Chapter 406

Halfway through the awards, it was finally time for Lao Wang Zong and Jack Ma, the two old rivals, to take the stage as presenters.

Their appearance instantly made the scene more interesting; the host asked them how their year had been.

Lao Wang Zong said: "It went very comfortably."

Jack Ma replied: "I had a very uncomfortable year."

Actually, their banter was quite entertaining—even netizens loved watching it; though they mocked each other on stage, their private relationship was quite good.

Later, when Lao Wang Zong faced a crisis, Jack Ma helped him through it; but when he faced another crisis, Jack Ma had already withdrawn and could no longer help—that came later.

At this time, both men still looked triumphant and full of vigor.

After they finished chatting, the awards began—still the Annual Economic Figure award, selecting 10 out of 30.

Of the 28, 26 were state-owned or centrally managed enterprises; only two were private, so Fang Hong had only this one chance, while his competitors were many.

In his past life, this award went to Dong Dajie and Lei Bus, creating the famous ten-billion-yuan bet scene; this lifetime, with Fang Hong's presence, who knew if anything would change.

Actually, he overthought it—this award had been arranged in advance, and the winners had already been notified.

Because Lei Bus had said that his bet with Dong Dajie was for show; backstage producers had called them over and told them to make the bet.

Originally, they were betting one yuan; unexpectedly, Dong Dajie didn't follow the script and bet ten billion.

So the winner had been decided in advance, but Fang Hong had not been notified ahead of time—only nominated and invited to attend, so this award would not be his.

Sure enough, Lao Wang Zong and Jack Ma announced the winners: "Lei Bus, Dong Dajie."

Fang Hong's wings still couldn't alter this outcome; there was nothing to be done—Xiaomi and Gree were both real-industry companies, and both were currently more dazzling than Yutu and Chang'e Technology.

Their annual revenue easily reached tens of billions, even hundreds of billions.

Yutu was only a small player in the film and television circle; no matter how you measured scale, it couldn't compare. Chang'e Technology, though dazzling, had only just begun.

Internet and virtual businesses hadn't reached the level of BAT yet—they had to be discounted.

Upon hearing the winners, Lei Bus walked onto the stage; Fang Hong couldn't help but feel discouraged—it was quite depressing.

He had thought today he could win an award and show off to Liu Tianxian; his hope was dashed.

"It's fine, if you didn't win, you didn't win," Liu Tianxian comforted him, appearing remarkably carefree.

"I even said I'd win a big award to show you, and now I can't." Fang Hong sighed.

"Didn't you say success always comes with hardship? Let's come again next year—don't lose heart," Liu Tianxian looped her arm around his neck and patted his head like soothing a child.

Their posture was a bit upside-down.

But Fang Hong was used to it—every time he faced setbacks, Liu Tianxian soothed him like a child.

"We can't get married now," Fang Hong said, disappointed.

"What does getting married have to do with an award? Our relationship depends on our own hearts, not external factors," Liu Tianxian was open-minded; she never placed much value on external achievements or honors.

If there were any, she'd be happy for this man; if not, it didn't matter—they'd live their own lives well.

A few years ago, they'd joked that if Fang Hong won the European Big Three, something would happen; Liu Tianxian hadn't taken it seriously and had long forgotten—it was just playful talk.

"So you mean you're willing to marry me?" Fang Hong's eyes lit up.

"We'll see how you perform!" Liu Tianxian became coquettish again.

This man hadn't proposed to her, hadn't said anything about marrying him, hadn't done any ceremony—just this sudden, casual remark; how unfair that felt.

"You're teasing me again," Fang Hong pulled her close, pressing against her.

"Hehehe, I'm not teasing you—I'm serious," Liu Tianxian whispered with a light laugh.

Just as the two were whispering and laughing, the guest seats occasionally burst into loud "Ha ha!" laughter—because on stage, Dong Dajie and Lei Bus were bickering.

Their quarrel was like a married couple squabbling—quite entertaining.

Dong Dajie appeared very dominant; in speech and action, she was aggressive, making Lei Bus nod repeatedly like a submissive husband.

She accused him of having no technology, no factory, and of being unrealistic, only knowing marketing.

All this made Lei Bus extremely awkward; on top of that, Jack Ma seemed to dislike Lei Bus and sided with Dong Dajie on stage, leaving Lei Bus isolated.

The reason? Dong Dajie and Jack Ma had a business partnership.

On stage, they clashed and bickered; Lei Jun couldn't argue back, so he interrupted loudly: "My model is product R&D and user service—Xiaomi will focus only on these two things, using others' factories and channels."

"You have no spirit of mutual benefit—you shift all the risk onto others. If products don't sell, it becomes their risk; if they sell, it's yours. That's not right," Dong Dajie said.

Meaning he was hoarding all the profit.

Then Jack Ma judged: "When observing opponents, look at where they're strong and where you're weak. Xiaomi's marketing is excellent, but marketing is easy to copy." Lei Jun stood there like a student receiving instruction, saying nothing.

