Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Chapter 183 Salon

Su Beining reported on three novels about rural ethics from the northern Jiangsu region, which had a heavier tone than those from the southern Jiangsu region.

Han Fei summarized the meeting, briefly introduced the first draft of his "Oral History of My Hometown" project, which he had spent an entire weekend completing, and told everyone to get ready before adjourning the meeting.

The chairs scraped against each other. After everyone left the meeting room, Han Fei and Zhang Ruiyi looked down at a copy of the "Shanghai Morning Post," which contained a commentary written by Yang Zheng titled "From 'Borrowing Seeds' to 'Oral History': The Bluebird's Upward Growth," taking a relatively positive angle.

After a while, the two looked up and saw that Lu Hai was still sitting in the conference room.

"Is there anything else?" Han Fei asked.

"Uh, President," Lu Hai said, "Are you really going to Jiangsu in person?"

"What's wrong? Do you think he shouldn't go?" Zhang Ruiyi asked.

Lu Hai fiddled with the notebook in his hand: "That's not it... I just felt that since the presidents of Guangdong and Zhejiang both sent Zhou Tao and me, Jiangsu is about the same, right? Now that I have the experience from Guangdong, I feel like I can get things done in Jiangsu."

"Guangdong uses open bidding," Han Fei said. "The process is written out in stone; you just need to submit your materials. Zhejiang has Guangdong's template, so Zhou Tao could just copy it without much trouble. But this time in Jiangsu, it wasn't a bidding process; the head of their data business department called personally, immediately mentioning a 38% conversion rate and the differences between southern and northern Jiangsu. What does that say?"

"So...they've studied us?"

Han Fei shook his head: "This shows they're not just looking for partners, they're picking people to work with in the market. I'd better handle this kind of non-standard arrangement myself."

"And they even called personally," Zhang Ruiyi added. "If Han Fei doesn't go, their first impression might be that Qingniao is arrogant, or that no one at Qingniao can make decisions."

Lu Hai nodded thoughtfully.

"But you'll be there this time too," Han Fei said.

Lu Hai's eyes lit up: "Me?"

"Okay, you come with me and write down every key point I discussed with Jiangsu Mobile. Pay attention to exactly what I said and how I answered questions. When we get back, compile it into a memo for provincial non-tender cooperation negotiations. Also, you need to write a simulation plan on how you plan to negotiate if Shandong Mobile makes the same call."

"President, what's going on...?"

'

"Shandong, Fujian, and then Henan and Sichuan. I can't possibly travel to every province myself. If you watch this match with me, you'll be at the table by yourself next time."

Han Fei smiled slightly: "Alright, go ahead and get busy. I'll let you know when the time is set."

Lu Hai left the conference room.

Han Fei glanced at his watch and stood up. "Alright, let's not sit here any longer. I'll go back and get ready; the salon should begin soon."

"What do you think she'll talk to you about?" Zhang Ruiyi asked.

"Hmm... I don't know," Han Fei said. "If she wants to talk about the industry, I can have some real conversations with her. But if she wants to clean up Chen Zhengyuan's mess, then this salon will be a one-woman show for her, and I'll leave after I'm done."

Han Fei drove to the front of an old villa at No. 12 Hengshan Road and saw a layer of recently fallen leaves spread across the park ground like a damp, yellow tarpaulin. A dark-skinned foreign girl stood by the bus stop, arms crossed, chewing gum, her eyes fixed on the large Metersbonwe GG brand sign across the street. Han Fei got out of the car and found the name "Yuanqi Tea House" on the bluestone slab beside the villa's door.

"Zhuxuan." Han Fei announced the name of the private room, and the head waiter led him into the room.

The private room was empty. The space, less than ten square meters, was divided into two areas by a screen. In the outer room, a long table with a dark gray tablecloth stood by the window. In the inner room, there was a set of fabric sofas surrounding a low table. A young woman sat on the sofa, with a teapot and coffee machine on the low table. She turned around when she heard someone enter.

"Mr. Wang," Han Fei said.

"President Han?" Wang Yu's eyes lit up, and she stretched out her hand. "I just saw you downstairs from the window. You came up so quickly. I thought you would have a smoke at the door before coming in."

