Chapter 679
School starts
Chapter 679 School starts
With the start of the school year approaching, the co-branded ceramic water cups from "Huabiao Millennium" have been launched, and sales have been surprisingly good, exceeding 10,000 units within 24 hours. It is estimated that the current net profit is around 70,000 to 80,000 yuan.
"Why are your eyes red?" Bai Min walked straight into the office.
"This is the first time I've ever seen money come back to me..." Li Zhuangsheng said, moved.
"I thought you had plenty of money..." Bai Min paused for a moment, "This isn't much, is it?"
"What do you know? A good start is half the battle!" Li Zhuangsheng scolded the guy who was ruining his mood, somewhat annoyed. "Such high sales are already amazing!"
After all, he'd always been a spendthrift, throwing away two or three million before, and this was the first time he'd actually made a profit. In his mind, the previous investments didn't count; this was just the beginning! If all went well, he should be able to recoup the studio's costs this month!
Looks like I do have a knack for business! Li Zhuangsheng thought to himself with a touch of pride. These were just two water cups; there were many more cups, illustration collections, and other cultural and creative products to come.
This animation studio might actually be able to make a profit!
"The high sales volume is just because you set a low price, there's no premium at all." Bai Min didn't give Li Zhuangsheng any face. "With such high sales volume, even if the cost is spread out, you won't make ten yuan per cup."
"Low profit, high volume!" Li Zhuangsheng said dismissively. "Our priority is to maintain our reputation, to build a long-term business, not to make a quick buck and run away!"
“What you say makes sense, but many people can’t control their greed and set exorbitant prices, hoping to recoup their investment in one go. Only someone like you who doesn’t care about losses can set such a rational price. But let me warn you, don’t get too excited yet. The sales of the cups will definitely not be as good as they are now. After all, cups are not consumables; one can be used for a long time.”
“It’s alright, the molds are all the same, only the patterns are different, and the cost won’t be much higher in the future.” Li Zhuangsheng shook his head. “Besides, I think the reason why other companies price similar products higher is not because they are greedy, but mainly because of fear. Because they cannot predict the future, high prices give them a sense of security.”
"Are you sure the cup is from the right factory?"
"It should be fine... Haven't we all gone to see them?" Li Zhuangsheng's expression was inscrutable.
He personally visited the water cup factory and, when negotiating prices, specifically asked an elder from his hometown who also owned a factory to accompany him. While chatting with the factory owner, Li Zhuangsheng, while emphasizing the importance of ensuring product quality, intentionally or unintentionally stressed that his father was the (deputy) county head of X county and had connections in the tax bureau and market supervision department… The latter part was fabricated; he didn't know if Li Huaming actually had those connections, but using someone's connections to intimidate others was quite effective.
He could clearly sense the change in the other person's attitude. As long as the first half of the statement was true, it didn't matter if the second half was false; he believed the other person wouldn't dare to verify it, nor did they want to test the truth.
"That's good to hear," Bai Min said.
She believed that Li Zhuangsheng was quite reliable.
"Don't just sit there, hurry up and draw the cups in the back!" Li Zhuang was typing furiously on the keyboard, busy acting as customer service and replying to buyers.
"Draw my ass! My hands are sore from drawing! And this is all the money I'm getting? Will I even get any dividends this year?!" Bai Min snapped angrily.
Li Zhuangsheng laughed: "Don't rush, we'll focus on high volume and low margins. Let's build a good reputation first. I'm telling you, once we finish making the game, we'll definitely make money!"
"I heard there's a really good game called 'Onmyoji,' is it going to be released soon?"
"It seems so, it should be in September."
"How much money do you think it can make?"
"I don't know, but it's at least in the hundreds of millions."
"You can make this much money making games?" "Otherwise, why do you think I'd make mobile games? Gacha games are a highly profitable industry... provided they become popular." Li Zhuangsheng stretched. "I'll hire a few programmers in the second half of the year. Oh, and I need to hire another Taobao customer service representative these next couple of days. I'm exhausted!"
"Didn't you send Qian Feishu to learn programming?"
"One program is definitely not enough... I didn't expect him to have taught himself these things in college. No wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend. His college life must be too fulfilling! That's why he doesn't have time to date!"
Li Zhuangsheng sighed inexplicably.
"Can you please stop stabbing me in the back?" Qian Feishu peeked out, sporting dark circles under her eyes.
Li Zhuangsheng was startled: "What happened to your eyes?"
Qian Feishu was full of resentment: "You gave the order, and I've been staying up all night learning C programming lately. I already told you that the little game I made before was just for fun..."
"I'm paying for your tutoring, what more could you want?" Li Zhuangsheng smiled and offered him a pie. "Look, in the animation department, you've always been overshadowed by Senior Rong, but once I set up the game department, you'll be the head of the game department!"
"Alright, alright, thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!" Qian Feishu yawned, thinking to himself, "It's still far from over."
Besides, what I made was a little game where the character art of scantily clad girls' clothes ripped off—it's hardly worthy of serious attention! Asking me to be the game development team leader, I don't think I'm being modest!
"Don't worry, once you've finished your studies, I'll definitely introduce you to a beautiful girlfriend with a great figure!"
"I feel like I'm that donkey hanging on a carrot!"
After chatting for a while, Li Zhuangsheng sent the two back to their workstations and ordered them not to slack off.
In the evening, Yi Yunshui and Li Xiuyu arrived at the company.
Li Zhuangsheng worked as a customer service representative for a day and finally got the chance to let Li Xiuyu take over his shift, while he took Yi Yunshui to school.
The day before Yi Yunshui started school, she and Li Xiuyu passed their driving test (Part 3).
Li Zhuangsheng, dragging his pre-prepared suitcase, arrived at the school dormitory with Yi Yunshui. It was already quite late, and the dormitory supervisor almost wouldn't let Li Zhuangsheng in. Li Zhuangsheng repeatedly assured her that he was a family member and would be out in half an hour before she reluctantly agreed.
All of Yi Yunshui's roommates have arrived; they are all freshmen.
Since Yi Yunshui's situation couldn't be kept secret, Li Zhuangsheng generously told the group about Yi Yunshui's decision to drop out of school due to depression, though he downplayed the extent of the situation.
He also gave each of them a small gift he had prepared, asking them to take good care of Yi Yunshui. As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," and after a few polite refusals, the girls all smiled and agreed.
In fact, Li Zhuangsheng didn't expect Yi Yunshui to get along well with her roommates, as long as she wasn't deliberately ostracized. He also didn't ask Yi Yunshui to try to please her roommates; a normal, ordinary relationship was fine.
Not everyone is a social butterfly; everyone has their own lifestyle and habits. There's no need to mold yourself into the image that the public expects.
(End of this chapter)