Jack Ma's smile deepened:
"If that's the case, then it's interesting!"
"Tencent and Baidu clashing is good for our Alibaba!"
Jack Ma smiled slightly and replied,
"Chairman Zhang, repurchasing Sougou's shares is not a problem. But may I ask who the buyer is?"
"As expected, nothing gets past you!"
Zhang Yang was not surprised that a shrewd person like Jack Ma immediately guessed the underlying plan:
"It's Xingyi Technology!"
"Indeed... wait? Who?!"
Jack Ma was startled:
"Chairman Wang?"
Zhang Yang sighed:
"Yes! Xingyi Video was banned by Baidu, and Chairman Wang is very angry. Young people, you know, can be hot-headed, so he immediately wants to acquire Sougou, concentrate Xingyi Technology's resources, and take on Baidu!"
"Hahaha, so that's it."
Jack Ma laughed, saying meaningfully:
"Chairman Wang is young after all, nineteen years old, at an impetuous age, and it's good that he has this drive. And with him taking on Baidu, it's good for Sohu, and for Alibaba!"
Zhang Yang nodded:
"Indeed, so about the repurchase?"
Jack Ma smiled slightly:
"No matter who wants to take on Baidu, I, Jack Ma, will have to lend a hand!"
Who told Baidu to start doing e-commerce and directly attack Alibaba's core industry!
And then it suddenly launched Baidu Youa and Lekutian, two e-commerce platforms.
With such an attitude, Jack Ma wished Wang Yi would crush Baidu!
In recent years, BAT have been attacking each other's core businesses, and their relationship has been tense.
"Thank you."
Zhang Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Jack Ma agreed to repurchase the shares, the sale of Sougou would be secured:
"As for the price, Alibaba bought it for 100 million a year ago, and we are repurchasing it for 150 million. What do you think?"
"No problem!"
Little Ma agreed decisively.
In just one year, a 50% increase is quite substantial.
After all, most of Alibaba's other investments suffered significant losses, some even losing everything.
Now that they had actually made a profit, Jack Ma was in a great mood:
"With Chairman Wang joining in the future, the internet sphere will become even more exciting!"
When Wang Yi created Meiyou Mall, Jack Ma was initially a bit worried.
He was worried that Meiyou would evolve from a vertical e-commerce platform into a comprehensive one like JD.com, impacting Alibaba!
Jack Ma was already preparing to make a move, but then Wang Yi turned to making phones instead!
Later, he created Xingyi Video, taking on Baidu's iQiyi and Tencent Video, moving further and further away from Alibaba's business, which made Jack Ma breathe a sigh of relief.
Now it's great, Wang Yi is going to do search again, directly clashing with Baidu's core industry!
No matter the final outcome, Baidu will suffer heavy losses, and that's Alibaba's opportunity.
Thinking of this scene, Jack Ma even wanted to excitedly perform a set of Dugu Nine Swords!
"Chairman Zhang, tell Chairman Wang that the Sougou share repurchase can be settled tomorrow. I wish Chairman Wang a resounding success!"
Jack Ma said with a smile,
"Well, it's best to crush Baidu as soon as possible."
If not crushed, Baidu must suffer heavy losses!
"Okay."
After the call ended, Jack Ma immediately issued an order:
"In the e-commerce sector, continue to suppress Baidu Youa and Lekutian! Strive to defeat Baidu E-commerce in one fell swoop! And Tencent E-commerce, suppress them all together!"
The development of domestic internet giants has always been about developing themselves while fiercely suppressing competitors.
The market is only so big. Baidu and Tencent launched five or six e-commerce platforms, ganging up on Taobao!
If even one rises, it will be a fatal blow to Alibaba!
They must all be strangled in their cradles!
Zhang Yang then contacted other shareholders, which was even easier.
The next day, Zhang Yang and people from Alibaba signed an agreement to repurchase 10% of the shares for 150 million.
Furthermore, since Sougou was a spun-off independent company and not listed, as long as the shareholders had no objections, such a repurchase was easy.
The 6% stake in China Web under Yunfeng was also successfully repurchased by Sougou's senior management for 90 million.
By now, all of Sougou's shares were in the hands of Sohu, Wang Dachuan, and Sougou's senior management.
