Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 46: Blackberry Changes Hands

Chu Tian’s eyes lit up. He recalled that there had indeed been such a clause in the contract they’d signed; at the time, he’d been focused on the issue of software usage rights. He hadn’t paid much attention to the conditions Wang Hao had added, because in his mind, there was no way he would ever leave BlackBerry. Unfortunately, man proposes, but God disposes. Just then, someone entered the conference room and exchanged a few words with Chu Jin, causing her expression to freeze momentarily. “Where is the contract kept?” Chu Jin asked Chu Tian, her expression somewhat grim. “The finance office,” Chu Tian shrugged. “Mr. Wang, I’m sorry, but we’ll have to talk later,” Chu Jin said, her expression still somewhat grim. After all, she wasn’t a fool; she knew how much of a disadvantage such a clause would put her in if it actually existed. It was precisely because she had recognized the business opportunities and potential of this software that she had set her sights on quickly making a move to acquire BlackBerry; otherwise, she wouldn’t have risked facing criticism from others by targeting a business owned by a younger generation of her family. “What’s going on?” A look of curiosity flashed across Wang Hao’s face as he asked Chu Tian. “My dad lost the race to become the family head and got caught up in the fallout. The new family head has the authority to confiscate the assets of those who lost the race. I founded the BlackBerry Company with my dad’s support, so according to family rules, it falls under that category. That’s the gist of it,” Chu Tian said with a wry smile. From that brief explanation, Wang Hao had a general grasp of the situation. “Your family really knows how to play the game.” “It can’t be helped. Wang Hao, are you really not planning to partner with them?” Chu Tian asked curiously. “No, I’m not. How about we continue working together?” Wang Hao smiled as he addressed Chu Tian. “Me?” Chu Tian looked at Wang Hao in disbelief, his eyes shining with an unprecedented intensity—as if he’d just thought of something—before quickly dimming again. “I’m broke. Right now, aside from a house I can’t sell and 10,000 yuan a month for living expenses, I have nothing else. But I can recommend some things to other platforms; they should be interested.” Chu Tian had initially been tempted, but then he realized he had practically nothing left—even as the former owner of BlackBerry, he would have to start from scratch. He’d thought he could quickly gain momentum by relying on Wang Hao’s software. Triggering the family’s exit clause had allowed BlackBerry to survive, but he hadn’t anticipated that Chu Jin, the daughter of the new family head, would react so swiftly—cutting off his plan at the root before it had even begun. Any company founded with clan funding could retain control for another three years—even based solely on valuation—as long as it achieved a tenfold increase in value. If the growth reached a hundredfold, it would become the founder’s personal property. This was a rule of the Chu Tian clan: even if his father had failed in his bid for clan leadership, as long as the company achieved a hundredfold increase, the new clan head could not reclaim it for the clan. But achieving a hundredfold increase was no easy feat. Building any platform is inherently capital-intensive in the early stages. He hadn’t generated much profit yet, so he hadn’t even reached the tenfold increase. Wang Hao’s software had only just come into his possession—he hadn’t even had time to release it—when Chu Jin, who had always viewed him as a rival, exploited the family’s terms to strip him of control over BlackBerry. With Chu Jin’s subsequent move, his plan to use Wang Hao’s cleanup software to take off and quickly achieve a tenfold increase in valuation had vanished into thin air. He believed that if he’d waited even a few more days—trusting in the software’s impact—it would have boosted the Blackberry platform’s valuation, allowing him to keep running the company for another three years. The financial support from his father wasn’t substantial, but by then, he could have met the special condition of a hundredfold increase and completely broken free from the family’s constraints. But he never imagined that Chu Jin had actually planted people within BlackBerry, and they had received the news ahead of time. Just as Wang Hao was about to speak, the conference room door suddenly swung open. Chu Jin walked in, looking somewhat uneasy. After composing herself, she spoke in a conciliatory tone: “Mr. Wang, we are genuinely committed to this partnership and sincerely hope to reach an agreement with you. I’m even willing to make further concessions on the terms of