Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 622 War rages
"Is this information reliable?" Waters asked again, still not entirely convinced.

His chief assistant stood three steps behind him, holding his breath and bowing his head.

His assistant is a Chinese-American elite named Li Mingyuan, who is definitely an elite among business elites.

“The source is absolutely reliable, Mr. Waters,” Li Mingyuan said in a low voice. “This information came from our informants within the Momo Group. Cheng Yi has decided to go all out to bid for the IT upgrade project for 50,000 real estate companies led by the Huaxia Real Estate Management Center.”

"Moreover, they don't intend to play by the rules. They plan to launch an aggressive strategy of offering a three-month free trial in an attempt to grab a large number of users before the bidding date and create a fait accompli."

Waters didn’t turn around immediately, but his fingers, which were resting on the windowsill, tightened slightly, and his knuckles turned a little white.

Outside the window, the neon lights of Zhongguancun began to light up one after another, outlining the contours of this Silicon Valley of China at night, but Waters saw a different picture.

A complex battlefield interwoven with the fierce competition among bargain hunters in districts and counties, low-priced laptops in university markets, and the impending full-blown battle for government and enterprise procurement.

This country... is fucking outrageous.

Is this what they call Chinese characteristics?
“Free…” Waters finally turned around slowly, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, and said, “He really dares to think that way. Even if only half of the 50,000 real estate companies use it, the server resources, technical support, and training costs required would be astronomical. Where does he get his confidence?”

“Based on the analysis, they are likely using the huge cash flow generated by online games,” Li Mingyuan quickly replied. “Moreover, they seem to be betting that we cannot follow this money-burning strategy.”

Waters smacked his lips, saying with a hint of helplessness, "He did bet right. Our shareholders won't allow us to forgo substantial licensing revenue to play this suicidal game, but..."

He walked to the huge desk, tapped his fingers heavily on the surface, and said, "We absolutely cannot let him make things so easy, Li Mingyuan."

"Yes, sir."

Waters spoke quickly and clearly: "Contact Yang Yuanqing of Lianxiang Group immediately and tell him that Microsoft is willing to provide an extra 400 RMB subsidy for each Whisper series laptop for their upcoming campus pioneer promotional activities. There is only one condition: let them go all out and draw the firepower of Momo Group."

A hint of surprise flashed in Li Mingyuan's eyes, and he immediately accepted the order: "Yes! I will contact General Manager Yang right away. The subsidy of 400 yuan is enough to give Lianxiang's Whisper Notebook an overwhelming price advantage over the Glory S1, especially in the student market."

“The student market is one of the foundations of Momo’s business model. Hitting it hard will effectively tie up Cheng Yi’s energy and cash flow,” Waters said coldly. “In addition, have the technical department set up a capable team to immediately start studying the integrated workbench that Momo Group may provide to real estate companies and find its loopholes, especially in terms of compatibility. Once their free trial begins, we need to be able to help those trial users discover problems and amplify their doubts.”

"Yes."

“And another thing,” Waters said, looking directly at Li Mingyuan, “You personally lead the team, selecting our most elite government relations team, carrying the most detailed plan and ‘sincere intention to cooperate,’ and immediately go to the National Real Estate Management Center. Isn’t that Deputy Director Wang someone who values ​​international standards and stability? Then take him down completely!”

"As for that Deputy Director Liu, let's give him enough security and benefits, and make him understand that standing on Microsoft's side is the wise choice. Let them set up obstacles that are favorable to us in every aspect of the bidding process and review criteria. We must not let Momo's free strategy easily shake the decision-makers' views."

"Understood." Li Mingyuan understood immediately.

"Finally, inform Chen Yongzheng," Waters added. "His Huaxia Shangding should stop focusing solely on the subsidy war between MSN and QQ. Immediately allocate some personnel to pay close attention to the three provinces of Handong, Donglu, and Guangyue, especially to local officials and heads of large enterprises who have already shown a preference for the Momo system. Use all legal means to lobby, pressure, and even promise better cooperation terms."

"You must do your best to delay Momo Group's progress in these three bases, making it difficult for them to manage both ends. But you must also be careful not to cross the red line, especially when communicating with those officials. These three provinces are Momo Group's stronghold, and they are keeping a close eye on us. Any transgression you make could pose a fatal threat to us."

