Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 447 Mr. Ma, here's a big gift for you.

Shengda didn't give them a chance to transfer the money at all.

They immediately withdrew their investment once they saw no hope in the campus market.

Ma Huateng secretly rejoiced that he hadn't signed any betting agreement with Shengda.

If he signs a performance-based agreement, his life is over.

With Shengda undermining their operations, Ma Huateng no longer hesitated. It was too difficult for a small company like theirs to survive in the internet industry.

Ma Huateng called Chen Dan and asked her to start negotiating with Momo Group about related matters.

Because they didn't trust Cheng Yi's character, Du Yusheng had to step in and negotiate with Tencent.

Penguin lost the campus market and then encountered the withdrawal of investment from Shengda Group, which greatly panicked Penguin's original shareholders. Huang Wenrong's team acquired 63% of Penguin's shares at a low price with almost no effort.

There's nothing we can do. Right now, Tencent is just meat on Momo Group's chopping block. Momo Group can eat it however it wants. This kind of negotiation, which is not on the same level, is just a formality. If those major shareholders don't agree, then Tencent can be dissolved and a new company can be formed with the original team.

After all, Tencent only has QQ chat, while Momo Group can develop three such apps in a month.

After the negotiations concluded, Du Yusheng personally hosted a banquet for Tencent's senior executives, showing Ma Huateng and his team considerable respect.

Tencent is now completely out of resources, with very little working capital left. To keep Tencent running, Momo Group initially injected 100 million yuan into the company at an interest rate of 5.8%.

"Mr. Ma, our acquisition of your company was actually at the behest of our General Manager Cheng." At the dinner, Du Yusheng poured Ma Huateng a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Even our General Manager Huang thinks your company has no future."

After hearing Du Yusheng's words, Ma Huateng was quite surprised. Cheng Yi actually thought so highly of them?
To be honest, Ma Huateng himself doesn't have much faith in himself.

It's so hard to monetize these days.

They previously offered a membership for 128 yuan, but only a little over 1000 people purchased it.

To be honest, if he didn't have some family wealth, he probably wouldn't even be able to afford to rent a server.

The most critical aspect of the internet is its user base.

The more users there are, the larger the server needs to be, and naturally, the higher the cost.

But if these people don't convert into paying users, then it's just a waste of their data usage every day.

Ma Huateng said, "Didn't President Cheng come today?"

"President Cheng is busy, busier than any of us, haha." Du Yusheng laughed, "But it's alright, your penguin business will be under President Cheng's supervision from now on, you'll have plenty of opportunities to work with him."

“Okay.” Ma Huateng nodded, feeling slightly worried.

Cheng Yi is one of the three vice presidents of Momo Group, and he already holds great power. They had messed with Cheng Yi so much on the university campus before, so if Cheng Yi wanted to take the opportunity to vent his personal anger, they would have no chance to stop him.

Ma Huateng attended the welcome banquet with a heavy heart. As soon as he stepped out of the hotel, he received a call from Cheng Yi.

"Mr. Ma, I'm so sorry, I was preparing gifts for you and missed the dinner." Cheng Yi said with a smile as soon as the call connected.

"A gift?" Ma Huateng asked, somewhat puzzled.

Cheng Yi smiled and said, "Mr. Ma, I've sent a car to pick you up. Let's talk over here."

“Okay.” Now that Cheng Yi was their boss, Ma Huateng didn’t dare to refuse.

As they arrived at the hotel entrance, they saw several security personnel in black suits open the door of a Mercedes-Benz van. A man with sharp features strode in and said politely, "Mr. Ma, please get in the car."

“Okay.” Ma Huateng and the three executives exchanged glances and had no choice but to bite the bullet and get into the van.

Before long, the van drove into Handong University.

The car stopped in front of the entrepreneurship base building of Handong University. As soon as Ma Huateng and his group got out of the car, Cheng Yi opened his arms to greet them and laughed, "Mr. Ma, it's been a while since we last met in Zhonghai. How have you been?"

Looking at Cheng Yi's beaming face, Ma Huateng felt a mix of emotions.

Back then at the computer competition, Cheng Yi was nothing more than a supporting actor, and their Momo Group was just a regional conglomerate. But now it's completely different. In just one year, their rise has been almost as rapid as that of Shengda Group.

