Fortunately, Mavi pretended not to understand, playing the role of a Russian who didn't get the language. Otherwise, the situation would have been quite awkward. The female manager might have even had her performance bonus deducted because of this slip-up.
"Ahem! Mr. Mavi, the restaurant manager is asking if they can start serving the dishes now?" The female translator at the scene had a tough job, skillfully smoothing over the "Mr. Ma" mishap.
"Yes, go ahead and serve the dishes." Mavi's stomach was already growling with hunger. He was kind-hearted and wouldn't make a fuss over minor mistakes. After all, working isn't easy for anyone, and one should be forgiving when possible.
As the female manager and a row of welcoming hostesses exited, the elegantly decorated private room was left with only Mavi, Jennifer, Boss Ma, and Qiu Yangping, along with a few black-suited bodyguards and the palace maids responsible for serving them.
After this brief interaction, Boss Ma and Qiu Yangping were at a loss for words. The two sides were simply not on the same level. They even got the rare chance to enjoy the full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast at Tingpeng Pavilion!
As internet users might say: "This is something I can brag about for a year! No, wait—three years!"
Sensing the conversation slowing down, Mavi casually asked, "Boss Ma, how has your company's revenue been over the past year since starting up? What's your website traffic and average daily transaction volume?"
This casual question was difficult for Boss Ma and Qiu Yangping to answer. To be honest, Alibaba's transaction volume over the past year was close to zero. They had only managed to convince merchants to pay for store registrations on their platform.
However, buyers were hesitant about B2B transactions online. They preferred traditional face-to-face deals—cash in hand, goods on the spot.
B2B (business-to-business) refers to a model where transactions occur between companies through the internet. It differs significantly from B2C (business-to-consumer) or C2C (consumer-to-consumer) platforms like Taobao and Tmall. Many business buyers still favored traditional trading methods.
"Uh, Mr. Mavi, since the internet is still in its early stages in China, it hasn't gained widespread acceptance yet. To be honest, we've had fewer than ten orders in the past year. Only the merchants continue to support us," Boss Ma admitted sincerely.
As a businessman, he wasn't the type to prioritize profit over integrity. He remembered that three months ago, since no buyers were making transactions on Alibaba, merchants frequently complained.
In response, Boss Ma decided to refund every cent of the store rental fees merchants had paid. This act of honesty earned their trust. Instead of demanding refunds, they chose to support him, assuring him that they didn't mind waiting a little longer.
It's worth noting that people in the year 2000 were incredibly kind and pure. If this were 2019, things would be different. A company willing to return money would be seen as foolish, and customers who insisted on supporting them would also be considered foolish.
Take shared bicycles, for example! The author once made the mistake of loading 100 yuan into an account, and to this day, the money hasn't been refunded!
Mavi patiently listened, recalling that Alibaba's early days were indeed tough. However, he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
"Fewer than ten orders in a year..." he muttered instinctively.
His words were unintentional, but the listeners took them to heart. Boss Ma and Qiu Yangping exchanged awkward glances.
Their expressions made it clear that they understood how Alibaba paled in comparison to Amazon, the company Mavi had invested in. The internet landscape, e-commerce platform maturity, and consumer reach in China were nowhere near what Amazon had.
Seeing Mavi deep in thought, Boss Ma worried that the negotiation might end in failure—just like previous attempts.
He quickly added, "Well... Mr. Mavi, here's the thing. Alibaba is still in its early stages! We don't need you to invest too much at first... China's market has unlimited potential. Maybe you could start with a small investment to test the waters? I believe that within two years, Alibaba..."
Boss Ma was a skilled speaker. He didn't expect Mavi to invest as much as he had in Amazon—three to five million dollars upfront. If Mavi was willing to put in just five million, he'd already be satisfied.
However, before Boss Ma could finish his persuasive pitch, Mavi calmly took a sip of his freshly brewed "Yanghe Spring Green" tea and interrupted, "Boss Ma, there's no need to say more. I'll invest $50 million."
His words were firm and decisive.
For a moment, Boss Ma and Qiu Yangping froze, their mouths slightly open in shock.
"F-Fifty million!?"
"In U.S. dollars?"
It might sound ridiculous, but at this point in his life, Boss Ma had no idea what $5 million even looked like, let alone $50 million. His hands, hidden under the tablecloth, were trembling uncontrollably.
Had he not known that Mavi had previously invested in Amazon, he would have assumed this was a joke.
Was this really an investment, or was Mavi just casually buying groceries? Fifty million dollars—just like that, without even blinking?!
"Yes, U.S. dollars," Mavi confirmed calmly.
According to his memories from his previous life, Japan's SoftBank Group had initially wanted to invest $40 million in Alibaba. However, after careful consideration, Boss Ma had only accepted $20 million because taking too much investment would dilute his shares in the company.
So, despite his excitement, Boss Ma thought carefully and, with a sincere expression and tone, said, "Mr. Mavi! Thank you, truly, for your support of Alibaba and me! But how about this—out of the $50 million investment, we'll only take half, $25 million, for now?"
Everyone in the room was smart, and every decision had its reasons. Mavi had anticipated this response. After all, Alibaba was still in its infancy. Dropping $50 million on them all at once would be overwhelming—this was different from his investment in Amazon.
"That's fine," Mavi agreed readily.
His role in these business deals was merely to make high-level decisions. He didn't need to hammer out every last detail.
The rest—like shareholding percentages, restrictions on issuing new shares, and other specifics—could be left to his team to handle.