Chapter 452 Countermeasures

Although the night is deep, the Alibaba Group headquarters in Hangzhou is still brightly lit.

For large Internet companies, programmers working overtime has long been commonplace, but the tense atmosphere in the office building at this moment is far beyond ordinary.

In the chairman's office, Ma Jieke sat at his desk, his brow furrowed, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, reviewing word by word the WeChat red envelope update announcement just released by Tengda Group.

"Something bad is happening!" he murmured.

Ordinary users might glance at this long announcement, but as the helmsman of an Internet giant, he was keenly aware of:

WeChat, a super carrier that "connects everything", is not only deeply reshaping the Internet financial landscape, but also continuing to penetrate social scenarios.

Its moat has become increasingly solid, almost to the point of being irreplaceable. The sudden onslaught of WeChat red envelopes caught Alipay off guard.

Ma Jieke was upset. If Alibaba did not take action, the gap between Alipay and WeChat Pay would only widen.

He immediately picked up his phone and called the group office, ordering an emergency meeting of senior executives to be held overnight.

The executives who received the notice understood each other tacitly: the chairman's late-night call must be about the newly launched WeChat red envelopes. They hurried back to the office, rapidly formulating countermeasures along the way.

At the same time, at the National Drama Festival in Peking, celebrities participating in the event gradually learned about the trending searches on Weibo.

The two terms "New WeChat Features" and "WeChat Red Packets" firmly occupied the top of the list. The dazzling popularity made everyone secretly sigh: tonight's ceremony might become a background board.

WeChat updates concern the entire nation and already bring their own traffic. In addition, in order to promote WeChat red envelopes, Tenda Group will inevitably increase traffic support on the Weibo platform to ensure that the hot searches are pinned to the top.

At the end of the corridor in the bathroom inside the ceremony, Fan Bingbing, wearing a dark green velvet dress, stood alone by the window.

Seeing that no one was around, he called his agent, Mu Xiaoguang, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Boss Mu, don't send out the press release. It's all in vain."

She originally wanted to use the ceremony to gain some popularity, but she ran into a WeChat update, and her efforts were doomed to be in vain.

"I understand." Mu Xiaoguang's voice remained calm. "The National Drama Festival has been overshadowed by other dramas over the past two years and it's no longer a good thing. I don't need to participate in it anymore. It's a complete waste of time."

Fan Bingbing nodded in agreement. "This event is really unlucky. Last year, it coincided with the billionaire's birthday and Liu Shishi's endorsement announcement, but the event didn't make a splash at all. This year, it's even worse, as it coincided with a WeChat update."

"That's not important. I have something important to tell you. Is it convenient for you to talk?"

"Convenient, there's no one around."

Mu Xiaoguang's tone suddenly darkened: "Zhang Zhao has come to Beiping. I invited him to dinner tonight and got some important news."

Fan Bingbing's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "What news? What did he say?"

Ever since Liu Rong took over from Zhang Zhao, the relationship between Tengda Culture and her studio has become increasingly distant, and has taken a sharp turn for the worse recently. She feels a little uneasy.

"Zhang Zhao said that Liu Rong planned to sell off the studio shares held by Tengda Culture."

"Ah? How could this happen?" Fan Bingbing was shocked. This meant that the two sides would be completely separated, which was definitely not a good thing.

Mu Xiaoguang sighed helplessly: "The specific reason is unclear. I plan to visit Liu Rong before the New Year to see if there is any room for improvement.

Our relationship with Tengda Culture cannot be severed and must continue for at least another year. Zhang Zhao also revealed that Tengda Culture has a major project next year involving Hollywood resources.

Fan Bingbing suppressed his anxiety and curiously asked, "What project? They're shareholders of Lionsgate. Are they going to co-produce a movie?"

"Transformers 4!" Mu Xiaoguang's voice was filled with disbelief. "Next year, Tengda will co-produce this blockbuster with Paramount, and Tengda Culture will be responsible for casting several important supporting roles."

Fan Bingbing's breathing quickened. Transformers was a top Hollywood IP, and even a supporting role was a great springboard for international success.

"You should know what I mean. No matter what the cost, we have to delay it until the casting of Transformers 4 is finished.

At this juncture, if Tengda Culture is no longer a shareholder of the studio, you won't have any chance of winning the resources of this top Hollywood production."

Fan Bingbing took a deep breath. "Of course I understand the logic. But Liu Rong is not Zhang Zhao. I've tried beauty and money, but it's all in vain."

Mu Xiaoguang just felt a headache. The rotation of presidents implemented by Tengda Group made most of the efforts they had previously invested in Zhang Zhao go to waste.

