It was 2 PM.
Everyone was present in the conference room on the second floor of DGE Club.
Many of the bidders, like Yao Bo, were coming to Jingzhou for the first time.
Initially, they had decided to participate in the bidding purely because of Shenhua Corporation's participation and Tengda's good reputation. They had felt that it was profitable to fight for the GPL spot.
However, when they arrived at the scene, and as they observed the DGE Club's training, they all realized one crucial point.
Boss Pei was seriously working in the eSports industry!
It could be said that DGE's training base had completely changed their prejudice against the eSports industry.
In the past, when the words 'eSports Club' were mentioned, most people would subconsciously think of other keywords: large internet cafes, internet addicts, instant noodles, slovenly appearances, unpresentable faces, and so on.
Pursuing passion without looking to gain from it was very noble, but a commercialized alliance still needed presentability.
Otherwise, even if reporters came to the training base for an interview, they would be too embarrassed to release the video.
What's more, this kind of "presentability" would be a reflection of the regulation of the industry.
However, DGE Club's style had completely reversed the stereotypes of the eSports industry. The team members' physiques, mental states, and the environment of the entire training base were all completely different from what the investors had imagined.
Thus, the bosses subconsciously raised their expectations of the GPL's value.
Bidding was a very superficial thing to begin with. The key was confidence.
If everyone felt that the GPL would not do well, the slots would be worthless. On the other hand, if everyone felt that the GPL would do well, the slots would be very valuable.
At the moment, everyone felt that not only could the GPL be done well, but it would also get better in the long term and become a benchmark for the domestic eSports industry.
The higher their expectations, the more valuable the slots became.
Many club owners had already made up their minds and raised their internal valuations.
Pei Qian looked at the time and gestured for Zhang Yuan to start.
After saying a few polite words, Zhang Yuan got straight to the point.
"All distinguished guests should have received detailed information and done some research. You have also paid the necessary deposit. I won't go into more detail. I'll just emphasize the specific rules of the auction once more.
"Three GOG teams and their GPL slots, as well as six additional GPL slots would all be sold today.
"They will take the serial numbers one to nine. One, two, and three would be the three GOG teams. The remaining four to nine are GPL slots. If you want to bid, you can say something like 'five million for number one'. Our staff will record your bid in real time.
"Each increment is at least five hundred thousand yuan. The starting price of the three GOG teams is twelve million yuan, 10.5 million yuan, and ten million yuan respectively. There would be no starting price for the six GPL slots. In principle, each company can only have one GPL slot. There are many slots available this time, and so you don't have to be anxious. Let's bid in an orderly manner.
"Alright, everyone can begin."
Zhang Yuan spoke without much confidence and glanced at Boss Pei once he was done.
The auction sounded like child's play. Obviously, it had been Boss Pei's doing.
Pei Qian noticed the confusion in Zhang Yuan's eyes, but he pretended not to see it.
Obviously, he had put those rules in place to minimize profits for himself.
If they were to auction the items one by one, it was very likely that certain companies would raise the price maliciously.
Take Lin Chang or Boss Li for example. They would probably have raised the price each time and then given up when the price was just high enough. That would artifically increase the price of all the slots.
In other words, they would 'shill'.
The only difference was that Boss Pei would not have arranged for them to shill. Boss Li and Lin Chang would have taken the initiative to shill on his behalf instead.
If all the slots were sold together, and Lin Chang had already bidded the highest price on a certain slot, he would not raise the price for the others. That way, everyone would be a bit more rational.
Hearing the rules of the auction, Lin Chang was obviously stunned.
Bid together?
In that case, the price of all the slots would be fixed at around the same value. It would not be easy to stir trouble.
In fact, Lin Chang had come with the intention to raise the prices for Boss Pei. After all, it was an auction, and he was not spending his own money.
He had not expected Boss Pei to set such a rule for the auction.
How could he raise the price now?
On the other side, Boss Li smiled as if he had expected this. He said to the investor beside him in a low voice, "As I expected.
"Boss Pei only gave us three days to prepare for this auction. Obviously, he was trying to split his profits with us. Everyone present is hell-bent on helping Boss Pei with the GPL league. That's why Boss Pei's so kind as to prevent people from raising the price.
"This further proves that Boss Pei is not selling the GPL slots at one shot to skin the sheep and earn a huge sum of money. Instead, he is in it for the long-term and is planning to make it sustainable!"
The investor nodded in agreement.
After listening to the rules, Xue Zhebin happily said, "Sure, these rules are simple and easy to understand. I like them.
"I'll go first. 7 million for number six!"
Soon, everyone else raised their hands to raise the prices.
"13 million for number one."
"Eight million for number four."
"Eight million for number six."
"11.5 million for number two!"
The staff at the side seriously noted the prices as the prices on the projector screen kept changing.
The starting price for the six GPL slots had been 0. However, it soon jumped to seven million with rapid increments of five million yuan.
At the moment, no one was deliberately raising the price because there were simply too many slots. If one of the slots became too expensive, the others would not fight for it. Instead, they would fight for the other slots.
Each club's price had stabilized at about 14 million yuan, and each GPL slot's price had stabilized at about ten million yuan.
They could definitely continue increasing, but they would increase much slower. That was because the higher the price became, the more careful and calculative everyone would be.
Once the GOG teams became more expensive, everyone began to fight for the GPL slots instead.
Pei Qian heaved a sigh of relief.
Good, good, good. It seemed that everyone was still relatively rational and not acting rashly.
Li Shi and Lin Chang did not cause any trouble by raising the price maliciously as well. That was good.
The current price had not reached Pei Qian's bottom line.
In fact, Pei Qian did not care how much the clubs sold for. After all, Tengda would not be receiving the money. The key was how much the GPL slots would be sold for.
Pei Qian's bottom line for each GPL slot was 15 million yuan. That added up to about 90 million yuan.
Now, they were only going for ten million yuan, but the bidding had already slowed down. That was a good sign.
Thus, Pei Qian's expression gradually relaxed.
On the other side, Lin Chang rubbed his chin and secretly observed Boss Pei's expression.
Hmm... There was nothing special about Boss Pei's expression. What was he thinking?
Perhaps Boss Pei really did not care if they sold for more or less? Perhaps he wouldn't mind even if each slot sold for two or three million yuan less.
That wouldn't do. Boss Pei might not care, but as his friend, I can't not care!
Lin Chang had specially made a trip here to help!
Lin Zhou had already told him that he had prepared twenty million yuan. Lin Chang could freely choose whether he wanted to slowly raise the price or make a huge offer from the get-go.
