Chapter 53 You can't afford to mess with money...
Xu Yan thought Jiang Xi's method was quite good and wanted to ask more questions, but Jiang Xi refused to say more.
Walkmans are selling like hotcakes right now. In the south, it's no exaggeration to say that almost everyone has one. Xu Yan's factory is developing in this direction.
It's so much more convenient than a radio. You can carry it with you, put a cassette tape in it to listen to music, and you'll look very fashionable walking down the street.
Young people in this area especially like this. There are many foreigners doing business here, and the young people can all speak a few words of English.
Nowadays, young people all like that thing.
Jiang Xi naturally saw this during his observations over the past few days.
This period was the time when portable music players were all the rage, followed by other electronic products like MP3 players. Every now and then, something new becomes popular.
There's a large market for this stuff, and Xu Yan's small factory isn't exactly competitive; it just makes a little profit. Even so, it's still made quite a bit.
They lack their own technology and can only rely on importing and selling goods from abroad. Those foreigners are shrewd; they would never share their technology with them.
Jiang Xi didn't need to go through those foreigners to obtain the technology; the text floating before her eyes already indicated that they could provide her with assistance.
She has this plan, but at the moment, she can't assemble her own research team, so it's safer to find someone to collaborate with.
Xu Yan is the business partner she selected after observing him over the past few days.
Jiang Xi suggested targeting students as the primary audience for Walkman sales.
She remembered chatting with Yu Baozhen before, when Yu mentioned that someone from her child's school had come to sell some kind of language repeater, but she felt it was useless and that it would be better to put two foreign language tapes in the tape player for her child to listen to, since she felt the effect was the same anyway.
Her educational background is sufficient for her to tutor her own child.
That's exactly what came to mind; they could totally launch something that would benefit children's learning.
Xu Yan couldn't figure out how to do it.
He did know that some students from well-off families would follow the trend and buy Walkmans, but the majority were still young working professionals.
"What if we could use our Walkmans for learning?"
Xu Yan's eyes immediately lit up.
Nowadays, students are required to learn foreign languages, and it's no secret that foreign language tapes can be played on portable music players. The challenge lies in how they manage to make it happen.
Judging from Jiang Xi's appearance, you can tell she has a solution.
Since they are sincere about cooperating, Xu Yan also needs to show his sincerity.
They quickly signed a contract with Jiang Xi.
With the two officially collaborating, Jiang Xi naturally stopped hiding it.
"Actually, my method is not only applicable to Walkmans, but it is more convenient to use a Walkman."
"So what's your solution?"
"Naturally, we'll take a different approach. The current audience for Walkmans is mostly young people, so we can spend our own money to hire professional foreigners to record foreign language tapes. Since the target audience is students, these foreign language tapes can't be shoddy. Every time you buy our product, we'll give away a foreign language learning tape, which must be exclusively owned by us."
To learn from the tapes, one must understand the school curriculum, so they specifically invited several teachers over.
The people who recorded the English tapes were native speakers, and their pronunciation was very accurate, making it easier for students to learn.
Jiang Xi naturally knew that nowadays, families only have one child, and parents cherish their children very much, especially in terms of their studies, and are very willing to make sacrifices.
This cassette tape is well made; Sweetie will be able to use it in the future.
She also tentatively asked about things like MP3s, which she remembered were very popular among young people.
Seeing Xu Yan's bewildered expression, Jiang Xi didn't say anything more, but she already knew what was going on.
Walkmans were originally popular abroad and were only introduced to China in recent years. The real technology is still in the hands of other countries.
As Jiang Xi looked at the words floating before her eyes, a smile appeared on her lips. She had already decided on her future career path, and she would start with this Walkman.
Xu Yan nodded. This was indeed a good idea. Nowadays, students all need to learn foreign languages. If they made their own foreign language tapes and only gave away the tapes when they bought their products, it would definitely attract many students.
Parents are willing to buy it for their children's education.
Moreover, foreigners' pronunciation sounds more authentic and can help children learn foreign languages better, which is quite appealing.
Xu Yan is no ordinary person to have risen to the position of factory director; he has always had a long-term vision.
