Chapter 42: The Boss is the Real Sales Champion

"You..."

Yao Jingying finally noticed something amiss. "Quickly tell me! Did you come out here to see me off?"

(Ever since Yu Yan was cornered by debt collectors, she started living on campus.)

"Or else?!" Yu Yan said defensively.

"Oh? Lin Cheng!" Yao Jingying looked at Lin Cheng and greeted him with feigned surprise.

Lin Cheng smiled and nodded at Yu Yan. "Oh, you're here."

Yu Yan nodded back to Lin Cheng, her bright eyes revealing nothing unusual.

Generously, Lin Cheng said to Tao Lu, "This is Yu Yan, and this is Yao Jingying. They're both my classmates, majoring in art."

Tao Lu was intently watching Yu Yan and only snapped out of it when Lin Cheng introduced them.

"Oh, oh? Your classmates? They're so pretty!"

Amused and exasperated, Lin Cheng said, "Alright, tone it down a bit and let's talk about the commercial commissions!"

"Heh heh heh..." Tao Lu said brazenly, "Hahaha, I almost forgot about business!"

Tao Lu stepped forward. "Hello, I am Tao Lu from Pineapple Media Company."

"Our company has taken on a construction wall painting project and is looking for artists. Of course, you students don't have time to paint on-site, but you can create design samples."

"Four hundred per piece. Would you like to try it?"

Tao Lu spoke like a machine gun, looking at Yu Yan with radiant energy.

Yao Jingying asked eagerly, "Huh? Four hundred? That's amazing!"

Yu Yan originally contributed to *Fireworks* magazine as well, but due to its high prestige, it not only took time, but older alumni who had already gone to college remained part of the fixed team for *Fireworks*.

Therefore, their selection rate was not high; they could only submit when *Fireworks* reached out to them.

At that time, each A4-sized magazine illustration paid about 400 yuan—this was the rate art majors earned for drawing promotional illustrations for historical costume TV dramas, provided they were skilled professionals.

Illustrations for larger magazines typically ranged from 500 to 1,000 yuan per piece, though they required constant revisions and a significant investment of effort.

Tao Lu continued, "Well... without letting it interfere with your studies, you could paint ten or eight pieces a month. Of course, not all of them will necessarily be accepted, but once they are selected, you mustn't delay our schedule."

Yu Yan asked, "What kind of themes are you looking for? Things like 'Affection for China'?"

"Historical themes, perhaps, or national comic styles, four-panel comic styles—like Zhang Qian, the Three Kingdoms, or Xuanzang. Sometimes, if we close deals on advertisements for Xianxia or Journey to the West, we might paint those themes too."

Yu Yan and Yao Jingying exchanged glances and nodded. "We'll give it a try first! Thank you, Manager Tao."

Yu Yan also glanced at Lin Cheng, silently expressing her gratitude.

"You're welcome. Leave your phone numbers. Once you finish painting, send me a text message and I'll come pick them up."

Yu Yan left her phone number and bid farewell to the group of rich kids and motorcycle girls at the school gate.

Wang Zhiwen once said: The highest form of a man's love for a woman is teaching her survival skills and providing her with resources and assistance.

Even if they were to part ways one day, she would still be able to stand on her own and live with dignity.

Lin Cheng watched their departing figures—one slender and tall, the other petite yet full of vitality. In his eyes was a sense of release, mingled with a hint of joy.

He slowly let out a long breath.

Bits and pieces of his time spent with Yu Yan continuously floated through his mind...

Yao Jingying playfully asked Yu Yan, "I want to know what the deal is with this Tao Lu!"

Yu Yan turned away and ignored her.

"Tell me already!"

"Oh please, isn't she from Pineapple Media?" Yu Yan intentionally stated the obvious.

"Then what is her relationship with Lin Cheng?" Yao Jingying pressed on step by step.

Yu Yan replied, "I don't know either!"

"Spit it out! It's keeping me up at night!"

Yao Jingying's fire of gossip was burning fiercely.

"Lin Cheng said she's the assistant of a relative of his family. They just started Pineapple Media and are looking for freelance artists..."

