Wu Bin knew a thing or two about poaching people.
Most importantly, he had to heighten the other party's expectations and try to fulfill them in a certain manner.
Sometimes, he had to utter empty words; sometimes, he had to use 'gain' as a lure; and sometimes, he had to use an iron hand in a velvet glove.
Wu Bin had done his preliminary research. Hao Qiong was an administrative planner in Shang Yang Games, and he was in charge of the miscellaneous tasks.
Administrative planners in Jingzhou earned an average of two to three thousand yuan per month.
Of course, having done his homework, Wu Bin knew that Tengda treated its employees exceedingly well.
However, he was not sure exactly what 'exceedingly well' looked like.
That was because, until now, he only knew of people running towards Tengda… and not of anyone running from the company. Even if he tried to ask Tengda's current employees for examples and illustrations, they would not tell him.
The only vague standard he could refer to was what had been mentioned in the official platform's interview: when Huang Sibo went to interview at Tengda, they offered him twice what he had expected.
Yet, after trying various ways and means to ask around, Wu Bin discovered that Huang Sibo's original salary had only been two thousand yuan per month. Doubling that was no big deal. What's more, one had to consider what kind of person Huang Sibo was as well. Tengda had poached him to be their chief planner. Naturally, they had to pay him a higher salary.
On the other hand, an ordinary employee like Hao Qiong could only earn as much as Huang Sibo did at Shang Yang Games, right? Through gritted teeth, the most Wu Bin could offer was five thousand yuan. Offering even a dollar more than that would be an insult to Wu Bin's intelligence.
Of course, the basic salary was probably not Hao Qiong's only source of income. Wu Bin had to consider the bonuses he earned as well.
Thus, Wu Bin calculated in his head. The mobile version of Bloody Battle Song probably earned about four to five million yuan each month. This was Wu Bin's estimate based on the game's rank on various charts, the purchase options, the number of players, the game's popularity, and the like.
That was not considered a lot. After all, the good-hearted game did not have many paywalls.
Wu Bin continued thinking hard. Ordinary games companies would distribute ten percent of each game's revenue as project bonuses. That meant the employees probably got three to four hundred thousand yuan in total.
Five hundred thousand yuan was probably a generous estimate.
However, there were at least thirty to forty people in this project team. The core members probably got bigger shares while the insignificant fellows like Hao Qiongwho merely played supporting rolesprobably got five thousand yuan at best.
Based on these calculations, Wu Bin guessed that Hao Qiong received a maximum of ten thousand yuan per month in the form of basic salary and bonus. As for other welfare benefits, Wu Bin was not
sure.
However, he could probably make up for those benefits by offering two to four thousand yuan more each month, right?
Wu Bin planned on offering Hao Qiong a monthly salary from twelve to fourteen thousand yuan. To him, this was already a ridiculous amount. Ordinary chief planners in Jingzhou were only paid seven to eight thousand yuan a month. Now, he was going to try poaching a mere administrative planner with an average of thirteen thousand yuan a month?
That was indeed ridiculous.
Thus, Wu Bin's strategy in poaching other employees was to heighten the other party's expectations.
This was the script that he had planned out:
Wu Bin: "You must earn a high salary, right? I'm guessing you earn a basic salary of six thousand yuan?"
Hao Qiong: "How's that possible? It's not so much-just about five thousand yuan."
Wu Bin: "Eh, then you must get a huge bonus each month, right? I'm guessing upwards of seven or eight thousand yuan?"
Hao Qiong: "Not even close. I only get five-thousand-odd yuan."
Wu Bin: "That means you only get ten thousand yuan a month? That's lower than I expected."
Hao Qiong: "It's not bad. The company benefits are good."
Wu Bin: "But company benefits can't fill your tummy. Given your experience and skills, you would probably be paid at least twelve thousand yuan in our company!" Hao Qiong: "Really?"
Wu Bin: "Of course! You're worth at least that much!"
If Hao Qiong still looked reluctant, Wu Bin would continue increasing the offer, capping it at fifteen thousand yuan.
Ordinary people would not be able to resist the temptation of earning an additional five thousand yuan each month.
At that point, the poaching mission would be considered a success. It was a high price to pay, but in order to complete the mission assigned to him by his boss, Wu Bin had no other choice.
In any case, he had to try to poach Wu Bin over first.
Wu Bin began to act according to his planned script.
"I heard that the benefits at Tengda are not bad. You must earn a high salary, right? I'm guessing you earn a basic salary of six thousand yuan?"
Hao Qiong nodded. "Yes, that's about right."
Wu Bin, "?"
He felt slightly light-headed.
Hao Qiong's guess had already been a thousand yuan higher than the maximum basic salary he expected Wu Bin to earn. Yet, Hao Qiong acknowledged it so calmly! Fortunately, Wu Bin reacted quickly and acted like he had expected this response. "You must get upwards of seven or eight thousand yuan as bonus each month as well, right?"
Hao Qiong sniggered. "That's right."
Wu Bin, "?"
He immediately felt pained.
What did he mean by 'that's right'?!
Did he get more than seven or eight thousand yuan?!
One had to understand that ordinary games companies only distributed ten percent of their games' revenue as bonuses—and those were the better companies. Many other companies made money off their games but did not distribute bonuses to their employees.
Yet, an administrative planner in Shang Yang Games was getting bonuses of more than seven or eight thousand yuan?!
It sounded like it was at least eight thousand
yuan!
Wu Bin felt like he had made some grave errors in his calculations.
In total, Hao Qiong was earning close to fifteen thousand yuan each month.
That meant Wu Bin would need to offer him about eighteen to nineteen thousand yuan in order to poach him.
That was too hard to accept!
However, at that point, Wu Bin had no other option.
Wu Bin could not back out now. He forced himself to say, "That means you earn about fifteen thousand yuan a month? That's a bit lower than I expected, but not that much lower."
Hao Qiong smiled foolishly. "It's not bad. The company benefits are good."
At last, things were going according to his planned script. He quickly said, "But company benefits can't fill your tummy!"
Before he could finish speaking, Hao Qiong interrupted. "They can fill my tummy. Here, all three meals are provided by Fish-Catching Take-Out. The menu changes every day, and we can be certain that the food's healthy and hygienic."
Wu Bin was speechless.
Based on his calculations, Tengda was spending close to a thousand yuan per month on Hao Qiong's food expenses alone. Once again, the price had risen!
Hao Qiong added, "We also go to the nameless restaurant for meals regularly."
Wu Bin was speechless.
He was finished. Wasn't Hao Qiong messing with Wu Bin's mind?
