Replay 07: Opening the Temple of Learning

Chapter 369: Big Ambition but Weak Strength
Lin Feng nodded and continued, "That's right, Mr. Chen."

"If we can leverage Zemeng's resources to quickly rebuild Qiantian's brand, the value of Qiantian Music will far exceed the current 4.5 million in the future."

Li Wei added: "Although Zemeng offered 4.5 million, if we can cooperate in the form of equity investment."

"Not only can we get operational support, but we can also share in Zemeng's future profits. This is a win-win situation for us."

After Chen Tianming returned to the office, the discussion at the meeting kept circling in his mind.

Everyone's opinion is basically the same, that is, they are unwilling to sell Qiantian Music in full.

Instead, it hopes to cooperate with Zemeng by acquiring shares and leveraging Zemeng's strong platform to revitalize Qiantian's resources.

He already had a plan in mind, but he still needed to find out the other party's cards.

Just then, the secretary knocked on the door.

Handing him a document, "Mr. Chen, this is some information we have learned about Zemeng Company's negotiations with other music platforms."

Chen Tianming took the information, flipped through it quickly, and frowned slightly.

It turned out that Zemeng Company had previously discussed similar acquisition or cooperation plans with several large companies such as Penguin and Kuwo, but the negotiations did not go smoothly.

Giants like Penguin and Kuwo have no shortage of music copyrights. They are not interested in Zemeng's integration plan, and several negotiations ended in failure.

This means that Zemeng has encountered considerable resistance in the process of integrating music resources.

Chen Tianming put down the information and a smile appeared on his lips.

This news gave him more confidence. It seemed that the Qiantian Music resources in his hands were still an important bargaining chip for Ze Meng.

Since Ze Meng has hit a wall elsewhere, Qiantian Music will have more initiative in this negotiation.

"The fact that their negotiations were not going well means that Ze Meng doesn't have many options."

Chen Tianming said to himself, "In this case, I can offer a higher price."

He already had a countermeasure in mind and decided to offer Ze Meng higher conditions in the next negotiations - 50 million yuan and % of the equity.

He believes that this plan is more in line with the interests of Qiantian Music, as it can not only alleviate the company's financial difficulties, but also retain the company's control over its own resources.

The next day, after receiving feedback from Qiantian Music, Ma Lijuan's team began to prepare for the second round of negotiations.

Ma Lijuan also learned through her own channels that Qiantian Music’s current financial situation is very bleak.

The capital chain is about to break, and the copyright fees of several core veteran singers are about to expire, and Qiantian is simply unable to pay.

This made her more determined to propose her previous plan of a full acquisition of the company for 4.5 million yuan.

The second round of negotiations officially began, and the two sides met in a conference room in a hotel.

As soon as Chen Tianming entered the door, he saw Ma Lijuan and her team were already in place.

Ma Lijuan still looked capable and confident. When she saw Chen Tianming, she stood up and greeted him with a smile.

"Mr. Chen, do you have any new ideas after our last meeting?" Ma Lijuan asked straight to the point.

Chen Tianming nodded and said with a smile: "Vice President Ma, I have carefully considered your company's proposal and discussed it with my team for a long time."

"We believe that Zemeng, as an emerging operating system platform, has great potential and a promising future."

"But for us, a full acquisition may mean losing more than just the company, but perhaps a bigger market opportunity."

“So, we hope to adjust the plan.”

"Oh?" Ma Lijuan raised her eyebrows slightly, motioning him to continue.

Chen Tianming cleared his throat, his tone calm but with some confidence: "We hope that Zemeng Company can invest 3 million and obtain 50% of the equity of Qiantian Music."

"Isn't this price much better than what Mr. Ma originally offered?"

"This way, we each hold half of the shares, and resources and risks can be evenly shared."

"Qiantian Music's copyright resources are very unique, especially those classic old songs and independent musicians."

“These are high-quality assets with long-tail effects, and there is huge room for future market growth.”

He paused, looked at Ma Lijuan's expression, and continued: "Moreover, Ze Meng did not seem to have reached a cooperation agreement with several other companies in the previous negotiations."

"I believe this shows that your company still values ​​​​Qiantian Music's resources."

"The cooperation between our two sides is definitely a win-win situation."

Ma Lijuan remained calm after hearing Chen Tianming's proposal.

