Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Chapter 160 Eye of the Storm

Lu Hai and Wen Jie nodded, their faces slowly showing expressions of sudden realization.

"So," Han Fei said, "the intensity of public opinion doesn't equate to its conversion power. Today, from noon to afternoon, is the peak of emotion. Users don't know much, but they feel it most deeply. From tonight to tomorrow, is the peak of information. Users know more, and their feelings are diluted. Their first reaction will change from support and action to discussion, questioning, and analysis. What I'm betting on is this window of opportunity that only lasts a few hours. Once missed, the conversion rate can't possibly reach 38.5%. It's actually similar to disaster relief donations. Donations are highest within 24 hours of a disaster, and even a week later, even with more comprehensive information, the donation rate will drop significantly. For example, on social media, an emotionally charged article gets the most reposts two to four hours after it's published, but even if it's reprinted by more media the next day, the original emotion has already diminished."

"Then, President," Lu Hai said, a malicious grin spreading across his face, "you always calculate everything so accurately and consider everything so comprehensively. So this time, did you even consider the possibility of a server problem from the beginning? Or did you think of it but were simply gambling on luck? Be honest and tell the truth."

"I don't think the server will have any problems," Han Fei said. "Or rather, I believe that even if there are risks, they are manageable."

.

Why?

"Because when Fei Ge said he wanted to push the entire system to the platform," Wen Jie said, "Zhou Gong and I didn't think there was any problem. Qingniao's system was built by us and optimized many times. We had full confidence in it and felt that it could fully support the full push. Of course, the facts proved this."

Han Fei nodded: "Yes. So for us, the most important thing at that time was to seize the window of opportunity presented by public opinion. This window of opportunity is irreversible; once missed, it's gone forever. A full push ensures that all users are reached at the same emotional peak, while a phased push is a continuous operation. The more phases, the harder it is to control the pace, and the higher the burden on the team and the higher the probability of errors. Moreover, we conducted a rapid test, and the response speed of the channels and interfaces was normal. Under the judgment that the server was completely fine, phased push became a purely negative operation. Therefore, we had no reason not to choose the simpler, more efficient, and most effective full push."

"So, the accident happened because you didn't consider the possibility of problems with mobile servers?" Lu Hai asked.

"It was not taken into account that this statement is inaccurate," Han Fei said, "because this accident is completely counterintuitive."

In other words, from our perspective, the risk of "mobile servers having problems" simply doesn't exist, and it's not something we need to consider at all.

"Huh?" Lu Hai scratched his head, looking completely confused. "What do you mean? The more you talk, the more confused I get."

Wen Jie looked at Lu Hai with a helpless expression: "Are you stupid? What kind of scale is Qingniao, and what kind of scale is China Mobile? Even technical staff at China Mobile headquarters like Engineer Zhou never imagined that China Mobile's servers could be more fragile than Qingniao's. So at the time, as long as we confirmed that Qingniao's own servers could withstand the pressure, we naturally thought that everything was foolproof."

Lu Hai finally understood: "Oh, I finally get it. You could say the mobile volume was given to you..."

Uh...you guys...wait, why can't I remember? What was that saying again?

"A false sense of security," Zhang Ruiyi said.

"Oh yeah! A false sense of security!"

"No matter what, the outcome is good," Han Fei said. "But there will only be more of these kinds of things in the future. The faster we run, the more our partners, channels, and even users will become our external dependencies. Dependence isn't scary; what's scary is thinking that dependence will never cause problems."

He looked at Wen Jie: "Wen Jie, you did a great job today. Remember to write the emergency plan for this asynchronous queue into a standard contingency plan. All push notifications from all provinces will default to this mode. Also, add a health detection and automatic degradation mechanism to all external interfaces. If the mobile billing gateway gets stuck again, we'll switch it off ourselves before they can react."

"Okay, Fei-ge. Actually, Engineer Zhou just explained this. I didn't expect you to be so accurate even with technical issues." Wen Jie said with a smile, glancing at his watch. "Uh, my two classmates will be here soon. Tell them to come over when they arrive, would you like to meet them?"

