Chapter 38: Yan Fei Discusses Heroes Over Wine and Analyzes the Mobile Phone Market

Upon hearing Lei Jun’s proposed equity distribution, Yan Fei thought of Xiaomi’s future market capitalization of 200 billion and felt an immense surge of joy. However, he maintained a composed, contemplative expression, showing no signs of excitement.

Seeing this, Lei Jun felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Mr. Yan, although our capital contributions are equal, I am taking an extra 4% of the shares. It may seem unfair to you, but please rest assured, I will devote all my energy to Xiaomi Technology and will never let your investment suffer any losses. Once Xiaomi goes public, I guarantee a market capitalization of at least 30 billion, and I will not take a single share from the equity incentive pool."

Hearing this, Yan Fei recalled that in his past life, when Xiaomi went public, Lei Jun received equity incentives from the pool worth over 10 billion. Hearing Lei Jun’s promise not to touch that pool now, he felt that giving up 4% was not entirely unacceptable.

With a smile, Yan Fei replied, "Since you are so sincere, Mr. Lei, how could I be anything less than generous? Let us distribute the equity as you suggested. We shall sign a founder’s agreement, and once you have officially established Xiaomi Technology, we will transfer the funds to finalize the paid-in capital."

"Agreed!" Lei Jun exclaimed, shaking Yan Fei’s hand firmly. A sense of mutual admiration between heroes stirred within them. Qian Shuyi quickly found a nearby print shop, and according to their discussion, drafted a founder’s partnership agreement.

After signing the agreement, Yan Fei said happily, "Mr. Lei, time flies. It’s past five in the afternoon; let’s go grab some dinner."

Lei Jun laughed heartily, "Indeed, good times always pass quickly. I feel the same way. Let’s have a drink today to celebrate the birth of Xiaomi Technology."

It was already chilly in late October in Beijing, but both men felt a burning passion in their hearts. They chatted all the way about smartphones, finding their views often in perfect alignment. Lei Jun felt a deep sense of camaraderie blooming within him.

At Lei Jun’s insistence on hosting, the group enjoyed a warm and harmonious dinner. Afterward, they stayed in the private room, sipping tea and talking until ten o'clock at night, when Lei Jun finally parted ways with Yan Fei, albeit reluctantly.

Having drunk too much, Yan Fei slept until noon. He only got up when Qian Shuyi came to wake him. After lunch, he checked the stock and futures markets. Because he had liquidated his positions, the "Big Penguin" had not taken any drastic actions against him over the past two days. He had been trading along with market trends and made a decent profit, though Yan Fei remained unmoved by this.

In the stock market, Yan Fei held only two stocks: Vanke and Poly. His total cost basis was 200 million, and the current market value was around 300 million. Compared to the previous peak, his floating profit had shrunk by nearly 100 million due to the Big Penguin’s targeted attacks and malicious suppression of Vanke and Poly’s stock prices. Yet, Yan Fei felt no panic, for real estate was in a period of rapid growth; no matter how the Big Penguin suppressed them, it could not keep the prices of Vanke and Poly down indefinitely.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. When Yan Fei opened it, he saw Qian Shuyi looking excited. "Boss, Mr. Zhou called and invited us to come over immediately to discuss cooperation."

Yan Fei shouted excitedly, "Great, let’s go!"

In the conference room of Qihoo, Zhou Hong looked at Yan Fei with a serious expression. "Mr. Yan, thank you for your warning. We have received intelligence that the Big Penguin held a meeting three days ago and decided to launch 'QQ Antivirus,' expected to be released around April or May next year. You’ve given us an extra six months to react. Thank you."

Hearing this, Yan Fei smiled faintly, feeling relieved. He only remembered that the Big Penguin launched QQ Antivirus in the first half of 2010, triggering a fierce counterattack from Qihoo, but he hadn't been sure when the project was initiated. It seemed his guess was correct.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Hong said in a deep voice, "Mr. Yan, you were right before. The Big Penguin is trying to drive us to our deaths. We must unite. I agree to all your previous demands; I only hope you will sign an alliance agreement with us and join us in counterattacking the Big Penguin when necessary."

