Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  “What are you talking about? Which cell phone manufacturer in the country wouldn’t try and extort Pineapple and Shenhua? Pineapple cell phones are being hung up and beaten daily; I’m already used to it.”

  Bullet screen comments were not yet supported on livestreaming platforms now. However, there was a chatting window on the right side of the screen. Thus, Pei Qian could read netizens’ comments in real-time.

  Obviously, many digital hobbyists had formed a deep impression of Chang You after what happened at Hongcheng Technologies. Everyone was focusing not on the cell phones, but on Chang You. Pei Qian was very satisfied with this. He felt like he had a keen eye for people.

  On stage, Chang You briefly introduced Otto Technologies’ history.

  There was a lot that he could have included in the story. For example, he could have talked about Otto Technologies being a subsidiary of Tengda, or about the close relationship the company had with Tomorrow is Beautiful.

  However, Chang You did not elaborate on any of that. Instead, he spoke briefly. That was because Boss Pei had emphasized to him to control the duration of the news conference.

  Thus, Chang You decided to cut to the chase. He hit a button on his remote control, causing one big word to appear on the screen:

  ‘Pricing!!

  Once the word appeared, everyone immediately quieted down. Many netizens typed strings of question marks.

  “Wait, hasn’t this news conference just started? Did I miss something?”

  “Did I miss out on the first two hours?”

  “Did they mess up the slideshow?”

  Everyone was dumbfounded.

  Ordinarily, the cell phone’s pricing would be left to the last! Other cell phone manufacturers would have elaborated on the cell phone’s functions and merits from the beginning, in ascending order of importance. Once the audience’s expectations for the cell phone reached their peak and the host hinted to everyone that the cell phone was high-tech and good-quality, he would ask everyone to guess its price.

  Finally, he would reveal that the cell phone was priced slightly lower than everyone had guessed. At once, they would all clap and think highly of the cell phone.

  Of course, some manufacturers would mess this up. They would reveal the price, only for the audience to curse and grimace. The atmosphere would then turn awkward.

  Regardless, the order would still be the same!

  The audience had not even seen the cell phone, and yet its price was staring them in the face. What was going on? Wasn’t that taking away the fun of guessing the cell phone’s price?

  Chang You was already prepared for this. Without another word, he hit his remote control again, and a huge number appeared on the screen.

  8,199! Everyone remained silent. Again, the comments section of the livestream window was filled with question marks.

  “Is Vice President Chang high on alcohol?”

  “A multi-thousand-yuan cell phone… just what I wanted!”

  “Even Shenhua and Pineapple don’t sell their flagship models at such a high price. Who gave you the courage?!”

  0

  The live audience was not as direct as netizens on the livestream, but their confused expressions were telling of their thoughts.

  Are you kidding me?!

  Vice President Chang, you may have caused Hongcheng Technologies to collapse, but this terrible mistake is ridiculous, right?

  Chang You remained unperturbed. He continued, “We will not run promotions or reduce the price of our Otto E1 cell phones in the future. Once the next model is released, E1 will be taken off the shelves. Until then, it would be sold for 8,199 yuan, and the price would not change. Of course, we don’t accept payment by installments either.

  “Alright, everyone can start dissing now.” The crowd remained quiet. Comments kept being posted rapidly on the livestream.

  Seeing that everyone was mocking and dissing the cell phone in the comments, Pei Qian felt excited and overwhelmed.

  Finally, this is going well. This is the right feeling! This is the effect I wanted!

  Pei Qian had to suppress the urge to give Chang You a thumbs-up from off-stage.

  Chang You’s expression remained the same. Since the news conference had a limited duration, he could not afford to talk too much about the price. Instead, he moved to the next segment.

  “Next, I’ll talk about our stocks.

  “We’ll only manufacture a thousand pieces of Otto E1. We’ll sell them on a first-come, first-serve basis until we run out. We haven’t decided when to manufacture the next batch of stocks.

  A picture appeared on the screen. This was ROF Computer-Installation’s warehouse in Jingzhou. A thousand pieces of Otto E1 had been neatly arranged on one of the shelves inside. The shelf was only half-filled.

  At first glance, it looked almost stingy.

  “Pfft…”

  One of the tech media journalists seated in the front row could not help but scoff.

  This news conference was too ridiculous!

  At other news conferences, once the price was announced and the audience took back all of their criticisms, the manufacturer would always say that they had enough stocks. This would normally be accompanied by a picture of a filled warehouse.

  Of course, under most circumstances, that would only be an advertising tactic. They would cease manufacturing and play punk whenever they needed to. Still, it was necessary to put on a front and go through the motions at the beginning.

  Yet, Otto Technologies was taking a unique path. Its stocks were just in the four-figure range; there were only a thousand cell phones!

  What’s more, they emphasized this pathetic number as if afraid that nobody would understand it.

  What’s going on? Were they trying to resort to hunger marketing? Did Vice President Chang really think that increasing the price and announcing the low supply would cause consumers to purchase the cell phone immediately? The news conference had only started five minutes ago. Yet, everyone present and on the livestream had lost interest in finding out about the new cell phone. Instead, they were now focused on watching the drama unfold.

