Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Chapter 158 Search Engines (5K)

"Based on yesterday's turnover of 5.15 million, after deducting nearly half of the 1.66 million from the voice information service channel incurs tolls, the net take-home pay is around 900,000. The 3.49 million from the mobile internet channel only incurs a 15% deduction, leaving nearly 3 million in take-home pay." Jiang Shuo pulled a calculator out of his pocket, tapped a couple of times, and turned to show Bai Yuhang. "The total take-home profit is 3.9 million. If we had used the voice information service entirely before, with the same 5.1 million turnover, after deducting tolls, the net take-home pay would only be a little over 2.8 million. Earning an extra million a day means tens of millions a month."

Jiang Shuo paused for a moment after saying this, then looked down and pressed the calculator again to make sure he hadn't made a mistake.

"Mr. Bai, I didn't expect that switching payment channels could directly increase profit margins so much." Jiang Shuo put the calculator back in his pocket, wiped the sweat from his face, and said, "And this is only the first day. Most users don't even know they can recharge via SMS. Once the front-end guidance is fully rolled out, traffic from the voice information service will continue to migrate to the Mobile Internet, and the toll fees will decrease further. Conservatively speaking, within a week, the revenue share of the Mobile Internet channel will exceed 80%."

Bai Yuhang put down the report and leaned back in his chair.

"How did the tax talks go?"

"Ah, I went yesterday afternoon and talked with the tax officer for over an hour." Jiang Shuo perked up again when he mentioned this. "I explained our business model and cash flow structure to him in detail, including the applicable tax rates for value-added telecommunications services, the accounting treatment for collection and payment on behalf of others, and the revenue sharing settlement method with China Mobile. Everything was aligned. The tax officer said that in his more than ten years of work, this was the first time he had ever seen an internet company proactively come to him to sort out their tax matters."

"I paid every penny of the taxes due," Bai Yuhang said.

"Okay, sure." Jiang Shuo nodded. "I've already entered yesterday's transactions according to the new channel ratio, and the complete daily report should be ready this afternoon. Oh, by the way, Mr. Bai, there's something else..."

Jiang Shuo lowered his voice and glanced towards the door.

"At this rate, our cash reserves will accumulate at an alarming rate. I've done a rough calculation; if the daily turnover remains stable at over five million, after deducting server costs, staff salaries, channel fees, and taxes, the monthly net profit will easily exceed eighty million. Mr. Bai, it's a waste for this money to just sit in a bank current account. I learned about this at the China Venture Capital Fund; shouldn't we consider allocating the funds in advance?"

Bai Yuhang picked up the purple clay cup and took a sip of tea.

"No rush. Let the money sit in the account for a few more days; there will be big expenses later."

Although Jiang Shuo didn't know what Bai Yuhang meant by "big," based on his understanding of Bai Yuhang, every plan that came out of this boss's mouth would eventually turn into real numbers.

"Okay, I'll go back and work on the reports." Jiang Shuo stood up, walked to the door, then turned back. "President Bai, the guys in the tech department stayed up all night last night. Could you approve some funding for lunch today so I can go downstairs and order them a nice meal?"

"Get Jiao to handle the administrative budget; don't be too stingy."

"Alright!" Jiang Shuo happily went out. When he passed the technical department, he saw Zhang Jian still snoring in his chair, with a suspicious bright line hanging from the corner of his mouth and an empty instant noodle bucket lying next to him.

Jiang Shuo, unusually, did not show any disgust towards him. Instead, he carefully went around him, afraid of waking up these meritorious officials who had not slept all night.

Bai Yuhang came out of the CEO's office, holding the report that Jiang Shuo had just delivered, and stood in the middle of the office area.

"Stop for a moment."

The keyboard clicks stopped intermittently.

Zhang Jian straightened up from the chair, his mouth still bearing traces of drool from his snoring, which he wiped with his sleeve.

Wang Xiaochuan pushed up his black-rimmed glasses that were crooked on his nose. Wan Lianghao peeked out, still clutching a half-eaten sausage in his hand.

Bai Yuhang slammed the report onto the nearest table.

"On the first day of the launch of Mobile Dream Network, the total revenue across all channels reached 5.15 million."

The office area was silent for a full three seconds.

Zhang Jian was the first to react, pushing his chair back so the wheels screeched on the floor: "How much?!"

"Five million one hundred and fifty thousand. RMB. One day." Bai Yuhang repeated the number, breaking it down.

Wan Lianghao stared blankly for two seconds, then blurted out in Northeastern dialect, "My goodness! May your fortunes rise higher and higher!"

