The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 248 Panda TV, the domineering Yang Muye?
8 PM, arrival hall of Yanjing Airport.

Upon seeing Tang Ruo emerge from the passageway, Li Shiqia and Gao Bo, who were waiting to pick her up, immediately ran over.

Tang Ruo looked delighted and opened her arms, wanting to hug her two friends.

Gao Bo, being quite accommodating, stepped forward and gave Tang Ruo a firm hug.

When it was Li Shiqia's turn, he immediately punched Tang Ruo in the chest.

He's still hugging me; he's getting so impatient.

"Why are you back so soon? Did you close the deal?" Li Shiqia asked anxiously.

Tang Ruo rubbed her chest, still in the mood to joke: "That punch you just threw was somewhat like settling a personal score!"

Li Shiqia snorted in annoyance.

"You still remember that we have a personal grudge?"

He and Tang Ruo were sworn enemies at school. After graduation, Tang Ruo founded Zou Zhe Xia, while he joined the newly established ICC.

If it weren't for the ICC's betrayal, Li Shiqia would probably still be arguing with Tang Ruo at this point.

Gao Bo interrupted.

"Alright, you two, stop bringing up those old stories from your school days. Tang Ruo, tell us whether the deal was reached or not!"

Tang Ruo wanted to keep them in suspense for a while longer.

At that moment, Li Shiqia's voice rang out.

"You've been inseparable since college, haven't you noticed whether things went well or not? If they hadn't, would he have rushed back like this?"

Tang Ruoxin glanced at Li Shiqia with satisfaction. That's why they say the one who understands you best is always your opponent.

"Is it really a deal?"

Gao Bo clapped and stomped his feet excitedly, then suddenly rushed over and gave Tang Ruo a firm hug.

It was even harder than the last one.

Tang Ruo really couldn't take it anymore this time. After breaking free, she complained, "Do you hug your girlfriend this tightly too? Aren't you afraid of strangling her to death?"

Gao Bo pointed at Tang Ruo and warned her impatiently, "If you keep keeping me in suspense, I'm really going to strangle you!"

Upon seeing this, Tang Ruo immediately raised his hands in surrender.

"The deal was reached, and the results of the cooperation were far greater than we had anticipated."

Upon hearing this, even Li Shiqia became agitated and urged Tang Ruo to quickly explain what had been agreed upon.

"Firstly, regarding game streaming, Xingchen Dahai has created a new internet celebrity girl group, the Campus Belle Alliance, which has secured advertising endorsements for NetEase's new game, 'Dream Journey to the Jianghu,' and they've chosen Panda TV as their game streaming platform—"

Before Tang Ruo could finish speaking, Li Shiqia suddenly called for a halt.

"Wait a minute, Panda TV?"

Gao Bo, who was standing nearby, also realized that the website name they had agreed on before was "Look It Over".
Tang Ruo smiled wryly at her two business partners: "This is also one of the conditions for cooperation. Mr. Yang felt that the name of this website was too regional and didn't sound good. He bluntly said that if we wanted to cooperate, we had to change the name."

Since the company hasn't been officially registered yet, changing the name won't be a big deal.

However, being asked to change his name right away seems a bit too "domineering" of Yang Muye.

The key point is that Tang Ruo actually agreed.

Behind this lies an even more worrying problem for Li Shiqia.

Even the website name has been changed. Has Tang Ruo reached more "unequal treaties" with Yang Muye?
The experience of being used and then discarded by the ICC is still fresh in Li Shiqia's mind. He is now afraid that Yang Muye will take over the new company and kick out the three founders, which would be very embarrassing.

Tang Ruo was in high spirits, and Li Shiqia didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he decided to let Tang Ruo finish explaining the cooperation project.

"The game livestream from the Campus Belle Alliance is just the tip of the iceberg; the real big prize is this!"

Tang Ruo pulled a stack of Werewolf cards from her pocket.

The three of them, Tang Ruo and his friends, really enjoy playing this board game and often invite friends over for a few rounds in their spare time.

The news that "Werewolf" was going to be made into an online game had been released for a long time, but neither Gao Bo nor Li Shiqia expected that this big opportunity would actually fall into their laps.

The game "Werewolf" requires players to interact via video throughout the game, making it a natural source of material for game live streaming.

At that time, all the internet celebrities under Xingchen Dahai will be live streaming "Werewolf" on Panda TV, which will not only promote the game but also bring traffic to the website.

A complete win-win.

"Old Gao, you're going to be very busy for a while. Our website must be online by the end of this month at the latest."

"That's what Tang Ruo said with absolute certainty."

In the three-person startup team, Gao Bo was always in charge of technology, Li Shiqia was in charge of operations, and Tang Ruo was in charge of overall management.