Zhang Yang called Wang Dachuan to his office again, with a somewhat complex expression:
"Dachuan, what are your plans for the future?"
After selling Sougou this time, he would have no further ties with Sohu, or with Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang had many protégés, but they all dispersed over time, set up their own businesses, and some even surpassed Sohu.
Only Wang Dachuan had always stayed with him.
The entire Sougou was also an investment by Sohu, built by Wang Dachuan and his team from scratch.
Now that Sougou was sold, Wang Dachuan would follow Sougou and become part of Xingyi Technology.
Wang Dachuan sighed:
"I'll take it one step at a time. If Chairman Wang needs me, I am willing to continue specializing in the search engine field. If Chairman Wang no longer needs me, I can only leave."
Zhang Yang patted Wang Dachuan's shoulder and said earnestly:
"It's alright, you're always my brother. If Chairman Wang has other arrangements, you can come back to Sohu!"
"Thank you."
Wang Dachuan was somewhat moved.
But he also understood that there was no point in coming back.
In the search engine field he excelled in, Sohu lacked the strength to nurture it.
Other fields didn't require much technical expertise, but search engines were highly technical.
Neither money alone nor technology alone would suffice!
For instance, Tencent had money, but not enough technology, which is why Tencent Soso didn't work out.
Sougou had technology, but Sohu didn't have enough money, so the Sougou search engine struggled to become a major player.
Only with sufficient technology plus sufficient funding could there be hope.
Just like Baidu, with both technology and money, it was able to develop rapidly, overtake Google in Chinese search, and monopolize 76% of the market share.
And Sougou's only way out now was Sougou's advanced technology + Wang Yi's immense capital; only then could it hope to grow big, and even overthrow Baidu.
Beihang University.
Experts and elites from the big data department had all gone on business trips to Jeju to research data center construction plans.
Wang Yi, on the other hand, unexpectedly came to school and started attending classes.
More precisely, it was to mark key points.
Not only did he come, but Jian Ziyan also came!
The two 'truant heroes' had no choice but to start attending classes diligently.
Even Song Sining started returning to school when she had time.
Final exams started in late December and lasted until early January, roughly a month in total.
Even the most mischievous students would sprint through December, attending every class.
No other reason than that in the classes held half a month before the exam, most teachers would mercifully mark key points.
For a thick textbook like Management, if key points weren't marked and the exam was random, even the King of Heaven himself wouldn't pass.
Unless one memorized all the knowledge points in the entire book.
But unfortunately, for Business Administration, there were more than ten courses in a semester.
Surely one couldn't memorize all the knowledge points from over ten textbooks, could they?
Unrealistic, completely unrealistic.
The ultimate result was simply teachers marking key points to narrow down the scope.
Students memorized with a specific focus.
Sharpening the spear before battle, though not fast, it still shines.
Wang Yi wasn't aiming for high scores; just passing and not failing was enough.
Fortunately, economics and management majors were different from science and engineering majors.
For science and engineering, if you didn't attend classes or study, you simply wouldn't know, no matter what.
But for economics and management, if you memorized the key points and crammed, you could score on what you knew, and for what you didn't, you could generally talk your way through to get some points.
Of course, Accounting and Statistics were exceptions; these two subjects had a large number of calculation problems, and if you didn't know them, you truly didn't know...
Seeing Wang Yi arrive, several classmates were very surprised.
The semester was almost over, yet Wang Yi had attended very few times.
Fortunately, teachers of all subjects had an unspoken agreement not to call Wang Yi's name during roll call.
There was no way around it; this guy was too special to bother with.
If they really used his attendance record to prevent Wang Yi from graduating or make him drop out, Beihang University would lose one of its most outstanding entrepreneur alumni, and no one could bear that loss.
Moreover, outstanding alumni might donate money to their alma mater.
If Xingyi Technology grows bigger and stronger in the future, and Wang Yi donates hundreds of millions, or even over a billion, to Beihang University, he would be Beihang's patron.
Such a patron, an outstanding alumnus, anyone with a brain wouldn't offend to death.
Instead, they would all try to befriend him.
Those who could become professors, besides being exceptionally knowledgeable, also had high emotional intelligence.
Not one of them bothered about Wang Yi's absence.
