After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 117 Race against time

The new company has been registered and the equity is divided equally among the three persons.

The name was given by Zhou Haoran.

It is called Zhongbo Bookstore Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.

Naming is also a big deal.

These days, Zhou Haoran is probably the only one in the country who understands this.

"Zhongbo Bookstore" looks unremarkable.

But in the long run, just this name, if managed well, can create a brand value of hundreds of millions of dollars in an empty shell.

Because this is a company with the prefix "Zhong".

It's pure borderline!
After a few years, market participants realized they could leverage the authority of the "Zhong" brand, and the authorities put a stop to such practices. This made it difficult for private companies to do so.

But now there is no limit.

Zhongbo Bookstore.

It looks very fierce at first glance!
It seems like he is a subsidiary of a large state-owned enterprise.

The frame is set up, and the next step is to put it into operation.

Calculate the cost first.

Li Changxing quoted a very high price, reaching 300 million yuan.

This is normal, as he runs a printing factory, which is an asset-heavy operation.

The material and printing costs for these 20 sets of the Children's Encyclopedia alone reached 220 million yuan. Adding in labor costs, loan interest, transportation, losses, and so on, the cost price of 300 million yuan is not high.

Jiang Xiong's offer was very low.

His cultural company adopts a light asset model, and the costs mainly include employee salaries, warehouse rent, shipping costs, marketing fees, design fees, proofreading fees, version number fees, registration fees, etc.

A total of 60 yuan.

When Zhou Haoran saw Jiang Xiong’s offer, he realized that he was an honest man.

You should know that the cost structure of books also includes royalties.

This is sent to the author.

The Children's Encyclopedia was not written, but compiled.

There is only one editor, and that is Jiang Xiong!
He used to work in a newspaper as an editor in the social department and a cultural figure.

This set of "Children's Encyclopedia" was compiled by him alone in half a year.

Of course, plagiarism is also inevitable behind this.

There are three main parts of plagiarism.

One of them was the "Encyclopedia of Chinese Children" published by the Ministry of Education. This book was extremely expensive and printed in color. It disseminated official rhetoric, containing many ideological and theoretical elements, and was intended to cultivate patriotism in young people. Unsurprisingly, the market response was extremely poor.

The other two parts are from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

These days, encyclopedia series are very popular all over the world, and the most famous one is of course the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Not yet in the mainland.

But it has been translated in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

There are two versions.

They are all traditional Chinese characters.

Jiang Xiong did not understand English, but he could understand traditional Chinese characters. He took it and used it directly, deleted some overly complicated content, simplified it into complex, and half copied and half modified it to compile this set of "Children's Encyclopedia".

In other words, Jiang Xiong is the author of this series of books!
He should get royalties!

But when he reported the cost, he did not include this part.

Maybe he didn't realize there were royalties to be collected.

After all, this kind of patchwork is not original, and intellectuals have a bit of self-respect.

After confirmation by three parties, the total cost was 360 million yuan.

After the books are sold in the future, the total revenue minus the 360 million cost can be divided equally among the three parties.

But there is one unavoidable shortcoming.

The taxes are just too high!
Jiang Xiong was upset about this. "If you ask me, I'd better go it alone and not start a company. The taxes are too high. By the time we get our share, we might not even get as much as the government."

Zhou Haoran also knew that the taxes during the early days of the market economy were too high, but he didn't want to take any risks. He said solemnly, "I'd rather make less money than be a legitimate businessman!"

The three of them were having lunch together, and Jiang Xiong whispered, "I consulted my former colleague, and he has many ways to circumvent this..."

"No need!" Zhou Haoran waved his hand. "Boss Jiang, you have to take a long-term view! Moral decline is nothing. If the law declines, it will easily lead to an avalanche, and then everyone will be arrested. I can put it on record: half of the big bosses who are making money now will be arrested in a few years!"

Jiang Xiong felt that Mr. Zhou had very high self-requirements.

He is a trustworthy person with a bottom line.

Li Changxing trusted him even more.

His grandfather had run a publishing house during the Republic of China era. How chaotic was Huangpu Beach back then? It was rife with unfair competition and vicious incidents, with countless hooligans constantly causing trouble.

I encountered many difficulties, and I was able to resolve them by going to the Red House Teahouse and asking a few gentlemen to help me.

As time goes by, the name of "Red Mansion Teahouse" is almost disappeared from the dust of the times.

However, due to his family background in education, Li Changxing has unconditional trust in Mr. Zhou.

Li Changxing said, "I think what Mr. Zhou said makes sense. As long as there's money to be made, it doesn't matter if there's less profit. The most frightening thing is that if there's a loss, you'll have to pay a huge amount of taxes."

Zhou Haoran asked: "How much is the VAT for books?"

Jiang Xiong said: "13%."

"It's quite high."

Zhou Haoran frowned slightly. Having worked in the internet industry in his previous life, he had some understanding of the VAT on e-commerce products. Books were considered cultural products, and the VAT was relatively low, at that time, 9%. Unexpectedly, the VAT on books in the 13s was as high as %.

