I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 143 The Students' Parents, A Low-Profile Family

To prove that she has been exercising, "Little Xi Shi" did show some results from squatting on the ground to wipe the corners of the wall and clean.

Not much, but enough.

The early bird catches the worm. After a quick morning shower, I went to work at Xindongwei Port Middle School. The opening ceremony was not complicated. As the head coach of "Zhang An Education," all I had to do was take "Teacher Bai from the health room" up on stage, wave, and say "Dismissed."

The students can do whatever they want; the main thing is that the parents are reluctant to part with the opening ceremony. This sense of ceremony is for the parents.

On the first day of school, the students organized a "Ango Cup" new season ladder ranking battle.

Whether or not Liu Xingyu's record can be broken is a major point of interest.

Liu Xingyu being the county's top scorer is nothing special. After all, this year's "top scorer class" has managed to produce seven and a half county-level top scorers. So where did the other half come from?
This guy was contested by his two alma maters, who happened to be from different districts and counties, but he just happened to have a higher score than the local highest scorer, making him a "parachute" champion.

Thankfully, it didn't escalate into a major incident, otherwise it would have been quite a hassle.

Of course, in Zhang An Education's latest enrollment brochure, the "Top Scorer Class" IP is just as strong as the "Three-Time Top Scorer" IP, if not quite as strong, but still quite strong.

The recruitment brochure featured photos of eight people who, after being made up, transformed into handsome men and beautiful women with celebrity-like looks, earning them the nickname "Eight Immortals" under the "God of Exams".

One of them was even asked by "Wenquxing" to be a spokesperson and was given 100,000 yuan.

The impact of having eight top scorers from different districts and counties is quite terrifying. It's impossible for most parents to believe that their child will be the next "three-time top scorer." They will only feel that others are cursing their child to repeat a grade every year.

But if you tell them they feel their child has a chance to become the top student in the county or district... they really dare to dream.

Especially those who passed the first-tier university entrance exam this year but were still unwilling to give up, directly withdrew 100,000 yuan from the bank, carried their private cars and went straight to the various recruitment venues of "Zhang An Education".

Once they arrived, they wanted to pay extra to get into the "Top Scorer Class." The lead instructor in charge of admissions explained that the "Top Scorer Class" didn't come from a pre-existing class; rather, students were chosen because they had the ability to become top scorers in the exam.

The parents wouldn't listen at all, saying things like, "You just think the money isn't enough, it's not like I'm not giving you any. If 100,000 isn't enough, I'll add another 100,000," while actually pouring money out of their travel bags...

The key issue is that it's not just one parent doing this. Some parents who don't want their children to go to international schools are too lazy to pull strings and find connections with this affiliated middle school or that foreign language school. They feel that Xindongweigang Middle School is a place with outstanding people and beautiful scenery.

The problem is that international schools have too many unreasonable rules. One of their characteristics is that these days, international schools are modeled after British boarding schools, so children are separated from their parents for most of the time, and some even start doing so before the compulsory education stage.

Therefore, those who have this spare money are usually either newly rich nouveau riche bosses who know nothing and just follow the crowd thinking that going abroad will definitely make them awesome; or "middle class" who grit their teeth and try to squeeze into the social circle; or "canaries" kept by mistresses of wealthy families or unspeakable people.

Reputable, established elite families don't usually go to international schools; they just follow a standard six-month exchange program, which is fully funded by the government.

If you're spending your own money, then you're not really that extravagant.

The biggest change in Zhang Da'an is that the newly rich local bosses now feel that even "foreign monks" are not necessarily as effective as local Taoist priests.

Previously, only local business owners around Shazhou City and Mazhou City would choose to change the luck of their children, but this year it's completely different; local business owners from all over East China are doing it.

There were even some less traditional business owners who wanted to collaborate with Zhang Da'an to develop international business.

Unfortunately, Zhang Da'an had no interest whatsoever. The next step for "Zhang'an Education" was to eliminate some of its domestic counterparts who were trying to gain experience abroad.

If I can't get such a high-quality customer base, no one else can either.

Of course, this is not the truth. The truth is that only by reducing the value of "sea turtles" (overseas returnees) can the quality of "Zhang An Education's" outputs be made more prominent.

The main output of "Zhang An Education" is currently a 100% undergraduate admission rate; and a considerable number of classes have a 100% rate of students being admitted to key universities.

These people's competitors four, six, or seven years from now will be a large number of graduates from overseas "diploma mills" and "watered-down master's degrees." In fact, 90% of the graduates from prestigious universities like Harvard and MIT will not be considered direct competitors.

Only by eliminating these "diploma mills" and restoring the market to normalcy can "Zhang An Education" earn more money.

The logic is simple: instead of spending so much money sending your child to a "diploma mill" abroad, why not give me the money and I'll guarantee you a place at a second-tier university?

