Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 423 Lei Jun's "Thanks"

"President Lei!"

"Mr. Chen!"

The two greetings conveyed different emotions.

As the invited party, Chen Xiu was even more enthusiastic than Lei Jun, the one who was hosting.

When their hands clasped together, Chen Xiu even saw deep regret and frustration in Lei Jun's half-closed eyes...

As for that!
I only poached one person from you, and you're acting like you can't make ends meet. Fine, I'll just give you another one!

Chen Xiu, who came to the appointment with this mindset, appeared extremely calm.

Seeing the uncontrollable upward curve of his lips, Lei Jun's already depressed mood worsened, and he thought: You poached Zhou Shouzi, fine, but you're still smiling like that, it's too much!!

Chen Xiu suddenly noticed Lei Jun's lips curling down, realizing that he was angry with her because of Zhou Shouzi's official resignation. She quickly said, "President Lei, the Weibo post you made this morning wished Zhou Shouzi a better future. You shouldn't be angry!"

Why does that make me even angrier?

Leibusi stared blankly at Chen Xiu, then let him pull him to a seat.

Seeing that Lei Jun was neither speaking nor ordering, Chen Xiu thought for a moment and then took the initiative to break the silence.

"Mr. Lei, I think we need to look at Zhou Shouzi's resignation from a dialectical perspective... Hmm?"

Chen Xiu looked down at her forearm, which was suddenly gripped by Lei Jun, and felt a strange sense of familiarity with the scene.

Lei Jun used the tricks he learned from Zhou Shouzi on Chen Xiu, saying, "President Chen, it's normal for business to have give and take, but you don't need to keep bringing it up, do you?"

"I didn't mean to keep bringing it up..."

“We’ve only been together for less than three minutes, and you’ve already brought it up twice.”

"I'm just trying to put your mind at ease and let's communicate openly."

Chen Xiu said matter-of-factly.

He was invited here today to openly discuss the matter of poaching Zhou Shouzi. If he were to be secretive and not talk about it, he would have to bow down to Lei Jun in the future.

Lei Jun pursed his lips and asked suspiciously, "How can you put my mind at ease?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Chen Xiu leaned half of her body forward, and Lei Bus subconsciously stepped back, only to end up leaning against the back of the chair.

Seeing that he had nowhere to retreat, Chen Xiu took the initiative and said, "President Lei, if I hadn't poached Zhou Shouzi, and he had stayed at Xiaomi, then I would like to ask, what are your plans for using him?"

"This one……"

A hint of hesitation flashed in Lei Jun's eyes as he considered whether to elaborate on the bigger picture.

But considering Chen Xiu's cunning and calculating nature, even if I exaggerated, he might not believe me.

"Ahem, according to the original plan, I intended to have Zhou Shouzi take charge of Xiaomi's overseas business and become the president of the international department!"

“What a coincidence, I thought so too. He will be the CEO of TikTok next month.”

"What executive officer?"

"He officially left Xiaomi today, and the onboarding process will take a few more days. At the latest, on the 1st of next month, Zhou Shouzi will be the CEO of TikTok."

No, are you serious?
The appointment I'm talking about still needs to be discussed in a meeting. You've already put Zhou Shouzi in the CEO position right away.
I made him CFO back then, and now you're making him CEO. It seems I didn't lose this talent race unfairly!

Lei Bus stared at Chen Xiu in disbelief, his mouth agape in astonishment, his mind still replaying Chen Xiu's appointment of Zhou Shouzi.

After a moment, Chen Xiu continued, "President Lei, in some ways, we're kindred spirits, aren't we?"

"Hmm? Yes, that's right."

"While it's a pity that Xiaomi lost a president of its international division, TikTok gained a CEO as a result, so we can consider it a talent sharing arrangement."

"..."

Lei Jun felt a strange itch in his knuckles, a strong urge to clench his fists, while his mind was in turmoil.

What he said was so infuriating! I really want to punch him...

Why did I suddenly decide to ask him out today?

Oh right, right, since I've already left because of TikTok, I should at least be able to make some money, right?

Thinking of this, Lei Jun took a deep breath and forced a smile, "President Chen, I don't think we need to discuss Zhou Shouzi's resignation any further..."

"Although Zhou Shouzi has left the company, another talent is more suitable for Xiaomi's current situation."

"Oh, who is this person you're talking about?"
Seeing that Lei Jun's attention had been successfully diverted, Chen Xiu felt that he probably didn't care too much about Zhou Shouzi anymore.

"Ahem, Mr. Lei, before revealing the answer, let me ask you a question first: What do you think are the current development challenges facing Xiaomi?"

"What do you think it is?"

Lei Jun is quite capable; he wasn't led astray by Chen Xiu's questions.

However, Chen Xiu's original intention was simply to pique his interest in the topic; whether he answered the question or not made little difference.

Chen Xiu squinted at Lei Jun and said, "I think the problem with Xiaomi's development is not the sales volume of mobile phones, but Lei Jun himself."

Upon hearing this, Lei Jun's eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and his elbow unconsciously nudged the edge of the table.

If his answer to Chen Xiu earlier was somewhat evasive, now he genuinely wanted to know what was going to happen next. "What makes you say that?"