It wouldn't matter if he spent more since he was old friends with Boss Pei.
Lin Chang's original plan had been to be more proactive in raising the prices. He had planned to increase the price of each slot by two to three million yuan. Wouldn't that have made Boss Pei more than ten million yuan?
However, it was not easy for him to carry out that plan given the way the auction was being carried out now.
What should he do?
How could he spend money and make Boss Pei pay more attention to him?
Lin Chang quickly thought of a strategy.
Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration. He raised his hand and said, "16 million for number four."
Pei Qian had just relaxed and was about to take out his cell phone to play, but he immediately froze. A question mark floated above his head.
?
Not only Pei Qian, but everyone in the conference room was confused as well.
???
What was Boss Lin doing?
Even the staff who was recording the bids was stunned. He did not record Boss Lin's offer down immediately. Instead, he looked at Lin Chang for confirmation. He only started typing on the keyboard after Lin Chang nodded.
Thus, a magical scene appeared on the screen.
Numbers one to three were GOG teams that carried GPL slots. Numbers four to nine were individual GPL slots.
Obviously, the prices for one to three should have been higher than four to nine because there were ready-made GOG teams on top of the GPL slots!
Every member carried a certain value. Anyone who purchased the teams would be able to see results immediately. They would not have to work to put everything together like those that only bought GPL slots.
Yet, while the price of SUG's GOG team had only reached 14 million yuan, Lin Chang was offering 16 million yuan for a simple GPL slot!
Why?
Lin Chang crossed his arms and smiled without saying anything.
Pei Qian looked at him, confused.
Meeting Boss Pei's gaze, Lin Chang winked at him.
Pei Qian: "?"
Everyone in the conference room was stunned for a moment, but this little episode passed quickly. After all, the auction was still ongoing. It would not be appropriate to question him directly at this time.
Since the GPL slot in number four had been raised to a high price of 16 million yuan, the others could just give up this slot and continue bidding for the others.
The investor who came with Li Shi was very puzzled. In a low voice, he asked, "Boss Li, what's going on?"
Both of them were representatives of Jingzhou's investment circle. They were here to buy two GPL slots.
Li Shi frowned. He had seen Lin Chang wink at Boss Pei.
There must be something going on here!
Li Shi pondered for a long time. Then, he suddenly realized something. He lowered his voice and said, "Give up on the ready-made GOG teams and bid for the GPL slots!"
The investor was stunned. "Why? The ones in front are more worth it!"
Li Shi shook his head. "You don't understand!
"The ready-made GOG teams are indeed worth it, but will Boss Pei receive the money?
"Think about it carefully. Why would these three clubs sell their GOG teams? Obviously, they have fallen out with Boss Pei! Would Boss Pei continue being nice to these three clubs?
"Now, no matter how expensive these three clubs get, the bosses of these clubs would be the ones benefitting. Boss Pei would not get a single cent.
"Do you think Boss Pei would be happy to see the GOG teams being sold for such high prices?
"What are we here for? Yes, we're here to buy GPL slots, but we're buying these slots because we believe that Boss Pei can make us rich!
"So, why did Boss Lin bid for a slot and not a GOG team? Why did he purposely raise the price of the slot so that it was higher than the GOG teams?
"Obviously, he's hoping to hand his money over to Boss Pei and not let the three clubs benefit from this!"
The investor suddenly understood. "Oh! I understand, I understand!
"But... Boss Li, we'll incur losses if we bid like this."
Li Shi shook his head. "What losses? Do you know how to calculate?
"Have you forgotten our goal for the long term?
"You can give in to your greed now, buy a GOG team, and produce results very quickly, but the money would go directly to the club owners. What would Boss Pei think?
"You'll be spending money and making Boss Pei unhappy.
"On the contrary, if you pay a high price for a GPL slot, the money would go directly to Boss Pei. Even if you have to form a GOG team and recruit members, it would only look troublesome on the outside. Do you really think Boss Pei would just stand by and do nothing?
"Wouldn't Boss Pei take care of your interests when you buy DGE members over and form your own club?
"What's more, if you leave a good impression on Boss Pei, you'll have more hidden sources of income in the future.
"Think about it, which one would be more worth it in the end?
"So, hurry up and bid for the GPL slots with me. Don't raise the prices for those three clubs!"
The investor immediately understood.
"15 million for number five!"
"15 million for number six!"
Both of them raised their hands one after another. The atmosphere in the room had just returned to normal when everyone stiffened again.
Xue Zhebin looked at Boss Li in confusion, not understanding what was going on.
Boss Li took out his cell phone and secretly sent a message to Xue Zhebin.
After reading the message, Xue Zhebin's expression changed. He quickly lowered his head and whispered the news to Yao Bo, who was beside him.
Lin Chang was elated and subtly gave Boss Li a thumbs up.
Alright, this boss is really quick to understand! It looks like we can keep in touch in the future.
Even the slowest bidders should have been able to tell that something was wrong by now.
Lin Chang was here on behalf of Shenhua Corporation, and he had the most financial resources. Li Shi, on the other hand, represented Jingzhou's investment circle. He was very familiar with Boss Pei and had worked with him many times.
The two of them were not looking at the three GOG teams in front of them at all. Instead, they had set their sights on the remaining GPL slots and had rushed to increase their prices. What's more, they had increased their prices so that they had become even higher than the ready-made GOG teams.
Why?
Everyone fell into deep thought. Soon, many people looked enlightened.
The bosses were all very smart. How could they not notice something so obvious?
Even if a few of them still couldn't tell, they could roughly sense that the three GOG teams at the front were not very popular. There must have been problems hidden underneath.
Thus, many people changed their strategies and focused on bidding for the remaining GPL slots.
Pei Qian was tongue-tied. He looked at Lin Chang, Li Shi, Xue Zhebin, and Zhou Muyan.
Are you... messing with me?
The first three were ready-made GOG teams being sold together with GPL slots! The last few were only GPL slots!
Why are all of you fighting so hard for the last few items?
Are you out of your mind?
Boss Pei was obviously not the only one who was confused. The managers of the three clubs were also confused.
Initially, Manager Li had been quite happy when he saw the price of his GOG team rise to 14 million yuan.
He had thought that he could easily sell the team for twenty million yuan at the rate things had been going!
If he had managed to sell the team for twenty million yuan, he would have been able to brag about it in front of his boss. After all, he had spent a lot of money hiring fake reviewers to boost the GOG team's reputation online.
However, one shout from Lin Chang had caused everyone to tacitly stop raising the price!
Now, they were all bidding for the remaining GPL slots!
