In later years, when Brother Ma recounted the experiences of this day, he expressed with great helplessness that if he had possessed his current maturity, he would not have refused JDFT's interview. Instead, he would have clarified everything for Tengda on the program.
This was not a crisis at all, but a golden opportunity.
However, Brother Ma refused at the time because he simply didn't understand that whether it was criticism or praise, as long as it generated buzz and made the news, it was superior to any advertisement. He was merely instinctively terrified of JDFT.
After all, anyone who had watched JDFT knew that historically, no one who appeared on JDFT had a good outcome. Especially before 2008, JDFT's destructive power was practically boundless.
Therefore, Brother Ma instinctively refused, hoping everything would fade away into silence with time.
This was also Tengda's final decision on how to respond. Although Brother Ma himself refused the interview, it would be problematic if no one in Tengda dared to be interviewed. After all, if the JDFT program team simply stated that Tengda Group refused to be interviewed, the blame would be entirely placed upon Tengda Group.
Thus, Tengda ultimately decided to have Li Dan represent Tengda and accept JDFT's interview.
As a former government official, Li Dan was indeed the best person to handle interviews. His official statements were flawless, leaving no room for criticism, and simultaneously absolved Tengda of any responsibility.
In essence, Li Dan expressed his sympathy for the two victims on the program and attributed everything to an accidental event, completely distancing Tengda from any involvement.
Three days after Li Dan's interview, CCTV began airing previews, announcing the program's broadcast for the next day. This made everyone at Tengda extremely nervous.
So, the next day, Tengda's senior management gathered in the conference room to watch JDFT.
At 8:30 PM, JDFT began broadcasting on schedule. Following the program's usual format, it first reviewed the news facts.
And CCTV was indeed CCTV. This time, they not only found the two protagonists but also visited their schools, interviewed their friends, and then conducted research at various internet cafes. They even obtained detailed data from statistical departments to introduce the development of the entire instant messaging industry.
Finally, they concluded that the entire instant messaging software industry was in a state of wild growth, lacking regulation, industry self-discipline, and effective rights protection. This had led to the absurd farce of two men falling in love.
In any case, watching the first half of this episode, everyone at Tengda wore grim expressions, feeling as if dark clouds were pressing down, threatening to destroy everything.
The latter half featured interviews, starting with the interview with Li Dan from Tengda Group.
It must be said that CCTV was quite conscientious. They did not employ any BBC-style editing but rather presented Li Dan's interview with relative fairness. Li Dan's flawless interview also greatly satisfied everyone at Tengda.
Although the interview did not propose any solutions, it allowed the audience to understand Tengda's stance and grievances. It was a remarkably good interview case.
"Everyone, perk up! Li Dan's interview was excellent. I believe that with time, everything will pass!" Brother Ma said.
"And this time, it's not just targeting our QQ. The program also conducted investigations of similar scale into our QQ, as well as MSN, OICQ, and that damned OO. The situations are more or less the same, so the impact on everyone will be comparable. We just need to weather this period!"
Seeing his subordinates a bit demoralized, Brother Ma took the initiative to encourage them.
Then, they heard the program's reporter say, "So, how will the operators of OO, another major instant messaging software in our country, view and handle this situation? And how will their response differ from QQ's? For this, we specifically interviewed Ms. Leng Zhimeng, CEO of OO software's operating company, Jiangnan Computer Technology Service Co., Ltd., for an exclusive interview!!"
"What! JDFT also interviewed someone from OO, and it's OO's mysterious female CEO Leng Zhimeng!" In the conference room, everyone at Tengda immediately became energized, their attention instantly focused on the television screen, more so than ever before. After all, they were very curious about their main competitor at the moment.
This Leng Zhimeng had never appeared in public. Their spies had never managed to infiltrate OO, so they remained completely in the dark.
Naturally, they were extremely curious about Leng Zhimeng.
Then, Leng Zhimeng appeared on the television screen.
The Tengda conference room instantly froze.
All the employees of Tengda watching the television also collectively froze.
All viewers across China watching television opened their mouths in astonishment, exclaiming, "Is this the company's CEO? She's so young! And she's wearing a school uniform. She's clearly just a high school student!!!"
That's right, at this very moment, the CEO of Jiangnan Computer Technology Service Co., Ltd., who appeared before the entire nation, was a young girl, wearing a school uniform, with pigtails, exuding youthfulness, liveliness, and smiles – a high school girl.
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"I really didn't intend to provoke JDFT!!" Five days ago, when Tengda learned that JDFT wanted to conduct an interview, Huang He swore to Leng Zhimeng in the office, guaranteeing that he had not schemed against her and that JDFT had truly approached them on their own.
Huang He was not lying because JDFT had indeed approached them. Huang He had originally planned to appear on Hunan TV's "Happy Camp" and complete his plan on that program. However, JDFT's call came, hoping to interview the company.
Huang He agreed without hesitation. Returning from 2021, Huang He was accustomed to various marketing strategies and concepts of later years, so he clearly understood how important it was for OO to be interviewed by a television program like JDFT in 2001. It was as if a 1 billion yuan variety show sponsorship opportunity had fallen from the sky, with an effect comparable to Pinduoduo sponsoring "Extreme Challenge" back then.
Therefore, Huang He agreed without any hesitation. But Leng Zhimeng was hesitant. After all, if even Brother Ma dared not accept, it would be a miracle for a young girl like Leng Zhimeng to agree on the spot.
Fortunately, Huang He was eloquent. Coupled with Leng Zhimeng's inherently fearless personality, she was only momentarily intimidated by JDFT's reputation. After Huang He's persuasion, she agreed.
Thus, Huang He and Leng Zhimeng spent a full day and night together.
Ahem, please don't misunderstand. Boss Huang at this time had no intention of such matters. He was merely rehearsing lines and speeches with Leng Zhimeng, discussing how to speak and choose words to achieve their goals.
Unlike Li Dan's spontaneous interview, our Huang He had prepared dozens of small note cards for Leng Zhimeng to memorize in advance. He had even specially hired a stylist to design a vibrant image of an entrepreneurial youth for Leng Zhimeng, based on her student status and school uniform.
In an era where the concept of character design did not exist, Huang He was always god-like.