Chapter 176: Suitable for Douyin?

Words : 1690 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

"No problem, it's a trivial matter." After saying goodbye to Li Xiang, Lu Liang and Zhu Hu left the company. Unable to restrain himself, Zhu Hu asked, "Do you really see such great potential in new energy?" Although Lu Liang had also invested heavily in Douyin, he always felt that Lu Liang treated Douyin almost the same as he treated ofo. In contrast, he was especially attentive to new energy. Due to national support, the total sales of the new energy market reached 74,000 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 32% year over year. But even if steady growth is maintained, the total annual sales would only reach 296,000 vehicles, an increase of 46,000 vehicles from last year. What of it? Data do not lie; on average, a vehicle can only earn 12,000, including national and local subsidies. If the country were to cancel the subsidy program, every sold vehicle would result in a loss. No matter how you look at it, it's a losing deal. Lu Liang didn't seem like someone who would farm subsidies from the government; after all, earning a small amount of money by farming subsidies is less appealing than playing the stock market. Lu Liang showed a smile. "It's the same idea as Golden Sand River investing in Li Xiang and Redwood investing in NIO." He had initially just wanted to engage in some industrial activities to let himself 'walk on two legs,' firmly grasping both finance and industry. Later he learned that in five years, Ningde Era's market value had broken through a trillion, which only made him more determined about new energy. Zhu Hu frowned tightly, as Lu Liang's nature of investment clearly differed from their type of investment. Lu Liang didn't want to explain, and Zhu Hu didn't continue to ask. He informed him of the meeting location. "Zhang Yiming should have arrived." "See you in a bit." Lu Liang smiled and waved his hand as they each got into their cars and headed to Lanting Restaurant in the western part of the city. Zhang Yiming was waiting in a private room of the restaurant. Lu Liang took the initiative with a smile, "Mr. Zhang, we meet again." "Yes, Mr. Lu, how have you been recently?" Zhang Yiming also extended his hand, and a smile appeared on his face. "Not bad, everything's going smoothly." After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Yiming directly asked, "Mr. Lu, regarding what you said at the Douyin financing meeting, does it still hold?" Lu Liang smiled, without a second thought, "Of course, it still holds." Zhang Yiming breathed a sigh of relief. With Lu Liang putting it this way, it meant he didn't want to compete fiercely to the end with them; there was room for a turnaround. He pondered for a moment, "I think it's almost time." Lu Liang inquired, "Mr. Zhang, how do you plan on cooperating? Who will take the lead, and who will assist?" Zhang Yiming naturally stated, "Of course Watermelon will lead, and Douyin will assist." "No, that won't work," Lu Liang shook his head. Zhang Yiming's expression soured, and he couldn't help but look at Zhu Hu. How much had Douyin invested, and how much had Watermelon invested? To have Watermelon play a supporting role to Douyin? Does Douyin deserve that role? Even if Lu Liang is wealthy, it wasn't fair to bully them like this, right? It was no longer a matter of a snake swallowing an elephant but an ant stepping on an elephant. Even if he agreed, would Byte's shareholders agree? From the conversation between the two, Zhu Hu also understood the situation. He quickly offered a placating smile, "Mr. Lu, why don't we discuss the specifics of the cooperation plan again?" Both Douyin and Byte had investments from Golden Sand River. Although they held more shares in Douyin, he also felt that Douyin wasn't qualified. "Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhu, don't worry." Lu Liang's lips curved up suddenly as he asked, "If the technology of both companies were the same, which product, in your opinion, has more developmental potential, Douyin or Watermelon?" "Well~" Zhu Hu appeared conflicted, as he really didn't understand this area and didn't have a habit of watching videos daily. Zhang Yiming furrowed his brow and fell into deep thought. After a while, he sighed, "It should be Douyin." With his experience of founding startups five times, his judgment was that Douyin's name and product concept were undoubtedly of the world's top standards, only held back by lagging algorithm and systems technology. Zhang Yiming suddenly looked at Lu Liang with a resentful gaze. If it weren't for Lu Liang's visit to Byte that day, Yang Zhenyuan might not have resigned, and perhaps Douyin might have become their product of Byte. Each time he thought of this incident, he felt a pain so profound that he couldn't breathe, leading to many sleepless nights, causing Byte to strictly ban anyone