Chapter 445: Morning Meetings and Ambitions

Early Friday morning.

The hotel’s buffet breakfast area.

Xu Chen, Sun Aimi, and Su Rong sat by the window, each digging into their food.

The hotel was right next to Zhongguancun, just a short walk from Baidu Headquarters.

In early 2007, the ‘Baidu Tower’ hadn’t started construction yet, so Baidu Company was in the Ideal International Building in Zhongguancun.

Su Rong chomped on a long, thick golden fried dough stick, her cheeks bulging.

She chewed big bites and mumbled through a full mouth,

“Northern fried dough sticks just don’t taste the same as the southern ones!”

Sun Aimi savored her soup dumplings, clearly loving them.

On the table sat a bowl of soybean milk, which Su Rong had grabbed out of curiosity.

She and Sun Aimi each took a tentative sip with their spoons, nearly gagging and wrinkling their noses as they set it aside.

…

Xu Chen ate a bowl of small wontons while holding his mobile phone and chuckling.

Su Rong: “What’s got you laughing, Young Xu?”

Xu Chen: “Just reading gossip about Baidu’s boss. Gu Xinxi put it together.”

It’s pretty entertaining…”

Su Rong: “What is it?”

Xu Chen: “I’ll send it over to you.”

The document Gu Xinxi compiled was for Xu Chen’s presentation that day.

“Little housekeeper” Gu Xinxi must have taken the minor criticism on the Cadillac project to heart and reformed; this document was thorough and packed with content.

It was full of useful information.

It included details on the companies pitching for the project today: McCann, Dentsu, and Blue Focus.

It also covered background on Baidu’s marketing vice president, Zhao Ling.

Xu Chen learned that before joining Baidu as marketing vice president, Zhao Ling was the marketing director at Lenovo Group.

Lenovo’s headquarters was also in Zhongguancun, so Zhao Ling’s move to Baidu was probably just a quick trip down the hall.

From an advertising perspective, Lenovo was more of a ‘traditional’ company without groundbreaking ad promotions.

So, someone from Lenovo like Zhao Ling likely didn’t bring many innovative marketing ideas…

Beyond that, Gu Xinxi had separately gathered some material on Baidu’s founder, Li Yanhong.

Gu Xinxi probably heard from Miao Xiaoyu that Baidu’s founder, Li Yanhong, was watching the marketing department’s promotion and might join today’s project meeting.

That meant Li Yanhong would heavily influence the pitch results.

In the document, besides Li Yanhong’s public info, Gu Xinxi included some gossip and fun facts, which had just made Xu Chen laugh…

Su Rong scrolled through the document on her phone.

She glanced at the ad company details and intros, finding the dense text a bit boring and not bothering to read deeply.

“You’re really putting in the effort, studying project stuff even at breakfast.”

Xu Chen smiled:

“Aimi’s the dedicated one; she’s been reviewing the presentation content too.”

Since sitting down in the restaurant, Sun Aimi had been flipping through her phone.

Xu Chen knew she was going over the pitch proposal.

Sun Aimi finally set her phone down, adjusted her round-framed glasses, and said with a hint of embarrassment:

“I get a bit nervous presenting schemes.

I hear McCann and Dentsu are pitching today too…”

Xu Chen: “Don’t worry, Aimi.”

“We beat Ogilvy on the Head & Shoulders project.”

“And East Morning Star Advertising took down Tianlian BBDO on the Jeep project…”

“Today’s no different; we’ll nail it!”

Hearing Xu Chen’s words, Sun Aimi seemed to relax a little.

“Yeah, we got Head & Shoulders and Jeep, so Baidu’s project isn’t any tougher.”

Xu Chen felt no real pressure; after all, East Morning Star Advertising was bringing a ‘standard answer’ from his past life.

Unless some unpredictable twist hit, the project was theirs.

Sun Aimi nodded firmly:

“I’ll give it my all!”

