OBS Chapter 1570 I won't feel at ease if I don't spend these 4 yuan!
Chapter 1570 I won't feel at ease if I don't spend these 4 yuan!
"How about we get someone to teach this kid a lesson?"
This proposal was unanimously approved by all the bosses.
Just as it was approaching noon, Qin Hao was packing up his stall with the remaining brochures to go get some boxed lunch when a group of burly men quietly followed him.
Qin Hao crossed the road and turned into a narrow alley. The alley was not wide, with old residential buildings on both sides, their walls peeling and their electrical wires tangled overhead like a spider web. He had only taken a few steps when he heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him.
He didn't turn around, but quickened his pace slightly.
The footsteps behind them quickened.
As they walked deeper into the alley, new figures kept appearing at the forks in the road on both sides. Qin Hao glanced around and saw at least a dozen people in all directions, some carrying sticks and steel pipes, clearly indicating they were prepared.
Qin Hao stopped and turned around.
A dozen burly men blocked the alley entrance, completely sealing off any escape route. The leader was a bald man with a face full of scars, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, squinting at Qin Hao like a cat eyeing a mouse.
"Kid, you can run pretty fast." The bald man spat out his cigarette butt and stomped on it. "Go ahead and run, why did you stop?"
Qin Hao took the sack off his shoulder and placed it against the wall, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Run? You think you're worthy?"
"Damn!" The bald man grinned, revealing a set of teeth stained yellow by cigarette smoke. "Kid, you've got guts. Fine, today I'll let you die knowing why. You distributed that lousy pamphlet in Zhongguancun and ruined our boss's business. The boss sent me to teach you a lesson!"
"Enough with the nonsense!" Qin Hao sneered. "Who's coming to die first?"
"You're asking for it!" The bald man waved his hand: "Get him!"
A dozen or so burly men rushed forward.
Qin Hao took a deep breath, and his expression suddenly changed.
The first to rush forward was the skinny man with a pointed chin and monkey-like face, wielding a wooden stick, which he brought down on Qin Hao's head. Qin Hao dodged to the side, the stick grazing his ear. He then grabbed the skinny man's wrist and twisted it sharply. With a crisp "crack," the skinny man screamed, and the stick fell to the ground. Qin Hao's knee struck him in the abdomen, and the skinny man curled up like a shrimp, clutching his stomach and collapsing to the ground, vomiting a mouthful of bile.
The second and third men lunged at him simultaneously, one throwing a punch, the other a flying kick. Qin Hao didn't retreat but advanced, ducking to dodge the punches, and landed a hook punch on the second man's chin. The man was thrown backward, his head hitting the wall, his eyes rolling back, and he slid limply to the ground. Immediately afterward, Qin Hao spun around and delivered a whip kick to the outside of the third man's thigh. The sound was crisp and loud, like striking a raw cow's leg. The man screamed, flying sideways and crashing into the wall before sliding down, clutching his thigh and rolling on the ground.
The bald man's expression changed, and he shouted, "Attack him together! Surround him!"
The remaining men swarmed forward, raining down punches and kicks. Qin Hao dodged left and right, seizing every opening to unleash a barrage of punches, each landing precisely on the opponent's nose, chin, temple, or stomach. His punches were incredibly fast, their trajectories almost invisible; only muffled thuds could be heard as one person after another fell to the ground.
In less than five minutes, the alley was littered with people lying haphazardly on the ground. Some were covering their faces, some were clutching their stomachs, and some were hugging their legs, groans rising and falling. The air was thick with the smell of blood and sweat.
The bald man was still standing, but his legs were trembling. He had somehow acquired a dagger in his hand; the blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, but his hand was shaking so badly that the blade wobbled along with it.
Qin Hao walked towards the bald man, his pace neither hurried nor slow.
The bald man stumbled backward, his back slamming against the wall, finding himself with nowhere to retreat. He brandished his dagger, shouting menacingly, "Don't...don't come any closer! I...I'll stab you to death!"
