Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 751 I gave you a chance but you are useless!
Li Yanhong's confidence stems from his strong self-assurance in his judgment and analytical abilities.

Although several domestic giants have extended olive branches to Lu Qi, he does not consider them a threat.

Although Didi is very sincere, its size is limited and it has no connection with the field of AI. Even if it offers the position of CTO, it will probably be difficult to impress this technology leader.

Although Tencent has offered a high-ranking position as co-president, its president's office is already full of talented people. If Lu Qi leaves, it may repeat the mistakes of the Microsoft era.

He was well aware of this, and believed that Lu Qi understood it as well.

As for the remaining company, it's even less reliable. Although Jack Ma is eager to recruit talent, he was just unlucky, as a senior business executive at Alibaba recently resigned.

This wouldn't have been a big deal in itself. Perhaps the person leaving the company was well-intentioned and left an open letter on the internal network before leaving. Even though it was quickly shut down by the public relations department, it still spread on Zhihu and Zhihu, causing countless netizens to have a frenzy of discussion.

The letter directly addresses common problems in large corporations: factional infighting, short-sightedness, and overstaffing.

Li Yanhong carefully read the letter, and it was filled with heartache and helplessness.

In fact, the industry currently divides employees into three categories: Taurus, Wild Dog, and White Rabbit, emphasizing the discovery of Taurus employees, the elimination of Wild Dog employees, and the improvement of White Rabbit employees.

Unfortunately, as the company grew, he later discovered that enterprising and ambitious bulls were rare; more often, there were backstabbing, predatory, and manipulative white rabbits.

The other company started—no, it has already changed its ways—but Baidu is no different.

Upon seeing this, Li Yanhong felt a deep resonance, as if he were looking in a mirror.
When a company changes its public image by trying to improve its reputation, it suffers negative publicity; it's simply a case of cause and effect.

After reading it, Li Yanhong muttered to himself, "No wonder no company dares to hire the managers of this company. Their salary requirements are just a facade. The main reason is that the smell they carry is unbearable."

Of course, we cannot generalize. The person who wrote this letter was driven by love, otherwise the words would not have been so heartbreaking.

As BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) has developed to this point, they have all inevitably contracted the problems of large corporations. The only difference is whether the problems are deeply ingrained or irreversible.

Both Ma and himself were well aware of this.

But knowing and changing are two different things. Sometimes a radical transformation is needed, and even more so, a suitable change leader.

Lu Qi was the only candidate in his mind to lead Baidu's transformation.

One morning in late July, Li Yanhong suddenly received a message and immediately put down all his work to rush to the East Campus of BJ301 Hospital.

Lu Qi quietly returned to China under the pretext of "going to Taiwan for medical treatment".
"Nerve mobilization exercises, repeated 5 times daily. Muscle activation training. Core stability training."

An elderly doctor was speaking softly to the man on the hospital bed, explaining the recovery plan in a steady and resolute voice.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

The ward door was pushed open, and Li Yanhong walked in with a gentle smile, holding a bouquet of lilies, and placed the bouquet on the bedside table.

When he saw the old man beside the hospital bed, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The old doctor didn't even look up, seemingly unconcerned about Li Yanhong's appearance, and simply dutifully gave his final instructions: "Follow the plan. Your physical functions will return to normal in 2-3 months, but you still need to avoid strenuous exercise for six months."

"Please continue your conversation, gentlemen." With that, the old man walked away, his back straight as upright as a pine tree despite his advanced age.

"Thank you, Professor Wang," Lu Qi quickly expressed his gratitude.

After the door closed, Li Yanhong couldn't help but ask, "How did you manage to get him to come?"

"Is this Professor Wang very famous?" Lu Qi didn't answer directly, but asked with a hint of doubt.

Li Yanhong smiled and said, "It depends on who you're talking about. Ordinary people might not know about him. I only learned about his existence by chance—in ancient times, he would have been a royal physician."

"No wonder," Lu Qi suddenly realized. His pain had indeed eased considerably in the past few days; it seemed he owed a great deal of favors.

“Traditional Chinese medicine is declining nowadays, and quacks are rampant, but this man is definitely a true master of medicine.” Li Yanhong paused. “Moreover, this is a ward for high-ranking officials, and ordinary people can’t come in. If I had a broken bone, I probably wouldn’t even get this treatment.”

He changed the subject, "But you still haven't told me how you got here?"

"A friend recommended this place, saying it was good, so I came to give it a try," Lu Qi said casually.

Seeing that he was unwilling to talk more, Li Yanhong did not press him, but instead smiled and said, "You didn't even tell me you were going back to China? At least let me do my part as a host."

Lu Qi leaned against the headboard, casually placing the red book beside him aside, and replied gently, "I know you're busy, and I didn't want to bother you."

“Between friends, there’s no such thing as disturbing each other.” Li Yanhong shook his head. “However, it really surprised me that you were able to put aside your career abroad and come back to China for recuperation.”

“After all, our roots are here, so we’ll always come back.” Lu Qi smiled. “By the way, is your wife still abroad?”

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the conversation gradually turned to Baidu's development. In recent phone calls, Lu Qi, from an outsider's perspective, offered numerous suggestions: cut redundant businesses, focus on the AI ​​track, adhere to long-termism, and reject data bubbles.
Li Yanhong has already implemented some of the suggestions; for others, he originally intended to wait until Lu Qi joined the company before pushing them forward, but it was inconvenient to say so explicitly at the moment, so he could only be vague.