"Okay." Li Mingyuan took a deep breath and quickly wrote down all the instructions.

"Then you go and make the arrangements," Waters waved his hand.

After Li Mingyuan left, Waters turned his gaze back to the window.

The city lights flickered in his deep blue eyes.

"A free strategy?" he muttered to himself, as if savoring the true meaning of the term. "You want to use internet tactics to disrupt the rules of traditional government and enterprise procurement? The idea is interesting, but..."

He slowly sat back in the large leather chair, his fingers interlaced on the table, a hint of confidence from a seasoned tycoon on his face.

"But we are still the rule-makers. I will make you understand that in some battles, money and courage alone are far from enough."

He picked up the internal phone, connected to the finance department, and said, "This is Waters. Immediately prepare a funding application report for a temporary market subsidy of $1.5 million to Lianxiang Group. The reason is to curb competitors' expansion in key market segments and consolidate the Microsoft ecosystem's leading position in the Chinese education sector. I want the report on my desk within an hour."

After hanging up the phone, only his heavy breathing remained in the office.

This multi-front war, which they initiated, has now reached its climax.

The battle has now spread from online to offline, from campuses to nationwide government and corporate procurement battlefields.

They were really playing like madmen.

Less than twelve hours after Waters issued the order, the price tags for the Whisper series notebooks on the Lianxiang Group's official website and in its major flagship stores were changed in a high-profile manner.

[Lianxiang Whisper L100, shocking price 1600 yuan!]

[Lianxiang Whisper L200, shocking price 2600 yuan!]

These bright red promotional slogans swept through all the flagship stores and streets like wildfire.

This price is a full 600 yuan lower than the Honor 3200 yuan price!
More importantly, the original price of Lianxiang Whisper was 2999 yuan and 3999 yuan. This price reduction directly breaks through its original price system, showing a do-or-die determination.

The news caused an uproar in the entire PC market.

Major forums, QQ groups, and MSN groups were instantly flooded with related discussions.

"Holy crap! Lianxiang's gone mad? 2600? What more could you ask for at that price?"

"I just saw the Honor S1 yesterday and was still hesitating. Now I don't need to hesitate anymore, I'll just go with Lianxiang."

"Microsoft is really going all out; the subsidies are incredible."

"Brothers, let's go for Lianxiang! We'd be doing Lianxiang a disservice if we didn't take advantage of this deal."

The PC market in universities has undergone a dramatic transformation in an instant.

Many students who were originally torn between the Honor S1 and Lianxiang Whisper almost without hesitation sided with the more attractively priced Lianxiang.

The promotional booths of Lianxiang at major universities were packed with people, with inquiries and orders exploding.

The sales staff at Lianxiang also smiled again, and their voices were several decibels louder than usual. Even before Lianxiang started lowering its prices, Cheng Yi had already received some inside information.

Waters's move is akin to "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao"—their support for Lianxiang Group's desperate struggle is aimed at hindering Momo Group's grand strategy.

Government and enterprise procurement is on the front line.

The campus market is the backyard.

A crisis that starts in your own backyard is far more serious than a defeat on the front lines.

"Following the previous plan, let's lower the price as well. We'll sell it for 2600." Faced with this kind of price war, even if Zhuge Liang were alive, all he could do was shout, "We'll lower the price too."

After all, consumers don't care if you're Zhang San or Li Si; as long as your product has a high cost-performance ratio, then you're everyone's good baby.

"However, like Lianxiang Group, it should be changed to require a student ID to purchase, and there should be a limit of one unit per person," Cheng Yi added.

Their price war with Lianxiang Group was intended to remain confined to the campus area.

If they launch an indiscriminate attack across the country, their price war will run into serious problems.

However, despite both sides stipulating that purchases must be made with student IDs, many people still managed to exploit loopholes to hoard goods.

Some students even sell the purchase qualifications directly online.

Their previous price war with Lianxiang had already made HP and Dell beg for a ceasefire.

Prices have now plummeted to rock bottom, and Dell is the one most affected.

Sales were almost zero this month.

