novelslam Chapter 463 Taking You to Silver
Chapter 463 Taking You to Silver
The next afternoon, Wang Huabing arrived at the coffee shop ten minutes earlier than the agreed time.
The coffee shop is located diagonally opposite the TUTU Technology office building, across a not-so-wide road. You can see the building from the window seat.
The glass curtain wall of the office building gleamed with a clean blue light in the afternoon sun, and there were many people coming and going at the entrance, most of whom wore employee badges.
Wang Huabing ordered an Americano and found a booth further inside to sit down.
He wasn't sure if Chen Mo would mind being seen eating together, so he chose a less conspicuous spot, with his back to the door and his face turned towards the window.
He took a couple of sips of coffee, and his phone screen lit up. Chen Mo had sent him a message: "I've arrived. Where are you?"
He looked up and glanced towards the doorway, where Chen Mo was standing and looking around.
Chen Mo was wearing a dark gray jacket over a white shirt, which was quite different from his usual suit and tie at Tencent meetings. He looked much more relaxed.
Wang Huabing raised his hand in greeting. Chen Mo saw him, strode over, and sat down opposite him.
"Have you been waiting long?" Chen Mo took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair, glancing at the nearly empty coffee in front of Wang Huabing. "You're here early enough."
"I'm used to it. Back when I was on Weibo, I always arrived early when I made plans to meet someone. Arriving early is better than arriving late; people who arrive early can take a look around and have a better idea of what to expect."
Chen Mo smiled but didn't respond to the question.
He ordered himself a glass of water, and after the waiter had walked away, he leaned forward slightly and got straight to the point, "You messaged me last night, and I roughly guessed what you wanted to talk about. We've known each other for so many years, I won't beat around the bush—what are you thinking?"
Wang Huabing didn't put down his coffee cup; he lightly ran his index finger along the rim. "I want a change of scenery."
"That's it?"
"That's it. You've seen the situation at Weibo: user churn is unstoppable, Google's revenue is dropping, and headquarters isn't offering any clear strategic direction. I've worked there for almost ten years, rising from a regular editor to the head of the Shanghai branch, but in the last two years, I've increasingly felt that there's no point in continuing."
He paused, as if considering his next words, before continuing, "I'm a straightforward person; once I've made up my mind, I'll do my best to push it through. But Weibo is a place where you can't push things through. The higher-ups are too afraid of making mistakes; any slightly radical plan will be suppressed at headquarters. What they need is stability, not reform. But the market environment changes so quickly; it's impossible to win by relying on stability."
Chen Mo didn't interrupt him, listening quietly until he finished speaking, and then asked a very practical question: "So, what do you think you can bring to us after you come here?"
"I've been at Weibo for almost ten years. Although I haven't actually been involved in product development, I've led roles in user operations, channel management, and business development. Now that you've opened up the European market, you'll definitely be expanding to more regions, and what you need are people who can build up the channel and service system. While I haven't achieved anything particularly outstanding during my years at Weibo, I've at least thoroughly understood the company's operating logic. I know what problems a company might encounter, where those problems lie, and how to plug the loopholes and improve efficiency."
Chen Mo nodded, but did not immediately express his opinion.
He then asked, "When you were on Weibo, you had quite a few interactions with TUTU. And as far as I know, you were the one who initiated those battles. Now you say you want to come over, how do you explain this change of stance?"
The question was straightforward, but Wang Huabing did not hesitate.
He put down his coffee cup, crossed his hands on the table, and met Chen Mo's gaze: "At the time, my task was to maintain traffic and user engagement in Weibo's gaming section. I saw TUTU expanding rapidly, so I naturally tried to find a way to curb it. That was what I was supposed to do; anyone in that position at Weibo would have done the same."
"The situation has changed now, and I'm looking at this from a different perspective. TUTU's rapid growth over the past few years is evident to the entire industry. Your product development strategy, market judgment, and even your recruitment methods are the clearest I've ever seen."
He paused, his tone unwavering, as if stating a given fact: "I fought you back then because our positions were different. Now I don't want to fight anymore because I've realized one thing—continuing to fight you is meaningless for me personally. My time and energy are limited; I need to spend them on something where I can truly create something."
Chen Mo tapped his fingers on the table twice, at a moderate pace.
He didn't press the question further, but instead changed the subject: "If you came here, what do you plan to do?"
Wang Huabing said he would first go through the channels that TUTU currently covers to see where there are resource gaps and where there are partners that can be further explored.
