Chapter 109: Advancing on Multiple Fronts, the Final Battle Before the Start of School

With the funds in hand, the full machine was switched on.

Over the next dozen days and more, Zhang Tianfeng threw himself into preparations for the toy factory’s first major promotion.

The first task: all sixty game consoles were handed over to Chen Jialin on a rental basis, and he was helped to complete the opening arrangements within two days.

The second task: he went to Harbor City to handle the equity change for Bore Company. Qin Yuelan successfully secured a forty percent stake, established an advertising company called Boundless Soaring, and signed licensing agreements with several manga artists from the Island Nation.

This brought Zhang Tianfeng several unexpected bonuses. In addition to Dragon Pearl, Slam Dunk, Captain Tsubasa, and Touch, there was also a cooperation deal with Shonen Weekly, through which all the copyrights the magazine still held were sold to Zhang Tianfeng.

It was practically half sold, half given away. The price was nearly double that of the first four comics combined, and there was no right to alter the contracted price. The licensing term was thirty years.

Among them were famous animated works that would later become household names: Detective Conan, Digimon Adventure, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Moon, Samurai X, Yu Yu Hakusho, and more.

Shonen Weekly believed they had struck gold, thinking Zhang Tianfeng was a fool who had bought other people’s unwanted copyrights at a sky-high price.

Zhang Tianfeng felt the same way. By the time the new century arrived, these things would become his treasure trove, earning him vast fortunes while he lounged.

Then there was a third task: have Wang Tiancai and the others assign someone to take a game guidebook for the game console to the arcade and conduct a questionnaire survey, asking what children currently liked most.

The fourth task: have Gao Ran help find a high school, in preparation for beginning his own high school life.

On September fourth, after the Start of Autumn had already passed, the blazing sun burned like fire.

At the Blue Square Toy Factory, the roar of machinery pierced through thick soundproof panels and surged outward.

Wang Tiancai, drenched in sweat, walked in holding a stack of papers.

“Where’s the boss? Where is he? I need to see him.”

“Keep your voice down. The boss is doing homework,” Zhong Xiaoyi said. “What do you need him for?”

“The questionnaire results are out. I need to show him.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll go tell him now.”

The high school Gao Ran had found was the affiliated school of Haizhong University. If the grades passed, one could attend Haizhong University directly.

But since Zhang Tianfeng was a student from another region, even perfect marks and a pile of money would not be enough; he still had to pass an exam. Otherwise, the old professors at the school would lose face.

For that reason, Zhang Tianfeng was diligently studying new knowledge.

“Boss, Wang Tiancai is back. He said the survey results are ready and wants to see you.”

“Let him in.”

Shortly after, the door opened, and a wave of sweat odor rushed in.

Zhang Tianfeng turned on the air conditioner and, without looking up, said, “Just tell me the results. I’m listening.”

“Yes, Boss. The survey shows that people who like mechanical transformation toys account for 39 percent. Those who like card-style toys account for 46 percent. Those who prefer educational puzzle toys account for only 15 percent.”

“A total of 132,456 people took part in this survey. Ages five to ten made up 20.6 percent, eleven to fifteen made up 35.4 percent, and sixteen to twenty made up 44 percent.”

He gently set the questionnaire containing the survey results on the desk and continued, “The survey is still ongoing. Our teams established in various provinces and cities have already started work. I believe the feedback will come back soon.”

“Boss, that’s all I have to report. Do you have any guidance for me?”

“No, you did very well. Next, I’m giving you an important task.”

“Tell me, Boss.”

“Contact television stations in all the cities. Secure one full hour of airtime, with no advertisements inserted in between. For now, focus on the coastal provincial capitals and major cities.”

Wang Tiancai made a rough estimate; this was another investment of several million. In a single province alone there were twenty-one prefecture-level cities, and when you added the provincial capitals and the municipalities directly under the central government, the number shot up toward forty.

Even if each city’s television station cost fifty thousand yuan, that would still require an investment of two million.

“Boss, I’m not questioning your strategy. I’m worried whether the money will be enough.”

“Of course it will. Half a million is enough to take them all.”

“Ah? Half a million?”

Wang Tiancai counted on his fingers for a long time and still could not make sense of it. Was he planning to give each station only a few hundred or a few thousand yuan?

Zhang Tianfeng put down his pen and looked up. “We’re not buying prime time. We’re buying off-peak hours, such as one to four in the afternoon, and ten at night until seven the next morning. And we’ll only use it for one month. Half a million is about right.”

“Boss, I’m suddenly not sure I understand what you mean.”

He knew about the three new products the factory was about to release: mechanical transformation toys similar to giant robots and wind-up frogs, collectible card toys, and educational puzzle toys.

If they did not buy prime time, how would children ever see them? And as for ten at night, the children would already be asleep. Who would the advertisements be for?

