After much consideration, Pei Qian finally said reluctantly, “Keep selling, then…” There was no other way. Pei Qian had a bad feeling that if he allowed things to carry on like that, there would be a huge problem.
He had to sell his shares as soon as possible so that the other investors’ confidence would be affected. Then, all of them would sell their own shares as well!
Even if he reaped profits from the sale of his shares, he had to suck it up. That was the only way to cut his losses.
“Alright, Boss Pei,” replied He Desheng. “Should we sell them all or stop once we hit a certain level?”
Pei Qian paused to think. No matter what, they could not sell all their shares.
That would turn the investment into a purely profitable one, right? Thus, Pei Qian replied, “Well… We should keep at least twenty percent. Don’t go any lower than that! What’s more, you should only sell a maximum of five percent of the shares in each transaction. Don’t sell more than that.”
Pei Qian had been holding close to sixty percent of the shares in the company before this. After several transactions, he had less than fifty percent left. Still, he had a majority and controlling share.
However, he would hit 20% several transactions later.
Pei Qian thought that it would not matter if he lost the controlling share in the business. Once everyone else sold their shares and the project collapsed, Pei Qian would buy all of his shares back and regain control. Then, he would be able to continue incurring losses. No one would fight for shares with him after the project collapsed. He could buy the unwanted shares and then sell them to a couple of heroic buyers who would be happy to take over them.
Once he had about twenty percent left, he would earn less and still be able to maintain his place as a shareholder. That meant he would have the right of first refusal for the sale of shares in the future.
He Desheng could not understand what Boss Pei was trying to achieve, but he was used to it by now. Thus, he did not ask any more questions.
“Alright, Boss Pei. Don’t worry. I’ll get it done.”
After hanging up, Pei Qian thought about other irksome projects.
For instance, the shared phone booths…
At first, Pei Qian had given up fighting for this project. However, he had heard some good news recently.
Zhang Wang had spent all the revenue generated by the shared phone booths into manufacturing even more. He had plans to increase capacity in Jingzhou’s shopping malls and set up more shared phone booths.
However, the new shared phone booths were not developing as smoothly as the first batch!
The reason for this was simple: there were only so many shopping malls with especially high traffic in Jingzhou City. Even if Zhang Wang continued to create shared phone booths, there would only be so many people who would want to experience them!
That had been the only good news that Pei Qian had heard recently.
On top of that, Zhongdian Chinese Network was showing signs of improvement as well. At the very least, the writers in the authors’ class were uploading fewer and fewer chapters.
As for the two games departments and the cell phone business…
Pei Qian did not have time to think about them for now.
“Hello, Boss Pei. I am the one in charge of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in Lincheng City. My name is Xiao Peng.”
A bright, young fellow with a crew cut opened Pei Qian’s car door and respectfully introduced himself. Pei Qian shook Xiao Peng’s hand as they left the shopping mall’s parking lot together and took the elevator up. This was the biggest shopping mall in Lincheng and the core of the Fish-Catching Complex here. Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 2.0 was located on the fifth floor of this shopping mall.
“How’s the current situation?” Pei Qian casually asked.
Xiao Peng smiled and said proudly, “Boss Pei, it’s very good!”
Pei Qian was stunned. “Huh?”
Xiao Peng did not seem to have noticed the astonishment on Boss Pei’s face at all. Instead, he continued speaking in a proud tone. “The four Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branches, Fish-Catching Take-Out, Upwind Logistics, and the like have all started operations today. We’re following your instructions strictly and avoiding any promotional events.
“Still, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s reputation and image are obviously well-known to everyone. People were already queuing at the entrance before we opened for business. Now, the internet cafe is almost full!
“Fish-Catching Take-Out is proving to be unexpectedly popular as well. The working adults, especially, choose Fish-Catching Take-Out for their meals during work. It seems like the businesses are more well-received here than in Jingzhou!
“It goes without saying that Upwind Logistics and ROF Computer-Installation are doing well, too. The orders are going through the roof. It’s a good thing that our warehouses are all stocked, and we won’t run out…”
Xiao Peng spoke frankly and confidently, obviously proud of those results.
Lastly, as if afraid that Boss Pei would think he was trying to claim credit, Xiao Peng added, “Of course, this is all because Boss Pei has laid a good foundation in Jingzhou. That’s why the businesses became so well-known in Lincheng. This is the perfect illustration of the saying, ‘Where water flows, a canal is formed’!”
Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks.
Before Pei Qian could speak, the elevator arrived with a ‘ding’.
All the seats in the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe were taken up, and the waiters were shuttling back and forth, serving various drinks. The atmosphere inside looked very lively.
There was no sign of an opening promotion or sale!
Even so, the internet cafe was filled to the brim. Several people were even waiting for empty seats in the resting area!
Pei Qian felt light-headed.
The worst-case scenario that Pei Qian had been prepared for was that the internet cafe would be seventy percent full and that they would start making profits on their first day.
He would never have thought that reality would turn out worse than his own imaginations. Lincheng’s Fish-Catching Internet Cafe looked even more popular than Jingzhou!
