48: Chapter 48 Self-Justification

Meanwhile,

Wang Lichun returned to the factory director's office.

"How did it go?"

Qian Zhaodi pressed eagerly.

Wang Lichun excitedly showed the mobile transfer notification.

"CEO Chen really transferred 300,000 to me."

"I wasn't asking about that. What did CEO Chen say?"

"He said..."

Wang Lichun was only focused on her joy, filled with the delight of making money. After thinking carefully, she finally spoke.

"CEO Chen said the transaction will continue. He also said that in the future, any bra I buy must be worn for at least a full day before being sold to him."

Qian Zhaodi snapped her fingers.

"Exactly! He's definitely conducting market research!"

Zhuang Hua, however, was unconcerned and refuted.

"Spending 300,000 just for market research? I can't agree with that."

Wang Lichun added,

"CEO Chen asked you to come see him. He has something to tell you."

Zhuang Hua calmly stood up.

"Stop guessing. I'll go test the waters for you."

With that, she strode toward the private dining room and pushed the door open.

"Senior, do you have a solution yet?"

Chen Hao immediately composed himself, placed his phone on the dining table, and spoke with an air of importance.

"I actually do have a solution."

Zhuang Hua's eyes flashed brilliantly.

For this company, she and her team had racked their brains and worked day and night for seven days. They had even consulted numerous economics professors, yet still couldn't devise a particularly good solution.

This was because the company had initially set a series of restrictive conditions: absolutely no mortgages, no loans, and no selling of copyrights. This severely tied the hands of Zhuang Hua's team.

Chen Hao had only looked at the materials for an hour, yet he already had a solution. She didn't know if Chen Hao's plan could solve the fundamental problem.

"Tell me. I'm listening."

Before stating his solution, Chen Hao intended to negotiate terms first.

Although Zhuang Hua had proposed giving the entire consultation fee to Chen Hao, he wasn't short of money now. What he needed was an increase in Favorability and a goddess token.

Zhuang Hua's token was her underwear, which was somewhat difficult to bring up.

Directly demanding it would surely result in a beating.

So, Chen Hao planned to raise her Favorability to the maximum point first, and then ask for her underwear. Even if he was considered a pervert, at least he wouldn't get beaten.

"Before I state the solution, let's settle the unpleasantness first. I don't need you to pay the consultation fee of 1.2 million. I'm not lacking this little bit of money from you."

Zhuang Hua was clearly stunned.

"Then what do you want?"

Since the Favorability hadn't increased, Chen Hao upped the ante.

"I want to join your team, or rather, become an external consultant for your team. If you encounter such difficult problems in the future, you can always come to me for consultation."

Zhuang Hua's expression was quite dramatic.

"Of course, no problem! I'd be delighted!"

"Zhuang Hua Favorability +30, Current Favorability 80"

Success!

"Cough, cough!"

Chen Hao coughed to encourage himself and said solemnly,

"As an exchange condition, I need you to... pay me with a private item in exchange."

Zhuang Hua's smile immediately froze. She lowered her head and glanced at her own chest.

"My... private item refers to?"

The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

Fortunately, the Favorability didn't drop. Chen Hao quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Due to certain reasons I cannot disclose, I need the underwear you have worn. I know this request is a bit perverse, but as compensation, I will maintain a long-term cooperative relationship with you."

Seeing Zhuang Hua still had a numb expression,

Chen Hao continued,

"It's okay if you don't agree. Just pretend I never said it."

Zhuang Hua finally snapped out of her shock. She felt a bit awkward and conflicted.

"It's not that I'm refusing, it's just... never mind. Although it's a bit embarrassing, I know you're doing this for market research."

What market research? Did she misunderstand something?

Chen Hao didn't explain or refute; he went along with her words.

"Yes, I am conducting market research. You figured it out. As expected of a colleague, you understand me."

This sentence seemed to possess a magical quality, opening up Zhuang Hua's floodgates.

"Actually, it's not that I figured it out. My Best Friend Zhao Di guessed it."

"She said you're an outsider trying to break into the female market, so you would definitely research before drawing conclusions. That's why you spent money buying bras worn by female workers—you wanted to understand the post-wear experience."

Chen Hao was stunned. Damn it, Qian Zhaodi knew all this? Oh my god, how could he face her now?

"I'm sorry, I even suspected you before. Zhao Di guessed that you wouldn't just want one woman's undergarment. At the time, I was thinking, you couldn't be that shameless, right? Asking every woman you meet?"

Chen Hao blushed slightly, unsure if this was an insult or a compliment.

Zhuang Hua abruptly changed the subject.

"It wasn't until you asked me for one that I finally understood the gap between us."

Chen Hao grumbled inwardly, what was this even leading to?

"I finally understand why so many colleagues who switch to sales fail."

"You taught me one thing: there is a difference between theory and practice. To achieve a goal by any means necessary, if you want to enter the market and engage in practice, you cannot care about face; you must forge ahead fearlessly."

After speaking, she actually bowed 90 degrees to Chen Hao.

"Thank you for your guidance!"

Zhuang Hua rationalized the situation, falling into Qian Zhaodi's self-consistent logic, and supplementing various reasons for Chen Hao.

Chen Hao truly never expected his actions could be interpreted this way.

This wasn't the time to argue about it, so he followed her lead.

"It's good that you understand me. So, you agree?"

Zhuang Hua was also a sensible person.

"Of course. 1.2 million in exchange for my worn undergarments, allowing you to understand the entire women's clothing industry through my experience—I naturally must fully cooperate with you, Senior, to conduct thorough market research."

"Then it's settled."

Chen Hao's wicked plan succeeded. Next, he held nothing back and began to explain in detail the difficulties the company was currently facing and the solution he had devised.

This was an animation company that had created an animation sweeping the nation—a major IP.

Animation belongs to the cultural industry and has no direct income itself. Profitability relies on market dependency.

This included peripheral merchandise, game adaptations, advertising revenue, and platform broadcasting rights.

The game adaptation rights had long been sold, and both online and mobile games were already launched.

However, for the animation company, this was just a one-time transaction; the game developers were the ones making money. The animation company lacked continuous, stable income.

Platform broadcasting rights barely covered salaries and operating costs—enough to survive, but not enough to live on.

Finally, merchandise like pillows and figures. The animation company had already attempted development, but due to the prevalence of knockoffs in the country, a large batch of counterfeit goods followed closely behind as soon as genuine products entered the market, severely compressing the profit margin for the authentic items.

According to the materials, the animation company was currently fighting copyright infringement lawsuits.

The animation company lamented that their hard work in creating original works ultimately led to pirates and profiteers gaining illegal profits, while the creators struggled to survive. If this continued, the national animation industry would become increasingly sluggish.

To seek a way out, the animation company was trying every means to find a solution that could not only overcome the current crisis but also provide a sustainable source of income in the future, preferably earning a large sum of money.

The company's excessive demands had stumped Zhuang Hua and all the training lecturers who only possessed theory without practice.

"My solution is very simple. We will still use the peripheral sales model, but differently from before. Have you ever heard of NBA player collectible cards?"