Xu Chen said with a smile:

“You’ve worked hard these past weeks, juggling projects non-stop.”

“This weekend in Beijing is perfect—eat well, have fun, and unwind!”

Sun Aimi: “Thanks, boss!”

Originally, Sun Aimi was set to fly back to Shanghai right after the presentation.

But Xu Chen added two extra days to her trip as a reward—a mini vacation.

She had been diligent and exhausted lately.

Xu Chen, as her boss, had noticed.

This was a good chance to ease her fatigue.

After all, she was a key team player, not just a worker bee.

In his past life, Xu Chen had been a corporate drone, even at big firms with high pay, feeling the squeeze.

Empathizing, he aimed to treat his employees better.

…

Su Rong suddenly spoke up:

“Is Bing Ge already in Tiancheng?”

Xu Chen checked the time:

“He should be on his way from the Provincial Capital to Tiancheng.”

“This morning, Bing Ge arrives in Tiancheng for award ceremonies in the morning and afternoon.”

“By the time we get there later, he should be wrapping up.”

Su Rong beamed:

“Great!”

She flashed a mischievous grin:

“Can I check out you two’s love nest?”

Xu Chen: “Huh? What love nest?”

Su Rong: “Feifei mentioned it last time—she said you’re rewarding Bing Ge with a house.”

Xu Chen: “That’s not a love nest yet…”

Su Rong: “I don’t care! You better send me an invite to the wedding!”

Xu Chen: “Hey?!”

…

…

Zhongguancun, Ideal International Building.

Xu Chen and his group arrived ten minutes early, contacted assistant Miao Xiaoyu, and took the elevator straight to the 12th floor.

The elevator doors opened, and Miao Xiaoyu was already waiting in the hall.

“Welcome, President Xu!”

Her smile was warm and polite.

Xu Chen exchanged a few pleasantries and briefly introduced Sun Aimi and Su Rong.

“I’ll take you into the company first; we need to wait in the rest area!”

Xu Chen: “Sounds good, no problem.”

…

Baidu’s office was simple and sleek, with a true ‘geek’ vibe for an internet company.

Li Yanhong came from Silicon Valley, and Baidu’s original tech team mostly had that background, so the company atmosphere carried some of that influence.

Xu Chen had spent time at Tencent and Alibaba in his past life, and walking through Baidu’s office, he noticed the clear differences among these BAT companies.

…

As Miao Xiaoyu led the trio to the rest area, she quietly told Xu Chen,

“President Xu, there’s something I should mention upfront.”

Xu Chen: “Go ahead.”

Miao Xiaoyu: “Today, our boss Robin is joining the meeting.”

Xu Chen glanced at Sun Aimi and gave her a knowing smile.

Sun Aimi adjusted her round-framed glasses, suddenly looking nervous.

Miao Xiaoyu: “Robin’s meetings are always tight on time.”

So, East Morning Star Advertising gets fifteen minutes to present, plus five for questions…

The other three companies have the same setup.”

Xu Chen frowned; fifteen minutes for the presentation was tight.

But with the client’s schedule, they had to adapt.

He quickly thought it through; fifteen minutes would work if they streamlined Sun Aimi’s content.

Xu Chen didn’t rush to respond; he looked at Sun Aimi.

Sun Aimi said nothing, though she looked concerned, she nodded at Xu Chen.

Xu Chen then said:

“Fifteen minutes is fine. We’ll trim the content and speed up the delivery.”

Miao Xiaoyu looked apologetic:

“That’s just how it is with Robin; reports to him rarely go over twenty minutes.”

Xu Chen nodded:

“Have the other companies started their presentations?”

Miao Xiaoyu:

“McCann is nearly done with theirs.”

“Blue Focus is waiting to go next.”

“Dentsu from Shanghai is third, and then it’s your turn…”

Xu Chen turned to Sun Aimi: “That gives us time to adjust the pace for fifteen minutes.”

Sun Aimi nodded along.

