Love? The Reborn Me Just Wants to Obtain Rewards
Chapter 745 - 315: A Scam Worth Billions_2

Chapter 745: Chapter 315: A Scam Worth Billions_2

However, even after half an hour of discussion, they hadn’t finished going through all those items; a rough estimate put their total value well over ten billion.

What’s the concept of ten billion?

On Douyin, it’s just an average number, any female guest on a dating show is said by netizens to come from a family worth billions.

In reality, even with Pei Shuyu, the undisputed queen of online dance, and Zhang Dayi, the top influencer in women’s apparel, and Xingyu, with its over 20,000 streamers, external valuations haven’t even reached 20 billion. Su Huai’s theoretical worth is just a few billion.

So, Gu Tongshu’s bits and pieces are enough to buy Su Huai up and down 20 times over.

But... they’ll all be mine sooner or later!

Gou Huai clenched his fists, three parts human, seven parts dog.

As they were talking, Gou Huai’s ears suddenly perked up, "Eh? You only have that little bit of Byte’s shares?!"

"Um, it seems to be around four point something percent."

Zuo Zongcai was quite puzzled, "Is there something special about Byte? Their two major products, headline news targeting the vulgar crowd, and jokes appealing to lowbrow humor; that’s their limit. Mr. Gu personally invested some money in Zhang Yiming during their Series D, we in the Gu Clan didn’t take part in that round, nor do we plan to continue participating in the future..."

What a guy, truly what a guy!

Gu Tongshu, you crafty old fox with thick eyebrows and big eyes, you actually look down upon Byte?!

If that’s the case, then I’ve got something to ponder...

Su Huai licked his lips and eagerly asked, "How much did Uncle Gu spend when he invested? How much is it worth now?"

"I think it was a few million dollars at that time, right?"

Zuo Zongcai tried hard to remember but was still unsure, "I can’t remember the exact timing, anyway, it was quite early. Now, Byte seems to be closing their Series D financing, maybe reaching a valuation of seventy to eighty billion?"

It’s 110 billion!

Dollars!

And just in ten days, on December 30!

Su Huai rubbed his temples, activated his memory sorting, and extracted all the relevant information.

Sequoia Capital China and Jianyin International had together invested one billion US dollars, taking a 9% stake. After the Series D, Byte’s valuation reached 110 billion US dollars.

And Uncle Gu’s four point something percent, if not followed up with additional investment, would be diluted by at least a tenth, depending on the negotiations.

Compared to the future trillion-dollar valuation, it’s not much.

But Su Huai merely thinks about it and feels the pain; that’s my freaking dowry!

Holding onto a glimmer of hope, he asked, "Why not follow the investment? With Sequoia’s endorsement, surely Uncle Gu isn’t short of that bit of money?"

"Why should we follow the investment?"

Zuo Zongcai looked at him with a strange expression, as if mocking the naivety of a child.

"Last year, the year before, and the year before that, when Byte was reminded by the regulatory departments of Imperial Capital, I was the one who stepped forward on behalf of Mr. Gu to maintain relations. I understand Byte’s style all too well.

Those jokes, targeting lowbrow humor, after four years still saw monthly active users under six million. Considering the policy risks, once its monthly active users exceeded ten million, there was a very high chance of trouble. Why should we continue to support their gambling behavior?

Toutiao does have some value, but its potential is limited. Different national conditions, you can’t really compare it to Twitter or Facebook, can you?"

Su Huai was stunned. He didn’t expect Zuo Zongcai and Gu Tongshu to abandon their investment for this reason.

Without that foresight, they were really impressive.

Their judgment on the product’s risks was spot on, incredibly accurate.

Indeed, the content app targeting jokes collapsed swiftly after its rapid expansion, and the reasons were complex, yet the fundamental issue was simple—its foundation was flawed.

The larger the platform, the more it needs to pay attention to value orientation. Privately, you could flirt, be vulgar, or flaunt wealth, but it couldn’t be publicly endorsed, as children and even toddlers would only imitate without understanding.

Similarly, adults browsing welfare girls’ sites overseas is harmless, but if teenagers do the same, it could lead to serious problems.

Zuo Zongcai’s view on such content was neither extreme nor biased. His understanding of society was evidently much deeper than that of the tech-oriented Zhang Yiming.

Indeed, later on, Zhang Yiming reflected deeply, writing a "letter of apology and reflection" with genuine sincerity. From that day on, Douyin cleared up its act, becoming the cleanest platform on the web.

Dance streamers could thrive anywhere but on Douyin. Wang Yumeng and others faced restrictions every time they appeared.

Flaunters of wealth like Wang Quanhongxing and Ni Haishan, those who harvested users like the ’big blue’ and ’sea cucumber’, and Qu Qu, who incited women to gold-dig, were all banned.

Streamers who stirred up consumption with scripted content had their traffic limited, and a multitude of battle streamers started losing hair...

If Su Huai were to comment, it was great. A public platform should have the demeanor of a public platform—those who liked more risqué content could go elsewhere. The cleaner Douyin was for the families and children who used it, the better.

But from an investor’s standpoint, it’s understandable that Gu Tongshu and Zuo Zongcai, unable to see Douyin’s development, had reasons for their skepticism towards Byte.

Su Huai did not plan to urge them to get in the game; instead, he simply thought, If you don’t like it, you could give it to me...

Could Gu Tongshu give it to me?

Not now, it’s too freaking expensive.

Even after the dilution, four point something percent of shares would be worth around 400 million dollars, over 2 billion RMB. How bold do you have to be to ask for that?

But Su Huai could take a little detour.

"What do you think..." Su Huai asked thoughtfully, "about getting Uncle Gu to hold shares in Xingyu Shares ahead of time?"

Zuo Zongcai was utterly baffled.

"Huh? What kind of thought process is that? You’re not trying to swindle us, but now hoping to gift wealth?"

After thinking it over, he suddenly changed his tune, "Asking for a higher price isn’t out of the question... What valuation do you plan to set and how much of a stake are you willing to offer? If it’s about right, I may also be willing to get in early."