20demayo Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Chapter 123: Married Yanyan!Teacher Ma felt somewhat panicked…
After Penguin’s blitz attack on Lianzhong, Penguin’s ability to acquire and merge companies had become almost mythical within the internet industry.
Now, Penguin was even being called public enemy number one.
And Ma Tengyun was being referred to as that damn Ma Tengyun.
Reputations precede people like shadows follow trees. Facing an opponent like Li Mo was truly terrifying.
Teacher Ma had originally planned to quietly develop Taobao…
But he never dreamed that Li Mo would set his sights on Taobao so quickly.
He really didn’t want Li Mo to compete with him in the e-commerce sector.
“Mr. Mo, you must be joking. If you want to invest, of course I agree. After all, you are already a major shareholder of Ali and have extraordinary vision. With you as a shareholder, Taobao will only develop better.”
At this point, Teacher Ma’s tone already carried a hint of concession.
Fear of Li Mo was practically etched into the minds of many internet entrepreneurs.
Even the three giants—Sohu, Sina, and NetEase—were internally discussing how to prevent Penguin from seizing market share.
Before Penguin emerged, everyone had been managing their own domains within their own turfs.
They didn’t panic even when facing external competitors.
But now, the dominance of Li Mo’s Penguin seemed absurdly extensive!
Even the three giants felt the instability of the situation—Penguin appeared to have a terrifying influence over every sector.
At the next West Lake Summit, would they still be able to hold onto their seats as the three giants?
…
Ma Tengyun and the others were overjoyed.
They all sensed that Teacher Ma was backing down.
The Five Tiger Generals were utterly in awe of Li Mo.
Teacher Ma had always been the unruly type—no matter who he faced, he simply refused to yield.
Even as a child, despite his small stature, he dared to fight with much bigger classmates.
That alone spoke volumes about his nature.
But now, he was showing signs of hesitation, which only highlighted how fearsome Mr. Mo’s dominance in the internet industry truly was.
Li Mo didn’t drag out the conversation with Teacher Ma any longer.
“I want 80% of the shares.”
Teacher Ma was very troubled. Although he feared Li Mo competing with him, 80% was beyond what he could accept.
That share would take away most of Taobao’s future profits.
“Mr. Mo, I’m willing to give up some shares, but 80%… you know that’s too much.”
Cai Chongxin, listening to their negotiation, also felt deeply conflicted.
When Ali sold its shares, he hadn’t wanted too much capital coming in.
And now… Li Mo was practically becoming the big boss of their startup team.
Even their plans for Taobao had caught Li Mo’s attention.
Soon, Li Mo’s voice continued.
“Teacher Ma, I assume Mr. Cai is there too.”
“I know 80% is too high for any startup team.”
“But in this world, there’s no such thing as an unreasonable condition.”
“It’s only a matter of whether the offer is high enough.”
“I’ll offer four billion.”
Li Mo’s words left both sides in complete silence.
Teacher Ma’s face twitched uncontrollably, and he was at a loss for words.
When Li Mo invested in Ali earlier, he had spent just over 200 million.
Now, he was offering four billion to invest in Ali!
This price was utterly staggering.
“Mr. Mo, could you please wait a moment? We need to discuss this among ourselves.”
Cai Chongxin spoke urgently.
“Sure, call me back later.”
After hanging up, the startup team in front of Teacher Ma erupted in excitement!
“Four billion! That’s four billion in liquid cash! Teacher Ma, let’s sell the shares now!”
“Exactly… I think we should sell!”
“With four billion, our Taobao could compete with eBay for years!”
“Let’s sell!”
No one had wanted Li Mo to invest in Taobao, but his offer was too good to refuse!
Teacher Ma was also tempted. Earlier, 80% had seemed impossible, but as Li Mo said—if the price was right, anything could be traded.
“Chongxin, what do you think?”
Although Teacher Ma had already decided to sell, he still wanted to hear Cai Chongxin’s opinion.
Cai Chongxin’s expression was equally grave.
“I think we should sell.”
Teacher Ma was surprised. He never expected Cai Chongxin, who had always opposed financing, to agree to Li Mo’s investment.
“Why aren’t you objecting?”
Cai Chongxin added, “There’s no reason to object. First, Li Mo is offering a lot. We all know that facing eBay’s Eachnet, Taobao’s chances of survival are slim. How easy is it to carve out a path?”
“Liquidity will be our biggest issue. If we divert funds from Ali to develop Taobao, it would be illegal.”
“So we’ll inevitably need a lot of liquidity later. Four billion… is enough for us to go head-to-head with eBay.”
“And there’s another point…”
“Teacher Ma, whether you admit it or not, both you and I are afraid of Li Mo.”
“This person is practically a monster.”
“If he enters the e-commerce sector, we’ll likely lose miserably.”
“His investing in Taobao might just be for convenience. If he really gets interested and starts his own e-commerce platform, just think about what happened with Lianzhong.”
“Back then, no one believed in Penguin.”
“But now, everyone knows Penguin’s value. Even with ten billion, you probably couldn’t buy shares in Penguin anymore.”
Everyone fell silent…
Teacher Ma picked up the phone, his expression stern.
…
“Four billion!”
“Do we even have four billion?”
Ma Tengyun exclaimed excitedly. He never expected Li Mo to offer such a price!
“I made some money in the crypto space not long ago.”
“I still have some liquidity on hand.”
Li Mo explained calmly.
Chen Yidan nearly jumped up.
“The contract god in the crypto space who made thirty billion—that was you, Mr. Mo?”
“I followed the crypto space too but never bought any coins. It was only after the recent surge that I learned about it!”
“The big shot who raked in thirty billion from contracts was even featured on Huobi’s homepage—and it was actually you!”
“Then again, only someone like Mr. Mo could have that kind of power!”
The Five Tiger Generals were going wild!
They didn’t even dare to imagine how much money Li Mo had—perhaps hundreds of billions in liquid cash!
“Just made a little money, that’s all.”
Ma Tengyun forced himself to calm down.
“Then, Mr. Mo, is it really worth investing four billion in Taobao?”
Now he understood how Li Mo could afford a security team costing a hundred million a year and a fleet of cars worth hundreds of millions.
This was what real wealth looked like—making fortunes and striking it big!
His own million-yuan salary was nothing in comparison.
“Taobao will become the king of C2C e-commerce in the future. Four billion is absolutely worth it.”
Four billion was the optimal solution in the investment plan, which was why Li Mo proposed it. Otherwise, he wasn’t running a charity.
The Five Tiger Generals were all stirred up.
Mr. Mo’s vision was truly grand!
Just then, Teacher Ma called back.
“Mr. Mo, I agree to sell 80% of Taobao’s shares.”
Teacher Ma couldn’t refuse—Li Mo’s offer was too high.
And he was truly afraid of Li Mo competing with him.
“Then it’s settled, Teacher Ma.”
“By the way, the New Year is approaching. If you have time, you and Mr. Cai should fly to Shencheng.”
“It wouldn’t be good if it interferes with the holiday.”
Li Mo joked with Teacher Ma.
Teacher Ma also chatted with Li Mo, his tone bitter, and only after a long while did he hang up.