Qin Hao looked at him, then suddenly smiled, pinched the blade between two fingers, and gently snapped it open.
The bald man felt a strong force coming from him, his hand went numb, and the dagger flew out of his hand and landed on the ground with a clatter.
Qin Hao patted the bald man on the shoulder, his tone casual as if chatting with an old friend: "Go back and tell your boss to talk things out properly and not to resort to these underhanded tactics. Next time he comes, it won't be as simple as just beating him up."
After saying that, he bent down to pick up the burlap sack at the base of the wall, dusted it off, and turned to walk towards the alley entrance.
……
Less than half an hour later, Qin Hao returned, not only without any injuries, but his clothes were also spotless.
The crowd gathered again, each taking a copy. Qin Hao chatted and laughed as he distributed the copies, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, in a shop not far from the street corner, a group of shop owners were standing behind the window, eagerly waiting.
They waited for almost half an hour, but instead of Qin Hao rolling back with a bruised and swollen face, they saw him back, full of energy and shouting.
The bosses were dumbfounded.
What's going on? Did the person they hired betray them? Or did those thugs take the money and not do their job?
"What's going on? Old Li, who did you find? Is he reliable?" The fat boss frowned and looked at the boss in the leather jacket.
The leather jacket shop owner looked equally bewildered, scratching his head as he said, "That shouldn't be the case. Those guys are the most powerful around here. I gave them three thousand yuan to beat that kid up and burn all those brochures. How come..."
The tall, thin boss pointed out the window: "But look at that kid, he's perfectly fine, not even his clothes are dirty!"
"Don't rush, wait a little longer," the leather jacket shop owner said, forcing a smile. "Maybe they haven't even made a move yet."
Just as these business owners were completely baffled, a group of figures appeared at the street corner.
A group of burly men, supporting each other, limped towards them. Some clutched their stomachs, some their heads, and some were being supported by their arms. They were all bruised and battered, looking like deserters who had just come from the battlefield. The bald man at the head of the group was in the worst shape, his face covered in bruises, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and he walked with a limp.
The portly shop owner, with his sharp eyes, spotted the bald man immediately and quickly pushed open the shop door to greet him.
"What... what happened?" The leather jacket shop owner stared at the bald man's miserable state, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. "No way, I asked you to teach a little kid a lesson, and you've gotten yourselves into this mess. Did you get into a car accident?"
The bald man looked miserable: "Boss, that kid is really weird. We cornered him in a dead end, and even a dozen of us couldn't take him down."
"What?" The fat shop owner rushed out of the store, his voice trembling. "You mean, he beat all ten of you to a pulp by himself?"
"Are you kidding me?" The tall, thin boss also came over, his face full of disbelief. "Do you think this is a movie, like Shaolin Temple?"
The shop owners immediately erupted in uproar, chattering amongst themselves. They preferred to believe that Qin Hao had bribed these thugs rather than believe that someone could take on ten men in a street brawl.
The bald man said bitterly, "If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't believe it either. But that kid was really weird. His punches were so fast that I didn't even see how he threw them before I was knocked down." He touched his swollen face, wincing in pain, "I don't even know how I took that punch."
“You bet!” A skinny thug next to him clutched his stomach, his voice so weak it was barely a whisper: “He punched me in the stomach and made me throw up my dinner from last night. My stomach is still churning.”
“You’re lucky.” Another tall thug leaned against the wall, rubbing his thigh, his face pale. “I took a kick from him and flew out and hung on the wall.”
"My jaw is dislocated..."
As the thugs' ramblings became increasingly outrageous and exaggerated, the expressions on the faces of the bosses grew increasingly grim.
Finally, the boss in the leather jacket pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, counted out twenty ten-yuan bills, stuffed them into the bald man's hand, and said irritably, "Alright, alright, take the money and get out of here. Don't embarrass yourself here. Don't ever say you know me again."
