The Wealthy and Influential Fiancé Has the Ability to Read Minds
Chapter 57
Jiang Ji looked at Tang Nuan’s departing figure and found it quite amusing.
Director Feng also laughed, saying, “I’ve heard that Miss Tang can be quite blunt with her words. Now I’ve finally witnessed it.”
“What does she mean? Is she trying to get money or investment from Second Young Master Jiang?” A producer shook his head and chuckled, “Young people will say anything for the sake of their pride.”
A wealthy second-generation person nearby hesitated and said, “But I heard that Young Master Ye is quite fond of her. Could he step in to help?” It wouldn’t be impossible for them to use Ye family’s influence to apply pressure.
Jiang Ji had also heard about Ye Shuyan personally picking up Tang Nuan from the bar and even supporting her after she got into a fight. Considering Ye Shuyan’s attitude towards Jiang Miao, his eyes grew cold, though he still maintained a smile and said, “If that’s the case, it might not be Miss Tang who ends up losing face.”
If Ye Shuyan could swallow his pride, it would affect how the shareholders view him.
Jiang Ji treated the incident as a joke and shared it with the Jiang family. They all thought Tang Nuan was just being prideful and talking big.
However, thinking about Ye Shuyan, Father Jiang still decided to call Ye Zhenghong. Ye Zhenghong was still upset about Ye Shuchen’s forced embarrassment last time and was very dissatisfied with Ye Shuyan.
When Jin Wenxia heard about it, she began spreading the news widely in the circle, hoping everyone would enjoy Tang Nuan’s misfortune. Whether it was because Tang Nuan was too famous or for some other reason, the news quickly spread throughout the wealthy circles.
Jin Wenxia looked at the discussions in the WeChat group and sneered. No matter how much she was still Ye Shuyan’s fiancée, it didn’t change the fact that she was the joke of the circle.
That day, at the Xie family’s golf practice range.
Ye Shuyan stood next to Tang Nuan, helping her correct her posture. “Spread your legs a bit more, shift your weight back… your waist…”
Tang Nuan dodged his hand on her waist and glared at him, saying, “Just speak, don’t touch me.”
Ye Shuyan then used just his fingers to poke her waist lightly. Tang Nuan’s waist was sensitive, and she almost jumped up, glaring at him in displeasure.
Ye Shuyan couldn’t help but laugh.
Then, a call came in from Xie Feizhe, “Director Xiao has finished playing and is resting here. Come over.”
Tang Nuan tossed the golf club to Ye Shuyan and eagerly headed towards the lounge area.
Ye Shuyan finished tidying up and followed leisurely. When he reached the lounge, he saw that Tang Nuan had already started a conversation with Director Xiao, who had been introduced by Xie Feizhe. He smiled and prepared to wait nearby.
Just then, he ran into Xie Feizhe’s older brother, Xie Feiming, and a few friends, all of whom were involved in family business matters. He recognized most of them, some having collaborated before, so he decided to join them to keep the conversation engaging.
Xie Feiming was surprised, “What brings you here? Accompanying a client?”
Ye Shuyan glanced at the distance and replied with a smile, “No, just here to relax with Tang Nuan. She’s been too busy lately.”
The others displayed expressions of surprise. Being busy themselves and not keeping up with gossip, they were unaware of the recent changes in Ye Shuyan’s life.
Xie Feiming teasingly said, “Feizhe keeps saying you’ve descended earth. I thought he was joking, but it turns out… indeed, the world is full of surprises.”
Ye Shuyan smiled without refuting. Seeing him unusually easygoing, the group joined in the light-hearted teasing, “Miss Tang is so busy, the way you talk sounds like you’re being a kept man.”
Ye Shuyan chuckled, “It’s not necessarily impossible.”
The group was momentarily stunned, realizing he was serious.
As they were about to head inside, a voice, half-smiling and half-serious, came from behind, “Young Master Ye is here to support his fiancée?”
They turned around to see Ye Zhenghong and several shareholders, as well as Father Jiang and son, Jiang Zhan standing behind them. It was Jiang Zhan who had just spoken.
Xie Feiming raised an eyebrow at this lineup. The enmity between Ye Shuyan and the Jiang family was well-known in the circle, and it seemed like things had reached a breaking point. He was surprised to see Ye Zhenghong and the Jiang family members appear to be in a friendly mood.
Ye Zhenghong looked surprised to see Ye Shuyan and then followed Jiang Zhan’s gaze to Tang Nuan not far away. He frowned slightly, evidently aware of the recent commotion involving Tang Nuan. He remarked indifferently, “A little squabble doesn’t need support. It’s just young people having their little disputes. Even if they hit a wall, it’s nothing serious. They need to temper their arrogance.”
