355: Chapter 349: 30.8 million 355: Chapter 349: 30.8 million A meal, Chen Hai and Jiang Dalong spent almost two hours eating.
Perhaps it was because he was in a good mood, Jiang Dalong drank, initially just sipping little by little, but later on, he would lift his glass and drink it all in one gulp.
Although his alcohol tolerance was quite good, this way of drinking baijiu…
After settling the bill, as they left the private room on the second floor, he had to be carried back by Chen Hai.
Luckily, Chen Hai’s room was in Huadu Hotel.
Otherwise, with cousin Jiang Dalong being such a big guy, carrying him back to the hotel room would have been really exhausting for Chen Hai.
Fourth Aunt and Fourth Uncle didn’t stay long in Shen City.
Just thinking about their son, who had his legs sawed off and his tongue cut out in this city, made them feel so suffocated with anxiety.
They only stayed one night and set off for their hometown the next day.
Originally, Chen Hai intended to buy plane tickets for them to fly home.
However, Jiang Guixian and Huang Shengli insisted on declining Chen Hai’s kindness and were determined to buy their own train tickets to return home.
According to them, they felt that Chen Hai had already helped them a lot by spending money and putting in effort to find Huang Yong.
They didn’t want to trouble Chen Hai just for a trip back to their hometown!
Since they insisted, Chen Hai thought about it and did not continue to insist.
As for cousin Jiang Dalong, he would definitely accompany Jiang Guixian and Huang Shengli’s family back to their hometown in Liuyuan County.
Train stations are places inherently mixed with all sorts of people, and it is the same on the train itself.
For Jiang Guixian and Huang Shengli, it was their first time traveling far, and their son Huang Yong was still in that condition.
Having the experienced Jiang Dalong with them for support, Chen Hai could feel somewhat more at ease.
The incident with cousin Huang Yong had come to a temporary close.
In the following days, Chen Hai and his men stayed in Huadu Hotel and did not immediately go to Xiangjiang.
He had a plan for how to handle things there.
The reason he stayed at Huadu Hotel for a few more days was mainly because the bidding for the CCTV ‘King of Bidders’ was about to start in earnest.
Once in Xiangjiang, though they could find a good hotel to stay and could also contact the mainland by phone, it would ultimately not be as convenient as staying here.
At around ten in the morning, the landline in the room rang.
Chen Hai, who had been waiting by the side for a while, picked up the receiver and answered the phone immediately.
Yesterday morning, Qiu Dazhi, who was responsible for the distillery affairs, had already called Chen Hai.
Even though Wang Jinhua was negotiating with the television station in Capital City, it was Qiu Dazhi who had to personally step in for the actual bidding for the ‘King of Bidders.’
The ‘King of Bidders’ advertising slot referred to the commercial break following the CCTV Evening News.
An advertisement in this time slot could reach at least ten million viewers simultaneously, with an immense impact.
Given Qiu Dazhi’s experience, he was well aware of how beneficial it would be for their Peach Blossom Wine Industry if they won this title.
“Boss, as per your instructions, the bid has been submitted with the bidding amount left blank,” reported Qiu Dazhi on the phone, his voice seemingly trembling.
“The inside information from the station is that Kongfu Banquet Wine has bid thirty million and seventy-nine thousand yuan!”
“If we want to win the ‘King of Bidders,’ we have to offer a higher price.”
“Do we want to bid thirty million and eighty thousand yuan to compete for the ‘King of Bidders’?
The television station is waiting for our response!”
…
Through the handset, Qiu Dazhi reported to Chen Hai.
He sounded as if he was trembling.
Investing over a hundred million yuan in a distillery and then spending thirty million on a single advertising slot, he felt immense pressure and was very nervous; he felt almost as if he was suffocating.
Although Chen Hai had already instructed him to handle the ‘King of Bidders’ bidding as he saw fit!
Still, at that moment, he felt unable to make the decision on his own and needed to consult with Chen Hai for confirmation before he had the courage to make the final call.
“Thirty million and more?
That expensive?” Even Chen Hai was taken aback and frowned upon hearing the price quoted by Qiu Dazhi for bidding to become the top advertiser.
