Since we are both reborn, of course I would choose the rich woman!

Chapter 396 Penalty for Breach of Contract? I'll pay.
Liu Tongxiong had already prepared a plan for how to cooperate, so he said almost without hesitation, "Our previous cooperation was based on you being an artist under my company."

"Although our contract is for three years and the term hasn't expired yet, I believe you have unlimited potential. So, let's transform our cooperation model as soon as possible so that everyone can achieve a win-win situation. That would be the best way for both of us to cooperate."

Liu Tongxiong took out a contract from his bag and said, "My plan is this: we will establish a media company together. You will be the legal representative and the boss, and I will invest in you as a shareholder. The company will have an investment of one million. I will contribute 51 and you will contribute 49. I will hold 51% of the shares and you will hold 49%."

Li Ziqi listened attentively without offering any opinion.

Liu Tongxiong continued, "Actually, even though I own a little more shares, it doesn't really matter. For major company decisions, more than 67% is required to proceed. My 51% stake is just for the convenience of daily management."

“My idea is to leverage the content you create and the brand effect of the internet to integrate the offline physical supply chain and complete a thorough and comprehensive brand transformation. This involves a lot of heavy and trivial matters, which I am good at handling, so you can leave this part of the work to me. You can just do what you are good at, and you will not be short of the company's profits.”

Liu Tongxiong's words were very persuasive; if Li Ziqi hadn't met Lü Yao, she might have already agreed.

Because Liu Tongxiong's explanation was very self-consistent, he avoided many loopholes, and Li Ziqi, who had limited cultural knowledge, was unaware of the intricacies involved.

But after Lü Yao got in touch with Li Ziqi, he started to educate her on relevant knowledge.

It's not that they can cooperate and share profits according to the agreed-upon ratio just by establishing a joint venture. If they sell under the "Li Ziqi" personal brand, there are far too many ways to manipulate the production and sales processes.

Especially if Li Ziqi is the legal representative, there might be a situation where annual sales reach millions or even tens of millions, but in the end, when the accounts are settled, Li Ziqi still owes hundreds of thousands to outsiders, which is quite funny.

Lu Yao's advice was that even if she didn't cooperate with him, she must keep a tight grip on the data of the supply chain and sales platform, and have a clear understanding of it. Otherwise, she could easily ruin her reputation and become a debtor.

Having already figured things out, Li Ziqi asked after listening to Liu Tongxiong's words: "I have a question. If we cooperate, who owns the brand? Can I access the production line? Can I review the sales data? Also, since we're starting with my internet brand, could I have a 51% stake? Of course, I don't want 51% of the profits; those profits will still belong to you."

Li Ziqi felt a little uneasy, and even her eyes lacked confidence.

These are all things she figured out on her own after studying the materials Lü Yao gave her.

Whether these things are actually useful or not, she really has no idea.

Under Li Ziqi's anxious gaze, Liu Tongxiong's heart skipped a beat, but he still smiled and said, "No problem, if you think this is appropriate, then we'll do it this way."

“However, I had already registered your brand ownership before. If I were to change it now, not only would the process take about six months, but our brand launch, execution, operation, and promotion would also be delayed. One thing after another would be pushed back, and the actual execution might not be until more than a year later. This would cause a huge delay to our business.”

Liu Tongxiong took a deep breath, his tone becoming exceptionally sincere: "Now is the golden age of the internet, and the pace of internet development is extremely fast. If we delay too long on this, we will miss the opportunity for development. So my suggestion is that our joint venture be set up as you said, but all brand and commercial content integration will still be handled by me."

Upon hearing this, Li Ziqi had already made her own judgment.

Her gaze toward Liu Tongxiong also carried a hint of distance. Li Ziqi's acting skills had improved significantly during the time she was filming the videos. She did not reveal her true thoughts. After a moment's hesitation, Li Ziqi made an excuse and said, "Well, Mr. Liu, let me think about it."

Liu Tongxiong's expression was rather unpleasant.

At this point, the astute Liu Tongxiong already knew that he had failed and that Li Ziqi had become wary of him.

In the current situation, no matter what he does or says, Li Ziqi will be wary of him, which is very detrimental to future cooperation negotiations. So after thinking for a moment, Liu Tongxiong quickly responded to Li Ziqi and said with a smile, "Okay, think about it carefully."

