Since they are reborn, they must be supported by the school beauties.

Chapter 187 Doing Something Particularly Offensive
"Ready?"

Li Dong found it unbelievable.

Five to eight million is not a small amount. Take Beijing, where I live, for example. Eight million can buy eight three-bedroom apartments in prime locations.

After working hard for several years after graduation, I was barely able to afford a small two-bedroom apartment of 70 square meters.

But Chen Cheng, who is still a freshman in college, told me that he had already prepared so much money to invest in the Xiaonei.com website he founded, which was indeed a bit unbelievable.

So he couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Chen's family must be quite wealthy, right?"

Seeing his confusion, Chen Cheng didn't try to hide anything from him and frankly said, "To be honest with you, Manager Li, I stockpiled eighty taxi license plates in Jiangcheng a while ago. The price of these license plates is already over 100,000 yuan. If we wait until the end of the month, it will rise to at least 150,000 or 160,000 yuan. This is the foundation of my confidence in running Xiaonei.com."

Then, Chen Cheng told him, "Actually, my financing plan is to start from Series A, and in the incubation stage, I will invest my own money to increase the scale and the valuation."

Li Dong understood Chen Cheng's intention.

Every entrepreneur has a different mindset. Some hope that once their idea is born, someone will invest money to incubate it, while others cherish their reputation and always hope to wait until they are more mature before letting outsiders get involved.

However, for him, Chen Cheng's valuation of Xiaonei.com had exceeded his authority. If Chen Cheng was unwilling to lower the valuation, he would have no choice but to report the project to his direct superior and let him make the final decision.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Chen Cheng, "Mr. Chen, the survival rate of internet projects can be described as nine out of ten. Many projects are very popular in their early stages, but if they cannot find a good profit model, they will eventually end up being praised but not popular."

"The reason why capital is willing to invest real money in the angel round at the beginning of a project is that it hopes to leverage high risk to achieve high returns. Once the valuation is too high, capital's ability to bear risk will become lower and lower."

“If you raise funds now, we may only look at a business plan and the current user base of a product. But if you wait until you have invested hundreds of millions or tens of millions of dollars and the valuation has reached tens of millions of dollars before raising funds, investors will not only look at your business plan, but also at your product positioning, user base, and more importantly, they will look at your profit model.”

Chen Cheng nodded: "Manager Li is right. I'm already exploring the profit model. One product should be able to go live next week for a trial. Manager Li can also pay more attention to Xiaonei.com and see if our first phase of profit model is reliable."

Li Dong asked in surprise, "Mr. Chen, you've started trying to make a profit so early? I thought the initial focus was mainly on burning money for rapid development."

Chen Cheng frankly said, "It's certain that we'll burn money to develop, but we can't just keep spending without earning. If the cash flow really runs into trouble, all our previous efforts will be in vain."

"clear."

Li Dong sighed softly and said with a smile, "It seems that Mr. Chen has everything under control. No wonder Shiyu said that you do not have any financing plans for the time being, and even emphasized that she consulted me behind your back. But it doesn't matter. I didn't expect to be able to cooperate honestly this time. I mainly came here with the idea of ​​getting to know Mr. Chen. I will contact Mr. Chen on behalf of IDG first, hoping that if Mr. Chen is preparing for financing, he will give us priority consideration."

For Li Dong, being able to invest in a good project is certainly a huge plus, but on the other hand, being able to find a good project for the company is also a great achievement.

Chen Cheng's ambitions have exceeded his authority, but he is unwilling to give up. If he can recommend him to IDG in the future and help IDG incubate a listed company, it will be a significant achievement in his resume.

Chen Cheng had a good impression of Li Dong. Although his purpose was very clear, his attitude was sincere.

So he said, "Since Manager Li is the first investor to come to Jiangcheng to meet me, I will reciprocate and promise that IDG will be the first investment institution I formally negotiate financing with."

Li Dong smiled and said, "That's great! As long as Mr. Chen wants to raise funds, just tell me immediately, and I'll introduce our team leader to you right away. Well, I can't approve a valuation of tens of millions of dollars, but he has the authority and the guts to raise hundreds of millions."

"it is good!"

Chen Cheng nodded, officially reaching an agreement with him. Afterwards, Li Dong also stopped talking about financing. The two ordered a few dishes and a few bottles of beer, and chatted like friends while eating.