Of course, Wu Bin knew about the nameless restaurant. The food there was extremely expensive. Even if one tried to hold back, having a meal there would cost two to three hundred yuan per person on average.
Most companies were not able to afford having a meal there once a month, much less more often than that!
Wu Bin was beginning to feel like there was no point in carrying on this conversation. He had to switch tactics.
He had to talk to this naive young man in front of him about dreams.
Wu Bin cleared his throat and said, "Ai, I think man should not just think about filling our tummies. Shouldn't we try to pursue spirituality as well?".
Hao Qiong nodded profusely. "That's right; I was just about to say that! We can play games anytime we want in our office. All the computers are high-quality and come with dual-monitors.
"We also get an expense limit each month that we can use to top-up our games. "In addition…"
Wu Bin quickly raised his hand, stopping Hao Qiong. "Alright, alright, alright. I understand company benefits now. However, you also need to think about career advancement.
"Tengda Corporation has so many employees. Many people are waiting to become the next chief planner. It'll be so difficult for you to advance in that company!"
Puzzled, Hao Qiong replied, "It's alright. From time to time, the company will arrange for outstanding employees to develop new businesses and venture into new territories.
"The current chief planner only took seven months to get promoted from an odd-job-worker to his current position.
"If I do my work well, it should be my turn soon."
Wu Bin was speechless.
There was nothing else to say. There was really nothing else to say! Wu Bin could not talk about company benefits because if they spent time listing them all out, he might have to offer Hao Qiong a salary of more than twenty thousand yuan a month.
Even if Wu Bin did that-given the treatment that Hao Qiong was receiving at Tengda, he might not even want to switch companies!
After much consideration, Wu Bin forced himself to make a huge offer.
"I'm going straight to the point! If you join our company, we can pay you 22 thousand yuan a month. How does that sound?!"
Wu Bin stared at Hao Qiong.
Hao Qiong stared back at Wu Bin.
Both of them were speechless.
After a long time, Hao Qiong scratched his head. "Do you always offer a lower salary when you try to poach other people?"
Wu Bin, "?"
Wu Bin was completely dumbfounded.
A lower salary?!
He was extremely puzzled. "This is already higher than the sum of your basic salary and bonus. It even makes up for the company benefits that you currently enjoy."
Hao Qiong did not know what to say. "It isn't higher than the sum of my basic salary and bonus."
Wu Bin felt light-headed. "Didn't you say that you get a bonus of at least eight thousand yuan per month?"
Hao Qiong replied, "I meant that I get a bonus of more than eight thousand yuan. I didn't say how much because I didn't want to hurt your feelings." Wu Bin was speechless. What the f*ck do you mean by you didn't want to hurt my feelings?! Wu Bin sighed inwardly and looked at Hao Qiong once again. "Brother, if you really don't want to hurt my feelings, tell me the truth. How much do you get as your bonus?"
Hao Qiong answered, "Above ten thousand yuan."
Wu Bin, "…Brother, can you be more specific? Make me give up once and for all. What do you mean by above ten thousand yuan?" Hao Qiong, "…Double of ten thousand yuan?" Wu Bin's expression darkened. He felt like his intelligence had just been gravely insulted. "…Brother, do you take me for a fool?
"Your game probably only makes four to five million yuan each month. If you get twenty thousand yuan as bonus, it would mean that one million yuan out of the revenue earned from this project would be distributed as bonuses, right?"
Hao Qiong nodded, "That's right." This sounded ridiculous to Wu Bin. "You're saying that a fifth of the game's revenue goes to distributing bonuses?"
Hao Qiong shook his head. "That's not how you calculate it. Bonuses aren't distributed based on profits but on reputation.
"Our game has an A-grade reputation now. That means that every month for six months, a tenth of the total sum invested in the game would be distributed as bonuses. Research, development, and marketing of this game cost a total of ten million yuan. That's why a tenth of that sum is distributed as bonuses each month."
Wu Bin thought that he had misheard Hao Qiong. "What if your game incurs losses?"
Hao Qiong was bewildered. "Why are you even dafter than I am? I already said that our bonuses are distributed based on reputation. We get bonuses even if the game incurs losses."
Wu Bin remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said sorrowfully, "Ai, all of you who work on games earn a lot of money. I really envy you."
Hao Qiong shook his head. "No, that's not true. In my company, whether you work in human resources, administration, or finance… you would earn a lot. My salary is considered… average in my company."
Wu Bin was speechless.
"Brother, is your company hiring? If I want to apply for a job, where should I submit my resume?"
Hao Qiong shrugged. "I'm not too sure. It's said that future applicants will have to take a written exam in the future. As for what the exam will be about, I don't really know. It's not easy for us to refer our friends for roles now either.
"Eh? This isn't right. Aren't you supposed to poach me?"
Hao Qiong suddenly realized that their roles seemed to have reversed.
Wu Bin cupped his fists and said, "Farewell!"
Then, he got up and left. Hao Qiong watched as Wu Bin left the coffee shop. He sipped his coffee, feeling puzzled. Are all HR staff so unprofessional these days?
Chapter 321 Boss Pei, I'm Your Fan!
November 6th, Saturday…
Pei Qian lay back in his office chair, listlessly scanning the resumes sent by applicants to the office's email inbox.
At the moment, the HR department was still anxiously preparing the entrance examinations and related materials. Since that was a relatively complicated task involving many stages, Pei Qian guessed that they would not make headway anytime soon.
Having free time on his hands, Pei Qian accessed the recruitment email inbox and tried to find gold. He wanted to see if he could pick a suitable right-hand man from among the applicants, whom he would be able to make use of However, after spending a long time searching, Pei Qian found no one satisfactory.
The resumes were all too well done!
He did not know if these people wrote their own resumes or paid someone online to write them on their behalf.
It seemed that everyone badly wanted a job at Tengda. However, this was making it harder for Boss Pei to shortlist suitable applicants.
Would Boss Pei dare to accept applicants with beautiful resumes?
"Forget it. It's ridiculous trying to recruit someone on my own. I'd better wait for the 'slacker selection process' to be ready."
Pei Qian really needed to hire help. He had not even managed to find anyone to act as Vice President for the cell phone business.
Although Lin Wan was in charge of the cell phone business as well, she was only supposed to be an overseer. At most, she could only be put in charge of a portion of the work. Someone had to share the load with her.
Of course, to put it bluntly, that person had to check Lin Wan's power and slow her down.
Pei Qian was afraid that Lin Wan would turn out extremely capable. If both the next game and the cell phone business succeeded, Pei Qian would be in deep trouble.
