Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Chapter 170 Money

Han Fei walked briskly down the corridor.

It was Wednesday, the first day of September, four days after the Guangdong push notification. These four days had been pleasant, filled with congratulations, and the new round of support from the mobile headquarters was progressing steadily. Yang Zheng wrote a report as soon as he recovered, publishing a positive review of Qingniao. Even veteran authors who had left due to the publishing house's transformation were starting to return; two more returned yesterday.

Han Fei had accepted Wang Yu's invitation to the salon and had also held a half-hour negotiation with Xu Cheng on the phone. Ultimately, under the pressure of the "unilateral withdrawal right" as leverage, Xu Cheng at least outwardly showed a positive attitude towards the proposal to set the validity period of the memorandum at three months and keep it confidential. However, he still needed to report to his superiors before deciding whether to approve these two proposals.

Han Fei walked into his office and checked his watch. It was 9:10 AM. He had received a call early that morning from the Shanghai Mobile Data Services Department, informing him that the commission for the batch of grey-market phone numbers should have arrived in his account, and asking him to check. So Han Fei went directly to the bank to confirm the commission had arrived and withdrew 50,000 yuan in cash. Han Fei sat down in his chair and placed the cash and envelope on the table.

He said good morning to Zhang Ruiyi. Zhang Ruiyi looked up from her newspaper.

"You went to the bank," Zhang Ruiyi said. "No wonder you're so late. Has the money arrived?"

"Hmm." Han Fei smiled and took out the compiled payroll from the drawer. "Finally, we can settle the wages. It's two months' salary as the base, plus an additional fifty percent for everyone. Is Uncle Zhang back?"

"You're back. Something's off."

"That's weird?"

Zhang Ruiyi dragged a chair next to Han Fei and started counting the money according to the payroll. "Well... it's nothing really. It's just... he seemed to have something on his mind. When I got home last night, I saw him sitting alone in the living room. The lights weren't on, and the TV was showing 'GG' movies. He was just staring at the TV screen, not even noticing when I came in."

"Maybe headquarters is putting some kind of pressure on him?" Han Fei chuckled a few times, writing Zhang Meimei's name on an envelope containing five thousand yuan in cash. "What was he like when he came back from his business trips before?"

"Uh... given the level of support headquarters is giving Qingniao this time, if he had returned with such a great success before, he would have been beaming and showing off to me. But this time, I deliberately asked him if there was any good news, and he said headquarters was very satisfied with Qingniao, and we had to be on high alert from now on, as the battles ahead would be even tougher than the ones before. I then asked why he seemed so downcast, and if something was wrong. He told me there was nothing else, just good news, and that I should tell him to take what he deserved, fight for what he wanted, and not be polite with headquarters. When I tried to ask more, he urged me to go take a shower and go to bed. Isn't he acting strangely?"

Han Fei raised an eyebrow and glanced at Zhang Ruiyi: "Is Uncle Zhang alright?"

"There's definitely nothing wrong with his health," Zhang Ruiyi said. "His company provides annual physical examinations, and the results from last month's examination just came out, with all the indicators even better than last year. My dad has been paying special attention these past two years; he drinks less alcohol, and after dinner he even takes my mom for a walk, saying something like 'walking 8,000 steps a day keeps all diseases away.' I asked him if he used to drink at every meal for business dinners, and he confidently said that was for work, but now it's for life."

Han Fei laughed and nodded slowly: "Then it's nothing. Don't overthink it. When Uncle Zhang comes back from a meeting at headquarters, he can't just be happy and that's it. After a meeting, his mind is filled with the plans for the next few months or even the next year or two. Who will be transferred to where, what support will be given to which project, which province will be promoted first and which province will be promoted later, just these things can keep him sitting in the living room all night."

"Yeah?"

Han Fei sensed Zhang Ruiyi's probing gaze.

"Hmm. Besides, if Uncle Zhang really had something important to say, wouldn't he tell you? So, let's not speculate. Have the wages been distributed yet?"

