chapter 13 Ground push start

"So concerned about our Skylar Qin, are you infatuated with her?" Iris Zhang perked up, a face full of gossip.
The other girls also looked excited.
Quintin Fang denied vehemently, "No, just asking casually!"
He knew the gossipy nature of women.
Questions and teasing would follow if they found out he liked Skylar Qin.
Most importantly, they loved to stir things up.
If Skylar Qin wasn't interested in him romantically and they started teasing, it would only backfire.
Maybe Skylar Qin would deliberately distance herself from him to prove she had no connection with Quintin Fang.
That was something Quintin Fang didn't want to see.
"Really?" Iris Zhang expressed doubt.
Quintin Fang nodded, dead serious. It didn't look like he was lying. "Absolutely!"
Seeing Quintin Fang so severe, not looking like he was lying, Iris Zhang's gossipy thoughts vanished. She casually said, "Oh, you needed twenty people here, right? Skylar Qin's senior brother has some free time, and he's coming along."
"Skylar Qin's waiting for her senior brother, they'll come together."
"Senior brother? Who's that?" Quintin Fang's heart skipped a beat, but on the surface, he pretended to be curious.
Iris Zhang shook her head, "I don't know his name. I only know he wears glasses!"
Wears glasses?
Quintin Fang's immediate reaction was to think of the guy he saw a few days ago when Ten Billion arrived, the guy talking and laughing with Skylar Qin, wearing glasses.
But he couldn't conclude because he hadn't seen the person. He found a reason to change the topic.
In the blink of an eye, fifteen minutes they were passed.
Skylar Qin and a good-looking guy with glasses pushed open the private room door and walked in.
Indeed, it was the glasses-wearing guy he had seen before!
Quintin Fang looked over for the first time, his pupils slightly contracting. He had gone to such lengths to improve Skylar Qin's life indirectly. Who would have thought he'd bring along a suspected romantic rival?
Thinking about it made him annoyed.
But he maintained a smile and greeted, "Skylar Qin, you're here!"
"Who is this?"
"Oh, let me introduce everyone, this is my senior brother, Alex Ye!" Skylar Qin introduced busily.
Quintin Fang was startled, "You're Alex Ye? When you were young, you were so handsome! You're almost unrecognizable now!"
This Alex Ye, he knew.
He met him in his previous life, three years after marrying Skylar Qin.
According to Skylar Qin, Alex Ye was her senior brother, always treating Skylar Qin like a little sister and caring for her at school. Even in the first semester of the third year, when Skylar Qin had to leave school due to family reasons, she kept in touch with Alex Ye.
Of course, the so-called contact was just occasional phone calls and greetings.
But the Alex Ye he remembered was a balding, slightly overweight, untidy, typical geeky middle-aged man. Quite different from this young Alex Ye by almost twenty years.
Alex Ye looked confused. Was this guy complimenting me or mocking me?
Who was he? Should Alex Ye know Quintin Fang?
No!
Skylar Qin looked surprised, "Quintin Fang, do you know Alex?"
"I'm sorry. I mistook him for someone else!"
Quintin Fang just remembered that he had never met the young Alex Ye. He laughed awkwardly and changed the topic, "Alex Ye, are you studying now, or have you already graduated?"
"Oh, I've been recommended by a teacher for an internship with Hank Ni." Alex Ye pushed his glasses and said confidently, "I'm free these days, so I came to school for a visit and also part-time for some money!"
Quintin Fang's eyes lit up, automatically ignoring the latter part. He hurriedly said, "Hank Ni, is that the Hank Ni who left Creative Box?"
"Yeah, that's him!" Alex Ye nodded, a touch of pride flashing across his face.
After all, not anyone could intern with Hank Ni.
Though he credited his teacher, he felt his abilities played a significant part.
Quintin Fang got excited.
Hank Ni!
That was the mastermind behind the computer operating system and self-developed chip technology.
If he could establish a relationship with him and maybe even poach him to develop the mobile operating system and phone's self-owned chip, along with his understanding of the future...