Yet, he could not find anyone suitable to act as Lin Wan's Vice President.
Pei Qian had wanted to look for someone among the applicants, but on further thought, he realized that Tengda did not have a cell phone business yet. Naturally, very few talents from that industry sent in their resumes.
If Pei Qian hired a layman, his intentions would be too obvious. Lin Wan might get suspicious, and Pei Qian would have a much harder time persuading her to go home and take over her family business.
Thus, he had to find someone with a satisfactory resume.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and thought about searching on Qiandu. He typed in the keywords 'cell phone' and 'bankrupt'.
As he scanned the results, a particular news article caught his attention.
'Hongcheng Technologies goes insolvent: In less than one month, it accumulated debts of about 130 million yuan.'
"According to the latest news, Hongcheng Technologies' operating entity, Hongcheng Technologies Co. Ltd. has been named a judgment debtor for a debt of about…
"According to reports, Hongcheng Technologies' total liabilities added up to more than eight billion yuan. How did a company that had made 174 million yuan just a year ago suddenly collapse? In an interview, its founder revealed that the direct cause was a rupture in the capital chain. The root problem was that the company had been incurring losses for a long time.
"However, the former Vice President of Hongcheng Technologies, Chang You, seemed to express a different opinion about this online. He thought that Hongcheng Technologies had failed because the company had been too short-sighted. This later led to Chang You being heavily criticized online. Many netizens thought that Chang You had been the one who made wrong decisions, bit off more than he could chew, and caused the collapse of Hongcheng Technologies. "It is worth noting that from August 13th to this day, Hongcheng Technologies has defaulted four times and has accumulated debts of about 130 million yuan…"
Pei Qian could not help but feel envious.
They owed at least a hundred million yuan!
If I lost that much…
In any case, there must have been a hidden talent in Hongcheng Technologies! It was either the founder or the Vice President. After all, both of them tried to shift the blame to the other. Obviously, one of them was very problematic.
Pei Qian researched more about Hongcheng Technologies and discovered that the company was quite a reputable cell phone manufacturer in the country. Of course, they also ventured into industries other than the cell phone one. At the start of the year before, the company announced that it had made over a hundred million yuan.
Another year passed, and they collapsed just like that.
Pei Qian looked for more information on Hongcheng Technologies' Vice President, Chang You. At once, his eyes lit up.
Chang You became Vice President of Hongcheng Technologies a year ago and took charge of the cell phone business. A year later, the perfectly good company collapsed! The more Pei Qian read, the more this high-profile individual was his dream employee! Chang You looked short and thin, but Pei Qian could almost feel the unlimited energy hidden inside his body!
Pei Qian made up his mind immediately. It was him!
Pei Qian would put him in charge of the new cell phone business. This was the talent he had tried so hard to find.
He quickly called Assistant Xin into his office. Assistant Xin entered and immediately updated Pei Qian on what he had asked her to do earlier.
"Boss Pei, you told me to look for an investment assistant earlier. I've already found one. If you have the time, you can meet him and see if you're satisfied."
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and said, "How about this? Tell him to go to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch in two hours. I'll meet him there."
"Also, help me to look for a way to contact Hongcheng Technologies' former Vice President, Chang You. I want to meet him, too."
Assistant Xin nodded. "Alright, I'll do that."
Assistant Xin was just about to turn around and leave when Pei Qian recalled a very important thing. He said, "Wait a minute. What's the name of the investment consultant you found?"
Pei Qian was going to interview the man; it did not seem right that he still did not know his name.
Assistant Xin said, "His name is He Desheng. I've already sent his resume and other relevant information to your email address." Pei Qian was speechless."…"
"Is there a problem?" Assistant Xin noticed Pei Qian looking dumbfounded and became puzzled.
Pei Qian waved his hand. "No, go back to work."
Assistant Xin left the office.
The moment Pei Qian heard the man's name, he felt the urge to turn him down.
He Desheng[1]?
This name was intolerable.
However, on further thought, Pei Qian realized that he was a young man who had been deeply influenced by materialism. There was no need for him to be so superstitious.
There was a man named 'Hao Qiong' in Shang Yang Games as well, but he was becoming rich after receiving such high salaries from the company, wasn't he? His life no longer matched his name!
Of course, at the end of the day, Pei Qian could not turn this applicant down for no good reason. They had not even met. He would seem too weird if he said he wanted to find someone else.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment. Since the man was already here, Pei Qian had might as well bring Ma Yang to meet him as well.
If he really did not make the cut, Pei Qian would find a reason to turn him down.
Two hours later, at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Handong University branch…
Pei Qian and Ma Yang were already prepared. Boss Pei's first impression of He Desheng was only so-so. Thus, he did not harbor high hopes.
On the other hand, Ma Yang could barely sit still. He looked so nervous that one would have thought he was going on a blind date. From time to time, he looked outside the shop.
Pei Qian gently reminded him, "Old Ma, he's a man, and he's not that good-looking. You don't have to be so nervous."
Ma Yang immediately looked defensive. "Brother Qian, what are you talking about?! I'm just excited to meet a man of worth and ability! In high school, I made a resolution to learn finance. It was only because I did horribly in my sciences that I was forced to study humanities.
"That's why I'm looking forward to meeting someone well-versed in finance! I'm filled with respect for him!"
Pei Qian faintly noticed something wrong. He quickly said, "Old Ma, you may respect him, but remember that you're the angel investor making the decisions. You must have your own opinions!"
Ma Yang patted his chest confidently. "Don't worry, Brother Qian. I'm so opinionated; what are you worried about?
Pei Qian was speechless."…"
Old Ma knows nothing about himself. Is that good or bad?
Pei Qian was not sure.
As both of them chatted, He Desheng finally arrived.
Pei Qian had seen his picture and read his resume before this. He Desheng was a 27-year-old male who looked very ordinary, like any other employee in the company. Finding anything special about his appearance was a difficult task.
Generally, he lacked a strong presence.
Pei Qian was quite happy with this. If he lacked a strong presence, he probably lacked influence as well. That meant Ma Yang would be allowed to display his talents.
He Desheng did not look nervous. Perhaps it was because Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's atmosphere was too relaxing, and it did not feel as imposing or pressurizing as most company interviews did.
He Desheng explained his achievements, but since Pei Qian knew nothing about investments, he could not tell when He Desheng was bootlicking and when he was stating a legitimate achievement.
However, since Assistant Xin had recommended He Desheng, Pei Qian trusted that he was relatively good at what he did.
The only thing worth noting was that He Desheng was currently working as an investment assistant at Fu Hui Investments. What's more, he said that he was about to be promoted to investment manager.
