Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Chapter 167 Dark under the lamp

Zhang Qiming raised his eyebrows and looked at the others, who all nodded slightly.

"And the third one?" Fang Jing asked lightly.

"Uh... well," Han Fei cleared his throat, "Thirdly, we need to secure Qingniao's right to unilaterally and flexibly withdraw. If there are significant changes that affect the company's survival, such as policy adjustments, then Qingniao has the right to terminate the memorandum in advance."

The people at the conference table exchanged smiling glances and shook their heads.

Fang Jing chuckled a few times: "I can understand the first two points. While Tencent wants to acquire Qingniao, they don't dare to push too hard because they're more worried about pushing Qingniao into the hands of a competitor. So they can probably accept the first two points. But isn't your third point a bit too much? Do you think they'll agree to that?"

"That's unlikely," Han Fei said. "So this clause is a bargaining chip. If Tencent concedes on the time limit and confidentiality, I can waive this clause. If they insist on a validity period of more than a year plus public disclosure, then I'll use this clause in exchange. If they still don't agree, I'll refuse to sign. But in this way, they can't interpret my refusal as meaning I lacked sincerity in cooperating from the beginning, but rather as because their demands are too harsh and unreasonable, and I can instead accuse them of lacking sincerity in cooperating."

The crowd let out restrained chuckles.

"You little rascal," Chen Yuanshan laughed, "you've got a pretty good grasp of the tricks of business negotiations. If Xu Cheng knew you were making a fool of him, he'd probably smash his cup in anger."

"Mr. Chen, I'm not trying to play tricks on him. I'm mainly doing this to protect myself. I can understand that Tencent wants to secure Qingniao at the lowest possible cost. But Qingniao can't narrow its own path just because it understands the other party. Short-term, non-disclosure, and maintaining flexibility—none of these three conditions affect Tencent's core interests. If they can't even accept these, then it's as if they themselves have admitted that the so-called friendly cooperation was just a facade, exposing their ambitions."

"Hmm," Liu Zhenhua said, "In the name of cooperation, you are actually delaying; in the form of concessions, you are actually securing your autonomy. You have upgraded your delaying tactics to a fixed-stakes method. Every move you make is to leave a way out for Qingniao, while also giving Tengxun enough face."

That was a very good balance. So, do the three of you have anything else to say about this?

"I agree," Fang Jing said.

"I agree," Zhang Qiming said.

Everyone looked at Chen Yuanshan. Chen Yuanshan nodded: "I agree."

"Okay, then let's leave the memorandum as is for now." Liu Zhenhua paused. "But signing this memorandum doesn't mean we can relax. That's why we called Qiming over. The pledge of five million in revenue over three months was completed by Qingniao in just over a month, and they even exceeded it. Qiming, you recommended him, you're proud of that, I won't say more about that."

But being happy isn't enough; the battle isn't over yet. Next, we need to consider how headquarters can simultaneously hold off the enemy while providing more support to Qingniao. Currently, Qingniao is the fastest runner on this track, but the fastest runner is the easiest to snipe. We need to find a way to make it run even faster while concealing its footsteps.”

Han Fei cleared his throat: "Well then, Mr. Liu, and all the leaders, I fully respect your judgment regarding the specific form of support from headquarters. I'll hang up now; just let me know when you've decided. I won't disturb your discussion any longer."

"Han Fei, don't hang up yet," Liu Zhenhua said.

"Mr. Liu?"

"You hang up the phone, and we've been talking for ages. Who knows if the support we've given is just a scratch or a lifeline? Fang Jing, Yuanshan, and Qiming can get you resources, but they can't figure out the path for you. You're currently the only vanguard team in the content-based SP (Service Provider) arena. Only you know best what kind of ammunition and support the vanguard team needs."

"Mr. Liu, I'm worried that if I stay, saying too much might seem greedy, while saying too little would be a waste of an opportunity. It would be better if you guys set the tone first, and then I can add to it."

Liu Zhenhua laughed: "When you were discussing that memorandum earlier, you revised those three points clearly and without any compromise. Why are you being so polite now that we're at headquarters? I asked you to stay here not so you could ask us for money, but so you could participate in the discussion and gain a clearer understanding of what Qingniao needs most right now."

