2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 336 New Identity
The autumn air was crisp and refreshing; in September 2006, the weather in Ningbo was unexpectedly pleasant.

The temperature was neither too high nor too low, and the rain wasn't too frequent, but it did come from time to time, making the air feel more humid.

On the campus of the School of Foreign Languages ​​at Ningbo University, four female students carrying textbooks chatted and laughed as they walked toward their dormitory.

They had just finished class and were preparing to return their textbooks to their dormitories before going to the cafeteria for lunch together.

Just as the four of them were chatting and joking around, a slightly magnetic voice came from behind them: "Gu, would you like to have dinner together?"

Upon hearing this, Li Manli turned around, wanting to see which impolite fellow had been so presumptuous.

"Boss Tan, it's you?"

Tan Jincheng smiled and replied, "Now you should call me Tan classmate, I'm your classmate now too."

Ni Jie keeps his word. The new business school corporate class has been arranged for Tan Jincheng. In addition, Tan Jincheng has been introduced to the leaders of several departments. If Tan Jincheng wants to audit the courses, that's no problem.

In that case, it wouldn't be a problem for Tan Jincheng to get a fake university diploma. Lao Ni is a good person!

"Tan, what do you mean?" Xu Manli, the most outgoing of the group, continued to ask.

"Literally, let's go eat together."

"Let's take the books back to the dormitory first," Gu Qingqing replied.

The company's development has entered a stable phase. Apart from the fact that the location for the third factory has not yet been determined, there is nothing else about FlashTech that requires Tan Jincheng's special attention.

The same applies to Kaixin001. Viral marketing has become even more powerful with a large user base. In addition, the link sharing method proposed by Tan Jincheng has also been applied to Kaixin001.

Sharing web links is very popular among QQ users and QQ groups, and the number of Kaixin.com users has grown exponentially.

Starting in August, the number of search terms for Kaixin.com on Baidu rose sharply, and the website's global ranking also continued to climb, attracting the attention of many venture capital firms, including five that directly inquired about its value.

However, Tan Jincheng ignored all of this, and Kaixin.com had no desire to raise funds before it reached ten million officially registered users.

Like FlashTech, Kaixin001 also developed step by step. In addition to daily maintenance, Cheng Hao and Gu Yanning's team focused on developing new projects. Once the foundation was laid, Tan Jincheng no longer interfered too much.

Although employees of Orange Technology often boasted that Boss Tan was an excellent product manager, Tan Jincheng knew that he was just knowledgeable and experienced, and he really didn't understand anything about basic development.

However, according to Cheng Hao, becoming a basic programmer isn't actually that difficult. Many high school graduates can get started after three months of training courses. This is how many junior programmers at big companies like NetEase started.

Cheng Hao's original intention was to let his boss learn some basics in his spare time. In Cheng Hao's view, although his boss had no technical background, his ideas were imaginative and his proposed ideas were not only eye-opening but also practical.

Such a person is naturally suited to be an internet product manager, rather than running a physical business. Orange Technology's development is inseparable from its boss!

The news that Flash Group was about to buy the Financial Building was spreading like wildfire in Beicang, especially among the companies that rented offices there; every single one of them had received a notification.

In the near future, tenants renting office space in the building will be vacating, and the financial building will then belong exclusively to Flash Group. The shops on the first floor can be rented to some businesses, but obviously other companies will not be able to operate here.

I've never heard of any company renting out its headquarters building to other companies.

Of course, Orange Technology is an exception. Orange Technology doesn't need to move, unless one day Orange Technology has the ability to build its own building.

This incident greatly affected Cheng Hao. The current momentum and popularity of Kaixin.com were not enough to make the boss shift his focus, so he actually spent a lot of money to acquire the Financial Building.

This was unimaginable to Cheng Hao; making money online was so easy.

Nowadays, on Kaixin001, all the boss needs to do is wave his hand, and a large number of people will automatically come to him waving their money. Isn't that simpler than playing physical games?
If Cheng Hao knew that Orange Technology was just a tool for Tan Jincheng to make money and incubate data, I wonder what he would think.
For college students, the internet is obviously more interesting than electric cars. If it weren't for Gu Qingqing, the three of them in the dorm wouldn't even know who FlashTech was, let alone care who the boss was.

Electric bikes are allowed on university campuses, and many people may buy Flash Electric bikes, but few are interested in Flash Technology.

Therefore, Tan Jincheng's foundation among college students is relatively weak. And ever since Kaixin.com became popular all over the internet, news has spread that the actual investor behind its parent company, Orange Technology, is the 20-year-old young tycoon from Flash Group.

This shortcoming was quickly addressed, especially at Ningbo University.

The leaders of the School of Foreign Languages, who hadn't taken it too seriously before, found everything had changed after returning from summer vacation. The college student entrepreneurship projects applied for by their students had become a hit online in just a few months!

What kind of entrepreneurial idea comes from auditing classes at the Chinese Academy of Engineering? Screw you, that's what our School of Foreign Languages ​​produces.

