Chapter 1 Becoming the Richest Man Starts With Losing Money in Games

Pei Qian took a car to the shopping mall, walking towards the store in a hurried pace.

He was feeling quite anxious.

It had only been about half an hour since he left the press conference, but Pei Qian had a vague ominous premonition. Those fans who watched the press conference online and happened to be near the mall, wouldn't they have already bought all the phones?

Please don't let that happen!

Pei Qian was very worried now. The scenario he least wanted to see was a nearly empty store.

Because that would mean all the phones in the store had already been sold!

If there was a long line outside the store, it would actually indicate that things were going well and there were phones left.

Finally, Pei Qian took the escalator to the floor where the store was located. He immediately put on his mask to prevent himself from being recognized right away.

Seeing a line of about six or seven people in front of the store, Pei Qian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness!

The situation didn't seem as bad as he had imagined. Since there was a line, it meant that the store should still have phones left.

However, when Pei Qian saw two customers walking out of the store without phones in their hands, his heart suddenly sank to the bottom.

Something's not right!

He walked a few more steps towards the entrance and heard Tian Mo constantly apologizing: "Sorry everyone, all the phones are sold out, including the standard version! If you want to order a phone, you can leave your information and I will notify you as soon as the next batch arrives..."

Pei Qian's vision went black in an instant, and he felt like he had been dealt a heavy blow.

Bad news!

The press conference had just ended, and all the phones in the store were already sold out? This store only covers customers within a few kilometers, and these customers were able to buy out all the stock in the store, which shows how highly everyone thinks of this phone!

Pei Qian secretly peeked inside from outside and discovered something even more outrageous.

Several guys who had registered their information didn't leave right away, but were playing with the display models on the counter!

They looked very focused, holding the phone horizontally with their thumbs on the screen, index fingers on the two shoulder buttons on top, and other fingers supporting the phone from below. Their posture was very standard.

There's a saying that a good design allows users to immediately understand its design intent. The two shoulder buttons of the G1 phone clearly had that effect.

They were also discussing while playing.

"This phone is really great for gaming, even better than the E1! Especially the wide field of vision. Playing GOG mobile games on this phone gives you two extra strips of space compared to other phones. It's so comfortable!"

"These two shoulder buttons are so convenient for playing *Naval Fortress* and *Lonely Desert Road*. And the tactile feedback of the physical buttons is really good. Paired with the phone's vibration, you can easily use four fingers to shoot."

"The front looks great too. It's a square, solid screen. This phone should be pretty cool to show off."

"The more I play, the more I want to buy it... When will it be available? So annoying, I came a few minutes late and even the standard version is sold out!"

Their expressions of wanting to buy the phone were overflowing.

Pei Qian was even more annoyed after seeing these people.

Because from their expressions, he seemed to be able to see the attitude of other consumers online towards the G1 phone, and thus deduce the tragic fate he was about to face...

The speed of registering information in the queue was fast, and the people playing with the display models soon got bored. After a few minutes, the crowd in the store finally dispersed a little.

A man in a leather jacket came into the store: "Oh, it's crowded today? Is there some kind of promotion going on?"

Tian Mo looked up: "Oh, you're here."

He had a good memory, and could roughly remember people he had seen in the past few days. This man in the leather jacket was the one who came to the store on the first day it opened, asking about the E1 phone and the fully automatic smart clothes-drying rack.

Tian Mo honestly introduced all the shortcomings of those two products, successfully dissuading the man. The man even praised him for being conscientious, and said that he would come back to see if there were any new products.

He didn't expect that the G1 phone would be launched today, and this man happened to be strolling by again.

Tian Mo quickly said: "It's not a promotion. We recently launched a new phone, which is the one on display on the counter."

The man in the leather jacket raised his eyebrows, very surprised: "There's a new product? Great, let me take a look."

The man went to the counter and picked up a G1 phone to play with.

"Not bad, this screen is really big!"

"The price isn't cheap, though."

"Okay, I'll take one."

The man said, reaching for his wallet.

Tian Mo was shocked and quickly stopped him: "Wait! This phone is currently out of stock. I can register you first, and notify you as soon as it's available."

"Also, I have to tell you about the shortcomings of this phone first. After all, it's a lot of money, so you still have to think twice..."

The man smiled: "No need!"

"I could tell before that you guys are very conscientious when selling things. You always tell customers about the shortcomings before they buy, unlike those salespeople who are full of hot air."

"It's already sold out, and there are still so many people pre-ordering, which shows that this phone is popular! Besides, this phone looks pretty good, and I happen to need to change phones, so give me one!"

