Chapter 90: 088 Fond of Being a Teacher

Guai'ai Network’s former clients are still contributing their remaining energy, Bai Xiaosheng’s user registrations continue to grow, and the company’s employee count has surged dramatically.

The original eight staff members increased by a full 50%, adding four more.

As a result, Chairman Song Yufeng temporarily gained some breathing room and turned his attention to the company’s first media coverage.

Perhaps due to the presence of his girlfriend as a colleague, or because of the appeal of college news coverage, Song Yufeng quickly contacted Penguin’s Shanghai bureau reporter and changed the phone interview into an in-person meeting.

Song Yufeng carried his laptop and asked the Penguin reporter to meet at Starbucks.

He displayed discussions on the website while conventionally talking about the meaning of their work.

Conventional talk. Conventional interview.

The reporter maintained his usual demeanor, finding nothing unusual—until he heard the former colleague’s final remark and his eyes lit up.

“Because our founding team primarily comes from campuses, we pay special attention to college students’ mental states and practical needs.”

“Graduating students are in a precarious stage—they’re about to enter society but haven’t truly entered it yet.”

“Bai Xiaosheng collects workplace information needed by college students, which wasn’t originally in our plan; our goal was to build a workplace social and discussion platform. But after learning about students’ situation, we adjusted our direction.”

“My teammates and I were hesitant at first, because in this field, you’ve got Tianji Network, which has been around for five years and refuses to admit student users.”

Song Yufeng naturally mentioned the competitor, lifted his coffee to moisten his throat, and added a natural pause.

The reporter asked just as naturally: “Why does Tianji Network differ from you?”

“Maybe it’s a business strategy,” Song Yufeng shrugged. “I recall their founder saying they ‘ Yuanzeshangbujujuexueshengjinlai .’”

He smiled apologetically: “I just mean Bai Xiaosheng is doing something different. Maybe the competitor thinks it’s meaningless and refuses to do it—but we think it’s meaningful.”

The reporter harbored slight doubt but still praised Bai Xiaosheng’s sense of responsibility.

Song Yufeng, not interviewing a colleague or his girlfriend, stopped at the right moment and ended by discussing the website’s future, emphasizing that annual information sharing would continue.

The interview ended.

The reporter returned to the office and immediately verified the key points he’d recorded: did Tianji Network really make such remarks? The answer… was yes.

—Principally not refusing student entry, but their proportion among members should be controlled.

—Our ideal members are both seekers and providers of value, but students are mostly value seekers; if too many become members, problems arise.

As Bai Xiaosheng’s chairman Song Yufeng said, this is a different business strategy.

But comparing these two different strategies…

…is quite interesting.

The reporter decided to use this material for his report on “Bai Xiaosheng.”

…

One week after Bai Xiaosheng’s information went live, user registrations surpassed 8,000—an unexpectedly rapid pace.

According to Song Yufeng’s reflection, this proved the hardship college students faced after this year’s financial shock!

Yet even as 9,000 loomed and 10,000 seemed possible, the user registration curve was clearly declining.

This week of user registration was also the week the part-time team worked with fervor.

As planned, the company allocated half a month for part-time work—ample time—but after just one week, the 20,000 follow-up target had dwindled to just 3,000.

Of the 17,000 people contacted, they provided roughly 900 valid pieces of information; though some content overlapped, it significantly enriched Bai Xiaosheng’s platform.

Yet even with student-uploaded content and the Penguin report factored in, the subsequent conversion from this initial push couldn’t be overly optimistic.

After all, attention from college students is time-sensitive; corporate autumn recruitment typically ends by November, and though this year’s financial storm caused delays and freezes, the overall trend still points toward closure.

This weakening curve, reflecting reality, again proved the importance of strategy: Bai Xiaosheng still needs to attract regular workplace users.

On November 25, Zhong Zhiling assembled a five-person ground promotion team to visit Shanghai’s internet companies: two were former part-time students, two came from Bai Xiaosheng’s internal recruitment, and one was a high-salary junior from Fudan University.

Zhong Zhiling had specifically instructed these five the day before: today, just wear normal college student clothes and carry a backpack—that’s all you need.

At 9 a.m., Yu Xing watched the six ready to depart and smiled: “Alright? Don’t need me tagging along, right?”

Zhong Zhiling was doing this for the first time; he’d just built up his mental resolve over these days, and hearing his senior ask this right before leaving, his composure collapsed: “Uh, Xing-ge, are you busy this morning?”

He didn’t wait for an answer: “If you’re not, you could lend a hand.”

Yu Xing couldn’t help laughing: “I was just being polite. Fine, I’m not busy this morning—let’s go together.”

