Chapter 501: QR Code

March 18, 2006, Shenzhen.

The day marking the fifth anniversary of the Fenghuang Phone launch.

On the top floor of Building 7 at the Nanshan R&D Center, the lights are bright. Outside the window is the early‑spring night of Fenghuang Mountain, but no one is in the mood to look.

In the lobby, over three hundred people are packed together, all eyes fixed on the huge projection screen.

On the screen, a few numbers are flashing:

Fenghuang Chat users: 47,328,916

Daily active users: 21,045,677

Messages sent today: 1,234,567,890

Chen Mo stands at the front of the crowd, holding the Fenghuang Fourth Generation Phone. At thirty‑five, the chat‑software project lead's hair is more than half white, yet the light in his eyes shines brighter than three years ago.

Next to him, Xiao Wang leans in, his voice trembling.

"Chief Chen, over at QQ… they issued an announcement today."

Chen Mo does not turn around.

"What does it say?"

Xiao Wang swallows.

"They said their concurrent online users have surpassed twenty million."

The lobby falls silent for a second.

Twenty million concurrent users.

That's QQ.

It is the behemoth that has dominated China's internet chat market for a full seven years.

Chen Mo finally turns, looking at Xiao Wang.

"What's our concurrent online count?"

Xiao Wang glances at the screen.

"Eighteen million."

Two million short.

Over three hundred people, no one speaks.

Chen Mo remains silent for three seconds, then smiles.

"Two million," he says, "we can catch up."

At nine a. m. the next day, the 38th floor of Wanxiang Dasha.

Li Yaozong sits in his office, with two reports before him. One shows QQ's concurrent online data—twenty million. The other shows Fenghuang Chat's concurrent online data—eighteen million.

A two‑million gap.

It's neither huge nor tiny.

A knock sounds.

"Come in."

The door opens; Chen Mo and Zhao Ming walk in.

"Chief Li," Chen Mo plops onto the sofa, "did you learn about last night's incident?"

Li Yaozong nods.

"What's your take?"

Li Yaozong does not answer immediately.

He stands and walks to the window.

Outside, Shenzhen's spring is in full bloom. Traffic weaves along Shen Nan Avenue, and the distant outline of Fenghuang Mountain is clearly visible.

"Chen Mo," he turns, "why do you think QQ has lasted so long?"

Chen Mo thinks for a moment.

"Because users have gotten used to it."

"Used to what?"

"Used to chatting on QQ," Chen Mo says. "Their friends are on QQ, their groups are on QQ, their memories are on QQ. Switching software costs too much."

Li Yaozong nods.

"Then how do we get users willing to switch?"

Chen Mo falls silent.

Zhao Ming speaks up beside him.

"Chief Li, I think we can't brute‑force it. Whatever QQ has, we must also have. But we need something QQ doesn't."

Li Yaozong looks at him.

"For example?"

Zhao Ming thinks for a moment.

"Voice. QQ lets you type; we can send voice. Users hold to speak, release to send. Convenient, fast."

Li Yaozong's eyes light up.

"Keep going."

"Also, phone calls," Zhao Ming says faster, "QQ can't make calls, only send messages. We could add a feature that lets users make calls directly through Fenghuang Chat. Free of charge."

Chen Mo picks up.

"Also likes and comments. QQ Space has them, but only on computers. Browsing on phones is inconvenient. We could implement them on mobile so users can view, like, and comment anytime, anywhere."

Li Yaozong walks back to his seat and sits down.

He looked at the two people in front of him.

One handles chat software, one handles system software. One is 34, the other 35. Their hair is all white, their eyes are shining.

"How long until these features go live?"

Chen Mo and Zhao Ming exchanged a glance.

"Three months." Chen Mo said, "Give me three months, I can make voice and calling happen."

"Two months." Zhao Ming said, "Likes and comments, two months is enough."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Then do it."

He paused.

"Remember, it's not about catching up to QQ, it's about surpassing QQ."

April 2006, Fenghuang Chat 1.5 went live.

New feature: voice messages.

Users can hold the screen to speak, release to send. The recipient can tap to listen.

On the first day of launch, voice message volume was 8,000,000 messages.

