A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 164 Christmas

The recruitment information has actually been posted on the website by HAO123 for many days.

However, it's not particularly eye-catching; you have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the website to find the "Business Cooperation" option.

After clicking through, you'll find a business cooperation model that Li Xingping himself edited.

And a contact email address.

During that week or so, quite a few people did inquire. But Li Xingping was cautious; he didn't blindly agree but instead asked for a quote.

After providing the other party with the number of visits to your website's IP addresses, let them quote a price.

Initially, the prices fluctuated, with some small startup websites offering a few hundred yuan, or at most one or two thousand.

He didn't agree, but instead continued to compile the base figures for these quotes.

It's important to determine how much money should be paid for these "GG" spots on the website.

Of course, there were also those who offered higher prices.

The highest record was 100,000 yuan.

Li Xingping was stunned... After all, 100,000 yuan was enough to buy company shares.

However, the other party insisted on linking the website first, and provided a payment structure similar to a tiered formula, such as paying a certain amount only after the website reached a certain number of visits...

When Li Xingping logged onto the other party's website to find out what it was all about, his computer got a virus...

This startled him, and he quickly took action, then blocked the other party.

It was obviously a phishing website.

So he became more vigilant, bought another computer for the company, and even ran a new network cable to physically isolate the website from the company's server.

At the same time, he was also aware of the risks associated with this investment agreement.

So even though the number of IP addresses on the website was increasing every day, he didn't rush to make a profit, but continued to conduct market research.

The final conclusion was that five thousand was a very reasonable base price.

For just 5,000 yuan, you can get a website link with a Chinese character in four characters on the HAO123 webpage.

The validity period is one month.

And they only give it for one month.

This is Li Mu's request.

Initially, Li Xingping wanted to launch a promotion like "buy two months and get half a month free, buy three months and get one month free," but Li Mu rejected it outright.

The website's daily traffic is steadily increasing; the more users there are, the better the business becomes.

If the price is too low, wouldn't that be equivalent to losing money?

Li Xingping also thought it made sense, so he blocked the one-month time limit.

Today, after six months of operation, the domain name HAO123, which went from being unusable on Hackintosh, has finally earned its first income.

He couldn't wait to share the good news with Li Mu, but Li Mu's reaction was...

"Okay, Ping-ge, congratulations. How did the talks with those software installation companies go?"

"Uh... I've only contacted Meiping so far."

What is Meiping?

"It's a software company that specializes in creating anti-pornographic websites. I know them because their people came to our internet cafe to promote their services before."

"..."

Li Mu's lips twitched.

I thought to myself, how can this kind of software still have a chance of survival?

"What did they say?"

"No reply yet."

"Then we need to keep working hard, Ping. Our main goal should be to work on those system assembly master disks."

"Well... okay, I'll try my best."

"Yeah. Anyway, congratulations, Ping-ge, we've taken the first step towards victory, but... we're still a long way from success, and there's a long road ahead."

"Hehehe..."

Li Xingping seemed quite happy on the other end of the phone.

But Li Mu immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm:

"Don't laugh, Ping-ge, I'm serious. Do you know what the document I'm holding right now is?"

Li Xingping thought to himself, "How would I know... I don't have clairvoyance."

Immediately afterwards, Li Mu said:

"What I'm holding in my hand right now is a statistical report from CNNIC."

"C what?"

"CNNIC, the National Internet Information Center."

Looking at the statistical report that had just been distributed to him this morning, he said:

"The China Network Information Center releases a statistical report every six months. The report released on June 1st this year stated that the total number of internet users in our country was 26.5 million. And as of December 1st this year, can you guess how many internet users there are?"

"How many?"

"33.7 million. And let me give you another figure: 26.5 million in June of this year, a 56.8% increase compared to the end of 2000. And the December report shows that the number of internet users increased by 49% year-on-year. Note that this report requires the number of citizens who spend at least one hour online per week on average. In other words, our less than 50,000 IP visits are nothing compared to this number."

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Li Xingping asked:

Where can I find this report?

"You can download it from the Internet Center website, or you can see it in tomorrow's newspaper. We want to publish this report."

"...Okay, I'll go take a look."

"Okay, I'll get the article ready right away."

"Okay, Mr. Li, then... we'll keep in touch via QQ later."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu continued to peruse the document that his workplace had just received that day.

An unrealistic fantasy also arose in my mind.

More than 30 million people... How wonderful it would be if they could all use HAO123 to access the internet...

……

Friday, October 12.

"Hey, Li Wei, where have you been?"

Looking at Li Mu, who was now a formal reporter in the local department, Li Wei showed a hint of envy:

"Your Arts and Sports Department has it so easy."

"...What do you mean by that?"

"I'm so envious. We just came back from the Friendship Store. They put up a huge Christmas tree there, and a bunch of people were watching it in the square. So, as soon as we got the news, we went over there."

"Christmas tree...Christmas?"

