Chapter 29: Do You Have a Mine at Home?

The university town forum in Linchuan was pretty much as Jiang Qin remembered it.

The homepage was divided into four sections: daily chat, campus life, internal announcements, and study materials.

Hmm? Study materials?

Jiang Qin felt a twitch in his DNA and clicked in.

"Past Graduate Exam Questions and Answers"

"Complete TOEFL Exam Guide"

"Full Text of Professor Wen's Lectures from the Finance Academy"

Jiang Qin skimmed through and confirmed it was indeed study-related stuff. Instantly, his interest waned.

But that made sense. This forum was jointly created by the four nearby universities—an official site. There was no way it'd feature the kind of content college students actually loved.

Precisely because it was moderated by official oversight, the posts were dry and dull, always carrying a stiff, serious tone.

Yet college students were a youthful, vibrant bunch. A stodgy forum like this? No way they'd use it willingly.

On his way back, Jiang Qin had already made up his mind—he was going to build a website.

It'd target college students as its core users, radiating outward from there.

Teenagers in their hormonal prime had a strong urge to pair up, so the flagship section would be a confession wall.

Plus, this age group was emotionally sensitive, with plenty of thoughts they didn't want to share with people they knew. So, his second section would be an anonymous venting space.

Beyond that, considering hobbies and trends, he planned two more sections: one for gaming and anime, another for fashion and lifestyle.

College life, aside from classes and dating, basically boiled down to obsessing over 2D characters and looking good.

As for studying…

He'd skip that section. No point in stealing all the official forum's traffic.

In the early days of the internet boom, forums were still the backbone of online surfing. Platforms like Zhihu, Douban, and Weibo were all founded around this time.

The website Jiang Qin envisioned leaned toward lifestyle sharing but differed from the wildly popular QQ Space.

QQ Space was visible only to friends—a closed social circle. His site would be fully open.

As for driving traffic? Simple.

Pose as a female student and post a few bait threads.

"Any cute guys out there? Lately, I've been wanting to date. Who's gonna take me home? No gag reflex, trained in dance, can do the splits—here's a cool pic of an internet celeb."

Guaranteed to get the rough-and-tumble guys howling, camping out on the forum all night.

Attracting female users was easy too—just stir up some drama.

"Family, who gets it? My boyfriend asked me to split the bill when he took me out. So lame."

"Family, who gets it? My bestie and I like the same guy—should I let go?"

Early profits would come from ads. Later, he'd ride the internet wave, eyeing a pivot to short videos.

"Gotta buy a domain first."

"Oh, and rent some virtual hosting space."

Jiang Qin browsed a domain marketplace, checking out prices.

Domains were tiered—the hotter the name, the pricier it got. Student-related ones were too expensive, Tencent-linked ones even more so, and trendy buzzwords were long snatched up.

Pondering this, a thought struck him.

When was the real Zhihu founded?

Sometime after 2010, right?

So… Zhihu didn't exist yet?

Heh, what a coincidence. Sorry, folks, this domain's mine for now.

Jiang Qin grabbed a small box from his bag, pulled out a USB security key, plugged it into his laptop, and snagged the "zhihu" domain without hesitation.

The name had flair—playing off the classical Chinese phrase "zhi hu zhe ye" (of which, who, and so). A pun, sure, but it carried a cultured vibe, perfect for college students.

"Old… Old Jiang, did you just spend three thousand bucks on something?"

"Bought a domain. Gonna mess around with a website."

Only then did Jiang Qin notice the three guys behind him hadn't left. He didn't bother hiding it.

Zhou Chao and Ren Ziqiang's jaws dropped. They didn't grasp what a website was, but they sure understood money. Their monthly allowance was just over 600 yuan—yet Jiang Qin had dropped three grand on something intangible? That was insane!

Cao Guangyu's mouth twitched. After mulling it over, he stayed silent.

Even as a rich kid, three thousand wasn't pocket change he could toss around without a thought. His family's money belonged to his dad, after all—his own allowance was just a thousand.

Compared to that, Jiang Qin seemed more like the real rich kid. Was this guy playing the humble card to mess with them?

"Old Jiang, what does your family do? How do you spend money like that?"

"Ordinary, bottom-tier working class."

Ren Ziqiang was floored. "Then how much is your monthly allowance?"

Jiang Qin tugged open his shirt, flipped out his wallet. "Five hundred. After the train ticket, I've got 360 left. Oh, here's a one-yuan coin—anyone want it?"

"Me! Gimme!"

Zhou Chao snatched the coin. "Brother Jiang, you're such a spendthrift. But I like it."

Jiang Qin closed his wallet. "Not a spendthrift. Coins jingle around in my pocket and get lost easy. Might as well do someone a favor."

Cao Guangyu scoffed. "Old Zhou, you've got no shame. Grabbing a one-yuan coin? Never seen money before?"

"You think I'm after the '1' on the front? Nah, I'm in love with the national emblem on the back!"

"You little… slick talker, huh."

Zhou Chao smirked triumphantly, pocketing the coin and flopping back onto his bed.

Ren Ziqiang stretched lazily, yawning as he shuffled into the bathroom.

Cao Guangyu glanced at his phone, then at Jiang Qin's laptop, his mood souring.

He'd tried flexing three times today, aiming to cement his big-brother status in the dorm. But every time, Jiang Qin stole his thunder. How could he feel good about that?

"Old Jiang, next time I flex, can you leave me some dignity?"

"Didn't I?"

"Did you?"

"Fine, I get it. Next time, I'll let you shine all the way."

Cao Guangyu pursed his lips, unsure if Jiang Qin was serious, but it eased his mind a bit. He hugged his new phone and started surfing.

Just then, a QQ message popped up in the bottom right of Jiang Qin's screen. He clicked it—it was Hong Yan, from yesterday.

"Jiang Qin, got time? Wanna grab food?"

"Now?"

"Tomorrow, maybe? After orientation?"

Jiang Qin leaned back, hands behind his head, lost in thought.

He'd only met Hong Yan once—barely acquaintances, just familiar enough to say hi. They'd said "see you when we're free" at the school gate, but he'd taken it as polite small talk. Didn't expect her to mean it.

"Sure, let's connect tomorrow then?"

"OK~"