Chapter 220: Chapter 0220: Launch of Star Interlanguage School_1
Liu Ruolan opened a computer file and, after looking at it for a while, said, "Right now, our company has almost 500 million in its accounts. We’re earning about 10 million a day, so in three months, that should be roughly 1.4 billion. However, I’d really like to spend 100 million on advertising to launch our Network Language School. We could earn even more in the future, which would give us the capital we need to buy Spiritual Medicine."
"1.4 billion? That’s only about 200 million US dollars. I wonder if that’s enough to bid on a few Spiritual Medicines over five hundred years old, not to mention the ingredients for Liquefaction Pills." In the past, Zhang Bin would have been ecstatic to have so much money, but now, he couldn’t get excited. It felt like far too little. You see, anyone attending the Hero Auction had over a billion US dollars to throw around. Compared to them, his money was just pocket change.
"I understand," Zhang Bin nodded, already pondering how to raise more money.
"Is it not enough?" Liu Ruolan asked, a little worried. She knew that Spiritual Medicines over five hundred years old were immensely valuable.
"It doesn’t matter. If we can’t buy Spiritual Medicine this year, it doesn’t mean we can’t buy it next year," Zhang Bin said with a smile.
"Then we’ll have to rely on you to develop more medicines," Liu Ruolan said. "And we need to get our Network Language School launched immediately."
I have a limit to how much Qi I can gather. Relying on developing new drugs won’t provide a significant financial boost. It seems we can only depend on the Network Language School. Zhang Bin thought to himself. After a moment’s pause, he said aloud, "Alright, go ahead and start working on the Network Language School with everything you’ve got. Prepare to invest that 100 million in advertising, too. Sigh... I just hope it works."
He still felt the pinch; spending 100 million on advertising felt outrageously wasteful.
"Chairman, you’ve finally given your golden approval! I’m so happy." A look of pure delight spread across Liu Ruolan’s face. She stood up and gave Zhang Bin a peck on the cheek.
For a capable woman like her, managing Zhang Bin’s Wenwu Pharma presented no challenge; the medicines were in such high demand they practically sold themselves. But the Network Language School was an entirely different beast. Her fighting spirit ignited, and she felt a surge of energy course through her.
She promptly sent the somewhat gloomy Zhang Bin back to Xinyue Residence while she threw herself into her work with great excitement.
That afternoon, she handled countless matters. Her long-planned Network Language School was now in full swing. She immediately contacted the talented individuals she had headhunted from various agencies and arranged for them to come in for interviews as soon as possible.
By the time she returned to Xinyue Residence, it was already eight in the evening. She had even run to the grocery store, afraid she’d keep Zhang Bin waiting anxiously.
As soon as she got home, she saw Zhang Bin still lying on the sofa, deep in thought about his money-making schemes. "Honey, sorry," she said. "I had some urgent matters to deal with, so I’m a bit late. I’ll start cooking right away; it won’t take long."
"It’s okay," Zhang Bin said, shaking himself from his thoughts and getting up to help wash the vegetables.
He loved Liu Ruolan to his very core and could never bear to speak a harsh word to her. Even though his stomach was growling with hunger, he wasn’t angry.
Once the meal was ready, Zhang Bin wolfed down three bowls of rice before his eating pace finally slowed.
"The company name is set. It’s called Star Interlanguage School," Liu Ruolan said coquettishly. "And the advertising is pretty much settled, too. Well, to be precise, I’ve chosen the spokesperson. Guess which celebrity I picked?"
"It doesn’t matter which celebrity it is. What matters is how much it costs, right?" Zhang Bin said, feeling the pinch.
"How can the celebrity not matter? It directly affects whether our business succeeds. It could decide the very life or death of our company! So, it has to be the most popular superstar. I’ve chosen Heavenly Queen Zhu Danyan. The fee is fifty million," Liu Ruolan said.
"Fifty million for Heavenly Queen Zhu Danyan to film one short commercial?" Zhang Bin’s eyes widened, his Eye Orbs nearly falling out of their sockets. He was shocked beyond words.
"Don’t think that’s expensive," Liu Ruolan said. "She wouldn’t even consider ordinary companies. She only agreed because she saw how miraculous Wenwu Pharma’s two drugs are and how good our reputation is. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have accepted even if you offered her one hundred million."
Zhang Bin was completely speechless. He was finally realizing that his money was nothing. A single celebrity was far richer than him. He didn’t even have the qualifications to enter the Hero Auction and had to rely on Zhao Dawei to get in.
Even though he understood this was Heavenly Queen Zhu Danyan’s going rate for endorsements, Zhang Bin still felt resentful about how much she was charging.
Hmph... Zhu Danyan, oh Zhu Danyan... you’d better hope you never fall into my hands. If you do, I’ll make you cough up that fifty million. Zhang Bin vowed internally.
If Liu Ruolan knew what Zhang Bin was thinking, she would have been torn between laughter and tears.
But since she didn’t know, she was simply thrilled and excited. "We’ll get to meet the Heavenly Queen in a few days! Honey, you’re not allowed to have any ideas about her, you hear me? The most you can do is ask for her autograph. Got it?"
"Honey, what you should be worried about is whether the Heavenly Queen will take a fancy to *me*!" Zhang Bin retorted, sticking his neck out.
In his mind, while the Heavenly Queen was indeed gorgeous and voluptuous, with an almost irresistible allure, he came from a humble background and wasn’t impressed by celebrities. Moreover, he looked down on a starlet entangled in so many scandals. How could one woman have ambiguous relationships with so many men? Most importantly, his name, Zhang Bin, wasn’t on her list of conquests—and that was simply intolerable.
That night, Liu Ruolan was very proactive, her fiery passion nearly melting Zhang Bin. They made love twice, only stopping as the sky began to lighten.
After drinking the Spiritual Water that Zhang Bin had prepared, Liu Ruolan recovered her energy and went to work on time.
Zhang Bin ate the breakfast Liu Ruolan made and then went back to sleep. After all, for him, sleeping meant entering the Virtual World to study painting, calligraphy, and extraterrestrial data. He had to hurry and finish studying the alien data to establish his laboratory as soon as possible. He needed to analyze the properties of Earth’s medicines and see if he could refine Elixirs from Xuanwu Star. If that were possible, his cultivation would proceed even more smoothly.
Even in the dream-like Virtual World, he could mull over how to make more money to bid on the medicinal ingredients he wanted at the Hero Auction. So, he had grown to love sleeping.
Of course, he still made time every day to diligently train his Special Ability and cultivate both the Qingmu Longevity Technique and the Pure Heart Mystique. These were his foundation and could not be neglected.
He was awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. Opening his eyes, he discovered it was already past one in the afternoon. To his surprise, the call was from Su Man.
A delighted expression instantly appeared on his face as the image of a pair of beautiful peaks surfaced in his mind.
They hadn’t had much contact since the factory opening, but he found it hard to forget her seductive beauty. Whenever he was bored, he would take out the photographs he had taken of her and admire them. It was no exaggeration to say that images of her beauty had filled many of his lonely nights.
Even though he now had Xiao Fang and Liu Ruolan, neither could withstand his stamina. A single day with him required them to rest for more than two days afterward. Consequently, he often found himself sleeping alone.
He immediately answered the call.
"Zhang Bin, it’s Su Man. I was out of town for my new hotel’s opening... Do you have time now? I’d like you to help me check something." Su Man’s voice was soft and seductive, a pleasing sound that made Zhang Bin’s heart itch with anticipation.