Chapter 325: Strategy and Takeoff

2009 was a year of explosive development for the internet. That year, Tencent surpassed eBay and Yahoo to become the third-largest internet company globally, only behind Google and Amazon. Various types of websites sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

In the same year, phrases like “Don’t be obsessed with bro,” “Bro doesn’t eat food, he eats loneliness,” and “Jia Junpeng, your mom is calling you home to eat” quickly went viral online, with the number of internet users exceeding 320 million.

This period was called the carnival of the PC end and the real economy at dusk, as well as the dark before dawn for mobile internet and e-commerce.

Simply put, as 2009 ended and 2010 arrived, the PC end and the real economy would rapidly decline, while mobile internet and e-commerce would sing all the way to the peak.

From the perspective of Jiang Qin, a reborn individual, after the millennium, having a website with a decent number of users and some monetization capabilities meant you could basically lie down and collect money, enjoying financial freedom.

However, the information gap during this period was significant, and the situation of the era’s development was not clear. Most entrepreneurs and capital were either observing or hesitating, with very few resolutely investing in the internet industry.

Why?

Because many traditional enterprises were still accustomed to producing for the sake of making money, they hadn’t transformed their thinking to understand the new era of producing for traffic.

Like Sony Music initially utterly refusing to launch digital albums and not agreeing to join free listening plans, they were baffled by Pirate Bay, never imagining such a giant could be brought down to market shrinkage by a torrent site.

Moreover, for enterprises already in the internet field, how to effectively monetize traffic was a significant challenge.

Before solving this problem, many didn’t have plans for rapid expansion.

In such pre-dawn conditions where everything was unclear, the advantages of being reborn became apparent.

Timing, geographical convenience, and human harmony, with many buffs, Jiang Qin certainly didn’t want to stop, let alone slow down.

He was no longer satisfied with just running; he wanted to fly.

At nine in the morning, after breakfast, as the temperature began to rise and the brilliant sunlight illuminated the campus, the staff of Room 208 arrived at the entrepreneurship base office, awaiting Jiang Qin’s meeting.

Apart from the core staff of Room 208, several managers and employees from the Pintuan branch also received Jiang Qin’s notice and came to the meeting.

After all, the later development work revolved around Zhihu’s national promotion, and it was necessary for the front-line workers from the Pintuan branch to clearly understand the direction and planning of later developments.

However, when they arrived at Linchuan University, led into the school by Wen Jinrui who was specially waiting here, they still felt like they were in a dream.

“Is the boss really a college student?”

“Yes, he’s just a sophomore this year,” Wen Jinrui answered straightforwardly.

The people from the Pintuan branch actually already knew this, but they couldn’t help confirming it again, their minds recalling the signing ceremony organized by Manager Yue the day before.

At that time, the boss, dressed in a suit, took the stage, confidently spoke before the officials and businessmen of Linchuan City, and stirred a round of thunderous applause. As employees of Pintuan, they felt honored.

But when their thoughts returned to reality, thinking of the boss as a college student, especially after touring the campus where he was always studying, they felt a severe contrast.

“So the boss usually studies here, huh?” Sun Zhi couldn’t help but exclaim.

“?”

Wen Jinrui was stunned for a moment, thinking, don’t defame our boss for no reason, do you think just because he’s a college student he would actually attend classes?

No, he does everything but study.

Around 9:30, a group of eight entered Room 208 and joined the staff there for the meeting.

This time, Jiang Qin returned to his usual style of holding meetings, starting with the key points, treating the staff purely as tools, and directing them accordingly.

“Lanlan, Tan Qing, you two are already eligible for internships off campus, right?”

Wei Lanlan and Tan Qing nodded simultaneously: “Yes, boss.”

“Then, the marketing connection work for the Linchuan brand will be entirely up to Lanlan.”

Jiang Qin pressed his lips together: “We are about to start the second round of on-ground marketing. The marketing department of the division can’t always be left unmanaged; someone needs to oversee it. Tan Qing, I’ll send you on a business trip after October 11.”

Tan Qing immediately nodded: “Okay, boss.”

“Additionally, our website’s content work is divided into two parts: Feiyu is responsible for the daily content operations and maintenance, Wen Hao, you continue to handle the script planning for traffic-driven short videos. If you need funding, go find Xu Yu.”

“What about Su Nai? Is your watermark work done?”, Jiang Qin looked at Su Nai.

