Chapter 450 The Richest Man Draws His Sword
Dong Mingzhu refused to be outdone and sneered, "The luxuriant branches and leaves can last for three years, but can they last for twenty-three years?
Gree has spent 23 years building a high wall of technology, and its 70,000 patents are the foundation of its success!
Lei Jun seemed unwilling to continue the debate and suddenly interrupted loudly: "Let me conclude with one sentence: Whether the Xiaomi model can outperform the Gree model depends on the next five years.
I ask the people of the country to bear witness. If Xiaomi's revenue can surpass Gree's in five years, President Dong Mingzhu will only lose one dollar to me."
Dong Mingzhu's response was like thunder: "Don't talk about a dollar on stage! I tell you straight up, Gree can't lose! Besides, if you want to bet, bet 1 billion!"
Lei Jun's pupils suddenly shrank and his heart was shocked.
Who could have imagined that what was originally just a joke to "live up the atmosphere" in the VIP lounge an hour ago would be raised from the initial one-dollar bet to an astronomical figure by this iron lady of the business world and completely out of control.
The host, Chen Weihong, then posed a difficult question to the award presenters: "This is a very interesting bet. Mr. Song and Mr. Wang, who do you think will have the higher revenue in five years, Xiaomi or Gree?"
Lei Jun and Dong Mingzhu both looked at Song Ci, the famous strategic master in the business world.
The richest man has just pointed out the characteristics of the two business models with precise insights. At this moment, both of them are full of anticipation, hoping that the other party will support them.
Song Ci raised the microphone and paused, as if sorting out his thoughts. The audience held their breath, waiting for the richest man to take his side.
"There are no traditional companies, only traditional thinking. Gree's 23-year manufacturing foundation is truly the economic backbone of the country.
Of course, Mr. Lei’s internet thinking is also worth learning from. But the success or failure of Xiaomi and Gree lies beyond their respective models.”
Lei Jun seemed to be thinking about something, and then he said loudly in front of everyone: "Please enlighten me, Mr. Song."
At this moment, all eyes in the audience were focused on Song Ci, and everyone was eagerly waiting to see what the richest man would say.
Song Ci nodded lightly, his demeanor calm and composed, becoming the absolute focus of the entire audience:
"Xiaomi's ecological chain model is more suitable for the current consumer electronics cycle, but it needs to overcome the "hollowing out" of technology.
Gree’s manufacturing foundation is scarce resources, but it must break the “island thinking”, otherwise the single model will be unsustainable.
The richest man paused and said firmly: "The key to success lies in the ability to integrate. Whoever completes the integration of virtual and real first between Xiaomi and Gree will win the bet in five years.
The essence of the integration of virtual and real is to make Gree's "wall" the fulcrum of the ecological chain and let Xiaomi's "network" take root in the real soil."
This brilliant discussion on "wall" and "net" drew thunderous applause and cheers from the audience.
Lei Jun looked serious and engraved the four words "integration of virtual and real" of the richest man deeply in his heart.
Although he tried his best to promote the advantages of the Xiaomi model on the stage, he also secretly summarized and reflected: If there is a problem in a certain link of the supply chain one day, it will inevitably have a strong impact on the company's production capacity.
Even the arrogant Dong Mingzhu was convinced and nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Song's point of view is indeed brilliant," the host complimented, and then pressed on, "Which company do you think is more promising in this bet?"
"Xiaomi," Song Ci responded positively this time. After all, Xiaomi, with his help, had already mastered fingerprint recognition technology.
In addition, with the in-depth cooperation with Tenda Group next year, the company will develop intelligent voice functions and make early arrangements in the mid-to-high-end mobile phone market. Its revenue will inevitably increase by leaps and bounds, and it will not be difficult to surpass Gree in five years.
"In fact, winning or losing the bet is not important." The richest man changed the subject, "Xiaomi and Gree's products are mobile phones and home appliances respectively, so they are not completely comparable.
Mr. Dong and Mr. Lei, you might as well broaden your perspective. In your respective fields, you have strong competitors, such as Haier and Huawei.
Both companies are working hard to build a closed-loop ecosystem of "data-manufacturing-services" and are already on the path of integrating the virtual and the real."
These words seemed to drag Haier and Huawei into the game. Although they were suspected of "diverting trouble to others", they successfully diverted the attention of Dong Mingzhu, Lei Jun and the audience.
The original five-year agreement between Xiaomi and Gree has quietly evolved into a wonderful "Four Kingdoms Romance."
The warmth of the award ceremony has not yet dissipated, and the lights in Jingyuan have already spread out with a warm atmosphere.
As soon as Song Ci entered the house, Liu Shishi came up to him with a smile on her face. She naturally took the suit jacket from her husband's hand and said with a hint of joking:
"Mr. Billionaire, the 'integration of virtual and real' you proposed at the 'Economic Figure of the Year' awards ceremony has become a hot topic."
