Lei Jun said his thanks, pulled over a small stool, and sat down.
After sitting down, he wasn't in a hurry to strike up a conversation.
Seeing everyone holding bowls of tofu pudding and munching on fried dough cakes in such a lively, everyday atmosphere made him feel that bringing up work abruptly would be too stiff.
So, he also picked up his chopsticks, took a taste of the savory tofu pudding, and offered a casual compliment to break the ice: "This gravy is seasoned so authentically; it's much more fragrant than the breakfast shop downstairs from my company."
Xu Yan sat beside them, her ears still burning. She stole a glance at Lei Jun and then looked at Jiang Cheng, who was eating calmly.
Only one thought remained in her mind: Today's morning market was just too surreal... two CEOs of major companies were sitting with her at a roadside stall having breakfast.
After taking a few bites, Lei Jun glanced at the mobile phones the two had placed on the table.
"Sigh, our Rice is currently conducting market research. I just wanted to ask you young people if you have any new requirements or favorite designs for mobile phones."
To be honest, it wasn't that Jiang Cheng thought domestic phones were bad.
It was just that it was still 2018; if Jiang Cheng had to choose, he still wouldn't buy domestic.
After all, you get what you pay for. If you buy an Apple phone, generally speaking, it won't lag even after five years of use.
But if you spent 888 or 2,888 to buy a Rice phone...
It could only guarantee no lagging for two or three years at most.
One can only say you get what you pay for.
Rice had indeed driven prices down, providing ordinary people with extreme cost-effectiveness at a very low price.
It had all the configurations that high-end machines had.
Even its 888-yuan phone could play Honor of Kings, so at this price, what more could one ask for?
Although many entrepreneurs complained about Rice phones and their OEM factories...
Jiang Cheng didn't think so.
If Rice hadn't seized the market with low costs, our Huaxia market would currently be occupied by mostly foreign mobile phone companies.
"Even though I've never used a Rice phone, I've heard that unlocking a Rice phone is quite difficult..."
Seeing Jiang Cheng mention an internet meme again, Lei Jun smiled.
"Ah, although the future boss's wife used the wrong finger, she indirectly gave Rice a wave of publicity. Even though this advertisement caused us to be ridiculed for a long time, progress only comes with criticism. Our R&D department is already working on improving this issue. Even though they haven't found any faults, if it's been brought up, it must be changed..."
Lei Jun said this humorously, and Jiang Cheng couldn't help but laugh.
Jiang Cheng scooped a spoonful of soy milk, and just as he was about to speak again, his phone suddenly vibrated.
He nodded to Lei Jun to signal him to wait for a moment before answering the call.
After the call connected, Chen Xueer's voice on the other end clearly carried a hint of excitement.
"President Jiang, have you seen the news? I held back for a long time last night without sending it to you."
"Hmm??"
"In the middle of the night, there was movement over in the Pretty Country. The Facebook matter has fermented. Currently, it's just media leaks with no convictions yet, but when the us stock market closed yesterday, Facebook had already dropped two points. It's considered a bad start."
Jiang Cheng didn't show much emotion, his voice devoid of any significant fluctuation: "I just saw it when I woke up this morning. Right now, it's just media hype without solid proof, but that two-point drop in the us stock market is already the market voting with its feet."
He paused, recalling the short-selling strategy he had finalized with Chen Xueer, and added: "Have the Risk Control Department keep a close eye on the follow-up hearing news, especially the scope of user data leakage and Facebook's emergency statement. If it's confirmed to involve European users, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) fines could cause it to drop another wave. Let's not move the short orders we have for now; we'll see after the next peak of public opinion."
Seeing Jiang Cheng being so serious, Chen Xueer didn't bring up anything else on the other end and responded very crisply.
"Okay, I understand."
"Mm, you stayed up late last night, go get some rest first."
Although Chen Xueer knew Jiang Cheng was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold out tonight, she still couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile upon hearing this.
"Got it. I'll go sleep for a bit then, and I'll keep an eye on things again tonight."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Cheng noticed that Lei Jun was looking at him with a bit of curiosity in his eyes.
"Judging by the way you were just on the phone, do you also run your own company?" Lei Jun asked naturally.
It seemed like casual small talk, showing no trace that he had long known Jiang Cheng's identity.
Jiang Cheng picked up his chopsticks to grab some pickles and nodded with a smile: "Yes, but it's just a small company."
He said it nonchalantly, but Xu Yan couldn't help but steal another glance at Jiang Cheng.
Because of her relationship with Jiang Cheng, she was considered to have one foot in the entertainment industry.
Although the TV dramas where she played a few small roles hadn't aired yet.
But during her time with the production crew, she had heard plenty of gossip.
She had even heard many people in the industry's evaluations of Xingchen Investment Company.
Although Xu Yan didn't know the specific scale of Xingchen Investment, it certainly wasn't a small company.
After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, Lei Jun immediately pulled a simply designed business card from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Cheng.
His fingertips still carried a hint of the morning market's chill: "Since we're both in business, we can be considered half-colleagues. This is my business card; would it be convenient to exchange one of yours?"
Jiang Cheng looked at the business card being handed over.
The words "Rice Group, Lei Jun" were printed clearly.
After taking the card, Jiang Cheng spoke: "Then I'll accept it for now, but I didn't bring any business cards."
Although Yu Xiaoxiao and Chen Xueer had both helped Jiang Cheng make business cards.
But Jiang Cheng never carried them.
After all, the company was usually managed by Chen Xueer.
So there were almost no occasions to exchange business cards when dealing with other companies.
Jiang Cheng didn't want to do the cliché thing of whipping out his business card just to pick up girls.
So he simply never brought them.
"It's fine, it's fine. Just asking casually, what type of company do you run? I heard you mention 'risk control' and'short orders' on the phone just now; it sounds like it's related to finance?"
"Mm, yes, Xingchen Investment Company."
Seeing that he had finally heard the answer he wanted...
Lei Jun immediately pretended as if he had heard of it somewhere before.
"I know Xingchen Investment; it's very famous in the industry right now..."