Chapter 29: Do You Have a Mine at Home?

The University City Forum in Linchuan looks similar to the memory of Jiang Qin.

The homepage is divided into four sections: daily chat, campus life, internal announcements, and study materials.

Huh? Study materials?

Jiang Qin felt a twinge of excitement in his DNA and reached out to click on it.

"Previous Years' Graduate Entrance Exam Questions and Answers"

"TOEFL Exam Comprehensive Guide"

"Text Version of Lectures by Professor of Economics at the College of Finance and Economics"

Jiang Qin glanced at them and realized that they were indeed study materials. He suddenly felt a bit disinterested.

However, this was normal. The forum itself was jointly founded by four nearby universities and was an official website. It was impossible to have content that appealed to college students.

But precisely because there was official content control behind the scenes, the forum's posts all seemed dull and boring, with a conservative and serious tone.

However, college students were a youthful and vibrant group. They wouldn't be interested in such a conservative forum.

On his way to the forum, Jiang Qin had already made up his mind. He was going to create a website.

He would base it on the college student community and expand its reach to the surrounding areas.

Teenagers in their puberty had strong desires for love, so the main section in the early stages would be the confession wall.

In addition, college students of this age group were also very sensitive psychologically, and they had many things they didn't want to say to people they knew. So, his second section would be an anonymous confession platform.

Apart from that, considering their interests and trends, Jiang Qin planned to open two more sections, one called "Gaming and Anime," and the other called "Fashion and Lifestyle."

In the daily lives of college students, apart from classes and love, there was basically only room for self-indulgence and vanity.

As for studying...

That section would be abandoned. After all, he didn't want to steal all the traffic from the official forum.

In the early stages of the burgeoning internet, browsing forums was still the main way to surf the web. Platforms like Zhihu, Douban, and Weibo were all founded around this time.

The website Jiang Qin wanted to create leaned toward the field of lifestyle sharing but was different from the currently popular QQ Space.

done.me

Because QQ Space could only be viewed by friends, it was a closed social circle. But his website would be completely open.

As for the traffic generation strategy, of course, it's quite simple.

Pretend to be a female college student and post a few threads.

"Any handsome guys here? I'm thinking of dating recently. Who wants to take me home? I was born without a gag reflex, have dance skills, and will attach some cool photos of a female internet celebrity."

I guarantee those rough guys will start howling and stay up all night in the forum.

Attracting female college student users is also simple; just create a few points of conflict.

"Family, who understands? My boyfriend actually wants to go Dutch when we eat out. So disappointing."

"Family, who understands? My friend and I both like the same guy. Should I let go?"

The forum's early profits would undoubtedly come from advertising, while in the later stages, it would need to catch up with the internet trends and move towards short video content.

"I need to buy a domain first."

"Oh yeah, and we need to rent virtual space."

Jiang Qin looked for a domain name marketplace and briefly checked the prices.

Domains are graded, and the hotter the domain, the more expensive it is. Those related to college students were expensive, and those associated with Tencent were even pricier. Some popular keywords had already been registered.

Jiang Qin thought for a moment and suddenly considered a question.

When was the real Zhihu (a Chinese Q&A website) founded?

It seemed like it was ten years later, right?

So, that means there's no Zhihu-like thing right now?

Well, that's quite a coincidence. Sorry, but this domain name temporarily belongs to me.

Jiang Qin took out a small box from his bag, inserted a USB drive into the computer, and decisively bought the zhihu domain name.

The name had a certain level of sophistication - "zhīhū zhě yě." Although it was a homophonic pun, it had a cultural flavor and was more in line with the college student demographic.

"Old...Old Jiang, what did you just spend three thousand yuan on?"

"I bought a domain name, planning to create a website for fun."

Only now did Jiang Qin realize that the three of them had been following him the whole time, so he didn't keep it a secret.

Upon hearing the answer, Zhou Chao and Ren Ziqiang opened their mouths wide. They didn't have a concept of websites, but they understood money. Their own living expenses were just a little over six hundred yuan, and they never expected Jiang Qin to spend three thousand yuan on something intangible and invisible. This was too absurd.

Cao Guangyu, on the other hand, just slightly tugged at the corners of his mouth. After thinking for a while, he didn't say anything.

Even though he was from a wealthy family, spending three thousand yuan at once wasn't something he would do casually. After all, the money at home still belonged to his father, and his own monthly allowance was only a thousand yuan.

In comparison, Cao Guangyu felt that Jiang Qin was more like a rich second-generation. Could it be that he was bluffing to catch a big fish?

"Old Jiang, what does your family do? Why are you spending money so generously?"

"I come from a typical lower-middle-class family."

Ren Ziqiang was stunned, "So, how much is your monthly allowance?"

Jiang Qin opened his wallet after pulling out a few bills, "Five hundred. After buying the train ticket, I have three hundred and sixty left. Oh, and there's a one-yuan coin here. Who wants it?"

"I'll take it, give it to me!"

Zhou Chao reached out and grabbed the one-yuan coin, "Jiang, you're really a spendthrift, but I like it."

Jiang Qin closed his wallet, "I'm not a spendthrift; it's just that coins are easy to lose in my pocket. It's better to give them away."

Cao Guangyu scoffed, "Old Zhou, you're really shameless, you want one yuan? Have you never seen money before?"

"You think I'm greedy for the front-facing one yuan, but actually, I love the national emblem on the back!"

"You're really good at arguing."

Zhou Chao smirked proudly, tucked the coin into his pocket, and lay back on his bed.

Ren Ziqiang stretched and yawned, heading to the bathroom.

Cao Guangyu glanced at his own phone, then at Jiang Qin's computer, his expression suddenly turning a bit gloomy.

He had tried to show off three times today, hoping to establish himself as the leader and maintain his dignity in the dormitory. However, each time, Jiang Qin had overshadowed him. He could only feel good if he was the center of attention.

"Jiang, can you leave me some face next time I'm trying to show off?"

"Don't I?"

"Do you?"

"Alright, I understand. I'll let you shine brightly next time."

Cao Guangyu pursed his lips; he wasn't sure if Jiang Qin was being sincere or not, but at least he felt a bit better. So, he started using his new phone to surf the internet.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin noticed a QQ message notification popping up at the bottom right corner of his computer. He grabbed the mouse and clicked on it, discovering it was from Hong Yan, whom he had met yesterday.

"Jiang Qin, do you have time? Wanna grab a meal?"

"Now?."

"How about tomorrow, after the registration?"

Jiang Qin clasped his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair, looking contemplative.

He had only met Hong Yan once, and they were far from being close. They had exchanged pleasantries at the school gate that day, and he thought their agreement to meet again was just a formality. He hadn't expected her to be so serious.

"Sure, how about we connect tomorrow?"

"Ok~"