Yu Yan took a sip of water. "Well, studying art is very expensive! Hopefully... we have what it takes to do this."

Yao Jingying rolled her eyes. "Actually, Lin Cheng is really great. And yet you... pretended not to know him for so long!"

Yu Yan remained silent...

That fair face took on a soft radiance under the interplay of light and shadow.

The tips of her eyebrows lifted slightly, exuding a subtle, spirited charm.

Her bright, clear eyes rippled like water;

Across such an exquisite, oval face, a gentle warmth seemed to have been softly caressed by the sunlight.

Tao Lu had been trying to negotiate an advertisement with the Chuanwaichuan Hot Pot restaurant for a long time, but the other party refused to budge.

On Wednesday, Chen Yan accompanied her to Chuanwaichuan's headquarters office.

The general manager was practicing calligraphy. He wrote a piece, wasn't satisfied, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it away.

Seeing Chen Yan walk in, he waved a hand. "Ah, you're here again. I've told you before, your magazine has no finished product and no circulation; we don't want to get involved with this."

Chen Yan stepped forward two paces and laid the thick stack of materials he was holding right on top of the unrolled rice paper on the desk.

Manager Fang of Chuanwaichuan glared and snapped, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

With a full smile, Chen Yan said, "I heard that you haven't looked at our company's materials at all."

As he spoke, he pulled a form out from the documents and placed it right on top.

This was a survey form for company team-building activities and student gatherings, detailing their preferred locations:

The up-and-coming dining brand "Haoxiang Hot Pot" was currently the top choice for gatherings, accounting for 35% among nearby universities; whereas Chuanwaichuan Hot Pot stood at only about 3%!

"This is the current consumer intent of students, but this student purchasing power survey is even more direct."

Chen Yan pulled out a few more forms and placed them in front of Manager Fang.

Manager Fang picked up the forms and skimmed through them. Though he kept his composure, he was inwardly astonished by the students' financial capacity. The crucial point was that the competitor's ability to draw money was glaringly obvious...

"Our consumer guide magazine will cover universities throughout the province in the coming year, serving as the authoritative magazine guiding the consumption of the student generation."

"Within the next three years, it will expand to universities in first- and second-tier cities, with the goal of becoming a comprehensive consumer-guide magazine targeting college students and white-collar workers."

"Is this survey of yours authoritative?" Manager Fang asked skeptically, weighing the few pieces of paper in his hand as he furrowed his brow.

"You can run discount coupons in our magazine and analyze our influence based on the number of returned coupons," Chen Yan said confidently.

"Right now, as our member unit, we offer special rates! To help you maintain your competitive edge in the future."

"How much?"

"Two thousand for the first issue's advertisement. You can look at the coupon return rate to decide whether you want to continue running this ad."

Manager Fang remained immersed in the professional-looking reports before him, still harboring some internal doubts.

"I'll start with ten thousand and run it for a month to see how it goes."

When Tao Lu received the payment slip, she stared at Chen Yan in disbelief.

Chen Yan smiled. "Let's go, to Haoxiang Hot Pot."

Riding his Indian Roadmaster, carrying General Manager Chen Yan, it went *brr-brr-brr* all the way...

Tao Lu watched wide-eyed as Chen Yan took twenty thousand yuan out of his bag, stuffed it into an envelope, and walked into the general manager's office at Haoxiang Hot Pot.

After listening to Chen Yan eloquently analyze the competitive landscape of the hot pot industry;

And then mentioning that Chuanwaichuan Hot Pot had already invested thirty thousand in advertising fees and was striving to seize the ambition of claiming the top spot in consumption, and so on and so forth.

After holding a brief meeting among themselves, the senior executives of Haoxiang Hot Pot decided to invest fifty thousand in advertising with Cherry Media;

And specifically proposed: offering a hundred thousand in profit concessions, issuing three thousand 12%-off discount coupons...

In a single afternoon, they secured sixty thousand yuan in advertising revenue. Standing nearby, Tao Lu's eyes were practically popping out of her head as she looked at Teacher Chen with awe.

The first battle was a victory!

This injected a surge of energy into all the members of Cherry Media, which only had two offices!