“I don’t think Boss Pei will reject this idea.”
“I heard that Boss Pei was the one who wrote the movie’s script. Boss Pei was also the one who decided not to sell the advertising space in the movie. Did Boss Pei think about doing this from the very beginning?”
“Hmm… that seems to make sense.”
Everyone agreed that it made sense to use the advertisement since it had already been filmed and was well-received by the audience
Chang You immediately made the decision. “Alright, since that’s the case, we can use this logo and this exterior. Come up with a new plan based on this logo as soon as possible and then hand it to the manufacturers!”
At Dream Realization Ventures…
He Desheng looked at his cell phone screen with a conflicted expression. “Boss Pei still hasn’t replied to my message.
“Should I… give him a call? “Boss Pei isn’t busy now, is he? I feel like it would be a bit rude of me.” During this period, ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ had been getting increasingly popular. Not only had He Desheng arranged for publicity using their initial investment funds, but the other investors had also been paying out of their pocket to market ‘Top Student, Come Quick’.
Ca
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The reason for this was simple. The more popular the application became, the more Xude Education would pay for it!
He Desheng had been following Boss Pei’s instructions recently and selling their shares in ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ bit by bit.
Since last week, He Desheng had already sat in several shareholder meetings for ‘Top Student, Come Quick’.
He Desheng was a core member of ‘Top Student, Come Quick’s entrepreneurial team and the in-charge of Dream Realization Ventures. He was only managing the shares on Boss Pei’s behalf.
After all, Boss Pei was too busy. He could not possibly attend meetings and get caught up in the minor details every time he sold a bit of shares.
He Desheng’s task during those shareholder meetings had been very simple: he had to discuss the shares transaction with Xude Education’s representative.
The other shareholders were beginning to sell their shares as well. The company that Xude Education had set up for ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ was holding more and more shares as time passed.
An investor who had poured three million yuan into the project at first had sold all of his shares for eight million yuan at one shot. That was more than a hundred percent profit!
At the moment, the estimated value of ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ was close to forty million yuan. As the other investors sold their shares, Xude Education naturally tried to haggle for a lower price. Yet, even so, each of those investors ended up making a significant profit.
He Desheng could tell that Xude Education seemed to have been cheated by that group of sly, old foxes.
Of course, he could not go so far as to say they had been ‘cheated’. After all, Xude Education did want the application.
As a wealthy educational organization, Xude Education had always hoped to come up with an application that could expand its influence. Thus, acquiring the application was akin to gold-plating their reputation.
Boss Li and the other investors wanted to make money, and Xude Education wanted to gold-plate its reputation. Each was a willing party, and there was nothing that He Desheng could complain about.
Of course, He Desheng would not expose the investors either. That was because he knew that everyone intended to cash out of the project from the very beginning.
Now, Boss Li and the others had already planned their exit route. Naturally, He Desheng would follow suit. There was no reason for him to interfere with anything else.
To obtain absolute control over this project, Xude Education had a strong desire to acquire all the shares. In particular, it wanted to acquire the shares that He Desheng held.
It was then that He Desheng realized why Boss Pei emphasized on selling the shares bit by bit.
Obviously, he wanted to maximize profit!
As ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ became more popular and Xude Education’s shareholding increased, the price of the last bulk of shares would keep increasing.
After making a few transactions, He Desheng now had the minimum amount of shares that Boss Pei had asked him to keep… about twenty percent.
To obtain more control over the company and reach a 67% shareholding, Xude Education had willingly forked out a huge sum of money for the last bit of shares that He Desheng had sold to them.
Given that the project’s estimated value was now at forty million yuan, He Desheng had sold his shares for an estimated sum of fifteen million yuan. Deducting the initial investment of two million yuan, he had reaped a pure profit of over ten million yuan from this project alone. What’s more, he still had twenty percent of shares in the company.
Now, He Desheng was conflicted about whether he should sell the last twenty percent.
He could sell those shares for another huge sum of money!
Of course, He Desheng did not dare to call the shots. After all, Pei Qian had already told him to hold onto the last twenty percent.
Yet, holding onto the shares made He Desheng feel like he had failed to completely cash out on this project. It almost seemed to go against Boss Pei’s initial intentions.
In other words… He Desheng’s work felt incomplete.
After pondering over it for a long time, He Desheng decided to call Boss Pei.
Pei Qian was lying on the bed like a corpse when his cell phone rang. “Eh? He Desheng?”
Pei Qian quickly picked up. “Hello, what’s the matter?”
On the other end of the line, He Desheng was stunned. He had not expected Boss Pei to pick up so quickly or to sound like he was not busy at all.
“Oh, Boss Pei, I’ve already done what you asked me to and sold all the shares, save for twenty percent. Should I continue to sell the shares? If I do that, we might be able to make another four or five million yuan.” Pei Qian, “…?”
