Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 713 Still want to eat? If you do, I'll take the pot away.

"Hmm." Cheng Yi nodded and smiled, "They've exhausted all their resources and mobilized global resources, but they're still helpless. They're under immense pressure every day—pressure from Microsoft headquarters, pressure from customer criticism. Waters isn't having an easy time, so how can his engineers be in a good mood?"

"More importantly, after this incident, do you think these smart engineers can't see the trend? Microsoft's foundation in China has been shaken, while our Momo OS is rising strongly as a savior, with the dual support of policy and market. One is struggling in the quagmire with an uncertain future, while the other is rising and full of infinite possibilities. If you were that ambitious and technical engineer, what would you choose?"

Huang Ganping's eyes gradually brightened, and he began to understand Cheng Yi's deeper meaning.

"You mean, take advantage of his illness to kill him?" Huang Ganping realized his words were inappropriate as soon as they left his mouth, as it made Cheng Yi seem like he was kicking him while he was down. He immediately changed his words, saying, "No, it should be that we should take advantage of his low morale to poach his key technical personnel."

"We'll strike while the iron is hot!" Cheng Yi corrected. "I want to see what Waters has to offer us now that it has lost the government and enterprise market and the engineers to maintain XP Speed ​​Edition!"

"Dean Huang, first send out the existing 179 engineers to form 179 rescue teams. Start by addressing the government and enterprise data issues according to priority. I'll figure out how to handle the remaining manpower," Cheng Yi said.

“Okay.” Huang Ganping nodded immediately.

He believed Cheng Yi's promise completely because he knew Cheng Yi's abilities and his attitude towards work very well.

This guy is incredibly good at keeping things to himself. Once he reveals something, it means he's already fully prepared.

He never reveals the details of a matter before doing it.

Cheng Yi handed the room over to Huang Ganping and Li Bing, then quickly left the lecture hall.

A month ago, he obtained a confidential list and brief evaluation report of the core members of Microsoft Research Asia through special channels.

His first breakthrough was ultimately found in a man named Han Yue.

Han Yue, 35, is the chief software engineer at Microsoft Research Asia, responsible for the performance optimization and compatibility framework of one of the core components of the Windows XP system.

He graduated from Tsinghua University and holds a PhD from Stanford University; he is a typical top-tier overseas returnee technology elite.

The report included a seemingly insignificant note: "Recently, due to family reasons, I have been under considerable personal financial pressure, and I am extremely disappointed with the meaningless overtime and ineffective research that the research institute is currently engaged in due to the panda virus incident."

They possess top-notch technical skills, face real economic pressures, and are dissatisfied with the status quo.

This is the perfect breakthrough point.

Cheng Yi took only Lin Yongxing and Li Weiwei with him and flew to Yanjing City.

One of Han Yue's junior classmates is now a deputy director at Momo Group. With this deputy director's help, he quickly arranged to meet Han Yue at a high-end private restaurant in Yanjing that is not open to the public.

In Yanjing City, there are many such high-end private restaurants, most of which are sponsored by companies. This particular high-end private restaurant was created by Momo Group and is considered one of Momo Group's main locations in Yanjing City. Momo Group's customers and friends can bring their relatives and friends to dine here for free.

However, although it's free, those who can become customers and friends of Momo Group are not ordinary people. Even though the food is free, they will still order a bunch of expensive drinks. As a result, this private restaurant that offers free food to a specific group has exceeded 10 million in revenue in less than two years.

The privacy and class here far surpass those of high-end Western restaurants open to the public.

In a stylish private room, Cheng Yi personally got up to serve Han Yue some food.

Han Yue was clearly somewhat reserved and puzzled. He didn't know why the rising star of Momo OS would suddenly ask to meet him privately.

This is Cheng Yi, the goal of every technician.

Cheng Yi's girlfriend, Lin Qingyin, is the dream of hundreds of thousands of programmers.

Cheng Yi didn't beat around the bush. After a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point: "Dr. Han, I've long admired your name. I'm a businessman and don't like beating around the bush. I'm sure you can guess why I invited you here."

"Yes." Han Yue nodded and said, "I've heard about it from my classmates."

