From Taobao intern to the father of Pinduoduo

Chapter 97 QQ Farm Launched

Chapter 97 QQ Farm Launched

In a printing factory, Gu Mingzheng was haggling with the boss: "Old He, how many times have I cooperated with you?"

I need 10 copies this time. Give me a fair price, don't try to rip me off.

Old He smiled wryly and said, "Mr. Gu, 10 small cards isn't a large order, so I really can't lower the price any further. Besides, you want color printing, which increases the cost of the process."

Boss Gu quickly changed his mind: "Oh, it doesn't have to be color printing, black and white is fine too."

After some back-and-forth bargaining, Boss Gu managed to reduce the price of 10 cards to two cents each, for a total of 2...

000 yuan.

In the reception room of Three Little Bees Company, Boss Gu was making tea for a bank employee: "Xiao Li, I'm entrusting the payment channel matter to you. Make sure there are no mistakes."

Xiao Li patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Boss Gu, no problem. But what are you planning this time? Why do you need to pay so many small amounts?"

Gu Ming, with his extensive business experience, knew that a project could encounter various obstacles along the way, and bank payments were one of them. Each of the 10 boxes of bread contained a card; if everyone applied for a cashback, it would generate 10 payment orders. These small, frequent transactions would inevitably trigger the bank's risk control system, leading to the freezing of bank cards. Therefore, he needed to explain the situation to the bank in advance to avoid future problems.

There was nothing to hide about the collaboration with QQ Farm, so Gu Ming gave a general overview. However, he didn't mention that the 10 boxes of bread were all given away for free—he had also taken out a 50 yuan loan from this bank, and if the bank found out that he was using the loan to give away free products, it would be troublesome if there were any problems with the loan.

After seeing Xiao Li off, Gu Ming instructed his subordinates to prepare 10 QQ enterprise accounts. He didn't use regular QQ accounts because enterprise accounts are less likely to be banned or have their information blocked; as for not using the Qianniu platform, it was because the QQ Farm team didn't allow Taobao-related soft advertisements, so Boss Gu had to find a roundabout way to achieve the cashback function. But this also had its advantages, meaning he could gain access to a larger group of real fans outside the platform.

Time flies, and May has arrived quickly. After internal testing, QQ Farm is officially launched on QQ today.

The space even received a homepage recommendation in the space games category. Meanwhile, Gu Ming had made thorough preparations: 10

Ten thousand boxes of bread have been prepared, packing workers and the after-sales team are in place, and the bank payment system and QQ enterprise account cashback customer group have all been tested and are working properly. Everything is ready except for the final push.

May 1st, Labor Day. On the day QQ Farm was launched, Gu Ming became one of the first users to participate in the public beta. After all, he had invested so much effort and made such a big bet, so naturally he wanted to experience the game for himself.

After logging into QQ and opening QQ Space, he immediately saw a prominent recommendation on the homepage. Clicking into the recommendation page, the details explained the core selling points of QQ Farm. The team also emphasized that playing the game could earn real-world rewards—collecting a sufficient number of high-level items could be exchanged for a loaf of bread worth 20 yuan.

Seeing that QQ Farm had been featured prominently on Tencent's homepage, Gu Ming felt a little more at ease. Even though he didn't understand games, he knew Tencent's power; as long as there was enough traffic, making the game a minor hit wouldn't be a problem.

Gu Ming quickly registered an account, and what greeted his eyes was a small plot of land, mostly abandoned, with only four plots unlocked for cultivation. He followed the beginner's guide, tilling the soil, fertilizing, weeding, and planting his first batch of crops. Low-level crops mature quickly, and he could sell them after harvesting to earn money, then cultivate new land, plant more crops, and earn even more money.

While handling his work, Gu Ming also managed to sneak in some gaming time. He quickly discovered the beauty of the game: he could play it whenever he had a spare moment, and it didn't require much brainpower. Every time he returned from finishing a little work and saw his crops mature and his coins increase, allowing him to buy higher-level seeds, this small sense of accomplishment that accumulated little by little was irresistible.

After a day's work, Gu Ming had reached level 10-15, unlocked seven plots of land, and could now buy intermediate seeds. It was at this point that he discovered another great joy in the game—stealing his friends' crops.

Because of his e-commerce business, he had many friends on QQ. Gu Ming didn't expect that on the very first day the game was launched, while he was among the first users, many of his friends were already playing it, and even his top-ranked friend had reached level 20 or higher.

Gu Ming clicked his tongue in astonishment: "Seriously? Everyone started on the same footing, how did he reach level 20?"

He clicked into the other player's farm and saw a patch of crops ready to be harvested, including many high-end varieties. Gu Ming's eyes lit up, and he quickly clicked to steal the crops. QQ Farm has scarecrows, so there's a chance of being caught stealing crops, but he was extremely lucky; he stole most of them without getting caught.

He sold all the stolen crops and made a fortune. The thrill of getting something for nothing instantly triggered a surge of dopamine, making him incredibly happy. "Damn, stealing crops is so much fun!"

After succeeding just once, Gu Ming became addicted to stealing vegetables. He browsed through the homepages of all his friends who had activated QQ Farm, looking for opportunities to steal vegetables, and he actually managed to steal quite a few.

After stealing all his friends' crops, Gu Ming, eager to share the game with those who hadn't played yet (mainly to steal their crops), decided to do so. Coincidentally, the game had a referral program where successfully inviting friends would earn a bunch of rewards, so he copied the link and sent it to a work QQ group.

An employee immediately replied in the group chat: "So you play QQ Farm too, boss!"

Another person immediately chimed in, "Damn it, boss, why are you stealing my vegetables? Stop stealing! Stop stealing!"

Gu Ming chuckled to himself, thinking: This game should be a minor hit, and even a major hit wouldn't be surprising. But whether it will become a national phenomenon, he really wasn't sure.