Chapter 48: Arrangements

"Di Ye, where should *Moonlight and Shadow* be placed?"

"That is the *The Shawshank Redemption* I recommended in the newspaper the day before yesterday; put it in the 'Top Ten Classic Movies of 1994' album."

"Why is the name different?"

"That is the translated title from Hong Kong; in Taiwan, they call it *Stimulus 1995*, which is even more absurd."

The pirated disc industry in Guangdong Province was developing extremely rapidly. When Bi Wanxi and the others went to purchase stock this time, not only did the price of the discs drop from the previous 30 yuan each to 15 yuan each, but the covers also changed from plain white to movie promotional posters with cast and crew lists. Although the printing was very crude, it was better than nothing.

This brought great convenience to Di Ye and Huang Ya. In just over an hour, the two of them finished organizing the 6,000 discs that Bi Wanxi and the others had purchased, tallying up over 500 movies and more than 30 television series, in addition to 10 specially customized film and television montage discs.

Besides the discs, Bi Wanxi also brought back a large pile of movie posters, celebrity photo albums, and entertainment magazines. With these things to assist, Di Ye's marketing became even more frantic. On the sixth day of the first lunar month, the Flagship Store opened at 9:00 AM, and by 9:45 AM, it was announced that the 200 quotas were all taken.

"Are you kidding me! It's only been open for 40-something minutes and there are no spots left?"

"I've been waiting in line since 7:00 AM! How could I possibly be behind the 200th person? Someone must have cut in line!"

"Boss, come out! Give us an explanation!"

When the crowd outside became agitated, Di Ye had Xia Fangfei take a few pretty girls out to hand everyone a bottle of cola and a copy of the latest Rental Guide. He himself held a megaphone to hype them up, promising to provide hot drinks, stools, and numbered tags tomorrow to optimize the queuing experience, encouraging them not to give up and to keep persisting.

With this two-pronged approach, the crowd was soon dispersed. Seeing this, Lu Hanming was somewhat puzzled and said, "Xiao Ye, we clearly have 500 VCD Players, yet you only brought out 200 to sell. You're deliberately keeping people in suspense; what for?"

"Unrequited desire is one of life's greatest pains, so the more you keep people in suspense, the hotter the sales will be. Besides, it can create a sense of superiority and attract high-end customers."

"Where would we have any high-end customers in Yuncheng?"

"That's not necessarily true. It's too noisy inside; let's go outside and talk."

At this time, although the queuing customers had dispersed, the Flagship Store was still packed with people gathered in front of the 8 televisions in the reception area to watch the spectacular film and television montages. Di Ye called Lu Hanming outside the store, found a quiet corner, and asked, "Brother-in-law, which department is in charge of city appearance and sanitation?"

"It should be the City Construction Bureau; they have a Supervision Brigade."

"We put up so many posters on Qingyun Road the night before last; why haven't they come to issue a fine yet?"

Lu Hanming didn't think there was any problem and said, "Those posters were torn down by people in no time at all; they basically have no impact on the city's appearance. I reckon the Supervision Brigade can't be bothered to care."

Di Ye didn't think so and said, "Many units now rely on fines to generate revenue. 2,000 yuan is not a small amount; the Supervision Brigade will come knocking sooner or later. It would be better for you to represent our company and go over to admit the fault proactively."

In order to conserve energy to have a child, Lu Hanming had started quitting smoking yesterday and was feeling somewhat irritable. He urged, "Xiao Ye, stop beating around the bush; say what you have to say."

"I want you to start with the Supervision Brigade and develop a batch of customers within the system."

"How do we develop them?"

"Ordinary customers who sign up for a package only get a 3-year warranty on their VCD Player, and if they want to exchange it for a new one later, they need to pay the price difference. But if professors from Yun University or my sister's colleagues sign up for a package, they can exchange for a new VCD Player for free starting next month, and if it breaks within the next 5 years, it will only be replaced, not repaired."

After Di Ye introduced the differences in the package content, he said, "The Supervision Brigade should be treated according to the same standard as the Yun University professors; that should attract a group of people to sign up. If the results are good, we can go try other units like the Public Security Bureau, Tax Bureau, Transportation Bureau, Bank, and Hospital."