"Even if Xiaomi surpasses Gree in sales, it doesn't mean Xiaomi is better than Gree—just as Alibaba surpassing Walmart doesn't mean Alibaba is better than Walmart. We've just done easier things in this era. If a company can't face itself honestly, the bigger it grows, the busier it becomes and the farther it drifts from its customers—that's the law."

"Xiaomi has had a comfortable past two years, but the difficult times haven't arrived yet."

Jack Ma's eloquence was truly excellent.

Lei Jun listened as this man spoke for so long, reducing him to nothing, and felt deeply bitter.

Whether he made money or not, it was all worthless—every word, good or bad, was spoken by him.

"Hmm, General Manager Ma speaks well—look at your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. I recall recently, General Manager Ma also did something easy: Chang'e Technology competing with Youku. That was turning big-against-small into small-against-big—I find that hard to understand. Has Alibaba, after growing large, become so arrogant it can no longer face itself honestly?" Lao Wang Zong stood on Lei Bus's side.

This remark triggered loud "Ha ha!" laughter from the audience.

He was saying Alibaba had failed to face itself honestly—having been humiliated by the Principal, he used the Principal's own words to refute him.

"I've heard of this matter. Competition in business is unavoidable; temporary wins or losses don't determine success or failure. A company must be judged by its foundation and how far it can go in the future—just like Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. Liu Bang could lose ten times or more; Xiang Yu lost once and lost his empire." Jack Ma raised one finger.

He was implying the Principal was Xiang Yu—a brute, impulsive, lacking wisdom, losing once and losing everything.

And he himself was Liu Bang—with foundation, strength, able to lose ten times, needing only one victory to defeat the Principal.

This analogy was indeed quite vivid.

"I won't refute you—I'll have the Principal refute you. Is the Principal here today?" Lao Wang Zong looked toward the guest seats.

Only the Principal could make Jack Ma lose face; Lao Wang Zong had interacted with him before—he had decent eloquence and was quite shameless.

The director's camera panned to Fang Hong—but he wasn't listening to anything on stage; he was chatting with Liu Tianxian as if no one else existed.

Still laughing and acting affectionate, completely ignoring those around them; since they weren't winning, they'd just attend and leave—just going through the motions.

Liu Tianxian glanced at the large screen onstage, saw how everyone was watching their laughter, and nudged him with her elbow, then sat up straight.

She looked utterly upright and righteous.

Fang Hong also realized and sat properly, but he didn't know what was going on—he hadn't been listening at all.

"It seems we've interrupted the Principal's good time. Then, Principal, if you'd be so kind, come up onstage and share your experience with us," said the host, microphone in hand, inviting the two to come up.

Fang Hong was momentarily stunned; Liu Tianxian pulled him up, and only then did he rise and walk down the steps toward the stage.

Many here were seeing the Principal for the first time; they'd only heard of his deeds, knew such a person existed, since his struggles held considerable relevance for them.

Lao Wang Zong was also in the guest seating; seeing the Principal, his eyes held a trace of hatred and displeasure.

Fang Hong walked onstage amid the gaze of many; staff handed him a microphone, but he said nothing, still looking bewildered, unaware of what was happening.

"Everyone calls you Principal, so I followed suit. You may express your views," said the host.

"Call me whatever you like—it's just a title. But I'm embarrassed—I don't even know what's going on," Fang Hong glanced at the few people.

Lei Bus smiled; Dong Dajie looked curious; Jack Ma carried a faint air of condescension—too young.

"Just now, Jack Ma said you're Xiang Yu and he's Liu Bang—he can lose ten times, but if you lose once, you lose your empire," said Lao Wang Zong, explaining the situation to him.

"Why am I Xiang Yu? Why not Zhu Yuanzhang?" Fang Hong was very curious.

This drew a burst of "Ha ha!" laughter from the guest seating—comparing himself to Zhu Yuanzhang was quite clever.

It also countered Jack Ma's earlier remarks, because Zhu Yuanzhang had lost too, but he always bounced back and never lost strategically.

That meant he might lose tactically, but never strategically.

Also, Zhu Yuanzhang was born a peasant, with no background or strength, yet he repeatedly overcame stronger foes and seized the empire—this perfectly matched their earlier conversation.

Because the Principal, too, had defeated larger forces and won, foreshadowing him as the ultimate victor.

Though it was just a simple question, it concealed deep implications.

Jack Ma, as an old hand, naturally understood the hidden meaning; he smiled slightly: "Being Zhu Yuanzhang is good—everyone wants to be Zhu Yuanzhang, but how many can actually become him? There's only ever been one in history."

To become him, you need not only his perseverance and patience, but also his luck. Luck is subtle—it can make you rise to glory, or cause you to stumble into eternal regret.

Now is the internet age, different from ancient warfare. Back then, information was scarce; if you understood a bit more than others and had a bit of luck, you could win.

Now it's different—information is transparent. What you do, what moves you make, are instantly known to everyone. There are no secrets.

So I often say, a company must have core competitiveness, and that competitiveness is thought. The leader of a company must have thought. Without thought, there's no soul—it's not about luck or brute force.

He was saying Fang Hong had no thought, relying only on luck. Jack Ma spoke like this—laying out a long setup, twisting and turning to insult you.

Why not just say outright he's an idiot, a walking corpse?

(End of Chapter)