Chapter 9: Making a Friend
The next morning, Lu Yu woke up early, washed up, dried his hair, changed into simple clothes, slung his laptop over his shoulder, and took the subway to the Shangri-La Hotel.
Last night, after gathering information online, he carefully analyzed the current state and market environment of Ali’s facial recognition system. Although he had no experience negotiating major business deals, it didn’t faze him in the least.
His negotiation strategy was simple: never name a price himself—let the other party make the first offer. No matter what price they offered, he would show his dissatisfaction. Then he’d mention other companies like Qiandu and foreign giants such as Apple, saying he’d take a look around first.
In short, his approach was to act like a seller who could wait for the right price. After raising the price two or three times, as long as it was suitable, he’d agree with a show of reluctance.
Honestly, Lu Yu wasn’t entirely sure of the value of his algorithm. After all, it wasn’t a complete facial recognition system, just one type of algorithm among many, and pricing something like this was difficult. A full facial recognition system would have code far more extensive than his algorithm, which didn’t align with his plan for a quick profit.
That’s why he set this negotiation strategy for himself. In essence, it wasn’t all that different from haggling over vegetables at a street market:
“One fifty? Too expensive. Will you take one yuan?”
“At one yuan I’d lose money, at least one thirty!”
“Just one yuan—if not, forget it.”
“Oh fine, fine, I’ll take a loss and sell it.”
That was basically the flow of things.
At nine forty, he arrived in the hotel lobby and asked how to get to the reception room reserved by Mr. Wang. The lobby manager personally led Lu Yu there.
Inside, Wang Haibo was already present, along with two others—a woman who looked like an assistant, and a man who seemed to be a programmer. Lu Yu didn’t think much of it and walked straight over.
When Wang Haibo saw the young man enter, he was surprised but kept his expression neutral, not letting his thoughts show. After all, as a vice president, how could he be so easily read?
Wang Haibo stood up with a smile. “Mr. Lu?”
Lu Yu shook his hand. “Yes, Lu Yu from Extragalactic Nebula. And you must be Mr. Wang?”
Wang Haibo smiled. “Yes, I’m Wang Haibo. Please, have a seat.”
As he invited Lu Yu to sit, he told his assistant, “Pour some tea for Mr. Lu.”
Lu Yu nodded cheerfully. “Thank you.”
Wang Haibo studied Lu Yu, a little uncertain. “You don’t look very old, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Yu watched the assistant’s skilled tea-making. “That’s right. I’m almost twenty-five—practically ancient.”
The three across from him all twitched a little at the corners of their mouths, finding it hard to respond.
Wang Haibo laughed. “You do have a sense of humor, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Yu said nothing, waiting until the assistant finished pouring tea and sat down before speaking.
“Mr. Wang, I’m a straightforward person, so let’s get right to the point. This gentleman must be your technical expert? Let’s check the goods first, then talk price.”
Wang Haibo’s eye twitched. This Mr. Lu, the way he talked, it almost sounded like he was trading contraband. “Heh, very well.”
Were all young people these days so offbeat?
Unaware of Wang Haibo’s thoughts, Lu Yu opened his backpack and started up both laptops, connecting them to his phone’s hotspot. Then he began:
“Mr. Wang, let me be clear. The detailed code and algorithm can’t be shown to you, but you can see this simulation server. What’s running now is the algorithm code. The results here are clear at a glance.”
With that, he pushed the simulation server laptop to the technician.
The technician carefully examined the results and the network status, then asked, “Can you stop the process with code?”
Lu Yu was impressed by his professionalism. “Sure.” He typed a string of commands before them, and the simulation server stopped.
The technician nodded to Wang Haibo, signaling there was no issue.
Wang Haibo thought for a moment, then asked, “Mr. Lu, how would you like to cooperate?”
Lu Yu paused, then shot back, “How would you like to cooperate?”
Wang Haibo hesitated. “We’d like to acquire your company.”
Lu Yu was taken aback. He’d only planned to sell an algorithm—why buy his shell company? Was it just for the nice-sounding name?
“Are you serious? You must know my company is just an empty shell. Why buy it?”
Wang Haibo replied, “What we value is you, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Yu grinned. “Mr. Wang, don’t tease. I know my own worth. Let’s talk about the algorithm today.”
Wang Haibo asked, “Did you write this algorithm yourself?”
Lu Yu had expected the question. He sipped his tea. “More or less—just tinkering, really.”
Though Wang Haibo had suspected as much, he was still impressed. “Remarkable, truly. But aren’t you worried about carrying it around like this? What if you lose your computer and the code gets out?”
Lu Yu stared at Wang Haibo as if he didn’t understand the implication. “If someone can get it off my laptop, I can’t complain. Want to bet ten yuan and let your guy try?”
He closed the laptop and pushed it to the technician, inviting him to have a go.
Wang Haibo glanced at the technician, then at Lu Yu, and smiled. “My wife doesn’t let me gamble, so I’ll pass. Are you selling the complete algorithm?”
Lu Yu didn’t beat around the bush. “Name your price. If it’s acceptable, we can draw up the contract and sign it tomorrow—cash for goods. If you’re in a hurry, we can sign this afternoon, but I’ll need to find a law firm first.”
