Chapter Nineteen: Stirring Up the Internet

After New Year's Day, Zhao Zejun sought out Jiang Xuan.

In 2002, the internet was not as developed as it would be in the future, but Yijiang City already had a local forum, simply called Yijiang Forum. It had about twenty thousand registered members, who were essentially the first batch of people in Yijiang City to understand how to utilize online resources. Besides casual chatting and discussing all kinds of information about the city, the forum boasted a rather popular feature: same-city second-hand goods trading. This section was vibrant, with a flood of buying and selling posts daily. In an era almost devoid of online information regulation, Zhao Zejun had even seen posts seeking to purchase giant pandas.

Zhao Zejun got straight to the point: "Are you busy lately? I want you to help me find a group of people to do some online hype work."

Before New Year's Day, he'd chatted with Jiang Xuan and learned that the boss Jiang Xuan had followed last year had caught wind of the newly transferred mayor's ambitious plans for urban development. Seizing the opportunity, the boss had opened a construction company, offering a full range of services from demolition to building and renovation, aiming to grab a share of the city's growth in the coming years.

Among the younger generation, Jiang Xuan was highly valued by Mr. Song, and was now helping out at the construction company, holding a position and likely to lead a team in the future.

"I can find people—my friends from the sports school, plus some folks from the construction company. But what exactly do you mean by online hype? What are we supposed to do?" Jiang Xuan asked, puzzled.

"It’s not hard work," Zhao Zejun explained. "Mainly, it's about registering accounts and posting or replying on Yijiang Forum and a few major national forums. The key is the people must be trustworthy. No loose talk outside; at least for the next few months, everyone needs to keep their mouths shut."

Zhao Zejun wanted to stir up the market for internet café licenses online.

After New Year's Day, the city had announced a halt on issuing new internet café licenses. The internet café industry in Yijiang City was in an uproar; big and small owners were desperately seeking to buy licenses. Within days, the price of a license, once ignored, had skyrocketed to thirty or forty thousand apiece, yet even at that price, they were impossible to find—any license that appeared was snapped up instantly.

No one was foolish. The sudden halt, without any prior warning, made it clear the city was determined to regulate the chaos in the internet café sector. Internet cafés were lucrative, with a growing customer base, yet their numbers were decreasing, not increasing. In such an environment, the transfer price for licenses could only rise.

But Zhao Zejun felt the price was still climbing too slowly. Thirty or forty thousand for a license—his three licenses together barely amounted to a little over a hundred thousand, which was far from enough.

Money is never enough; the higher the price, the better. So he thought of a tactic commonly used online in later years: hype.

He would gather a group of people to post high-priced buying requests online, heating up the market. Then another group would pose as sellers, offering licenses at inflated prices. The two sides would push the price higher and higher, adding fuel to the fire in the transfer market.

Once the city began its heavy-handed crackdown, combined with the momentum stirred up online, Zhao Zejun was certain that the transfer price for internet café licenses in Yijiang City would soar to terrifying heights, even if he couldn’t speak for other cities.

Hype wasn’t illegal, but it required trustworthy people, which was why he thought of Jiang Xuan.

Jiang Xuan pondered this. "I’ve just started at the construction company and only have casual acquaintances there. What you’re asking for isn’t suitable for Mr. Song’s people. But I can pull together a group of close friends from the sports school. Tell me exactly what you want done, and I’ll arrange it."

"Here’s what we’ll do. Once you find the people, split them into two groups. One group focuses on posting license sales—ideally, these should be people with pagers so others can contact them. But this group needs to be especially reliable..."

Zhao Zejun explained his plan to Jiang Xuan in detail.

After hearing him out, Jiang Xuan stared at Zhao Zejun for a long time. "Did you come up with this yourself?"

"Why? Is there a flaw?" Zhao Zejun asked.

"No, at least I can’t spot one," Jiang Xuan replied. "I just think you’re becoming more and more like a scholar."

"How so?" Zhao Zejun was curious.

"You seem gentle and harmless, but when it comes to action, you’re tougher than anyone," Jiang Xuan mused. "You’re like Zhuge Liang—weak on the surface, but able to toy with those generals who have a martial prowess of over ninety."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Zhao Zejun asked.

Jiang Xuan chuckled. "If I’d known reading could make you smarter, I should have studied more seriously myself."

"Oh, come on. Brains have little to do with books. Following Mr. Song and hustling in society has its benefits too."

Speaking of Mr. Song, Zhao Zejun felt it necessary to chat more with Jiang Xuan.

This "Mr. Song" was the boss Jiang Xuan had started following last year—a seasoned thug who had originally worked security for coal mine owners. In 1996, a major mining disaster in Southern Su Province caught national attention, and a swath of mines, including Mr. Song’s, were shut down. Mr. Song took his crew to Yijiang City, began running interference and handling disputes, and quickly made a name for himself. Now he owned two nightclubs and a restaurant, making him a standout figure on Yijiang’s streets.

In his previous life, Jiang Xuan had followed Mr. Song for less than two years before drifting away, otherwise he wouldn’t have ended up going solo against the freight station.

Jiang Xuan had a knack for reading people; not long after he took the freight station, an accident occurred at a project contracted by Mr. Song’s construction company. Mr. Song was scapegoated by the real powers behind the scenes, sentenced to more than a decade, and by the time Zhao Zejun crossed over, Mr. Song was still serving time.

Barring unforeseen events, Jiang Xuan should part ways with Mr. Song within a year. But now, even Zhao Zejun wasn’t sure if his crossing over would change that fate. Jiang Xuan seemed indifferent outwardly, but once he committed to someone, he would risk everything. Mr. Song treated him well now, and Zhao Zejun worried that Jiang Xuan might follow him blindly to the bitter end.

After some thought, he said, "How’s your relationship with Mr. Song? I’ve heard he’s ruthless, never leaving people a way out. The law is getting stricter, and if he keeps at it, trouble’s bound to come. Watch yourself."

"I know," Jiang Xuan replied, unconcerned, with a smile. "All that brotherhood stuff you see in gangster movies is nonsense. It’s all about mutual benefit—I leverage his influence, he uses my people, simple as that. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I won’t get too deeply involved."

"That’s good. But leading your own team is a great opportunity. Be diligent. With the economy booming and construction everywhere, the company has a bright future," Zhao Zejun said, without delving too deeply.

"I know. All right, I’ll head off. I’ll contact you once I’ve found the people," Jiang Xuan said.