Chapter 6.24 Friday, June 24th

Yuanmeng Venture Capital.

He Desheng looked at his watch. President Pei would be arriving in less than ten minutes.

He looked at Zhang Wang, who was only slightly anxious and completely unaware of the true seriousness of the problem, and then at Ma Yang, who was happily playing with the Fully Automatic Argument Machine. He Desheng couldn't help but hold his forehead, a little headache.

He didn't know if it was a whim or if President Pei had calculated the time, but he had given advance notice that he would be coming to Yuanmeng Venture Capital to learn about the progress of the Fully Automatic Argument Machine.

So, He Desheng called Zhang Wang and Ma Yang together to report.

Because He Desheng himself really didn't know how to report!

So far, several thousand Fully Automatic Argument Machines have been produced. Although there is still a big gap from the ultimate goal of 20,000 units in stock, it is already clear that the situation is not good.

These thousands of Fully Automatic Argument Machines are all piled up in the warehouse and simply cannot be sold!

During this period, He Desheng and Zhang Wang had also thought of some publicity methods, such as putting them on online stores, appropriately advertising, and promoting them to some handicraft shops.

But without exception, all of them were met with cold shoulders!

The conversion rate of the tentative advertisements was simply shockingly low.

In layman's terms, the advertisements went out and many people saw them, but no one bought them at all!

He Desheng sighed helplessly. He had known this would be the result.

In fact, when Zhang Wang proposed this project, He Desheng felt that it was hopeless.

After all, the last Shared Phone Booth had real uses: it could be used to rest, sing, and serve as a landmark building for the city. Its complete form had the ability to generate profits.

But this Fully Automatic Argument Machine had no practical significance at all!

Moreover, as a handicraft or sand sculpture toy, it was too expensive, completely beyond the affordability of most consumers.

To date, only a double-digit number of the thousands of Fully Automatic Argument Machines have been sold, and many of them have been returned.

Presumably, they got tired of playing with it after a day and began to wonder if they were out of their minds to spend 500 yuan to buy this thing. After sobering up, they immediately regretted it.

In short, it was a terrible sight.

He Desheng was very conflicted now, because President Pei was coming soon.

If He Desheng were to report it himself, he would definitely suggest that President Pei stop production, try to sell the current Fully Automatic Argument Machines, reduce the price, and cut losses in a timely manner.

But in that case, he would inevitably be criticized.

Therefore, He Desheng called Zhang Wang and Ma Yang here to pass the buck.

In any case, the Fully Automatic Argument Machine was a project strongly requested by these two people at the time, so they would be the first to be held accountable.

Looking at Ma Yang, who was happily playing with the Fully Automatic Argument Machine, He Desheng couldn't help but sigh. He would know the exact answer today as to whether President Ma had really shielded President Pei from an atomic bomb.

While He Desheng was struggling, President Pei arrived.

He quickly stood up to greet him, "President Pei!"

Ma Yang also reluctantly put down the Fully Automatic Argument Machine. It wasn't until the "continuous argument" number disappeared that he came to the conference table and greeted Pei Qian.

"Brother Qian!" Ma Yang's face showed no sign of worry.

Pei Qian's gaze swept across the expressions of Ma Yang, Zhang Wang, and He Desheng. He found that the anxiety of the three people seemed to follow the rule of a geometric progression, which instantly reassured him a lot.

It looked like it was stable!

"When is DGE Esports Club planning to leave?" Pei Qian first asked Ma Yang a relatively unimportant question.

Ma Yang replied, "Next week. Brother Qian, it's not that we're not being proactive, it's mainly because many clubs need time to form teams and have to try out players."

Pei Qian nodded, "Yeah, I understand."

"Okay, let's get down to business. What's the progress of the Fully Automatic Argument Machine project so far?"

Ma Yang immediately replied, "Very smooth! Several thousand units have been mass-produced so far, and the stock is very sufficient. Moreover, all the products have undergone careful inspection, and the individual defective products have all been returned for repair!"

He Desheng couldn't help but secretly give a thumbs up. President Ma was something else!

He dared to report only good news and not bad news in front of President Pei. Did he think President Pei was a three-year-old child who was so easy to fool?

Sure enough, Pei Qian coughed lightly twice, "What about the sales situation?"

Zhang Wang stood up, "President Pei, I am willing to bear the responsibility for poor sales. It has absolutely nothing to do with President Ma!"

Pei Qian raised his hand, "Don't worry, first tell me specifically how many units have been sold. Give me a specific number."

Zhang Wang pursed his lips, "Thirty-one units."

Pei Qian was stunned for two seconds, almost blurting out, "So many have been sold?"

There were actually thirty-one bored people who spent 500 yuan to buy this thing?

The world was truly full of wonders!

Zhang Wang paused and added, "One of them was delivered to your residence, and seven were returned..."

"President Pei, I will take the main responsibility for this loss. I am willing to pay out of my own pocket to bear part of the loss..."

