Chapter Fifty-Nine: Project Initiation

After Li Mu was reborn, it was rare for him to meet someone like Kong Lingyu, who not only had a solid understanding of the Internet but was also endlessly optimistic about its future. After a pleasant and thorough conversation, Li Mu felt very positive about Kong Lingyu’s potential. As for Kong Lingyu, his astonishment at Li Mu’s profound grasp of the Internet was beyond words; even the smallest hints Li Mu let slip were beyond his comprehension.

For instance, Li Mu proposed that EasyListen should attempt to develop basic cloud-based streaming services. Kong Lingyu had never even heard of “cloud streaming.” Yet, for Li Mu, the concept of cloud storage was already a familiar and overplayed theme in the Internet of later years. No matter how it was packaged, it simply meant moving data that would have been stored locally onto cloud servers; tasks that would have been handled on a local device would now be processed remotely. The simplest form of cloud streaming, at its core, was merely an online playlist.

In the future, the website’s backend would store each registered user’s personalized playlist, allowing them to access their favorite songs from any device simply by logging in, regardless of how often they changed their hardware. Ten years from now, any website lacking such a feature would be roundly criticized, but at this moment, only online games and instant messaging software had implemented anything similar. Most developers had yet to adopt the “everything for the user” philosophy.

During their hour-long discussion, Kong Lingyu also talked about his own project—a web directory. He had recognized the business opportunity after seeing how hao123 had gathered massive traffic, so he built something similar. However, he now faced a major problem: directory sites were technically simple and server demands were low, but promotion was a significant hurdle.

After half a year’s effort, his site attracted fewer than three thousand daily users—a pitiful number.

Li Mu was not optimistic about the prospects of such directory websites. Hao123 was the strongest in its field, yet when it was eventually acquired by Baidu, the price was only in the tens of millions. In years to come, many portal sites and software companies would leverage their own traffic and user base to promote their own directories. The cost and barriers to entry were too low. Although traffic could be high, these sites lacked true user loyalty and had little potential to convert users into revenue. Their main income would always be from advertising.

Moreover, once Baidu acquired hao123, it propped up the site using its own massive traffic, creating a win-win situation for both parties. If Baidu had chosen to build a similar site from scratch, the landscape for directory sites might have been completely different—never truly forming a powerful industry chain.

By contrast, the concept of a music portal was far more meaningful.

Li Mu knew that in the future, countless massive mergers and acquisitions would occur in the Internet industry, all sharing a common theme: the buyer would acquire companies in areas where it lacked presence or strength, aiming to complete its ecosystem and deny opportunities to competitors.

For example, Tencent invested in Didi Chuxing, while Alibaba backed Kuaidi Dache; both sides then engaged in costly subsidy wars, with their real goal being to strengthen their market share in mobile payments. Similarly, after Alibaba entered the entertainment industry, it acquired Youku Tudou to fill the gap in online video. Baidu, to strengthen its presence in mobile, bought 91 Assistant.

All these acquisitions closed at prices starting in the hundreds of millions—dollars, not yuan.

As demand for online streaming and MP3 downloads surged in the future, the tech giants would inevitably target this market. If EasyListen became the dominant player, its significance—and valuation—would be immense.

Li Mu didn’t dismiss Kong Lingyu’s directory site outright. Instead, he made a deal with him: as long as it didn’t interfere with EasyListen’s progress, Kong Lingyu could continue running his project and even make reasonable use of the EasyListen team in the future. If Kong Lingyu ever wanted to sell his directory, Li Mu would have first refusal.

As for Kong Lingyu’s salary, it was initially set at three thousand yuan a month, with a two-month probation period at the same rate. After passing probation, Li Mu would arrange for his social security to be handled through an HR agency.

Kong Lingyu understood that Li Mu was an individual entrepreneur without a registered company, so he had no objections. The offered salary was comparable to what he earned at Yahoo, and since living expenses in Jinling were lower than in Yanjing, he was very satisfied.

