America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Chapter 283 Rising with the Wind
"As you all probably know, our company's business, and that push notification app that's currently trending online."

Li Xiaoen smiled and nodded, "Our company's philosophy is to take root anew from the trunk of the current internet industry and make it bigger and stronger..."

As he said this, Li Xiaoen turned to face the camera and continued, "Not long now, in the next few days our company will be launching a new feature on the app, which will allow users to create their own independent communities based on the current push notification mechanism that allows sharing..."

"The community is divided into public and private sections, catering to the needs of both individual users and organizations, and facilitating communication among friends..."

At first, Jeremy felt something was off, but then he finally realized what was happening and his eyes widened.

So, she came to interview them, but then turned around and used it as a product launch promotion?
Staring blankly at the handsome young man speaking eloquently to the camera, she opened her mouth, but refrained from calling him out, letting out a sigh of both regret and helplessness.

After a brief interview, Li Xiaoen gave the camera a few extra shots of the company's interior and other unimportant surroundings before concluding the interview and seeing them off.

"That woman, she didn't say anything bad about me to you, did she?"

As soon as he turned around, Li Xiaoen saw Catherine walking towards him.

"No."

Li Xiaoen shook his head and answered honestly, a teasing smile appearing on his face. "Hearing you say that, I'm actually more curious now. Beautiful Miss Catherine, could you satisfy my curiosity?"

"You, a man, are interested in women's affairs?"

Catherine rolled her eyes, turned her head to the other side, and took a deep breath. "Why does it seem like the atmosphere of your interview is quite good..."

"Hmm...it's pretty good."

Li Xiaoen nodded thoughtfully, his expression returning to seriousness. He gestured with his chin towards Catherine, "Try to package and update the new community features of the app within the next two days, and also..."

"We will continue to hire people. As long as the people are competent enough for the job, we can increase the salary."

"Are you so confident about this interview?"

Catherine paused for a moment.

"It's not that I'm confident in the interview, it's that I'm confident in myself."

Li Xiaoen smiled and said leisurely, having already walked up to Catherine, he put his hand on her shoulder and led her towards the company, "Even without the interview, as more features and services of the app are developed, our company will undoubtedly expand. In terms of underlying machine learning technology, we can't afford to reduce the number of employees..."

"As for the other positions, you can decide for yourself."

The barrage of barrages caught Catherine off guard. She quickly regained her footing and pulled Li Xiaoen to a stop.

"Sean, our company's compensation system is already much higher than the market average, and now we're expanding. Do you know how much money the company has left in its books?"

"Even if I don't have the money, I'll still invest it. I've also approved several of the company's advertising and collaboration projects. In short, the company's progress cannot be slowed down."

Li Xiaoen shrugged. "You know, I went to India over the weekend to make money for the company and fill this huge hole."

"Even so, it's just a business partnership. Even with advanced patented technology, the amount allocated to your software alone wouldn't be much, would it?"

Catherine took a deep breath. "The money is burning through faster and faster; it won't last long."

"Sean, it's time for you to raise funds on your own."

Reality is not fantasy; in the end, it all comes down to the essential nature of money. Catherine's words made a lot of sense, and Li Xiaoen nodded repeatedly, feeling deeply moved.

For the first time, the company he had built with his own hands felt like it was slipping out of his grasp, soaring into the sky, and he could no longer hold it firmly in his hands.

Whether due to limited personal capabilities or considerations from a societal or even governmental perspective, it is absolutely unacceptable for a slightly larger, influential company to be entirely owned by one person.

"Wait for my notification."

Li Xiaoen nodded and answered in a deep voice. Noticing that Catherine seemed to be deep in thought, he shrugged and teased, "Look, how much money and effort have I put into securing your small share of the company?"

"Even the money to pay the employees' salaries has to be spent on business trips on weekends. Can you imagine how hard that is..."

"You don't need to say things like that to me."

