1: Chapter 1: The Man Who Makes CEO Lei Lose His Mind!

On the outskirts of Hangzhou City, in Qianjiang Village.

There were no high-rise buildings to be seen here; weeds grew thick along both sides of the road.

At the end of the paved cement road stood a long warehouse.

Inside, a long table was covered with numerous electronic components. In the center of these parts sat a model airplane that hadn't been fully assembled yet.

Beside it was a small computer desk. The computer screen was flickering, its faint light illuminating a youthful face. A teenager, about sixteen or seventeen years old, would occasionally respond with a word.

Along with his responses, the computer emitted constant beeping sounds, and text kept jumping within the chat boxes.

"Engineer Zhou, let's build a world-changing company together, a company as great as Apple..."

"Starting a business isn't that easy. Funding..."

"Don't worry about money. Although I don't have much in my bank account right now, taking out a few hundred million shouldn't be a problem..."

Zhou Fan was about to type, but seeing the message sent by the other party, he couldn't help but blink. He silently deleted the half-typed sentence and replaced it with: "My mind isn't on this."

"Engineer Zhou, one must have pursuits in life. Look at me, I became a CEO at twenty-eight. Since the company went public the year before last, I've felt lost..."

"..." For a moment, Zhou Fan couldn't tell if the other person was humble-bragging or specifically trying to scam him.

A CEO at twenty-eight... In his past life, he had only just entered a research institute at twenty-eight.

Zhou Fan's hands paused for only a moment before the other party's messages came flooding in again.

"Engineer Zhou, seriously, let's start a business together. After I went back, the more I thought about what you said regarding the development of smartphones, the more forward-thinking I found it..."

"What you described is exactly what a future phone should be like. It doesn't need to be expensive, it doesn't need a brand premium; it should be a truly populist product that everyone can afford. Let's create an independent brand that belongs to China..."

"Our corporate culture will be 'technology serving the people,' making it affordable for everyone..."

"Engineer Zhou... start a business with me. Ever since my business failure in '92, I've been reflecting... It's been nearly twenty years now, and I've accumulated a considerable amount of corporate management experience..."

"You just handle the technology, and I'll take care of all the business matters... Our partnership would definitely be a powerful alliance."

"The product marketing strategy will follow your ideas—focusing on cost-effectiveness to make a phone that every tech enthusiast can afford... I'll try my best to lower the costs and achieve that value, though I still need to figure out the upstream and downstream ends..."

The text kept jumping in the chat box; the urgency was palpable through the words.

Zhou Fan quietly read all the messages, thought for a moment, and typed another sentence on the keyboard.

After sending it, he didn't pay much more attention. To him, starting a business was never the first choice; what he truly wanted to do was find a way to complete the projects he hadn't finished in his past life.

Zhou Fan gathered his thoughts, pulled out a piece of scratch paper, and began calculating.

...

...

Beijing, Tianyuan Neighborhood inside the Second Ring Road.

It was quiet and clean, with excellent greenery.

In one of the small courtyards, large floor-to-ceiling windows offered a full view of the lush greenery, but a man in his late thirties sitting by the computer was staring intently at the screen, with no interest in the beautiful scenery outside.

Lei Jun couldn't help but rub his forehead. Looking at the silent chat box, he let out a soft sigh; he had already grown accustomed to this situation.

As the former CEO of Xinshan Software, he was quite a figure in the business world, having led a small twenty-person company from its lowest point to the summit, making it a leader in the industry...

While he wouldn't say it was unprecedented, it was indeed a peak that many found difficult to surpass.

As the IPO bell rang, he, who had always aimed for going public, saw the company's successful listing.

Although he had hundreds of millions in his account, he couldn't help but fall into a state of confusion.

To put it bluntly, aside from his time before university, he hadn't truly been poor in the latter half of his life.

However, along with an uncontrollable impulse, memories of a failed business venture nearly twenty years ago surged back. Once he had determined his path, he began scouting for candidates.

The person on the other side of the chat box was someone he had met during an outsourced collaboration. An outsourcing project that should have taken a month was completed in less than a week, thanks to the person's powerful technical ability to streamline the architecture.

He had taken note of him then and asked for his contact information to start chatting. But after talking, he found his urge to start a business becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

Not only was the other party extremely strong in programming, but his insights were also unique. Yet, despite his invitations, the other party had never agreed.

Lei Jun let out a long breath, staring blankly at the screen, when suddenly a line of text appeared in the chat box.

"If you want to save on costs, focus on direct online sales."

Seeing the words pop up in the chat box, Lei Jun involuntarily sat up straight.

"Direct online sales?"

He muttered to himself, as this single sentence naturally sparked many ideas.

Directly facing consumers... no middlemen to take a cut...

Sales costs go down... and profit margins naturally emerge.

The only thing to solve is the issue of user trust.

Lei Jun's eyes lit up with uncontrollable excitement; he suddenly felt a sense of clarity.

Having been in business for so many years, he naturally had a high sensitivity to business models, and at this moment, he understood it almost instantly.

Selling products directly online and cutting out a series of intermediate sales links could indeed control costs effectively.

Like the e-commerce platforms that emerged a few years ago and are now in their prime, they supported countless small and micro-merchants and made a fortune just from commissions, forming a brand-new online sales model.

The emergence of this sales model even dealt a huge blow to the brick-and-mortar retail industry.

Although mobile phones are tech products that emphasize practical experience, and no phone manufacturer currently focuses on online direct sales, if user concerns are addressed, this would be a blue ocean.

Lei Jun's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his hands seemed to merge with the keyboard.

"Engineer Zhou, I heard you say you were in Hangzhou City last time? As it happens, I'm going there on a business trip. Shall we meet and chat?"

"Engineer Zhou, let's do this together! You handle the technology, and I'll handle the business..."

"We'll start a business together, grow it big and strong, and create new glories."

"Let's meet. No matter what, let's meet up, since we've known each other for so long."

"Even if we don't start a business together, as long as this idea succeeds, it will definitely be a good thing for ordinary tech enthusiasts. We'll bring the most cutting-edge technology to every ordinary person; we're doing something that benefits society!"

"Let's take this opportunity to talk in person."

Lei Jun poured out all his thoughts at once because he simply couldn't control himself... On the road to entrepreneurship, there are many factors for success.

But with a good partner, the probability of success increases greatly.

Since resigning, he had been considering and weighing his options. Starting a business was an obsession in his heart, yet he also harbored fears.

He had been deliberating all along,

but now, he felt he had found the most important piece of the puzzle on his entrepreneurial journey.

The so-called business trip was just an excuse; he truly wanted to meet in person. If all went well, he would definitely invite the other party to start a business together.

"Technology should serve the people..." Lei Jun looked at the long-silent chat box and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

If he had been somewhat lost regarding his future path before, he was now completely certain about what he wanted to do.

It wasn't limited to a single city or territory, but the pursuit of an ideal.