Forcing Me to Be Reborn?!
Chapter 504 - 405 QQ Empire Expansion

Chapter 504: Chapter 405 QQ Empire Expansion

In the toy factory office, Wang Anquan and Chen Bin felt like they were listening to a fantasy tale.

Cheng Zhu’s marketing capabilities had been witnessed by them all along.

Turning QQ Underwear, which was extremely difficult to promote on public platforms, into an internet celebrity shop was an off-the-wall feat.

This required not just high operational skills but also perfect control over boundaries.

Always skirting the edge, teasing, but never crossing the line.

Now, more than half a year had flashed by.

Looking back, everyone saw Cheng Zhu wearing a crown, having become the underground emperor of the internet celebrity circle.

With his power alone, he spurred the robust growth of the "original flavor" market.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, the guy was terrifying!

To be honest, compared to QQ Underwear, QQ Toys would certainly be harder to promote.

Due to its inherently sensitive nature.

In this era sensitive to any sexual content, although it’s legal, it’s hard to extensively market the brand.

It’s for this reason there are almost no well-known QQ toy brands in the country.

Actually, for products that aren’t cheap and yield high profits, it’s unreasonable not to have brand recognition.

But the problem still lies in their special nature.

However, based on their trust and even admiration for Cheng Zhu’s abilities, if he said he could create a famous brand, they believed him!

But using someone else’s money to advertise your own brand was a bit too unbelievable.

Promotion for toy categories was already difficult, and you could even use someone else’s money?

What was in it for them?

Sitting in the office’s main seat, Cheng Zhu leaned lightly against the chair back and said, "Actually, it’s not just about using other people’s money for our brand’s momentum; during this process, we should still be able to make a tidy profit."

This left Wang Anquan and Chen Bin with their heads buzzing.

What did this mean?

Not just a zero-cost advertising strategy but others paying money to help us advertise our brand?

That was crazy!

Had Mr. Cheng already found a super gullible sponsor?

Should they consult a lawyer to see if this would be legal?

Cheng Zhu, seeing the surprised expressions on both men, explained, "I’ve thought of a way to make money that will also promote our brand."

Wang Anquan indicated he understood, this sounded much more reasonable.

Only Chen Bin, the old businessman, bravely asked after swallowing, "Do we need to schmooze with others?"

Cheng Zhu laughed and cursed, "Why not just ask if it’s legal and compliant?"

With his hand, Cheng Zhu gestured, "Between us here in the office, it’s fine to be direct."

Chen Bin awkwardly nodded his head.

Cheng Zhu leaned back in his chair and answered his question:

"We’re all honest people here, doing honest business."

He knew very well that as his business grew bigger, all his commercial ventures would inevitably be exposed one day.

Like his identity as a QQ Tycoon, which was probably already being whispered about in small circles.

Yue Dongyi, for example, knew what Cheng Zhu had made his fortune from right after doing a background check.

But that was not a problem. He was always selling legal stuff, so why panic?

Cheng Zhu, having been reborn, eyed the top spot on the wealth ranking list for post-90s self-made entrepreneurs.

When that time came, it would merely add a bit of legendary flair to his story.

As for the promotion of QQ Toys, he still needed some initial layout work.

First, to get the toys selling on e-commerce platforms and to achieve impressive sales numbers!

Only then could he drive the subsequent brand new business model.

At that moment, Chen Bin asked, "Mr. Cheng, you just mentioned adding a new department to the factory, which one?"

"Franchise Department," Cheng Zhu replied.

...

...

The Lantern Festival had passed, and Ye Zi was on the return flight home.

Before bidding farewell to her family, she sneakily left behind fifty thousand yuan in cash.

Ye Zi was well aware that even though she left money, the elders might not be willing to spend it.

Many of the older generation are like this, with ingrained ideas that can’t be swayed.

But leaving some money behind was always good for peace of mind.

Following Cheng Zhu’s orders, she also bought a first-class ticket for the return trip.

Sitting in first-class once again, Ye Zi felt a bit surreal.

The girl who had once been so poor that she had to work in the big city now could enjoy this cross-class experience when traveling home for Spring Festival.

Looking back now, Ye Zi found life quite astounding.

Working as a bartender in Shen Minglang’s bar during a summer break, she met a high school graduate, and since then, her life’s trajectory had suddenly changed.

Back then, she’d been quick to judge, even teasing Cheng Zhu and Jiang Wanzhou for being "close besties."

Now, she had witnessed Cheng Zhu’s abilities first hand.

Before heading back, Ye Zi had already received a message from her boss, telling her that once she returned to Hang City, it was time to get to work.

