So, the second session attempting to secure nominations saw many participants.
Of course, those who wished to be nominated would not do so themselves; it would be too embarrassing. Thus, they would hint at their friends, family, or students to help them get nominated.
However, according to the rules of the Huang He Award, only the Huang He Award Judging Committee, Huang He himself (while alive), and a joint petition of over 1 million people had the right to nominate for the Huang He Award.
The latter two avenues were not feasible. Gathering 1 million signatures was extremely difficult, and Huang He refused all direct or indirect hints from anyone to demonstrate his impartiality. Consequently, the committee members were swamped, receiving various appeals daily.
As a result, the final list for deliberation, encompassing all project categories, exceeded 500 individuals, making Huang Heβs eyes ache.
Still, Huang He diligently reviewed all 500 names. Then, touching his head, he addressed the committee members at the meeting, "Why do I see so many people with foreign nationalities? Didn't I state that the Huang He Award is exclusively for Chinese nationals?"
"Ahem, mainly because they haven't renounced their Chinese nationality. They are still considered Chinese, aren't they..."
"Esteemed seniors, do you not understand the country's laws? The law clearly states that China does not recognize dual nationality. All those holding foreign passports should be removed!" Huang He said decisively, instantly reducing the list to just over 400.
"Furthermore, the evaluation criteria for the Huang He Award require significant contributions to the nation, its people, and the entire world. In literature, those who write melancholic prose and mere nonsensical ramblings, but have never contributed to national progress, can be removed."
"In mathematics, those who research so-called mathematical mysteries or engage in Olympic competitions without any practical value can also be removed."
"In physics and chemistry, those pursuing grand, abstract concepts or frontier technologies without any tangible outcomes benefiting the populace or the nation can also be removed."
"As for outstanding individuals, emphasis must be placed on practicality, the integration of science with practice, and those who have dedicated their lives to arduous struggle. I see that half of your nominations are for administrative positions β leaders sitting in offices. What is this nonsense? Remove them all."
"Finally, one last point: while awardees may not possess perfect moral character, they absolutely must not have engaged in any morally or legally reprehensible behavior. Anyone with a stain on their record, unless their contributions are exceptionally significant and they have demonstrably reformed, shall not be considered in principle!"
With these suggestions from Huang He, the list was instantly reduced to less than 50 individuals. Huang He then manually crossed out another 20 names. After some thought, he added a name to the list, drawing a circle around it, and declared, "This circled individual has been decided as the recipient of the Huang He Biology Award. As for the remaining awards, I believe the current candidates are all suitable. I now ask the esteemed seniors to cast your votes according to your conscience!"
Huang He stated that the revised list was then presented to the committee members.
Upon reviewing this list, aside from their lack of understanding and complete unfamiliarity with the person Huang He had manually added, they unanimously nodded in agreement with all other names on the list, having no objections.
After all, the individuals finally confirmed by Huang He were undoubtedly deserving, qualified, and capable of receiving awards.
They felt no psychological pressure voting on this list. If they had been asked to vote from the previous list of 500 people, they would have felt a pang of conscience.
Finally, after the voting by the dozens of committee members present, the winners of the Huang He Award were finalized. Huang He then announced to all media outlets that the final results of the Huang He Award would be revealed at the inaugural conference of the China Electronics Industry Alliance on August 8th, effectively generating significant buzz for the event.
After concluding this voting activity, Huang He finally finished his pressing matters and was able to fly directly to Paris three days later.
Meanwhile, national media outlets were embroiled in heated discussions, eagerly inquiring about the recipients of the second Huang He Award.
Unfortunately, the voting was anonymous, and the tallying was personally handled by Huang He. Therefore, besides Huang He himself, even the committee members had no idea of the final list of winners and had to wait for the conference on August 8th.
Concurrently, Taobao.com, which had been delayed for nearly half a year, finally launched across the entire internet. Accompanying Taobao was its complementary software, Wealth Treasure.
At the same time, eBay completed its reorganization and merger. eBay, 8848, and Dangdang.com merged to form eBay China, directly controlled by eBay Inc. They announced their intention to sell a large quantity of excellent foreign products in China, providing Chinese people with the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of advanced foreign scientific and technological development.
