Chapter 60

Ren Hong couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. In terms of speeches, Jack Ma was like a master of the chicken soup for the soul. There was no doubt that his speech was a classic; the contents were closely linked to the hot topics of the current era. For the young people with the entrepreneurship dream, such chicken soups for the soul were always inspiring.

In this three-day summit, there would be 11 forums and 23 topics on the agenda that involved digital economy corporation, internet technology standards, cyberspace governance, science and technology innovation, and forefront hot topics.

The topic of Ren Hong’s participation in the summit, which would take place on the second day, was specifically ‘Science and Technology Innovation’.

Having founded XlouS more than two years ago, Ren Hong’s rise to prominence was proof that this era belonged in the DT era. The situation was also unique, which would have been impossible in the IT age.

There were multiple factors that allowed him to rise so quickly and become a giant tech company. In today’s highly shared information era of the internet, Facebook was gradually entering a saturation period. In the field of social networking, Zuckerberg didn’t manage to take the Greater China region albeit the other basic layouts around the world being completed.

The birth of Real-time Online Translator had certainly given Zuckerberg new hope and kept him up at night. He—or they—knew exactly what kind of impact it would have on the world and on his social media platforms. Similarly, as much as he was aware of the unlimited potential of this product, he wasn’t the only one.

It seemed like a dream come true for Ren Hong to clinch a 12 billion USD deal. But, in fact, during their negotiation, Ren Hong and Zuckerberg knew that they weren’t naive. They clearly knew what the other party needed from each other.

Ren Hong knew that Zuckerberg needed Real-time Online Translator because he was the CEO of Facebook. Real-time Online Translator was the needle in a haystack and the pivot that could tip the balance for social media platforms. On the other hand, Zuckerberg knew that Ren Hong needed capital, judging from the obvious asking price of 12 billion USD. However, it didn’t mean that if one needed money, the other party had to hand it over. No such reasoning existed.

It was clear from Zuckerberg’s ability to pull off a 12 billion USD deal so decisively that he was someone who had come to grips with the essence of DT. All Zuckerberg wanted was for XlouS to get strong as fast as possible. Without that 12 billion USD, XlouS wouldn’t rise so fast. On the other hand, if XlouS happened to want to rise quickly, they would require necessary financing. Financing would bring in capital, and bringing in capital would weaken the founders’ control of the company. For instance, Cisco’s founding couple were kicked out of their own company.

Zuckerberg was well aware of the complexity and ruthlessness of capital. XlouS would be prone to some hidden dangers as soon as they brought in capital. Not only would it indirectly affect their partner, Facebook, but it would also lead to the termination of their partnership. That was why it wasn’t just that Ren Hong didn’t want to bring in capital, but Facebook also didn’t wish for it; unless it was Facebook’s own capital.

Zuckerberg had to prevent his rivals from getting ahead of him, which was why he came to an agreement with Ren Hong on their first meeting. It was apparent that the best way to solve this problem was to make XlouS strong as soon as possible to ensure the stability of the partnership and prevent competitors from taking advantage of XlouS itself. The stronger XlouS was, the more difficult it would be to penetrate any possible hostile capital. And the more absolute control the founder would have over XlouS, the partnership would be more stable and Facebook would also have fewer things to worry about.

That was why Zuckerberg not only handed 12 billion USD to Ren Hong, but also used his platform to speedily promote the latter’s products. This kind of approach where Zuckerberg took out his own money and put it into Ren Hong’s pocket was basically incomprehensible, especially to the people who adhered to the IT idea. Only those who understood the essence of the core idea of DT could understand the subtleties of it. This was one of the reasons why XlouS had risen in such a fantastic form. The second reason was Real-time Online Translator itself. Its uniqueness had always been the key to this outcome. Moreover, the time was right, and it turned both Facebook and XlouS into classic examples of DT thinking.

I can only be strong if you are strong.

And time proved this point. XlouS became stronger, and so had Facebook. If Zuckerberg rejected the negotiation because of the 12 billion USD involved, it would have been Tencent, Twitter, and Google+ that partnered with XlouS with the DT idea instead. The leaders of a giant company were smart people who were capable of seizing opportunities. The difference was that Zuckerberg got a little luckier than them by being one step ahead. One had to know that Google+ was backed by Alphabet, which wasn’t any weaker than Facebook. However, Ren Hong didn’t send them an email notifying them of his product, so it wasn’t possible for them to be the first to know. Even if they learned about it, it would be too late, which went to show how luck was also particularly important.

Regardless, Zuckerberg’s decisions back then were unquestionable today. His company’s market capitalization of 500 billion USD was a testament to his wisdom. Right now, people could only admire his drive and vision.

The only surprising thing was that no one expected XlouS to rise so fast and shock the world, so much so that it became a world-class giant technology company in less than three years.

As the day wore on, the first day of the summit ended. During the three-day event, there was no lack of tasty food or delicious wine.

Ren Hong rose too quickly so he didn’t get to know many acquaintances in this ‘small circle’. He never took the initiative to expand his network, leading him to not know some bigwigs despite being the richest man in Asia. Perhaps Zuckerberg, who was his partner, was the only person he was closer to.

Ren Hong was undoubtedly a genius in the field of technology and research and development. He never took the initiative to expand his network and even today, after the first day of the event, he was about to head back to the hotel.

However, just as he was about to leave, his assistant, Mu, stopped him and informed him of a message.

“Gathering?” Ren Hong was slightly surprised.

“It was initiated by Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo. The place is at Diaoyutai Guesthouse.” Mu added.

Ren Hong pondered for a moment before deciding to give up going back to the hotel and head to the dinner instead. The companies that participated in this summit were domestic supergiants; their helmsmen were bigwigs in their respective fields. Even though Ren Hong didn’t interact with any of them before, acquaintances were made from being strangers, after all. That was why no matter which bigwig initiated the invitation, he couldn’t refuse. He would be stupid to go back to the hotel and spend time surfing the internet on his computer.

Although Ren Hong was young, he wasn’t rashl. He also wouldn’t go about with his nose in the air because of his achievements. The people who came to this event were all worthy of admiration. They played an important role in China’s development in their respective fields. As Jack Ma said, without yesterday’s accumulation, there would be no today. Likewise, without the pioneering efforts of those people yesterday, China wouldn’t have been so great today.

That was why he had to accept the invitation.