The only difference was, previously she was photographing people; this time, it was objects.

QQ Underwear certainly needed models for photo shoots.

But for toys, you definitely don’t use real models!

This was a fresh challenge for Ye Zi, as her skills were all learnt from Cheng Zhu, which were about how to photograph models.

Usually, after the new year ended and work resumed, many people were incredibly upset.

— Back to slaving away for the capitalists, yay~

Ye Zi, however, was eager to get back to work to continue creating value for her boss.

Leaving the Guan Yun factory, Cheng Zhu took two sets of samples with him.

One was for Ye Zi to photograph, and he would come personally to teach her the techniques.

The other set was to be given to Hu Yan, the brand’s Chief Experience Officer, when visiting Shanghai.

The slightly plump female illustrator’s home was filled with various collectibles.

But Cheng Zhu thought, surely it was better to have one’s own products for peace of mind?

Originally, he planned for Ye Zi to rest for a day after flying back to Hang City and then start shooting.

But she outright refused, saying she could start immediately the next day.

He also hoped for efficiency, so he booked an apartment suitable for shooting.

They met in the apartment’s elevator and went up together.

Upon seeing Cheng Zhu, Ye Zi’s first words were, "Boss, I didn’t put on weight over the New Year, did I?"

Cheng Zhu looked her up and down with a smile, "Just by looking, it’s hard to tell, you probably didn’t."

"At home it was too comfy, barely exercised, it was all about lazing around," Ye Zi explained.

She was known to be disciplined, with a physique prone to gaining weight, hence the regular exercise regimen. Her peachy butt wasn’t born that way; it was the result of her workouts.

After entering the apartment, Cheng Zhu, while putting his briefcase on the table, curiously asked, "Did they push you into matchmaking during your New Year visit back home?"

At Ye Zi’s age, going back home from working outside and getting pressured into marriage and matchmaking was common.

"There were!" Ye Zi said with a resigned expression, "Quite bothersome."

She had actually told them she had a boyfriend to avoid the pressure.

But that was something she wouldn’t tell Cheng Zhu; she knew it was something she must not mention.

She was clear about her position.

Where did she get a boyfriend?

She considered these words taboo and tried to avoid them in casual conversation as much as possible.

Right now, Ye Zi just asked with a smile and anticipation, "Boss, is my fee the same for photographing toys as it is for people?"

Technically, photographing toys should be more efficient and simpler.

She understood that it was important to occasionally show a bit of her "little greed" in front of men, to let them feel they’re giving enough to a woman, making them feel more secure about this underlying relationship.

"Sure," Cheng Zhu said with a smile, nodding.

He then unzipped his briefcase and began taking out boxes of toy products.

They were beautifully packaged and exuded class.

In this respect, one had to be willing to spend money.

This stuff was wildly profitable because if you sold it too cheap, people would actually be nervous about buying.

For customers, too cheap a price means less trust.

They would question whether it’s sterilized, whether it might break en route, whether it could leak electricity...

"No choice, we also wanted to sell thin profit, high volume, but the customer insists we make a killing!" That was the situation with toy products.

And precisely for this reason, these products don’t compete on price wars.

They’re half technological goods, sometimes needing innovation.

Aside from that, it’s about building a well-known brand.

"When prices are similar, the role of the brand becomes very significant." That was Cheng Zhu’s goal.

As for innovation, Cheng Zhu had a reasonable understanding of these products.

He began to detail their homemade products to Ye Zi.

"In the future, these things need to aim for functional innovation, like noise reduction, precision penetration, comprehensive coverage, variable frequency settings..." Cheng Zhu enumerated them like a list of treasures.

"The ones on the market right now are just mediocre."

He, as someone reborn, knew these kinds of products were making breakthroughs year after year.

"But these things take time, and we’ve only just established a research and development team."

"So currently, functionally, our products are similar to the ordinary ones on the market."

"Only our craftsmanship, even the color schemes, provide a more upscale feeling."

"Like with color schemes, many on the market are flashy, I’ve chosen lighter, or what you call macaron color schemes; it’s the future trend," Cheng Zhu spoke with authority.

Ye Zi listened attentively, as if she were in a class.

Cheng Zhu continued while unwrapping a package, "Initially, our breakthrough is mainly in the appearance of the product."

"Look, this one is our current flagship product for ladies!"

"On the surface, it looks like an earphone case."

"But once you open it... snap!" Cheng Zhu opened the earphone case, "Isn’t the little thing quite unique?"

...

(ps: First update, asking for monthly tickets~)