Chapter 750: Give the Internet a Little Shock to the Richest Man
Lu Yiming said: "The name of the website is 'Yuedu Chinese Website', and the name of our company is Yuedu Network Technology Co., Ltd. The registered address and office are both in Zhonghai. We have temporarily rented a floor of Jinmao Tower as the office. The website should be ready in a few days, and we are currently debugging it."
The design and functionality of the website were all ready in Lu Yiming's mind. He directly copied the design of Qidian Chinese website 20 years later, saving time and effort. Lu Yiming now had a large number of network technical talents under his name, so it was easy for him to put together a team. It was estimated that the website would be online in another week.
By this time, it was already September 2003, and on October 10, Qidian launched its VIP charging system.
However, the current charging system is very different from the charging system when Lu Yiming was addicted to online literature.
Very simple.
The entire welfare system designed by Lu Yiming was a combination of the welfare systems of many online literature sites before his rebirth. It not only includes subscription, guarantee, publishing, adaptation and other content, but also writer care, medical insurance and so on.
The most important thing is that Lu Yiming has Alipay, a powerful tool that allows him to easily recharge and pay royalties.
In the beginning, all royalties from Qidian were sent through the post office, and readers who wanted to recharge had to use phone prepaid cards, which was very inconvenient.
Someone asked: "Reading novels was free before. If we charge for them now, will no one be willing to pay to read them?"
"That's right. Who would want to read novels that cost money when there are free novels?"
Lu Yiming said earnestly, "Although free is a magical skill, it is not applicable to all business fields. Only by charging can the interests of authors be protected and authors can concentrate on their creation. Money does not necessarily mean that good novels can be written, but without money, I am afraid that there will be no one to write novels. The authors of the books you read stopped writing after a while. Isn't this a clear proof? How can something that only pays but does not get rewards continue? Only by continuously producing good works can everyone have good books to read."
The subscription profit-sharing system guarantees the author's creative enthusiasm to the greatest extent possible.
In the wild era of online literature, it was precisely because of its insistence on charging that Qidian eventually dominated the entire novel industry and occupied half of the market.
In fact, no matter what, the most valuable asset of a novel website is the authors. Countless authors compete on the same stage, which can be described as raising poisonous insects to survive the fierce competition and continue to create excellent works.
Having good works can continue to attract enough readers, thus bringing other additional benefits.
Therefore, if an online novel website wants to be in charge, it only needs to serve the authors well, and the rest will naturally be regulated by market behavior.
Once a website tries to squeeze profits from authors, that is the beginning of its demise.
If the author runs away, how can the readers not run away?
If a free novel is not good, no one will be interested in it.
After all, readers read novels for pleasure, not to be tortured.
"In addition to discovering good writers, writer training is also necessary. In order for the entire industry to develop healthily and sustainably, it is very necessary to establish a youth training system for online literature."
Whether the development of a healthy industry is reasonable or not is never determined by a few leading people, but by the number and living conditions of the grassroots, and whether the promotion system is complete.
Take football as an example, from elementary school to junior high school, then to high school, and finally to various levels of professional leagues. A player can run on the green field from a young age, receive the most professional training, accumulate game experience, until his talent is recognized by the world and finally become a world-class star.
Only under such a complete system can a country's football strength be strong and lasting. The lack of a youth training system has made the Chinese national football team look like a bird, and everyone can see what it is like.
Things like attendance awards may cost a lot of money, and most of the time they may not even recover the cost.
However, it can prevent authors who are interested in writing novels from giving up their dreams at the very beginning.
Even if only one out of a hundred people stands out, the website will still make money.
Lu Yiming sent the complete writer welfare system to the group and said, "Take a look at it and familiarize yourself with it. You don't have to memorize it completely, but at least you should be able to answer it quickly when someone asks you about it."
"Then, I declare that the Yuedu Editorial Department is now established!"
"applaud."
"Sprinkle flowers."
