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Chapter 2618 Unremarkable Appearance

After returning to Beijing from Shanghai, Suning did not stop and wait for news because the negotiations were not going well.

Every day, I still handle the affairs of the four sectors: Mingju Real Estate, Tianchao Automobile, Siyi Foreign Trade, and Huayu Film and Television, and my schedule is very full.

That afternoon, Suning was in his office looking at Tianchao Auto's financial statements from the previous month.

At that moment, Zhuangzhuang knocked on the door and came in. "President Su, the receptionist just called and said that someone downstairs wants to see you."

Zhuangzhuang held the visitor registration note from the front desk and read the name on it aloud. "He said his name was Ma Yun, the head of China Yellow Pages, and he came to discuss business. He didn't make an appointment; he just showed up."

“…” Su Ning paused for a moment.

China Yellow Pages.

Jack Ma.

Putting these two names together triggered several memory pathways in Suning's mind simultaneously.

Suning certainly knows who Jack Ma is...

In later generations, this name represents an era of Chinese internet commerce, the creator of a business empire that started in an apartment in Hangzhou and eventually expanded to the whole world.

But it was 1997, and Jack Ma wasn't the same Jack Ma yet.

At this time, Jack Ma was probably still peddling his China Yellow Pages everywhere, being kicked out by countless bosses who thought he was a swindler, being left waiting in the corridors of ministry compounds for half a day, and being dismissed with a single sentence at the front desk of an office building.

Su Ning recalled reading some materials about Jack Ma's early entrepreneurial days in later generations...

This thin man from Hangzhou used to ride a bicycle around the streets and alleys of Beijing to run his business. He went into the compounds of ministries, the office buildings of state-owned enterprises, and countless company receptionists who wouldn't even let him in the door.

Being rejected is commonplace, and being mistaken for a pyramid scheme scammer is not a one-off occurrence.

Once, Jack Ma was stopped by the receptionist in an office building, who refused to even help him make a phone call.

Then, Jack Ma stood in the lobby downstairs and waited for more than two hours, but in the end, he didn't see anyone.

Suning was a little curious.

Suddenly, I wondered how this man, who built the Alibaba empire in another time and space, would try to sell his China Yellow Pages to me on this afternoon in 1997.

Suning first closed the financial statements, leaned back in his chair, and said to Zhuangzhuang, "Let him come up."

Zhuangzhuang responded and turned to leave.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the office door.

Zhuangzhuang pushed open the door and stepped aside to let in a thin man.

Jack Ma is even thinner than Suning remembers seeing in photos.

He was wearing a gray-white shirt, a common style for that era. The sleeves were a bit long, and the cuffs were buttoned up neatly, but the shirt itself wasn't very well ironed. The hem was tucked into his waistband, and the belt was pulled tight, making him look even thinner.

He had a black briefcase tucked under his arm; the leather strap was worn smooth and shiny, and the edges were frayed.

Jack Ma has a long, thin face with prominent cheekbones and a wide forehead. His hair is combed fairly neatly, but a few strands stick up.

Upon entering, Jack Ma quickly glanced around the office before his gaze fell on Su Ning, and a very infectious smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Mr. Su, hello! I've heard so much about you!" Jack Ma strode up and shook Su Ning's hands with both of his. "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to see me. I'm truly grateful."

"Mr. Ma, you're too kind! Please have a seat."

"Thank you."

Zhuangzhuang led the person to sit on the sofa, poured a cup of tea and placed it on the coffee table, and then left.

Suning didn't sit behind the desk, but instead walked over to the sofa and sat down opposite Jack Ma.

This move visibly relaxed Jack Ma somewhat...

Many of the bosses he had met would sit behind their large executive desks and talk to him, and the distance between them, separated by the large desks, inherently conveyed a sense of rejection.

The fact that Suning was willing to sit on the sofa and talk face-to-face shows that he at least took this meeting seriously.

Jack Ma took a stack of documents from his briefcase and placed them on the coffee table. He got straight to the point, saying, "Mr. Su, thank you for agreeing to meet me. I know you're very busy, so I'll cut to the chase. I'm Jack Ma, the founder of China Yellow Pages. China Yellow Pages is currently the first and largest company in China to provide internet information publishing services for businesses. Simply put, we help businesses build an online business card so that customers all over the world can find you through the internet."