"Han Fei, since President Liu has said so, you don't need to be so formal," Fang Jing said, looking at Liu Zhenhua. "President Liu, how about I present my proposal first?"

"Can."

Fang Jing looked down at her notebook: "First, there's the number pool in Shanghai and Guangdong. Next, based on the actual conversion rate, we'll gradually release the numbers in batches of one million."

Zhang Qiming nodded: "No problem, I'll start making preparations when I get back."

"Well, then there's the issue of funding and settlement. We can advance the settlement cycle for Qingniao's SPs from the following month to the current month, or even every two weeks. This doesn't require any official documents; the billing center just needs to adjust the parameters. Tencent won't see it, but Qingniao will be able to significantly alleviate its cash flow pressure."

"That works too," Chen Yuanshan said. "Technically, it's just a matter of changing the configuration; there's no trace of it to outsiders."

"The next step is to address the most pressing pressure Qingniao is currently facing: the speed of content expansion cannot keep up with demand. If things escalate in Guangdong, other provinces will definitely have something to say. We all know that if we allow other provincial companies to directly cooperate with Qingniao, Tencent will think that our headquarters is controlling everything. But if we go through the open bidding process in every province, it will be too cumbersome. Moreover, while open bidding might work in one or two provinces, doing it across the entire country will also arouse suspicion. So what we need to do is not to give Qingniao the green light, but to provide them with a cover for their activities."

"I agree," Zhang Qiming said.

"Well," Liu Zhenhua said, "give me a specific example."

Fang Jing looked up from her notebook at Liu Zhenhua: "We can send a very neutral document to each provincial branch, titled something like 'Notice on Promoting Excellent Pilot Experiences in Content-Based SP Services.' The content should simply state: Guangdong Mobile has explored effective experiences in content-based SPs. Each provincial branch should choose a capable content partner to conduct similar trials based on the characteristics of local users. To avoid the risk of leaks, the document should not specifically name Qingniao. However, headquarters can informally inform several interested provincial branches that Qingniao is doing very well in Guangdong and should be given priority. Then, each provincial branch can proactively invite Qingniao under the guise of 'optimizing local content services.' The process can be either 'invitation to tender' or 'competitive negotiation,' comparing two or three companies. Qingniao, with the best data, will naturally win. Then, Tencent will only see that Mobile is promoting a business direction. And each province, based on its own needs, will choose Qingniao, which is entirely an independent market behavior."

"Like Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces, but lighter and faster?" Zhang Qiming asked.

"Yes," Fang Jing said. "Open bidding is suitable for projects where it is unclear who is available in the market or where the project amount is huge."

"Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces used open bidding to demonstrate procedural justice to Tencent." But now, with Guangdong's successful case, other provinces can use existing successful pilot experiences as a pretext to pursue even simpler procedures. There's no legal qualms about it. This can be seen as a continuation of Han Fei's strategy of deception.

"Fang Jing's idea and direction are very good," Liu Zhenhua said. "The actions of each province cannot stop, but the pace must be well controlled."

Han Fei, you heard everything. What do you think of Fang Jing's line of thinking?

A deep, cheerful laugh came from the other end of the phone. Zhang Qiming noticed Fang Jing looking at the conference call with expectant eyes.

"Mr. Liu," Han Fei said, "Mr. Fang's plan is very clean and brilliant. I completely agree."

"You sure know how to take advantage of a situation." Chen Yuanshan shifted his sitting position, crossing his left leg over his right. "Then tell me, what exactly constitutes 'completely agreeing'? Do you want us to open bids in all thirty-plus provinces across the country, or are you planning to bid on each one yourself?"

Zhang Qiming glanced at Chen Yuanshan with some surprise, thinking that the way he spoke to Han Fei was so relaxed, the two of them didn't seem like they had never met before.

"Mr. Chen, if I say to go all out, wouldn't that be greedy? My idea is to go in two categories."

"Two categories?" Fang Jing asked. "Explain in detail."

"The first category is those provinces that we prioritize launching in, namely those with developed economies, dense populations, and high user acceptance of our existing content. For example, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Fujian. These three provinces have large user bases, so the conversion rate will be more guaranteed. Moreover, they have cultural overlap with Shanghai, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. Jiangsu goes without saying, Shandong people love watching rural dramas, and Fujian is adjacent to Guangdong, so the targeted content can be reused. I believe that generating two to three million yuan in revenue per month in one province is not a problem."