"Boss Tan, how did you come up with the idea of ​​creating Kaixin001?" Zhao Wenjia, who wasn't very talkative, asked curiously at the dinner table. Because of the significant difference in family background between Zhao Wenjia and her three roommates, she usually seemed rather insecure, but that didn't mean she was stupid.

People who lack self-confidence are often sensitive and observant. They noticed early on that Gu Qingqing often audited classes at the Academy of Engineering and also heard that Gu Qingqing was managing Tan Jincheng's website.

After some time, he started another company and submitted an application for a student entrepreneurship subsidy to the college. Then, after a summer break, Kaixin.com became a hit.

Besides the online discussions about Kaixin001's popularity and the essence of the "Friends Trading" game, the most attention is focused on Kaixin001's valuation. Everyone knows that the internet is a wealth-creating platform.

Because of her family's financial situation, Zhao Wenjia wanted to earn money, so she paid special attention to news about making money.

She had previously asked about the employee benefits at Orange Technology, and Gu Qingqing hadn't hidden anything from her. It was at that time that Zhao Wenjia felt the urge to change careers like Gu Qingqing.

Gu Qingqing didn't dare to dream of such an opportunity, but being an ordinary programmer was much better than being a teacher back in her hometown. She had two more years to learn programming, and then she could work at Orange Technology and earn more money.

She had already inquired and found out that entry-level programmers don't need much specialized technical skills; many are graduates of training programs.

"Because I was short of money, I thought I'd try making a website and maybe scam some investors," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

"With Flashcar selling so well, how could you possibly be short of money?"

"Businesses, especially physical businesses, rarely have a time when they are not short of money."

Zhao Wenjia then asked, "Since Boss Tan uses the internet as a way to make money, and Kaixin001 has been successful, does that mean the internet has recovered after experiencing a harsh winter?"

Xu Manli looked at Zhao Wenjia with some surprise. He had always been so quiet at previous gatherings, why was he so lively today?

Actually, it was because she was already quite familiar with Tan Jincheng that Zhao Wenjia wouldn't have dared to be so bold.

Tan Jincheng didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "Why are you asking this?"

Zhao Wenjia was a little shy and somewhat unaccustomed to Tan Jincheng's gaze, but she still mustered up her courage and said, "I heard Qingqing say before that you once told her that English cannot be considered a major, but only a tool, and the job market is relatively narrow. So I would like to hear Mr. Tan's opinion, is there still a chance for me to switch to computer programming now?"

As soon as Zhao Wenjia finished speaking, the other three looked at her, and the outspoken Xu Manli exclaimed, "You want to change your major?"

Zhao Wenjia nodded.

Tan Jincheng glanced at Gu Qingqing. Her roommates were quite interesting. Xu Manli was cheerful and unrestrained, and Tan Jincheng was, after all, a billionaire with nearly 3000 employees across all his companies.

The experience of two years in the business world has made nearly 3000 people in the company completely obedient. No matter how friendly they usually appear, their aura is still there.

However, Xu Manli never showed any restraint. Can you say that this isn't a skill?
Needless to say, Chen Yanan was quick to seize any opportunity to bring business to her family's factory; she was very shrewd. It seems that Zhao Wenjia, who appears somewhat insecure now, also has quite a few ideas.

Picking up his cup, Tan Jincheng took a sip of water and asked casually, "Want to make money?"

"Yes, I want to make money." Zhao Wenjia didn't expect Tan Jincheng to be so straightforward, but she still nodded solemnly.

"Yes, there is a shortage of computer professionals right now. Training courses can provide jobs after a few months. You have a formal bachelor's degree, and if you switch to another major and study it seriously for two years, you will have a great advantage in the future job market."

Tan Jincheng never disliked girls having ideas; on the contrary, he appreciated girls with their own thoughts, as long as they weren't "green tea" types who disgusted him.

Similarly, I don't dislike having a desire for money. Humans are social animals, and in a social environment, money is the simplest and most direct way to gain respect from others.

If they hadn't made money, Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng would still be seen as two good-for-nothings by their relatives. Similarly, Tan Lihua and Zhang Guolong would be looked down upon instead of being fawned over and admired like they are now.

Zhao Wenjia got the answer she wanted and couldn't help but feel a little happy: "Really?"

"Sure, and if you want to change your major and encounter any trouble, you can ask my Qingqing to put in a good word for you. She's in your department now and can probably get some influence."

Zhao Wenjia nodded happily. "More than that," she said. "Recently, leaders from the college have been coming to see Qingqing a lot, and the counselor almost always tries to chat with her whenever Qingqing is on campus."

The reason is simple: after Tan Jincheng's repeated rejections and the exponential growth in user numbers, Kaixin001's valuation has soared from 50 million to 80 million.

A valuation of over 100 million is only a matter of time. The first student entrepreneurship project in the School of Foreign Languages ​​has reached a valuation of nearly 100 million in just a few months!
Furthermore, the students in the college know more about Orange Technology than the average college student, and even more than many institutions. The investors in Orange Technology are the students' boyfriends and their fathers.

In other words, based on the current valuation, Gu Qingqing's net worth has exceeded 2000 million yuan!
A multi-millionaire who just entered her junior year of college!
(End of this chapter)