The shameless ground promotion plan had a last-minute change, but the overall framework remained sound.

Zhong Zhiling’s first target was Ctrip.

A company founded in 1999 and successfully listed in the U.S. in 2003, Ctrip’s market value remained around 20 billion Chinese yuan this year despite the financial storm.

Ctrip’s headquarters is in Shanghai.

Beyond that, Zhong Zhiling noticed Ctrip’s founder Liang Jianzhang had a Fudan University background—and was currently pursuing a Ph.D. in economics at Stanford in the U.S.

There was a faint connection to latch onto, without needing to actually reach out and risk embarrassment.

Zhong Zhiling thought this was perfect.

The seven of them took the subway straight to Ctrip’s headquarters, arriving at Zhangjiang High-Tech Park after an hour and a half.

“Wow, really impressive,” Zhong Zhiling remarked upon seeing Ctrip’s sign.

From Shuohe International to Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, the contrast between the two company headquarters was stark.

“It’s pretty good,” Yu Xing chuckled. “They’re a listed company—what does 20 billion even mean?”

What did it mean?

It meant the six ground promoters all hesitated.

Talking was one thing; doing was another.

“Don’t worry—being rejected during ground promotion is normal,” Yu Xing noticed their expressions. “You know how Alibaba’s ground team was legendary, right?”

All six shook their heads simultaneously.

Alibaba’s ground team was legendary, but it wasn’t widely known yet—it only gained greater recognition after internal upheavals.

Yu Xing wasn’t surprised by the students’ “innocence.” As they walked, he said: “Just know they were incredible. Back then, Alibaba’s B2B business was built entirely on ground promotion. It’s not mysterious—just persistent visits and persuasion. Some guys were even chased by dogs but kept going anyway.”

“Getting rejected isn’t scary—just get used to it.”

“For the next half-month, we’ll focus solely on targeted ground promotion in Shanghai, then move to other cities—we must have a solid foundation by year-end.”

Yu Xing turned to the Fudan junior, Yu Shengjie: “Jie-ge, you get it, right? Our site needs to grow, needs a sustainable positive cycle, so we can do more of what we want.”

Yu Shengjie nodded slightly. Yu Xing added: “Jie-ge, if you think we’re doing well, consider joining us—we offer stock options.”

Yu Shengjie heard the offer but said nothing, only smiled silently.

Yu Xing smiled too, leading the six straight to Ctrip’s front desk.

He approached without hesitation: “Hello, we’re from Fudan. We’d like to arrange a meeting with Senior Liang Jianzhang.”

The receptionist paused, studying the group of students cautiously: “Hello, hello, please sit over there—I’ll make a call.”

Yu Xing thanked her, didn’t fuss, and gestured for his team to sit.

The six, especially Zhong Zhiling who claimed to be “shameless” for ground promotion, immediately sat on the nearby sofa at his signal—while the truly shameless Yu Xing pulled out his laptop, opened their website, and cheerfully promoted Bai Xiaosheng to the receptionist.

Five minutes later, Bai Xiaosheng users +2.

Two minutes later, Ctrip’s Deputy Director of Customer Service, Jiao Shiqian, hurried over and invited the Fudan team to the reception room.

Soon, he understood the situation with a mix of amusement and bewilderment.

“You came to ask the chairman to encourage college students?” Jiao Shiqian’s position was mid-level; he’d felt slightly tense, but now that he heard the request, he relaxed.

Yu Xing nodded solemnly: “Yes, Ctrip is the most famous internet company in Shanghai—we naturally hope Ctrip can offer encouragement to college students, especially Shanghai’s students, during this unique moment.”

Jiao Shiqian, impressed by his logic, chuckled inwardly: “The chairman is overseas—he can’t possibly meet you now. I’ll report this.”

“Understood. I thought Chairman Liang was here. Then, Jiao Director, could you, on behalf of Ctrip, post an encouraging message on our forum?” Yu Xing signaled the third-in-command to hand him the laptop.

Jiao Shiqian was about to politely refuse when he saw the website interface and the numbers the leader had cited.

“We’ve already got over 10,000 college students, and the numbers keep rising. Penguin’s report will be published this month,” Yu Xing added a bit of embellishment—rounding up users past 10,000 and mentioning the Penguin report.

Jiao Shiqian’s reluctance softened slightly.

“It won’t take much, Jiao Director,” Yu Xing said sincerely. “Please, we just want to encourage students, let them hear advice from seniors—otherwise we wouldn’t have dared come here to ask Senior Liang.”

