Chapter 27: All Funds Devoted to Promotion

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On the first day after the college entrance examination, Chen Fan did not look for Guo Shuai or Su Ruochu.

Instead, he went alone to Honghai Computer School.

The moment he stepped through the door, Zhou Honghai waved excitedly.

“You came at just the right time.”

“Come on! Give them a demonstration.”

He then explained to the parents who had come with their children to inquire about computer classes, “This is Chen Fan. He just finished the college entrance examination, and he learned computers here. You can take a look at his skills.”

With that, he pulled Chen Fan over to a computer.

Chen Fan looked puzzled.

“What are you doing? What am I supposed to demonstrate?”

Zhou Honghai lowered his voice. “Just show them your touch-typing.”

So Chen Fan turned on the computer and created a new text document.

In front of the parents and their children, he opened the document and began typing with both hands without looking at the keyboard.

Clack-clack-clack.

A stream of words flashed across the screen at incredible speed, smooth and effortless.

In those days, especially in a small place like Luocheng, Chen Fan’s skill was more than enough to awe everyone present.

After watching him work, the parents were indeed deeply impressed. They immediately decided to enroll their children there.

Zhou Honghai was grinning from ear to ear as he led the group to his office to discuss the details.

Chen Fan, meanwhile, sat alone in front of the computer and first opened his own domain website.

The traffic had increased a little over the past few days, reaching more than two thousand views. The number of registered users had finally surpassed one hundred as well.

He then searched for Easy Domain Network and opened it. Since he had no access to its administrative backend, Chen Fan had no idea what its actual figures were.

Judging from the number of posts, however, Easy Domain Network was probably still behind his own site for the time being.

It seemed Boss Yao had not yet begun to exert himself.

But Chen Fan had no intention of simply waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

He had to take advantage of his current lead and find a way to widen the gap between them.

Chen Fan closed Easy Domain Network and opened New Wave Network instead.

In the 2000s, when it came to traffic, the three major portal sites were virtually unbeatable.

He had ultimately chosen New Wave Network because, among the three portals, he felt that New Wave had the strongest news-oriented character.

As for why he did not advertise on all three at once, the reason was simple: Chen Fan had no money.

All his savings combined amounted to only a little over 5,500 yuan.

Five thousand had been given to him by his mother that very day. The remaining five hundred came from the beautiful woman whose computer he had repaired there previously.

With so little capital, he could only spend every penny where it mattered most.

Using the business contact information listed on the website, Chen Fan sent them an email.

He explained that he wanted to place an advertisement on New Wave Network and wished to inquire about their rates.

The reply came quickly.

The other party sent him a QQ number directly.

Only then did Chen Fan suddenly realize that he did not even have a QQ account yet.

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He hurriedly registered one.

To his surprise, it was a five-digit QQ number.

After logging into his newly registered account, he added the other party’s number. Once they became friends, Chen Fan got straight to the point and asked about the advertising costs.

The other party asked what product he wanted to promote.

Chen Fan briefly explained his plan.

When they learned that he wanted to promote a personal website, they quickly sent him a detailed list of prices.

“Damn! They’re robbing me!”

Seeing the quotation, Chen Fan cursed inwardly.

Although the prices were several times cheaper than they would be in his previous life, they were still beyond what he could afford at present.

So Chen Fan began bargaining.

The two sides went back and forth for more than half an hour.

In the end, they finally settled on a promotional package.

Chen Fan chose to place three advertisements on New Wave Network.

One would appear on the homepage for a single day, while another would be placed on a secondary feature page for ten days.

The total cost came to 5,400 yuan.

The other party asked which secondary page he wanted to use. After thinking it over, Chen Fan chose the Internet and Business section.

“Please wait!”

The other party sent that message. About ten minutes later, they sent Chen Fan an electronic contract.

Chen Fan filled it out swiftly.

“The contract is in triplicate. Please print it out, sign it, and mail it to us. After we stamp it, we will mail one copy back to you.”