What’s more, according to Xiao Peng, it was not just Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. All the businesses in the Fish-Catching Complex were doing well!
Pei Qian was at a loss as to what to do.
Seeing Boss Pei become speechless, Xiao Peng felt awkward. He quickly said, “Boss Pei, I have to say that your decision to enter Lincheng was absolutely correct!
“Lincheng’s economy is developing slower than other cities’. That’s why a few famous restaurants and entertainment businesses enter the city.
“Fish-Catching Take-Out doesn’t stand out in Jingzhou. However, in Lincheng, it immediately became a high-end take-out brand. Its packaging is exquisite, and the food is healthy. Anyone who consumes Fish-Catching Take-Out in their office immediately looks a class higher than the rest. That’s why it’s so popular among the working adults!
“On the other hand, Lincheng is completely lacking in high-end internet cafes, and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe fills that gap perfectly. It’s even located in the core commercial district. People nearby have the highest purchasing power in Lincheng. That’s why the internet cafe is a hit!
“I can only say that Boss Pei’s decision to venture into a sinking market was very wise. The outcome is unexpectedly good!”
Pei Qian was speechless.
His throat closed up.
Pei Qian had realized that everything Xiao Peng said was true. No matter how low the level of economic development was in a city, there would always be a group of richer people.
Places like that normally lacked high-end restaurants and entertainment facilities.
It was the same a few years ago when what foreigners saw as fast food brands entered the local market. Within a short time, the locals saw those brands as high-end and started rushing like ducks to
try them.
It was only a few years later, when China’s economy developed further, that those brands looked ordinary to the locals. They became nothing more than fast food brands again.
Now, the same thing was happening to the Fish-Catching Complex in Lincheng. Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Fish-Catching Take-Out, and the other businesses’ goods and services were coincidentally priced below the upper limits of what Lincheng’s rich could afford.
At the same time, they were presentable and healthy. Their value was obviously higher than other brands. That was why they were so well-received among Lincheng’s residents!
Pei Qian stood at the entrance of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, remaining silent for two full minutes.
Then, he turned around and walked away.
Xiao Peng was stunned. “Huh? Boss Pei, are you leaving? Aren’t you going to see how the other internet cafes are doing?”
With his expression dark, Pei Qian replied, “There’s no need!”
Xiao Peng could not help but feel emotional. “Boss Pei is really swift and decisive. With a single look, he could tell that victory is his. He doesn’t even want to look any further. “Everyone always says that Boss Pei is like a general. Today, I’ve seen for myself that it’s true.”
Xiao Peng watched as Boss Pei stepped into the elevator and then quickly followed suit. Finally, he walked Boss Pei to his car.
“Boss Pei, you’re welcome at Lincheng to offer guidance any time!” Pei Qian forced a smile, boarded the car, and then left. He had traveled all the way to Lincheng, thinking that even the worst-case scenario could not be that bad.
He would never have thought that the Fish-Catching Complex was bound to fail from the moment he selected Lincheng City.
This was infuriating!
Chapter 422 - Row Piece Rate
Chapter 422 Row Piece Rate
February 21st, another Monday of not wanting to go to work…
Last weekend, Pei Qian got deeply hurt by Lincheng’s Fish-Catching Complex. He had lied in bed like a corpse for two full days after that.
Of course, it was not that he had done nothing during those two days. He continued to observe Lincheng’s Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ application.
In the end, the more he saw, the worse things looked. The situation was spiraling out of control!
Lincheng’s Fish-Catching Internet Cafe had seen an overwhelming number of customers over the weekend. ROF Computer-Installation and Fish-Catching Take-Out’s orders also showed no signs of slowing down. There was only one word to describe the situation: profit!
Strange things were happening for ‘Top Student, Come Quick’s application as well. It was becoming more and more popular, to the point that Pei Qian was beginning to panic. He kept feeling like the company was going to be listed at any second. Of course, Pei Qian knew that a company could only be listed after three years of operations. However, he could not possibly let the project continue growing at that pace. Pei Qian felt hopeless. There were only two days in the weekend, but he was already starting to think about ways to spend the unexpected earnings. What if he opened tens more Upwind Courier stations in Lincheng?
What if he increased the budget Zhang Yuan had for the yet-to-be-built E-Sports Club?
W
Ai, how worrying! Pei Qian had spent the entire weekend thinking about this, but he could not come up with a good-enough resolution. Thus, he had had no choice but to cast those thoughts aside.
When Monday came around, he could only roll out of bed early in the morning, wipe his tears, and keep working. He had important things to do today.
The movie was going to premiere tomorrow. Boss Pei was completely unsure about how it would turn out. If only there had been a pre-screening… If the pre-screening went badly, at least Pei Qian would be able to relax.
However, he had been worried that the pre-screening would turn out well and that they would end up selling out their tickets on the first day. What if there was a long line at the cinema on the day of the premiere and he got stuck in a vicious cycle?
That single misstep would bring him everlasting grief.