When the conversation turned to Liu Shiyu, he asked curiously, "By the way, Mr. Chen, I originally wanted to invite Shiyu to have dinner with us, but she said she was away on a business trip. Do you know where she went?"

Chen Cheng asked in surprise, "Didn't Teacher Liu tell you?"

"No."

Li Dong shook his head with a self-deprecating smile and said, "She only told me that she wasn't in Jiangcheng, but she kept saying that she had to keep her exact location a secret, and she wouldn't let me tell her parents either. She was being very mysterious."

Chen Cheng thought to himself, Liu Shiyu went to Yanjing for an interview, and Li Dong flew over from Yanjing, but he didn't expect that Liu Shiyu would not meet with him or even reveal her whereabouts.

So Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Teacher Liu is sometimes like that, so mysterious. I don't really understand her either. But she did tell me that she's going on a business trip out of town this week and told me to practice the piano well."

Li Dong didn't think much of it, but the regret on his face was clearly visible.

After the two finished their meal, when Chen Cheng was about to pay the bill, Li Dong insisted on paying instead.

Chen Cheng wanted to extend his hospitality, but Li Dong said, "Mr. Chen, you don't need to be so polite with me. I didn't spend my own money; it was the company's travel and business entertainment expenses. They can all be reimbursed when I get back. Moreover, we have a rule that investment managers cannot let entrepreneurs pay for their meals when they meet with them."

"Oh?"

Chen Cheng asked with great interest, "Many companies are trying every means to reduce costs and increase efficiency, so why is your company still making you rush to pay the bill?"

Li Dong laughed and said, "This is also why IDG entered China the earliest and did the best business in China. On the one hand, our big boss is indeed considerate of entrepreneurs. Regardless of whether the business we come out to discuss is successful or not, he does not want to add extra financial burden to the entrepreneurs. On the other hand, he also knows the Chinese proverb, 'He who eats another's food is bound to do the same.' If an investment manager accepts hospitality from an entrepreneur, he may change his objective attitude as a result."

Chen Cheng nodded slightly. This was indeed quite humane, and it also prevented company employees from harming the company's interests in investment matters to a certain extent.

So Chen Cheng didn't try to pay the bill with him, but waited until he paid before asking, "When is Manager Li going back to Yanjing?"

"I'll be back tonight."

Li Dong said, "I did some research before I came. I flew here, had dinner with you, and then went to the train station to catch the evening train back to Beijing. I can go straight to work at the company tomorrow morning."

Chen Cheng asked in surprise, "Working so hard?"

"It's not exactly a struggle."

Li Dong laughed and said, "If we want to catch a flight, we have to wait until tomorrow. We need to find a hotel to sleep in tonight, and then rush to the airport early in the morning. By the time we land in Yanjing and get back to the company, it will be afternoon. That would be more tiring. A sleeper berth allows us to sleep soundly for ten or more hours, which is better than staying in a hotel. Besides, our company is not far from the train station, so it won't interfere with our work."

Chen Cheng nodded. This arrangement did sound more reasonable. It seemed that these business people who were constantly traveling had long since developed their own travel calculation method.

So he suggested, "Manager Li, let's call it a day then, so you don't miss your train."

"it is good."

Li Dong said with a smile, "Next time we meet, I hope you'll come to see me with my boss, or you can come to Yanjing!"

"Okay, let's look forward to it together."
-
After seeing Li Dong into a taxi, Chen Cheng called Liu Shiyu.

As soon as Liu Shiyu answered the call, she asked, "How did the talk go?" "It went alright."

Chen Cheng said, "I promised him that when we officially started discussing financing, I would meet with IDG first."

Liu Shiyu smiled and said, "That's good. At least we have an investment institution to connect with, so we won't be completely clueless when we really need financing."

Chen Cheng said, "Thank you so much, Professor Liu. You even helped me find investors when I went for the interview in Yanjing."

Liu Shiyu laughed sweetly and said happily, "It's rare to meet such an outstanding student. It would be best if I could do my part."

After saying that, he asked, "By the way, you didn't tell Li Dong about my time in Yanjing, did you?"

"of course not."

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "I can't just blurt out something that's so highly classified."

"You're smart."

Liu Shiyu said with a smile, "Remember to treat me to a meal when I get back after my interview."

"I am very sure of that."

Chen Cheng said, "I have to treat you to your first meal back."

"Then it's settled."

