A Small Profit on a Large Volume
Shen Qi treated Jennifer to a meal. During the meal, Jennifer received a phone call. She said that the publishing headquarters respected Shen Qi's suggestion and that the price of the second edition of "History of Number Theory" would not exceed $90, with Shen Qi receiving the maximum 30% cut.
In reality, authors have little say in pricing. Once an author transfers their intellectual property rights, the publisher can set the price however they want.
Shen Qi's influence is different from that of ordinary authors; publishers cannot ignore his opinions.
"From another perspective, it's all about small profits and quick turnover. It's a simple math calculation: 150 multiplied by 5,000 is less than 90 multiplied by 20,000. Happy to cooperate." After finishing his working lunch, Shen Qi said goodbye to Jennifer, and nothing else happened.
Shen Qi returned to the academician villa at around 9 p. m., later than usual.
Before having children, Shen Qi would always inform Ou Ye in advance if he had to work overtime or have any activities. Only after his wife approved would Shen Qi carry out his plans.
Even after having a daughter, Shen Qi maintained his excellent habit of reporting to his family in advance if he was going to be late.
Not long ago, Shen Qi went out to dinner with Director Qi of the Technology Transfer Center, forgetting to inform his family leader.
When Shen Qi returned home, Ou Ye didn't say anything, only asking where he had been.
After becoming a mother, Ou Ye devoted most of her spare time to her daughter. As for her husband, he was a very busy man, so she let him do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn't mess around outside.
From then on, Shen Qi stopped reporting to the authorities and managed himself quite well.
"Where did you go?" Ou Ye asked Shen Qi while teasing her daughter.
"Having dinner with people from the publishing house," Shen Qi said.
"Oh," Ou Ye responded, and didn't ask any more questions.
Just then, Shen Qi's phone rang; it was his father calling.
Old Shen told a story that happened to someone he knew over the phone.
Next to Old Shen's factory is a company that manufactures and sells metal parts; the owner's surname is Qian.
Ten years ago, Mr. Qian rented a factory in the Nangang Development Zone, bought equipment, recruited technicians and workers, and started production.
Mr. Qian's business was doing well; he made a profit after a year of operation.
Then Mr. Qian bought new equipment and hired more technicians, marketing personnel, and workers.
To expand capacity, Mr. Qian also borrowed money from the bank and made monthly mortgage payments.
After working tirelessly in the manufacturing industry for ten years, Mr. Qian discovered a strange cycle: he made a lot of money, and the factory was profitable every year, but apart from buying a large house, getting the latest Mercedes-Benz, and solving the livelihood problem for his entire family, all the other money was spent on buying equipment, paying wages, rent, and repaying bank loans.
Despite being such a big boss, Mr. Qian lives the same life as an ordinary white-collar worker. He owns a car and a house, owes money to the bank, and his family seems to be well-off. However, Mr. Qian is actually under a lot of pressure to survive.
Not long ago, the Nangang Development Zone government issued an official notice to all factories within the zone. "The land in this area has been sold to a real estate developer for the construction of commercial and residential buildings. All property owners are requested to prepare for the relocation of their factories and to discuss the land transfer with us."
Mr. Qian was dumbfounded. The land where his factory was located was rented, and the price of the land had been rising year after year for the past ten years. Especially after the introduction of the free trade zone policy, the price of the land had reached an unbelievable figure.
The landowner made a fortune. For the past ten years, he did nothing but buy a piece of land, build an empty factory, rent it to Boss Qian, collect rent for ten years, and then sell the land, instantly becoming a billionaire.
All that was left for Mr. Qian was a pile of equipment, and once the equipment was started, its value began to depreciate.
Mr. Qian sold the equipment, paid off the bank loan, paid his employees' last month's wages, and told them to find their own way out.
Mr. Qian returned to his life state ten years ago, empty-handed, but fortunately his family was healthy and everything was peaceful.
After recounting this true story that happened to someone he knew, Old Shen said with great emotion on the phone, "My experience is almost exactly the same as Old Qian's, the only difference is that the land on which my factory is located belongs to me."
"No business is as good as real estate," Shen Qi said with a laugh, but his feelings were complicated. As a scientist proficient in economic mathematical models, Shen Qi felt that this industrial structure was unreasonable. Mr. Qian had worked hard in manufacturing for ten years, only to end up empty-handed. Was that fair?
"My land is quite large. More than ten years ago, land prices were very cheap. The government begged us to buy land, build factories, start production, and boost GDP. The land was basically sold for half price and given away for free. I never expected that the price of this land would rise to an astronomical figure now," Old Shen said.
Shen Qi asked, "How much can it be sold for?"
Old Shen: "Several hundred million."
"Wow, that's a lot! Including other assets, Boss Shen's net worth has increased to over a billion overnight. Have you found a new factory site yet? Where do you plan to relocate the new factory?"
"What's the point of relocating?! I've seen through it all; there's no future in this industry. Here's all of these billions; squander it however you like."
"Really?" Regarding the book publishing, even if it means losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, Shen Qi's composure is genuine. He's a second-generation heir to a property demolition project, with assets worth over a billion yuan; he doesn't need to pretend.
Would your own father lie to you?
Old Shen said that his net worth of over a billion was just an estimate, not actual cash.
The proceeds from the sale of the land were originally intended to build a new factory, move the equipment to the new factory, and resume production.
But Old Shen changed his mind. He didn't want to be a plastic parts manufacturer anymore. He planned to sell the equipment, make proper arrangements for the employees, and hand over all the remaining assets to Shen Qi Shen Qi, who could do whatever he wanted with them.
The asset settlement will take time, and Old Shen is unsure how much money will ultimately be left, but it shouldn't be a small amount.
"Young Boss Shen, you're finally going to inherit the family fortune," Ou Ye said with a smile. Shen Qi was making a phone call right next to her, and she had learned about the matter.
"My dad is a small private business owner, but your Mom is the real big boss." Shen Qi's dad was just a small-time hustler. If it weren't for Old Shen buying a piece of land more than ten years ago, who knows what would happen to him now.
The Shen Family has some money, but the Ou family has even more.
As the only son and daughter in their family, Shen Qi and his wife didn't need to worry about money.
When people don't have to worry about money, they'll do what they love.
Shen Qi is spending more and more time exercising every day, including a five-kilometer cross-country run with weights, which is aerobic training.
Sprinting and climbing stairs quickly are examples of anaerobic training.
Dumbbells and barbells—this is strength training.
Archery and darts are for accuracy training.
Why so much training? Because Shen Qi needs to build up his physical strength and improve his proficiency in various skills. He's going to hunt in the wild and conduct scientific research.
As a scientist, Shen Qi felt regretful that he had never participated in a scientific expedition.