Zhang Wang himself became more and more unsure as he spoke.

Obviously, as a great inventor, he was deeply shocked that his invention was so unpopular.

Moreover, although Zhang Wang had received a lot of dividends in the Shared Phone Booth project, no matter how much he paid out of his own pocket to bear the losses, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to the investment of eight million.

When Pei Qian heard this, he frowned.

What did he mean? Was he trying to compete with him for losing money?

No way!

Pei Qian immediately raised his hand, "What's the logic of that? Yuanmeng Venture Capital is doing venture capital, so naturally Yuanmeng Venture Capital will bear the risk."

"These days, everyone is swindling investors' money. Who would fill in the holes for investors?"

"You don't have to worry about anything. Continue to produce according to the original plan! Withdraw all the advertisements that have already been placed and only keep the online store."

The online store could not be withdrawn, because the product must have a sales channel, otherwise it would be against the regulations.

Zhang Wang was stunned, "But President Pei..."

Pei Qian interrupted him, "But what? The biggest problem with this project now is that production is too slow. It's been almost a month and only a few thousand units have been produced. When will 20,000 units be produced?"

"Focus on production capacity and fill our warehouse with Fully Automatic Argument Machines as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will go to the production line and tighten screws like Chang You!"

Zhang Wang's eyes were filled with tears, deeply moved, "Okay, President Pei!"

Ma Yang nodded, "See, I told you not to worry. How could such a fun thing not sell? As long as there is sufficient stock, with a little publicity, orders will definitely fly in like snowflakes!"

Pei Qian gave him an approving look, "Well said! Everyone should be like President Ma and maintain an optimistic spirit!"

He Desheng: "..."

Confirmed, President Ma must have shielded President Pei from an atomic bomb.

Maybe more than one.

…

After learning about the situation of the Fully Automatic Argument Machine, Pei Qian left satisfied.

He had originally thought that since the Fully Automatic Argument Machine could not be sold, why not give it away?

After all, keeping it in the warehouse was still in his own hands. Even if it was sold as scrap metal, it would still be worth some money. But giving it away would be a pure loss, right?

But on second thought, he immediately dismissed the idea.

He definitely couldn't give it away!

What if it was sent to the DGE Esports Club and used as a tool to practice hand speed?

What if it was given to President Li and others, and it became a trend among the wealthy?

After all, no matter what it was, it seemed that as long as it was associated with President Pei, it would be difficult to escape the fate of being over-interpreted.

Therefore, Pei Qian decided that this matter should be kept strictly confidential. He would not give it away or advertise it. It was best to let this pile of Fully Automatic Argument Machines gather dust in the warehouse.

…

Watching President Pei leave, Zhang Wang's mood was a little complicated.

Without President Pei, there would be no success of the Shared Phone Booth.

And now, the Fully Automatic Argument Machine project had an unfavorable start, but President Pei still trusted him so much.

Zhang Wang felt ashamed in addition to being moved.

He Desheng came over and patted him on the shoulder, "President Pei has already said to seize the time to mass-produce, so don't think too much."

Although He Desheng couldn't guess what President Pei's plan was, it was definitely right to act according to President Pei's requirements.

Zhang Wang nodded, "I know, I just feel a little ashamed to President Pei. I don't know if there is anything else I can do to help President Pei and do my part?"

"Hmm?" He Desheng was stunned and thought for a while, "Do you have any inventions that can be used for Thriller Paradise? President Pei's recent work focus seems to be on this large haunted house."

Zhang Wang frowned slightly, "This... I'm afraid not. The mechanisms in Thriller Paradise must all be well-designed. My rustic inventions are difficult to present in a grand manner."

"But... does Thriller Paradise need publicity?"

He Desheng nodded, "Publicity? Of course it's needed. You can never have too much publicity."

Zhang Wang thought seriously for a while, "Then... how about I use the Shared Phone Booth to promote Thriller Paradise?"

There was a display screen facing outwards in the Shared Phone Booth, which was originally used for advertising and could display various advertising content.

He Desheng suddenly realized, "Oh? That's a good idea! Then I'll send a message to Chen Kangtuo and ask him to send the promotional materials."

Zhang Wang couldn't help but be happy, and his previous guilt was greatly relieved.

Although the current situation of the Fully Automatic Argument Machine was not optimistic and it was likely to lose money, helping President Pei advertise on the Shared Phone Booth and directly broadcasting the news of Thriller Paradise's opening to shopping malls in major cities across the country was also a great help to President Pei!

Could this be considered repaying President Pei's kindness in recognizing his talent?

Thinking about it, President Pei should also be pleased by this, right?

He Desheng had just finished sending the message when he suddenly thought of something else, "In that case, the Xue Ba Kuai Lai App (Study God Come Quickly App) now also has an advertising module, so can we also promote the Thriller Paradise project a little bit?"

"A bit forced."

"But it doesn't matter, anyway, it's all our own business."