Chapter 193 Meeting the richest man, big deal!

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son is probably the opposite of Warren Buffett. Buffett's investment is conservative and stable, while Son's is radical.

He has made several legendary investments. The first one was in Yahoo. When Jerry Yang's team had only a dozen people, he invested several million dollars without hesitation. After Yahoo grew a little bigger, he invested another 100 million US dollars.

It was similar when he invested in Alibaba. When Jack Ma's team was still very weak and had hardly achieved any results, he made the decision within a few minutes and invested decisively.

In addition, he also invested in ARM, Nvidia, etc.

These so-called aggressive investments once made him the second richest man in the world, but of course, they also left him in debt.

But 20 years later, he is still a legend. The United States has ambitiously proposed the Stargate Project, which plans to invest $500 billion in the development of AI, and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son is the chairman of this project.

Of course...

The result was that the Stargate was almost demolished before it was even started.

"He will be attending a meeting in Hong Kong soon, and then he will fly to the United States. He asked if we have time to go to Hong Kong to meet him." Xia Xi: "The specific time is three days later."

What a coincidence, that day was Lin Xiao’s birthday.

"Okay..." Lin Xiao said, "Let's book a plane ticket..."

Xia Xi thought for a while and said, "Order one for Lian Yi, first, so that she can spend your birthday with you, and have a little world for the two of you. Second, she is studying finance, and now Masayoshi Son is like the god of finance."

Damn, Xia Xi, you really worry about your family of five.

Xia Xi sat directly on Lin Xiao's desk and said, "Sun Zhengyi is a double-edged sword. He gives money straightforwardly and gives a lot of money, but his appetite is also big and he asks for a lot of shares."

At the moment, Lin Xiao really needs money.

Facebook has now become a money-eating behemoth. It has too many daily active users, and the bandwidth and server costs are incredibly high.

But... because Lin Xiao had made arrangements in advance.

So now the company's financial situation is on the right track.

The entire company will see a huge revenue explosion next year.

So, the company will be short of money, but not too short of money, and its financial situation will be very healthy.

But he still needs investment from international capital, because he needs help. You can't fight alone in this world, you need to form interest groups. Especially if you want to expand overseas, you can't do without the help of international capital.

Compared with the greed of American capital, Masayoshi Son's SoftBank Group is much better. This person is even very individualistic and straightforward.

Xia Xi: "Oh, by the way, let me tell you something else. Your father-in-law is going to get you another loan of 80 million."

Well?!

The previous loan of 40 million has not been repaid yet, and now I have to borrow another one.

Secretary Lian’s support is really unreserved.

Oh no, it should be Mayor Lian.

This time he went to the most developed prefecture-level city in Zhijiang Province, where his power and responsibilities increased a lot.

"You little scumbag, in one year, you will be 22 years old." Xia Xi said.

As for Paopao, even her whole family is looking forward to Lin Xiao marrying her as soon as he turns 22.

And it was almost impossible to refuse.

"Alas..." Lin Xiao simply lay back and pretended to be dead.

But it didn't matter that he lay back, but he accidentally saw the scenery under Xia Xi's skirt.

Black, lace, translucent.

Lin Xiao immediately looked away.

"Are you really not angry that I'm going to recruit Wu Lingxi?" Lin Xiao asked.

Xia Xi: "Why should I be angry?"

"It's the most satisfying thing to have your former enemy under your command. But they won't surrender to you unless they are in dire straits."

"She is now overdrawing the family fund and is gathering allies and funds everywhere, preparing to go all out."

Lin Xiao: "If she fails this time, will she be left with nowhere to go within the family?"

Xia Xi: "Almost. Although their family is very wealthy and has astronomical assets, there are so many branches and divisions competing with each other, it's like raising a Gu. Once you lose, the family fund will not give you another chance. You can only live a life of idleness and wait for death."

At this time, the phone in Lin Xiao's office rang.

After answering the call, it turned out to be from Miyazaki.

"Lin Xiao, 8 million US dollars and 12% of Jiayuan.com's shares, is that okay?" Miyazaki said directly.

Lin Xiao once offered him 5 million US dollars for 13% of the shares, which was a true friendship price.