  Someone off-stage yelled, “Good! Make another one!

  “It’s so cheap! Buy it! “You might as well give it away for free! Would we still be human if we didn’t buy one?!”

  Everyone broke into laughter, and the atmosphere became lively again.

  Pei Qian had to admit that the netizens were very good at finding humor in the situation as well.

  After the pricing and stocks segment, netizens went from commenting ‘whoever’s selling this is stupid’ to ‘those who can’t afford this should be ashamed of themselves’. The previously solemn atmosphere immediately lightened up.

  Pei Qian felt speechless while he sat in the audience.

  He’s telling the truth. What are all of you laughing at? Is it that funny?

  Forget it. You can laugh and shout whatever you want. As long as you don’t fork out a single cent when the time comes, we can still be good friends.

  Chang You smiled and then moved onto the next segment.

  “Next, I’ll tell you about the cell phone’s merits.”

  He gently hit the remote control again, and a picture appeared on the screen.

  As Chang You faced the audience, his lips started moving quickly. He was reciting the script that he had memorized so hard and that he now knew like the back of his hand.

  “A really good brand, a really good cell phone. Welcome to the news conference of the high-end cell phone brand, Otto Technologies’ flagship model. Ei has extremely high-quality hardware, a good microchip, a monitor with a high refresh rate, and a custom-made system.

  “It brings to you infinitely smooth user experience, and a powerful battery that has fast-charging and long endurance, so that you no longer have to worry about batteries again. A horizontal linear motor, NFC, infrared, headphone plugs, hi-fi, dual stereo speakers—we miss out on nothing.

  “A custom-m
ade cooling system, the charging point on the side, and special high frame-rate mode for games ensure that you’re always at an advantage in battles. A top-grade dual camera lets you take beautiful photos of people and scenery… “A personal logo with breathing lights makes for a unique appearance, and Lu Zhiyao as the spokesperson of a cell phone out of Tomorrow is Beautiful makes you trendy and futuristic.”

  Inhale.

  “On top of that, there are a total of sixteen special gaming, entertainment, lifestyle, and other benefits. You can become a supergamer of Tengda Games, an ultimate VIP of Zhongdian Chinese Network, a connoisseur of Fei Huang Workspace, a Game Master of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, a top-tier member of Fish-Catching Take-Out, a distinguished guest of Ming Yun Private Kitchen, and a VIP of Upwind Logistics. “You can get a five-percent discount off all of Tengda’s products for a lifetime, a free game each year, multiple custom-made skins, tickets to pre-screening of movies, free drinks, regular red packets, free delivery, and additional dishes at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. Your life will be full of surprises.”

  Inhale.

  “You can also trade-in your old cell phones, replace them without repairing, receive free accessories, and upgrade your phone for a lifetime. Make one purchase and you benefit from being a distinguished customer of Tengda forever. “Only a thousand cell phones available first-come, first-serve. Its value would be maintained and never drop. Otto E1, the multi-functional assistant in your career, the legendary weapon in your games, and the golden manager of your life.

  “It’s the ultimate solution we are providing for all of your problems in the digital age!”

  In a single breath, Chang You recited the entire script. Apart from breaking off to inhale in the midway through, he did not even pause. He was speaking as fast as any ordinary person would be able to.

  Once he was done, Chang You let out a long sigh and looked into the audience.

  He did not know where Boss Pei was seated, but at that moment, he only felt one thing: he was fortunate to have fulfilled his task!

  He had memorized the entire long script. What’s more, he had recited everything smoothly without missing a single word! The audience was silent. Pei Qian’s hand hovered in mid-air as he held onto his bottle of water. It was almost as if he had forgotten where to put it.

  Chang You looked discouraged. What was going on? Had he completely lost the audience? He had just recited such a long script, and yet they weren’t praising him?

  He glanced at his watch and realized that his time was up. Not daring to hold everyone back, Chang You hit his remote control again and said, “Alright, I’ve already finished talking about the cell phone’s merits. Let me talk about its flaws…”

  The picture on the screen changed, and everyone off-stage flared up. “Holy sh*t! What just happened?!” “I didn’t hear it clearly. Come again?!”

  “Say it again! Go back!”

  Everyone present seemed to have been stunned by Chang You’s long recitation. No one knew how to react. If this had been a theater for comic dialogue, the audience would have cheered once Chang You finished speaking. However, this was a news conference in a hotel!

  The audience would not have expected Vice President Chang to pull something like that to introduce the cell phone’s merits!

  That was why they were only reacting now. Everyone was burning with anger!

  Faced with the audience’s calls for him to repeat himself, Chang You became embarrassed. He said, “I’m sorry. My boss has given me orders to keep that part within five minutes. Five minutes have already passed. I have to move to the next segment. Please understand.”

  The audience obviously didn’t believe this ridiculous excuse. “Stop being ridiculous! Why would the boss impose a limit for how long you can talk about the cell phone’s merits?! Is he crazy?!”

