The next day around noon, Mr. Ma woke up to find himself in a wheelchair in the internet cafe, covered with a blanket.
Seeing that he was awake, Ji Qing tossed him a towel. "Go wash up quickly. How did you get yourself into this state?"
When Mr. Ma saw Ji Qing, he vaguely remembered that he had gotten drunk with him yesterday and fallen into the computer room, and it was the computer that took him in.
After he washed his face, there were still no customers in the internet cafe. Xiao Liu was a kind-hearted person, so he shared half of his breakfast with Boss Ma.
"You didn't come home all night yesterday, aren't your wife and kids worried?"
Mr. Ma shook his head and quickly ate all two fried dough sticks and three pieces of bread.
By this time, people were starting to arrive at the computer room one after another. A few young men shouted as soon as they entered, "Boss Jiqing, can you help us download ICQ?"
"I can't seem to find a way to download it in the China region."
These words hit Jack Ma's sore spot; it's ICQ again!
Mr. Ma walked over and saw Ji Qing helping a customer download ICQ. He felt very uncomfortable and went up to ask, "Why do you like this software so much?"
"Is that even a question? People all over the world use ICQ to access the internet. If I don't, wouldn't I be out of touch?" the guest said absentmindedly.
"ICQ Communications Technology Company, they haven't opened up business in China, they just look down on our Chinese market," Mr. Ma said directly.
The customer got excited and said, "I'll just download a tool. As long as it works, I don't care if it's from China or Europe."
"Who are you? Why are you meddling in my business!"
Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was not right, Ji Qing quickly stepped forward to shield Boss Ma, asking, "What's going on? Why are you arguing with a customer?"
Mr. Ma remained unmoved, pushed Ji Qing aside, and said, "China also has its own dating apps."
Without saying a word, he snatched the computer and downloaded QQ directly onto it.
"Look, although QQ can't compare to ICQ in terms of features, it's a Chinese product, made in China."
Ji Qing then realized that after a night of heavy drinking, Mr. Ma was confused and had opened the administrator version of QQ instead of the user version.
He then remembered that Mr. Ma had once mentioned to him that he was going to develop some kind of software when he came to his internet cafe, but he hadn't taken it seriously at the time.
"This is... could this be the software you developed?" Ji Qing exclaimed in surprise.
Upon hearing this, the guest's expression changed instantly. "Wow, you're quite impressive. I really didn't recognize your talent."
Mr. Ma didn't argue with them and directly introduced, "This is software developed by our company."
The guest stared intently at the software interface, its functions, levels, and layout. He looked at Ji Qing with a pout, his expression as if asking, "Is he an idiot?"
"What's the difference between this and ICQ? Isn't this just a stripped-down version of ICQ?"
"A stripped-down version, a stripped-down version!" He'd heard too many similar comments in the past few days. Knowing the customer wasn't interested in his software, Mr. Ma waved his hand and left.
Ji Qing was an acquaintance of Boss Ma, and seeing how dejected he was, he quickly chased after him.
"Mr. Ma, don't be angry. Xiao Liu and I both downloaded and tried your QQ software yesterday. It's a very good software."
Jiqing is a warm-hearted person, and he said that his simplicity stems from his kindness.
Boss Ma naturally understood that these words were spoken out of respect for him.
"Boss, don't try to comfort me. I know what kind of weight QQ carries. Nobody is optimistic about this product."
Mr. Ma sighed, his dark circles under his eyes deepening. "It's been two months and the download count is still less than 10,000. This product is no good."
The more excited and thrilled Mr. Ma was when he was developing this project, the more disappointed he is now.
"No, no, no, there's still hope. You're still in the development stage, and everything is difficult at the beginning," Ji Qing comforted her.
Mr. Ma nodded, indicating that he appreciated the gesture, and then left.
After he left, Xiao Liu sauntered over to Ji Qing and asked, "Boss, why did you lie to him?"
Ji Qing frowned and said, "This Mr. Ma used to come to my computer room almost every day for two hours. He was a regular customer here."
"But ever since he started his own business, he's rarely come to our computer room anymore, so you probably don't recognize him."
Xiao Liu added, "In the internet industry, everything is based on data. QQ's data is bad; that's a fact."
“He knows better than anyone that this product is no good. Boss, you should tell him the truth and let him give up sooner.”
Ji Qing smiled and said casually, "He's just a young entrepreneur who's encountered some setbacks. Why should I rub salt into his wounds?"
"A kind word warms the heart for three winter months, while a harsh word chills the heart for six summer months." This young man is only temporarily down, so why should I say such things that would only make him withdraw into himself?
"Actually, I think success or failure is not important. What's important is to maintain a good mindset."
Xiao Liu smiled, clearly not taking his boss's words to heart.
Back in his office, Mr. Ma felt the familiar atmosphere again—the atmosphere of impending dissolution.
The product has been launched, but without users, there is no way to attract investment or start moving to the next step.
Now, all the resources their company has have been basically exhausted.
We've tried everything – technology, connections, online promotion – but nothing has worked.
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