Chapter 674

Crowds surged into the venue, some in groups of three or two, others in clusters of five or so, murmuring—mostly about the feud between the Principal and Jack Ma, and their past history.

After listening, he couldn't help but be astonished.

There were many people here, including numerous industrial tycoons and state-owned enterprise General Managers, so some names were unfamiliar.

After all, those who don't pay attention don't pay attention, and those who do pay attention pay extreme attention.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian were also whispering among themselves—not about this matter, but about what had just happened with NIO.

Liu Tianxian said: "Hey, why did you invest in that NIO?"

"Trend, sell it after IPO," Fang Hong said.

NIO went public in mid-2018, but three years later, in 2021, its market cap surged to over ninety billion U. S. dollars, nearly one hundred billion U. S. dollars—that's nearly seven hundred billion.

So it wasn't a loss; just sell at the peak.

Capital would never let itself lose money—it peaked that year, then plunged straight down.

Fang Hong just needed to point to the venture capital—it wasn't a loss, just a long time horizon, nearly five years.

Actually, Li Bin approached the Principal for investment precisely because the Principal had just invested ten billion into the film and television industry—a massive move that deeply impressed him.

He thought the Principal had money, so he came to him.

As the two were chatting, a man wearing glasses and a well-tailored suit pushed through the crowd and walked up to them.

"Hello, Principal, I'm Wu Xiaobo," the man introduced himself directly.

"Hello," Fang Hong nodded.

He had heard of the man's achievements—he was someone who could sit and debate with transcendent figures; in short, a Scholar.

He was also the initiator of this "Economic Personage" event.

"I'll take a bit of your time—let's chat over there," Wu Xiaobo gestured politely to the side.

The three moved away from the crowd to a small lounge.

"Here's the thing: after the awards, there'll be a dialogue session. We'd like you, Jack Ma, and Cao Telei to engage in a debate—to create some buzz," Wu Xiaobo said.

Just some mutual teasing, to generate showmanship—it's a new format, so seeking attention is normal.

"You're putting me in a tough spot—those guys are all big shots, weathered veterans, eloquent as rivers. How could I possibly out-debate them?" Fang Hong said.

"You can. We've reviewed your records—you have very unique insights," Wu Xiaobo said smoothly.

Teasing is teasing—don't call it "unique insights."

They're all just blowing hot air up there. Listen less to those successful people—their principles are common sense; the gap is merely in perception.

Fang Hong glanced at Liu Tianxian; she gave no reaction, only looked at him once.

This sort of thing happens often—it's just scripted theater on stage.

"Look, I'm worried if the teasing gets too fierce, everyone will be left unable to save face. You know well enough about my feud with Jack Ma—it could damage your show's lofty image, and make people think this program is just a shoddy amateur setup," Fang Hong laid it out plainly.

If things get heated, they'll inevitably start sniping with sarcasm.

"It's not that serious—it's just for attention. We'll have a host to control the pace," Wu Xiaobo dismissed it.

The audience needs to feel that you big shots are no different from ordinary people.

"As long as you get the others to agree, I have no objection," Fang Hong said indifferently.

He'd already said his piece—if things got heated and someone spouted brilliant retorts, it wasn't his problem.

"I've already spoken with them—no issues. Principal, Tianxian, please go in," Wu Xiaobo gestured politely, signaling they could enter the venue.

People came and went through the venue; all seats were filled. Many wore red silk sashes around their necks—these were people of status.

Ahead was a glittering stage, where a dance troupe performed—quite entertaining.

Below the stage were rows of seats: individual white sofas, soft and comfortable to sit on.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian were seated in the third row; their names were on the seats—no one could take them.

The front rows were occupied by government officials, state-owned enterprise General Managers, and CEOs of companies like BAT.

Fang Hong helped Liu Tianxian sit, then sat down himself; beside him was Zhou Shouzi, and beyond him was Lei Bus.

"Principal, it looks like Jack Ma has completely hated you!" Zhou Shouzi laughed—he'd seen the flash of tension between them moments ago.

"You wiped out his little brother—of course he hates you," Fang Hong said casually, showing no concern.

He'd fought—he had nothing to fear. For all these years, Alibaba hasn't solved Chang'e Yutu, and it'll be hard to solve it in the future.

"Hahaha, I see Principal's Chang'e Technology is doing well—especially TikTok, its growth these past few months has been explosive!" Zhou Shouzi remarked.

"It's decent. Proves we're on the right path," Fang Hong said.

"Have you considered further directions for growth?" Zhou Shouzi asked.

"What suggestions do you have?" Fang Hong countered.

"Market penetration—simplify content creation tools to attract users in third- and fourth-tier cities. That's the fastest way to draw traffic," Zhou Shouzi said.

Simplifying creation tools targets creators with low education and poor equipment, letting them participate easily—this diversifies content and builds familiar social networks among different user groups.

Many rural people work away from home; they want to see updates from their loved ones—it's a good idea.