Su Nai nodded: “It’s done. The watermark feature is online. Though it sometimes bugs out, it’s not a big issue.”

Jiang Qin thought for a moment: “In that case, let’s shift the focus of the tech department to maintaining the website.”

“Okay, boss.”

“Is Sun Zhi here?”

Sun Zhi immediately raised his hand: “Boss, I’m here.”

Jiang Qin gave Wei Lanlan a look, who then passed a list to Sun Zhi: “In the coming period, learn about this internet company based in Hangzhou. They have a payment tool under their company. Call them up and arrange a meeting with their person in charge.”

“A company in Hangzhou?”

Sun Zhi took the list Jiang Qin handed him and saw it was Alibaba, which has been doing well recently with its shopping website: “Alipay. They’re doing a payment tool too?”

Jiang Qin nodded: “This task is very important. For the next half a month, focus solely on this.”

“Okay, boss.”

Alipay was a product split from Taobao by the Alibaba team in 2004, but it had been used as an in-group payment tool within the company ever since.

In 2008, this payment software wanted to go national and become popular but faced various obstacles from the banks right from the start.

It was said that the group’s chairman was infuriated and declared that if the banks won’t change, we’ll change the banks.

At this time, Alipay wasn’t considered a regular financial tool. It wasn’t recognized by banks, and its promotional activities couldn’t begin except for Taobao users. Hardly anyone else used it.

Finally, in 2010, the Central Bank issued a “Non-financial Institution Payment Services Management Method,” and Alipay proudly stepped into the sun.

That year, the big four banks realized they couldn’t stop the tide of the era, so they opened up cooperation, granting permissions with Alipay and a significant part of third-party financial tools getting genuine instant payment licenses.

It was said that overnight, Alipay tied up millions of bank cards and its user base exceeded PayPal’s, becoming the world’s biggest electronic payment platform.

Jiang Qin planned to send someone to establish online payment cooperation in advance, waiting for the issuance of the financial license.

Once the license became effective, Zhihu’s national promotion would be complete, the university market nationwide unlocked, and it would be Pintuan’s turn to officially enter the stage.

Jiang Qin thought there should be applause now but unfortunately, there was none.

“That’s all. Everyone, go get ready.”

“Okay, boss!”

Jiang Qin stood up feeling unusually good, so he decided to attend a class at the teaching building to adjust his fast-paced life.

Damn, a college student only considers attending class when in a good mood. Is there no law left?

Wu Yanzu of Jizhou, you’re really something, always relying on your good looks and disrespecting the teachers. Is it just because you’re the top male icon at the Finance School? Damn!

Cursing under his breath, Jiang Qin left the entrepreneurship base and headed to the Finance School’s teaching building, where he was immediately caught by the current president Ma Jiangming.

“Bro Jiang, I need to talk to you.”

“What’s up?”

“Our department is organizing a welcome party and I was thinking of asking you for some sponsorship. Also, the dean wants you to give a speech.”

Jiang Qin paused, “A welcome party? Why wasn’t there one last year?”

Ma Jiangming smacked his lips, “Linchuan has so many departments, there isn’t enough space. We applied last year but got scheduled after November. It’s natural since we aren’t an arts department skilled in singing and dancing. But think about it, organizing a welcome party after November, what’s the point?”

“So we got the approval this year?”

“Not just approved, this time no one dared to compete with us.”

Jiang Qin raised an eyebrow, “Did the dean lead a squad to beat up other departments?”

Ma Jiangming gave him a deep look, “Bro Jiang, you really don’t know why?”

“?”

“Ever since the group-buying project left the school and you started appearing in public, our school’s applications have been greenlit. Hardly any other department wants to compete with us.”

Jiang Qin was taken aback, never expecting to find satisfaction in such an unexpected perk: “Are you just buttering me up?”

“No, Bro Jiang, I’m serious. From the school’s perspective, your presence in school activities is a form of promotion. Who would dare to obstruct?”

“Alright, write up a document about the sponsorship and hand it to me. I’ll think about it.”

Ma Jiangming nodded, “Sure, Bro Jiang. I’ll have it with you by three this afternoon.”

Jiang Qin checked his phone, “It’s already half past one, no rush.”

“That won’t do. You barely attend classes, and if I don’t catch you now, it might be half a year before I see you again.”

“I suspect you’re hinting that I don’t attend classes.”

Jiang Qin pointed his finger accusingly, mimicking the expression of Wang Jinze’s popular meme.