“…” Su Ning nodded without interrupting him.

Seeing that Su Ning didn't show any impatience, Ma Yun's confidence visibly increased, and he spoke faster, "Mr. Su, your Tianchao Auto and Mingju Real Estate are both large enterprises. Tianchao Auto's promotional video was shown in Times Square, seen by people all over the country, and its reputation has already spread. But on the internet, you can't find anything about it right now. Think about it, a foreign buyer wants to know about Tianchao Auto's products, where does he go? He can only use traditional channels... calling, sending faxes, asking dealers for information. These methods are either slow or the information is incomplete. But if we put Tianchao Auto's information on the internet, buyers, dealers, and partners all over the world can sit in their offices and type a few words to see all of Tianchao Auto's product information, pictures, specifications, prices, contact information, it's all there. That's the power of the internet."

"..."

Jack Ma pulled a printed screenshot of a webpage from the documents on the coffee table, pointed to a simple English page, and said, “Look, this is a webpage we made for a small commodity company in Yiwu. This company is just a small town factory that makes handicrafts. It’s not very big, and the owner doesn’t even speak English. We translated their product information into English and put it on the internet. In less than two months, the company received inquiries from the United States. An American importer emailed to ask about prices and minimum order quantities. A small factory in Yiwu was found by an American customer through the internet. This was something we never dared to imagine before.”

Suning took the screenshot and looked at it.

The page is indeed very rudimentary; by modern aesthetic standards, it doesn't even meet the minimum acceptable standard...

The background was grayish-white, the product photos were not very clear, and the text was densely packed.

But it has all the necessary information: company name, product catalog, contact information, and company profile.

Back in 1997, there were very few companies in all of China that could create a homepage like this.

Suning placed the paper on the coffee table and asked a very direct question: "Mr. Ma, how many clients does China Yellow Pages have now?"

Jack Ma did not shy away from the question, frankly explaining, "Currently, the scale is not large, only a few hundred companies nationwide. But we are growing rapidly, doubling every month. The internet is still in its infancy in China, and many people don't understand what it is yet, but let me tell you the truth... the earlier a company joins, the more likely it is to secure a position in the future online market. There is very little information about Chinese companies online right now. If your Tianchao Auto were to start now, it would be the first in the automotive industry. In the future, when people search for Chinese car companies, you would be the first one they see."

"..."

“Mr. Su, I’m not here today to sign a huge deal with you. China Yellow Pages’ fees are very low, only a few thousand yuan per webpage per year, which is just the cost of a meal for a large company like yours. I just want Tianchao Auto and Mingju Real Estate to become among the first companies in China to have their own homepages on the internet. Someone will do this sooner or later. I hope Tianchao Auto will be the first. Not for any other reason than that your brand is called Tianchao Shangguo (天朝上国), and this name, when displayed on the internet, represents the face of Chinese manufacturing.” Su Ning leaned back on the sofa armrest, thinking carefully.

Suning, with its God-like perspective, was well aware that in 1997, the Chinese internet was still a wilderness. There were very few internet users across the country, and dial-up internet was so expensive that ordinary people couldn't afford it. The main internet users were research institutions and a few foreign companies.

In retrospect, the China Yellow Pages model was nothing more than the most primitive yellow page directory service on the internet, a far cry from true e-commerce...

There are no online transactions, no payment system, no logistics integration; it's just a static information publishing page.

But the problem is, this thin Hangzhou man sitting here has something different in his eyes when he talks about the internet.

Many of the things Jack Ma described were actually vague. He couldn't explain exactly how to make money in the future, and his logic couldn't withstand rigorous scrutiny.

But Jack Ma's belief in the internet is genuine; it's not something he puts on, but something that comes from the core of his being.

The difference between a con artist with conviction and an entrepreneur with conviction is that the latter will gradually turn their conviction into reality.

Su Ning knew that the person in front of him belonged to the latter category.

Moreover, Jack Ma is truly very lucky, and at the same time, he is also very resourceful.

