Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Chapter 180 Invisible Support

Han Fei leaned back in his swivel office chair, closed his eyes, and immediately an image of a man appeared before him: a man in a suit, reclining on a sofa, a wine glass slipping from his hand. Han Fei immediately opened his eyes and checked his watch: 9:30. Why hadn't Zhang Ruiyi arrived yet? He figured he should rest for a while, because he had been busy answering calls from various media outlets and reading newspaper reports about the launch event since 8:00 AM.

At that moment, Han Fei noticed his phone vibrating in his pocket. He immediately pulled it out, as if he had been eagerly anticipating this call.

The call was from Fang Jing.

Fang Jing congratulated him on being in the news again, and that he had even made direct contact with the Education Commission.

"Mr. Fang, are you working overtime on Saturday?"

"What overtime? I'll stay home and read the newspaper," Fang Jing said, yawning. "Han Fei, what you did at the Normal University yesterday was quite a spectacle. President Liu saw the report this morning and asked me to ask you about that 'hometown oral history' proposal. Was it something you just mentioned offhand, or do you actually have a plan?"

Han Fei told Fang Jing the details of what happened, especially the specific content of his conversation with Li Guohua, the Education Commission's level of interest, and his real plans and expectations for this "oral history" project.

"President Fang, do you think the people from NetEase have gone too far? Is the phone call just to comfort me?" Han Fei finally said.

"Comfort you? Do you need comfort right now?" Fang Jing said with a smile, "But... let's get down to business. Your Fang..."

"If you really intend to implement this project in the Education Commission on a non-profit basis, where will the money come from? Your current funds are used to repay loans, pay salaries, cover the operating costs of expanding your team, and you'll soon need to consider a new office location, not to mention preparing for potential direct competition from Tencent in three months. If you allocate more manpower and resources to an Education Commission project that only requires investment upfront and has no direct commercial return, won't your cash flow be affected?"

"You're right, Mr. Fang," Han Fei said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "But the reason I dared to take on the Education Commission's project at this critical juncture is because I did the math: if this project went through normal business negotiations, how much money would Qingniao need to spend to even get through to the Education Commission? The answer is, no amount of money could get through. The doors of the system aren't opened with money; they're opened with what problems you can solve for me." What the Education Commission lacks are practical materials on local culture that can be implemented, and practical tools that can get students involved. Qingniao already has a ton of these things; we're just repackaging these existing capabilities into a solution that the Education Commission needs. The initial investment in guide compilation and editing hours isn't essentially a cost; it's the entry ticket.

Fang Jing chuckled lightly, "Han Fei, your calculations are... well, quite brilliant. Strategically, I admit they make sense. But..."

"And Mr. Fang, rest assured, I won't let this affect the cash flow of our main business. I've already made it very clear to Director Li that Qingniao will bear all the initial investment. But if the pilot program expands to the entire district or even the entire city, then we'll discuss cost-sharing. In other words, Qingniao's risk exposure is completely controllable. I can dynamically adjust the scale, duration, and manpower investment of the pilot program based on the company's cash flow. The Education Commission isn't in a hurry, and neither am I. The most valuable part of this matter is actually the moment the name Qingniao appears on the Education Commission's official document. After that, even if the pilot program runs slowly, the brand endorsement and content accumulation are already secured."

Han Fei coughed and found another half-full ashtray in the pile of documents. He listened to the silence on the other end of the phone, feeling as if he could almost see Fang Jing rolling her eyes. Sure enough, Fang Jing's helpless voice rang out.

"President Han, are you finished speaking?"

Han Fei responded with an "Mmm".

"I never said I didn't support you doing it. Really," Fang Jing said. "I'm being frank. The mobile headquarters has an annual CSR budget, which specifically supports cultural and educational public welfare projects. Your hometown oral history project fits perfectly into that direction."

Han Fei felt ashamed, cleared his throat, and said, "What Mr. Fang means is..."

'

"What I mean is, I'll go see Mr. Liu when I get to work on Monday and see if I can cut a piece out of this plate for you."

"real?"

"Yes. But as you know, China Mobile's public welfare projects require approval and clear expenditure categories. Following the standard procedures will definitely leave traces, which will not only make Tencent think more, but also... uh... steal Qingniao's thunder. So the cleanest way is to increase your share through SP revenue sharing, and treat the extra part as funding allocated to you by China Mobile, as targeted support for your project."