A bitter smile appeared on Ma Huateng's lips as he said, "President Cheng is still as spirited as ever."

Cheng Yi laughed and said, "People are in high spirits when they have good news, especially to see you all today. Come on, let me show you the gifts first."

Ma Huateng was also very curious about what gifts Cheng Yi would give them.

Watch? Cell phone? Or tie?
Ma Huateng and his three companions followed Cheng Yi to the Renren.com office area on the second floor. Looking at the bustling Renren.com office area, the expressions of Ma Huateng and his companions were slightly unpleasant.

Did Cheng Yi bring them here to humiliate them?
The four men followed Cheng Yi into the office with grim expressions. Cheng Yi first asked Li Bing to make tea, then smiled and said, "President Ma, please have a seat."

“Okay.” Ma Huateng and the other three sat on the sofa, wondering what Cheng Yi was up to.

Cheng Yi took a folder, handed it to Ma Huateng, and said with a smile, "This is my gift to you."

"A gift?" Ma Huateng took the folder and took out the files inside.

He carefully read through the first document, and his expression changed drastically.

He looked up at Cheng Yi, his voice trembling slightly, and asked, "You...you want to merge Momo Chat into our QQ Chat?"

“That’s right, wouldn’t you call this a great gift?” Cheng Yi said with a smile.

"This is the core business of your Momo Group." Ma Huateng felt somewhat incredulous, and Chen Dan and the other two next to him also thought it was a bit outrageous.

They had prepared for the worst, believing that Momo Group's first step would be to acquire their QQ chat service.

But they never expected that Momo Group would actually ask them to acquire Momo Chat?
It is simply a rebellion against Tiangang!

Ma Huateng carefully read through the documents, and the shock on his face finally subsided considerably. After Ma Huateng finished reading the documents, Cheng Yi said, "Now we're all one family, so there's no need to hide anything. My request is very simple: after QQ and Momo merge, QQ, like Xinlang and other companies, will simultaneously integrate Momo membership as a third-party platform. Momo accounts can also log in to QQ. At that time, you will add a Momo premium number icon below the QQ number. As long as a user has successfully verified their identity, their QQ account must display their Momo account."

“From now on, QQ will be divided into two categories: one is low-end unverified users, who can be subject to certain restrictions; the other is high-end verified users who have linked their Momo memberships,” Cheng Yi said. “In this way, your QQ will have the ability to monetize. Also, the Momo membership display must be attractive, preferably with some dynamic effects, including online notification sounds and unique name colors. We need to attract users to register for Momo memberships. Once they register, they have a chance to recharge, and we can profit from that.”

"Are we also canceling QQ coins?" Ma Huateng asked.

"Of course, your QQ coins are too bloated, and since you've partnered with us, Shengda will definitely restrict you in internet cafes," Cheng Yi said. "Now that you've integrated with the Momo membership system, you can use Momo coins for payments. Our Momo Group has virtual item guarantee centers in every district and county across the country. You just need to focus on developing paid features; we'll handle the recharge and settlement."

Giving up QQ coins made Ma Huateng and his three companions hesitate slightly.

This is their only source of profit; if they give it up, they'll truly become meat on the chopping block.

However, the fact that Momo Group owns 80% of their shares immediately eased their initial hesitation.

Since things are already in this mess, let's focus on making money.

At this moment, Li Bing brought over a pot of fragrant tea. He poured a cup for everyone and said with a smile, "This is Liubao tea that our CEO Cheng specially asked someone to bring back. It has been simmered for 15 minutes. Please have a taste."

Li Bing's appearance was perfectly timed, making the four people, who were initially somewhat conflicted, less conflicted.

After pouring the tea, Li Bing stood not far away and waited.

Cheng Yi picked up the teacup, took a sip, and smiled, "Here, have a taste. This tea has a faint woody aroma, and the longer it's brewed, the stronger the aroma becomes."

Ma Huateng was no longer in the mood for tea; all he wanted to do now was get to the bottom of this matter.

He took a casual sip and asked, "President Cheng, canceling QQ coins is a huge undertaking, especially for the game lobby alone."

“Let’s shut down the game lobby,” Cheng Yi said. “This business is skirting the law, and if it falls into the wrong hands, even Momo Group will be affected.”

