“Could we go somewhere else? If we were just looking for a comfortable place, we wouldn’t have come here. This money would be better spent on the people in the disaster area. Extravagance goes against the purpose of our event.” Ye Zhaoxian was clearly satisfied with Lin Yao’s respectful attitude towards them. Although this hotel was nothing compared to the conditions he had stayed in before, and he was prepared to endure hardship this time, he was still very happy. So he spoke to Lin Yao in a much gentler tone.
"Young Master Ye, I only booked here for one day, and the money can't be refunded. We'll move to another place tomorrow. The expenses here are indeed quite high, and we can't afford to stay here long-term. Would you like to stay here for now?" Lin Yao said cautiously. At this moment, Lin Yao began to respect Ye Zhaoxian and his group from the bottom of his heart. After all, given their status and experience, it would take a lot of courage for them to participate in the arduous disaster relief work.
No one spoke, only watching Ye Zhaoxian make a decision. At this moment, Lin Yao noticed a tall, thin man wearing glasses looking at him with a very unfriendly gaze. The way he looked at him sideways clearly revealed his contempt. Lin Yao knew that this was a veteran expert in online hype, named Liu Wei.
“Alright, let’s stay here for now. You can arrange for us to move to another place tomorrow. We need to use our resources as much as possible to help the people in the disaster area. Personal enjoyment is completely unnecessary. Everyone is prepared to endure hardship.” Ye Zhaoxian made the decision.
"Alright, everyone, please get off the bus. The rooms have been arranged. There are eight suites here. Young Master Ye, could you please help allocate them?" Lin Yao replied happily, handing sixteen room cards to Ye Zhaoxian.
Lin Hongmei was secretly pleased to see this little incident; it seemed these young people were genuinely helpful.
After putting away their luggage, no one bothered to wash up and immediately urged everyone to start the meeting. They even insisted on eating boxed lunches during the meeting, which forced Lin Hongmei to quickly order boxed lunches and return the food at the restaurant.
In the small conference room, after Ye Zhaoxian gave a brief opening speech, it was Lin Yao's turn to speak.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Yao, and I am the company representative for this event. First of all, on behalf of the people in the disaster area, I would like to thank you all for coming. On behalf of myself and my parents, I am grateful for your help. I deeply admire your noble character and dedication." Lin Yao stood up and spoke.
The crowd remained silent, though their faces showed some impatience. Lin Yao noticed that Liu Wei curled his lip, his expression even more disdainful.
"I'll skip the small talk and get to the point. I'll show you some materials first, and then you can discuss how to operate them." Although Lin Yao was a little embarrassed, he was quite satisfied with their performance. He didn't like empty talk or platitudes.
The pre-prepared printed materials were distributed to everyone, and everyone immediately began to read them carefully. The meeting room was quiet except for the sound of turning pages.
"ah!"
"Ah! Is this true? Young Master Ye?"
People occasionally exclaimed in surprise, all of them shocked by the effects described in the materials. It seems that no one expected the product they were about to use to have such high efficacy, and they had never even heard of it in their circle in Beijing.
Only Lin Yao and Ye Zhaoxian showed no surprise. They both understood the value and function of this product. Lin Yao noticed a change in Liu Wei's gaze; it now held a hint of suspicion. Lin Yao could roughly guess what this professional, who didn't come from a privileged background, was thinking. Before, he looked down on Lin Yao for currying favor with the powerful; now, he probably suspected Lin Yao of trying to profit from the national crisis.
Lin Yao smiled faintly, not offering an immediate explanation. He wanted to wait until everyone had finished reviewing the materials before speaking. This team needed to be united to truly play a significant role, and Lin Yao was confident he could persuade this crucial professional.
After a while, everyone finished reading the information in their hands. They stared at Ye Zhaoxian and Lin Yao with shocked eyes. However, these people were well-mannered and shrewd, and they did not show any signs of being in a hurry. Their eyes were just full of eagerness.
Lin Yao stood up again and said, "I think everyone has read the information. The data and situation in the information are true, and this product has also obtained approval from the State Drug Administration. Now I will inform you about the pricing. The ex-factory price is set at 0.937 to 0.1 yuan per bottle. The ideal production cost is 0.937, but if a certain link is not well controlled, the cost may increase. Therefore, it will fluctuate to 0.1 yuan per bottle. Any part exceeding 0.1 yuan will be borne by the company as a loss."
"The selling price is set at less than three yuan, which depends on the transportation and warehousing costs to various destinations, as well as the profits of distributors at all levels. If these costs are not high in a certain region, the price will be reduced in that region, with the reduction limited to breaking even, since the company has limited funds and cannot afford to suffer losses."
As soon as Lin Yao finished speaking, the conference room erupted in chaos, with everyone immediately starting to discuss it.
“How could this product cost less than a dollar? I’d believe you if you said it cost twenty dollars!” A young man with a refined air stood up and said seriously.
Lin Yao smiled and explained, "Let me add something. The costs I mentioned earlier only include the cost of raw materials and some production and bottling costs. Even the wages of the water company's workers and the cost of using the equipment were sponsored by a patriotic entrepreneur, for which I am grateful. All R&D costs and patent usage costs are not included. We are doing disaster relief, not making money."
He paused, then continued, "If nothing unexpected happens, the company will definitely suffer losses; it's just a matter of how much. I've asked everyone to help this time for two reasons. One is to ensure that this drought-resistant functional beverage is actually sold to the disaster victims, rather than circulating to wealthy people in non-disaster areas. The second is to ask everyone to help control the distribution and sales of the beverage so that the company can minimize its losses, because if the losses are too large, the company may go bankrupt."