"That's good." Cheng Yi laughed. "I'm not very capable, I just like spending money. Come here, I'll pay you double the salary."

Han Yue immediately showed a look of hesitation.

Double wages, that's already quite a lot.

He is a senior engineer and his annual salary at Microsoft is $21.

If it's doubled, that's an annual salary of 42. With those two years' worth of salary, you could buy a two-bedroom apartment in Beijing.

However, he still had some hesitation in his heart.

He joined Microsoft after returning from studying abroad and has been there ever since. If he suddenly switched jobs, he might offend Microsoft.

Moreover, Microsoft is the world's leading operating system company. If he were to switch to MomoOS, and MomoOS were eventually shut down by Microsoft, he would have to leave the industry.

Cheng Yi didn't press Han Yue for an answer, but instead asked with concern, "By the way, I heard that your aunt hasn't been feeling well lately and needs careful care?"

Han Yue's eyes darkened, and he nodded without saying anything more.

This is his private matter, and also his biggest worry lately.

Cheng Yi pushed a thin folder in front of Han Yue and said, "Inside is a preliminary letter of intent for employment and a check for one million Chinese yuan. The check is a prepayment for signing fees, not included in the salary. It is for your aunt's medical treatment and recuperation. It is a small token of my appreciation."

Han Yue looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with shock.

one million?

That's almost five times his current annual salary at Microsoft, and that's just the signing bonus.
His hands trembled as he opened the folder and quickly scanned the terms of the letter of intent:
Position: Chief Architect of Momo OS System Company

Annual salary: 60 RMB.

Signing fee: RMB 100 million.

In addition, the buyer will be given the permanent right to use a three-bedroom apartment in the high-end community of Momo Technology Industrial Park, and will be entitled to stock options in Momo OS Company for a certain number of years.

Han Yue's breathing became rapid as he looked at the terms and conditions.

Money is a good thing.

Programmers are basically in a young person's league...

If you can earn five years' worth of money in one year, it's worth it even if you only work for two years and then quit.

Given his age, he can only work at Microsoft for a maximum of five more years before being reassigned to a peripheral position.

"Why...why me?" Han Yue asked in a dry voice.

“Because you are one of the best engineers at Microsoft Research Asia, and you need this opportunity now, and we need your abilities,” Cheng Yi said calmly. “Microsoft is a leaky ship, and smart people should get on a new ship as soon as possible. I’m not talking to you about ideals, just practical matters. Microsoft can’t give you these things, but I can. With this money, your aunt can receive the best treatment. With this position, you can continue to pursue your dreams. It’s a simple calculation, isn’t it?”

Cheng Yi didn't urge him, slowly drinking his porridge, giving Han Yue enough time to digest this huge temptation.

Han Yue was engaged in a fierce internal struggle. His loyalty to Microsoft seemed so insignificant in the face of the pressures of reality and the immense opportunities it offered.

More importantly, he was genuinely disappointed by Microsoft's current inability to do anything about it, and also tempted by the potential shown by the Momo system and the conditions offered by Cheng Yi.

Ultimately, reality and reason prevailed.

He took a deep breath, carefully put the check away, and then looked at Cheng Yi, saying, "Mr. Cheng, thank you for your consideration. I need a day to process my resignation procedures at Microsoft."

Cheng Yi smiled; he knew that the first breakthrough had been found.

"No problem, I will have someone assist you with all the procedures, including any non-compete agreement issues. We will also be responsible for any possible compensation. Welcome to Momo, Dr. Han. I hope we can do something different together."

Two days later, Han Yue's departure triggered a seismic effect within Microsoft Research Asia that far exceeded Cheng Yi's expectations.

Han Yue is not an ordinary engineer; he is one of the core backbone members.

His sudden departure, especially at a time when the research institute was in dire straits, to join its main rival, Momo OS, sent an extremely dangerous signal.

Not to mention, when Han Yue was processing his resignation, although he abided by the confidentiality agreement, his undisguised ease stood in stark contrast to the gloomy atmosphere inside the research institute.

Privately, all sorts of speculations and rumors began to circulate wildly:
"Have you heard? Momo paid Han Yue one million yuan a year, after tax!"

