Nowadays, cassette tapes have basically faded out of the historical stage, and CDs have become the mainstream carrier in the album market.
After all, the once-popular Walkman has long become inconvenient. CDs are compatible with both home stereos and in-car playback systems, with obviously a wider range of application scenarios. Moreover, the sound quality of CDs is much better than that of cassette tapes, and the production cost is also lower.
Now, the production of cassette tapes is mostly for the sake of nostalgia, just to be treated as a souvenir.
When Xue Qian learned that Liu Yutong had directly finalized an order for 200,000 albums, he was completely stunned. He originally thought that printing 20,000 copies for the first batch to test the waters would be enough, and then increase the order if they sold well. As a result, Liu Yutong placed an order for 200,000 albums at once, including 10,000 cassette tapes.
Among them, the Ten Thousand Dragons Association kept 100,000 album CDs and 10,000 cassette tapes for themselves. He and the Ten Thousand Dragons Association shared the cost of the remaining 100,000 albums equally.
The cost of one album, including the packaging, was about ten yuan. So, 100,000 albums would cost one million yuan, and he had to pay 500,000 yuan.
He hadn't even made any money yet, but he had to fork out 500,000 yuan. Even though Xue Qian was quite confident in his album, he was still a bit panicked. He really didn't have any money left.
To make matters worse, the online public opinion was fermenting.
The online public opinion was extremely unfavorable to him. Ding Yingyao, this junior, relying on having more popularity than him, not only sarcastically mocked him as a has-been singer on social platforms, but also dug out some of his past scandals and hyped them up.
Such as "being temperamental", "plagiarism", "being a womanizer" and so on.
In fact, many of these past scandals were deliberately fabricated to target him. They were completely baseless and basically related to his previous record company's decision to shelve his career. But anyway, the current situation was very unfavorable for the release of his new album.
It even affected the promotion of the album.
Wang Lixing, his manager, had visited many stores. Many owners of audio and video stores refused to even give the album a try.
"Xue Qian? Never heard of him."
"Ugly guy? You're the ugly guy. Can't even come up with a good name."
"Besides those superstars, who would buy a new artist's CD these days? Isn't it more cost - effective to download a song for just a dime if you want to listen to it?"
"Is Xue Qian that singer who signed a contract with the Ten Thousand Dragons Supermarket? Damn, then there's even less reason to take his album."
"........."
Wang Lixing, who had just lost his job and then followed Xue Qian to start a business, was on the verge of a breakdown. He even couldn't help but want to scold Liu Yutong. Of course, he could only think about it and didn't dare to actually do it.
With the support of the Ten Thousand Dragons Association, Xue Qian established his own personal studio, and Wang Lixing also gritted his teeth and invested all his savings.
There was no other way. If he didn't join, he might really have to change his career in the future.
So, now that the albums couldn't be sold, he was also extremely anxious because he had really invested all his hard - earned money.
"I really don't understand what Miss Liu was thinking. She didn't even take a look at the market trend and dared to place such a large order at once. And those 100,000 albums she left. Could it be that she really wants you, Qianqian, to autograph all of them?"
Xue Qian sighed and said, "Maybe Miss Liu is just too confident. Over the years, it seems that no one has ever sold 100,000 albums at a signing event."
"Even if I wanted to autograph 100,000 albums, it's not very possible."
Wang Lixing suggested, "How about... we talk to Miss Liu? Having so many albums sitting on our hands will cause problems with our capital turnover, and we'll even have trouble with the subsequent promotion."
Xue Qian shook his head. "What's the use of looking for her now? The album is already made, and the money has been invested. Since the Wanlong Association kept 100,000 copies for themselves, they must have their own plans. If we go to ask them rashly, it'll only make us seem impatient."
Wang Lixing ran his fingers through his hair restlessly and complained, "Then what do you suggest? That Ding Yingyao kid is spreading rumors and smearing you all over the Internet. He even hired a bunch of trolls to attack you. Now, even the owners of record stores are reluctant to stock our albums. If this goes on, we won't even be able to get our capital back."