The reason for this price is very simple, in order to help the listing. Because it is not necessary to go to Nasdaq to list, it is also possible to list on the Hong Kong stock market, and it is relatively controllable.

However, Miyazaki refused at that time.

Next, Lin Xiao is going to meet Masayoshi Son. The other party is a very decisive and purposeful person. This meeting must not be in vain. There must be cooperation and results.

Therefore, Lin Xiao is no longer suitable to cooperate with Miyazaki's Hong Kong venture capital.

"Sorry." Lin Xiao.

Miyazaki: “Is it because the price is not suitable?”

Lin Xiao: "No, because I have other collaborators. Sorry."

Miyazaki: “It’s okay.”

Lin Xiao suddenly asked, "Is the success of Kongzhong still beyond your comprehension?"

Miyazaki: "The ceiling is too low and the scale is too small. Because I rejected your investment proposal for Jiayuan.com last time, I was once again strongly criticized and questioned by the board of directors."

"In fact, I once submitted this proposal to the board of directors, but it was directly rejected and even ridiculed."

"But with the success of If You Are the One, Jiayuan.com experienced a huge boom, and I need to be responsible for this failure."

"Lin Xiao, sometimes I really envy these students from the mainland. They have many options and a high tolerance for mistakes."

Of course Miyazaki was not talking about Lin Xiao, who was considered a grassroots. He should be referring to Zhou Yunfan, Liao Feng and others.

Hong Kong is a mature capitalist country, and the custom of taking concubines is prevalent, so there are many children, the competition is fierce, and the tolerance rate is much lower.

"By the way, Lin Xiao, I heard that you rejected the investment from Yingke?" Miyazaki asked.

Lin Xiao: “Yes.”

Yingke is the company of Little Li Chaoren. The last time Lucas came to discuss investing in Jiayuan.com, the price was not bad, but Lin Xiao rejected it.

Because the other party lacks patience and is more eager for quick success, he will not agree with Lin Xiao's long-term planning route for Jiayuan.com.

Miyazaki sighed. In fact, he only now understood what Lin Xiao wanted to do.

"Lin Xiao, I may also bet everything on myself, because I find that I don't have many chances left. If I don't make any progress, my position may be replaced by someone else." Miyazaki said: "So when the time comes, I will compete with you directly. I will be the first to apologize."

Lin Xiao: “It’s okay.”

"What's wrong?" Xia Xi asked.

Lin Xiao said: "We have formed a group here, and they are also going to form a group over there."

Xia Xi: "They finally began to see the future and success of the Facebook model, and are planning to go all out and copy it?"

Lin Xiao: “Yes.”

"The people who compete with us the most understand us the best and also understand Facebook's potential. When SoftBank's Masayoshi Son approves the investment, we will be in the spotlight."

"Liao Feng said that this is a 10,000-meter long-distance race. And we have only completed a few hundred meters, so there is still a great chance."

"In their opinion, our weakness is that we have no connections and cannot fight as a group, but they can definitely make up for this, so they plan to bring together various forces and make a big gamble."

Xia Xi: "Elite entrepreneurs have a huge characteristic, which is that they are too purposeful and unwilling to spend too much time on basics. They especially want to overtake others. So what do you think we will face?"

Lin Xiao: "Liao Feng, Wu Lingxi, Miyazaki, etc., will even bring in other investment groups, even Sohu, to completely copy the Facebook model, but use several times the amplifier. They will completely plagiarize us, and then use their strong capital and connections to quickly surpass us, or even replace us."

Xia Xi: "It's not just capital power, because he has studied our strategy and used the entertainment industry to leverage large traffic. So, he will probably also attract the Beijing and Hong Kong circles to join."

Lin Xiao: "Yes, so we are about to face a super giant that has formed an alliance with several parties."

"However, they are destined to fail, no matter how much capital they have or how much traffic they have."

Xia Xi: "Because there is no foundation, our moat has already been built, and it is already very deep."

"Yes." Lin Xiao: "If the semi-acquaintance gene is not established, everything is in vain. Even if there are many flowers and flowers, no matter how grand and magnificent it is, it is useless."