"Actually, everyone, like me, understands the value of this beverage. If we set the ex-factory price at thirty yuan per bottle, it would definitely be in short supply. However, this is not the mission of this beverage. This beverage was created solely for the drought in the west and will disappear as the disaster subsides. Please help us, thank you!"
After Lin Yao finished speaking, applause rang out in the conference room. Liu Wei's contempt and doubt were gone, replaced by deep admiration. His eyes were filled with respect and enthusiasm as he looked at Lin Yao.
"Excuse me, you've repeatedly mentioned the issue of funding. How much of the company's capital is specifically allocated to production and sales?" a man with a middle parting asked. Lin Yao knew this man was named Shang Qinshu, a master's graduate in economics, and that someone in his family worked for the Ministry of Finance. No wonder he was so sensitive to economic data.
"Thank you for your concern, Young Master Shang. Since everyone is being open and honest, I won't hold back. I'll tell you all that the initial funding is only four million, and the other six million will arrive around tomorrow. That's all the money we have, so please make sure to focus on the efficiency of capital recovery when considering the plan, otherwise we won't be able to continue production."
“The information you’ve seen before clearly states that the number of people affected by the disaster reached 13 million. I conservatively estimate that producing 100 million bottles of beverages would cost 75 million in raw material costs alone. This money can only be covered by timely payments, and we can only use rolling funds.”
After Lin Yao finished speaking, he bowed to everyone present, as he really needed their help.
"Four million? That's so little? Why not attract investment?" Shang Qinshu was surprised by this number; this amount of money was simply not enough to start production.
"Young Master Shang, there's nothing we can do. It's not that we don't want to attract investment, but we can't find suitable investors. This kind of business is clearly going to lose money, so what investor would be willing to put up their money? Everyone who's willing to put up their money wants a controlling stake, or at least demands higher sales prices and sales to other regions."
"The western region is already poor, and even without raising prices, some disaster victims cannot afford it. As for selling to other regions, it is even more impossible, because the core raw materials are only enough to supply the disaster area. If we could sell to other regions, we would not need any investment at all and could make enough profit in the shortest time. All of this is because the total production volume can only be 100 million bottles. For every bottle sold, there is one less for the disaster victims. Therefore, please consider controlling the flow of products into other markets when formulating plans."
After Lin Yao finished speaking, everyone in the conference room looked at him with even greater respect. He added, "Let me add one more thing: the core raw materials were not included in the cost calculation at all. This part of the value has already been counted as a loss for the company and is not included in the four million yuan fund."
For a moment, no one spoke. They were moved by the company's lofty patriotism as described by Lin Yao, and they all secretly resolved to put in their utmost effort in this endeavor.
"Let me say a few words." Liu Wei's words broke the silence in the meeting room. "I suggest that a non-governmental organization in the city could be called the 'China Civil Volunteer Association.' The association's work can start with this drought relief effort in western China and involve contacting the Communist Youth League, various humanitarian aid associations, and various charitable foundations. This identity is more convenient than that of a company."
As soon as Liu Wei finished speaking, he immediately resonated with everyone present. Although everyone had come to Chengdu with a heart full of patriotism, they were still very willing to work in a nationally renowned organization and make a name for themselves. This way, they could present their achievements to their parents and gain recognition. Even if they went into business or politics in the future, it would be a very impressive resume.
“Alright, let’s establish the ‘China Civil Volunteer Association.’ Lang Liwu and Fu Renjie will be in charge of the paperwork. Now let’s start discussing the operational details and formulating rules and regulations. We also need to focus on discussing what actions we should take before the association receives government approval, so as not to delay the disaster relief work if Lang Liwu and Fu Renjie are unable to complete the paperwork in a short time.” Ye Zhaoxian spoke, settling everyone’s mind.
"Lin Yao, what do you think?" Liu Wei spoke to Lin Yao for the first time, and his tone was very polite.
Lin Yao was pleased that Liu Wei's attitude towards him had changed, and immediately said politely, "I'm not good at this. From now on, someone else will be in charge of liaison between the association and the company. His name is Long Yihun, and he will be able to attend the meeting in a few hours. I am in charge of production work and will need to help out from time to time. In addition, I will also be responsible for providing everyone with some nourishing herbal soups so that the heavy workload will not affect everyone's health."
Lin Yao shook hands with all these people at the airport and basically found out their physical conditions. Several of them had some health problems. Ye Zhaoxian had some problems with male function, and Liu Wei had a serious stomach problem. He decided to help them cure their illnesses out of gratitude.
"Oh, thank you." Liu Wei was also very happy to hear Lin Yao's words. His stomach problem was already very serious. Working in the internet industry for many years had caused his health to deteriorate. Now he often had stomach pain all night long. He had taken a lot of medicine and seen many doctors, but nothing could solve the problem. This company must be quite capable to be able to produce such a powerful energy drink. If it could cure his stomach problem, it would be a great help.
Thinking of this, Liu Wei couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation for the herbal medicine Lin Yao had mentioned.
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Chapter 41 Preparations
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With a consensus reached, the meeting proceeded smoothly. Lin Yao had no intention of seeking any position or benefit within the team, so he established a core management team for the volunteer association, headed by Ye Zhaoxian, with Lin Yao nominally in charge and Long Yihun temporarily serving as the liaison.
Ye Zhaoxian, skilled in handling interpersonal relationships, assigned positions to these people one by one. Although these people were all young, they were all shrewd and capable. After obtaining the expected specific positions and powers, their networks and influence were immediately maximized. Whenever the key issues of contacting various levels of institutions and organizations were discussed during the meeting, those with the corresponding connections would immediately take out their mobile phones to make contact and resolve the issues. The whole scene became an efficient on-site office meeting.