Chapter 187 Friends and Foes

ruction committee. Of course, this suggestion came from Hong Xiaotian; originally, Liu Lan planned to bring this up at the standing committee meeting for discussion, but now it seems unnecessary.As he...Chapter 187: Friends and Foes

Su Can sometimes thought about what Qiao Shuxin said to him that day. Sometimes, he would recall his days as an exchange student in America. At times, he started to feel that the future he had always been striving for was once again becoming unclear, not knowing what it looked like.

The year 2003 marked a transitional period towards the maturity of international internet, with both the pain from previous internet bubbles and the hope arising from new ventures in ruins. Liu Qiangdong, who had run counters in Zhongguancun for many years after graduating from Peking University, founded JD Electronics Mall this year.

Companies like 3721, Dangdang, and Jingdong were rapidly developing along with the acceleration of information infrastructure construction across various cities, regions, towns, and counties in China.

In those days, many people believed that having internet meant having everything. The government was fully supporting it, making Beijing a bustling place full of vigor. However, when the millennium arrived, an internet bubble swept over, crushing countless ambitions; numerous companies lost everything they had invested, and one after another fell in their attempts to list on Nasdaq in America. Countless companies fell from grace and were no longer heard of. But three years later, new leaders emerged among the ruins, stepping forward with determination.

This was perhaps the vitality of the internet industry, as well as the passion that one could hardly see in many other fields, like a young person's indomitable youth.

The number of users for Facebook Chinese version had reached eight million, and due to the social network craze sweeping America, its influence in China was rapidly increasing. The user numbers were growing daily, and it was listed by newspapers like Southern Weekend, Pineapple Media’s Finance & Fashion, and Global Entrepreneur as one of the most likely internet companies from China to relist on Nasdaq. It compared favorably with giants such as Shanda Network and Tencent.

The rise of Facebook Chinese version and Qian Xuebin's EachNet both boosted Shanghai's weight and status in the entire Chinese Internet industry.

Among current stories about internet and Shanghai, people often talked enthusiastically about the identity issue of founders for those two companies. Among the four founders of Ctrip, three were raised in Shanghai, while another one studied at university there; three of them came from SJTU (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), while the other was from SHNU (Shanghai Normal University).

Regarding Facebook Chinese version’s founder, although there had been rumors before, no mainstream media ever truly contacted the person behind it. Usually, CEO Qiao Shuxin represented the company in public appearances. However, one thing confirmed by all sorts of clues was that its founder also came from SHNU.

This highlighted the obvious status and influence of SJTU and SHNU, which seemed to monopolize half of the top talents in Shanghai's internet industry.

However, there were still worries for Su Can. This year alone he spent 25 million US dollars on buying into World of Warcraft (WoW). Last year, Dunhuang Rongcheng’s total revenue from five stores was 700 million yuan, while Shushan Stationery's revenue was around 400 million yuan. The two companies had relatively low debt ratios, less than 30%. Wang Yue and Zhao Mingnong both contributed nearly half of the financial burden for Big Banana to take over WoW.

The final confirmed investment from Facebook America was 20 million US dollars, with Su Can spending 12 million on acquiring WoW. He still had 8 million US dollars left, approximately 66 million yuan in RMB. Although there was a slight surplus, he needed money for many other purposes.

Zhao Hao's online music platform raised 70 million yuan in funding before Su Cen acquired five million shares, accounting for 49% of the total equity.

In recent years, FaceBook Chinese has no plan to go public, and Dunhuang and Shushan Stationery also have no plans for an IPO. However, Su Cen predicts that Zhao Hao's company might be his first digital music concept company to operate an IPO. At the time, Zhao Hao, who controls a large number of top-notch artists' copyrights on high-tech platforms in the industry, can use the booming development of mobile ringback tones provided by the state to attract numerous venture capitalists or investors with the concept of digital music. It is also possible that his company will become the first one to go public as a digital music concept stock domestically.

Su Cen's 49% preferred shares, after dilution and conversion in the future, if sold for cash, are likely to yield substantial multiples. No wonder some people say investing in technology companies can sometimes lead to huge returns; once a concept stock gets hyped up, even stocks with extremely low initial value might soar ten or twenty times.

But all these are things for the future.