On the contrary, some professors, seeing Wang Yi, smiled slightly and specially marked key points even if they hadn't planned to.
Others narrowed down the key examination scope from fifty knowledge points to thirty, afraid that Wang Yi wouldn't be able to memorize them all!
Wang Yi breathed a sigh of relief.
This way, as long as he memorized the key points and crammed, not failing wouldn't be difficult.
Except for Accounting, that was a big problem.
He truly didn't know how to do some of the specialized calculation problems!
Therefore, Wang Yi listened to this Accounting class particularly attentively.
The Accounting teacher, Fang Huimin, was a professor in her thirties, wearing glasses and exuding an elegant demeanor.
Looking at Wang Yi, this rare visitor, Fang Huimin had a somewhat complex expression. Only after class did she call Wang Yi out:
"Wang Yi, I understand you're busy with your startup. But you can't keep skipping classes. No more of this next semester!"
"Yes, I'll remember your teachings, teacher."
Wang Yi said with a smile.
Fang Huimin sighed and pulled out a USB drive:
"You've missed too many classes, and Accounting is a special subject, very hard to pass. This contains my course materials, especially the knowledge points I've starred, which are all key. You must make sure to catch up well!"
Fang Huimin's tone was slightly heavier when she said 'the knowledge points I've starred,' and her eyes were full of significant meaning.
Wang Yi instantly understood her meaning and was in a great mood:
"Thank you, Teacher Xu, you're such a supportive teacher, that's great!"
"Mm."
The Accounting teacher nodded, turned to leave, took a couple of steps, then stopped and said faintly:
"Chairman Wang, my surname is Fang!"
Wang Yi's mouth twitched, and he suddenly felt the chill of winter: "..."
"Sigh!"
Fang Huimin sighed, walked away, and thought to herself:
"Chairman Wang, I can only help you this much!"
Several roommates gathered around:
"Yi Ge, heading back to the dorm?"
"No, I need to go back to the company and ask the finance department to tutor me!"
"What are you afraid of? Didn't Goddess Fang give you special tutoring?"
Sun Tao said with a mischievous grin.
Wang Yi sighed:
"I got her surname wrong, I called her Teacher Xu."
"Hahahaha!"
Fan Junjie and the others all burst into laughter.
"You're finished. She kindly gave you special tutoring, and you even got her surname wrong. Impressive!"
"Exactly, Yi Ge, I occasionally skip a class or two from other teachers. But I never miss Goddess Fang's class!"
Wang Yi's mouth twitched:
"How would I know? I think I only attended once."
Everyone fell silent collectively: "..."
Wang Yi had attended some other classes, but Accounting he had only attended once.
Today was the second time, and he got it wrong.
"But it's not a big problem. Teacher Fang is very magnanimous, not a petty person."
Wang Yi smiled slightly.
"Right, her reputation is still very good."
"So tonight?"
"Let's go, dorm team building, my treat!"
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"It's rare to come back, Godfather will take you guys to a grand meal, five-star!"
"Thanks, Godfather!"
The roommates were in a great mood.
The camaraderie among university roommates is just that simple and unadorned.
Buying a gift for five hundred yuan to pursue a goddess, the goddess might find it paltry.
But spending five hundred yuan to treat roommates to a meal, they might call you Godfather for a whole semester!
What's more, Wang Yi went straight to a five-star hotel, which meant a five-figure bill for four people.
Just as he arrived downstairs at the teaching building, Wang Yi ran into an acquaintance, his counselor Huang Xinyi.
After several months apart, Huang Xinyi's figure was still graceful, and even a long trench coat couldn't conceal her impressive physique.
But seeing her again, Wang Yi no longer had any other thoughts.
"Counselor, long time no see."
Wang Yi smiled slightly.
Huang Xinyi smiled:
"A rare visitor, Chairman Wang is back in class!"
"It's almost the end of the semester, last-minute cramming!"
"Memorize more key points, and it won't be a big problem, keep it up!"
"Okay."
After a few pleasantries, Wang Yi and his three roommates walked together toward the parking lot.
Huang Xinyi watched Wang Yi's retreating back, sighed, and her heart stirred with some emotions...
Meeting such a perfect boy, even the most proper girl would likely have some thoughts...
Hilton.
