Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  Although he did not have many subscribers, they were all very active. Moreover, Hu Xiao also had the contacts of professional fake reviewer teams. Therefore, he had a strong influence on the internet.

  After sharing the video, he added a caption: ‘A Baller Smashed the Shenhua N7 in Anger. The Reason was…’

  After writing those words, Hu Xiao almost laughed at what he wrote.

  Those who did not know what happened might think that the baller smashed the Shenhua N7 phone because he was unhappy and angry about its quality.

  ai

  was

  It was a little unethical of him to do so, and yet Hu Xiao did not go overboard. His actions could only be considered ordinary title sensationalism. It was not enough to spur public hate and cause him to be scolded by all netizens.

  If there were people who really came to him looking for trouble, he could resolve it by teasing them: If you treated that seriously, that meant that you have a glass heart and you wanted to raise ordinary issues at the level of big issues about nation, society, morals or politics.

  That was the highest realm of creating disgust for others. Hu Xiao was extremely familiar with that.

  After sharing the video, Hu Xiao had a question.

  What kind of team was behind Hardcore Reviews? Reviewers like Hu Xiao would normally make videos to earn money and get a free phone.

  However, it was evident that Hardcore Reviews did not have any sponsored partnerships.

  If Shenhua really wanted this review organization to promote their cell phones, they would definitely have some requests regarding the actual content of the video. How could they allow the video creator to demean their cell phone?

  Moreover, everyone within the industry knew that Shenhua did not like to look for review organizations. Hu Xiao did not receive sponsored partnerships with Shenhua. Therefore, his love for Shenhua products gradually turned into hate, and he became a professional Shenhua hater.

  Then… could it be that the Hardcore Reviews spent its own money to seek attention?

  Before the testing, the display was on. The video creator had also toggled the functions of the phone after soaking it in water. It was obvious that he was using a real phone instead of a duplicate.

  Ruin a real cell phone in each episode of the show?

  Hu Xiao did not really understand the life of the ballers…

  Hu Xiao did not take the matter to heart. Contented, he hummed a song and went to take a bath.

  Chapter 221 - Repaying Kindness with Hatred

  The next afternoon…

  Pei Qian woke up naturally, got up, and looked at his watch. It was already ten in the morning.

  After washing up and making a simple lunch, he swiped his phone while eating to see if anything was buzzing.

  He actually found out that Hardcore Reviews’ account had a long list of notifications!

  Pei Qian was stunned. He took a closer look and saw that the latest episode had become a hot topic in the electronics area. The broadcast, bullet screen comments, and comments sections were all vastly different from before.

  “What’s going on? Wasn’t this still an unknown thing last night? What has happened?”

  Pei Qian was a little flabbergasted.

  His first response was to swear; there would be trouble if this video became popular again!

  Wait a minute. I made the episodes using my own money; I hadn’t used the System Funds!

  Money from the incentive plan would be mine; this is a good thing and I don’t need to fret!

  The more popular this became, the more I would earn!

  Pei Qian instantly became happy as he clicked on the comments section.

  “People are getting paid to talk bad about Shenhua’s cell phones?”

  “This is just like Shaohu Reviews; foreign trash.”

  “Aye, domestically-produced cell phones are really subpar. Look at this phone’s body; it would break with a single touch.”

  “The design is a little too messy, right? Cutting corners and shoddy workmanship.”

  “Talking about quality issues? I recommend you guys look up the previous UP Master episode. The Pineapple cell phone broke even faster…”

  “Everyone has seen this, right? This UP Master is not targeting Shenhua’s cell phones; it had released a Pineapple cell phone before.”

  “Have we been taken for a ride? I don’t think that UP Master was talking bad about Shenhua’s cell phones; isn’t this the basic flow of a hardcore review?”

  Pei Qian looked at quite a few comments as he was a little baffled.

  What was going on; why were people arguing about this?

  This episode had indeed gained in popularity. However, it evidently wasn’t a normal type of popularity; it was the type that was triggered by arguing and fighting online.

  Some people were talking bad about Shenhua’s cell phones while some were offering rebuttals. Some people were sitting on the fence as well. All in all, the comments section was lighting up.

  Pei Qian wasn’t particularly biased towards any cell phone brand and wasn’t interested in this sort of online bickering. However, after turning to the next page in the comments section, he finally found who was causing this ruckus.

  The first major UP Master that shared this episode was the official account of ‘Shaohu Reviews’. As this platform had misrepresented the episode, many viewers had misunderstood the true intention of it. Without even watching the episode, they had started scolding profusely; and Pei Qian had become the unfortunate target of such vitriol.

  Pei Qian took a look at the main page of this UP Master. It looked like a very normal program offering reviews. However, embedded in it were many signs of sponsored partnerships.

  “You guys have a knack at stirring trouble; not bad. En, I could learn from this. Perhaps this could come in handy in the future.”

  Pei Qian made a mental note of this company. This type of account that specialized in such methods was the most professional at taking money to execute all sorts of tasks. It might be useful for Boss Pei in the future.