The prices of the remaining GPL slots were increasing to 15 million yuan and 16 million yuan before his very eyes. On the other hand, his own GOG team was still going for only 14 million yuan.
The other two clubs were even worse off. They were both going for 13 million yuan each.
Manager Li broke out in cold sweat.
If each GPL slot was sold for 15 million yuan, and each GOG team coupled with their GPL slot were sold for 14 million yuan...
What would happen?
How would he explain this to his boss when he returned?
Chapter 721: A Windfall!
He did not know what kind of telepathic exchange these bidders had had, but the situation had taken a turn for the worse, and the story had developed beyond his expectations.
The three teams had originally been in high demand, but they had now become hot potatoes.
Everyone had been fighting for the teams, but no one cared about them anymore!
The managers of the three clubs were extremely anxious.
If it were possible, they would not have minded fighting for one another. They would have bought each other over at about the same price. At the very least, they would not lose their GOG teams.
However, the problem was that Boss Pei seemed to have predicted this. He had prohibited this in advance.
All the companies present had already paid a deposit beforehand. Anyone who had not paid a deposit was not qualified to bid.
Since none of the three club managers had intended to buy one another over, they had not prepared beforehand.
Furthermore, wouldn't they be making fools of themselves if they were to resort to such tricks now?
Whether Boss Pei was happy or not aside, they had probably already offended Boss Pei when they decided to sell their GOG teams.
More importantly, if the three clubs really tried to buy one another over, wouldn't they become the subject of the eSports headlines?
The clubs would probably be mocked to death by netizens. The clubs' bosses might be able to accept losing a few million yuan, but they definitely would not be able to accept damage to their reputation and becoming laughing stocks on the internet!
Thus, the three club managers looked at one another and saw panic in one another's eyes.
Finished!
This problem was completely unsolvable now!
No matter what, the three of them would have to take the blame. Being scolded severely, having their salaries reduced, or being fined would be considered light punishment.
The worst case scenario would not only be that they were fired, but that they would not be able to survive in the eSports industry at all!
Manager Li and the others broke out in cold sweat.
The two other club managers looked at Manager Li in anger.
From beginning to end, Manager Li had been the one to fan the flames. If Manager Li had not insisted, they would not have ended up like this.
However, at this point, Manager Li could not even protect himself. He could only lower his head and rack his brains, thinking of a solution.
The bidding was still ongoing. Prices were slowly approaching the limits of the bidders' expectations.
As for the limites of Boss Pei's expectations... the prices had long surpassed them.
At first, Pei Qian had thought that the three clubs' GOG teams would be sold for twenty million yuan, and each GPL slot would be sold for fifteen million yuan. That had sounded about right.
The eSports industry had only just started, and valuing each GPL slot at over ten million yuan would already have been commendable. The bidders had to abide by the market rules, right?
However, the problem now was that the GOG teams had hit a maximum of 15 million yuan. On the other hand, the GPL slots were approaching 20 million yuan!
There were six slots, and from the looks of the current situation, they would be sold for a total of 120 million yuan. That was over 30 million yuan higher than Pei Qian's limit.
One had to understand that the three clubs had only paid less than ten million yuan for breaching their contract earlier!
Pei Qian felt like his breath had been knocked out of him.
A few bidders were typing furiously on their cell phones, probably asking their subordinates to raise more funds urgently.
Although everyone had had a price limit in their hearts, it was easy for them to get excited at an event like this.
That was because the higher the bids became, the more valuable the slots would seem!
Lin Chang observed the reactions of the others with interest, as though he was sitting on a fishing platform.
Of everyone present, he was the most relaxed.
That was because he had the most funds in his hands. No one could threaten him. What's more, he was not spending his own money. He did not feel the pinch at all.
However, as the atmosphere became more and more lively, Lin Chang suddenly realized a problem.
"Eh, could Boss Pei already have planned for this situation?
"Auctioning off all the slots at the same time would prevent people from shilling, but it could also create an atmosphere of 'fairness, justice, and true valuation'.
"If we had bidded one by one, people would have chosen to wait and see. There would definitely have been differences in the bids between the slots. It would have been hard to avoid thinking that there was a bubble or that one was incurring losses.
"On the other hand, bidding together caused the value of all the slots to increase at the same time. No one was able to find loopholes, and so people gave up trying their luck and realized that these slots were indeed worth the money. Now, companies that were originally planning to give up are gritting their teeth and working hard, thinking that they can get the slots with just another million yuan.
"In other words, bidders would subconsciously think that the slots are indeed worth it...
"Impressive!"
"From the location of the auction to the method of bidding, everything had seemed ordinary. Yet, now, I see that they actually contained deep meaning!
"I'm not bad either. If I hadn't given everyone a clear hint, would everyone have understood that the slots are this valuable so quickly?"
Lin Chang could not help but feel a little proud.
One could say that he had perfectly completed his mission to buy a GPL slot for his second brother, Lin Zhou!
However, as the saying went, the closer one was to ocmpleting a task, the tougher it would become.
How should he end this?
Lin Chang fell into deep thought once again.
People were raising their hands to bid less and less frequently. Finally, everyone fell into a short period of silence.
The prices of the three eSports Clubs finally stopped increasing, and they were each fixed at about 15 million yuan. The remaining GPL spots basically hovered at around 20 million yuan.
20 million yuan was way above most bidders' limits. Many people had gritted their teeth and increased the price at the last minute.
It would be very difficult to increase it further.
After all, the current eSports industry was still not mature enough in terms of popularity, traffic flow, and profit model. It could not be compared to mature traditional sports leagues. In fact, the prices could only be raised so high because of everyone's trust in Boss Pei. 20 million yuan was already an astronomical figure.
Everyone had no doubt that once today's auction ended and this figure was released, it would immediately become a hot topic.
Even if not enough people were paying attention to the auction, people would still hire fake reviewers to hype it up. That would be in line with everyone's common interests.
They had already spent so much money. Of course, they had to let the entire world know about it!
If they could earn some attention from the money that they had spent, it would not be a loss at all.
Once the GPL name list was released, their company names would be included. Wouldn't that be equivalent to a wave of publicity efforts?
As for those companies that could not afford the slots, they had no choice but to give up.
Pei Qian felt numb. Seeing that everyone had finally stopped bidding, he heaved a sigh of relief.
It was finally over!
Although it was difficult to accept twenty million yuan per slot, there was nothing more to say now that things had come to this.
However, just as the staff was about to announce the end of the auction, something unexpected happened.
Lin Chang raised his hand. "21 million for number four."
Everyone in the conference room immediately turned to look at him in surprise.
