Chapter 91: 089 Small Achievements

Jiao Shiqian’s class ended in haste.

But the Bai Xiaosheng ground promotion team had not finished.

Using Vice Director Jiao Shiqian’s name as cover, Zhong Zhiling and the others followed the website’s art of slacking off, approaching any idle potential customers face-to-face to promote the site—naturally including mention of Jiao Shiqian, who had already registered and posted.

Moreover, Zhong Zhiling finally relaxed his mindset and boldly stated their original goal: to invite Ctrip’s chairman to register, but since he was abroad, they’d have to wait until he returned.

Chairman? Real or fake?

Do scammers dare come to the company to cheat?

At the very least, the Deputy Director of Customer Service is real.

In half a morning, the ground promotion team, like ants moving house, added 100 new users to the Bai Xiaosheng website.

At lunch in the cafeteria, Zhong Zhiling saw a sea of potential customers and felt his eyes turn green!

These were Bai Xiaosheng’s highest-priority customers!

Zhong Zhiling finished lunch in five minutes and continued leading the team around, prioritizing those who looked more like leaders.

Top-down was the established strategy.

Similarly, Yu Xing was executing this strategy, but he didn’t follow the small team—he asked Jiao Shiqian to introduce him, hoping to receive guidance on his startup project.

Of course, guidance was fake; registration was real.

But Yu Xing’s posture at Ctrip today was extremely humble, his attitude unusually sincere.

Jiao Shiqian still believed this man genuinely sought opinions on the website; despite mixed feelings, he did him a favor and recommended the site to his colleagues.

Yet, as he stood beside them, his emotions grew increasingly complicated.

—Sir, could you, representing Ctrip, offer some encouragement to us college students on the forum?

—Perhaps this is impolite and inappropriate, but then, as a senior in the workplace, just say a few words to us students!

—On behalf of our 11,589 college students, thank you for your sincerity—we’ll all benefit!

—We’re just starting out and desperately want to hear your experience. Here, tell me—I won’t listen for free, I’ll pay tuition!

Jiao Shiqian was Yu Xing’s introducer, sitting right beside him, listening, growing more and more familiar—wait, weren’t these the exact words you just said to me??

Holy shit, I’m still sitting here!

Don’t you even care if people hear you??

Jiao Shiqian stared, dumbfounded, yet faintly felt—this was right! This was exactly the kind of insight a true speaker should have!

Fuck!

After the long lunch break, Jiao Shiqian politely saw off the Bai Xiaosheng ground promotion team.

When he finally had quiet time alone in his office to reread and reflect on the forum posts, he realized his initial impression was correct—this was indeed a profoundly insightful thread!

Jiao Shiqian couldn’t resist searching again, found the original news report, and discovered not only Sohu had covered it—other media had even reconstructed the scene.

Apparently, there had also been exchanges with Alibaba’s Sect Master Ma Chuan.

It seemed Ma Chuan also strongly endorsed this analysis and inference.

Jiao Shiqian didn’t know why, but he exhaled in relief—he’d been wrong, yet not wrong.

This argument truly had substance.

He closed the webpage, warning himself: Jiao Shiqian, Jiao Shiqian—your name even contains ‘Qian’ (humility), yet you’ve shown not a shred of it!

The world is full of hidden dragons and tigers—always remain humble in conduct!

Jiao Shiqian felt as if he’d been taught a lesson by college students—even though the other side had never opened his mouth to teach.

At six p.m., after a busy afternoon, Jiao Shiqian left work and saw a crowd gathered at the intersection ahead; he slowed his pace to see what was happening, then caught sight of Yu Xing’s smile through the crowd.

Jiao Shiqian decided to push his way in!

Then he realized it was a small-scale manual verification event for Bai Xiaosheng.

“Director Yu, what are you…?” Jiao Shiqian no longer called him “Yu student.”

“Jiao Ge is here.” Yu Xing still called him “Ge,” bluntly saying, “We’re verifying users’ accounts here, hoping to attract more workplace seniors to Bai Xiaosheng.”

Jiao Shiqian now felt awkward hearing “senior.”

Stop calling me senior—those with ability are teachers; you’re the real money senior…

“Jiao Ge, help us out, then we’ll have dinner together.” Yu Xing didn’t hesitate—there were too many people, and things were chaotic.

Jiao Shiqian paused, then, out of slight respect for this young money senior, lent a hand.

