Huayu: We're asking you to act, and you're playing a superhuman?

Chapter 103 Both Sides Display Their Unique Skills

Hailong Building, Didi Corporation.

In the dead of winter in Beijing, the windows would tremble and rattle from time to time in the cold wind, each sound like a knock on one's heart.

The office was exceptionally dry due to the heating, which made the lush green money tree by the door look somewhat wilted, but none of the three people paid any attention to it.

Cheng Wei anxiously rubbed his fingers together, calculating the company's dwindling cash flow.

Seated on the single sofas on either side were Zhang Bo, who was in charge of technology, and Wu Rui, who was in charge of marketing and business development.

The three of them are Didi's senior management team.

Cheng Wei suddenly asked, "Old Wu, how's the small subsidy situation?"

"This week, our user base increased by 3 percentage points, exceeding the natural growth rate of last month. The effect of the subsidies is truly amazing."

Wu Rui reported with a strange expression.

Despite this being such great news, there was not a trace of joy on his face.

Cheng Wei was already anxious enough, so he just assumed that Wu Rui's dilemma was about maintaining the company's cash flow.

"Don't worry, I've already calculated it. With subsidies like this, the company can survive for at least a month—and then we can use these new users to talk to investors about a Series C funding round!"

Although these words were spoken to Wu Rui, they also sounded like a form of self-comfort.

Cheng Wei smiled excitedly, turned around and said to CT0 Zhang Bo, "Bozi, those people down there still need you to appease them."

"How do we appease them? Should we tell them that this month's salary won't be paid yet, and that it will be paid later when the company recovers?"

Zhang Bo's tone wasn't very nice, but it was understandable.

After all, programmers work overtime every day without rest, and the number of coffee cups they drink each month could be stacked up to a wall. After such hard work, if they are suddenly told that their salary will be paid next month, who can stand it?

Cheng Wei comforted him, saying, "This is a matter of life and death for the company. As long as we get through this period and secure Series C funding, I will compensate you double next month."

"Sigh... I'll try my best to hold on."

Zhang Bo pinched the space between his eyebrows to relieve his fatigue.

He also worked overtime all night yesterday and is now exhausted. His biggest concern right now is the company's Series C funding round.

"There's something I'm not sure if I should mention."

Wu Rui suddenly raised his hand with a serious expression and said.

The situation that requires this sentence structure must be something significant.

Cheng Wei's heart skipped a beat, but he managed to compose himself: "What's going on?"

"Starting this morning, a subsidy campaign by Didi Chuxing suddenly appeared in several cities where we were offering small subsidies —"

"What?!"

Cheng Wei shouted, his face turning deathly pale and sweat beading on his forehead.

Wu Rui glanced at him and continued, "Kuaidi's subsidy is 3 to 5 yuan per order, which is much higher than our highest subsidy price."

"They're using subsidies to poach users!!"

"That's not all."

"Any other tricks up your sleeve?"

Cheng Wei could no longer sit still and took the initiative to get up and rush towards Wu Rui.

Wu Rui hurriedly said, "They launched a subsidy-based user acquisition strategy. For every new user a user refers who registers with Kuaidi, they get a 5 yuan subsidy coupon. Many of our users have switched because of this!"

Cheng Wei was startled, and the muscles under his eyes began to twitch rapidly.

With a whoosh, he slammed his hand on the coffee table, producing a loud bang, and the tea set trembled violently.

"#!!!"

Cheng Wei was so enraged by this underhanded scheme that he lost all his composure and shouted.

After shouting, the anxiety that had been bothering him vanished, leaving only a sense of fearlessness brought about by the numbness in his hands.

"Wu Rui, go and adjust the subsidy amount to 3-5 yuan."

"At this rate, we can only hold out for a maximum of 15 days!"

"Then, we expanded the scope of subsidies to the areas where Didi operates."

"At this rate, it probably won't even last 10 days —"

Looking at Cheng Wei's expressionless face, Wu Rui's words of persuasion stuck in her throat.

Cheng Wei glanced at him: "You don't need to worry about the money! I'm the CEO, I'll handle everything. You just need to follow my instructions."

"Okay, leave it to us."

Zhang Bo picked up the conversation, walked over, pulled Wu Rui along, and left the office.

Once Cheng Wei was the only one left in the office, he slowly walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and slammed his fist into it.

"Thump!"

The reflection in the tempered glass showed a resolute expression on a chubby face.

"Mr. Gu, do you want to sell me the film and television adaptation rights to 'Love O2O'?"

Wang Weili looked at Gu Man, who had come to him, with a puzzled expression.

Today is the wrap-up day for "Boss & Me," and he had planned to finish filming the last scene and then call it a day.

As soon as filming wrapped, Gu Man came over on her own initiative.

Wang Weili thought she wanted to use this last opportunity to gather materials, but he didn't expect that Gu Man's first words would be to promote the copyright of her novel.

Gu Man said, "I think you understand the investment field and the game industry, and you also understand film and television production. No one is more suitable than you to adapt 'Love O2O' into a film or television series."

"—But I might not actually act in O2O."

"It's okay, as long as they're actors you approve of! My only requirement is that they oversee the scriptwriting and participate in the filming of the TV series."

