Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

The next day, traditional media began to follow up with reports on Shen Mo and YiTao GO, taking a higher perspective than online media.

The front page of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Daily prominently featured the headline, "YiTaoGO helps small and medium-sized enterprises, and e-commerce companies shoulder greater social responsibility."

The Financial Daily focused on how YiTaoGO helped foreign trade companies affected by the subprime crisis open up domestic sales channels through events such as Double Eleven, and even quoted Shen Mo's original words in an interview.

"Given the current situation where SMEs rely too heavily on foreign trade, we believe that 'shifting from foreign trade to domestic trade' is the most pragmatic approach at present."

"What YiTaoGO aims to do is help these businesses move their offline goods online, sell them anytime, anywhere, and weather the winter of global demand contraction."

The news was widely reprinted by major portals such as Sohu, Xinlang, and Wangyi, and related posts on Baidu Tieba were pushed to the top of the trending sections.

The news quickly reached Hutang Experimental Middle School. Wang Yin sat in her office, outwardly calm, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upwards.

In the past, when colleagues got together to chat, one would say that their child had won a second prize in the National Olympiad, or that their son had been admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University. She would say "Congratulations" to them, but she always felt a little jealous inside.

Now, it's finally my turn to hold my head high.

"Sister Wang, your Xiao Mo has really struck it rich!"

The English teacher sitting opposite leaned over, her tone filled with envy.

"What are you posting!"

Wang Yin deliberately sighed, "Our whole family are teachers, how come one of us went into business!"

"Sister Wang, you can't say that!"

The politics teacher, holding a thermos, said, "What's the point of studying? Isn't it just to get into a good university and find a good job? Your Xiao Mo is lucky; he's already achieved all of that in one go. You two are just waiting to enjoy the good life!"

"Yes, Sister Wang, the newspaper said Xiao Mo has several hundred million now, is that true?"

As soon as the English teacher said this, everyone present turned to look at Wang Yin.

"I don't know how much, and Xiao Mo didn't tell me either."

Wang Yin said slowly, "He only said one sentence to me: 'One hundred million is just a small goal, and it will increase more and more in the future.'"

The office fell silent, then erupted in a chorus of "tsk tsk" sounds of admiration.

On the surface, Wang Yin appeared calm and collected, but inside she felt as sweet as if she had drunk honey.

Just then, Shen Weidong pushed open the door and walked in, his back straight. He greeted everyone in the room before finally fixing his gaze on the math teacher: "Ms. Qin, you're changing those two PE classes this afternoon to math classes, right?"

"Never mind, it's only the beginning of the semester. After the winter break, the students are all very lazy."

The math teacher said, "Let them have a few PE classes to get some exercise."

"Yes, yes, the college entrance examination tests not only intelligence, but also physical strength."

"Didn't the Education Bureau just issue a document recently requiring students to develop morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and practically? Physical education class is extremely important!"

"..."

The office was filled with chatter and chatter.

Shen Weidong said with a hint of pride, "The fact that my son Xiao Mo has gotten to where he is today is largely due to me taking him to play basketball and run 1000 meters since he was little. Physical strength is the foundation of success!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the math teacher chimed in, "Old Shen, your son's a billionaire now. If you have the chance tomorrow, talk to him about setting up a football team for Changzhou and having them play in the Chinese Super League, what do you think?"

Shen Weidong laughed it off, saying that with the national football team's level, investing in football would be a waste of money!

Amidst laughter, he whispered to Wang Yin, "The head of the teaching department just called me and asked us to go to the principal's office."

………………

Meanwhile, a commotion also broke out at Jiangsu University of Science and Technology.

Principal Kong, accompanied by Dean Zhao and his entourage, made the Entrepreneurship Park their first stop on the first day of the new semester, and stormed in.

After Shen Mo dealt with the situation for a while, and once most of the leaders had left, Fan Jin suddenly approached him.

"The principal asked me to ask you if you need any further support?"

"Teacher Fan, given the current growth rate of YiTao GO, these few offices in the startup park are probably no longer enough to accommodate us."

Shen Mo shrugged. "We plan to rent an office building off-campus and move YiTao GO out there."

"Move out?!"

Fan Jin was startled.

"Don't worry, it's just moving YiTaoGO out."

Shen Mo reassured them, "Lingyun Technology's other businesses will remain in the startup park."

"Yes, for example, Palmplay Games, which sparked a nationwide craze for stealing vegetables, even has offices here."

Zhong Xue added a sentence.

"Where are you planning to move to? Away from Xiasha?"

Fan Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although PalmPlay Games can't compare to EtaoGO, it's still the second successful project incubated by Zhejiang University of Science and Technology. The school leaders are hoping to show it off during the year-end evaluation.

"No, we're still in Xiasha."

Shen Mo said, "We have already commissioned an agency to look for several office buildings in the district."

Fan Jin nodded: "Alright, when you move there, if there's anything the school needs to do, just let me know."

