Chapter 1 On January 9th, Sunday

A somewhat peculiar phone booth stood on the top floor of the Global World commercial plaza.

This floor was mainly occupied by cinemas, along with some claw crane machines, bubble tea shops, and the like.

The slightly strange phone booth was positioned near the wall along the path leading to the cinema, easily visible after ascending the escalator.

The phone booth was enclosed by transparent glass on all sides, providing good sound insulation. A ventilation opening at the top ensured that staying inside for an hour or two wouldn't feel stuffy.

On the exterior-facing side of the phone booth, the metal frame around the glass was wider than the other sides, creating a deliberate blank space.

This was the area Zhang Wang envisioned for artists to showcase their work.

The two side panels presented different styles. The left side had a relatively technological feel, with an electronic display visible through the glass, featuring an advertisement for "Shared Phone Booth Advertising Space Leasing."

The right side, however, was intentionally decorated in a classic phone booth style, with a vintage telephone visible inside.

Additionally, various items could be seen on the desk inside through the glass, such as a water dispenser, wifi router, multi-port charger, and a bookshelf.

Due to incomplete preparations, planned additions like a jukebox and beverage machine hadn't been installed yet.

Soon, a crowd gathered.

"What's this?"

"It wasn't here last time."

"Doesn't the sign say? Shared Phone Booth Advertising Space Leasing."

"Pfft, what's that? A shared phone booth?"

"Hahaha, this is hilarious! Such a ridiculous project, we have to take a picture for posterity!"

Soon, many people visiting Global World Plaza were taking pictures outside the phone booth, posting them on social media to complain about it.

Many also tried to figure out what the phone booth was actually for.

This was the first, and so far only, shared phone booth in Jingzhou. It was the first "prototype" that Zhang Wang had rushed to complete in his old workshop over the past few days.

The first batch of products ordered from the manufacturer hadn't been delivered yet. To see the effect of the shared phone booth as soon as possible, Zhang Wang decided to move his "prototype" here to test the waters.

He hired a moving company for the transport, and installation was quite convenient, taking just over an hour.

As one of the core commercial districts in Jingzhou, Global World Plaza was sure to have plenty of foot traffic. This was a test to see if people could accept this novel concept.

Soon, a couple took out their phones to scan the QR code on the door of the phone booth.

"Damn, that's expensive?" The guy was a little stunned.

After scanning, a rather rudimentary page appeared, obviously a rush job, displaying the pricing for the shared phone booth:

All amenities inside the phone booth were bundled together, charged in 15-minute increments at 10 yuan per 15 minutes.

That was the price of an hour at Mo Yu Internet Cafe.

Users could quickly log in with their social media accounts or phone numbers, but usage required payment first, as the shared phone booth didn't require a deposit.

After payment, the phone booth door would automatically open. Once the user entered and closed the door, the charging ports, wifi, and other amenities would be powered on and available, and the timer would start.

When the time was up, if the customer didn't extend their time, the equipment inside the phone booth would automatically shut off and become unusable.

After the customer left the phone booth and closed the door, the door would automatically lock once it detected that no one was inside.

The initial functionality was very basic, barely completing the fundamental functions of a shared phone booth. The usage process wasn't very convenient.

Moreover, there were many loopholes to exploit. For example, some people could just stay inside and drink the free hot water—as long as they weren't embarrassed.

In addition, a large number of features were missing, such as beverage machines, jukeboxes, AEDs, weighing scales, and so on.

The beverage machine was unavailable because it was temporarily impossible to resolve usage issues. If customers were allowed unlimited refills, the business would definitely go bankrupt. But if each user was limited to two free cups, special beverage machines would need to be purchased. So, for now, free hot water was used as a substitute.

The jukebox required collaboration with some karaoke apps, and the equipment needed to be purchased uniformly.

As for the AED, it also needed to be purchased, and it couldn't be delivered in the short term.

However, Zhang Wang believed that this was, after all, a project in development. It could be gradually improved and enhanced in the future.

