Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 112: Let it stop there.

At 8 p.m., in a teahouse on the North Third Ring Road.

When Ren Pingsheng arrived, Zhang Chaoyang was already there.

The private room wasn't big; it had a tea table, two chairs, and a calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall. I couldn't make out what it said, nor did I intend to.

Zhang Chaoyang changed into casual clothes today, and he no longer had the aggressive demeanor he had a few days ago.

"You're right on time," he poured Ren Pingsheng a cup of tea. "I thought you'd be hesitant for days before you dared to ask me out."

Ren Pingsheng took the tea and placed it beside him.

"Mr. Zhang, about financing..."

"No need to say anything," Zhang Chaoyang raised his hand to interrupt him, a slight smile on his lips, "I guessed you chose Tencent and iQiyi."

Ren Pingsheng was taken aback, then smiled.

"To be honest, if you choose me, I think you're not a very good person."

Zhang Chaoyang picked up his teacup and swirled it. "Your biggest advantage right now is your independence. If you take my money again, Gong Yu's people will think you're a traitor, and Souhu's people will think you're playing both sides."

He took a sip of tea. "Smart people don't do this."

Ren Pingsheng looked at him, somewhat surprised.

Internet investment during this period was essentially still driven by a "taking sides" mentality.

Whoever pays you, you belong to that person.

Unlike later, when the capital market matured, it was common for a company to receive investment from its competitors at the same time.

So he came up with several excuses, but Zhang Chaoyang shut him down with just one sentence.

"Tell me, what kind of collaboration do you want to discuss with me today by inviting me for tea?"

Zhang Chaoyang saw things clearly, and Ren Pingsheng didn't beat around the bush either.

He took a document out of his bag and placed it on the tea table.

Zhang Chaoyang, the film and television development planner for "Ghost Blows Out the Light," raised an eyebrow, picked it up, and flipped through it.

"A tomb raiding theme?" His finger hovered over the title page. "Will this even pass censorship?"

"Yes, but the window of opportunity is limited," Ren Pingsheng said without elaborating on the changes in the censorship policy, "so we have to be quick."

Zhang Chaoyang didn't ask any further questions and continued scrolling down. When he saw the budget section, his expression became subtle.

"Three hundred million?"

"Conservative estimate, the actual cost may be even higher, as the set design, special effects, and other aspects are all expensive."

He closed the file, looked at Ren Pingsheng, and said, "You've never directed a single film, and you're already making something this big?"

"We won't start filming now; it will begin at the earliest by the end of next year, with a release scheduled for the summer of 14."

"Didn't you just say you wanted it to be quick? Why are we having to wait 14 years now?"

"There aren't enough screens. There are less than 7,000 screens nationwide now, but based on the current development trend, there will be a significant increase by 2014, which will be able to support a larger box office market."

Zhang Chaoyang did not refute. He reopened the document and examined it much more carefully this time.

"You little brat, you just rejected my investment, and now you're trying to lure me with an even bigger project. Mr. Ren, you're even more shameless than me."

Ren Pingsheng picked up his teacup and took a sip. "The reason we rejected Sohu's equity investment is because equity matters are complicated and have far-reaching consequences. However, project cooperation is a different matter."

"Moreover," he put down his cup, "Sohu owns Changyou, and Changyou has a need for game adaptations. I personally think that the game potential of 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' is quite good."

That hits the nail on the head.

Changyou's current cash cow is "Tian Long Ba Bu," but a game's lifespan is limited.

To be on the safe side, Changyou has been looking for the next blockbuster IP, and a top-tier IP like "Ghost Blows Out the Light" with millions of readers is an excellent choice.

"You've played a big game here, using one IP to your advantage in both movies and games."

"Three times, and also the web series."

Zhang Chaoyang stared at him for a while, then suddenly smiled.

"Okay, I'll take another look at the project and have someone check it with you later. But let me make this clear beforehand: I need to see the complete business plan, not just these two pages."

"no problem."

After finishing their business, the two of them drank tea for a while.

"There's something I've always wanted to ask you: why did you give the domain name to Tencent?"

Zhang Chaoyang put down his teacup, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.

"I can understand why you said you didn't think Sohu could beat Xinlang, and that's why you wouldn't give me the domain name."

He stared at Ren Pingsheng. "But you gave the domain name to Tencent. Tencent's Weibo only started its internal testing last week. What kind of logic is that?"

This question is not easy to answer.

Giving the domain name to Tencent is essentially paving the way for Tencent Weibo's future development. We'll also see if Tencent Weibo, with its domain name, can integrate with WeChat to create something new.

But there's no way to explain this to Zhang Chaoyang.

He couldn't very well tell Zhang Chaoyang that two years later, something called WeChat would sweep everything away, and that he was just offering his pledge of allegiance in advance.

"Mr. Zhang, I've always been curious, why are you so determined to fight Xinlang on Weibo?"

Ren Pingsheng didn't answer directly, but instead asked a question.

Zhang Chaoyang frowned upon hearing this. "Weibo is a standard feature for portal websites. Sohu has to do it. If it doesn't, Sohu will be marginalized."

"But the essence of social products is relationship chains. Once a relationship chain is established on a certain platform, the cost of switching will be infinitely high."

"So you think it's pointless for me to spend any more money?"

"It's not a complete waste of time. Sohu Weibo will definitely be able to attract a portion of users, but whether it will be a success or a failure is hard to say."

The private room was silent for a few seconds.

Zhang Chaoyang's expression wasn't good, but he didn't get angry.

He's someone who listens to advice, provided he can get through to the person speaking.

"Then tell me, what am I supposed to do?"

The question was asked with a hint of defiance.

You say this won't work, that won't work, fine, then show me the way.

Ren Pingsheng did not answer immediately.

He refilled Zhang Chaoyang's teacup and then poured himself another cup.

"Mr. Zhang, what's the most valuable thing Sohu has?"

"Portal".

"What's the most valuable thing in the portal?"

"Content," Zhang Chaoyang blurted out, "News, entertainment, sports, finance, videos—our Sohu has the strongest news gathering and editing team in China."

Speaking of this, his confidence returned.

While this may be an exaggeration, Sohu's content production capabilities are indeed top-notch in the industry at this time.

"But this content can only be seen by users who actively open the search bar," Ren Pingsheng continued, "So that's why you felt it was necessary to create Weibo? Because Weibo is an entry point that can push content to users?"

Zhang Chaoyang remained silent, waiting for Ren Pingsheng to continue.

"What if there were something that could aggregate all this content and display it directly in the user's face?"

Ren Pingsheng drew a line on the tea table with his finger.

"Users don't need to open the Sohu website or actively search; the content is right in front of them when they open this app."

You mean...

"Browser".

Ren Pingsheng pronounced these three words very clearly.

"Weibo is an entry point, and so is the browser. The difference is that Weibo's entry point has already been taken over, but the browser's entry point still has a lot of room for growth."

He paused for a moment, "Especially on mobile devices."

Zhang Chaoyang was stunned.

Mobile browser.

He had considered this direction, but he had never made it a priority.

Sohu has devoted almost all of its resources and energy to Weibo over the past six months.

"Browser..."

He muttered the word to himself, then suddenly stood up.

"I don't feel well after drinking this tea today."

He picked up the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" project proposal from the tea table and tucked it under his arm.

"They don't want my money, and they even want to teach me how to do things."

He pushed open the door and left with a single sentence before departing.

"You're the most capable."