…

The rest area was spacious, an open layout with sections of sofas and coffee tables, plus a bar for self-serve coffee and teas.

A few young people with Baidu badges hung around the bar, grabbing coffee.

…

“President Xu, you three wait here; I’ll come get you later!”

Xu Chen: “Okay!”

Miao Xiaoyu smiled politely:

“The Dentsu team should arrive soon; another colleague went to meet them…”

“They’ll probably end up here too.”

Xu Chen nodded: “Thanks for the heads-up.”

Miao Xiaoyu didn’t say more and left with a smile.

Her mention of the Dentsu team arriving soon was just factual, without suggesting introductions or anything that might awkward the competition.

That showed her tact.

After all, East Morning Star Advertising and Dentsu were rivals for this project, so the vibe was delicate.

Her early notice was a kind gesture.

…

Sure enough, a group of four or five people soon arrived and settled on the opposite sofa area, escorted by a Baidu employee.

Xu Chen spotted a burly man with a fitness build and gray-lensed glasses among them—it was Dentsu’s creative partner, Wu Tianfu.

Wu Tianfu was a big name in advertising circles; Xu Chen had heard of him in his past life.

Of course, back then, Wu Tianfu wouldn’t have known the obscure ad worker Xu Chen…

In the early 2000s, top spots in the 4A agencies were mostly held by overseas creatives; mainland talents like Wu Tianfu rising to creative partner at Dentsu was rare and talked about.

His success in a field dominated by Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asian players spoke volumes.

Sun Aimi seemed to recognize him and whispered,

“That’s Tif Wu…”

Su Rong: “Is he a big deal?”

Sun Aimi: “Absolutely, he’s a top creative in the 4A world, a pure mainland talent.”

“One of the best in the industry.”

Su Rong was an ad student but not yet in the field, so names like Tif Wu didn’t ring a bell for her.

…

…

The Dentsu group noticed Xu Chen’s side too.

“Those three over there must be here for the pitch, right?”

“Yeah, no Baidu badges. Wonder which company.”

“They look so young. The one with round glasses seems experienced, but the other two are kids!”

“What company’s sending such a green team for a Baidu pitch?”

“Tif, want to go say hi?”

Wu Tianfu had been glancing around.

When asked, he turned to look at the three unfamiliar, youthful faces and lost interest fast.

Wu Tianfu adjusted his cool glasses and changed the subject:

“Heard McCann from Beijing is pitching; I think Mok is leading them.”

Mok referred to the legendary ad figure from Hong Kong, Mo Kangxun.

Mo Kangxun was a ‘godfather’ in the Chinese ad world; Xu Chen had met him briefly in Kun City.

…

Knowing Mo Kangxun was involved, Wu Tianfu’s young team members perked up.

“Mok? I’ve never seen him!”

“The famous Mo Kangxun, Hong Kong’s ad legend!”

Wu Tianfu crossed his legs and grinned:

“If we cross paths, I’ll introduce you!”

“Awesome, Tif’s got the connections!”

…

A sharp-eyed young female colleague handed Wu Tianfu a coffee.

Wu Tianfu took it and said coolly, “Thanks, Sandy.”

Sandy smiled:

“With you on board today, Tif, we’re definitely winning this pitch!”

His colleagues jumped in with agreement.

Wu Tianfu soaked up the praise.

He sipped his coffee and said,

“Baidu’s project is key; our team needs to expand into new areas.”

“Internet clients are booming; let’s crack this with Baidu today!”

He sounded confident, drawing more compliments.

Wu Tianfu paused, then added seriously,

“Pitching to Li Yanhong is pressure, and with McCann and Mok in the mix…”

“It’s not a sure win, so stay sharp and respectful!”

As he spoke, a group approached from afar.

“Is that Mok?”

“Looks like it—Mo Kangxun himself!”

It was McCann’s creative team, just finished their pitch, with Mo Kangxun at the front.

…

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