First, he needed to establish a presence and become familiar to everyone. These various functions could be added later.

The first couple who tried to scan the code hesitated outside the shared phone booth, then left without paying.

The main reason was that they didn't feel the need to go inside, and the price was a bit high.

Compared to this narrow, cramped glass box, they would rather find a cafe or dessert shop, buy two drinks, and sit down to rest.

Many people were taking pictures of the phone booth, but no one was actually scanning the code and paying.

After taking a few photos, many of the onlookers dispersed, some to buy drinks at nearby bubble tea shops, others to enter the cinema.

At this moment, another couple approached the shared phone booth.

The girl's eyes lit up when she saw the phone: "Oh, that phone looks great! Quick, I want to scan the code and go in. Take some pictures of me!"

The girl readily scanned the code and entered, picking up the retro phone and striking a few poses.

The boy reluctantly but helplessly raised his phone and snapped photos.

"Okay, I'm done."

The boy also entered the phone booth and showed the photos on his phone to the girl.

"Well... your photography skills still need improvement. Oh well, these will have to do."

The girl reluctantly accepted the photos and then shifted her attention to the inside of the shared phone booth.

It looked a little basic, but sturdy enough.

"There are bestselling novels and comics on the bookshelf, free paper cups, free hot water..."

The girl surveyed all the amenities and fell silent for a moment. "So, I spent ten yuan just to pose for a few pictures, sit down and rest for a while, and drink two cups of hot water... What a rip-off."

The boy silently picked up a comic from the bookshelf. "Just consider it an intelligence tax."

The girl: "...Are you saying I'm not smart?"

...

Across from the shared phone booth, in a dessert shop.

Zhang Wang and He Desheng were drinking beverages while keeping a close watch on the phone booth.

"It's been three hours since the mall opened this morning."

"It's attracted a lot of onlookers, but only that girl who posed for photos actually paid."

He Desheng sighed softly. "That's why I suggested you shouldn't rush. Wait until all the features of the shared phone booth are fully developed, and the artistic design is in place, before moving it to a big mall."

"Putting a half-finished product here like this, it would be strange if people were willing to pay."

"After all, right now, the phone booth's value is too low. All you can do inside is sit and read comics, drink some free hot water, and it costs 10 yuan for 15 minutes, or 40 yuan an hour. That's enough to surf the internet at Mo Yu Internet Cafe for four hours."

"The most important things, like the beverage machine and the jukebox, aren't even there yet."

Zhang Wang's gaze was firm. "It's okay, once all the supporting equipment for the shared phone booth is in place, everyone will understand the pricing."

"So... what about the artist? I'm more concerned about that."

He Desheng shook his head. "I've inquired, but I haven't found anyone suitable. Jingzhou isn't like Beijing or Shanghai, it doesn't have that many big names..."

"But I think President Pei should have a way. Tenda's main business is making games, after all, so they should be able to contact some well-known illustrators."

"But... we've almost spent the budget. Asking President Pei for money to find an artist might make him unhappy..."

Zhang Wang said firmly, "Then I'll talk to President Pei! I believe President Pei will understand."

He Desheng was silent for a moment. "Well, yes, if you tell President Pei about the ultimate form of the planned phone booths, I believe he'll understand."

Zhang Wang shook his head. "That won't work. I'm an honest person, I have to report the current state of the project as it is."

"President Pei trusts me so much, how could I deceive him!"

"I believe President Pei will appreciate my honesty!"

"Appreciate your honesty... what a naive thought." He Desheng rubbed his forehead. "Alright then. If this was at Fuhui Capital, you definitely wouldn't get any money."

"But President Pei always has a discerning eye, so maybe he'll make an exception..."

He Desheng originally wanted to give Zhang Wang some advice, but then he thought, what right did he have to give him advice...

He hadn't even learned one-ten-thousandth of President Pei's investment methods, while Zhang Wang had already created a project that President Pei himself had approved.

Whatever, I can't control this...

