E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World-Chapter 69 - Episode 69 Its Going to Cost Money to Move the

Chapter 69: Episode 69: It’s Going to Cost Money to Move the Website Again1

Chapter 69: Episode 69: It’s Going to Cost Money to Move the Website Again1

During the Chinese New Year period, it’s always a time when major websites see a serious drop in traffic, and 51buy is no exception.

The forum’s activity had diminished to a point where Zhou Xueyin began to wonder if netizens had found a new social platform and abandoned this one.

Especially on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year, the forum was deserted, with only a smattering of New Year’s greetings posts.

But then again, over the few days of the Spring Festival, Zhou Xueyin was either accompanying her parents on family visits or sitting in front of the computer, browsing the forum and sighing at the meager number of online users.

She had planned to take photos at the temple fair, but upon arriving at the entrance and seeing the long queue and the crowded scene, she lost interest instantly, took a few hasty photos at the entrance, and beat a swift retreat.

Fortunately, this phenomenon gradually improved after the fifth day of the New Year, as it seemed everyone was ready to settle down and get back to work after the festivities, and the forum suddenly had a lot more posts sharing photos taken during the holiday.

Zhou Xueyin’s previously dejected mood also eased somewhat.

Not just Zhou Xueyin, but the other four sisters in different places were similar, spending their time during the holiday either visiting relatives or sitting in front of their computers.

Of course, except for Li Jiniang, who kept touring her hometown with Li Ranxu and occasionally called Yao Shanshan to join them.

After the Lantern Festival, everyone came back to Beijing, each bringing local specialties from their hometowns for Zhou Xueyin.

“By the way, Yinyin, our forum, I often couldn’t open it while I was in my hometown, always getting ‘server not found’ messages.” Kang Siyin mentioned this to Zhou Xueyin soon after she returned.

“Exactly, exactly! It was okay during the Spring Festival, but after, when the netizens came back, it was hard to get the site to load.” Yao Shanshan agreed.

“Maybe it doesn’t support the southern routes? Anyway, I’ve had no issues over here…” After all, she had never been to the south, and the majority of forum users were from the north, so she was unsure of the actual situation there.

“Oh right, Cui Hu mentioned that you attended their company’s annual meeting?” Kang Siyin looked at her puzzledly, “What company does Cui Hu belong to? He never told us.”

“Him? He’s responsible for internal network technology at Fashion Xinrui!” Zhou Xueyin remembered that during the annual meeting, Cui Hu mentioned that he knew the server operator.

If what Kang Siyin and Yao Shanshan said was true, that the current web hosting was performing poorly for the south, then it was indeed necessary to change the routing.

Furthermore, with the increasing number of registered users, it wasn’t sustainable to always rent web hosting space; wouldn’t it be better to buy a server for hosting?

“KK, what do you think about us buying a server for hosting?” Zhou Xueyin discussed her idea with Kang Siyin.

“Not a great idea… We don’t have the expertise, and what if we get taken advantage of?” Kang Siyin candidly rolled her eyes at Zhou Xueyin.

“Doesn’t Yang Shixiong know about this?” Zhou Xueyin was persistent.

“Don’t mention it, ever since Yang Shixiong went to the United States, he’s been like he disappeared; though he occasionally posts photos on his QQ space, he never replies to my messages at other times. He seems really busy.” Kang Siyin said somewhat disheartenedly, “But you could ask his apprentice, Cui Hu…”

“Him? Forget it… Didn’t I meet him already? I just get the vibe he’s not very reliable…” Zhou Xueyin shook her head dismissively.

“Who cares if he’s reliable or not, as a consultant, that’s no problem, right? In the end, you’re paying, so you call the shots…” Kang Siyin shrugged helplessly.

Yes, she was right; the forum was Zhou Xueyin’s to command. She could do with it as she pleased.

After all, falling into traps wasn’t a new experience for her; a few more times wouldn’t matter…

Zhou Xueyin thought it over and not only left a message for Cui Hu but also contacted Wei Jingzhu to inquire whether it was necessary to buy their own server for hosting, given their current situation.

After receiving the message, Wei Jingzhu immediately replied to Zhou Xueyin, “The current simultaneous online user count of your forum can be handled by renting a decent server; there’s no need for hosting. Hosting requires professional operation and maintenance personnel, and few women are willing to do such tiring and ungratifying work…”

Upon seeing Wei Jingzhu’s words, Zhou Xueyin specifically looked up the job responsibilities for operation and maintenance positions, and those with relatively higher salaries all involved traveling.

Those who managed remotely didn’t earn as much. It’s okay if there are no problems, but once there is one, it becomes a major issue, whether losing data or users, which is why few people are willing to do it.

Cui Hu also responded after a while with the same sentiment as Wei Jingzhu, advising against server hosting.

“I mentioned at the tea party, my classmate is currently in server rental business, just go directly to him. Why go through all that trouble?” Cui Hu said as he pulled Zhou Xueyin and his classmate into a temporary discussion group.

“Yinyin, if you have any questions, just ask him in the group. About price, the configuration you need, etc.”

“I’m still considering whether to switch or not…” Zhou Xueyin was indeed still hesitant.

Despite the small ad revenue that had been coming in over the past few months, she was also saving up for moving to an office building in the spring, so she couldn’t risk spending that money lightly.

“I’ve looked over the situation of your forum; there’s a 10,000 yuan/year configuration that you can consider.” The other party was quite proactive, sending over the quote image directly.

A dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 500GB of vast storage space, 5Mbps bandwidth, and moreover, it was a dual-line connection, ensuring smooth access for users from both south and north.

This configuration was indeed tempting, but the price was a bit discouraging.

“Are there any other configurations?” Zhou Xueyin wanted to compare, maybe there was a server that was cheaper but with a similar configuration.

“Others are not cost-effective. There’s one half the price, but it’s a single-line access. There will always be access issues for either the south or the north. The affordable ones either have less space or bandwidth and would quickly reach their limit. This one is already the best value for money!” The other party generously shared all the configuration tables with her.

“Uh… let’s think about it, we’ll give you an answer by this weekend at the latest?” 10,000 yuan, another 10,000 yuan to consider.

This was indeed a decision that needed to be discussed with everyone.

“Don’t be too late, there won’t be any discounts after March. If you order now, I can try to get you a 5% discount…” It seemed like the other party was eager to close the business deal, “How about this, you come to our company to talk this Friday?”

The more hastily they wanted to close the deal, the more it felt like a potential scam.

Having been through the experience of being cheated by Ying Haiwei, Zhou Xueyin felt it was necessary to visit the company in person.