The bald man took the money, counted it, and said with a bitter face, "Boss, this...this isn't enough for the medical expenses..."
"Not enough? If not, go ask that kid for more!" The leather jacket shop owner flicked his sleeves and turned back into the shop.
The bald man opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He and his fellow sufferers helped each other up and limped away into the depths of the alley.
After the thugs left, the group of shop owners returned to the fat shop owner's store, closed the door, and sat together. The room was filled with smoke, and the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like it was about to rain.
There was a long silence of two or three minutes; no one spoke.
Finally, the portly boss spoke first, his voice low and deep: "What do we do now?"
The tall, thin boss slammed his hand on the table and said angrily, "What else can we do? We can't do anything about him by going the legal way, and we can't beat him by resorting to underhanded tactics. Are we just going to accept our fate like this?"
"What else can we do if we don't admit defeat?" Another boss wearing glasses sighed. "We can't beat him in a fight, and we can't sue him. What else can we do?"
The leather jacket shop owner took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaled the smoke, and said, "How about we talk to him?"
"Talk? How can we talk?" the tall, thin boss retorted. "They're clearly trying to ruin our livelihood. What are you going to say to them? Say, 'Brother, please stop posting?' Do you think that will work?"
The leather jacket shop owner shook his head, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and said, "I've been observing that kid all morning. Although he's young, he's very organized and doesn't seem like the kind of reckless young man who doesn't care about anything. Think about it, he first spent time researching all the prices in Zhongguancun, then printed them into booklets and distributed them for free, specifically targeting our high-priced shops. What does that mean? It means he came prepared, not on a whim."
The portly boss nodded thoughtfully: "You mean, he has his own ulterior motives for doing this? It's not just about making trouble for us?"
“Yes,” the leather jacket shop owner said. “In business, harmony brings wealth. As long as the conditions are acceptable, giving him a little benefit isn’t a bad idea. It’s better than dragging this out. If we let him keep paying for a few more days, we really won’t be able to do business.”
After a brief silence, most of the bosses agreed to the plan.
If Qin Hao continued distributing his brochures like this, they wouldn't be able to do business at all. Not to mention the store rent, the inventory they were stuck with would be enough to bankrupt them.
"Alright, let's talk to him then." The portly boss stood up and straightened his clothes. "Who's going to invite him?"
"I'll go." The leather-jacket shop owner stood up, pushed open the door, and went out.
A few minutes later, Qin Hao was invited into the fat boss's store.
The store was packed with people; everyone who could sit was seated, and those who couldn't were standing. There were at least thirty or forty people, all computer business owners from the Zhongguancun area.
The portly shopkeeper, sitting behind the counter, immediately stood up when Qin Hao entered, his face beaming with a warm smile. "Come, come, young man, have a seat," he greeted him. He then personally moved a chair to Qin Hao's side and turned to pour tea, asking, "What's your name, young man?"
"Qin Hao." Qin Hao didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down with an air of authority, took a sip of tea, glanced at the bosses present, and a playful smile appeared on his lips. He spoke slowly and deliberately: "I thought you guys had found a group of people but weren't satisfied and wanted to continue playing around."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the business owners present changed. Some lowered their heads, some looked away, and some gave an awkward laugh, their expressions extremely embarrassed.
The portly boss's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned. He said with a forced smile, "Young man, you're joking. It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Let's be frank. What do you want? Let's make things clear. We're all just trying to make a living, and earning money isn't easy. If we've offended you in any way, I apologize on behalf of everyone." As he spoke, he pulled a cardboard box from under the counter, placed it on the table, and opened it to reveal a brand-new computer tower: "This 386, consider it our apology to you, young man. Is that alright?"
Inside the box was a Compaq 386 computer, which sells for over 20,000 yuan on the market. The fat boss really went all out.
However, to everyone's surprise, Qin Hao didn't even glance at the computer and refused without a second thought.