“Pah, pah, pah.”
Within a few days, the news that Lu Yiming had opened a new online literature company spread in the circle.
In the QQ group, Ma Teng, who had just returned from a failed mission in the United States, directly @ Lu Yiming.
"@Lu Yiming, Mr. Lu, you have been very active recently. In the blink of an eye, you have established an online literature company."
When people heard that Lu Yiming was doing something again, the group suddenly became lively.
Chen Tianjiao: "Online literature? Mr. Lu is actually entering the field of online literature. Is this the next hot topic?"
Lei Shouhou: "Mr. Chen, what's the matter? Are you interested?"
Chen Tianjiao: "I do have some ideas."
Lei Shuohou: "Come on, there is nothing to do with online literature. It is just a way to throw money around for fun. Just look at the banyan tree and you will know. They have raised so much money but have not seen a single cent."
In fact, these words also represent the true attitude of many people in the investment circle. Although there is no one who is doing investment in China who is not secretly studying Lu Yiming's investment ideas, they really can't understand online literature.
After all, the word "original" does not exist in the dictionary of these "entrepreneurs".
Making money is king.
No matter whether the cat is black or white, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat.
Zhou Hongyi quietly said, "You may not know this, but Shi Qingxue, the chairman of this company, is the confidante of the richest man."
Everyone looked as if they had suddenly realized something.
"It turns out that heroes are often tempted by beautiful women. I understand."
"That's what I said, it's okay then."
"I heard that the start-up capital was 10 million."
"Ten million may be a lot for others, but for the richest man, it's just a drop in the bucket. What's wrong with throwing it out to make his wife happy?"
Lu Yiming had just come online when he was almost flooded with chat records in the QQ group. After glancing at the previous content, he directly sent a middle finger emoji to the group and said, "The online literature market has great potential. If you think it is not good, it is because of your lack of ability, not because the industry is not good."
"Boss Lu, please stop being so stubborn. We all know what's going on."
"That's right. I think it's worth spending 10 million to make my wife happy."
Lu Yiming said, "You know what? Whether it's a TV series, a movie, or a game, they all rely on scripts, and novels are a treasure trove of adapted scripts. I'm telling you right now, within 20 years, I want to make this business worth more than 50 billion."
"Fifty billion in twenty years? Is that so exaggerated?"
"Just writing an article, can it make a 50 billion plate?"
Many people expressed disbelief.
In fact, the idea of online literature is to gather small amounts of sand into a tower, and to accumulate small amounts into a large amount. To put it more elegantly, to borrow the words of the teacher, it is to "rely on the power of the people". When the time comes, the whole nation will create, and more will bloom, and 50 billion is really not an exaggeration.
Zhou Hongyi had benefited from Lu Yiming's kindness. His current success was due to Lu Yiming's investment and advice. When everyone disagreed with Lu Yiming's statement, he was very tempted: "Can online writing really make money?"
Lu Yiming: "It is indeed a large scale. I just said that literary works are the source of all adaptations and the fulcrum of the lever. But not everyone can make this money. For example, you and Ma Teng are not very good at it."
Zhou Hongyi immediately became dissatisfied: "Why can't I do this?"
Ma Teng also shouted: "You said I can't do it, so I can't do it?"
Lu Yiming thought of the future. After Ma Teng saw the potential of online literature, he also began to devote a lot of effort to original online literature. He opened a series of websites such as Huashatiankong and Chuangshi. However, each one went bankrupt and none of them survived for more than five years.
Ma Teng is not good at not only online literature, but also short videos. He has successively launched Weishi, Shanka, QIM, DOV, MOKA, Maobing, MO Sheng, Yunshou, Xiafan, Sukan, Shiguang, Yoo, Yintu, Happy, Small World, and Shike, but none of them survived.
Judging from the time and space before Lu Yiming's rebirth, none of Ma Teng's original works were successful. The only things he did were acting as an agent or copying. If the agency and copying were unsuccessful, he would directly use his capital power to buy the other party outright.
