Chapter 526: Do It First

The hall was filled with both people he knew and those he didn't; among those he knew were Jack Ma, Li Yanhong, Liu Qiangdong, Lei Bus, and others.

There were many he didn't know—basically, he didn't recognize most of them; ordinary businessmen aren't as standout as Fang Hong or Jack Ma, making everyone aware of them.

Most people were still very low-key, not deliberately showing off, so no one knew who they were.

But there were also many foreigners here.

After all, it's called the World Internet Conference—how could there be no foreigners?

The hall was bright, spacious, and tech-savvy; rows of seats had been arranged neatly, not in stepped formation, but flat and orderly.

Many high-end figures in suits and ties filled the venue, red name tags hanging around their necks, constantly moving about, as if searching for their seats or looking for someone.

The hall was relatively free-spirited, unlike yesterday's strict atmosphere.

At the back of the hall were reporters, setting up long and short lenses aimed straight at the stage.

A staff member said something to Fang Hong, who nodded and followed the staff toward the stage.

Zhang Yiming found a seat and sat down below.

Meanwhile, Jack Ma, Li Yanhong, Lei Jun, Zhang Chaoyang, and two foreigners—nine people total—walked onto the stage in suits and ties.

Even though people were still moving around in the hall, the time had come; they could take the stage and prepare to speak.

Onstage was a white single sofa, slightly arched in shape, facing the hall.

This posture allowed them to see everyone in the hall and observe the expressions of other attendees.

Of course, Jack Ma sat in the C-position, his small frame crossing one leg over the other, leaning sideways with a commanding posture—he was currently at the peak of his fame, and Alibaba was in its most dominant state, the highest-valued company in the country.

Such achievements carried the capital to be arrogant.

Fang Hong sat at the edge, as if he were the least significant here; everyone else had better accomplishments and larger businesses.

Of course, they were either in mobile phones or the internet; Fang Hong's current work seemed a bit low-tier.

Next to him sat Lei Bus; the two exchanged a glance but said nothing.

The stage was too conspicuous; it wasn't a good time to talk yet.

Lei Bus appeared somewhat nervous and awkward, as if this trait were inherent to him, giving him an unusual sense of approachability.

There was nothing to be done—it was just his natural awkwardness.

Once they were seated and ready, they didn't wait for the hall to fill completely; CCTV host Li Fangfei stepped onto the stage, and as the time had come, the discussion began.

She wore a red body-hugging dress, a black belt around her waist, and black silk stockings, exuding a sense of intellect and the maturity of a woman.

Seeing the time had come, she didn't care whether everyone had arrived or whether the crowd below was bustling; Li Fangfei sat on the single sofa, legs together, picked up the microphone, and opened the session.

"Respected guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Welcome to the World Internet Conference, the Sino-Foreign Internet Leaders High-Level Dialogue. I am your host, Li Fangfei.

I am delighted to gather with you all in this historic town, Wuzhen!

Today, our forum brings together several outstanding figures from China and abroad in the internet industry, to listen to their wisdom and hear them describe, through words, the future of internet-connected life. First, let me introduce the nine guests participating in this forum."

Li Fangfei delivered her opening remarks, then began introducing them from the center: "They are, respectively, Mr. Jack Ma, Chairman of the Board of Alibaba Group—welcome."

The applause below was sparse, as if only a few people clapped; Jack Ma stood up, straightened his suit, then sat down, leaning sideways casually.

"Mr. Paul, Executive Chairman of Qualcomm in the United States."

"Mr. Li Yanhong, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Baidu."

"Mr. Liu Qiangdong, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JD Group."

"Mr. Reid Hoffman, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn."

"Mr. Zhang Chaoyang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sohu."

"Mr. Bruce, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel of Apple."

"Mr. Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Xiaomi Technology."

"Mr. Fang Hong, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Chang'e Technology and Yutu Group."

When Fang Hong's name was finally called, he stood up, briefly showed himself, then sat down.

The applause was also sparse.

It seemed everyone here was bad at clapping, but the audience had grown quieter nonetheless—though some still moved about.

No one knew whether they were staff or attendees looking for seats.

"Welcome to our nine guests. We hope that during this dialogue, you will fully exchange ideas and bring liveliness to our audience. First question: mobile phones are becoming increasingly widespread. Mr. Li Yanhong, can your mobile Search completely surpass PC?" Li Fangfei asked.

"I think this moment won't be far off; about two years ago, we suddenly realized the mobile tide was unstoppable, but at that time, Baidu wasn't prepared."

Li Yanhong spoke at length—in short, they hadn't anticipated this wave would arrive.

They thought a tiny phone, with such a small screen, expensive fees, and poor experience, could never replace a computer.

In plain terms, it was short-sightedness.

Then Zhang Chaoyang spoke about his company, its internet strategy, and what the future internet would look like.

Earlier, it was unclear what he was saying—everything sounded scattered and poorly executed; later, he had some worthwhile points. Sohu had vision, but lacked drive, always lagging behind others; 80% of this company's revenue comes from games.

Think how profitable games are.

Then Qualcomm spoke about innovating their chips and such; Fang Hong understood, as real-time translation was available.