"Increase the revenue share?"

"Yes. China Mobile currently takes a 12% commission. If we can lower it by one percentage point or even lower, you can use the extra money each month to run pilot programs," Fang Jing said. "Of course, that's what I'm thinking. I need to report back to General Manager Liu on Monday to see how it goes."

"Um... but China Mobile is providing us with this kind of covert support, spending money, but in the end we neither get recognition nor any benefits. Can Mr. Liu agree to that?"

"Sure," Fang Jing said. "We all know that now is not the time for China Mobile to step into the limelight. You just signed the memorandum of understanding with Tencent, and the window of opportunity is only three months. If you can establish your oral history project with the Education Commission within this window, it will be a great thing for China Mobile's long-term strategy. Once the battle is over, the recognition it deserves will naturally come. Besides, corporate social responsibility budgets are usually used for areas such as culture, education, and poverty alleviation, which are meant to be spent anyway."

Instead of spending money on projects with measurable results that are unrelated to our core business, we'd rather invest in a project like yours that generates synergy with our main mobile business. The stronger Qingniao's content ecosystem, the more stable the revenue and user stickiness of our mobile SP business will be. We're closely connected.

Han Fei took a deep breath: "President Fang, don't worry. Qingniao will definitely handle this well."

"Okay. I'll discuss it with General Manager Liu on Monday and see how far I can get you transferred. I'll give you a definite answer by Wednesday at the latest."

"Thank you, Mr. Fang."

"You're welcome," Fang Jing said. "What you said to Director Li at the Normal University wasn't just a pledge of allegiance to the Education Commission; it was also paving the way for China Mobile. Someone who can connect public welfare, education, and content deserves more support. By the way, the first round of technical exchange meetings at headquarters is scheduled for the afternoon of September 13th at the China Mobile Technical Training Center in Hangzhou. The news just came out last night, and I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Please let your technical staff prepare."

After Fang Jing hung up the phone, Han Fei called Zhang Ruiyi to ask why she hadn't arrived yet. Han Fei could hear the hum of an Alfa Romeo engine in the background. Zhang Ruiyi said that Zhang Qiming had read the newspaper that morning and kept asking her for details about yesterday's launch meeting and oral history project, which was why she was late. She was already on her way.

After finishing his phone call, Han Fei stood up, stepped into the corridor, and went to the archives room, which had now officially become the technical department's office. Wen Jie was in a group meeting with his two colleagues who worked there regularly. Han Fei could tell that Wen Jie was gradually getting used to leading a team. Han Fei interrupted their meeting and called Wen Jie out.

"How is it?"

"They're doing alright," Wen Jie said. "They learn very quickly, but they're not quite familiar with the business scenarios of our SP system yet. Sometimes they don't consider extreme cases after writing the logic, so we have to guide them a bit more. But their attitude is impeccable; they're very willing to learn."

Han Fei smiled and asked, "And what about you?"

"For me personally, I feel it's much more tiring than writing it alone. Before, I could just bury myself in my work, but now I have to figure out how to explain things clearly to them. But it's not without its benefits; it forced me to rewrite all the garbage documents I had written. Don't worry, Fei-ge, I haven't slacked off on the core stuff, nothing will go wrong. It's just that the progress might be a bit slower than if I wrote it alone, since I have to guide them. Oh, by the way, yesterday afternoon, Shanghai Mobile released one million new phone numbers, and so far, the conversion rate is 19.7%, and it's still climbing."

Han Fei nodded: "Were those two million messages too many?"

"I saw it yesterday afternoon and it was 32.6%," Wen Jie said. "I calculated that the average conversion rate of the three million official accounts in Shanghai is 28.3%, with a total of about 850,000 subscribers, which translates to 8.5 million in revenue."

The two million cases in Guangdong may have started too quickly and lacked momentum; a week has passed and it still hasn't broken through 40% from 38.5%.

"You should be grateful," Han Fei said with a smile. "What does 40% mean? If we release that figure, everyone will be..."

They're fabricating stories for us.

Wen Jie laughed heartily: "I was a little greedy. It's mainly because it's the first time I've seen such a high number, and I kept thinking about whether it could jump a little higher."

"Let's start promoting Zhejiang numbers today. Just follow the experience from Guangdong, test first and then promote, it's safer that way."

