Chapter 285: Yu who escaped the net

Chapter 285: Yu who escaped the net

Chapter 285: Yu who escaped the net (6k)

Yu Xing was very busy, busy answering various calls, busy communicating with emotional employees, and busy introducing more specific information about WeChat to Alibaba.

When he had some free time, he glanced at Penguin's stock price and felt relieved knowing that it was falling as expected.

To be successful in long position, you must also be successful in short position.

When the excitement and noise gradually faded away, Yu Xing's mind was filled with the remaining thoughts: if short selling is to be successful, long selling must be successful.

If there is no bad news, create some.

This time, Guo Shanfeng, who did not show up at all, was just one step away from completing the short-selling process, which was completely different from the previous method.

At 7:30 in the evening, the employees of WeChat gradually withdrew with extremely complicated joy. The senior executives from Alibaba who came this time were arranged to be received by Li Shanyou first, while Yu Xing also needed to accept a joint interview.

Sina, NetEase, and Sohu have all initiated interview requests today, hoping to get a clearer context of this incident from the parties involved.

Yu Xing agreed after a little consideration, but didn't want to waste more time so he scheduled a joint interview with the three companies at 8 o'clock in the evening.

However, before this interview, he had a small matter to deal with.

"Mr. Cheng, I'm sorry."

Yu Xing walked towards Cheng Xiangwen, who was sitting very quietly in the corner, and apologized to the former deputy director of operations of Taobao Mall.

In other words, apologize to the deputy director of operations of WeChat, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba.

Cheng Xiangwen looked at Mr. Yu, who was full of apology, and said with a wry smile: "Mr. Yu, you don't have to apologize to me. Who would give someone more than one million and then apologize to him?"

Yu Xing sat on the chair next to Cheng Xiangwen, handed him a cigarette, took a long puff of his own, and apologized again: "Mr. Cheng, this happened suddenly. Alas, I also made a decision on the spur of the moment."

Cheng Xiangwen silently looked at the flickering cigarette butt, feeling as if his career had suddenly become inexplicable.

He joined WeChat two weeks ago.

Objectively speaking, it takes courage to choose to join WeChat when it is facing a crisis. The reason why Cheng Xiangwen continued his job hopping was that on the one hand, he had already submitted his resignation to Alibaba, and on the other hand, he felt that this moment could better reflect his value.

Taking a step back, if WeChat really fails, if I switch to Bai Xiaosheng, I should be able to get options before the listing.

Now I haven't retreated, but the problem is... I jumped up from the spot.

2011 I jumped from Alibaba to Alibaba!
Cheng Xiangwen couldn't help but sigh, took a puff of cigarette, and asked, "Mr. Yu, I asked you before I came here whether WeChat could survive, and you said yes."

Yu Xing nodded: "Yes, we are holding on now. Well, not only Alibaba, IDG has also contacted Baidu. Hey, Mr. Cheng, if you really don't want to go back to Alibaba, then come to Bai Xiaosheng. I will also go through the listing process this year."

Cheng Xiangwen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and shook his head again: "Forget it, I'll just treat it as a job transfer."

Yu Xing accompanied the bewildered Cheng Xiangwen and smoked a bewildered cigarette. After a while, he offered a suggestion: "Mr. Cheng, if you feel embarrassed about going back like this, I have an idea."

Cheng Xiangwen turned his head to look at Mr. Yu: "You say."

Yu Xing suggested earnestly: "You can change your nickname. Doesn't Alibaba require nicknames? If you change your nickname, it will feel different."

Cheng Xiangwen was silent for a moment, and said in a way that seemed to praise and ridicule: "Boss Yu, I shouldn't be in charge of operations. You should be in charge of operations. You are the one who is unparalleled in operations!"

Yu Xing finished his cigarette and said, "Mr. Cheng, you are a very good person. Since you chose to return to Alibaba..."

Cheng Xiangwen couldn't help but interrupt: "It wasn't my choice, I was sold back to Alibaba!"

Yu Xing did not show any dissatisfaction with being interrupted, and continued: "If there is a good project next time, I will call you first. If you think it is good, we can work together again."

