The morning after they reached an agreement, Wang Xiaoliang and Luo Bisheng sat in the office, their two computers facing each other.
Wang Xiaoliang started with what he had learned as a calligraphy blogger:
"Before I graduated, I started a calligraphy account and posted every day. Back then, I could make a few hundred a day."
"Why did you stop?"
"I mainly sold my calligraphy. Later, loads of people started offering theirs for 9.9 with free shipping, so I stopped."
"Boss Xiao said it was a shame. After spending so much time with them, I started feeling it really was a shame too."
Wang Xiaoliang had reviewed the experience afterward. The calligraphy niche was too narrow, and purely technical content couldn't keep people around. Followers came fast and left just as fast. But that experience had given him a foothold in We Media-when to post, how to write titles, how to manage the comments, what pacing the algorithm favored. He had worked his way through all of it.
"Later, Nuomi approached me and said she wanted to turn me into a calligraphy blogger. She explained her approach, and I learned quite a bit."
"She said the content itself wasn't important. What mattered was the persona. Viewers won't remember what characters you wrote, but they'll remember the person writing them."
"You didn't take that in at the time?"
"I did, but I couldn't figure out who that 'person' was." Wang Xiaoliang smiled. "Now I have."
He counted the points off on his fingers for Luo Bisheng.
First, he had a foundation in We Media; he wasn't starting from scratch. Second, calligraphy was a skill he already had, so he wouldn't have to scramble to learn it. Third-
"My dad's grilled chicken wings."
Luo Bisheng froze.
"What does calligraphy have to do