"No need. You, Zhou, and Lin Feng can handle the technical staff interviews. You guys know more about technology than I do. If I went there, all I'd do would be ask layman's questions like 'What does this line of code mean?' You should mainly assess whether their technical foundation can keep up with our current system iterations, and also judge for yourselves whether they are reliable and can cooperate well with you. If you think they're good enough, I'll sign off. If there are no problems, have them sign a confidentiality agreement, and you control the core permissions."

"Brother Fei, don't worry. My two classmates are both good people, and I trust their character. However, I will still keep the core permissions to myself. The database is hardcoded so that only I can modify it, and sensitive logs are automatically backed up and encrypted every morning at midnight. They will mainly be responsible for routine development and maintenance, and will not be involved in the underlying architecture and settlement logic. I'll go down and pick them up now."

At 10 p.m., Han Fei yawned, locked the drawer, and reached for the desk lamp to turn it off. He felt extremely tired. Since 6 p.m., the media's evening reports had begun to explode, and a large number of reporters had besieged the publishing house, relentlessly pressing for details about the case. To avoid the media exaggerating the situation in their reports because "President Han Fei refused to respond," which could cause misunderstandings among readers, Han Fei had to personally answer questions from various media outlets. The situation only eased up around 9 p.m., allowing Han Fei to read through the massive amount of evening reports without being disturbed for an hour.

Just as Han Fei had predicted, the evening's reporting officially entered a phase of information overload and opinion split, transforming the incident from a simple social news story into a multi-dimensional crossover event involving the rule of law, industry, culture, and commerce.

The front page of Southern Weekly published a special report titled "A Magazine's Undercover Night - The Life and Death of the President of Bluebird and the Reporter in 12 Hours." Although the article accurately reconstructed the undercover investigation from Yang Zheng's perspective, in the process of deeply exposing the black industry chain of "People's Stories," it implied the existence of local protection in this case without any evidence.

The *China Reading Weekly* published a focused commentary titled "Saving People vs. Saving Literature: The Dilemma Behind the Bluebird Controversy." The report first affirmed the righteousness of Bluebird's rights protection and rescue efforts, while quoting criticisms from several literary figures.

An anonymous veteran writer said, "Han Fei saved journalists, but he couldn't save the dignity of literature. No matter how well something like 'Borrowing Seeds' sells, it's not literature."

Young critics representing another viewpoint argued: "Bluebird at least kept the publishing industry alive, and only those who survive have the right to talk about dignity."

Dragon TV reported on the incident again through its evening news program, and invited Han Fei for a phone interview during the live broadcast, asking some trivial questions. Han Fei cautiously gave very official, formulaic answers, and the ever-present statement, "What I did was simply report it according to the rules. Rules can save people and also save the industry."

In addition, the People's Daily also published a brief message, which focused on positive messages such as "combating illegal publishing" and "protecting the safety of journalists".

Various legal, industry, and financial media outlets also reported on the issue from different angles. Major portal websites launched special pages in the evenings, compiling commentary, timelines, and interviews with those involved. Some forums even set up interactive sections for users, with discussions revolving around questions like "Would you subscribe to Qingniao?" or "Is this hype or positive energy?"

"Have you read that Southern Weekly report?" Zhang Ruiyi asked, glancing down from the top of the newspaper. "Their words are alluding to a protective umbrella. If this angle is magnified, the nature of the matter changes. It goes from 'cracking down on illegal publishing' to 'exposing the inside story,' and we might be swept into a completely uncontrollable public opinion arena."

"I saw it," Han Fei said. "Their logic as reporters is that such a large-scale illegal operation, able to exist for so long, must have someone behind it. This reasoning is logically sound, but it's a double-edged sword for us. If they really uncover someone, the case will escalate; if they don't, some readers might think there was indeed an inside story, but it was suppressed. In any case, our role will be dragged from victim and rescuer hero into the quagmire of whistleblowers."

"Shouldn't we take the initiative to distance ourselves? Make it clear that we are only responsible for reporting illegal publications, will not comment on any rumors of protection, and will not express our opinions on the case investigation process."

