Chapter 59: Drawing a Pie in the Sky
TL: Etude
As the military training continued, the volume of content on Zhihu also kept enriching.
The series “My Unpretentious Life as a Rich Second Generation” had been updated to its 63rd installment, detailing how the Cao family dominated in Hang City and their enthusiasm for charity.
“You are the Color of Fireworks in the World” had also reached its 60th chapter, where the male and female leads expressed their feelings for the first time, including a bit of physical confrontation, which was quite thrilling.
Besides, the confession wall had accumulated over a thousand fictional courtship posts.
A nine-headed fairy looking for a boyfriend, with no requirements, not interested in money, and easy to deceive due to her naivety.
A handsome guy with eight-pack abs searching for a girlfriend, wealthy and loyal, without smoking, drinking, or any bad habits.
And in the anonymous tree hole, there were endless pseudo-documentary short stories, full of melodrama, controversies, complex entanglements of exes and current partners, and stealthy backstabbing among female friends.
With this level of activity, the planned promotion could begin as scheduled.
On a sunny Wednesday morning, with a gentle breeze and clear skies, Shengshi Advertising sent ten thousand promotional fans to the school via express delivery. Through the connections of Dong Wenhao and Pang Hai, they handed them over to Gao Dapeng, the president of the part-time club.
The responsiveness of college students was impressive. On the day the fans were delivered, Gao Dapeng arranged for a few skilled members of his club to carry out ground promotions in two campuses.
During the scorching summer, the temperature remained high, making fans an extremely popular item.
Gao Dapeng and his team hardly exerted any effort and quickly distributed over three thousand fans. At the same time, real users gradually started to flood into the forum, with the number of registrations slowly but steadily increasing.
Jiang Qin took advantage of the end of military training and pulled Su Nai to the library to monitor the data for an entire afternoon.
The increasing number of registrations was a good sign, but except for the section by Shi Miaomiao, which started receiving comments, active posting by real users was scarce. This indicated that most users were still in a wait-and-see state, not yet motivated to interact, which was not a good phenomenon.
Jiang Qin wanted to achieve an effect where users were not only readers but also creators of content.
Only after forming such a cycle could the vitality of the website continue. Otherwise, no matter how large the volume of content, it would eventually be exhausted.
“Let’s implement an experience point system on the site.”
“Eh?”
Jiang Qin tapped his fingers on the table, “We’ll award experience points based on the number of posts made and the responses received. We’ll distribute titles to users based on the amount of experience. Those focused on short story creation will receive the ‘Scholar Badge,’ and those who like to share about beauty and fashion will be named ‘Fashion Queens’. The badges will have five levels, with the highest level earning a ‘Legendary’ title, to encourage users to post.”
Su Nai pushed up her glasses, “Senior, I’m not a donkey from a production team…”
“Heh, the mercenary scholar.”
Jiang Qin saw through Su Nai’s nature, “Junior, how about this: instead of paying you bit by bit, why don’t you just become my employee? I’ll pay you a salary. From now on, you’re a founding member of Zhihu, entitled to project bonuses and company equity shares. How about that?”
“It sounds very tempting…” Su Nai’s eyes sparkled with the clear foolishness unique to college students.
Jiang Qin nodded in satisfaction, “As long as you work hard, fate won’t let me down. One day, I’ll drive a Bentley and live in a mansion.”
“?”
Su Nai was momentarily stunned. You’ll drive a Bentley and live in a mansion, but what about me?
But if the boss is driving a Bentley and living in a mansion, as a founding member, I should be close behind. A small western-style house and a BBA should be within reach.
“By the way, boss, you haven’t paid me yet for the automatic reply post feature,” Su Nai suddenly remembered something.
Jiang Qin spoke gently, “Junior, you’re now my employee. Helping the project to optimize is part of your job. I don’t want to hear such foolish words from you again in the future. The chairman would think you have an improper attitude.”
Su Nai was startled, “We have a chairman? Who is the chairman?”
“Me.”
“? ? ? ?”
Jiang Qin’s voice became even softer, “Our project is in its developmental phase. The portion that’s due to you will be included in the dividends. When our project takes off, we can prosper together!”
Su Nai, being a homebody from the science and engineering field, didn’t quite grasp the intricacies of these verbal traps. She nodded in agreement, “Alright, but you must give me the dividends at the end of the year!”
“No problem, once we make money, I’ll treat you to all the good stuff.”
“Hehe.”
Su Nai chuckled twice, conveniently overlooking the issue of whether the website could actually monetize: “Oh right, boss, could you lend me 33 yuan first?”
“Why are you bringing up money again? We’re completing a groundbreaking internet product. Aren’t you being a bit materialistic?” Jiang Qin posed with the dignity of a boss.
“It’s not that. I need to top up for a membership.”
“Membership?”
Jiang Qin paused, finding the price of this membership somewhat odd.
Nowadays, most websites priced their memberships with a ‘9’ at the end – 9.9 yuan, 19.9 yuan, 29.9 yuan. But a membership fee like 33 yuan was refreshingly unique.
A flash of insight struck Jiang Qin.
That’s right, Su Nai must be talking about a membership for some video section.
“Junior, didn’t I tell you before? Focus on work, don’t spend all day learning new positions.”
Su Nai looked frustrated, “Without the membership, every time it stops abruptly. I’ve never seen the whole process and don’t know what happens next!”
Jiang Qin’s mouth twitched slightly, “Alright, alright, actually I have a membership. I can lend you my account.”
“Then… okay.”
“But you’re not allowed to look at my favorites,” Jiang Qin specifically instructed.
“Why not?”
“It’s a joke. How can an employee know the chairman’s preferences and vulnerabilities so clearly? That’s very dangerous.”
“…”
Su Nai was somewhat conflicted. If she bought the membership herself, she’d have to pay every month. But using the boss’s account meant free access, though the thought of sharing an account with someone else felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Well, never mind, free stuff comes with its own losses. Why bother about anything else?
After leaving the library, Jiang Qin strolled back to his dormitory. But before he could even settle down, his mother called.
“Jiang Qin, do you still need those old books of yours? There’s a scrap collector downstairs. If you don’t want them, I’ll sell them.”
Jiang Qin stretched lazily, “Mom, don’t sell them. Keep them as a memento. We’re not short of money. Also, I need to be honest with you. I’m actually a millionaire now.”
Yuan Youqin’s voice remained flat, “Oh, congratulations, son. What would you like to eat when you come back for the National Day holiday? I’ll prepare it in advance.”
“I’m serious. Do you want a wool coat? I’ll buy you two,” Jiang Qin tested the waters nonchalantly.
“Mom doesn’t need a coat. Just focus on your studies at school. Your dad and I will handle earning money. You just maintain a proper attitude and study. There will be plenty of opportunities to earn money after you graduate.”
…
AN: Thank you, everyone, for your rewards these past few days. I’m really moved to tears.
TL: BBA refers to the top three luxury car brands in China at the time (Benz, BMW and Audi)
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