As soon as Ma Huatong mentioned this matter, Jiang Cheng reacted immediately.
"Oh, I remember now, Pinduoduo."
If Ma Huatong hadn't brought it up, Jiang Cheng would have almost overlooked it.
But he knew that the Company behind Pinduoduo also had Penguin Company as a shareholder.
In the next few years, Pinduoduo would experience explosive growth.
Its rise would not only deal a huge blow to Taobao.
Even its market value once exceeded that of Penguin Company.
The reason it could achieve such results was actually inseparable from the ten-billion-subsidy 'Kandao' model they launched.
It was precisely because of this unique e-commerce model that it was able to spread rapidly among the middle-aged and elderly population.
After all, the elderly were already very enthusiastic about supermarket promotions, free medicine at pharmacies, and other benefits.
As long as there was even a little bit of 'wool' to pluck, most were willing to spend hours queuing to receive it.
Not to mention this novel way where inviting new users to help 'cut the price' could result in free shopping.
For example, for a refrigerator or an electric rice cooker, one only needed to invite a dozen or so new users to help 'cut the price' to easily take it home for free.
Although this model was later proven by others to have a success rate of almost zero.
But facing such a good deal where one cut could take off dozens or hundreds of yuan, who wouldn't be tempted?
Regarding this experience, Jiang Cheng's memories from before his rebirth were quite vivid.
To this day, he couldn't forget the mass messages he often received in those years.
"Hello everyone, if you're a friend, come give me a cut."
Jiang Cheng turned his gaze to Ma Huatong and asked, "So, does your Company plan to invest?"
Ma Huatong replied, "Actually, our Company has already invested in their project. During the Series B financing, we invested a small amount of several hundred million in their Company."
"Up until now, all those funds have been used for the promotion and publicity stage. Currently, their Company is preparing for the Series D financing in 2018, with a goal of raising 1.3 billion US dollars."
Richest Man Wang spoke up: "They invited you to be the lead investor, which means they definitely lack confidence in this financing round. They want to use Penguin's influence to lead other investors to participate and boost market confidence."
Ma Huatong nodded: "Our Company is still doing a market assessment. If we decide to invest, it's estimated we'll need to put in at least 700 million US dollars as lead investment, leaving a gap of 600 million US dollars that needs other investment firms."
Richest Man Wang chimed in: "Old Ma, how do you think their model compares to Jack Ma's e-commerce model?"
Ma Huatong thought for a moment and replied: "This is a brand-new model, but it's too early to talk about whether it can succeed. To be honest, there's a fifty-fifty chance. However, with the market being so large, it's impossible for one Company to dominate everything, so we can only give it a try."
Richest Man Wang nodded and then said to Jiang Cheng: "Jiang Cheng, what do you think of this?"
Seeing Jiang Cheng nod with certainty, Wang Congcong, who was nearby, hurriedly said: "Jiang Cheng, I feel like this looks pretty good. How about the two of us start one too?"
Jiang Cheng looked at Wang Congcong, thinking to himself, 'Do you have the money?'
Currently, there's not only Taobao but also TikTok, and Pinduoduo has already started entering the market. It's a bit late to start now.
If it were two years earlier, Jiang Cheng would have snatched this project up first. Besides, without an investment of tens of billions of dollars, this project simply couldn't get off the ground.
Wang Congcong understood Jiang Cheng's meaning at a glance and said with a smile: "I don't have money, but my dad does."
After saying that, Wang Congcong said to Richest Man Wang: "Dad, what do you think?"
Seeing his son like this, Richest Man Wang couldn't help but glare at him and then said: "If we were to invest, it should be Company that invests. What kind of prestige would you have if you invested?"
"That's not right, what does this have to do with prestige? Mom, come and be the judge, look at what my dad is saying!"
Seeing this, Mrs. Wang just smiled and gently patted Wang Congcong's shoulder, comforting him: "Alright, dear, don't get excited. What your father said is right; this project isn't a small business that can be successfully invested in just like that."
After hearing these words, Wang Congcong's mood became even more depressed.
However, he also understood that his current situation really couldn't compare to Jiang Cheng's.
The shares of Company were still in Richest Man Wang's hands.