When he heard the words 'Fu Hui Investments', Pei Qian could not help but drift off and think about Boss Li. Pei Qian wondered how Boss Li had been and when he would be able to help Pei Qian out once again.
While Pei Qian daydreamed, He Desheng finished his self-introduction.
As he introduced himself, He Desheng had kept eyeing Pei Qian. It was almost as if he was interested in the latter. Since Pei Qian had not thought about what to ask, the atmosphere quickly became awkward.
He looked at Old Ma, who yawned and nodded apologetically. "Well said!"
Pei Qian was speechless. "…"
I knew he would daydream as well. He wasn't even listening!
Pei Qian was just about to start another conversation topic when He Desheng spoke.
"Boss Pei, I'm your fan!"
[1] In Mandarin, 'He' means congratulations, and 'Desheng' means to triumph.
Chapter 322 Knock Shenhua out of the Market!
Pei Qian did not know how to react.
My fan? Why am I famous even among people in the investment industry?
He Desheng was obviously excited. "Boss Pei, I used to be Boss Li's investment assistant. From time to time, I would hear about you from him.
"Be it Fish-Catching Internet Cafe or Ming Yun Villas' nameless restaurant, your investments proved to be textbook-worthy successes! It's worth spending a few years fully digesting and learning these lessons!
"Whenever Boss Li talks about you, he seems to have a telepathic connection with you. That's why I did not hesitate to apply when I heard that you were looking for an investment consultant.
"I did not come here for money but purely to learn your profound investment knowledge!"
Pei Qian finally understood.
This fellow had been infected by Boss Li!
However, on further thought, this was not bad for Pei Qian.
Since He Desheng came with the intention to learn, he would not ask too many questions or offer too many opinions.
Pei Qian subtly cleared his throat. "Let's not talk about the past. That was all pure luck.
"Your job would mainly involve helping out with various procedures whenever Boss Ma requires it in the future. Also, you should not interfere with Boss Ma's thought processes and investment decisions."
He Desheng quickly nodded. "I understand! It's more than enough for me to learn the ways of investment from the two big bosses. I only have basic and superficial investment knowledge. I wouldn't dare to show off in front of both of you."
Pei Qian was extremely pleased with He Desheng's attitude.
Very good—this young man knew his limits very well.
You just have to steadfastly act as a tool, and I will pay you as much as I can. It's a win-win situation! How great!
Pei Qian thought that this applicant was not bad, and he was just about to seal the deal.
However, Ma Yang had been flipping through He Desheng's resume. At that moment, he softly said, "Brother Qian, how can he be my investment assistant? He isn't even an investment manager. He has too little experience. Can we find someone else?"
Pei Qian was speechless. "…"
This Old Ma!
You got distracted, yawned, and remained silent while the guy had been introducing himself. Now that we've almost settled everything, you're picking on his resume?!
Yet, Pei Qian had no other choice. He wanted Old Ma to fully display his intelligence and talents. He could not force things on him.
If Old Ma did not like He Desheng and ended up not trusting him, Old Ma might end up looking for his own investment consultant in secret. Then, Pei Qian would have a bigger problem on his hands.
After all, this man would be Old Ma's investment assistant. Pei Qian had to spare a thought for how the latter felt.
However, Pei Qian had no idea how to persuade Ma Yang. He could only turn to He Desheng and ask, "Well, do you have any other merits? Please explain your strengths to us."
He Desheng had thought that he had already secured the job after seeing Pei Qian's expression. He did not expect to be put in a spot again.
He quickly listed in detail the decisions he had been a part of in Fu Hui Investments and the results he had achieved.
Pei Qian did not understand him the entire time. He stole a glance at Ma Yang and realized that the latter still looked unsatisfied.
Of course, Ma Yang definitely did not understand He Desheng either. He was only upset because he thought an investment assistant was too lowly-ranked.
Pei Qian began to regret it. If he had known this would happen, he would have replaced the words 'investment assistant' on He Desheng's resume to a higher position like 'investment manager'.
Seeing that Ma Yang remained unconvinced, Pei Qian quickly dropped He Desheng a hint. "You can talk about your other interests and strengths as well. Do you sing, dance, or write? What kind of games do you normally play?"
He Desheng scratched his head, puzzled.
After a moment of silence, He Desheng tried asking, "Does it count if I have a total of 1900 points on Gods Rising's PvP platform?"
Ma Yang immediately made up his mind. "Good! Brother Qian, he's the one!"
Pei Qian was speechless. "…"
He had never thought that this would be the thing that changed Ma Yang's mind. The points a player had on Gods Rising's PvP platform were indicative of the player's standard. Ordinarily, people with 2000 points and above could be considered professional gamers.
If He Desheng really had 1900 points on the platform, it meant that he could easily defeat ordinary players even with his eyes closed.
A formidable player with 1900 points could definitely buy Ma Yang over… right?
It was no wonder that Ma Yang had made up his mind at once. He had been won over by these 1900 points.
Although this was preposterous, Pei Qian decided that this was the ending he wanted.
As long as Old Ma was happy with the investment assistant Pei Qian wanted, the latter could not be bothered about the process.
All Pei Qian cared about was that Old Ma could call the shots and lose all the investment firm's money. Then, everything would be alright.
Pei Qian was very pleased. "Alright, I will leave Dream Realization Ventures to both of you, then. If you need anything, call me. Don't be shy to tell me whenever you're in need of money.
"Also, Old Ma, remember the investment secrets I imparted to you before." Ma Yang nodded profusely. "Don't worry, Brother Qian! Leave it to me! I'll get it done!"
Pei Qian turned to face He Desheng. "How much did Fu Hui Investments pay you?"
He Desheng hesitated and said, "Boss Pei, I already said that I'm here to learn your profound investment knowledge. As for salary… I wouldn't mind even if you just give me a token sum."
Pei Qian waved his hand. "Just tell me the truth. How much did they pay you?"
He Desheng answered, "About eight thousand yuan. Of course, that was how much I was paid as an investment assistant. As an investment manager…"
Pei Qian interrupted him. "I'll give you sixteen thousand yuan, with an additional four thousand yuan as a special allowance. Your monthly salary would be twenty thousand yuan."
He Desheng looked puzzled. "Boss Pei, that's too much! What's more, there's no reason I should receive special allowance."
Pei Qian patted his shoulder and said, "This is to compensate you for the psychological suffering you will endure while playing games with Boss Ma."
That weekend, Pei Qian had nothing much to do. He browsed houses online. His plan was to find a good real estate, pay the full price upfront, and then ask his parents to move in.