Gao Bo nodded enthusiastically.

His axe was already itching for action, eager to unleash its full power immediately.

"The funds—"

Before Li Shiqia could finish speaking, Tang Ruo interrupted him directly.

“My dad promised that as long as we can secure a reliable partner, he will provide the startup capital for the website.”

One advantage of starting a business as a second-generation rich kid is that you don't have to worry about start-up capital at all.

Hearing this, one would normally be able to go back and celebrate with champagne.

However, Li Shiqia felt a slight sense of loss.

Panda TV has signed a contract with the Campus Beauty Alliance to stream "Dream Journey to Jianghu" and is also collaborating with the online game "Werewolf".

The live stream content has reverted to the traditional model focused on games, which is contrary to the live stream model of recording life that Li Shiqia had previously proposed.

Currently, Gao Bo is in charge of the technology, and Tang Ruo has taken care of herself, leaving only herself without any real role to play.

Although he was in charge of the website's operation afterward, Li Shiqia could clearly feel that his influence within the team was rapidly diminishing.

A similar scene occurred just before Li Shiqia was discarded by the ICC after he had served his purpose.

It's no wonder Li Shiqia was worried.

Fortunately, Tang Ruo didn't just focus on her own happiness; she stepped forward and put her arm around the sullen Li Shiqia's shoulder.

"Do you think that our current focus on game live streaming has deviated from our original intention when we started the business?"

Li Shiqia moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Can he say that game live streaming is going in the wrong direction?
No!

Game live streaming is an inevitable trend, and this is a consensus among all players who have entered the live streaming website arena.

Li Shiqia was just a little unwilling.

After all, "The Wandering Leonardo da Vinci" was so popular back then; if it had been broadcast live at that time, the effect would have been absolutely explosive.

Including this second venture, Li Shiqia did consider bringing back Wang Daliang, the "wandering Leonardo da Vinci," and trying out live streaming to see how it went.

However, this proposal was vetoed by Johann Adam Schall von Bell.

Wang Daliang has now been unanimously labeled a fraud by netizens and the media. Even if he appeared in a live stream in his most authentic form, no one would believe him anymore. Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain.

However, attempting to move mountains like the legendary Yu Gong would be too costly.

Perhaps when the website grows bigger and bigger in the future, we can ask Wang Daliang to come back and do some live streaming again.

But this is absolutely not acceptable in the initial stages of a website's creation.

“I know you think it’s a pity about Da Liang, but don’t forget, I discovered Da Liang myself. I think it’s a pity even more than you do, but a mistake is a mistake, and you have to stand up straight when you’re punished!”

Tang Ruo earnestly advised him.

Li Shiqia forced a smile and nodded.

He still didn't seem very enthusiastic.

Tang Ruo put her arm around Li Shiqia's shoulder and said, "Alright, today is a joyous day for the three of us brothers to start our second business again. I'll take you somewhere."

Gao Bo and Li Shiqia both thought Tang Ruo was going to take them out for drinks to celebrate, but after leaving the airport and getting into a taxi, Tang Ruo told the driver:
"Driver, go to Xiaoman Hutong in Xicheng District, do you know that place?"

"I know, that's an old alley. So, do you three live there?" the driver replied as he started the car.

Old alleyway?
Gao Bo and Li Shiqia, sitting in the back seat, looked at each other in bewilderment.

What did Tang Ruo take them there for?
Tang Ruo turned her head from the passenger seat, her smile mysterious:

"You'll see when you get there, it'll be a huge surprise!"

An hour later, the three of them stood at the entrance of the alley.

There weren't even streetlights in the alley.

The lighting relies entirely on voice-activated lights at the entrance of each courtyard, which automatically turn on when someone passes by.

When no one is around, it's pitch black.

Li Shiqia turned to look at Tang Ruo:

"Are you sure you've prepared a big surprise for us here? Not a shock?"

Tang Ruo herself did not expect the environment here to be worse than she had imagined, but since she had already come all this way, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in.

Anyway, Yang Muyi said that you should walk straight into the alley until you see a large Chinese scholar tree, then you've arrived.

I had only walked a few steps into the alley when I heard the roar of a motorcycle engine behind me.

Turning my head, I saw a young man riding a sidecar motorcycle coming this way.

As I passed by, I glanced at the three of them.

I guess they just didn't recognize them.

Seeing this, Tang Ruo took the opportunity to go up and greet him:

"Hello, we'd like to ask, is the Windy Courtyard up ahead?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiaoyu immediately braked and stopped the motorcycle, then turned around and carefully examined Tang Ruo and the other two.

"Why are you looking for Youfeng Courtyard?"

“We are friends of Mr. Yang. We heard that he built a courtyard here, so we came to visit.”

"Tang Ruo replied."