Jiao Shiqian hesitated a few seconds: “Is your site newly launched? I can’t represent the company, Yu student—I’m not refusing to help.”

Yu Xing stepped back: “Jiao Director, yes, perhaps this is too forward, inappropriate. Then, could you speak as a workplace senior to the students?”

Jiao Shiqian thought it over—it was something he could do.

Encouraging students couldn’t be wrong.

He agreed readily: “Fine, no problem.”

Yu Xing seized the moment: “Great! I’ll register you now!”

Before Jiao Shiqian could react, he swiftly navigated to the registration page, entered his real name, asked for his phone number, input the verification code, initiated job verification, and called Zhong Zhiling to approve it from another laptop’s backend.

In just two minutes, “Jiao Shiqian, Deputy Director of Ctrip” was successfully logged into Bai Xiaosheng.

Jiao Shiqian looked at his brand-new account and smiled: “You’re quick—practiced, huh? Bai Xiaosheng… interesting name.”

“Yes, our site targets the workplace, aiming to become a workplace social and discussion platform,” Yu Xing explained. “We originally planned workplace promotion, but this year’s situation changed—we’re starting with free information sharing for students.”

Jiao Shiqian pondered briefly, nodded, and his thoughts had already shifted to how to pass on experience to the young.

Long ago, Mencius said: “The flaw of people is their love of being teachers.”

Why say that?

Because people are far too prone to—and far too fond of—being teachers.

Yu Xing lowered his posture—from chairman to deputy director, from representing the company to representing himself personally—and with righteousness on his side, it all flowed naturally.

Jiao Shiqian went on at length, writing nearly a thousand words of advice for the youth.

Zhong Zhiling, who was typing in real time, was stunned.

Yu Xing offered only one comment: “On behalf of our 11,589 college students, thank you, Jie-ge, for your sincerity—everyone will benefit!”

Zhong Zhiling was even more stunned—had his senior just invented a specific user number? Would he even remember it later?

Jiao Shiqian waved his hand and smiled warmly: “Come on, who didn’t come straight out of campus? I’m just sharing my personal journey and insights over the years. Honestly, this year’s financial crisis has had a huge impact.”

“Then tell us more—we’ll learn,” Yu Xing said. “We’ve just started our venture and really want to hear from seniors like you. Come on, Brother Jiao, give us a talk—we won’t listen for free, we’ll pay tuition!”

Jiao Shiqian burst out laughing: “Yu, you’re exaggerating.”

He said that, then paused thoughtfully: “Alright, let me first take a look at your website.”

Zhong Zhiling saw this—this was real teaching…

“Thank you so much, Brother Jiao! Zhong Zhiling, take the classmates on a tour of Ctrip—we’ve come all this way, let’s learn from their experience. Later, let’s grab lunch in the cafeteria and get them to help us register our accounts.”

Zhong Zhiling stood up. Seeing the deputy director didn’t object, he led the ground-promotion team out of the office.

No wonder he’s an older brother—this is the kind of boldness only a true senior has!

Jiao Shiqian was genuinely teaching, Yu Xing was genuinely listening; only Yu Shengjie from Fudan sat beside them, visibly impatient.

“This year’s environment isn’t good at all,” Jiao Shiqian said after a long speech, then sighed and pointed out: “When the financial crisis hit, investment firms all tightened their belts.”

Yu Xing nodded in agreement: “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too.”

Jiao Shiqian continued evaluating the startup environment, then idly clicked open a post on the site—a summary and forecast on the five stages of internet industry development.

His voice trailed off. He read carefully, thinking slowly.

After a long while, Jiao Shiqian pointed at the screen and asked: “Where did you repost this article from?”

Yu Xing blinked. “I wrote it.”

Jiao Shiqian stared at the college student, incredulous: “You wrote it?”

“Yeah—well, strictly speaking, Sohu reporters organized my remarks and compiled them into a report,” Yu Xing explained.

Jiao Shiqian froze: “This is a news report? A news report?”

Yu Xing nodded: “Yes—it’s the report on my speech at this year’s Internet Conference.”

Jiao Shiqian felt like he’d pulled a thread—and the whole story unraveled: “Wait, Jinling? You gave a speech there?”

Yu Xing nodded again: “Yeah—it was for my previous startup project.”

Previous startup project…

Jiao Shiqian: “…”

He took a breath: “How come it’s your previous project? Isn’t this one called Baixiaosheng?”

Yu Xing replied: “That project caught Zhen’ai.com’s eye—they acquired it. This one is brand new.”

Jiao Shiqian pursed his lips. Acquired… acquired… I was just lecturing someone who got acquired…

(End of Chapter)