2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 1087 Extra: Game Queen

"Leave it to me? Do you think I can handle it?"

In the Tan family villa, Gu Qingqing, who had just finished her second postpartum confinement, sat with her husband in the rooftop sunroom. The winter in Ningbo was drizzling and somewhat desolate, but the sunroom was warm and cozy.

In five years, Gu Qingqing gave birth to a son and a daughter for Tan Jincheng. Her family life was happy, and at the age of 28, she was at the peak of her charm.

"What, are you afraid? Or do you not want to go out and work?"

Tan Jincheng looked on with envy. Anyone who could build a successful business was full of energy, and Tan Jincheng was no exception.

Although Honor of Kings is not well-known now, it receives a great deal of attention from both inside and outside the industry, as well as from veteran gamers. Everyone knows that the game's explosive popularity is only a matter of time, and Tencent has tried to acquire it more than once.

When mobile phone configurations are upgraded and 4G networks are commercially available on a large scale, that will be the time when Honor of Kings truly explodes in popularity.

"TiMi Studio is basically Orange's cash cow, so I have no worries about handing it over to you. Right now, I need to focus my energy on Weilai Auto."

In the current environment, with strong policy support, everyone understands that new energy vehicles are a lucrative business, and more and more new players are entering the market, even companies like Tencent, which have no real business background, are investing in them.

However, the problem is that being able to make money doesn't mean you can actually make money. Huge investments are a major challenge. Orange Technology, which claimed to be small and beautiful, was originally established by Tan Jincheng for his new energy business.

To be precise, Orange Technology was originally created to "make money." It went public not long after its establishment. Because of this, Tan Jincheng did not want to invest too much in Orange Technology. Using the capital market to spread the investment was the best way.

From Kaixin.com to Happy Farm, and then to popular mini-games like Fruit Ninja, Orange Technology was essentially a small game company in its early stages. In terms of making money, there are really few companies on the internet that can compare to the game industry.

Social mini-games, in particular, are low-investment and high-return, making a fortune every day. Orange Products Club was created to take advantage of the current boom in e-commerce platforms to supplement Orange Technology's cash flow and accumulate users.

The same applies to hijacking Pony Ma's Honor of Kings. No one in the world knows better than him how profitable Honor of Kings is. Even if his operational capabilities are not as good as Tencent's to make this thing, he can still make a fortune.

Meeting her husband's burning gaze, Gu Qingqing chuckled and said, "Aren't you afraid that Orange Technology will get out of control?"

Orange Technology and Flashpoint are actually the same, both using a dual-founder model. Gu Qingqing initially invested a full 3 million yuan from her father. In the early 2000s, 3 million yuan represented a considerable purchasing power.

At the time, that 300 million yuan was very important to Tan Jincheng; it was a real investment. However, because of the relationship between the two, it was deliberately overlooked by the world.

With 300 million yuan invested, Gu Qingqing was involved in everything from the initial preparations to the subsequent management. In addition, her cousin Gu Yanning also played an important role in Orange Technology. In theory, if she could win over Cheng Hao and have financial power, Gu Qingqing would have a real chance to take over Orange Technology and sideline Tan Jincheng.

"Really? Haha, I'd like to see if you can actually take it down."

The trend of new energy vehicles is becoming increasingly clear. Although Weilai Auto still needs a lot of investment and is short of money, with the stable cash flow support of the Yuechi series, it has become self-sustaining and its dependence on Tan Jincheng's other industries is no longer so serious.

Before Weilai Auto truly matured, both the Flash and the Orange were extremely important to Tan Jincheng.

"Aren't you afraid?"

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re one. Even if you really gain control, the lion’s share will still be with me.”

The situation where major shareholders are sidelined by management, resulting in a loss of control over the company, happens almost every month. Tan Jincheng has considered this possibility, but no matter what, a major shareholder is a major shareholder.

He doesn't have much energy to manage these two companies right now, and it's not impossible that he could be sidelined. However, he has his own backup plan through equity structure.

If he were to lose control one day, at worst he could liquidate all his shares, quickly sever ties with the two companies, and invest all his resources in Weilai Automobile.

At Weilai Auto, which he founded, the investment institutions he found were all primarily commercial investors, so there was no dispute over control. In addition, he had always run the business himself, so there was no such concern.

"Alright, enough joking around. I can handle it, but you need to tell me your ideas on how you want to run Orange."

Money can be a powerful motivator, and it's not uncommon for couples to turn against each other over money. Although it was said in jest, since Gu Qingqing wanted to return to her job, she needed to ascertain how much say she had.

Is it a true takeover of Orange Technology, or merely a mouthpiece?

