Chapter 21: Sales Pitch

"Uncle Shi, the residential complex ahead is where I live."

"Alright. Little Wang, pull over by the side of the road."

Di Ye carried his brand-new notebook computer backpack and stepped out of the back seat of a Mercedes S320. Through the car window, he exchanged a few polite pleasantries with Shi Weidong in the front passenger seat, then said to Shi Yucheng sitting in the back, "If you have time, come find me to hang out. I'm planning to write a program related to music; we can study it together."

"A player?"

"Something like that."

"Sure, I'll come find you in a few days."

Shi Weidong watched Di Ye's retreating figure. Only after he walked into the complex and disappeared from sight did he instruct the driver to move on. He turned his head to Shi Yucheng and said, "This classmate of yours not only has good grades, but he is also well-versed in social graces. He has an extraordinary bearing and a boundless future. You should keep in touch with him and maintain a good relationship."

"He relies on being tall to bully me often; there's no way to have a good relationship with him."

"That may not be so. This person seems humble, but in reality, he is quite proud. If he didn't consider you a friend, he wouldn't bully you at all; he would just treat you like air."

Shi Weidong was a shrewd man; he saw through Di Ye's personality in the time it took to eat a meal. He exhorted, "Yucheng, society is made up of people, not programmed by machines. You are about to graduate from university; don't always keep your eyes glued to the computer. You need to interact with more people and make more friends; only then can you achieve something in your career."

"Dealing with people is boring. I just like playing with computers. As long as I write good code, I won't have to worry about finding a good job!"

"You, oh you... forget it. Since you like it, then focus on technology. Although working in technology won't make you rich, it can keep you away from trouble, which is also a way forward."

Zhang Xiuzhi had to work the night shift at the Hospital that evening. Di Ye originally thought only Di Yongchang would be at home, but after opening the door, he found him sitting on the sofa with a few dishes of braised food laid out in front of him, drinking with a fat man with a bloated face and big ears while watching TV.

"Little Ye is back. Come over and have a couple of drinks with us."

"Uncle Fan, how do you have time to come drink with my dad today?"

This fat man was named Fan Dazhi. He had previously been an apprentice to Di Yongchang at Radio Factory No. 3, and they had a close relationship. He said with a chuckle, "I came to find you, but you were out eating, so I had no choice but to wait here like a rabbit waiting for a tree, and keep your dad company for a few drinks in the meantime."

"What do you want with me?"

Di Yongchang raised his glass, took a small sip of white liquor, and said, "Your Uncle Fan thinks there's money to be made in converting CD players into VCD Players, and he wants to invest and do it together."

Fan Dazhi was only about 10 years older than Di Ye. He had resigned and entered the business world in the late 80s. He had a sharp eye, was bold, and dared to fight and strive. He had done very well for himself, becoming a millionaire in just a few years—much more successful than Di Yongchang and Zhou, who ran shops at the Chenghuang Temple.

The VCD Player was a new invention, and different capital had different ways of playing the game. Di Ye took his notebook computer bag into the bedroom to put it away, then moved a low stool and sat down in front of the coffee table. He poured himself a small glass of white liquor and asked, "How much does Uncle Fan plan to invest?"

"I plan to invest 100,000 yuan to go to Guangdong Province to purchase a batch of Decompression Cards. Your dad and Zhou will be responsible for installation and testing, and the profits will be split fifty-fifty."

"100,000 yuan can probably buy 300 Decompression Cards. Each card can earn about 500 yuan..."

Fan Dazhi picked up two peanuts, and while eating, said, "More than 500. Right now, a brand-new VCD Player costs at least 4,500. We'll count our converted CD players at half price, selling them for 2,200 each. The cost is at most 1,200, so each card can earn about 1,000 yuan."

Di Ye looked at Di Yongchang, and Di Yongchang nodded, saying, "This afternoon, Zhou and I recalculated it; the profit is about that much."

Electronic products in the 90s were truly a source of exorbitant profits...

Di Ye sighed inwardly and recalculated, "300 cards, 1,000 earned per card, that's 300,000 in total. If it's a fifty-fifty split, Uncle Fan earns 150,000, and my dad and Zhou each earn 75,000, right?"

"That's right."

Di Yongchang was born in 1940 and was now 55 years old. Having experienced many setbacks, he had developed a cautious personality. Before doing anything, he would consider the failure before the success. He said, "Right now, a genuine VCD disc on the market costs 60 yuan, while pirated CD discs and cut-out discs only cost ten or twenty yuan. Not many people are willing to convert their CD players into video disc players. 300 Decompression Cards is too many; we might not even sell them in half a year."

Di Ye smiled, raised his glass, and said, "Dad, don't talk about 300 Decompression Cards; even if it were 500, I could sell them all in one winter break. Do you believe me?"

Hearing this, Fan Dazhi grabbed the chance before Di Yongchang could speak, clinked his glass against his, and pressed, "How will you sell them?"

Di Ye didn't like white liquor; he just touched the rim of the glass with his lips and set it down. He asked, "Dad, do you remember that day at the Chenghuang Temple when I said who I wanted to sell the pirated VCD discs to?"

"Sell them to video parlors?"

