After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 241 Alone
I've watched all the footage from the undercover investigation.

Zhou Haoran was very satisfied.

With inside connections, I believe we can edit out satisfactory footage.

They called out to Jono.

Heading to Changxing Publishing House.

Qiao Nuo sat in the passenger seat, holding a pen and paper, calculating something and muttering to himself.

Zhou Haoran casually asked, "Who do you think you are?"

"Let's calculate the conversion rate!" Qiao Nuo's face lit up with a smile. "Master, we've already sent out all three free lead generation emails for the second batch of customers. Now we just need to see how many paying users we can convert."

Zhou Haoran was somewhat surprised, "So fast?"

Qiao Nuo said cheerfully, "Someone is helping me now, so I don't have to do it all by myself."

"So, do you understand now?"

"Based on the previous paid conversion rate, we should have a high probability of getting 1085 customers to pay this time. If that happens, we can get 600 million in subscription fees."

"Now my secret stash is full of money."

Zhou Haoran didn't seem too excited, and downplayed the situation.

Qiao Nuo asked curiously, "Master, why are you unhappy?"

Zhou Haoran said dismissively, "This is just small change. If I wanted to do it, I would have made hundreds of millions by now."

"boast!"

Qiao Nuo gave a snort.

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "What's there to brag about? In this bull market, if I get involved a little and find some friends to cooperate with, I can make a fortune just by participating in IPOs."

Jono blinked and asked, "Then why don't you do it?"

Without hesitation, Zhou Haoran said, "If you want a bottle of water, you first need a bottle. If you want a basin of water, you first need a basin to hold the water. If you don't even have a container to hold the water, won't it get soaked?"

"what?"

Qiao Nuo frowned slightly, not understanding.

Zhou Haoran said calmly, "A basin of water is fine; at most, it will just wet you. But if it's a lake, you can't hold it all, and it could drown you. If it's an ocean, the whole world will fight you for it."

Qiao Nuo said "Oh" crisply, "Eat only what you can handle. Too much will make you bloated. I know that. I saw on the news that Mu Qizhong was arrested."

Zhou Haoran laughed and said, "A little bit of wealth is fine too. Let's not rush it. Let's see when Sister Yang can get her foreign trade business up and running."

They arrived at Changxing Publishing House.

Li Changxing saw his car from afar and eagerly came to the gate to greet it.

"Mr. Li, is business booming?"

Qiao Nuo became familiar with him and started joking around.

Li Changxing laughed and said, "The business is booming, all thanks to your excellent guidance, Master!"

Zhou Haoran asked, "Has the price increase affected your orders?"

"No, the bookseller circle is only so big, everyone understands. Not a single one of the 17 orders with deposits paid has been lost!"

Li Changxing was riding high.

Zhou Haoran couldn't help but ask, "Old Li, you guys keep talking about the bookseller circle, but what exactly is this circle? Is there any data to support it?"

“Data…” Li Changxing thought for a moment, “There really is some.”

"Oh?"

As an internet professional, Zhou Haoran excels at using data to understand problems.

Li Changxing said, "In our country, all book publishing must be done by state-owned publishing houses. Private booksellers must be affiliated with state-owned publishing houses. There are currently 55 publishing groups nationwide, so data collection is very easy."

"Ah."

"Last year, a total of 10 different kinds of books were published nationwide. This year, the number is expected to increase to around 11."

How much of the area can the seaport occupy?

With the data revealed, Zhou Haoran indeed gained a general understanding of the publishing industry.

This is quite a large scale!

“A port city is a major metropolis, the place with the highest number of publications in the country.” Li Changxing thought for a moment. “I need to ask for the exact number. But it’s definitely over ten thousand.”

"Ten thousand types, that means ten thousand orders?"

Zhou Haoran was quite surprised.

No wonder there are more than two thousand printing factories in the harbor.

Too few won't do!

Wow, that's a huge market!
Li Changxing said, "Many are series of books, with a series containing twenty or thirty different books. Each printing order counts as one order. Overall, I estimate that the total number of book publishing orders in the port area for the whole year is around 5000."

What percentage of publishing is done by private companies?

Zhou Haoran narrowed his eyes.

“Around 10%,” Li Changxing paused for a moment. “That was last year’s percentage; it will definitely increase this year.”

Zhou Haoran analyzed, "In other words, the total number of publishing orders for the entire private sector in the harbor area is only about 500 orders throughout the year."

Li Changxing said, "Yes, this is a legitimate publication. There are also many pirated publications, there are too many to count. Many printing plants with outdated equipment rely on pirated printing to survive."

“There are 500 orders in total, a few hundred million at most. Even including piracy, it’s only a little over a billion, which will be divided among dozens or hundreds of private printing factories.” Zhou Haoran said earnestly, “Old Li, this printing factory business is really not interesting. If you ask me, find a young deputy factory manager to come and learn from you for a while, and then you can hand over the reins! With this kind of energy, you might as well go into the real estate business.”

"Real estate..."

Li Changxing seemed to be conflicted.

