Restart life

Chapter 247 0244 [Seven-Tier Pagoda]

Sina Blog responded quickly after Andy Lau joined HaiNei.com.

Just a few days later, before Andy Lau could even bring his old friends to HaiNei.com, Sina Blog had already brought in Emperor Entertainment Group stars.

There are Nicholas Tse, Edison Chen, the son of a wealthy businessman, Eason Chan, Yung Tse-yee, Twins, and so on.

It just goes to show that Sina really has a lot of influence!

Sohu Blog belatedly tried to recruit Hong Kong stars, but only managed to find a few who were past their prime.

BlogChina is about to explode. A year ago, its market share was over 85%, but now it has plummeted to less than 30%.

Sina Blog's market share soared to over 40% in just a few months.

Sohu Blog's market share is just over 20%.

Of course, this does not include SNS websites with blog functionality, such as Renren, HaiNei, Saiwo, Zhanzuo.com, QQ Space, etc.

NetEase and Baidu are also about to enter the fray, and are currently developing their own websites – NetEase Blog and Baidu Space.

Whatever becomes popular, major internet companies will flock to it.

Chen Guiliang is similar; when major internet companies started making ringtones, didn't he also excitedly rush to join in the fun?

“Xiao Chen, those old friends aren’t used to using computers, and they’re not familiar with the internet on the mainland. Only Cai Shaofen agreed to use HaiNei.com.” Andy Lau called Chen Guiliang.

Your Majesty?
Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "Whether you want to come or not, we're friends. Thank you, Heavenly King Liu."

"Just call me Andy or Andy," Andy Lau said.

Chen Guiliang said, "Then I'll still call you Brother Hua."

Although "Crazy Stone" is just one of Andy Lau's Asian New Star Director projects, Andy Lau pays close attention to it and has even made public appearances to help promote it.

However, due to limited publicity budget, they didn't even hold a proper promotional roadshow.

Not to mention a premiere ceremony.

Around the second week of its release, word-of-mouth for "Crazy Stone" began to spread on a small scale.

Especially after going viral online, it became a huge hit on Douban. It also gained attention on Renren and HaiNei websites, where Chen Guiliang's articles helped attract considerable interest to the film.

Some cinemas have already started increasing the number of screenings of "Crazy Stone" and have moved it to evening screenings.

After talking with Andy Lau, Ning Hao made Andy Lau even more convinced that the Internet was very useful.

Andy Lau said, "Besides Choi Siu-Fen, several of the lead actors in the movie I'm currently filming also plan to go to HaiNei.com."

"What movie?" Chen Guiliang asked.

“I joined the cast of ‘Protégé’ yesterday,” Andy Lau said. “There are Wu Yanzu, Zhang Jingchu, Louis Koo, Anita Yuen and a few others.”

Gu Tianle is a blogging fanatic!
If Chen Guiliang hadn't appeared, Gu Tianle would have started using Sina Blog in 2008.

Over twelve years, he wrote 4434 blog posts. That's an average of one post per day!
While everyone else has gone to Weibo, he continues to post blog articles on Sina.

Zhang Jingchu had already registered a Sina blog at this time.

This actress is very ambitious, comparing herself to Xu Jinglei. When Xu Jinglei's blog became popular, she proactively moved to Sina, and started writing more literary and artistic articles.

However, her Sina blog has never been very popular.

Now, after joining the cast of "Protégé," Zhang Jingchu heard from Andy Lau that Haiwai.com was a lot of fun. After carefully learning about Haiwai.com, she immediately agreed to switch from her Sina blog to Haiwai.com.

She wants to become "Xu Jinglei of HaiNei.com"!
Anita Yuen was also passionate about blogging, posting an average of three articles per month before switching to Weibo and stopping.

As for Daniel Wu, he posts on his blog even more frequently than Anita Yuen, writing about everything from his life and work to his friendships and hobbies.

The people Andy Lau brought into HaiNei.com this time are all bloggers, not just people who are just doing it for work promotion.

Upon hearing the news, director Derek Yee also registered an account, and his first post read: "Hello everyone, I am Derek Yee. The entire crew of 'Protégé' has joined HaiNei.com. We hope that netizens will pay attention to this movie, which is expected to be released next year."

Several celebrities arrived at once, making their homepages on Haiwainet extremely lively.

Chen Guiliang also went to leave a message.

He even left a message on Wu Yanzu's message board saying, "Hello, I'm Wu Yanzu from Peking University. How come you also have this name?"

A bunch of netizens mocked and ridiculed: "Chen Shiyi is really shameless. I'm supposed to be the Takeshi Kaneshiro of Northeast China!"

"Wu Yanzu from western Yunnan has come to report for duty!"

"There are so many people with the same name. I happen to be called Wu Yanzu from Pudong."

"..."

Damn, it's all just references.

As more and more celebrities join Haiwainet, its biggest competitor, Cyworld, has also responded.

Since "My Bratty Princess" was very popular this year, Saiwo.com invited Korean star Jang Nara to join their platform.

This aligns with Cyworld's consistent approach of attracting users through "Korean Wave" trends. The results have been excellent, with registered users exceeding 150 million.

However, the large influx of K-pop fans has also annoyed many netizens, who claim they would rather die than use Saiwo.com. "Huh, Chen Xiaoxu's account hasn't been updated for over half a month?" Chen Guiliang was browsing through various celebrity homepages when he suddenly noticed Chen Xiaoxu's situation.

Chen Guiliang took out his phone and called Professor Lou, his teacher of "History of Chinese Philosophy".

Professor Lou is the director of the Department of Oriental Philosophy at Peking University and the honorary dean of the Institute of Religious Studies at Peking University.

