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

Chapter 917 To Build a Car or Not? That Is the Question!

On his way to the meeting, the old man recalled a meeting he had attended two days prior.

Many people have already raised questions about Bi'an and Chen Mo.

In recent years, the other side has developed at a speed that is just like the development speed of intercontinental ballistic missiles—too fast.

Even though they have access to the data from the other side, checking it only once a year is still faster than they expected.

This rapid rise signifies a loss of control, which in turn means instability—something those people don't want to see.

He turned enemies like Xiao Ma from Shenzhen and Xiao Li from Beijing into friends, and Liu Qiangdong, Lei Jun, and others also helped him. Now the internet landscape has long since shifted from offense to defense.

Currently, the only one who can barely compete with the other side is Alibaba's Jack Ma.

In fact, Chen Mo didn't need to remind him. The old man had already been concerned about the risks of Ant Group. Even the comments made by experts and scholars on Ant Group's business model were secretly pushed by him, but ultimately came to nothing. Isn't this a strategy to keep the other side in check?
In some people's eyes, Chen Mo's patriotism is impeccable and his business model is beyond reproach, but its size has become a systemic risk.

"The Other Shore Group was established under the guise of cooperation, but in reality it was a group of factions."

The establishment of the Qing Teng and Wu Tong academies one after another clearly demonstrated their ambition.

"With such a large scale as the Other Shore Group, the potential influence and destructive power if it were to become corrupt and degenerate..."

These are their exact words. In their eyes, the existence of the other shore is a more serious and urgent problem than Evergrande or Ant Group.

Fortunately, the employee stock ownership plan that Chen Mo announced at the annual meeting not long ago can be considered a good move.

Throughout history, from top to bottom, it all boils down to the four words 'game theory and balancing act'.
Given his position, he couldn't speak openly, but he believed that Chen Mo, with his intelligence, would understand his advice.

Everyone has their own battlefield, and as long as they are alive, they will not allow external forces to easily interfere.

These business talents who can drive the overall Chinese economy need to be protected, not destroyed!
The old man sighed, composed himself, and entered the meeting room to continue his busy work.
Back at the Other Shore Science and Technology Park, Chen Mo's expression was solemn.

He was always exceptionally serious when he was thinking, so much so that several employees who wanted to greet him on the way from the underground parking lot to the office did not dare to approach him to disturb him because they saw his focused expression and furrowed brows.

Entering his office, he instructed his assistant, "Xiao Duan, for the next hour, don't let anyone disturb me. Postpone everything."

“Okay, Moss.”

Chen Mo took out a notebook from the drawer and started writing and drawing—this was his habit when he was thinking.

A short while later, the words "car manufacturing" appeared on the paper, followed by a large question mark.

Beyond has long focused on the software field. Although it has also invested in some new energy vehicle-related companies, it is still far from the manufacturing industry overall.

Crossing boundaries also brings differences.

If Xiaomi were to manufacture cars, it would already have experience in component integration and manufacturing. It wouldn't be starting from scratch. Assembling a phone is the same as assembling a car; the only difference would be that the manufacturing process and components are on a different level. This would make the process of manufacturing cars much easier.

It's like tennis pro Roger Federer trying to play table tennis. He picks up the table tennis racket and plays like a tennis player, getting the hang of it very quickly. Although his form is a bit unorthodox, he can quickly become quite skilled.

But the other side is more like Wang Yuyan—her martial arts theory is unparalleled, but when it comes to actually fighting someone, it's a different story.

Moreover, Lei Jun is a truly dedicated worker, much more hardworking than me. After all, his reputation as a "model worker of Zhongguancun" is well-deserved.

Chen Mo is rather lazy. He finally handed over the group's affairs to Lu Qi and the senior executives below him. He just wanted to be a 'disruptor', not a 'workaholic'.

Most importantly, while it's true that the new energy vehicle market is currently a blue ocean, it will become a red ocean in a few years once the cars are manufactured. It will be fiercely competitive, with foreign and domestic companies rife with dirty tricks. After a year of hard work, the profits may not even be as much as those from "Glory World".

Why bother?
To build cars or not to build cars? That is the question.

But at this moment, Chen Mo still prefers to let Lei Jun build it himself, while he will "sell the shovel"—providing the intelligent driving system.

Chen Mo is like a donkey that wants to lie down and pull the millstone; unless the whip is lifted, he definitely won't move forward on his own.
"Building cars? Even a dog wouldn't do that. Unless the higher-ups assign it to us."

Chen Mo thought to himself.

With Xiaomi being a more suitable option, the Beijing authorities are unlikely to forcefully assign someone from the other side.

Hopefully, this is just a spur-of-the-moment probe by the leadership.

Although there is no definitive answer yet regarding whether or not Tesla will build cars, Chen Mo believes that some work can be done in advance to sabotage the plan to build a factory in Shanghai in cooperation with Tesla.

Tesla solved its production capacity problem by building a factory in China, which in turn gave it a new source of profit growth in the global market, providing a continuous stream of resources for SpaceX, a foreign company.

This gave Chen Mo the feeling that every Tesla sold by a domestic factory was contributing to Starlink.

Moreover, Tesla's nationwide presence makes it hard not to suspect the possibility of geographic data collection—the Didi incident happened not long ago.