“You will need to pay a deposit of five hundred yuan today.”

“In addition, please transfer the remaining balance to this account within three working days. If you miss the deadline, the deposit will not be refunded.”

Chen Fan had no objections. He agreed with the other party that the promotion would officially begin the day after the payment arrived.

Thus, in less than an hour, Chen Fan had spent every last cent of the more than 5,000 yuan he had on him.

As he stared at the QQ chat window, inspiration suddenly struck him.

That was right.

In the year 2000, QQ was still struggling to find a way to monetize itself. It was nowhere near the corporate behemoth it would become more than a decade later.

At this time, registering a few attractive QQ numbers was still quite easy.

If he acquired several five- or six-digit numbers now—or collected a few especially auspicious ones—and held on to them for several years, he ought to be able to sell them for a tidy little profit.

The moment he thought of this, Chen Fan stood up and went to the front desk for a pen and some paper.

He then began frantically applying for QQ accounts.

By the end of the morning, his notebook was filled with strings of QQ numbers.

His luck had been good. He had collected fifteen five-digit QQ numbers and ten six-digit ones.

A few of them were particularly auspicious and would probably fetch a decent amount of money.

Chen Fan carefully folded the sheet of paper and tucked it into his pocket. After bidding farewell to Zhou Honghai, he left the computer school alone.

After lunch, Chen Fan did not take his usual midday nap at home. He went straight to the post office.

He waited outside until it opened, then used the account number they had given him to transfer the entire 5,400 yuan.

At the same time, he mailed the completed contract.

Now all he had to do was wait for the advertisements to be published.

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July 12.

The day to submit university preferences.

Chen Fan saw Su Ruochu again that day.

She was not wearing her school uniform. Instead, she had deliberately put on a beautiful dress.

Her ponytail was gone as well. Her glossy black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and a pale blue headband rested atop her head. She looked both beautiful and poised.

When filling out her preferences, Su Ruochu chose the International Trade major at the School of Economics and Management at Cloudsea University.

After finishing, she secretly glanced at Chen Fan.

Seeing that he had not yet filled out his form, Su Ruochu could not help looking a little nervous.

Chen Fan smiled faintly and pushed his form toward her.

Su Ruochu looked at him in confusion. Chen Fan said softly, “You fill it out for me.”

“What?”

“Your handwriting is prettier.”

Su Ruochu’s lovely face immediately flushed. Of course, she understood what he meant.

It was as if he were placing the most important decision of his life into her hands.

“You really want me to write it?”

“Mm.”

The corners of Su Ruochu’s lips curved upward slightly. She did not refuse. Picking up the pen, she wrote down Cloudsea University and the International Trade major.

When she finished, she pushed the form back to him with a blush.

The two exchanged a smile.

At noon, Chen Fan took the initiative to suggest that the four friends have their final meal together at a small restaurant outside the school.

At the table, Li Na was completely different from her lively, outgoing self of before. She looked somewhat restrained.

Guo Shuai, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. He remained as carefree and thick-skinned as ever.

Since it was their last meal together, all four glasses were filled with beer.

Guo Shuai raised his glass first and looked across the table at Li Na.

“I wish you a bright future. And I hope you find a boyfriend in college who will cherish you.”

Li Na looked uneasy. After hesitating for a moment, she picked up her glass.

“Thank you.”

“I also hope you find a suitable girlfriend in college.”

The two clinked glasses. Guo Shuai drained his in one gulp, while Li Na’s eyes grew slightly red.

Seeing this, Su Ruochu seemed to empathize with her. Unable to help herself, she reached beneath the table and took Chen Fan’s hand.

Chen Fan understood what she meant and smiled at her.

“We’ll never be apart.”

Of the four, the seemingly reserved Li Na recovered the fastest. The seemingly carefree Guo Shuai, however, ended up drinking himself senseless.

In the end, Chen Fan had to support him all the way home.