In Huang City, Phoenix Industries and Phoenix Investment Holdings were both fully owned by Su Cen. He invested 20 million yuan in acquiring coking plants and coal mines, planning to loan another 50 million through Su Richen from commercial banks to introduce a resource recovery system. Once the provincial industrial policy adjusts, Phoenix Industries might break out of Huang City's limitations and advance into the province's coke and coal industry. If this step can be achieved, it would likely mean success; at that time, Phoenix Industries is expected to have a market value of about 1 billion yuan, becoming the brightest new star in Huang City. The next step will be an overseas shell listing plan, which will come later, with Phoenix Group having the potential to become a large enterprise influencing Sichuan Province's coke and coal industry layout within five years.

The remaining 40 million yuan Su Cen had on hand would not be sufficient for the expansion of Upper Road Union and FaceBook Chinese in the future. But if they can make it through this year, next year Dunhuang is expected to break through 900 million yuan in revenue while Shushan's sales are expected to exceed 700 million yuan. These could provide sufficient funds for the development of Dragonfruit subsidiaries without needing debt.

In Su Cen’s strategic layout, a large carrier battle group spanning coal industry, daily necessities, light industry, music entertainment, internet, cultural publishing and distribution sectors has gradually taken shape.

The standardization of Huang City's coke and coal industry would undoubtedly provide significant assistance to his father, Su Richen. By tapping into the strategic resource of coke and coal to unleash Huang City’s true industrial potential, related industry regulations could improve local massive wastage in mining environments, forming a good industrial layout. This is crucial for Hu City to create more output value and fiscal income. Besides indicating obvious development changes, it also allows Su Richen, Yang Wanli, Li Yining, and others to have more financial resources to pursue their political ambitions.

As long as these individuals align with his father due to shared interests, Zhou Zhaofeng, the deputy mayor of Hu City in charge of daily operations, would certainly not stand against Su Richen. Su Cen firmly believes that constant confrontation is not wise; true political gamesmanship should be about putting aside disputes and developing together. This is similar to business practices—instead of fighting over a piece of cake, it's better to make the cake bigger and more sumptuous so everyone can negotiate its distribution based on effort.

The conflict with Liang Xiao from the Development and Reform Commission upon arriving at Pudong Airport in Shanghai did cause some small ripples.

After all, there were many people present, including airport staff. It's not surprising for news to spread as a result. Allegedly, this Liang Xiao returned to Beijing looking disheveled. Although he has a background, it seems he encountered setbacks; several projects he was responsible for have been handed over.

Perhaps after spending too much time in the ministry, when he came to Shanghai, he felt somewhat inflated. This is common—only by going to Beijing do you realize how low your rank is; consequently, in the capital, especially within a ministry, one tends to feel superior regardless of past experiences where officials have suffered losses upon taking up positions locally.

Of course, Liang Xiao's small setbacks back at the ministry after returning might not be directly due to instructions from Liu Changhui. Nevertheless, there would definitely be people within a faction Liu Changhui is part of or those seeking to align with him and his influential backers.

Su Cen knew that Liu Changhui's special treatment towards him might have been due to a casual statement made by Tang Wu’s maternal grandmother during her last visit to Shanghai. However, establishing a long-term mutually beneficial relationship with Liu Changhui would be greatly advantageous for FaceBook Chinese and Shangdao Hezong.

Because he still had enemies.

And they were quite formidable.

Therefore, he must unite all the friends around him that he could.

The fried rice noodle at a small eatery street behind Nan University was very tasty. Su Cen hadn’t eaten it for a long time, so he arranged to meet Tang Wu after evening study sessions. When Tang Wu came out of her study room in the evening, Su Cen took the books and small bag she was carrying. The night幕 fell over the university town as the moon hung high on the branches.

Tang Wu mentioned that her mother had visited her at school yesterday. Su Cen responded with an "oh," thinking it might have been Mu Xuan’s business trip or a gathering of some social elites in Shanghai. In short, the Tang family was conflicted about his existence; on one hand, they were aware of his development, but on the other hand, out of consideration for protecting their daughter, there were still concerns.

"My mom mentioned us." Sitting down at a steaming food stall, Tang Wu said this to Su Cen while being frequently glanced at by some young college students nearby.

Su Cen noticed that Tang Wu used the word "us," and scratched his head, asking, "What did she say"

Tang Wu looked at him with eyes like water, her beautiful gaze slightly curved as she replied, "I told her I was interning at FaceBook Chinese. She said for us to... take good care of each other."

Su Cen placed his hand lightly on Tang Wu’s slender, taut knee under the disdainful and pained looks from a few tables away, smiling and saying, "We’re better than she imagines."