The office area was in complete chaos.

Several programmers in the technical department who hadn't slept all night jumped up from their desks. Some slammed their fists on the table, while others bounced around on the spot. A young man who had just woken up didn't understand what was going on and joined the others in yelling. After yelling, he tugged at his colleague's sleeve and asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Jiang Shuo stood at the door of the finance office, arms crossed, his expression somewhere between smugness and oxygen deprivation.

He had just pressed the numbers on the calculator five times, and each time the result was the same, but each time it felt unreal.

Zhang Jian squeezed to the front of the report, peeked at it twice, then stepped back and peeked at it again.

"Mr. Bai, if the daily revenue stays stable, will it be over 100 million a month?"

"Gross revenue is possible," Jiang Shuo corrected from the side. "After deducting channel fees and operating costs, the net profit would still be 60 million."

Zhang Jian turned to look at Jiang Shuo, and for the first time didn't find him long-winded: "Shuo, say it again."

"A monthly net profit of 60 million? Are you hearing things?"

Zhang Jian looked up at the ceiling and roared, so loudly that the entire office area was stunned for a moment.

Wan Lianghao slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "More than five million a day! How much of that came from my newly designed leopard print jacket?"

"Who's going to investigate this!"

Without looking up, Liu Zhi replied, "Lianghao, the clothes you mentioned sold over 14,000 sets yesterday. Do the math yourself."

Wan Lianghao counted on his fingers for three seconds, but couldn't figure it out. However, that didn't stop him from laughing so hard that he slapped the table.

Wang Xiaochuan sat at his workstation in the corner, watching the group of people making a ruckus in front of him, and couldn't help but smile.

He only left Sohu yesterday morning; before that, he was reading about Buddha's Light Dog, Poisonous Chicken Leg, and Office Politics.

Less than 24 hours after its launch, what we see now is a daily turnover of 5 million and a group of crazy people writing code all night long.

The noise in Bai Yuhang's office area subsided a bit. He picked up his purple clay teacup, took a sip of tea, and then spoke.

"Are you done being happy? I have three things to tell you."

Everyone fell silent and stared at him.

"First thing," Bai Yuhang held up one finger, "From today onwards, Qihang's taxes must not be shortchanged by a single penny."

"No legitimate tax avoidance, no tax planning, absolutely none of that is allowed. Jiang Shuo, you and the tax officer should keep your accounts exactly as they are, clear and transparent, and able to withstand any audit."

Jiang Shuo was taken aback. With his professional expertise, he knew that legitimate tax avoidance was legal and compliant, and the money he could save was not a small amount.

But he glanced at Bai Yuhang, swallowed the words he was about to say, and nodded: "Understood, I will review the tax filing process again this afternoon."

"Second thing." Bai Yuhang held up his second finger and looked at Zhang Jian. "Server expansion. There's no budget limit. Buy as many servers as you need. This current volume is just the beginning; the volume will increase exponentially later. Don't wait until the servers can't handle it before coming to me. Make a purchase list today: bandwidth, storage, backups—max them all out."

Zhang Jian snapped to attention: "Mr. Bai, I'm taking that seriously. The boss of the IDC server room is going to have a big year today."

"Buy whatever you want."

Zhang Jian's eyes lit up, and he turned to the technical department shouting, "Brothers, did you hear that? Boss Bai said to buy whatever you want! Someone give me a list, it has to be the latest models, don't try to fool me with secondhand or no-name brands!"

"The third thing." Bai Yuhang put down his teacup and glanced at everyone present. "This month, everyone will receive three months' salary as a special bonus. Those in the technical and game departments who worked through the night will receive an additional three months' salary."

There was a moment of silence in the office area.

Then he went completely insane.

Zhang Jian was the first to lead the applause, his hands turning red from clapping.

Wan Lianghao shouted "Long live President Bai!" at the top of his lungs, but was stopped by the people next to him who covered his mouth because they thought it was too noisy. He broke free and continued shouting.

Several young programmers put their arms around each other's shoulders and spun around in place as if they had won the World Cup.

Jiang Shuo stood at the door of the finance office, not saying anything, but silently calculating in his mind how much money would be left in the company's account after the bonuses were distributed. After finishing the calculation, he let out a long sigh.

There's so much of it that I can't possibly spend it all.

Jiao Liwei walked over from the administrative area, holding several expense reports in his hand. Seeing the scene in the office area, he looked puzzled and asked, "What's going on? Did you add extra dishes for lunch?"

