Chapter 13: Knowledge is Money
Arrived in City A in a certain province that afternoon.
Mr. Liu arranged for us to stay in the best local hotel.
At dinner, he called a group of friends to accompany me, and Liucun introduced them to me one by one.
I took a quick look and basically memorized the characteristics of these people. I was particularly impressed by one woman, who looked a bit like Qing Ruo and was the housekeeping manager of this hotel.
Yanagimura gestured in the air and said, "Her name is very unique. You can call her anything."
Everyone laughed.
I said, "No wonder you are so tall, you have Mongolian ancestry."
Everyone can happily say, "Teacher Wan, you really know everything. People always say I'm from Korea. Wasn't there a Korean TV series back then where the main character was called Do Mi-joo?"
I said, "Actually, [Du] is not your surname. It's just the name of an official title. Your ancestor was a man named Birihai, whose official title was [Du Daluhachi].
Among them, [Du] means the chief official, and [Daruhachi] means the official seal.
Taken together, it means the person who holds the official seal."
Du Le clapped his hands and said, "That's exactly what happened. My father was bragging to others, saying that our ancestors were high-ranking officials. Others said, 'What's so great about them? We're just ordinary people now.' My father was so angry that he named me [Du Le]."
Everyone laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt, and said that your father is so willful.
She had read my book "The Art of Fortune Telling" and asked me whether the stories in the novel were true.
I just smiled and didn't answer.
It's best not to answer. If they ask about something specific, I'll respond on camera.
I no longer do things like turning wine into water or listening to words with my ears. It seriously lowers my taste and makes me look like a street performer.
She was very clever and said, "Teacher Wan, I read your chapter on the Eight and Nine Lucks. After dinner, can you tell us what kind of business is good to do?"
I nodded.
She immediately led the applause. Applause broke out in the private room.
After dinner, go upstairs.
I think everything can be arranged. I was given a large suite with a living room outside that can seat more than ten people.
Everyone sat down and could make phone calls, and someone came to move chairs and make tea.
After the waiter served tea, he also brought some dried fruits.
Liucun sat with me in the middle of the sofa, while the others sat on the sofa, on stools, and two sat on the edge of the bed.
Liucun said: "Teacher Wan, everyone here is my friend. In a prefecture-level city like ours, everyone's income is not high and their lives are just so-so.
Nine out of ten people are confused about how to make money. Please tell us about the general trend of the world and the direction of the economy. Come, let us all applaud and welcome you.
I took a sip of tea and said:
"Let me talk about something macroscopic. First, knowledge is money."
Some people in the audience laughed. They thought I was just saying something cliché, using the saying "knowledge is power."
I ignored them and continued, "Once human society entered the Internet age, most people began to feel confused.
Why is it so confusing? Because computers are much faster than human brains.
The human brain is a fool and an idiot in front of a computer.
So the way to make money has changed.
Decades ago, you didn’t need to study, as long as you were brave.
The first wave of wealthy individuals were often ex-prisoners, socialites, or laid-off workers with nowhere else to go. Of course, there were also some with brains. In short, their common trait was sheer courage.
So, they became rich.
Why?
Because they dare to break through the restricted area. Because our trade is still at the primary stage.
Well, in the 21st century, with the rise of the internet, money can only be made if you have knowledge. For example, some university graduates who work for companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. earn hundreds of thousands of yuan a year, while those with doctoral degrees can earn millions.
Do you see anyone who has been released from prison making a lot of money? Unless they are involved in fraud and speculation.
That’s what we call knowledge is power.”
Having said this, everyone nodded.
I said: "Secondly, monopolies are forming. The platform economy is booming.
For example, if you work as a rider, work tirelessly, and earn more than 10,000 yuan, it is very good because you don't have enough physical strength and your time is limited.
But the platform takes a cut from this person and a cut from that person. It becomes rich overnight.”
Everyone nodded.
"The platform takes advantage of both ends. For example, in the past, if you wanted to open a restaurant, you had to rent a good location. Now with the platform, you can even cook at home.
But you have to advertise on the platform. Join this group or that group. Young people, in particular, order food with just a tap on their phones.
If you don't join any group or have your name listed on their phone, no matter how good your food is, people won't be able to find your restaurant. Therefore, the platform also wants to make money from restaurants.
Both riders and restaurants make money, and they work for the platform.