"Okay, the asynchronous queue is already enabled by default. I'll try drawing 10,000 queues first."

"Okay, also, the first round of technical exchange meetings at headquarters is scheduled for the afternoon of September 13th. You need to go to Hangzhou, to the Mobile Technology Training Center," Han Fei said.

Wen Jie looked at Han Fei with excited eyes: "Really? Going to Zhejiang? My hometown! Brother Fei, I have to prepare well, I can't let Qingniao down."

"uh-huh."

"Well... Brother Fei, if the exchange meeting ends early, could I go back to Huzhou on the way? It's been a long time since I've been back. The tea from the tea plantation at home... didn't my sister give you and Ruiyi some tea last time? I can go and get some more for you. I'll be back in one night, it won't take up much time."

"Sure," Han Fei said with a smile. "It's rare for you to go back, so take the opportunity to see your family. After the exchange meeting, you can arrange your own time. But don't just focus on getting tea; also give my regards to your parents. The tea isn't urgent; your safe return is the most important thing."

"Don't worry, Fei-ge," Wen Jie said. "I'll refine the accident review document a few more times in the next few days, and make sure we..."

Please clearly describe the decision-making process that involved switching from synchronous to asynchronous operations over those ten-odd minutes. By the way, could I use the architecture diagram we drew ourselves? The version Lin Feng revised for me before, I think it's particularly illustrative...

When Han Fei left, Wen Jie was still standing at the door of the technical department office, talking to himself.

He came to the stairs, ready to return to his office on the third floor, but saw someone climbing the stairs.

"Teacher Yamaishi?"

Shan Shi stopped on the stairs, looked up at Han Fei, and smiled. "President Han, I couldn't sit still at home, so I thought I'd come over for a stroll and maybe find some inspiration. I also wanted to chat with Mei Mei and Lu Hai. I just got back and I'm feeling a bit lost."

Han Fei smiled slightly: "If you're feeling unsettled, you should come here more often. Mei-jie and Lu Hai are here, you chat with them first, I'll go upstairs to take care of some things. Call me anytime if you need anything."

Zhang Huaili, the vice president of Shanghai Normal University, harbored doubts. This might be the most foolish thing he had done since taking office at the university: to quickly advance his career by engaging in a university-enterprise cooperation with NetEase. This could get him into trouble, and involving NetEase's public relations team in his son's case was even more troublesome. Now, trouble had come to meet him, entering the Banxianju teahouse and standing before him in the form of Chen Zhengyuan. As Zhang Huaili listened to Chen Zhengyuan speak, he noticed that his face was glowing, paler than usual, as if illuminated by some fissioning substance within him, like a cold nuclear fission in a nuclear reactor, posing a potential explosion danger, but temporarily under control.

"Wen Shuyan's right to be promoted to a full-fledged employee?" Zhang Huaili repeated, utterly unable to believe his ears. "Chen Zhengyuan, are you crazy? Wen Shuyan's performance has always been excellent, and the department speaks highly of her. If I interfere with her promotion without cause, and word gets out..."

'

"Get out of here?" Chen Zhengyuan interrupted, taking a stack of folded papers from his suit pocket and waving them in front of him. "Old Zhang, these are your son's attendance records and bank statements at NetEase subsidiary. What do you think will happen if this gets out, especially if it reaches the ears of the disciplinary committee?"

Zhang Huaili stared at Chen Zhengyuan, his eyes unblinking. He was so terrified that he couldn't control the twitching of his facial muscles. Countless thoughts raced through his mind, trying to find an exit from the maze. Of course, all exits were sealed off. Chen Zhengyuan wasn't stupid, at least not in this kind of situation. As long as Chen Zhengyuan had evidence that he had secretly profited from Wangyi, he would have to fulfill all of Chen Zhengyuan's demands.

"you.

"I'm not here to threaten you, Lao Zhang." Chen Zhengyuan put the paper back into his inner pocket, patted his chest, and said, "I'm here to remind you. We've known each other for so many years. I helped you get promoted to dean, helped you become vice principal, and arranged a job for your son. I remember all of these things, and you should remember them too. I just need you to do me a small favor, a very, very small favor. I didn't say I wouldn't let Wen Shuyan get a permanent position. She won't get a permanent position until next year, and I can't wait that long. I just need you to make her feel right now that getting a permanent position isn't so easy for her, that her path to permanent status has encountered a major obstacle, and that's enough."