Liu Tongxiong put away the documents, stood up and said, "Then I won't bother you anymore. Contact me when you've thought it through."

Seeing the dejection in Liu Tongxiong's eyes, Li Ziqi suddenly felt a pang of pity. So she quickly stood up and said, "Why don't you have lunch here before you go back, Mr. Liu?"

Liu Tongxiong forced a smile: "No need, thank you."

After saying that, Liu Tongxiong left Li Ziqi's courtyard.

When Liu Tongxiong got back to his car, he couldn't help but lean back in his seat. Although he looked calm on the surface, his inner emotions were surging like the Qiantang River.

Why didn't he want to stay at Li Ziqi's house?

Because he knew that Li Ziqi was no longer the person he thought he could easily control. When Lü Yao intervened, the first thing this guy did was to help Li Ziqi improve her business acumen so that she could see the potential pitfalls in business cooperation.

"what!"

Inside the car, Liu Tongxiong couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating sound. He hadn't expected this, but wasn't Lü Yao's actions also creating trouble for himself?

But soon, Liu Tongxiong realized in a brainstorming session where the problem lay. He and Lü Yao were completely different in size. Lü Yao's slight improvement in his understanding of Li Ziqi might bother him, but it wouldn't bother Lü Yao.

Just as the waves in a teacup become nothing when placed in a bathtub.

Liu Tongxiong leaned back in the driver's seat, his whole body as taut as a stone.

Meanwhile, after Liu Tongxiong left, Li Ziqi dialed Lü Yao's number. On the phone, Li Ziqi said in a slightly hesitant tone, "Mr. Lü, well, it's like this, could you talk to me about how we would start our cooperation if we were to cooperate?"

Lu Yao chuckled on the phone, "Judging from your tone, you must have spoken with your current boss? Very good, you're starting to learn how to 'interview'."

Li Ziqi felt embarrassed by what was said. She scratched her cheek and said, "Are you not very happy?"

Lü Yao laughed and said, "No, no, I'm glad you think that way. Here's what I'll do: I'll come over and talk to you in person. I'm in Mianyang city, so it won't take long for me to get there."

Li Ziqi was slightly surprised, but before she could refuse, Lü Yao said it was settled and then hung up the phone.

More than an hour later, Lü Yao drove to a place not far from Li Ziqi's courtyard and once again visited this picturesque rural courtyard.

Lu Yao only came with Lin Yongzhen this time; Cheng Xinyu remained in Mianyang to help review local science and technology innovation enterprises.

Upon seeing Li Ziqi again, Lü Yao extended his hand and smiled, "Miss Li, we meet again."

After shaking hands with Lü Yao, Li Ziqi invited Lü Yao and the others to sit down, and then made tea for Lü Yao and Lin Yongzhen. After Li Ziqi finally finished her work, she sat at the table and rubbed her hands, saying, "Well, to be honest, I don't have a high level of education. I didn't even finish high school before I went out to work. Later, I also learned DJing and worked in a bar for a while, so I really know nothing about doing business."

As she spoke, Li Ziqi held her forehead with both hands and sighed, "President Lü, the materials you sent me have taught me a lot, but I have no clue how to launch my own brand, connect with product manufacturers, and promote and sell online. I don't even know where to start."

Lu Yao laughed and said, "This is indeed not something that can be done overnight. It is very difficult to monetize a personal online IP."

In the future, there will be countless internet celebrities with millions of followers, but few will actually monetize their followers into money. In particular, the fans of those "borderline beauty" bloggers, those old perverts active on Douyin/Weibo/Xiaohongshu, are best at liking, forwarding, and collecting, spending no money and focusing on companionship.

Huo Qubing had 800 men and dared to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu.

Li Shimin had 800 men who dared to attack Xuanwu Gate.

Zhu Laosi had 800 men who dared to uphold the imperial authority and quell the rebellion.

The old perverts, with 800, would grit their teeth and say, "800 it is, I need to see your student ID."

As for tipping girls online?
Those old perverts aren't that stupid; only the scholars and fans of "A Smile That Captivates a City" would actually spend real money, even offline.

As for those sectors with monetization channels, the performance of internet celebrities is also hard to describe, especially during economic downturns when business cooperation begins to decline sharply.

