Chapter 105: The Meaning of the Co-pilot
TL: Etude
The campus beauty contest concluded successfully, and the project team seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Back in the office, everyone relaxed; some lay down, others chatted, making room 208 lively and bustling.
“How about a game of poker?”
“Sounds good, we’ve been working hard for days. Let’s play some poker to relax!” Lu Feiyu was the first to agree.
Dong Wenhao couldn’t help but look at Jiang Qin: “Boss, why don’t you join us for poker?”
“No, you guys go play in 207. I need to think about some things.” Jiang Qin waved them off.
So, the group bustled out of 208 and into the neighboring 207, leaving Jiang Qin and Su Nai alone in the room, each absorbed in their work.
Outside, a light rain began to fall, the sound of it adding a special atmosphere to the scene.
“Why don’t you join them for poker? Dong Wenhao even said you’ve become too serious lately,” Su Nai suggested Jiang Qin should join the others.
“You think Dong Wenhao is asking if I want to play, but he’s actually asking for permission to play. All I need to do is agree; I don’t need to participate. Besides, if I join, they certainly won’t be able to enjoy themselves.”
After saying this, Jiang Qin sank into deep thought, pondering the issue of monetization tools.
In the world of internet projects, it’s a simple truth that one must spend money to make money. Given Jiang Qin’s current financial situation, he could manage a campus network, but anything more ambitious might be out of his reach.
He knew he needed to catch the wave of opportunity, but in the right way. As the saying goes in “Transformers,” there’s a way to do things even without money.
At this thought, Jiang Qin couldn’t help but remember Ye Ziqing from the afternoon.
“Is knowledge gained from books always superficial? Hmm…”
Stretching, Jiang Qin stood up to get some water.
Su Nai, sitting across from him, quickly moved her mouse, straightened her back, pushed up her glasses, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“Stop looking, we have a meeting,” Jiang Qin glanced at her.
“I wasn’t looking!” Su Nai’s face turned even redder.
“I didn’t even say what you were looking at, how do you know what I’m talking about?”
Su Nai stiffened.
“Advising me to play poker next door? Heh, these tricks are what I’ve left behind.”
Su Nai snapped her laptop shut and followed Jiang Qin to room 207. There, they interrupted the ongoing poker game to start a summary meeting, mainly to discuss the success of the campus beauty contest and analyze the reasons for its success.
In his previous life, Jiang Qin didn’t understand why bosses liked to hold meetings, often on rest days, and without allowing leave. But after becoming a boss himself, he realized that decision-makers often have a higher perspective and see further, but can easily lose touch with the ground. A slight misstep could lead them to make assumptions and lead the team astray.
Moreover, Jiang Qin’s next plan was to replicate the campus beauty contest at the University of Science and Technology, the Polytechnic University, and the Teachers College. Therefore, summarizing the successful experience was essential.
“I think the success of the campus beauty contest is all thanks to the boss’s excellent leadership,” Dong Wenhao started the discussion.
Jiang Qin glanced at him: “Let’s not dwell on well-known facts. Anything else?”
“The key is our unity, thinking and working together,” someone else chimed in.
“Can we talk about something more practical? Details?”
After thinking for a while, Lu Xuemei spoke up: “I think the purchase of the milk tea shop was the most crucial step.”
“I agree, without the sales report of the milk tea shop, even if the contest was successful, it might not have attracted so many merchants.”
Wei Lanlan added. As a member of the marketing team, she was quite sensitive to these matters. According to her recent interactions with merchants, what attracted them the most was not the campus beauties but the sales performance of the milk tea shop.
In a commercial contest, the ultimate goal is to make money. In this regard, the small shop Xi Tian played a significant role.
“Continue.”
Tan Qing raised his hand: “I think the large PVC board in the front square was very good, very eye-catching.”
Shi Miaomiao also spoke up: “Dong Xuechang’s planning and topic selection were also excellent. A significant part of the retention rate is due to his well-placed standards.”
Lu Feiyu followed up: “I think there’s one most critical factor to the success of this contest.”
“What factor?”
“Because our ‘boss lady’ didn’t participate.”
Jiang Qin inwardly cursed at this sycophantic comment, thinking that people like Lu Feiyu really don’t deserve success or wealth if they don’t elevate themselves.
However, he had to admit that their analysis made sense. The beauty contest provided popularity for the forum, which in turn increased the sales of the milk tea shop. Ultimately, the content retained users, and the sales data attracted numerous advertisers. This tightly knit combination was indispensable, and removing any part of it would be detrimental.
