Chapter 922 Planting the Sycamore Tree

On the morning of May 1st, less than 24 hours before the opening of the first China Internet Conference, most of the guests and foreign guests attending the conference had already arrived.

The Yanjing Municipal Government has hosted many influential events over the years. It is not difficult for them to host emerging events such as the Internet Conference, but this does not mean that there are no challenges.

The Internet Conference is a grand event for China's Internet industry, but it is also an opportunity for Yanjing City.

Emerging industries represent GDP, and naturally represent political achievements.

The first China Internet Conference was held in Yanjing. This title alone is worth the city of Yanjing's hard work and countless manpower and material resources.

Lin Weimin was standing in a corner of the meeting room watching the staff busy at work. Next to him stood a deputy leader of Yanjing City.

"The scale of this meeting is almost as high as that of a conference," said the leader.

Lin Weimin responded with a smile: "With the State Council, the ministries and the city leading the effort, the standards must not be low!"

"The city is only responsible for the specific implementation. It is your Guowen Group that has taken the lead, and the leaders above also support it."

“It’s mainly because of the support from the leaders above.”

The leader laughed and said, "That's right."

He then asked, "Director Lin, this Internet conference can be regarded as a grand event for the domestic Internet industry, and there are quite a few companies participating."

"Yes, there are more than a hundred companies. Although they may not account for one-tenth of the total number of Internet companies in the country, they are definitely leading companies." Lin Weimin said this with a confident look on his face.

Sohu, Sina, NetEase, China.com, Chinaren, 8848, Dangdang, Joyo, Xici Hutong, Mop.com, Under the Banyan Tree...

Well-known companies and websites in China's Internet industry are on the list of participants of this Internet conference. Not only that, many newly established and less well-known companies are also participating.

For example, Tencent was founded at the end of the year before last, and Ctrip was founded just last year...

In addition to these companies that were invited to participate, after the news of the Internet conference spread, many people who are interested in developing in the Internet industry took the initiative to contact the conference to request participation.

It would not be an exaggeration for Lin Weimin to pat his belt and say at this moment that all the heroes in the world are within my grasp.

"The domestic Internet industry has really been booming in the past few years!" The leader sighed, and then said: "But there are still not many Internet companies in Yanjing!"

Lin Weimin glanced at his leader in surprise. "Isn't that enough? Sohu, Sina, Chinaren, 8848, Dangdang, Under the Banyan Tree..."

Lin Weimin almost lost count on his fingers, and finally said meaningfully: "Leader, don't be too greedy!"

The leader said, "Han Xin selected soldiers and said, the more the better. Haven't you heard of this saying?"

Lin Weimin was speechless, "So what you mean is..."

The leader showed an appreciative expression and said, "I heard that Guowen Group has invested in many companies. Aren't you going to invest in those companies that seem to have potential this time? Yanjing is the capital of our country and the place with the most scientific and technological talents and the most advanced hardware facilities. Internet companies can definitely get twice the result with half the effort by starting a business here."

Lin Weimin said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Leader, we are investing, not acquiring, how can we decide where the company will be located?"

"Everything depends on human effort! I have great confidence in the influence of your Guowen Group, especially after this Internet Conference. The supreme master of the martial arts world, the sword that slays dragons. No one dares to disobey your orders. From now on, you will be the sword that slays dragons in the Chinese Internet industry. Can this little thing still stump you?"

Damn it, when leaders talk, they sound really nice, but when it comes to flattering, most people can’t stand it.

But Lin Weimin was very alert. What's the use of just talking nicely? After all that talk, the other party still wants to get something for nothing. Do they think I am a greenhorn who has never seen the world?

"Leader, local people will definitely start their own business locally. Why would they travel thousands of miles to Yanjing? Even if we are a shareholder of Guowen Group, we cannot force them to move to Yanjing.

Living in Yanjing is not easy! Don’t you think about how much more operating costs will be incurred if the company moves to Yanjing?"

Lin Weimin looked at his leader sincerely and said, “I’ve made it so clear. It’s inappropriate for you to play dumb any longer.”

The leader obviously got the message Lin Weimin released. He smiled and said, "Oh, if a high-tech enterprise like this comes to Yanjing, we must have support policies!"

"hehe!"

We are all thousand-year-old foxes, so Lin Weimin would never take such words seriously.

The leader looked at his reaction and knew that he had to offer some benefits. He was about to speak when he was interrupted by Lin Weimin.

"Boss, don't talk about tax incentives or anything like that. How many Internet companies can make a profit these days? These are just illusions."

The leader was guessed by Lin Weimin, and he immediately blushed. He was still thinking about how to make up for it when he heard Lin Weimin say, "I have an idea. Would you like to hear it?"

Now that the steps are there, the leader raises his hand and please start your performance.

“This Internet conference is unprecedented in scale. As you know, our Guowen Group intends to take this opportunity to support the development of domestic Internet companies as much as possible. On this point, I think the city’s ideas should coincide with ours.

But this kind of thing needs to be done in a proper way. There is a saying that goes: Plant a phoenix tree and attract a phoenix. If you want to attract more Internet companies to settle down, you have to be concerned about the companies' concerns and think about what they want.