At that moment, he found it hard to understand what He Desheng was saying.
He sold all the shares so quickly? He can even earn another four or five million yuan if he sells the last twenty percent?
I remember I had about sixty percent earlier…
How much did I earn by selling the shares just to affect the other investors’ confidence?!
Pei Qian quickly asked, “What’s the project’s current estimated value?”
He Desheng answered honestly, “About forty million yuan, Boss Pei.”
Pei Qian, “?”
That’s not right. That’s not how the story was supposed to go.
Pei Qian felt confused. I kept selling to sell my shares. Logically, people should have thought I was running away. Other investors were supposed to follow suit, and everyone’s confidence was supposed to crumble.
The project’s estimated value was supposed to fall drastically, and no one was supposed to want to buy over my shares… Yet, the project’s estimated value is continuing to rise even after I’ve sold so many shares?! Based on Pei Qian’s memory, the project had been estimated at 25 million yuan before.
He fell into silence, not knowing what to say next.
He Desheng did not dare to chase him for a response either. He thought that Boss Pei was thinking about an even deeper investment problem or a strategy for the future.
Half a minute later, Pei Qian asked, “How about Boss Li’s shares?”
He Desheng answered, “He did the same as us; he sold them all to Xude Education. Xude Education paid a lot of money for the shares. At the moment, they’re already holding the controlling share of 67%.
“Of course, because of that, Xude Education no longer wants to buy the last twenty percent that we’re holding so desperately. They won’t buy it at the earlier price, but I think we can still make four or five million yuan if we sell them.”
Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks.
What
the h*ll is Xude Education? I didn’t hear this name when talking about the other investors before.
Pei Qian was stunned for a moment before a realization dawned on him.
Sh*t, I’ve been generating so much hype that a massive problem has occurred. An outsider has entered the picture!
This Xude Education must have seen the application and come to take over the business. It was just as well that the investors were selling their shares; the company bought them all! A bad feeling overwhelmed Pei Qian. He tried asking, “So how much did we make from selling our shares?”
He Desheng replied, “About 15.6 million yuan. I need to check the exact figure; please hold on…”
Feeling light-headed, Pei Qian said, “There’s no need to check…”
Finished!
This situation has spiraled out of control!
I said that I only wanted to lose two million yuan at first. Now, after a whole mess of manipulations, I’ve made 13 million yuan instead!
What the h*ll did everyone do?!
Pei Qian tried hard to keep calm. After clearing his throat, he said, “What if-I mean what if-I want to buy all of those shares back. How much… Would it cost?”
He Desheng laughed. “Boss Pei, you’re very humorous. That’s not a matter of price. Xude Education wanted absolute control over this project, and they have just gotten that. Why would they sell their shares again?”
Pei Qian: “…it’s nothing, then.”
Sensing that Boss Pei was going to hang up, He Desheng quickly asked, “So should we sell the last twenty percent, Boss Pei?” Pei Qian answered, “No!” With a ‘plop’, Pei Qian hung up.
He Desheng looked at his cell phone screen, confused. “It looks like Boss Pei has another plan for those shares, but… why do I sense that Boss Pei is unhappy?”
Chapter 428 - One Website was Extremely Stable!
Chapter 428 One Website was Extremely Stable!
Just Qian was very efficient. He published his new film review before dinner.
‘Alright, the Emperor’s New Clothing was Nice Indeed’
“This used to be a long review, giving the movie three-stars. However, after watching the movie a second time, I decided to change my rating
“Before, I thought that the movie was just sentimental nonsense. I thought the biggest problem was the advertisements in the film. It’s absolutely despicable to force the audience to watch advertisements together with the main leads!
“However, after watching the movie a second time, I realized my mistake. Those advertisements had been meticulously planned, and each one of them had a deep meaning!
“First of all, those advertisements were not linked to any existing brand. The movie had not entered sponsored partnerships with any other company. That maintains the audience’s experience. Compared to movies that did anything for sponsors, this is really worthy of praise!
“On top of that, each advertisement was very carefully designed. Not only were they well-filmed, but there was also a variety of advertisements. There were humorous ones and postmodern ones: on one hand, the audience felt immersed in the futuristic world; on the other hand, the advertisements alone were very interesting!
“Additionally, the advertisements served to link the entire story together. There’s one simple example: the judge played by Zhang Zuting had already been featured in one of the advertisements on the television at the beginning of the movie. The female host who appeared at the end was also featured in one of the advertisements. You would notice this if you watch the movie again.
“Finally, the advertisements are very sharp criticisms of society! When the protagonist drank beer, the advertisements were about fried chicken and red wine. When the protagonist lost money, the advertisements were about money lending services. When the protagonist saved enough money, the advertisements were about financial instruments. This is obviously a criticism of big data and breach of privacy! “I thought that the advertisements were just advertisements, but now I know that I was wrong. The advertisements in this movie did not make me feel disgusted. Instead, they added meaning to the film. It’s brilliant!
