My American magical life
Chapter 1073: 123: This is a milestone moment

Chapter 1073: Chapter 123: This is a milestone moment

HK, Pacific Mountain Villa.

Cheng Daqi walked down the stairs, and the reporters from Global People had been waiting in the main hall for a long time.

When they saw the host coming down, they stood up to show their respect, and Mr. Cheng waved his hand and said.

“Sorry, I just had an online meeting that took some time, let’s start as soon as possible.”

This house was built more than forty years ago, and over the years, the trees around the villa have become so lush that it’s like being in a primeval forest.

The morning sunlight filtered through the branches of the trees, through the slender English-style windows, and spilled into the meeting room.

The photography team from Global People quickly set up for the interview, and the reporter and Mr. Cheng began today’s interview.

The speed at which Shanhaiguan was listed is unparalleled among startups worldwide.

From its establishment to its listing, it took less than a year, and apart from those special SPEC acquisitions in America, no other company can compare to Mr. Cheng.

“Mr. Cheng Daqi, my first question, which also represents what many netizens are curious about—how old are you this year?”

The reporter was curious; Mr. Cheng’s rise was like a meteor, with all observations seeming only to catch the meteor’s trajectory but not where it was headed.

As a result, while they were observing, Mr. Cheng’s company surged through acquisition and restructuring to go public.

This story has a touch of legend and magic.

“Haha, that’s no secret, twenty-three, my information is publicly available.”

“A young billionaire, becoming a billionaire in such a short time, do you feel proud of your achievements?”

Cheng Daqi shook his head, what’s there to be proud of.

The measure of history is terrifying, as long as he looks far enough, he sees countless heroes greater than himself.

Compared to those people, he can only say he’s just starting.

“Age isn’t the most important thing, many people have achieved great things at a younger age than me, business success is just one aspect, greater ability means having to take on more responsibility.

In terms of how to better engage in Shanhaiguan’s philanthropic efforts, societal development, and helping others, I still have to work hard and do better.”

Looking at the overly young Mr. Cheng, the reporter secretly thought.

Your survival instinct seems too strong, if you keep pretending like this, our article will have no highlight.

This reporter still didn’t understand Mr. Cheng well enough, conservatism and prudence are Mr. Cheng’s basic principles, stabilizing his position first before launching an attack.

Otherwise, to stand on stage and disregard everything, only to shout that banks always operate with a pawnshop mentality, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

“Philanthropy? Are you referring to programs like ‘Let’s Farm’ that combine with poverty alleviation?”

Global People’s interviews are all about supporting and embellishing, and the reporter knew well what topics Mr. Cheng would be willing to talk more about, so he intentionally offered a topic.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Cheng denied it.

“No, the program itself is just a case, on the level of our group company, there are many other projects that promote philanthropic development through a combination of self-media + online media + internet celebrities.”

“‘Let’s Farm’ is well-known, gaining more attention through a variety show format, but I actually hope that other lesser-known small projects can also find a way to become recognized.”

But this is a difficult problem, and we are currently researching how to advance it.”

“Difficult problem? What’s difficult about it?” the reporter asked in confusion.

Cheng Daqi pondered.

“On one hand, Shanhaiguan is, after all, a small MCN company, and our resources are limited, sometimes we want to do things but lack the strength.

On the other hand, the platform’s algorithms and the concept of promoting philanthropy are somewhat contradictory, here is where Shanhaiguan and ByteDance’s differing philosophies intertwine.

Our launched ‘Country Guardian’ program, ‘Meet Intangible Heritage’ series, etc., have all received strong support from ByteDance.

But ultimately, Shanhaiguan is a commercial company, and ByteDance is also a commercial company, and our commercial principles are paramount.

How to better balance commercial interests while reaching a consensus on philanthropic services with our partners is an important aspect of our future work.

What I can say is, I will do my best to build Shanhaiguan into a company that can provide quality content while also creating more social value.”

Throughout, without a script, not a pause, Mr. Cheng seemed to be talking about philanthropy, but in fact, he actively drew the fire towards ByteDance.

As for what kind of feedback ByteDance will have in the future, Mr. Cheng doesn’t really care.

From the moment Shanhaiguan went public and began setting up its own social e-commerce platform, the contest between ByteDance and Shanhaiguan became an inevitable process.

Even the MAS project that Mr. Cheng is laying out overseas will be subject to interference from TIKTOK, and this is unavoidable—it’s the kind of unavoidable that can’t be avoided no matter what.

There’s no other reason, money moves the heart, for monopolistic platforms, expansion through their monopolistic status is a must.

Various internet giants spare no effort in their expansion, all trying to grow from a single monopoly to a multi-faceted monopoly.

First, make a preventive measure, so in the future when things get ugly, Mr. Cheng can use today’s interview as a bargaining chip, occupying an advantageous position.

In military strategy, this is called predicting the enemy’s actions.

Logically speaking, ByteDance should have started dealing with Shanhaiguan long ago, the reason it hasn’t acted yet is due to multiple factors.