Zhang Jian put his arm around his shoulder, grinning from ear to ear: "Brother Jiao, it's not just extra food, it's a windfall! A bonus equivalent to six months' salary! You'd better go back and calculate how much you'll get!"

Jiao Liwei paused for two seconds, looked down at the expense report in his hand, then looked up at Bai Yuhang, and then silently put the expense report back into his pocket—it would be too embarrassing to bring up such a small amount of money now.

Cheers that seemed to lift the roof off the office area continued to erupt.

Zhang Xiaolong leaned against the doorframe of his office, his hands in his pockets, a faint smile on his lips.

He wasn't one to join in the fun, but watching these young people making a ruckus, he couldn't hide the satisfaction in his eyes.

Su Muqing stood at the door of the office next door, a pen still in her hand, having just been calculating the estimated cost of copyright acquisition.

Hearing the commotion outside, she peeked out, her gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing precisely on Bai Yuhang.

Bai Yuhang was carrying a purple clay cup back when he sensed a gaze. He turned his head and glanced at her. The two stared at each other for less than a second across half of the office area. Su Muqing smiled slightly, then lowered her head and returned to her desk to continue calculating her accounts.

Zhang Jian, sporting a head full of messy hair, jumped up from his workstation, kicking his chair so hard it slid two meters away, almost knocking over a nearby trash can.

He rushed over to Wan Lianghao in three quick steps, and the two gave each other a loud high five.

"Liang Hao! Five million! One day!"

"I heard you! I'm not deaf!" Wan Lianghao yelled in his Northeastern accent, "I sold 14,000 of my 'punk' leopard print jackets in one day! 14,000 sets!"

"All you care about is that leopard print!"

The two shoved each other playfully, then turned around and saw Zhang Xiaolong standing at the office door. They exchanged a glance and rushed over at the same time.

Zhang Jian arrived first and grabbed Zhang Xiaolong's shoulder. Wan Lianghao followed closely behind and rushed up from the other side. The three of them bumped into each other, and Zhang Xiaolong was pushed back half a step. He had to hold onto the door frame to regain his balance.

"President AIlen! We made money!" Zhang Jian exclaimed excitedly, his voice cracking.

Zhang Xiaolong was sandwiched between two people, his glasses were squeezed crooked, he reached out to straighten them, and laughed out loud, which was rare for him: "Don't choke me, loosen your grip."

"Allen, the gateway buffering logic you reviewed for us last night came in incredibly handy at this crucial moment!" Zhang Jian let go of Zhang Xiaolong's arm and patted him. "Without your oversight, we wouldn't have dared to ramp up production this morning."

Zhang Xiaolong waved his hand: "It was the newcomer Wang Xiaochuan who designed the message queue well. I just helped look at the boundary conditions."

The noise came in waves, making the entire office area feel like it was Chinese New Year.

Some people were taking pictures of each other, while others were calling home to share good news. Jiao Liwei pulled out a string of decorative ribbons shaped like firecrackers from somewhere and was thinking about hanging it on the ceiling.

Only under the lamp in the far corner was everything quiet.

Wang Xiaochuan sat at his workstation, the cheers around him seeming to be muffled by a pane of glass.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his black-rimmed glasses had slipped down to the tip of his nose, but he didn't bother to push them up.

The screen in front of me was still lit up with dense code, and next to me was a notebook with curled edges. The handwriting on it went from neat to messy, and the further I went, the more it looked like scribbles. It was written after 3 a.m., when I was so sleepy that my hands were shaking, but my brain just wouldn't stop.

He and Zhang Jian finished up the mobile interface issue last night.

After successfully passing the peak stress test of the message queue, he should have gone to rest.

Zhang Jian also urged him, saying, "Chuan'er, your eyes are all red like a rabbit's, hurry up and take a nap."

He didn't go.

The architecture diagrams Bai Yuhang showed him were like a thorn stuck in his mind, impossible to remove.

He sketched out concepts like microservice gateways, container orchestration, and the underlying logic of distributed search engines in his notebook, as if they came up effortlessly, even after searching through countless open papers from MIT and Stanford.

He asked Bai Yuhang where he learned it from, and Bai Yuhang said, "I figured it out myself."

I figured it out myself.

Wang Xiaochuan didn't really believe it, but he couldn't find any other explanation.

All he could do was follow the threads Bai Yuhang had given him and pull them down.

At 2 a.m., after the mobile interface was completely stable, he opened a new project file.