Cheng Xiangwen's emotions inexplicably stagnated for three seconds. Mr. Yu was a man... Let's not talk about anything else. Just look at how he treated his brothers. Those options were all money...

He coughed and explained his previous sentence a little: "Mr. Yu, I really think you are an unparalleled operator. Today I kept thinking of what you said to me. Most people can only see what is in front of them, and cannot imagine what is not there. Although Alibaba is big, it is the same. You visualize what it cannot imagine, and it immediately sees the ban that is in front of it."

Yu Xing saw the reporters who had arrived earlier, patted the deputy director of operations with whom he had worked briefly, and said again: "Mr. Cheng, you can do it. I'll look for you next time. It's time to get off work. Go back. I have another interview."

Cheng Xiangwen looked at Mr. Yu who had stood up, and finally confirmed: "Mr. Yu, I am serious. You are still looking for me. Remember to look for me!"

Yu Xing turned around, smiled, nodded, and extended his hand to invite the reporters to the conference room.

Reporters from the three portals set up their equipment.

"Uh, this is..." Yu Xing pointed at the reflector, "Why is it still lit?"

The Sina reporter smiled and said, "Mr. Yu, let Penguin see how energetic you are. I'll put some makeup on you later."

It was the first time that Yu Xing encountered such an interview treatment. He was shocked and refused: "No, let's get started quickly. I still have a lot of phone calls and WeChat messages to respond to."

The reporter tried to persuade him again, but seeing that Mr. Yu was really unwilling, he had no choice but to give up.

The three major portals quickly set up their positions and agreed to take turns asking questions.

The Sohu reporter asked the first question: "Mr. Yu, you attended the Penguin Seminar last week, and then the story of 'Yu Xing crying for his horse' came out. Uh, sorry, Mr. Yu, everyone's summary is so straightforward. I hope you don't mind if I say this. How did that happen? Did you decide to sell WeChat to Alibaba at that time?"

"It's okay, I don't mind. Can anyone cry more bluntly than me?" Yu Xing said with a smile, "Do you use WeChat?"

Seeing the three reporters nodding, he continued, "WeChat is very useful. I really hope that WeChat can continue to survive. I have considered many directions last week, but the final decision to sell it to Alibaba was actually just a slight push from me. The bigger reason was the reputation of Penguin itself. Therefore, it was Penguin that created everything today."

All the blame lies with the penguins.

However, Yu Xing's statement made the reporters nod silently. After reviewing the whole network, everyone understood his operating ideas. Not only the reputation of Penguin in the past, but also the fact that WeChat was forced to this point was caused by Penguin.

The NetEase reporter asked the second question: "Mr. Yu, how did you manage to make such a killer move in front of so many people?"

Yu Xing hesitated for a few seconds before answering, "It's not a decisive move. It sounds like I am very comfortable with it, but in fact I had no choice. I believe you can all feel the competitive pressure from WeChat. Moreover, this matter may not be as complicated as you think. We contacted Mr. Ma on Saturday morning. He was abroad at the time and flew to Lin'an in the evening."

"I met Mr. Ma with a shareholder in the early morning... I can't remember exactly, maybe around one o'clock. We talked for less than an hour before finalizing the deal."

The NetEase reporter couldn't help but ask, "Is it so short? Did we just meet once? It was over in one day on Saturday?"

Yu Xing nodded and confirmed: "In fact, my understanding is this. We sold the strategy to Alibaba first. People who value strategy think it is valuable, and those who don't value it naturally have no intention. But Mr. Ma is a person who knows what's good. He decided on the strategy first and then the product."

"Ali is willing to change its strategy because it sees the way Penguin is likely to do things in the future, and under the changed strategy, the value of WeChat will naturally stand out."

“This deal requires finding the right person at the right time.”

The three reporters found this point very interesting: selling the strategy first and then the product.

The Sina reporter changed the question temporarily and chose a less commercial angle: "Mr. Yu, do you hate Pony?"

