2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 466 Secret Meeting (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The "read but not reply" feature is one that everyone hates.

Although it was disgusting, after careful consideration, Tan Jincheng still had the Dingding project team make it.

If an app designed for work communication doesn't have this feature, employees can easily pass the buck to each other, simply saying, "I didn't see it."

Tan Jincheng deliberately ignored Sun Tongyu's request to meet, even though he had read it. The fact that he cautiously sent the message on Dingding already proved that he was interested.

It seems that the sharp drop in Ali's stock price today had a significant impact on him.

Indeed, he has no other expectations besides these cold, hard numbers, and to make matters worse, these cold, hard numbers have decreased by nearly 20% in a single day.

And just the night before, someone made it clear that even dogs wouldn't buy his cold, hard numbers.

There are plenty of ways for departing executives to cash out and leave early. Even Tan Jincheng, who was a sucker in his previous life, knew this. I suppose Sun Tongyu is already thinking about these things now.
When Tan Jincheng received the message, it was not yet 5 p.m., and not much time had passed since the market closed. Sun Tongyu's message seemed to be quite impatient.

Just as Sun Tongyu had suspected, Tan Jincheng's failure to reply to his messages did not mean he refused to meet.

I've been pestering him for so long, from August to November, even doing bizarre things like sending him short video torrents. Isn't this the moment I've been waiting for?

For the past three months, Sun Tongyu has consistently shown a strong aversion to meeting people, regardless of his enthusiasm during conversations. However, the good news is that he hasn't met anyone else and has been living a secluded life.

The fact that no one had met was good news for Tan Jincheng.

Sun Tongyu's departure and the fact that Aima poached employees from Xinri demonstrate that Ma Huateng's company truly possesses the qualities to become an excellent company. Sun Tongyu is currently the third employee in the entire Alibaba system.

In reality, he was the number two figure before he was stripped of power. Such a person's departure is something that the public would not hear about at all except for a small circle of people; the secrecy was handled very well.

This is something that Flashpoint Group and Orange Technology should learn from. Imagine if Zhang Xupeng or Cheng Hao were to leave, would Flashpoint and Orange be able to maintain this level of confidentiality?
It doesn't seem feasible at the moment.

Firstly, the company lacks this awareness, and secondly, it doesn't have the resources. A small number of people like Tan Jincheng who know the news, whether out of respect for Lao Ma or for their own benefit, won't spread it around.

However, the media is not one to keep secrets. The fact that they could suppress such explosive news as the impending dismissal of Ahri's de facto number two and number three employee shows that it's not something that can be done just by paying money.

These days, journalists still have some integrity. They pursue timely and sensational news, and they dare to report even under pressure. It's been more than three months, and Lao Ma has still managed to suppress the news, which really shows how amazing he is.

Of course, it couldn't have been just Old Ma who put in the effort. With so many investment institutions in Alibaba, the management turmoil in the early stages of the IPO directly affected their interests, so it was inevitable that they would help suppress the news.

Furthermore, Sun Tongyu dared not speak out, neither for his own benefit nor for external pressure.

The reason why I've never seen an internet executive speak ill of others after leaving the company is precisely because we are all stakeholders. If someone were to spout nonsense in front of the media, they would probably be unable to continue working in the industry.

In summary, the simplest way to suppress information so effectively is to share the benefits. With the support of all parties, they can cooperate to suppress the source of the information and prevent them from becoming volatile in the face of major events and projects.

Orange Technology is worth a try in the future, but I feel that Flash Group is not a good fit. Flash Group is unlikely to have much capital involved. However, physical businesses are different from internet companies, so it's not too bad.

As long as it's not an important figure like Yu Lin from Xinri who is suddenly poached, it doesn't matter if the news leaks out.

"Sun Tongyu replied to me, saying he'd like to find an opportunity to meet," Tan Jincheng said with a light laugh to Gu Qingqing beside him.

These past two days, Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing have been together. He has a feeling that with the listing of Ali, Sun Tongyu's inner turmoil has increased, and there is a greater chance that he will cling to him and cause his psychological defenses to collapse.

If he misses this window of opportunity, he might really have to become an investor.

Choosing to work at Orange Technology was also to make it easier to get information. Sure enough, Sun Tongyu's psychological defenses were weakening, and Gu Qingqing was also very happy to hear that.

Orange Products Club is the core business of Orange Technology in the next stage, and it urgently needs a leader who is very proficient in e-commerce to take charge. She asked herself if her current ability was enough, and even said that Orange Technology does not currently have such a capable leader.

If they could recruit Sun Tongyu, who single-handedly built Taobao, it would be a great thing for Orange Technology and Orange Products.