"Alright."

Wang Weili readily nodded in agreement.

He knew about the drama "Love O2O" and knew that even if he didn't act in it, he could still make money from it.

Gu Man was delighted to see that Wang Weili had agreed.

After getting to know him for a while, she originally wanted Wang Weili to play Xiao Nai.

But considering the other party's high status, they might not want to act in idol dramas, so they reluctantly sold the copyright to Wang Weili.

If it's a drama produced by their own company, the boss would probably be willing to lower his own status to play the male lead, right?

Gu Man thought this way, which led to her proactively promoting the film and television rights to her novel.

To prevent "Love O2O" from being overlooked, she even left a little trick in the copyright transfer contract.

"If Party A fails to complete the film/television adaptation within five years of the copyright transfer, the copyright will automatically revert to Party B."

Wang Weili read out Gu Man's little trick in the contract, and then signed his name with a flourish.

Seeing that he didn't seem to care about that, Gu Man felt even more relieved.

The two signed the contract in the presence of a lawyer.

Wang Weili originally wanted to ask Gu Man if she wanted to go to the wrap party held by the film crew, but a phone call saved him from this social obligation.

"Didi has retaliated!"

Listening to Chen Kai explain Didi's countermeasures over the phone.

Wang Weili showed no surprise at all; on the contrary, he had a faint sense of excitement.

"Kid, if we expand the scope of subsidies, how long can that last?"

"Hmm—15 days, but it might actually be shorter, because we also need to consider whether the growth of new customers will exceed expectations."

"Then let's expand it."

"Should I help you schedule a meeting time with Penguin?"

Wang Weili smiled, a very happy smile.

He could sense Chen Kai's progress; the clueless newbie from last year was now able to keep up with his train of thought.

"You set a time for me, and I'll take care of the rest myself."

"Okay! Leave it to me."

Chen Kai didn't ask any more questions because he knew Wang Weili could definitely handle it.

Wang Weili put down his phone and was just beginning to think about his penguin journey when the system's electronic notification sounded in his mind.

[The host has performed actions consistent with the role he is playing. Chu Zihang's role-playing progress: 80%].

Chen Kai's portrayal of "Lu Mingfei" is becoming increasingly mature, and his performance as "Chu Zihang" is also nearing its culmination.

Pengcheng, Penguin Building.

Located on the north side of Shennan Avenue, the Penguin Building is the first office building built by Penguin Company itself, and even the address is a very simple and elegant number 10000.

As a popular celebrity, Wang Weili should theoretically keep a low profile.

However, when he came to visit Penguin today on behalf of Kuaidi Dache.

He was surrounded by reporters as he walked from the moment he got off the bus to the moment he entered the building, with brief interviews interspersed along the way.

"Willie, are you here to discuss a film and television project collaboration with Tencent?"

-

"We currently have no collaborations in the film and television industry."

"So you're here representing Kuaidi Dache to discuss a partnership with Tencent?"

"I'm just here to pay a visit—"

""

Wang Weili didn't reveal any useful information; he simply used the reporters he had brought in as megaphones.

The news of his visit to the penguins needs to be spread as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether there is a final collaboration, as long as this matter can spread and arouse people's speculation and conjecture, that's enough!

As soon as he entered the Tencent building, the reporter was stopped at the door by security guards, and the news began to spread rapidly online.

When Cheng Wei found out, he was clearly panicked!

He already knew Liu Chiping's feelings when he last visited Penguin.

Tencent doesn't only have Didi as an option. As long as a clear winner emerges in the market, they can also invest in Kuaidi. Is today's situation proving this statement?

This immense external pressure made Cheng Wei anxious and worried.

Soon, the internal pressure at Didi also reached him.

Holding the latest statistics, Wu Rui knocked on the door of the office.

"At most this week, the company's cash flow will dry up!"

"Didn't we agree last time that we could last 10 days? This week ends, so we only have 7 days left!"

"The subsidies killed off all the other small ride-hailing companies. Now only we and Kuaidi are left in the market, and our user growth rate is far exceeding expectations."

"Okay, I understand."

Cheng Wei wiped his sweat, feeling that the news wasn't so bad.

User growth means a higher valuation for Didi; now it just needs to weather this most difficult period.

How can we hold on?

If, as I suspect, Tencent invests in Kuaidi, then Didi can simply declare itself dead.

Are we just going to give up like this?

A company with a bright future is dying prematurely due to cash flow problems and investor hesitation? This tactic seems so familiar.

Cheng Wei suddenly remembered how Hangzhou Kuai had died, and broke out in a cold sweat, which actually cleared his mind.

No, I still have food!

"Wu Rui, pass the word down: everyone's salary will be suspended. Anyone willing to use their own money to help the company through this crisis will receive stock options as a reward."

"What?"

"Just keep issuing this notice. I'm going back to mortgage the house!"

"What??"

At this moment, Cheng Wei couldn't care less about anything else; he just hoped that Didi wouldn't shut down like Kuaidi.

"Mortgaging the house will only last a few more days; I need to find money—"

He paced back and forth in his office, turning around and around, then suddenly stopped and looked up sharply.

"I'm going to find Ahri!!"