Pei Qian was very shocked as well.
That was because Lin Chang had already been the highest bidder for the GPL slot in number four, and it had been priced at twenty million yuan.
He had already won the bid, and yet he still wanted to increase the price. What was going on?
The others were obviously confused as well. Even the staff recording it was stunned. For a moment, he did not know if he should record the bid.
Lin Chang, who was the focus of everyone's attention, shrugged. "Why are you all looking at me? The rules say that each company can only bid for one spot, but they do not restrict us from raising the price, right?"
The staff thought about it and agreed that it made sense.
Lin Chang was raising the price for himself without hindering anyone else. How could he stop Lin Chang from giving money to Tengda?
He quickly recorded the new price.
Thus, all of the GPL slots were being sold at 20 million yuan, while Shenhua Real Estate's number four was being sold at 21 million yuan.
Boss Li immediately reacted and raised his hand. "I'll bid 21 million yuan as well."
Lin Chang could not help but give him a thumbs up.
Alright, you've understood my intentions so quickly!
Li Shi smiled.
How could Lin Chang take all of the credit for something like that?
The price of each GPL slot could be raised to 20 million yuan, while the price of each GOG team was only 15 million yuan. The most important reason for that was that everyone trusted Boss Pei and wanted to express their goodwill to him.
The question was who would Boss Pei remember if everyone was paying twenty million yuan?
Lin Chang took the initiative to add another one million yuan in order to stand out from all the companies that had bought the GPL slots.
When the hot searches were out, Shenhua Real Estate would be named as the 'king of the GPL auction'.
In other words, paying another one million yuan would not only make Shenhua Real Estate's presence known to Boss Pei, but would also make the company 'first place'.
Wasn't that so worth it?
Boss Li had obviously figured this out in an instant, and so he had added one million yuan as well.
As for why he had not added two million yuan... that was because he only had a limited amount of funds. 21 million yuan was his limit. What's more, he knew full well that he would not be able to compete with Shenhua Real Estate.
Since that was the case, adding one million yuan was enough.
With Lin Chang taking the lead and Li Shi followed closely behind, more people increased their bids as well. Some increased their bids by a million yuan while others increased their bids by five hundred thousand yuan!
That was because companies that did not have money had already been eliminated, and only wealthy companies remained. Those companies could afford to increase their bids.
Some companies wanted to add more but they simply could not afford it. Thus, they could only add five hundred thousand yuan to express their sincerity.
Lin Chang raised his hand again. "22 million!"
His attitude was very clear: He was going to be king of this auction for sure.
Xue Zhebin pondered for a long time. Finally, he gritted his teeth and added 1.5 million yuan.
Yao Bo of Jinding Corporation added five hundred thousand yuan after much consideration.
Five hundred thousand or one million yuan were very small amounts compared to twenty million yuan.
However, those small amounts could potentially affect each person's ranking.
Adding five hundred thousand yuan or one million yuan could allow them to move up three or four places from the bottom. It was worth it!
On one hand, they could show off thei wealth and attract the public's attention. On the other hand, they could show Boss Pei that they were emptying their family fortune in order to support him.
Since they had already forked out twenty million yuan, why should they hold on to five hundred thousand yuan or one million yuan?
Of course, a few companies really did not have any money or did not mind being ranked last. Since they had already obtained a GPL slot, the rankings did not matter much to them. Such companies gave up of their own accord.
However, the two or three companies with the most money increased their bids by five hundred thousand yuan to one million yuan each time. They only stopped when the highest price became 26 million yuan!
With Lin Chang's final bid of 26 million yuan, the group finally fell silent. No one followed suit.
Each bidder had originally offered 20 million yuan. However, with Lin Chang's interference, the prices became varied.
The bids ranged from 20 million to 26 million, with the gap between each bid being five hundred thousand yuan to one million yuan.
The gaps did not seem big, but the ranking was now clear.
Most buyers had already exceeded their limits. They could not afford to squeeze out another five hundred thousand yuan.
However, no matter what – whether it was a spur of the moment or it was worth it – the bidding had finally ended. Everyone was now in the same boat.
If the GPL turned out well, everyone would earn money together;
If the GPL failed, everyone would incur losses.
Although the auction had ended, one could say that preparation for the GPL had just begun. As for how the league would turn out and whether the bidders would be able to earn back their investment, it all depended on their performance.
No matter what, the dust had settled!
Pei Qian's mouth twitched as he looked at the figures on the screen.
The three GOG teams had been sold at about 15 million yuan on average, while the GPL slots had been sold from 20 million yuan to 26 million yuan.
Altogether, they added up to 180 million yuan. Just the GPL slots alone had earned Pei Qian 136 million yuan.
What a freaking windfall!
Pei Qian had originally thought that earning seventy million yuan from the sale of all the GPL slots was an optimistic estimation. His bottom line had been to sell them all for a total of ninety to a hundred million yuan.
Chapter 722: Tengda's Terrifying Prowess
Pei Qian looked at the final figure on the projector screen and sighed softly. Then, he said to Zhang Yuan, "After the auction ends, bring the bosses who won the slots to the nameless restaurant for a meal."
Zhang Yuan was stunned. "What about you, Boss Pei?"
Pei Qian shook his head. "I'm not going. I'm tired."
Zhang Yuan quickly nodded in understanding. "Alright, Boss Pei. Don't worry, leave it to me!"
Although these people had significantly raised the bids for the GPL slots and had made Pei Qian very angry, everything at the nameless restaurant had already been prepared. If Pei Qian did not invite them there for a meal, the ingredients would go to waste.
Wasting food was definitely not a good thing.
Thus, Pei Qian decided to let them eat there. However, he would not participate anymore.
He could easily imagine what the scene at the dining table would look like.
If Pei Qian was there, he would definitely be hurt twice, thrice, or even four times.
Thus, he put Zhang Yuan in charge of this.
As for Pei Qian, it was best for him to return home and think about how he would spend the hundred million yuan.
He had to stick with the principle that whoever made the money should be responsible for spending it. Since GPL had made the money, re-investing it into GPL seemed to be the best choice.
Yet, should he invest in a GPL's stadium? Should he increase the publicity of the GPL competitions? Should he nurture the ability of the entire lower-level teams to generate revenue? Or should he create a better training base for the clubs?
There were many avenues to spend money. Pei Qian felt that he had to calm down and think of a plan that would generate the lowest yield.
After giving Zhang Yuan a few reminders, Pei Qian sighed silently and got up to leave.
All the bids had been finalized. All that was left was to sign the contracts and transfer the money.
