Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Finance office, 16th floor, Hailong Building.

Clap clap clap.

The rapid clicking of keys echoed in the room. Jiang Shuo was practically glued to the computer screen, his eyes fixed on the constantly updating call recharge records on the third-party website's backend. His calculator fingers flew across the keys, the plastic buttons creaking under the strain.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands..." Jiang Shuo muttered to himself, his face turning red and his breathing becoming rapid.

The long string of numbers flashing on the screen made him feel dizzy. Happy Farm had only been online for a full seventy-two hours in three days. He had originally thought making money from netizens was a pipe dream, but these people were pouring money into it like madmen for a few virtual cabbages.

"Five cents for a bag of fertilizer, a dollar for a watchdog that can keep an eye on the vegetable patch for 12 hours..." Jiang Shuo swallowed hard, his finger suddenly pausing. "This isn't farming, it's a money-printing machine come to life!"

Just as he was basking in the thrill of sudden wealth, the door was slammed open.

Jiao Liwei rushed in, covered in sweat. The usually composed man had his collar disheveled and was clutching a landline phone receiver with the long cord trailing behind him.

"Eighth Brother, is Sixth Brother here?" Jiao Liwei asked breathlessly.

"President Bai is in his office inside." Jiang Shuo was startled and quickly clutched the calculator to his chest. "Boss, what happened? You look like you've been chased by a dog."

Hearing the noise, Bai Yuhang came out from the inner room, holding a cup of freshly brewed tea.

"What's wrong, boss?"

Jiao Liwei slammed the microphone on the table and wiped his sweat: "President Bai, something terrible has happened! Director Zhang from the Beijing Telecom Bureau just called personally, immediately asking if our company had been hacked!"

Bai Yuhang raised an eyebrow: "Hacker?"

"That's right!" Jiao Liwei slapped his thigh anxiously. "He said that starting at 11 p.m. last night, the data traffic on the several voice recharge hotlines we applied for surged abnormally, directly crashing their area's switchboard! Director Zhang said that no normal person would stay up all night making calls like crazy; this is definitely a malicious attack, and he asked if we should call the police!"

Jiang Shuo, who was listening nearby, was stunned. He looked down at the recharge records on the screen and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Boss, tell Director Zhang there were no hackers." Jiang Shuo turned the monitor around, pointing to the densely packed records. "These are all phone calls from netizens all over the country, made in the middle of the night after setting alarms to top up their accounts. They're in a hurry to buy fertilizer to ripen their radishes, and they're also in a hurry to buy guard dogs to catch those vegetable thieves!"

Jiao Liwei stared at the terrifying total turnover on the screen, his eyes widening little by little.

"This...this is all from phone bill top-ups? Director Zhang is in charge of equipment, I doubt he's seen this data yet..."

"Real money!" Jiang Shuo excitedly pushed Jiao Liwei, his face beaming. "Boss, you hurry up and call the telecom bureau and tell them to add more lines, no matter how much it costs! If the line gets cut off, it'll slow down our money collection!"

Bai Yuhang took a sip of tea, and a smile appeared on his lips as he looked at the two of them, who seemed completely unaccustomed to the world.

"Boss, tell the telecom bureau that our business is so good that we're causing them trouble." Bai Yuhang put down his teacup. "Also, ask them if they can lower our revenue share for the voice information service by two percentage points. After all, we're one of their big clients now."

Jiao Liwei swallowed hard and gave a thumbs up: "Sixth Brother, you're ruthless."

After compiling and summarizing the data, Jiang Shuo, his hands trembling, handed the compiled daily revenue report to Bai Yuhang. On the third day after its launch, the daily virtual currency recharge revenue had actually exceeded one million RMB! In 2000, an era when many businesses relied on selling hardware and attracting venture capital to survive, earning a million RMB a day by selling a few sets of virtual animation props was an unheard-of, dimensional-lowering achievement. Bai Yuhang had effortlessly squeezed every last penny out of the nation's internet users.

