Chapter 114: Ma Huateng Seeks Venture Capital for QQ
Guangdong Restaurant.
In a spacious and bright upscale private room, light filtered through the half-open curtains, spilling onto a massive round dining table laden with a dazzling array of Cantonese delicacies. The dishes, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, emitted an enticing fragrance that permeated the entire room.
Gu Keqing sat close to Lin Lang, gently serving him dishes with communal chopsticks, her eyes full of affection as she said, “A Lang, what else would you like to eat? Sister will order more for you.”
The dozen or so Cantonese dishes already on the table were a visual feast.
Peninsula Imperial Bird's Nest.
steamed east star grouper.
Braised Sea Tiger Fin with Freshly Peeled Crab Meat.
Lobster Baked in Supreme Broth.
Braised Abalone.
Stewed Shark Fin with Vegetable Heart.
Blanched Geoduck.
New Dragon King's Night Feast.
Yan Nanfei Tea Field Duck.
Kylin Perch.
Roast Goose from Hanging Oven.
Salt and Pepper Mantis Shrimp.
Crispy Fried Oysters.
Old Fire Soup…
Each delicious Cantonese dish on the table was fragrant, making Lin Lang, a little foodie, respond with a satisfied expression, “Keqing Sister, please don’t order any more dishes. The two of us can’t possibly finish them all.”
Gu Keqing, however, dotingly said, “Isn’t Sister doting on you? Come, Sister will feed you an oyster!”
“Ah…”
Lin Lang opened his mouth cutely, accepting Gu Keqing's loving feeding. As he chewed on the crispy fried oyster, he revealed a satisfied smile, as if telling his lover Gu Keqing that nothing could be more wonderful than this moment.
Gu Keqing asked gently, “Is it delicious, my dear?”
Lin Lang replied with an exaggerated expression, “This crispy fried oyster is a specialty from the coastal region of western Guangdong. The oyster is deep-fried, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fragrant, glutinous, and sweet. It tastes like fried ocean, absolutely delicious!”
“Hehe… A Lang, if you like it, Sister will keep feeding you oysters!”
“Keqing Sister, you’ve fed me so many oysters, do you have some ulterior motive?”
“Sister is feeding you oysters to nourish your kidneys, what bad intentions could she have?” Gu Keqing smiled charmingly.
Lin Lang, while accepting Gu Keqing's loving feeding, chewed and said, “Sister, I don’t have kidney deficiency, I don’t need to eat so many oysters!”
“Keqing Sister, don’t just focus on serving me, you eat too!”
“Come, Sister, I’ll feed you bird’s nest.” Lin Lang picked up a spoon and gently fed Gu Keqing the Peninsula Imperial Bird's Nest.
The charming and tender Gu Keqing ate the bird's nest fed to her by Lin Lang, her face full of happiness.
“Keqing Sister, how does the Peninsula Imperial Bird's Nest taste?”
Gu Keqing slowly chewed, her cherry lips slightly parted. The look in her eyes was not one of fondness for the food, but rather an abundance of love for Lin Lang.
“A Lang, actually, Sister has long been tired of bird's nest, but the bird's nest you feed me, A Lang, I feel it tastes so good!”
Lin Lang narcissistically said, “It seems my handsomeness is at work, enhancing Keqing Sister’s appetite. Is this what they call ‘eye candy’?”
Gu Keqing replied beautifully, “Eye candy is used to describe us women~”
“A Lang, try this. How does this New Dragon King's Night Feast taste?” Gu Keqing put a large mouthful of delicious lobster meat into Lin Lang's mouth.
Lin Lang ate the lobster meat in big bites, smiling as he replied, “The lobster has a fresh and rich flavor, leaving a lingering taste in my mouth. Watching Keqing Sister enjoy the food, it truly is a feast for the eyes!”
“A Lang, if you like it, Sister can accompany you every day!”
Lin Lang replied sweetly, “When I’m not busy in the future, I’ll spend time with Keqing Sister. Your smile is very healing, I really love being with you.”
“A Lang, if we spend time together every day, won’t you get tired of it after a while?”
Lin Lang replied, “How could that be?”
“Keqing Sister, you have beauty, you have figure, your personality is so likable, your whole person shines with beauty, almost without any flaws. My love for you will never tire~”
Gu Keqing, however, said with some lack of confidence, “But Sister is already thirty-two, she’s older than you~”
Lin Lang chuckled meaningfully, “Age is not a problem, height is not a distance, as long as the middle aligns, who cares if the two ends are even.”
“A Lang, you’re being naughty again. Please take my words seriously.”
Lin Lang replied seriously, “My mother passed away early, which gave me some Oedipus complex, so I like women older than myself. I naturally have no resistance to pure and seductive older sisters like you.”
“Sister is gentle and considerate, generous and graceful, knows how to live and is humble, sexy and charming, hehe…”
“Being with Sister, I feel very comfortable and can easily be myself.”
“Sister can provide me with full emotional value, so even though Sister is a bit older than me, it doesn't affect our love in the slightest. In fact, I'm even a little infatuated with Keqing Sister!”
Gu Keqing covered her mouth and chuckled after hearing this, “So, A Lang, you’re an older woman enthusiast!”
Lin Lang half-jokingly said, “I’m also a stocking enthusiast! Sister’s lace-edged black stockings today are so beautiful!”
“A Lang, are you going off-topic again?”
“You can’t go three sentences without talking about your old habits. Can’t you live without women?!”
