130: Chapter 130 Qin Mo? Nothing special!

Hangzhou.

Wuzhen.

The morning in this Jiangnan water town is shrouded in a thin mist, and on the bluestone paths along the river, early tourists are already taking photos.

Deep in the town, several old residences are temporarily cordoned off, and at the entrance stands a low-key sign with only a few words.

Wuzhen Summit.

This was a closed-door meeting for the internet industry initiated by Old Ma a few years ago.

Of course, it is still closed-door, but the level of openness increases every year.

This year, only twenty or thirty people were invited, all top figures in their respective fields, and the venue is an old-style courtyard near the water, with tea and snacks set on the stone tables.

The meeting has not started yet, and a few people are already gathered in groups of two or three under the corridor chatting.

Small Ma stands on the side near the river, holding a cup of freshly brewed Longjing tea, accompanied by Baidu founder Li Hongyan and several other veterans of the domestic internet circle.

"Qin Mo still didn't come this year?" Li Hongyan asked.

Small Ma nodded.

"Old Ma told me that the invitation was delivered to Langchao Group, but like last year, Qin Mo refused."

Li Hongyan shook his head, his tone tinged with regret.

"Understandable, I suppose."

"Right now, Langchao Group and Taobao are locked in a fierce battle over fresh produce e-commerce. He worked hard to discover this blue ocean market, only to have Old Ma flip the table before he could even finish his layout. If it were me, I wouldn't come either if I were sent an invitation under these circumstances."

"However."

"He is currently the highest achiever among the younger generation of the Great Xia internet sector. It didn't matter much that he didn't come last year when Douyin had just launched."

"But this year, having successively launched league of legends and crossfire, if he still doesn't show up, then this internet summit loses some of its credibility."

Another person nearby took up the conversation.

"Speaking of the younger generation, you should all know the news about Ma Kun returning to China to take control of Taobao."

"I heard that this fresh produce e-commerce issue was discovered by Ma Kun from the backend of Alipay. If it weren't for him, Taobao and Old Ma might have really let Qin Mo slip one past them."

"And Ma Kun's personality, they say, is different from Old Ma's—he's very arrogant."

At this point, the person paused.

"If Qin Mo actually came, with Ma Kun's personality, there would inevitably be some mockery to his face. They're both young and hot-tempered; they might even start a fight on the spot."

Everyone laughed.

Li Hongyan sighed with emotion.

"But this time, Ma Kun did indeed make Qin Mo suffer a significant loss. Qin Mo had kept this fresh produce e-commerce matter hidden for nearly a month, but as soon as it started to gain traction, Ma Kun plucked it out directly from the data."

Just as he finished speaking, Li Hongyan paused and looked into the distance.

The entire corridor suddenly went quiet for a beat.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily turned in the same direction.

Old Ma was walking across the courtyard with a young man following behind him.

The young man was wearing a dark suit, walking quickly, with an expression of undisguised confidence on his face, and his eyebrows and facial structure were remarkably similar to Old Ma's.

Old Ma was beaming. After walking up to the group, he turned slightly and gestured for the young man behind him to step forward.

"Perfect, since the meeting hasn't started yet, let me introduce everyone."

"Ma Kun, he has been managing Alibaba's overseas division for the past few years and just returned from Silicon Valley. Moving forward, he will also be taking over some core businesses of Alibaba Group in China."

Old Ma then introduced this group of people to Ma Kun one by one.

Small Ma, Li Hongyan, and several other founders of internet companies—after returning to China, Ma Kun would certainly be in constant contact with this group.

At first, Ma Kun smiled and greeted them one by one. His handshake was firm, and his choice of words was perfectly measured. Standing with this group of people who were a generation or two older than him, he didn't seem timid at all.

But after the pleasantries, Ma Kun retracted his gaze, a faint smile on his lips, though the arrogance deep in his eyes was hard to hide.

"Actually, before returning to China, I had already heard of Qin Mo's name."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the quiet courtyard heard it clearly.

"Douyin, league of legends, crossfire—each one is truly impressive, and he built them up one by one. Even the overseas version of Douyin has been developing well recently."

"At the time, I was still in Silicon Valley, and seeing the report cards for these projects, I was quite looking forward to facing him after returning to China."

He paused, his tone softening slightly.

"So I was well-prepared to go head-to-head with him, thinking he might actually be a worthy opponent."

He raised his head and swept his gaze over everyone present.

"But I didn't expect that this Qin Mo is nothing special."

Ma Kun's tone was very flat, as if he were talking about the most mundane thing.

"A blue ocean of fresh produce e-commerce, hidden for almost a month, yet only a few days after I returned to China, I plucked it out from the payment data. From start to finish, I didn't even use any complex methods."

"Even though he first acquired JD.com's logistics and warehousing, drawing all the attention to Douyin Mall, making the outside world think that Douyin Mall was his main target, he still couldn't deceive my eyes."

"A person like this is actually called the leader of the younger generation of the Great Xia internet sector by the outside world."

He shook his head with a trace of undisguised contempt on his face.

"I don't think much of him."

Hearing this, Old Ma's brows furrowed instantly.