Jiang Xiong sighed and said, "Yes, first we deduct 13% value-added tax, then 3% business tax. Then there's the 15% corporate income tax based on the profit. If we don't split the accounts, it's fine. But if we want to divide the money among ourselves, we still have to pay 30% personal income tax."

"Corporate income tax is 15%?"

Zhou Haoran was quite pleased with this number.

Because the standard corporate income tax rate in later generations is 25%, some high-tech companies can have special preferential treatment and it can be reduced to 15%.

"The standard tax rate is 33%!" Jiang Xiong was indignant about this. "Because foreign countries have more favorable policies, the preferential rates for foreign companies can drop below 20%. So many people go abroad to register companies, transfer their money out, and then invest back home under the name of foreign capital, so they can enjoy the preferential treatment of foreign companies."

Li Changxing explained, "Special economic zones, new areas, and development zones all enjoy preferential tax rates with national approval, including a 15% corporate income tax rate. Here in Haigang, everything is like a new area, and this is policy support for Haigang's economic development."

Zhou Haoran had no idea about tax evasion.

Although this could save him a lot of money.

But it's not necessary!

With his abilities and the advantage of foresight, if he does business honestly in the open, he will be rich enough to rival a country.

There is no need to take risks for a little tax.

Zhou Haoran said: "We should open our perspectives. If we want to have a long-term business, we must do business legally."

Li Changxing nodded repeatedly, "Mr. Zhou is right!"

Jiang Xiong sighed, but agreed, "Legality is necessary."

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "Okay, now the company is established and the basic framework is in place. Next, it's time to start the specific operations. Boss Jiang, although you are the legal representative and general manager of Zhongbo Bookstore, I have to take charge of this matter."

"Of course, that's what we agreed on!"

Jiang Xiong knows his own limitations.

Zhou Haoran said, "We have to hurry up. If we delay any longer, the Children's Encyclopedia will be out of its new edition period and the bookstore will no longer pay attention to it."

Jiang Xiong, who controlled the bookstore's distribution channels, said repeatedly, "Yes, that's right. This set of books was published last November. If it's been a year, the new book advantage will no longer exist."

Zhou Haoran said proudly, "So we have to strive to sell all 11 sets of books in stock before November!"

Jiang Xiong twitched his lips and asked, "How much is it?"

Li Changxing asked tentatively, "Go to TV stations to advertise?"

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "Yes, go do a TV commercial."

Jiang Xiong frowned and said, "I've asked some friends these past few days. They all say that books can't be advertised on TV. This is because the market is full of pirated books. TV advertising can increase a book's popularity, but then pirates will follow suit. In the end, the pirates are the ones who benefit!"

Zhou Haoran naturally took this into consideration. "So we need to act quickly and clear out the inventory before the pirates react!"

Li Changxing said, "Mr. Zhou, just tell me, what do you need us to do?"

Zhou Haoran said, "This business is a partnership between the three of us. We'll split the profits equally, and naturally the investment as well. I'll handle the advertising, and the total cost will be 15 yuan. Of that, 5 yuan is for the production of the TV commercial, and 10 yuan is for the placement of the TV commercial."

"So few?"

Li Changxing was a little surprised.

Television stations are so high and mighty, how come the price of TV advertising is so low?

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "I have some connections in the TV station."

Li Changxing laughed heartily.

Jiang Xiong laughed at himself.

He was intimidated by the "People's Livelihood Investigation" program of Red Star TV.

Zhou Haoran said, "The initial advertising costs will be 15. The three of us will each contribute 5. If you need cash, give it to me... I'll give you two days to prepare, okay?"

"can."

Li Changxing is very straightforward.

Even though his publishing house is heavily in debt, he still has some guaranteed money in his account.

Jiang Xiong was at a loss. He really couldn't take it out. His face flushed red as he said, "Mr. Zhou, I really can't take it out."

"Not even 5?"

Zhou Haoran frowned.

Jiang Xiong was in a dilemma and gritted his teeth, saying, "Then... then I'll risk my dignity and ask some old colleagues, relatives, and friends to lend me some money to round up the 5 yuan!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Haoran's trust in him increased a little.

It's still 5 yuan, but the nature behind it is different.

It was relatively easy for Li Changxing to get 5 yuan; but for Jiang Xiong, he had to put aside his dignity and borrow money from everywhere.

Of course, the latter 5 yuan is more valuable!

Jiang Xiong gambled his personality, dignity and all his credibility for this deal, which naturally won the favor of the trader Zhou Haoran.

Zhou Haoran made the decision, "No problem, that's settled. We have to hurry. We're racing against time, against the new issue of the Children's Encyclopedia, and against the pirates!"

Jiang Xiong was in no mood to eat and said impatiently, "Then I'll go raise money now!"

He left in a hurry.

Zhou Haoran and Li Changxing were left behind.

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "Boss Li, I have a private matter that I need your help with."

Li Changxing smiled and said, "Is it about printing copies?"

"Yes, I have a friend who wants to start a small business."

"When will it be done?"

"Now!"

(End of this chapter)