In order to build this semi-acquaintance gene, for this moat, for the foundation of Facebook, how much time and energy did Lin Xiao devote? For this, he even gave up more than half a year of precious time and gave up rapid expansion, just to lay a solid foundation.

Now the community is irreplaceable.

In fact, during this process, what Lin Xiao was most worried about was the awakening of another giant and blocking it in advance.

That’s QQ.

If within a few months after Facebook established the community, QQ would immediately respond and directly launch the QQ group function.

Then most of Lin Xiao’s Facebook social functions are directly disabled.

And if Baidu also wakes up and directly develops Tieba, then another half of Facebook's social function will be destroyed.

Fortunately...neither of these two companies took any major action.

Because, in the eyes of the giants, Facebook is too small and focuses on the campus market, so they do not feel a huge threat.

Moreover, Tencent is making a lot of money from mobile SP.

However, when Masayoshi Son took a fancy to Facebook and wanted to invest in it, that brilliance could no longer be concealed.

By that time, Tencent might take action to stop it.

It can be said that what Lin Xiao is most worried about is always Tencent.

Because its social moat is deeper.

And now Liao Feng, Wu Lingxi, Miyazaki and others have joined forces to replicate Facebook's success and build a behemoth, which will also paralyze Tencent.

In Tencent's view, Facebook has been fighting fiercely with this behemoth, but has not been able to shake its position.

"It's time to develop YY voice." Lin Xiao said.

For Lightning Group, the weight of YY Voice is not high, probably about the same as Qvod, or even slightly lower.

As for Qvod, the development is almost completed.

In the original history, Qvod was a groundbreaking product. And in the coming 2004, it will be even more revolutionary.

Why is it so great? Because of the P2P technology, you can download and watch on demand at the same time.

Of course, bitTorrent has only been released for a year and is not yet completely popular, so veteran users may not need as many resources as they did in 2006.

But it doesn’t matter! As long as there is demand and technology, resources will experience explosive growth.

Moreover, in this era, not only is there a lack of excellent MP3 player software, there is even a lack of excellent video player software.

The emergence of Qvod directly filled this gap. With the addition of the P2P on-demand function, once it was released, it would definitely become a hit in no time.

It will become a must-install software on almost all men's computers.

Not only will it increase the authority of the Facebook application, but more importantly, it will become the first traffic entrance for videos in the future.

In another two years, FLASH technology will undergo a major upgrade, online video sites will explode, and YouTube will be born.

As we all know, domestic video websites are not very profitable and are money-eating behemoths, but they are an indispensable part of strategic deployment.

Moreover, it plays almost the most important role in cultural output and in the world public opinion system.

Therefore, the timing for launching Qvod is just right. In one or two years, it will become the dominant force in this field. After the video boom, it will instantly become the largest traffic portal.

As for YY voice, on the one hand, it is for game deployment.

Another more important point is that it can become a bargaining chip with Tencent.

I won't attack your software social networking, and you shouldn't mess with my web social networking.

"Fantasy Game Studio should speed up the development of the game lobby application." Lin Xiao said, "I want to see a complete internal test within a month, and then it can be launched at any time according to Facebook's strategic needs."

"This game lobby should be launched together with Qvod, so that there will be less pressure from public opinion."

Currently, the giant in the game hall is still Lianzhong, which has a huge number of registered users, and Tencent has also entered the market.

It is also normal for Facebook to enter the game, but it will not do so in a big way, but quietly.

……………………

"Have you thought it through?" Jia Zhan asked Han Jie.

Han Jie struggled for a long time, or it cannot be said to be a struggle, but rather he mustered up his courage for a long time.

Because he had just graduated from Beijing Normal University, he was recruited into the company by Director Jia and became an assistant director. He could be said to be his first mentor.

Now that he was leaving and joining Lightning Entertainment, he felt very sorry for Jia Zhanke.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Jia."

Jia Zhanke: "You have a better future, I won't stop you. But... you have to be mentally prepared, he is a capitalist, not an artist."

“The movies you make in the future may sell well at the box office, but it will be difficult to achieve great success.”

Actually! Director Jia is of course very talented. Lin Xiao has watched all of his works, even several times.

"Xiao Wu" and "Platform" are really excellent.