How did you know I smoke?

"Just guessing. In the publishing industry, especially for a publishing president like you who led a team out of dire straits, nine and a half out of ten people rely on cigarettes to stay awake."

The two sat down. To outsiders, this appeared to be a salon hosted by Qingniao, as Wang Yu sat upright on the edge of the sofa, while Han Fei casually leaned back in an armchair.

Han Fei found the woman before him rather strange. She looked to be under thirty; her grey suit had just been ironed, her lips were thin, and her hair was short for a woman. While her face was frank and childlike, bordering on naive, she exuded an air of composure. Yet, she also gave the impression of having lived life to the fullest; the elongated piercings on her earlobes indicated she had worn heavy earrings, and the fine lines around her eyes suggested she had indulged in pleasure.

"Would you like some tea or something else?" Wang Yu asked. "We have Longjing tea, Zhengshan Xiaozhong tea, and freshly ground coffee. But I can't guarantee the freshness of the coffee beans."

"Then Longjing tea will do," Han Fei said. Wang Yu picked up the kettle and began to warm the cups, his movements very practiced.

"Has the others not arrived yet?" Han Fei asked, taking the teacup.

"Two more friends will arrive a little later. One runs a small SP game content company in Shanghai, which previously collaborated with Guangdong Mobile. The other is a freelance writer who previously worked for the culture section of Southern Weekly for over six years and now writes culture commentary columns for 21st Century Business Herald and Xinmin Evening News, and occasionally does some selection work for publishers."

The project was planned by people from the same industry, and they were all very easygoing and approachable.

Han Fei nodded and took a sip of tea.

Wang Yu looked down at his clasped hands: "President Han, I want to apologize to you first. At the launch meeting at the Normal University last Friday, President Chen's behavior was very inappropriate. Regardless of his personal motives, and regardless of how NetEase views this matter internally, as someone from NetEase's Strategic Development Department, since I have the opportunity to sit here face to face with you today, I should speak up for the company and apologize for putting you in that situation in public. I... am very sorry."

"It's okay," Han Fei said, looking at her slender neck bent over, her hair piled up, and her hands resting on the table. "I know this has nothing to do with you. And to be honest, I didn't suffer any loss that day."

"I saw the news," Wang Yu said cheerfully. "The fourth page of Southern Weekly had a really clear photo. Your oral history project is indeed excellent. The launch meeting that NetEase spent a lot of money on had your name, Han Fei, on the front page."

Han Fei responded with a slight smile.

"Of course, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to say that it was a misjudgment of Mr. Chen to call you up on stage that day."

We've all seen the consequences of this mistake. I'm sitting here today apologizing not for any other reason than because this whole thing wasn't handled well.

Han Fei realized that the purpose of these words was not only an apology, but also a subtle strategic severance. Wang Yu clearly distinguished Chen Zhengyuan's personal behavior from NetEase's strategic development department, simply to send him a signal: NetEase was not a monolithic entity, and she, Wang Yu, belonged to the faction that "understands the rules and is communicative."

"So," Han Fei said, "let's not let that kind of thing ruin our meeting today. Since this is an industry exchange, and Mr. Wang has gone to the trouble of organizing this event and inviting colleagues, let's talk about something that is valuable to both of us."

"Of course, of course, the apology was just a side effect. The main reason I invited you here today is to talk to you about the content."

"Um?"

"I worked on product development at NetEase for three years," Wang Yu said, raising her eyes. "I experienced the craziest period of the SP (Service Provider) business. We did SMS quizzes, ringtone downloads, and image subscriptions. Back then, everyone's logic was the same: a large user base didn't matter if the conversion rate was low, as long as the quantity increased. But your work with Qingniao made me realize that users are genuinely willing to pay for good content. It's not about being misled or making a mistake; it's about willingly taking out ten yuan."

Han Fei took a sip of tea, but Wang Yu didn't touch her cup.

"During my time in the Strategic Development Department, I dissected many of your novels. I filled dozens of pages with analysis in my notebook. I discovered that your stories all share a common formula." Wang Yu paused, "Repression, resistance, forbearance..."

Revenge...you've only found the key to unlock these codes.

