Chapter 103: A Three-Step Plan to Conquer the MP3 Market

After signing the contract, Zhou Xuan declined Zhang Chaoyang's invitation to dinner and walked out of the Sohu building together with Mai Zhuo.

Zhongguancun at the present time was far from the forest of high-rises it would later become, but the sales staff here were just as crafty as their future counterparts, using all sorts of slick talk to trick customers into buying over-priced electronic products.

The first laptop Zhou Xuan had bought here after graduating from university had been a complete scam, costing four hundred yuan more than the online price. It was only after being subjected to all sorts of sweet talk and returning home to think it over carefully that he realized what had happened.

Looking at the land beneath his feet, Zhou Xuan knew that countless future internet companies would take root here, sprout, and grow strong. Yet, Zhou Xuan did not particularly like this place. Compared to the imperial capital, Yuhang, or Pengcheng, Zhou Xuan preferred Rongcheng.

And in the Rongcheng of the future, a Chinese or even global internet overlord would inevitably rise.

Because Zhou Xuan possessed this absolute confidence!

"Zhou Xuan, is this your first time in the capital? Come on, let me treat you to some Beijing Roast Duck to celebrate your successful acquisition of shares in Sohu!"

From Mai Zhuo's perspective, Zhou Xuan spending two million to acquire a stake in an internet company was an utter waste of money. But then he remembered that he had already driven two companies into the ground himself, leaving him with no qualification whatsoever to lecture Zhou Xuan. Second-guessing himself, Mai Zhuo wondered if Zhou Xuan's investment must have some deep underlying meaning, and whether he should also take the time to properly understand the internet.

Zhou Xuan was likewise very happy to have invested in Sohu, and he smiled, "How could I possibly let Brother Mai play the host? Come on, my trip to the capital to sign the contract owes everything to Brother Mai. So this meal has to be my treat."

Upon hearing this, Mai Zhuo flatly refused to yield, "You've come to the capital, and I am the local host. It's only right that I treat you; how could it be yours? If Brother Jiang hears about this, he'll definitely scold me for lacking integrity."

Hearing this, Zhou Xuan conceded and smiled with a nod, "Alright, you can treat this time. I'll treat the next. So where are we going for roast duck?"

"Naturally, Quanjude at Qianmen. That's the most authentic place."

With that, the two men got into the car, and Mai Zhuo drove straight toward Quanjude.

Eating roast duck in the capital meant heading to the authentic Quanjude; otherwise, other smaller shops were either too greasy or lacked quality ingredients. In his previous life, Zhou Xuan had always felt that only the roast duck from Quanjude and Bianyifang was truly delicious, while all the others were mediocre at best.

Arriving at Quanjude, Zhou Xuan and Mai Zhuo ordered a roasted duck along with two recommended dishes. As for alcohol, neither ordered any; Mai Zhuo had to drive later, and Zhou Xuan was not fond of drinking anyway.

Before long, a steaming, fragrant roast duck was served. Looking at its ruddy, glistening skin and rising aroma, Zhou Xuan felt his appetite grow immensely.

Zhou Xuan slowly picked up a thin lotus leaf pancake in his hand, placed a few slices of roast duck on top, added some shredded scallions and cucumber strips dipped in sweet bean sauce, and finally rolled the pancake up, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite.

It was truly crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, wonderfully flavorful, and rich without being greasy—exquisitely delicious.

Zhou Xuan preferred the most classic way of eating roast duck. He disliked the method of eating the duck simply dipped in sweet bean sauce; he much preferred it accompanied by shredded scallions and cucumber strips.

As they enjoyed the duck, Zhou Xuan and Mai Zhuo chatted, which gave Zhou Xuan a better understanding of his companion.

It turned out that Mai Zhuo and Jiang Yun had been the closest of friends since childhood, inseparable companions who grew up together. Only, Jiang Yun had always been an exceptional student and had even gone to Hong Kong for graduate studies.

Mai Zhuo, on the other hand, was rather mischievous and terrible at studying. Originally, according to his old man's wishes, he was supposed to be sent off to the military. But Mai Zhuo couldn't stomach the hardships of military life and stubbornly refused to go. This thoroughly enraged his father, who gave him a near-fatal beating.