However, Suning did not make a decision on the spot.

I chatted with Jack Ma for about ten minutes, asking him some specific questions about the operating model of China Yellow Pages...

"Mr. Ma, where are your servers located?"

"Uh? The United States. When China Yellow Pages was first established, since there was no internet service in China, my team adopted a cooperation model with the American company VBN. We would send the information of Chinese companies to the United States via EMS, and our American partner would create web pages and upload them to the server, and then print them out and send them back to China."

In this model, the servers were physically located in the United States. It wasn't until July 1995, when Shanghai opened its dedicated internet line, that China Yellow Pages gradually began to operate locally.

How frequently are the web pages updated?

"Updated daily."

Have you compiled statistics on the conversion rate of customer inquiries?

"..."

Jack Ma answered all the questions one by one. He gave very clear answers to some of the data, while he was more vague about others. But overall, he neither boasted nor evaded the questions.

After the conversation, Suning stood up and shook hands with Jack Ma. "Mr. Ma, please leave me a copy of the information. I'll have the marketing department take a look at it. I'll have someone contact you once they have the results."

Jack Ma pulled out another bound document from his briefcase and handed it over with both hands.

The document was contained in a transparent plastic folder, with the words "China Yellow Pages" printed in large characters on the cover along with a line of English text.

Jack Ma shook hands with Sun Ning, "Mr. Su, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Regardless of whether we sign a contract in the end, I am already very grateful that you were willing to see me today and listen to what I have to say. I believe the internet will change the world, and a company as good as Tianchao Auto should not be absent from the internet. I await your news."

"Okay! I'll have someone contact you as soon as possible."

Suning asked Zhuangzhuang to escort Jack Ma to the elevator.

Zhuangzhuang led Ma Yun through the corridor, with Ma Yun walking beside her. No one could tell that he had the potential to become a big shot.

While waiting for the elevator, Jack Ma took out a business card from his briefcase and handed it to Zhuang Zhuang with both hands. "Assistant Zhuang, please take good care of me. If President Su needs any further information, please feel free to call me."

Zhuangzhuang took the business card and glanced down at it...

It has a white background with black lettering that reads "China Yellow Pages Jack Ma" and a phone number.

The business card paper was ordinary, but the printing was very clear.

"it is good."

After seeing Jack Ma off, Zhuang Zhuang returned to her office at Suning.

I saw Suning still standing next to the sofa, flipping through the documents left by Jack Ma.

The plastic folder contained about a dozen pages of documents, including company introductions, client case studies, several printed screenshots of web pages, and some analysis of internet development trends…

From a God's-eye view, those analyses are quite rough and the data sources are not authoritative enough, but you can tell that the writer put a lot of effort into them.

If you cultivate a good relationship with Jack Ma now, he might come to you seeking investment when he establishes Alibaba.

It will be very interesting then. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Alibaba will be like without foreign investment.

Zhuangzhuang couldn't help but ask, "President Su, this Mr. Ma doesn't seem very reliable, does he? How does the internet have anything to do with China's automotive industry? Besides, his company only has a few hundred clients; it's too small. The companies that usually come to us to discuss cooperation are all related to the automotive or real estate sectors, aren't they?"

Su Ning closed the document and placed it on the coffee table, smiling. "Zhuangzhuang, sometimes what's reliable isn't the business itself, but the person standing in front of you. You'll understand later."

Zhuangzhuang frowned, not quite understanding the meaning of those words, but she didn't press for an answer.

She knew that Su Ning wouldn't be so polite to someone for no reason.

Normally, many door-to-door salespeople can't even get past the receptionist, let alone get Suning to personally meet them.

Today, not only was Jack Ma invited up, but Suning also chatted with him for almost half an hour, and even asked him to leave his information before he left.

This treatment already surpasses that of the vast majority of visitors.

Of course, even if you beat Zhuangzhuang to death, she would never have guessed that this unassuming Jack Ma was a future tycoon.

"Zhuangzhuang, please file this person's information separately for me. Don't mix it with the marketing department's." After saying this, Su Ning walked back to her desk, sat down, and reopened the financial statements.

"Yes, Mr. Su."

...(End of this chapter)