Weibo used to have some collaborations with various live streaming platforms. Although most of them have stopped, the contact persons of those platforms are still in his address book.
If TUTU needs to rebuild or strengthen a partnership, he can get up to speed quickly.
He also mentioned a detail, saying that when he was leading a team at Weibo, he summarized a methodology for allocating resources to different cities.
The user habits in Shanghai and Guangzhou are different, so the suitable channels and content strategies are also different. Directly applying a template will reduce efficiency.
He can transplant that method over.
After listening, Chen Mo leaned back in his chair, his expression more relaxed than when he had just sat down. "Have you written all of this down in a document?"
"Yes, but not on my phone, it's on my computer. If you'd like to see it, I'll send you a copy when I get back."
"No need to send it to me, just send it to Lu Ran." Chen Mo picked up his water glass and took a sip. "I can't directly approve your employment, but I can recommend you to him. He can decide whether or not to meet you. He doesn't really care about past positions when hiring; as long as he approves of your abilities, that's enough."
Wang Huabing said there was no rush and they could wait.
Chen Mo thought for a moment, then added, "However, I need to make something clear to you beforehand. Even if you come here, the company won't directly hand over the Shanghai or Guangzhou branches to you. People coming from big companies have to spend some time at TUTU first, and only after you've accomplished your tasks will everyone recognize your abilities. Do you understand that?"
"I understand." Wang Huabing's tone was calm. "I didn't expect to be in charge of an entire region right after I arrived. It's good to do execution for a while first, to understand the business thoroughly before moving on to management. It's much smoother than immediately ordering people around."
The two sat in the coffee shop for about twenty more minutes.
The conversation veered off-topic from work, and Chen Mo asked Wang Huabing how he was doing in Shanghai. Wang Huabing replied that it was just so-so, and he didn't have much to do on weekends in his rented apartment, except for occasionally playing a couple of games.
Chen Mo said, "Didn't you not play games before?" Wang Huabing replied, "I only started playing in the last six months. I play League of Legends, but I'm not very good at it; I'm still stuck in Bronze."
Chen Mo chuckled but didn't reply.
The sunlight outside the window changed from the white of midday to the golden yellow of the afternoon. The ice in the coffee cup had all melted, and a layer of fine water droplets clung to the cup.
Wang Huabing glanced down at the iced Americano and realized that time was passing faster than he had imagined.
He recalled when he first joined Weibo ten years ago. At that time, the entire industry was just starting out, and the office conditions were very basic. During lunch, everyone would squeeze onto a table with their trays, eating and chatting about the data feedback after a new feature was launched.
Back then, nobody considered stances, sides, or camps; everyone was focused on getting things done well.
As the company grew larger and had more layers, the offices became more spacious, but the sounds of idle chatter at the workstations became less and less frequent.
People come and go. The newcomers don't know what happened before, and no one remembers what the departing people did.
The entire system was like a machine that kept running slower and slower. People inside started shirking responsibility, and when problems arose, no one would admit that they were at fault.
Wang Huabing pulled himself out of his memories and pushed the cup forward.
"Okay, I'll go back and prepare the materials. If it's convenient for you, please forward my resume to Lu Ran. It doesn't matter if it works out or not, trying is better than not trying at all."
"You don't need to prepare anything." Chen Mo waved his phone. "I've noted down most of what you just said. That's enough."
Wang Huabing was stunned for a moment.
He thought Chen Mo had been listening the whole time, but he didn't expect him to have taken notes.
Chen Mo stood up, put on his coat, and placed the banknote under the plate. He said to Wang Huabing, "I'll be going now. I have two meetings to attend back home. Wait for my news; it shouldn't be long."
As he reached the door, he turned back and added, "Oh, by the way, you said you got to Bronze in League of Legends—I'll teach you a couple of tricks when I have time. My skill level isn't great, but I can still carry a Bronze player to Silver."
Wang Huabing sat in a booth, watching Chen Mo push open the door and walk out. Through a whole glass wall, the sunlight stretched his shadow long and cast it on the floor tiles at the entrance of the coffee shop. Soon he turned into the door of the gray-blue office building.
Wang Huabing finished the remaining half cup of coffee, which was no longer cold, and then stood up and walked out of the coffee shop.
In early autumn, the afternoon sun in Shanghai is not as scorching as in summer; it only provides a thin layer of warmth when it shines on your arms.
As he stood at the coffee shop waiting for the light to turn red, he glanced again at the office building across the street, where the TUTU Technology logo gleamed metallically in the afternoon sunlight.
"Silver? Watch me charge in tonight."
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