Lin Chang stood up immediately and shook hands with Li Shi. They exchanged business cards.
The other bosses who had won a GPL slot were also exchanging business cards.
After all, these people were all reputable figures. They had also gathered here out of trust in Boss Pei. More or less, they had commonalities. Thus, it was natural for them to want to get to know each other and expand their social circles.
What's more, the GPL would have to work together in the future. Everyone's interests would be aligned.
Lin Chang was naturally the most sought after in the group. He was surrounded by everyone like a moon surrounded by stars.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Chang looked around and was stunned. "Eh, where's Boss Pei?"
He had thought that Boss Pei would definitely be present, but he had disappeared once Lin Chang turned his back.
Zhang Yuan quickly explained, "Everyone, Boss Pei has left because he's too busy. However, Boss Pei has already decided to host a banquet for everyone at the nameless restaurant. Please follow me."
Everyone was disappointed to hear that Boss Pei had left.
However, after hearing the second half of that sentence, everyone smiled again.
They could eat at the nameless restaurant again!
They had to admit that, although the food at the nameless restaurant was delicious, it was really hard to make reservations there.
Boss Pei had booked a seat in advance to treat everyone to a meal. That was very sincere of him. Everyone understood that he was busy and had no time to accompany them!
Under Zhang Yuan's guidance, the bosses who had won the GPL slots happily prepared to leave the DGE Club and head to the nameless restaurant.
The company representatives who failed to obtain anything also left.
The managers of the other two clubs looked ashen. They exchanged looks and glared at Manager Li.
Manager Li was 99% responsible for this mess!
They had been trying hard to think of a countermeasure during the auction, but they could not think of anything.
What else could they do now?
They could only resign to their fates and allow themselves to be slaughtered.
However, before the two managers could settle scores with Manager Li, they saw Manager Li stand up and follow the boss who had bidded for his GOG team.
Manager Li was all smiles. "Boss Fu, I'm the manager of the SUG Club. My surname is Li. I think it's fate that you won our club's GOG team and GPL slot.
"Do you think we should exchange business cards? I hope we can work together in the future..."
Before Manager Li could finish speaking, Boss Fu interrupted him politely.
"Manager Li, to be honest, I didn't understand the inside story either. I obtained your team by accident. I thought that others would raise the price, but no one did. That's how it ended up in my hands.
"Now, I've spent more than ten million yuan and made Boss Pei unhappy. I have to think of a way to make up for it! Do you think I'm losing out?
"Manager Li, don't pretend to be innocent after taking advantage of the situation. Boss Pei did not go too far because you had supported him at first. He might be unhappy, but he still gave you a chance to sell your team at a profit.
"As for working together... I don't think there's a need for that. I'm sorry, but I have to go to Boss Pei's dinner with everyone else. I'll take my leave first."
Boss Fu turned around immediately after he finished speaking. Then, he walked briskly to catch up with Zhang Yuan, Lin Chang, and the others who were about to leave.
Manager Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he was left speechless.
...
...
November 7th, Monday...
News of the GPL auction had already spread on the internet. It quickly became a hot search and hot topic on various websites.
"GOG's domestic league, GPL, has set an astronomical record!"
"The total revenue was 180 million yuan. Will eSports be the next investment opportunity?"
"Shenhua Real Estate obtained a slot in the GPL with a price of 26 million yuan. It has announced its strong entry into the eSports industry!"
"The list of 16 teams in the GPL has been released online. Shenhua Real Estate, Jinding Corporation, Fu Hui Investments, and other companies are among them!"
"The three clubs, including SUG, have been eliminated from the GPL!"
Similar messages came one after another.
There were no official facts in the article. All of them were 'insider news' and 'insider information'. However, there was a lot of information and many sources that could verify one another. Thus, it seemed extremely reliable.
This news quickly sparked heated discussions among netizens!
Most netizens were naturally sensitive to numbers. The figures of 180 million and 26 million instantly aroused their enthusiasm.
Such huge numbers were unheard of in the domestic and international gaming circles!
In the domestic eSports scene, there were no leagues or things like 'quotas in leagues'. There were only a few clubs in the country. When it came to organizing competitions, organizers could not wait for all the teams to sign up. Naturally, they would not impose any restrictions.
As for spending money to purchase slots, that was even more ridiculous.
Now, the GPL had not even started yet. Yet, the slots to participate alone had already been sold for 26 million yuan. This was a first for the domestic gaming circle.
The companies that had participated in the bidding for the GPL slots were all very famous companies in the country. This helped the onlookers further appreciate the wealth of the GPL.
On top of that, the news of the three clubs being removed from the league also attracted the close attention of the netizens.
"That's too scary. Other games' organizers would have to beg these clubs to participate if they wanted to organize a competition. Boss Pei, on the other hand, has already sold off their slots before the first GPL was even held!"
"All the slots have been sold for 180 million yuan. Wouldn't this be equivalent to football in the future?"
"Equivalent to football? You're thinking too much. We're still far from it. Getting a slot at 26 million yuan is not a big deal."
"But think about it: how long has the football league been developing? How long has eSports been developing? GOG was only born less than a year ago, but it has already become so popular. If we can keep this up for three, five, or even ten years, we might really be able to compete with football!"
"Have you ever seen a game that remained popular for ten years? GOG would definitely not be able to achieve that as well! I think this is another investment opportunity created by capitalism. It would only be live for a year or two, and then no one would be interested in it."
"What happened to the three clubs including SUG? Did they do something wrong?"
"I heard that those three clubs took the initiative to sell their GOG teams. In the end, they only sold each for less than 15 million yuan! No one knows what exactly happened, but they seemed to have offended Boss Pei..."
"What does that mean? Is that true? Each GPL slot was sold for 26 million yuan, but the slot along with an entire team were only sold for 15 million yuan? Does this mean that each team's value is negative 10 million yuan?"
"I found out something new today. It's said that this has something to do with the standard contract that Boss Pei wanted to implement a while ago. These clubs did not want to accept the standard contract, so they worked together to pressure Boss Pei... In the end, it turned out to be their wishful thinking. Boss Pei could not wait for them to leave so that he could find richer companies to back GPL!"
"They deserve it! It's wrong to use contracts to trick professional players to begin with. Boss Pei tried to give them a way out, but they still didn't know what was good for them. In any case, the SUG members are still around. They can just change their team's name and find a better boss. I'll support this with both hands!"
"To be honest, the domestic eSports environment has always been foul because of those shrewed clubs! Now that Boss Pei has stepped forward to regulate the environment of the entire industry and protect the interests of the players, I think more highly of GPL!"