"You don't need to think too much. Just run the business however you want. If you really want to talk about it, just leave the professional matters to the professionals."

Kaixin.com and Kaixin Farm are no longer popular. Orange Technology's business has also undergone several adjustments. Currently, its main businesses are e-commerce and games. There's not much to say about Orange Products on the e-commerce side; it has already entered a very mature model.

OrangePin, which follows a vertical e-commerce path, has been viewed with skepticism by e-commerce giants like Liu Qiangdong, but it continues to thrive. It focuses on niche markets and, with its strategic partnership with SF Express, attracts a specific user group through a model that combines flash sales with fast logistics.

Tan Jincheng didn't have any special requirements for Orange Products Club. In the current e-commerce environment, which is becoming increasingly complex and focused on traffic, Orange Products Club's main selling point is "simplicity".

They offer genuine discounts, and even during major e-commerce promotional events like 618 and Double Eleven, they don't rely on complicated algorithms or blindly pursue traffic. Their clean and refreshing style still allows them to maintain a good market share.

Given the current maturity and scale of the e-commerce market, even with a small market share, Orange Products will thrive and need not worry too much.

Besides e-commerce, there's gaming. In gaming, Tan Jincheng actually took a shortcut. Before Honor of Kings, Orange Games, which focused on casual and social mini-games, was actually looked down upon by the industry.

The reason is simple: the actual development cost of this type of small game is very low. Games like Happy Farm and Fruit Ninja can generally be controlled in the range of 300,000 to 500,000 yuan in the initial development cost. The initial cost of Happy Farm was only about 100,000 yuan.

These kinds of mini-games are actually similar to venture capital. If one out of ten becomes a hit, you can make a fortune. Orange Technology's mini-games are even more outrageous. Almost every one of them becomes a hit, and making money is as easy as drinking water.

It's practically a bug in the system. Other game companies look down on it while feeling helpless and envious. Who wouldn't want to make money so easily?

The development of Honor of Kings was Orange Games' first large-scale game, so the level of attention it received was definitely different. Honor of Kings took a completely different approach than Orange Games' previous projects, which is why an independent studio was established.

For Orange Games, even though Tan Jincheng knew about Honor of Kings, developing it in advance was still a risky move. The initial investment was as high as 30 million yuan, and the cumulative investment over the years reached as high as 500 million yuan.

If it doesn't become popular, TiMi Studio will have to close down. No amount of new games can fill the void. He really doesn't trust others to manage it. Don't forget that Tencent is always watching. They don't hesitate to copy others.

Fortunately, they pulled through. Although Honor of Kings hasn't become a huge hit yet, it's on the verge of exploding. It's quite appropriate for Gu Qingqing to officially take over the management now.

Gu Qingqing nodded: "Okay, I'll give it a try."

The quality of a game is fundamental, but the most important thing is actually the operational capability. A good operations team can make money even with a terrible game.

"Yes, I am very optimistic about the earning potential of Honor of Kings. It has unlimited potential. How far it can be developed depends on you and the Honor of Kings operations team."

"Yes, I know."

Operating Honor of Kings well is not easy. The first thing to deal with is Tencent's covetousness. Since the 3Q War, Tencent has toned down its domineering style a lot, but no matter how much it tones down, it is still Tencent.

Her husband's status is no less than that of Pony Ma. Tencent won't make any big moves, but it's just normal business dealings. Orange Technology is still somewhat different from Tencent. Although it won't be a forced acquisition, it's almost certain that they'll do something sabotage behind the scenes.

In fact, Tencent had already initiated and developed projects similar to Honor of Kings. Tencent always has a two-pronged approach when making acquisitions or investments: on the one hand, to put pressure on investors during the investment process, and on the other hand, as a backup plan if the investment fails.

"Let's learn about it first, and then officially take over after the New Year."

"Yes, I know."

After having a child, the couple had no plans to have any more children in the near future or even afterward. It was clearly unlikely that they would stay at home as wealthy housewives at the age of 30.

Gu Qingqing has a deep affection for Orange Technology. She was a student when it was first established, but she participated in the entire preparation and operation process, watching Orange Technology grow little by little until it went public, setting a record for the fastest IPO in the mobile internet industry.

Gu Qingqing knew from the beginning that neither Shanchi nor Chengzi were the core of Tan Jincheng's business plan. She had little say in Shanchi, and although she had part-time experience, her relationship with Chengzi was not as strong.

Besides, Zhang Xupeng is there, so she can't easily "seize power." But it's different with Chengzi. When the founder's energy isn't focused on the company, it will inevitably have some impact. She also has plans to come back and take over.