"Yes. Tomorrow morning, you should issue a brief statement thanking the various departments for their swift action and expressing your belief that the law will deliver a fair resolution. Qingniao will focus on content production and market expansion, and will no longer comment on the details of the case. This will essentially show our stance: we're not following this anymore; you media outlets can dig it up yourselves, don't drag us into it."

"Hmm... there's another risk. What if Southern Weekly actually uncovers something? The reporter might turn around and ask us: 'Did you feel any resistance when you reported this? Did anyone try to suppress it?' How do you think we should answer that kind of question?"

Han Fei thought for a moment and said, "Tell the truth."

"Um?"

"We encountered no resistance. The Press and Publication Bureau accepted the report on the same day it was submitted; law enforcement acted swiftly. That's a fact. If they press us for details about whether there was any protection, we'll say we have no evidence and won't speculate. We trust the law."

Zhang Ruiyi chuckled: "Very clean. It neither offends anyone nor lies."

"Of course, we're just a small publishing house; we can't really see ourselves as champions of justice. Our justice is simply doing our job well and putting those who plagiarize and vandalize us in jail. As for greater justice, that's a matter for the law, not for us." Han Fei turned off the desk lamp, stood up, and said, "Alright, after a long day, it's time to go back and rest."

"Uh... are you sure you want to go down now?" Zhang Ruiyi asked with a mischievous smile.

Near midnight, Han Fei faced the media for the second time outside the publishing house. Only the brightest starlight could pierce the smog over Shanghai, yet Han Fei had to shield his eyes from the blinding flashes of the cameras. Short, sharp questions rained down on him.

"One at a time," Han Fei said, pointing to a raised finger. "Please introduce yourself."

"I'm a reporter from the Youth Daily. Some people say that your rescue was a public relations effort for Qingniao. What's your take on that?"

"If someone thinks that calling someone in the middle of the night to beg for help and using all their connections to save a reporter's life is for public relations, then I suggest they try it themselves at one in the morning and see if conversion rates or human lives come to mind first."

"When you rescued the person, did you also think about taking advantage of the situation to promote your business?"

"Our business in Guangdong was a normal market activity that we had planned long ago. The timing was coincidental, but it was definitely not the reason. If we have to say there's a connection, it's that a publishing house that dares to rescue a journalist at least shows that it has nothing to hide. You, yes, please go ahead."

A young woman's voice said, "The hideout has been raided, but the mastermind hasn't been caught yet. Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

Before Han Fei could answer, the other reporters had already started taking notes.

"I'm afraid. But does being afraid mean I shouldn't do it?"

"From what I understand," the woman said, her voice tinged with undisguised pride, "magazines like *Story Club* and *Zhiyin* have also encountered similar malicious counterfeiting and forced shelf-grabbing in rural distribution channels, but most publishers chose to handle it discreetly, or even simply abandoned those outlets. Some small and medium-sized publishers, after their content was pirated, simply sent a lawyer's letter. The approach taken by Qingniao—pursuing administrative complaints, media exposure, and even personally rescuing the perpetrator late at night—is extremely rare in the industry. Do you think other companies in the same industry chose silence out of fear of retaliation, trouble, or offending others?"

"Why did our colleagues choose to remain silent?" Han Fei said, "I can't answer that for them. I can only state a fact: sometimes the cost of silence is higher than that of action. If you take a step back, the other side takes a step forward; if you remain silent once, the other side assumes you dare not speak up. That's how rural channels are lost inch by inch. The reason Qingniao doesn't remain silent is not because we are bold, but because we can't afford to lose. A publishing house that has just crawled back from the brink of death, if it retreats again, it will truly have nothing left. And fear cannot be a reason for not to act. You can be afraid, but you can't let others bear the consequences for you because of fear. Those rural newsstand owners are ordinary people whose stalls have been smashed. They don't have resources or legal teams; they can only hope that someone will stand up and establish the rules. So Qingniao is taking this path not to be a hero, but simply to survive. And on the road to survival, some battles must be fought."