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

Chapter 753 Things shouldn't have been this way.
When news broke that Lu Qi had joined the other side of the river, domestic social media platforms instantly went wild.

Those netizens still immersed in the 2G era suddenly woke up: Who is Lu Qi? Why are these tech media outlets acting like they've all taken some kind of aphrodisiac?
Subsequently, a nationwide science popularization campaign swept across the internet at an astonishing speed.

Six of the top ten trending topics on Zhihu are related to Lu Qi.

The resume list compiled by netizens has gradually clarified the image of this legendary figure in the tech world:

Microsoft's Global Executive Vice President: The glass ceiling for senior executives in Chinese technology companies;
In nine years, he rose from an engineer at Yahoo to executive vice president, and then to executive vice president at Microsoft, where he could climb no higher.
An innovator holding 40 US patents;
He was hailed by Bill Gates, the world's richest man, as "Microsoft's most valuable strategist";
The aftershocks began to spread globally at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and when the news reached foreign countries, the shock was even greater in the international science and technology community than in China.

Reuters noted, "This appointment signals that the other side may be elevating its AI strategy to an unprecedented level, and Silicon Valley should be wary."

The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page headline: "Lu Qi's joining completes the final piece of the puzzle for Microsoft's international development; Microsoft loses a valuable talent."
Bloomberg posed the probing question: "Why did this 'most sought-after Chinese executive in the global tech industry' ultimately choose this Chinese technology company that was only founded six years ago?"

Meanwhile, netizens on Reddit sparked a heated discussion: "There's an old Eastern saying, 'Keep the meat rotten in the pot,' so what are tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook doing?"

Microsoft China made a rare move by posting a congratulatory message on Weibo, demonstrating a certain level of courtesy.

As media coverage grew, especially with the spread of Lu Qi's resume on Zhihu, Chinese netizens finally caught up with the pace of online discussion. Comments with over 10,000 likes on related Zhihu topics showed a polarized trend:

"Chen Mo's strategic vision + Zhou Shouzi's capital operation + Lu Qi's technological perspective, this golden triangle combination is a dream team. I can already imagine myself looking around and shouting: Who else can do this?"

"Having an executive like Lu Qi with a background in an international giant can bring a lot of valuable experience to the other side, allowing them to avoid many detours in their journey from a domestic giant to an international giant. This is a brilliant move by Chen Mo."

"Tch~ Microsoft executives going to the other side will most likely suffer from culture shock; one plus one doesn't necessarily equal two!"

"Fortunately, it's just a senior advisor position. If it were a position with real power, I really don't know what those old ministers on the other side would think."

"Does the person upstairs even understand the Other Shore? With Chen Mo's reputation on the Other Shore, there's no way he could cause trouble, because anyone who wanted to cause trouble would have been kicked out long ago."

Just as Chen Mo was speechless with anger at being blacklisted by Pony Ma, Cheng Wei from Didi was also cursing loudly.

Didi rarely issues announcements, and now that they've finally announced some good news, you're following suit, aren't you?

That bastard surnamed Chen definitely did it on purpose!

Why target him like this? Cheng Wei originally wanted to capitalize on his success and launch a series of activities, but now public attention has shifted dramatically. Continuing to be stubborn will only result in wasted money.

Cheng Wei had no choice but to halt his previously formulated plan under pressure and reconsider his options.

However, Cheng Wei thought again that maybe it wasn't aimed at him, but at the two sisters.

This merger has actually made things difficult for him. His original influence has been further weakened, and now Didi Chuxing's influence has returned to the previous 50/50 split.

Although the founding team was united, the investors were backing each other, making his situation very difficult.

Even late at night just two days ago, when he was feeling disheartened, he thought about giving up.

I originally wanted to start a business, but with capital and Tier 0 restrictions, whoever wants to start this B-type business can start it.

But back in reality, when Cheng Wei saw the bright and cheerful faces of everyone in the group photo of Didi's founding team on the table.

He gritted his teeth again, thinking, "Damn it, T0 is nothing!"
He should fight for custody of the child!

Li Yanhong, who was about to walk into the East Campus of 301 Hospital, received a phone call.

Then, he unconsciously muttered to himself, "Why him? How could it be him?"

If Chen Mo's anger level was 10 when he guessed that he was blocked by Pony Ma, and Cheng Wei's anger level was 100 when Didi's limelight was stolen, then when Li Yanhong learned that Lu Qi, this shining pearl, had been cast towards Chen Mo, his anger level soared to 999!

He came here specifically tonight to tell Lu Qi that the long-standing problem had finally been solved.

Unfortunately, it's still a step too late.

pain.
It hurts so much! ! !
Li Yanhong stood frozen in place, as if struck by a spell, like a statue.

It was a summer night, yet he felt a chill in his heart from the wind.

Standing in the cold wind, Li Yanhong was angry, but not at Chen Mo and Lu Qi. Instead, he was annoyed that he hadn't made up his mind sooner.

If that answer had been given sooner, would the situation be completely different now?

He has witnessed the changes in Pony Ma over the past two years. Tencent's transformation has been quite effective, and it is quietly catching up from behind.

Although Alibaba's corporate culture is widely criticized, even a weakened giant is still a giant, and the core business of Taobao alone is enough to sustain it for many years to come.

Not to mention they even imitated Douyin and started live-streaming e-commerce, which is thriving, backed by Alipay and the internet finance industry spearheaded by Jack Ma.