“This is our only source of revenue,” Ma Huateng said hastily. “If we shut down this business, we probably won’t even be able to pay salaries.”

"That was before. Now that you've joined the Momo Group, you don't need to do that kind of dangerous business anymore," Cheng Yi laughed. "QQ users are your biggest advantage. Once you're integrated with Momo, you'll have no competitors in China anymore. You can be a little more unscrupulous then. For example, you can create red diamonds, yellow diamonds, blue diamonds, black diamonds, green diamonds, and purple diamonds, and give them all kinds of privileges. Also, you can display the different levels of Momo members, such as iron, bronze, silver, and gold. These days, young people like to compete and show off."

"What are these yellow diamonds?" Ma Huateng was taken aback.

Cheng Yi thought for a moment and said, "It's about the members in your various sections. For example, if you develop a personal blog application and activate Yellow Diamond membership, the personal blog page can become unique. You can figure out these things yourselves, as long as users feel proud."

“I understand.” Ma Huateng’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Cheng Yi added, "Another major expense is online games."

Cheng Yi looked at Ma Huateng and said, "Our Momo Internet Cafe is currently in dire need of games. Your team was able to replicate our Momo Farm in such a short time, which shows that your company has quite a few talented people."

Ma Huateng said somewhat embarrassedly, "I wouldn't call myself a genius. After all, there are existing games we can refer to and copy. I'm not afraid to admit it, but because our QQ business hasn't been profitable in recent years, we often take on software imitation projects. We are quite confident in our software imitation skills."

“That’s exactly the capability I need,” Cheng Yi said with a smile. “Starting today, you will officially enter the online game business. There’s a game in Korea called Bubble Fighter. We’ve been competing with Shengda for the distribution rights, but that game company still thinks Shengda is the leader in the domestic game industry. So even though we offered a higher price, they still chose to cooperate with Shengda.”

Cheng Yi looked at Ma Huateng and said, "Can you make a QQ Tang game for me, imitating that game? No problem, right?"

“No problem,” Ma Huateng said.

"How long will it take?" Cheng Yi asked.

Ma Huateng thought for a moment and said, "Our development speed is determined by the art team, and it's not easy to find an art team these days."

“Our Momo Group has the most professional graphic design team in China,” Cheng Yi said with a smile. “Then it’s settled. We’ll cover the development costs, and you can get it done as quickly as possible.”

“No problem.” Ma Huateng’s mood also became somewhat excited.

From the current perspective, their joining Momo Group is not necessarily a bad thing.

Although they only own 20% of the shares, they previously only held a little over 30%, losing more than ten percent of the shares. However, they absorbed hundreds of thousands of users on Momo Chat at its peak and also gained access to Momo Internet Cafe, a channel with millions of users. No matter how you look at it, this deal is profitable.

After finishing their business, Cheng Yi started chatting with Ma Huateng and the others about various things.

What he said was all about QQ's future development path.

Listening to Cheng Yi's boastful talk, Ma Huateng and the others truly felt that a single conversation with a wise man was worth more than ten years of study.

Cheng Yi is truly amazing. Even as the developers of QQ, they never imagined that QQ would have so many profit points.

No wonder he became one of the three vice presidents of Momo Group at such a young age.

After a long and pleasant conversation, Ma Huateng and the others completely lost their prejudice against Cheng Yi, and in its place was an almost blind worship.

They've only just realized that QQ is actually a gold mine, but they don't know how to mine it.

However, they have a lot to do next.

First, QQ needs to be compatible with the Momo system, then it needs to connect to the Momo member database, then the QQ coin function needs to be turned off and the remaining QQ coins need to be converted into Momo coins, plus the issue of prestige that Cheng Yi mentioned...

Finally, we also need to imitate that Bubble Fighter game.

Ma Huateng is a very efficient person, and he quickly sorted out the order of things.

First, we'll leverage the graphic design team from Momo Group to upgrade QQ. Then, we'll add some features that will appeal to users' vanity, especially the display effect for Momo members. This is of utmost importance, since QQ users with the Momo member display effect are basically paying users.

After completing all this, we just need to wait for the closed beta test of Shengda's "Bubble Fighter".

If that game were a little simpler, they might even have been able to launch QQ Tang before Bubble Fighter's public beta.

After all, when it comes to plagiarism, speed is of the essence.

(End of this chapter)