Jiang Xi's methods and ideas are fine; the problem now is how to produce these foreign language tapes.
"To be honest, I really don't know how to speak this foreign language." Xu Yan was afraid that if there was a mistake on the tape, he wouldn't be able to tell and would mess things up.
Xu Yan naturally knew how much parents cared about their children these days, and that if they did well, they could make a lot of money. But equally, if their children's studies were neglected, those parents certainly wouldn't let their factory off the hook.
"I can."
"You speak foreign languages?" Xu Yan looked at Jiang Xi in surprise.
"If you can speak a foreign language, why did you come here? With your talent, it's a waste of your abilities to work in my factory."
Jiang Xi was unwilling to say more, and Xu Yan did not press further.
However, Xu Yan didn't know how good Jiang Xi's foreign language skills were. Coincidentally, the factory had recently been in contact with some foreigners, and Xu Yan was looking for someone who could speak foreign languages. Just then, Jiang Xi arrived.
Talk is cheap; we need to show him whether Jiang Xi's claim of knowing foreign languages is just empty talk.
When Xu Yan took Jiang Xi to meet the client, he also found two other students from the foreign language department to go with them.
Nowadays, the government assigns jobs to graduates, so it's not easy to find college graduates majoring in foreign languages.
He had asked someone to find these two students, and they were said to have excellent grades in school.
The two students following Jiang Xi felt a strange sense of pressure, as if they were facing a stern teacher at school.
Even Jiang Xi's every gesture inexplicably gave off a teacher-like feeling.
"Are you a teacher?" one of the female students couldn't help but ask.
“No.” Jiang Xi shook her head; she was indeed not a teacher in this life.
The two college students seemed rather skeptical.
Especially when Jiang Xi speaks, his fluent foreign language communication and the way he gestures to them with his eyes, there is always a sense of fear of being controlled by a teacher, especially a very senior one.
Although my grades in school are indeed good, I still get a little nervous when communicating with foreigners, and I stumble over my words a bit.
“Teacher, no, Ms. Jiang, did you graduate from the Foreign Languages Department?” one of the boys asked tentatively.
"No, I graduated from high school."
"How is that possible?" the two said in unison.
"You speak such a foreign language so well."
"Being able to speak a foreign language doesn't necessarily have to do with academic qualifications. The important thing is to practice speaking it out loud. Knowledge from books is static; it's just something you memorize. You need to practice a lot to speak fluently. If you have time, you can communicate with each other in the foreign language to improve your language sense."
The two students nodded thoughtfully.
They all naturally called Jiang Xi "sister," and when they heard that Jiang Xi had a daughter, they couldn't believe it.
She doesn't look like someone who has a daughter.
Jiang Xi didn't say much and easily helped Xu Yan secure the deal.
Xu Yan was also a capable person. Knowing that Jiang Xi would inevitably be involved in dealing with these foreign clients in the future, he gave Jiang Xi the highest commission on this deal, just to retain this talent.
Jiang Xi didn't stand on ceremony and presented his ideas in a proposal to Xu Yan.
"If you're worried about problems with the final product, I can do a final review."
Xu Yan's hands were trembling as he held the proposal.
If they succeed, they will have stood out in such fierce competition.
He looked at Jiang Xi and almost blurted out, "If you're so capable, why did your husband divorce you?"
Then he swallowed his words, because asking like that was indeed impolite.
Moreover, everyone has their own ideas about what to do, so he shouldn't interfere too much in other people's affairs.
I just feel that Jiang Xi's husband is really blind.
With the money, plus the savings from selling her house, Jiang Xi bought a small house, did some simple renovations, and moved in with Tian Tian.
Sweetie is running around in the new house, and she looks so happy.
However, Jiang Xi felt that the house was still not big enough and that he would buy an even bigger house for his daughter to live in in the future.
During this time, Xu Yan also finished making the foreign language tapes. Jiang Xi listened to them carefully several times. The foreigners in these recordings were all international students that Xu Yan had hired at a high price. Jiang Xi had spoken with them and confirmed that there were no problems.
Since the country's reform and opening up, there have been many foreign students studying in China.
