Demanding Money

As the days went by, two or three days after most buyers received their orders, some of them gradually began confirming receipt.

This time, Ning Yifan didn't wait for every buyer to confirm receipt and all the money to arrive before buying more projector components. Instead, every time he received 500,000 yuan, he ordered another batch of parts so he could produce and sell the Phantom Projectors faster.

Whenever he had time, Ning Yifan also searched online for factories in nearby cities that were available for rent or purchase, preparing to rent or buy one.

The three-bedroom apartment was getting far too cramped. If he brought in any more equipment and components, soon he wouldn't even have room for his bed.

Production and sales of the Phantom Projector continued in an orderly fashion. On the fifth day after the second batch went on sale, the third batch was listed. Although there were around three hundred units, they all sold out in just one day.

Among the buyers in this latest batch was Zhou Yuánlěi, who had been keeping an eye on the Phantom Projector. He managed to buy one.

After putting it through a series of tests, Zhou Yuánlěi couldn't help marveling at how powerful the virtual projector was. As a Bilibili tech reviewer with a million followers who had tested countless digital products, he had a keen eye. This product had all the makings of a hit!

Although the Phantom Projector had gained a little notoriety online, its high price still gave many people pause. Spending five thousand yuan on a projector that could be used as a monitor wasn't part of most people's spending habits.

Or rather, projectors weren't mainstream products, so consumers tended to be skeptical of them.

But if a big UP creator spoke up, things would be much simpler. As a Bilibili creator with a million followers, Zhou Yuánlěi believed he could promote the Phantom Projector and get more people to see it and trust it.

All the owner of Shenma Technology Company had to do was pay him a promotional fee. It wouldn't even be that much. Asking for two hundred thousand yuan wasn't unreasonable, was it?

Zhou Yuánlěi had taken apart the Phantom Projector and roughly estimated the cost of its components. Each unit probably cost only two or three thousand yuan to make.

The Phantom Projector had sold nearly a thousand units so far. With a profit of two thousand yuan per unit, a thousand units meant around two million yuan in profit. If they gave Zhou Yuánlěi one-tenth of that, they could get more exposure and more orders. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win deal. Nothing wrong with that!

Once he'd made up his mind, Zhou Yuánlěi opened JD.com, found Shenma Technology Company's official flagship store, and opened the customer service chat.

He ignored the long string of automated replies about the product warranty, the estimated sale date for the next batch, and other such details. Selecting human support, he sent a message.

"Is the boss there? I'm a tech creator on Bilibili with a million followers, from Boiling Digital Reviews. I'd like to discuss a business deal with the boss!"

Ning Yifan replied right away: "A business deal? Are you looking to buy a Phantom Projector? Sorry, but we're temporarily out of stock."

"I'm not looking to buy one. I've already bought one from your store.

"The Phantom Projector is a great product. Here's the thing: I'd like to talk to your boss about promoting it. I've noticed a lot of people online aren't sure whether they can trust it. After all, it costs around five thousand yuan, which is still a little expensive for many people looking to buy a monitor. Most of them have a budget of around a thousand yuan.

"Although the Phantom Projector is much better than a monitor that costs a thousand yuan, it also has a clear edge over projectors and TVs in the same price range.

"But you're a small brand, and a newly established company. It's only natural that people would have doubts. Even if your sales are booming now, you might not get any orders later.

"If I helped promote it, things would go much better. I have over a million followers and I'm well known in the tech community. If I promoted your product, you'd get lots of orders and much more attention.

"My reputation could make up for the fact that your small company doesn't have many people's trust. I could even endorse your products and work with you on a deeper level.

"All it would take is an annual promotional fee of five hundred thousand yuan!

"I've taken your product apart, too. It only costs two or three thousand yuan to make, so five hundred thousand is just the profit from two or three hundred virtual projectors.

"But with my help, your factory could sell two or three thousand units a month. Your annual revenue would surely reach tens of millions, or even a hundred million!"

Zhou Yuánlěi suddenly felt that his initial offer had been far too modest. Once he did the math, he was sure he was worth five hundred thousand yuan!

Meanwhile, Ning Yifan sat in front of his computer, utterly bewildered. A customer had suddenly approached him, offering to endorse and promote his product—for an annual fee of five hundred thousand yuan.

If this had happened before, when the product had just been made and hadn't been promoted yet, Ning Yifan might have considered it.

But the product was already gaining traction. Having a big UP creator promote it would only be the icing on the cake.

The main problem now was that production couldn't keep up with demand. Every time the product went on sale, it sold out immediately. At least for the time being, Ning Yifan didn't need some big UP creator to promote or endorse it.

And in the long run, once he had money, Ning Yifan could make more high-tech products. Those would be the real breakthroughs, the kind of things people simply couldn't resist owning. They wouldn't need much promotion at all.

Instead of spending five hundred thousand yuan on an endorsement, he might as well use it to buy another batch of Phantom Projector components.

So, in response to the UP creator's unsolicited offer, Ning Yifan politely replied:

"Sorry, our company has no plans to promote the product for now. We can barely keep up with demand as it is."

Zhou Yuánlěi replied right away: "This isn't for you, the customer service rep, to decide. Your company's boss should be the one to decide. Please pass this on to him. I'm sure he'll understand what I'm worth!"

Ning Yifan patiently replied again: "I'm the owner of Shenma Technology Company, and I also handle product promotion. We're very glad you like our product, but we really don't need any promotion right now."

After quite a while, Zhou Yuánlěi finally replied: "Are you sure you really don't need it?" He had just been planning what to do with the promotional fee, and now he could hardly believe it.

Ning Yifan replied quickly: "I'm sure. We don't need any product promotion for the time being!"

Zhou Yuánlěi still pressed on: "It's only five hundred thousand yuan. That's not much for you, is it? Think carefully. I have a lot of followers online."

"We really don't need it."

Looking at the message on his phone, Zhou Yuánlěi's expression darkened. "Fine. It looks like you still don't get it. I can help promote your product, but I can also make things difficult for you.

"If a video creator with over a million followers reviews your product and finds it isn't as good as the internet claims, and says all those posts praising the Phantom Projector are just your company's marketing ploy to sell your product and fleece customers, what do you think would happen?"

"That's a threat! Heh, say whatever you want. Goodbye!" On the other end of the chat, Ning Yifan couldn't be bothered to deal with him.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuánlěi was absolutely furious. Ever since he'd become famous over the past two years, whenever well-known digital product manufacturers had a new product, they sent it to him. Paying him a little on the side was perfectly normal, all so he'd say a few good things about them in his reviews.

He hadn't even bothered with a little company like Shenma Technology Company before. Now he'd gone out of his way to offer to promote them, and they wouldn't even give him the time of day!

Turning off his phone, Zhou Yuánlěi said through clenched teeth, "Just wait. If you won't pay me that five hundred thousand, you'd better be ready to lose five million—or even more!"