Jiao Liwei had just run out to give a reply to the telecommunications bureau when the only sound left in the finance office was the frantic clicking of calculators.

After repeatedly checking the bills from several radio stations and prepaid card channels, Jiang Shuo finally typed in the last equal sign. He stared at the numbers on the screen, his eyes wide open.

Zhang Jian happened to stroll in carrying a water glass. Seeing his expression, he leaned over to take a look: "You figured it out? How much is it?"

Jiang Shuo ignored him completely, picked up the summary report he had just written with both hands, and walked into Bai Yuhang's office with trembling hands.

"Mr. Bai..." Jiang Shuo's tongue was clearly tied in knots.

Bai Yuhang put down his teacup, took the report, glanced at it, and handed it back to Jiang Shuo, his expression remaining calm.

"Read it aloud to everyone."

Jiang Shuo swallowed hard, then suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "One million three hundred thousand! On the third day after launch, the daily virtual currency recharge volume has directly exceeded one million RMB!"

The moment those words were spoken, the office area outside the door fell into a deathly silence.

Zhang Jian opened his mouth wide, tilting his water glass and spilling water onto his trouser leg without noticing. Jiao Liwei had just returned from a phone call and had just reached the door when he heard the number, tripped, and almost fell against the doorframe.

"How much? One million a day?" Jiao Liwei stared wide-eyed. "Old Eight, are you sure you didn't misread the decimal point?"

"I swear on my life, not a penny less!" Jiang Shuo was so excited his face turned red, and he tapped his finger hard on the report. "Fertilizer, watchdogs, just a few animations, and these netizens are throwing money at it like crazy!"

In 2000, when internet companies were still relying on selling hardware, sending spam text messages, and even begging for venture capital to stay afloat, earning millions a day by selling a few sets of virtual animation props was an unprecedented and devastating achievement.

Su Muqing rushed in carrying several documents and grabbed the reports from Bai Yuhang's desk. Her gaze lingered on the totals column for a few seconds before she looked up at Bai Yuhang.

"President Bai, your methods are even faster than robbing a bank." Su Muqing's tone revealed undisguised shock. "You've squeezed all the pocket money out of netizens across the country without shedding a drop of blood."

Bai Yuhang leaned back in his chair: "Netizens have already spent their money. Next, we need to get more people in, so they're willing to spend it and it becomes a habit."

Jiang Shuo slammed his hands on the desk, his eyes gleaming: "President Bai, from now on, if anyone dares to say you're wasting money, I, Jiang Shuo, will be the first to fight them to the death!"

Zhang Jian chuckled beside him: "Well done, Lao Ba! Not only did you pluck the feathers, but you even generously donated the sheet metal."

Nearly a hundred people in the office area erupted in thunderous cheers. This windfall completely shattered everyone's understanding of monetizing the internet.

The cheers outside hadn't subsided when Su Muqing waved for the others to leave, leaving only Bai Yuhang and herself. She smiled at the office area outside, then closed the office door behind her, shutting out the noise.

She handed the thick stack of documents in her arms directly to Bai Yuhang, pulled out a chair and sat down, rubbing her slightly sore wrists.

"Mr. Bai, I can't live like this anymore."

Su Muqing picked up the tea that Bai Yuhang had just poured for her and took a big gulp, not caring whether it was hot or not.

Bai Yuhang looked up at her: "What's wrong? Even the Goddess of Wealth has times of worry?"

Su Muqing rolled her eyes and pointed to her phone: "I have to charge it every few hours, and it just gave me a hard reboot. I unplugged the landline on my desk, otherwise I couldn't work at all. Guess how many big shots are sitting in our little conference room right now?"

Before Bai Yuhang could reply, Jiang Shuo knocked on the door and squeezed in through the crack, his face showing an expression as if he had discovered a shocking secret.