Hearing her say this, the internet tycoons all started laughing.
"Miss Liu truly has a good eye."
"It's mainly because I have confidence in the companies of all the bosses here."
"I believe the internet industry will definitely become more and more prosperous, so I'm taking advantage of the low stock prices to stock up on some shares and wait for them to appreciate in the future," Liu Yutong said playfully.
"Hahaha, then you definitely need to buy more."
"Exactly, I should also buy more stock in everyone's companies."
"..."
Ma Yunyun, however, caught something unusual in her words. "Wait, Miss Liu, what did you mean just now when you said 'except for me'?"
Liu Yutong looked at him and said frankly, "I mean that I haven't bought a single share of your company's stock, Boss Ma."
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere at the table became subtle.
Everyone turned their eyes to Ma Yunyun, whose smile froze for a split second.
"Does Miss Liu look down on our Ali?" Ma Yunyun was a veteran of the battlefield, after all, and he quickly adjusted his expression, asking half-jokingly.
After all, Liu Yutong herself had said she bought stock in the companies of everyone present, except for his. This inevitably made it seem like she was looking down on him.
"Not at all. It's mainly because I feel that Ali's current market value falls far short of its true worth. With your ambition and vision, Boss Ma, you certainly won't be satisfied with the status quo. I'm guessing you might consider delisting and restructuring someday. I'm personally a bit timid and don't really dare to touch stocks with such large potential fluctuations."
"Pfft!" Ding Sanshi nearly spat out a mouthful of tea and hurriedly covered his mouth with a tissue.
The others at the table had varying expressions; some held back laughter, some looked surprised, and others fell into deep thought.
Ma Yunyun's expression finally changed slightly.
His plan to delist Ali's B2B business from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and pivot to the US stock market was currently just a thought. He hadn't even mentioned it to his internal staff. How on earth did this Liu Yutong guess what was on his mind?
Was it a coincidence?
Or did she really arrive at this conclusion solely through her assessment of the market value?
If that was the case, then she was a bit terrifying!
Liu Yutong continued, "But seriously, Boss Ma, I think delisting and restructuring is a good thing. Ali's potential goes far beyond the B2B sector. In the future, tracks like e-commerce, digital payments, and cloud computing are all worth cultivating deeply and have immense development potential. When you relist on the US stock market, I will definitely be the first to buy in, without any hesitation."
These words of hers both affirmed Ali's value and pointed out its future development direction.
Ma Yunyun took a deep look at her and suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Good! I'll remember your words, Miss Liu. When the time comes for us to actually ring the bell on the US stock exchange, I'll be sure to save a good spot for you."
The atmosphere at the table became lively again.
The way everyone looked at Liu Yutong gained a bit more depth.
This girl was very young and breathtakingly beautiful, but what was even more startling was her vision, which far exceeded her age, and her almost intuitive, keen insight.
When she mentioned earlier that Ali might delist and restructure, everyone initially just took it as a joke. After all, delisting was by no means a good choice for a company that had already gone public.
Usually, only companies with operational problems would choose to delist; otherwise, very few normal people would actively delist.
But when they observed Ma Yunyun's unnatural reaction, their hearts couldn't help but skip a beat. Boss Ma actually had such intentions, and might even be planning it already.
This was simply too terrifying!
What kind of insight did this girl possess? To be able to see the clues upon their very first meeting, or did she really plant spies in every company?
However, this possibility was unlikely, as there was no need for it.
Afterward, Liu Yutong shared some more of her views on future technological developments, such as the trend towards smart technology.
When the dinner banquet ended, it was not even nine o'clock in the evening.
On a whim, Ma Yunyun proposed that everyone take a group photo. Everyone gladly agreed; after all, a private gathering of the country's internet giants like this was indeed very rare.
In the end, it was Lan Die who took the group photo of their dinner party for them.
To fit everyone into the frame, Liu Yutong put on a pair of sunglasses and stood behind the two Mas. If it weren't for the fact that she was wearing a long white dress, her posture would have looked quite a bit like a behind-the-scenes boss holding down the fort.
With a click, the photo was captured.
Everyone successively said their goodbyes and left.
Liu Yutong personally walked them to the door.
Pony Ma was the last to leave. Right before getting into his car, he turned around, looked at the figure dressed in white under the lights, and suddenly asked, "Miss Liu, you mentioned you're going to meet an important figure in the chip industry tomorrow. Can I tag along to have a look?"
Liu Yutong nodded slightly. "Of course, Boss Ma can contact me at any time."
"Alright." Pony Ma nodded, then got into his car and left.
Yu Xin walked up to Liu Yutong and handed her a coat. "Sister Yutong, it seems like our investment drive today wasn't very ideal. With so many big bosses, we barely scraped together a hundred million. They're clearly just humoring us."
Liu Yutong draped the coat over her shoulders and said, "I never cared about exactly how much money they invested. All I want is the simple fact that they did invest."
Yu Xin looked confused. "Sister Yutong, I still don't quite understand what you mean."
Liu Yutong thought for a moment and gave her an example. "For instance, tomorrow we can publicly announce that the chip project has completed its angel round of financing, with a financing amount of ten billion. On the list of investors, not a single one of the companies present tonight can be missing; they must all be listed. However, we won't disclose exactly how much each company invested. Even if Boss Ma only invested one dollar, I would still put him on the list, side by side with everyone else."
"Think about it. When the outside world sees this list, Ali, Goose, Baidu, NetEase, Sina, Shanda, Sohu... when these names simultaneously appear in the investor column of a chip project, what will they think? How will the media report it? Where will the attention of upstream and downstream manufacturers in the industry chain, domestic and foreign tech talents, and even higher-level authorities be drawn?"
"What I've wanted was never the money in their pockets, but the weight represented behind their names. It's the strong signal released by them collectively endorsing us. This signal is far more valuable than the funds they provide. It will act like a powerful magnet, attracting everything we need, attention, trust, opportunities, and resources. By the time this project, collectively backed by the country's top internet companies, is officially launched, no one will be able to easily ignore it, and no one will be able to easily stifle it. This is the true leverage effect."
Looking at Liu Yutong's profile, Yu Xin suddenly saw the light.
Unknowingly, Sister Yutong's control and manipulation of the situation had already reached a state of effortless mastery.
"I understand now. Sister Yutong, you're way too amazing. I feel like I won't be able to catch up to you in this lifetime."
"But this is pretty good too. I'll just follow you, so I won't have to use my brain, hehe."
Liu Yutong rolled her eyes at her. "Don't even think about slacking off."
Then, she lifted her head and gazed at the dazzling Pearl Tower across the river.
The groundwork for her first step was essentially complete. Everything was in place; all that was missing was a true talent capable of spearheading the microchip project.
