Chapter 207 - 148: Zhang Liang: ? What Are Those Two Called!?

Zhang Niu was almost more eager than Wang Chao, verbally agreeing to the contract on the spot.

Wang Chao was the signatory on the contract, but a few documents also required Xu Huo’s personal signature.

This caught Wang Chao completely off guard. He felt like the other party was setting a trap, but for the life of him, he couldn’t find a single thing to nitpick.

Xu Huo used his Joy Eye to lock onto the man’s micro-expressions, but he couldn’t find any tells either.

"Ahem, let’s not talk about the food delivery business for now. Let’s talk about the internet."

As he spoke, Zhang Niu gestured for his secretary to leave. The secretary closed the door with a smile.

"Earlier, Xiao Wang said the future of the internet would be defined by convenience and universality... I’d like to ask, what form do you think it will take?"

A universal internet?

Xu Huo frowned, but before he could say anything, the man spoke again.

"To be honest, although I work in the internet industry, I’ve discovered something very awkward."

"And that is, the internet needs user traffic as its foundation. It’s like the foundation of a house; everything that comes after is built on that traffic."

Zhang Niu began to explain slowly.

"But, right now, the internet in our country is only on computers, and the penetration rate for home computers is less than one percent. This is a fatal blow to me."

"After that, I started trying to combine the internet with mobile phones, which everyone has."

"I founded a company, a mobile phone company."

"But, I just couldn’t figure out the form this ’thing’ should take..."

"So, I went traveling to clear my head, listening to other people’s opinions in various places, until..."

Here, Zhang Niu paused.

"Xiao Wang appeared."

"After listening to him, I discovered that Xiao Wang’s ideas were almost exactly the same as mine!"

"If mobile phones could become the new vessel for the internet, it would completely solve the problem of foundational user traffic!"

"But... I still can’t figure out what form it should take."

He stopped there.

Then, Zhang Niu looked seriously at the people in front of him.

"To tell you the truth, I can feel it. This is an opportunity!"

"An opportunity great enough to change the world!"

"The wealth, the status, and even the ample government funding waiting in the wings—if we can seize this opportunity, all of it can be ours!"

"In the whole world, including myself and the two of you, there are at least a hundred people who understand this!"

"But... every single one of us is stuck at this step."

As he spoke, Zhang Niu’s expression grew even more serious.

It was like a film.

A film as thin as a cicada’s wing, yet one that nobody could break through!

He asked:

"This ’thing’... what form will it ultimately take?"

Xu Huo understood. He began to regard the man with new respect.

’Damn,’ he thought. ’This guy really is one of the first people in the Eastern Country to get into this business.’

’He has the awareness and the foresight, but unfortunately, he lacks a clear blueprint.’

’And because he realizes that, he understands that whoever seizes this opportunity—whether they’re a pig butcher or a cattle slaughterer now—will have an extraordinary future. That’s why he’s taking the two of us so seriously... or maybe that’s just his personality.’

"This is a mobile phone I designed myself."

"Compared to a traditional mobile phone, it has a few extra features."

As he spoke, the man took out a novel-looking mobile phone.

It was a palm-sized notebook.

Inside was a delicate little keyboard, complete with all twenty-six letters of the alphabet and a row of numbers at the very top.

’Is this... a keyboard phone from my past life? From back in the day?’

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow.

Wang Chao was intrigued.

"But, I realized this was just old wine in a new bottle. Nothing more than a fancier-looking gimmick."

Zhang Niu shook his head.

He put it away.

It was just an empty shell. He hadn’t invested any capital to produce it, having clearly realized the problem.

"So, the main reason I invited you two here is, first, to discuss the future of food delivery."

"And second... is to figure out what ’thing’ will carry the internet into the future."

Hearing this, Wang Chao shook his head.

"President Zhang, I was just planning to wait for society’s natural developmental trends..."

He knew he didn’t have that kind of ability. He wanted to wait for a capable person to drive the change, and then he would handle the society that followed.

But this question right now...

"Connect the phone to the internet. In ’99, a non-profit organization called the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance appeared abroad. It would still be very simple for you to get in on it at this point in time."

Xu Huo suddenly said.

Zhang Niu froze.

"Connect to the internet? With a cable? No, wireless..."

"Like a radio station model?! That was indeed my line of thinking, but the form of the phone itself would have to change..."

"What if you also got rid of the buttons?"

Xu Huo suddenly added, "Get rid of them. Remove the traditional buttons from the phone and enlarge the screen proportionally."

"It would be like carrying a small computer monitor with you."

Hearing this, Wang Chao and Zhang Niu suddenly froze.

They instinctively pictured it, and then they realized...

This thing seemed...

Possible!

Their approach had indeed been to condense a computer into something portable.

"And then what?"

Zhang Niu’s heart suddenly started pounding. He fixed his gaze on Xu Huo, his eyes burning with intensity.

’This guy... he has an idea!?’

"Get rid of the buttons? How would you operate it with just a screen?"

Wang Chao was puzzled, too.

Xu Huo didn’t speak. He just glanced at the time, showing no intention of saying anything more.

Zhang Niu looked a little anxious. He thought for a moment, then pulled a document and a recording pen directly from his drawer.

"Ah, let’s sign the contract first. Let’s take care of your objective first, and we can talk after."

Xu Huo smiled. He looked it over several times, and after confirming there were no issues, he signed.

Then, before Wang Chao could even react,

Zhang Niu pulled out another one.