6. Private Traffic

Moreover, beyond official functions, rank is even more important! Provincial, municipal, district—just a single word’s difference, yet the disparity in social status is immense...

But this point is easy to judge. With Li Mingjiang’s social standing, he definitely doesn’t qualify for the provincial level, and even the municipal level is unlikely. Thus, Director Liu is most probably a leader within the Binhu District.

“It seems Li Mingjiang personally needs something from Liu Xinyue’s father,” Chen Ling quickly concluded. “Otherwise, a telecommunications company is a dominant enterprise; there’s no need to be so humble when interacting with an administrative unit.”

While Chen Ling was pondering this, Li Mingjiang had already called over a young employee and instructed him to cooperate with Chen Ling. He then asked, “Xiao Chen, does this arrangement work for you?”

“Director Li! Thank you so much!” Chen Ling quickly stood up. To show his gratitude, he even made a motion as if to bow.

Li Mingjiang hurriedly stood up to stop him, his words carrying a hint of amusement: “No need to be so polite. Who knows, we might have many opportunities to work together in the future!”

“Of course!” Chen Ling replied and shook his hand sincerely, then left with the young employee, while Li Mingjiang personally saw them out.

He stood at the doorway, watching Chen Ling leave, then turned back inside and closed the door, his face shadowed with a trace of malice...

“Liu Xuefeng, oh Liu Xuefeng—you’re really clever, but also incredibly greedy! Not content with just one share, you want to profit even from such petty cash!” he thought to himself.

In fact, as soon as Chen Ling mentioned the method for proxy phone credit recharge, even though he’d hidden many details, Li Mingjiang immediately realized the enormous profit contained within.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want a share. If possible, he’d even want to take the whole cake for himself!

However... he couldn’t monopolize it, and he didn’t even dare accept the reward Chen Ling offered. Because Chen Ling had said, this was Liu Xuefeng’s idea!

Li Mingjiang knew very well that, compared to the matter he’d asked Liu Xuefeng to help with, these were mere trifles. He absolutely couldn’t risk losing the greater for the lesser.

After exchanging contact information and discussing the general terms of cooperation with the young employee, Chen Ling left the business hall.

At this moment, he was still immersed in the joy of having cleared every hurdle, unaware that the reason everything went so smoothly was simply because he’d said just the right thing!

Success in any endeavor is always the same. Amid all the inevitability, what’s needed is often just that one touch of chance.

...

When he returned to campus, it was already around three in the afternoon. Before coming back, Chen Ling had gone to the bank and withdrawn all his assets...

A total of 9,750 yuan! Scraping together the cash on him, it added up to exactly 10,000 yuan.

This was the sum he’d saved up through three summer vacations—posting over ten thousand ads, washing tens of thousands of dishes, all through hard work and persistence. Originally, it was meant to cover his living expenses and rent after graduation, so he wouldn’t have to ask his parents for money anymore.

In his previous life, he’d indeed done so, yet in the end, he’d still lost even his parents’ life savings!

Whenever he thought of that, the torment and agony brought on by lack of money felt seared into his bones, making his mind exceptionally clear!

Therefore, now, this money would become his startup capital!

With this restarted life, he was determined to live it brilliantly!

...

He pushed open the dormitory door. Zhang Peng was still sitting in front of his computer, the screen filled with QQ chat windows, his fingers busily flying over the keyboard. When he saw Chen Ling return, he stopped, stood up, and walked over with eyes full of anticipation and inquiry...

Chen Ling gave him a slight smile and nodded, “It’s settled! We can begin...”

“Yes!” Zhang Peng clenched his fists in excitement, then immediately pulled Chen Ling over to sit down. “Tell me the specifics?”

“Mm,” Chen Ling replied seriously. “The downstream is the Century Mart at the school gate. I’ve already spoken to the owner—4% discount. I’ve also settled things with the business hall; there’ll be a dedicated person assisting with recharges. Our next step is publicity and taking orders, and then, depending on the situation, consider whether we need to bring in more people...”

Hearing this, Zhang Peng’s face remained neutral, but inside he was utterly astonished!

After Chen Ling left that morning, he’d recovered from the thrill of potential profits and started to consider the practical challenges of the operation.

Finding downstream buyers wasn’t too difficult; scalpers buying recharge cards were everywhere. The real challenge lay in the business hall!

He’d even prepared for Chen Ling to return empty-handed and had already contacted his family to tap into some connections in Linjiang City, planning to step in if Chen Ling failed.

But Chen Ling had surprised him!

As to how he’d managed it, Zhang Peng didn’t ask, because it didn’t matter. What mattered was that Chen Ling had solved the toughest problem!

“With Chen Ling’s family background, he probably doesn’t have major contacts in Linjiang. That means he pulled this off entirely on his own,” Zhang Peng thought.

“A true talent! I must win him over. In the future, he might just become my right-hand man. When the time is right, I should give him a greater share of the profits...”

With that in mind, Zhang Peng began to explain his side of the work. He pointed at the computer screen. “Old Chen, I’ve joined all the nearby school QQ groups I could, but the coverage is still not that broad—only about ten thousand people, and there’s quite a bit of overlap. I’ve also contacted the group owners; with a small payment, we can post announcements. This should be our main channel for taking orders in the future.”

“A reach of over ten thousand is more than enough!” Chen Ling smiled. “Don’t forget, the speed at which university students spread information is even faster than a virus!”

Zhang Peng pondered this and realized it made sense, so he smiled too. Unexpectedly, Chen Ling’s tone shifted, turning serious. “But you’ve missed a crucial aspect!”

“What is it?” Zhang Peng asked, confused.

“Building our own community!” Chen Ling said earnestly. “We should create our own large QQ group and invite everyone who wants to recharge through us to join. That way, anyone who’s ever used our service will have established a certain level of trust. In the future, if we want to sell other products or launch new plans, we’ll have a ready-made customer base!”

“This is what’s called a ‘private domain traffic pool.’ In the internet age, traffic equals money!”

“Private domain traffic?” Zhang Peng frowned, trying to process the concept. As he gradually grasped its meaning, astonishment gave way to pure shock.

As a business major who’d been exposed to entrepreneurship since childhood, Zhang Peng understood even more clearly the power behind Chen Ling’s idea of ‘private domain traffic.’

This approach was not only incredibly effective but also well ahead of its time!

Zhang Peng even felt that this concept didn’t belong to this era.

A talent? No, no—

Chen Ling was nothing short of a genius!

Zhang Peng licked his lips, his heart pounding with excitement. “This time I’ve struck gold! No matter what, I must keep him tied closely to me! Or perhaps... tie myself to him instead!”

“Ding!”

Suddenly, a system prompt sounded in Chen Ling’s mind...

“System notification: Influence Template unlocked! Level: A Few Close Friends!”

“As the saying goes: at home, rely on your parents; outside, rely on friends. Loyal, capable, and like-minded friends can often have an unexpected impact. As Lu Xun said—‘To have a soulmate in life is enough; in this world, treat them as your own kin.’ Valuing the role of friends can make your life much smoother!”

“At the same time, making a few close friends is also the starting point of your personal influence!”

“This is the meaning of ‘social influence!’”