Rolling her eyes, Catherine turned and walked towards the company first.

The next day.

The Hearst Group's media outlets, both online and offline, published a single page simultaneously, which immediately stirred up another online uproar.

Whether it's showcasing the hardships and difficulties of a startup, or the reason behind Li Xiaoen's statement involving the name BanYan, which clearly focuses on, or even parasitizes, the push notification business of major internet giants, his explanation using the banyan tree finally provided a counter-argument, standing in opposition to the initial accusations of BanYan's opportunism and unfair competition.

Unlike the heated online arguments on this side, on the other side, where a large number of netizens from all over the world and of all races and ethnicities are engaged in an unusually harmonious, even friendly and supportive, atmosphere.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the two people who were arguing over a hundred posts next to each other are now talking about something else in such a friendly and even warm manner.

"LOL, BanYan has finally launched this community service! Can I, who am wandering alone among thousands of rivers, finally find like-minded friends?"
Ohhhhhhh, if you like the giant mushroom, remember to leave a comment or follow me. After BanYan launches its community services, I'm going to create a private community to share our own push notification mechanism.

One day, everyone will control the Giant Spore!

"..."

"In this world, there are always some people whose sexual fetishes are beyond our comprehension..."

Sigh, I don't understand, but I respect it. The point here is...

Legs leg legs leg legs leg legs leg...

We've gathered here!

"..."

"Feet, here."

"..."

"Are people upstairs so aloof?"
I'll pretend too...

The soul is here.

"..."

"Get out of here right now!!!"

Indeed, it's good to have a community. Once you enter a community you like, you'll never have to see these pretentious trolls again..."

"..."

Indeed, when faced with this issue, everyone in the world sets aside other disputes and becomes harmonious and loving.

Li Xiaoen sat behind his office desk, quickly scanning the heated comments on the forum, finding it all quite amusing.

"Those controversial topics that attracted so many comments, were they started by you with someone else?"

A cup of coffee was brought to her side. Catherine lifted her bottom and sat halfway on the table, following Li Xiaoen's gaze to the computer screen, making a thought-provoking sound.

"I hired people to create some buzz, but I have no way of knowing what they posted specifically."

Li Xiaoen shrugged, picked up his coffee and took a sip. "Are all the community functions ready?" "Well, it depends on how long you want to keep this hype going."

Unsurprised by the young man's answer, Catherine gave a soft hum and nodded, replying, "My suggestion is to let this online uproar fester and release an update only when the momentum begins to weaken."

"That's a good suggestion."

Li Xiaoen laughed twice, his eyes filled with emotion as he looked at Catherine. "I finally understand why some of the things I longed for as a child only came true after I had slowly calmed down."

"When you were a child, didn't you get emotionally affected by some comments online, get involved, and end up increasing the popularity of that topic?"

Catherine rolled her eyes and retorted, "I was referring to Sean Lee hiring online trolls to generate buzz."

The two of them were well aware of this; anyone with even a little experience in similar online work would know the answer.

With a knowing smile on her lips, Catherine crossed her arms and looked down at him with a mischievous gaze.

"At first, I thought you were a cautious, obedient, serious and meticulous science student. But the longer I know you, the more I realize that you also have a ruthless heart that is no less cunning than other old foxes."

"We haven't known each other for very long, and there's a lot about me that you don't know."

Sean Lee chuckled, his gaze drawn to Catherine's fullness, which seemed even more alluring with that movement. He turned back to the computer screen in front of him. "The app update schedule is set for one hour before the end of the workday this afternoon."

"So early?"

Catherine looked surprised and quickly asked, "The news was just published today. Shouldn't we wait for it to spread and gain traction?"

"If you're worried about the hype dying down, you can simply send in more online trolls to stir up some controversial topics..."

"No need, it's enough."

Li Xiaoen smiled and shook his head, "I want to change the length of online promotion; I want a higher level of buzz..."