And with his current economic strength, he indeed couldn't come up with such a huge amount of capital to invest in this project.
In fact, Richest Man Wang's heart was also full of hesitation.
After all, the platform he had previously built in partnership with Penguin had ultimately ended in failure.
Now, facing the decision of whether to enter the e-commerce platform market again, he was actually a bit uncertain.
But at the same time, he couldn't help but be attracted by the powerful strength behind Jiang Cheng.
He was also tempted by Jiang Cheng's background and influence.
One must know that he was currently in a stage of being 'given tight shoes to wear' (being sabotaged). If he could cooperate with Jiang Cheng, perhaps he could take those shoes off.
Thinking of this, Richest Man Wang quickly followed up: "Jiang Cheng, what do you think of this project? How about we join forces to do it, just like when I cooperated with Old Ma before? We can jointly invest to open a new Company, what do you think?"
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but ask curiously: "You even started a Company with President Ma?"
Ma Huatong heard this, smiled slightly, and explained: "Yes, just a couple of years ago, President Wang, Baidu, and I founded an internet enterprise together. Unfortunately, it ended in failure..."
Jiang Cheng nodded. "Any entrepreneurial endeavor comes with risks. However, as for starting one now, I think it's a bit too late. But as an investment, it still has quite a lot of potential."
Richest Man Wang sighed and then said: "Recently, I've been planning to sell some assets to make new investments..."
Ma Huatong, sitting to the side, also spoke up: "I have mixed feelings about this project too. After all, it hasn't gone public yet. During the Series C financing this year, our Company didn't participate, but Sequoia Capital injected funds. They are also evaluating next year's Series D financing. If you're interested, you'll need to speed up."
Jiang Cheng understood Ma Huatong's meaning and replied with a smile: "I'll have my Company manager contact you when I get back. I'm quite interested myself."
After saying that, Jiang Cheng looked at Wang Congcong.
Knowing that the upcoming days for Company wouldn't be easy, he thought about it and said to Wang Congcong: "Brother Wang, if you have the money, you can also invest a bit."
"1.3 billion US dollars... at most, I could only take out one or two hundred million."
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng laughed: "That's already enough."
Seeing Jiang Cheng advise him like this, Wang Congcong couldn't help but think of the two times he had shorted stocks with him.
Thinking of this, he immediately spread his hands: "Fine, I'll listen to you. Uncle Ma, then bring me along too."
Ma Huatong looked at Richest Man Wang upon hearing this: "You guys should look into this first and think it through. Currently, the market isn't clear yet. Actually, the market feedback for this model is half good and half bad, especially with the zero-yuan 'cutting' model; there are quite a few disputes."
Seeing Ma Huatong look at him, Richest Man Wang also gave a big wave of his hand.
"This is an investment for the young people; he can make his own decisions. I won't interfere and can't interfere. I don't understand the internet sector anymore, so let him do it himself. I once said that Tsinghua and Peking University aren't as good as having guts. What I dislike most is being dilatory. Dare to think and dare to do, as long as you don't act blindly..."
...When they came out of Wang Congcong's house, night had already quietly fallen, and the time was approaching nine o'clock in the evening.
As the car drove out of that villa in Xicheng District, Jiang Cheng caught a glimpse of Huang Yuqi gazing at the brilliant lights of Kyoto as they first came on with a smile on her face.
Jiang Cheng softly broke the silence: "Thank you for coming over to have dinner with me tonight."
Hearing this, Huang Yuqi's smile widened. She turned lightly, her eyes shining brightly as she looked directly into Jiang Cheng's eyes.
"No need to thank me. I didn't have any other plans today. I had originally just planned to go climb the Great Wall and see the scenery. Besides, I've seen many things tonight that I hadn't seen before; it was quite good."
After saying that, Huang Yuqi said to Wang Sheng: "By the way, Master. There's a subway station ahead. Please let me off there; I'll take the subway back."
Seeing Wang Sheng look in the rearview mirror to ask for his opinion, Jiang Cheng shook his head with a slight smile.
"I'll send you back. It wasn't easy to run into you; I want to spend a bit more time with you."
These sudden words were like a warm current, penetrating Huang Yuqi's heart and causing her heartbeat to involuntarily quicken its pace.