Suddenly, the once monolithic e-commerce market became turbulent once more.
On another front, shortly before his departure, Huang He encountered another situation: Chairman Zeng Qing of Tencent Network personally sought him out, insisting on a meeting.
"Chairman Huang, I've heard that you have brought glory to our nation abroad, letting foreigners know the prowess of us Chinese people and Chinese technology. I am truly impressed and have come specifically to congratulate you!" Zeng Qing exclaimed upon meeting him.
Based on the understanding many in the industry had of Huang He and his actions, many in the circle believed Huang He to be a highly nationalistic and somewhat hot-headed individual.
He seemed to enjoy undertaking thankless tasks that, on the surface, appeared to be acts of patriotism, which was quite foolish. They couldn't fathom how such a nationalistic person had amassed wealth; it was truly unscientific.
However, this did not prevent them from pandering to his preferences. Thus, many, upon meeting Huang He, would immediately praise him for "raising China's prestige abroad" to win his favor.
Indeed, despite the unexpected appearance of Zeng Qing, Huang He greeted him with a smile, invited him to sit, and said frankly, "Mr. Zeng, given our relationship, just get straight to the point. Your flattery is giving me goosebumps!"
"Alright, I'll get straight to it then!" Zeng Qing smiled awkwardly and continued, "Mr. Huang, I wonder if your previous promise still holds? We are very eager for an opportunity to cooperate with Jiangnan Group."
"My promise?" Huang He blinked in surprise. "What did I promise?"
"Mr. Huang, you..." Zeng Qing's expression changed drastically. Was Huang He intending to renege on his word?
"Oh, I remember now. You're talking about the oo game platform, aren't you!" Huang He slapped his forehead. He wasn't intentionally trying to play hardball; he had genuinely forgotten about the game platform and only just recalled it. He then smiled and said, "It's still valid. I've always been honest and true to my word, a thousand promises for a single word."
"Mr. Zeng, if you have any games you wish to list on the oo game center, just tell me directly. I'll definitely arrange it properly!" Huang He smiled.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zeng Qing's face broke into a smile again. "Actually, you know this game. We met at that Korean game company before!"
"Oh, you mean 'Triumphant' right!" Huang He suddenly realized. "But that's not right. Didn't you decide to operate Triumphant yourselves? Why are you coming to us now? Are you encountering operational issues or difficulties?"
"Not at all, we're operating quite well, but we also want to expand our channels!" Zeng Qing said sheepishly. In reality, the operation of 'Triumphant' was going terribly.
'Triumphant' began operations in April of this year. It had been over three months. For an online game, the first three months are typically either in the growth phase or the prosperous phase, generally showing a positive trend.
However, for 'Triumphant', whether it was the growth phase or the prosperous phase, it began to decline rapidly within less than a month.
In the first two weeks after the game server's launch, 'Triumphant' had amassed 200,000 registered players, and the concurrent online users had exceeded 30,000. The start was even more explosive than the legendary 'Hot Blood Legend' of yesteryear.
But after two weeks, the player count began to drop, and the decline only accelerated. By now, the number of active players had fallen below 20,000, with concurrent online users less than 2,000.
There were 10 servers at launch, but 8 of them had now become ghost servers. Zeng Qing was even contemplating merging servers, which was a devastating blow to his entire company, Tengda.
After Tengda sold its QQ business, the newly developed gaming business became Tengda's lifeline. However, although this gaming business had generated some revenue, it hadn't even recouped the initial agent fees for 'Triumphant'. If this continued, Tengda might truly become a tragic footnote in history.
At this juncture, Zeng Qing remembered Huang He's previous promise and, swallowing his pride, approached Huang He to request that 'Triumphant' be listed on the oo game center.
"If your company truly wishes to list Triumphant, I certainly have no objections!" Huang He said calmly. "However, forgive my frankness, but 'Triumphant' has excessively high system requirements. Most computers in China currently cannot run such games, which is why your player retention is so poor. Just because a game has good graphics doesn't make it a good game. Surely, Mr. Zeng, you understand such a simple principle, don't you!"
"Then what should we do?" Zeng Qing was taken aback. Their company only had 'Triumphant' as its sole game.