"This isn't Alibaba; watch your tongue."

He knew his son's personality; after spending so many years overseas, he had always been direct.

But today's occasion was different. Anyone standing here was a veteran who had been grinding for decades; saying such things in public was inappropriate.

In Alibaba, he might feel there was no problem with Ma Kun saying this, but outside, he still needed to discipline him.

Ma Kun didn't refute his father, but the expression on his face clearly showed he didn't think he had said anything wrong. In his view, Qin Mo, whose layout could be easily seen through by him, didn't deserve too much reverence.

At this moment, after Ma Kun finished speaking, everyone's gaze in the courtyard turned to the same person: Small Ma.

From beginning to end, whether it was Douyin or the later league of legends, and then crossfire, Qin Mo only had one true opponent: Tencent Group.

Others had tried to create competing products for Short Video, and some of the other bosses present had followed the trend and entered the market, but they hadn't made any waves at all.

The only one truly regarded as an opponent by Langchao Group was Tencent.

And Ma Kun saying Qin Mo was "nothing special" just now was tantamount to slapping Small Ma in the face in public.

If Qin Mo was nothing special, then what did that make Small Ma, who had been beaten by Qin Mo three times in a row? The nothing-special of the nothing-special?

Small Ma's hand holding the teacup hovered in mid-air for a moment.

He placed the cup back on the table, raised his head to look at Ma Kun, and then turned to Old Ma. His tone wasn't heavy, but every word was weighed steadily.

"Old Ma, your son's personality is indeed very young."

In the outside world, when the two appeared together, others distinguished them as Old Ma and Small Ma.

Small Ma paused and continued in a calm voice.

"I have met Qin Mo. At the awards ceremony of the Global Game Influence Conference, he was about the same age as your son, but his personality was calm and reserved, possessing a maturity far beyond his years."

Small Ma turned to look at Ma Kun.

"Many people in China previously said that Qin Mo's path has been too smooth, that he is too young and needs to hit a wall."

He retracted his gaze.

"But in reality, with Qin Mo's intellect, he no longer needs to hit a wall to grow."

"In my opinion."

"It is others who should suffer losses."

Although he didn't say it directly, everyone present knew who Small Ma was talking about.

Ma Kun frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Old Ma had already sensed that the atmosphere was wrong and stepped forward to block between the two, smiling to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, the summit is about to start, let's go in first."

He patted Ma Kun's shoulder, signaling him not to speak again.

Ma Kun turned back, looked at Small Ma, and couldn't help but speak.

"To have Mr. Ma hold him in such high regard, I really do want to see this Qin Mo with my own eyes, to see if he still has the courage to fight me after his failure in fresh produce e-commerce."

"I also want to see who can make me suffer a loss."

After saying this, he turned and followed Old Ma into the venue.

Li Hongyan watched Ma Kun's back disappear around the corner of the courtyard and sighed.

"Are all young people like this now?"

"So reckless."

He turned his head to look at Small Ma.

"When we first entered the industry, who would dare to speak like this in front of the seniors?"

Small Ma didn't respond. He stood under the corridor holding his teacup, watching the mist on the river slowly dissipate.

After a long silence, he spoke slowly.

"At least in the matter of fresh produce e-commerce, Qin Mo did indeed lose."

He thought of the awards ceremony at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, where the spotlight hit that young man, and the other party handed him a champagne glass, smiling and saying "Thank you."

From start to finish, there was no unnecessary fluctuation on that face.

And the other party's confrontations with Tencent had never failed.

He had felt for a long time that among the younger generation in Great Xia, no one could compare to Qin Mo, but he hadn't expected that as soon as Ma Kun returned to China, he would give Qin Mo such a blow.

Thinking of this, Small Ma looked at the river in front of him and couldn't help but mutter.

"Are you really no match for Ma Kun?"

A few hours later, the Wuzhen Summit concluded amidst discussions.

This year's topics could not avoid fresh produce e-commerce, could not avoid Langchao Group, and could not avoid that young man who had refused the invitation twice in a row.

Several newly rich people who attended for the first time were still discussing it as they left. Some said it was a pity that Qin Mo didn't come to the summit this year, while others said that after offending Old Ma and Small Ma, the path for Langchao Group would likely become increasingly difficult.

On the evening of the day the Wuzhen Summit ended, Taobao's official blog posted a new announcement.

"Alibaba Group has invested billions of funds and is building a dedicated fresh produce logistics system for Taobao. It will bring the best fresh produce shopping experience to all users, from the field to the table, fresh and direct!"

After the announcement was posted, many comments poured in instantly.

"Billions, Alibaba Group is really going all-in on fresh produce e-commerce."

"There is no need to doubt Taobao's determination to take this market."

"What a pity, Pinhaohuo really has no chance of turning things around now."

The day after Taobao's announcement, at 8:00 AM, Pinhaohuo pushed an update to all major app stores, and it wasn't a standard optional update.

It was a forced update that you couldn't enter the software without completing.

In this update, Pinhaohuo officially rebranded to Pinduoduo!

Overnight, Pinduoduo officially entered the e-commerce fray!

And at this time, it had only been one month since Pinhaohuo was launched!