Although WeChat Pay and Douyin Live have established a strong presence in the market, it will be difficult to change this situation in the short term unless Jack Ma makes a fatal mistake.

As for the Beyond Group, it directly propelled Chen Mo into the top ten of the global rich list, a field that no Chinese internet entrepreneur had ever ventured into before.

But what about Baidu?

Leveraging its technological advantages (hyperlink analysis patent) and localization strategy, Baidu quickly defeated Google, which struggled to adapt to the local market, and captured over 80% of the search market share. The Phoenix Nest system generated hundreds of billions in advertising revenue, while products like Tieba, Zhihu, and Baidu Baike built a robust content moat, forming a super gateway combining search and community.

In 2011, his net profit growth rate reached 88%, and his market value once surpassed that of Tencent and Alibaba. He himself became the richest man in mainland China that year.

Their success was unparalleled, with opportunities everywhere they looked; the only question was where to invest. However, this golden age was short-lived, and their fortunes declined. First, they missed the mobile internet boom, and their failure to adapt in time led to the failure of building their app ecosystem.

Then, the traffic entry points were successively lost, and were seized by newcomers such as WeChat and Toutiao.

The company's main business suffered from an over-reliance on advertising and a neglect of user experience, leading to a sharp decline in product reputation.

The medical advertising crisis that finally broke out became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

In just a few years, their once substantial wealth has been almost completely depleted, and now they've been reduced to sitting at the same table as NetEase, Sina, and Sohu.
While he certainly bears some responsibility, the internal power struggles within the team also bear significant blame.

Ha~ Now that I think about it, that controversial resignation letter from the Alibaba executive seems like it was written specifically for Baidu.

Everyone started from the same point, and he even took the lead at one point.

But now? They're all doing much better than him.

At many high-level forums now, this former technology leader can't even get a seat at the head table.
Thinking of this, Li Yanhong felt a deep sense of resentment. With his abilities and his vision...
Baidu shouldn't be like this!
As the tide turns, former rivals and rising stars develop rapidly, while one remains stagnant or even regresses.

He suddenly felt empathy for Lei Jun in 2009—was Lei Jun back then also as unwilling to accept defeat as he is now? And that's why he founded Xiaomi and started afresh?

Were you in such pain back then?

In the blink of an eye, a flash of lightning streaked across my mind.

Li Yanhong finally remembered where he had seen Chen Mo and Lu Qi "part on bad terms".

Several years ago, Lei Jun and Chen Mo staged a similar "parting ways" drama, but in reality, they were secretly in cahoots.

When the truth came out, it caused quite a stir. How could he have forgotten that?

Strangely, Li Yanhong found that he did not feel the hatred he had imagined towards Chen Mo. Instead, he felt resigned to his fate of narrowly losing.

A gentle breeze blew across the midsummer night as Li Yanhong stood in the hospital corridor, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

Maybe a few minutes passed, maybe only a few seconds.

At one point, he suddenly came to his senses, a resolute glint in his eyes. He then stuffed the bunch of lilies in his hand into the nearby trash can and turned to walk away.

Baidu's savior is not Lu Qi; its best doctor has always been itself.

In the darkness of night, this figure was lonely yet exuded a sense of resolute determination!

Late at night, in the chairman's office of Baidu Building, a single lamp burns eternally!

Li Yanhong opened an email account he thought he would never look at, which contained hundreds of messages from former employees that had been returned as 404 errors on the intranet.

Baidu was once teeming with technical talent and was hailed as the "Whampoa Military Academy" of the internet.

Now, that title has been taken by the Bi'an Qing Teng Academy.

Many talented individuals from the email inbox have become the backbone of the Beyond Group.

Looking at the insightful and thought-provoking words above, filled with anger at their lack of ambition and disappointment, Li Yanhong couldn't help but feel regret: How could he have been blinded by interests and considerations back then?

In retrospect, although somewhat belatedly, Li Yanhong has decided to take these opinions seriously and change the status quo.

Suppressing thought is tantamount to stifling innovation!

It's never too late to make a change; what's needed is determination and action, not just slogans that remain in your mind.

He dialed the HR manager's number: "From now on, do not control the intranet. Open it up completely and let everyone speak freely. This is an order!"

When he discovered a problem, he would habitually sweep the dust under the bed, out of sight, out of mind.

But dust only moves and doesn't disappear into thin air. When there's too much of it to hide anymore, it will collapse with a bang.

It's time for a thorough cleaning.

Li Yanhong took a deep breath and his slender fingers rapidly tapped on the keyboard.

As he operated the screen, the light and shadow on the three curved monitors in front of him changed:

The left side of the screen is densely packed with all the data collected over the years from the Other Shore System, with detailed analysis and annotations on each document;
The right-hand screen scrolls through sharp suggestions that had resulted in 404 errors, each one like a dagger aimed directly at Baidu's sore spot.

The screen in the very center is a pristine blank, the brand-new document page spotless, like a brand-new chapter that Baidu is about to rewrite.

In this darkness and stillness, Li Yanhong's thoughts surged like a tide.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, summarizing his experience accumulated over two decades in the internet industry and his profound insights into the future of the sector.

This is the culmination of his wisdom accumulated over two decades in the Chinese internet industry. It is a thorough review of the rise and fall of Baidu, as well as profound reflections on the future and the Chinese internet.
Every punctuation mark embodies lessons learned through blood and tears, and every passage carries the determination to break free from the cocoon and be reborn.

That night, the lights in this room on the top floor of the Baidu building stayed on all night.

(End of this chapter)