"Hehe, I don't think anyone in the remaining clubs would dare to play any tricks under Boss Pei's nose..."
The netizens had a great time sharing their insider news.
Some praised Boss Pei for being able to easily and efficiently set up something as difficult as an eSports League.
Some were discussing the new rich players who had just joined the eSports industry and were extremely optimistic about the future of the GPL;
Some were studying everything that had already happened and giving those three clubs a good scolding.
Even fans of SUG were furious. They were furiously posting on the club's Weibo.
On one hand, it had cost 26 million for others to buy one GPL spot;
On the other hand, those three clubs had sold their GPL slot and their entire GOG team for 15 million yuan.
How retarded must they have been to do something like that?
More importantly, while SUG was being scolded by fans and mocked by bystanders, they could not retort or even explain themselves!
How could they?
Who would have thought that things would end up like this?
Those who did not know the truth or understand the twists and turns had only seen SUG selling their GPL slot for 15 million yuan even though it was worth 26 million yuan. They had even lost their entire team.
However, there had been so many twists and turns before that which were impossible to explain.
Even if they said it out loud, no one would think that the club had been taken advantage of. Instead, they would probably think that the club was even more brainless.
Thus, they could only lie down and allow themselves to be mocked. They could not even try to explain themselves.
As for what kind of storm those three club managers would face when they returned, that was unknown.
The only consolation was that they were still young, and it was not too late for them to switch careers.
...
In an office building...
Someone was using his cell phone to browse the latest news about the GPL bid while his computer screen displayed Dream Realization Ventures' investment page.
He touched the mustache above his lips and muttered to himself, "Tengda's reputation is that good? It has such strong appeal?
"So many people had responded to their call!
"The GPL hasn't even begun yet, and we can't even see any potential for generating profits. Yet, this blank check has attracted more than a hundred million yuan worth of investments.
"What's even scarier is that everyone is actively boycotting those three clubs. They would rather spend over 20 million yuan on one slot than touch those teams selling for 15 million yuan. All of them can't wait to send money to Tengda!
"This is unheard of.
"It just so happened that Tengda's Dream Realization Ventures is investing in social enterprises. I tried my luck and signed up for it, but I didn't expect to be selected.
"With my ability, if I manage to obtain Tengda's investment and get other companies to invest...
"Wouldn't I be able to retire and move out of the country in two or three years?"
Chapter 723: "Cold-Faced Lady"
November 8th, Tuesday...
Meng Chang arrived below the office of Dream Realization Ventures and tidied up his appearance.
The weather was a little cold. Meng Chang was wearing a fitting casual suit with a single colored T-shirt underneath, jeans, and sneakers.
He did not have a shirt nor tie. The most commercial thing he had on him was a watch, and this watch was not an expensive mechanical watch. It was extremely simple.
His hair and his mustache had been trimmed. He looked neither old nor frivolous.
Meng Chang was very satisfied with his current image.
All of which had obviously been carefully prepared.
The wave of mobile internet was rising rapidly which affected internet entrepreneurs not only in terms of ideas but also in terms of appearance.
The big shots who were in this industry were no longer in suits and leather shoes now. All of them were basically wearing single colored t-shirts and jeans. Their hairstyles were basically straight or round, and they looked as neat as they could.
In the eyes of investors, you would be a slovenly veteran industry insider with rich Internet experience, and in the eyes of users and bystanders, you are a down-to-earth CEO.
Of course, the so-called down-to-earth and slovenly look was just an illusion that had been meticulously created. In fact, the haircut cost more than a whole set of haircuts and hair styling and also done more frequently than girls.
Generally speaking, one should not have a mustache in the standard set of T-shirts, jeans and sneakers. That was because a mustache might give an old-fashioned and conservative impression to investors. It would not be enough for them to associate with the internet.
However, Meng Chang had no other choice. He was young and naturally looked younger. If he didn't have a mustache, he would look like a university student or even a high school student. It would be very difficult for investors to trust him.
If Meng Chang could replace his mustache with a few deep wrinkles on his face, especially the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth, he would definitely look the part. Unfortunately, he would not be able to change that.
He could trim his mustache to make up for his lack of 'maturity' in his image.
In short, his appearance was a detail that affected his first impression.
On the other hand, the other party's first impression often meant that the scam, oh no, the investment would be successful.
Meng Chang was filled with confidence and anticipation for today's interview.
He had long heard that Boss Pei created Dream Realization Ventures to help others fulfill their dreams.
There was an excess of dreams to Meng Cheng.
He firmly believed that as long as he could talk to Boss Pei face-to-face, he would be able to persuade Boss Pei to invest in him in just ten minutes!
He checked his watch, it was nearly time and Meng Chang walked towards Dream Realization Ventures proudly.
...
In the conference room of Dream Realization Ventures...
He Desheng sat on the sofa and sipped his tea while watching Meng Chang explain the powerpoint.
He Desheng had a good first impression of Meng Chang.
He was considered handsome, dignified, and neatly dressed. He looked energetic, like someone who could make it big.
The mustache looked a little strange at first. However, he got used to it after looking at it for a long time. It even became a characteristic of his personality.
What's more, in the past, many people had come to look for investments. Some brought resumes, some with Letter of Intent for investments and some brought samples of products. However, there were not many people who brought their own powerpoints.
The effect would definitely be the best if it was explained through powerpoint.
What's more, Meng Chang's powerpoint was definitely top-notch. It was not flashy, frivolous, old-fashioned, nor conservative. All sorts of elements, color blocks, layouts, graphs, and the like were done perfectly. Anything extra would make it messy and ugly.
He Desheng even felt that Meng Chang could easily earn tens of thousands of yuan a month even if he were to specialize in creating powerpoints.
What's more, Meng Chang was very eloquent. He spoke at a moderate pace and fluently. He had a perfect grasp of rhythm and content.
He Desheng felt very comfortable just watching Meng Chang speak so confidently.
The first half of the powerpoint was mainly Meng Chang introducing his personal experience.
Some people said that investment was in businesses and concepts, but it was investing more in the people.
Whether a company could succeed or not depended on the boss of the company.
Meng Chang naturally knew this as well, so the first half of the powerpoint was mainly used to introduce himself.
Meng Chang, 29 years old, went overseas to study in famous schools after graduating from university.
He had worked in first-tier huge internet companies both domestically and overseas. What's more, he had worked in the user experience department and marketing department. While it was hard to say how much of the success was due to him, his resume was impeccable.
What's more, many people who had worked with him before had already become high-level executives of Internet companies. While they did not seem to be of much use at first glance, they were undoubtedly hinting that he had the connections.
