After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future-Chapter 164 - 163: Li Xiang Cars

"Douyin is still not up to par."

Zhang Yiming was outspoken, but he didn't oppose the idea.

After all, ever since Douyin was launched, he and his team had been paying close attention. If it hadn't been for Yang Zhenyuan and Lu Liang, he would have wanted to acquire it long ago and make it his own.

The algorithms and push system of Douyin were simply too terrible, utterly wasting the brilliant concept of Musical.ly.

Fashion, music, beauties—it was far superior to Kuai Shou, which only knew how to cater to lowbrow tastes; it already had the elements to conquer the nation.

"Then let's talk when it's up to par."

Lu Liang smiled broadly, a trick he had learned from Li Bing; that's how he had dealt with Mobike and Hu Weiwei.

However, he was kinder than Li Bing. He would try his best to secure a good position for Yang Zhenyuan, such as the general manager of Byte Douyin.

Zhang Yiming couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. These capitalists deserved to be strung up on street lamps; otherwise, it wouldn't quell public anger.

Others' dreams were merely tools for their profit-seeking. He could already imagine how desolate Yang Zhenyuan would be on that day.

Yet as a collaborator,

he didn't really have the right to criticize others.

Zhang Yiming kindly advised, "Tell Mr. Yang to restrain himself a bit, stop riding on political and social hot topics. It's easy to run into troubles."

He didn't want to find that Douyin had already made the blacklist of the Internet Information Office by the time they took over.

Lu Liang laughed, "The pressure from Watermelon is great, but I'll remind him to be cautious."

After Zhang Yiming left, the angel round of financing for Douyin also came to a close, securing one and a half million US Dollars in financing funds for 15% equity from Golden Sand River and Redwood.

Yang Zhenyuan was all smiles and full of vigor, coming up to Lu Liang, "Mr. Lu, what were you and Mr. Zhang talking about just now?"

People who undergo their first round of financing often have an illusion, mistaking valuation for value. Without a doubt, he also fell into this mindset.

3 million turned into 38.28 million—Yang Zhenyuan felt that leaving Byte and starting a business with Lu Liang was an extremely correct decision.

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"Just came to see, and had a casual chat."

Lu Liang smiled, offering no explanation but changing the subject, "I heard you received a warning from the Internet Information Office last week?"

Yang Zhenyuan's face showed embarrassment; he knew all too well that riding on political and social hot topics was risky. But without doing so, Douyin definitely wouldn't have developed so quickly.

"Rein it in a bit. Watermelon is a mid-length video platform, and there's no direct competition with Douyin for now, so don't feel too pressured."

Lu Liang had already found a buyer for Douyin, and naturally, he hoped it could stabilize itself to avoid an eventual ban.

Yang Zhenyuan nodded. Now with one and a half million US Dollars in financing funds, he could also launch a multi-million short-video creator support program.

Douyin had also started off on the right foot and naturally needed to pay attention to core values, supervise public opinion, and regulate platform operations.

"Mr. Lu, won't you join us for a simple meal?"

Seeing Lu Liang about to leave, Yang Zhenyuan hurriedly requested, as the company's entire staff had been working almost restlessly for months, always motivated by Lu Liang's reputation.

If Lu Liang didn't join them for a meal, he might find it difficult to explain to the company's staff.

Taken aback, Lu Liang chuckled and thought it over, then agreed, "Let's have something, but I have an appointment later."

"No worries, just making an appearance is enough."

At the company lunch, attended by 23 people in total, Lu Liang truly just made an appearance, using tea instead of wine for a toast.

After leaving the restaurant, Lu Liang traveled to Zhongguang Village in Beijing, where Li Xiang Motors had its headquarters.

Li Xiang and Li Bing's development paths were extremely similar, both transitioning from automotive platforms to new energy.

Because Wen Chao had contacted Li Xiang early on,

Lu Liang received a warm welcome.