Yu Xing was slightly stunned. What kind of question was this?
He questioned the reporter with his eyes, and seeing that he had no intention of changing the question, he thought for a moment and shook his head and said, "I don't hate him, I really do... I can't say I'm sad, I just feel that as the head of such a big company, it's a little different from what I imagined."

"I used to top up a lot of Q coins. I used the living expenses my mom gave me when I was in school. Recently, Penguin has been competing with me in various ways. I want to rush to Pony and ask him to return the Q coins I topped up to me!"

"Does 'hate' count as hate?"

"I can't really hate WeChat for this commercial competition. Penguin has taught me a lot through its actual actions."

A smile of ambiguous meaning appeared on Yu Xing's face.

All three reporters captured this expression.

The Sohu reporter immediately asked, "Mr. Yu, do you mean that you will continue to compete with Penguin in the future? After you get the support of Alibaba, are you going to learn from Penguin as everyone says?"

Yu Xing first corrected the news: "WeChat will continue to compete with Penguin, but it has been sold to Alibaba. This is not my competition. I will not join Alibaba, but I do think Alibaba should follow Penguin."

"I have discussed the subsequent competition with Mr. Ma and Mr. Cai."

"Alibaba is indeed very strong and a large company, but Penguin is the pioneer of instant messaging. We should respect our predecessors and use what they teach us."

"Penguin should be able to understand this kind of competition. Besides, there is no need for Penguin to rush. If Penguin wins in the end, it will still be good. If it loses, it will only lose to itself. Well, even if Penguin is officially in Alibaba, it will still be fine."

The three reporters were all amused by Yu Xing's words. How could he be so serious and sarcastic?
The NetEase reporter seized on the correct information and asked, "Mr. Yu, why don't you join Alibaba? Is it because Alibaba doesn't want you to be in charge of WeChat?"

Yu Xing shook his head: "Mr. Ma did give me the responsibility. If I went to Alibaba, he would give me an additional $4000 million and expressed his trust. But objectively speaking, starting your own company is different from working for someone else's company. The most important thing is that I have realized that the problem with competing with giants lies in resources. I also believe that Alibaba can do this well. Then, my value is not in WeChat."

The NetEase reporter was surprised and asked, "Will Alibaba pay an additional 4000 million US dollars? Ah? Mr. Yu, why don't you go?"

Yu Xing smiled and said, "I answered it just now."

Before asking questions, the Sina reporter gave his own understanding: "Mr. Yu is not that obsessed with money. I saw that Mr. Yu distributed all the remaining options before selling WeChat. Together with the previous options, the total is 2.97 million. Is this true? Why did he do this?"

"That's true, but I'm also after money. As for why I did this..." Yu Xing thought for a moment and replied, "I promised them."

The three reporters were all waiting for the next part, and it took them several seconds to realize that it was gone.

Sina reporter asked: "Is it gone?"

Yu Xing asked back, "What else do you want?" The NetEase reporter couldn't help but envy him, "Boss Yu... are you still short of people? I want to work with you."

Yu Xing laughed: "Okay, if I'm short of people, I'll shout on Bai Xiaosheng. Remember to register as Bai Xiaosheng."

All three reporters said that they were already senior users.

The Sohu reporter continued to ask a question related to options: "Mr. Yu, it is said that some employees voluntarily gave up their options and then resigned. Is this true?"

Yu Xing nodded and said helplessly, "Yes, not only that, but it's quite strange. An employee who has already left the company called me this afternoon and asked me for options. I said, didn't you give up? He said, Mr. Yu, you have such a conscience, just give me the money for the options. I asked him puzzledly, you have already left, and I give you the options, what will the people who stay think?"

He shook his head: "Then, he scolded me."

The Sohu reporter found it quite interesting: "What happened next?"

Yu Xing replied as a matter of course: "I definitely cursed back later."

Sohu reporter: Uh…”

This seems to be in line with Mr. Yu’s opinion.

Mr. Yu questioned Lu Shan in person for WeChat, went to Pengcheng to cry for Ma, and made a special trip to laugh at Liu today...