"If those veteran writers who call us literary garbage heard you say that, they would think you're praising us."

o

"I don't care what they think," Wang Yu said firmly. "What I care about is whether this model can be sustained. Qingniao is growing very fast now, but the ceiling for the content industry isn't traffic, it's people. Your core asset is your authors. So what if one day someone offers double the royalties to poach your top authors?

Han Fei raised an eyebrow. Xu Cheng had asked this question before. However, when Xu Cheng asked, he used the phrase "our Tencent."

Wang Yu used a tone more like that of an "industry observer."

"You're not the first person to ask me this question," Han Fei said. "My answer is the same as last time: money can lure people away, but it can't take away the sense of existence that authors find here."

Wang Yu looked at Han Fei with eager eyes: "This is the answer I most want to hear."

At that moment, the door to the tea room was pushed open.

A middle-aged man in a dark gray jacket walked in, followed by a young woman with a ponytail. The man was carrying a magazine, which Han Fei immediately recognized as Bluebird Magazine. The young woman had a small digital camera hanging around her neck, the lens cap still on.

"Mr. Wang, you're not late, are you?" The middle-aged man said with a smile, placing the magazine on the table and extending his hand to Han Fei. "President Han, it's an honor to meet you. My name is Zhao Ping, and I work on SP mini-games. We've collaborated with Guangdong Mobile before. I've read your Bluebird Magazine several times; it's very well written."

Han Fei shook hands with him and then nodded to the young woman. The woman introduced herself as Su Wan.

For the next hour or so, Zhao Ping talked about the pitfalls he encountered when making SP games, such as incompatibility with certain phone models,

The user complaint rate is high, and the conversion rate is less than three percent. Su Wan analyzed the trend of paid content from a media perspective, saying that she had done a topic planning for a newspaper about Qingniao, but it was not published because it was not approved at the topic meeting.

Han Fei's conversation with them wasn't particularly in-depth, but it wasn't perfunctory either. He noticed that Wang Yu acted more as a facilitator than a participant throughout the process. She rarely expressed her own opinions, focusing instead on guiding the conversation. This sense of propriety made Han Fei feel that what she truly wanted to hear today wasn't the platitudes he had uttered in front of Zhao Ping and Su Wan.

Wang Yu announced that it was time for a tea break. Han Fei followed her through the private room to a covered terrace and sat down on a large wooden chair. Hengshan Road was quiet and deserted, except for his Xiali car. Han Fei took out a pack of cigarettes.

"Could I have a cigarette?"

"You smoke?"

Wang Yu chuckled a few times: "I smoke sometimes. I think smoking helps me... calm down."

"Yes, and it helps with thinking." Han Fei patted the cigarette box, and two cigarettes came out.

"Could you light it for me?"

Han Fei frowned, hesitated for a moment, lit two cigarettes, and then handed one to Wang Yu.

"Sailing," Wang Yu said, "Hmm...Hmm...What was the male lead's name again in that movie?"

"Henryd," Han Fei said, "Paul Henryd."

"Which actress was he lighting her cigarette for?"

"Betty Davis."

"This movie is amazing. Want me to get you some drinks?"

"No, thank you. By the way, why aren't they coming over?"

Wang Yu smiled slightly: "Maybe it's because I don't like secondhand smoke."

Han Fei looked at the park across the street: "Hmm, many people don't like it."

"Han Fei".

Han Fei was surprised to hear Wang Yu suddenly change his form of address. He turned his head.

"I'll say something you might not like to hear," Wang Yu pouted and took a drag of her cigarette. The smoke blurred her vision. "Qingniao's biggest risk right now isn't Tencent, it's not us, it's not any other internet company, and it's certainly not those black market operators who produce illegal publications."

"What is that?"

It's yourself.

Han Fei looked at the cigarette glow.

"You're too tired." Wang Yu bent her legs and rested her head on her knees. "Just thinking about it is exhausting. You have to carry the burden of content, channels, technology, public relations, and capital all by yourself. Qingniao only has about a dozen people now, right? You let each of them do what they're good at, but what about you? You're doing everything. You've turned yourself into an army. Han Fei, don't you ever lose control of your emotions?"

"I haven't received much training, it's just that I got used to it over time, so I can be considered a black belt master who can lose control of his emotions."