Chapter 682 - 288: Take Back That Money! (Part 2)
If it weren’t for the popularity of the tournament and enough profits, it wouldn’t be possible to sustain the cost of anti-cheating measures.
For Li Yang, it’s also a good thing. Without cheats, Aurora Studio wouldn’t be able to hire over 1,600 professional reviewers and have hundreds of thousands of free player inspectors. A special skin for those inspecting players would be enough.
Currently, Aurora Studio has over 10,000 employees worldwide, with an annual operating cost around four billion.
Previously, relying on selling manuals within the game, it only made a few billion a year. This year, Bai Qing launched a premium manual priced at 199. Due to the luxurious gun skins and outfits involved, over 10 million players purchased it globally, equivalent to one out of every fourteen people.
But essentially, it still operates at a loss, relying on broadcasting rights and advertising fees to subsidize.
The spring tournament has ended, and the Koala Team will participate in the Intercontinental Competition with a second-place finish.
However, Li Yang won’t follow them there; he came to Extreme Shadow Cars.
How to handle Jiang Banxia’s order is an important matter.
If it’s a normal delivery to Shaking Light and Megrez, what would those cars be used for?
Ride-hailing?
It’s feasible, but doing so would lower the brand level of Extreme Shadow Cars.
Although Extreme Shadow Cars currently don’t have much brand power, once they do it, they can no longer claim to be a high-end brand.
Additionally, Extreme Shadow Cars have indeed reached the stage of launching new models. New model projects have long been established, but progress is slow.
There are three projects to be launched, including an executive-level large sedan, an MPV, and an off-road vehicle.
Although Shaking Light also accommodates some off-road performance, it still falls far short of a true rugged off-road vehicle and is just a multifunctional large family car.
The executive sedan and MPV are easier to handle, focusing on comfort and luxury. Rugged off-roading is tougher and is the most delayed project for Extreme Shadow Cars, with technical standards still unmet.
Jiang Banxia’s order is neither suitable for executive sedans nor MPVs, let alone off-roading.
A mid-sized sedan would be more suitable, but the company has no corresponding plans.
He brought in Feng Xinli, and after chatting for a while, decided to establish a sub-brand.
The sub-brand’s product price range will be between two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand.
Li Yang will never create models under two hundred thousand, as he won’t compete with domestic manufacturers at this price point.
On one hand, it’s thankless, requiring too many resources, and on the other, it would create enemies everywhere.
With the services he offers, even a thirty thousand model doesn’t make money. Only models like Shaking Light, priced over fifty thousand, make a bit of profit, provided they can sell 400,000 units annually.
The sub-brand will have a factory in Zhongzhou, with the entire project planned out this year and officially launched next year.
...
On the afternoon of April 30th, Zhang Mansheng was off work,
and with the Labor Day holiday coming up, he had plenty of free time.
So, he took his wife to Jiangbei to have a meal with their daughter Zhang Mengyu.
At midnight tonight, the net asset value of Wanliu Global Selection will be announced, and after the holiday, they can get the money.
He originally invited Ning Hao to the meal, but Ning Hao didn’t come.
During the meal, he handed the car key to Zhang Mengyu and said, "Isn’t your company now offering driver aid updates? Take my car for an upgrade."
Zhang Mengyu said, "Dad, that’s 20,000 yuan."
"You pay first, and when I can withdraw my financial investment in a few days, I’ll give it to you."
Zhang Mengyu quickly explained, "Dad, I don’t mean that. I mean you don’t really need an upgrade. You barely drive, mostly in the city, with short distances. You can wait another two years, and maybe real autonomous driving will be available, saving the upgrade cost."
Zhang Mansheng waved his hand and said, "Do you think your dad lacks that money?"
Zhang Mengyu said, "I don’t know who sold his house..."
Early last year, Zhang Mansheng sold his house in his hometown for about 800,000.
This year, the price in that neighborhood had dropped by a few ten thousand.
He spent 520,000 on a car, invested 260,000 in Wanliu Global Selection, and used the more than 300,000 he had to buy Wanliu Capital’s stock.
He bought it at the stock’s highest point and only gained about twenty percent recently.
He’s mainly anticipating the money from Wanliu Global Selection to earn twenty thousand, which would be very worthwhile for him.
After all, the 2018 Shaking Light he drives is still valued at forty thousand on the second-hand market.
However, Zhang Mansheng didn’t mention this but said instead, "Aren’t I planning to buy you a house in Jiangbei? After all, you surely don’t want to return to your hometown. We can go check them out in the coming days. If I’m short on money, I’ll ask Ning Hao. He still has a good chunk of my money, which is enough to buy you a big house."
Zhang Mengyu was shocked, "Dad, what’s his money got to do with us?"
Zhang Mansheng said with a stern face, "That’s my money! I had him manage it for me. I transferred 640,000 to him, and he’s made almost thirty percent recently, totaling 800,000. Plus, I have about seventy to eighty thousand on hand, so buying a house in Jiangbei is a piece of cake."
"Dad, that’s not what you said before. You said that money belonged to Ning Hao, and you also accepted seventy thousand in interest."
"But that kid insists it’s mine, what can I do? Besides, don’t you want a big house in Jiangbei? One hundred and fifty thousand as a down payment can get a large flat, though that’s too much stress. A hundred and forty square meters would be just fine."