"Are you treating me like a conman trying to extort money?" Qin Hao put down his teacup, his tone calm but his attitude resolute.
The fat boss's smile finally faded, his brows furrowed slightly, and his tone grew colder: "So, young man, you're determined to fight us to the death?"
"A fight to the death?" Qin Hao smiled, a smile carrying a hint of ease and certainty, as if everything was under control. "Why do you say that?"
He stood up, walked to the center of the room, facing all the business owners present. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear: "The reason I printed this brochure is actually to explore collaboration opportunities with you all—"
"Cooperation?" The leather-jacketed shopkeeper flew into a rage, slamming his cigarette butt on the ground and leaping to his feet. "You've almost ruined our reputation, how can we cooperate now?"
"Exactly!" the tall, thin boss slammed his fist on the table in agreement. "Is this how you cooperate? How much business are we going to lose in just one morning? Have you even calculated it?"
Faced with the bosses' questions, Qin Hao remained calm and waited until they had all finished speaking before slowly saying, "This is not my fault. The prices in the brochure were given to me by you yourselves. I didn't write them down, did I?"
One sentence left all the bosses speechless.
The portly boss stopped his noisy competitors and turned to Qin Hao, saying, "Young man, do you mean we can change the prices and reviews of our shop in the brochure?"
Qin Hao nodded, sat down again, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "Everyone, I did create this brochure to make a little money. To put it bluntly, we're all doing business in Zhongguancun; we all rise and fall together. If Zhongguancun's reputation is ruined, customers will avoid it, and none of our businesses will last long."
“I update this brochure once a week. You can send me the product information, prices, and pictures that you think are most attractive to customers. Customers can then use this product information to accurately find the products and stores they need. Moreover, I suggest that each store try not to overlap the products they promote. It is best to highlight your own characteristics and advantages, which can also avoid disorderly competition among peers.”
Upon hearing this, the business owners began to whisper among themselves.
"This plan is not bad." The bespectacled boss nodded thoughtfully.
"Hmph, first slap him and then give him a treat." The tall, thin boss curled his lip, his voice not loud but grating: "To put it bluntly, he just wants to make money off us. I don't believe he's doing charity."
"Don't rush, Lao Fang, let's hear how much he's charging first." The fat boss held down the hand of the tall, thin boss and lowered his voice, saying, "If he's asking for an exorbitant price, I'd rather close the shop and fight him to the death. If the price is right, then we can talk about it."
As a result, everyone's attention once again focused on Qin Hao.
But Qin Hao calmly held up one finger: "One hundred yuan per copy."
"The brochure is updated once a week, four times a month, which means it costs four hundred a month."
"Four hundred?"
"Only four hundred?"
The group of bosses were left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
So Qin Hao made such a big fuss, and he only charged 400 yuan a month? And that included printing and distributing brochures, which is equivalent to them buying a month's worth of advertising space for 400 yuan. Although it's shared by everyone, this price is negligible for businesses like theirs that routinely generate millions in revenue per month.
The leather jacket shop owner was both amused and exasperated, slapping his thigh and complaining, "Hey, so this is all the money we got after all this time? Brother Qin, you should have told me sooner."
"That's right." The chubby boss shook his head with a smile, "It made me lose a whole morning of business. If I had known it was only this much money, I would have been the first to pay."
Faced with the bosses' complaints, Qin Hao inwardly scoffed. Don't let their current arrogance fool you; if you actually told these bosses beforehand to spend 400 yuan a month on printing brochures, most likely no one would listen to you.
These days, no one doing business in Zhongguancun is easy to deal with. You have to hit their weak points to get them to hand over their money. People don't learn their lesson until they're faced with a fatal mistake, and they won't learn their lesson until they hit a brick wall.
The portly boss rubbed his hands together and asked what all the bosses were thinking: "Brother Qin, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, can we revise the brochure right away?"
