My capital is quite large.

Chapter 236 Water Ghost

As the year draws to a close, the surface of West Lake is chilly.

Beside a private reservoir that Alibaba has leased for a hefty sum, two high-end fishing chairs stand side by side.

Li Feng and Jack Ma were leisurely watching the buoys on the water's surface.

"Brother Li, this year's New Year is going to be tough," Jack Ma said, looking at the lake.

"We've prepared quite a few big moves for the Spring Festival. You'll have to put in a lot of effort to get the trending topics and traffic on Weibo."

"Haofeng naturally treats Mr. Ma's matter as a top priority."

Li Feng smiled and casually agreed, but then his tone shifted, carrying a hint of warning:

"But Mr. Ma, I heard that Pony is planning something big on WeChat."

"I have inside information. Their WeChat payment team is secretly developing a feature called WeChat Red Envelope, which they plan to launch on New Year's Eve, mainly for grabbing red envelopes in family and friends groups."

Li Feng turned his head to look at Jack Ma, "This is aimed straight at Alipay's Achilles' heel, you'd better be careful."

Upon hearing the words "WeChat red envelope," Jack Ma paused for a moment, then burst into laughter!

"Hahaha! Brother Li, aren't you being a bit of a worrier?" Jack Ma's words revealed a hint of contempt for his old rival.

"Pony Ma is indeed very good at social media and gaming. But does he understand finance? Does he understand payment barriers?"

"His so-called WeChat Pay has been online for almost half a year now, right? Look at how many people are using it now? Apart from topping up some QQ coins in their own crappy games, who recognizes his green QR code offline?"

Jack Ma picked up the small teacup next to him, took a sip, and said confidently:

"Where does the common people's money go? It's all in my Alipay! Buying things through Taobao and transferring money through Alipay has long been muscle memory for netizens across the country!"

"Even if Pony Ma manages to pull off something fancy, like some online red envelope giveaway, it's just for fun during the New Year. He thinks he can steal my Alipay card-linked users with that? He's dreaming!"

Seeing that Jack Ma didn't take the WeChat red envelope seriously at all, Li Feng didn't try to persuade him any further.

He certainly knew that, in the original timeline, it was this "WeChat red envelope" that Jack Ma looked down upon that turned into a shocking attack on Pearl Harbor on Chinese New Year's Eve in 2014!

Overnight!

Hundreds of millions of netizens have linked their bank cards in order to grab those few yuan red envelopes in WeChat groups!

WeChat Pay achieved the number of card-binding users that Alipay had painstakingly built up over ten years in just one Lunar New Year's Eve, thus creating a huge gap in Alibaba's proud payment barrier!

"Since you, Old Ma, feel you have nothing to worry about, then I'll do my best to be kind and righteous," Li Feng thought to himself.

Anyway, once New Year's Eve is over, Tencent and Alibaba will definitely engage in an unprecedented money-burning subsidy war in the mobile payment field, namely "ride-hailing and food delivery"!

The fiercer their battle, the more money they spend on Haofeng's Weibo and iQiyi in order to compete for traffic entry points!

As a bystander who holds the reins of public opinion, isn't it wonderful for Li Feng to reap the benefits without lifting a finger?

Since the reminder was inadequate, Li Feng was too lazy to waste any more words and changed the subject to another recent matter.

"By the way, Mr. Ma."

Li Feng casually remarked, "I heard you've recently become quite interested in the film and television industry? It seems Mr. Ma has invested quite a bit in that Erben Pictures that went public through a reverse merger?"

Upon hearing this, Jack Ma paused slightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his shrewd eyes, as if he had been seen through. However, he concealed it well, casually chuckling as he spoke.

"Hey, it's just for fun!"

"The entertainment industry has been booming these past few years, and Alibaba has to bet on various things to test the waters. Brother Li, you're the real expert in this field. If Alibaba really does establish its own film company in the future, we'll have to rely on your support and cooperation."

Hearing Jack Ma's seemingly gentle but actually veiled probing.