Hasee Computer, on the other hand, was much smarter. They abandoned laptops altogether and focused on making desktop computers.

If I can't fight back, can't I at least avoid it?
After issuing the price reduction order, Cheng Yi said to Li Weiwei, "Also, tell Huang Wenrong that the free trial program for the government and enterprise market will start ahead of schedule tomorrow. According to inside information, Microsoft wants to disrupt our pace, so we must speed up."

"Tomorrow?" Li Weiwei exclaimed in surprise, "I heard Dean Huang say that the final stress test for the compatibility assurance plugin hasn't even been fully completed yet..."

“There’s no time!” Cheng Yi shook his head and said, “Launch the core features first, and fix minor flaws with patches later. We’re racing against time now. We need to build momentum before Microsoft’s government relations team can fully function.”

Just as Momo Group was urgently adjusting its strategy, Microsoft's government relations team, led by Li Mingyuan, had arrived at the National Real Estate Management Center.

Li Mingyuan's first visit was to Deputy Director Wang, who valued international standards and stability.

In a highly private tea room, Li Mingyuan did not directly mention any benefits, but instead brought a complete set of thick, beautifully bound case studies.

"Director Wang, look, these are the top ten real estate developers in North America. Eight of them have fully adopted Microsoft's Project and Azure DevOps for project lifecycle management. This is a case study from Europe. They particularly value the outstanding performance of Windows Server systems in terms of data security and high availability. And then there's Singapore's Housing and Urban Development Authority. Their national BIM standard platform is also built on our technical architecture..."

Li Mingyuan spoke eloquently and confidently, saying, "Globalization and standardization are the general trend. Choosing Microsoft means that your country's real estate projects are in line with international best practices, that they are stable and reliable, and that they can withstand any audit or test. For an industry undertaking such a large-scale IT upgrade for the first time, this is undoubtedly the choice that minimizes risk."

Deputy Director Wang adjusted his glasses, carefully reviewed the cases, and a look of approval appeared in his eyes.

Li Mingyuan's words hit the nail on the head regarding the issues he cared about most.

He neither loved money nor women; all he cared about in his life was stability.

After talking with Deputy Director Wang, Li Mingyuan ran into Deputy Director Liu again at the golf course.

Deputy Director Liu is a well-known fence-sitter in the management center; he always sits on the sidelines, no matter what the issue is.

Because his wife's surname is Xia, many people secretly call him "Kadang".

Crotch and Eve.

His lifelong hobbies are eating, sleeping, and playing golf.

Li Mingyuan deliberately approached him, and after a few pleasantries, naturally steered the conversation toward the recent real estate IT procurement.

Li Mingyuan repeated his conversation with Deputy Director Wang to Deputy Director Liu.

Deputy Director Liu said in a very calm tone, "I'll think about it. My personal opinion doesn't count."

"Okay." Li Mingyuan smiled and handed a golf club bag to Deputy Director Liu, saying, "Director Liu, I didn't bring any gifts for our first meeting, so please accept these newly bought golf clubs as a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find them too inappropriate."

Deputy Director Liu pursed his lips, not even raising his eyelids, and said, "I have plenty of golf clubs."

"This gift is indeed a bit meager, but I've always heard of Director Liu's noble character, so I wouldn't dare to give anything too expensive." Li Mingyuan's smile was warm, which brought a smile to Deputy Director Liu's face.

"That's true." Deputy Director Liu nodded and said, "Just put it over there."

"Okay." Li Mingyuan placed the golf club bag in the location designated by Deputy Director Liu, then took his leave.

"Let me see what's so special about these fake foreign golf clubs," said Deputy Director Liu, picking up the golf club bag after Li Mingyuan left.

When he lifted it, he found it to be heavy, much heavier than a regular golf club.

He opened his backpack and glanced at it; his eyes lit up with an eerie light.

As a seasoned golf enthusiast, he recognized the club's origin at a glance.

Barth Gold Putter Special Edition: The Rolls-Royce of golf.

Designed by the German manufacturer Baron, this club features a shaft made of gold, a clubhead crafted from cherry wood and diamonds, and exquisite decorative details, making it a perfect blend of luxury and craftsmanship.

Deputy Director Liu stroked the golf club, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

(End of this chapter)