Qin Hao said seriously, "If we need to make changes, I'll have to trouble you bosses to send me some information so I can re-typeset and reprint it. It won't be ready until tomorrow at the earliest." He paused, glancing at the box of brochures that hadn't been fully distributed yet in the corner: "As for the remaining brochures, we'll hold off on distributing them for now..."
Upon hearing this, the business owners immediately understood Qin Hao's meaning. Temporarily halting distribution didn't mean destroying them. That box of brochures was a sword hanging over their heads; Qin Hao could distribute them again whenever he was displeased. These shrewd people certainly understood this.
The chubby boss was the first to react. Without saying a word, he took out four hundred yuan from his drawer and slapped it in front of Qin Hao: "Brother Qin, I'll pay for one month first. Can you change the price and comments for me?"
Not to be outdone, the leather jacket shop owner pulled out four hundred yuan and slammed it on the table: "I'll pay too!"
"I'll pay too!"
"Me too!"
In no time, the counter was surrounded by people, each holding up money, afraid that Qin Hao would make things difficult for them if they were late in paying.
Qin Hao didn't immediately accept the money. Instead, he took out a stack of printed documents from his canvas bag, handed them to the portly boss, and said, "Thank you all for your support. How about we sign a promotional agency contract? It'll be easier for you to keep accounts later."
The bosses took the contract and their expressions were priceless.
The contract is very simple and can be read at a glance: Party A (the stores) entrusts Party B (Qin Hao) to handle publicity and promotion matters, with a monthly service fee of 400 yuan. The contract term is one year, and Party A may not unilaterally terminate the contract; otherwise, Party A shall pay a penalty of 5,000 yuan.
The bosses cursed inwardly: "Little fox."
To put it nicely, it was actually to prevent them from backing out. The contract was for a year, which meant they would have to "pay protection money" to Qin Hao for a long time to come. Moreover, Qin Hao's approach also avoided the risk of them reporting him for "extortion" later. Once the contract was signed, it was a purely commercial transaction, a willing buyer and a willing seller, all in black and white, and no one could deny it.
The chubby boss finished reading the contract, gave a wry smile, picked up the pen, and signed his name.
With the portly boss taking the lead, the other bosses followed suit, signing and paying. One after another, the money on the counter piled higher and higher, a colorful and abundant sight.
Just as Qin Hao was signing contracts with the first batch of bosses, other bosses from Zhongguancun also heard the news and arrived one after another. They were all panting, afraid of being late.
Although the reviews for their shop in the previous brochures were fairly fair, Qin Hao has now accepted money from others. If they don't pay, will they be treated differently? Who can guarantee that?
After all, they had personally experienced the effects of the brochure. Today, Qin Hao could make their place bustling with customers, but tomorrow he could leave them without a single feather in sight.
They won't feel at ease if they don't spend these four hundred yuan!
As a result, more and more business owners came to sign contracts, crowding the fat boss's shop to the point of being impassable. The printer in the fat boss's shop was also running non-stop. He was busy until four or five o'clock in the afternoon before people gradually dispersed.
On that day, a total of 273 business owners signed "promotional agency contracts" with Qin Hao.
Qin Hao organized all the contracts and counted the money collected. Two hundred and seventy-three companies, four hundred yuan each, that's one hundred and nine thousand two hundred yuan a month. Based on printing costs of three cents per ten thousand copies, plus the labor costs of hiring people to distribute brochures on the street, that would probably account for about 30% of revenue. All things considered, the monthly net profit would be at least seventy thousand yuan.
Seventy thousand yuan. Seventy thousand yuan in 1992 was an astronomical figure.
And this is just the beginning.
Zhongguancun is still expanding, and more shops and stalls will move in. At that time, achieving monthly revenue of over one million yuan will not be difficult.
Moreover, he possessed the most comprehensive merchant information and price data in Zhongguancun, a valuable asset indeed. (End of Chapter)