Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Pei Qian nodded. "Yes, is there a problem?"

Chang You's expressions were very exciting. He was first confused, then puzzled, and finally thoughtful. However, after several changes, Chang You still said through gritted teeth, "Alright, Boss Pei! I'll do that!"

He turned around and walked out.

Pei Qian quickly raised his hand. "Wait!"

Chang You, "Eh? Boss Pei, do you have other instructions?"

Pei Qian cleared his throat, thinking about how to phrase his thoughts. He discovered that the situation was looking increasingly strange.

In the past, whenever he gave ridiculous suggestions, his subordinates would confirm his instructions with him repeatedly, clarify operational details, and then reluctantly carry them out.

Today, Chang You did not ask a single question. Instead, he struggled internally and was prepared to carry it out!

That wouldn't do!

Pei Qian could not relax.

How would Pei Qian know if his subordinates understood his instructions if they did not question him or express doubt?

A single misstep could lead to dire consequences!

After some thought, Pei Qian tried asking, "Tell me what you would say during the news conference."

Chang You confidently answered, "I'll emphasize the cell phone's flaws; it's expensive and it's heavy. After that, I will tell the audience that our cell phones are expensive because we have used the 'following materials', and then I'll list out the hardware.

"Boss Pei, don't worry. I'll simplify everything as much as possible and only tell the customers critical information.

"After that, I'll focus on its weight. I'll tell them the exact mass of our cell phone, and then compare it with more commonly-bought cell phones in the market. That'll allow everyone to have an idea of our cell phone's weight.

"Then, I'll tell everyone that the cell phone's weight is mainly due to its powerful 5800 mAh battery…"

Pei Qian felt sorrowful.

It's a good thing I asked more questions. He obviously misunderstood me!

Chang You was saying that he would talk about the cell phone's flaws first before turning them into merits. Take the cell phone's weight for instance. He would first acknowledge that the cell phone was a 250-gram machine, but he would then showcase the cell phone's merits: its powerful battery and long endurance.

That was akin to following up every insult with praise.

How could that do?

If he said those things at the news conference, it would not be a failed news conference at all!

After some consideration, Pei Qian said, "You're on the right track, but you still have to work on the details. This is what I suggest.

"The news conference should go exactly opposite of most other news conferences for cell phone brands.

"Tell them the price once you start speaking.

"Don't netizens nowadays like to leave as soon as they realize they're not the other party's match? Let them do that at the beginning, so that they won't have to wait.

"Prepare a picture to cover all the merits of our cell phones. Don't spend more than five minutes explaining this picture.

"Then, emphasize on the cell phone's flaws.

"First, say it's expensive. Not only must we emphasize that the cell phone will be priced at more than eight thousand yuan, but we must also emphasize that the cell phone cannot be paid for by installments. We'll never offer discounts, too!

"Second, say it's heavy. We'll give them the cell phone's accurate mass, and its final mass after sticking the film and putting on the cover. After that, compare it to other everyday objects. Make it clear to everyone that the cell phone would feel very heavy if they try to carry it with one hand!

"Once you go into this segment, you cannot start talking about the cell phone's merits again because you've already covered them at the start!

"You cannot say things like 'our cell phone is heavy because it contains a 5800 mAh battery' during this segment!

"Focus on the flaws when you're talking about the flaws. Nobody's asking you to praise yourself. Don't try to come up with so many gimmicks, but try to be more sincere.

"Of course, that won't be enough for the news conference.

"Think carefully about more of the cell phone's flaws. Is it just heavy and expensive? There's no such thing as a perfect product in the world. If you can't find flaws, there must be a problem with your eyesight!

"Look for enough flaws to spend thirty minutes talking about!

"All in all, this news conference should last for about an hour. Of course, I wouldn't mind if it's slightly shorter.

"Many cell phone manufacturers have long and boring news conferences. They can even spend ten minutes talking about minute functions. That's not showing respect for the audience's time. We have to avoid doing that at all costs!

"That's about it. Have you noted them all down?"

Pei Qian smiled as he gazed at Chang You.

Once again, Chang You went from looking confused to puzzled, and then thoughtful. Finally, he nodded. "Alright, I'll do a slideshow based on this!"

Pei Qian, "…"

For some reason, he could not relax. However, he had already said everything that he wanted to. He could not possibly prepare the slideshow himself, could he?

Thus, he nodded. "Alright, do what you have to. Ask me if you have any questions."

…

At 3 PM, He Desheng arrived.

He held two bundles of documents in his hands. "Boss Pei, these are the better investment projects that I've found. These are the projects that Boss Ma thinks involve more dreams. Please take a look."

Pei Qian took the business plans and scanned them. He frowned.

There were so many words. His head hurt.