This time, he didn't plan to write a report; it would be pointless anyway. Ultimately, it was more reliable to rely on himself. Chen Mo now desperately wanted to take away the livelihoods of Ma and Xu—he wasn't just addicted, he was extremely addicted!

But most importantly, this conversation served as a wake-up call for him:

Could the Ant Group's actions backfire because of the overwhelming momentum from the other side?

Having studied history extensively, Chen Mo felt a sense of unease and immediately convened a meeting of the "Tianji Pavilion" expert group, expressing his concerns and asking them to make deductions.

The conclusion drawn by Tianji Pavilion after its deduction is that the existence of the other side may indeed encourage certain interest groups to stick together more closely—from a certain perspective, this may actually provide a warmer environment and more fertile ground for Ant Group's listing.

The previous plan that disappeared without a trace and the old man's indirect hints seem to confirm this.

Chen Mo fell into a long silence.

The tallest tree in the forest? In other words, it's about keeping a low profile and biding your time?
It's like having a top student in a class who stands out too much. The teacher tells them that to maintain a harmonious class atmosphere and to be considerate of the feelings of all the students, they should do a lower score on the next test.

Just because the minority must obey the majority? Even if the minority is innocent, they are still considered outcasts!
But why?
The tallest tree in the forest? To hell with whoever it is, I've always acted with a clear conscience, so I'll show them and make them furious.

This is how you can write a satisfying, cathartic story; this is how you can vent your emotions.

But Chen Mo is no longer alone; every decision he makes affects tens of thousands of families behind the Beyond Group.
Acting recklessly and defying regulations is not just a business matter; it will attract unseen forces.

This would put even more pressure on the person who reminded him a couple of days ago, and thinking about this, Chen Mo felt a little reluctant.

Furthermore, the project to wield the sword is not yet fully completed, and it has not yet reached the point of mutual destruction.

Chen Mo gazed at the sunset on the horizon, and he now had some understanding of the hardships those in positions of power endured.
A few days later, based on the plan provided by Tianji Pavilion and the choices Chen Mo made after calming down, a series of instructions were issued from his office.

Subsequently, Lu Qi, CEO of Beyond Group, convened the first all-senior-level meeting of 2018, emphasizing that minor adjustments would be made while maintaining the established direction from the beginning of the year.
Temporarily halt aggressive expansion and direct confrontation: cancel business plans that involve burning money to gain market share, such as Meituan's local services and Alibaba's e-commerce live streaming, reduce large-scale subsidy wars, and shift towards refined operations and improved user experience;
Strengthen core competitive advantages, rather than expanding boundaries: allocate more resources to technology research and development and user experience optimization.

These investments have long return cycles and are not easily perceived by outsiders, but they can hone one's internal skills.

All public statements should be kept low-key: emphasize industry challenges, the difficulty of the business, and "awe" for the future, and avoid sensational statements or simply touting growth and market share.

Meanwhile, the employee stock ownership plan is progressing steadily according to the milestones set at the annual meeting.

Behind all this lies the rapid advancement of what is openly known as the "Big Data Analysis and Resource Scheduling Platform" project (the Zhijian Project).

After doing all that, Chen Mo felt that was enough.

After reviewing the past period, he also felt that the other side had been too arrogant in the past, acting as if "the sky is number one and the other side is number two", invading the entire Chinese Internet, and even taking a large share of the overseas game, social and short video fields with the other side games, WeChat and TikTok.

The group temporarily withdrew its fist in order to strike more powerfully in the future if an enemy attacks.

However, the fact that Bi'an is keeping a low profile does not mean that other member companies of the "Bi'an Group" have no room to maneuver.

After all, there's more than one way to win a game. There's a way to play an ADC, and this time, you can be an MVP even as a support!

Chen Mo picked up his phone and started issuing a "call to arms" in the WeChat group; it was time for his friends to step in.
Just as Chen Mo was taking action, a phone call was made directly to Hangzhou.

When Lao Ma received the call, his expression gradually became serious.

"Really? Okay, I understand."

The phone call just now was a synchronized call to find out who Chen Mo met in the city center a while ago.

I never expected Chen Mo to be able to climb such a high branch. Although I don't know the specific content of the conversation, it certainly wasn't anything good.

Old Ma took out a brown paper bag marked "Top Secret" from the drawer and pulled out a document:
"Predictions and Recommendations on Preventing Systemic Risks in Internet Finance"

The signature at the end reads: Chen Mo, Chairman of Beyond Group.

This document was not given to him directly by Chen Mo, but rather it ended up in his hands through some channels some time ago.

Even after watching it many times over this period of time, I still feel a chill run down my spine, as if I have been exposed by a demon-revealing mirror.

Although the text does not name names at all, Lao Ma could clearly see the word "ant" in every word.

Old Ma had to admit that Chen Mo's eye for people and things was absolutely first-rate. The content described in the document basically stripped away the exquisite shell that ants were wrapped in, pointing directly to their core essence.

Unfortunately, some things in this world cannot be accomplished simply by understanding them.

After observing for a while, Lao Ma found that things seemed calm – anything not prohibited by law is permissible. Coupled with the sheer size of the ant chariot, he concluded: this matter has potential.

Since Chen Mo is so eager for the ants to die, don't forget that ants can also eat elephants.
(End of this chapter)