He might even beat Fruitty Phone to it.
Compared to Facebook, the real giant was the Fruitty Phone, with a market value exceeding tens of billions of dollars.
The crucial aspect was that the Fruitty Phone reached its actual peak with the release of the first-generation smartphone in 2007.
Now, it was almost four years since 2007.
In other words, as long as the funds were secured, the possibility of swooping in and taking over the Fruitty Phone was extremely high.
Thinking about this, the allure of seizing the Fruitty Phone consumed Quintin Fang's mind. He wished he could instantly use his acquaintance with Alex Ye to get to know Hank Ni and lure the latter over.
Fortunately, Quintin Fang kept a shred of rationality and restrained his impulse. He knew he had just met Alex Ye, and it was impossible to introduce Hank Ni to him.
And he had nothing impressive to show, just money. Money alone wouldn't be enough to poach someone of Hank Ni's caliber.
The urgent task was to develop Futurix.
With a reputation in the industry, there might be a chance to poach Hank Ni.
"Who's Hank Ni?" At this point, Tony Liu and the others looked puzzled and curious.
Quintin Fang wasn't surprised. Given the current internet environment, unless someone was particularly interested in this industry and Hank Ni himself was very low-key, few people knew his name.
He smiled and shared some information about Hank Ni before swiftly shifting the topic, "Alright, everyone's here. Let me talk about the promotion!"
Bringing this up, everyone quieted down.
After all, they had gathered here today to make some extra money through part-time work.
And the prerequisite for that was knowing how to do it.
Quintin Fang glanced around and briefly introduced the background of Azure Space and the establishment of ground promotion teams by Futurix in significant universities across the city. Then he said, "Our promotion content is registering on Futurix and getting a free phone."
"Register on the website and get a phone?" Iris Zhang and others were astonished.
Phones weren't cheap, costing over a thousand dollars for any model.
They couldn't afford a new phone and could only use a cheap, few-hundred-dollar pager.
This company, Futuri,x, was exchanging phones for users.
They must be wealthy!
Tony Liu and the others exchanged bewildered looks. Did this guy, Quintin Fang, lose his mind? How much would this promotion plan cost?
Quintin Fang cleared his throat, "Uh, this is a marketing plan devised by Futurix. What we need to do is promote it across the four campuses of Stellaris University and ensure all Stellaris University students know about it!"
"How do we do that?" Skylar Qin asked.
"It's simple. Mainly distribute flyers and set up booths in crowded areas," Quintin Fang explained the ground promotion methods in detail and arranged the division of roles, which would cover the main campus, who would go to branch campuses, and so on.
Seizing the opportunity, Quintin Fang naturally assigned himself to the group responsible for the main campus alongside Skylar Qin and conveniently sent Alex Ye to the farthest branch of Stellaris University.
Although Alex Ye wouldn't become his love rival, Quintin Fang believed it was "better kill the wrong one than let them go."
He would never allow anyone to interfere with his relationship with Skylar Qin.
Once the promotion details were covered, Quintin Fang continued, "Now let's talk about the pay. June 1st is a Saturday. Each person will work eight hours that day and be paid 150 dollars."
"Those in charge of the branches will get an additional 50 dollars for daily expenses and transportation!"
"Any questions?"
"No!"
Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Alright, that's settled then!"
Quintin Fang smiled and finalized the plan.
......
On this day, Sunday morning.
The ground promotion officially kicked off.
Quintin Fang, Skylar Qin, Iris Zhang, and Tony Liu carried already prepared banners, folding tables, flyers, and other materials, appearing at the intersection of several female dormitory buildings.
Choosing a spacious spot, they set up folding tables and placed banners on both sides.
Both banners read, "Register with your real name on Futurix and get a 300 dollars voucher for a free mobile phone. Accumulate vouchers to get a Nokia 7650."
Such promotions might have been overlooked a decade later, given the various marketing bombardments people faced. But in this era, it was groundbreaking.
Instantly, the enthusiasm skyrocketed.
..