“Sometimes, being too clever is not a good thing.”

“You’re right, Boss. Please enlighten me.”

“You went to school. After that, what was your parents’ attitude toward you?”

“Learned all the characters? Then hurry home and do farm work.”

Zhang Tianfeng’s expression darkened. He had forgotten that point. Not only in the past, even last month he had still faced the risk of dropping out and going home to work the fields.

“The times will keep improving. Children will receive more and more education. Parents hope their children will become accomplished, so anything that affects them will be seen as a flood of monsters and beasts, something to be avoided at all costs.”

“One to four in the afternoon is a time slot reserved for children. I’ll have the television stations play some animated shows then to spark their interest.”

“Ten at night until seven the next morning is for the puzzle toy advertisements. The target audience is the parents who stay up late.”

“Boss, this... you’ve really calculated it to the bone,” Wang Tiancai said with a wry smile.

He finally understood Zhang Tianfeng’s thinking. No one in the family would escape his advertising.

What if the son watched cartoons and his grades fell? Buy the child an educational toy, improve his intelligence, and once his intelligence rose, his grades would naturally improve too.

“If you don’t calculate to the bone, how do you make money? I’m putting in all that cash and all that effort. I’m not doing it to run a charity.”

Speaking of charity, Zhang Tianfeng suddenly thought of something: sales for public good.

After a moment’s thought, he said, “From now on, for every toy we sell, we’ll set aside 0.05 percent of the sale price as a charitable fund and donate it to impoverished mountain regions.”

“You need to handle this right away, and put the charity slogan on every product.”

“Boss, the first batch of packaging has already been made. It’s too late to remake everything.”

“Then scrap it all and reorder.”

“That would mean losing more than a hundred thousand yuan.”

“Sometimes a good reputation is worth more than a hundred thousand yuan. You don’t need to handle this. I’ll take care of it. You just do what I told you. And one more thing: make sure to set up a branch company in every province, and pay taxes locally.”

“Boss, this...”

“This is to prevent piracy!”

Zhang Tianfeng answered before Wang Tiancai could even speak.

Toy products were generally difficult to protect; they were extremely easy to imitate.

Some companies specializing in piracy, once they grew large enough, would even receive protection from local leaders. That was why piracy had never been fully eradicated.

By establishing branch companies in each provincial capital and paying taxes there, they would be treated as one of their own.

Once the tax contributions reached a certain level, if piracy ever appeared, there would be no need for Zhang Tianfeng to act. One word from the provincial leadership, and the pirate operation would be shut down for good.

If those pirates truly had the ability to grow strong enough to become a shield for the local authorities, then Zhang Tianfeng would absolutely send the whole lot of them to prison.

After assigning the important matters, Wang Tiancai left.

Just as he stepped out, Zhong Xiaoyi came in.

“Boss, this is your schedule for this afternoon. Please take a look.”

Inspect the factory and draw closer to the employees; check the in-and-out inventory of raw materials; review account expenditures and income; and finally, check suppliers’ orders.

The first two were things Zhang Tianfeng did every day and finished before leaving work. The last one was random.

At present, the factory had stopped producing wind-up frogs and giant robots, and was concentrating on the three products soon to be released.

The channels were already in place. Given Wang Tiancai’s abilities, he should be able to secure the television station slots Zhang Tianfeng wanted within ten days.

Yes, he needed to hurry and finish filming the educational toy advertisements.

Once this battle was over, it would also be time for him to enter school.

After checking the supplier issues, Zhang Tianfeng said, “All right, I’m going to Pearl City for a trip. Keep an eye on the factory for me. If anything comes up, call me.”

“Boss...” Zhong Xiaoyi said, twisting the hem of her clothes, “Can I take a look at the math textbooks on your desk?”

“Go ahead. When I come back, I’ll bring you a full set of textbooks, from primary school all the way to university. But you have to help me keep the factory in order, or I’ll dock your pay.”

“Don’t worry, Boss. I’ll manage the factory properly. Goodbye, Boss.”

This girl... the happier she was, the more Zhang Tianfeng felt a pang in his heart.

During this time, he had deliberately been cultivating Zhong Xiaoyi, intending to make her his own extension within the factory.

As he learned more, he discovered the tragic story behind the girl.

Her parents had worked at an asbestos factory when they were young, and before middle age they had fallen ill. She dropped out of school at ten to work, and besides caring for her parents, she also had to look after her little brother.

What made it harder was that the girl was fiercely proud. If something was handed to her directly, she would not take it; she only accepted the portion that she believed was hers.

So during this period, Zhang Tianfeng kept increasing her workload, simply so that she could take home a little more money at the end of the month.

'Strong little girl, your efforts will bring you the best reward.'

He silently recited the thought and strode out with long, determined steps.