"No one is without weaknesses. I'll send someone to investigate. Tengda Culture's attitude changed so suddenly. There must be something else going on that we're not aware of."

"This is the only way." Fan Bingbing had no idea at the moment. When it came to running daily affairs, she was indeed not as good as Mu Xiaoguang.

"By the way, is there any movement from Boss Xu's side?"

Fan Bingbing shook his head: "No. Internet capital has the final say in the entertainment industry now. It's no longer the era when coal bosses and real estate developers were in charge. He can't get any good resources."

After hearing this, Mu Xiaoguang suggested: "In this case, why not get a few sea view villas that are more practical? The large villas developed by Hengtai are quite good and their value is not low."

Fan Bingbing responded: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Let's meet tomorrow. Things are too complicated to explain over the phone."

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the lights in the conference room of Alibaba Group's headquarters were on, and all the executives in Hangzhou were present.

Ma Jieke sat at the head table and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry to gather everyone so late, but this is urgent! Our opponents are stronger, and Ali can't afford to lose even a second."

He paused, his eyes sweeping over the crowd: "I'm sure everyone knows the content of the meeting, and they must have thought about it on the way.

Everyone, please speak freely and share your thoughts on what should be done. Penglei, you are the president of Alipay and have the heaviest responsibility on your shoulders. You should speak first.”

Peng Lei was already prepared and said loudly, "Boss Ma, I've carefully studied Tengda's update announcement and have figured out some clues.

The announcement mentioned many complicated rules and regulations regarding financial security, fund flow tracking, and overdue refund mechanisms.

It’s obviously not something that can be developed in a short period of time. Tenda has been preparing for the WeChat red envelope plan for at least half a year.”

Majek frowned. "So? What do you want to say?"

"According to common sense, Alipay should have immediately followed suit and developed the same feature, but I thought, we don't have a social context, so simply copying it will definitely not be able to compete with WeChat red envelopes."

Peng Lei continued, "And even if it were done, I'm sure WeChat would strictly prohibit Alipay red envelope links from appearing in WeChat groups or Moments."

As soon as the words fell, the meeting room immediately started to discuss:

"Mr. Peng, can we sue WeChat for monopoly?" "Is there any way to circumvent Tengda's social scene?"

Peng Lei nodded. "Suing for monopoly is definitely not going to work. Tenda can fend it off with a simple statement: 'Blocking unknown links for user safety.' So, we can only rely on innovation."

Before the meeting, one of the designers came up with an idea: password-protected red envelopes. I think it's feasible and can circumvent WeChat's blocking.

Ma Jieke immediately perked up: "A password red envelope? Tell me how to do it."

Peng Lei explained: "When users send red envelopes, they customize a number or Chinese password, and the Alipay system will generate a picture with the password.

The picture can be shared on any platform such as WeChat, Weibo, and QQ. Because there is no interface authorization, a single picture can perfectly bypass WeChat's ban restrictions.

"Great!" Ma Jieke's eyes lit up and he praised repeatedly.

Peng Lei continued, "During festivals like the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, using Chinese phrases like '花好月圆' (flowers auspiciously full moon) and '春节团圆' (Spring Festival reunion) when sending red envelopes can add a sense of ritual and complement the social attributes that Alipay lacks."

Executive President Lu Zhaoxi also nodded in praise: "Using technical ingenuity to break through ecological barriers, this designer is a talent and should be reused!"

Cai Zhongxin then said, "It's indeed a clever idea. Inspired by the password red envelope, I just thought of setting a secret password and turning the red envelope distribution into a fun game."

A number of executives offered suggestions, and Penglei wrote down the good ideas one by one, intending to verify their feasibility after the meeting.

Ma Jieke raised his hand to signal silence. "Ingenuity can solve the immediate problem and narrow the gap with WeChat Pay, but it can't change the fundamental situation."

"That's right! WeChat, which Songci has devoted all his efforts to building, 'connects everything', has a very solid foundation!" Peng Lei took over the conversation again.

“If Alipay is to compete head-on with WeChat Pay, it must be upgraded from a simple “payment tool” to a “digital life platform.”

By integrating payment, financial management, local life and other functions, we can use comprehensive services to counter the high-frequency reach of WeChat social payment."

She paused, "But integrating so many functions might make Alipay bloated and affect the user experience."

"Alipay has no choice but to be pressed hard by WeChat Pay." Ma Jieke smiled bitterly. WeChat's momentum of "connecting everything" is too strong, like a mountain pressing down on one's head.

In order to "survive", Alipay can only keep adding functions, and it doesn't care about sacrificing any user experience.

Cai Zhongxin pushed up his glasses and said, "Mr. Ma, Mr. Peng! Plan quickly. Time is running out for Alipay."