Fortunately, Mai Zhuo's mother intervened, and his eldest brother was already serving in the military. Otherwise, his father surely wouldn't have let him off so easily. Afterward, his old man declared that Mai Zhuo could do whatever he pleased, with one strict condition: he was never to use the family's name or influence, or else his legs would be broken.

Consequently, now twenty-four or twenty-five years old, Mai Zhuo was just drifting along. He had previously started two companies, both of which he had managed to ruin. Through this, Mai Zhuo had come to see the truth about himself—he simply wasn't cut out for business. At times, Mai Zhuo deeply envied those rich second-generation heirs who didn't have to do a thing, yet could spend their days eating, drinking, and playing with absolute carefree style.

The reason he had been so enthusiastic about running errands for Zhou Xuan this time was that Jiang Yun had told him Zhou Xuan could help him—help him make money, and help him live with genuine ease and dignity in front of others.

In truth, what he desired most in this lifetime was to earn his father's true respect, rather than being met with a stern, cold face the moment he stepped through the front door, which made Mai Zhuo dread returning home at all.

Sure enough, once they had eaten their fill, Mai Zhuo looked at Zhou Xuan with eager anticipation and asked, "Zhou Xuan, you mentioned this afternoon that you wanted to introduce me to a business venture that could make a billion. What kind of business is that exactly?"

"Brother Mai, do you really want to make a billion?" Zhou Xuan asked leisurely after finishing his meal.

Mai Zhuo replied without a moment's hesitation, "Of course! Who wouldn't?"

Zhou Xuan smiled and continued to probe, "Then does Brother Mai want to make money, or does he want to change his family's perception of him even more?"

"Well, naturally I want my dad to stop looking down on me. Ever since I was a kid, he's been severe and cold, always feeling that my elder brother was better than me in every way. Nothing I did ever satisfied him, so I want to show him that I can achieve results too," Mai Zhuo confessed, venting his inner frustration. "Actually, I really admire Sister Yu. Just through her own individual efforts, she managed to build such a massive jewelry company in just a few years."

"Brother Mai, do you listen to music?" Zhou Xuan asked.

Mai Zhuo was momentarily taken aback. "I do. I use a CD player. Surely the business you're talking about isn't manufacturing CD players, is it?"

"How could that be? Brother Mai, CD players are about to be phased out; why would we manufacture those? I'm talking about MP3 players."

At present, a South Korean company had already introduced the world's first MP3 player, but the initial product was still somewhat immature and had failed to cause much of a stir in the market.

What would thoroughly detonate the music playback market was an MP3 player to be launched by Diamond Multimedia at the end of the year. It used flash memory as its storage medium and allowed users to download MP3 music from the internet for playback. This meant not having to spend a single penny on physical media, with the only cost being the internet connection fee. For music fans who could only store a dozen songs per CD and had to spend considerable sums purchasing cassette tapes and CDs, this was nothing short of an absolute blessing.

Just like that, MP3 players began to phase out playback devices like cassette tapes and CDs, ushering in a decade of brilliant glory. Zhou Xuan vividly remembered buying four or five MP3 and MP4 players during his high school and university days. Back then, people grandly called it studying English, but in reality, it was just for listening to songs and watching videos.

After Zhou Xuan explained what an MP3 player was to Mai Zhuo, the latter's eyes instantly lit up, and he felt that the business of manufacturing MP3 players was simply wonderful.

"Don't get excited too early. Although the technical requirements for MP3 players aren't very high, finding the right talent right now isn't easy. Moreover, China's MP3 market will need at least a year or two of development before it matures. That means we'll have to sustain continuous investment for a year or two with very little revenue. Once our technology is fully mature, we can develop a leading-edge MP3 player and break into the market in one fell swoop to achieve success." Zhou Xuan poured a bucket of cold water over Mai Zhuo to snap him back to reality.

Hearing Zhou Xuan's words, Mai Zhuo calmed down as well. "Zhou Xuan, I'll listen to you. Tell me what to do, and that's what I'll do."

Zhou Xuan raised three fingers and said, "We will proceed in three steps."