This is very Mr. Yu.

The NetEase reporter asked: "Mr. Yu, Penguin's reputation has suffered a setback recently, but the number of WeChat users was ultimately, or should I say, less than Weichat at the moment you sold it. Do you think the user support is just a lot of noise but little action? What do you think of the company's reputation?"

Yu Xing answered without hesitation: "No, I don't think so. I really appreciate everyone's support."

"The thing is, public opinion and reputation are only part of the competition. Just like in the 3Q war, 360 was generally sympathized with, but as far as I know, 360 actually suffered a large-scale uninstallation."

"What I mean is that without the support of these friends, WeChat might have collapsed long ago, collapsed in the financing stage, collapsed when product feedback was lower than expected, collapsed because it could not sense the resistance of users, and might not have reached the step of reversing Alibaba's strategy at all."

“Public opinion and reputation are important, but they are not all factors. We don’t have to look at only 0 and all extremes. There is a large gap in between.”

"So, I really appreciate everyone's support and voice. I actually see that some people feel guilty about our recent crisis, which is unnecessary. Really, I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone."

The Sina reporter asked: "I heard that Mr. Yu had a conflict with Mr. Xu Xin of Today Capital when WeChat was raising funds, which led to you having to go out and beg for funds?"

Yu Xing smiled and said, "There is no contradiction. Do you think the company's operations are smooth sailing and there are no differences of opinion? That would be quite scary."

"Moreover, Mr. Xu is a shareholder of WeChat and Bai Xiaosheng. The first venture capital I came into contact with was Capital Today, and Mr. Xu taught me a lot."

"The competitive environment before WeChat is understandable. If someone invests in you once, it doesn't mean they have to invest in you the next two or three times. We can't do that kind of kidnapping."

The Sohu reporter asked a more personal question: "Mr. Yu, since you are not going to Alibaba, what will you do with the huge amount of wealth you will get from this sale? Will you invest it all in Bai Xiaosheng?"

"The WeChat project was incubated by Bai Xiaosheng. The final value of Bai Xiaosheng's shares is 2310 million US dollars, which is enough for a while. I will use this money depending on the situation. Of course, Bai Xiaosheng can definitely be more relaxed." Yu Xing thought, "Part of the money may focus on opportunities in the mobile Internet. The competition in instant messaging is the first battle in the mobile Internet, and there will be many more competitions later."

The NetEase reporter wanted to hear Mr. Yu's more comprehensive opinion: "Mr. Yu, today, as you have completed the sale, what do you want to say when you look back on the competition with Penguin?"

"What I want to say... I haven't had time to summarize it yet. One thing I feel deeply is that absolute monopoly will bring absolute confidence, but absolute confidence may not be a good thing at certain times." Yu Xing pondered, "Objectively speaking, breaking the monopoly of Penguin is a protection for it. Just like what Mr. Liu Chih-ping said, Penguin needs to be grateful for the tempering."

“So, WeChat gave him a chance to hone his skills.”

"Since I started working on WeChat, and now that I am sitting in front of your camera and looking back, I feel a huge amount of regret and surprise in my heart."

"It's hard to say which one is better. Well, the penguin is very strong. It's really strong. It actually beat me."

"It just won a battle for me, but the entire mobile instant messaging battle still needs it to continue working hard."

"I hope Pony will like the opponent I found for him, and I also hope Liu Chih-ping will actively face the new challenges."

When Yu Xing said these words, his expression was very calm. They sounded like he was proud of himself, but at this moment he felt very...

The three reporters had a similar feeling in their hearts, the feeling of operating calmly.

The lights in the WeChat company conference room were on until very late. The reporters from the portal website had too many questions, and Yu Xing did not mind answering all of their curiosity. There was nothing he couldn't answer, and anyway, no one had asked about Shanfeng.

The joint interview between Sina, NetEase and Sohu has been previewed on the website.

Therefore, many people were paying attention to the release of the program almost in its original form at midnight. In addition to the onlookers, people including Xu Xin, Xiong Xiaoge, Pony Ma, Liu Chih-ping, Zhou Hongyi and others all watched the report intentionally or unintentionally.