  Pei Qian didn’t mind at all; notoriety was after all still a form of popularity!

  Everyone could continue to scold as they pleased; I don’t bother looking at the comments section. I’ll continue with my plan of making my episodes, and I’m sure they will gain in popularity slowly.

  You guys can bicker and fight all you want; it is none of my concern.

  Even if no one showered any appreciation or praise in the end, money would still come in from the high viewership as part of the incentive plan. Although it wouldn’t be much, it would at least be pocket money.

  After all, all expenses of this program are being sponsored by Boss Lin; Pei Qian was making a windfall.

  “This is great! While everyone is paying attention to this, I’ll release the next episode regarding MSC as well.”

  “Three flagships; popularity would definitely be boosted!

  On the other hand, Hu Xiao was directing his own fans and ardent online friends to be on the same page. He definitely wasn’t going to do this dirty and tiresome work on his own; it would ruin his image.

  However, he definitely still had to add some oil to the fire.

  “I don’t know why people in the comments section are so agitated. I had shared this episode purely from an entertainment point of view; many people then started to talk so much about this. Do you guys have persecution mania?

  “Furthermore, I just felt that these episodes were rather interesting. Such a violent dismantling could also reveal some things such as the strengths of the cell phone’s structure, the quality of the internal pieces, organization, etc.

  “Actually, this video also shows that it isn’t that Shenhua’s cell phones are not of good quality; it is just that in comparison to foreign honchos such as MSC, there is still room for improvement.

  “Take the rear cover of the phone. Although we can’t say that corners were cut, it is evident that not much thought wa
s put into its production. It actually broke apart after a few touches. If it was an MSC cell phone, it is highly improbable that such a problem could happen.

  “Including some details of the internal structure of the cell phone—the thought process behind the materials used, we must acknowledge that we still have a long way to go. That Shenhua’s cell phones are cheaper than foreign flagship models is not without reason…”

  After seizing on the pretext to kick up a fuss, Hu Xiao immediately felt refreshed and content.

  Stirring up trouble was rather comforting!

  After sending these messages, Hu Xiao relaxed in the living room as he ate some fruit and waited for everyone’s responses.

  Half an hour later, Hu Xiao went to his computer and took a look at the discussions.

  As he took a closer look, Hu Xiao started to frown; something was amiss.

  “Hahaha, the coordination was done a little too well, right?”

  “I had just released such a message and have already gotten a slap on my face?”

  “MSC’s flagship model is actually worse than Shenhua’s; it broke with a single touch.”

  “This is so laughable. The UP Master had actually done a review on all three models but just hadn’t released the rest. That was unexpected!”

  Seeing so many comments of people taking pleasure in other’s misfortune, Hu Xiao was a little stunned.

  What was going on?

  He hurriedly opened the ‘Hardcore Reviews’ page and found that a couple of minutes after his message had been posted, a new contribution had surfaced.

  Hardcore Reviews Three: MSC-B90.

  This episode was the same as before in terms of content: immersion in water, dropping from a height, smashing the rear cover, forced dismantling…

  Hu Xiao had never expected that MSCB90’s workmanship couldn’t even be compared to Shenhua’s!

  Right from the first test on immersion in water, the MSCB90 had been switched on and placed in water for a time. After taking it out, although it looked as if nothing was wrong on the surface, when the UP Master reviewer used the phone; the audio was a little fuzzy, and the phone wasn’t very responsive to touch. Something was evidently wrong!

  Although the UP Master had not belabored on this point, all viewers could see this clearly.

  Next was dropping the phone from a height as well as smashing the rear cover of the phone. MSCB90 performed even worse than Shenhua’s flagship. After dismantling the phone, the internal mechanisms were extremely complicated-bordering on chaotic.

  Of course, the chaos could be reasonably explained by a complex and exquisite structure.

  However, the crux was MSC’s rear cover was indeed incomparable to Shenhua’s. Shenhua’s rear cover had only cracked after three or four strikes on it; after one strike, the MSC phone had evidently cracked and could easily be torn apart!

  The toughness of a phone’s rear cover depended on the material used to make it. Nevertheless, the sturdier the rear cover was, the more protection it offered the phone. Hu Xiao had also specifically mentioned the flimsy quality of Shenhua’s cell phone’s rear cover, that it was still a distance away from foreign honchos such as MSC. In the end, he had gotten a slap on his face so quickly.

  Hu Xiao was a little dazed. Although he was a reviewer himself, these two models had only been released in the market recently. Ordinary reviewers would also examine each cell phone’s specifications. Even if they really dismantled the cell phones, they would do so carefully by heating the rear cover and cutting through the glue seal to take the phones apart. No one would use such a violent method to test which cell phone’s rear cover was harder.

  Hu Xiao had only casually briefly commented on Shenhua’s cell phone, and he didn’t expect that the UP Master had swiftly uploaded a new episode.

  Furthermore, this evidently wasn’t directed at him.

  After Hu Xiao had sent the message on Weibo, a new episode had been uploaded two minutes; this was evidently a coincidence!

