Chapter 304 Inevitable Encounters

After listening to Su Yehao describe Jack Ma's state of mind, it felt like his heart was in his throat. It was akin to the girl he secretly admired suddenly being targeted by a rich and handsome guy, and the gap between himself and this rich and handsome guy was so vast that he couldn't see even a sliver of hope for success, leaving only disappointment, feeling that the future was bleak. Just now, on the way here, Jack Ma was full of confidence, constantly thinking about how to persuade Su Yehao to invest in his project, and considering how to keep it secret to avoid having his idea stolen. Only now did he realize that the new market he thought he could take advantage of had already been targeted by someone else. What made him even more desperate was that Su Yehao initially planned to invest one or two hundred million RMB. Indeed, even a hair from Su Yehao's leg was thicker than Jack Ma's thigh. He could only look up in admiration. Facing this situation, how could he not be in despair?

Su Yehao sat there with a smile, suddenly noticing that the spirit in Jack Ma's eyes was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if he had lost his goal. Seeing this, Su Yehao's mischievous side was satisfied, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a smile. In his previous life, he had sent a lot of money to Jack Ma's company, especially during Singles' Day, which severely injured his wallet. Of course, he couldn't let go of the opportunity to get revenge. He clearly guessed that President Ma was coming today probably to talk about the idea of the e-commerce market.

This wasn't the end of it. Before Jack Ma could speak, Su Yehao continued, "Someone from Casino asked me, hoping to develop a convenient platform to help manufacturers across the country do business, acting as a window to the outside world. The business is booming, so I'm considering connecting all the links and introducing a service to provide postal delivery of goods. Since someone recommended Taobao to me to try..."

After hearing these words, Jack Ma's heart turned completely cold. He had hoped that Su Yehao would only do retail business for individuals or businesses, but he didn't expect him to really target the B2B (business-to-business) market. Online shopping was a new thing. Amazon in the United States was also mainly selling books, and was just expanding into the 3C (computers, communications, and consumer electronics), toy, and personal goods industries in a steady manner, not to mention mainland China with only a little over a million internet users. Moreover, there was a lot of fluff in these million-plus netizens. People who went online every day were called netizens, and people who went online once a year were also called netizens, so simply learning the eBay and Amazon model wasn't reliable. In mainland China, B2B business was the real gold mine suitable for deep excavation.

Honestly, there was a moment when Jack Ma wondered if he had leaked his business ideas when he was communicating with Koko Ventures a few days ago. However, judging from Su Yehao's expression, it didn't seem like it. After all, subconsciously, President Ma felt that a big boss like Su Yehao didn't need to bully him. Moreover, the concept of e-commerce was more popular in the United States. Considering that Su Yehao was also a shareholder of Amazon, it was normal for him to want to develop in mainland China. For example, Jack Ma himself first discovered the concept of e-commerce abroad, and then discovered that there was a new blue ocean in this area in China, and then he invested heavily, bringing his team to Silicon Valley to seek investment.

Jack Ma only thought that he was unlucky and really ran into Su Yehao's project. At this moment, he sighed deeply, feeling both regret that the "girl" he secretly admired was targeted by Su Yehao, and gratitude that he didn't invest heavily before finding out that Su Yehao had entered the market with hundreds of millions of funds. That would have been really tragic, like a canoe hitting an aircraft carrier, unable to even save a small boat. Once the two sides collided, Jack Ma knew the result without guessing: Confucius moving house—all books (losses).

For a long time, he couldn't say a word, his mood as complicated as a tangled mess. When the assistant brought the teacup, Jack Ma didn't even bother to say thank you politely. He sighed again and said, "Among so many internet giants in Silicon Valley, you are the most focused on the mainland market, Mr. Su. To be honest with you, your ideas are almost exactly the same as mine. I have to admire myself. It seems that I really chose the right path this time, but it's a pity that I met a big capitalist like you. Before the competition even started, I already want to admit defeat..."

From this sentence, it was enough to hear that Su Yehao's momentary mischief had dealt a heavy blow to Jack Ma. Su Yehao had done this more than once—taking other people's paths and leaving them with no way to go. However, just like what he said to Miss Vera in the restaurant in Manhattan the night before, the most important thing for success and wealth was a good team. It didn't matter if he ate most of the cake, but he couldn't just eat it all by himself, forcing others into a dead end. Therefore, he left a fixed shareholding for Larry Page and the others, and didn't think about continuing to increase his holdings in Silver Sea Network Group. Instead, he chose to provide low-interest loans out of his own pocket.

At this moment, Su Yehao coughed, straightened his attitude, waved his hand, and said with a smile: "That's why I think you're so amazing. I'm very accurate at judging people. The fortune-teller said that I would be prosperous with two horses in this life. When I saw you, I felt that we were destined. I'm from Casino, and my family does business in mainland China, so of course I pay more attention to mainland China."

After hearing this, Jack Ma was stunned, and then he thought that feng shui (geomancy) was indeed popular in Hong Kong and other places. The most typical example was Director Lin Zhengying. This actor was now so famous that even seeing him on the streets of Hong Kong made people feel uneasy. Thinking that his luck was really good, Jack Ma began to praise himself, squeezing out a smile and said, "I also feel that I have a strong affinity with Mr. Su. As expected of a son of a wealthy family, his demeanor is different from ordinary people, making people feel very comfortable."

After hearing this, Su Yehao smiled and started talking about serious matters, saying: "My main business is still in the United States. Recently, I'm also busy with several other big projects. I may go to mainland China to produce and sell computers, stimulating the growth of netizens through affordable prices. I'm really too busy. The development prospects of e-commerce in mainland China are beyond doubt. All the start-up capital will be provided by me. Now I just want to find some like-minded partners to start a business together, help build a team, and handle some things for me."

Jack Ma listened very carefully, carefully considering every word. He had been dealing with people in Beijing for a long time, and he always felt that there were deeper meanings in the words. Before Jack Ma could speak, Su Yehao smiled and said, "How about this... I'll give you an initial annual salary of two hundred thousand US dollars. If you do well, it will increase every year. As long as you make some achievements, you'll get a share of the equity. I'll pay three million RMB for the start-up capital first, and I can also attract traffic through TOT advertising, guaranteeing full support for this project. What do you think?"

"..."

After more than half an hour, Jack Ma sat in a Rolls-Royce, and the driver drove him back to the hotel. The small guesthouse was too low-end, and he was too embarrassed to let the driver park the luxury car at the door, so he just said he would get off early to buy something. The annual salary of two hundred thousand US dollars scattered his burning entrepreneurial soul, and he had already agreed to work for Su Yehao, and was also preparing to bring his previous team over. There was no way; Jack Ma's entrepreneurial intentions were indeed very firm before. However, Su Yehao gave him too much. An annual salary of about 1.7 million RMB, who wouldn't be dizzy?

Not only was he giving people and money, but Su Yehao also promised to give him the position of CEO. As a result, Jack Ma couldn't refuse no matter what, and he felt a sense of pride in becoming a "child of destiny." Otherwise, how could he just take a walk in Silicon Valley and get a good job with a million-dollar annual salary? A super-rich in Silicon Valley was rushing to let him be the CEO, and he couldn't even stop it!

All worries were swept away. Jack Ma was excited, feeling the joy of stepping into the peak of his life...