Li Feng simply smiled faintly: "Let's all make money together. The domestic entertainment market is so big that no one can eat it all. Alibaba's entry will also boost the market. In the future, whether it's theatrical releases or IP development, there will be many areas where we can cooperate."

Li Feng's composure and nonchalance made Jack Ma secretly take notice.

He originally thought that by entering the entertainment industry, he was threatening Hao Feng's interests, and that Li Feng would be somewhat displeased.

But Li Feng's attitude completely disregarded Alibaba Pictures as a potential competitor!

"Yes."

Jack Ma gave a bitter laugh to himself.

Just like his disdain for Pony Ma's payment business, Li Feng's moat in the entertainment industry is really too deep!

Exclusive streaming rights to top-quality TV dramas and movies across the entire network, a top-tier star lineup, and tens of millions of daily active users on Weibo.

Li Feng is a giant in the entertainment industry, so he's naturally not afraid of someone like Li Feng, who runs an e-commerce business, trying to take over his territory.

"However, venturing into film and television is an inevitable step in Alibaba's expansion, and we must take this step," Jack Ma thought to himself.

To ease the awkward silence, Jack glanced at the fish basket at Li Feng's feet and promptly changed the subject:

"Oh dear, Brother Li, it seems you're having a bit of bad luck today."

Jack Ma jokingly pointed to the fish basket, "It's been almost two hours, and you've only caught three small crucian carp? My basket is almost full!"

Upon hearing this, Li Feng, who had been calm and collected, turned pale!

He looked down at the motionless float on the water's surface, then glanced at Jack Ma's overflowing fish basket, and his lips twitched slightly.

This is even more disheartening than losing hundreds of millions in investment!

However, the cultivation of qi that I had accumulated through studying "The Origin and Flow of Qi" did eventually play a role.

Li Feng suppressed the urge to break the fishing rod and forced a smile, saying:

"This only shows that the fish in this area of ​​Hangzhou are wary of strangers, but they also recognize people."

"Hahaha!"

Jack was amused by Li Feng's words, which gave him a way out, and laughed, saying, "Alright! Since the fish in Hangzhou are shy around strangers, then next weekend, I'll take a trip to Nanjing!"

"Let's go to Brother Li's territory and see for ourselves whether the fish in Nanjing recognize people!"

"It's a deal. I'll be waiting anytime." Li Feng gritted his teeth and accepted the challenge.

……

In the evening, on the highway from Hangzhou back to Jinling.

A black Rolls-Royce Phantom sped through the night.

In the back seat of the carriage, Li Feng had his eyes closed, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

"Boss, don't take it to heart. Fishing is all about luck..." Zhang Yuxi sat down next to him and carefully handed him a bottle of water, trying to comfort his wounded pride.

"Shut up." Li Feng suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with ruthlessness.

"Luck? The word 'luck' doesn't exist in my dictionary, Li Feng's dictionary!"

He turned to look at Zhang Yuxi and gave her a bizarre instruction:

"Have the administration department recruit people for me immediately!"

"Find ten of the best divers! The kind who're like fish-eating monsters!"

Zhang Yuxi froze, her eyes widening: "Water...water ghost? Boss, what are you going to do...?"

"Jack Ma and Wang, the richest man in China, are both coming to Nanjing to go fishing next weekend!"

Li Feng gritted his teeth and said, "I don't care how much money you spend! Tell those ten water ghosts to dive to the bottom of the lake!"

"As soon as my float moves, I'll have them hook a fish for me underwater! A giant blackfish weighing twenty or thirty pounds!"

"Next weekend, I'm going to show them both just how incredibly awesome my skills are in Nanjing!"

"If you dare to make even the slightest mistake and they spot the flaw, you and everyone in the administration department will be thrown into the lake to feed the fish!"

Looking at the boss's crazed appearance, as if he had gone mad in his pursuit of fishing and was even resorting to physical cheating, I was struck by his deranged state.

Zhang Yuxi nodded repeatedly in fright, "Yes, boss! I'll go and recruit people with a hefty salary right away! I guarantee you'll be a sensation next week!"