Wang Yi and his three roommates clinked glasses and feasted heartily.
Fortunately, the three roommates still treated Wang Yi as a roommate, not as the famous Chairman Wang of Xingyi Technology.
Only at this moment did Wang Yi completely relax and feel like a student again.
At Xingyi Technology, however, he was Chairman Wang, and had to strategize and even exhaust himself.
As Xingyi Technology grew larger and its business scope broadened, competitors would also increase.
Those who would trip them up and strike lethal blows would become even more numerous.
Baidu's ban and suppression was just one example; who knew how many more there would be.
For one thing, once Meiyou became a comprehensive e-commerce platform, Alibaba would jump out and attack ferociously.
Similarly, once Wang Yi launched X chat and focused on social networking, Tencent would also go all out to block and suppress it.
These things were unavoidable.
Wang Yi was even considering whether to release X chat on New Year's Day as planned, or to postpone it by half a month or a month.
For no other reason than that Baidu's current ban was already hard for Wang Yi to fend off; if X chat were released immediately, prompting Tencent to also make a move, Xingyi Technology's situation would only become more difficult.
It would be better to temporarily bide their time, and first concentrate their efforts on Baidu!
Once the number of xphone 1 users surpassed eight million, or even ten million, then releasing X chat would no longer be a problem.
At that time, even if BAT wanted to block and suppress them, Wang Yi wouldn't be afraid.
Ten million Xingyi mobile phone users would be Wang Yi's confidence!
And this point in time wouldn't be too far off.
According to the current sales of xphone 1, it's expected to surpass 4 million in December!
If the Little i Robot is successfully launched in January, benchmarked against Siri, coupled with other advantages and being 2000 yuan cheaper than the iPhone 4s, there's great hope of outperforming the iPhone 4s.
If another 4 million are sold in January, with total sales surpassing eight million, Xingyi Technology would then have its own foundation.
At that time, even if BAT wanted to continue suppressing Xingyi Technology, they would have to consider whether they might be counter-banned by Xingyi Technology, and weigh the consequences of being counter-banned!
BAT might not care about two million xphone 1 users.
But BAT would be reluctant to give up on ten million xphone 1 users.
Moreover, with xphone 1's product strength and sales speed, ten million is likely just the beginning!
To rapidly expand the user base, Wang Yi had even changed his decision.
Even if the xphone 1pro is launched next April, the xphone 1 cannot be discontinued; it must continue to be sold!
For no other reason than that the xphone 1pro would be priced higher, 3999-4999 yuan, and in 2011, when monthly salaries were two to three thousand yuan, many users wouldn't be able to afford it.
At that time, the xphone 1, after being on the market for four or five months, could have its price reduced by 300 yuan, starting directly from 2999 yuan!
This way, affluent users would go for the xphone 1pro starting at 3999 yuan, while those with limited budgets would go for the xphone 1.
Only by capturing users in both price segments could Xingyi mobile phone users rapidly expand!
At that time, whether it's Xingyi Video, Xingyi Music, X chat, browsers, etc., they could all have tens of millions of users!
Then they would be completely unafraid of BAT's bans and suppression.
On the contrary, BAT would worry whether Wang Yi would suppress them through Xingyi mobile phones!
As long as Xingyi mobile phones grow in scale, reaching tens of millions, or even tens of millions, Wang Yi would have the ability to counter-ban.
The future, full of promise.
But before that, he still needed to bide his time, act low-key, and not provoke too many enemies all at once.
So for now, Meiyou Mall would continue to operate as a vertical e-commerce platform.
X chat also needed to wait and see how things developed before deciding whether to launch on New Year's Day or postpone it by half a month or a month.
The current priority was still to take on Baidu first!
Fortunately, good news came from Chairman Zhang's side: the Sougou share repurchase went smoothly, and the acquisition of Sougou could be signed tomorrow!
After having their fill of food and drinks, Wang Yi looked at his three roommates:
"I booked rooms at the Hilton. You guys should rest for the night and go back tomorrow morning!"
Fu Yanliang, however, waved his hand:
"Yi Ge, you treated us to dinner and spent so much money, we already feel bad enough. How can we continue to stay overnight? A night here isn't cheap."
Fan Junjie also laughed:
"Exactly, the three of us can take a taxi back to school for thirty yuan, no delay."