Furthermore, at Jiang Xi's suggestion, Xu Yan also signed exclusive contracts with the teachers at those schools.
If you record for them, you can't record for others. That would be a breach of contract, and even if those foreigners go back to their own countries, they'd still face legal trouble.
They started recording with elementary school foreign languages, and then gradually moved on to junior and senior high school foreign languages.
Xu Yan learned a little bit of the basics, listened to the tape for a while, and smiled, "It sounds really good. I think I can learn a foreign language by following this tape."
After listening to the presentation and confirming that there were no problems, Jiang Xi personally went to the Beijing Film Studio to select actors to shoot the advertisement.
They also put thought into the appearance of the Walkman and radio; since they were students, they naturally wanted them to be more cartoonish.
They have bunnies, puppies, and all sorts of shapes and colors.
The advertisement was also personally supervised by Jiang Xi, and when it aired, it did indeed generate a great response, just as they had predicted.
The Walkman and radio designs are popular not only with students but also with young people.
Especially after offering to give away cassette tapes to students with purchases, they successfully captured the youth market.
Young people today especially love listening to certain songs, and Jiang Xi is even thinking of signing some composers who can create hit songs. They will have exclusive copyrights, so he won't have to worry about his Walkmans not selling.
Young people get a free cassette tape when they buy our products.
But you can't get fat overnight. Famous composers may not necessarily be interested in them, and it's not easy to discover unknown composers.
But with the release of their exclusive foreign language tapes, Xu Yan's factory became incredibly popular overnight.
Some reacted quickly and followed immediately, but they were still a step behind Xu Yan and his team. After all, the factory's reputation had already spread. Even if others tried to imitate it, people would still remember the name of Xu Yan's factory and would only buy things from Xu Yan's brand.
Jiang Xi felt that since it was something imported from abroad, they should do their own thing and create something unique.
According to the clues given to her by those floating texts, MP3 technology is still in its infancy, so she could easily develop it ahead of other countries.
It was definitely challenging. Following the hints, Jiang Xi understood the principle: while maintaining high sound quality, the audio file had to be compressed to one-tenth of its original size, or even smaller.
Just like the popular "big brother" mobile phones and the brick-like smartphones, Jiang Xi, who had seen smartphones before, already had a clear idea in mind.
Jiang Xi already had an idea in mind. After working together for some time, she had developed some trust in Xu Yan, so she simply proposed to establish a research and development department.
Xu Yan certainly has a good eye, not to mention he has gained so many benefits by following Jiang Xi.
He didn't have any idea that he couldn't be dominated by women. For him, nothing was more important than making money; his lifelong hobby was making money, otherwise he wouldn't have opened this factory against his family's wishes.
Jiang Xi's vision and ideas far surpass his own, and the fact that he was willing to cooperate with him shows that Jiang Xi truly thinks highly of him.
In order to establish her own research and development department, Jiang Xi became even busier, and Xu Yan would even help her pick up Tian Tian.
Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, Jiang Xi naturally doesn't want to bother Xu Yan. The better the business at the factory, the higher her commission will be. Jiang Xi simply hired someone to take care of Tian Tian, and when she's not busy, she'll take Tian Tian to the amusement park.
There's no place around here that Sweetie hasn't been to.
Sweetie has all the toys that others have, and she also has foreign toys that others don't have.
Whenever he has free time, Jiang Xi will personally pick up and drop off Tian Tian.
Xu Yan realized that he had fallen in love with Jiang Xi; she was a very special and charming woman.
But it was clear that Jiang Xi had no interest in him.
Her only concerns were her daughter and her work, and her daughter was more important than her work.
Jiang Xi's original words were: "I only have one daughter. If anyone dares to harm her daughter, I will fight them to the death and make sure that whoever hurts her daughter suffers a terrible death."
Xu Yan wisely refrained from speaking, so that at least they could remain friends.
While busy with work, Jiang Xi still managed to squeeze out some time to study for a bachelor's degree through self-study. Thanks to the two foreign language students, she planned to take the exams at their university first and obtain her degree certificate.
She plans to apply to Hong Kong City University for her postgraduate studies.
She wanted to obtain Hong Kong City residency so that Tian Tian could stay in Hong Kong City to attend school.