Wang Haibo hadn’t expected such directness. He frowned and thought. “Fifty million. We acquire the algorithm exclusively.”
Lu Yu was over the moon at the offer but kept his expression calm, silently recalling his negotiation strategy. He scratched his head and said,
“To be honest, you’re the first company I’ve met with. I’d planned that if the price was right, I wouldn’t bother with the others—too much hassle. But if this is all the sincerity you have, then I think we’re done here.”
He looked at Wang Haibo, face devoid of extra emotion.
Wang Haibo sipped his tea to cover his awkwardness, about to speak when Lu Yu cut in.
“Mr. Wang, I’m not one for haggling. Think it over and name your final price. If it’s fair, we have a deal.”
With that, Lu Yu stopped looking at Wang Haibo, raised his porcelain cup with three fingers, and drank his tea, giving off the air of someone ready to pack up and leave if the price wasn’t right.
Wang Haibo narrowed his eyes, weighing the truth of Lu Yu’s words.
The room fell silent. Even the assistant held her breath, afraid any sound might disrupt her boss’s concentration.
After a minute, Wang Haibo said solemnly, “Two hundred million. We want exclusive rights—you can’t show the code or algorithm to anyone else.”
Lu Yu stopped drinking his tea, raised his eyes and stared at Wang Haibo, blinked, then slowly set his cup down. After a short silence, he suddenly smiled and extended his hand. “Let’s call it a friendship.”
Wang Haibo breathed a sigh of relief. “A friendship.”
Lu Yu kept his composure, but inside, he was dancing with joy. Truth be told, even the initial fifty million would have thrilled him—he’d been itching to sell from the start.
It’s true—poverty really had limited his imagination.
Lu Yu turned to Wang Haibo. “Let’s get the contract drafted, Mr. Wang. We’ll sign this afternoon, so everyone can feel at ease.”
Wang Haibo smiled. “All right.” He signaled his assistant to call the legal department to draft the contract as quickly as possible.
Lu Yu also pulled out his phone and called Chen Xiaofei. “Hurry up and find a reputable law firm—come to the Shangri-La with them and help me review a little contract.”
He called it a “little contract,” but as soon as he hung up, he messaged Chen Xiaofei: “Two hundred million! That’s quite a bit of ‘small change.’ Be serious and professional about it.”
Chen Xiaofei replied, “...Okay.”
After that, the mood lightened—especially the technician, who started asking Lu Yu all sorts of programming questions, which Lu Yu answered simply. As the questions got harder, Lu Yu eventually just chuckled in reply, no matter what was asked.
An hour later, the legal team from Ali arrived with the contract and company seal. Ten minutes after that, Chen Xiaofei entered the reception room with a man and a woman—both lawyers in their thirties, clearly high-level professionals.
Lu Yu nodded at Chen Xiaofei, shook hands with the two lawyers, thanked them, and went to drink tea with Chen Xiaofei.
An hour later, after both legal teams had reviewed the contract, Lu Yu and Wang Haibo signed, stamped the documents, and left one copy with the notary.
Lu Yu stuffed the contract into his backpack, opened his laptop, and handed it to the technician. “Check it on your computer now. If there’s no problem, copy it yourself—I won’t touch it.”
The technician nodded repeatedly and quickly lost himself in the code, occasionally asking Lu Yu about certain parts or ideas.
Lu Yu answered as needed.
Everyone waited patiently, not daring to disturb the process.
After about two hours, the technician confirmed everything was fine and copied the files to his own computer.
As soon as the last step was complete, Lu Yu decisively took back his laptop and, in front of Wang Haibo and the technician, deleted the algorithm on the spot. “Now, only you have it.”
He packed up, shook hands with Wang Haibo, wished him well for future cooperation, and didn’t mention celebrating the successful signing at all.
Seeing Lu Yu eager to leave, Wang Haibo didn’t insist.
The two sides parted amicably.
Once outside the hotel and in Chen Xiaofei’s car, Lu Yu looked around before triumphantly pulling out the contract.
“See this? This is the empire I just conquered! Ha!”
Chen Xiaofei was excited too. “Damn, Lu, you’re incredible! Ali, damn it, I thought I was dreaming!”
Lu Yu became even more smug. “Of course! If I’m not awesome, who is? I’m destined to conquer the stars and seas!”
Chen Xiaofei played the sycophant. “Sure, sure, treat us! We need a feast tonight!”
Lu Yu put on his nouveau riche act. “Absolutely, we’ll have whatever you want! By the way, I’ll settle the law firm’s payment tomorrow when the money comes in—don’t pay it yourself.”
Chen Xiaofei replied, “Got it. Tonight we party all night, and we don’t stop till we drop! Let’s call some people!”
Lu Yu: “Who?”
Chen Xiaofei: “Well, it’s not much fun with just the two of us, but more people wouldn’t help either.”
Lu Yu: “Just say it.”
Chen Xiaofei: “Zhang Kexin and Qianqian.”
Lu Yu: “Permission granted!”
With that, Chen Xiaofei floored the accelerator. “All right!”
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