"...Shunda has been acquired by Taoxun, and I am now the boss of Shunda."
The reception room fell into an eerie silence. Yao Hongbo first looked bewildered, then his eyes widened in disbelief. Following that, his face rapidly flushed red, then quickly turned a ghastly purple.
Yao Hongbo really wanted to say, "Boss Ye, you're an adult, why would you joke about something like this?"
But he knew very well that no matter how irresponsible Ye Zhi might be, she wouldn't joke about something like this.
The thought of all the advice he had just given Ye Zhi made Yao Hongbo wish he could disappear into a crack in the earth!
Ye Zhi could obviously see how embarrassed the Vice President Yao was at the moment.
She broke the awkward silence, "Vice President Yao, would you like something to drink? I'll have someone prepare it."
"...No, thank you," Yao Hongbo finally regained his composure. He looked at Ye Zhi with a complex expression, "Boss Ye, you truly are one of hidden depths."
"You flatter me," she said calmly, "I am simply aware of how formidable my opponents are."
"It seems my trip today was in vain," Yao Hongbo took a deep breath and said, "Boss Ye, thank you for the lesson today. I will ascertain my opponent's strength before underestimating anyone from now on. I bid you farewell."
With that, Yao Hongbo turned to leave.
There was no need for him to stay any longer. If Shunda and Taoxun were merely in a cooperative relationship, he could have attempted to win over Shunda with persuasion and a bit of coercion, urging them to abandon the partnership.
But since Shunda was their own company, no matter what he said, how could he possibly disrupt the cooperation between the two?
Moreover, he had just suffered such an embarrassment, it was best to leave quickly.
"Vice President Yao, please wait," Ye Zhi suddenly called out to him.
"May I ask what further guidance you have, Boss Ye?" Yao Hongbo asked, frowning.
"Guidance is too strong a word, Vice President Yao," Ye Zhi said sincerely, "We are all well aware of the immense potential of the internet. Currently, due to limitations in mobile operating systems and network speeds, online shopping and social interactions are confined to computers.
However, once these two issues are resolved, coupled with everyone having a mobile phone in the future, it will open up a vast blue ocean! Vice President Yao, how can such a massive market not accommodate two online shopping companies?"
Yao Hongbo's gaze deepened. It was precisely this foresight that had led thousands of investors to pour significant funds into Qianbai.
Now, mobile operating systems were improving, and telecommunications companies were already developing fourth-generation mobile information systems. Once these conditions were met, it was foreseeable that the entire internet ecosystem would experience explosive growth.
He had previously felt he underestimated Ye Zhi, but she always managed to surprise him, making him realize her vision was even more far-reaching.
He truly hadn't expected Ye Zhi, at such a young age, to possess such keen insight.
Yao Hongbo also understood that Ye Zhi was saying this to avoid conflict with Qianbai. Unfortunately...
"I apologize, Boss Ye," Yao Hongbo said with a hint of regret, "The investors chose Qianbai not to settle for second place."
Ye Zhi's expression showed a hint of surprise. She couldn't help but smile, "Thank you, Vice President Yao, for your recognition of Taoxun. Then, from now on, we will compete on our own merits."
Yao Hongbo froze, feeling a pang of awkwardness. His statement was essentially admitting that Taoxun was the market leader.
However, any further explanation now would only seem pretentious.
Yao Hongbo didn't say anything more and left directly.
After he left, Ye Zhi sighed with some regret.
In fact, the reason she was willing to make this trip and personally meet Yao Hongbo was to see if there was an opportunity for peaceful coexistence. However, the other party showed no intention of coexisting peacefully with her.
It seemed she would have to muster all her strength. After all, peace secured through struggle will endure, but peace sought through compromise will perish.
The reason she managed to gain an edge over Qianbai this time was purely because this world lacked convenient applications like Qichacha, and Taoxun Games was such a perfect smokescreen that Qianbai's investors didn't take her seriously.
However, after this exchange, she suspected that her possession of Qi Xuan's cash machine would no longer be a secret.
*
After Yao Hongbo left, he immediately set out to investigate Taoxun's current investors. Upon discovering who they were, he couldn't help but gasp in shock.
Soon after, he directly contacted several major investors and called an emergency video conference.
Qianbai had many investors, but three heavyweight backers were the Su family, the Zhan family, and the Jin family. With their financial support, dealing with a new company like Taoxun should have been effortless, but Yao Hongbo no longer felt that way.
The major investors were also cooperative. Su Ming from the Su family, Zhan Li from the Zhan family and his eldest son Zhan Ruofeng, Jin Kaiyuan from the Jin family, and other smaller investors all attended the video conference on time.
"Hongbo, why did you call us for such an urgent meeting? What happened?" Su Ming asked.
"Chairman Su, I apologize," Yao Hongbo said with deep shame, "Our plan targeting Taoxun has encountered a significant problem. Boss Ye of Taoxun has acquired Shunda Express..."
"What? How is that possible?!" Su Ming interrupted him in astonishment, "Didn't Taoxun just buy some map company? And isn't their focus on games? Where did Taoxun get so much money to buy an express delivery company?"
Yao Hongbo stated with some reluctance, "Taoxun has also attracted many investors recently, and their capital is very ample..."
"How is that possible?!" Su Ming's face showed anger, "With the three of us investing in Qianbai, which upstart dared to invest in Taoxun and go against us?!"
Yao Hongbo gave him a helpless look, feeling somewhat speechless as he said, "Among those investors is your son."
Su Ming: ...
After all this, the mole was right by his side?
Zhan Li immediately frowned, displeased, "Su Ming, that's not right of you. How did you raise your son to be so defiant towards his own father?"
Yao Hongbo felt even more speechless as he said, "Chairman Zhan, your daughter also invested, and I heard that it was your daughter who acted as a go-between, getting other investors to collectively invest in Taoxun."
Zhan Li: ...
Why did his face feel a little hot?
Jin Kaiyuan expressed his displeasure, "You two, how can you not even manage your own children properly?"
Yao Hongbo sighed and once again said helplessly, "Chairman Jin, your son and daughter have also invested in Taoxun."
Jin Kaiyuan: ...
All of them were dumbfounded!
What was going on? They, the older generation, were investing in Qianbai, yet these younger generations were all opposing them, throwing their money at Taoxun?
What kind of situation was this!
"I'm going home tonight to find that unfilial son. Regardless of whether he wants to or not, he must withdraw his investment!" Su Ming said with a darkened expression.