1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Chapter 172 Reencounter with Lei Jun (Part 2 Combined)

The corridor returned to silence.

Only Dong Jianguo and Li Wan remained, leaning against the wall, listening to the noise coming from afar.

"He...is gone?" Li Wan asked cautiously.

"Okay, I'm leaving." Dong Jianguo nodded, looking at Li Wan's still somewhat pale face, feeling a mix of emotions.

"Nation-building —"

Li Wan bit her lip, raised her head, and looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Just now—in the movie theater—"

"I know." Dong Jianguo interrupted her, took a deep breath, and his tone became serious. "Li Wan, what happened just now was an accident. That kiss—let's pretend it never happened."

"What?!"

Li Wan's face turned deathly pale instantly. She stared at Dong Jianguo in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes: "What did you say? Nothing happened? Dong Jianguo, you bastard! You just—"

Dong Jianguo said coldly, his eyes devoid of any warmth: "Li Wan, I have a wife and a daughter. I came to Beijing to learn, to help my factory do better."

"It would make my family's life better. I can't, and I won't, let them down."

"But—but you were clearly aroused just now too!"

"That's a physiological reaction, it doesn't mean anything."

Dong Jianguo turned his head away, not daring to look her in the eye: "Li Wan, you're a good girl. You should find someone who's a good match for you, someone who can give you a future. That person isn't me."

o

"Marrying someone of equal social standing? The future?"

Li Wanqi gave a bitter laugh, and tears finally streamed down her face.

"Dong Jianguo, you're so hypocritical. You clearly like me too, you clearly want me too, so why do you use these high-sounding reasons to reject me? Is it because my kiss just now was too forward? Did it make you think I'm frivolous? Or is it because you think I'm not good enough for your 'loyal and devoted' wife?"

"Neither."

Dong Jianguo's voice was low, yet it carried an undeniable firmness: "It's because I can't. I owe Xiuyun too much—I—"

Dong Jianguo knew that Li Wan had helped him a lot.

I owe her just as much—

A thousand words reached my lips, but only three words came out: "I'm sorry—"

Li Wan cried.

Dong Jianguo could only remain awkwardly silent.

He couldn't answer.

Because he knew that from the moment he was reborn, he was destined to owe many people something.

Xiuyun, Xiaojuzi — and now Li Wan in front of me.

All he could give her was disappointment.

"Let's go," Dong Jianguo said simply in the end. "We can't watch the movie now. I'll take you back to the guesthouse."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the stairwell.

Li Wan stood there, watching his resolute back as he walked away, crying her heart out.

"Dong Jianguo! You bastard!"

Her cries echoed in the empty corridor, but they didn't elicit even a glance from the man.

Dong Jianguo paused for a moment, but ultimately did not stop.

He simply clenched his fists tightly together, his nails digging deep into his palms, leaving several deep crescent-shaped marks.

He knew that every word he had just uttered was slowly torturing Li Wan's heart, and also slowly torturing his own.

But he had to do it.

Because he is a married man.

He cannot succumb to despair.

Even though that kiss was so real, so unforgettable for him—

The hustle and bustle of the Xidan Dahua Cinema receded into the distance like the receding tide.

Dong Jianguo walked on the streets of Beijing in April. The evening breeze, carrying a chill, brushed against his burning face.

The words "Dong Jianguo, you bastard!" still echoed in his ears, each syllable like a fine needle piercing his already wounded soul.

A heart riddled with holes.

He didn't turn around.

He knew that if he turned back, his pitiful rationality would collapse instantly.

In order not to betray Xiuyun, and in order not to ruin Li Wan, he had no choice but to be a bastard.

"Ugh."

A long sigh dissipated in the wind.

He didn't want to go back to the guesthouse at the young entrepreneurs training center.

In that courtyard, there were Chen Zhiyong's jokes and classmates' pleasantries.

What did Mr. Lu Xun say again?

Human joys and sorrows are not shared; they only serve to annoy people!

All he wants now is to be alone, to find a secluded corner, and to indulge in his shameful vulnerability.

"Driver, to Zhongguancun." Dong Jianguo hailed a taxi and gave his destination.