As for Boss Pei's own accommodation…
He could probably start thinking about moving as well.
However, Pei Qian did feel quite comfortable where he was. Since he was too lazy to move houses for now, he figured that there was no rush.
November 8th, Monday…
Assistant Xin had already contacted Chang You and bought return tickets for him to make a trip to Jingzhou.
This meeting was quite important to Boss Pei. If he could hire a good right-hand man, all of Boss Pei's concerns about the future would dissipate!
Speaking of which, the thing that frustrated Pei Qian the most was that not one of his countless employees could share his burdens. Some of them had looked reliable at first but started doing crazy things a few months later.
The only one who could really share his burdens was Ma Yang, but Ma Yang was only considered half a man.
Boss Pei was miserable.
He could not wait to find someone who could share his burdens. Boss Pei would immediately give him heavy responsibilities and put him in charge of all the businesses!
Pei Qian was very hopeful. He hoped that this Chang You would turn out to be the man he had been searching high and low for.
At 2 pm, Pei Qian met Chang You in Tengda's guest room. Before this, Pei Qian had learned about Vice President Chang's current situation from Assistant Xin.
Chang You was the former Vice-President of Hongcheng Technologies. He had been a high-ranking employee, but he had not been the boss. Thus, after Hongcheng Technologies' collapse, the boss became a judgment debtor, but Chang You's life and subsequent jobs remained unaffected. Of course, Chang You had not been happy either. After all, he had lost his job. According to Assistant Xin, Vice President Chang was also a highly ambitious person. After Hongcheng Technologies went bust, Vice-President Chang received offers from various companies. However, he turned them all down.
That was because none of them were to his liking.
Some had been small-scale cell phone manufacturers while others had practically been producing counterfeit cell phones.
Chang You turned them all down because he had only been after serious, reliable cell phone companies. Yet, all the serious, reliable cell phone companies despised him.
Thus, Chang You remained jobless.
Pei Qian thought that that was quite good.
Wouldn't it be a waste for a talent like that to be in the business of producing counterfeit cell phones?!
You can only reach your full potential by manufacturing cell phones with me.
As Pei Qian had been thinking about this, the guest room's door had opened.
Pei Qian stood up and saw Chang You in person for the first time. He was not tall; he looked shorter than 1.7 meters. While he looked thin and weak, he also seemed to exude energy.
"Boss Pei, how are you?"
Chang You shook Pei Qian's hand. It was quite a solid handshake.
On the whole, Pei Qian's first impression of Chang You was that he was a man of action. Pei Qian guessed that he was quite stubborn and opinionated.
It was good that he was a man of action!
Boss Pei did indeed have a preference for bums, but a man of action was the best bet for key management positions like that.
A bum would probably fail to produce anything even after a few months. Boss Pei's settlement would end up getting delayed. On the other hand, a man of action would work blindly and burn more money.
Boss Pei loved employees who burned money fast.
What's more, if Chang You turned out to be stubborn, he would likely cling to his own course. At worst, he would likely make mistakes in huge decisions. At best, he would sow dissension and discord in the management team.
All in all, this Vice President had caused a huge company like Hongcheng Technologies to collapse. He must have had the real skill to achieve a glorious task like that.
Pei Qian had high hopes for him.
Both of them took their seats in the guest room, and someone served tea. Since they were meeting for the first time, they exchanged a couple of pleasantries. After that, Pei Qian brought up the main topic. "Vice President Chang, to tell you the truth, I appreciate your talents. Tengda has plans to start a tech company, and we're going to start with cell phones. "I think your precious experience is very important. Please join my team!"
Chang You was stunned. He did not think Boss Pei would be so straightforward.
Chang You was the job seeker, and Boss Pei was the paying employer. Logically, Chang You should have been expected to take the initiative.
However, Boss Pei clearly did not mind these things and immediately displayed his eagerness to hire talents. Chang You could sense his sincerity.
He was very moved.
However, he did not agree right away. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Boss Pei, let's talk about whether we have the same mindset or not first.
"I have my own judgment of the way the industry will develop. I don't want to only find out about conflict in our views later on; it might be hard to turn back then."
Pei Qian nodded. "That's right, those are my thoughts exactly. Let's talk about it in detail, then.
"What do you think our end goal should be if we start a company?"
Chang You pondered for a moment and replied, "To knock Shenhua out of the market!"
Chapter 323 We are Both Dreamers!
Pei Qian stayed silent for a moment. "It's good to have goals, but I think modern society is about being mutually profitable. If you see everything as a zero-sum game, the pie would be way too small.
"What's more, I think we should be more far-sighted. Shenhua's cell phone business is not bad, but they are only influential in the local market."
Chang You paused. "Boss Pei, what do you mean?"
"Our end goal has to be higher. As opposed to knocking Shenhua out of the market, we'd be better off acquiring Pineapple!" Chang You was immediately filled with respect. What was this feeling? It was the feeling of meeting a close friend who knew him inside out!
Chang You knew very well that this was a two-way choice. Boss Pei was considering whether to recruit him or not, while he was considering whether he could work under Boss Pei or not.
Chang You had always been used to speaking his mind. He never hid his feelings or beat about the bush. Thus, he often posted controversial arguments on his Weibo or expressed them in news conferences. That was how he got his nickname, 'Big Mouth Chang'.
Many bosses of tech companies did not like him either. They thought he was a show-off who did not know how to do real work.
Even so, Chang You had never considered changing his style. He would only sneer at them inwardly. How could small fries predict the ambitions of the great?
He believed that he would meet a boss who truly understood him one day!
Now, Boss Pei had shown that his thinking was undoubtedly in line with Chan You's by mentioning acquiring Pineapple.
What's more, it seemed like Boss Pei was of an even higher tier!
That's right. Why should we knock others out of the market? Wouldn't acquisition be better?
As if in deep thought, Chang You nodded and said, "Brilliant idea, Boss Pei!"
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and asked, "What's your working style?" Chang You immediately answered, "I'm an independent worker who likes to decide and act alone. I expect all my subordinates to follow my orders. I'm also a perfectionist, and I wouldn't accept anything less than perfection." Pei Qian nodded. "Good! That's the way a leader should think. You shouldn't be easily influenced by others. I'm on the same page as you!
"What kind of attitude do you have towards the looks of cell phones? Do you agree that we should make our cell phones look like Pineapple's?"
Chang You decisively denied this. "We must not allow that! A cell phone's looks are an important part of its branding. We cannot allow our cell phones to model after others'. The cell phones that we design must be unique!"
Pei Qian asked, "What do you think about cell phone prices, then? Should we sell cheap cell phones?"