Liu Shiyu happily agreed, and then asked him, "Chen Cheng, can I discuss something with you?"

Chen Cheng asked her, "Teacher Liu, please tell me what's wrong."

Liu Shiyu said earnestly, "When we get back, I want to record your song 'In My Song' as a keepsake. I won't publish it or use it for commercial purposes; I just want to keep it for myself. Do you think that's okay?"

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "It's no fun keeping it to yourself, just send it out."

Liu Shiyu quickly replied, "Your song is going to be a huge hit, and I don't want to be in that kind of limelight. My biggest dream in life is to become the principal cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra, which is a very serious matter."

Chen Cheng suddenly realized that the privileges currently planned for campus members do not include background music for personal homepages.

Nowadays, music copyright protection is a complete mess. Many companies are skirting the edges of copyright. If they want to make background music available, they don't have to provide their own music library. Instead, they let users upload MP3 source files themselves. That way, whether they upload Jay Chou's songs or Andy Lau's songs, they can claim it's the user's spontaneous behavior and have nothing to do with the platform.

But that's obviously too low-end, and most importantly, it doesn't have any competitive advantage.

Since there is no copyright protection, no matter how you play the game, you can't create something exclusive.

But what if there are exclusive songs?
Moreover, it's the same approach that those guys on Douyin (TikTok) use to edit videos, using only the most essential part of a song?
For example, "In My Song".

If Liu Shiyu could record it, and only put the first verse and chorus in, when users enter the member's personal homepage, the song would start at zero frames, from the line "without any warning, without any worries," to "you exist, deep in my mind, in my dreams, in my heart, in my song."

Only about fifty seconds are released. Even if a pirate tries to extract the source files, they can only extract these few dozen seconds.

This short selection of music, lasting only a few dozen seconds, is perfect as background music, but if you download it and put it in an MP3 player, it will absolutely make listeners miserable.

Therefore, once such background music leaves the campus network, it's like a fragment of a martial arts manual that has been leaked, only causing those in the martial arts world to beat their chests in frustration.

Moreover, what if there were more of these kinds of "background music"?

There are so many background music tracks that have become wildly popular on short video websites in later generations!

The author of "You Exist in My Song" alone has two other songs that became huge hits on Douyin (TikTok), such as "The Best Arrangement" and "Jar Of Love".

There are also songs like "Free Loop," a favorite in movie editing videos, and "Decent," "Say Goodbye When You Want," and "The Wind Rises," which are popular in emotional videos. There are also those phenomenal songs that were once wildly popular on Douyin, such as "Fiery Sarilang" and "Mohe Dance Hall." If we could make a short clip of each of these songs and give them to members as free background music, that would be great.

At that time, netizens will be listening to the best clips of these songs starting from zero frames on the member homepage, while searching Baidu to death will not be able to find the first, second, and third parts of the song, let alone the full version.

That kind of frantic, scratching-headed discussion will probably become a hot topic online.

Once everyone is discussing, "Who sings these songs?", "Who wrote them?", "Where were they published?", and "Where can I listen to the full version?", not only will campus memberships sell better, but the campus network will also gain more exposure!
So he grinned slyly and said, "Teacher Liu, before you leave, how about we do something really cheeky?"

Liu Shiyu asked in confusion, "What do you mean by 'especially indecent'?"

Chen Cheng said, "I'll take out all the songs, and we'll record them when we have some free time. Then we'll anonymously post them on the school's intranet, posting only a short clip of each song."

Liu Shiyu asked, puzzled, "Is this...is this some kind of new promotional tactic?"

"Correct!"

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "No matter how long a song is, we only let them hear the most essential part, and then we don't reveal any related details. We let netizens discuss and speculate on it at will, just like the Masked Singer."

Liu Shiyu asked curiously, "What is 'Masked Singer'?"

Chen Cheng said, "It's about inviting a group of singers over, covering their faces and making them sing, then letting the audience guess what they are. Doesn't that sound interesting?"

Liu Shiyu was immediately intrigued and quickly asked him, "Will you sing too?"

Chen Cheng said, "I can sing some songs, like 'Lonely Patient'."

Liu Shiyu then asked, "Then will you take out all the songs you've written?"

"Correct!"

Chen Cheng laughed and said, "It's all you can eat."

Liu Shiyu immediately replied without hesitation, "Deal!"

(End of this chapter)