Upon hearing Yang Muye's name, Chu Xiaoyu's attitude immediately underwent a complete 180-degree change.

“Yes, that courtyard is just ahead. Walk another 300 meters or so, and you’ll see a big locust tree. If you really can’t find it, just look for my motorcycle. My house is right next to Youfeng Courtyard. I’ll park the motorcycle at the entrance of Youfeng Courtyard in a bit, and you’ll see it when you get there.”

If it weren't for the fact that his three-wheeled car couldn't fit three grown men, Chu Xiaoyu would have liked to give Tang Ruo and the other two a ride.

After watching Chu Xiaoyu ride away on his motorcycle, Tang Ruo and the other two continued walking forward.

Before they arrived at their destination, Li Shi seized the opportunity to ask about the story behind the windy courtyard.

"Mr. Yang wants to create a chain of homestays. This courtyard in the alley is for advertising. The guests are all Mr. Yang's employees. The initial idea was just to film some daily life videos in the courtyard."

"That's why we took the initiative to approach them for cooperation. Mr. Yang suggested that we use this courtyard as a test for live streaming."

Li Shiqia immediately stopped and stared at Tang Ruo in shock.

"Is this the surprise you were talking about?"

Tang Ruo noticed that Li Shiqia's expression was strange and frowned as he asked:

"Isn't this what you've always said you wanted to try a more lifestyle-oriented live stream?"

Li Shiqia was speechless.

Yes, that was indeed his idea.

However, this kind of lifestyle live streaming is not something that can be done by simply finding a few people to film their daily lives.

It has to be interesting!

Just like Wang Daliang, the "wandering Leonardo da Vinci," why was he so popular back then?
A farmer who came from the mountains, a self-taught genius painter, and a disabled but determined mute man—these three labels are indispensable.

After hearing this, Tang Ruo smiled.

"Who told you there's nothing to see here? The Windy Courtyard now has three rooms. Room number 1 is occupied by a wandering singer who had a falling out with his family and came to Beijing alone to pursue his musical dreams."

"The remaining two rooms are shared by girls. The two girls in room number 2 are from the Grand Canal in Jiangnan Province. One is a singer and the other is working. The two girls in room number 3 are from Beijing. They are in their final year of high school and are preparing for the college entrance examination."

"Most importantly, everyone in the courtyard is real and can withstand any investigation. Do you think anyone would watch a live stream of such a group of people getting together, talking about music and ideals, and their daily lives?"

Li Shiqia fell silent.

Tang Ruo stepped forward and put her arm around Li Shiqia's shoulder:

"Do you feel it's not quite as good as Da Liang's? Don't worry, there are still some hidden gems in this courtyard that haven't been revealed yet!"

Li Shiqia turned to look at Tang Ruo with annoyance.

At this point, are you still keeping me in suspense?
Tang Ruo realized this and immediately apologized.

"Okay, okay, it's all my fault. The trump card I was talking about is those two girls from the Grand Canal in Jiangnan Province. One of them, the singer, is of mixed race. Not only is she beautiful, but her background is also incredibly bizarre and complicated—"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shiqia interrupted him.

"Tang Ruo, you said it yourself before: if you're wrong, you have to admit it; if you're going to be punished, you have to stand up straight! Don't make the same mistake as Da Liang!"

Now it was Johann Adam Schall von Bell's turn to be speechless.

"What do you take me for! I've already failed with Da Liang once, do you think I'd be stupid enough to make the same mistake again? Da Liang's mute status is fabricated, but this girl's background is real!"

"Her ancestor was an Italian who admired Marco Polo. He named himself Madfu, joined the army, and came to China with the Eight-Nation Alliance. He was then killed by our Yihequan (Boxer Rebellion). The old man was wounded on the battlefield but miraculously survived. He was even rescued by a local girl, and the two later got married."

"Later, when the Japanese invaded our home, Ma Defu's wife was killed by the Japanese while covering her son and daughter-in-law's escape. Ma Defu also died fighting the Japanese."

“Ma Defu’s descendants fled along the Grand Canal, and his grandson eventually settled in Huai’an. That man was the girl’s grandfather.”

"On the other side, Ma Defu had a younger brother named Xiao Polo. Upon learning that Ma Defu had been wounded and gone missing on the battlefield, he personally came to China to find his brother. One of them was traveling south along the Grand Canal, and the other was traveling south along the Grand Canal. They were supposed to meet, but unfortunately, Xiao Polo had an accident on the way. His ship sank, and he died in a foreign land."

"However, Polo's descendants are still in Italy. By his grandson's generation, they are already a well-known wealthy family in the area. The key point is that the old man's children are all gone now, and he is getting old. If he knew that he still had blood relatives in China, do you think he would be very happy?"

(End of this chapter)