Chapter 57

It's already the third watch of the night, please vote! If you're passing by, feel free to cast your annual vote, it would be a great help! Although it might not be very useful, it's still very encouraging to see! What do you think?***

Despite QQ being a localized version of ICQ, with the former almost completely replicating the latter's code and core, Song Chen added the requirement to save personal information on both the client and server ends, as well as the need for offline messages. Additionally, a very popular chat room feature needed to be added!

Out of copyright concerns, to avoid future legal issues with ICQ, Xu Xiaoying, with Zhang Dayu as her assistant, had already started rewriting the core and overall architecture!

Professor He Xinyu, who was very interested in QQ, served as their mentor, occasionally helping to point out errors and omissions in Xu Xiaoying and others' work. Moreover, He Xinyu was the only one allowed to take home floppy disks with the QQ and billing system code, as he put it, he was grading the "extracurricular homework" of Xu Xiaoying, Zhang Dayu, Qiu Lin, and others.

Song Chen was almost not worried about the code leaking and affecting his company. — What is Tencent's core asset? It's not the QQ software, but the hundreds of millions of active users of the penguin software.

On December 20th, Xu Xiaoying, who was working hard to quickly produce a BETA version of QQ, had more manpower — because Qiu Lin had already produced a BETA version of the Chenxing Internet cafe billing system.

Without hesitation, Song Chen did not want to waste time having his employees test the software's functions one by one, but directly had Qiu Lin responsible for packaging the software and copying it onto a floppy disk.

Faced with the employees' doubts, Song Chen smiled and explained, "There are too many people who want to be the 'guinea pigs' for this software, like the nearby Minglong Internet cafe! We can give it to them for free, and then send someone to collect the bugs, usage experiences, and requirements they report daily, and make modifications and develop new features based on this data! Perhaps some of the requirements I mentioned before might have been overlooked."

Qiu Lin and others suddenly understood!

Someone even joked, "Boss, aren't you just a guinea pig yourself?"

Everyone laughed, looking at the computer room across the way.

Sure enough, when the owner of the Minglong Internet cafe, Ma Wenliang, heard that Song Chen had developed a free billing system for internet cafes, his face lit up with a warm smile.

Looking at Song Chen and the few students behind him, Ma Wenliang extended his hand and smiled, "Indeed, heroes emerge from the young! I've heard that the owner of Chenxing Internet cafe is very young and also the owner of Chenxing Computer Company, with all employees being part-time students. I didn't believe it before, but now I'm really impressed!"

Shaking hands, Song Chen smiled, "Just earning some money to support my family! Mr. Ma, you're too kind! The last time I came to your internet cafe, I noticed you were still using manual billing, so I decided to develop a software that can bill and manage the client side! However, since it's a test version, there might be many errors. I plan to install it in my computer room tonight! Mr. Ma, your internet cafe is much larger than my computer room. Would you like to try it out?"

"Welcome! Welcome!" Ma Wenliang laughed heartily, "Even with many errors, it's better than nothing! Since my company is so close to Mr. Song's, it's convenient to have someone fix the errors! So, on behalf of Minglong Internet cafe, I thank your company for solving this urgent problem for us! If the software is charged, we will definitely be the first to buy your company's product!"

Song Chen smiled and shook hands with Ma Wenliang again, saying, "Thank you!"

Turning around, Qiu Lin and others understood and began installing the program on the server and client machines.

Taking advantage of the employees starting their work, Song Chen said to Ma Wenliang, "Additionally, Mr. Ma, my company has developed a chat software. I plan to put up an advertisement poster at the entrance. I wonder if that would be convenient?"

"Advertisement poster? Is your software charged? Otherwise, why would you need an advertisement?" Ma Wenliang asked curiously.

Song Chen shrugged and smiled, "It's free, just like ICQ, but it's a Chinese version for the domestic market! As for why we need an advertisement, we're not sure yet! So we plan to cooperate with internet cafe owners in Dongou City to quickly open up the market!"

Ma Wenliang's eyes lit up, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Brother, I didn't know internet cafes could do advertisements! No problem! I'll help you advertise for free! Let's get the software installed first!"

"Thank you!" Song Chen smiled, feeling a bit bitter. He had forgotten that internet cafes as advertising platforms only became popular after the year 2000! This was a good opportunity to increase additional revenue. "However, the test version of the software is not yet complete. I'll contact you once it's ready!"

As the foundation, the number of machines in "Chenxing Computer Training" increased from sixteen to twenty-six. Later, Song Chen moved the beds, wardrobes, and desks from the front and back bedrooms on the second floor to the opposite company, adding another fourteen machines to the computer room, almost reaching the scale of an internet cafe, totaling forty machines!

Such expansion finally gave the computer room some spare machines. Although many people still watched others play games enthusiastically, more customers no longer had to wait for others to finish. Thus, the computer room rarely filled up with people. Of course, it was still packed during all-night sessions, as the night rate was half the daytime rate, making it a great deal!

This was Song Chen's goal: to quickly dominate the surrounding computer room market. Although he couldn't stop others from opening a computer room nearby and lowering prices to attract customers, this would create pressure for others. After all, Chenxing was the first to arrive, with a good reputation and service. Once a competitor chose to compete, they would have to consider Chenxing's response. If Chenxing engaged in a price war, it might not collapse, but the competitor would certainly lose money.

This gave Song Chen more time.

Collecting bugs and data for the internet cafe billing management software required time. As a "stingy" boss, Song Chen naturally wouldn't let Qiu Lin and others idle. Half of them were assigned to Qiu Lin to continue developing and testing the billing software, while the others, under Xu Xiaoying, were responsible for developing and testing the QQ software. They aimed to produce a BETA version by the 25th or New Year's Day, host the LianChao PC server at the telecommunications bureau, and upload it to the internet for people to download.

On the evening of the 21st, Song Chen, holding Zhao Lin's gradually curvy waist, went to the Kaiyue Bar for a meeting. Unexpectedly, what he thought would be a casual chat turned out to be a grand gathering, adopting the recently popular buffet style.

The projector screen was adorned with colorful ribbons, and below it were various delicious foods and plates. Some of the bar's waiters were being directed by Yang De. Tonight, he was dressed in a white suit with a black jacket and a bow tie, looking spirited, and his black-rimmed glasses added a touch of elegance.

Song Chen not only saw many familiar faces but also a few new ones, two men and one woman! When he asked Zhang Ruoxi, she shook her head and whispered to Song Chen, "I rarely come here, so I'm not sure! Linlin must know!"

Yang De, Liu Jun, Ye Lin, Chen Daohui, Cui Yao, Ji Chang, Shi Tao, Zhao Lin, Jiang Yan, Wang Xiaoxue... Zhai Yue was still absent, having not been seen here for a long time.

Seeing Song Chen, Yang De pointed at him and laughed, "Look who's here! The great genius Song!"

Song Chen, feeling a bit embarrassed,拱手道, "You're making me feel awkward! Just call me Xiao Song, Xiao Chen, or by my name, it's better!"

"Ha ha!" Chen Daohui put down his cue and, ignoring Zhang Ruoxi's pouting, pulled Song Chen by the arm, saying, "Come, come, let me introduce you to a few friends!"

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