from visiting for a long time. Lu Liang coughed a few times and chuckled, "Mr. Zhang truly has a background as a top technologist, your assessment is quite objective." Zhang Yiming said irritably, "Mr. Lu, stop beating around the bush and just say what you want to say." He suddenly felt like he might have misunderstood something—Watermelon being the complement to Douyin was purely from a cooperative perspective, not about the ownership after the merger. The next second, Lu Liang's words confirmed Zhang Yiming's suspicion, "Douyin's management rights, decision-making rights, even calling it Byte Douyin, I have no objections, but it must be centered on Douyin." Since learning that Yang Zhenyuan's Douyin was underperforming compared to Zhang Yiming's Watermelon, Lu Liang had decided to facilitate a merger between the two parties. However, blood relation and adoption were different, so he needed Byte's assurance that they would treat Douyin as their own. The best way was to have Watermelon support Douyin. Zhang Yiming pondered for a long time. Watermelon was just a month old and didn't yet carry a brand effect—providing support to Douyin was feasible as long as the sovereignty was in his hands, "Mr. Lu, how do you propose we cooperate?" Now he saw that Lu Liang had no emotional attachment to Douyin, his interest was purely financial. "Both parties should disclose their data and have a third party verify it, then reallocate the shares based on the valuation." "Agreed." Douyin's valuation was around 0.7-1.2 billion US dollars, while Watermelon's was between 1.8-2.2 billion US dollars. No matter what, Watermelon was firmly in an advantageous position, and securing the leading role was already a certainty. "Mr. Zhang, a pleasure doing business with you," Lu Liang said with a smile. "A pleasure doing business." Zhang Yiming smiled slightly, then curiously asked, "Mr. Lu, how do you plan to arrange for Yang Zhenyuan?" "Mr. Yang, although from a technical background, seems more suited to be an operations officer." "Zhenyuan is indeed quite skilled in operations." Zhang Yiming nodded but did not inquire further on how Lu Liang would convince Yang Zhenyuan—it wasn't his concern. Zhu Hu suddenly stood up and clapped, his face beaming, "Only by strong unions can we be invincible." He felt like it was overkill—Lu Liang had caused such a stir over Douyin, upsetting numerous smartphone manufacturers—was this really a perfect ending? It seemed slightly unrealistic. What happened to bringing them all fortune? Just this? The return was quite meager. Lu Liang said cheerfully, "Without Mr. Zhu's matchmaking, Mr. Zhang and I wouldn't have had the opportunity to collaborate." "Mr. Lu, you flatter me," Zhang Yiming also laughed, his eyes flickering with a hint of perplexity. Could it be that last year, when Lu Liang visited Byte and he had rejected Lu Liang's investment, Lu Liang had taken offense? And thus, this whole series of events? If so, then Lu Liang was frighteningly petty. But if not, he couldn't think of a better explanation. Could handing Douyin over to them really transform it qualitatively? There was a possibility, but it seemed unlikely. After dinner, Zhu Hu suggested going out for fun, but Zhang Yiming politely declined—he knew what "fun" entailed, but he was a serious person. "Just as pretentious as Shen Peng." Zhu Hu scowled, then turned to Lu Liang, winking and grinning with a smile that only men could understand. Lu Liang laughed, "I 'm going to talk with Yang Zhenyuan." "Do you need authorization from Golden Sand River?" Zhu Hu knew that Lu Liang held only 34% of the shares, whereas Yang Zhenyuan had 36%. "Let's talk first." Lu Liang smiled mildly, opting not to exert pressure with shareholdings right away; better to start with negotiation and proceed from there if necessary. At 8:30 pm, the office floor of Douyin was as bright as daylight. "Mr. Lu, you should have let us know in advance that you were coming." Yang Zhenyuan was startled, mainly because his current appearance was somewhat disgraceful. Greasy and disheveled, his already sparse hair clumped together, revealing his scalp with a glance. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. "I came here today for the financing of Li Xiang." Lu Liang entered the company and glanced at the office area. Dozens of programmers looked worn out, with heavy eye bags, clearly having worked overtime for many days. The floor was littered with cigarette butts, empty Red Bull cans, and snack wrappers. A peculiar odor permeated the air, taking him back to the dark internet cafes from over a decade ago. "Mr. Lu, let's talk outside," Yang Zhenyuan rubbed his hands together and smiled nervously. He too felt the office environment was somewhat dirty and shabby—he didn't mind much for himself, but he worried about slighting Lu Liang.

Chapter 176: Suitable for Douyin?

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