In other words, the first step to expanding to other schools wasn’t just holding a contest, but also establishing branches of Xi Tian, planting a conspicuous ‘nail’ in new territories.
It seemed the little rich lady would make money again, although she hardly needed it.
After calling an end to the meeting and letting everyone return to their poker game, Jiang Qin went back to room 208 and contacted Guo Zihang via QQ.
Guo Zihang, a student at the University of Science and Technology, was familiar with his campus. Since Jiang Qin planned to replicate his previous strategies, Guo Zihang was a suitable guide, especially since he knew the aunt who ran the fruit stand.
Guo Zihang might not understand the intricacies, but the aunt surely had insights into the local commercial atmosphere.
The rise of Xi Tian was marked by its location in a poor spot, which, through advertising, experienced a dramatic revival, shocking the surrounding merchants. For this replication, Jiang Qin planned to replicate this foundational aspect too.
“Hey Guo, what are you up to?”
“I just met a senior at a club event a few days ago, and I’m chatting with her,” Guo Zihang replied instantly.
Jiang Qin sent a smiley face: “Seamlessly moving on, huh? Gave up on the fruit stand aunt?”
“I never pursued her, just added her on QQ and chatted a bit. Jiang, please don’t spread this around.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have time for gossip. I’ll come over tomorrow, Sunday.” Jiang Qin typed energetically.
Guo Zihang immediately responded: “For real? Awesome, come over. I’m bored on weekends anyway and was thinking of visiting you. It’s much better if you come here; it’s not convenient for me to travel.”
Business, appeasing the little rich lady – being a boss wasn’t easy.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
“Hold on, Jiang. The road south of our university is under construction, the buses are rerouted. You need to take bus 203 first, then switch to 101 at the city library to get here,” Guo Zihang helpfully advised.
“I bought a car,” Jiang Qin typed with a smile.
“…”
The next morning, Jiang Qin took a bus to the city, picked up his newly bought Audi from the Four Sons dealership in the auto city, and after a morning of paperwork and getting a temporary license plate, he arrived at Linchuan University of Science and Technology by 3 pm.
Guo Zihang was waiting at the gate, eyeing the Audi with envy.
“Does your family know you bought a car?”
“No, and don’t you spread it. I don’t want to be too ostentatious, or everyone will know your college first love is the fruit stand aunt.”
Guo Zihang turned pale and immediately vowed to keep it secret: “So, what are we doing now? Going for a drive?”
“First, let’s visit your aunt, then we’ll go for a drive. I need to consult her about something.” Jiang Qin wanted to take care of business first.
“Ah?”
“To be honest, I’m planning to open a milk tea shop at your university, but I’m not familiar with it. I need to ask someone in business about the worst location.”
Guo Zihang was stunned: “You mean the best location, right?”
“Don’t worry about these capitalist affairs.” Jiang Qin found it hard to explain to Guo Zihang.
They then visited the Green Garden Fruit Supermarket across from the university, where they met Guo Zihang’s first love, a thirty-something aunt named Wu Caifeng. She was indeed attractive and had a child-like voice, albeit a bit short, but well-matched with Guo Zihang.
Since it was getting late, Jiang Qin got straight to the point, inquiring about the local business scene.
Wu Caifeng, although only having a junior high education, had insightful views on business. She said the best business spots at the University of Science and Technology were under the girls’ dormitories, while the worst were the small plazas in front of the boys’ dormitories.
Jiang Qin nodded, finding that the situation was similar in university towns: businesses under girls’ dormitories generally did better than those under boys’. It was hard to get male college students to spend more.
Most of them spent time and money on their girlfriends or saved up for gifts, while the rest were just internet addicts.
Of course, there were those who focused solely on studies, but they were the minority.
Business targets the majority, and minorities are less of a concern.
After the discussion, Jiang Qin bought two bags of fruit as a thank you, gave one to Guo Zihang, and put the other in the trunk.
“Ready for a drive?”
“Let’s go!”
As Jiang Qin unlocked the car, Guo Zihang reached for the passenger door: “Guo!”
“Huh?” Guo Zihang was startled by Jiang Qin’s sudden high tone.
“It’s a new car. The co-pilot seat hasn’t been ‘inaugurated’ yet. Sit in the back.”
Guo Zihang sullenly moved to the back seat, thinking there was no fun in a drive if not in the front seat. But considering Jiang Qin’s perspective, he understood the significance of a car’s first co-pilot.
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