the deal.” At that moment, Chu Jin genuinely wanted to partner with Wang Hao. She had reviewed the contract and, naturally, seen the terms of the partnership, which were already quite favorable. However, to secure this partnership, she was willing to go a step further. Yet, in the end, Wang Hao did not agree to the “extremely favorable” terms Chu Jin had mentioned. In his view, partnership was not solely about profit. Although he did not fully trust Chu Tian’s words, Chu Jin’s approach had given him some insight into her true intentions. Chu Jin watched as Wang Hao and Chu Tian walked away, her expression somewhat grim. “Sister Jin, actually, even without them, I looked into this software earlier—it hasn’t been copyrighted at all. We can beat them to it and register it first,” Wang Cheng said in a low voice as he walked up behind Zhang Jin. Not far away, Li Fan felt an overwhelming urge to punch Wang Cheng in the face—it was now abundantly clear that Wang Cheng was the person Chu Tian had mentioned as the source of the leak. After a moment’s thought, he took out a piece of paper, picked up a pen, and wrote a few words. “This is my resignation letter.” Li Fan glanced at Chu Jin, handed her the letter with a blank expression, and walked out without looking back. Li Fan held Chu Tian in the highest regard. Now that Chu Tian had left, there was no point in him staying at this Company any longer. “Here is my resignation letter.” “Resignation letter.” Li Fan’s action seemed to set off a chain reaction. Although there weren’t many people at BlackBerry Company, once Li Fan took the lead, half the staff immediately scribbled a few words and placed their letters on the desk in front of Chu Jin. Chu Jin stared in disbelief at the BlackBerry office, which was now noticeably emptier. She hadn’t anticipated losing half the staff on the very day she took over—especially Wang Hao’s departure, which made her look like the villain without reaping any benefits. Her expression grew even more grim. She even considered taking direct revenge on Wang Hao, but after a moment’s thought, she immediately dismissed the idea. After all, Wang Hao was practically a public figure; even the Chu family couldn’t pull the strings behind the scenes to that extent. Moreover, while the Chu family permitted the use of business tactics to strike against rivals—and could even mobilize the family’s commercial resources to suppress them—it strictly forbade any actions that crossed the line. The larger the family, the stricter the discipline imposed on its children, because they all know that to ensure longevity, they must provide their children with the best possible education. Those who are occasionally exposed online for street racing or drunk driving are, at best, merely nouveau riche. The truly great families provide the best education for their children; the only difference lies in whether they choose to be high-profile or low-key. “Boss, the finance department has received a payment of three million from an individual to the Company,” said a woman in her thirties as she stepped out of the finance office and addressed Chu Jin. After pondering for a moment, Chu Jin still declined Wang Cheng’s proposal—the tactic was simply too underhanded. She could only admit that while she had succeeded in driving Chu Tian out and taking over BlackBerry, she was left with a company that was practically a shell, leaving her with an indescribable sense of unease. After Wang Hao and Chu Tian left BlackBerry, they were about to make plans to grab a drink together, but after receiving a phone call, their expressions darkened once again. “Wang Hao, Zhang Jin is planning to use your software to apply for a software copyright certificate,” Chu Tian said with a look of shame. After all, this was ultimately his fault—he hadn’t protected the software properly. “It’s fine. Let them register it,” Wang Hao said with a nonchalant smile. His work wasn’t that easy to steal, but this incident served as a wake-up call. He wasn’t afraid of theft, but if the two software programs were deemed identical in nature—constituting plagiarism or copying—the resulting legal battle would waste a lot of his time. “Did you put in a backdoor?” Chu Tian asked, somewhat surprised. “No.” Wang Hao shook his head. He really hadn’t set up any backdoors; it was just that the software had a user limit, and allowing more people to use it required meeting certain special conditions. Moreover, since the code was encrypted, it would change from time to time, becoming completely random. Using such code to register wouldn’t affect him in the slightest. Even if he released the software without making a single change, it wouldn’t involve any infringement, because the actual code displayed would be completely different.