Chapter 1739 - 1838: Estrangement

Chapter 1739: Chapter 1838: Estrangement

Now, everyone can take a breather for a moment.

Ma Dateng adjusted his glasses, but Su He hurriedly waved his hand:

"No problem, it’s just a little help, Mr. Ma, no need to

be so polite!" Ma Huazhe scratched his head, "Ahe, you kept calling me Mr. Ma, everyone knows me as Little Ma.

Ahe, why all the fuss, we’re all friends here!

Zhang Zhidong also came over, and Ma Dateng quickly invited Su He to sit, but his expression showed a hint of inquiry

and asked:

"Ahe, did you self-study computer programming?"

Unlike before where he was flattering investors for investments, when he heard that Su He understood computers, it seemed like

he had found a kindred spirit, and his expression immediately relaxed a lot.

Gosh, having a common language makes things less awkward.

Programmers, in Ma Huazhi’s eyes, are always worth befriending because in the entire country

there are very few people who actually understand computers. He previously even set up a separate forum similar to BBS, where he was

the stationmaster, just to find like-minded friends online.

Though the site had few visitors, it gathered the first batch of top programmers in China.

That’s how he got to know Ding Sanshi of NetEase and Lei Jun of Golden Mountain; they all had excellent private relationships. The venture

into Penguin was actually spurred by Ding Sanshi’s NetEase, which made me truly excited.

That’s one of Ma Dateng’s most classic sayings, even after having thousands of billions, he still has to learn

a bit of C language and DOS online daily!

Su He casually mentioned, piquing Ma Dateng’s interest: "That’s impressive. Honestly, in high school I wasn’t interested in

computers, I preferred astronomy."

But after getting my hands on a computer, I suddenly had this feeling, do you know what it

was?

Ma Dateng looked at Su He, who then smiled and said something that left Ma Dateng stunned.

The internet is like a galaxy that is uncertain and exploding in the night sky. Su He glanced at Ma Dateng

and said something that left him absolutely astounded: "How did you know that?"

"Oh, no, you... you... do you feel the same way?"

Ma Dateng was dumbstruck because that sentence was something he wanted to say, unexpectedly Su He already expressed his feelings.

Hahaha, Little Ma, you’ve found a soulmate!

Beside them, Zhang Zhidong also started to view Su He differently because rarely did he see Ma Dateng flustered like this.

"You... did you tell him?"

Ma Dateng looked at Zhang Zhidong, who immediately waved his hand: "Impossible! Why would I tell him? Moreover, how would I know

what you wanted to say... Not me, I didn’t either!"

Da Li was there waving his hands intensely; everyone in the office actually knew about Ma Dateng’s two passions.

Kind of interesting.

Chen Yidan, who hadn’t been speaking, also looked up at Su He.

Besides surfing the internet, Ma Dateng also loved astronomy.

It’s an activity he’s liked since childhood. At the age of 8, his parents subscribed to ’We Love Science’ and other

popular science magazines to foster his hobby.

His dad even spent several thousand RMB to buy a telescope. Although Chen Yidan, Zhang Zhidong, and Xu Chengye joined the

Olympic Math, Ma Dateng chose the astronomy interest group. It’s been his passion since childhood. Unexpectedly, Su He...

also seems to share that interest?

Is this a soulmate?!

At that moment, Ma Dateng was so excited he couldn’t say anything. He felt that Su He in front of him was

someone just like him, and they both have their own understanding of the internet, which turns out to be the same. Su He’s heart meanwhile was pretty much bursting with joy, isn’t it?

Because these were things Ma Dateng had talked about in past interviews, the words spoken to journalists and columnists.

Su He merely borrowed them.

Unexpectedly, the effect was quite good, even Little Ma admired him a bit. Zhang Zhidong offered a cup of water

to Su He, and Ma Dateng just realized he hadn’t even given Su He any water.

By the way, Little Ma, Ahe is also one of our users.

Da Li winked at Ma Dateng, who then laughed:

"Really? That’s great.

Actually, it reminded him of what Xu Chengye just said. Before, he didn’t understand Su He,

but now he thinks he must get him on board.

Even if Su He doesn’t have money, Ma Dateng wants to start a business with him. This person would definitely

fit well with the current team.

He needed someone who resonates with him, but was mulling on how to start the conversation. Meanwhile, Zhang Zhidong and Da Li looked at the somewhat absent-minded Little Ma, feeling confused,

why is he acting so strange today?

A bit odd indeed.

Not at all like his usual self.

After all, this guy around his own circle, especially among those who understand computers, he’d be quite talkative, speaking a lot.

Little Ma, let’s have dinner together tonight!

Da Li pushed Little Ma, who responded with an "uh," only realizing the next moment: "What did you just

say? I said, let’s have dinner together tonight; Old Xu is treating, mainly to thank Azhe!"

You are acting a bit off today!

No, treating... I’ll do it!

Ma Dateng quickly said:

"Let Old Xu do it? He hasn’t even joined yet."

Alright, do you have money?"

Da Li directly pointed out: "Old Xu at least has a salary. Ma Dateng felt quite embarrassed, his face reddened slightly, and after a cough:

"I...- I have 5000 left, from some software writing job I did.

Just got it transferred over!

Alright then, Old Xu shouldn’t treat anymore; he’s already putting money and effort, but hasn’t even started working, it’s quite embarrassing for me.

Zhang Zhidong nodded, and Su He had figured it out,

Tencent Company is definitely at a dead-end financially. If I hadn’t shown up, sure enough, this 5000 would have gone to buy server parts,

then assembled a server to keep Penguin Company running for another three months.

Ma Dateng suddenly looked at Su He, carefully choosing his words:

"Do you... think our CQ instant messaging software needs any improvements?"

He was planning to start with the product, to attract Su He, then talk about joining forces just now Ahe spoke

I didn’t answer, Zhang Zhidong immediately said:

"Of the current instant messaging software on the market, he genuinely holds ours in high regard! Oh? Really?

Ma Dateng was slightly taken aback, this might be promising after all!

He said regarding usage, though

you can log in anytime, anywhere.

One can refresh the friend list in real-time, which seemingly hasn’t been achieved yet by other similar software! Also

the software is relatively stable, unlike PCQ and Internet Genie, which often disconnect, but of course, this is related

to server support you provide.

Listening to Ma Dateng discuss products, Su He realized, the opportunity was here; "Well... any areas that could be improved?"

Ma Huafu continued asking, Su He laughed: There are certainly many areas for improvement, like... the security

issues are very susceptible to account theft! I looked at your communication protocol, and it’s quite vulnerable.

There’s no encryption, and transmissions are in plain text!