Back to 2008: I Helped My Dad Become the Richest Man

Chapter 83 A Dimensional Reduction Attack on Cognition

Luo Xiyuan pushed the thick business plan to the center of the conference table, her movements unhurried and deliberate.

"Director Li, this company has no foreign investment or conglomerate backing. The only investor is our Luo Group." Luo Xiyuan's voice was clear and crisp, her words precise. "To be precise, it was my investment decision."

Li Wenbo glanced at the project plan on the table but did not reach for it.

"An investment decision?" Li Wenbo leaned back in his chair, a playful expression on his face. "Do you even know the operating logic of an internet company? Do you know what kind of technical barrier tens of millions of concurrent users represent? You're just a middle school student, talking to me about investment decisions? Do you think I'd believe you?"

He thought the young girl was indeed brave, but courage alone wouldn't get you anywhere in the provincial government. What mattered here was substance.

Luo Xiyuan didn't care about Li Wenbo's disdain. She knew that the only way to break down prejudice was through professionalism.

"Director Li, the operating logic of the Internet is based on the insight into human nature and the monetization of traffic." Luo Xiyuan sat in a relaxed chair. "The reason why Happy Farm became popular is because it grasped the pain point of social deprivation among modern urban white-collar workers."

We've brought real-world interpersonal relationships to a virtual farm. Stealing vegetables is just the surface; maintaining social connections is the core. Users aren't interested in the few virtual cabbages, but rather in the interaction they have with friends through stealing them.

Li Wenbo raised an eyebrow slightly. This didn't sound like a rote memorization; it required a profound understanding of the market.

"As for tens of millions of concurrent users," Luo Xiyuan continued, "we just experienced a server crash crisis last month. To solve this problem, we overturned the original single-point read/write architecture and adopted a distributed database solution. The current server cluster is sufficient to support 50 million people online simultaneously, and guarantees data latency within milliseconds."

She paused for a moment after saying this.

"If you are interested in the technical details, our company's technical director, Zhao Peng, is available at the provincial department at any time to give your technical team a detailed architecture demonstration. Code and underlying logic cannot be faked."

The playful look on Li Wenbo's face vanished. He sat up straight, his gaze becoming serious.

Distributed database solutions. The fact that this term came from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old girl, and so naturally, forced him to reassess the person before him.

He finally reached out, took the business plan, and turned to the first page.

It contains data that was just updated at 8 PM last night.

120 million registered users, 25 million daily active users.

Li Wenbo's pupils contracted slightly as he looked at the numbers. As the director of the Science and Technology Department, he was acutely aware of what these figures represented in the domestic internet industry.

This is already a phenomenal product. Currently, there are very few products in China that can reach this level.

"Are these data accurate?" Li Wenbo looked up and stared at Luo Xiyuan.

"That's true. You can send an audit team to check the back office at any time," Luo Xiyuan replied.

Li Wenbo flipped through the plan, his expression growing increasingly serious. This plan not only contained detailed data but also forecasts of the future market, and even included strategic analyses on how to deal with competition from giants like Baidu and Tencent.

The logic is rigorous and the structure is clear. This is definitely not something an ordinary person could write.

"Did you write this plan?" Li Wenbo asked.

"I dictated it, and my younger brother transcribed it," Luo Xiyuan said.

Li Wenbo took a deep breath. He closed the proposal and placed it on the table.

"Okay, I believe this company belongs to you." Li Wenbo's attitude changed.

"County Chief Zhou said on the phone that you want to move this company's R&D headquarters from Shanghai to our provincial capital. You also want to build a digital entertainment industry base." Li Wenbo got to the point. "To be honest, this idea is very bold and very tempting."

However, Shanghai's internet environment and talent pool are far superior to those of our provincial capital. Why did you decide to move back?

Li Wenbo was a pragmatic man. He knew that businessmen wouldn't act without profit. Giving up Shanghai's advantages to return to the provincial capital went against conventional business logic. He had to figure out Luo Xiyuan's true intentions.

"Three reasons," Luo Xiyuan said, holding up three fingers.

"First, costs. Labor and operating costs in Shanghai are too high. As our company grows, these expenses will increase exponentially. Back in the provincial capital, with the same amount of money, we can support three times the number of our technical team. This is crucial for a company in a period of rapid expansion."

"Secondly, the competitive environment. In Shanghai, we are just an ordinary internet company, constantly facing poaching and suppression from giants. But if we return to the provincial capital, we are a star enterprise in the province, a benchmark for high technology. Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. What we want is dominance."

At this point, Luo Xiyuan looked into Li Wenbo's eyes and raised a third point.

"Third, and most importantly, we need a secure rear."

"Director Li, the competition in the internet industry is extremely fierce. Baidu and Tencent have already entered the market. We are directly competing with them. I can't sleep soundly if our company headquarters is still on someone else's turf."

"I'm moving our headquarters back here, keeping our tax revenue and talent in the province. What I hope to get in return is a fair business environment from the province when we encounter unfair competition. That's my sincerity."

The meeting room fell silent again.

Zhou Liang'an, listening nearby, broke out in a cold sweat. He felt that Luo Xiyuan's words were far too blunt; it was practically negotiating with the provincial leaders, demanding guarantees from the province. This was a major taboo in officialdom.

He secretly glanced at Li Wenbo's face, fearing that Director Li would lose his temper on the spot.

Li Wenbo suddenly laughed.

"Hahahaha!" Li Wenbo laughed loudly, his laughter echoing in the conference room.

He pointed at Luo Xiyuan, then turned to Zhou Liang'an and said, "County Chief Zhou, where did you dig up such a gem? This young girl's insight is sharper than those seasoned veterans who've been around for decades! She's not just a middle school student, she's a real shrewd operator!"

Zhou Liang'an smiled awkwardly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and finally felt a weight lifted from his heart.

Li Wenbo stopped laughing and looked at Luo Xiyuan.

"President Luo," Li Wenbo changed his form of address, "I see your sincerity. You want a stable home base, and the province can provide that. Our province is currently lacking a leading internet company that we can be proud of."

"However, establishing an industrial base isn't something that can be done with just a few words. You need land, you need policy subsidies. These all need to be discussed in provincial meetings." Li Wenbo tapped his fingers on the table. "You need to give me a reason that can convince the other leaders. What scale can your industrial base actually achieve?"

Luo Xiyuan sat up straight. She knew that now was the crucial moment for the negotiations.

"Director Li, I'm not just bringing the Happy Farm team back," Luo Xiyuan said, revealing her plan. "Our Luo Group plans to incubate three new projects in this industrial base."

"One is an instant messaging software based on farm user relationships. The other is a vertical e-commerce platform for agricultural and sideline products."

Another one is our own third-party payment system.

Li Wenbo's expression changed.

If Happy Farm is just a game for making money, then the three projects Luo Xiyuan just mentioned are building a complete closed-loop internet ecosystem. This involves communications, e-commerce, and finance, each of which is a major move that can change the industry landscape.

The girl's ambition alarmed him.

"Give me three years." Luo Xiyuan looked at Li Wenbo and said calmly, "I guarantee that this industrial base will have an annual output value of over 5 billion yuan and create more than 10,000 jobs in the upstream and downstream industries."

Five billion. Ten thousand people.

These two numbers sent a jolt through Li Wenbo's heart.

He stared at Luo Xiyuan for a long time, then stood up and extended his hand to her.

"Mr. Luo, I'll keep your proposal. I'll give you a reply within three days."

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