Li Mu then realized what was happening.

"right."

Li Wei nodded:

"According to my mentor, it might be because of the WTO this year. We've become more integrated with the international community. These Western holidays have been introduced, and it's quite lively. Friendship Store itself is very international, so it's newsworthy."

As she spoke, she glanced at Li Mu twice, then suddenly lowered her voice and asked:

Are you... planning to celebrate Christmas?

Li Mu shook his head:

"I haven't done it. Have you?"

"...Me neither. But it's already the 20th, and Christmas Eve is in three days. You..."

At this point, she hesitated for a moment before asking:

Have you prepared?

How do you usually spend Christmas?

"I don't know either. I see Westerners all getting together as a family, like during our Spring Festival. Oh right, I've been wanting to ask you something: who answered the phone when I called you last time?"

"..."

Li Mu glanced at her, then smiled and said:

"My girlfriend."

"...You have a girlfriend!?"

Li Wei's eyes widened instantly.

Although she had vaguely realized this matter since that day, hearing Li Mu admit it himself still felt... a little strange.

"Um."

"...Then you can spend Christmas with your girlfriend."

Li Wei's expression was somewhat stiff.

After saying that, he waved his hand:

"I'll be going now, I need to hurry back and finish the manuscript."

"Okay, sure."

The two passed each other by.

After thinking for a moment, Li Mu called Fan Bingbing.

Xiaomi answered the phone.

"Hey, Brother Li, Sister Bingbing is sleeping. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"sleep?"

Li Mu glanced at the time.

This is only the beginning...

"Has she eaten? Why is she taking a nap so early?"

"Uh...no. My sister did a gig this morning, and the organizers treated us to lunch. She had a few drinks and got a little drunk. But before she went to sleep, she specifically gave me her phone number and told me to tell you not to worry if you called, Brother Li, that she would call you back when she woke up."

Li Mu felt a warmth in his heart, but more than that, he felt a pang of heartache.

Because Fan Bingbing told him, "I have a business event to attend today, so I have to get up early tomorrow morning."

But she didn't mention that she was going to drink alcohol...

It's important to understand that celebrities performing at commercial events is a very normal activity.

For example, when a company holds its opening ceremony, in order to showcase its strength, it might invite a famous singer to perform or a celebrity to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. This is called "moonlighting."

There are generally two types of gigs.

One type is like the one mentioned above, where they sing, cut ribbons, and then leave.

His girlfriend quoted 50,000 for this kind of activity.

However, if you attend the dinner party and drink alcohol, the price will double.

One hundred thousand.

As for the reason... it's quite simple. Leaving aside the photos, once things involve a dinner party, drinking is required, and it's quite troublesome. Because when drinking, someone like your girlfriend is just there to add to the atmosphere, to bring honor to the host.

For example, Li Mu, the chairman of a company, invited the famous actress Fan Bingbing to perform at a restaurant. When they had dinner together, Li Mu, the chairman, held up a wine glass and toasted the guests along with Fan Bingbing.

They offered toasts at each table, their faces beaming with smiles.

Since Fan Bingbing gave Chairman Li a lot of face, his compensation was naturally more generous.

Moreover, drinking parties also carry risks, such as being forced to drink, taking photos together, or even, to put it more bluntly, engaging in behaviors that appear intimate to onlookers...

However, this situation is relatively rare.

According to his girlfriend, most of the actors involved were minor actors, but those who were well-known would usually agree in advance not to do such things.

Otherwise, if a scandal breaks out, or if it's like the bad habit of harassing bridesmaids... let alone whether they pay or not, nobody can stand it.

Furthermore, famous celebrities receive payment in advance. The client specifies their requirements beforehand, such as whether it's a ribbon-cutting ceremony, singing, taking photos, or whether a meal is included. All of these things are agreed upon beforehand.

You make your requirements, we provide a quote, and once we agree to cooperate, you make the payment directly.

Once the money is in my account, I'll fulfill my obligations. But if you do anything excessive or outrageous, we'll stick to the contract.

The contract clearly stipulates what the artist should and should not do.

Although there are instances where the boss gets drunk and throws money at you on the spot to make you submit, this situation is generally not the case.

To be frank, the brokers (intermediaries) who can afford to hire their girlfriends for gigs aren't exactly small fry; they have some influence.

This is the true nature of what is known as celebrity gigs.

His girlfriend had told him about these things beforehand to avoid any problems in their relationship.

But now that he heard she had drunk too much, Li Mu couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

After thinking for a moment, he asked:

Where are you now?

"at home."

"...Are there any other events scheduled for the next couple of days?"

"Yes, I have to attend a bar opening event on the 24th and a real estate company celebration on the 25th."

"Well……"

Li Mu thought for a moment and said:

"Okay, wait until she wakes up... and tell her I'll go see her in a bit."

"Uh... okay."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu rubbed his chin.

Christmas...