So much so that after 2023, whenever keywords like "You changed your phone? What about your old one?" or "You bought a car? It must have been very expensive," netizens would instantly realize that this was a commercial advertisement, meaning that most online celebrities would have to rely on these low-brow ads to monetize their influence in the future.

What about before 2023?

Many online celebrities are in contact with suppliers, selling beef, wine, mooncakes, cosmetics, women's clothing, and men's clothing. Without exception, most of these online celebrities make a quick buck and then run away, or they are eliminated before they can escape.

With the rapid spread of information online, internet celebrities have risen to prominence, but instead of bringing true prosperity to the industry, they have led to a more chaotic and uneven industry.

Various substandard products, under the guise of "information asymmetry" and "freebies," have been used to swindle and deceive, effectively blocking the path for future internet celebrities.

and so.

To some extent, Liu Tongxiong's strategic direction was correct.

By leveraging the online fame of internet celebrities, they can build a reliable offline supply chain with good quality control, keeping out substandard suppliers and thus creating long-term profits for themselves.

Liu Tongxiong's only failure lay in his lack of vision.

Whether he was afraid that Li Ziqi would want to go solo in the future, or he was too greedy and didn't want to give up control, he ruined the good hand he had.

Lu Yao analyzed the current performance of internet celebrities and the business prospects that Liu Tongxiong had described to Li Ziqi.

After listening, Li Ziqi became even more worried: "So, President Lü, you want to follow a similar strategic direction as President Liu, but are you sure you can hand over control to me?"

Lu Yao smiled and said, "Of course, I am definitely willing to hand over control to you. Through a reasonable equity structure, I can ensure that both of us are in a relatively balanced position."

Li Ziqi nodded repeatedly as she listened.

But Lü Yao continued, "However, that's not why I want to cooperate with you. Ms. Li, you may not even be clear about what you've created, but it conveys a very pure, idyllic beauty of the East, a beauty that is very similar to our 'Yong' philosophy."

"So in my opinion, your real path to monetization in the future is to lead the Chinese style and trend to become popular in China and even go abroad, so that you can have a certain voice in the international arena."

Lü Yao was certain that Li Ziqi could do this.

No matter how impressive a company's domestic operations are, it's difficult for them to have an impact on its overseas operations.

Just like so many writers in the domestic cultural circle, racking their brains and using every means to try to become an instant hit overseas, but the first book to cause a huge sensation overseas was "The Three-Body Problem", followed by domestic online literature.

As for domestic books on various kinds of pain, reflection, wisdom, etc., not many people buy them.

For Chinese internet professionals, the overseas internet market was truly a vast untapped blue ocean. The tricks already worn out in China could still leave foreigners completely bewildered. And in 2017, those relatively uninformed foreigners were eagerly waiting to reap the rewards.

Based on Lü Yao's future experience, Li Ziqi will soon become a sensation on overseas online communities. Three years later, Li Ziqi's YouTube subscriber count will be listed in the Guinness World Records 2021, making her the record holder for "most subscriber-rich Chinese YouTube channel".

She successfully brought the domestic trends and image to a considerable number of overseas netizens, refreshing their understanding of the University of Tokyo.

What Lü Yao truly needs is...

It's actually Li Ziqi's ability to break into overseas markets.

Lu Yao continued to paint a rosy picture for Li Ziqi: "When that time comes, the halo of being adored by netizens in overseas online communities will elevate you to the true throne of the internet. With the support of Huasheng Life's supply chain, you will firmly establish yourself among domestic brands and no longer fear the ups and downs of the internet."

Seeing that Li Ziqi was still a little confused, Lü Yao said bluntly, "The reason I dare to give you control is because the physical support I can provide is definitely your best choice."

Li Ziqi was moved.

Compared to Liu Tongxiong's convoluted approach, Lü Yao's boldness and confidence, as well as the resources he represented, greatly appealed to Li Ziqi.

She is, after all, a woman, and one who has risen from the bottom, so it's not surprising that she would habitually seek out stronger people to rely on.

But while she was tempted, Li Ziqi worriedly said, "However, I still have a contract with Weinian."

Lu Yao chuckled and said, "It's nothing, it's just a breach of contract fee, I'll pay it."

(End of this chapter)