Xue Qian was silent for a while and then suddenly looked up. "Actually... I have an idea."
"What idea?" Wang Lixing's eyes instantly lit up when he heard that.
Xue Qian said, "We can offer some exclusive merchandise, like hand - written letters and commemorative cards. Wouldn't that show our sincerity?"
"???"
Wang Lixing said, "Is that a good idea? Let's not even talk about whether it'll work. Aren't you afraid of getting tired out from all the writing?"
He didn't want to dampen Xue Qian's spirits either. "But we can give it a try. Anyway, you won't have to sign many albums. It's like treating a dying horse as if it were alive."
Little did Xue Qian know that this suggestion of his would land him in big trouble.
Originally, he only had to sign his name, but now, with the addition of commemorative cards, his workload skyrocketed.
...
At a certain club, Yu Tianxiang was sitting in a private room and dialing a phone number.
On the other end of the line was Deng Liang, an important figure in their smuggling chain and the administrator of the logistics park.
Speaking of Deng Liang, he was the brother - in - law of Sun Bo, who was once caught with his hand in the cookie jar by Liu Yutong.
Yes, the core smuggling channel for Yu Tianxiang and his group was in the logistics park.
The logistics park was huge. There were a large number of goods coming in and going out every day, and it was close to the waterway, with extremely convenient transportation. There was no more suitable place in Bright Pearl City for smuggling goods.
Of course, although the logistics park was suitable for moving goods, the comings and goings of people were complex, and it was inevitable that there would be times when things slipped up. So, Deng Liang, the administrator of the logistics park, became a key figure they had to bribe.
Deng Liang was easy to bribe. As long as they gave him some benefits, they could get him on board. Moreover, he was a well - known hooligan in the area and had some influence in the logistics park. Most people would give him face, and no one dared to report him.
However, Deng Liang had a bad habit, which was being overly greedy.
Relying on the knowledge he had, he would often make excessive demands for a raise.
If you didn't agree, he would deliberately hold up your goods and even secretly arrange some people to pretend to conduct inspections in the logistics park. It was clearly a threat.
Yu Tianxiang had long been annoyed with Deng Liang because of these things and had always wanted to teach him a lesson.
In the past, Yu Tianxiang had endured it for the sake of money.
But now the situation was different. The eldest sister - in - law had given the order to send someone who could be arrested to jail, and Deng Liang was the perfect target.
The purpose of Yu Tianxiang's phone call this time was to tell Deng Liang that Yu Mo had recently been investigating their smuggling line and to ask Deng Liang to teach him a good lesson.
"Brother Deng, our Young Master Yu has suddenly started checking the company's accounts. It seems that he's dug into the logistics park line. We can only count on you to handle this."
"Boss Yu, rest assured. In the logistics park, no one can touch our goods."
"Then I'll trouble Brother Deng to teach that kid a lesson. After it's done, I'll give you an extra 10% of the online profits."
"An extra 10%? Boss Yu is really generous! As long as that kid dares to come to the logistics park, I guarantee he'll leave on a stretcher."
“........”
After hanging up the phone, Yu Tianxiang curled his lips into a cold smile.
He could already imagine the scene where Deng Liang, unable to reach an agreement with Yu Mo on the issue of sharing the spoils, kidnapped Yu Mo in a fit of anger and beat him up.
Then he called his sister - in - law and told her that everything was going smoothly. All she had to do was prepare the evidence for framing.
What Yu Tianxiang didn't know was that his plan was leaked before it could even be officially implemented.
After learning that Deng Liang had been instructed by Yu Tianxiang to attack Yu Mo.
Yu Xin picked up her phone and dialed Yu Mo's number: "If you want to gain control of the group, the first step is to deal with your uncle, Yu Tianxiang. Well, I'll give you a great gift for him."
