Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

As the taxi passed the Shanghai Exhibition Center and Waibaidu Bridge, Xu Cheng stared blankly into the rearview mirror, his mind racing.

"This is too strange," Xu Cheng thought. "Han Fei is such a strange person. He's neither like those small business owners who get nervous around giants, nor like those opportunists who spout empty boasts. He's suspiciously candid, and naturally guarded. He showed us the publishing house's operations, the technical team, and even the backend data without reservation. And his words about the team's morale, spirit, and sense of belonging sounded like a heartfelt outpouring, but they could also be a carefully crafted smokescreen."

The problem is that Xu Cheng currently has no evidence to prove whether Han Fei's expression is genuine or a smokescreen; he can only judge based on intuition. Or to be more precise, he can only gamble.

Two possibilities: A. Han Fei is sincere. B. Han Fei is creating a smokescreen.

But what if he makes the wrong bet...?

If he bets on A, develops a detailed incubation plan, and prepares to take over Qingniao, but the result is B, then he will be watching helplessly as his competitors outpace him in a strategic track, and he will become the culprit of Tencent.

What about betting on B? Upon returning, immediately report to headquarters, activate Plan B, and fully commit to the self-built project, preparing to enter the competition. This means completely abandoning the investment. But if the result is A, it means missing a great investment opportunity.

Qingniao's average conversion rate is already as high as 14.5%. Whether the company can catch up with Qingniao by the time it invests significant capital, labor, and time to build its platform and accumulate enough articles is still unknown. The cost of investment is far less than building it from scratch. To suggest that the company pursue high-investment self-construction instead of taking the shortcut is to be a traitor to Tencent.

The taxi was driving along the Yan'an Road elevated highway towards the airport. Just then, Xu Cheng's phone rang. It was Ma Huateng calling. Xu Cheng took a deep breath and answered.

"Have you seen the person?" Ma Huateng asked. "How was it?"

"Pony, it just ended. This person is very special, I'm a little unsure for now."

"What does 'not sure' mean? Does he have a problem or not?"

"He seemed very candid and willing to cooperate, but he proposed an incubation plan. He wanted us to send people over to mentor them and provide small-scale traffic testing, and then discuss deeper cooperation once his team was convinced. This sounds reasonable. Moreover... their conversion rate data is too stable, with an average conversion rate of 14.5%. If we can really secure their services... the main issue is that I haven't yet figured out whether they have the support of China Mobile's headquarters."

"So what's your current assessment?"

Xu Cheng sighed, wearily wiping his face with his hand: "My suggestion is to stick to the original plan for now. We shouldn't make any big moves on our side. We should continue to quietly build up our technical and content reserves while gathering intelligence. Also, as he suggested, we should draft an incubation plan. That way, no matter what the final outcome, we... won't be too passive."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Xu Cheng felt a bead of sweat slide down his shoulder blade, and a drop of sweat appeared above his lips.

"Come back first, we'll have a meeting tomorrow to finalize the plan," Ma Huateng said.

Before Xu Cheng could reply, the call was disconnected.

The taxi pulled up to the sidewalk next to Terminal 1 of Hongqiao Airport and stopped.

Looking out the car window at the simple, smooth gray cement steps in front of the terminal, Xu Cheng realized that while his report had been sound, it also implicitly admitted that he couldn't break the deadlock for the time being. Ma Huateng's brief silence made him feel the pressure from headquarters' determination to win this race.

......

"You must have had quite a fruitful trip, right?" Zhang Qiming said as he set out teacups, walked to the corner of the office, and turned on the water dispenser to boil water.

Fang Jing smiled slightly: "It's bigger than I expected."

Tell me about it.

"Han Fei, the things you said about him before, like his flexible thinking and strong execution, were just labels. But after actually meeting him and talking to him, I realized what's behind those labels."

"What is it?" Zhang Qiming asked, sitting down in the chair opposite Fang Jing.

"He's clear-headed," Fang Jing said. "He knows what he wants, and he knows what his opponent wants. He even knows what he can and cannot give his opponent. In that negotiation with Xu Cheng, he controlled the pace of the entire process. When Xu Cheng tried to apply pressure, he talked about ideals; when Xu Cheng wanted to talk about investment, he dragged out the process; when Xu Cheng brought up the incubation plan, he kicked the ball back to Xu Cheng, making him go back to coordinate internal resources. From beginning to end, Xu Cheng never got a clue about his trump card."

The water dispenser started to make a low humming sound.

Zhang Qiming nodded, a smile playing on his lips: "How far do you think Han Fei can go?"

Fang Jing leaned back on the sofa, crossed her arms over her chest, and thought for a while: "He has something very special about him. He can both deduce things ten steps ahead and keep people calm in front of him. Such a person either achieves great things or is seen as a thorn in the side by the bigwigs. It seems that he belongs to the former."

"Oh? You think so highly of him?"

"During my stay at the publishing house, I observed more than just his business. I also watched how he treated his team and how he treated your daughter. A person who can inspire those around him to work tirelessly for him is not just lucky."

Zhang Qiming picked up his teacup and went to the water dispenser to get some water: "That girl Ruiyi, I see her running around to the publishing house all day now. I feel quite at ease knowing she can stay by Han Fei's side."

"I've seen your daughter's design; the cover is excellent. She's not just following along; she's truly involved."

"It's good to get involved." Zhang Qiming handed a teacup to Fang Jing. "Han Fei is under a lot of pressure, with the publishing house on one side and his father on the other. But he has never mentioned a single difficulty to me."

Fang Jing stared blankly at the sky and nodded.

"Mr. Zhang, for the next period of time, we'll keep an eye on things at Qingniao from both sides. You focus on getting the Shanghai number pool approved as soon as possible, while I'll handle the coordination with headquarters and keep track of the situation. If anything unusual happens, let us know immediately."

"Yes, I can release 200 million phone numbers from the local Shanghai phone number pool anytime. That should be enough for him for a while."

"That's good." Fang Jing picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "There's one more thing. Although Han Fei temporarily stalled Xu Cheng today, someone like Xu Cheng, who can't hide his emotions, is unlikely to fully accept Han Fei's explanation. However, the problem he faces now isn't whether to believe Han Fei, but whether to trust his own judgment. As long as there's no solid evidence to prove that Han Fei is intentionally delaying, I think he'll be more inclined to accept Han Fei's proposal. Because directly activating Plan B is not only too costly, but it also means completely abandoning the cooperation with Qingniao. If it's a misjudgment, he can't bear that responsibility."

Zhang Qiming nodded: "In other words, Han Fei's delaying tactic was not just about buying time, but also about making Xu Cheng stall himself."

"That's right. Xu Cheng has to trust Han Fei because the cost of not trusting him is too high. But at the same time, he also has to be suspicious because suspicion is his instinct. This contradiction will slow down his decision-making. So what we need to do is be careful when contacting Qingniao and not let Xu Cheng find any evidence."