But... Director Jia eventually became a small clique, an art tycoon.

His films inevitably repeat themselves and there is no breakthrough.

Han Jie said nothing, but bowed deeply.

The next day!

Han Jie appeared in front of Lin Xiao and Xiao Momo.

"This is my wife." Lin Xiao directly introduced Momo's identity to the other party.

"Hello..." Paopao whispered, with a hint of excitement and shyness, without any arrogance of a big boss's woman.

"There's no rush to sign the contract. This is the movie I want you to make." Lin Xiao said, "My wife is a graduate student at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. This is the script she wrote."

Suddenly, Han Jie's heart began to feel a little cold.

It was actually a script to promote his girlfriend? And he asked me to film it?

What is the difference between this and the coal boss? The only difference is that the coal boss promotes his mistress as an actress, while you, the leader of Ergou, promote your woman as a screenwriter.

In other words, the movie "Warring States" has not yet appeared, otherwise he would definitely think of a man who spent a lot of money to make a terrible movie "Warring States" in order to promote Da Tiantian.

It’s not his fault that he thinks too much, because movies that praise girlfriends or mistresses are all bad movies.

It feels like playing tricks on the princes with beacon fire.

And the Xiao Momo in front of me is so beautiful, as if she is glowing. Can a girl like this really write a good script?

If it is a terrible movie, will he accept it? If not, Jia Zhan Ke will resign.

If I accept the answer, will it become a stain on my career?

When I saw the title of the script "Love Is Not Blind", it felt like a bad movie.

Next, Han Jie began to read the script carefully.

I just read a few pages and was pleasantly surprised.

The writing is delicate, and the emotions are also delicate.

The character is very likable.

As he read more deeply, he was even more surprised.

This script is very good.

The story is simple.

However, scripts with simple stories are often difficult to write well.

It requires very delicate emotional touch and very subtle chemical reaction.

And these...

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

This script has it all.

Even, there is some depth.

What seems like a happy comedic ending is actually a bit mean, a bit sad, and a bit arrogant on the part of the author.

It has just the right depth, not deliberate, and not playing with the audience.

A feeling of wanting more.

The script of "Crazy Stone" is a show of skill and a network-like narrative, which is very difficult.

But this script is also difficult, because it is completely driven by delicate emotions and is more of an outward manifestation of the inner world.

In fact, it is his favorite way and almost the one he is best at.

"I have to put aside my prejudice. This script is really well written. It's so hard to grasp the right timing. It's so difficult to create such a subtle chemical reaction in such a delicate and light story." Han Jie said: "I like it very much, but there is one thing. It may be very demanding for the actors, and it may not be pure acting, but the natural expression of inner emotions."

"Boss Lin, this movie is very simple, but if I were to shoot it, the progress might not be very fast."

Lin Xiao: "It doesn't matter, as long as we finish filming within a year!"

This kind of movie doesn’t require setting up scenes or a lot of preparation, so one year is really plenty of time.

Han Jie: "So what are your expectations for the box office?"

Lin Xiao: "No, I just want word of mouth."

Han Jie: "What about the budget?"

Lin Xiao: "Six million, is that enough?"

Even without hiring any celebrities, this budget is completely sufficient in this era.

At this moment, Han Jie deeply felt that this... this seemed to be a first-class boss.

………………

Although the movie "Love Is Not Blind" had a good box office in history, and even created a bigger miracle than "Crazy Stone", it earned 350 million yuan at the box office, ranking third among domestic films that year, second only to "Let the Bullets Fly" and "The Founding of a Party".

However, Lin Xiao still has expectations for the box office of this movie, but he has no requirements.

Because the script has actually changed a lot, it has become more profound and is no longer a 100% pure comedy.

Lin Xiao couldn't judge whether this change was good or bad for the box office.

This movie is a complete gift to Bubbles.

Bubble has been controlled too strictly by her parents since she was a child and has been unable to express her true nature. Although she is very beautiful, she is not very confident and is a girl who needs constant affirmation.

Lin Xiao wanted her to have reason to be proud of herself.

And this pride does not only come from external factors, such as I married a very good husband and our family is very rich.