She could already hear some tentativeness and speculation in the other party's tone.

He also knew that Chen Tianming was taking advantage of Ze Meng's previous unsuccessful negotiations to put pressure on him, attempting to gain more initiative in the negotiations.

She smiled slightly and said calmly: "Mr. Chen, the plan you proposed is indeed worth discussing, but I must tell you frankly."

"Zemeng's strategic layout of music resources is extremely cautious and long-term."

“Although our previous negotiations with several other companies did not produce any results.”

"But that's only because we have very high requirements for our partners. Not all companies can achieve a win-win situation with us."

"As for Qiantian Music, I believe you are also aware that Qiantian's current financial situation is very tight."

"Especially since the copyright fees of several core veteran singers are about to expire, your company is facing considerable financial pressure, right?"

Chen Tianming was shocked. He didn't expect that Ma Lijuan knew so much about Qiantian's internal situation.

However, he remained calm and said with a slight smile: "Vice President Ma does understand our current situation at Qiantian, but it is precisely because we have so many high-quality resources."

"So we hope that through cooperation, both parties can benefit."

"Partnering is far more secure than acquiring the entire company."

Ma Lijuan smiled gently, her eyes firm: "Mr. Chen, I must reiterate that Ze Meng values ​​​​the resources of Qiantian Music very much and is willing to show a sincere attitude of cooperation."

"But the principle of our company is that cooperation must be clear and definite. The future development direction of Zemeng determines that we must hold full ownership to ensure the unity of the ecosystem."

She paused, and said with a firm tone: "4.5 million for a full acquisition, this is a reasonable offer we made after a thorough evaluation."

"We will not change the conditions at will, because we believe that this price has fully reflected the actual value of Qiantian Music."

"We at Zemeng have always been straightforward and honest in our work, and never make random demands. I also hope that Mr. Chen can be equally sincere."

Halfway through the second round of negotiations between Ma Lijuan and Chen Tianming, the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

Chen Tianming still insists on the plan of investing, hoping to obtain 3% of Qiantian Music's shares by letting Ze Meng invest 50 million yuan.

Compared with a full acquisition, a joint venture can allow Qiantian to maintain a certain degree of autonomy, which is the bottom line for him.

However, Ma Lijuan did not intend to give in.

She smiled and looked at her watch, and said calmly: "Mr. Chen, I understand your concerns about the future of the company, but Ze Meng's full acquisition proposal is our final plan after careful consideration."

"We value Qiantian's resources very much, but Zemeng's ecological layout determines that we must hold a full stake in order to ensure the unity of the system."

Chen Tianming opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue for something, but Ma Lijuan waved her hand, signaling him to be patient. "Mr. Chen, let's end the negotiation today. I have other work arrangements, you can consider it again."

Ma Lijuan stood up and prepared to leave, while whispering a few words to the assistant beside her.

"By the way, Mr. Chen," Ma Lijuan walked to the door and suddenly turned back and smiled, "Our Zemeng's new laptop, Shenchuan Fuxi K2, is our latest flagship product."

"I'm giving you one as a small gift. I hope you can feel the power of Zemeng Technology."

Chen Tianming took the computer handed to him by his assistant with a polite smile on his face.

But I was full of doubts: What does this mean? Why are they suddenly giving me computers when we are only halfway through the acquisition negotiations?

After Ma Lijuan and her team left, Chen Tianming returned to the conference room and continued discussions with the company's senior management.

"What does this mean? Giving us computers? It's not an important gift." Financial Director Li Wei frowned, looking puzzled.

"Yes, they were talking about cooperation with companies like Penguin and Kuwo, but how come it became a full acquisition when it comes to us?"

"Does Zemeng Company have any special ideas about us?" Zhao Qiang couldn't help but complain.

"And Ma Lijuan has obviously given up her attitude, so why does she still insist on acquiring it?"

"Does she think that we Qiantian really have no choice?" Lin Feng also expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Yes, Mr. Chen, we can't agree to it easily." Everyone was talking at once, and they were obviously feeling a little annoyed. Chen Tianming was also a little hesitant.

In fact, he was not completely opposed to selling Qiantian in full, but he was still unwilling in his heart: "Everyone calm down."

"I think we can still delay it. Ze Meng's talks with other companies are not going well, so she will definitely come back to us in the end. We can still negotiate terms."