"Right, Yi Ge, don't worry, we can handle it. Next time, we'll treat you, though it won't be this fancy, please don't mind!"
Sun Tao said with a smile.
Tonight, the four of them spent over ten thousand yuan; their living expenses plus tuition for a whole semester were also just over ten thousand.
But this kind of mindset made Wang Yi greatly appreciate them.
These roommates were good to be around.
If they were the type who exploited wealth, wishing Wang Yi would treat them every day, this would probably be the only time.
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"It's all minor stuff, next time we can just eat at the cafeteria!"
Fan Junjie was displeased:
"The cafeteria won't do. We have to eat at a restaurant outside the school gate at least!"
"Okay, then it's a restaurant outside the school gate!"
Wang Yi smiled.
For ordinary students, restaurants outside the school gate were already considered high-end consumption.
Wang Yi in his previous life also experienced this.
Afterward, Wang Yi arranged for someone to send the three back to school, then he returned to Xingyi Technology's apartment with Wu Shuang.
The next morning, Wang Yi opened the USB drive Fang Huimin gave him, his face beaming with joy:
"Teacher Fang, you're too kind to me!"
This courseware was not only very detailed and clear in its thinking, but it also had 20 starred knowledge points!
And then recalling Fang Huimin's emphasized words, the key content...
It was almost like she said directly,
"Chairman Wang, the final exam questions will come from these 20 knowledge points, just prepare well!"
This greatly reduced the pressure.
Twenty knowledge points, Wang Yi could master them in a few days of cramming.
The simple ones, he could just look over himself.
For the difficult ones, he didn't even need to pore over textbooks.
Wang Yi directly called for the finance manager Dong Shujun:
"Shujun, in your finance department, is there anyone who just graduated, preferably from Beihang University?"
"Yes, Chairman, Mei Qiulin is one. She just graduated from Beihang University this July with a Bachelor's in Accounting!"
"Excellent, quickly call her over. Don't arrange any other work for her these two days."
Wang Yi beamed with joy.
In five days, whether he could pass Accounting would entirely depend on Mei Qiulin!
"Okay, Chairman."
Soon, Mei Qiulin walked over:
"Chairman, you asked for me!"
Wang Yi beckoned:
"Yes, Qiulin, come quickly. You still remember 'Accounting' from your undergraduate studies, right? Take a look at this problem."
"Oh, okay."
Mei Qiulin took a quick look and found it very simple, explaining each point to Wang Yi.
With Mei Qiulin's explanation, Wang Yi, who hadn't attended a single class, quickly learned it.
In one morning, they crammed five knowledge points.
"Very good, Qiulin, you've worked hard. Take the afternoon off, pack your things. You'll probably have to go on a business trip with me to Jeju tomorrow or the day after!"
Wang Yi said with a smile.
Mei Qiulin was startled and couldn't help but ask:
"Boss, is the business trip just to teach 'Accounting'?"
"Exactly. I have an exam in five days. If I fail, your annual performance review will drop a grade!"
Wang Yi quipped.
"!!!"
Mei Qiulin's expression slightly changed:
"Don't worry, Chairman, with me here, I'll absolutely guarantee you pass!"
"Excellent. As long as I pass, your annual performance review will go up a grade!"
"Thank you, Chairman. I'll go back this afternoon and prepare notes and exercises!"
Mei Qiulin was beaming with joy, not expecting such a good thing.
The year-end bonuses for each department at Xingyi Technology were comprehensively assessed based on individual and departmental performance.
Individual performance was divided into five grades: A, B, C, D, and E. A-grade received 2.0 times performance pay, B-grade 1.5 times, C-grade 1 time, D-grade 0.5 times, and E-grade received no performance pay!
If Wang Yi gave one higher grade, it meant an additional 0.5 times performance pay, at least tens of thousands!
Absolutely thrilling.
"Go."
Wang Yi waved his hand.
In the afternoon, Wu Shuang drove, carrying Wang Yi, legal, finance, and other personnel, directly to Sougou headquarters.
Zhang Yang smiled and greeted them:
"Chairman Wang, let me introduce you. This is Wang Dachuan, Sougou CEO and founder, and also a Sougou shareholder, holding a 5% stake."
