Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Han Fei nodded: "They might be from a competitor trying to get information. You did a great job, not only blocking them but also reflecting on the whole thing on the way back and realizing something was wrong. That shows you haven't let your guard down. Lu Hai, this trip was definitely worthwhile."

Lu Hai smiled somewhat unconfidently: "President, to be honest, I thought I was pretty clever back at the hotel, but the more I thought about it on the way back, the more scared I became. If you hadn't given me a heads-up beforehand, I probably would have gone along with the conversation based on those few sentences she said. You know me, I get easily carried away when talking about music I like. Luckily, I kept that string in my mind the whole time, otherwise things might have gone wrong. But I'm also very grateful that you sent me on this trip. Only when you're in that environment do you understand what you mean by 'every word is information.' The woman's questions sounded casual, but upon closer inspection, every single one of them was crossing our bottom line. I'll definitely be more careful when I travel for work in the future."

"Think back now, what were the main themes of all the questions she asked you?"

"Hmm..." Lu Hai thought for a moment, "She asked me, since many large companies are contacting content teams, are we not worried about finding partners?"

......

"Then he said it was internal company information and couldn't be disclosed. He left immediately after saying that," Wang Yu said.

Ding Lei nodded and took a sip of his cola.

Wang Yu observed the CEO's office, filled with elements from the game "Westward Journey 2," and felt it was like a silent strategic declaration. It seemed to signify that NetEase had completely bid farewell to its past extensive growth model reliant on channels and relationships, officially entering a new era based on core products while reserving space for future growth—a more pragmatic and efficient approach. She was a participant in this new era. She felt excited and thrilled, yet also nervous. She had finally left the quagmire of Chen Zhengyuan's opportunistic and outdated methods, arriving at a pure battlefield where she could truly showcase her abilities. Here, there was no room for complacency; every metric had to be impeccable.

"Although he didn't answer your questions directly," Ding Lei said, "I think you should be able to draw some conclusions. Tell me your thoughts?"

Wang Yu crossed her legs and brushed a strand of hair from her face with one finger: "The clearest point is that Qingniao has confirmed its participation in Guangdong Mobile's bidding process, and they are well-prepared. Furthermore, their team already has an awareness of external information control. The man who came to bid was definitely not a core member, but he was able to identify which questions to avoid answering in natural conversation, and to what extent to stop answering. This isn't innate; it's been trained. This shows that Qingniao has loyalty, a unified message, discipline, and an understanding of the value of information."

Ding Lei slowly sipped his cola, then put down the glass: "Hmm, what's the final conclusion?"

"Qingniao isn't a makeshift team built on luck. Han Fei understands content and is consciously building a team that can fight, defend, and remain calm. I think this kind of team can't be suppressed by poaching one or two people or copying a platform." Wang Yu paused, and when he didn't hear Ding Lei's response, he added, "If President Chen's project in Shanghai is going to follow the copycat approach, making three million in three months is still quite risky."

Ding Lei smiled slightly, gazing at the sky: "He chose this path himself. If he still uses the same tactics he used in 2001 to fight the battles of 2004, even if you give him three years, he won't be able to catch up."

"What about headquarters...?"

"Our core focus is the game," Ding Lei said. "Let Zheng Yuan give it a try first."

"President Ding," Wang Yu asked again in disbelief, "do you mean headquarters is going to abandon this track?"

Ding Lei shook his head: "Of course we can't give up. We need to observe quietly."

"observe?"

"Yes, Qingniao's core competitiveness is not a single blockbuster product, but an ecosystem that can continuously produce blockbuster products. Wangyi isn't the only company eyeing Qingniao; we have our core industries, and we can't divert manpower and resources to compete with other companies in this field through investment and acquisitions. On the other hand, if we were to force our way in now, using traffic and capital to replicate a Qingniao clone, we would likely only be able to imitate its form, not its spirit. Therefore, we need to transform from a follower into an observer and reserve force that may shape the future rules."

Wang Yu frowned: "To set the rules for the future?"

"That's right. From now on, your tracking of Qingniao can't be limited to intelligence gathering; it needs to become evaluation and monitoring. You'll set up an observation group to collect Qingniao Reading's top-selling works every week, analyze the themes, narrative patterns, and emotional triggers to prepare for our future content production. And leverage our partnership with China Mobile's SP business to obtain Qingniao's macro-level data without overstepping boundaries. You'll also need to continuously monitor the dynamics of Qingniao's core team, but not by poaching people. Instead, you'll create a list of 'where we can find people if needed,' and try to cultivate some content-oriented talent. Finally, regarding Chen Zhengyuan's progress, you'll need to produce a comparative report every two weeks, clearly outlining what Qingniao did, what we did, where the gaps are, and the reasons for them."

Wang Yu nodded slowly: "President Ding's intention is to reserve an entry ticket for NetEase in the content field. If Qingniao ultimately proves to be just a flash in the pan, we won't suffer any losses. If Qingniao truly grows into a new content giant, then our observations, analyses, and follow-ups on Qingniao will become valuable experience, allowing us to enter the market at the most appropriate time and in the most reasonable way."

"Yes," Ding Lei said, "but we must be careful not to put any pressure on Qingniao, whether it's tracking the core team, analyzing content data, or accumulating content talent. We must not suppress or antagonize Qingniao."

Why?

"Because if we did that, we would not only lose the possibility of future cooperation with Qingniao, but we would also likely push Qingniao into the hands of competitors. If Qingniao cooperates with any of Tencent, Shengda, or Xinlang, do you think we would still have room to enter the market?"

Wang Yu swallowed hard, staring down at her thighs. She couldn't afford to antagonize Qingniao. But if Chen Zhengyuan really intended to do that… She took a breath, preparing to utter the unspeakable words, but only managed a groan as she exhaled. She tried again, and on the third attempt, finally decided to give up.

"I understand, Mr. Ding," she said.