Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Chen Yuanshan walked quickly down the corridor.

It was 8:13 in the morning, an hour after Zhang Qiming called him. It was a pleasant morning. His wife and son, the pedestrians he met along the way, and even the security guard at the company gate all seemed to be smiling at him. He felt a silent, childlike laugh bursting from his lower abdomen, just like the laughter Zhang Qiming had made on the phone.

"Yuanshan, I didn't mistake you for someone else, did I?"

Chen Yuanshan said, "Of course not. The Qingniao case is not just a successful project, but also the first and most powerful proof of the content-based SP strategy I've been pushing for. The 15.7% figure is enough to make me stand taller and be more persuasive in my subsequent strategic deployments."

But Zhang Qiming clearly didn't mean that: "Yuanshan, that kid Han Fei didn't disappoint headquarters, did he?"

"Hahaha... Old Zhang, I've known you for almost thirty years. When did you learn to talk to me like this? I poured my heart out to you, analyzing the strategic direction at length, and it turns out you only care about people. That protective attitude of your own son is suffocating me even through the phone line. Alright, alright, you, Zhang Qiming, have a keen eye for talent, and your recommendation is commendable. I'll definitely give you a credit in the year-end performance review. Han Fei, that kid, truly has the bearing of a great general. You not only chose the right project, but also the right person. You can rest assured with your daughter with him!"

"Chen Yuanshan, can you please stop being so sarcastic? I'm talking to you about serious business!"

"Serious business? Everything I said is serious business! Don't worry, Han Fei will receive every penny of support from headquarters. After we're done with this, I'll find a chance to see for myself just what kind of extraordinary person this kid is that makes you, Zhang Qiming, call him at seven in the morning to show off!"

Chen Yuanshan knocked on the door of Senior Vice President Liu Zhenhua's office, the conversation still echoing in his mind.

"Oh, everyone's here?" Chen Yuanshan said, walking to the sofa and sitting down between Fang Jing and Zhao Guoqiang, nodding to Liu Zhenhua who was sitting at the desk.

"Judging from Yuanshan's beaming face, he must already know," Liu Zhenhua said with a smile.

"Mr. Liu, you got this news even faster than I did. Old Zhang called me at seven this morning, his voice so loud, he practically wanted the whole world to know that the junior manager had done it again. Official number pool, 30 test entries, 15.7% conversion rate, two percentage points higher than before. What does this mean? It means that Qingniao's success wasn't based on speculation through gray channels, or luck in a one-off deal. With proper equipment and an official number pool, they can still succeed, and succeed even better. This 15.7% is ten times more valuable than the previous 13.7%."

"Indeed, now we have complete confidence," Liu Zhenhua said, taking a sip of tea. "What are the attitudes of Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces now?"

Chen Yuanshan slowly rubbed his chin: "Although they don't know about this news yet, they seem to have a lot of confidence in Qingniao. Yesterday, Wang Hongxin and Sun Weimin called to urge me, saying that the sooner the pilot program is opened, the sooner users can be accumulated. Their technical team has already prepared the interface and is just waiting for Qingniao's content to be transferred."

"General Manager Liu," Zhao Guoqiang said, "to be honest, the provincial company is under pressure. Their annual data is what it is; there are only a handful of new growth points. The Qingniao project has such impressive data; they've been eyeing it for a long time. If we keep holding back, even if they don't say it, they'll definitely be wondering what headquarters is waiting for."

Liu Zhenhua nodded slowly: "The provincial company's logic is simple: if there's performance to be achieved, they'll push for it; if there's a trend, they'll seize it. For them, delaying the opening by a month means a loss of hundreds of thousands or even millions in revenue. Opening it too early will disrupt Han Fei's plans. So it seems we're in a dilemma now. Han Fei's strategy of delaying Tencent's entry is correct. But keeping Qingniao's excellent data and model from the provincial companies is not only a waste of time and market opportunities, but it might even dampen their enthusiasm."

"Mr. Liu is right," Zhao Guoqiang said. "Moreover, the opening of pilot programs in Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces represents real resources for Qingniao. How many users and how much revenue can it bring to Qingniao?"

Chen Yuanshan shook his head: "But if we push Tencent too far, they might enter the competition early, which would be a bad thing for Qingniao."

Liu Zhenhua pondered for a moment, then looked at Fang Jing: "Fang Jing, you've had contact with Han Fei and overheard his entire conversation with Xu Cheng. What are your thoughts?"

"Hmm," Fang Jing said, "I think the most crucial issue right now is that while our two viewpoints share the same goal, their pace isn't fully aligned. One viewpoint is to open the pilot program in the two provinces as soon as possible, scale up the model, and allow both China Mobile and Qingniao to achieve a leap in performance; the other viewpoint is to follow Han Fei's pace, continue to stall Tencent, and buy time. These two things are not contradictory in themselves, but we need to find a balance."

"What balance point?" Chen Yuanshan asked.

Fang Jing shook her head: "I can't say for sure right now. But I think we can discuss it with Han Fei. He now has the 15.7% data, so he's more confident than before. Maybe he already has some new ideas that we haven't thought of."

"Okay," Liu Zhenhua said. "Then find some time to contact Han Fei, not to give orders, but to discuss it. Tell him that headquarters' support is real and will not change. But the pilot project can't be dragged on indefinitely. Let him think of a way that satisfies both sides, allowing us to invest resources from both provinces while continuing to stall Tencent. Of course, I promised him that he can control the pace of support himself, and that won't change. If he really can't think of anything, then let's just go with his original pace. He's already under a lot of pressure, so let's not put any more pressure on him."

Fang Jing smiled slightly: "I understand, President Liu."

Chen Yuanshan stretched and said, "Then it's settled. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Fang."

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind," Fang Jing said, standing up. "Mr. Liu, if there's nothing else, I'll go and make the preparations?"

"Okay, go ahead," Liu Zhenhua said.

Fang Jing nodded, walked out of the office, and closed the door behind her.

At the same time, Han Fei pushed open the door to the conference room of Qingniao Publishing House. The conference room was full of technical team and editorial staff members, and even Zhang Ruiyi had arrived. Excited and loud voices echoed inside.

"Brother Fei!" Wen Jie shouted, rushing over to hug him.