[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of":3,"chapter-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-93":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dreaming Back to 1997: I Became the Forefather of Web Novels",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2348327,4589,"Chapter 93: New Year","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-93",93,"\u003Cp>The page opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng saw that the test version of the Banyan Tree website still had green as its main color scheme, and the logo remained a banyan tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the layout of the website's homepage was indeed vastly different from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked a bit like the old version of the Qidian website from his memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, based on his personal user experience, he had always felt that the old Qidian webpage was the most user-friendly; finding books was convenient, and as an author, every time he released a new book, the performance of the various recommendation slots was excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without being featured in a recommendation slot, just by having the book title appear in the update list for a few minutes after updating chapters each day, it could attract some readers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, the Qidian page became more and more grand, the recommendation slots became more numerous, and various other functions increased, but this invisibly dispersed the readers' attention, leading to inconvenience in finding books. As an author, every time he started a new book, publishing the first few tens of thousands of words felt like playing a single-player game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the categories on the new webpage—Xuanhuan, Fantasy, Xianxia Cultivation, History, Military, Supernatural, etc.—Cao Sheng felt a moment of trance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that trance, he had an illusion: it was as if he hadn't been reborn, or perhaps he had been reborn into the Qidian era of the early 2000s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there was also a sense of accomplishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the original Banyan Tree page wasn't like this; it was his work and three design drafts that had forcibly transformed Banyan Tree into the look he liked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was just that this test version of the webpage didn't have many books listed, and most of the recommendation slots and rankings were blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was like a small supermarket that had just been renovated but hadn't been stocked with goods yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even so, he still browsed this test version of the webpage for quite a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Banyan Tree like this made him feel that when it was acquired by Shanda Literature in the future, it should be able to sell for more money, so he decided to add an investment of his own during this round of financing for Banyan Tree to maintain his shareholding ratio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether such a Banyan Tree could ever surpass Qidian in the future?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought about it and felt it was unlikely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The success of Qidian in the original timeline did not lie in the design of the webpage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, there were no shortage of websites with prettier webpages than Qidian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nor did it lie in the first-mover advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qidian of the original timeline was established in 2002; many novel websites were established earlier than Qidian, had higher popularity, and had more famous authors, but in the end, they were all beaten down by Qidian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it because Qidian was the first to launch the VIP subscription model? Allowing authors to make money? Thereby attracting the vast majority of authors?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was indeed an important reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after Qidian, most novel websites in the industry followed suit and started charging, not much later than Qidian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But had anyone managed to knock Qidian off its throne?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even once!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, Cao Sheng did not believe that the Banyan Tree of this timeline had a chance to lead Qidian indefinitely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt that Banyan Tree's \"literary youth\" genes were too deeply ingrained in its bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the very beginning, this place was a gathering spot for literary youths; not only were the authors literary youths, but the editors and the boss were as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With so many literary youths gathered together, how many years could the popularity last?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When more and more young people stopped being interested in literary youths, those who remained literary youths and the websites that followed suit would have no future to speak of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half a month later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng sat at the mouth of the stove, and his father, in front of the stove, spoke: \"Ah Sheng! Make the fire bigger, the bigger the better!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng hummed in acknowledgment, reached out, and took a few more pieces of firewood to stuff into the stove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene was like a replay of yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked exactly like the situation when he had just been reborn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His father was in front of the stove, stir-frying sand in a pot, preparing to fry rice to make puffed rice candy, while Cao Sheng was at the stove mouth, adding firewood to feed the fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The difference was—a year had already passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their house had been torn down and rebuilt into a two-story building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The kitchen had also been torn down and rebuilt, becoming bright and clean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the old stove he had been used to firing since childhood had been torn down and rebuilt into a new one, with clean white tiles on the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old tree stump he used to sit on while firing the stove had also been replaced by a newly made wooden stool, and a sponge cushion was tied to the stool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng, sitting at the stove mouth, wore his old clothes and seemed unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his father, standing in front of the stove, wore a brand-new wool sweater, jeans, and fleece-lined work shoes, all bought by Cao Sheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The steamed and dried rice was poured into the pot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scorching sand in the pot caused the rice to pop and expand with a series of crackling sounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This year, their family's conditions were better, so they made less puffed rice candy, focusing mainly on peanut candy and sesame candy, with several times more peanuts and sesame seeds than in previous years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The smiles on the faces of Cao Sheng's parents were also more frequent than in any previous year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made Cao Sheng feel the meaning of his struggle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His state of mind was still that of a forty-year-old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had long understood who was most important in his short life and what he should strive for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Improving the lives of himself and his parents was his driving force after rebirth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Competing with the future gods of web literature was his personal ideal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything else, he didn't care much about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>New Year's Eve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firecracker sounds echoed through the village, and the laughter of children playing outside reached Cao Sheng's ears from time to time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng sat at the desk in his second-floor bedroom; having already eaten the New Year's Eve dinner, he was typing away on his laptop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quite liked the holidays.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because after the holidays started, he had more time to type every day; he could type at night and during the day as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this winter break at home, his output of words had increased significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This month, he could type at least over two hundred thousand words, which should be enough to publish four volumes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was consciously accelerating the publication speed of *I Wish to Become an Immortal*, wanting to finish this book as soon as possible and then start a new one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking advantage of the fact that there were no decent opponents yet, he would publish a few more works, use his own works to stake his claim as quickly as possible, and expand his first-mover advantage in this industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had previously planned to write *I Wish to Become an Immortal* to four or five million words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recently, he planned to compress the length of this book to around two million words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would cut out all the plot points that could be reduced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Squeeze the water out of the book.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would not only make the plot tighter but also allow him to finish and publish new works as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first day of the Lunar New Year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng followed tradition and brought some gifts to his uncle's house to pay a New Year's visit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From far away, before he even reached his eldest uncle's door, his eldest uncle personally lit the firecrackers at the entrance to welcome him. His eldest uncle, eldest aunt, cousin, and niece... even his second uncle, second aunt, and cousin Meimei were all gathered in front of his eldest uncle's house, all looking at him with smiles on their faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had Cao Sheng ever received such treatment when coming here for New Year's visits before?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he saw his cousin Meimei, he knew the reason for this scene; it must have been Meimei who told his eldest uncle and the others about his novel publication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At noon that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The families of his eldest uncle and second uncle gathered together, filling the room to accompany Cao Sheng for a meal and drinks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng looked around and saw smiling faces everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eldest cousin, who used to think he was too young and didn't want to play with him when they were children, frequently mentioned how Cao Sheng used to follow him around; his eldest uncle, who was usually stern, didn't stop smiling all day; his second aunt, who used to say he spoke too little and would surely have no future when he grew up, smiled and said to everyone today: \"Ah Sheng, this child, I knew from a young age that he would definitely have a great future! How about that? Was I right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only his grandmother hadn't changed much; the look in her eyes was still as kind as ever. After the meal, just like in previous years, she took his hand, pulled him into her room, opened the large wooden chest by her bed, rummaged from the bottom of the chest for some pastries, red dates, and dried persimmons that others had given her during the holidays, and even found a dozen White Rabbit creamy candies, which she happily stuffed into his hands, saying she had saved them especially for him.\u003C\u002Fp>",1658,"2026-06-21T01:55:54.452Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","f8b3e69d824e3599e1342bf6bc9d77a9807b0c2772c103c5e65ceeedbc262418","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-94","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-92",338,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-cover.jpg"]