Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

After dealing with Zhang Meimei, Han Fei then approached another editor, Lu Hai, separately.

Lu Hai was a new employee he hired after taking over Qingniao Publishing House. He had a college diploma and majored in Chinese Language and Literature.

In 2004, a junior college diploma still had some value.

Upon meeting, Han Fei sighed deeply: "Little Lu, out of all these editors, you are the one I have the most faith in. You are young and quick-witted, and I have seen all your hard work these days. You are the only one who is still at the company in the middle of the night revising manuscripts for authors."

Lu Hai scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. The reason he revised the manuscript so diligently was because he was a newcomer with limited author resources, and he could only make up for it by putting in more effort.

Han Fei let out another long sigh and said in a heavy tone, "To be honest, the company is not doing well right now." He explained in detail the company's tight cash flow and the need to streamline operations and transform the business. "It's not that you're not working hard or capable; it's just that the company has limited funds and can't keep up with the turnover."

Lu Hai was stunned: "What? The publishing house is going bankrupt?" Although he knew the publishing house was in a bad situation and had somewhat anticipated it, the sudden arrival of this day still left him at a loss. He quickly asked, "Editor-in-Chief Han, you said you wanted to transform the business, but how exactly?"

Han Fei explained in detail his plan to use SP business to open up new sales channels, and said that as long as the online channels are opened, they can in turn revitalize the offline channels and achieve success on both fronts.

Lu Hai's eyes lit up: "Editor-in-Chief Han, I think this is a brilliant idea! Are the other editors in the company going to leave too?"

Han Fei shook his head: "No, that's not it. Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to fire you. The remaining editors have been working at the publishing house for several years, they're attached to it, and they have some savings, so I discussed with them and asked them to give me a few months. I won't pay them for these few months, just to gamble with me. You're still young, you've only been here for a little over a year, your future is bright, and I don't want to hold you back."

Lu Hai immediately became anxious: "No, Mr. Han, why are you being so polite with me? Those senior editors have elderly parents and young children to support, but I'm all alone. I only have myself to feed, so why can't I? It's just a few months' salary arrears, don't be so formal with me, I trust you!"

He paused, then added, "By the way, I still have 2000 yuan on me, which I'm not really using. Since the publishing house is having difficulties, you can take this money; consider it my sponsorship of the company."

Lu Hai had only been out of school for a short time and still carried the innocence of academia. He was easily swayed by others opening their hearts to him, especially when the other party was his superior.

Han Fei had only been casually bluffing, but he was surprised that not only did he resolve the issue of unpaid wages, but he also ended up paying out 2000 yuan.

Next, Han Fei contacted the remaining three editors.

One of the older editors, who harbored literary dreams, was already quite dissatisfied with the publishing house's transformation. Han Fei reasoned with him, appealed to his emotions, and even painted a rosy picture: "What we want to do is build a bridge between popular literature and pure literature. We'll first cultivate readers' tastes with high-quality popular literature, and once their palates are so refined, they'll naturally turn to pure literature." With this argument, he successfully persuaded the older editor.

The fourth editor was a young man who had been working for three years. He was ambitious and already aware of the publishing house's predicament. He was secretly preparing to switch jobs.

Han Fei directly offered his terms: "If the transformation is successful, I will expand the editorial team, divide the company into groups, make you the group editor-in-chief, and give you a raise."

The young man figured that switching jobs might not necessarily lead to a raise, and he would have to readjust to interpersonal relationships, so he agreed to stay.

The last editor was a distant relative of Han Fei, from a well-off family, and could be considered a second-generation rich kid.

He came to work at the publishing house simply to find a respectable job, and the editor's job was respected and also made it easier to pick up girls.

Han Fei cut to the chase: "I'm going to get into internet content creation. Then when you tell girls you work in internet content, won't you look more impressive?"

Upon hearing this, the relative not only agreed to delay the payment of wages but also gave Han Fei 3000 yuan as a sign of support.

With that, all five editors had been persuaded, and the next step was to resolve the funding issue.

……

In the used car market.

Han Fei slowly brought his old Xiali to a stop. This car was a reward he bought for himself after he took over the publishing house, led the team to successfully transform the business, stopped the decline, and turned the company around.

The car has only been driven for 3 years and has a total mileage of just over 3000 kilometers. For him, it is not just a car, but also a testament to his past achievements.

In his past life, he pawned and sold this Xiali car and never saw it again. Even after making money and buying a new Xiali, he could never recapture the feeling of the past. Unexpectedly, reborn, he still had to walk the same path of mortgaging his old car.

"Hey? Isn't this President Han? Are you here to buy a car or to get a mortgage loan?" A car dealer greeted him.

Han Fei took out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to offer it to the car dealer when the dealer waved his hand: "Take mine, mine is good."

Han Fei took a closer look and exclaimed, "Wow, it's a pack of Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes that costs 100 yuan!" He thought to himself, "This small business is doing quite well."

Only then did he realize that he had pulled out a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes that cost 5 yuan a pack. He was stunned and wondered when he had started smoking this cigarette.

This cigarette is strong, hard to smoke, and bad for your health. He belatedly realized that because of financial constraints, he had long since stopped smoking good cigarettes and had to make do with cheap ones to save money.

Han Fei accepted the Yellow Crane Tower liquor, and the car dealer smiled and said, "President Han, your business hasn't been doing too well lately, has it?"

"That's right, that's why I came to you to pawn the car," Han Fei said with a wry smile.

The car dealer walked around the car, inspecting it: "Your car looks pretty new. How long have you driven it?"

"It's only been three years, but the total mileage is already 3000 kilometers, and all the necessary permits and licenses are in order," Han Fei replied.

After carefully inspecting the car, the car dealer said, "The car is indeed in good condition. I'll give you a 20,000 yuan deposit as collateral, with a three-month period. If you can't redeem it within three months, I'll have to sell it."

Han Fei calculated in his mind: This way, he could gather 6 yuan in cash.

1 yuan was used to build a website and collect articles, and the remaining 5 yuan was used to buy a mobile phone number.

Currently, a mobile phone number costs one cent on the market, so 5 yuan can buy 50 numbers. He plans to set the monthly fee for SP (Service Provider) packages at 10 yuan, and as long as there is a 1% paying rate, he can break even.

After thinking it over, Han Fei nodded: "Okay, I'll bet."

Just then, the car dealer rubbed his hands together and said with a fawning expression, "President Han, can I discuss something with you?"

"you say."

The car dealer scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and said, "Could you find me a ghostwriter to publish an article in your magazine under my name?"

"Hmm? You like this kind of thing?" Han Fei was a little surprised.

The car dealer chuckled: "I also want to be a cultured person for once. When I'm out with girls at bars, it's so beneath me to say I'm a car dealer and loan shark. If I say I'm involved in cultural creation, wouldn't it be much easier to pick up girls? So, if you can pull this off, I'll give you an extra 5000 yuan."