"That goes without saying!" Yan Fei affirmed. "Rest assured, Mr. Zhou, my battle with the Big Penguin is a fight to the death. The war between us will only end when one side falls or when neither can overcome the other."

"Good!" Zhou Hong slapped the table excitedly. "In the past, there was the alliance between Shu Han and Eastern Wu against Wei; today, we have Qihoo and WeChat uniting against the Penguin. I hope we can both weather this storm and establish firm footing in our respective fields."

"That is inevitable!" Yan Fei punched the air with supreme confidence. His intensity instantly infected everyone in the room. The cooperation agreement was quickly signed, and personnel arrangements were made that same day.

The next day, Yan Fei returned to Shenzhen with the technical experts from Qihoo. He left one cybersecurity expert at the Phantom Fund to oversee defenses and sent the remaining experts to WeChat Technology in Guangzhou.

Zhang Xiaolong held a grand welcome ceremony at the company entrance, showing great respect to the experts. In the evening, hosted by Yan Fei, a welcome banquet was held, making the experts feel warm and welcome.

The next day, Yan Fei convened a company-wide mobilization meeting. Standing on a desk before the three hundred employees in the hall, he shouted passionately, "Brothers and sisters, the Big Penguin’s counterattack is more ferocious than we imagined. They are using both overt and covert tactics. WeChat Technology has reached a moment of life and death, but we cannot speak of this as a defeat, for that is the wailing of the weak. The strong fight on, unyielding and unbreakable, battling through a hundred defeats until the last drop of blood is shed. Tell me, do we want to be the strong or the weak?"

"The strong! The strong!" The deafening roar sounded like a mountain landslide, and a surging fighting spirit ignited in everyone’s heart.

Seeing his colleagues continuing to shout, Yan Fei signaled for silence. The room became deathly quiet. Yan Fei continued, "The path of the strong is destined to be full of thorns, but these are our best whetstones—they make our blades sharper so that when we unsheathe them, they will be lethal. The enemy can use their influence to pressure us, but they cannot break our spines. They can wipe our data, but they cannot destroy our fighting spirit. We will climb to the top step by step, taking back our glory and everything that belongs to us. Tell me, do you have confidence?"

"We have confidence! We have confidence!" The roar sounded again, and everyone’s eyes were filled with fire.

"Very good!" Yan Fei shouted. "November will be a difficult time, and December may be even harder. But we are full of confidence in the future. I firmly believe that victory belongs to all the brothers and sisters of WeChat Technology."

"Fight, fight, fight!" The male colleagues shouted passionately, and the female colleagues joined in, demonstrating their formidable spirit.

When the shouting subsided, Yan Fei announced, "For the next two months of hard fighting, overtime pay will be doubled, and the year-end bonus will include an extra two months' salary for everyone. I entrust the battle to you all!"

Yan Fei bowed deeply. All company executives followed suit, and the entire staff of WeChat Technology returned the bow, shouting in unison, "Fight, fight, fight!"

After the meeting, Yan Fei gathered the executives. "From today, back up all data every half hour. Everyone keep your phones on 24/7 and be ready to mobilize. Remember, this is a life-or-death battle. The enemy has crossed the moral line; any possible attack may come."

Zhang Xiaolong suggested, "Mr. Yan, frequent backups are not only prone to errors but also lead to massive inefficiency. WeChat’s data is vast, and backup times are skyrocketing. I suggest adding a set of servers to store WeChat data in parallel. One set will be the 'public' server, and the other will be a 'hidden' server. We will have people watch the servers 24/7. If the public server is breached, we will immediately cut the physical connection to the hidden server to ensure the data is safe."

Yan Fei paused and asked the CFO, "How much cash is left in the company account? How much will a new set of servers cost?"

The CFO replied, "Boss, there is 60 million in cash left. A new set will cost about 30 million. If we proceed, the company’s capital chain will break in January."

