Chapter 286: Liu Qiangdong: Take Me for a Trash Collector? Ma Wenteng: Is Huang Zong Afraid?

"Beep… beep… beep…"

At Renren's headquarters, Chen Yizhou sat in his executive chair, listening to the buzzing sound from the speaker, feeling a surge of irritation—he mentally cursed Chen Yansen and his entire family.

Li Yanhong was an old fox; Chen Yansen was a young one.

The agreed acquisition deal: the former dragged him for a month, then went ahead and bought Lashou. om; the latter just kept haggling, and now wouldn't even answer his calls.

"Hello, Chief Chen, what's up?" The phone suddenly connected; Chen Yansen's voice came through, laced with curiosity and a hint of mockery.

"Chief Chen, after careful consideration, I'm willing to lower the price of Nuomi. om to $160 million."

Chen Yizhou forced a faint smile, cutting straight to the point without beating around the bush.

As a seasoned businessman, he wouldn't be foolish enough to ask why Chen Yansen hadn't answered his calls.

For adults, the reason was simple—he simply didn't want to answer.

"Sorry, Chief Chen, after a comprehensive internal assessment, we've unanimously concluded that Dazhong Dianping's organizational structure is more advanced, its marketing more precise, and its ground operations far more formidable. The acquisition may have to be canceled."

Chen Yansen stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of Building Nine in the tech park, gazing at the golden wheat fields, smiling lightly.

"May be?"

Chen Yizhou instantly caught the subtext in Chen Yansen's words: Senlian Capital and Dazhong Dianping might not have even contacted each other yet, or the acquisition price hadn't been settled—Nuomi. om still had a chance.

Of course, there was another possibility: Chen Yansen hadn't contacted Zhang Tao of Dazhong Dianping at all—he was just trying to drive the price down further.

Moreover, Dazhong Dianping's business growth rate wasn't inferior to Meituan's; Zhang Tao had no reason to sell his company.

Once he realized this, Chen Yizhou cursed inwardly and bluntly asked: "What's your bottom line, Chief Chen?"

"$150 million. This offer is valid only for August." Chen Yansen replied directly.

$160 million in July, now dropping to $150 million in August?

Chen Yizhou stared wide-eyed, ready to curse—but bit his tongue and swallowed the words.

In this bleak environment where group-buying markets were cooling and capital was turning away, Chen Yansen was still a remarkably quality buyer.

Even though his offer was low, his intent to buy was genuine.

Aside from Baidu and Senlian Capital, Chen Yizhou had approached every investment firm and internet giant—including Tencent—none showed any interest in buying, let alone investing.

"Fine, I agree." After a long silence, Chen Yizhou gritted his teeth and nodded.

Agreed?

Chen Yansen paused, startled—he immediately thought he'd quoted too high; maybe Chen Yizhou would've sold for $140 million.

But then he reconsidered: compared to securing a foothold in the group-buying sector and advancing GaoDe Map's O2O strategy, an extra $10 million for greater market share and a better entry timing seemed more valuable.

"No problem. I'll send a team to Yanjing tomorrow to verify Nuomi. om's assets and business data. If everything checks out, I'll buy Nuomi. om."

Chen Yansen's smile faded; his tone turned serious as he made the promise.

"Understood. I'll have Nuomi. om's CEO, Shen Boyang, fully cooperate with your audit team."

Chen Yizhou quickly affirmed, secretly exhaling a sigh of relief.

Finally got rid of this money pit!

The weight on his shoulders instantly lightened!

Ma Wenteng felt much the same—he wanted to offload QQ Mall, Paipai. om, and Yixun. om, those three bloodsucking liabilities, onto Liu Qiangdong.

But after finishing his tour of the Zhuxianzhuang Tech Park and preparing to attend Orange Tech's new product launch, Lin Chenfeng from Tencent's investment department called: YinYin Bank's investment banking director, Zhao Yingchun, had joined Jingdong as vice president, overseeing financing and IPO preparations.

In other words, Liu Qiangdong had spent heavily to poach a well-connected, resource-rich financial broker from Wall Street to secure overseas funding for Jingdong.

Ma Wenteng, deeply versed in capital market tactics, instantly understood the quid pro quo between Liu Qiangdong and Zhao Yingchun.

Zhao Yingchun had almost certainly already secured potential investors for Jingdong—otherwise, Liu Qiangdong would never have offered her a vice presidency.

A Jingdong flush with cash would still accept Tencent's "junk assets"?

"Have Lin Chenfeng sound out Liu Qiangdong's stance."

Ma Wenteng pondered a moment, then instructed Liu Zhiping.

