Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 420 One Hundred and Eight Thousand People

Night has fallen.

Across the country, countless people are waiting for the works that will be available on Qidian tonight, with a particular number of people paying attention to the release of Cao Sheng's new book.

The editors at Qidian's editorial department appeared relaxed and cheerful on the surface, but they were all very nervous inside, because the success or failure of paid reading was related to their own interests.

The owners and editors of other websites are also paying close attention to whether Qidian's paid reading model can succeed.
They had mixed feelings.

From the perspective of their competitors, they hope that Qidian's paid reading service will fail.

However, from the perspective of the online literature industry as a whole, they also hope that Qidian's paid reading will succeed, because then they can copy its approach, follow the trend of paid reading, and also have such a way of making money.

Tens of thousands of writers, most of whom hope that paid reading will be successful, because if it is, they can also earn royalties online.

However, many readers have more complex thoughts.

Most people hope that paid reading will fail, believing that Qidian's paid reading model should not be allowed to continue. Many people can foresee that if Qidian's paid reading model succeeds, other novel websites will probably follow suit.

This directly affects the vital interests of the vast majority of readers.

Originally, everyone could read all online novels for free, and if they were unhappy with what they read, they could post comments to criticize the authors, which was quite fun.

Now Qidian is going to implement paid reading, which obviously means they want to charge for the best works, while the remaining free works will definitely be of poor quality. Can we tolerate this?

Therefore, many readers spontaneously posted attacks on paid reading in various book review sections or forums on Qidian.com.

However, some readers were persuaded by Cao Sheng's remarks on the release of his book today, believing that their subscriptions and support would allow more talented authors to focus on creating more and better works without distractions.

Some of these readers have already prepared their Qidian coins, ready to subscribe and support the books like "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts" once they are available.

Some readers, while finding Cao Sheng's words in his launch message very insightful and touching, still felt... wanting me to spend money to support him? You're dreaming! I'll spend money and we'll still be friends! Even if you're one of my favorite authors, Zhongyuan Yidianhui, money is out of the question!
……

Huizhou Teachers College.

Since Huang Qingya was with him today, Cao Sheng decided to take a short break and not write tonight, but spend time with her.

Seeing that it was already night outside the window, he suggested going for a walk on the playground.

Huang Qingya readily agreed.

Under the cover of night, the two walked hand in hand on the cinder track of the playground. The January night was quite cold, and there was no one playing football on the playground tonight, and very few people were out for a walk.

But breathing in cold air can make one's mind very clear.

As Huang Qingya smiled and looked around the campus under the night sky, she asked softly, "Your new book is going to be available at midnight tonight, and you still have the mind to come out for a walk? I bet the editors at Qidian are all nervous and restless right now."

Cao Sheng smiled silently. "It's understandable that they're nervous, because paid reading is related to their income and quality of life."

"You're not nervous because it won't affect your quality of life?"

Huang Qingya turned to look at her and asked with a smile.

Cao Sheng looked at her and asked, "Do you think it will affect my quality of life?"

Huang Qingya smiled. Of course she knew that whether the paid reading service was successful or not would not affect his quality of life, because he had more money than he could ever spend in his lifetime.

Have you ever strolled around the playground with other girls like this?

She suddenly changed the subject.

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "What do you think?"

Huang Qingya: "I'm sure I've been there!"

Throughout their relationship, Cao Sheng has not been the type of man in her mind who is faithful in relationships.

Not only have his scandals been reported by the media multiple times.

A few days ago, someone anonymously messaged her, telling her that he was having dinner with a beautiful woman at Grandma's Village.

Therefore, she believed that Cao Sheng was probably not very well-behaved at school and must have taken walks on this playground with other girls.

But she could endure it.

Considering that I am 9 years older than him.

Also, considering his nationwide fame and net worth of over 100 million yuan.

She had tried to convince herself many times: He's so young, so famous, and so rich, there must be many beautiful girls chasing after him. It's normal for him to lose control sometimes. We can't hold him to the standards of a saint. It's normal for a talented man to be a womanizer.

But when she asked him if he had ever walked around the playground with other girls, she felt a little jealous.

Cao Sheng glanced at her, chuckled, and shook his head. "No!"

"Really?"

Huang Qingya expressed her doubts.

Cao Sheng smiled and nodded.

Although he is not faithful in relationships.