  “Vice President Chang, don’t mess with us! Saying it again wouldn’t take you more than a few minutes!”

  “That’s right! Don’t even think about getting away with this. Repeat yourself!”

  Chang You helplessly scanned the audience, not knowing where Boss Pei was seated. Sorry, Boss Pei. I tried to keep it less than five minutes, but everyone wouldn’t let me!

  Chapter 440 - Boss Pei’s Psychology

  Chapter 440 Boss Pei’s Psychology

  Chang You reluctantly repeated it again at the warm request of everyone. “A really good brand, a really good cell phone…”

  This time, the audiences below instantly gave a round of warm applause and cheers when Chang You spoke. There were a few shrill whistles.

  “You’re really something!” “Alright!” “Another one!”

  “Right, encore, encore! I want to listen to it again!”

  The news conference instantly became a crosstalk show.

  The bottle of mineral water Pei Qian held was nearly smashed in anger.

  What the hell!

  I told you to concentrate on the advantages in five minutes, is this how you do it? Huh? And now you really repeated it! Pei Qian was speechless. He could almost see Chang You appearing on hot searches in Weibo…

  Someone in the audience was shouting ‘encore’ as though it did not seem to matter if the cell phone was revealed or not. Everyone would be very happy if Vice President Chang just repeated this part of his speech. Chang You smiled apologetically. “Sorry everyone, It was already an exception to repeat it. I have to get on with the program now; if not, I would not be able to answer my boss.”

  “The advantages of this cell phone are as mentioned. Next, we are going on to the disadvantages of this cell phone!”

  Chang You forcibly started continuing to the next stage without any regard for the audience’s opposition.

  The media in the front row took out their cell phones to take photos of the slideshow on the screen, but it was too late. They could only beat themselves up and sigh.

  “Did you get it?” “No!”

  “It switched over too fast; I only managed to bring out my cell phone!” “What advantage did this cell phone have? I did not notice it since I was too engrossed in the crosstalk just now.”

  “Wasn’t the crosstalk talking about the advantages of the cell phone?”

  “I did not listen carefully.”

  “But you clapped so hard just now?”

  “I only felt that Vice President Chang’s speech was pretty neat…”

  “He’ll probably reiterate it again later?”

  “He might not repeat it again going by the strangeness of the news conference during the previous stages…”

  Chang You ignored these noises and continued to follow Boss Pei’s instructions to introduce the shortcomings of this phone.

  A huge word appeared on the screen. Expensive! “Our cell phone sells for as high as 8,199 yuan. I’ve made a table of comparison to let everyone better understand what can be bought at this price.”

  “This price could get you a mid- to high-end Alienware, a relatively good desktop, a relatively cheap set of air conditioner, refrigerator, and washing machine. You might even be able to buy a secondhand car…”

  Various products were listed on the screen. Of course, there were no commercial logos on it, but they could definitely know which brand it was if they were to compare the price. They were not cell phones so he was not comparing different specifications.

  Chang You spared no effort in introducing the purpose of these items. For example, a secondhand car could fetch people and things around. Moreover, no one would dare touch it while walking on the road because no one knew if a group of big guys holding newspapers would suddenly jump out after touching it.

  He worked very hard to complete the task that Boss Pei gave to him. However, the audience below did not take him seriously. They burst into laughter from time to time.

  “What the hell do you mean by no one would dare touch a secondhand car on the road? Vice President Chang, wake up, this is not a party but a news conference!”

  “I thought that the crosstalk
was over, but it apparently did not?”

  “Hahahahahaha, Vice President Chang, what are you trying to emphasize listing home appliances and secondhand cars of the same value? Are you trying to say that you can buy a noble OTTO cell phone for the price of a home appliance or a secondhand van? I understand now, it seems like it’s really worth it then!”

  “Strange, I thought it was expensive at first, but why do I not feel that way anymore? 8,000 yuan doesn’t seem to be too much now…”

  The ‘expensive’ disadvantage was explained in no time. Chang You began to speak about the ‘heaviness’ advantage.

  “Our cell phone weighs 247grams. It is in all literal sense a 250-gram machine! Everyone might not have much of a concept how heavy 247 grams is. It is equivalent to a carton of milk or half a bottle of mineral water… or five eggs!

  “If you are a girl, you can use this mobile phone as a self-defense weapon when you travel. If you are a man and are bored at home, you can use this phone as fitness equipment!”

  The audience laughed happily. “A weapon for self-defense? Fitness equipment? Isn’t this phone conference too casual?”

  “Can’t you just introduce the advantages of your own phone nicely? Why does it feel like a

  joke?!”

  “Why didn’t I realize earlier just how humorous Vice President Chang is? My stomach is hurting from all that laughing!”

  “It’s less than 250 grams with such a big battery? It’s just half a bottle of water. No problem my strong arms can totally hold it!”

  “Yeah, I thought this phone would be over 300 grams, but it was only 247 grams, not a big deal!”

  “The disadvantage of this mobile phone is that it is expensive and heavy. Isn’t it the whole definition of a valuable item?”

  “Say no more, buy! Buy every last one of them!”