When Bai Yuhang talked to him about search engines in the office last night, he mentioned three core directions: Chinese word segmentation algorithms, microservice architecture and the underlying logic of distributed search engines, and webpage granularity analysis algorithms.

Bai Yuhang didn't go into a detailed explanation, but only touched on some design ideas and gave him several logic flowcharts, as if he were lighting three lamps in the dark.

But these three lamps are enough.

He had been exploring the field of Chinese word segmentation while he was at Tsinghua University.

Unlike English, Chinese words do not have natural spaces separating them. So, a machine cannot distinguish whether "research the origin of life" should be "research/life/of/origin" or "research/life/of/origin".

Bai Yuhang mentioned an idea—a word segmentation method based on statistical language models, which uses a large-scale corpus to train word frequency probabilities and then combines them with the context to perform dynamic segmentation.

Wang Xiaochuan had vaguely considered this direction before, but no one had ever pointed out the path so clearly.

He wrote from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., and in two hours, he managed to build the initial algorithm framework for the Chinese word segmentation module.

It's not a complete product, just a prototype that can run basic test cases, but the core probability calculation model and dictionary index structure are already in place.

The webpage granularity analysis algorithm excited him even more.

Bai Yuhang was saying that after a search engine's crawler crawls a webpage, it shouldn't treat the entire page as a single mass of data. Instead, it should be processed like a surgical procedure, breaking down the page into its title, body text, navigation bar, Google Ads section, and user comments, and assigning different weights to each section.

He had never thought of this idea before, but as soon as he heard it, he felt that when users searched for "Andy Lau", the search engine should prioritize returning pages and text information that mention Andy Lau in the main text, rather than junk pages with "Andy Lau's sunglasses" in the sidebar.

He had thoroughly understood the basic logic of the algorithm. After a flash of inspiration, he didn't dare to stop for a moment. He had to immediately turn his ideas into code. He spent more than three hours making a local test case. Although it was still very rough, the web page parsing module of the crawler program running in the code editor could run without errors. It could break down an HTML page into seven or eight semantic blocks with an accuracy of about 20%.

Two percent.

For a prototype that started from scratch overnight, this is already a staggering number.

At this moment, Wang Xiaochuan was holding several sheets of A4 paper, which he had printed out when he reviewed the game on his computer in the early hours of the morning.

The above are the design ideas that Bai Yuhang dictated last night. He wrote them down word for word and added his own deductions and annotations next to them, filling both sides with dense writing.

The corner of the paper was damp with his sweaty hands, leaving a watermark.

After Zhang Jian finished making a scene, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked back. When he passed Wang Xiaochuan's workstation, he glanced at his screen and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Chuan'er, what are you writing?"

Zhang Jian leaned closer, squinted at a few lines of code, and his expression changed from curiosity to confusion, and then from confusion to shock.

"This is... a web crawler? When did you write this web crawler?"

"Last night." Wang Xiaochuan's voice was terribly hoarse, as if sandpaper was stuffed in his throat.

"Last night?" Zhang Jian's eyes widened. "Weren't you working with me on the mobile interface last night?"

"It was written after the interface was stable."

Zhang Jian glanced at the timestamps on the screen. The earliest submission was at 2:17 AM, and the latest was at 7:03 AM.

Without any interruption, I submitted more than forty times in five hours.

"You didn't sleep all night?"

Wang Xiaochuan didn't answer the question, but instead handed the A4 paper in his hand to Zhang Jian.

"Brother Zhang, could you take a look at the probability model of this word segmentation algorithm for me? I feel like there's something wrong with the state transition equation of the dynamic programming when processing long sentences, but I've been staring at it for two hours and I still can't figure it out."

Zhang Jian took the paper, flipped through two pages, and his expression gradually became complicated.

He could roughly understand what was written on it, but he could also tell that the complexity and forward-thinking nature of this system exceeded the scope of his daily work as a technical director.

"Chuan'er." Zhang Jian handed the paper back to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said with an older brotherly respect, "Your brain is truly exceptional."

Wang Xiaochuan took the paper back, folded it again, and carefully tucked it into the notebook.

He glanced up in the direction of the CEO's office; Bai Yuhang had already gone back, the door ajar.

The one who's truly different is President Bai.

He pushed up his glasses, pulled the keyboard back, and put his ten fingers back on.

The light from the screen reflected on the lenses, and the code scrolled down line by line.

The cheers around him gradually faded away, and his world was filled only with the clicking of the keyboard and the characters jumping on the screen.

Bai Yuhang lit three lamps for him.

He will follow these three lamps and walk the whole road.