The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror and said in a thick Beijing accent, "Hey, young man, going to trade in a computer? It's bustling there now, but it's a dangerous place, don't get ripped off."

Dong Jianguo didn't say anything, but just leaned back in the back seat and closed his eyes to rest.

The car headed north, crossing half of Beijing. Finally, it stopped in front of a bustling and vibrant neighborhood.

Zhongguancun.

In 1995, Zhongguancun did not yet have the magnificent skyscrapers that it would later become; it was more like a huge distribution center for electronic components.

The storefronts along the road were open, and loudspeakers were playing broken Chinese and English jingles on a loop. The air was filled with the smell of pine resin from new circuit boards and the smoky aroma of roadside barbecue skewers.

Dong Jianguo paid the money and wandered aimlessly down the street.

His mind was in turmoil.

Li Wan's tear-streaked face and Xiu Yun's gentle admonitions on the phone were like two tangled threads battling in his mind.

"I'm doing this for their own good—"

Dong Jianguo said to himself, trying to find some psychological comfort.

But even he couldn't convince himself with this excuse. He clearly saw the despair in Li Wan's eyes, a despair born from having extinguished hope with his own hands.

Dong Jianguo cursed irritably and kicked a soda can off the roadside.

The aluminum can crashed against a roadside utility pole with a loud thud and rolled into a small shop next door.

"Hey! Who's here?"

A gasp came from inside the store.

Dong Jianguo looked closely and saw a simple sign hanging at the entrance of the store that read "Kingsoft Software".

The store wasn't brightly lit, and several bulky computer monitors emitted a faint blue light.

Several young people wearing plaid shirts were gathered around a table, seemingly having a heated discussion.

Right next to that table, a familiar figure was holding a thick stack of papers, seemingly preparing to distribute them.

It's Lei Jun.

He was that young man who had given him some pointers in the restaurant, saying he wanted to "explore the blue ocean market."

Lei Jun looked even more haggard than the last time they met.

Her dark circles were heavy, and her hair was a little messy, but the light in her eyes was even brighter than last time.

What he was holding in his hand was a stack of "user survey questionnaires".

"Is it you?"

Lei Jun also saw Dong Jianguo at the door, paused for a moment, and then a surprised smile appeared on his face: "Brother Jianguo?"

What a coincidence! You're here to—investigate the market?

Dong Jianguo looked at the questionnaire in his hand, then at the few computers in the store that were still flashing. The slight irritation he felt due to emotions was suddenly washed away by something grander.

He walked into the store and picked up a few questionnaires that were scattered on the ground for Lei Jun.

"Take a look." Dong Jianguo smiled and handed him the questionnaire. "What are you doing? Conducting a public opinion poll?"

Lei Jun took the questionnaire, shook his head with a wry smile, and pulled Dong Jianguo to sit down on a chair.

"Don't even mention it, Brother Jianguo. After hearing what you said last time, I felt so enlightened. We've decided to stop making that ridiculously expensive office software and start making something fun that ordinary people can afford."

Lei Jun pointed to a simple computer game running on a computer screen next to him.

Dong Jianguo looked at the rudimentary game interface and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

This is supposed to be the starting point for future internet giants, but now it looks so shabby.

"Good idea." Dong Jianguo nodded, pointing to the paper in his hand: "So this is the survey done for this game?"

"Yes." Lei Jun's expression turned serious. "I think that before making a product, you have to know what users want. So I designed this questionnaire to ask passersby what kind of games they like to play and how much they are willing to spend on them."

"These surveys will influence our future direction."

As he spoke, Lei Jun turned to leave: "Come on, Jianguo, you've come at the right time. Help me distribute these questionnaires, let's collect some data so I can go back and modify the code!"

Seeing Lei Jun's energetic appearance, Dong Jianguo suddenly smiled.

He grabbed Lei Jun and pressed him back into his chair.

"Dude, you'll only end up with gray hair no matter how many questionnaires you send out."

"Um?"

Lei Jun was stunned. He pushed up his glasses, looking puzzled. "White hair? Why? Jianguo, I took your 'blue ocean' advice to heart last time. This time, I've come fully prepared."

Dong Jianguo did not answer directly, but picked up the questionnaire on the table and casually flipped through two pages.