On the tenth day, 30,000,000 messages.

On the thirtieth day, 120,000,000 messages.

Some confessed love in voice chats, some argued in voice chats, some held meetings in voice chats, some in voice chats…

Singing.

Chen Mo looked at that data, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

"Singing?"

Xiao Wang nodded.

"Users figured it out themselves. They send a voice message in a group, sing a couple of lines. Someone likes it, someone comments, someone sings along."

Chen Mo stayed silent for three seconds.

Then he said, "Add a feature."

"What feature?"

"Let users save their voice messages." Chen Mo said, "Keep the good ones."

May 2006, Fenghuang Chat 1.6 went live.

New feature: likes, comments.

Every post in Moments can be liked and commented; those who liked can see who liked, those who commented can see who commented.

On the first day of launch, the number of likes was 12,000,000.

On the tenth day, 58,000,000.

On the thirtieth day, 230,000,000.

Some showed off their babies in Moments, gaining three hundred likes; some posted complaints in Moments, getting flooded with comments; some in Moments…

Showing off love.

Chen Mo looked at that number and finally laughed.

"This," he said, "is what a phone should have."

June 2006, Fenghuang Chat 1.7 went live.

New feature: free calls.

Users can call each other directly through Fenghuang Chat. It goes over the internet, no call charges. As long as both parties have Fenghuang Chat and are online, they can talk.

On the first day of launch, call volume was 3,000,000 minutes.

On the tenth day, 20,000,000 minutes.

On the thirtieth day, 100,000,000 minutes.

Some discussed business on the phone, some chatted about family matters on the phone, some on the phone…

Flirting.

Chen Mo looked at that data and was completely speechless.

"These people," he said, "just how much can they talk?"

Xiao Wang stifled a laugh.

"President Chen, should we add a feature?"

"What feature?"

"Let users record their calls." Xiao Wang said, "Then they can listen again later."

Chen Mo looked at him.

"Are you serious?"

Xiao Wang thought about it.

"Never mind, it's as if I didn't say anything."

July 2006, Wanxiang Group quarterly strategy meeting.

The meeting room was full of people. Chen Feng, Zhao Ming, He Xiao, Lin Jiawen, Zhou Yuanhang… and Chen Mo.

Li Yaozong sat in the head seat, with three reports in front of him.

One was Fenghuang Chat's user count, breaking through 80,000,000.

One was concurrent online data, breaking through 25,000,000—for the first time, surpassing QQ.

One was Fenghuang Phone's sales, Q2, 13,000,000 units.

"Everyone," the person began, "this quarter we've done well."

No one spoke, but everyone wore a smile.

Chen Mo stood up.

"President Li, I have something to say."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Speak."

Chen Mo walked to the whiteboard and drew a square.

Inside the square were densely packed black‑and‑white little cells.

"This thing," he said, "is called a QR code."

The conference room fell silent for a second.

He Xiao spoke first.

"QR code? What is it for?"

Chen Mo pointed at that square.

"It stores information," he said, "it can store text, links, images, anything."

He paused.

"Most importantly, it can be scanned with a phone."

He pulled a Fenghuang Fourth Generation phone from his pocket, opened Fenghuang Chat, tapped a feature called "Scan"—a function he had secretly added for the team, not yet officially released.

He held the phone up to the square on the whiteboard.

Beep.

A line of text popped up on the screen:

"Welcome to Fenghuang Chat. Download…"

He Xiao was stunned.

"This is…"

"This is our download link," Chen Mo said, "I turned it into a QR code, printed it, and stuck it at the university cafeteria entrance. Passersby can scan with their phones and download."

He looked at the people present.

"How does QQ promote? Through computers, through websites. How do we promote? Through phones, through scanning codes."

He paused.

"One phone is one promoter."

Li Yaozong's eyes lit up.

"Continue."

Chen Mo drew several more squares.

"The biggest advantage of QR codes is low cost. Print a sheet for a few cents. Stick it on a wall; it lasts months. One scan, and you can download."

"And," he drew another square, "it not only can download, it can also pay."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"President Li, I want to create a feature called 'Scan Pay.' Users buy things in stores, don't need to pull out a wallet, just scan with their phone, and the money is deducted from Fenghuang Chat."