Facing Ma Teng, who had no idea what was going on, Lu Yiming once again gave a middle finger and said, "Yes."
Ma Teng: “…”
On the other side, Jack Ma sat in front of the computer, quietly lurking, watching Lu Yiming slaughtering everyone in the group, and his heart was also slightly moved.
Suddenly, his QQ avatar flashed in the lower right corner of his computer and made a beeping sound. It turned out that someone was messaging him privately.
When he opened the QQ chat window, Jack Ma was surprised to find that it was Ma Teng.
"My dear, what do you think? Is this online novel really as profitable as Lu Yiming said?"
Jack Ma thought for a while and said, "To be honest, I don't understand it either. Although Mr. Lu's big pie does seem to be true, I also like to read martial arts novels and have read many works. But I think literature itself is quite niche. Look, there are people who write novels, but not many are adapted. Only Jin Wen and Gu Liang's works are adapted into TV series and movies, and few people watch them. Is online literature different?"
Ma Teng felt that what Jack Ma said made sense, but he also felt that what Lu Yiming said made sense to a certain extent. After all, Lu Yiming's magic could not be measured by common sense.
"Is this guy throwing smoke bombs in the group?"
Jack Ma said: "It's possible. If it's really as profitable as he said, would he publicize it in the group? Would you?"
Ma Teng said: "Of course not. Otherwise, if everyone does it together, won't that steal my business?"
"Yeah, so I think Mr. Lu is trying to get everyone involved by retreating."
"It's possible. Let's wait and see."
Don't be fooled by the fierce quarrel just now; in fact, they were just making trouble.
Lu Yiming talked how much money online literature would make in the future, but this made everyone suspicious, and they felt that Lu Yiming was setting a trap for them.
Who would talk about making money? It must be that he made his fortune quietly.
It's no wonder that everyone is suspicious. There is a saying in this world that all is fair in war. Lu Yiming has become the richest man in Asia in just a few years. Who knows how many tricks he has hidden?
On the other hand, at Qidian Literature Network, Wu Wenhui is now in a dilemma.
The company now faces a strong competitor!
In 2003, the market capacity of online literature was small, there were not many people reading novels online, and there was no profit model to be found for the time being.
But even so, there are still people coming to steal his business, and Wu Wenhui feels his scalp tingling.
You, the richest man, have a net worth of hundreds of billions. Why don't you do so many profitable businesses and instead come and steal the jobs of poor losers like us?
In the conference room, several company executives were unhappy.
They were just discussing the introduction of a welfare system, and this profit model was also a new one, so no one knew whether it would work or not. Now that Lu Yiming suddenly announced that he was going to join the market, how could they not panic?
Vice President Liang Xiaodong scratched his head and said, "The richest man is down. I heard that their website will be online within this month. How should we deal with it?"
Wu Wenhui thought for a moment and said, "We can unite with other websites to fight against Yuedu Chinese Network."
Although Yuedu Chinese website has just started, and it can even be said that it has not even set up the empty framework yet, Wu Wenhui does not dare to underestimate it. After all, this is something created by Mr. Lu, the richest man in the country.
In the past few years, every field that Mr. Lu has touched upon has been filled with blood and chaos.
To put it bluntly, if all the people in the current online literature circle were added together, Mr. Lu could crush them all with just one finger.
"Well, I think this trick is feasible. Let's unite first and control the resources in the circle, so that even if Mr. Lu enters the circle, he won't be able to get the resources. It's useless for him to have money."
“That’s definitely one way to do it.”
Several people at the scene thought that Wu Wenhui's method was feasible.
In today's online literature circles, the relationship between editors and authors is very close. On the one hand, the circle is small, and everyone has a sense of self-interest. They chat about the plot and brag about it together every day, and it would be unacceptable if the relationship is not good.