But the mindset of a middle-aged man allows him to take a very open-minded view of relationships.

As a professional writer who makes a living with his brain and words, he has pondered many questions repeatedly.

For example: Should a man be faithful to a certain woman throughout his life?

When he was young, he would think without a second thought that he should be faithful to one another, because that was the education he received from childhood, and all works of art also promoted faithfulness in relationships.

But as he got older, and as his writing performance fluctuated, leading to breakups and reconciliations in his relationships, the number of girlfriends he dated naturally increased.

As he dated more and more girlfriends, the concept of being faithful in a relationship gradually faded from his mind.

Because reality has repeatedly shown him that even if you are devoted, she may not stay with you forever. When you fail and your income drops sharply, she will leave you. At most, she will give you a "friend zone" card when she leaves you.

Meaningless.

Sometimes, he would ponder what the ultimate purpose of people living in this world and pursuing success is.
After success, is it just a matter of increasing monetary figures?

Even if you become wealthy, will you still stay with one woman and live a simple life? What's the point of having so much money then?
Whenever he thinks about this, he wonders about the lives of the powerful and wealthy in the world. Those people are probably successful in the conventional sense.

How do these people live?
Are they all trying to find ways to benefit all of humanity?
He believed there should be such people, but he thought the number should be very small.

More often, it's the kind reported in the news—abusing power for personal gain, seizing large amounts of mineral resources, various means of production, beautiful women, luxury homes, luxury cars, and specially supplied food...

and many more.

After thinking about these things more, he stopped worrying about whether or not he should be monogamous in a relationship.

Not resorting to underhanded tactics became his bottom line.

Living each day to the fullest became his guiding principle.

Just like tonight, he held Huang Qingya's hand and walked on the track, not thinking about anything else, just enjoying the moment.

After strolling around the playground, Cao Sheng took her to the school store to buy fruit.

Not long after, the two returned to his rented teacher's dormitory.

It's just too cold outside at night.

It's still warmer with the air conditioning in the dorm.

In front of the computer in the dormitory.

Huang Qingya sat on Cao Sheng's lap, munching on an apple while listening to music and watching him browse the internet.

Cao Sheng logged onto Qidian.com, found "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts," and read the posts in the book review section with her.

After reading his own book review section, he went to click on other works on the highly recommended list.

He knew that all the new books featured in the top-selling section this week would be available for purchase at midnight tonight.

So, he wanted to see how popular these books were right now.

For example, how many total clicks and recommendation votes have been given to each book?

How many people have joined the Hall of Fame?
Are there many posts in the book review section? Are there many voices supporting subscription?

and many more.

"You've been behaving very well tonight!"

While munching on an apple, Huang Qingya suddenly said something like this. Cao Sheng looked at her profile and asked with a smile, "What do you mean? In what aspect are you referring to being honest?"

Huang Qingya didn't turn around to look at him, but a smile clearly appeared on her face. "What do you think? I don't believe you don't understand what I mean."

Cao Sheng leaned closer to her ear, "You've thought about it?"

Huang Qingya didn't turn around, but instead asked, "You don't want to?"

Cao Sheng originally thought that since his new book would be available at midnight tonight, he should be more serious and respect the big day that this time-travel web novel was launching paid reading.

But since she's already said that, if he still doesn't do anything, she'll inevitably look down on him.

He glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen.

10:08 minutes.

It's still early until 12 o'clock.

So, without saying a word, he began to kiss her neck.

Huang Qingya did not respond for the time being. When she saw his hand leave the mouse, she picked up the mouse and opened the page of "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts".

Scroll down to the book review section.

I saw a freshly baked book review:

"Go for it, Ash! I support you!"

When she saw the post, Cao Sheng suddenly pushed her up and began to undo her belt with one hand.

Huang Qingya bit her lip.

Then my gaze fell on the next post.

"It'll be available at midnight tonight, right? Go for it, Ash! Ignore the haters! I'm ready to support you!"

In front of the computer, Cao Sheng untied Huang Qingya's belt.

……

Qidian Editorial Department.

As time passes little by little.

The person in charge, Bao Jianfeng, was getting restless.

He frequently picked up his teacup to drink tea.

As he was drinking, he suddenly put down his teacup, got up and walked to the window. He looked solemnly at the night outside, his mind in turmoil.

I feel like I've reached a crossroads in my life.