"Exactly. During the Spring Festival, many people are idle and have nothing to do, so they go to video parlors to watch movies to pass the time. The cost of VCD discs is lower than videotapes. We can cooperate with Bi Wanxi, have him go to Guangdong Province to buy pirated discs, and then..."

Fan Dazhi was impatient and interrupted Di Ye again, saying, "No need to find Bi Wanxi. I'm going to Guangdong Province the day after tomorrow; I can buy them myself then."

Upon hearing this, Di Ye quickly said, "Uncle Fan, take me with you the day after tomorrow. I want to go to Guangdong Province to see the world."

"No problem, your dad already told me just now."

Di Yongchang was very invested in the CD player conversion business and urged, "We aren't going to Guangdong Province until the day after tomorrow, so there's no rush now. Little Ye, continue talking about the VCD business."

The rise and fall of the VCD was a classic, colorful case in the history of China's electronics industry in the 90s. Di Ye had seen quite a few related news reports before he transmigrated, but he had mostly forgotten them. Over the past two days, he had Xiao Honghua look them up so he could review them. Now, he was full of confidence and spoke eloquently.

"Right now, one genuine VCD disc costs 60 yuan, and a pirated one costs about 40 yuan. It's still quite expensive. Moreover, movies aren't music; many people won't watch them again after watching them once or twice. So, we should change from selling discs to renting them. Renting one disc once costs 5 yuan; we can break even after renting it 8 times. VCD discs are digitally recorded; as long as the surface isn't damaged, the picture quality won't be affected no matter how many times it's rented..."

"During the Spring Festival, we should first cooperate with video parlors of all sizes in Yuncheng, offer them a disc rental package, promote the CD-converted video disc players, and incidentally use the video parlors to advertise, encouraging people who have CD players at home to come to our shop for conversions..."

Hearing this, Fan Dazhi slapped his thigh and laughed heartily, "Good idea, good idea! Little Ye, you really are smart; no wonder you got into a key university. If we operate like this, forget 300 or 500—even 1,000 Decompression Cards will sell out."

Although Yuncheng was the provincial capital of Sanjiang Province, its economy wasn't very prosperous, and there were relatively few wealthy people. Di Ye felt they shouldn't take too big a step and advised, "We should still do a bit less. Right now, many domestic and foreign home appliance manufacturers are developing VCD Players. I estimate that before long, there will be a major price drop. Our method is, after all, an unconventional one; it won't last long."

"That's true."

Fan Dazhi picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a few pieces of braised beef, and while eating, pondered. The more he thought about it, the more he felt this business had potential. So he said to Di Yongchang, "Brother Chang, I'm a bit strapped for cash right now; I only have 100,000 yuan in spare money. Why don't you also put up 100,000? We'll get 600 Decompression Cards. We'll set aside 10% of the profits for Zhou, and split the rest fifty-fifty."

Di Yongchang now treated Di Ye as his backbone and asked, "Little Ye, what do you think?"

"I think it's no problem."

"Alright then. Tomorrow I'll take you to the Bank to open an account and deposit the money. The day after tomorrow, you go with your Uncle Fan to Guangdong Province to buy the Decompression Cards."

After Fan Dazhi left, Di Ye returned to his bedroom, took out the notebook computer Shi Weidong had given him, plugged it in, and checked the configuration after booting it up. He found the CPU was an Intel 486DX4 with a clock speed of only 75MHz, plus 8MB of RAM and a 340MB hard drive. By the standards of the future, it could be considered quite pathetic.

The notebook's screen was also relatively small, only 9.5 inches. However, small had its advantages; it was lightweight and easy to carry. Di Ye played with it for a while and felt very satisfied, muttering, "I'll go to Teacher Liu's house tomorrow to install the necessary software, and then I can really start to stretch my legs."

At this moment, Di Yongchang knocked on the door and entered. Seeing the notebook computer, he asked, "Did Manager Shi really give you such an expensive computer?"

"Yes, he said his son's reputation was far more precious than this computer, and insisted I accept it."

Hearing this, Di Yongchang felt the same way and nodded, "That's true. If his son had become an accomplice and gone to prison, his whole life would have been ruined."

Di Ye smiled and said, "Actually, his son also had a part to play. If he hadn't insisted on going to argue with Feng Shijie, Feng Shijie wouldn't have been exposed so quickly."

Feng Shijie was a typical patient with antisocial personality disorder. He usually disguised himself as very gentle, but once stimulated, he easily lost his sanity and showed a high degree of aggression. Shi Yucheng happened to be a guy with a nasty personality who spoke without thinking. They had a huge argument in a public place like the office, and the result was both suffered—one was slashed with a utility knife, and the other was arrested by the police.

Di Yongchang stood by the desk, watched Di Ye play with the computer for a while, and said, "The business for 600 Decompression Cards is definitely too much for Zhou and me to handle alone. We need to hire a few more people. You should ask Huang Ya later to see if she's willing to come help."

Before Huang Ya's father passed away, he was also an employee at Radio Factory No. 3, and he had a very good relationship with Di Yongchang. The two families were family friends. Di Ye gave a hum and said, "I'll go tomorrow morning."