After some thought, Chang You replied, "I think developing high-end models would truly display our tech company's skills!" Once again, Pei Qian asked, "What are your thoughts about Shenhua being the representative of local cell phones?" Chang You proudly answered, "They're doing well, but we will surpass them one day! Pei Qian could not help but hold up his thumb. "Very good! Those are my thoughts exactly!"
Pei Qian was extremely satisfied with Chang You. He perfectly matched Pei Qian's expectations! Pei Qian already had a general plan as to what kind of cell phones to manufacture.
Up-and-coming cell phone brands would undoubtedly have the highest chance of success if they focused on their cell phones' price-quality ratio. By minimizing profits, these brands could make their cell phones seem to have better price-quality ratios than that of other well-known manufacturers. That way, up-and-coming brands could dominate the mid- to low-end market.
In the next ten or so years, the local economy would keep developing. However, on the whole, some regions would develop faster than others. Naturally, people would continue to put a high emphasis on the price-quality ratio.
In other words, there would always be a market for good but cheap cell phones.
Since Pei Qian's aim was to cause his cell phone business to fail, he had to do the exact opposite. He could not focus on the low- to mid-end market… or on the price-quality ratio of his cell phones.
He had to look decisively to the high-end market!
At the moment, only three brands dominated the local high-end market: Pineapple, MSC, and Shenhua. What's more, Shenhua only dared to price its flagship model at around five thousand yuan.
Other companies that tried to fight for a market share in the high-end market ended up failing completely. One could tell from the above that the most reliable way to fail would be to try and enter the high-end market!
Chang You was obviously on the same page as Boss Pei as well!
Through this short conversation, Pei Qian also found out that Chang You was a little different from what he had imagined at first. Initially, Pei Qian had only thought that Chang You was one to aim too high. However, Pei Qian now knew that Chang You had a clear goal.
Wa.
What's more, after observing Vice President Chang for some time, Pei Qian realized that he had other merits.
For instance… he did not take his competitors for fools. Instead, he objectively recognized and admitted Shenhua's achievements.
Also, Vice-President Chang was very refined and courteous in reality. Although there was a hint of pride about him, he was not impossible to get along with. He did not look that stubborn or bossy.
However, these little flaws did not affect Pei Qian's judgment of him.
No matter what, Chang You had set his mind on the high-end market. In other words, he was on the same page as Boss Pei and was very valuable!
Pei Qian was just about to shake Chang You's hand to seal the deal… when he suddenly thought of a few more questions. At once, he shot away.
"If you don't mind, can you briefly tell me what happened when you were at Hongcheng Technologies?" Pei Qian needed to clarify if it was Chang You or Hongcheng Technologies' boss that was responsible for the huge company's collapse.
Chang You shook his head helplessly. "Ai, it seems inappropriate for me to discuss matters regarding my old employer now that I've left. I won't go into much detail.
"I can only say that both of us had extremely different ideals.
"I had always thought that Hongcheng Technologies should aim for the high-end market. Yet, in reality, it always worked on low-end models. What's more, it had a habit of lowering their prices and running promotions. Its cash flow had always been tight as a result.
"Hongcheng Technologies' boss was… a bit of a spendthrift. That worsened the problem.
"Subsequently… there was a rupture in the capital chain. We couldn't do anything to salvage the situation.
"Of course, I have to be honest. I had exceeded the budget for research and development of the project that I had been in charge of at the time. Yet, the results of the project had not been good enough. That contributed to the problems in our capital chain."
Pei Qian nodded. "I understand!"
It looked like both Chang You and his boss had been responsible for the company's failure; neither one of them could shift the blame to the other.
Hongcheng Technologies had always worked on low-end models. Pei Qian knew this.
Running promotions increased Hongcheng Technologies' sales but did not improve its cash flow. That was probably what its boss meant when he said 'Hongcheng Technologies had never really generated a profit' in the interview.
In the end, Chang You insisted on working on high-end models and spent too much money on research and development, causing a rupture in the capital chain and the collapse of the entire company.
As for Hongcheng Technologies' boss being a spendthrift…
Pei Qian thought that this was probably Chang You trying to shift the blame!
Even if the boss had been a spendthrift, how much money could he possibly have spent? How could he have affected a capital chain worth tens or hundreds of millions?
Still, Pei Qian was not mad that Chang You had tried to shift the blame. In this prosperous and enlightened age, Boss Pei had finally found a treacherous right-hand man for himself!
Seeing Boss Pei's trusting smile, Chang You could not help but smile as well.
A confidante!
He had always felt troubled by what happened with Hongcheng Technologies. Hongcheng Technologies's bankruptcy really had nothing much to do with him.
On the surface, he had been in charge of the products Hongcheng Technologies had been producing. However, the boss had been the one calling all the shots behind the scenes.
Chang You had made up his mind to try and enter the high-end market. Yet, his boss had remained hesitant, citing excuses like the lack of funds or the lack of manpower.
The boss ended up spending more than 120 million yuan on his 'little hobby', causing a rupture in Hongcheng Technologies' capital chain and the ultimate collapse of the company.
Chang You had no other choice. The only reason this news was still kept under wraps was that he was loyal and righteous. He could not possibly badmouth his old employer; others would think that he was terribly petty.
Yet, for that reason, he became the scapegoat.
Naturally, everyone wondered why a perfectly good Hongcheng Technologies became insolvent shortly after Chang You was made Vice President. Since then, it was very difficult for Chang You to enter the cell phone business. Everyone, from other manufacturers to consumers, saw him as a slacker. No one believed him anymore!
Yet, Chang You felt a long-absent warmth and trust radiating from Boss Pei.
He could tell that Boss Pei meant every word that he said. Boss Pei was not lying to him. What's more, he could not possibly have been faking that warm smile!
At that moment, Chang You decided that even if Boss Pei offered him a low salary and even if he would be working for a small cell phone manufacturer, he would stick with this company and never give up on it!
Chang You asked, "Boss Pei, can I ask how our first cell phone model would be priced?"
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and said, "Our first cell phone model would be priced… conservatively."
Chang You felt slightly disappointed. After all, he really wanted to work on high-end cell phones.
However, on further thought, he realized that this was to be expected. After all, this was a newly-established games company. He could not expect it to bite off more than it could chew.
It was a logical plan. The first cell phone model would be stable, meant to test waters. Subsequently, they could try and enter the high-end market.
Since Boss Pei was a trusted confidante, Chang You was willing to tolerate this slight loss.
Chang You nodded. "Alright, I'll make an exception for you this once!"
