2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 496 The Unyielding and Ruthless Tan Jincheng
Like Ningbo, Hangzhou at this time of year is also characterized by rain, dampness, and cold.

On a rainy night, Sun Tongyu did not reply to Tan Jincheng after receiving the message.

Since joining Yellow Pages in 1996, Sun Tongyu has worked with Lao Ma for 11 years; without a doubt, these have been the most unforgettable 11 years of his life.

From being in his prime to gradually gaining weight, leaving Ah Li in such a less-than-dignified way, Sun Tongyu's feelings were actually quite complicated.

Like everyone else, he learned of his resignation by phone and in the news; there was no farewell party, and no goodbye to his employees.

This man, who was named one of China's top 10 best investors in 2003 and received the Best Portal and Most Promising Award from Internet Weekly in 2004, and who is known as the father of Taobao, quietly left the company where he had worked for 11 years.

As agreed, his official resignation date is March 1st of next year. From today until March 1st, he must go overseas to study. The company has chosen London Business School for him.

The reason given to the outside world is to study and rest, so as to save face for the company and himself. In addition, the most important thing is to stabilize the stock price.

Sun Tongyu can only officially join Orange Products Club after March, but there are no restrictions on his participation in Orange Products Club's management work before then. However, he is definitely not in the mood right now.

To avoid harassment from domestic media, Sun Tongyu had to leave China for abroad before the Chinese New Year. In ancient times, this would be considered exile, wouldn't it?
"Anyone who works should know that the feeling of being laid off but not being able to go to work normally is the most painful. Even though Mr. Sun is a big shot, he is no exception. I guess he is not in a good mood right now."

Tonight, Tan and Gu were unusually home, and they had dinner there.

Tan Lihua had previously been in Yicheng, and although he knew that this guy was very busy, he hadn't experienced it firsthand. He was somewhat skeptical of what Zhang Suzhi said. It wasn't until he stayed here for more than half a month that he truly understood how busy he was.

Goodness, it's been quite difficult to see him even once in the past two weeks, let alone have a meal together, even though I heard that he's not too busy at Flash Drive right now.

If this gets busy, it will be terrible!
"So, Mr. Sun is really going to join Qingqing's company?" Tan Lihua asked curiously at the dinner table.

And you know what? With Lao Tan coming over, there's an extra person in the house, and it instantly feels different. When the weather is nice, Lao Tan will take his wife and daughter to the Flash Motors workshop or headquarters building for a stroll.

In addition, both of them are now internet surfers, and they have seen quite a few rumors, both online and offline.

Taobao, a behemoth, used its advantages to suppress a small website, withdrawing advertisements, launching targeted promotions, and even causing conflicts between offline deliverymen. The unequal situation created a lot of drama for the rest of 2007.

There are widespread rumors that Alibaba's Taobao group is targeting a small website for reasons that are not so simple, and that it is related to Sun Tongyu. Now that the news of Sun Tongyu's departure has been officially announced, these rumors have intensified.

Even the old comrades started gossiping.

"That's not my company, it's everyone's company, with several shareholders," Gu Qingqing said with a smile.

Old Tan's generation couldn't understand the equity structure of internet companies. Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing used offshore companies for controlling stakes, which they understood even less. All they saw was that Gu Qingqing was the one speaking on behalf of Orange Technology.

In terms of responsibility, both sides share some responsibility for this recent offline conflict involving deliverymen. As for Taobao's promotional festival, there's nothing wrong with it from a business perspective.

You can't expect others not to have their own New Year's shopping festival, can you? It's not just Taobao; JD.com also launched its own promotional activities based on its own characteristics. Even Paipai.com, that silly thing, put together an event, but nobody paid any attention to it.

However, Tan Jincheng was quite cunning. When he was interviewed about this matter, he specifically asked Gu Qingqing to dress like a college student, and his words implied that he also had to take care of his studies.

What is presented to the public is that Old Ma, disregarding martial ethics, bullies a company founded by a college student with an overbearing attitude.

Although Lao Ma is very strong, he has created countless jobs and tax revenues in Beicang and even Ningbo. Xiao Tan, who has always had a good image, is even more popular. His girlfriend, a star student at Ningbo University, was bullied, and naturally, his family would not ignore it.

Having been exposed to the information explosion, Tan Jincheng is not afraid of Lao Ma's eloquence when it comes to playing the moral blackmail game; he's quite adept at it.

This wave of normal business suppression has now developed into an image that appears in the media and to the public as Old Ma lacking in sportsmanship and suppressing two positive and ambitious young people on a fabricated pretext.

Even if the rumors are true, and assuming you've already fired them, are you not allowed to find a new job?