WeChat succeeded with elders first, which made the young adopt it too—elders need a communication tool that's extremely simple.

That's why even if they launch short videos, they're stuck in secondary channels—first, you must ensure social simplicity before anything else.

If you complicate social features, you lose the older generation; lose them, and the young will abandon it too—they only want a bridge to communicate with their elders.

It doesn't matter whose bridge it is.

"That's exactly our second phase—we'll expand from music and dance into general entertainment: comedy, beauty, food, and more," Fang Hong outlined briefly.

"What about internationalization? Haven't you considered taking TikTok global? I think it has huge international advantages," Zhou Shouzi probed.

Hearing this, Lei Bus shifted his attention from the stage to their conversation.

"I've had the idea, but haven't implemented it or done market research—if we expand overseas, we'd have to start from scratch," Fang Hong said.

"You don't need to start from scratch—if you acquire it, you can save tremendous effort. This app is very similar to TikTok and already has over 150 million registered teenage users in Europe and America."

If Chang'e Technology can acquire it, there are many benefits: direct resource integration and avoidance of competition; if either Facebook or Google acquires this platform, it becomes a major rival to TikTok internationally.

Additionally, a team familiar with European and American regulations and cultural preferences can help TikTok reasonably avoid internationalization risks; acquiring it would greatly reduce the time cost of entering the European and American markets.

Zhou Shouzi said a lot, clearly having done research.

Mainly, if this vision is realized, he would see a software dominating globally—that would be a much greater enterprise than Xiaomi.

And his approach is to exchange capital for time.

If TikTok were to expand into the European and American markets alone, it would require a long cycle; directly leveraging existing ecosystem construction would rapidly build TikTok's globalization.

It can be said the thinking is excellent; in his past life, TikTok followed this path exactly, and he knew Zhang Yiming, but Fang Hong intervened earlier.

In fact, Fang Hong and his team are also discussing this issue: if acquired, it could provide European and American user data as training samples for Chang'e's recommendation algorithm.

Globalized software must improve cultural adaptation in each region.

Each person has different preferences—what one likes, what another likes—requires a massive database.

"This idea is good, but there's no one familiar with European and American conditions to handle the acquisition," Fang Hong said.

Acquiring a United States internet company isn't easy, because it involves overseas user data.

"I can help you make the connection and propose the acquisition," Zhou Shouzi said, essentially acting as Consultant.

After all, he's Xiaomi's Chief Financial Officer, so he can't get too involved—but making it happen would be highly rewarding.

"Fine, then I'll leave it to you," Fang Hong agreed.

Before joining Xiaomi, he was a partner at DST Investment, extremely skilled in this area—he literally does this for a living.

Later, just have Gao Zhun lead the team to handle it.

But funding is tight: we just spent 5 billion building the Data Center, and another 6 billion to cover the entire film and television industry.

Now we're acquiring a United States company—this acquisition won't be done without at least 800 million to a billion U. S. dollars.

Because there are competitors: Facebook and Kuaishou are competitors; we've inquired before, and the estimate was around a billion dollars; in his past life, Fang Hong heard ByteDance won with a billion-dollar bid.

After acquisition, more money is needed for promotion and operations—it's not cheap.

TikTok must quickly start monetizing traffic; Xiaohongshu is also doing well, with 50 million users, the largest cross-border e-commerce platform.

It's just a hollow title—in reality, few actually buy; the little fairies appear to spend heavily, but most have no money—they just browse and then buy on Taobao.

Xiaohongshu is still focused solely on the domestic market, strengthening its supply chain; compared to other sectors, this requires the least funding.

One hundred million U. S. dollars for Xiaohongshu can sustain it indefinitely.

There's no choice—other sectors have spread too wide.

The award ceremony on stage has already begun; two neat rows of people stand on stage—all are Judges of this awards event.

There are Experts, Scholars, and even Business School Deans.

They are people you rarely see, never heard of, yet hold considerable influence—like in the film industry, those Film Art Researchers and board members—you have no idea what they actually do.

On stage, Wu Xiaobo is delivering a speech, reflecting on China's economic achievements.

Below, some watch silently, others whisper; Lei Bus and Zhou Shouzi are whispering together, discussing the topic he just talked about with Fang Hong.

Meanwhile, Fang Hong is talking with Liu Tianxian: "After a while, help me do a live stream on TikTok to attract traffic."

"Will it work?" Liu Tianxian asked, puzzled.

"It will work. We need celebrities to join—and you're the biggest celebrity; you'll definitely draw many people," Fang Hong said.

This is preparation for traffic monetization; otherwise, with this pace, the funds will run out, and the games won't hold up.

Celebrity入驻 will attract a flood of traffic; Xiaohongshu works the same way—it can unlock traffic monetization, experimenting with图文 and live-streamed e-commerce.

Right now, Yutu is the biggest player in the entertainment circle—perfectly use this resource.

"Look!"

Liu Tianxian gasped, suddenly pointing upward.