"Really, how did you reply to him?"

"I haven't replied to him yet. I'm thinking about where we should meet. It definitely can't be in Hangzhou, it can't be in Ningbo, and it can't even be in Hong Kong where he is now." Hangzhou is Old Ma's territory, and Tan Jincheng's face is also familiar in Ningbo, which would cause too much of a stir. Hong Kong's media is developed, and Sun Tongyu has appeared in public before. If he stays in Hong Kong after the listing to meet with the mysterious person, it will more or less attract attention.

“Location is indeed a problem.” Gu Qingqing had obviously thought of this as well.

Tan Jincheng is quite famous, and Sun Tongyu is also a public figure. Although Sun Tongyu's resignation has been confirmed, he was photographed before he left. The blame for the drop in Ali's stock price might be placed on Orange Technology.

However, we cannot miss this opportunity, so choosing a location that is not in the public eye is quite important.

If it were someone else, they could choose to visit their wife's family home, thus having an excuse to go home and visit relatives. But the problem is that Sun Tongyu's wife is Peng Lei, who currently works at Alipay and is also one of Ali's eighteen arhats.

In the years following Lao Sun's departure, he rose to become the CEO of Alipay, making the couple a legend in their own right.

Peng Lei's hometown is in Shancheng. If he were an unknown person, there would be no problem setting the meeting place in Shancheng. But it's definitely not an option right now. Peng Lei's situation has been difficult since Lao Sun was removed from the game.

Joining Orange Products Club might affect his wife's future position at Taobao, but it's definitely a very sensitive matter right now, and Sun Tongyu might not want his wife to know.

Although Peng Lei knew that Tan Jincheng often sent her husband videos, and that her husband used to be on his phone all the time, Sun Tongyu had no choice but to betray Tan Jincheng after some questioning.

She understood her husband's situation and knew that Orange Technology wasn't the only company contacting him. The choice was up to him, and she couldn't interfere.

As for Tan Jincheng's bizarre little actions, Peng Lei didn't think they were of any use other than adding some fun to their relationship; they were just too childish.

I've never heard of any company poaching people using such bizarre and somewhat despicable methods.

But to be fair, this kid has pretty good taste; the photos he sent were all quite nice.

"How about Beijing? I remember Taobao has an event going on there soon, and we happen to have business dealings there, so you'd have a reason to go," Gu Qingqing said after thinking for a moment.

Tan Jincheng pondered for a moment, then said, "It seems to be the best location right now, but Lao Sun hasn't actually managed Taobao for a long time. I wonder what reason he could give for that would be appropriate."

"That's his problem. If he, as the CEO of Taobao, can't even come up with a reason, he shouldn't be doing the job," Gu Qingqing said with a smile.

That's true. Tan Jincheng is being too attached to appearances. There are some things he doesn't necessarily have to solve himself.

"Then let's set it in the capital. I'll go there before him, and you can come with me too. It's better if you're there to know about this."

"Okay, then I'll come along. Shall we stay in Zhongguan Village again?"

"Yes, we can stay there. It's a more secluded place. If possible, we can meet at home."

Since Tan Jincheng went to the capital last time, the house in Zhongguan Village has been cleaned by a housekeeper from time to time to maintain a normal living condition, so that it can be moved in directly when he goes to the capital.

The Taobao event in Beijing happened to be near Zhongguancun, not far from where he lived. If Sun Tongyu found an excuse to sneak into a residential area, it would be really hard to attract attention.

“Then I’ll send him a message and let him decide the time. We’ll go a few days earlier so that our schedules don’t overlap.”

After saying that, Tan Jincheng took out his phone and put it on Dingding: "Okay, see you in the capital, you decide the time!"

It was already past 7 p.m. Tan and Gu had just finished dinner and were chatting in the living room, talking about things while teasing the energetic Tan Jinyue. This child shouldn't be too well-nourished.

Otherwise, when she was two or three years old, she could really be a handful, and Zhang Suzhi's energy was almost not enough to keep up with her.

Gu Qingqing had never had a child and didn't know the troubles of raising a child. She only saw how cute Xiao Jinyue was, but in Zhang Suzhi's eyes, a two- or three-year-old child was not cute at all.

Sun Tongyu, on the other hand, appeared with his wife at a high-end restaurant in Hong Kong. The members of Ali's team were not in a good mood today, but Sun Tongyu was an exception in the evening.

The moment he sent the message, he felt a great sense of relief, so he took his wife out that evening to enjoy the night view of Hong Kong.

Apple's distinctive notification sound rang out, and Peng Lei chuckled, "It's President Tan again? Isn't it a bit too early to send a short video at this time?"

(End of this chapter)