Lin Lang quickly picked up the orange juice and changed the subject, saying, “I’ll use juice instead of wine to toast Keqing Sister, congratulating you on officially ending your marriage of convenience and achieving financial freedom.”
“Cheers!”
Gu Keqing clinked glasses with her lover Lin Lang, unable to hide her happiness as she took a sip of juice.
Why didn't they celebrate with alcohol?
Because both of them drove, and they didn't drink at lunch because they had plans for the afternoon.
After they clinked glasses and drank their juice.
Lin Lang picked up a piece of roast goose from the hanging oven with his chopsticks and dotingly fed it to Gu Keqing, gently saying, “This roast goose from the hanging oven uses small Qingyuan black-brown geese. The skin is glossy and crispy, and the meat is tender and juicy. Sister, try it and see how it tastes?”
Gu Keqing tasted it and replied, “When I heard the dish name ‘Roast Goose from Hanging Oven,’ I thought it was a dish from a street stall, and it didn’t look particularly appealing. But when I ate it, the crispy skin was fragrant, the meat was tender, and the taste was really not bad!”
Lin Lang gazed at Gu Keqing affectionately, dotingly saying, “In life, only good food and love should not be let down.”
“If Sister loves to eat, I’ll feed you another piece!”
Gu Keqing narrowed her eyes and smiled sweetly, accepting her lover Lin Lang's loving feeding. She slowly chewed with her cherry lips slightly parted, saying with a happy expression, “A Lang, roast goose has a lot of calories, right?”
“I don’t want to become a chubby girl, then you won’t like me anymore.”
Lin Lang, however, raised an eyebrow and chuckled mischievously, “Sister, just eat to your heart’s content. We’ll go home and do some exercise later, and all the calories you consume will be burned off!”
“Hehe…” Gu Keqing smiled charmingly.
“If Sister is afraid of high calories from roast goose, then eat fish meat, which is low in fat, high in protein, and low in cholesterol.”
Lin Lang picked up a tender piece of steamed east star grouper and gently placed it in Gu Keqing's bowl: “Come, try this. The east star grouper is a premium dish in Cantonese cuisine; its flesh is delicious and melts in your mouth.”
“Thank you, my dear!”
Gu Keqing ate the steamed east star grouper like a kitten, elegant yet adorable.
After Gu Keqing finished the steamed east star grouper in her bowl.
Lin Lang immediately picked up another piece of perch and placed it in Gu Keqing's bowl, saying, “This delicious Kylin Perch is a signature dish of Guangdong Restaurant, guaranteed to leave Sister wanting more.”
Gu Keqing smiled gently and replied, “A Lang, try this. The combination of crab meat and sea tiger fin is simply a match made in heaven, incredibly delicious.”
Lin Lang and his lover Gu Keqing enjoyed the delicious food, mouthful by mouthful, in a warm and sweet atmosphere.
However, some rejoice while others grieve.
At the same time.
Guangdong Restaurant’s first-floor lobby.
Ma Qiang, sales manager of Binjiang Haoge Sales Office, sat at table 18 near the restaurant's cashier, pouring beer for his cousin Ma Huateng, and asked, “Cousin, how is your progress in seeking investment for OICQ this time in Shanghai?”
At this time, Ma Huateng was only 29 years old, at a low point in his life, having encountered the dot-com bubble of the millennium, his entrepreneurial efforts thwarted, and feeling frustrated.
Ma Huateng drank his beer in one gulp and sighed, “Alas~ A few days ago, I went to Beijing to seek investment for QQ. I visited companies like Sohu, Sina, and Lenovo, but not a single internet company or investment institution was willing to venture capital for our Penguin Company’s QQ product.”
“This time, I came to Shanghai to seek investment, and I’ve also repeatedly hit walls. It’s truly hard to describe!”
“Cousin, isn’t the instant messaging software your Penguin Company is developing called OICQ? Why did it change its name to QQ?”
Ma Huateng adjusted his glasses and replied with a troubled expression, “Qiangzi, it's embarrassing to say!”
“Our Penguin Company's initial product was a wireless network paging system. Later, as the pager market declined, I began to imitate the Israeli instant messaging software ICQ and created OICQ, a social software.”
“As a result, a while ago, we were sued for infringement by AOL, ICQ's parent company in the US, demanding that our Penguin Company's OICQ change its name. That's why I was forced to change OICQ's name to QQ.”
“So that’s how it is.” Ma Qiang continued to pour wine for his cousin Ma Huateng.
“Cousin, I also downloaded this QQ instant messaging software you developed. It seems very promising, so why isn’t there any investment company willing to venture capital for it?”
Ma Huateng replied, “Because QQ is positioned as free to download and use, its profitability is currently vague. Although registered users are growing very fast, the operating costs are far higher than the expected profits, so it’s hard to attract investment for QQ!”
“Then, cousin, what if you made QQ a paid software?”
Ma Huateng took a sip of beer and said wistfully, “If QQ charged for downloads and use, the number of registered users would decrease, thus losing market competitiveness. Therefore, QQ’s positioning must be permanently free to use.”
Ma Qiang continued, “If QQ is positioned for permanent free use, then you can only find profitable points within QQ.”
Ma Huateng replied with great difficulty, “Currently, QQ is in the money-burning promotion phase of attracting registered users. If we start charging heavily right away, or implement various hidden fees, then this software will lose its reputation and competitiveness and become completely useless.”
“Cousin, I recently heard that this year’s internet economic bubble caused many internet companies to go bankrupt. Is your Penguin Company also facing financial difficulties? Can you hold on?”