In short, this part emphasized 'I am a capable and reliable person'.
Soon, he finished the first half of the PowerPoint presentation.
Meng Chang smiled at He Desheng. "Boss He, do you have any questions?"
He was actually a little nervous even though he was smiling.
He was really afraid that He Desheng would ask him about some details in his resume. For example, how he entered a famous school, how he studied overseas, how he entered these internet companies, and why he left.
If these questions were asked in detail, it might lead to awkward situations.
He Desheng sipped his tea. "No, continue."
Meng Chang could not help but smile.
As expected, he did not pursue the questions.
This was the best situation that Meng Chang had predicted.
Meng Chang wasn't sure if He Desheng really didn't see through his education and work experience or if he was pretending not to.
Meng Chang felt that it was most likely the former.
However, this was good news because it meant that Boss He was like many other investors. He only cared about the authenticity and results and did not care about the specific process.
The investors would not mind even if there was a slight element of trickery in this because it would prove that Meng Chang was smart and good at thinking of solutions.
Indeed, He Desheng did have some doubts about Meng Chang's resume and did not ask further.
However, the reason was not the same as what Meng Chang thought.
In fact, not only was He Desheng not concerned about how Meng Chang obtained his resume, but he was also not concerned about the resume itself.
That was because He Desheng had seen how Boss Pei invested. He had even dared to invest in a 'great inventor' like Zhang Wang and succeeded. This made He Desheng realize that Boss Pei did not care about something as superficial as education.
He did not need to care since Boss Pei did not care about it either.
He Desheng's current task was not to help Boss Pei invest, but to help Boss Pei vet through.
As long as they conformed to the rules, he would not ask any questions.
On the other hand, Meng Chang thought that he had won over He Desheng and was gloating to himself.
Next, he entered the second half of the PowerPoint, which was the project that Meng Chang wanted to start up.
Meng Chang felt that as long as Boss He was satisfied with this segment, Boss He would definitely report it to Boss Pei. If he explained it to Boss Pei, he might be able to get a ten million yuan investment on the spot!
Then, he could look for other investors to invest in the company. Wouldn't it be easy for the company's market value to exceed a hundred million yuan?
Meng Chang continued.
"Boss He, the name of my entrepreneurship project is—Cold-Faced Lady!"
On the PowerPoint, the brand 'Cold-Faced Lady' logo appeared. It was squarish, like a seal. The characters were in traditional chinese but its font was not in small seal script or regular script. Instead, it was an elegant flowery character with beautiful patterns as embellishments.
It was just like Meng Chang. He was neither too flashy nor too old-fashioned which gave a pretty good first impression.
Meng Chang continued, "Simply put, Cold-Faced Lady will be an internet roasted cold noodles brand!"
"How did this concept come about? Actually, it originated from my thinking about the internet business model over the years.
"The most important part of Internet thinking is cross-border thinking. When two seemingly unrelated things are linked together, an unprecedented business opportunity would burst out. This ability is what most people lack."
"I used to work in the marketing department. At that time, my boss, who was also the president of the marketing department, was a big shot who emphasized 'cross-border thinking'. He was originally a famous host, and later became the president of the creative brand and the marketing department. All of them achieved brilliant results.
"Therefore, in the age of the Internet, entrepreneurs must also be the discoverers of new business models, multifaceted people who dare to cross over!
"My experience in the marketing department allowed me to see many cases of 'cross-border success', especially the internet and catering model. It's definitely a hot topic now!"
"Why did I combine the internet and the roasted cold noodles? Next is my detailed analysis of the current market environment and prospects."
"First of all, the current domestic food and beverage market is facing a serious test. Apart from a few high-end restaurants that are thriving, most of them are dying. On the other hand, the mass food and beverage is gradually moving forward and becoming mainstream. Fast food and snack brands are welcoming an unprecedented opportunity."
"We all know that high-end food and beverages are very difficult to make."
"That's because high-end restaurants have too strict requirements for chefs, ingredients, and other details. It's impossible to mass produce them, and its high price naturally dissuades most of the cash-strapped consumers."
"Tengda Corporation, which owns the nameless restaurant and Fish-Catching Take-Out, should know this better than I do."
"Therefore, consumers are more inclined to the 'small but beautiful' food and beverage brands. For this, they are willing to pay a certain premium."
"For catering companies, the most profitable way is to open branches. The premise of opening branches is that they have formulas and can be mass-produced."
"This is the current state of the domestic food and beverage market."
Chapter 724: Internet+Cold Noodle
Meng Chang continued, "Secondly, with the rapid development of the mobile internet, platforms such as Weibo, review websites, and chat software became brand new marketing platforms for catering companies. The rapid development of take-out and group-buying softwares helped catering enterprises soar."
"One of the greatest advantages of the internet age is that a successful business model can be spread and replicated as quickly as possible so that everyone knows about it and spreads it across the country!"
"In the past, many excellent food and beverage brands could only slowly expand in one city at a time. Be it in terms of funds or popularity, they were not enough to support the rapid replication of successful business models."
"However, all of these became possible in the Internet age!"
"Combining these two points, it would not be difficult for us to discover that once a popular restaurant brand becomes a standardized, mass-produced, and high-quality internet celebrity brand, it would be able to spread across the country at an extremely fast speed and obtain huge profits and generous returns!"
"The best part is that 'Food is most important for the people'. People have to eat for as long as they are alive. Therefore, once a food and beverage brand is widely recognized by consumers, its long-term value will only increase!"
At this point, Meng Chang observed He Desheng's expression.
He Desheng listened very seriously and nodded repeatedly.
Obviously, this theory was quite correct. In an ideal situation, there would indeed be huge business opportunities in the F&B industry and the Internet. For example in the take-out and review industries where a lot of capital was being invested.
However, the question here was, could cold noodles become a brand and gain the trust of consumers?
Meng Chang had obviously expected this. He immediately flipped to the next PowerPoint.
"After looking at the huge prospects and market potential of the Cold-Faced Lady, I will explain it with two different points.
"They are: the problems and opportunities that exist in the industry of cold noodles, as well as the details of the 'Cold-Faced Lady' brand.
"Roasting cold noodles sounds like a dish that is extremely common. It is also a food that has no barriers. Dishes from small roadside stalls that cost three to five yuan each would never appear in high-end restaurants."
"However, food like cold noodles has a unique charm. From billionaires to commoners, everyone loves it."
On the PowerPoint, there was a picture of a certain tycoon queuing up to buy cold noodles. At the same time, some sports stars or entertainment stars posted screenshots of how delicious the cold noodles were.
