vstars Chapter 14 Award
Chapter 14 Award
"Thank you for your question, Professor Qi!" Geng Zhi nodded slightly in acknowledgment and calmly began, "From the first generation of portal websites to the Web 2.0 era, the development of the Internet in China has been changing rapidly."
"In the past two years, domestic computer shipments have exceeded 3000 million units, with an average annual growth rate of 20%."
He then changed the subject: "But I predict that the annual growth rate of domestic computer shipments will plummet, or even turn negative, within the next three years."
To most of the students in the audience, this prediction was just a dry data forecast, and it went in one ear and out the other.
But for Zhu Xiaohu and Wang Jianshuo on the judging panel, it was nothing short of a thunderclap.
The two exchanged a glance and both frowned.
The two had just discussed in depth yesterday the impact of the growth of internet users on Baixing.com, and the computer shipment data they mentioned was basically consistent with what Geng Zhi said.
However, they came to completely opposite conclusions—the two firmly believed that the growth rate would not only not decrease in the next three years, but would be expected to exceed 30%.
This is the mainstream view in the industry. After all, the financial crisis last year was so severe, yet the growth rate was still 18%, not to mention that the economy is now recovering rapidly.
Therefore, when Geng Zhi uttered the words "negative growth," Zhu Xiaohu could hardly contain himself and, disregarding etiquette, interrupted him directly: "Wait! From which website did you see this assessment of negative growth??"
"Mr. Zhu, this is my personal analysis and prediction." Geng Zhi's tone was calm, revealing no emotion.
"What are you doing...?"
Zhu Xiaohu almost blurted out "utter nonsense," but he stopped himself abruptly and changed his words, saying, "This is just one person's opinion. I want to know what your basis for judgment is?"
"The 3G era has arrived, and 4G will be widespread within five years. The future belongs to mobile internet, and smartphones will eventually replace computers as the new growth engine. The American market has already shown us the prelude." His straightforward answer remained as firm as a rock.
Zhu Xiaohu has been following the front lines of the internet for a long time, so he naturally knows that mobile internet is a major trend.
But to him, Geng Zhi's claims that "4G will be widespread within five years" and "smartphones will soon replace computers" are nothing but alarmist talk.
He wanted to refute it immediately.
Firstly, lacking detailed knowledge of the American computer market, he was unable to disprove it on the spot; secondly, realizing that he had taken Professor Qi Chuqin's turn to ask a question, he quickly bowed to Professor Qi to apologize, temporarily put aside his words, and prepared to ask his question later.
Seeing that Zhu Xiaohu had given up, Geng Zhi naturally returned to Professor Qi Chuqin's question:
"Therefore, 'Jiaotong University Matchmaker' must seize future trends and fully develop the APP at the right time to establish a first-mover advantage. This is the right way to build a moat."
He smiled and pointed to the judges' table, adding, "The trend is right before our eyes—four of the seven judges are already using 3G phones. That's the signal."
Upon hearing this, Professor Kong Fanqin looked around curiously and discovered that only she, Jin Zhilong, and Wang Jianshuo had feature phones.
Given Qi Chuqin's consistently sharp style, upon hearing such an answer, he would have already unleashed a barrage of questions: "Where is the technical team?", "What are the development costs?", and "Aren't you afraid of being copied by big companies?"
But today, he didn't.
He accurately grasped the word "trend" in Geng Dao's straightforward words and launched into praise mode:
"Being able to think about entrepreneurial direction from the perspective of major trends in internet development—that's a very high level of vision! This is the kind of perspective an entrepreneur should have. Excellent, excellent, truly excellent!"
Professor Qi not only used "very" three times in a row, but also nodded exaggeratedly, as if afraid that the other judges would not see his admiration.
Students from "our own college" should be praised when they deserve it, and their votes should be solicited when necessary.
This blatant double standard drew another sidelong glance from Professor Gou Youqian, whose expression was complex.
Zhang Xuhao, who had been rendered speechless by Professor Qi's rebuttal, shook his head repeatedly, regretting that he wasn't born into the computer science department.
Due to Vice Principal Yang and Zhu Xiaohu's repeated interruptions, the judges' question-and-answer session had exceeded the allotted time by three minutes.
Geng Zhi felt a slight tension in his heart when he saw that the host had no intention of stopping the show.
He knew that Zhu Xiaohu was an expert in the dating industry, and if he asked any more questions, his hastily made-up details would probably be exposed.
So, he decisively displayed his "straightforward" nature and said, "Host, I'm sorry, we seem to have gone quite a bit over time. If we keep asking, it might not be fair to the other contestants."
These words immediately disappointed many students who had been listening attentively, and even Vice Principal Yang's eyes flashed with a hint of unfinished business. Even the host himself seemed a little embarrassed.
Everyone wants to hear Zhu Xiaohu, this professional investor, continue his probing questions and is looking forward to an even more exciting showdown.
But since Geng Zhi had pointed it out, the host couldn't pretend to be clueless anymore and could only feign realization: "Ah, right, right! Time is indeed almost up. Now, please, judges, score this round of presentations. Geng Zhi, you can have a more in-depth discussion with Mr. Zhu afterward."
Geng Zhi bowed slightly again, then slowly walked off the podium and headed to his seat.
From the podium to his seat, a distance of less than twenty meters, Geng Zhi felt as if he were walking a fashion show, with burning gazes on both sides that seemed to be able to see through his back.
As soon as they sat down, Niu Baoguo and Huang Lijuan came over, gave a thumbs up, and their faces were full of "awesome".
Ma Chunmei immediately launched into a complaining mode: "So straightforward! Couldn't you have been a little gentler when you answered General Manager Zhu? You were too harsh!"
"I'm not a woman, what's with the gentleness!" Geng Zhi thought to himself, but too lazy to argue with her, and said nonchalantly, "Oh, is that so?"
"This scoring uses a weighted average algorithm. Mr. Zhu's 1 point equals 2 points, and Mr. Wang Jianshuo's 1 point equals 1.5 points. What if your impolite attitude affects the final score?"
"I wasn't being impolite. I was just stating the facts." The straightforward speaker was speechless.
"You shouldn't have..." Ma Chunmei was about to scold her when she was interrupted by the host's voice.
"Distinguished judges and students, the final scores for the nine groups of contestants have been tallied. Now, I will announce the results of this roadshow."
"The 9th place winner is from the School of Media and Communication... with a score of 60.5."
……
"The team that won 5th place was Cai Haoyu's team from the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering - Computer Science, with 65 points."
"The team that won fourth place was Zhang Xuhao's team from the Graduate School of Mechanical Engineering and Power Engineering, with 66 points."
"The third place went to Qi Junyuan's team from the Information Management and Information Systems major at Antai College of Economics and Management, with a score of 70.5."
"The team that won second place was Kong Rong's team from the Medical School, with 74 points."
When the host announced the first place winner, he frowned slightly and paused noticeably before continuing:
"The team that won first place is Hao Pengxiang's team from the Academy of Fine Arts, with a score of 90.5."
Audience members: "?"
The six judges: "??"
Qi Chuqin: "Shouldn't our Computer Science department be number one???"
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P.S.: Three chapters today! Please read on, recommend, vote with your monthly tickets, and comment to help this seedling grow strong. Thank you so much!