You just said that Yanjing has advanced hardware and first-class talents, but you should also know that the real convenience of Yanjing is not something that small companies that come to Yanjing to start a business can enjoy. "

The leader nodded and said, "You have a point. Although Yanjing has good hardware and talents, it is still far from being comparable to ordinary companies."

"So, we have to lower the threshold. Let these Internet companies feel the benefits of starting a business in Yanjing, and then they will naturally flock here."

"Like what?"

"For example, we can build a large-scale entrepreneurial park and rent it to Internet startups at a low price, with water, electricity, property and sanitation all free of charge.

For example, there are so many people in Internet companies, so they have to settle down there, right? Shouldn’t we support policies in this regard? "

The leader looked at Lin Weimin suspiciously. He would never believe that these words were what Lin Weimin was thinking. "It seems that your Guowen Group is building a building."

"Don't get me wrong. Our place is very expensive. It's not cost-effective to rent it to them at a low price."

"So you want to find a desolate place for them to use?"

"It's not desolate, it's just a cheap place to rent, it's affordable, and we can make use of the waste!"

The leader pointed at him and said with a smile: "You are very smart in your calculations."

He thought for a while and said, "Your idea is not bad, but although the idea is good, money is a problem."

Lin Weimin immediately said, “We will provide the money, the city will provide the space, and give us an interest-free loan.”

"Doesn't that mean we are still paying for it?"

"What you said, don't we have to pay it back?"

The leader hesitated for a moment, "We need to think about this matter carefully. Do you have anything to do today? Come to my office and have a seat."

"We have to pick up some guests from the United States later."

The leaders knew that the American guests that Lin Weimin mentioned were the founders of several major U.S. technology companies. The domestic Internet industry has only developed for a few years and there is still a big gap with the United States. The Guowen Group was able to invite these people, which shows its extraordinary ability.

The leader didn't want to delay Lin Weimin's work, so he talked to Lin Weimin in detail about his ideas.

The two talked for about 20 minutes, and Lin Weimin said, "Anyway, that's basically it. You can go back and discuss it with the city leaders. Our Guowen Group will release some news at the end of this conference. If the city can make a decision, it can be released together with our news. The publicity effect will definitely be extraordinary, and it is guaranteed to make Yanjing famous nationwide."

"What news are you going to release?" asked the leader.

Lin Weimin leaned over and whispered something in the leader's ear.

The leader looked surprised and nodded solemnly, "Okay, we'll discuss it later and give you a reply as soon as possible."

After chatting for a few more words, Lin Weimin left the Yanjing International Conference Center and headed for the airport.

The founders of the four largest technology companies in the United States were invited to attend the Internet conference, which seemed to give face to the Chinese Internet industry. It also invisibly raised the tone of the conference to a higher level, making it somewhat of an international event.

Although we are all engaged in the Internet industry, they are ahead of the curve. It is a great thing for domestic companies to invite them to exchange experiences, so of course we should treat them with courtesy.

Therefore, the organizer must return the favor and give a grand reception.

However, this conference is an industry conference after all, and it is a bit inappropriate for the State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to appear among the several organizing units. Guowen Group is one of the organizers and it is also an enterprise, and its level is not high. It is most appropriate for them to receive the guests, and they were also the ones who invited the guests.

In one day, Lin Weimin made several trips and successfully picked up several people.

Among the four people invited to attend the Internet conference, the one with the highest status is undoubtedly Bill Gates of Microsoft. Microsoft has been dominating the US technology industry since the 1980s, and Bill Gates was crowned the world's richest man in 1995.

Yahoo is a new giant in Silicon Valley and has been very popular in recent years.

Although Amazon is not yet the giant it will be in the future, it is still a leader in global e-commerce websites and has huge potential.

Jim Clark of Netscape was just a troublemaker. Lin Weimin invited him mainly to have a topic. After all, Netscape and Microsoft were in a close fight in the past two years. If he and Bill Gates appeared at the same conference, it would definitely be a hot topic.

The successful invitation of the four people was inseparable from Lin Weimin’s many years of investment in the US technology industry.

He is low-key in this regard, and the investment company he controls has several layers of protection, including the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. However, there are always traces. The public does not know much about it, but people like Bill Gates know something about it.

So after Lin Weimin invited several people under the protection of his investment company, they readily agreed to the invitation.

In the evening, Lin Weimin hosted a reception at the Yanjing Hotel. Several leaders at the level of ministers and vice ministers also attended the banquet with him. The scene was very grand, and Bill Gates and his companions felt that the trip was worthwhile.

They agreed to come to China to attend the Internet conference, not only to give face to the umbrella company and the boss behind it, but more importantly, they saw the vast market behind China and believed that this was a good opportunity to communicate with the Chinese business community and government.

The party that night was attended by high-ranking and powerful people, and getting to know them would be of great benefit to their company's future expansion into China.

The hospitality was very enjoyable to both the host and the guests.

After the banquet, everyone was about to get on the car and leave.

Gates and several others shook hands with the leaders, but hugged Lin Weimin with a cordial attitude, looking very warm.

(End of this chapter)