He looked at Ye Shuyan with a discontent frown, “For such a trivial matter, you’re making such a fuss. How are you going to explain this to the shareholders?”
Xie Feiming found the rhetorical question amusing. It seemed strange to him that someone like Ye Shuyan, who had meticulously built up the Ye family business, would be criticized for standing up for his fiancée. No wonder Old Man Ye hadn’t handed over control to Ye Zhenghong.
Ye Shuyan didn’t respond directly. He merely frowned slightly and asked, “What’s the matter? Who did she have a falling out with? With her mild temperament, what more is there to temper?”
Ye Zhenghong was momentarily taken aback. Tang Nuan had a mild temperament?
Just then, Xie Feizhe arrived, saying, “Oh, didn’t Tang Nuan tell you?” He explained, “Tang Nuan wanted to shoot a drama, but recently, Second Jiang has been making things difficult in the entertainment circle. He has instructed many directors and actors not to work with her. Even Director Feng, whom Tang Nuan had previously arranged to work with, has backed out.”
“Then Jiang Ji said that if Tang Nuan still wanted to film, she should consider it a charity act for the entertainment industry. Without good directors and actors, investing in it would just be throwing money away. So, Tang Nuan got upset and boasted that she would use Jiang’s money to make noise, or something along those lines.”
He added with interest, “How come Jiang Ji didn’t tell you when he went home to complain and asked for help from his elders?”
Ye Shuyan glanced at the unhappy father and son of the Jiang and said lightly, “She didn’t mention it. Such petty squabbles don’t need to be reported to me.”
Xie Feizhe said, “But Jiang Ji’s complaints have reached Director Ye. Aren’t you going to address it?”
Ye Shuyan appeared completely unconcerned and responded casually, “She can handle this small matter herself. If she can provoke both her father and Chairman Jiang, it means she’s making progress. In that case, I’d have no objections to having her lead a project in the company.”
Ye Zhenghong and the father and son of Jiang all looked displeased.
The Ye family shareholders trailing behind them also felt awkward. They had been swayed by Director Ye’s influence and had ongoing large projects with the Jiang family, but seeing how things were unfolding, the combined influence of these three seemed to pale in comparison to Ye Shuyan alone.
In fact, it seemed even less significant compared to Tang Nuan. The young woman had yet to even marry her fiancé, but they were already feeling intimidated.
Xie Feiming couldn’t help but shake his head. To the young people who were preoccupied with leisure and pleasure, it might seem like a loss of face if Tang Nuan’s bravado didn’t pan out. However, to those of them who were constantly busy with work, it appeared petty and small-minded for the Jiang family to pick on a young girl instead of confronting Ye Shuyan and the Ye family directly.
But clearly, the Jiang family didn’t see it that way. With Tang Nuan and Ye Shuyan seemingly riding roughshod over them, it would be a sign of weakness if they remained calm and unperturbed.
Jiang Zhan sneered, “Young Master Ye, don’t pretend to be aloof. Without you, could you have even gotten Director Xiao to make an appearance?”
Xie Feizhe was displeased that his credit was being overshadowed. “Hey, Director Xiao was introduced to Tang Nuan by me. What does it have to do with him?”
“In that case, Young Master Ye, you won’t be handling the investment, right?” Jiang Zhan retorted with sarcasm. “Director Xiao is notorious for burning through budgets.”
Director Xiao, whose full name is Xiao Xiangrong, was indeed a prominent figure in the directing circle. However, in recent years, he has struggled to get projects. His preference for serious dramas and his meticulous standards for actors, costumes, and scripts meant that his budget requirements were often much higher than those of other directors. While other directors could work within a fraction of his budget, the current trend in the entertainment industry was driven by investors looking for quick returns, leaving Xiao Xiangrong with just his reputation. Even when he had good scripts, it was hard to secure sufficient investment.
Ye Shuyan’s gaze shifted forward, noticing that Tang Nuan seemed to have finished her conversation.
“Didn’t she say she would seek investors?” He glanced at Jiang Zhan and added, “Don’t worry. I currently have no plans to invest in the film industry. If you’re really concerned, you can persuade Director Xiao yourself. Such trivial matters aren’t worth my attention.”
He subtly indicated to the shareholders, “Otherwise, everyone might be disappointed in me.”
The shareholders quickly shook their heads. “How could that be?”
Ye Shuyan smiled and added, “But I’ll handle it myself. I haven’t fallen to the same level where I need to worry about competing with the second son of the Jiang family yet.”