They worked frantically for nearly an hour past quitting time, and Jiao Shiqian’s temporary overtime finally ended.

“Jiao Ge, does Ctrip have night shifts?” Yu Xing directed staff to pack up, glancing toward Ctrip’s exit, asking Jiao Shiqian.

Jiao Shiqian replied: “Yes, our shift schedules are flexible to ensure user service—we have mid-shifts and night shifts.”

Yu Xing said with regret: “Then we won’t wait today. Come on, Jiao Ge, let’s eat—thank you so much today.”

“Ah, Director Yu, don’t be so formal, no need for ‘you’.” Jiao Shiqian politely declined, “No dinner, I didn’t really help.”

Yu Xing laughed: “Jiao Ge, if you have no plans tonight, come. If you keep refusing, I’ll have them drag you away.”

Jiao Shiqian saw two others actually stepping forward and chuckled: “Alright, let’s eat nearby—I’m actually curious about your startup story.”

“No real startup story—just luck.” Yu Xing slung his bag over his shoulder. “This website? I’m still unsure. We’re counting on feedback from you guys.”

Jiao Shiqian no longer believed this.

Dinner was pleasant, with Yu Xing discussing his project in rich detail—including Zhong Zhiling’s “game of chicken,” and post-acquisition treatment and actions.

Jiao Shiqian felt like he was listening to a solo xiangsheng comedy.

“Really no job?”

“Really. Why would I lie to you?”

“Really installed surveillance?”

“Hey, I’m just describing facts objectively—it’s a makeshift crew over there, nothing like your listed company.”

Jiao Shiqian clucked in amazement, sipped his wine, and remarked: “Whether listed or not, even our company has makeshift crews.”

Yu Xing laughed: “Really? Jiao Ge, I have this halo around listed companies—don’t shatter my illusions.”

Jiao Shiqian burst out laughing.

Yu Xing continued: “But Jiao Ge, next week we’ll launch the anonymous feature—we’d appreciate your guidance then.”

Jiao Shiqian froze.

He suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Her surname is Hao, married a village chief named Zhao Dabao!

Stop blabbering!

He built a company, sold it, and now started another—talks about makeshift crews and wants to launch anonymous features—who knows what he’s planning?!

Jiao Shiqian sharply recognized the uncontrollable nature of the anonymous feature, shifted to caution, and ended the dinner.

Yet though he’d changed slightly at the end, the Bai Xiaosheng team paid it no mind.

On the subway ride back, Yu Xing and Zhong Zhiling were both delighted. Today had gone smoothly, especially at Ctrip.

Compared to Ctrip, their results at other companies after lunch were weaker, but overall still commendable.

“Zhiling, I think we can expand the team size. Even without experience, hitting walls isn’t bad—it lets us collectively learn. After all, everyone will eventually disperse to other cities. Better to hit walls here than elsewhere.”

“Oh, and by this intersection—where everyone leaves work—buy some pull-up banners with our URL. Makes promotion easier.”

Pull-up banners were portable poster stands, easily extendable, ideal for roadshows or temporary booths.

Yu Xing reflected on today’s actions: scale could expand, efficiency could improve, materials could be more abundant.

Zhong Zhiling readily agreed, mentally reviewing today’s strengths and weaknesses.

After a moment, he said with shame: “Xing Ge, I thought I could be shameless—but you’re the real master.”

Yu Xing laughed: “Is that a compliment?”

Zhong Zhiling nodded seriously: “Of course. Today we promoted nearly 500 workplace users in Zhangjiang, especially many mid- and senior-level staff at Ctrip. Without you leading, we’d never have achieved this.”

For Bai Xiaosheng’s positioning, this batch of users was far more aligned.

Yu Xing glanced at his third-in-command and said patiently: “Do you think I didn’t feel nervous walking over there? But nervous or not, we’re all watching you—I have to stand firm. If I didn’t go, you’d lead, and behind you, every employee’s eyes would be on you—wouldn’t you have to stand firm too?”

He smiled again: “Being shameless is uncomfortable at first, but keep at it, and it becomes something else.”

Yu Xing paused, then gave an analogy: “Like watching the national football team—you see 0:2, you’re miserable. But if you see 0:7, you start laughing.”

“Xing Ge, I’m not that fragile.” Zhong Zhiling knew his senior was comforting him and laughed: “Come on, the national team can’t be that shameless.”

Yu Xing nodded slightly: “I’m just using an analogy. But since your focus now is ground promotion, you must build your mental resilience—you must be shameless.”