"OK, I'll arrange it." Liu Zhiping's face tightened as he replied.

Zhao Yingchun's involvement had taught him one thing: Liu Qiangdong refused to be a trash collector.

At that moment, Chen Yansen, having just ended his call with Chen Yizhou, returned to his office and invited the two to attend Orange Tech's new product launch.

Ma Wenteng and Liu Zhiping readily accepted.

The group set off in a procession of over a dozen luxury cars, speeding toward the city center.

Police Inspector vehicles led and trailed them!

Last night, Xu Zhenhui, upon learning of Tencent's chairman's visit to Xucheng, immediately deployed two teams of inspectors to secure both the tech park and the Sky Garden.

Any mishap would be a disgrace to Xucheng's reputation.

Meanwhile.

Liu Qiangdong, heartbroken in love but thriving in business, had shaken off two months of gloom and depression; he looked at Zhao Yingchun with satisfaction and asked: "When will the OTTP investment agreement be finalized?"

OTTP is the abbreviation for the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which currently faces a CAD $9. billion funding gap and urgently needs a high-yield investment.

Zhao Yingchun, using her masterful business packaging, portrayed Jingdong as Asia's Amazon and China's second-largest e-commerce platform, successfully convincing OTTP's investors.

The two sides hit it off immediately!

OTTP wanted a share of Liu Qiangdong's IPO windfall!

Liu Qiangdong wanted OTTP's capital to boost Jingdong's sales and revenue to new heights, securing a higher IPO valuation.

The valuations offered by Hong Kong and U. . investment banks were an insult to him.

"The preliminary market research will take a month. Since OTTP has never invested in China's internet sector before, they'll issue a brand-new valuation based on Jingdong's market size, growth trends, competitive landscape, and policy regulations."

"The problem now is that Jingdong's daily active users and sales volume have been overtaken by Pinduoduo—this could severely impact OTTP's final valuation."

Zhao Yingchun smiled calmly, her toe lightly tapping the floor, exuding poise before Liu Qiangdong.

In her eyes, Jingdong was merely a stepping stone to monetize her resources—once she took it public, she'd walk away.

Pinduoduo?

Liu Qiangdong's lips curled downward, anger flashing across his face—but he was powerless to act.

Jingdong's sales were concentrated in electronics, major appliances, and small appliances—low repurchase rates, high customer acquisition costs, and no free external traffic support meant sky-high customer acquisition costs, low daily active users, and stagnant sales.

Since the April 18 Home Appliance Festival fallout with Pinduoduo, when Jingdong pulled its self-operated products from Pinduoduo's marketplace, daily sales plummeted again.

It took Jingdong over a decade to reach 100 million cumulative users.

Pinduoduo did it in two months.

Compared to Chen Yansen's tactics, he felt like a greenhorn—after decades of hard work, he couldn't match a year of someone else's effort.

"I understand. Speed things up as much as possible—ideally complete it before October."

Liu Qiangdong lifted his head, his expression grave as he instructed.

Jingdong urgently needed capital—otherwise, how could it compete with Taobao and Pinduoduo for Double Eleven?

Those damn self-media outlets kept spreading rumors that Jingdong faced a cash flow crisis—some suppliers even believed them.

If not for Xu Xin of ZhenFund personally lending him a hundred million to tide him over, he'd have already groveled to Ma Huateng for investment. "Chief Liu, I recommend delaying the traffic cooperation with Tencent by three to six months. Wait until Jingdong secures OTTP and Western funding before restarting negotiations—it'll benefit you and Jingdong more."

Zhao Yingchun reminded him.

Although the primary traffic entrances on WeChat and QQ were vital, Ma Wenteng refused to pay cash—he only offered equity in QQ Mall, Paipai. om, and Yixun. om, three negative-asset projects.

"I know. Don't worry." Liu Qiangdong nodded.

After Zhao Yingchun left, Liu Qiangdong took a deep breath.

No one understood better than him how many hidden crises lurked beneath Jingdong's outwardly thriving surface.

Fortunately, Zhao Yingchun had joined in time and brought OTTP's investment interest.

Liu Qiangdong felt like he'd been teetering on the edge of a cliff—only to be pulled back.

He leaned back, slumping into his chair, his gaze passing through the glass to his old workstation.

Right now,

Hmph. Old gone, new comes.

Liu Qiangdong smiled faintly, thinking with detached ease.

"Vrrrrr—!"

His desk phone vibrated violently!

Liu Qiangdong glanced at the screen: clearly, Tencent had heard the news and was testing his stance.

He paused, then pressed answer: "Chief Lin, has Chief Ma agreed?"

