Trade Secret

Lu Zhou wasn't surprised when he heard Wen Xuwei say he wasn't interested in joining DreamGrain. After all, they had worked together for so long in their past lives, and even after leaving their previous company, they still stayed in contact regularly. Lu Zhou naturally knew Wen Xuwei's character.

For Wen Xuwei, delving into technology was what attracted him the most. Even though Lu Zhou mentioned that he wanted to do cloud computing, that alone wasn't enough to entice Wen Xuwei to switch jobs.

"Wen Ge, let me ask you a question," Lu Zhou asked Wen Xuwei, "In comparison to traditional server leasing, what advantages does cloud computing have?"

Wen Xuwei almost instantly gave an answer without much thought, "Affordability. It's suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and developers."

Lu Zhou nodded, "Exactly. For users whose business demands don't require an entire physical machine, it's the most cost-effective solution. Additionally, it allows for more flexible handling when adjusting business needs."

"Second question. If Huiteng develops its own cloud computing platform, how should it be priced? For example, if the monthly rental for a physical machine was 5,000, and it's divided into ten cloud servers, should the total rent for these ten servers be higher or lower than 5,000?"

Wen Xuwei pondered on this question for a moment. "From a reasonable perspective, it should be lower, as the intention is to provide cost-effectiveness. However, Huiteng has invested manpower, resources, and funds into research and development, so it shouldn't be lower from Huiteng's perspective."

Lu Zhou couldn't help but sigh. Wen Xuwei was still Wen Xuwei, with a precise perspective on problem-solving in his field of expertise.

"Third question. If there are service providers in the market with significantly lower pricing, far below 5,000, how should Huiteng respond?"

"Impossible!" Wen Xuwei said firmly, without a doubt. "That's illogical."

At this moment, the waiter started serving the dishes.

Lu Zhou wasn't in a rush and said slowly, "Let's suppose this service provider already has its own business and requires a large number of servers to handle peak demands. But during normal times, they have a surplus of servers."

"This?" Wen Xuwei thought for a moment and understood what Lu Zhou meant—it was referring to several large internet companies in China.

But he still tried to refute Lu Zhou's assumption, "Huiteng also has a relatively high idle rate. The pricing issue isn't valid."

"The so-called idle rates between the two have fundamental differences. The former is driven by their own business demands, while Huiteng's situation is determined by Lao Song's own ideas. Actually, you understand it too. Since Lao Song decided to enter cloud computing, a significant portion of profits has transformed into server assets. When it comes down to a showdown, it's clear who has the upper hand."

Lu Zhou followed up, "Speaking of which, with hundreds of millions of users, the server load is incomparable, and the technical depth is also vastly different."

"Wen Ge, after asking so many questions, I think you should understand. Let me be frank with you as well. Ever since I started working under you, I knew that one day you would leave Huiteng. Huiteng is too small and can't contain a deity like you."

Wen Xuwei chuckled upon hearing this, "Why does it sound like you're complimenting yourself?"

Lu Zhou laughed and motioned to start eating, "Haha, that's not it. Let's eat and talk. Don't let the dishes get cold."

Instead of starting to eat, Wen Xuwei adjusted his expression and said to Lu Zhou, "Since you've mentioned it, I have a few questions for you too."

Lu Zhou put down his chopsticks upon hearing that and replied, "Sure, Wen Ge, go ahead."

"First, if Huiteng can't do it, why can DreamGrain?"

"DreamGrain, through advertising and combining it with the future banana market, will gather a group of developers. These developers will undoubtedly need server resources. DreamGrain can redirect these developers to its cloud computing business. Simply put, DreamGrain has its own business demands and a certain user base."

"Secondly, you mentioned the issue of capacity. Do you have any other plans in mind? Don't try to deceive me with those two businesses you just mentioned."

Lu Zhou uttered only two words, "Communication."

Wen Xuwei couldn't believe it and asked in a puzzled tone, "Tencent?"

Lu Zhou nodded, and upon seeing Wen Xuwei's confirmation, he felt a surge of emotions inside him, not knowing what to say in the face of Lu Zhou's crazy idea.

Anyone involved in the Internet industry would know the power of Tencent. Who would dare to venture into the social field of Tencent?

It would take great courage and a willingness to take risks to choose entrepreneurship in this field.

After a while, Wen Xuwei pinched his thigh, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating the food in big mouthfuls.

He mumbled with a mouthful of food, "Either I'm dreaming, or you've gone crazy."

Lu Zhou also started eating and responded with a smile, "Isn't that perfect? Let's go crazy together."

"One last question, what do you think you can achieve?"

"With the right people gathered, within five or six years, one billion."

Wen Xuwei responded speechlessly, "One billion in Chinese yuan or US dollars? Are you just bragging without a plan?"

"I mean one billion users."

"..."

Lu Zhou couldn't help but mock, "Otherwise, I must be crazy to provoke Tencent. If we're going to do it, we must go all out."

"You asked me about my capabilities, so it's no fun if I give a simple answer. I'm not playing with you either. The number of developer users connected to DreamGrain has already reached a considerable amount. The two-week revenue from UU Reading is 600,000 yuan, priced at one cent. Calculate the traffic for yourself."

Wen Xuwei suddenly choked and coughed. He thumped his chest and said, "What?!"

"It's true, Wen Ge. We'll need to expand soon. I really hope you'll join, and I'm sure you also want to delve deeper into technology. From any angle, DreamGrain is more suitable for you."

Lu Zhou continued, "DreamGrain's cloud computing plan is a two-step process. The first step is SaaS, providing statistical analysis and operational analysis tools for developers. The second step is to build an application engine. I won't say anything else, but Lao Song is still leisurely doing research on the application engine, while I'm ready to jump right into action. Think about it for yourself."

"Is that true?"

"Can I deceive you? I've already completed the framework design plan and product documentation."

Wen Xuwei's eyes lit up upon hearing this, "How do you plan to do it? Can I take a look first?"

Lu Zhou didn't have time to write it down. He was simply using persuasive words to deceive Wen Xuwei. Even if he had something, it was just an outline and ideas in his mind.

"Let's wait until you confirm that you're coming. It's a trade secret."

Wen Xuwei felt speechless, "Trade secret? It won't kill me to take a quick look."

"Forget it, we'll talk about it when you come. If I dig you up, I'll have to put a lot of effort into it, and I'll also have to worry about getting killed by Lao Song."

"Let me think about it."

Lu Zhou wasn't in a hurry, "Sure."

After the two finished eating, Wen Xuwei returned home and continued his research on the HeartWave application engine from the previous night.

However, throughout the process, Lu Zhou's words kept

lingering in his mind.

And he kept imagining how to implement that particular functionality according to Lu Zhou's words.

In the end, he picked up his phone and dialed Lu Zhou's number.