He could easily find a lot of these content online.
"According to the statistics of the shopping website, more than 10 million sets of raw ingredients for grilled cold noodles sold throughout the year on the shopping website alone. Amongst the popular foodstuffs such as conch noodles, spicy noodles, and hotpot, the sales volume held steadily in the top three."
"What's more, many vendors' raw materials do not come from shopping websites."
"This is enough to show that while the cold noodles may seem unglamorous, there is a huge demand for them in the country. There is no need for statistics. You can feel it just by observing."
"In the night market and other crowded areas, there would always be stalls selling cold noodles, and there would always be people queuing up. Small vendors selling cold noodles could be said to be making huge profits silently, and there would be tens of thousands of people earning lots of money every month."
"Of course, this data might not be completely true. After all, we have to get rid of hidden costs. However, no matter what, there is a huge profit margin."
"However, there are many problems and hidden dangers in the industry of cold noodles. Simply put, it is not formal enough and there are many hygiene issues. It is not exquisite enough and has a bad brand image. It is not complicated enough and there are few products."
"Many of the raw ingredients for the cold noodles are produced by small workshops. The production conditions were bad to begin with, and there were health hazards. The vendors at roadside stalls did not pay attention to hygiene and used inferior oil. They would also be contaminated in the process of washing and storing the ingredients."
"Therefore, just like many roadside stalls, the cold noodles are actually very unhygienic. It's possible that the dust from the side of the road might be the least harmful material apart from the edible parts."
"What's more, different vendors have different skills in making cold noodles. Whether it's the taste or the shape, it's difficult for them to be elegant. They can't standardize production and ensure the lower limits of the taste, but they can't innovate and develop new flavors and styles."
"Without the internet, the business of cold noodles would forever stop at roadside stalls. How could it develop?"
"The goal of 'Cold-Faced Lady' is to integrate the existing market for roasted cold noodles and create a national food and beverage brand that is extremely famous!"
"In short, we're going to use new ideas and methods to create new fast food that belongs to our countrymen. We're going to use good raw materials and new crafts to recreate the traditional taste."
"As for the brand 'Cold-Faced Lady', how should we redefine the industry of cold noodles?"
"Please allow me to explain everything to you.
Meng Chang stopped and took a sip of water.
At the same time, he quietly observed He Desheng's expression. He Desheng was deep in thought.
Meng Chang knew very well that the above content was a little nonsensical.
After all, it was actually very difficult to reverse the concept of "cold toasted noodles are rubbish food from roadside stalls" because it was deeply ingrained in the minds of ordinary people.
However, Meng Chang's goal was not to reverse this concept.
Sometimes, the internet age's marketing was unreasonable. Chinese savior crepe, Liangpi[1.'Liangpi' literally means cold skin, a noodle-like Chinese dish made from wheat or rice flour], and Roujiamo[2.'Roujiamo literally means meat sandwiched in bread] could all be made into popular brands online. Why can't cold noodles become the same?
What's more, if food like ramen and sushi could produce a God of ramen and sushi, why couldn't there be a God of cold toasted noodles?
Most of the time, facts were not important, and stereotypes were even less important. The most important was how to make others believe it.
Meng Chang had spent two to three months preparing the entire plan and the powerpoint, but he had not used it before.
That was because he had not found a suitable investor.
Sometimes, whether or not a crepe could be done well did not depend entirely on the person who made it. It also depended on the setting of the crepe and the audience waiting to eat it.
An ordinary investor would definitely treat Meng Chang as a scammer and chase him out.
While he was indeed a scammer and had never denied this in his heart, he could not accept being thrown out because it would affect his reputation.
In Meng Chang's opinion, his plan could only be used once. He had to hit the nail on the head.
If he found some messy investors and none of them invested in the project, he and the project would be done for. He would be exposed before he could even start anything. Wouldn't he be finished?
In fact, the ones who were the easiest to bluff were the rich, such as big company executives, celebrities, tycoons, and so on. That was because these people would easily believe in lofty concepts and terms.
However, the prerequisite for all of this was that Meng Chang had to have a sufficiently dazzling halo so that these big shots could ignore the unreasonable aspects of this project.
Where did this halo come from?
It was obviously not enough for him to graduate from a famous school and have experience in marketing at an Internet factory.
"Boss Pei's investment" was a good halo. It was not omnipotent but it could at least scare many people.
Once he had this halo, many unreasonable things would naturally be ignored. He would be able to hoodwink investors and attract huge amounts of funds.
Once he got the money, Meng Chang could start marketing. He could use all sorts of advertisements and concepts to guide the audience and turn them into cows for milking.
After that, he would open a high-end shop, generate profits through traffic, increase valuations, and attract more capital investment. Once he harvested enough, he would leave, leaving nothing behind.
All in all, this plan was perfect, provided that he passed the first stage.
If he could not even get Tengda's investment, there would be no need to talk about the rest of the plan.
Therefore, Meng Chang took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before preparing to start his most exciting performance.
He had said so much in the beginning, but it was all just to pave the way for the 'Cold-Faced Lady' brand to forcefully come up with fifty to sixty percent reasons.
However, people would always believe what they were willing to believe. The reason why so many IQ taxes could be established was also because of the fifty to sixty percent reasonableness. The key was whether the latter part could cover up all the seemingly unreasonable parts.
Various details of the 'Cold-Faced Lady' brand appeared on the powerpoint.
"To put it in simpler terms, the concept of 'Cold-Faced Lady' is to create a grilled cold noodle brand with a sense of quality and Petite bourgeoisie taste."
"The name itself gives people a hint of anthropomorphism. Her virtual image seems cold yet gentle at the same time. This brand's logo is traditional and youthful, just like how our products are mainstream yet exquisite."
"I've set three milestone targets for this brand."
"The first milestone is to open a 'Cold-Faced Lady' flagship store in the bustling commercial district of the capital."
"In this store, we will show all customers the difference between this brand and other roadside stalls in terms of recipes, raw materials, cutlery, and dining environment."
"First, we have to spend a huge sum of money to research the formula and taste of 'Cold-Faced Lady'. We have to standardize the selection of the ingredients and various seasonings for the cold noodles, the amount of ingredients used, the actual heat and time in the production. We have to ensure that every serving of cold noodles tastes the same."
"At the same time, we have to develop multiple flavors of grilled cold noodles. We can't just distinguish between sweet, spicy, sour, and sweet flavors. We have to create more content and variations for the cold noodles."
"Of course, for the sake of the richness and diversity of the restaurant's dishes, we will also make various traditional cold noodles, side dishes, or fruit juice drinks."