Fang Hong looked up; everyone else raised their heads too—above them, a Small Helicopter Model was slowly flying by, hanging beneath it a fluttering Five-Star Red Flag.

After the Scholars and leaders finished their speeches, this scene appeared—it carried a strong sense of pride.

Technology is advancing; the flag is flying!

After the flag flew past, the official awarding began: first on stage was Art Master Han Meilin, who presented the award to the Chairman of State Grid Group.

The award ceremony was rather dull: who presents, who receives, then the winner gives a speech about their company's model, shares experience, and inevitably brags.

For example, this Chairman of State Grid Group declared: "We made the Americans respect us through hard work!"

It was just self-contained speeches; the host occasionally livened up the atmosphere.

This year's hosts are Li Nan and Yao Zhangsheng, both well-known Financial Hosts.

Next came the Chairman of Weiqiao Group; then the General Manager of Midea; after that, the General Manager of Vanke Group.

Every time a big boss came up to receive an award, the audience erupted in applause, with dance performances interspersed in between.

It couldn't be too dull—there had to be entertainment, and the hosts helped keep the energy up.

But with each award recipient, Liu Tianxian's expression grew more serious—there were only ten people, and half had already gone, yet Fang Hong hadn't appeared.

This made her anxious—she didn't know if her husband had even been awarded.

"Don't worry," Fang Hong noticed her anxiety and reassured her.

"Did you get one?" Liu Tianxian asked.

Fang Hong shrugged—he had no idea whether he'd be on the list.

"Just now Wu Xiaobo challenged you to debate—they must have included you!" Liu Tianxian guessed.

"Let's wait. If I'm not on it, I won't play along with their showmanship," Fang Hong laughed.

Liu Tianxian smiled too—she knew he was joking; he'd promised, so he'd definitely do it.

Their eyes returned to the stage; after the CEO of滴滴 received his award, Wang Jianzhou, Chairman of the Listed Companies Association, stepped up—he was a middle-aged man.

He had previously served as Chairman of China Mobile and China Unicom—a formidable figure.

"Wow! This award recipient is no ordinary person—quite the connection!" Wang Jianzhou opened the envelope, saw the winner's name, and joked.

The entrepreneurs below chuckled involuntarily.

Of course, the candidates still felt tense, unsure who he meant.

"Fang Hong—you all call him Principal." Wang Jianzhou announced the winner outright.

Instantly, "Clap-clap-clap!" applause erupted, and all eyes turned; Liu Tianxian's previously stern face immediately broke into a smile, clapping with restrained grace.

Unlike the entertainment circle, where winners get wildly emotional, hugging, kissing, and jumping, everyone here remained composed.

Even if inwardly thrilled, none showed it much—after all, they were all General Managers.

Fang Hong then stood up, shook hands with Zhou Shouzi, Lei Bus, and others, and walked toward the stage, the spotlight following him steadily.

On the backdrop behind the stage, a Propaganda Department video appeared, featuring the Jade Rabbit and Chang'e.

It announced his company's achievements: "The Jade Rabbit is a comprehensive enterprise with a complete film industry chain, integrating film and television investment, production, and distribution."

"Chang'e is a tech enterprise centered on Artificial Intelligence, using algorithms to achieve precise content delivery."

As the stage broadcasted details of both companies, Fang Hong strode onto the stage with pride.

Below, Jack Ma wore a blank expression; Lao Wang Zong remained as stoic as ever; others had no grudge against Fang Hong and felt neither joy nor sorrow.

Xiao Wang, seeing the man his own age, couldn't help feeling jealous—same age, why him?

Wang Jianzhou, seeing Fang Hong reach the stage, handed him the Trophy and patted his shoulder.

Fang Hong bowed slightly in thanks.

"Principal, hello," said the host Li Nan and Yao Zhangsheng, stepping up to liven the mood.

"Hello!" Fang Hong took the microphone.

"We heard the Principal's Wife is here too—could we see her?" Li Nan smiled.

"Of course," Fang Hong looked toward Liu Tianxian's seat.

A beam of light shone precisely on her position.

Bathed in that light, under the gaze of the crowd, Liu Tianxian looked embarrassed, forcing herself to appear calm.

"Could we invite the Principal's Wife to come up and share with us: how does one become an outstanding woman behind a successful man?" Li Nan said.

Liu Tianxian covered her mouth, deeply embarrassed.

"Let's give her some applause, shall we?" Li Nan said again.

"Clap-clap-clap!" The audience burst into applause.

With no choice, Liu Tianxian adjusted her fluffy Mink Coat, clasped both hands together in front of her chest, adopting the posture of an ancient noblewoman offering a bow—perfectly lifting the coat to conceal her figure subtly.

She stepped onto the stage and stood side by side with Fang Hong.

"Tianxian, as the woman behind the Principal, seeing his achievements today, what would you like to say? Share your thoughts," Li Nan handed her the microphone.

"I am proud and honored by him!" Liu Tianxian's voice trembled slightly.

(End of Chapter)