"Mr. Lu, it's an honor to have you here. If there's any neglect in our hospitality, please forgive us." Li Xiang was all smiles, forming a stark contrast with his reputed fiery temper.

After all, a fiery temper also depends on whom one is dealing with.

Lu Liang was extremely optimistic about the new energy industry and had first invested 10 million US dollars in NIO, followed by 1 billion RMB in Ningde, solidifying his status as a major financial backer.

He dared to confront colleagues, the media, and technicians, but he never dared to confront his financiers, especially since Li Xiang was particularly short of funds.

"Mr. Li, you don't have to be so polite. I just came by to take a look." Lu Liang said with a smile, noticing a slogan on the wall that read "Creating a mobile home."

This phrase also set the tone for Li Xiang's motor vehicles, focusing on medium-to-large luxury SUVs.

This positioning was quite good. If Lu Liang were driving, he would also prefer an SUV.

Though sedans offered a better view, he had the illusion that sitting higher allowed him to see farther.

Li Xiang laughed, "Mr. Lu, according to our research, people in our country especially love SUVs. There's a saying, 'Bigger is better, longer is stronger.'"

"Therefore, our country also has many special edition cars, often larger and longer than the standard models in Europe and America, which are very popular with consumers."

Although Lu Liang said he was just casually looking, he couldn't miss such a great opportunity to explain Li Xiang's car-making philosophy.

Creating a luxury family car brand, providing safe and convenient products and services for family users through innovative technology.

The first concept car was to be a medium-to-large luxury SUV, eschewing frivolous honors that waste time.

Lu Liang was surprised and chuckled, "Mr. Li, are you referring to NIO when you mention frivolities?"

"Yes, Mr. Lu, forgive my bluntness," Li Xiang retorted, "in my view, Li Bing's NIO is purely a waste of time and money."

Li Xiang nodded with a look of disdain for NIO, copying Tesla, merely picking up scraps from others.

Now that the country was so committed to promoting the new energy market, engaging in such frivolities, he personally despised it on the record.

Lu Liang smiled, "Each company has its own philosophy. Right or wrong, only time will tell."

He suddenly thought of making movies. Li Bing's choice was to start with art films to build reputation and win awards.

Li Xiang's choice was very straightforward, directly making commercial comedies, explicitly aimed at making money.

Li Xiang's smile was full of confidence, "Mr. Lu, time will prove that my choice is correct."

Lu Liang suddenly laughed, "Mr. Li, I like your confidence. When is the A Series funding round?"

Li Xiang also smiled, "This May."

"Remember to send me an invitation then."

"Definitely."

Despite Li Xiang's arrogance, he had considerable personal charm.

Since Lu Liang had already invested in NIO, he didn't mind investing in Li Xiang as well; it couldn't hurt to hedge his bets.

"Sedans, medium-to-large SUVs, and Xiao Peng's compact SUVs."

On the way back, Lu Liang looked up in contemplation, finding it difficult to stand out in vehicle types.

After much thought, it seemed the only path left was autonomous driving: "Did Tesla actually get it right?"

Lu Liang thought about the Model X that had been disassembled after less than ten kilometers of driving.

Tesla rarely focused on configurations, concentrating primarily on developing its autonomous driving system.

To be fair, the interior was indeed rubbish.

"Another iOS?"

Lu Liang gradually realized that he should start with vehicle systems and autonomous driving technologies.

Because neither NIO nor Li Xiang had core technologies; essentially, they were just stacking features.

If you have core technology, it's never too late to enter the market, even letting brands like NIO and Li Xiang test the technology for him first.

"Go to Huaqing University."

Lu Liang stayed in Beijing for three days and used 20 million US dollars to fund the construction of a new energy laboratory at Tsinghua University.

The main focus would be on vehicle systems and autonomous driving technologies, unsure of success but willing to plant the seed.

If successful, it would be a profitable investment; if not, it would merely be tuition fees, a chance to gain experience.