After a moment of thought, Yan Fei said, "I will inject another 100 million RMB. Proceed with Mr. Zhang’s plan. Until the new servers arrive, continue the frequent backups."

After finalizing the strategy and battle deployment, Yan Fei dismissed the meeting but kept Zhang Xiaolong behind. "Mr. Zhang, this capital injection will not dilute your shares. Don’t feel burdened; the heavy responsibility of leading WeChat Technology still rests on you."

Zhang Xiaolong nodded, touched, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Yan, this is the last time. I hope you will dilute my shares; otherwise, I will feel guilty. I hope you agree, or I cannot accept it."

Feeling Zhang Xiaolong’s sincerity, Yan Fei sighed. "Fine, I agree. Brother Zhang, I hope we can win this battle together and shatter the myth that the Big Penguin is invincible."

The two men shook hands firmly, a strong bond of comradeship filling the air. The battle to counter the Big Penguin had begun.

The next day, Yan Fei transferred 100 million in investment funds to WeChat Technology’s account and left Guangzhou, heading straight for Nanning, Guangxi, where he intended to set a trap for the Big Penguin.

After landing, Yan Fei went alone to the Datong Villa area, the office base of the "Sugar King of Nanning," Shen Qianyun. It was located in a villa complex, and the most luxurious one was where Shen’s company was based.

After getting out of a taxi, Yan Fei walked to the gate of the villa area and said to the guard with a smile, "Brother, I have business at Villa No. 1. Please open the gate."

The security guard glanced at him and handed over a clipboard. "Sign the visitor log. You are not allowed to linger in the villa area after your interview, understand?"

Yan Fei didn't correct the guard’s misunderstanding and smiled. "Understood, thank you."

After registering, Yan Fei headed straight for Villa No. 1. Upon entering, he saw a hall of over 1,000 square meters filled with various gym and entertainment equipment.

At this moment, only a cleaning lady was in the hall. Seeing Yan Fei, she shouted from afar, "The interviews are on the second floor. They are working on the second floor."

Yan Fei thanked her and went upstairs. He saw a beautiful receptionist who smiled at him. "You’re here for an interview, right? Please follow me."

As the receptionist stood up, Yan Fei smiled and said, "I’m not here for an interview. I need to see Mr. Shen. Is he in the company?"

"Mr. Shen? Which Mr. Shen? We have two Mr. Shens here!" the receptionist asked curiously.

Yan Fei immediately replied, "Your boss, Mr. Shen Qianyun."

"The boss is in," the receptionist said. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh!" Yan Fei took out a business card and said solemnly, "This is my card. Take it to Mr. Shen. If he doesn't want to see me, I will turn around and leave immediately; I won't bother you."

The receptionist looked at the titles on the card—Chairman of WeChat Technology, Chairman of Phantom Fund, Angel Investor—and immediately realized that Yan Fei was a major business tycoon. Her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked him over.

Yan Fei smiled faintly. "Do you think I look too young to be a business tycoon?"

The girl was embarrassed at being called out. "Not at all! Wait here, I’ll go find the boss."

In the office, Shen Qianyun looked at the business card and listened to the receptionist’s report. He grew contemplative. After a while, he said, "Invite him in."

Soon, Yan Fei followed the girl into the office. He saw a man in his early forties and immediately walked over with a smile, extending his hand. "Hello, Mr. Shen, nice to meet you!"

Shen Qianyun smiled politely, shook Yan Fei’s hand, and sat at the head of the tea table. "Mr. Yan, what brings you here today? I don't believe we’ve met before!"

Yan Fei smiled faintly. "Mr. Shen and I are both public figures. While we may not be world-famous, many in the industry know of us. As the saying goes, to hear the name is to know the person; we can consider ourselves acquainted."

Shen Qianyun laughed, finding this young man interesting. He listened as Yan Fei continued, "Mr. Shen, as someone in the financial circle, you must know Mr. Zhao Tongyun of Tonghai; he is an elder to me. And Xu Xiang of ZeXi in Shanghai is my sworn brother. It was through them that I learned of your office, so please forgive me for calling on you so abruptly."