Tang Jiatong's resignation procedures were completed quickly. After finishing, Tang Jiatong, feeling agitated, planned to do nothing and rest at home for a few days.
However, she had considerable influence in the company. Her sudden absence for a few days naturally attracted the attention of some senior employees.
After inquiring, these veteran employees confirmed that Tang Jiatong had been dismissed rather than taking leave, which made them feel a sense of shared misfortune.
Someone posted on their social media, worrying about becoming the next to go and lamenting the uncertain future. Feng Jie saw all of this.
Feng Jie had always had good relationships. Even though he had left Qianbai long ago, he had never deleted his former colleagues from Qianbai, and he still occasionally contacted them to check in.
Afterward, he inquired about the situation from this old friend. Upon learning that Tang Jiatong had been dismissed, he was also quite surprised. The next morning, he arrived at Ye Zhi's office.
"General Manager Ye, X Shopping has dismissed Tang Jiatong!" Feng Jie said in shock.
"What?" Ye Zhi was also very surprised. "You mean, that renowned 'Whampoa Military Academy' of the internet, the major talent pipeline base for various websites, has graduated another outstanding alumnus?"
Feng Jie: ...
General Manager Ye, you're so cheeky! Though, that statement doesn't seem entirely wrong.
"I have an impression of that Tang Jiatong," Ye Zhi said, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't she quite capable? She works steadily, never taking undue credit or rushing ahead. X Shopping itself also has this style. They should actually be quite compatible."
Feng Jie explained, "It seems so, but the domestic head of X Shopping had a different philosophy from hers. It's said that Tang Jiatong did not quite agree with the current development strategy of the head, Austin. And her temper isn't the best, so she and Austin argued for almost half a month. Both were quite dissatisfied with each other, and resentment had been building for a long time. I heard that a couple of days ago, during an argument, they completely fell out, and Tang Jiatong was fired."
Ye Zhi pondered for a moment. "So, you're saying... the recent series of operations by X Shopping, such as copying the international version of their interface, not promoting the new website, and not participating in our promotional activities, are actually decisions made by X Shopping's domestic head, Austin, and not by Tang Jiatong?"
Feng Jie nodded. "It should be."
"Send her an email... no," Ye Zhi paused. "You contact her personally and invite her for an interview at Taoxun."
Feng Jie agreed and asked curiously, "General Manager Ye, do you want to poach her to be in charge of competing with X Shopping domestically?"
"Domestically..." Ye Zhi said, somewhat speechlessly. "Do we still need to compete with X Shopping?"
"Ah, this..." Feng Jie was momentarily speechless. He thought for a moment and said with some unease, "I think... it's better not to underestimate the enemy."
"It's not us underestimating the enemy," Ye Zhi asked calmly. "Feng Jie, think about it, have you found the development of X Shopping after coming to China very familiar?"
Feng Jie was stunned for a moment. Indeed, after X Shopping came to China, many of their decisions seemed bizarre. For example, they did not localize, did not promote, and did not engage in a price war with Taoxun. They were far too quiet.
But upon closer inspection, he had investigated Austin before. These strategies seemed identical to Austin's strategies in other countries!
"General Manager Ye, are you saying that Austin is simply copying his previous successful experiences?" Feng Jie suddenly understood.
"Exactly," Ye Zhi nodded slightly. "He is making the mistake of empiricism. His previous two successes have made him lazily dependent on his own experience.
But everything is constantly developing and changing. He cannot analyze the changes in objective facts realistically. He believes his past experiences will succeed anywhere.
Clearly, Austin intends to follow the path of customer word-of-mouth fermentation, just as before. He doesn't know what we will do, but we clearly know what he will do next. In this situation, does X Shopping still have the qualifications to be our opponent in China?"
Feng Jie nodded with emotion. Ye Zhi's analysis was too accurate, hitting the nail on the head.
The situations in the previous two countries were completely different from the situation in China. Austin's previous successful experiences simply wouldn't work here.
But Austin didn't realize this at all. He probably thought it didn't matter that X Shopping was not well-known now. Once they accumulated a good reputation over time, they would have a solid user base and then defeat Taoxun.
But the reality was that if X Shopping couldn't get off the ground now, it would be even less likely to succeed in the future.
Such an X Shopping indeed did not qualify to be Taoxun's opponent.
"Then what do you want to hire Tang Jiatong for?" Feng Jie asked, confused.
Ye Zhi smiled slightly, a smile that was profound and enigmatic. "We'll discuss it after she comes and I have a chat with her!"
*
Tang Jiatong looked at the pile of express packages in front of her and sighed helplessly. She hadn't been in a good mood for the past two days and could only vent her frustrations through frenzied online shopping.
After unpacking the deliveries, Tang Jiatong felt much better and began to consider her future. There were many shopping websites in China now, but she was unsure which one to choose.
Of course, she had considered Taoxun. Frankly speaking, she had a good impression of Ye Zhi.
It was precisely because of this that after careful consideration, she chose to join Qianbai instead of Taoxun.
After all, who wouldn't want to become the next Ye Zhi and forge their own path?
If she had joined Taoxun, with its abundance of talent, she might not have had the opportunity to shine. On the other hand, Qianbai was at its lowest point at the time and had a new owner who wasn't very hands-on, making it a good place for her to hone her skills... ahem, gain experience.
Fortunately, she had progressed steadily step by step and even achieved some results. Unfortunately, the X Company, which she thought would elevate her, had instead clipped her wings.
Now she was truly undecided: should she choose a small shopping website to start from scratch, or abandon her dream and become part of Taoxun?
Suddenly, an irritating phone ring echoed.
Tang Jiatong frowned in annoyance, pressed the answer button, and said impatiently, "No business! No buying property! No shops, no gym memberships!"
After saying that, Tang Jiatong hung up the phone.
Her temper wasn't exactly good. After all, Qianbai had been in dire straits, and people's morale was fluctuating. Managing such a team couldn't be done with gentleness and consideration. She had been very patient to fall out with Austin only at the very end.
Feng Jie, whose call had been hung up, was stunned for a moment, but he quickly called again.
The call was reconnected. Before Tang Jiatong could get angry, Feng Jie quickly said, "I'm Feng Jie, not a salesperson."