On the other hand, Gu Qingqing also felt a sense of crisis. People from Yiwu are born businessmen, and Gu Qingqing, with her business genes, naturally understood that to maintain equality in a cooperation, equal strength was required, and the same applied to married life.

As Tan Jincheng's business grew and his status rose, she didn't want to become just a pretty face, watching one tempting woman after another entangle her. She had to maintain her independence and use her position to keep the other women at bay.

When she was little, Gu Qingqing often heard her parents gossip about who had a private life. She usually just listened to these things, but the scandal involving Liu Yifei and her husband made her experience a sense of crisis for the first time.

Subsequent investigations revealed that this was nothing more than a fabricated publicity stunt by Liu Yifei's team. However, if she herself were truly powerful, such a publicity stunt would be impossible, and even if the two had actually had a relationship, the other party would not dare to exploit it.

No woman wants her husband to be publicly exposed for scandals; it's a provocation to her.

"Actually, you don't need to think too much. With our current status and position, we will definitely face more and more temptations, but not many people dare to do anything reckless."

Being the woman behind a strong man is actually quite difficult. Gu Qingqing never imagined that she would one day become the wife of a well-known entrepreneur, but that's the reality, and she has to face it.

Fortunately, she has an understanding husband who gives her a lot of space and even encourages her to go out and work.

I also understand the meaning behind this encouragement.

"That's not necessarily true. We should still be careful."

Right now, the incident involving Liu Qiangdong in North America hasn't happened yet, and the economy is on the rise, so everything seems to be thriving, and public opinion is relatively tolerant of entrepreneurs. But things might not be the same in a few years.

Knowing about Da Qiangzi's ordeal, he was always extra careful when traveling abroad, almost always staying with Lai Yiu-fai, rarely drinking alcohol, and never getting drunk.

The two were tacitly aware of each other's thoughts. In terms of background, they were actually quite similar, both only middle-class and without much influence. If they wanted to move forward steadily, they needed to support each other and be more cautious.

February 15, 2016, the eighth day of the first lunar month.

Four months after giving birth, Gu Qingqing, who has recovered well, officially joined TiMi Studio and began to pay attention to the specific business of Orange Technology, preparing to gradually take over Orange Technology.

“We don’t have Tencent’s social advantages, so we can learn from NetEase in terms of operations and try to strip away the social system as much as possible.”

Upon taking over TiMi Studio, Gu Qingqing immediately assembled the Honor of Kings operations team. In the past, Orange Technology was accustomed to using viral marketing for the promotion of mini-games, leveraging the massive user base of QQ and WeChat to spread the word through friend invitations, sharing, and other methods. Players could log in directly through their social accounts and invite friends.

This model has many advantages, but it requires the use of Tencent's resources. Tencent is the major shareholder of Orange Technology, and the two do not actually have much conflict in the gaming field. Although mini-games are profitable, they account for a small proportion of Tencent's gaming business, so Tencent is willing to support Orange.

Honor of Kings also used this viral marketing method in its early stages, but now that it's preparing for a major expansion, it can no longer use Tencent's resources.

"I trust you with the publicity and distribution. Right now, our main concern is Tencent, and I will help you with that. The rest is up to you."

The team behind Honor of Kings is basically from Tencent. It wasn't that Tan Jincheng deliberately poached them. Tencent's gaming business is very powerful, but at the same time, the internal competition is also very fierce, so employee turnover is normal.

This isn't just the case at Tencent; it's the same at other major internet companies like NetEase, Baidu, and Alibaba. Some talented individuals who are dissatisfied with the status quo are either actively seeking new opportunities or being encouraged by headhunters.

"Is the boss not planning to share any profits with Tencent?"

Yao Xiaoguang was very excited. He joined TiMi Studio because he was interested in the game Honor of Kings. In the past few years, the development and operation of the game followed the slow and steady approach of cultivating a good reputation with high-quality products.

Tan Jincheng was bold enough to hand over TiMi Studio to him directly, which flattered him. Although he was a senior professional in the game industry and had developed some games, he had no experience in operating large-scale games before and after joining Tencent.

Boss Tan's actions can only be described as incredibly bold.

"Yes, there will definitely be cooperation. In the early stages, we will still use viral marketing methods. If Tencent blocks us later, we will talk again."

Gu Qingqing smiled and then continued, "Your boss is very optimistic about this game and believes that it has unlimited potential. Therefore, we are not planning to discuss cooperation with Tencent for the time being. We can obtain more benefits after we expand the market."

This was her own decision. If such a large-scale game becomes a hit, it is impossible for only one company to reap all the profits. Cooperation with multiple parties is inevitable, and cooperation with Tencent was also expected.