The shareholders looked toward Ye Zhenghong and the Jiang family, realizing that Ye Shuyan was implying that these concerned individuals were at the same level as Second Jiang.
Ye Zhenghong and the father and son of Jiang remained silent, their faces tense, since they had indeed shown concern about the issue.
Xie Feizhe then helpfully provided more information. “Director Xiao is very stubborn and doesn’t care about personal connections. As long as the script is good and the money is in place, and he can enjoy making the film, he’s fine with it.”
The Jiang family could never engage in something with such low cost-effectiveness.
Following Ye Shuyan’s gaze, Xie Feizhe looked back and saw Tang Nuan approaching, remarking, “By the way, Tang Nuan is quite determined. Everyone expected you to look for some new directors, but she’s actually going for Director Xiao.”
“Why should I look for new directors?” Tang Nuan responded matter-of-factly. “To ensure quality, I need to choose a reliable team.”
Ye Shuyan smiled, acknowledging her cautious nature, and draped his arm around her shoulder. “Finished with the discussion?”
In front of others, she didn’t want to embarrass him. “Yes, we’ve scheduled a time.” She discreetly poked his waist.
Ye Shuyan’s smile widened, and he introduced her to Xie Feiming and the others.
Tang Nuan greeted them warmly and then turned to Jiang Zhan with a smile. “Actually, Director Xiao is the most suitable for this script. I just thought his fees were too high before,” she said, hinting, “Now that someone is willing to support this generously, I can strive for excellence.”
Jiang Zhan sneered, “We’ll see. With so many people watching, Miss Tang, I hope you’re not just playing games with everyone.”
Tang Nuan replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t disappoint you.”
Afterwards, Jiang Ji kept a close eye on Tang Nuan’s activities. He observed her working with Director Xiao and initially thought she might be leveraging his reputation for some purpose. Recently, he had been in touch with actors who had connections with Xiao, aiming to replace or sideline them. However, he was stunned to hear that she had invested twenty million yuan in a skincare brand named Beihua to expedite the production of skincare products.
Everyone who heard about this was baffled. Soon after, Beihua announced that it would provide skincare products worth two hundred yuan each for free for promotional activities on various internet platforms, with no limit on the quantity.
This move caused a huge stir.
In today’s internet-driven market, major shopping platforms are survivors of intense competition, with a stable consumer base.
Yet, competition has never ceased. For example, while the Jiang family is a giant in the e-commerce sector, there’s also a rival, the Southern Capital APP, in the southern region. Additionally, numerous niche e-commerce apps cater to specific categories like maternal and infant care, cosmetics, and brands. Each successful app has its unique strengths.
With nearly 800 million online shopping users in China, all platforms are competing fiercely for these users. To increase user retention, the most effective strategy is through various promotions.
Events like “Double Eleven,” “618 (June 18th),” and “Goddess Day” have become commonplace. If observed closely, almost every platform has some kind of event every day. Among all these promotions, the most attractive used to be free giveaways, but those have become rarer in recent times.
Beihua’s offer is a rare opportunity. Free skincare products worth 200 yuan each are highly practical in a market primarily driven by female shoppers and with no limit on the quantity. This effectively means Beihua is paying to attract users to their platforms. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of this?
However, Tang Nuan’s approach seemed a bit bizarre. Offering unlimited free products, even if it attracts billions, might not seem practical. As people wondered why she would engage in such a seemingly thankless job, she made it clear that this offer was available to all platforms except the Jiang family’s.
Everyone suddenly understood that Tang Nuan was retaliating against the Jiang family.
The Jiang family members found it hilarious. Jiang Ji was particularly surprised that she had targeted the Jiang family’s platforms so directly. He laughed heartily, “As expected of a young person who’s not afraid of challenges! Truly an imaginative move.”
Jin Wenxia remarked, “She must be out of her mind.” She rolled her eyes and mocked in the group chat: [@Tang Nuan, do you really think this will ruin the Jiang family’s platform?]
Unexpectedly, Tang Nuan replied: [It’s said that changing a user’s shopping platform habit takes just about a week.]
[If other platforms make good use of this opportunity, Jiang’s customer flow will surely decrease… I might not be able to take down Jiang’s platform with this small amount of money, but will the Southern Capital platform push this further?]
Competitors always look to take advantage of each other’s weaknesses.
Jiang Ji frowned. Although Jin Wenxia was too young to understand, he realized Tang Nuan’s strategy had some truth in it.
For the same store, one offering nothing and another offering free products worth 200 yuan each—especially on the internet where users only need to move their fingers to switch platforms—people would naturally be inclined to switch.
