Chapter 489 - 263: Securing the Tycoon! Promoting Smartphones
Although Chen Jincheng had reached an agreement to cooperate with Elder Lei, the fine print—details, documents, and contracts—wasn’t something that could be settled in a few words. He and the Rice Group spent the entire day in negotiations, finally nailing down all the terms by evening.
The most important point was the sales commission. It was set at the standard 10%; they couldn’t strong-arm him for a lower rate the way they could with smaller companies.
Of course, a dedicated team handled the details with Chen Jincheng during this time. Lei Xiaojun couldn’t possibly be involved personally; he had his own business to attend to.
After the contract was signed, however, Wei Yuan showed up again. "Mr. Chen, the contract is all signed. Is there anything else you need our cooperation on going forward?"
Chen Jincheng seized the opportunity. "Actually, I do need President Wei’s help to generate some hype and build momentum for my promotional video."
Wei Yuan quickly replied, "Mr. Chen, please, go on."
Chen Jincheng said immediately, "This marketing campaign might ruffle some feathers, which is why I really need your Rice Group to handle it. It’s about the Fruit phone—for instance, the issue with its built-in map, and how it discriminates against domestic users by using inferior chips and components in its phones sold here."
"Wait, Mr. Chen, you know about this?" Wei Yuan asked suddenly. "But how?"
The question took Chen Jincheng by surprise.
’What does he mean?’
’The Rice Group knows about this too?’
It only took him a moment of thought to understand. In his past life, these issues with the Fruit phone were dragged out and criticized almost every year after 2019.
It was highly likely that domestic phone companies were behind it.
The goal was self-evident. The Fruit phone’s sales were declining year after year. In ’24, right before he traveled through time, sales of the new Fruit phone model had dropped to sixth place, holding only a 12.6% market share.
You could say it was because people were becoming more patriotic and domestic phones were on the rise, but you couldn’t deny that the annual negative press about the Fruit phone also played a part.
The fact that the Rice Group already knew about this was intriguing.
With this in mind, he said, "President Wei, in that case, I’ll leave it to you to publicize these issues. If these problems with Fruit come to light just as the Rice Phone is launching, it will at least persuade some buyers to make the switch."
"Understood." Wei Yuan nodded, giving Chen Jincheng a long, assessing look. "Mr. Chen, you continue to impress me. I’m even more excited about this collaboration now. I’m just not sure about the timing—when should we launch this campaign to coordinate with you?"
Chen Jincheng replied, "After the promotional video is filmed, but before I start the sales stream for the phone."
"Alright." Wei Yuan nodded. "That gives me just enough time to make thorough preparations."
As they were talking, President Lei returned, inviting him with a smile, "Mr. Chen, I’ve had someone book a restaurant. Let’s have dinner together tonight."
"I’ll follow your lead, President Lei." How could Chen Jincheng possibly refuse?
After all, it was one thing for the famous Boss Lei to be a gracious host, but for him to personally attend the dinner was another matter entirely.
Even Wei Yuan was a little surprised.
He knew President Lei rarely attended these kinds of social functions, which meant he must truly value Chen Jincheng.
’Or perhaps, President Lei wants something from him. Could it be... that idea of his is flaring up again?’
’This...’
A personal invitation from Lei Xiaojun naturally didn’t mean an ordinary restaurant. He had booked a table at a private kitchen in Beijing, one renowned among the city’s wealthy elite.
And why was it only famous among the rich?
Because anyone without money couldn’t even get through the door. Its clientele consisted entirely of Beijing’s business magnates.
When Lei Xiaojun led Chen Jincheng into the restaurant, the staff and management were clearly taken aback.
They weren’t surprised to see Lei Xiaojun himself, but they were stunned that he would bring an influencer like Chen Jincheng.
The news about Tiao Yin’s new shopping cart feature was viral today, and the question of what product Chen Jincheng would promote first was a source of intense speculation.
They had all seen some news about it while scrolling online.
’So, if Lei Xiaojun and Chen Jincheng are having dinner together... does that mean he’s going to promote the Rice Phone?’
This was exactly what Liu Fang was thinking.
But as employees of this establishment, they didn’t dare take out their phones to snap pictures. They’d be fired on the spot if caught.
So, she could only keep the thought to herself until she found a chance to slip away to the restroom. She pulled up the viral video speculating about Chen Jincheng’s first product and left a comment: "You can all stop guessing. Chen Jincheng is definitely going to promote the Rice Phone. I just saw Boss Lei personally hosting him for dinner."
She felt a thrill of satisfaction after posting the comment.
Everyone online was still guessing, but she had the inside scoop.
She quickly started getting replies, but they left her dumbfounded:
"Right, right, I’m watching Chen Jincheng and Lei Xiaojun eat right now as we speak."
"Haha, they’re eating at my place. I’m serving them their food as we speak."
"Are you dreaming? No matter how famous he gets, Chen Jincheng is still just an influencer. What makes you think he’s qualified to have dinner with Boss Lei?"
"Exactly. Boss Lei just shared one of his ads, that’s it. Do you really think they’re in the same league?"
"If Chen Jincheng qualifies for a personal dinner with Boss Lei, I’ll do a handstand and eat shit!"
"..."
Liu Fang was left speechless by the comments.
She was telling the truth. Why didn’t anyone believe her?
She desperately wanted to march back in there with her phone and take a picture of Lei Xiaojun and Chen Jincheng, but she didn’t dare. A good job like this was hard to find. More importantly, she had signed a contract; if she did something like that, she would have to pay a huge fine.
Inside the private room, Lei Xiaojun had already ordered the food to be served. Seated at the table with Chen Jincheng and Sister Feiye were President Wei and several managers from the Rice Group team that had handled the negotiations that day.
It was Chen Jincheng’s first time dining at such a high-end private kitchen, and he was quite curious. After tasting the dishes, he had to admit they were on a level of deliciousness he’d never experienced anywhere else.
"Mr. Chen, let’s have a toast." Lei Xiaojun had the waiter open a bottle of wine. After a glass had been poured for everyone, he said with a smile.
When Boss Lei proposed a toast, President Wei and the others naturally raised their glasses at once.
Chen Jincheng and Sister Feiye also raised their glasses.
’Honestly,’ he thought, ’being treated to a dinner like this by such a magnate... if word got out, it would make a lot of people envious.’
After putting down his glass, Lei Xiaojun suddenly asked, a playful tone in his voice, "Mr. Chen, you’re an expert on short video platforms like Tiao Yin, and you’re incredibly skilled at making people famous. What do you think... would someone like me be suited to becoming an influencer?"
Hearing this, Wei Yuan instinctively looked up. ’I knew it,’ he thought.
’In recent years, more and more celebrities have been hit by scandals, which in turn hurts the products they endorse. That’s why President Lei has long considered becoming a public face for the company himself.’
’In fact, President Lei isn’t the only one with this idea. Hasn’t Boss Ma also tried it? He even hired a bunch of A-list celebrities to play supporting roles for him.’
’But Boss Ma was just throwing money around, dabbling for fun.’
’President Lei, on the other hand, is serious.’
When Chen Jincheng heard Lei Xiaojun’s words, a single phrase unconsciously surfaced in his mind: ’Are you OK?’