Once they reached an agreement, Li Mu invited him to lunch and asked him to join the afternoon interviews.

Li Mu needed Kong Lingyu to become a leader. In the future, Li Mu would only steer EasyListen’s overall direction; the details would all depend on Kong Lingyu to execute.

That afternoon, the two interviewed a young web developer, fresh out of university. Through conversation and technical assessment, both Li Mu and Kong Lingyu felt that the young man was overestimating his abilities.

The server technician, on the other hand, was solid in the basics. The designer was a recent graduate from Jinling University with no work experience, but she seemed reliable and had her own understanding of the Internet.

After some discussion, Li Mu and Kong Lingyu decided to hire the server technician and the designer first. As for the web developer, Kong Lingyu would continue the search. Li Mu couldn’t afford to spend more time in Jinling.

Li Mu also left Kong Lingyu with a detailed list of development requirements for EasyListen’s next phase, even delegating the purchase of office computers and other necessary equipment to him.

He simply didn’t have the time or energy and had to make the most of everyone’s strengths, trusting Kong Lingyu with these responsibilities. As for whether Kong Lingyu was trustworthy, Li Mu wasn’t concerned; they had hit it off, and he preferred to trust those he used.

Since he hadn’t registered a company, Li Mu didn’t hire a part-time bookkeeping firm. Instead, he entrusted Ye Tianming with the financial matters.

Ye Tianming was effective, immediately bringing over an accountant from his father’s company to handle all workplace expenses, including salaries and reimbursements. The accountant would review and process all payments. If Kong Lingyu needed office equipment, a simple request would suffice.

As for the project’s operational funds, Ye Tianming took charge.

“You don’t need to worry about this. The four of us already promised you: if you help us, we’ll provide the money and manpower to run this business,” he said.

Since there were outsiders present, Ye Tianming didn’t specify what kind of help Li Mu was giving. But Li Mu was well aware; they had made this deal, and since that was the case, he didn’t stand on ceremony. He didn’t have much money himself—opening a specialty store would probably cost him half a million, leaving little left.

Before Li Mu left, the four of them contributed another two hundred thousand yuan. The money wasn’t given directly to Li Mu but was placed in a dedicated account, to be used exclusively for EasyListen’s development. If it wasn’t enough, they would contribute more.

By now, Zhang Kexuan and his friends had already invested three hundred and eighty thousand yuan—a significant sum, but not a big deal for them. Li Mu, however, kept track in his mind. The current two hundred thousand would be enough to get EasyListen off the ground. As for future expenses, he didn’t plan to let them bear the costs. Once “Legend” launched in September, he would have a steady income, which would be more than enough to support EasyListen.

With everything settled in Jinling, Li Mu bought a train ticket back to Haizhou for seven p.m. Zhang Kexuan and the others insisted on treating him to a farewell dinner, but during the meal, Li Mu quietly paid the bill himself.

Zhang Kexuan was quite unhappy about Li Mu secretly paying. The other three also complained, feeling that as hosts in Jinling, it was shameful to let their guest spend money.

Li Mu just laughed and said, “Just think of it as me celebrating your success in advance. Simple Plan is sure to win the provincial championship and go to Yanjing for the finals!”

Zhang Kexuan nodded. When it came to the competition, he was more enthusiastic than anyone. He stood up, full of energy, and declared, “Simple Plan’s goal is the national championship! As long as Brother Mu is with us, the title is in the bag!”

The other three erupted in cheers. In his excitement, Zhang Kexuan asked, “Brother Mu, if we win the provincial championship, we’ll need two more songs. Have you prepared them for us?”

“They’re ready.” Li Mu smiled faintly. “It’s up to you now.”

“Can we hear them first?”

All four looked at him with eager anticipation. The possibility of Li Mu providing them with more great songs was their biggest concern.

But Li Mu shook his head seriously. “There’s no point in telling you now. You need to complete your current mission before unlocking the next song. Once I’m back in Haizhou, you should focus on practicing. Win first place in the semifinals the night after tomorrow!”