Peng Lei was stunned: "What does Mr. Cai mean?"

Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Cai Zhongxin shook his head helplessly and explained: "Tengda will first promote WeChat Pay to coordinate offline payment scenarios.

Now WeChat red envelopes are being used to solve the cold start problems of bank card binding through social fission.

Now that WeChat Pay has a solid foundation, what do you think Tenda will do next?

Peng Lei suddenly had an idea and blurted out, "WeChat transfer! They'll definitely open a large-amount transfer function next!"

"Yes!" Cai Zhongxin said solemnly, "The next step must be to enable large-value transfers and completely transform WeChat Pay into an internet finance platform."

It dawned on everyone: Alipay, after obtaining its payment license, had eliminated the cumbersome nature of online banking with its quick payment feature, becoming a convenient payment medium. WeChat Pay, with its stronger foundation, had no reason not to be able to replicate the same approach.

Ma Jieke narrowed his eyes and nodded seriously, understanding what was going on.

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, he finally made up his mind and slowly asked, "Is everything settled with Tianhong Fund?"

Cai Zhongxin's eyes were deep: "Everything is ready."

"That's good." Ma Jieke turned to Peng Lei. "What about Alipay?"

"Everything is ready!" Peng Lei said in a serious tone.

"Okay, in three days, we will launch the Alipay Yu'ebao function." Ma Jieke made the decision immediately, his voice firm and resolute.

He knew that once Yu'ebao went online, it would be a threat to the banks and they would inevitably be "encircled and attacked".

I had never made up my mind before, but now the pressure from WeChat Pay is imminent, and Alipay is at the critical moment of "life and death", so I can only fight with my back against the wall.

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze for a few seconds. The executives had different expressions, some were shocked, some were solemn, and some were determined to fight to the death.

They had discussed Yu'ebao privately countless times and were fully aware of the huge risks involved.

Converting users' current deposits into negotiated deposits and then returning them with high interest rates will undoubtedly cause the bank's liability costs to increase sharply.

Everyone can imagine that the counterattack from the entire banking system will never be mild.

But at this moment, seeing the unquestionable determination in Majieke's eyes, no one dared to dissuade him. They only knew that this battle had to be fought.

"I will have the technical team on standby overnight to ensure the stability of the system within three days." Peng Lei was the first to break the silence, his tone resolute.

"The risk control department is conducting the final round of stress testing, especially the simulation of the traffic peak before the Spring Festival. There must be no mistakes."

Cai Zhongxin then added: "The legal department needs to prepare a response plan in advance. The bank's response will definitely be quick. We must ensure that compliance is fully implemented to ensure that Yu'ebao has a firm legal footing."

In addition, the connection with Tianhong Fund needs to be further refined, and there must be no blind spots in every link of capital flow."

Ma Jieke's fingertips tapped the tabletop, making a rhythmic sound, and he ordered in a deep voice, "Make a plan. If the bank launches an attack, immediately initiate the highest level of crisis public relations.

We must repeatedly emphasize our original intention of serving small and micro businesses and practicing inclusive finance, and emphasize that the security of users' funds is absolutely guaranteed.

Ministry of Justice, thoroughly understand all relevant legal provisions and regulatory boundaries, and be fully prepared to respond to the lawsuit!

He turned to Peng Lei and said, "Marketing needs to keep up as well. Since this is a battle to break through, we need to show our sincerity to users."

Yu'ebao's income threshold and withdrawal speed must be more impactful than traditional financial management, and must be intuitive and easy to understand.

Tell the marketing department to submit the preheating plan tomorrow morning."

"Also, the password red envelope idea is a great one. Start development immediately and give it the highest priority, forming a combined punch with Yu'e Bao!

One solves the urgent need for social communication, and the other lays the foundation for financial services!

"I understand!" Peng Lei nodded heavily. The pressure on his shoulders was like a mountain, but his eyes were burning with fighting spirit.

If this risky move succeeds, Alipay will completely get rid of the single label of "payment tool" and leap into a true Internet financial platform, capable of competing with WeChat Pay.

"Zhaoxi!" Ma Jieke looked at Executive President Lu Zhaoxi, "All resources of the group will be unconditionally allocated to Alipay and the Yu'ebao project!

Technology, manpower, capital, whatever you ask for, we'll give it to you! For the next three days, the Alipay division is the heart of the group. Everyone, get ready for battle!

At one o'clock in the morning in Hangzhou, the cold wind blew through the glass curtain wall of Alibaba's headquarters, but it could not blow away the heat in the conference room.

The executives repeatedly debated and supplemented the details of Yu'ebao until the sky turned pale, and then they hurriedly left with their heavy tasks.

(End of this chapter)