Ai, people nowadays… their proposals are too seriously and reliably written!

You're making work very difficult for me!

Pei Qian could not help but feel sorrowful. How good of a project had 'Top Student, Come Quick' been? It had looked much more 'reliable' than all of these projects, but… how did it end up making money?

As he read the proposals, Pei Qian casually asked, "How has 'Top Student, Come Quick' been doing?"

He Desheng quickly answered, "Xude Education has made some big moves ever since it took over 'Top Student, Come Quick'.

"First, it forced all of its students to register for the application. The students were also asked to make their family and friends register and to log in daily. As a result, the students kept complaining.

"After that, the application was modified. Its name changed to 'Xude Top Students', more functions were added, Xude Education publicized their courses on it, and quick log-in options were included.

"After that, the application fell drastically. Everyone started cursing it online. I guess the staff at Xude Education must be having a headache now…"

Pei Qian had been flipping through the proposals casually. However, his eyes lit up when he heard this.

Isn't this the scene I have been dreaming about?

I wanted the application to fall dramatically from grace, fail to cover expenditure, and incur losses!

Pei Qian seemed to understand what was going on. There had been nothing wrong with this project that he had thought about, and there had been no problems with its operations. The only reason why it had not been incurring losses was that it had not been the right time!

Xude Education was very knowledgeable in this area. The project started incurring losses the moment they took over. How admirable!

Pei Qian immediately pushed all the proposals aside. "I've thought about it."

He Desheng was stunned. Then, he looked at Boss Pei with admiration and hope. "Boss Pei, you've only looked through the proposals for five minutes, and yet you've already found a reliable one to invest in? You're so efficient!"

He Desheng could not help but hold up his thumb and praise the investment genius, Boss Pei.

Pei Qian sniggered. "Use the money to buy 'Top Student, Come Quick' back for me!"

Pick yourself up from wherever you've fallen down!

It's alright that they've made money. They could just spend however much they had earned, right?

He Desheng was shocked.

Buy it back?

Dream Realization Ventures was still holding on to twenty percent of the shares in 'Top Student, Come Quick'. It was already a shareholder. If they wanted to acquire more shares, they would be given priority.

What's more, Xude Education had already met with serious setbacks. If the project caused them to incur losses and endure scolding and they saw no chance of improving the situation in the short term, they would jump at the chance to cut their losses and sell their shares to anyone willing to take over.

Even if they did not sell their shares now, they would probably give up in a week or two and sell them.

However, that was precisely why there was no need to acquire their shares!

The project is now a mess, and we've already successfully cashed out. Why should we get involved in the messy situation?

Confused, He Desheng tried asking, "Boss Pei, how much… are we buying exactly? 34%, 51%, or 67%?"

Pei Qian waved his hand. "Buy as much as we can, of course. It would be best if we can get back a hundred percent of the shares!

"That's right. Try and poach the man in charge at Xude Education while you're at it. I want him to continue leading this project."

Pei Qian finally understood now. Whether a project would succeed or not depended on the people handling it! If he bought the project back and handed it to He Desheng, it could be resurrected.

He had to poach the man at Xude Education, who had caused the project to fail in the first place, and then allow him to continue leading the project. That way, the project would continue to fail, and Pei Qian could lose everything!

He Desheng was absolutely puzzled, but Boss Pei had already made himself clear. There was no point in asking any more questions.

After some thought, He Desheng nodded. "Alright, Boss Pei! I'll do that!"

…

After sending Chang You and He Desheng off, Pei Qian felt more relaxed. He only had to deal with one more person before he could knock off for the day!

At 4 PM, Lin Wan arrived to discuss Be Quiet with Pei Qian. She wanted to know what kind of advertising they should do for the game.

"Boss Pei, have you played the game? Do you have any thoughts or advice?" Lin Wan asked.

"Er…" Pei Qian wanted to say that he hadn't played the game, but he was afraid that it would make him look bad. Thus, he ambiguously said, "I don't think there are any problems. Let's cut straight to the chase."

Lin Wan nodded. "Alright. I'll talk about the publicity strategy I've thought of."

Pei Qian listened intently. Pei Qian had given wrong directions for Be Quiet at the beginning. He had told them that it should be an online horror game with no storyline.

He had not expected Shang Yang Games to be able to create a game based on those instructions!

However, the fact that they could create a game did not mean that players would purchase it. Pei Qian still thought that an online horror game with no storyline would neither be scary nor fun. The game would not be attractive to fans of horror games and ordinary gamers alike.

Still, he could not afford to be careless with publicity.

The Lonely Desert Road had been a rubbish game, but the accidental use of the right marketing strategy had caused the game to become popular.

Pei Qian did not want the same strange thing to happen again.

He had to kill all hope for the game, starting from its publicity!