Restart life

Chapter 222-0219 [Peking University Alumni Entrepreneurship Forum]

Lunchtime, off work.

All employees were wearing masks, and all the company windows were closed.

Chen Guiliang left the company half an hour earlier than his employees, and most of the people he encountered on his way downstairs were wearing masks.

After having lunch in the cafeteria on the first floor, Chen Guiliang went out and rode his bicycle back to his dormitory.

His bicycle, parked downstairs at the company, was covered in a layer of dust.

The sky was somewhat dim.

Even during the financing negotiations, Beijing was frequently hit by sandstorms. This is already the 12th sandstorm since the beginning of spring!
Chen Guiliang took out a cloth to wipe the dust off the bicycle seat, then picked up the bicycle and shook it several times. He could still feel the wheels making a rustling sound while riding.

All I could see along the way was gray.

Back at the dormitory building, I parked and locked the car.

However, a large number of students were gathered in front of the dormitory building, including Chen Guiliang's counselor, Senior Brother Long Xiang.

A first-year graduate student majoring in environmental engineering was drawing a simple map on the ground and explaining: "Newspapers and the internet are buzzing about why the Three-North Shelterbelt Project, which my country has invested heavily in, hasn't been effective. Some people are even questioning whether the money has been embezzled..."

"In mid-last month, 33 tons of dust fell on Beijing in two days. Many media outlets called it a sandstorm, but it should be called a 'dust storm' to be accurate. Sand particles and dust particles are different. Dust can rise into the stratosphere and move at an altitude of several thousand meters, and no protective forest can stop it..."

"Through particle size analysis, the main source of this dust storm is dried salt lakes... The expansion of dried salt lake areas in grasslands and northwestern Hebei Province is mainly due to human factors. Upstream damming and the blind expansion of irrigation areas have led to the gradual drying up of lakes... These dried salt lakes have formed hardened ground, and the drastic temperature changes between day and night in late spring and early summer have caused strong frost heave and freeze-thaw cycles. Eventually, the hardened ground of the dried salt lakes breaks down, forming soft saline-alkali dust..."

"In recent years, the rate at which the last remaining saltwater lakes on my country's grasslands are drying up has accelerated significantly. On average, 20 natural lakes disappear every year..."

"Therefore, to eradicate sandstorms in Beijing, we must start by addressing the problem at its source: the grasslands. We need to dismantle those upstream dams and turn the farmland back into grassland..."

After listening carefully to the senior's explanation, the students finally understood.

"Clap clap clap!"

applause.

Chen Guiliang also clapped.

The first-year graduate student declared passionately, "I'll be going to the grasslands with my advisor this fall for in-depth research. I'll live on the grasslands for the rest of my life until the dry salt lake is properly managed!"

"it is good!"

"Brother, come on!"

The students cheered loudly.

The senior brother clasped his hands in a fist salute, like a chivalrous hero, and bowed to the crowd to say goodbye.

It's passionate, but also tinged with a sense of tragedy.

In fact, the first phase of the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Project was launched as early as four years ago. It involves work in many aspects, especially addressing the basic survival issues of the local people.

It's not as simple as just saying "return farmland to forest"!
The scope of the governance project continues to expand, and this senior student belongs to the third batch to go to the grasslands. Also traveling with him are agricultural and pastoral experts and graduate students.

After the first-year graduate student left, Chen Guiliang asked Long Xiang, "Why did a graduate student come here?"

Long Xiang said, "He is a senior from the first Yuanpei class. I invited him to give a lecture so that the younger students can appreciate his demeanor."

"Senior Brother Long has decided to stay at the school?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Long Xiang said, "I had already secured a place in the graduate program last semester."

"Congratulations, congratulations." Chen Guiliang really didn't know.

"I should be congratulating you, you're getting more and more awesome," Long Xiang asked. "I heard you're going to give a speech at some Peking University alumni entrepreneurship forum?"

Chen Guiliang said, "At three o'clock this afternoon."

Long Xiang said, "No tickets needed, right?"

"No, we'll just go and reserve seats in advance," Chen Guiliang said.

"Then I'll have to go join in the fun," Long Xiang said with a smile.

Chen Guiliang went back to his dormitory for a nap. After being woken up by his alarm clock, he rode his bicycle to the Centennial Lecture Hall.

Principal Xu did not come.

The highest-ranking leader present was Dean Wu of the Guanghua School of Management, who is also the Vice Secretary of the Party Committee, Vice President of the University, Chief Legal Counsel, and Dean of the School of Management at Peking University.

Five or six alumni entrepreneurs who had achieved success in their businesses attended the event.

Li Yanhong, Ding Jian, Yu Hongmin, and others... none of them came today!

Sina founder Wang Zhidong is currently chatting with Dean Wu. Other alumni entrepreneurs are also chatting amongst themselves.

"Haha, President Chen is here," Dean Wu said jokingly. The alumni smiled and stood up to shake hands with Chen Guiliang.

Wang Zhidong had long been kicked out of Sina, and he took the opportunity to promote his current products, persuading two companies under Chen Guiliang to use his enterprise instant messaging tools.

This tool is intended for internal communication among company employees and is more secure and practical than QQ and MSN.

Chen Guiliang did not agree immediately, but planned to try it out for a period of time first.