Lu Hanming was taken aback and warned, "Xiao Ye, these terms are too generous. If it were only ten or twenty customers, that would be fine, but if you cast a wide net and bring in hundreds of customers, the trade-ins over the next 5 years alone could make you go bankrupt!"

Di Ye shook his head and smiled, saying, "Brother-in-law, you're thinking wrong. Trade-ins won't lose money; they might even make a profit."

"Why?"

"Because civil servants from the Bank, Post Office, and major administrative units are the highest-quality customers in Yuncheng and have great social influence. If we recruit enough customers now, then no matter which brand of VCD Player wants to quickly open up the market in Yuncheng later, they will all have to pay me a promotion fee. Otherwise, when it comes time for trade-ins, I won't provide their products."

Lu Hanming hadn't expected it could be operated this way. After being stunned for a moment, he said, "Xiao Ye, you really can open my eyes every single day."

Di Ye smiled at this and said, "Brother-in-law, there is another benefit to doing this, which is that we can make many friends, and friends with influence at that. Perhaps one of them can help my sister get promoted to Section Chief."

Lu Hanming was greatly moved, but also somewhat troubled. He rubbed his hands and said, "Your sister and I are planning to have a child this year, and now I have to quit smoking and drinking; I can't handle the socializing."

This was the first time Di Ye had heard this information, and he was also somewhat troubled. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Brother-in-law, it takes 3 to 6 months of quitting smoking and drinking to improve the quality of the 'little tadpoles.' You can quit next month. By the way, come exercise with me and work out properly. Go run to those units I mentioned earlier this month first and try to get some customers back."

Lu Hanming was a soft-natured person with little assertiveness, so he said, "You have to explain this clearly to your sister; otherwise, I'm afraid she'll be angry."

"I'll call my sister in a moment."

"Then I'll go test the waters at the Supervision Brigade now. Give the store manager position to Huang Ya; she is better at managing things than I am."

Di Ye gave a hum, took out his wallet, counted 3,000 yuan for him, and said, "2,000 is for the fine, and 1,000 is for the dining expenses to entertain the Supervision Brigade. Don't skimp; if it's not enough, call me, and I'll have someone send you money."

Lu Hanming took the money and laughed at himself, saying, "I never thought I'd actually have a day where I could spend public funds on wining and dining."

If one were to grade Lu Hanming's abilities, his work ability was at most 50 points, but his social ability was at least 80. Di Ye was very reassured about him doing this kind of thing. After giving a few instructions, he said, "If you get an order at the Supervision Brigade, arrange for them to come and complete the registration procedures together at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning."

"I understand what you mean; use them to suppress those people waiting in line, right?"

Lu Hanming had been a temporary store manager for a day yesterday, and today he had no interest left. He didn't even have the heart to hand over the duties to Huang Ya; he hailed a taxi and just left like that.

Di Yan had a Big Brother issued by her unit. Di Ye returned to the store and made a call to her, only to learn that she was at the Department Store Building accompanying Zhang Xiuzhi to buy bedding. He felt a bit of a headache and said, "Don't buy those red ones; I don't like them."

"No one cares if you don't like them, as long as Mom and Huang Ya like them."

Di Ye was helpless and had no choice but to stop asking. He told her about having Lu Hanming run the business. Di Yan was very enthusiastic about this and said, "Let him go; having a child half a year early or late doesn't matter."

Di Ye was very busy this morning, and Huang Ya was also very busy. Only Xia Fangfei had nothing to do, watching the film and television montages over and over again in the reception area. When the three of them ate lunch together at noon, she acted coquettishly and said, "Di Ye, didn't you say you would treat Huang Ya and me equally? Now that she has a suitable job, you have to help me find one too."

"What kind of job do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"What do you like to do?"

"Does sleeping with you count?"

Huang Ya had a relatively strong sense of morality and was very reserved when the three of them were together. Hearing this, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "That can't count as a job."

Xia Fangfei was much more open than Huang Ya. She made a very suggestive gesture and teased, "But it's fun, and exciting. Let's play together sometime."

Huang Ya blushed, lowered her head to poke at her rice, not daring to look at her, and even less daring to look at Di Ye.

Di Ye ignored Xia Fangfei's outrageous behavior, picked up a golden prawn for her, and then said unhurriedly, "I have already tailored a job for you; you start this afternoon."

"What job?"

"Secretary General of the Yun City Film Fan Club."