"Not yet. Chief Ma still insists on a 10% cash plus 90% equity payment structure," Lin Chenfeng replied with a smile.

Fuck!

Take me for a trash collector?

Liu Qiangdong suppressed his irritation, his expression calm as he pressed: "Then what's the good news you're bringing me, Chief Lin?"

"Chief Ma's investment proposal for Jingdong will be presented at next week's board meeting. It's highly unlikely to face any obstacles. I'd like to coordinate with you on the timing for financial and operational data audits, to lock in valuation and equity ratios as soon as possible."

Lin Chenfeng explained slowly.

"Oh? Right now, the whole company is busy preparing for Double Eleven. It might be… inconvenient."

Liu Qiangdong offered a flimsy excuse to stall.

If Ma Wenteng didn't treat him as a person, he had no reason to play nice.

Liu Qiangdong knew full well that no matter how he spun it, Lin Chenfeng wouldn't believe him.

He wasn't refusing to talk—he was just delaying, taking it slow, step by step, with rhythm and quality.

Lin Chenfeng instantly understood the subtext—they were both seasoned foxes; don't try to pull a Liaozhai trick on me.

He'd just landed an investment and was putting Tencent on hold, that's all.

Lin Chenfeng smiled, exchanged a few pleasantries, then quickly hung up and hurried off to report to Liu Zhiping.

On the other side.

After learning of it, Liu Zhiping forwarded Lin Chenfeng's message to Ma Wenteng.

"Pause the Jingdong investment plan. He wants to drag his feet—I'll let him."

Ma Wenteng waved his hand dismissively.

He could stand others up, but that didn't mean others could stand him up. Investing in Jingdong was an option, not a requirement.

As for Liu Qiangdong, he's not even qualified to negotiate with me—let him wait a while!

Liu Zhiping nodded in agreement, understanding Ma Wenteng's plan: he was waiting for Liu Qiangdong to come begging.

Penguin holds QQ and WeChat, its two giant traffic assets—how could it not control some backwater from Subei?

The two exchanged a knowing smile; though silent, they understood each other perfectly.

Next, Penguin's major move in e-commerce will still be Pinduoduo.

Outside the window, the street scenes blurred past; in the height of summer, the plane trees were thick with leaves, faint echoes of urgent cicada calls drifting in.

Five minutes later, Ma Wenteng's Mercedes-Maybach 62S pulled up to the entrance of the Sky Garden.

The parking lot was packed with luxury cars; the first-floor lobby teemed with people, and police inspectors patrolled indoors and out, maintaining order and ensuring the safety of attendees.

Given Orange Tech's standing in the mobile industry, over thirty top international suppliers had been invited alone.

Among competitors were Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, Coolpad, Xiaomi, 360, NetEase, and others—both veteran telecom firms and internet-based smartphone makers—all the CEOs present were immensely wealthy.

In addition, there were countless news media outlets and fan audiences.

The largest banquet hall on the top floor, though capable of seating over a thousand, felt cramped today.

As Chen Yan stepped out of the car, Wang Teng stepped forward to greet him: "Boss, we really need to move offices—otherwise, future product launches will require us to go to Lucheng, Husheng, or Jin Ling."

"Wait two more years," Chen Yan replied with a smile.

Construction of the Lucheng headquarters has just begun—it won't be finished in less than two years.

"Have Leiyi Army and Zhou Hongyi arrived?" Chen Yan asked.

"They're here. Ye Zong received them; they're seated six places apart—should be fine," Wang Teng answered immediately, knowing exactly what his boss wanted to know.

"Good. I'll go up and take a look," Chen Yan relaxed slightly.

The outside world didn't know, but he knew well: these two had actually met offline before. For the past six months, Zhou Hongyi had been training in kickboxing.

He probably wants another rematch—last time he got crushed, beaten black and blue, didn't show up at the company for half a month.

Chen Yan arrived at the top-floor banquet hall with Ma Wenteng, Liu Zhiping, and others.

This was the largest banquet venue in Xucheng, often used for major meetings of the Central Bureau.

Inside, the lights blazed brightly, the hall filled with a sea of spectators.

"Boss Chen!"

"Ma Zong, what are you doing here? Is Penguin planning to make phones too?"

"Martin, long time no see!"

As soon as the three appeared, a crowd of industry partners rushed over.

"Penguin has made phones before—afraid, Huang Zong?" Ma Wenteng shook hands with Meizu's Huang Zhang, teasing him.

Penguin had indeed made phones, but those were carrier-exclusive or contract models with little to do with Penguin itself.

(End of Chapter)