That was Jiang Xi's plan, and that's what he did.
Xu Yan wanted to help; he knew several Hong Kong businessmen, but Jiang Xi refused, believing she could achieve it through her own efforts.
"So, are we still friends?" Xu Yan asked.
"Of course, Mr. Xu, I just declined your help. There's no need for that. I have a business opportunity; would you like to do it?"
Xu Yan was pleased to see that Jiang Xi was still willing to do business with him.
In fact, Jiang Xi could have easily broken away from him and gone solo, but she didn't, which shows that she still values loyalty.
Based on this trust, Xu Yan felt that they could continue to cooperate for a long time.
"What kind of business?"
“In recent years, the country has introduced mobile phones. I think we can conduct further research and development. I heard that there are already devices abroad that can make calls and send messages. We can research the direction of video calls. For example, if you are in another place and I am here, we can still see each other through this device.”
"Can you get things from abroad?" Xu Yan asked with some concern.
The Walkman technology was independently developed by them, with Jiang Xi providing a lot of inspiration, and now they have achieved results.
What Jiang Xi said sounded a bit fantastical. To be able to see each other face-to-face in a foreign place, how sensational would it be if they actually figured out this thing?
Jiang Xi glanced at the air in mid-air and said, "It should be possible."
She has some impression of smartphones, but not much specifics; she could seek cooperation with relevant departments.
Actually, when she had this idea, she told Xiang Bei about it. Xiang Bei said she could help her. She wanted to try it herself first, and if it didn't work, she would ask Xiang Bei for help.
Xiang Bei would occasionally talk to Jiang Xi, but she was always so busy that she would sometimes fall asleep while they were talking, so Xiang Bei didn't talk much anymore.
She only told Jiang Xi to let her know if he needed anything.
"If we can figure this out, we'll make a fortune," Xu Yan said with a smile.
Jiang Xi smiled; everything else was settled. Her top priority now was to improve her educational background.
She also advised Xu Yan to improve his educational background.
Xu Yan didn't refuse, but he felt that he wasn't as smart as Jiang Xi and learned very slowly.
When Jiang Xi received his bachelor's degree, Xu Yan was still studying diligently.
When Jiang Xi was admitted to graduate school, Xu Yancai received his bachelor's degree.
"Don't worry about going to school in Gangcheng. I will definitely take good care of Tiantian for you."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course, Sweetie is coming with me."
Sweetie is going to start first grade this year. Her mother is so eager to get her bachelor's degree and then take the postgraduate entrance exam, all so that Sweetie can go to school in Gangcheng.
She's pursuing her postgraduate studies in the port city, while Tian Tian is in primary school—it couldn't be better.
Are you both leaving?
"What else?"
Xu Yan's lips moved slightly, "Will you still keep in touch?"
Jiang Xi looked at him with a complicated expression. "What? Is the research and development not continuing? I'm going to study in Hong Kong, not disappearing once I get there."
"Pah, pah, pah, don't say such unlucky things. I'm still waiting for you to help me get rich. You're my Goddess of Wealth. May you live to be a hundred years old." Xu Yan smiled awkwardly.
Jiang Xi had no intention of remarrying, nor did she want to give Xu Yan any more hope. She would avoid troubling him if possible, and prove through her actions that they were merely business partners and would not have any romantic relationship.
As she was leaving, Tian Tian waved to Xu Yan, "Uncle Xu, take care of yourself and get married soon!"
"This is just childish nonsense."
Xu Yan felt very sad. He felt that Tian Tian liked him very much. He had even asked Tian Tian if she wanted a new dad. This child was precocious and said that whether or not she wanted a new dad depended on whether her mother needed him. She didn't care whether she had a dad or not.
Watching them leave, Xu Yan rallied his spirits, since he was now primarily responsible for things here.
You can't afford to mess with money, no matter who else you're at odds with.
Xu Yan also knew that Jiang Xi hadn't placed all her hopes on him and had invested in many projects. Jiang Xi was a very calm person who planned things out very well, and only Tian Tian could make her lose her mind.
She protected her daughter very well, and even hired a bodyguard for her to protect her closely.
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