I feel that taking this step tonight will likely bring about a major turning point in my life.

—Will it lead to a sustainable way for Qidian to generate revenue and reach the pinnacle of success? Or will the paid reading model fail miserably, resulting in not only a lack of revenue but also a significant loss of readers, leading to a mass exodus of authors and ultimately causing Qidian's decline?
"President Cao...it's up to you! Don't let me down!"

He muttered to himself.

……

Huizhou Teachers College.

The air conditioning in Cao Sheng's rented teacher's dormitory was very warm.

Cao Sheng and Huang Qingya were already sweating a lot. Huang Qingya no longer dared to say that he had been honest tonight, and they continued.

Around 11 o'clock, the two went into the bathroom to wash up.

While helping him take a bath, Huang Qingya urged, "Hurry up! It's almost 12 o'clock, your new book is about to be released, don't delay the release."

Cao Sheng wanted to laugh.

There was no deliberate delay.

He knew his new book was going to be available for purchase. Although he wasn't nervous, many people were. If the release date was delayed, the editors at Qidian would probably go crazy.

And those writers in the industry who are paying attention to the release of his new book are probably restless, refreshing his work page again and again.

So, after taking a shower, he came out of the bathroom, put on a thick bathrobe, and without dawdling, strode to the computer.

The time displayed on the computer screen is 11:44.
After Cao Sheng sat down, he logged into his author backend and retrieved his saved manuscripts. The internet speed was still a bit slow at this time.

Each time an author's backend page is opened, there is a buffering time of several seconds, or even more than ten seconds.

Even after the document is opened and all the text is displayed, it still takes more than ten seconds. This is because the manuscript of his new book is not very long, only a little over two hundred thousand words.

If the document contains one or two million words, the response time will be much slower.

This is also the main reason why he has upgraded his computer every year for the past two years.

Many people have a misconception.

It was assumed that writers only use their computers for typing and don't need to play games, so their computer configurations didn't need to be high.

Actually not!

Cao Sheng has used several computers throughout his career.

There are desktop computers and laptops.

I've used the computers in internet cafes many times, of course.

And when these computers open a document containing one or two million words, or even more, the document's opening speed will noticeably slow down.

Sometimes it may even fail to open, and the document may crash automatically.

Sometimes, after saving a new chapter, the saving process may fail, and the manuscript that appears to have been saved successfully may be inexplicably lost.

Every time something like this happens, he thinks about upgrading his computer.

Some might say: If that's the case, why not save the manuscript of a book in multiple documents?
This is a solution.

However, when writing, looking up information from previous drafts can be a significant obstacle. To find a specific piece of information, you have to open several draft documents and search through each one, which not only wastes time but also affects your mindset while writing.

We've strayed from the topic; let's get back to the main point.

After the document opened successfully, Cao Sheng found the new chapter to be released that night and checked the number of favorites displayed in the author's backend.

108282.

Cao Sheng smiled when he saw the number.

He thought to himself: 108,000 people.

The sheer number of people who added the book to their favorites upon its release was a novel experience for him. Before his rebirth, none of his books had ever garnered such a large number of favorites upon release.

He vaguely remembered that his previous record was when a certain book was released, and it seemed to have more than 26000 readers.

Now, his book was published in 2001 and has a staggering 108,000 readers.

wrong!

If we calculate according to the Gregorian calendar, it is January now, which should be 2002.

How many subscribers could 108,000 collections during this period translate into?

Today is the first batch of works released on Qidian. With a subscription-to-receiver ratio of 10 to 1, he has no hope at all. A ratio of 20 to 1 is probably also unlikely, and 30 to 1 is possible, but he estimates that the subscription-to-receiver ratio may only be 50 to 1.
Even lower.

Because the first batch of works released is like pioneering a new field.

You have to rely on the quality of your work and your own appeal to persuade readers to recharge their Qidian coins for the first time to subscribe.

This must be extremely difficult.

When it was exactly 12 o'clock, Cao Sheng started refreshing the author backend repeatedly and logged into QQ, waiting for his editor to notify him to open the book for sale.

Finally, at 12:05, the author's backend refreshed and showed the VIP chapters in separate volumes.

A notification from Baojianfeng also came through QQ: "President Cao, your account has been opened for sale. Please release the paid chapters as soon as possible! Thank you."

(End of this chapter)