Yu Xing was very frank in the report and gave many details, such as Ma Dian's invitation of 4000 million US dollars and the two parties finalizing the cooperation late at night, thus allowing this major deal to be presented to everyone in its entirety.

Of course, many people do not believe Yu Xing’s words that “I have considered many directions last week”.

One of the most popular comments is: Some people said before that Yu Xing cried because Ma came to Alibaba. Looking back now, he cried because Alibaba came in. Yu Xing is indeed sad for the future of Pony and Penguin because he has already marked the established direction.

Someone else commented: Yu Xing said it wasn’t him, but his fingerprints are all over it!
The questioning section of this joint report was consistent, with only the three reporters using different wording at the end.

NetEase: “I asked Yu Xing if he regretted making such ambitious plans for WeChat. After all, the company could have grown quietly, and perhaps its fate would have been different.”

"Yu Xing did not answer this last informal question, but only corrected me."

"I don't understand."

“He said, not ambitious, but ambitious.”

"I didn't ask any more questions. I just told him that everyone gave him the nickname 'Yu who slipped through the net'."

"Yu Xing readily accepted this."

Sina: "Yu Xing used WeChat to show off his skills, which made even Penguin bow down to him."

“I think this young entrepreneur has an extraordinary mind.”

"This WeChat sale was more like a sales show. Yu Xing showed Alibaba a future that it would not buy, and Alibaba immediately agreed to a high price."

"The sharp drop in Penguin's share price today proves that Alibaba's decision was correct."

"The penguin won the battle but lost the campaign. As for the outcome of the war, it is bound to be a long and difficult process."

Sohu: "I love Yu Xing."

“I love all the heroic moments like that.”

“I believe I will see him again.”

……

The deal is done, but the dust is still rising.

The joint interview by the three portals gave Yu Xing the highest praise.

Penguin's stock price was still falling when it opened on Tuesday, and on the morning of the second day after Alibaba entered the market, Penguin's head Pony Ma sent an email to all employees, the content of which was soon exposed.

“No great company is immune to setbacks and challenges.”

“Now is the moment when we all face our greatest challenge together.”

There is no doubt that the outside voices are not exaggerated at all. The head of Penguin used his actions to explain the significance of WeChat's acquisition.

After reading the email, Tan Ruize, deputy technical director of Weilian, was so excited that he wanted to fight for the great company as well as for himself!

He tried his best to adjust his mindset. The options were a big loss, but the losses were already made. Now he needed to help Weiliant defeat WeChat, so that there would be hope of recovering the lost wealth.

However, during the lunch break, Tan Ruize received a lawyer’s letter from Alibaba’s legal department, demanding that he immediately stop working for Penguin on the grounds of violating the non-compete agreement.

At the same time, Alibaba also stated that it has filed a lawsuit with the Lin'an Court, applying for a temporary injunction for behavioral preservation, and a ruling is usually made within 48 hours. At that time, if the preservation ruling is not implemented, the company will face fines, detention, and even prosecution for refusing to execute the order.

Tan Ruize was shocked and immediately sought help from Penguin Legal, hoping to fulfill the promise made when poaching the person.

However, when he looked at the Penguin Legal Officer’s frowning brows, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Seeing that the other party had not spoken for a long time, Tan Ruize had to ask: "What should we do? How should we deal with this?"

Penguin's legal representative looked at the letter over and over again, and after a while he said four words: "It's not easy."

Tan Ruize's heart sank: "Then, what should we do?"

Penguin's legal department said, "Go through the procedures and be mentally prepared."

Tan Ruize felt his heart sink into a bottomless abyss, his voice trembling: "Before, I said before, I said you don't have to worry about the non-compete agreement!!"

Penguin's legal affairs officer glanced at him and said slowly, "It was WeChat before, and now it's Ali WeChat. This matter is a little different."

Tan Ruize's vision suddenly blurred, his back felt cold, and he felt the chill of killing without leaving any blood!
(End of this chapter)