"It's all distributed." Zhang Ruiyi pushed a stack of envelopes in front of Han Fei. "Eight people need to be paid this month. Wen Jie gets the most: two months' base salary plus one percent of the net profit, plus a bonus, totaling 11,500. Lu Hai gets 5,800, because I lent you 2,000 before, plus two months' base salary and bonus. Everyone else gets just base salary plus bonus. Mei Jie gets 5,000. Teacher Chen and Cheng Xu each get 3,800. Zhou Tao, Sun Yue, and Teacher Zheng only get one month's salary plus bonus, 2,200 each. A total of 36,500 has been distributed."

"and yours?"

"I thought you were planning to make me work for free forever," Zhang Ruiyi said, a smile playing on her lips as she brushed a strand of hair aside. "But honestly, I never came here for the pay. It's just... I wanted to help you." She paused. "If you insist on calculating the cost for me, then wouldn't I just be... a pure wage slave?"

Han Fei smiled slightly and nodded: "I know. That's why I never said I would pay you a salary."

"Then why did you ask me!"

"Let's split the money," Han Fei said.

"Sharing the money?"

"Yeah, the money we earn together, of course I'll share it with you." Han Fei fiddled with the pen in his hand. "Of course, I'll keep the lion's share, and give you some as pocket money first. Have you ever experienced what it feels like to spend your own money?"

Zhang Ruiyi's eyes widened: "What does it feel like?"

"Well," Han Fei leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head, "how should I put it... spending other people's money, even if it's from your parents, a friend, or company reimbursement, feels like eating someone else's shelled sunflower seeds. You don't have to lift a finger, you just open your mouth, but when you taste them, it always feels like something's missing—the salt on the shell, the crisp sound of cracking it open, the lingering salty aroma on your fingertips."

Zhang Ruiyi looked at him thoughtfully and swallowed.

"But spending your own money is different. Even if it's only a few dozen or a few hundred dollars, when you hold it in your hand, the warmth of that piece of paper comes from your palm, not from someone else's pocket. What do you call that feeling? It's... it's calling being able to support yourself." It's not given by someone else, but earned through your own brain, hands, and time. The moment you spend your own money, you truly establish a relationship with the world.

Zhang Ruiyi looked at Han Fei with eager eyes: "What's the relationship?"

"Exchange," Han Fei said slowly. "What you give, someone else takes; and what someone else gives, you take. No one owes anyone anything. This feeling is particularly reassuring."

"real?"

"Hmm," Han Fei grinned, "This is advice from someone who's been there. So, don't you want to experience it for yourself?" As he spoke, he casually took a wad of cash from the remaining stack and handed it to Zhang Ruiyi, observing her reaction. She looked at the wad of cash, then at Han Fei, a silly smile appearing on her face.

"Then I'll keep it?" Zhang Ruiyi asked tentatively.

"Okay, keep it."

"What's it like to experience spending your own money?"

"That's right, let's try it out."

"Uh... then I'll keep it?"

Han Fei rolled his eyes and stuffed the banknotes into Zhang Ruiyi's jeans pocket. "Treat me to lunch with your own money."

Zhang Ruiyi's eyes were full of laughter: "Why should I be the one to treat you?"

"Because you have money now," Han Fei said. "Go and call the people over to collect their wages."

"Okay!" Zhang Ruiyi said, and went out happily.

Han Fei pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth, and wondered if he should bring back his loyal old Xiali car. But he still owed someone five articles.

Light streamed through the gray steel blinds as Xu Cheng held a white coffee cup and slowly sipped. He had lost count of how many times they had gathered in this conference room to discuss the Bluebird.

The eight people in the conference room represented the company's top decision-making team and core personnel from various departments, including the two founders, Ma Huateng and Chen Zhipeng, as well as the legal head and the investment head of the finance department.

Ma Huateng sat at the head of the conference table, legs crossed, the creases in his trousers sharp as knives. The investment plan in Qingniao had been underway for a long time without success, but overall, the relevant departments within the company had worked tirelessly like heroes. Therefore, they desperately needed to boost morale. This was why, after Xu Cheng reported the results of his negotiations with Han Fei regarding the "Strategic Cooperation Memorandum," everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if to say: "Finally, some damn progress!"

"How is it?" Ma Huateng asked, looking around at everyone.