  Hu Xiao had blood clotting in his throat. Damn it, why is the UP Master of ‘Hardcore Reviews’ repaying kindness with hatred!

  Chapter 222 - Upwind Courier Station Opening

  August 3rd…

  Pei Qian brought Lu Mingliang and went to the Upwind Courier station near Ming Yun Villas.

  Ever since the idea of Upwind Courier stations had been raised the previous month, almost three weeks had passed. At present, many Upwind Courier stations had already been opened.

  The preliminary preparations had been rather troublesome. All hundred Upwind Courier stations needed to recruit branch managers, express deliverymen, purchase warehouse racks, and office supplies; contact had to be established with all the various express delivery companies and custom-made software for the movement of goods had to be ordered as well.

  Finally, most Upwind Courier stations could now begin operations.

  Pei Qian took this matter very seriously. After all, there were risks in creating games; the risk of accidentally making profits from games was rather huge.

  If he really wanted to lose much money, he had to rely on Upwind Logistics.

  This type of labor-intensive industry was a sunset industry in Pei Qian’s eyes. Fish-Catching Take-Out’s consistent losses since their openings were an excellent success

  case.

  Of course, it wasn’t that Fish-Catching Take-Out didn’t have clients. More and more people were ordering meals, and repeat customers were increasing.

  However, as labor costs were rather high and there were cases of cutlery getting lost or destroyed, only a huge number of users could help to fill this hole and generate profits.

  Furthermore, Fish-Catching Take-Out’s reputation was gaining. However, further expansion plans would also require more labor. Once profits went up a little, more investments would be needed as well.

  Hence, to date, Fish-Catching Take-Out was still making losses and was maintaining such quite decently.

  Having this successful experience, Pei Qian had a lot of hope for Upwind Logistics.

  He had brought Lu Mingliang today to familiarize him with the operations so that he could take over as soon as possible.

  The initial hundred Upwind Courier stations needed at least three workers and one branch manager (who were supposed to hold the fort and received deliveries from other companies, inflow and outflow of goods, receiving customers, and brand publicity) and two express deliverymen. The salaries of these workers would already be around ten thousand.

  As a cut could be taken from other express delivery companies involved in the delivery process, the profits from these were sufficient to cover the most part of Upwind Courier stations’ rent. The hundred Upwind Courier stations could at least result in a million loss monthly for Boss Pei.

  As for the location of these Upwind Courier stations…

  They were primarily in dense residential areas and buzzing economic districts in Jingzhou City.

  In Pei Qian’s eyes, this was entirely a matter of public interest: if they wanted to serve more people, they naturally had to open in places with significant human traffic. The more deliveries were made, the more losses he could make.

  Of course, Pei Qian had his ulterior motives. He had opened Upwind Courier stations near his parents’ place as well as near Handong University.

  Regardless of where Pei Qian was at, there would always be express deliverymen that could service these places; and he wouldn’t need to make the trip himself.

  As for Shenhua View and the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes, express delivery companies basically could deliver to the front desk. There wasn’t a need now to open Upwind Courier stations near them.

  As they reached Ming Yun Villas’ Upwind Courier station, Pei Qian first took a look at the storefront. This courier station was behind a Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in a rented shophouse; its location was very good.

  Near this place were newly renovated and soon-to-open bar and mahjong and chess parlors. Although this area
was actually rather deserted-after these three shops opened, this place would become rather happening!

  As for why this location was chosen, the main reason was that Upwind Courier stations were not normal shops. Strictly speaking, these stations were just warehouses. No matter how good their locations might be, that would not earn them money; conversely, more rent had to be made.

  Lu Mingliang followed Pei Qian to the front of this Upwind Courier station, and his first impression was one of shock.

  This place seemed to be rather huge!

  Originally, when Lu Mingliang had heard that he was to be responsible for logistics, he had instinctively thought of express delivery.

  He had seen some other express delivery companies’ stations. They had not been very professional and didn’t even have proper signboards done up; some didn’t even hang signboards.

  As for the interior of these stations, they were basically warehouses that were extremely messy and filled with goods. No one was really maintaining the cleanliness of the place, and the ground was filled with dust.

  The express deliverymen inside were wearing dirty-looking uniforms and were hurriedly tossing all sorts of express delivery boxes into motorized tricycles and then transported to nearby destinations.

  However, that was how other companies’ stations looked like.

  Upwind Courier stations were entirely different.

  A rather decent shop had been rented while the signboard outside was custom-made. It even had English words ‘Upwind Station’ on the signboard. The look of this place was even slightly nicer than the bar nearby.

  Of course, the bar’s decor was sleeker; perhaps it was a little gaudy. Upwind Courier stations’ decor was more down-to-earth and had a certain standard to it. It was not that eye-catching though it could hold its own.

  At the entrance of the courier station, two uniformed express deliverymen and the branch manager of this courier station were already waiting

  Near them were two motor tricycles that cost below three thousand; it was part of the initial investments. The motor tricycles were custom-made with Upwind Logistics’ logo on them as well.