The sizzling sound of oil splashing as chili peppers were added to the pan filled the air. The hot steam rose up with the stir-fried rice noodles. No one knew that the two boys and girls who were engrossed in their meal at this small eatery street behind Nan University might be legendary figures in the future.

A TV next to a frying booth, covered in thick yellow grease on its screen and rear ventilation holes, was broadcasting local Shanghai financial news.

The scene showed a signing ceremony with flashes going off constantly. Many well-known bigwigs from the financial circle appeared at the ceremonial desk. Among them stood a tall figure who moved with great efficiency and vigor; it was none other than Zhan Hua. At that moment, he was smiling as he shook hands with a foreigner and then, under the spotlight of the media, presented a red contract page with gilded lettering.

The commentator's voice came from the old TV speaker, saying, "It was not accidental that International Redwood Capital decided to establish a China fund this time. It is the result of improvements in China's investment environment and unprecedented investment opportunities. It is known that the president and partner of the China Fund is Zhan Hua, who used to be the president of Anxin Fund. He and his partners won the recognition and support of investors even before the fundraising stage. They publicly announced their future investment direction would focus on the hot TMT sector. The next phase could involve hotels or department store groups, not just in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and coastal areas in the east, but also extending to the southwestern provinces' coal industry. Without visiting each investor one by one, Zhan Hua and his partners easily raised $100 million..."

Su Can was eating stir-fried rice noodles while casually drinking a bowl of noodle soup, watching the news on TV. It was predictable that Zhan Hua would introduce Redwood Capital when Su Can knew about the relationship between him and Redwood Capital through Sean Parker's influence over Mark Zuckerberg last year.

This indicated he was ready to make a big move.

Not only Zhan Hua, but recently in TV and some media, Su Can also saw reports of Gao's high-profile background. Gao Hong made appearances occasionally, with very few reports, sometimes just one sentence comments. For example, he was referred to as a reformer walking in modern times or an angel investor in China. Yet without exception, all these concise and targeted reports described him using words like humble, courteous, and gentlemanly; his actions were summed up as diligent, wise, and visionary. However, no media ever reported on his origins, mostly just mentioning which place he came from, at most saying his ancestral home was in Henan Province. This was Gao Hong—so low-key that people could almost overlook him.

In contrast, the eldest son of the Gao family, a top official of a central state-owned enterprise, Gao Canghai shone so brightly on stage that one dared not stare directly at him. A crystal chandelier in his office building was worth 16 million yuan and made it into newspapers. Countless high-ranking officials surrounded him daily. One of the relatively well-known joint-stock companies in China spent half a year just to arrange an interview with him. In less than half an hour, he waved his hand and agreed to invest four billion yuan.

During the F1 race in Shanghai, Gao Canghai once again demonstrated his dominance. Without needing approval from the central state-owned enterprise's board of directors, an 800 million yuan sponsorship for the Shanghai F1 event was arranged. The ads of the central state-owned enterprises were everywhere. During interviews with journalists, Gao Canghai also said a domineering line widely reported: "Central State-Owned Enterprises are the vanguard and lifeblood of the People's Republic. As the vanguard of the People's Republic, who will monopolize if we don't"

Compared to him, it was less common to see Gao Canghai’s second son, a provincial-level leader, in national media reports. Yet one could still feel the strength of the Gao family.

No wonder Zhan Hua had such strong backing.

Su Can didn't know what mindset was at play between Wang and Gao families' top echelons, but he knew that he had already come into direct conflict with Gao Hong and Zhan Hua. His development path had harmed their interests. But because the numerous industries under Big Pineapple Holdings Su Can controlled influenced various aspects, it would be almost impossible for Gao Hong to use political means to strike back against his business development. For example, in Shanghai, it wouldn't necessarily be possible for Gao Hong to influence someone as high-ranking as Secretary Liu Changhui of the Municipal Committee.

However, Zhan Hua could cultivate competitors to replicate Facebook China's expansion steps.

Su Can thought it would be impossible to completely prevent Zhan Hua from making money in the social networking wave.

But it was clear that networks such as CampusNet, which Zhan Hua fostered, were unlikely to catch up or surpass Facebook China's progress. This trend could not be stopped—Facebook China becoming the number one social network within the country.ersation easily, and the two girls were also talkative, engaging them in discussions about Richard's piano skills, lamenting the passing of Pinkerton Edward, discussing international events such as NA...