"There was also a signing fee of several million, paid in cash, and the money filled several boxes."

"It seems they also gave out shares, which are worth several million."

"Really? No wonder Engineer Han left so decisively..."

"What's the point of us risking our lives here only to get scolded?"

Panic and discontent spread throughout the research institute like the burning incense of pandas.

Many people were already feeling frustrated and exhausted because of the Panda virus incident, and now they are faced with such blatant monetary temptations from their competitors, which has made them more interested in making money.

These days, the most disloyal groups are those in professions that rely on youth.

For example, prostitutes, programmers, and so on.

The young lady turned 40, and her beauty had faded.

Programmers become less responsive by the time they reach 40.

This is exactly the effect Cheng Yi wanted.

After successfully capturing Han Yue, he did not stop, but launched a second, more intense offensive.

He instructed Huang Ganping to use Han Yue and other previously planted informants to deliver Momo OS's talent recruitment information to technically skilled employees within the research institute who had recently expressed dissatisfaction with the status quo, in a more direct and specific manner.

This time, Cheng Yi doesn't need to personally step in.

With a budget specially approved by Cheng Yi, the newly established talent recruitment team of Momo OS began a large-scale sweep.

There are no empty promises, only tangible rewards of money and positions that are hard to refuse.

For these highly intelligent tech elites, the pros and cons are easy to calculate.

Suddenly, within Microsoft Research Asia, more and more people were receiving private calls and emails inviting them to join Momo OS.

Soon, the programmers even figured out a trick: as long as they showed dissatisfaction at the company, they would definitely receive an invitation to Momo OS.

This has led to a habit among the engineers at the research institute: whenever they have free time, they openly express their dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Everyone was dissatisfied, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere throughout the research institute.

When the first person is poached and receives far greater rewards than expected, the psychological defenses of those who follow become much more vulnerable.

Soon, the second and third core engineers submitted their resignation applications...

Without exception, they all headed towards Jingzhou, towards Momo OS Company.

The successive resignations finally made Waters realize that something was wrong.

When he saw the resignation reports from the human resources department for more than 39 core employees in just one week, all heading to Momo OS, he smashed his favorite coffee cup, a gift from his mother, in a fit of rage.

"Cheng Yi!!!" Waters shouted in the office.

But now, all he can do is roar in vain.

What could he do? Retain these people with higher salaries? Headquarters wouldn't approve such a large, general pay rise because their Asian Research Institute and Asian Engineering Institute have more than 3700 engineers.

Sentiment and ideals? They are worthless in the face of real money.

Using non-compete agreements to restrict employees? Putting aside the lengthy legal process, Momo OS has clearly prepared a response and is even willing to pay compensation for its employees.

For the first time, he truly felt what powerlessness meant. Not only was he suffering repeated defeats in the market, but even the talent base he depended on for survival was being ruthlessly devoured by his opponents.

As more and more talent leaves Microsoft Research Asia, an even stronger siphon effect begins to form.

People have a herd mentality. People who start doing it may feel a little guilty, but when they see that everyone else is doing it, that guilt disappears.

Especially when they see that all the recognized tech gurus around them have chosen to join Momo OS, the remaining people will unconsciously doubt whether their choice was correct.

"Even Engineer Chen went there. It seems that Momo really has potential."

"I heard that the project bonuses over there are really generous, and Cheng Yi is extremely generous."

"I'm so frustrated here, I might as well go over there and try my luck."

More importantly, Cheng Yi cleverly utilized the influence of these surrendered generals.

After Han Yue and others joined Momo OS, Cheng Yi not only promised them high salaries and positions, but also gave them extremely high treatment and full authorization within the company.

They were allowed to form their own teams, and Cheng Yi often personally discussed technical planning with them. He also frequently published news on major portal websites about eating street barbecue and drinking draft beer with Han Yue and others. This not only made Han Yue and others feel unprecedentedly valued and involved, but also showed millions of netizens what a good boss is.

He hardly needs to use his brain with this method; he can just copy it directly.

After all, in the world before his rebirth, there were many entrepreneurs with strong performative personalities who not only gained fame and fortune but also won over the public.

(End of this chapter)