Huayu: From the Era of Ringtones to Becoming a Legend

Seeing Zheng Lin's resolute expression, Lu Jiuge smiled and said:

"Mr. Zheng, you've misunderstood. I'm not here to ask for your help, but rather to offer you a favor!"

"What do you mean?"

Completely bewildered by Lu Jiuge's words, Zheng Lin looked at him with confusion.

"I have a way to solve Qianqian's silencing problem!"

Lu Jiuge calmly took the laptop from Zuo Wei's hand and opened it:

"Mr. Zheng, I know you've always been dedicated to audio output decoding technology, but due to funding and market constraints, you haven't been able to scale it up!"

"I have a complete technical solution here. By simply optimizing the software algorithms, we can elevate the audio output quality of digital terminals to studio level!"

Lu Jiuge turned the laptop screen toward Zheng Lin.

He glanced casually at the screen, a hint of programmer arrogance still playing on his lips:

"Mr. Lu, you're just a musician, how dare you talk to me about decoding algorithms..."

The words came to an abrupt halt.

Zheng Lin's gaze seemed to be firmly drawn to it. He leaned forward, unconsciously swiping the touchpad, and his breathing became rapid.

"Wait... this noise shaping logic... this bandwidth expansion concept..."

He muttered to himself, completely forgetting that there were other people around him.

Time passed second by second.

Finally, half an hour later, Zheng Lin withdrew his gaze, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Lu Jiuge with burning eyes:

"Where did you get this Spiritual Algorithm?"

"It skips three traditional steps and directly uses a psychoacoustic model for compensation... Theoretically, it can really make low-bitrate files sound like the original master tape!"

"Mr. Zheng truly lives up to his reputation as an expert; he spotted the advantages at a glance!"

Lu Jiuge leaned forward:

"Not only for digital terminals such as MP3 players, PHS phones, and mobile phones, but also for terminals such as DV, VCD, and DVD players, as long as my Lingyun audio algorithm is installed, the sound output quality can still be improved by more than three times, and without increasing the hardware cost at all."

Zheng Lin stared intently at the screen, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table:

"This technology is so advanced! If it were released to the market, it would definitely become a monopoly! Where did you get it?"

Lu Jiuge's tone was flat:

"I paid for it, I spent ten million! Mr. Zheng, do you think it was worth it?"

"Worth it! Absolutely worth it!"

Seeing Zheng Lin's excited expression, Lu Jiuge knew she had gained the upper hand in the negotiations, and feigned a sigh:

"But now, I have a golden rice bowl, yet I have nowhere to eat!"

Zheng Lin's eyes flickered:

"Mr. Lu, are you planning to embed this algorithm into my Qianshan Silent Media Player?"

"Your vision is too narrow, Mr. Zheng!"

Lu Jiuge stared at Zheng Lin:

"The ultimate goal of this algorithm is not to create a music player. It's to become the sound standard for all music players, mobile phones, and all electronic devices capable of producing sound!"

Zheng Lin's pupils contracted:

"You want to become a monopolist in the audio field?"

"Why not?"

Lu Jiuge smiled:

"And it's a free or dirt-cheap monopoly for the common people! I can even pay major manufacturers to put our decoding solution into their motherboards!"

"Are you crazy?"

Zheng Lin suddenly stood up:

"The patent licensing fees here are astronomical. You're giving it away for free, practically paying out of your own pocket?"

"What you see is a loss of patent licensing fees; what I see is an opportunity to monopolize distribution channels!"

Lu Jiuge's eyes were sharp:

"Mr. Zheng, the record company blacklisted me because they control the distribution!"

But the world ahead will definitely be the internet age. I'll control the discourse power of digital music distribution. Tell me, who will be censoring whom then?

After a pause, Lu Jiuge revealed the purpose of her visit today:

"Mr. Zheng, are you interested in collaborating? You'll have full control over the technology and products of the new company, while Qianxing Entertainment will provide the technology, funding, and content. I'll give you 30% of the shares!"

Zheng Lin gave a wry smile:

"My company, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, is only worth 30% of the shares?"

Lu Jiuge shook her head:

"It's not that Qianshan Jingyin is valuable, it's that you, Mr. Zheng, are worth the price!"

"I don't care about Qianshan Jingyin's user base. We'll sell it anyway! Just bring your tech team!"

After glancing at the shocked Zheng Lin, Lu Jiuge continued to explain her reasoning:

"The goal of this company is to control digital music distribution channels through free or low-cost licensing, so that every traditional record company that wants to release digital music must get my approval!"

Zheng Lin fell silent, then sat back down in his chair, his fingers stroking the water glass.

He knew very well that Qianshan Jingting had reached a dead end. The server was due to expire next month, half of the core team members had left, and if they could not find a way out, they would have to disband within three months.

After waiting for several minutes without Zheng Lin saying anything, Lu Jiuge spoke again:

"Mr. Zheng, we're facing similar situations. The difference is, I have this trump card, while you don't!"

"If you hesitate any longer, your dreams and ambitions will come to an abrupt end. Are you willing to accept that?"

After Lu Jiuge said that, Zheng Lin finally came to his senses:

"Mr. Lu, your suggestion is very tempting!"

"Haha, it worked!"

Lu Jiuge roared inwardly and laughed:

"Of course! I want more people to hear my songs, and you want more people to hear high-quality music. If we merge, your music player will have exclusive hit content, and my songs will have their own distribution channels—a win-win situation!"

Zheng Lin looked up, his gaze sharp:

"You're that confident? That twelve record companies won't blacklist your player too?"

"How do we ban it?"

Lu Jiuge shook her head:

"They can control record stores and music websites, and they can make telecom operators remove ringback tones, but how can they control users to download music players themselves?"

"Moreover, our player will be embedded in the underlying code of the digital terminal at the source code level!"

Once terminal device manufacturers cooperate, we'll have the final say on music output! At that point, we won't be begging for cooperation; traditional distributors will be coming to us begging to stock our players!

Zheng Lin's breathing became increasingly rapid. He looked at the algorithm code on the screen, then at Lu Jiuge's determined gaze, and the scales in his heart kept tipping.

He worked at Qianshan Jingting for five years, growing from a one-man studio to a well-known name in the industry. He never thought of giving up, but the pressure of reality almost crushed him.

"I have one more condition!"

After much deliberation, Zheng Lin finally compromised.

"you say!"

Lu Jiuge nodded.

"The new company's products must prioritize sound quality; we cannot sacrifice user experience for the sake of bandwidth. I must be fully responsible for all technical decisions, and no one can interfere."

Zheng Lin's tone was firm:

"Also, the remaining eight people in my team must all be retained, and their salaries and benefits cannot be lower than the current standards."

"no problem."

Lu Jiuge readily agreed:

"You don't need my authority on technical matters; I don't understand them either!"

"I'll only handle content and marketing. Your team is the core of the new company; their salaries will double, as long as they can develop the product!"

Zheng Lin stared at Lu Jiuge for a full half minute, took a deep breath, and stretched out his hand:

"Deal. But let me make this clear from the start: if you change your mind halfway through, or try to sacrifice sound quality for viewership, I'll leave with my team immediately."

Lu Jiuge grasped his hand and shook it forcefully:

"Don't worry, although I, Lu Jiuge, love to experiment, I never lie. What we want to do is to make users willingly pay for good music and good sound quality."

Zheng Lin stood up, walked to the window, looked at the bustling crowd below, and suddenly turned to ask:

"Mr. Lu, what will the new company be called after the merger? And what are your plans for the next steps?"

"How much money do I need to invest to acquire 30% of the shares in the new company?"