Zhou Haoran waved his hand, drawing a large circle around the area. "This entire industrial land will have its land use changed within five years. Either commercial or residential. Low-end industries like publishing houses will all have to move to the suburbs. The banks of the Huangpu River are prime real estate; it would be a waste to use them for printing plants." "You mean this area?"

Li Changxing understood what he meant.

Zhou Haoran said, "This land under our feet will need a new urban development plan within a few years. It will either need to be used to build a large hotel, office buildings, or high-end residences. Instead of transferring it to another real estate developer, why not establish Zhongbo Real Estate and have you as the general manager?"

Previously, Zhongbo Bookstore paid a huge price to take over Changxing Publishing House, a poorly performing asset-heavy business.

They weren't targeting the printing factory.

It's not the land beneath our feet that matters.

Located at the border of Jing'an and Huangpu districts, this place seems quite remote now, but once the harbor development takes off, it will become a prime location where every inch of land is incredibly valuable.

"A deputy factory director is hard to find."

Li Changxing sighed.

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "I've already found one."

"what?"

Li Changxing was taken aback.

Zhou Haoran said, "I'll bring it over in a few days. Don't worry about that for now. First, get past the media."

Li Changxing nodded solemnly, "Yes, when will they arrive?"

"I've already been here."

Zhou Haoran watched the footage from the undercover investigation and was very satisfied with Li Changxing's performance in the secretly filmed scenes.

The investigation team visited six private printing factories, and each one was rife with chaos and disregard for the workers' lives. Only Changxing Printing Factory had strict management and orderly rules, making it a positive example to be publicized.

"They've been here?" Li Changxing's expression changed drastically. "Undercover? Who was it? How come I didn't know them?"

Zhou Haoran chuckled and said, "President Zhao Mingjian, didn't you have a good talk with him?"

"It's him?"

Li Changxing almost vomited blood; he had actually fallen for such a huge scam!

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "This is a good thing. I estimate the footage from the undercover investigation will be broadcast this week. Our printing factory will be promoted as a positive example for private printing factories, alongside state-owned printing factories. There will also be reporters coming to interview you later."

"Again?"

"Yes, this time it's not an undercover investigation, it's a positive report."

"Then I'll get ready."

"No need, this will do." Zhou Haoran took out two sheets of paper from his pocket and handed them over. "Memorize this, and when the reporters arrive, just read the prepared statement."

Li Changxing took it and found that it contained questions and answers. "This is..."

Zhou Haoran said, "The reporter who will be coming over in a little while is Yan Hong. He's an investigative reporter from 'People's Livelihood Investigation.' He'll ask you these ten questions when he gets here, and then he'll follow you to film some scenes at the printing plant. Don't be nervous. If you don't film well, just film a few more takes. You can also adjust your shots whenever you need to."

Li Changxing tentatively asked, "Is everything taken care of?"

Zhou Haoran smiled and said, "Yes, he's one of my men."

……

Full of confidence, Mai Liangping sensed something was wrong.

He heard the news.

Changxing Publishing House, after being criticized by the Market Supervision Bureau, has made rectifications and significantly increased its prices. They even risked breach of contract by modifying orders for which deposits had already been paid.

The other party raised the price.

Both sides are back to square one.

Logically, orders should be pouring into the Sancai Printing Factory like snowflakes.

But what about the orders?

Even Mr. Zhao Mingjian, whom I had a very pleasant chat with that day, disappeared after coming once.

Weird!
After thinking for a long time, Mai Liangping dialed Mr. Qi, one of his old clients.

"Mr. Qi, this is Liangping... Um, hehe, I wanted to ask, didn't you say before that you were going to publish a complete set of Gu Long's works? Right now, there's a wuxia craze, so this set of books is perfect. When are you going to print it?... What? You've partnered with someone else?"

"Who is it? Mr. Qi, we've worked together before, you know my situation. Looking at the entire port, which publishing house can compare to mine?... Changxing? Didn't they make some changes there? Didn't they raise prices?"

"President Qi, President Qi, you have to tell me the truth, what exactly happened?"

Mai Liangping was deeply shaken.

He was no longer as smug as he had been a few days ago, and realized that there must be something else behind this.

"Oh, Mr. Mai, Li Changxing and I already made an agreement. We businessmen can't go back on our word, can we?"

General Manager Qi smiled and spoke vaguely.

He was a beneficiary of the system, so naturally he was unwilling to speak.

Changxing Publishing House's low prices benefited the entire bookseller community. However, if the truth were revealed to Mai Liangping, he might resort to underhanded tactics, causing printing prices to skyrocket, which would ultimately harm the entire bookseller group.

It can be said that Mai Liangping's actions have offended all the private booksellers in the harbor.

Why can't you order from other stores at a lower price? Why do you insist on ordering from your store at a higher price?

How can this make sense?
"Alright, Mr. Mai, let's work together again in the future. I have a meeting, that's all for now..."

Mr. Qi hung up the phone.

Mai Liangping fell silent, feeling utterly alone, and a great sense of crisis arose within him.

The cash flow has dried up.

If there are no more orders, I won't even be able to pay the bank interest.

(End of this chapter)