Chapter 74: The Three Internet Giants Gathered Together!
Li Mo’s past achievements had thoroughly cemented his reputation in the industry.
Because his exploits in the stock market and previous real estate ventures were shrouded in mystery, none of the major players felt they could fully understand Li Mo, not even the CEOs of the three major web portals.
All of them held Li Mo in the highest regard.
“I’ve long heard that Chairman Zhang makes decisive and bold decisions,” Li Mo began, offering his customary praise to Zhang Chaoyang.
“Now that I’ve met you today, I see Chairman Zhang truly possesses an extraordinary presence.”
“No wonder you built Sohu into one of the top three internet giants. Among current internet companies, Sina undoubtedly ranks within the top three.”
Of course, Zhang Chaoyang fully deserved such praise.
The internet landscape was currently in its first wave of expansion, and Sina, NetEase, and Sohu were undisputedly the three major portals, the top three domestic internet companies.
Zhang Chaoyang’s status was undeniably exceptional.
“Haha, Chairman Mo, my portal just happened to catch the right trend at the right time,” Zhang Chaoyang replied humbly.
“But your reputation as the ‘Stock God’ and those 300 million in profits, now that’s truly unbelievable.”
The reason so many industry leaders revered Li Mo was that some of his achievements seemed almost miraculous.
Many suspected he had hidden connections because, otherwise, merely being a shareholder in Alibaba and an investor in Tencent wouldn’t have been enough to earn such respect.
“Come, Chairman Mo!” someone called out. “Tonight, we must drink until we’re thoroughly drunk!”
Soon, the group arrived at the gathering spot.
Ma Xiaoyun added, “Since the West Lake Summit officially starts tomorrow night, not all the big names in the internet industry have arrived yet.”
“But most are already here. Many other website founders will come tomorrow.”
“Everyone, find your seats.”
Many tables were already filled with people.
When they saw Li Mo arrive, they all greeted him enthusiastically.
Soon, everyone settled in.
Su Qingyan had never seen such a grand occasion.
She never expected the West Lake Summit to attract so many influential figures.
Many of the people at these tables might have seemed unremarkable at first glance, but any one of them was undoubtedly a multimillionaire at the very least.
Liu Pingping’s breathing quickened.
She crossed her black-stockinged legs but still couldn’t calm herself.
Her mind was in turmoil.
The appearance of Mr. Yong (Jin Yong) earlier had already shocked her, after all, his status wasn’t something money alone could summon.
And now… even Zhang Chaoyang of Sohu was here.
For most netizens, daily online life was inseparable from the three major portals.
To Liu Pingping, companies like these were things she only read about in the news.
She had always assumed that, like most people, her life would never intersect with such giants.
Zhang Chaoyang himself was here, and he spoke of Li Mo with such admiration…
After everyone sat down, Ma Yun (Jack Ma) spoke up:
“Everyone, I’m deeply honored that you’ve all traveled so far to attend the West Lake Summit.”
“The fact that you’ve arrived early shows just how much importance you place on this event.”
“I believe most of you came for two people, one is Mr. Yong, whom you’ve all now met.”
“The other is the ‘Stock God,’ shareholder of Alibaba, Chairman Mo.”
“This is Chairman Mo!”
“Now’s your chance to get to know him.”
Li Mo stood up with a wine glass in hand and smiled at the crowd.
“Chairman Mo, I’m Lin Mo, CEO of Huajun Software Park.”
“Chairman Mo, I’m Sun Yinglian, CEO of Speedbuy E-Commerce.”
One by one, the CEOs of various websites came forward to toast Li Mo.
The phrase “coming in waves” perfectly described the scene.
Since everyone had already paid their respects to Zhang Chaoyang, Qiu Bojun, and Mr. Yong, all attention now focused on Li Mo.
News of Li Mo’s investment in Ma Huateng (Pony Ma) and his high-salary recruitment tactics had already spread throughout the industry.
After investing 250 million yuan in Ma Yun for a 24% stake in Alibaba, Li Mo’s reputation had skyrocketed.
Countless people now sought his investment.
There were even rumors that Chairman Mo’s financial resources were unfathomable, he might have billions in liquid cash at his disposal.