Afterwards, Apple spoke about its phone, and at this point, Li Fangfei asked:

"On the path of corporate growth, there are always competitors chasing behind. At the previous forum, Lei Bus made a bold statement, saying that based on their current grasp of the internet and investments, their company might become the world's number one smartphone company within five to ten years. Do you feel any sense of crisis?"

"It's easy to talk, but hard to do," Apple replied.

Laughter broke out in the hall, tinged with mockery, leaving Lei Bus blushing and embarrassed.

Lei Bus picked up the microphone and said: "The Principal once said: don't overthink it—just do it first. What if you succeed?"

"Hahaha!"

The hall erupted in laughter and applause.

Some on stage smiled, some wore blank expressions, like Zhang Chaoyang — the man always had that look on his face.

Some glanced at Fang Hong, as if to say: this really is the Principal's style — whoever you are, do it first, talk later; whatever your venture, start it first, figure it out later.

Many things others simply couldn't pull off, the Principal did — like investing in the Animation Department day in, day out for four or five years, pouring in at least several hundred million every year.

No one had his patience or his capacity to invest.

Even people as rich as Jack Ma and Tony Ma wanted quick, efficient, fast results — they wouldn't burn through that much time.

And then there were Bilibili, Toutiao, Chang'e Video, Xiaohongshu — platforms that refused outside capital and stubbornly propped themselves up on their own.

That takes real silver, sustained, unceasing losses — but they simply dug into their own pockets and held the line.

Honestly, how many people actually spend their own money on ventures like that? Most use institutional money.

Fang Hong leaned to one side at the edge of the stage, smiled, and said nothing — indeed, he really had said something like that.

"Xiaomi is a very, very small company. We founded it over four years ago. I believe no one believed it."

At this point Lei Bus suddenly lost his train of thought, and the audience below laughed — the man had a certain witty way of speaking.

Then they heard him continue: "I believe no one believed that Xiaomi, which had just started making phones four years ago, would become the world's third largest. So on this magical soil of China, besides producing a company as awesome as Alibaba, it also produced a little miracle like Xiaomi."

At that point he went off again to talk about how useful phones are to people, and the way he spoke was witty and humorous.

After he finished, the host steered the topic to LinkedIn's Hoffman, let him speak, and after he was done, it was Jack Ma's turn.

Jack Ma spoke with clear, logical structure, and throughout his talk he had to show off every now and then.

"Just now Xiaomi's Lei Bus said the Principal once said, don't think so much, do it first and talk later — what if it actually works out?

I think that statement is very wrong. My impression of it is impulsive, reckless. Failing isn't scary — what's scary is failing and leaving behind a mess for society to clean up for you. That's irresponsible.

There are quite a few companies like that now — at the start they're all fired up, talking about building some grand venture, and in the end it's a total mess."

This was a veiled hint that the Principal, too, might become that kind of person, that kind of company, in the future.

Evergrande, for instance, later on — that's exactly how it was.

Everyone present listened, no one laughed or anything, simply because when Jack Ma spoke it was like brainwashing someone.

Fang Hong kept a blank expression, waiting for him to finish.

"Alibaba's platform hosts countless small and medium sellers. Just now Lei Bus was painting a picture of the future of phones — the vision is great. Alibaba's duty is to help those with ideals realize their dreams." Jack Ma said, showing off.

"Then will you help Xiaomi realize its dream?" Fang Hong suddenly asked.

The room burst into laughter, and Lei Bus smiled too — the Principal really knew how to pick his moment.

"I think Xiaomi doesn't need our help. Alibaba's entire business model is about helping those with very small ideas, people who have these thoughts, and letting them grow.

Something like this is hard for any one company to do alone — it takes everyone together. It needs the ecosystem's payments, logistics, data, all kinds of software and hardware to join in before it becomes possible.

I'm firmly convinced of one thing: the people who change the world are few, but the people who adapt to the world are many. Alibaba's duty, in the future internet era, in the future Big Data era, is to help more people survive — survival is what matters most."

Once Jack Ma got going, there was no end to it — lofty, sweeping, towering high, standing on the commanding heights to lay the groundwork, and then he'd come down on you.

"A few years ago I went into that Microsoft building, and after half an hour I walked out, because I felt as if the computer was controlling me. The most essential pleasure of being human isn't a car controlling you — it's you controlling the car.

So I think we need the most essential things: water that's clear, sky that's blue, air you can breathe, and a life that's comfortable.

People's hearts can be at peace, with more time to look at the scenery, to look more at the reality of everything, instead of being lost in virtual content.

So I hope, no matter how much wealth you've gained, if you find the environment around you has gone bad, your water is no good, your food is no good, what's the use of a good phone? What's the use of watching the best animation or movies?"

That last line made everyone present burst out laughing — so all Jack Ma's talk, all that buildup, was just to rebut Lei Bus's phone and rebut the Principal's content.

Fang Hong and Lei Bus exchanged a glance — this man really could talk you into anything, criticizing you from the highest of heights.

"Then why do you invest in football clubs, invest in film and television companies? Does your investing have any sense of boundaries?" That was the host asking.

"Our investments are different from others. We're an ecosystem, so all of our investments are built for that ecosystem — not for our own needs, and not like the Principal's, to make himself stronger. We help others."

There he went again with the grand talk — there was a dig at Fang Hong in there, saying what he built was to help others, not to build his own commercial empire.

Not at all as shallow as the Principal, stirring things up everywhere.

(End of chapter)