Therefore, in the internet age, monopolies have emerged. Business is concentrated in giants and in economically prosperous regions. Most of the goods you buy online come from developed regions. Their companies siphon off money and tax revenue from underdeveloped regions.
The characteristic of monopoly is that the strong become stronger.
In this situation, I can say that if you buy a storefront, rent a storefront, or open a small shop, don't expect to get rich, just make a living.
In the past, the way to make money in fourth- and fifth-tier cities was to run store businesses. But that’s no longer the case.
I will just talk about these two major directions.”
You can ask: "Then, can we also go online and shoot Douyin to promote products?"
I smiled and said, "Now let me tell you about selling products. The prerequisite for selling products is that you are an internet celebrity. The prerequisite for being an internet celebrity is that you have a planning team.
Do you think appearing on camera is the work of one person? There is a team behind it.
No matter how simply they dress and how they look like rural people, they are mostly city dwellers.
If someone dances well or sings well, don’t believe that they can only sing and dance after the emergence of a certain audio platform.
They used to be professionals, at least members of rural Rishi bands.
Many celebrities and hosts have also joined the fray. Everyone is vying for this niche market. It's difficult for the average person to promote products.
For example, if you are a beauty and you think you must have a group of fans when you appear on camera, you are wrong.
Because of beauty and filters, ugly girls on the Internet have become beauties, and beautiful girls have become stereotyped beauties.
Big eyes, high nose, pointed chin, no spots, it's hard to tell who is more beautiful."
Everyone burst into laughter.
You can ask: "Teacher Wan, according to what you said, we have no business to do?"
I said, "It's about the four words 'local' and 'characteristics'.
For example, hairdressing, beauty, food, elderly care, housekeeping, house maintenance, greenhouse vegetables, specialty fruits, semi-finished food products... In short, we should focus on local needs and engage in [semi-online industries].
Someone asked, what is the semi-network industry.
"Use the internet to promote and serve the local people. Let me put it this way, it's too general and people don't understand. I'm willing to answer specific questions."
Everyone can laugh and say, "Teacher Wan, my brother grows greenhouse vegetables. But he doesn't make much money."
I said, “We have served the [local area], but we haven’t created [characteristics].”
She asked, "What characteristics do you use to make vegetables? Others peel the outer leaves, but he does too. Others pay attention to the size and uniformity of the vegetables, but he does the same..."
I didn't interrupt her and let her finish. In short, what she meant was that we shouldn't think we don't understand the current trends. The service is no different from that in first-tier cities.
Everyone looked at me, waiting for me to refute her.
I laughed out loud. "If you do everything others do, you won't make a lot of money. That's called 'following the crowd.' I'm talking about creating your own unique style."
Everyone asked, "What other features does it have?"
"You not only have to sell vegetables, but also guide people's lives. So, your greenhouse only grows the following vegetables and promotes them to people:
Chinese cabbage is the champion in iron supplementation.
Rapeseed is the champion in calcium supplementation.
Spinach is the folate champion.
Lotus root is the protein champion.
Sweet potatoes are the champions of fiber.
Tomatoes are the champions of vitamin C.
Celery is the champion of B vitamins.
Broccoli is the carotene champion.
If you choose better varieties and open your greenhouse to the public, people will drive to your place to buy vegetables because you proposed it. If you register a trademark, does that mean your greenhouse is better than others?
The room erupted in applause.
Du Meimei laughed and said, "How do we know these things?"
"I don't grow vegetables, so why would I know this? This is what we mean by 'knowledge is money'. If someone comes to me and asks me about their health, I'll look up information and give them advice.
"If you accumulate all of this, I'll understand it all. You just want to sell vegetables. How can you not delve into academic studies?"
Someone said, "Teacher Wan, please give me a few more examples."
Chunlai had already become impatient and winked at me.
I said, "If I have to feed you everything, it won't help you grow. This is an era where plans can't keep up with changes. You need to read more and use your brains to think. That's all for tonight."
Everyone applauded but was reluctant to leave.
I whispered a few words to Liucun, and Liucun said, "Teacher Wan still needs to meditate, everyone go back."
Everyone left reluctantly.
Liucun said: "Teacher Wan, have a good rest. See you tomorrow morning."
After Liucun left, Chunlai closed the door and asked, "Master, please explain the twelve Earthly Branches to me."
I joked, "With such a strong spirit of learning, you will be better than them in the future."
Chunlai took out his notebook, and the master and disciple sat down to discuss again -
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