Tian Mo was speechless for a moment. Seeing that the man was so determined, he had no choice but to register him silently.

But customers as decisive as this man were still in the minority.

After a long line formed in front of the store, it also attracted many passersby who were originally wandering around the mall. For these passersby, Tian Mo obviously had to strictly implement President Pei's requirements and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the phone to them clearly.

Although the phone had just arrived, Tian Mo didn't have a comprehensive understanding of its advantages and disadvantages, but he could still talk about some of the obvious ones.

With Tian Mo's efforts, he still successfully dissuaded some passersby who had gathered out of curiosity.

Pei Qian wandered around outside the store the whole time, watching everything that happened inside.

"Not bad, I'm very pleased!"

"Although many people bought it without saying a word, Tian Mo did follow my instructions and dissuaded a lot of people."

"Looking on the bright side, although the phone is sold out, there are still customers constantly pre-ordering. Tian Mo is working hard to fulfill his responsibilities, dissuading some customers who were originally going to pre-order the phone, and has done a good job of completing the task I gave him."

"Yeah, he did a great job!"

"It seems that opening this sales department was the right decision!"

In any case, this could be considered a blessing in disguise.

The store is still small now, so it's not obvious, but what if the sales department expands and many stores are opened in the future?

For example, dissuading thirty out of a hundred people might not be so noticeable, but what if it's dissuading three hundred thousand out of a million people?

That would be equivalent to saving President Pei a lot of losses!

Moreover, the more stores that are opened, the more expenses there will be, such as rent, utilities, and employee salaries. No matter how you calculate it, it's still worth it.

The phone's inexplicable popularity gave Pei Qian a headache, but seeing the situation in Tian Mo's sales department gave Pei Qian a little comfort.

Since Tian Mo has been loyal to his duty and always remembers President Pei's teachings, he can rest assured.

Pei Qian turned around to leave, but after taking two steps, he suddenly thought of something.

"That's right, there's also the advertising and marketing department!"

Pei Qian immediately took out his phone and called Meng Chang.

...

At this time, Meng Chang had already gotten off work.

He had just gotten off the bus and was walking towards his residence.

Today was his first day back at work since he disappeared for more than half a month last month.

Before going to work, he specially shaved his beard, got a haircut, and tidied up his appearance. After all, the entire department was watching, and Meng Chang still had to save face.

The others in the advertising and marketing department didn't ask much, so Meng Chang pretended that nothing had happened.

On his first day back at work, Meng Chang had no intention of working at all.

President Pei said that he should think carefully about the promotion plan for the new phone and the smart clothes-drying rack this month, and strive to get a high commission.

But Meng Chang didn't take it too seriously, thinking that it wouldn't be too late to study it in a few days.

He slacked off for the whole day. After getting off work and returning home, Meng Chang turned on the light in his rented house and lay on the sofa like a corpse.

Just then, his phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, it was President Pei calling.

"Huh?"

Meng Chang was a little surprised, because President Pei seemed to rarely call him, and it was even rarer to call him during non-working hours.

Answering the phone, he heard President Pei anxiously asking on the other end of the phone: "Have you done the promotion plan for the new Otto Technologies phone that I asked you to do?"

Meng Chang was stunned for a moment, then a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Oh, not yet. President Pei, it's only been one day, there's not enough time at all."

From President Pei's urgent voice, Meng Chang deduced that President Pei wanted him to rush the job!

He heard that the press conference for Otto Technologies' phone was scheduled for today, so President Pei obviously hoped that he could come up with a promotion plan as soon as possible to hype up the phone's popularity in conjunction with the press conference.

But how could Meng Chang obediently listen?

The better the promotion effect, the less commission he would get!

So Meng Chang immediately made up his mind to remain unchanged in the face of all changes, strictly guarding the "delay" strategy. No matter how President Pei urged him, he would only say that there was not enough time and the plan could not be produced.

He would delay it for ten days or half a month, and then slowly come up with the plan after the hype had died down.

Although he might not necessarily get more commission, it would be good to disgust President Pei.

However, as soon as Meng Chang finished speaking, he immediately heard President Pei's delighted voice on the other end of the phone: "Really? That's great!"

"It's best if you haven't started, I was afraid you would be wasting your time."

"The phone's promotion plan is canceled, no promotion!"

Meng Chang: "Huh?"

President Pei repeated it again: "All promotion plans for the G1 phone are canceled, don't do any of them! Do you understand?"

Meng Chang: "Under... understood."

Before he could react, President Pei had already hung up the phone.

Meng Chang looked at the darkened phone screen, and his whole body was in a daze.

What's going on?