The two parties immediately reached a verbal agreement that ByteDance and Game Science would use Wang Zhidong's enterprise communication software for free for three months.

Business cooperation quickly brought them closer together.

Wang Zhidong proactively stated that he would join HaiNei.com (Kaixin.com) and activate the mobile Weibo function.

Just then, a man wearing glasses appeared.

Li Guoqin of Dangdang.com...

Chen Guiliang couldn't help but laugh when he saw this person, involuntarily recalling the "high-end business warfare" meme.

This guy later had a falling out with his wife, and together with several burly men (a director, the company secretary, a cameraman, an assistant, an administrator, and a driver), he stormed into the company and stole the company seal and the financial seal.

His wife chose to call the police directly and claimed that the documents stamped with these seals no longer had legal effect.

Li Guoqin announced that he would keep the company seals by himself until the new seal management regulations were introduced. He also said he would wear the seals on his belt during the day and sleep in his bed at night.

It's quite abstract.

After exchanging pleasantries with Dean Wu, Li Guoqin warmly shook hands with Wang Zhidong: "Haha, Lao Wang, long time no see!"

After exchanging a few words, he shook hands with Chen Guiliang again: "Junior Brother Chen's novels and Three Kingdoms Kill are very popular on our Dangdang website."

"Thank you for your help, senior brother," Chen Guiliang said.

Li Guoqin said, "We are all alumni, so let's cooperate closely and make money together!"

Next, Li Guoqin shook hands with other alumni entrepreneurs.

It was almost time, so everyone headed to the forum venue.

The place was already full of people, and the aisles were packed with students.

Dean Wu began by saying, “Some media outlets have said that China has entered an era of frenzied investment this year. A crazy frenzy. Many teachers and students are eager to start their own businesses. Some have even taken action. Since the beginning of March, the science park’s incubator has received dozens of startup applications…”

"Starting a business is a big deal and shouldn't be done blindly... That's why we've invited some alumni who have successfully started their own businesses to share their experiences today..."

Several chairs were placed on the stage, arranged in a crescent shape.

Wang Zhidong naturally sat in the center position.

In the other center position, everyone politely deferred to each other. Finally, Li Guoqin sat down with a smile, repeatedly clasping his hands in a fist and palm salute to the others, indicating that he would respectfully accept their offer.

Wang Zhidong picked up the microphone and said, "Seventeen years ago, I was working on development at Peking University Founder Group, where I independently developed the first practical Windows 3.0 in China. Later, I also developed some other software... As you all know, Sina kicked me, the founder, out of the company. I only found out from the newspaper that I had resigned from Sina."

"Hahahaha!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

Wang Zhidong continued, "If any of you here want to start a business, I have only two pieces of advice. First, familiarize yourself with the specific business before starting a company; second, hold onto control of the company tightly, lest you find yourself resigning one day in the newspaper."

"Hahaha!"

Another burst of laughter rang out.

The main point is that this sentence is too funny, just like when J.K. Rowling was later expelled from the "Harry Potter club" by book fans.

Li Guoqin picked up the microphone and said, "I completely agree with Mr. Wang's advice. I was already in the book publishing industry ten years before I founded Dangdang.com. Later, I simply moved the book selling business from offline to online. Why was Dangdang.com able to stand out from so many competitors? Because I understand selling books better than them, and I already had mature supply channels."

"If any teachers or students here want to start a business, they might as well start by working in a traditional industry, and then combine that traditional industry with the internet. This way, your internet company will be different from others. You will have your own advantages and selling points, which is very important and venture capitalists love."

The third speaker was Lei Ming: "When Baidu was first founded, I was in charge of technology. I learned a lot and gained many insights. Of the so-called 'Seven Swordsmen of Baidu,' I was the first to leave... Now, I've founded Kuwo Music, and the reason I've been able to carve out a niche for myself is mainly due to product and technological innovation. The market is important, but technology is also very important. As long as you have unique technology, you won't do too badly in the market..."

Chen Guiliang was finally the fourth to speak: "I learned a lot from the speeches of my three senior brothers. My experience is simple: I chose the right trend in the internet industry, and I was instantly propelled to great heights. Choosing the right startup project is the most important thing; otherwise, all your efforts will be in vain..."

"Of course, strategy is also important. Take Kaixin.com for example. Why did we use that name initially? Because it was easier for early dissemination. Now I've changed it to HaiNei.com, which is beneficial for the website's future development. Back when I registered XiaoNei.com, I had already registered the HaiNei.com trademark and domain name together..."

"I'm not sure about other fields, but I wouldn't recommend starting a business in the SNS (Social Networking Service) sector. The competition is too fierce. Even communities like Mop are launching space features. Sina Blog is also developing into an SNS website... It's a red ocean where the competition is fierce and cutthroat."

The fifth speaker was Chen Hua: "Mr. Chen from ByteDance is absolutely right, and I can add something. Many internet companies in various fields have grown so large that newcomers have to focus on niche markets. Baidu Search is already established, so what can we search engines do? We can only cultivate vertical and niche markets, which is why I developed train ticket booking search and travel search..."

After everyone finished speaking, the group began chatting and discussing.

-

(Facepalm, begging for monthly votes.)
(End of this chapter)