Old Ma, who spends his days hunting geese, was furious with these reports, especially those from Tencent's portal website, which showed him no mercy and used such offensive language that it was truly infuriating.

"Damn it, this kid is the one who stole my girlfriend, but now he's making it seem like I'm the one bullying him, what the hell."

Old Ma, a former teacher, now enjoys a high social status, but in private, he's just like any other ordinary person, constantly swearing when angry or joking. A classic example is his conversation with Liu Liangxin at an event.

Old Ma, who is always criticizing others, was quite annoyed by Tan Jincheng's sarcastic and unfriendly way of handling things. This year can be said to be the most glorious year since he started his business. He has become invincible in the e-commerce field and his company has also gone public.

In addition, he also took the opportunity to get rid of the founding members who posed a threat to him or were not in charge. At the height of his career, he never expected to be outmaneuvered by a young man.

Although Lao Ma had disagreements with Sun Tongyu, he definitely recognized his abilities; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so angry.

The departure of a highly capable individual with a deep understanding of Taobao to a rival with considerable potential poses a significant threat to Taobao, the core business of Ali.

Recruiting the accomplished Sun Tongyu would be hundreds of times more difficult than recruiting the then-unknown Sun Tongyu in 96.

Judging from their itinerary, the boss could tell that the two must have reached an agreement when they met in the capital last month. He didn't think much of it before, but now it seems that Sun Tongyu and Tan Jincheng's itinerary in the capital is very strange, and it is obvious that they went there to meet.

Old Ma would never believe that an agreement could be reached in just one meeting; it's obvious that the two have been in contact for quite some time.

Has the purge turned into betrayal?
Orange Technology had poached a lot of people from Taobao, and these were all entry-level talents. For Ali, who didn't lack talent, it wasn't a big deal. It's normal for people to move around in the industry.

But you might overthink things. Is it really just a matter of poaching employees from other companies that Orange Technology can poach so many people?
"That kid is really ungrateful. I helped him before, and he turns his back on me."

Despite his anger, aside from normal business dealings, Lao Ma couldn't, or rather, dared not, go too far in private.

2006 CCTV Economic Figure of the Year, one of Ningbo's Top Ten Outstanding Youths, one of Anhui Province's Top Ten Outstanding Youths, an emerging leader in the electric vehicle industry, one of the most promising young entrepreneurs, and a subject of a CCTV face-to-face interview.

Each of these titles represents the power behind Tan Jincheng. Even his girlfriend is no ordinary person; Ningbo University is her backer, and Yiwu is preparing to list her as a candidate for next year's Top Ten Outstanding Youths.

Furthermore, the influence of the investment institutions behind Orange Technology is something that Lao Ma cannot ignore.

For an internet company, offending investment institutions is the worst thing you can do, no matter who you offend. It hasn't been long since Alibaba suffered a devastating crash on the second day of its IPO.

For Lao Ma, Orange Technology, or Tan Jincheng, is like a tough nut to crack; even if he hates him to the core, there doesn't seem to be much he can do about it.

The main problem is that this kid isn't involved in the internet industry. Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing have already cashed out hundreds of millions of yuan from Orange Technology, and he even knows exactly what Sun Tongyu's shareholding ratio is.

Even if Orange Technology goes bankrupt, it won't have a significant impact on Tan Jincheng's overall industry. On the contrary, it would create a grudge against a large physical enterprise, which would be a loss for him.

To have made Ali the number one internet stock in China, Jack Ma's business acumen is absolutely top-notch. Even Jack Ma admired Tan Jincheng's strategy at Flashpoint after learning about it.

Aiming to manufacture cars, the company started with the electric vehicle and apparel industries, which have high profit margins, ample cash flow, and short payment cycles, to ensure the company's normal operation. Then, it improved the company's technological content through a series of investments and talent recruitment.

The transition from a pure manufacturing company to a high-tech enterprise, improving the company's survival and profit margins, is what Lao Ma sees as Tan Jincheng's strategy for FlashDrive.

If successful, FlashDrive's status in Zhejiang Province and even nationwide will be no less than that of Ali (a popular Chinese fox spirit).
The key thing is that this kid is way too damn young!
Being young, having connections, money, and ability means unlimited possibilities.

After being tricked by this cunning opponent, Lao Ma also reflected on his actions, realizing that he had underestimated the other party. In the internet world, Orange Technology is indeed nothing compared to Ali.

But the other party has Tencent behind them, and Tencent is so supportive, showing no respect whatsoever. Even the hog website, which is also based in Hangzhou, has released a lot of sarcastic news releases.

The patterns are exactly the same; you can tell at a glance that they came from the same company.

Each company has its own news portal, and Ali is currently lacking in this area, which is its weakness.

"No, we need to have our own news channels."

I'll add a chapter today.

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(End of this chapter)