Qingyuan Dogs Are Worth Their Weight in Gold (Please Bookmark)

A story had recently been making the rounds among Qingyuan City's elite: Li Tianlang, the youngest son of Sky Star Company's chairman, had acquired a dog that had swept through the city's underground dogfighting clubs.

The gambling winnings were beside the point. What mattered was the attention he had drawn.

These idle rich kids all had their hobbies, and plenty of them were fond of raising dogs.

They did not raise dogs for their looks, though. They raised them to fight.

The fiercer and stronger a man's dog was, the more it showed off his status.

In some major cities, champion dogs that had survived countless fights had even been driven up to prices of several million, sometimes over ten million.

Qingyuan City was only a second-tier city, so things had not gone quite that far, but dogs still occasionally sold for two or three million.

Rumor had it that Li Tianlang had paid less than two million for his dog. In just two days, he had already won back more than that.

That was the beauty of hiding one's strength. Who would expect a mongrel to win? Naturally, Li Tianlang had made a killing.

Qingyuan City's rich young men flocked to the dog's seller, hoping to get one like it.

This remarkable dog looked exactly like a Chinese Rural Dog, but its intelligence put a Border Collie to shame. Whenever it fought another dog, it relied not on brute force but on its wits.

It was practically a mage among fighting dogs.

For a time, the price of mongrels in Qingyuan City rose by thirty percent. Opportunists tried passing off ordinary mongrels as dogs of the same caliber, but their dogs could not compare with Big Yellow's intelligence. Even a fool could tell the difference.

Although Shen Bing was not in Qingyuan City, he could imagine what was happening there.

Once, Luoyang Paper Is Expensive. Now, Qingyuan dogs were worth their weight in gold.

But Shen Bing did not get carried away.

Ultimately, remarkable dogs like Big Yellow were luxury goods. While people clamored for them, their prices could soar to dozens or even hundreds of times their actual value.

But once they became commonplace, they would be no different from ordinary mongrels.

So although Shen Bing knew he could make money more easily with the Intelligence Potion, that was only good for a side venture. To make serious money, he needed technology products.

Shen Bing was waiting outside Fengze Residential Community. Though the afternoon sun was scorching, his expression remained calm.

He was waiting for the General Manager of Phantom Immortal Technology.

That morning, Shen Bing had met and interviewed four professional managers referred by a headhunting firm.

In the end, he had chosen one to serve as General Manager of Phantom Immortal Technology and, for the time being, manager of the Illusion Immortal Glass Factory.

After all, Phantom Immortal Technology was currently just a shell. Its only asset was the Illusion Immortal Glass Factory, so the General Manager's work would be the factory's work.

Shen Bing's selection method was simple. He met each candidate somewhere convenient, chatted briefly, then set off for the Illusion Immortal Glass Factory.

Two of the four candidates left before they got there. One even said bluntly that Phantom Immortal Technology was not a good fit for his career.

What nonsense. The recruitment notice had included a company profile; he should have figured out whether it suited him beforehand.

But the surroundings had grown more desolate as they traveled, and Shen Bing had taken them there in a taxi. Their hearts had sunk.

Those two had written off Phantom Immortal Technology on the spot.

Of the two remaining candidates, one made it as far as the factory gates. But after seeing the little workshop, he turned around and left without another word.

Only one followed Shen Bing into the factory, his expression calm throughout.

When he saw the sole finished product and the steady stream of raw glass sheets coming off the line, he immediately decided to stay.

Shen Bing was equally pleased with Wang Sheng's decision. Their conversation on the way had shown that Wang Sheng understood the state of the glass industry, but more important was his attitude.

Within minutes, a car pulled up beside Shen Bing, and a man in his thirties stepped out.

Dressed in a suit, he had the bearing of a successful professional.

It was Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng's résumé was impressive. He had worked at a Fortune Global 500 company. Though he had only been a department supervisor, that experience was valuable for a company the size Shen Bing had described in the profile.

"Sorry for the wait, boss." Wang Sheng showed no hint of looking down on Shen Bing for his youth. After seeing the glass product at the Illusion Immortal Glass Factory that morning, he knew Phantom Immortal Technology had enormous potential, and Shen Bing might well become a rising star in the business world.

Shen Bing smiled. "I just got here myself."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they got into the car.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Shen Bing asked, "You said on the phone that you wanted to visit the factory again. What for?"

"Well, boss, I spent lunch working out a detailed plan for the company's development. I haven't put it in writing yet, but I wanted to run it by you first. As for the Glass Factory, I thought I'd pick up a sample or two while we were there, then take them to the quality inspection bureau for a test report. We'll need one before we can sell the glass on a large scale."

"Let's hear your plan," Shen Bing said.

"Of course, boss. I did some preliminary research based on our product. The product itself is unique in the market, so competitiveness isn't a concern. The next question is where to use it. Glass is used in all kinds of industries today, including construction, aviation, home appliances, automobiles, furnishings, and offices. We need to choose the right point of entry if we want the company to grow."

Shen Bing nodded. Wang Sheng had gotten to the heart of the matter.

Shen Bing's confidence in selling the product had been based on its quality and performance. That did not mean he had settled on a market for it.

Wang Sheng continued, "In the glass industry, the highest profits are in precision instruments—camera lenses for military satellites, lithography machine objectives, and the like. But a few major players control those markets, and we're not in a position to break in yet. Based on my research and our product's properties, I think construction is the best market for us right now."

"Construction?" Shen Bing was taken aback. He had actually wanted to enter the LCD industry. The sample he had made yesterday was meant to demonstrate his glass's unique advantages in imaging.

Although the raw glass sheets produced by his little workshop were not yet thin enough for LCD Substrate, Shen Bing was confident he could make suitable products once he bought new equipment.

Wang Sheng understood his surprise. Shen Bing had briefly mentioned LCD Substrate during their conversation the day before.

"Exactly," Wang Sheng explained. "I know our glass would be ideal for LCD Substrate if we could refine it further. But a handful of large companies control LCD panel manufacturing, and they're the only ones that need glass substrates. Those companies already have established suppliers. It would be hard for us to get a foot in the door."

"How do you plan to approach the construction market, Manager Wang?" Shen Bing asked.

Wang Sheng answered with confidence. "It's simple. From what I know, the Nancy Building under construction in Rongcheng is intended to become the city's new landmark. Recent reports say its exterior will use a glass curtain wall. If we land that project, we'll establish ourselves in the glass curtain wall industry. And with the Nancy Building advertising our work for us, we won't even need to pay for ads."

"All right, Manager Wang. I'll leave it to you."

Wang Sheng's face fell. "Boss, you're not expecting me to do all that single-handedly, are you? Phantom Immortal Technology has a bright future. Showing up with no team would look bad."

"That's easy enough," Shen Bing said. "First, put together the company's basic structure—human resources, finance, sales, and whatever else we need. We don't need many people yet, just enough to keep things running."

"Uh..." Wang Sheng paused. He had seen bosses who delegated everything, but never one who took it this far.

He had worried that his authority as General Manager might be restricted, and had even raised the issue indirectly during his interview.

Now it seemed he had worried about the wrong thing. What he should have worried about was whether he would be worked to death.