“Before this, I thought that the film was forcefully packaging itself as sci-fi because only the background was well done. However, I know my mistake now. The film is filled with reflections of what the future and technology would look like!
“Local sci-fi films have gotten it wrong so far. All of them have sought to be impressive and epic. Yet, Tomorrow is Beautiful has blazed a new trail and shown everyone a viable alternative, by focusing on the perspective of an ordinary person. Apparently, this is a good direction!
“All in all, I deeply misunderstood the movie before. I now undoubtedly give it five-stars!
“I deeply regret misunderstanding the film before. I didn’t understand the film because I was shallow-minded and simple…”
The last paragraph was filled with fancy expressions of remorse. All the lines seemed to have the same underlying meaning: ‘Everyone who badmouths the film is an ignorant country-bumpkin!’ Obviously, he was just trying to hit the word count…
Pei Qian had asked him to write a thousand words, but he had only had three hundred words worth of content. Thus, he had had no choice but to fill up the empty space by repeating himself.
Although it looked like he was a fraudster, Pei Qian did not care.
Just Qian had done his job well!
Pei Qian had requested for him to awkwardly praise the film from a crafty angle. That was exactly what Just Qian had done: he had praised the advertisements in the film!
Pei Qian had only inserted the advertisements in the movie to pass time and drag it out. Only then could he fulfill the cinema’s minimum requirement. Yet, Just Qian had made such a big deal out of them. He had made the advertisements sound even more interesting than the movie itself!
He would have sounded more legitimate if he had praised the movie’s deep meaning or the actors’ skills. The audience would not have suspected that the critic had been paid to write something
Yet, he praised the advertisements. His reaction had even undergone such a drastic change. Most people would probably be able to tell that he was praising the movie for the sake of it, right?
People would realize that he had changed his review because he had been paid, right?
Without a moment’s hesitation, Pei Qian scrolled to the final paragraph. He could not wait to see the newest comments on this review.
Of course, it would be some time before people realized that the critic had edited his review.
Pei Qian considered waiting a while before returning to this page. In the meantime, he could check how effective his competitors’ fake reviewers had been.
After surfing the net for a while, Pei Qian could not help but feel moved. His competitors seemed quite wealthy. Their fake reviewers were everywhere!
Quality was important when it came to fake reviewers, but the quantity was more so.
If one wanted many fake reviewers, they would have to spend more money. One even had to pay various classes of accounts to write bad reviews and give low ratings. Those were considerable expenses.
However, the bigger the scale, the happier Pei Qian felt!
It was true that fake reviews tended to be stereotyped and repetitive. Most of them said ‘loose plot’, ‘actors looked out-of-character’, ‘inexpressive lines’, ‘too many advertisements’, ‘lacks sincerity’, or other meaningless disses. Still, they continued to pass off as genuine comments.
That was because fake reviewers aimed to influence those who had not watched the movie before. If they did not diss it well enough, they would not be able to persuade others not to watch it.
On top of that, the large-scale, low-rating motion had already begun. At noon, Pei Qian saw that the movie’s rating was 8.8. Now, it was 8.6 and showing signs of continuing to drop.
Pei Qian read the negative comments for an hour and immediately felt more joyful.
“I wonder which good-
hearted soul hired these fake reviewers. They’ve really done me a favor!
“Hmm… I think it’s time to read the comments under Just Qian’s edited review.”
Pei Qian accessed the comments section of Just Qian’s edited review and then skipped past the first few pages which contained earlier comments.
“Eh? This got so many comments in just one hour?
“Did everyone find out that he had been paid to change his review? Are they roasting him right now?”
Pei Qian expectantly read the new comments.
“There is nothing better than if one can change after making a mistake!”
“Did your conscience strike you after you dissed the film for the sake of doing it?”
“I said before that the film is not a mindless one. It’s an exquisite product! You swallowed everything in a single mouthful and missed out on a lot of details. Of course, you ended up thinking it was horrible! Everything changed once you rewatched it and saw those details, right?”
“It’s indeed interesting to zoom in on the advertisements. I thought they just formed a background and didn’t bother to look too much into them. I only remember thinking that each of those advertisements was amusing. Now, I know that they contained so much meaning!”
“Well-written. I want to re-watch it, too!”
“I had the same thoughts before!”
“The writer was quite sincere in his apologies in the last paragraph. Since you’re so willing to admit your mistakes; I might consider turning into a fan.”
“This review taught me that no success is accidental. Behind every successful movie are many meticulously-planned details! Director Zhu Xiaoce is awesome!”
“Author, can I share this?”
“I want to share this, too.”
The fifth page…
The sixth page…
…the last page.
Pei Qian read every single one of those new comments and then scratched his head in confusion.
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883 Page 264