At first, when Tan Meili mentioned the top advertiser to him, she only said it might require over twenty million to secure the spot.
The price shot up from twenty million to over thirty million, which was an increase of more than fifty percent.
Even Chen Hai, who had braced himself mentally for this, couldn’t help but want to start cursing after hearing the price.
The Peach Blossom Immortal Brew produced by Peach Blossom Wine Industry would need to sell three hundred tons just to recoup the advertising costs, even if they made one hundred yuan per kilogram of liquor.
Chen Hai’s bottom line was that the ad campaign must not result in too much loss for the winery next year, even if they didn’t make much money.
After all, once these thirty million are spent on advertising for a year, their Peach Blossom Immortal Brew’s fame would be established.
As long as they don’t incur losses, the fame their liquor gains would be an intangible asset, a pure profit.
“Dazhi, what’s our winery’s production capacity?
How much liquor can we produce in a month at most?” After some hesitation, Chen Hai asked this question.
He was quite a derelict boss; after all, he disliked spending energy on such trivialities.
Like how Peach Blossom Wine Industry was preparing to spend millions on advertising, yet he still wasn’t quite clear on the factory’s production capacity.
“Boss, our winery, after adopting the management style from Japan, has improved its production capacity significantly!”
“At present, our Original Wine’s monthly production capacity can reach about three tons.”
“Ever since you mentioned this top advertiser thing to me, we have hired additional workers at the winery.”
“If we switch to two shifts for the workers and keep the factory running twenty-four hours non-stop, we can certainly increase the production capacity, if not double it, at least to a monthly output of five tons of Original Wine.”
“The skilled workers in our winery can blend five tons of finished product from one ton of Original Wine base.”
“However, the newly brewed Original Wine needs to be stored for at least half a year before it can be blended into finished product.”
“When we took over the winery, there were over twenty tons of Original Wine in stock in our cellars.
The remaining new Original Wine will need at least four more months before it can be used!”
…
Qiu Dazhi quickly reported the winery’s production capacity to Chen Hai.
Based on his data, Chen Hai made a rough estimate.
According to the one-to-five ratio, those twenty-plus tons of Original Wine could be blended into over one hundred tons of finished product.
After winning the top advertiser slot, the ads would be broadcast after New Year’s Day, which is almost one and a half months away from now.
By that calculation, as long as these one hundred tons of finished product can last for two and a half months, the newly brewed Original Wine will have aged enough to be blended into finished product.
A monthly output of five tons of Original Wine means twenty-five tons of finished product; they could barely produce three hundred tons of finished product for the year.
If the advertising effect is good and the demand outstrips supply, they can continue to recruit and expand production at Peach Blossom Wine Industry.
Since the new Original Wine can’t be used yet and there won’t be much finished product to sell, this offers an excellent opportunity for a hunger marketing strategy.
With these calculations, Chen Hai felt that if they only aimed to earn back the advertising cost, the problem shouldn’t be too big.
“Dazhi, reply to the television station and say that thirty million and eighty thousand yuan is fine.
We’ll take this top advertiser slot!”
Having made up his mind, Chen Hai directly instructed Qiu Dazhi.
“Alright, Boss, I’ll reply to them right away!”
“By the way, who shall we get to shoot the advertisement?” Qiu Dazhi agreed and took the opportunity to ask another question.
“You don’t need to worry about the advertisement!”
“I’m just about to head to Xiangjiang; I’ll take care of the advertising,” replied Chen Hai.
“Hmm!” Qiu Dazhi acknowledged and finally hung up the phone.
After placing the receiver back, Chen Hai took out a cigarette and lit it for himself.
Even he felt a sting just thinking that a single phone call had put him in debt by over thirty million.
Before he finished his cigarette, he picked up the phone again and dialed Tian Mingjian.
“Mingjian, gather everyone in the Huadu Hotel lobby; we’re checking out and heading straight to Xiangjiang!”
After instructing Tian Mingjian, Chen Hai hung up the phone, grabbed his simple luggage, and walked out of the room.