Wouldn't it be a huge profit to use the remaining money to buy shares of my "Zhang An Health" or "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd."?
This sounds strange, but a significant number of parents of students this year are not there because their children are expected to get into top universities, but because they are drawn by the title of "a student taught by Zhang Da'an".

Among them, a very low-profile group in Jiangning City is the main group, who are eligible to subscribe in advance.

They may not be as rich as millionaires or billionaires, but if they wanted to get ten million... it would be effortless for them.

However, Zhang Da'an was too cunning and completely different from those emerging local capitalists. No matter how you try to pin a "catch-all" crime on him, you can't possibly pin it on a "three-time champion" like him. Not to mention, the Youth Development Foundation of Jiangkou Province would love to invite him to their superior unit to have an "official position".

For the Youth Development Foundation of Jiangkou Province, recruiting Zhang Da'an into its superior leadership unit would be quite difficult, but not recruiting him would not be unacceptable.

The only thing I can't accept is that you don't go to sister units in provinces and cities like Luzhou, Qilu, Jianghuai, and Yuzhang.

So now, even if many powerful people in the provinces dislike Zhang Da'an, there's nothing they can do. This year, it might not be possible for Zhang Da'an to go to Beijing to receive an award, but next spring, he'll definitely get one. It's hard to say what kind of model worker he will be, or whether the title will be for an individual or an entrepreneur, but it certainly won't be low-level.

It's just that Zhang Da'an's character is really too low; otherwise, the media would have used all their resources to exaggerate his abilities to the skies.

As for now, the parents are sitting on the playground under the blazing sun, some wearing sunglasses and others using parasols, listening to Coach Zhang say some auspicious words. After he finishes, the parents quickly disperse to ask the lecturers about the teaching progress and exam goals for this semester.

Only the very low-key parents from Jiangning City went to the meeting room in groups to enjoy the air conditioning with Coach Zhang and chat about investment matters.

As for whether the child can get into a top university.

They're not bragging, but even if you get zero on all the tests, they can still get you into any university in Jiangning City.

That's how low-key we are!

"Mr. Zhang, I recently went to Beijing and heard that 'Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd.' has been awarded the title of 'Star Enterprise'? Congratulations!"

"Don't be so polite. I generally don't discuss making money with strangers; even if they're relatives, if we're not close, we're not close. But since you're all parents of my students, that's a different story. To sum it up in one sentence, this is the amount."

Zhang Da'an spread his five fingers and waved them at the low-key parents in the reception room. "It's unlikely that you can get individual shares. I agree. How many prefecture-level cities do you think you can convince? You can handle Jiangning, but not Wudu. You can handle Wudu, but not Taihu. So, I don't care if you raise funds to set up an institution or investment company. You can get whatever share you get."

"Five billion?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Just kidding, Mr. Zhang. You're the child's mentor and principal, of course we trust you..."

"..." You have to admit, the low-key group can spout shameless words without hesitation, far surpassing Guan Changsheng's level.

"Although 'Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd.' will not introduce foreign investment or go public overseas, it will still aim for a market value of five billion US dollars. This is not my idea, but the idea of ​​various places to invest. There's nothing we can do, since all the patents we applied for this year can be sold for money."

As they were talking, "Teacher Xiaobai," who had finished patrolling the classroom, opened the door, came in, drank some water, and then sharpened its claws on the blanket before coming up to Zhang Da'an and tilting its chin up so that Zhang Da'an could scratch its itch.

When petting the dog, its head was drooping on Zhang Da'an's lap, the height and angle were perfect, and the feel was just right.

This has made even the most low-key parents extremely envious, and they've already started considering "collecting sperm."

"Mr. Zhang, to be honest, foreign capital actually has a greater advantage in terms of capital operation, and everyone is willing to see foreign capital used to develop the domestic economy."

"Those are other people. They lack strength and technology, and can only rely on capital operations and marketing to occupy a market position. Don't think that all those graduates from Jiangning University of Finance and Economics and Luzhou University of Finance and Economics in the twelve prefecture-level cities are idiots, okay? We have 'core technology' and now have a large number of application technology patents. This year, Wudu City will help negotiate with 'HP Computers' to include 'Xiaobai Input Method' in the pre-installed software. 'HP Computers' was hesitant before, why are they in such a hurry now? Because they have core patents..."

Zhang Da'an stroked "Teacher Xiaobai's" head and said earnestly, "Foreigners are all old feudalists in capitalist society. They'll follow whoever feeds them. Foreign dogs are still dogs. As long as the dog food is in place, they won't turn down money, right?"

"Mr. Zhang truly deserves his title of 'three-time champion,' he is truly..."