Pei Qian stared at him and said, "We have to try and fill in the gaps in the market when making products. Our first cell phone model has to be priced according to the existing gaps."
After some thought, Chang You asked, "Are we going to price it below a thousand yuan or close to three thousand yuan?"
At the moment, low-end models were priced around two thousand yuan, and high-end models were priced from four to six thousand yuan.
Even the top Pineapple cell phone was currently priced at about seven thousand yuan.
Pei Qian shook his head and said, "Neither." Chang You looked astonished. "Well… there aren't any other gaps." "There are," replied Pei Qian, "There's a gap above seven thousand yuan, right? We can create a model that's priced at about eight thousand yuan. There'll be no competitors!"
Chang You was dumbfounded.
For the first time, he felt like he had met someone more of a dreamer than himself.
Chapter 324 Otto Technologies
However, it became Chang You's turn to hesitate after he heard that Pei Qian's intention was to create a cell phone priced at around eight thousand yuan.
"Boss Pei, this price range is meant for extremely high-end models. At the moment, even Pineapple hasn't taken that step…
"If you set the price at that range, there would only be two possibilities.
"One, we could explain the high price based on our brand's high added value. However, that would only succeed if the market already has an impression of our brand.
"Two, we could explain the high price based on the technology, services, and the like. We would have to ensure that the value of our cell phone and the peripheral benefits actually match this price range.
"The former is definitely impossible. The latter… Would be quite difficult.
"Personally, I think we should make high-end cell phones priced at four to five thousand yuan. That would increase our chances of success."
Chang You had never thought that these words would come out of his mouth.
When he had been working at Hongcheng Technologies, Chang You always pushed the boss and other managers to work on high-end cell phones and not to always stick to low-end models priced at one thousand yuan or mid-end models priced at two thousand yuan. He always insisted they had to try producing cell phones in the four- to five-thousand-yuan price range.
However, no one had paid attention to him. They had been too obsessed with producing low-end models and earning quick bucks.
Now, it was completely the opposite.
His boss was insisting on producing cell phones worth eight thousand yuan, and the normally-ambitious Chang You had become the conservative one.
At that moment, Chang You found it difficult to adapt. He never thought that people would one day label him as 'conservative'.
However, Pei Qian was already prepared for?this.
Do you think I didn't consider any of these things before I decided to work on high-end cell phones?
Even if I wanted to charge an IQ tax[1], the System wouldn't let me!
If Pei Qian worked on a three-thousand-yuan cell phone model and tried to force its price up to eight thousand yuan, the System wouldn't allow him to. That was because the cell phone's selling price would obviously be much higher than its cost price.
The System allowed Pei Qian to set a selling price within a fixed range, but he could not exceed that range.
Big international brands that charged high premiums had an approximately thirty-percent profit margin, but local brands' profit margins were only about ten percent.
That meant if Pei Qian wanted to produce cell phones, he could not have a profit margin of more than thirty percent.
In fact, Pei Qian wanted to minimize his profit margin as much as possible.
That was because the high-end market would only target ballers. Pei Qian had already learned from his experience with the Red Kilin. Ballers would be happy to spend eight thousand yuan. Spending five hundred or a thousand yuan more would not mean anything to them.
In other words…
If they failed to sell their cell phones, their price would not matter. Boss Pei would still incur losses.
However, if they managed to sell a few cell phones, the higher Pei Qian priced them; the less loss he would incur.
Thus, setting a lower price would ensure he minimized any profit he could earn. Even if they did manage to sell some cell phones, Pei Qian would not earn much. He would still be able to incur overall losses.
Then, he would invest a huge sum of money in producing hundreds of stocks to be stored in the warehouses. If nobody bought them, he would keep lowering their prices. He would be happily incurring losses then, right?
Pei Qian smiled confidently and said to Chang You, "If we increase our cell phones' added value, it would be akin to charging an IQ tax. How can we do that? It's despicable behavior!
"We have to spend as much as we can on the hardware and technology!
"As for profit margins, I think five percent is good enough. We'll fight for more sales first."
Chang You fell into deep thought.
He had many opinions about the cell phone business, but at that moment, he was completely at a loss for words.
Spend as much as we can on hardware and technology? A profit margin of five percent is good enough? It sounded like there was still the possibility of success. Yet, the plan sounded so unreliable at the same time.
Looking at Chang You's pained expression, Pei Qian became very concerned. He asked, "Is there a problem with making sure our hardware and technology reaches this price range?"
Chang You hesitated and then said, "It's not impossible if we insist on pushing the hardware and technology into this price range.
"However, there will be two problems.
"First of all, we will not sell that many cell phones. The high price is set by the low supply. That's one.
"Two, if we want to push for expensive hardware and technology, we have to be prepared that they would not be fully mature. Little problems might crop up here and there, and we would not be able to guarantee our cell phones' final pass yield.
"The former can be easily dealt with; we would only need to spend more money. However, the latter will be dangerous for a high-end cell phone brand. In fact, I would say it's fatal.
"An eight-thousand-yuan cell phone cannot be breaking every two or three days. What kind of impression would this leave our customers with?
"Of course, things wouldn't be that bad. I'm not saying that eight in every ten cell phones would be unusable. However, if eight or nine in every hundred cell phones are problematic, our reputation would still take a huge hit.
"The more new technologies we make use of, the more serious the problem would become."
Low final pass yield?
Pei Qian smiled. "That's easy to resolve. We can create a data transfer function. If our customers' cell phones break down, we can deliver a new one to their doorstep. Since ours is a high-end brand, we can only replace cell phones and not repair them."
Pei Qian was thinking that few people would buy the cell phone anyway. They would have so many stocks in their warehouse. Even if someone unfortunately received a problematic phone, they could promise to replace it unconditionally.
At that point, Pei Qian thought of another problem. They could solve it at the same time. "One more thing: we have to think of additional unique services that we can provide for our customers.
"One example would be free doorstep delivery. If customers' cell phones break down and they stay in Jingzhou, our men would send a new one to their doorstep. They would help with the data transfer on the spot and recall the old cell phone. They would also bring a gift with them to express our apologies.
"If they live outside Jingzhou, we can partner with other delivery companies to get their cell phones delivered to them, have their data transferred, and bring their old cell phones back.
"They could also get a few free hours of gaming at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe every month if they show their phone or something
"All in all, we need to add a few additional services to make the price customers would be paying worth it."
Since the System insisted that the cell phone had to be worth its price, Pei Qian thought about adding a few more expensive technologies in the supply chain and a bunch of useless additional services. At least this would roughly deal with the System's restrictions.