Lin Jiawen interjected.

"Is it safe?"

Chen Mo nodded.

"Safe. We can build an independent payment system, separate from the chat app. Users' money is kept in a bank alone; no one can touch it."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"President Li, if we can pull this off, we won't just be a chat app. We are…"

He thought for a moment.

"We are a lifestyle."

August 2006, Fenghuang Chat 1.8 version launched.

New feature: Scan.

Users can open Fenghuang Chat's Scan function, scan any QR code—download links, product info, event pages, coupons…

At the same time, the first batch of QR codes went live.

Three hundred thousand, pasted at the entrances of cafeterias, libraries, and teaching buildings of three hundred universities nationwide.

They bore two lines of text:

"Fenghuang Chat, free download. Scan to use."

Day one, scans: 800,000.

Day ten, 5,000,000.

Day thirty, 23,000,000.

Fenghuang Chat's user count, from 80 million, broke the 100 million mark.

Chen Mo stared at the growth curve, silent for a long while.

Xiao Wang whispered nearby, "President Chen, we… have surpassed QQ, right?"

Chen Mo nodded.

"Yes, we have."

October 2006, Fenghuang Chat 1.9 version launched.

October 2006, Phoenix Chat 1.9 version went online.

New feature: scan code payment.

The first batch of pilot cities selected were Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou.

Pilot merchants: one hundred—supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, bookstores.

Users only need to open Fenghuang Chat, tap Scan, scan the merchant's QR code, enter the amount, and confirm payment.

The money is deducted from the Fenghuang Chat account and transferred directly to the merchant's account.

On the first day online, transaction volume was 3,700 transactions.

On the tenth day online, 80,000 transactions.

On the thirtieth day online, 470,000 transactions.

Lin Jiawen looked at the numbers, his hand trembling a bit.

"General Manager Li," he said to Li Yaozong, "this... this is faster than I imagined."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Because it's convenient," he said. "Users don't need to carry a wallet, don't need change, don't need to sign. Scan once, and they're gone."

He looked out the window.

"Convenience is the greatest competitive edge."

December 31, 2006, New Year's Eve.

On the roof of Wanxiang Dasha, Li Yaozong stood there, holding that Fenghuang Fourth Generation phone in his hand.

On the screen was Fenghuang Chat's Moments.

He scrolled through those posts, one by one.

Someone posted their New Year's Eve dinner, someone posted fireworks, someone posted a family portrait, someone posted…

A photo of him and her.

The caption was only one sentence:

"Met on Fenghuang Chat, it's been a year."

He scrolled down again.

He saw a post that was posted by a university student.

The attached picture was the QR code at the cafeteria entrance, with the text below:

"Last year at this time, I scanned this code at the cafeteria entrance and downloaded Fenghuang Chat. It's been a year; I've met over a hundred friends here, grabbed over three hundred red packets, made five hundred minutes of free telephone calls to my family. Thanks, Fenghuang Chat."

Li Yaozong looked at that post and smiled.

He kept scrolling down.

He saw another one.

It was a screenshot of Fenghuang Chat's group chat interface. The group was named "Fenghuang Employees Group", with over four hundred members.

The group admin posted a message:

"Everyone, this year Fenghuang Chat users have surpassed 150 million. Next year, our goal is 200 million. Let's work hard together!"

Below followed a string of replies:

"Keep it up!"

"Keep it up!"

"Keep it up!"

Li Yaozong looked at those "Keep it up" messages and suddenly felt his eyes get a little warm.

150 million users.

From a 300-person internal test to 150 million users.

From a three-person small team to a 500-person large department.

From zero lines of code to five million lines of code.

He lifted his head, looking at the distant night sky.

Shenzhen's night sky shows no stars. But he knows the stars are there.

Just like Fenghuang Chat's tiny icon, it resides in the phones of 150 million people.

He stood there, gazing at the distant Fenghuang Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, the lights of Nanshan R&D Center resembled a field of stars.

Among those stars were Chen Feng's Chip Team, Zhao Ming's Software Team, and Chen Mo's Chat Team.

They took something that started from zero and made it number one.