Want Money

Days passed, and most buyers had received their goods. Two or three days later, some began confirming receipt one after another.

This time, Ning Yifan didn't wait for all buyers to confirm receipt and for all funds to arrive before purchasing new projector components. Instead, every time fifty thousand yuan came in, he ordered a batch of parts. This way, he could produce and sell the Phantom Projectors faster.

At the same time, whenever he had a moment, Ning Yifan searched online for factories for rent or sale in nearby cities, preparing for the next step of leasing or purchasing a facility.

The three-bedroom, one-living-room rental was simply too cramped. With more components piling up, Ning Yifan was about to lose even his bed to sleep on.

Production and sales of the Phantom Projector proceeded smoothly. Five days after the second batch sold out, the third batch went on sale. Though there were over three hundred units, they still sold out in just one day.

Among this latest batch of buyers, Zhou Yuanlei, who had been keeping an eye on the Phantom Projector, managed to snag one.

After a round of testing, Zhou Yuanlei couldn't help but marvel at the projector's power. As a million-follower content creator who had reviewed countless digital products, Zhou Yuanlei had a sharp eye. This product had the potential to become a hit!

Although the Phantom Projector had gained some small fame online, its high price still gave many pause. Spending five thousand yuan on a projector that could double as a monitor wasn't in most people's spending habits.

Or rather, projectors weren't mainstream products, leaving consumers skeptical.

But if a major content creator stepped up to vouch for it, things would become much simpler. As a million-follower creator, Zhou Yuanlei believed he had the power to promote the Phantom Projector, letting more people see and trust it.

All it would take was for the boss of Shenma Technology Company to pay a promotion fee. Not too much—asking for two hundred thousand wasn't excessive, right?

Zhou Yuanlei had disassembled the Phantom Projector and roughly estimated its internal component costs at about two to three thousand yuan per unit.

By now, nearly a thousand units had been sold. With a profit of two thousand per unit, that was around two million in profit. Giving Zhou Yuanlei a tenth of that would bring more exposure and more orders. In his view, it was a win-win deal, no problem!

Thinking it, he acted. Zhou Yuanlei opened JD.com, found Shenma Technology Company's official flagship store, and went to the customer service window.

Ignoring the long string of automated replies about product warranty policies and next-batch sales times—robotic responses—he selected manual service and sent a message.

"Boss around? I'm a million-follower digital content creator on Bilibili, Boiling Digital Reviews. I want to talk business!"

Ning Yifan's reply came quickly: "Business? Want to buy a Phantom Projector? Sorry, but we're out of stock right now."

"Not buying a Phantom Projector. I already bought one from your store. The product's really good. Here's the thing—I want to discuss promoting the Phantom Projector with your boss. I see a lot of people online aren't confident about it, since it costs about five thousand yuan. For many wanting a monitor, that's a bit high; their budgets are usually around one to two thousand.

Sure, the Phantom Projector beats thousand-yuan monitors in every way, and it has absolute advantages over projectors and TVs in the same price range.

But a small brand, a new company—it's hard for people to trust. You might be selling hot now, but orders could dry up later.

If I help promote it, things would improve a lot. I have over a million followers and a solid reputation in the digital space. If I vouch for it, you'll get tons of orders and attention.

With my credibility backing you, it can make up for the trust issue with a small company. I could even endorse your product for deep cooperation.

Just fifty thousand a year for promotion!

I've taken your product apart too. Costs are around two to three thousand per unit. Fifty thousand is just the profit from two to three hundred Phantom Projectors.

But with my help, you could sell two to three thousand units a month. Annual revenue would hit tens of millions, even hundreds of millions!"

Zhou Yuanlei suddenly felt his earlier estimate was too conservative. After crunching the numbers, he believed he was absolutely worth fifty thousand!

On the other end, Ning Yifan sat at his computer, a bit stunned. A customer had suddenly shown up, offering to endorse and promote his product for fifty thousand a year.

If this had been before the product launched, when there was no promotion, Ning Yifan might have considered it.

But now that sales were picking up, having a major content creator promote it would just be icing on the cake.

The main issue now was that production couldn't keep up with demand. Every batch sold out the moment it went live. At least in the short term, Ning Yifan didn't need some big creator's promotion.

And over time, with money in hand, Ning Yifan could create more black-tech products—real game-changers that people couldn't resist owning. Those wouldn't need much promotion.

Spending fifty thousand on a promoter was better used to buy more Phantom Projector components.

So, to this content creator's self-recommendation, Ning Yifan replied politely.

"Sorry, our company has no promotion plans right now. The product is already in short supply."

Zhou Yuanlei's reply came quickly: "Whether this is needed or not isn't up to you, a customer service rep. It's up to your boss. Please pass it on. I'm sure he'll understand my value!"

Ning Yifan patiently replied again: "I am the boss of Shenma Technology Company, and I also serve as the product promotion manager. We're very happy you recognize our product, but right now, we really don't need it."

After a long pause, Zhou Yuanlei's reply came: "Are you sure you don't need it?" He couldn't believe it—he'd already been planning how to spend that promotion fee.

Ning Yifan's reply was quick: "Confirmed. No need for product promotion right now."

Zhou Yuanlei still pressed on: "Just fifty thousand. That's not much for you, is it? Think it over. I have a huge following online."

"Really, we don't need it."

Staring at the reply on his phone, Zhou Yuanlei's face darkened: "Fine. Seems you don't get it. I can promote you, but I can also cause you some trouble.

A content creator with over a million followers reviews your product and finds it's not as good as the online hype. Those posts praising the Phantom Projector are just your company's marketing tactics to cash in and fleece customers. What do you think would happen if I said that?"

"Is that a threat? Hah, say whatever you want. Goodbye!" On the other end of the chat, Ning Yifan couldn't be bothered to engage.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuanlei was fuming. Since rising to fame two years ago, well-known digital product companies always sent him their new products with some perks—standard practice to get favorable reviews.

For a small company like Shenma Technology, he'd usually ignore them. Now he was going out of his way to offer promotion, and they were brushing him off!

Tossing his phone aside, Zhou Yuanlei growled: "Just wait. Since you won't pay fifty thousand, get ready to lose five hundred thousand—or even more!"