"Your questionnaire first asks users, 'What do you use a computer for?', 'Do you use a computer to play games?', 'What games are you willing to play?', and finally asks, 'How much are you willing to pay for game software?'"

Lei Jun's eyes widened: "Yeah, shouldn't you have asked that?!"

"That's the problem."

Dong Jianguo slammed the questionnaire on the table, a glint of wisdom—the kind only a time traveler could possess—flashing in his eyes.

"Lei Jun, you're a technical genius, but when it comes to market research, you're still a novice."

Lei Jun was somewhat embarrassed by his words, but out of respect for the "blue ocean" theory from last time, he patiently asked, "I would like to hear more details."

Dong Jianguo poured himself a glass of cold water, gulped down two mouthfuls, and then slowly said, "Your questionnaire commits the cardinal sin of leading questions. You started by asking, 'What should a computer be used for?' Most educated Chinese people's first reaction will be 'studying,' 'working,' or 'researching.' You've confined their thinking to 'serious matters.'"

"Then, if you ask them how much they're willing to pay for game software," they subconsciously feel that playing games is a waste of time. To maintain their social image, or to appear serious, their answer will most likely be "no money" or "very little money."

Lei Jun listened intently, unconsciously drawing circles on his notebook with his pen: "That makes sense—so what do you mean?"

'

"What I mean is, questionnaires are often unreliable," Dong Jianguo said, pointing to the bustling crowd outside the door. "Especially for something like yours, something completely new and undeveloped."

"Users often don't know what they need until you put it in front of them."

"The data you get from this survey will most likely make you think that nobody plays or buys the game, and you might cancel the project. But in reality, you're the one who used the questions to get the users' true thoughts."

Lei Jun remained silent.

He sat there, his brow furrowed, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, as if engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

After a long while, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with shock.

"Leading questions—preliminary questions change the answer—" Lei Jun muttered to himself, "I get it! I get it! Jianguo, what you just said is like a wake-up call!"

He stood up excitedly and paced back and forth in the small shop.

"I've been thinking about how to create products that users love. I've read many books from abroad and learned various research methods, but I never considered that these methods themselves might be flawed!"

"Users don't know what they need until you put it in front of them—that's so true!"

Lei Jun abruptly stopped, turned around, and grabbed Dong Jianguo's shoulders tightly, his eyes burning with a frightening intensity: "Then tell me, how am I supposed to know if users like something if I don't conduct surveys? Am I supposed to just work in isolation?"

Dong Jianguo looked at him and smiled slightly.

This smile made him feel so confident and at ease for the first time after going through emotional struggles.

"Of course, it's not about working behind closed doors."

Dong Jianguo took out a pack of "Hezhiwei" spicy strips from his pocket, tore open the packaging, and handed one to Lei Jun.

"Try it."

Lei Jun subconsciously took it, put it in his mouth and chewed it a couple of times.

"Hiss! Spicy! Sweet! But—it's pretty addictive!"

"That's right."

Dong Jianguo pointed to the spicy strips: "When I made these spicy strips, I didn't do any surveys to ask people if they wanted to eat sweet and spicy noodle products. Because it would be pointless; people haven't tried them, so they can't even imagine it."

"My approach is—low cost, rapid trial and error."

"I'll make a small batch first and sell it at the school gate. If people like it, I'll make more; if they don't, I'll change the recipe and the flavor. I'll find a way to succeed in the market as quickly as possible and with the least cost."

"Identify problems and solve them, instead of sitting in a room and using a questionnaire to 'prove' that you're incapable."

"Low cost, rapid trial and error —" Lei Jun chewed on these words repeatedly, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"Yes! That's exactly right!"

He slapped his thigh suddenly, as excited as a child: "I'm not going to hand out questionnaires anymore! I'm going back to the factory—no, back to the company! I'm going to finish this game as soon as possible and release it on the market so everyone can try it out! Whether it makes money or not, I just want everyone to know that computers can be used like this!"

Seeing Lei Jun's enlightened expression, Dong Jianguo felt a warmth rise in his heart.

However, he went a step further and suggested, "Perhaps, before letting people play games, it would be more appropriate to teach them how to use a computer—"

"You mean—I understand!"

Lei Jun's eyes lit up instantly!