“Pony,” the legal representative said, “although he agreed to sign under certain conditions, from a legal perspective, each of his three proposed amendments weakens the actual binding force of the memorandum. The three-month validity period is too short; it might expire before we even finish running the traffic test. The confidentiality clause means we cannot publicly announce our partnership with Qingniao, failing to create a de facto lock-in effect. Other competitors won't be deterred just because we signed this document. As for the unilateral withdrawal right, although he indicated he could waive it, if we really compromise on the timeframe and confidentiality, then this memorandum will be nothing more than a shell.”

"What if we don't give in?" Zhang Zhipeng asked in a flat tone.

The legal representative glanced at Xu Cheng, signaling him to answer first.

Xu Cheng sighed: "We have no reason not to compromise."

"So the proposal he's offering now," Ma Huateng said, "is being made with our throats in his hands. If we sign, we might be led by the nose for three months; if we don't sign, he can conveniently shift the blame for the breakdown in negotiations onto us."

The head of financial investment began, "Pony, I've done the math. If we refuse now and launch Plan B to build our own platform, the initial investment in human resources, marketing, and content acquisition costs is conservatively estimated at eight to ten million."

This doesn't even take into account the potential loss of QQ's user experience in our pursuit of catching up with Qingniao. However, if we sign this memorandum, we only need to open up a small portion of QQ traffic during non-peak hours for testing. From a financial perspective, signing is an asymmetrical option: if we lose, we don't lose; if we win, we profit handsomely.

"We won?" Zhang Zhipeng looked at him. "You think signing this document guarantees our victory?"

"I didn't say we could win. I meant that signing at least keeps us a window to observe and intervene. If we don't sign, that window is closed." His voice echoed back from the walls.

"Xu Cheng, how long did you talk to him on the phone?" Zhang Zhipeng asked.

"It lasted almost forty minutes," Xu Cheng said. "He remained calm throughout, without any emotional fluctuation. When I proposed a one-year term, he said that a long lock-in would be risky for Qingniao. When I suggested partially disclosing the cooperation information, he said that Qingniao had just weathered the aftermath of the public opinion storm. Every step seemed to have been rehearsed in advance."

"Isn't it like someone playing chess who has already thought through the next three moves?" Ma Huateng asked.

Xu Cheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Say it again, of those three things he mentioned, which one is what he truly wants?"

Xu Cheng thought for a moment: "The expiration date. I think that's what he cares about most. The confidentiality clause and the right to withdraw seem more like bargaining chips used to cover up a short-term situation."

"So if we agree to three months, but refuse to keep it confidential, how will he react?"

"He'll offer his right to withdraw in exchange," Xu Cheng said, taking a breath. "If we don't agree, then it would indeed be going against our friendly and cooperative stance."

Ma Huateng slowly nodded. "If it's just a three-month contract, not public, and with no unilateral right to withdraw, are there any legal risks involved?"

The legal representative opened the notebook in front of him: "There's no risk. This is a typical non-binding memorandum; priority negotiation rights and exclusive lock-in don't require a long timeframe. Three months is perfectly legally valid. As for not disclosing it, that's mutual agreement, no problem."

"Alright," Ma Huateng said, "we accept his three modifications. But we want to add one condition."

The others just stared at him.

"Article 3 of the Memorandum should include the following sentence: During the validity period of the Memorandum, both parties shall initiate a substantive business cooperation test, with Qingniao providing no fewer than five high-quality content articles, and Tencent conducting a targeted push notification to its QQ user system for seven days. The test data shall be shared by both parties as a basis for evaluating subsequent cooperation."

Xu Cheng nodded: "This is a prerequisite for fulfilling the contract. If Han Fei is unwilling to do this test, it means his so-called willingness to cooperate is empty. If he is willing to do it, we will have his data and content, as well as real user feedback. Three months later, what will he use to refuse us?"

"That's good," a deep Hong Kong accent said. "It puts cooperation into practice, not just talk. If he cooperates, we'll gain data; if he doesn't, it means he lacks the sincerity to fulfill his obligations."

"Pony," Zhang Zhipeng said, "what if the test results are very good, but he still refuses to sign a deeper cooperation agreement with us three months later?"

"That means he's determined to run it himself," Ma Huateng said. "By then, we'll have his test data and user feedback, as well as a refined technology platform. The startup cost and catch-up efficiency of Plan B will be greatly reduced."

"7