"Hello Professor Lou, I am Chen Guiliang," Chen Guiliang said.

Professor Lou smiled and said, "You did well on the exam this time. Even without special consideration, you won't fail your 'History of Chinese Philosophy' course."

What!

Is this the kind of monstrous impression you professors have of me?
The first thing they said on the phone was whether I had failed my course.

"That's all thanks to Professor Lou's expertise. One of your lectures is equivalent to ten lectures, which is why I did well on my final exam."

Chen Guiliang started with a flattering remark, then got to the point: "I have a friend who is a Buddhist. She has breast cancer and is unwilling to cooperate with treatment. One minute she says that Buddhism teaches 'follow fate' and 'life and death are predestined.' The next minute she says that she'll look terrible after the surgery and won't be beautiful anymore. How can I use Buddhist teachings to persuade her?"

Professor Lou immediately became serious: "Buddhism does not support refusing to treat illness. You wait here, I'll go and check the Buddhist scriptures related to healing. I guarantee I'll have solid evidence to persuade your friend to seek medical treatment."

"Thank you, Professor Lou," Chen Guiliang said gratefully.

Two days later, Chen Guiliang received an email from Professor Lou.

This information is so detailed that it could be used to write a thesis!
Chen Guiliang had Chen Xiaoxu's phone number. After reading the Buddhist materials, he sent her a text message saying, "Sister Xiaoxu, why hasn't your HaiNei.com been updated for over half a month?"

"I've been very busy lately," Chen Xiaoxu said, without mentioning that she had cancer.

Chen Guiliang, too lazy to beat around the bush, sent a text message directly: "The Buddha admonished in the Ekottara Agama Sutra: Medicine is the cure for illness. The Buddha said that one should receive treatment when sick."

"Who told you I was sick???" Chen Xiaoxu sent a string of question marks.

Chen Guiliang continued sending text messages: "The Brahma Net Sutra says: 'To see someone sick and not help them is to break the Bodhisattva precepts.' Only by maintaining good health can one better cultivate oneself and benefit all sentient beings."

He sent another text message summarizing: "Based on these two scriptures, if one is sick and does not seek treatment, it violates both the Buddha's teachings and the Bodhisattva's precepts."

Chen Xiaoxu did not reply.

Chen Guiliang was still sending text messages: "The Dhammapada says: 'Cherish your life and seek safety.' Disregarding your own health will cause suffering to those who care about you, which is not a wise choice. Accepting treatment is practicing the Bodhisattva path of benefiting both yourself and others."

The Upasaka Sila Sutra says: "If one suffers from illness, one should think of ways to treat it. Actively seeking treatment does not violate the law of cause and effect; treatment is a process of eliminating karma. Not seeking treatment, on the contrary, accumulates karma."

The Buddha's Discourse on Scolding: When one is sick, medicine should save him; why should one suffer to attain the Way?

The Mahāsamādhi Sūtra states: "When a Bodhisattva seeks the Dharma, he should seek it in the Five Sciences. The five sciences in Buddhism are called the Five Sciences, one of which is the science of medicine. Even for a Bodhisattva seeking the Dharma, one of the ways is to heal the sick and save people."

A barrage of text messages followed, all containing Buddhist scriptures about healing illnesses.

After a long while, Chen Xiaoxu finally replied: "You believe in Buddhism too?"

Chen Guiliang said, "My professor of Chinese Philosophy History is the dean of the Institute for Religious Studies at Peking University. He has written a large number of papers on Buddhism, and his understanding of Buddhism is no less than that of the senior monks in the temples. If Xiaoxu has any questions, she can talk to my professor, Professor Lou."

Then, he added another message: "Professor Lou is 72 years old and a kind and gentle elder. You don't need to worry about him spreading the contents of his conversation everywhere."

Ten minutes later, Chen Xiaoxu sent a text message: "Send me Professor Lou's phone number."

Chen Guiliang immediately sent the number.

Chen Xiaoxu said, "Thank you."

Professor Lou thought Chen Guiliang's friend was an ordinary person, but he only found out that it was Lin Daiyu after receiving a call from Chen Xiaoxu.

Professor Lou immediately took it to heart and gave Chen Xiaoxu a long explanation over the phone, refuting the anti-intellectual remarks Chen Xiaoxu had heard from other monks.

He even used Buddha and Bodhisattvas to intimidate Chen Xiaoxu, saying that not treating an illness was disrespectful to Buddha and violated the precepts of Bodhisattvas!
Chen Xiaoxu was so confused by what he was being said that she didn't know whether to listen to the Peking University professor or to some monks.

Professor Lou felt that it was difficult to explain over the phone, so he arranged to meet Chen Xiaoxu in person.

The two talked for a good half day.

The next day, Chen Xiaoxu went to the hospital with her husband and agreed to the surgical plan proposed by the doctor.

Professor Lou called Chen Guiliang, complaining repeatedly, "How can someone believe in Buddhism like this? They're risking their lives! Luckily you contacted me, otherwise how would I have found someone to persuade her? Lin Daiyu is such a blockhead!"

"She agreed to get treatment?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Professor Lou said, "I agreed. I also got her husband's phone number so he can contact me anytime if anything comes up."

"Haha, Professor Lou, wouldn't you call this saving a life more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda?" Chen Guiliang joked.

Professor Lou said, "It's very fulfilling to save Lin Daiyu."

The teacher and student became increasingly happy as they talked, both delighted by the matter.

Even if it weren't Chen Xiaoxu, but an ordinary person, they would be very proud of doing this.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Guiliang dozed off in his car.

The ChinaJoy exhibition is about to begin, and Chen Guiliang is going to Shanghai to personally participate in the upcoming Three Kingdoms Kill finals.

(End of this chapter)