Having spent decades working in foreign companies, Lu Qi naturally understood the difficulties involved. Seeing Li Yanhong still avoiding the main issues, a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.

Despite having other commitments, he still hoped his old friend's company could get back on track. His advice came from the bottom of his heart.

Baidu's predicament ultimately stems from the personality of its leader—indecisiveness and a lack of decisiveness.

It's a big no-no to speak too frankly with someone you don't know well, but after much deliberation, Lu Qi decided to be upfront about it:
"Robin, I have a question, and I hope you will answer it honestly." Li Yanhong's expression turned serious: "Go ahead."

“If I were to come to Baidu to take charge of AI, I would inevitably have to overhaul the search engine business, which would certainly affect the interests of the Hailong Group and trigger a strong backlash.” Lu Qi looked directly at the other person. “What would you do then?”

"."

Li Yanhong's expression remained unchanged, but his heart suddenly sank.

He could have made a firm promise to fully support them, but he couldn't bring himself to tell such a lie.

Silence fell over the ward.

Lu Qi slowly lay back on the pillow, his tone calm: "Thank you for visiting. This issue isn't urgent; you can take your time to consider it."

"Then you should get some rest." With that, Li Yanhong got up and took his leave.

Sometimes silence itself is an answer.

During his recovery period, he had a lot of extra time. Besides reading books and learning about information from the other side of the strait, he spent the rest of his time conducting in-depth research on the development history of various Chinese internet companies.

Recently, he saw the Alibaba resignation letter that sparked heated discussions on a workplace forum.

The letter specifically mentioned that the reason why "The Other Shore" was able to rise against the trend amidst the encirclement and suppression by BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) was precisely because these giants lost their original intentions and were eager for quick success and instant benefits.

More importantly, “The Other Shore” has been completely different from traditional IT companies since its inception.

Because the initial distribution policy set by Chen Mo fundamentally shaped the company's DNA, creating an ecosystem where "good money drives out bad money."

Any behavior that harms the company's interests will be quickly eliminated by the immune system, just like a virus.

The fact that most of the leads in last year's massive anti-corruption campaign came from internal whistleblowing speaks volumes.

Chen Mo was merely announcing the results at the annual meeting; in reality, the matter had already been settled.

The foundation of the other side is already quite good, but compared with the traditional BAT companies, the other side, which is only 6 years old, is still a young and energetic company with few problems. But what about the future?

Whether he will also suffer from the problems associated with large corporations is a question he needs to consider.

The more you study Chen Mo, the more interesting he becomes.

The more I studied Chen Mo, the more I realized that he was an extraordinary person: he valued technology, dared to delegate authority, had a broad vision, sharp insight, and was respectful to his subordinates.

Following such a leader to expand territory would surely be a wonderful journey.

Although he returned to China at Chen Mo's request, he still wanted to give Li Yanhong a chance, based on their long-standing friendship, to see if he could break through his own limitations.

Since Li Yanhong had given his silence (Chen Mo) through his actions, he had completely given up hope.

Having made up his mind, Lu Qi picked up his phone and dialed Chen Mo's number.
"Thank you for your arrangement. After careful consideration, I have decided to join the Other Shore."

As they walked out of the hospital, Li Yanhong whispered to his assistant, "Arrange for a new face to stay here and keep an eye out for who comes to visit Lu Qi."

Back in his office at the Baidu building, he kept replaying the conversation in the hospital room in his mind, and the ominous premonition grew stronger.

Lu Qi's deliberate avoidance of that "friend" made him feel that things were not so simple.

He pulled up the information about Lu Qi that he had saved on his computer and suddenly realized something. The job at Amazon might just be a cover, and Lu Qi had obviously made preparations for returning to China.

The screen freezes on a scene showing Chen Mo and Lu Qi parting on bad terms after their meeting.

Watching Chen Mo storm off in anger, Li Yanhong felt a sense of déjà vu.

This sense of familiarity is like a fishbone stuck in your throat—it's within reach, yet indescribable.

"Never mind." He rubbed his temples.

Since I can't think of it right now, I might as well put it aside for now.

What's troubling him more right now is Lu Qi's pointed question from the afternoon. Since the question was so sharp, it shows that he still cares about Baidu. If he answers it well, he might not be without a chance of winning.

Baidu Search is indeed changing, but this change is less a proactive move and more a result of being forced into it by Baidu Search.

The two sides are currently barely maintaining a 50/50 situation, but Li Yanhong knows very well that this is just an expedient measure by Xiang Hailong under external pressure.

Once the threat from the other side disappears, those long-standing problems will inevitably resurface.

"To kill a thousand for one person, or to abandon one for a thousand?" This question lingered in Li Yanhong's mind.

From a personal emotional standpoint, he naturally wanted to support Lu Qi; but the reality was that Hailong had Dong Min and the entire vested interest group behind him, making it far from easy.

Standing by the window, looking at the lights of thousands of homes in the distance, Robin Li realized for the first time with such clarity that perhaps what Baidu needed was not a revolution, but a rebirth.

But if he were to actually start the fire himself, would he be able to do it?
He asked himself this question, but still had no answer!
(End of this chapter)