"Hmm," Zhang Qiming said, "I'm familiar with Jiangsu, and the cooperation from our other mobile units there is excellent. Shandong is a large province with a vast rural market, so it's definitely worth starting there. What about the second category?"

"The second type is suitable for observation before launching. For populous provinces like Sichuan, Henan, and Hunan, which have distinct cultural characteristics, we need to conduct small-scale testing first. For example, in Sichuan, we need to write several articles specifically about Sichuan and Chongqing, submit 100,000 articles, and see the conversion rate. If the conversion rate is stable, then we can scale up."

"So how do you think we should control the pace of reopening?" Fang Jing asked. "We've already opened up Shanghai, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. If we open up two or three more provinces, can Qingniao's cash flow handle it?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then the voice came through again, this time with a very firm tone: "We can handle it. If we have the support of headquarters, it will be even more secure. For example, what Mr. Fang just mentioned about monthly settlements and bi-weekly updates, that's extremely helpful to us. Also, the user profiling interface—if we can break it down to the prefecture-level city level, we can do localized copywriting and content targeting, which could increase the conversion rate by at least three to five percentage points."

The meeting room fell silent, and everyone looked at Liu Zhenhua.

"I agree with this classification approach," Liu Zhenhua said. "Let's make Jiangsu, Shandong, and Fujian the first batch of new pilot areas. Jiangsu will follow the Guangdong model and go through an invitation-to-bid process, while Shandong and Fujian will conduct small-batch tests first, and then launch the full-scale rollout once the conversion rate meets the target. In terms of timing, we'll start with Zhejiang, then Jiangsu within a month, and Shandong and Fujian within a month and a half to complete testing and make a decision. Fang Jing will be in charge of coordination."

"Okay," Fang Jing said.

"The matter of opening up the provinces is settled. Fang Jing, continue to report your plan."

Fang Jing turned to the next page of her notebook, her eyes darting across the page. "Hmm, we were just discussing providing resources. But I think we should also provide something more discreet and long-term, like Qingniao."

"Oh?" Chen Yuanshan said.

"Technical support," Fang Jing said. "The technical team's support is one-off. I think we can also establish a mechanism that allows Qingniao's technical staff to legitimately and continuously engage in in-depth exchanges with technical experts from the China Mobile headquarters and various provinces."

"How exactly do you mean it?" Liu Zhenhua asked.

Fang Jing took a breath: "The server crash in Guangdong, although eventually stabilized, exposed a very typical problem. Our provincial SP business support system was not designed with in mind the instantaneous, explosive surge in subscriptions that content-based SPs would bring. We can use this as a starting point. My suggestion is: taking the Guangdong SP business technical incident as a starting point, the headquarters technology department should lead the establishment of a joint working group to improve the high-concurrency architecture and disaster recovery capabilities of SP businesses. In name, it's an internal technical infrastructure project within China Mobile, addressing the shortcomings in our own system's capacity and preventing other provinces from repeating the same mistakes when launching similar services."

"That excuse holds water," Zhang Qiming said with a smile. "It's only natural for a mobile company to optimize its own system. But in reality..."

Zhang Qiming paused for a moment, but Fang Jing finished his sentence for him: "Actually, we can have Qingniao's technical staff participate throughout the process as external practice case partners or specially invited technical observers. They can regularly attend technical debriefing meetings, architecture review meetings, and even participate in discussions on revising interface specifications."

"7

Chen Yuanshan rubbed his chin, lost in thought. "This... there shouldn't be any risks, right? This is essentially giving Qingniao preferential treatment. What if Tencent finds out..."

"Even if Tencent finds out, they can't say anything," Fang Jing said. "Because this explanation is a closed loop. First, the incident actually happened. Tencent's own technical team can work backwards from the push volume at the time and conclude that the mobile system's capacity was insufficient. Second, the responsibility for this problem lies with China Mobile, not Qingniao. Qingniao was invited to cooperate, not actively seeking resources. Moreover, Qingniao is China Mobile's largest data partner in content-based SPs, and is the best person to help us verify the solution. This is perfectly reasonable and has nothing to do with special support. If all else fails, if Tencent is willing, they can also recommend their own technical team to participate."