Yi Anguo was a decent man in many aspects, but he had far too many women around him and no idea how to be discreet.

It's natural for men to like women. Chen Jianjun himself was fond of female company and kept several mistresses, but he never flaunted them as openly as Yi Anguo. The women he kept had never once appeared in public.

Although Chen Jianjun knew that this woman, Zhou Mengdie, was not currently with Yi Anguo, that didn't mean she wouldn't be in the future!

Although Yi Anguo was generally low-key, he had come to know quite a few industry tycoons. Some were introduced by Zhuo Weidong, some by Chen Jianjun, others he met at club gatherings, and a few he got to know on his own. As a result, upon entering the reception, he was frequently greeted by others. He also took the initiative to approach people himself. Since he was already there, he couldn't very well be unsociable, could he?

"Uncle Chen!" Yi Anguo said with a ready smile, seeing Chen Jianjun suddenly appear before him.

"You little rascal, what did you call me? When you need my help, you call me 'Dad.' Now that you don't, I'm back to 'Uncle Chen'?" Chen Jianjun said with displeasure.

"If I call you 'Dad' in public, aren't you afraid of the trouble it might cause?" Yi Anguo replied, looking a little embarrassed.

It would be a bit troublesome, Chen Jianjun mused. Besides, this kid is still unwilling to officially marry my daughter.

"I see the online supermarket you're running has some excellent momentum," Chen Jianjun suddenly proposed. "How about letting Chen Enterprises invest and take a stake? We should keep the profits within the family, after all."

"It's best not to bite off more than you can chew," Yi Anguo replied, shaking his head. "Chen Enterprises should focus its efforts on growing and strengthening its technology and manufacturing sectors. The online supermarket isn't short on funds for now. If you want to make money, there will be plenty of opportunities. Just wait patiently for the right time."

"Suit yourself! I just think you're moving too slowly. A lot of people are going to follow the trend and copy your model, which will be detrimental to your online supermarket's future," Chen Jianjun said nonchalantly. "The best approach is to quickly complete your national rollout and go live. That way, anyone who wants to copy you can only follow behind and eat your dust. I believe whoever launches first in a given city will have the advantage; it will be very difficult for followers to surpass the one in front. That's why in any industry, the first movers can achieve great success, while it's much harder for those who follow. If someone launches a website identical to your online supermarket in another city, how will you compete?"

Yi Anguo smiled. "Then we'll just have to see who's more capable. Ultimately, being first isn't the most critical factor. What's most critical is who has the greater strength. Take Taobao, for example. Didn't they come from behind to take the lead? Before Taobao, there was eBay. And now, hasn't eBay been defeated by Taobao? And what about Yahoo? Wasn't it effectively acquired by Taobao, even after Yahoo invested a billion US dollars in them? Besides, as the old Chinese saying goes, 'The new waves of the Yangtze River push the old waves forward, and the old waves die on the shore.' So, being the first to launch and seizing the initial advantage doesn't necessarily mean you'll be the one laughing in the end."

"Excellent! It seems you're quite confident and not at all afraid of others getting a head start on you!" Chen Jianjun said, very satisfied.

"You can't rush something like this," Yi Anguo replied. "The online supermarket must be built one step at a time to ensure a stable foundation. Reckless ambition is a cardinal sin in strategy. If your funding dries up, you'll die a horrible death."

Back in the day, when Niu Qiangdong received his first round of venture capital funding, he was on top of the world and pushed forward aggressively. But he soon burned through the entire sum of over ten million US dollars.

Once the funds are used up, I'll just raise more, Niu Qiangdong had thought. After all, plenty of people are optimistic about my company and want to invest.

But times change. Just as he was looking for more funding, the global financial crisis hit, and the venture capital firms that had previously been interested in investing vanished overnight.

Initially, Niu Qiangdong, full of confidence, valued his company at 200 million US dollars. But as fundraising proved difficult, the valuation quickly dropped to 180 million, then 160 million, 150 million, 130 million, 120 million, and finally down to 100 million US dollars.

During that period, Niu Qiangdong nearly went gray from worry. He met with dozens of heads of venture capital firms every day, but all of them claimed to have no money. Even the very firm that had previously invested in him was facing its own capital crunch and couldn't pony up any more funds.

Finally, an investment fund from Harbor Island showed some interest in his company. After a round of intense negotiations, the valuation plummeted from 60 million down to 45 million US dollars. With no other options, Niu Qiangdong's company was on the brink of collapse. His aggressive expansion had stretched him to the breaking point. Even with the valuation slashed to 45 million US dollars, he had no choice but to tearfully agree.

However, just before the contract was signed, the international situation shifted dramatically. A major American investment bank declared bankruptcy, worsening the global financial crisis. Seeing this, the Harbor Island investment fund immediately slashed the valuation again, from 45 million down to 30 million US dollars.

Pushed into a corner, it was no longer a matter of Niu Qiangdong's agreement. Even his original venture capital backers refused to accept the new terms. They ended up loaning Niu Qiangdong just enough money to keep his company breathing, ultimately helping him weather the storm.

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