"That's natural. No matter where YiTaoGO moves, its roots are at Zhejiang University of Technology."

Shen Mo smiled and said, "We'll need to invite Teacher Fan and the school leaders to cut the ribbon then."

Fan Jin felt relieved to hear this. "Oh, right, there's one more thing. You've been selected as an outstanding student representative. Remember to come and receive the award."

"Thank you, Teacher Fan, and please thank the school leaders for their recognition on my behalf."

Shen Mo politely agreed.

Titles like "Outstanding Student Representative" are no longer relevant to him at his current level, much like green-tier equipment in a game.

Back in the office, the keyboard clattered loudly on the desk, and the phone rang incessantly.

Everyone was extremely busy, and morale was at an all-time high.

After all, following the Series A funding round, Shenmo fulfilled his promise and officially launched the stock option incentive program.

Lu Wenbin, Yuan Hua, Qin Feng, Xu Kun, Zhuang Bifan—everyone got a share.

Shen Mo clapped his hands: "Stop for a moment, everyone."

The keyboard clatter gradually subsided, and all eyes turned to him.

"February 18th is the launch date of the Meizu M8."

"This is our first battle after our Series A funding! It's also Lingyun Technology's first battle of 2009!"

"These past few days, the external investment team has maximized the budget, the technical team has kept the servers running smoothly, and the customer service team has prepared their scripts..."

"If anyone messes up, watch out for their stock options and bonuses!"

........................

On February 15th, YiTaoGO's homepage was completely revamped, with the banner in the center replaced by an event page for "Meizu M8's only online pre-sale nationwide".

Limited time offer! Limited quantity! Limited purchase limit!

Three labels, like nails, are firmly planted in the user's visual center.

Each YiTaoGO user ID is limited to purchasing one Meizu M8. From February 15th to February 18th, 5000 pre-sale slots will be available every day at 10:00 AM on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.

After paying a deposit, users will receive a designated "consumption code," which they can use to pay the balance on February 18th, the official sales day.

The event immediately caused a huge stir.

Although the Meizu M8 took two whole years from development to release, with multiple delays announced during that time, earning it the title of "the biggest delay king in history," most mobile phone enthusiasts not only didn't mind, but their expectations only grew higher with each passing day.

This is because it is the first smartphone in China that can truly "compete with the iPhone".

Zhu Yuan was one of these enthusiastic fans, and immediately logged onto YiTaoGO to enter the pre-sale event page.

It clearly states above: 8GB version 2380 yuan, 16GB version 2880 yuan.

During the event, claim an exclusive coupon from YiTaoGO to get an additional 100 yuan off, plus free accessories such as screen protectors and phone cases.

Zhu Yuan flexed his knuckles and looked at the countdown.

1 minutes and 47 seconds left!

Take a deep breath, hover your finger above the mouse, like a cheetah waiting for its prey to step into its ambush.

The countdown numbers ticked away, and the moment "00:00:00" appeared, Zhu Yuan immediately began to operate the system.

Fill in the address, select the version, submit the order, pay the deposit...

My lightning-fast reflexes, honed over years of being single, finally came in handy today, and I successfully obtained a Meizu M8 purchase code.

Zhu Yuan suddenly stood up from his chair and shouted, "I got it! I got it!"

Some were happy, some were sad; some posted screenshots on forums and QQ groups to show off that they had won the lottery, while many more were cursing.

"Damn it! The page froze when I clicked it! After refreshing, it was gone!"

"Only 5000 units per day? Can't YiTaoGO release more?"

"Holy crap! Someone's listed the coupon code they snagged on Taobao! They're adding 200 yuan to the price!"

"Damn it, there are scalpers selling cell phones too!"

Amidst much discussion and a surge of public opinion, the Meizu M8 has already generated immense buzz even before its official release, with forums and QQ groups buzzing daily with the question, "Did you manage to snag a Meizu M8 today?"

On the day of its official release, YiTaoGO's servers experienced their first surge in traffic.

From 9:30 to 10:00, the curve rose sharply, and the technical team had to urgently add two backup servers to barely keep up.

Meanwhile, long queues formed across the country, with some people traveling across three cities just to snag a Meizu M8.

The online and offline buzz intertwined, creating a massive vortex of public opinion.

Seeing this, Lei Jun muttered to himself, "A mobile phone... a smartphone..."

"Tsk tsk, Shen Mo's methods are really too cunning."

Chen Nian said, "They release batches every day, keeping people in suspense. They're practically drooling over people. I don't know where they learned that from."

"This can be considered a form of scarcity marketing, and Vancl can use it in the future."

Lei Jun vaguely felt a sense of familiarity.

Chen Nian joked, "By the way, Lao Lei, you sent people to snap up Meizu M8s. What, are you getting a new phone?"

"No, I want to make cell phones!"

Lei Jun's eyes were burning with passion. "Old Chen, I think I've found what I want to do for the rest of my life."