Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

"Director Xu, I find your idea of ​​jointly setting the rules very appealing," Han Fei said, tossing his cigarette butt into a paper cup, the flame extinguishing with a hiss. "The incubation plan you mentioned is also very appealing. However, even though we're a small team, we can't be led astray before we've even figured out our direction. Since we've already established the general direction and consensus today, why don't you ask Director Xu to draft a cooperation framework under the name of Tencent, putting everything we just discussed into writing? I'll also take these next few days to share what we discussed today with my team, listen to their thoughts, and give them time to process it. By the time your draft is ready, I'll have a clearer picture, and both sides will have a more defined cooperation blueprint. Then we can sit down and go through it point by point. This way, we respect your internal processes while also considering the feelings of my team. It's not only more reliable, but it's also easier for both of us to explain ourselves."

Xu Cheng observed Han Fei expressionlessly, thinking that this incubation plan was indeed a low-cost, low-risk option for Tencent.

Currently, a potentially successful team can be incubated with just technical guidance and a small pool of users. If the investment is ultimately successful, it will be a very worthwhile deal. Even if it doesn't, this cooperation framework will allow for a deeper understanding of Qingniao's operating model, technical capabilities, and content strategy, accumulating intelligence for future Plan B. Moreover, the specifics of the cooperation framework are entirely under Tencent's control, so there's no fear of being led by the nose by Han Fei.

"Yes, President Han's suggestion is very professional and respectable," Xu Cheng said.

"You flatter me."

Xu Cheng made his decision, resolutely drank the last sip of water, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand: "Alright, let's do it your way. When I get back, I'll have our colleagues draft a 'Cooperative Incubation Framework Draft' based on what we discussed today. It will cover the scope of technical mentoring, the definition of intellectual property rights, the traffic and data sharing mechanism for small-channel testing, and priority clauses for subsequent in-depth cooperation. It should be written as clearly and practically as possible, rather than a vague strategic cooperation intention letter."

"Then I'll have to trouble Director Xu," Han Fei said.

Xu Cheng stood up.

The two looked at each other.

"That's settled then. President Han, today's trip was well worth it. You've shown me a different kind of entrepreneur. I'll get someone to finish the draft as soon as possible. We can schedule another time to discuss it further then," Xu Cheng said.

Han Fei smiled faintly: "Alright, I look forward to Director Xu's proposal."

Xu Cheng shook hands with Han Fei, a long and firm handshake.

Xu Cheng walked towards the door, but suddenly turned back: "By the way, President Han, I really like your idea of ​​a soft landing. However, after a soft landing, you either land smoothly or get stuck in the mud. I hope that next time we meet, we can go from being able to talk to being able to do something."

......

Han Fei took a drag of his cigarette, watching the smoke rise and dissipate. This process begins with farmers sowing tobacco seeds in the fields of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Within four months, the seeds grow into tobacco plants as tall as a person. Two months later, they are harvested, sorted, dried, shredded, and packaged. Then, they are transported to a tobacco company in Shanghai, where they are transformed into cigarettes with filters. Finally, they are packaged into Double Happiness brand boxes and transported to cigarette stalls on the corner of Fuzhou Road.

A leaf, once on a green plant under the bright sun of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, was pulled from a cigarette pack months later by a publishing house president as he finally saw another man off. He put one end of a cigarette in his mouth and lit the other. The dry, chopped tobacco leaves were inhaled, bringing him a brief moment of pleasure, before being exhaled, finally free. Freedom dissipated, vanished into nothingness. Forgotten.

The documentation specialist from the technical team walked in without knocking.

"President Han, you did a fantastic job just now," she said, sitting down in the chair opposite the desk.

Han Fei looked at her, and their eyes met. She had removed the disguise of her hat, mask, and glasses.

"Really?" Han Fei said, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Looks like you heard everything. Are you just praising me, or are you planning to give me a high score in the report?"

The woman smiled slightly and extended one hand.

Han Fei looked at the woman with a questioning expression.

"Let's get to know each other formally," the woman said with a smile. "I'm Fang Jing, Director of Mobile Strategic Development."

Han Fei was stunned for a moment, then showed a relieved yet helpless expression and shook hands with Fang Jing.

"Mr. Fang, your disguise as a document specialist is quite costly. Let me guess, was this infiltration a special arrangement by headquarters, or did you come here yourself to see for yourself just how capable I, the junior manager targeted by Xu Cheng, really am?"

Fang Jing chuckled softly: "President Han, President Liu does indeed want to understand the soul of this project more deeply. I've seen countless reports and data, but data and reports won't tell me how a young man who could get the green light from the mobile headquarters, when facing Tencent's strategy director, revealed limited information to gain trust, how he used sentiment and humanity to defuse the pressure from the giant to poach him, and how he used team morale and a soft landing to turn the tables, throwing the problem back to Xu Cheng, forcing him to go back and solve complex internal resource coordination issues, and finally executing the delaying tactic so beautifully. What I saw today was more fascinating than any report."

"President Fang, please don't rush to praise me," Han Fei said with a smile. "Headquarters sent you here in person, certainly not just to watch me put on a show. Since you heard the whole thing, how long do you think I can keep stalling?"

"Well, following the normal procedure, drafting that 'Cooperative Incubation Framework Draft' requires Tencent to coordinate resources from its technology, legal, and business departments. Just collecting internal opinions alone would take at least a week. After the draft is completed, they still need to discuss it internally and determine the bottom line for negotiation, which would take another week. By the time the draft is actually delivered to you, three weeks might have already passed. However, there's a problem..."

"The support from headquarters will be fully implemented before then," Han Fei interjected. "After Xu Cheng goes back, he won't just wait for the draft; he'll also have people monitoring our movements. Once the pilot programs in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces are launched, our SMS push notifications will start to include province-specific content, and our conversion rate data will show significant regional differences. Tencent's people will be able to deduce immediately that we've obtained provincial pilot program permissions from the mobile headquarters."