Song Ci was startled when he heard this: "So fast?"
He originally thought that the "1 billion" bet between Lei Jun and Dong Mingzhu would definitely attract attention from the entire network, but he did not expect the attention to come so quickly, in just an hour.
Liu Shishi tapped her delicate chin and revealed the answer: "Because Huawei and Haier have already publicly accepted the challenge on Weibo!"
These words instantly aroused Song Ci's interest. He quickly walked to the sofa and sat down, then immediately picked up his phone to refresh Weibo.
On the screen, a post from twenty minutes ago was clearly visible.
Huawei's rotating chairman Guo Ping suddenly spoke out, his words revealing a sharp edge: "Mr. Song's 'wall network theory' is exactly what Huawei wants.
For Huawei, communications equipment is the "wall" and consumer business is the "network." Huawei is committed to entering this five-year battle to validate its business model.
If Huawei's 2017 revenue falls below the combined revenue of Xiaomi and Gree, Huawei is willing to donate 1 billion to its R&D fund!"
There is also a picture with a very technological feel: base station towers and mobile phone cloud services are intertwined into the shape of a DNA double helix, cleverly symbolizing the deep integration of Huawei's two core businesses.
One stone can cause a thousand ripples.
Huawei's participation directly pushed the topic of "The battle of reality and fiction of the 1 billion bet" to the top of Weibo's hot search list.
"Interesting." Song Ci's eyes flashed with interest, and his fingertips continued to slide the screen, carefully sorting out the ins and outs of the matter.
Just five minutes after Guo Ping announced Huawei's participation in the battle, Zhou Yunjie, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Haier Group and President of Haier Electronics, played the "ecological card" on Weibo:
"Virtual and real networks are all woven for users! Haier's seven smart ecosystems have covered 200 million households.
The bet is being ratcheted up: If Haier's white goods revenue falls short of Gree's in 2017, it will, like Huawei, donate 1 billion yuan in R&D funds.
Haier's accompanying picture shows various home appliances surrounding the data flow of the "Haier U+ Smart Brain", intuitively showing its ecological layout.
The two giants' departure instantly sparked discussions across the entire network:
"Song Ci's maneuver of 'shifting the blame' at the ceremony was actually a blatant conspiracy! Gree vs. Xiaomi was originally a contest between traditional manufacturing and the internet model, but by dragging Huawei and Haier into the game, it escalated the situation into a battle for standards in the 'integration of virtual and real'."
"While Dong Mingzhu and Lei Jun were still agonizing over revenue figures, Song Ci had already had the four major giants verify his industrial internet theory. The game plan of the richest man is terrifying!"
"That's amazing! It's completely opened up the market. Boss Song is using this billion-dollar bet to give China's manufacturing industry a 'public class on integration.'"
"Mr. Zhou, let's put aside the bet first. Can "Haier Brothers" be remade? The picture is too blurry now. @Haier Zhou Yunjie V"
"I checked the data: in 2012, Xiaomi's revenue was estimated to be 30 billion, Gree's 100 billion, Haier Group's overall 160 billion, and Huawei's as high as 220 billion."
"No wonder Song Ci asked Lei Jun and Dong Mingzhu to take a closer look at the strongest competitors in their respective fields. The situation is truly clear! I feel like Huawei can put up another challenge. In five years, can its revenue exceed the combined total of Xiaomi, Gree, and Haier?"
"Huawei's mobile phone business isn't exactly top-tier right now; it's only slightly stronger than Xiaomi. Excluding the carrier network business, which is a major contributor, its mobile phone revenue is estimated to be just over 40 billion yuan. From this perspective, the two companies could really compete head-to-head."
"Haier's strongest areas are washing machines and refrigerators, and Gree has indeed crushed it in the air conditioning sector. If Gree wants to develop further, it really needs to expand horizontally and enter the entire white appliance market. Song Ci was right when he said that Gree's strongest competitor is Haier."
"As Huawei employees, let's be honest. Our confidence in this bet is based on the following: Huawei expects to sell 50 million mobile phones next year, and strive to reach 200 million by 2017. And communications patents are Huawei's most solid ecosystem!"
Song Ci's fingertips hovered over the screen of his mobile phone, looking at the hot search terms "Romance of the Four Kingdoms, when will Tengda end?" His heart was burning with anxiety, wondering whether he should add fuel to the fire.
Liu Shishi placed the warm Pu'er tea on the coffee table and chuckled, "Hubby, Huawei and Haier have joined in, and now this bet has become a national frenzy. It would be a shame if you, the referee, didn't join in the fun."
Song Ci nodded, lowered his head in thought, and edited the blog post carefully.
