Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

The front page of the Shanghai Morning Post was dedicated to reporting on the responses from Qingniao's media briefing and exclusive interview with Han Fei. The headline of the report was: "We are the tree planters, they are the tree cutters"—Qingniao President Han Fei's first in-depth response to the controversy and black market activities.

The long subtitle immediately reveals that this report is not just a news flash, but a powerful combination of in-depth profiles, industry controversies, and social issues: mobile bidding, illegal publishing, aggressive distribution, and literary disputes: the survival rules of a "wild grass publishing house".

The article quotes Han Fei, claiming that the president of Qingniao Publishing House has publicly responded to the controversy over "literature or garbage" for the first time, and revealed an invitation to the traditional literary world for the first time. Han Fei thought to himself that these journalists always like to create exclusivity and timeliness by repeatedly emphasizing "first time" in their articles.

On the same day, the Xinmin Evening News reported on the illegal activities of "People's Stories" and its winning bid in Guangdong from a social and cultural news perspective, with the headline: "A showdown between legitimate and illegal publishing: Qingniao Publishing House launches a battle to defend rural areas." Wenhui Daily published an article from the same angle, but with the headline: "Qingniao wins bid for Guangdong Mobile: a victory for content compliance and market order."

Only the "Dragon Kingdom News and Publishing Daily" was relatively pragmatic. It not only conducted an in-depth analysis of Qingniao's content production system and review mechanism, but also elevated the "People's Stories" incident to an industry governance issue, and even put forward some governance suggestions. The entire article did not contain a single exquisite description or sensationalism. The writing was dry and concise, and it was basically a textbook-style analysis report for the industry.

Han Fei folded the newspaper and rummaged through the pile of documents, finding a brown envelope. It had been mailed from the Shanghai branch of China Mobile at noon. Han Fei didn't open it immediately because he knew it contained the revenue-sharing statement for the 500,000 grey-number accounts from Qingniao Reading, and he had already calculated the figures on the statement many times over.

On August 13th, the day after the official number pool was officially opened, Han Fei instructed Wen Jie to immediately stop pushing the grey numbers. The final conversion rate for that batch of numbers stopped at 18.8%. He used a letter opener to open the envelope and took out the bill.

Final conversion rate: 18.8%

Number of paying users: 9.4

Total turnover: 94

Revenue share: 79.9

Actual arrival time: September 1st

Han Fei lightly flicked the bill in his hand. Eight hundred thousand. He still had over two hundred thousand left from the loan from Ma Yongxing, and had already received over ten thousand in repayments from the physical magazine. After deducting costs, the net profit was over fifty thousand. After the mobile revenue share arrived, he would have nearly one million three hundred thousand in cash.

"Aren't you happy?" Zhang Ruiyi's voice came from the other end of the line. "You won't have to live a frugal life anymore."

Han Fei put down the bill, placed his hands behind his head, and leaned back in his chair. Their desks were placed face to face, but because of the stacks of documents piled up between them, Han Fei could never see Zhang Ruiyi when she was speaking with her head down.

"One million three hundred thousand," Han Fei said. "Two months ago, that would have been an astronomical figure for Qingniao, a mirage in our despair, a world beyond our unimaginable survival line. Now, it's a source of confidence for us. Most importantly, the back wages can finally be paid. Everyone has been holding on since the transformation. I said at the beginning that it would be delayed for a maximum of three months, and now, after only two months, we've already earned the money back. Go check the list with Sister Mei in a bit; wages will be paid at the beginning of the month in a few days, so give everyone a little extra."

Zhang Ruiyi looked up: "The bonus?"

"It's compensation for the mental anguish caused by working day and night for two months."

Zhang Ruiyi laughed heartily, "Okay, I'll go find Sister Mei now. Now everyone can finally breathe a sigh of relief." She glanced at her watch, stood up, and said, "The interviewer will be here soon."

Someone knocked on the door.

......

Han Fei would rather Lu Yiming, who was applying for a business development position, hadn't been so quick, riding his motorcycle across the city to the interview. Otherwise, he would at least have had time to move the files piled on the chair and make room to sit. But now, the man was already standing at the door. This gentle, short, stout man wore round-rimmed glasses and a pink motorcycle helmet. Han Fei moved some files from the chair to the floor. The two sat down.

Han Fei flipped through his resume. Lu Yiming's resume showed that he was thirty-one years old and had previously worked as a channel manager for five years at a private book distribution company in Shanghai, responsible for distributing educational supplementary books in southern Jiangsu. The reason for his departure was that the company's business was shrinking, and the entire East China channel team was laid off.

Han Fei looked up from the resume and smiled. He had once read a study in a psychology book that claimed that if the interviewer didn't show any emotion during the interview, the applicant would believe he was honest and selfless. This would allow the applicant to provide more discreet and objective information, because the interviewer would make them feel that any pretense would be seen through, any exaggeration would be exposed, and any deception would be punished. While Han Fei acknowledged that this technique had some merit, he didn't believe it was suitable for all situations.

For example, someone with Lu Yiming's extensive work experience wouldn't be intimidated by any expressionless examiner. He picked up the water glass that Han Fei had placed in front of him.

"You used to work in educational tutoring in East China. Where did you go?" Han Fei asked.

"I've been to many places. I've been to Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Nantong, Yangzhou, and Huzhou and Jiaxing in northern Zhejiang. I've also been to towns and villages, and the furthest I've been is Yancheng in northern Jiangsu."

"What's the difference between bookstores in rural towns and those in cities?"

Lu Yiming swallowed hard and nodded. "Bookstores in the city value brand more, while bookstores in rural towns value people. City bookstores will negotiate discounts, payment terms, and rebates with their buyers, while rural bookstore owners are more concerned with whether you're a reliable person. If you promise to deliver next Monday and it only arrives on Tuesday, you can forget about ever setting foot in their store again. Conversely, if you help them make money, they'll actively recommend other outlets to you. Word-of-mouth snowballs in rural towns; it's more effective than any other marketing gimmick."

What was the most difficult product you've ever installed?

"A set of flashcards for young children. The price was high and the profit was low. Xinhua Bookstore didn't want them, and private bookstores thought they would take up too much space. I went to three towns under Suzhou, but not a single bookstore was willing to stock them. Later, I found a store that sold maternity and baby products, chatted with the owner for half an hour, and put the flashcards in her store to sell. I sold forty sets in a month. Later, the owner herself called me to ask if I had any similar ones."

"How did you manage to convince that shop owner?"