Thus, after much consideration, Pei Qian decided against a pre-screening. Since he had already chosen an awkward date like February 22nd, that meant he was ready to skin the sheep. On the day of its premiere, the film’s sales and reputation would drastically fall short. Then, the situation would steadily deteriorate until its sales died completely.
That was the ideal scenario for Boss Pei.
“I’ve been too busy recently. I haven’t had the time to check out the film’s progress. I wonder how preparations are going. The film’s summary and timings should already have been released on the ticketing software, right?
“I left all of those things to Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce. I wonder if what they did would match my expectations.
“Logically, both of them are new, and they lacked resources. They should not have been able to get good timings. They didn’t put much effort into advertising either, did they? Hmm, I can relax, then.
“I’ll wait and see. While I’m at it, I’ll check out how good the films that would be premiering on the same day are and whether they would be better than Tomorrow is Beautiful or not.”
After some thought, Pei Qian decided to download a ticketing application on his mobile phone, Gou Yan.
There were three main things he wanted to see:
Tomorrow is Beautiful’s publicity…
Tomorrow is Beautiful’s row piece rate[1]..
Lastly, other films that would premiere on the same day as Tomorrow is Beautiful and whether they would be better or not…
He only had to verify those three main points to tell if the film would fail or not.
He accessed the pro version of the Gou Yan application and then navigated to the ‘coming soon’ section. Indeed, Tomorrow is Beautiful was there.
Pei Qian was stunned. Something seemed out of place.
Tomorrow is Beautiful was in first place on the ‘coming soon’ section. What’s more, the little label attached to the film said that 37 thousand people were waiting to watch it!
In other words, among all the films that were going to premiere during this period, Tomorrow is Beautiful was the most anticipated!
Pei Qian immediately felt like something was wrong. However, as a veteran of a hundred battles, Boss Pei quickly calmed himself down.
He quickly looked through the other films but discovered that none of them looked impressive. There were romance films, comedy films, action films, and drama films. However, they were the type that one wouldn’t feel interested in watching after seeing their titles and posters.
Logically, some Western films should have been premiering at this time as well, but there weren’t any.
“What a pity. Why aren’t there any Western films joining in the fun?!”
Pei Qian wanted to beat his chest and stomp his feet.
“Look on the bright side. It doesn’t mean anything that Tomorrow is Beautiful is the most anticipated film on this application. After all, the other films in the running look repulsive. Just because Tomorrow is Beautiful won them, it doesn’t mean the film would suc
—
“Wait.
“All the films that would be premiering at the same time look repulsive. It doesn’t sound like a good thing either…
“Doesn’t that mean Tomorrow is Beautiful won’t have competition?
“That’s not right. Other films have already premiered as well.”
Pei Qian navigated to the ‘now showing’ section to see what films were screening.
At the moment, films that had been released for the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day were still screening. Compared to those, Tomorrow is Beautiful no longer looked that outstanding
Pei Qian quickly scanned the more popular films.
‘Party for Love’ was a romance film starring young, hot actors. It had a rating of 7.1 and had been screening
for eight days. It earned 18.4 million yuan on its first day and had made a combined total of 127 million yuan so far. It was expected to generate a total revenue of 190 million yuan.
‘Dangerous Partner’ was a European action film. It had a rating of 7.5 and had been screening for 10 days. It earned 14.46 million yuan on its first day and had made a combined total of 87.77 million yuan so far. It was expected to generate a total revenue of 135 million yuan.
‘Legends of the Night’ was a domestically-produced action film, based on a well-known novel. It had a rating of 6.8 and had been screening for 15 days. It earned 17.68 million yuan on its first day and had made a total of 124 million yuan so far. It was expected to generate a total revenue of 138 million yuan.
There was no need to read about the other movies because they could not compare to the first three.
After browsing those three films, Pei Qian relaxed slightly.
There was one movie with young, hot actors, one European film, and one domestically-produced action film based on a well-known novel. They all shone in their respective genres and looked much more enjoyable than Tomorrow is Beautiful.
All of those movies had already been screening for some time, but they were still selling tickets. That meant they would create quite an obstacle for Tomorrow is Beautiful. Pei Qian could not help but feel satisfied.
Once again, Pei Qian accessed Tomorrow is Beautiful’s page, wanting to see what kind of materials had been prepared for publicity.
Tomorrow is Beautiful
There were both Mandarin and English titles.
Film / Sci-fi / Suspense / Drama / 2D
Lu Zhiyao / Zhang Zuting / Lin Ruyi / Zhu Xiaoce
Premiering on February 22, 2011 / 93 minutes There will be two post-credits scenes.
Description:
In a world set in the future, the advancement of technology has caused the ordinary person’s standard of living to deteriorate. People live on fast food and snacks, have three hours to wander around outside, and are forced to watch omnipresent advertisements. A couple in love (played by Lu Zhiyao and Lin Ruyi) become unhappy with this way of living. They set their minds on fighting their unfair state and courageously pursue their own dreams. However, they have no idea what kind of fate awaits them…
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