"Which of the remaining mobile phone manufacturers in China relies on its founder as much as Xiaomi?"

Chen Xiu's melody improved with each step.

Lei Jun's attention shifted completely from those two sentences, and he temporarily had no time to consider Zhou Shouzi and the TikTok investment, focusing instead on Xiaomi's situation.

"Mr. Chen, isn't it better to rely on the founder?"

"What Lei Jun is trying to say is that Apple also relies heavily on Steve Jobs, right?"

"Apple is currently the world's most valuable technology company."

"Therefore, relying solely on its mobile phone business, Xiaomi will probably never reach the heights of Apple."

The two exchanged words without pausing to explain, yet they both understood each other's meaning.

When Chen Xiu compared Xiaomi to Apple, Lei Jun's gaze turned serious as he looked at him: "You mean, if Xiaomi expands into other businesses, it can reach the same level as Apple?"

"I wouldn't dare to draw such a conclusion, but I can say that it will be closer than it is now."

Chen Xiu smiled at Lei Jun, letting the atmosphere calm down for a moment, before abruptly changing the subject:
"However, given Xiaomi's reliance on Lei Jun, if a suitable person is not found to take over the mobile phone business, Lei Jun may not be able to free up his time to develop new businesses."

"Isn't this Zhou Shouzi?"

“He doesn’t have the typical engineer’s vibe; he might not even be able to run a successful product launch. A management position would be more suitable for him.”

Lei Jun shifted his posture, moving his elbows from a position that wouldn't reach the edge of the table to resting them on the surface.

He looked at Chen Xiu scrutinizingly and said, "President Chen, can I understand your words to mean that you know of a talent who can take over Xiaomi's mobile phone business and want to recommend him to me?"

"I just said that great minds think alike, am I right?"

Chen Xiu stared intently at Lei Busi, but did not immediately reveal the answer.

"Mr. Lei, although it's a perfectly normal business decision for me to poach Zhou Shouzi, it was still somewhat inappropriate. How about I introduce you to a talent instead?"

So who exactly is this person?

"Lu Weibing, founder and CEO of Pengcheng Chengyi Technology".

Lei Jun curled his lip and smacked his lips.

"Mr. Chen, you're not joking with me, are you?"

"How could that be? Lu Weibing joined Gionee as president in 10, where he was fully responsible for the operation and development of Gionee's overseas business. Before joining Gionee, he was in charge of overseas market expansion at his previous company, Tianyu. Compared to Zhou Shouzi, he is clearly more suitable for Xiaomi at this stage."

“I’ve known Lu Weibing for a long time. We even chatted in August this year. Didn’t you just say that Lu Weibing has his own company?”

Seeing Lei Jun's serious expression, Chen Xiu waved his hand in a relaxed manner.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot an important prerequisite: Lu Weibing's company is about to close down due to operational problems, and headhunters have already contacted him."

Upon hearing this, Lei Jun's eyes lit up instantly, but the next second, his face was filled with suspicion.

How do you know about Lu Weibing's situation?

“I have an investment company that specializes in participating in venture capital projects for domestic technology companies. At the beginning of this month, I saw Lu Weibing’s proposal to seek financing for Chengyi Technology. Coincidentally, at that time, I was already preparing to poach Zhou Shouzi, so I paid more attention to it.”

Chen Xiu delivered her prepared explanation in a reasonable and logical manner.

Lei Jun listened, his expression a complex mix of emotion and unease.

Although Chen Xiu introduced him to a very suitable talent, that was a compensation for poaching a talent.

This was the first time Lei Jun had ever encountered such a situation, so it's normal that he lacked experience in dealing with it.

After a moment, Lei Jun still addressed the matter at hand: "You just said that a headhunter contacted Lu Weibing, is that true?"

“Yes! If President Lei thinks this person is suitable, you should act quickly. Doesn’t your company have a brand called Redmi? You can hand it over to Lu Weibing to test his abilities.”

You've said exactly what I was thinking.

Lei Jun suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, looked at Chen Xiu with a complicated expression, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu understood and said, "President Lei, don't be so polite. We can still arrange to have a meal together in the future."

"Ahem, well, thank you for the recommendation anyway. I've been busy with work lately and haven't been paying attention to Lu Weibing's situation..."

At this point, Lei Jun pursed his lips and stopped the conversation.

He suddenly realized that all the busyness this month was due to Zhou Shouzi's resignation, and Chen Xiu was the culprit... This thank you was really a bit too much for him to say.

Fortunately, Chen Xiu didn't care too much.

"Mr. Lei, don't be so polite. You must have had mixed feelings about me lately. How about we postpone this meal and have it another time?"

After saying goodbye to Lei Jun, Chen Xiu went straight out the door.

Once the door closed, Lei Jun, no longer needing to hide, sat in a chair with a complicated expression, thinking for a while... then suddenly widened his eyes.

"Damn it! I forgot to talk to him about investing in TikTok!!"

On the other side, Chen Xiu, who had already left and boarded the car, received a call from another old friend.

"Hey, Mr. Ma, you've come to Beijing..."

(End of this chapter)