"Hey, hold on a minute, don't flatter me. For collaborations between 'Xiaobai Input Method' and various organizations, we can handle some of the companies and departments with high technical requirements ourselves. But for some more closed and independent organizations, we need a strong public relations team. I own a company called 'Zhang An Media,' and I've been wanting to integrate the public relations department. I wonder if any of you are interested?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Are you just going to wait here?!

People who want to keep a low profile need money to maintain a decent life, and Coach Zhang also needs a low-key amount of money to maintain his dignity.

Just take what you need.

Anyway, it's not like it's "collusion between officials and businessmen".

"By the way, it's not that I'm incapable of doing this; I have plenty of friends in Jicheng who want to test the waters. I'm only asking you because we're all from Jiangkou Province and because of my outstanding students. There's absolutely no risk, and the profits are astonishing. You can do your thorough research later and then seriously consider it. You don't need to give me an answer now."

Fifty billion yen? No need to even consider it, it's not enough to go around. Fifty billion US dollars? That's equally out of the question.

In fact, Zhang Da'an didn't know why Jiangning City, Wudu City, and Taihu City were so confident that "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd." could achieve a market value of 40 billion yuan as soon as it went public.

Is this scientific?

Just last month on the 8th, the first company with a market value of 100 billion yuan was one of the "two oil giants". How can an internet company like "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd." afford to eat fried chicken and fries?

Especially considering the dot-com bubble only lasted a few days ago.

Zhang Da'an didn't actually have any ideas. It wasn't that he lacked confidence, but rather that he had no ideas at all. He was completely indifferent to whether or not to go public.

As long as it doesn't disgust him, it's fine.

Meanwhile, the three local state-owned investment companies in Jiangning City, Wudu City, and Taihu City are bursting with confidence.

Last year, preparations for the "top-performing stock" were already underway, and this year the marketing has reached an even higher level. The "Xiaobai Input Method" was originally a benefit, but now it has long become a "national input method." In fact, its total user base is not as large as that of Intelligent ABC, despite its extremely rapid growth rate.

However, with the application for multiple patent technologies and the mobilization of all legal resources for intellectual property protection in Jiangkou Province, the situation changed.

Mainstream computer-related companies that don't want to cause trouble usually discuss cooperation and purchase licenses politely.

From the moment the intellectual property rights of "Xiaobai Input Method" were monetized, it became the most awesome Chinese character input method in China, bar none.

There were so many advertorials that Zhang Da'an was sick of reading them, but the key point was that he hadn't spent a single penny.

He spent money promoting the idea that "pop-up ads are a last resort for businesses" and "free antivirus software is a dead end." He did this quietly, without daring to report the situation to the local leaders.

If I were to actually say it, I reckon people from several prefecture-level cities would come knocking on my door with machetes demanding an explanation.

These days, getting involved with the low-profile group is pretty much the same as dealing with the "Uchiha clan"—both are people who can't stand the light of day and have all sorts of multi-functional eyes.

A glance at a bank and they're ready to lend; a glare at a real estate developer and they're ready to sell a house—of course, they keep a low profile.

The advantage is that once Zhang Da'an's various underhanded tactics are discovered, it's easy to shift the blame to the low-profile group, saving us from wasting time arguing with various places.

Currently, "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd." is secretly developing an online game. Not many people know about it, but the cultural industry management department does, so powerful people all know about it, including the low-profile group.

Whether others can make money developing domestic online games depends on their performance; for Zhang Da'an, whether he can make money developing domestic online games is not even a question.

The logic is simple: the approval process for "three-time champions" is not that complicated, and there won't be three reviews and five checks, or daily shutdowns.

Some standards that others cannot meet can be turned a blind eye to to some extent when it comes to the "three-time champion".

However, Zhang Da'an didn't intend to make anything too explicit. He only wanted to make two things: first, something as fun to play as "Legend of Mir," but with better graphics; second, something as fun to play as "Legend of Mir," but with lower system requirements...

For subsequent offline promotions, Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd. doubled its efforts in how to promote "Legend" and ensured that the cost of online marketing would not exceed a fraction of the cost of "Legend".

Among online social interaction tools, apart from instant messaging software, "Jinbang Blog" has no competitors in this field.

Unless it's an online game version of Blood Lion, it won't die a single time.

This confidence is not only for the low-key group, but also for the relevant departments in the other twelve cities. Of course, the main backbone of these relevant departments are all graduates from the university clusters in Jiangning and Luzhou.

During the launch and opening of online games, player interactions will in turn drive traffic to the "Golden List Blog". Whether it's strategy guides, team formation, monster hunting and gold farming, or team battle and siege tips, these can all be turned into high-click articles and become one of the excellent performance results of the blog business.

This combination of strategies should be worth at least 20 billion yuan in market value, and the other 20 billion yuan is obviously the confidence of the "top-performing stock".

Whether Zhang Da'an himself has confidence is not important; as long as others have confidence, that's enough.

(End of this chapter)