“Lower your posture, act sincerely, and leverage our college students more—there will be gains, even if small.”

Zhong Zhiling replied seriously: “Xing Ge, I understand.”

Yu Xing grunted, said no more—his junior was no longer the same; at least, he no longer thought of jumping into a lake.

The return subway ride was long, passengers coming and going; Zhong Zhiling seized a chance to join the ground team and review today’s work.

When he sat back down, he saw his senior smiling.

“Who are you chatting with so happily, Xing Ge?” Zhong Zhiling teased.

Yu Xing replied: “Your girlfriend.”

Zhong Zhiling: “Uh…”

“Haiying sent me ideas on website operations. Since our users are mostly college students about to enter the workplace, she suggests encouraging them to post about their workplace experiences or entries, selecting the best as ‘featured threads,’ and offering physical or cash rewards.” Yu Xing thought this suggestion was good.

He raised his phone and read: “This helps shift the community atmosphere toward workplace interaction and increases user attachment to the site.”

Zhong Zhiling pondered, then cautiously said: “That’s not bad.”

“Zhiling, workplace socializing isn’t a new concept—or not that new—but why have no competitors succeeded?” Yu Xing said seriously. “Take Tianji Network—they claim to do workplace socializing, but social atmosphere isn’t something you can just declare—it’s hard to build.”

“Tianji Network doesn’t want college students—we do. That’s our essential starting factor.”

"But if we can realize Xiao Ying’s vision for this part of the community atmosphere, the foundation for our website’s social network will take shape."

"Zhong Zhiling, always remember: our website’s positioning can be stated clearly in one sentence—that is—"

"A content platform for workplace social interaction and discussion."

"If we narrow it further, it’s simply—workplace topics and workplace social interaction."

"Don’t be flashy. This is the essence of Baixiaosheng: the more essential, the simpler and clearer."

Yu Xing added, unable to resist: "Socializing is hard."

Socializing is hard. Tianji Network is still alive, though rumors say it’s about to be acquired; over the past few years, a dozen or so other companies branding themselves as workplace platforms have quietly died off.

The dead companies left no ripple at all; even Tianji Network, still alive, was news to Yu Xing only recently.

In a sense, this is like a calf unafraid of tigers.

But now, by leveraging college students who straddle both workplace and campus life to cultivate the website’s atmosphere, it’s at least plausible.

Yu Xing liked this model, where everyone could collaboratively discover new approaches.

The group got out of the car one by one; Yu Xing and Zhong Zhiling sat in the back. By the time they reached the residential complex, it was nearly ten p.m.—and their first order of business wasn’t going home, but reviewing the list of Shanghai internet companies compiled by Song Yufeng and Lu Haiying.

These companies would be targeted in batches for ground promotion.

Ctrip was already a well-known Shanghai internet company; the rest were mostly branches of other internet firms.

Yu Xing reviewed the companies marked by the chairman and vice president, then noticed a group at the bottom with no checkmarks and asked: "Which batch are these planned for?"

Song Yufeng replied: "These are all small internet companies—we don’t even know if their office addresses are real."

Yu Xing casually circled the list and smiled: "You look down on them? Is Baixiaosheng such a huge company? If we want to succeed, we’ll take down the small ones too."

He pointed to the branch offices: "When you send people to these branches, be thorough. Later, when you go to the cities where their headquarters are located, you’ll still be dealing with the same employees—clients they already have connections with will be easier to reach."

After discussing these and other details for a while, seeing the hour grow late, everyone headed home.

Yu Xing got home, took a shower, and sat on his bed, as usual checking his email on his laptop before sleep.

A new email.

From the statistical report of part-time college students in Xi’an.

Yu Xing perked up, brewed a cup of coffee, opened the email, copied the data, and began compiling it.

Long after, he double-checked the figures, glanced at the time in the lower-right corner of the screen—it was still before midnight.

So…

Yu Xing typed the date: November 25.

On the evening of November 25, 2008, Focus Media’s nationwide statistics were released.

Which meant the prototype of a short-selling weapon had essentially been forged.

Yu Xing stared at the screen, his gaze distant. Baixiaosheng’s strategic shift had significantly increased its budget for the coming period, leaving the company under considerable financial pressure.

If possible, he still wanted to rent the office next door.

No money left—what to do? Go out and earn some cash to make ends meet.

(End of Chapter)