Catherine was taken aback by what she heard, and after a long while, she tentatively asked Sean Lee.

"So, you had already made up your mind from the beginning, right?"

"Not just this time, but also in the future, the company's business development and direction, even the details of publicity and promotion..."

"You overestimate me."

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow, then waved his hands, both amused and exasperated, "It was just a spontaneous thought, no need to take it so seriously, okay?"

"So, you're admitting that you've already decided on the company's future business development and direction, is that right?"

Seeing the young man's gaze harden, Catherine placed both hands on the table, leaned closer, and scrutinized him with a slight frown. "You only deny my later assumption..."

"..."

Seeing that Li Xiaoen simply looked away silently, picked up his coffee, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely took a sip, Catherine's face darkened slightly, and she glared at him relentlessly.

"No matter what, I'm your secretary, your partner. Is this how you treat me, someone who puts all my energy into the company?"

"Um……"

After a moment of contemplation, Li Xiaoen glanced at Catherine and said, "Guess..."

She opened her mouth, but forced herself to calm down, lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and still held back from questioning the young man.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, I'm going to work."

With a casual remark, Catherine stood up from the table, turned, and walked out of the office.

He hadn't even told Suffer about this, so how could he easily tell others?

Watching Catherine's departing figure silently, Sean Lee sighed helplessly, not dwelling on it any longer, and quickly focused his attention on the computer screen.

Just before the end of the workday in the afternoon, while the online discussion was still raging, BanYan released an app update, which was like igniting a warehouse full of gunpowder, pushing the topic to an unprecedented height. Even people who don't follow these things and the flame wars, and who don't go online, have more or less heard of BanYan's name.

BanYan's app downloads and user registrations have surged again.

Following this, as the initial excitement surrounding the opening of community services gradually subsided, interactions among some community members and conflicts between communities subtly reignited the discussion, making the promotional campaign's buzz last even longer than Li Xiaoen had initially anticipated.

Ten days passed, and employees left every day. With the help of Catherine and Prince Philip of England, new employees continued to join the company after passing the assessment.

While other internet giants are spending heavily to poach talent, and despite new feature updates and press conferences, the company's headcount is increasing rather than decreasing, and the funds in its account are decreasing at an astonishing rate every day.

On a Friday afternoon.

The door to Li Xiaoen's office was suddenly opened, and Catherine, who hadn't spoken a word to him except for work for several days, strode in.

"Financing?"

Catherine's words remained brief: "The company's accounts are almost empty now."

Speaking of this, Catherine has a significant advantage over other upstart companies that she has rejected many times. She is essentially BanYan's chief steward, and she sees the company's figures every day. Now, she believes, is the perfect time to bring in Li Xiaoen.

"Debt financing?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow and asked tentatively.

Financing, in essence, is the process by which a company or individual obtains funds through various means. It is divided into equity financing and debt financing, which are exactly what they mean.

"Sean..."

Catherine gritted her teeth and stared intently at the young man, her hands clenched into fists. This man had really infuriated her.

“You know that, Catherine.”

Li Xiaoen shrugged helplessly. "What I promised you at the beginning was that you were the second person I would consider for the company's financing."

"Is this the throne?"

Rolling her eyes without any mercy, Catherine sneered, "First or second in line? Why don't you think of yourself as a king and issue your own currency?"

Ignoring the other person's angry words, Li Xiaoen continued.

"I already promised Sophie."

Upon hearing this, Catherine froze for a moment, lowered her eyes, and turned to leave without saying a word.

This was the truth. As a business partner, Sean Lee had no reason to hide it from Catherine. Seeing that she had ignored him for several days because she was angry, and now that she had come to him for the first time and was met with such a blow, Sean Lee felt a little embarrassed.

In particular, they are busy with everything for the company, worrying about almost everything except technical research and development.

Shaking his head, Li Xiaoen stopped thinking about it and called Su Feier.

"What? Your mother invited me to your house?"

(End of this chapter)