I hope this kind of pride can also come from within her.

If you love her, you will fulfill her inner self and ideals.

And the result is...

In the middle of the night, when Lin Xiao woke up, he found Bubble lying on top of him, her two beautiful big eyes still open, looking at his face intently in the dark.

Because Lin Xiao was asleep, she could fully display the love and infatuation in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xiao asked and kissed her on the little mouth.

"Nothing." Bubble said in a sweet voice, "I just love you and can't bear to sleep."

"Silly girl..." Lin Xiao patted her jelly-like butt, but reluctantly grabbed it lightly.

………………

The next day!

Lin Xiao was about to take a car to the airport to go to Hong Kong to meet Masayoshi Son.

The company now has more than 300 employees and has added several vehicles.

Gao Changhe still prefers Mercedes-Benz S.

In order to receive VIPs, the company also purchased a Bentley. Lin Xiao rarely used this car, and most of the time it was used by Xia Xi.

Just as he walked out of the company and was about to head to the garage, he was suddenly stopped by Li Shuang.

"Xiaoxiao, this is your birthday present."

Lin Xiao was stunned when he saw the gift Li Shuang handed over.

Damn! Patek Philippe Starry Sky?

Are you still living your life?

The first advertising bidding for If You Are the One was very successful, and Shuanglin Entertainment received approximately 20 million, nearly 30 million.

As the general manager of Shuanglin Production, Li Shuang also received a considerable dividend.

However, he bought a lot of luxury items, most of which were for Lin Xiao.

Now, I bought another watch worth millions.

This watch was launched in 2001 and quickly became a hit. How did you get your hands on one?

Li Shuang came up and without saying a word took off the Vacheron Constantin watch on Lin Xiao's hand and replaced it with the Patek Philippe Starry Sky watch she had given him.

"Happy birthday, my little one."

Lin Xiao said: "Sister, you have a grudge against money, right? You will feel uncomfortable if you don't spend all the money you just got."

Li Shuang stared at Lin Xiao with her sexy eyes and said in a sticky voice: "But, I am very happy to spend money on you."

Lin Xiao couldn't help but ask, "So what watch did you buy for Li Xiang?"

Li Shuang: "Casio."

Damn, that’s your own brother.

Li Shuang said, "That dog is lucky to have a watch."

………………

When Lin Xiao and Xia Xi took a car to Aurora University to pick up Lian Yi, she was on the phone.

"Thank you, Sister Xia Xi." Seeing Xia Xi sitting in the passenger seat, Lian Yi thanked her sweetly. She sat in the back seat without hesitation and snuggled up to Lin Xiao.

"No way, that's impossible!" Lian Yi was talking on the phone with her mother.

“Husband and wife are the real community of interests.”

"Anyway, I can't imagine a couple turning against each other because of financial interests."

"Anyway, I want to be someone he can't do without."

It seemed like Lian Yi and her mother were arguing.

Shu Wan said that it is best for a couple to have independent careers.

However, Lian Yi said that Lin Xiao's career was getting bigger and bigger, and she had to work hard to become stronger so that she could help Lin Xiao in his career.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiao took a look at the clothes she was wearing and said disdainfully, "You're just wearing this? It's so ugly."

Lian Yi: "Sister Xia Xi, look, he is bullying me again."

"I brought a nice skirt and I won't embarrass you." Then she said to Lin Xiao angrily.

Then, she noticed that Lin Xiao was staring at her nose, and immediately said fiercely: "What are you looking at? I won't let you see it."

Lin Xiao discovered that Lian Yi’s nose was the same type as Wu Lingxi’s.

They are all very tall and straight, which is rare among girls.

It’s just that Wu Lingxi’s nose gives people an aggressive feeling.

Lian Yi's nose is full of strong personality, yet also cute and lovely, with a slightly upturned tip.

It's really delicate and beautiful.

After being aggressive, Lian Yi proudly rubbed Lin Xiao's face with the tip of her nose, like a puppy.

That posture is like saying.

How about it? You are a hypocritical guy who dislikes me for this and that. You know I am so pretty, but you refuse to admit it.

Xia Xi turned around and said, "Lian Yi's nose is the most beautiful I have ever seen on a girl, bar none."