He looked at the brand new Shenchuan Fuxi K2 computer on the table and felt confused.

At the same time, Ma Lijuan brought the team back to the hotel.

Assistant Xiao Chen couldn't help but ask her: "Vice President Ma, do you think Chen Tianming will agree? They are still insisting on buying shares."

Ma Lijuan smiled faintly: "They will agree, don't worry."

"Let's leave them alone for a while."

"Now Qiantian's capital chain is almost broken, and the pressure of copyright fees is suffocating them. Time is on our side."

"But what if they insist on not selling?" Xiao Chen was obviously a little worried.

Ma Lijuan's eyes were firm: "They have no other choice."

"Ze Meng is their only way out now."

"Especially as the copyrights of Qiantian's old singers are gradually expiring, if these singers switch to Penguin or Kuwo, Qiantian Music will completely lose its bargaining chip."

Xiao Chen nodded and said no more. He trusted Ma Lijuan's judgment very much.

Sure enough, in the next few days, Chen Tianming became more and more anxious.

The copyrights of several well-known veteran singers of Qiantian Music are about to expire, and Chen Tianming simply does not have the funds to pay the renewal fees.

The two giants, Penguin and Kuwo, have been secretly contacting these singers and quoted copyright fees that are much higher than Qiantian.

This put Chen Tianming in a very passive position, and several important singers chose to terminate their contracts and switch to Penguin or Kuwo.

Chen Tianming watched these core resources being lost, and his anxiety reached its peak.

"Mr. Chen, the situation is not good." Li Wei reported again, "Several well-known singers' copyright companies have officially terminated their contracts with us."

"All of their copyrights have been snatched away by Penguin. If this continues, they won't be able to keep their remaining resources."

Chen Tianming frowned, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

At this moment he already understood that he really didn't have many choices.

If we continue to delay, not only will our capital chain be unable to sustain itself.

The company's core resources will also be lost one by one, and in the end, Qiantian Music will completely become an outcast in the market.

Chen Tianming was sitting in the office with the brand new Shenchuan Fuxi K2 laptop on his desk.

Although he was full of anxiety, he couldn't help but feel a little curious about this latest product from Zemeng Company.

He gently pressed the power button, the screen quickly lit up, and a simple yet technologically advanced interface came into view.

The startup speed of Zemeng operating system far exceeded his expectations, with almost no lag.

Chen Tianming was a little shocked. He lightly touched the touchpad with his finger, and the smooth operating experience immediately made him feel that it was different from other operating systems on the market.

He tried opening several applications, browsing the web, and processing documents, and the system responded quickly and smoothly.

Especially when the multitasking interface is turned on.

The entire operating system still maintains extremely high stability and fluency, and this experience secretly surprised Chen Tianming.

"This speed, this response... is much better than the computer system used in our company."

Chen Tianming sighed in his heart while continuing to operate.

He opened the video player again and was amazed by the sound quality and picture clarity.

Zemeng's operating system is not only smooth, but also highly compatible.

After using it for a few minutes, a subtle change had taken place in Chen Tianming's heart.

He realized that Ze Meng's technical ability was far stronger than he had imagined.

If such an operating system becomes popular and Qiantian Music is installed on this platform, its future potential will be immeasurable.

Chen Tianming's mood suddenly became complicated.

I originally wanted to delay for a few more days to see if Ze Meng would give in.

But at this moment, facing such a powerful operating system, he suddenly felt a little shaken.

"Zemeng Company is really powerful..." Chen Tianming muttered to himself, and suddenly realized that he could not hesitate any longer.

This system is likely to be the mainstream platform in the future.

If Qiantian misses this opportunity now and cannot get funds, he may never be able to recover.

He stood up suddenly and shouted anxiously: "Li Wei, contact Ma Lijuan immediately! Tell her to come over for dinner tonight. We need to talk again!"

"What? Let's talk again?" Li Wei was surprised. "Mr. Chen, didn't you say you wanted to reconsider it?"

Chen Tianming said firmly: "I used Zemeng's operating system, which is a revolutionary technology! We won't lose money if we sell it to them, and we will also get a favor!"

"In this industry, relationships are more important than money!"

Li Wei wanted to say something, but seeing Chen Tianming's serious expression, he stopped talking and immediately arranged to contact Ma Lijuan.

(End of this chapter)