. Since the couple has nothing else to do and they have some friends from their previous business dealings, it doesn't matter whether the farm makes money or not; they just want it as a place to meet with friends.

However, after Kaixin.com became a hit online and Orange Technology was frequently mentioned, Gu Hongshun, who invested 300 million yuan, also began to pay attention to the development of Orange Technology and often searched for news related to Orange Technology online.

Within just a few months of its launch, the valuation had reached over 100 million, turning the initial investment of 3 million into 30 million. Gu Hongshun was completely dumbfounded.

Gu Hongshun had also been following the news about the three major competitors. Connecting it to trademark registration, although Gu Hongshun, who had run a factory before, didn't understand the intricacies, he still grasped the tactics of business competition. This future son-in-law's ability to build such a large business was far from the amiable person he appeared to be; his behavior was somewhat underhanded.

That night, while lying in bed with her husband, Li Jinzhen analyzed the situation and was completely dumbfounded.

"Is it really that bad? Aren't you thinking too badly of Xiao Tan? Didn't he say he registered the trademark using the initials of Qingqing's name?"

"Don't listen to his nonsense. He considers that QQ company's products as competitors? Do you think he has such a simple idea? Do you think his money falls from the sky?"

He's used to all sorts of tricks in business, and now that he understands the ins and outs of Kaixin.com, how could he possibly believe Tan Jincheng's previous explanation?

I was so grateful that I actually believed it before. I was being nice to Qingqing and giving my father-in-law something to do. I was quite touched at the time.

I never expected this kid could even fool his father-in-law.

"That's impossible. There wasn't any Happy Farm back then, so why would Xiao Tan think so much?" Li Jinzhen still didn't believe it.

Gu Hongshun was too lazy to argue with her. Who told you there wasn't one? After having this suspicion, he asked his niece. This Happy Farm had been developed long ago, but it had been shelved and not yet launched.

Anyway, when a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, once she's taken a liking to him, everything about him is perfect.

To be fair, this guy is really good to his daughter. He didn't actually need the 300 million investment at all; the 30% stake was essentially a gift to his daughter.

Gu Hongshun knew perfectly well why he was giving it to her; it was simply to ensure that their social status matched.

Now he's taken his daughter to his hometown to meet relatives and elders, so it seems all those rumors online were false.
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The next day.

Tan Jincheng, along with Kuang Ping and his assistant, arrived at Jinpen Lake, a small island in the county town with a considerable reputation and unique charm, home to six households.

"It is said that this place was originally home to six families from Jiangsu Province who made a living by fishing along the Yangtze River. They eventually settled here, hence the name 'Six Families.' Now there are definitely more than six families here."

Amidst the rhythmic thumping of the diesel ferry, Tan Jincheng introduced Kuang Ping.

The lake water is very clear and calm. The lotus flowers are fragrant. Several three-story houses on a small island in the middle of the lake are completely isolated by the lake water. The only way to get out is by boat.

"Have the people on this island always lived here, and can they only get out by ferry?"

"Yes, it's always been like that, but this season is the flood season, so it looks even more spectacular."

"It's so beautiful! I've never seen such a view before," Kuang Ping exclaimed.

His assistant, who carried a digital camera, was also captivated by the scenery and started snapping photos, as was Gu Qingqing.

"What a beautiful country! It seems we should really travel more."

"Who can argue with that? Life isn't just about the present hardships; there's also poetry and distant horizons."

"Oh? Mr. Tan, you're right. I'll remember that."

Neither of them discussed investment last night; Kuang Ping acted like a friend visiting for the first time, just chatting casually. Today is the real topic.

Kuang Ping initially thought Tan Jincheng was irrelevant, dragging him from an air-conditioned hotel to some farmhouse to discuss business. But now, seeing this scenery, he felt it was worth it even if the deal didn't go through.

What I saw and heard on this trip to Yicheng was indeed different from the conversations in cubicles and cafes in big cities.

When the dishes were served, the farm-style dishes made with lotus seeds, lotus roots, fox nuts, fish, shrimp, and wild duck from the lake were praised by everyone.

I didn't drink alcohol today; such fresh and delicious ingredients would only ruin the enjoyment of the food.

There were no other guests in the courtyard; Tan Jincheng had booked the entire place for this family today.

After the meal, the group sat in the farmhouse courtyard, enjoying the breeze and the scenery on the lake. Wild ducks occasionally glided across the water, making it a very pleasant experience.

"It was worth it, Mr. Tan. Even if we hadn't reached an agreement, I've still entrusted you as a friend. It wasn't a wasted trip."

"What do you mean, Mr. Kuang? Are you not planning to invest anymore?"

"Oh? Mr. Tan has ideas about investment?"

Tan Jincheng shrugged: "Why would I bother if I had no ideas? I'm introducing my girlfriend to my elders."

"Haha, I was indeed presumptuous. I wonder what kind of cooperation Mr. Tan is looking for? How will the specific valuation be calculated?" Kuang Ping laughed heartily.

After getting to know him better last night, his impression of Tan Jincheng changed significantly. Tan Jincheng was not the arrogant person he had imagined. On the contrary, he was very humble and hospitable.

He does have the ability to judge people; otherwise, how could he be an investor? His previous reluctance to contact investors might have been just a way to wait for the launch of Happy Farm and give Kaixin.com a higher valuation.

"That depends on what you can give me, Mr. Kuang; you know I'm not short of money."

An elderly relative of mine passed away, so I'm posting this chapter a little earlier today; there won't be any more tonight.

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(End of this chapter)