Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 780 Lakeside Conversation
On November 19, the hustle and bustle of the Wuzhen Internet Conference had just subsided.

The internet moguls, still hungover, began their journeys home, but two figures quietly deviated from their planned routes.

Their whereabouts are as secretive as a celebrity rendezvous—but it doesn't matter if they are caught by the media.

Given the combined influence of the other side and Tencent in the Chinese internet landscape, deciding what news can and cannot be published is simply a matter of a single sentence.

Just like the family members of wealthy individuals who are never reported in the media, the general public has virtually no way of knowing about them—it's the same principle.

Many seemingly leaked news items may actually be deliberate smokescreens, used to conceal something more important.

Ma drove around in circles before finally getting rid of the annoying media vehicles.

It was already afternoon when we arrived at the resort on the shore of Taihu Lake in Suzhou, less than 100 kilometers from Liwu Town.

Guided by the people on the other side, he saw a pavilion surrounded by the lake on three sides, standing quietly on the blue waves. Under the pavilion, a man dressed in casual clothes was looking at the scenery with his back to them.

A gentle breeze rustled the copper bells on the eaves, their clear sounds drifting into the misty air, faintly mingling with the distant sound of the tides of Taihu Lake.

Seeing this, Brother Ma raised his hand to signal, and several of his trusted men behind him stopped in their tracks.

He walked over alone.

Perhaps hearing footsteps, the man under the pavilion stood up and turned around.

"coming?"

"Ok!"

Two hands, each holding a market value of trillions, clasped tightly together.

On this ordinary afternoon, Chen Mo and Pony Ma met victoriously at Taihu Lake in Suzhou, potentially rewriting the landscape of the Chinese internet.

"sit."

This time, Chen Mo took the initiative to brew a cup of tea for the other person, saying, "Try it, this tea tastes pretty good."

"Thank you!"

A gentle breeze blows, the aroma of tea wafts through the air, and the beautiful scenery invites us to begin our main discussion.

The two of them combined earn at least hundreds of millions per hour, and Chen Mo, not one to mince words, went straight to the point.
"If you were me and wanted to eliminate Didi, what would you do?"

Pony Ma didn't answer immediately. His first thought was about the purpose of Chen Mo's question. On the surface, Didi was represented by Cheng Wei, but behind it were Pony Ma and Liu Qiangdong, representing the Alibaba and Lenovo groups, respectively.

Does the other side intend to use this as a starting point to launch a full-scale war against Alibaba?
Little Ma gently twirled the celadon teacup in his hand, leaving golden ripples on the cup's surface.

Although he couldn't figure out the other party's specific intentions, he still cautiously offered his opinion.

"Currently, in the ride-hailing market, Dache and Didi have formed a duopoly, together accounting for more than 90% of the market share."

Even after Didi acquired Uber, it still maintains an absolute advantage in the ride-hailing market. If things continue as they are, winning a protracted battle shouldn't be a problem.

But to completely eliminate Didi? Leaving aside the difficulty, even if they succeeded and gained a 90% market share, the iron fist of anti-monopoly measures would immediately come crashing down.

"So, Mr. Ma, where do you think the solution lies?"

“Unless…” Little Ma pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold glint, “that remaining 10% of the market suddenly surges, or…”

He looked at Chen Mo meaningfully, "A new giant has entered the fray."

"Pony, you should know me well. When it comes to any particular market segment, I've never been an ambitious person, and I'm not interested in dominating the market. So, I wonder if Pony would like to give it a try?"

"You mean," Little Ma's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly.

"With Tencent entering the market and replacing Didi, I wonder if Mr. Ma (Jack Ma) is interested?"

Upon hearing this, Little Ma's eyes narrowed slightly, and his heart suddenly raced.

Originally, he came here to exchange opinions with the other side on some business cooperation in advance and to test Chen Mo's attitude.

Unexpectedly, the other party took the initiative in the conversation right away and directly entered the ride-hailing market.

Although Didi ranks second, it is still a unicorn with a valuation of nearly 100 billion.

Entering the market is easy; acquiring a few second- or third-tier platforms or starting anew is not difficult. But to carve out a path to success amidst the competition from both ride-hailing and Didi.
But now, hearing Chen Mo's words, it's clear he intends to eliminate Didi Chuxing. It's impossible not to be tempted by this opportunity, but there's a prerequisite:

"How could Didi possibly be eliminated?"

"As the leading ride-hailing company, Taxi is expected to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange early next year, and Didi will definitely be even more eager to go public."

But two tigers can't share the same mountain. Didi only has the A-share and US stock markets to choose from. Given the styles of Liu and Ma, where do you think they will choose to list?

"Given their character, they wouldn't even consider A-shares; they'd definitely choose US stocks." Little Ma snorted, then suddenly seemed to realize something.

Listing on the US stock market requires local data.
"How dare they?"

At that moment, a possibility occurred to him, and the shock caused the tea in his cup to spill a little.
It's worth noting that QQ launched Q coins a decade ago, initially used to purchase virtual services such as QQ memberships and game points. As it grew, annual transactions reached billions. Subsequently, there were even cases of offline merchants accepting Q coins to pay for physical goods, creating a phenomenon that led to its downfall.

If the problem he's thinking about comes true, listing on the US stock market means data leaving the country, which is a hundred times more serious than the risks involved with QQ coins back then!
"No way," Little Ma said, but considering the styles of these two, it was hard to say.

"As for whether it will happen or not, time will tell. This is a gamble with an investment of several billion and a return of hundreds of billions. I wonder if Mr. Ma wants to join in."

Little Ma was deep in thought, not pondering childish questions like, "Why me?" but rather analyzing the pros and cons, which was also a form of indirect cooperation with the other side.

People of his and Chen Mo's stature no longer have much interest in drugs or matters of love and sex. What they crave is the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from deals involving hundreds of billions or even trillions of dollars, where the future is uncertain and full of gambles and excitement.

"Mr. Ma can go back and consider this matter."

"One question: Didi has been replaced by my company. What are your thoughts on the future development of the ride-hailing market, Mr. Chen?"

"As long as it brings convenience to passengers, drivers can make money, and the market maintains healthy and orderly development, whether the market share of taxi services is large or small is not important to me."

A resolute look appeared on Little Ma's face. "No need to think about it, I'll join!"

"Actually, the sooner this happens, the better. I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now."

For some reason, Little Ma looked resentful. "You have my phone number, don't you? Just call me. Why bother coming all this way? This isn't ancient times."

"Give me your phone."

"What are you going to do?" Although somewhat puzzled, Brother Ma obediently took out his phone from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Chen Mo also took out his phone at the same time, placed them side by side, and dialed his number in front of Xiao Ma.
The next moment, a system notification sounded clearly.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off!"

(End of this chapter)