Mutual Praise in Business

Lu Zhou uploaded the document while talking to Fang Qiang, "This is a new task from the advertising department, serving as the entry point for connecting with the Banana Market. Arrange Fei Wen and Zhou Wen to work on this together. As for Jun Da, let him continue with version 2.0 as planned. The logic is not complicated. You can review the document and have them test it on the staging server."

"Okay. But, Lu Ge, two people left the Banana team. Is there any problem? According to your previous plan, Banana should be completed next week. Can we catch up with the schedule? Should we put the advertising department's 2.0 on hold for now and help you complete Banana first?"

Lu Zhou replied, "No need, don't neglect 2.0. Diversified advertising models can attract advertisers with different needs. Let a few of us handle the work for Banana. If we run out of time, I'll let you know."

"Alright. We have written most of the work for various advertising models according to your document. After internal discussions, we made some adjustments. We should be able to conduct testing this weekend. Do you need to review it?"

"This part is under your management now. I won't intervene in the future. Just handle it. Let me know when it's time for testing, and I'll take a look at the results."

"Okay, I'll go and make the arrangements."

Shortly after, Meng Xiaoqin also came over. "Senior, Huizeng Song wants to talk to you if it's convenient. He wants to have a face-to-face conversation."

Lu Zhou thought to himself that splitting the subsidiary was originally for the convenience of future financing. It was only natural to inform Song Wenhui, as he was a shareholder. However, Dream Grain Cloud Computing was related to the direction that Huiteng was researching. Upon careful consideration, Lu Zhou understood that Song Wenhui probably had his eyes on Lu Zhou's upcoming company and wanted to get involved.

If Lu Zhou were to develop cloud computing business, it would involve aspects such as software and platform development, as well as server vendors, channels, telecommunications services, and locations. Lu Zhou was clueless about these matters. Instead of starting from scratch, it would be better to collaborate with his former employer.

At present, Dream Grain Cloud Computing couldn't do without the support of Lu Zhou's former employer and Song Wenhui.

"Alright."

He dialed Song Wenhui's phone number.

"Hello, Brother Song."

"You're quite ambitious. It's only been a month, and you're already planning to venture into cloud computing?"

"Mainly considering the split of the business for future financing."

"Why? Is the business not going well? Are you short of money?"

"Haha, not at all. Brother Song, would it be convenient for you later? If so, I can come to your office, and we can discuss it in detail."

Song Wenhui pondered for a moment. "Sure, just come over."

"Okay, see you in fifteen minutes."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Zhou informed Fang Qiang to take care of Wang Zhengye and Huang Dong, and if there were any issues with Banana's development, help resolve them. He then went downstairs and rode his bicycle to Huiteng.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at Song Wenhui's office. Song Wenhui wasn't sitting in his boss chair, working on the computer as usual. Instead, he was sitting in front of the coffee table, cleaning tea sets.

"Xiao Lu, come, have a seat."

Lu Zhou was somewhat surprised by his demeanor. He

wasn't sure if it was because he was no longer in the company, eliminating the superior-subordinate relationship, or if it was because Lu Zhou was about to start the cloud computing business.

"Brother Song, you're being kind."

"Hey, it's my way of treating my junior. Besides, you're a boss now, not a small one either. I can't always act like your boss."

"That's thanks to Brother Song's help. Without your investment, Dream Grain wouldn't have gone online so quickly. From top to bottom, if Huiteng hadn't helped with server-related matters, it would have taken a lot more time."

Song Wenhui naturally felt proud. Huiteng had been in the server business for so many years, and its strength in the industry was still considerable.

"Alright, let's not flatter each other. Let's get straight to the point. How do you plan to proceed with Dream Grain Cloud Computing?"

"Considering financing, I currently only intend to seek financing for the advertising business."

Song Wenhui poured tea while speaking, "Hehe, you're quite clear. You directly cut off my thoughts. But I won't say much. If Dream Grain Cloud Computing needs financing, come to me first."

Lu Zhou thought to himself, even if that day never comes!

"Okay, that's no problem! It's settled then!"

To be honest, you're quite remarkable. Just now, your secretary not only explained the split but also gave a briefing on Dream Grain Technology's operations to my secretary. It's amazing to see how much progress you've made in just one month. Give it another year or two, and who knows where you'll be.

Secretary?

When Lu Zhou heard this term, black lines appeared on his forehead involuntarily. "The students of Xian Yi are really capable. I couldn't have done it without the help of my junior colleagues."

"Hehe, it's nothing. How come I didn't come across such a good treasure? It was only you, quietly working for two years in the company, that I realized you were a gem right before you left."

Song Wenhui took out his Zhonghua cigarettes, lit one, and handed it to Lu Zhou. "The framework you developed in the company was excellent, and now Huiteng's research progress is also picking up. Will Dream Grain Cloud Computing adopt similar things in the future?"

Song Wenhui's words were filled with compliments and hidden intentions. He was worried that Lu Zhou would directly use the framework he developed at Huiteng, and he also wanted to test Lu Zhou's stance.

Although there was a non-compete agreement after Lu Zhou left Huiteng, the effectiveness of the agreement was questionable since Lu Zhou hadn't held any high-level positions in the company. Song Wenhui didn't want to use the agreement to restrict Lu Zhou. After all, once it reached that point, it would almost certainly result in an open conflict.

Lu Zhou also felt that if he didn't bring out some real content today, Song Wenhui wouldn't be willing to let him go.

"Sure. Brother Song, let me tell you something. I won't simply copy the framework I developed at Huiteng for Dream Grain Cloud Computing. I didn't keep a backup of a single line of code I wrote at Huiteng, so you can rest assured."

For Lu Zhou, what he developed at Huiteng wasn't something significant. If it's not needed, it's not needed. It would be more appropriate to develop the virtual platform's suite according to the actual situation after it's released.

Song Wenhui continued to coax, "Hey, don't get me wrong. I didn't mean that."

"The first product of Dream Grain Cloud Computing will probably be an SaaS platform targeting statistical analysis and operational analysis. Later on, we may consider developing an application engine similar to SAE."

Song Wenhui was somewhat surprised to hear this. "Oh? Not doing IaaS? I've used Huxiang's SAE before, and it's quite good. But for enterprises and developers, the operational space is limited, and it's only suitable for small and medium-scale businesses. It doesn't make much money. Grugo's GAE application engine was able to start due to its global influence, while Huxiang's SAE developed domestically has been lukewarm."

"It's a compromise. In the early stages of Dream Grain Cloud Computing, we don't have strong research capabilities, so using it as a transitional solution will be beneficial for future business research and development."

After sharing this information, Lu Zhou wasn't worried about Huiteng copying it. If the Huxiang's SAE doesn't gain popularity, the main issue lies in the fact that Weibo or Huxiang's portal itself didn't attract many developers, and it couldn't form a complete ecosystem. They might use it during the free period to set up a website, but they won't continue using it afterward.

Huiteng doing SaaS would naturally face the same outcome. However, Dream Grain was different. With the

developer community gathered by the advertising platform and Banana itself, there would undoubtedly be a demand from small and medium-sized businesses. It would be a natural progression for the SaaS provided by Dream Grain Cloud Computing, thanks to the two platforms' user flow.

The two of them continued chatting for a while, and when Lu Zhou felt that enough time had passed, he bid farewell to Song Wenhui.

As soon as Lu Zhou left, Song Wenhui paced around his office. After five minutes, he called Wen Xuwei, "Xuwei, prepare an analysis report on Huxiang's SAE..."