Chapter 57: The Professor's Invitation

Seeing Rizhao suddenly frown quickly, as if having some objection to his words, Zhao Zejun took the initiative to ask.
"Mr. Zhao, the general direction of the promotional rebate is definitely correct. I'm just worried, what if readers promote it to themselves and register their own accounts?" Rizhao said.
"You've hit the nail on the head!" Zhao Zejun laughed heartily at Rizhao, then turned his gaze slightly toward Song Yun and said, "This is what you need to solve on the technical side. For a promotional link to be successful, two things must be guaranteed: first, it must be able to identify who sent the promotional link so that the corresponding account can be rewarded; second, it must identify the IP segment of the newly registered account, and registrations from the same address will not be counted toward the reward, including disconnections and reconnections that change the address."
"The difficulty is not high, this can be implemented," Song Yun said.
"In addition, when promoting, it must be stated in advance that this promotional rebate event has a time limit. After the event ends, there will no longer be such a high discount."
Rizhao was slightly stunned and asked in confusion, "The company doesn't spend a single cent on this event. The more rebates given, the more it shows we are earning. Why set a time limit?"
"Rizhao, you are still too straightforward. I said 'there is a time limit', but I didn't say 'it has a set expiration date'."
He continued, "People are naturally lazy. If this event exists forever, a certain situation might arise: some readers, hovering between whether to promote or not, might still have quite a few book coins in their accounts today and perhaps decide not to promote. After a day or two, habit becomes second nature. Conversely, creating a sense of urgency for them can urge them to promote as soon as possible, and habit becomes second nature there too. You must know that even if SARS spreads to the mainland, it cannot last for several years. I estimate it will last for half a year at most, and this half-year is the golden period for promotion. Moreover, among the website's readership, those who are genuinely short of money and rely on promotional rebates to read authentic books, and tycoons who are not short of money at all, are minority groups after all. The overwhelming majority of readers belong to the middle layer I just mentioned. This 'time limit' is meant to give this group a push behind their backs."
Actually, there was another reason Zhao Zejun did not mention at the moment.
There were two competing websites in the industry, and Zeyue had to rely on promotion to attract popularity. If one day Zeyue stood alone as the dominant player, there would be no need for high rebates, and readers would have no other choices. By then, the importance of promotion would greatly decrease, so laying the groundwork beforehand left a way out for the future.
As for the specific rebate amounts: a rebate of 20 Zeyue coins for newly registered users, and a 5% rebate for top-ups. Zhao Zejun said he had left some room for maneuver. Promotional rebate measures had no technical difficulty whatsoever, nor was there any possibility of confidentiality; sooner or later, they would be copied and followed by other websites. By then, there might be a new price war relying on higher rebates to attract readers.
After finishing the sector managed by Rizhao, the next was Song Yun's technical territory.
The novel website had already entered the right track, and technology was mainly about maintenance and upgrading revisions, which was relatively relaxed. Taking advantage of the SARS opportunity, Zhao Zejun prepared to research and develop some new projects.
Although the school lockdowns during the SARS period lasted only two or three months, the panic and impact brought by SARS lasted for over a year overall. For a long time, people were reluctant to go out, which was the best time for the development of internet products.
As for what exactly to develop, Zhao Zejun had not yet determined it. There were several optional items, which could be decided later according to specific circumstances.
Regardless of which project was developed, manpower was needed, and the technical difficulty was much greater than that of the website.
Therefore, people needed to be recruited in advance.
There was another layer of consideration.
Once SARS arrived, Zeyue would likely face a "labor shortage".
Zeyue had developed too fast, and staffing had always been stretched thin. Moreover, most employees were student part-timers. During the SARS period, major universities would be locked down, and many core employees might not be able to come to work on time. The talent market would also be bleak and desolate. Waiting until national panic arrived to recruit people would be far too difficult.
After everyone finished speaking, Song Yun stayed behind alone and said to Zhao Zejun, "Mr. Zhao, during the New Year holiday, Professor Li Mingran from our school gave me a call, wanting to invite you and him to jointly record an internet program about web novels."
Li Mingran—this name was very familiar. After thinking for a moment, Zhao Zejun remembered: his JAVA language course was taught by Li Mingran, though of course, most of the time he was also skipping classes.
He had heard that an algorithms course in the sophomore year was also taught by Li Mingran.
Li Mingran had been promoted to a full professor in his early forties and could be considered a "young scholar". Because computer science was a modern cutting-edge science closely linked with practice, Li Mingran did not act like traditional old scientists who buried themselves solely in studying ancient texts; instead, he frequently participated in various commercial and social activities, appeared frequently in the media, and was a celebrity among the faculty at the university of science and technology.
He pursued academia while also cashing in.
Zhao Zejun rather liked attending Li Mingran's classes. Teachers of this sort generally did not fail students. He had skipped more than half of the JAVA classes last semester, and by reviewing for just two classes at the end, he scraped by with a passing score of 60.
In a previous program about web novels by NetEase, Li Mingran had been a guest. Zhao Zejun had even watched that episode and was deeply impressed by one of Li Mingran's viewpoints: the other party believed that a battle for supremacy, which would decide the industry's monopoly status, was bound to take place between Zeyue and Qidian.
The viewpoint might not be entirely correct, but the general direction was right.
After getting in touch with Li Mingran, Zhao Zejun learned that this interview was proposed by an internet finance program under NetEase, which wanted to invite Zhao Zejun as a guest. Since Li Mingran was a teacher at the university and Zhao Zejun was a student there, they reached out through Li Mingran. Zhao Zejun himself was usually elusive like a dragon whose head is seen but never its tail, and Li Mingran was not quite sure about the thoughts of this young entrepreneur: modern successful entrepreneurs fell into two categories—one being particularly flamboyant, and the other being exceptionally low-profile, unwilling to show their faces in front of the media. Therefore, he had辗转 (indirectly) contacted Zhao Zejun through Song Yun.
Among the technical team initially assembled by Song Yun, there was a graduate student who was Li Mingran's student and possessed very strong technical capabilities.
NetEase's financial column had mediocre influence. If it weren't for their previous continuous reports on web novels, Zhao Zejun wouldn't even have known such a program existed. Whether to go on the show or not made no major difference to Zeyue's publicity.
However, Zhao Zejun was quite willing to interact with Li Mingran.
Li Mingran was right there at the school, so Zhao Zejun invited him to visit Zeyue, took some photos on-site to use as material, and promised to find some time to accept the interview.
After taking the photos, Li Mingran and Zhao Zejun drank tea in the office. Li Mingran smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao, regarding this interview, I was entrusted by a friend whose chief editor is a classmate of mine, so I couldn't refuse out of courtesy. I know you are usually busy, so you can manage your own time. However, regarding the web novel industry itself, we could treat it as a new topic for academic research and discussion."
Catching the hint from the words, Zhao Zejun heard a deeper meaning in the other party's words. After pondering, he said, "Professor Li, if subsequent research requires relevant materials, our Zeyue will definitely give our full cooperation. Zeyue being able to reach where it is today is inseparable from the care and concern of the school and the teachers."
When everyone carries the sedan chair, the ride is smooth. Li Mingran laughed heartily: "Mr. Zhao is too polite. However, there really is a matter where I hope Mr. Zhao can lend a hand."