Chang You stared at Boss Pei, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of respect.
There were so many problems, but Pei Qian had dealt with them so decisively.
Of course, Chang You could not tell if these solutions would work out in the end. Yet, at least they had a game plan.
Chang You pondered for a moment and suddenly jumped. Inwardly, he questioned himself. Chang You, Chang You… since when did you transform into the very person you hate?
He recalled the environment in Hongcheng Technologies. Back then, he had tried hard to persuade his boss to use new technologies, set a higher price for their cell phones, and move away from the low-end market. However, his boss and other high-ranking employees kept finding problems with his suggestions in order to run away from adopting them.
Every day, he heard arguments like 'we can't work on high-end models', 'the customers wouldn't like it', 'we can't guarantee the final pass yield', and 'this isn't appropriate'.
At the time, he had been very angry. These problems existed, but they could not sit back and do nothing just because that was true! Instead, they should have worked hard to deal with those problems!
Yet, now, Chang You was playing a completely different role in front of Boss Pei.
He kept raising problems. On the other hand, Boss Pei kept resolving them!
Chang You, Chang You… why should Boss Pei trust you if you keep running away from problems and shirking responsibilities?
After asking himself this question, Chang You made up his mind. "Alright, Boss Pei! I think this plan will work! I'll work as hard as I can to do this well!
"However… Boss Pei, I have a bold request to make."
Pei Qian nodded. "Go ahead; speak your mind."
Chang You said, "When I was working at Hongcheng Technologies, I had a band of brothers. When the company collapsed, each of us went our separate ways. Some of them waited for job openings while some transferred to other companies. We still keep in touch.
"If you don't mind, could I bring all of them over to Tengda? Don't worry, Boss Pei. You don't have to pay them that much!"
Huh?
When Pei Qian heard this, his eyes lit up.
Isn't this the dream team that caused the collapse of Hongcheng Technologies? That's great! It saves me from having to look for more people to recruit!
Pei Qian knew very well that Chang You was not well-liked in the industry. However, the new tech company would be Tengda's subsidiary. No matter what, it would be a part of Tengda.
If Chang You tried to recruit others based on Tengda's reputation, he might find big shots in the industry. Even if those big shots did not like Chang You, they could still join on account of Tengda's fame. If Chang You managed to recruit a few big shots to join his team, the business could really succeed. What would Pei Qian do then?
Now, Chang You was intending to bring the dream team that caused Hongcheng Technologies' collapse over to the new company. Of course, Pei Qian was pleasantly surprised.
"No problem! Recruit whoever you want. Just say the word, and I won't interfere.
"However, there's something else I must make clear. If you bring your brothers to Jingzhou for work, we have to make sure they are treated well. Each of them will be paid additional moving and accommodation allowance!
"We won't be stingy towards your brothers either; their salary will be at least thirty percent more of what they used to earn!
"Once the products are complete—no matter the sales volume, we will award bonuses and benefits according to the holding company's standards. We won't shortchange them!"
Chang You's hands trembled slightly. He felt both excited and moved.
What was this? It was his boss trusting him absolutely!
Just like that, Chang You was given the power to hire and dismiss whomever he wanted. Would Pei Qian have given him such a power if he did not have complete trust in Chang You's skills and talents?
At first, Chang You thought that research and development would be extremely stressful. He would be working with technologies that had not matured yet. Even if he would just be piecing them together, there were bound to be many problems.
Yet, now, he would have the same group of brothers who had worked alongside him before. They could continue working on the projects that they had been forced to stop midway before.
What's more, Boss Pei trusted Chang You so much. Even if the latter had to offer his life to resolve these problems, he would willingly do
so!
Pei Qian thought of another problem and figured that it would be best to clarify things as early as possible.
"Vice President Change, there is another matter.
"Although you will be in charge of all the projects under this new company, Tengda will also appoint a director. Formally, she will be ranked higher than you in the company.
"However, you must have your own opinions. If both of you meet with any conflict, just let me know. I'll mediate between you, understand?"
Pei Qian had not forgotten that there was a secondary aim for this cell phone business. That was to push Lin Wan to take over her family business as soon as possible. If Pei Qian allowed Lin Wan to wash her hands off the cell phone business, she would remain unaffected even if it failed later on.
Thus, Pei Qian had to make sure that Lin Wan remained in charge of the cell phone business over all, even if it was only in name.
re
The end goal was to let Lin Wan have a hand in managing the cell phone business but not to let her micromanage her employees. The best-case scenario would be if the business failed, and Lin Wan felt responsible.
Thus, Pei Qian had to help Chang You in secret.
Chang You nodded. "Don't worry, Boss Pei. I'll get along well with the director."
Chang You obviously did not understand the gravity of this problem. However, Pei Qian could not explain much more. He could only wait until real problems started to arise.
At that moment, Chang You recalled another critical issue. "Boss Pei, we haven't thought of a name for the company."
Pei Qian only remembered this after Chang You reminded him. That's right. They had already thought about the development plan, and yet they had not even decided on the company's name yet.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment about what name would be best.
What kind of name should a high-end cell phone brand have? One that sounded low-class! The name of the brand would greatly influence customers' first impression of it.
Many brand names sounded low-class and tacky. Thus, even though they produced high-end models, most people did not see their products' true value.
That was why Pei Qian had to think of the tackiest name possible.
Yet, he could not name his company 'Goudan Mobile' or 'Cuihua Cell Phones'[2]. Chang You would never allow it.
After some thought, Pei Qian said, "To pave the company's way into the international market and in hopes of becoming a big, international brand; we should come up with a name with a single English word. That would be easy to remember as well. "It will be a transliteration of a Chinese name with a deep metaphor."
Chang You expressed approval. "Yes, that's a good idea."
Pei Qian considered for a moment and said, "We'll be called Otto Technologies. In Mandarin, it would be Outu Technologies.
" 'Ou' stands for the mew gull, which travels all over the world in the space between the sky and sea. This is a metaphor for our company expanding all over the world like the mew gull. Our company's prospects would be as vast as the sky and as magnificent as the sea.
" Tu' stands for our ambition to become the master of the universe. Naturally, it symbolizes our company's lofty goals!"
In actual fact, Pei Qian hoped for the company to become highly paralyzed and collapse as soon as possible.
Chang You fell into deep thought once again. The name's metaphor was quite good, and it rolled off the tongue as well.
Yet, Chang You inexplicably felt that it sounded faintly foreboding.
[1] This is a Chinese internet slang to describe a hefty price that only uninformed customers would pay.
[2] Goudan and Cuihua are common and tacky names of people in the countryside.