But no matter what, the lion's share must be on our side. Only after the brand's reputation is fully established can TiMi Studios take the lion's share.

“That works too. This way, we'll have more leverage in the negotiations.”

Yao Xiaoguang, head of TiMi Studio, clearly approves of this approach. The operational plan for this year's Honor of Kings has already been finalized, covering everything from the social ecosystem and market positioning to diversified promotion and IP collaborations.
This year, TiMi Studio's goal is to make Honor of Kings one of the benchmark mobile games, to make it TiMi Studio's flagship title, and to completely change Orange Games' image in the minds of gamers.

The boss's wife's arrival made Yao Xiaoguang realize that things had changed.

Gu Qingqing's arrival naturally brought about a change. Starting from the eighth day of the first lunar month, several floors of the Orange Technology headquarters, located in the central area of ​​Beicang, began to be brightly lit, becoming a major highlight of Beicang at night.

At the same time, there has been a sudden increase in shared links about Honor of Kings on QQ, WeChat groups, and various social media platforms, as well as an increase in game guides, stories about the game, and other content published on platforms such as Weibo and WeChat official accounts.

On Weibo, a large number of celebrities shared their Honor of Kings (Arena of Valor) achievements, and the popularity of Honor of Kings began to surge, becoming the hottest game in the industry after the Spring Festival.

By gradually building up user base through a "boiling frog" approach, Honor of Kings has already accumulated a large number of active users. This large-scale promotion is merely a catalyst and a catalyst for further growth.

Meanwhile, Tencent, after failing to receive a response in its attempt to invest in and acquire TiMi Studio, swiftly "banned" Honor of Kings.

"That's really fast, but there's nothing we can do. We have to get through this."

Just two days later, sharing links for Honor of Kings became impossible in WeChat groups, and correspondingly, QQ groups were also blocked.

Gu Qingqing and Yao Xiaoguang were not surprised by this; it was Tencent's style, only this was the first time it had been used on their partner, Orange. But this also proved the threat that Honor of Kings posed to Tencent.

Social interaction is always part of the DNA of games. Tencent Games has been able to grow and become a big company thanks to its strong social DNA, but the lack of social DNA does not mean that games cannot be made well.

As early as the initial development of Honor of Kings, TiMi Studio made significant adjustments in terms of differentiated social features and UGC ecosystem. Since it was impossible to share large profits with Tencent, it could not become overly dependent on Tencent.

"It's normal practice. As we grow bigger and stronger, Orange will face more competition while cooperating with Tencent. Being able to get two days for free is already very good."

Orange Technology is also investing in artificial intelligence, which will inevitably lead to conflicts with Tencent in the future. In a sense, Honor of Kings is Orange Technology's test of Tencent.

This is a test to see how Tencent will react when their interests clash.

"Alright, we'll be traveling a lot for work from now on, Lao Yao, you need to be prepared to step up to the front lines."

Weakening pure social reliance is the first step in the successful promotion of Honor of Kings. Gu Qingqing's solution is to use celebrities to drive the promotion. In recent years, she and Tan Jincheng have had some connections in the entertainment industry.

Take Xiao Wang for example. Tan Jincheng has a good relationship with his father. Xiao Wang contributed a lot to the marketing of Honor of Kings through his father's connections. A number of entertainment stars also actively promoted the campaign out of respect for Tan Jincheng and his wife.

This tactic isn't surprising. Back in the day, Weibo relied heavily on celebrity promotion. Now, Honor of Kings is simply following suit. By combining celebrities and internet influencers, and having its own live streaming platform, it should be relatively easy for Honor of Kings to reduce its reliance on Tencent's social media ecosystem.

"Okay, then we'll split up. I'll go north, and you'll go south."

Yao Xiaoguang nodded. While reducing reliance on pure social interaction, Honor of Kings will promote the independence of major events and esports this year, making the esports layout more vertical and creating an exclusive KPL league, complementing Orange Live.

Xiao Wang's willingness to take the lead is actually closely related to the e-sports development of Honor of Kings. His live streaming platform, which he founded last year, is currently facing a content dilemma, and Honor of Kings live streaming is the best option.

Xiao Wang, who has connections in both the entertainment and e-sports circles, saw his live streaming platform crash on its first day due to excessive traffic. This year is a year of expansion for them, and also a year in which Xiao Wang plans to make a big splash.

"Hopefully this guy can give me some surprises."

Gu Qingqing sighed. The future queen of games was still acting a bit "impulsively" at this moment. To be honest, she didn't like Xiao Wang very much. It was Tan Jincheng who recommended the collaboration and also Tan Jincheng who made the connection.

(End of this chapter)