Chapter 43: Four-Billion-Dollar Contract |
When he heard what Sister Ye had said, Chen Chen nodded. "I'm glad to hear that both of your wish to incorporate our product into your respective platforms but…"
Everyone pricked their ears.
"If you want Little X Translation Assistant for your platforms, a hundred million won't cut it."
Chen Chen raised two fingers. "I want two billion!"
"Mr. Chen, isn't that a bit too much?"
Tony was stunned. "Our valuation of your company puts you at 1.5 billion only. Two billion already exceeds your company's entire worth. We cannot accept this!"
"That's alright. We can change to another method of cooperation."
Chen Chen grinned and said nonchalantly, "Whichever one of you is willing to pay three billion USD, I'll let them own exclusive authorization to use the product in the entire Federation."
When they heard this, Tony and Alvin turned pale at once. Tony stammered, "Mr., Mr. Chen, what you're doing is immoral. As you people in Mainland China would say… What's the phrase, something price?"
"Pfftt…" On one side, Xia Yin nearly spat out her water.
"No! It's called… Driving up the price!"
Tony slapped his thigh angrily. "That's right, driving up the price! This isn't how a gentleman behaves!"
"There's nothing else to say."
Chen Chen waved his hand. "I'm giving you only these two options. Otherwise, we can end the discussion."
"If you insist on doing this, I'm afraid we won't be able to continue negotiating about this business deal!"
Tony drew in a deep breath and suppressed the rage in his heart. "We don't see any sincerity from you or your company at all!"
"Manager Xia?" Sister Ye suddenly showed an anxious expression and she tried to get Xia Yin to advise Chen Chen.
However, Xia Yin merely pursed her lips as she held back her laughter, her face flushed red with the effort.
"Surely all of you must've noticed: This software of mine isn't suited for China's market."
Chen Chen suddenly changed the topic and said serenely, "Neither QQ, WeChat, Tieba nor Weibo is suitable for Little X Translation Assistant. The ones who truly need this product are international communication platforms like yours.
"Our company's translation software was created for international communication platforms. The value of the software itself might not be that high but its true worth goes beyond any superficial revenue to be gained."
Chen Chen broke it down casually. "Did either of you think about what would happen if my translation software were to be used by your competitors?"
The moment Chen Chen said this, the entire room fell silent.
Tony and Alvin exchanged a glance. How could they possibly not know the true value of Little X?
They had merely been playing dumb all this while.
Not only that but they also knew that if social platforms like Tumblr or Telegram got their hands on Little X Translation Assistant, what a disaster it would be for them! This might even disrupt their dominance in the field of social media!
"Both of you, please think about it. If your companies gain exclusive authorization, not only will your hegemony be strengthened but you might also have the chance to access emerging markets!"
Chen Chen fixed them both with a stare. "Have you thought about breaking into Mainland China?"
This final sentence came like a bolt out of the blue, causing everyone present to gasp sharply!
In this instant, they thought of Tencent.
Everyone knew about how an internet empire like Tencent had risen.
However, it was precisely this knowledge that drove them mad with envy, to the point where they wanted to eat their flesh and chew their bones!
With the world's largest market, yet without any strong competitors to speak of; from a small chat software to a corporate empire with tentacles extending into every corner of the internet – Tencent only took a decade to accomplish this!
They even surpassed Twitter easily and crushed Facebook!
This was the chronicle of the Tencent empire!
"There are still many other international platforms like Facebook and Twitter such as Tumblr, Instagram, Telegram, Line, and so on…"
When he saw their stirred-up expressions, Chen Chen smiled faintly. "Strictly speaking, no matter which international platform gets exclusive authorization to use my product, it could become the next Facebook. Even if both of you aren't willing to take this deal, I think there would be others who are willing, right?"
Upon hearing this, the representatives of Facebook and Twitter fell silent.
After a long while, Tony said in a strained voice, "I'll have to contact headquarters for this. If you don't mind, we'll come again tomorrow."
"By all means." Chen Chen invited them out with a polite gesture.
As she stared at the group drifting out the conference room, Xia Yin whispered in amazement, "They seemed to be tempted…"
"It's not just 'seemed to be'. They will take the deal."
Chen Chen shook his head. "If my predictions are correct, in less than an hour, someone will contact us."
Indeed, merely half an hour later, Sister Ye knocked on Chen Chen's office door in a frenzied manner again. "Chairman, Emily from Facebook has come!"
"Let her come in at once," Chen Chen replied.
"Very well!"
Soon, Sister Ye walked in with the woman who was with Tony, along with a few lawyers.
Emily did not speak Chinese as Tony did. Instead, she used English to express hurriedly, "Mr. Chen, we've met before. On behalf of Facebook, I accept your second proposal to buy exclusive authorization for Little X Translation Assistant across the entire Federation at the price of three billion USD!"
"Is that so? That's really too bad…"
Chen Chen wagged his finger and said in a pitying tone, "Twitter has contacted me earlier. They were willing to do the same."
"That's impossible!" Emily suddenly exclaimed loudly and subconsciously glanced at Chen Chen's side. "You're a fraud!"
"It's best to think twice before you speak."
Chen Chen said leisurely, "If you don't believe me, why don't you wait for Mr. Alvin's arrival to fight it out?"
Emily spluttered slightly when she heard this, then she took a deep breath. "In that case, Facebook is willing to purchase exclusive authorization for Little X Translation Assistant at the price of four billion USD. That's the limit, Mr. Chen!"
"I look forward to working with you!" When Chen Chen heard this, he offered his hand with a gentle smile.
…
It took nearly three hours to finish signing the contract.
After Sister Ye sent out the pale-faced Emily and her team, Xia Yin suddenly poked her head in through the door.
"Is it done?"
"It's done." Chen Chen took out the contract. "Four billion USD."
"Yeah!"
Xia Yin immediately whooped with joy and rushed over in delight. "My goodness, I'm not dreaming, right? Four billion and it's in USD. Even if I sell off my father, I won't make that much!"
"Facebook and Twitter, those two jackals aren't any saints in the first place. How can I let them off without teaching them a severe lesson?"
"They're not saints but you still let them break into Mainland China?" Xia Yin retorted with a smile as she flipped through the contract.
"Have they broken in?" Chen Chen chuckled and tossed the contract into the drawer. "Even if we put aside barriers like the local government and Tencent, this contract doesn't mention anything about updating the Chinese system…"
"Huh?" Xia Yin was taken aback. "You're going to freeze them out?"
"There's no need for that at the moment. If they really decide to break into Mainland China's market, there'll still be time to stop them."
Chen Chen laughed icily. "Anyway, you just have to remember that these two platforms will become our enemies sooner or later."
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