He Desheng changed the subject. "The manufacturer responsible for producing the phone booths, the karaoke app, the beverage machine manufacturer, and so on, have all replied. The money is in place, so there shouldn't be any major problems. The first batch of AED defibrillators is already on the way."

Zhang Wang nodded. "In addition to that, the app needs to be improved."

"In short, once the artist is in place, and all the things we've purchased arrive, we can announce the official launch of the shared phone booths!"

"I'll call President Pei first."

Zhang Wang took out his phone and called President Pei.

Then, in a calm tone, he gave a detailed report on the current situation of the phone booth.

...

On the other end of the phone, Pei Qian broke out in a cold sweat when he heard that Zhang Wang had set up the phone booth in a mall.

But then, he felt a lot more relieved.

According to Zhang Wang, he had modified the structure of the phone booth, made it larger, and placed it in a mall.

But so far, after setting it up for a whole morning, only one girl had scanned the code for the sake of taking pictures, earning 15 yuan.

And the initial investment for this phone booth was around 40,000 yuan, with the rent alone costing nearly a thousand yuan a month.

Of course, Zhang Wang also briefly mentioned that he was "working hard to improve the customer's consumption experience, and believed that it would be effective soon."

Finally, Zhang Wang got to the main point, hoping that President Pei could help find an artist to paint on the front of the shared phone booth, adding a bit of artistic flair.

Hearing this, Pei Qian realized that the prospects for the shared phone booth were even better than he had imagined!

According to Pei Qian's original idea of investing less than 10,000 yuan and placing it on the side of the road, a phone booth set up for half a year would lose at most a little over 10,000 yuan.

In the end, demolishing it and selling it for scrap metal and glass might even recover some of the costs.

But with the current approach, if it was set up for half a year, it would definitely lose around 50,000 yuan!

One phone booth losing so much, what about a hundred?

Thinking of this, Pei Qian felt invigorated, and almost approved 5 million yuan directly to Zhang Wang, so he could set up a hundred phone booths and go wild!

But then, reason overcame emotion.

What Zhang Wang said, "working hard to improve the customer's consumption experience, and believed that it would be effective soon," sounded like a polite phrase, a lie to deceive the leader for money, and was not worth believing. But Pei Qian still felt uneasy.

Because many of his employees had said similar things, and almost all of them had delivered...

Thinking of this, Pei Qian resolutely controlled the demon in his heart, feeling that he shouldn't easily believe the words of his employees.

"Take a picture of the current shared phone booth and send it to me."

A moment later, the photo arrived.

Pei Qian looked at it and found that the phone booth looked quite large, but was actually very simple.

Moreover, there was just a table, two folding chairs that could be folded against the wall, a few lonely books on the bookshelf, and a rather rudimentary water dispenser.

Some people were watching, but they obviously had no interest in entering.

He didn't lie to me, it really is that deserted.

I really didn't misjudge him, such an honest employee is rare!

Pei Qian was very happy. Since he said he wanted an artist, he definitely had to find a way to satisfy him!

It just so happened that Ruan Guangjian was in Jingzhou.

Pei Qian considered it. "Have Ruan Guangjian go over and paint a large oil painting? Two meters high? Based on his current quote, giving him 50,000 yuan wouldn't be excessive, right?"

"And no matter how good the painting is, people will at most take pictures and watch outside. It won't have any direct impact on the income of this shared phone booth."

"Hmm? If one phone booth costs 50,000, then ten phone booths would cost 500,000?"

"This is a great idea!"

Pei Qian originally thought this was ridiculous, but after analyzing it, he realized that this was a pleasant surprise, a great way to spend money!

Let Ruan Guangjian paint twenty phone booths, and 1 million yuan would be spent instantly.

Even if Ruan Guangjian insisted on settling at a friendship price, it would still have to be at least 500,000 yuan, right?

He just didn't know if the great artist's body could handle it, but President Pei's money was definitely not a problem.

Thinking of this, Pei Qian immediately said, "Okay, I'll take care of the artist's matter."

"In addition, I'll invest another 500,000 yuan in you. You can't reduce the original plan of 20 phone booths by even one!"