Lian Yi: "Sister Xia Xi has good taste. Some men have no sense of taste and only stare at girls' private parts."

Xia Xi: "Our Qiaoqiao place is also very good."

"Ah..." Lian Yi's face turned red and she punched Lin Xiao hard.

Qiaoqiao was the nickname that Lin Xiao and Lian Yi used to flirt with each other in private. Unexpectedly, Xia Xi heard it.

Xia Xi's female driver didn't say a word from beginning to end, as if she didn't hear anything.

Xia Xi said seriously: "Have you heard the rumors? The cooperation between Sohu and Wu Lingxi may be unprecedented and subversive."

"It may even be possible to integrate Lingxi Island's social network and chinaren."

"Of course, it is still underway and the resistance is very great, so it may not be completed."

Damn! That's really a big deal.

Lin Xiao said: "If it really takes shape, it will be a real shock to the Internet industry."

Historically, Renren first merged with Xiaonei. Then, the bigger bombshell was the merger of Renren and Kaixin. Renren became a nominal social giant, claiming to have more than 100 million users.

But it's still useless, I still feel defeated and lonely.

And if Sohu Alumni Directory and Lingxi Island Social really merge, the shock to the industry will be no less than the merger of Renren and Kaixin.

Because Sohu Alumni Directory is now known as the leader in web social networking, and it already had more than 10 million registered users a few years ago.

The current ranking is as follows: Sohu's chinaren is first, Lin Xiao's Facebook is second, and Lingxi Island is third.

If the first and third place were merged, it would truly be a nuclear bomb in the industry.

But in reality? Lin Xiao's Facebook has long been number one, whether in terms of the number of registered users or daily active users.

Xia Xi asked: "Do you hope that this big merger will really happen?"

Lin Xiao thought for a while: "I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages for us!"

"If it really takes shape, then I really have to admire Wu Lingxi, it's really a masterpiece."

"This way, if she really joins our camp and takes charge of Facebook in the United States in the future, she will have a better chance of winning."

Lian Yi said at the side: "If Lingxi Island and Alumni Directory really merge, wouldn't it be a crisis for Facebook?"

Lin Xiao: “Not necessarily. In terms of momentum, their merger may be more than one plus one, but in actual effect, this merger is extremely harmful.”

"And after they merge into a giant, as long as Facebook performs well enough and has enough stickiness, their users will directly become our largest source of users."

Xia Xi: "But a super war is inevitable."

"As long as we win this battle, Facebook will be able to upgrade instantly because we will have swallowed up the opponent's body." Lin Xiao sighed, "After the battle, we can no longer pretend to be a small company. We will become a giant inexplicably."

Therefore, Lin Xiao is optimistic about this big merger.

……………………

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hong Kong.

Lin Xiao met Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group.

Short, fat and round.

It looks harmless.

But now he is indeed a world-class legend.

He once spent $100 million to acquire 37% of Yahoo's shares. In 2000, Yahoo's market value peaked at around $125 billion.

Of course, after the Internet bubble burst, Yahoo's market value has been falling.

Just a few years ago, Masayoshi Son invested 20 million US dollars in Ma Yun's Alibaba.

At this time, Lin Xiao was almost a head taller than Masayoshi Son.

When the two parties shook hands, he had difficulty raising his head.

"Among Internet geniuses, you are the youngest and the most handsome." Masayoshi Son spoke in a more serious tone and in a light-hearted manner.

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "This is the highest praise I have received so far."

Son said, “I heard that you valued your Facebook at around $580 million.”

Lin Xiao said: "Yes, this valuation directly scared off Hong Kong venture capital funds."

Son was silent for a while and said, "I think this valuation is reasonable."

"Mr. Lin Xiao, our time is very precious. We are all resolute people."

“I’d rather spend my time exchanging ideas about literature and history than haggling over prices.”

"So I just asked point blank, how much money do you need?"

It is indeed a grand and ambitious work.

………………

Note: I have finally finished writing. Now I am going to eat rice noodles! Handsome benefactor, if you have monthly tickets in your pocket, please give me some cakes. Thank you handsome men and beautiful women.

(End of this chapter)