Liu Shishi sat quietly beside her husband, leaning slightly on his shoulder. Without disturbing him, she tilted her head and quietly gazed at his handsome profile.
At 11pm, Song Ci posted a long post on Weibo:
Title: "Connecting Everything, Enabling an Intelligent Future, and Building an Intelligent Ecosystem for the Internet of Everything — A Love Letter to China Industry"
Text: "When we look at the world five years from now, we will find that the essence of all business competition is the battle for ecological niches.
The patent wall that Gree has built over 23 years is the mainstay of the real economy; the ecological network woven by Xiaomi with Internet thinking is the currency of the digital age.
But the future king will be the one who can break through the barriers by integrating “walls” and “networks” into a new type of infrastructure. This is the core logic behind my “integration of virtual and real” strategy.
First, technological integration: from confrontation to symbiosis
The double helix structure of Huawei's base station and mobile cloud service DNA reveals the inevitability of communication technology penetrating into terminals.
If Gree's precision manufacturing capabilities, which it excels at, are introduced into communication module research and development, its chip yield rate can be increased by more than 30%.
If Xiaomi's ecosystem companies access Huawei's communication technology, the device interconnection delay will be reduced from 3 seconds to 0.5 seconds. This is not a zero-sum game, but a multiplier effect of technological synergy.
Second, scenario reconstruction: from single product to system
Haier's smart home brain has covered 200 million households, but lacks in-depth mining of user behavior data.
If Gree's data parameters in the fields of temperature control and motor control are introduced, its air-conditioning energy consumption algorithm can iteratively produce a "climate adaptive" mode, saving up to 1,200 yuan in electricity bills per device per year.
On the other hand, if Gree connects the health monitoring data of the Xiaomi bracelet to the refrigerator food management system, the refrigerator can actively recommend recipes and preheat the oven. This is a real scene revolution.
Third, ecological upgrading: from competition to infrastructure
Tenda Technology Group will officially launch its "Intelligent Connection of Everything" strategy in 2013, centered around building a cross-platform technology platform. The TenOS system we've developed will enable compatible conversion between Android applications and IoT protocols.
If Huawei and Gree are willing to open their device interfaces, Tenda can provide the underlying connection framework, while Xiaomi's ecosystem companies can focus on hardware innovation. This division of labor model may give birth to a trillion-level smart hardware market.
Finally, I want to say: the end of the business war is not a zero-sum game of market share, but the exponential growth of ecological value. The future is the era of Internet +, where everything is intelligently connected!
The moment Song Ci pressed the send button, the living room was so quiet that one could almost hear the roar of rushing data.
The dim light from the mobile phone screen spread across his deep pupils. There was no noise of gambling, only a grand blueprint.
Gree's blue, Xiaomi's orange, Huawei's red, and Haier's green, the four-color light spots are being pulled by invisible gravity and slowly falling into Tenda's silver-white spider web woven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
Tenda's next strategic move has long been clear: using WeChat as the social portal, extending to the full-domain connection of "people-devices-scenarios", and ultimately building a super ecosystem of "social-IoT-AI".
Through the seamless collaboration of hardware, software, and services, WeChat has been upgraded from a core connector that "connects people" to "connects everything," becoming the underlying infrastructure of the intelligent era and quietly laying the groundwork for the future industrial Internet and metaverse.
"Honey, look! Haier's Zhou Yunjie reposted your blog post in seconds!" Liu Shishi held the phone, her tone full of surprise.
Song Ci didn't look up, but the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
He had long expected that Haier would be the first to respond, and WeChat, as a carrier that "connects everything", was the bait that Haier could not resist.
As long as Haier and Tenda join forces, they can promote ecological upgrades, create a closed loop of "smart home", and gradually transform from a traditional home appliance manufacturer to an ecological platform.
Song Ci, the richest man who has been out of business for a long time, actually updated his Weibo, instantly setting off a fire in the comment section:
"Boss Song finally remembered his Weibo account password!"
"The richest man is officially showing his hand! I told him his 'wall-network theory' and 'integration of virtual and real' weren't just talk. 'Internet of Everything' – that's an ambition too grand!"
"What 'love letter to industry'? This is clearly a call for amnesty!"
"It's hard to say who will win or lose among the Big Four in five years, but Tenda is definitely going to make a profit – relying on its 'social stickiness + traffic advantage', it's going to reap the benefits!"
Looking at the comments, Song Ci smiled proudly.
This war without gunpowder has quietly completed a reorganization of business genes under the "Internet of Everything" framework he constructed. All large, medium and small enterprises will inevitably accelerate their embrace of the Internet.
Liu Shishi stared at her husband's chiseled profile and suddenly understood the true meaning of his WeChat signature: "Connect everything."
(End of this chapter)
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