"This is Han Jiang, Sougou Vice President, holding a 1% stake."
"This is..."
Zhang Yang introduced Sougou's core executives, who held shares, one by one to Wang Yi.
As veterans who had built Sougou from scratch, they all held a small portion of Sougou's shares, totaling 10%.
Wang Yi noted them down one by one, then entered the conference room with Zhang Yang and the others.
"Chairman Wang, all of Sougou's shares have been repurchased. Now we can proceed with the acquisition."
Wang Yi gestured, and an assistant presented several contracts, handing them to Zhang Yang and the others:
"Chairman Zhang, these are the acquisition contracts, please take a look."
Zhang Yang and the others took the contracts and carefully reviewed them with their lawyers.
After a long while, Zhang Yang nodded:
"The contract is fine. We will acquire the shares we hold based on a market value of 1.65 billion."
"Yes, I have no problem either,"
Wang Dachuan said.
"We also have no problem,"
several people said in succession.
Wang Yi nodded:
"Shall we sign then?"
"Good!"
Subsequently, both parties immediately signed the contracts, and Wang Yi arranged for the finance department to transfer the funds.
By then, 100% of Sougou's equity was entirely in Wang Yi's hands.
Zhang Yang stood up:
"Chairman Wang, Sougou is yours from now on. I wish you success!"
"Thank you. Chairman Zhang, we will have many more opportunities for cooperation in the future! Let's succeed together!"
"With Chairman Wang's words, I am relieved!"
The two shook hands, and Zhang Yang left with mixed feelings of sadness and joy.
The sadness, naturally, was due to limited strength, being unable to nurture Sougou, and thus having to sell it.
The joy was that 74% of Sougou's shares were in the hands of Sohu, Zhang Chaoyang, and Sohu's senior management!
They received over a billion yuan in one go, and Sohu had money again!
After the Sohu people left, those remaining were all Sougou people, meaning Wang Yi's people.
At this moment, Wang Dachuan and the others had complex expressions, having no idea how Sougou would develop or how Wang Yi would treat them after taking over.
However, Wang Dachuan was not nervous. He held 5% of Sougou's shares, which he now sold to Wang Yi, earning 82.5 million yuan.
Even in the worst-case scenario, being swept out by Wang Yi, he would still have some savings.
The other core executives, after selling their shares, also gained millions, even tens of millions, in income.
Wang Yi looked around at everyone and smiled slightly:
"Everyone, rest assured, I trust the capabilities and integrity of each of you. In the future, Sougou will still depend on everyone to work together!"
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed that Chairman Wang would still heavily rely on them.
"The personnel structure will be adjusted a bit later, but not significantly. All of you will remain core executives, and your salaries will increase."
Wang Yi said with a smile:
"As for the share issue that everyone is most concerned about, I will later grant certain 'dry shares' based on the abilities of each core executive, allowing you to enjoy dividends annually! The better the performance, the higher the company's profits, and the more dividends everyone will receive!"
Hearing this, all the core executives were beaming with joy.
This was already the best outcome!
So-called dry shares mean they don't have to contribute capital but directly enjoy stock dividends!
However, there's no voting right, and the shares cannot be sold.
Upon resignation, all dry shares will be automatically reclaimed and cannot be cashed out.
This method ensures Wang Yi's 100% control over Sougou, while allowing core executives to enjoy dividends, motivating them to dedicate their full efforts and grow with the company.
"Additionally, there will be some business adjustments later. The search engine will remain the most core main business, to be fully developed. Xingyi Technology will first invest 200 million yuan to enrich and improve Sougou's search engine database. Catching up to Baidu and overthrowing Baidu is our goal!"
Hearing this, everyone was extremely excited.
Two hundred million right from the start!
Such a grand gesture was truly inspiring.
Overthrowing Baidu further met the expectations of all executives!
Wang Yi continued:
"Besides the search engine, Sougou Browser, Sougou Input Method, and Sougou Maps are also core businesses. In the future, investment and resource allocation will also be increased to ensure rapid development!"
"In the future, the built-in browser for Xingyi mobile phones will all be replaced with Sougou Browser. The built-in input method will all be replaced with Sougou Input Method, and maps will also be replaced with Sougou Maps!"
(End of Chapter)