I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 323 Sometimes people are more important than projects.

"Mr. Zhang, I'm actually an angel investor. Ele.me and Pengcheng Dajiang Company, which researches and manufactures drones, are both projects I've invested in," Fang Qingye briefly introduced himself.

"You want to invest in 99fang?" Zhang Yimin suddenly realized.

“No.” Fang Qingye shook her head: “I’m not interested in this website, or rather, the real estate brokerage industry.”

"Then who are you?" Zhang Yimin was a little confused.

"Mr. Zhang, are you interested in personalized information distribution in the mobile internet era?" Fang Qingye suddenly asked.

Zhang Yimin was taken aback: Wasn't this what he had just been thinking about? However, he remained outwardly calm and asked, "What, is Mr. Fang interested in this?"

“Yes, with the widespread use of mobile phones, mobile internet has gradually become mainstream. People are no longer satisfied with the mass information pushed by traditional media, but prefer personalized information that they are interested in. This requires a website to search and distribute information to different people, but it seems that there is no such website in China.” Fang Qingye spoke eloquently.

"Yes, it's based on precise algorithm recommendations! It breaks the traditional model of news and information platforms relying on manual editor recommendations! The website will push what you like to read," Zhang Yimin said excitedly.

"That's right, that's exactly what I mean." Fang Qingye smiled slightly and then said, "Mr. Zhang, do you think this field is more promising and more interesting than being a real estate agent?"

Zhang Yimin nodded.

He couldn't deny that he seemed to be seeing a realm that no one else had ever set foot in.

"But, Mr. Fang, why did you come to me? Why not ask someone else or do it yourself?!" Zhang Yimin asked another question.

Fang Qingye remained calm, took a sip of water, and then said, "First of all, I am an angel investor, and I studied finance. I am not good at internet technology. As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise, so I need someone who understands technology to do this."

"As for why I chose you, it's because I've learned about your background," Fang Qingye said with a smile.
"According to publicly available information online, you started four businesses after graduating from school. You joined Kuxun.com, which was engaged in vertical content search for travel. Later, you were in charge of search for Fanfou.com and HaiNei.com. You also founded 99fang.com, which was also about information collection and distribution. Apart from your work at Microsoft, the other three entrepreneurial experiences were actually all about content information search, and all of them achieved remarkable results."

Hearing Fang Qingye say so much in one breath, Zhang Yimin was somewhat surprised: "President Fang, I didn't expect you to know me so well."

I'm afraid I know you better than you know yourself!
Fang Qingye chuckled inwardly, but remained calm and composed on the surface: "I'm an angel investor, so I need to study not only the project but also the people. Sometimes people are more important than the project."

Fang Qingye explained and continued, "The personalized information push I mentioned is essentially the same as your three entrepreneurial ventures, so I think you are very suitable for this job."

"You start the business, I'll invest, how about we cooperate?" Fang Qingye said finally.

Zhang Yimin was smitten.

However, he did not agree immediately, but said, "Mr. Fang, let me think about it some more and give you an answer later, okay?"

“Okay, my contact information is on the business card. Contact me when you’ve thought it through,” Fang Qingye said, standing up.

"I'd like to stay in Yanjing for a few more days. I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible, Mr. Zhang."

"OK!"

Fang Qingye left the office building and returned to her hotel. After a short rest, she took a taxi to Beijing Capital International Airport when she saw that it was almost time.

Xia He's flight was at 5 PM. Although Fang Qingye hadn't said he'd come to pick her up, he decided to surprise her.

Sure enough, Xia He, wearing a wool coat and a scarf, dragging a suitcase, saw Fang Qingye, who was wearing a down jacket and smiling at her, not far away.

"Aoba!"

Xia He was both surprised and delighted. She opened her arms and ran towards him, and the two embraced.

"I didn't expect you to come pick me up at the airport." Xia He was very touched.

Fang Qingye chuckled: "I'm unemployed now, I can go wherever I want. Let's go."

After saying that, he helped Xia He lift her suitcase, and Xia He linked arms with Fang Qingye as the two walked affectionately out of the waiting hall. "Did you reach an agreement with that Zhang Yimin?" Xia He asked.

"We met and chatted for a while. He said he would think about it, but I don't think it'll be a big problem."

"That's good."

"Let's take a taxi back to my hotel, settle in, and have dinner," Fang Qingye asked.

"Oh? I have to go report for duty."

"What's the rush? Play with me tonight, and you can report for duty tomorrow morning."

What to play?

"What do you say?"

"Hate!"

Xia He had to attend meetings during the day, so Fang Qingye, having nothing to do, decided to stroll around Yanjing Hutong with great interest.

While Fang Qingye was having fun, Zhang Yimin was handing over her resignation letter to the investors of 99fang.com.

His investor is Wang Qiong, a senior employee of Haina Asia Venture Capital Fund.

Wang Qiong can be considered Zhang Yimin's "mentor". The two met on Kuxun.com, and Wang Qiong's initial project was Kuxun's investment.

Later, Zhang Yimin left Kuxun.com to join Fanfou.com and HaiNei.com, founded by Wang Xing. After the latter went bankrupt, Wang Xing invited Zhang Yimin to co-found 99fang.com in 2009. This platform later became the largest real estate information website in the industry.

Now that Zhang Yimin is leaving her job to start a new business, of course she has to tell Wang Qiong.

After a moment of silence, Wang Qiong said, "I don't object to you starting your own business, but I'd like to meet the angel investor you mentioned."

Zhang Yi hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Okay, I'll call him."

At this moment, Fang Qingye was strolling through the hutong with great interest. The hutong, located on Qianmen Street, was called "Qianshi Hutong".

The entrance to this alley is only half a meter wide, with mottled blue bricks on both sides. Looking up, the sky is squeezed into a thin line, as if it might close at any moment.

However, looking at the history on the walls of the alley, it's hard to imagine that this was once the most prosperous financial center in Yanjing (Beijing). During the Qing Dynasty, merchants used silver for transactions, while ordinary people used copper coins for daily life, and Qianshi Hutong was the officially designated place for exchanging silver and coins.

Just then, Fang Qingye's phone rang. She took it out and saw that it was Zhang Yimin calling, so she answered it without hesitation.

"Mr. Fang, are you still in Yanjing?" Zhang Yimin asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, I'm strolling through Qianshi Hutong on Qianmen Street," Fang Qingye said with great interest.

“Mr. Fang, you’re in a good mood.” Zhang Yi replied, “My friend, Ms. Wang Qiong, who is also an investor in 99fang, would like to see you. She is a senior employee of Hainan International Group.”

Haina International Group?!
Fang Qingye had certainly heard of this name.

SIG, abbreviated as SIG, is a large financial services company headquartered in the United States with more than $10 billion in proprietary investment funds, including venture capital and private equity investments.

Haina Asia is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Haina International Group, engaged in venture capital and private equity investment activities in China.

Historically, ByteDance's initial funding came from Wang Qiong personally, and she later represented SIG Asia in ByteDance's Series A funding round.

Now I have actually taken ByteDance from Wang Qiong's hands!

(End of this chapter)