Secondly, it is precisely because writing novels does not make money and there are not so many conflicts of interest that everyone gathers together purely out of interest and like-minded people.
After Wu Wenhui proposed the coalition alliance initiative, various novel websites responded one after another, such as Under the Banyan Tree, Hongxiu, Watch Together, Novel Reading Network, Huanjian, Tianxia and so on.
The editors contacted their authors one after another, appealing to their feelings and reasoning with them. Those authors naturally vowed that they would never change jobs. They were all intellectuals with backbones and would never bow to capital!
After stabilizing the authors, these websites decided that it was stable!
I have all the writers in my hands. What if you, Mr. Lu, come? Even a good cook cannot cook without rice.
For a time, this matter became the focus of everyone's attention. Many people were eager to see Lu Yiming embarrassed, so now they are naturally gloating and watching the fire from the other side of the river.
In the QQ group, Ma Teng, who had been intercepted by Lu Yiming several times, was the most outgoing person. He directly @Lu Yiming in the QQ group and said, "You haven't even opened your website yet, but you've become the public enemy of the industry. How can you continue to operate like this?"
Zhou Hongyi also took the opportunity to stir up trouble, saying, "I think that Mr. Lu will definitely return home with nothing this time. Although Yuedu.com is rich, novels are not something that can be written by just throwing money at them. You need excellent authors."
Lu Yiming burst out with anger and started to retort directly: "Get lost, all of you are just talking nonsense here. Can a group of sheep unite to defeat a lion? What's more, I'm not a lion, I'm a dragon, and I can fly! Hahahaha!"
Zhou Hongyi: "Damn, you are so arrogant all day long, be careful or you will fall flat on your face one day."
Lu Yiming: "Fall? That's impossible. I can do everything except lose."
Zhou Hongyi: "Mr. Lu, can you really make money by writing novels?"
Lu Yiming: "Want to know?"
Zhou Hongyi: “Yes.”
Lu Yiming: "Then take your time to think about it. Hahaha, you want to trick me? You are still a little naive."
Zhou Hongyi: “Damn.”
Lu Yiming knew about the fact that all the websites had joined forces a long time ago, but he was not panicked at all. No matter how many weaklings there are, they are still weaklings and cannot shake the real strong ones.
In the first few years of the millennium, online fiction websites were basically in the stage of losing money to gain publicity, and each of them was losing money like a Muggle.
In the early days of the online literature market, in order to pay for the increasingly expensive space fees, websites racked their brains to find ways to make money.
The VIP subscription payment system will not become truly popular until a year later.
So in fact, today's novel websites have no idea how to make money.
Old-established fiction websites like Cuiwei, Huanjian and Longkong have been unable to make ends meet due to the slump in online advertising, and have had to focus on physical publishing.
While acting as an agent for publishing traditional Chinese books, we are also actively looking for ways to publish simplified Chinese books.
Most bookstores have tried to publish in simplified Chinese, but they have basically failed. Only Longkong has made some progress, but it is just a drop in the bucket and cannot change the overall situation.
The truth is cruel. Those book fans who claimed "I will definitely buy your book" during the serialization always disappear without a trace after paying. The few orders have kept simplified Chinese publishing in a half-dead state.
The current online literature market is both chaotic and confusing, and no one can see the way forward or the direction clearly.
What Lu Yiming has to do is to split the chaos and spread a ray of hope in the dark night sky.
In early October, Yuedu.com completed testing and began to be put into use.
The style of this website is very mature, after all, it is a copy of Qidian 20 years later. Compared with the current online novel websites, it is completely a dimensionality reduction attack.
On the day the website went online, Lu Yiming contacted QQ and started pop-up promotions.
All of a sudden, many people knew that Lu Yiming’s novel website was online, and they clicked in to see what was new.
But when they saw the big words "Writer Welfare System" in the upper right corner of the homepage, they couldn't take their eyes off it.