Once users switch platforms, those platforms would definitely find ways to retain them.
This situation wouldn’t be disastrous for the Jiang family, but if it really leads to a loss of customers, the impact could be significant. Not only would sales drop, but regaining those lost customers would be challenging. The average cost to win back a lost customer is around 300 yuan, so the overall impact could be considerable.
After hearing Jiang Ji’s explanation, Jin Wenxia replied angrily: [You’re too funny, acting like we don’t do promotions or offer freebies.]
[Of course, we do! But a 200 yuan product would still cost you at least 30 yuan each. To retain millions of customers, you’d need 300 million yuan.]
Jin Wenxia sneered: [You said it as if you’re spending it yourself.]
Tang Nuan responded: [I’m happy to do it. After all, if I use this money in the entertainment industry, it would only make a tiny ding but it’s more worthwhile to cause some damage to your Jiang family’s business.]
Jiang Ji frowned at the messages in the group. “This lunatic!” he muttered before heading to find Jiang Zhan. There was no need for the Jiang family to waste money just to compete with her.
Upstairs, Jiang Zhan read the messages and smiled at the frowning Jiang Ji. “By the time you figure this out, it’ll be too late.”
Jiang Ji’s eyes lit up. “Big Brother, you already know?”
Jiang Zhan, confident, replied, “I went to check things out as soon as she released the information.”
He looked at Jiang Ji and said, “You’re still too young. Instead of just thinking about not losing, why not see this as an opportunity?”
“That Beihua is a family business that’s been around for nearly a century. They’ve always focused on making products, but the current successor doesn’t know much about business. The factory is on the brink of closing, and Tang Nuan’s large order is just a temporary lifeline for them.”
“Moreover, because of this, Tang Nuan has pushed the price down extremely low—just seven yuan per unit.”
“Seven yuan?” Jiang Ji was shocked. “Is cosmetics really that cheap?”
Jiang Zhan said, “Of course not. Seven yuan is just the cost of raw material processing. The cost of premium products like the so-called ‘elixirs’ is likely much higher. But when you add up expenses for labor, rent, display counters, branding, especially R&D, a retail price of over 200 yuan is actually quite reasonable.”
Jiang Ji asked, “So, Big Brother, what did you do?”
Jiang Zhan replied, “I only slightly adjusted the price, and we secured priority access to the goods. It’s just business; she can’t afford to turn away money.”
“How many units are we getting?”
Jiang Zhan smiled, “Eight yuan each.”
Jiang Ji realized the shift in perspective. Rather than seeing Tang Nuan’s actions as a way to undermine them, he saw it as a normal marketing strategy.
Eight yuan per unit is not just low—it’s incredibly cheap! Maintaining customer relations typically costs around fifty yuan per person per month, so securing customers for just eight yuan each is a huge bargain!
“And” Jiang Zhan continued with a smile, “a factory’s production capacity is limited. Even if we secure our share, other places might not be able to supply enough.”
Jiang Ji’s eyes lit up. “So, as long as we increase our promotional efforts and make good use of this eight yuan per unit cost, it could actually bring us more benefits.”
“If the Southern Capital platform competes with us, they not only won’t have stock but will also have to buy other promotional items at a higher cost!” Jiang Ji said with a broad smile, “So, in the end, Tang Nuan might spend tens of millions to a hundred million yuan, but we get to benefit from it!”
He imagined the Southern Capital team’s reaction, likely furious at being outmaneuvered.
After the Jiang family signed the contract with Sister Zhang efficiently, Sister Zhang took the contract to Tang Nuan’s place and said something similar, “When this is over, the Jiang family might be furious, right?”
Tang Nuan looked at the contract with a minimum order of 12 million yuan and beamed with joy. “With the Jiang family’s contract as a foundation, your working capital will be more than sufficient!”
Sister Zhang was also excited.
Jin Yun, who had just finished negotiations with Director Xiao, came over looking troubled. “You two are still in the mood to laugh? We haven’t seen a single cent from our investment yet.” True, there was initially 20 million, but Tang Nuan had spent it all on skincare production.
Seeing the Jiang family contract, Jin Yun frowned. “Didn’t we say we’d target the Jiang family and not provide them with freebies?”
Tang Nuan shot Jin Yun a sidelong glance and took the contract from her. “I’m someone who respects money greatly. How could I act impulsively? Besides, when did I say I wanted to target the Jiang family? I’ve always said I wanted to make money off the Jiang family, okay?”
She then remembered Jin Wenxia’s questioning and laughed. “What were they thinking? If I really wanted to target the Jiang family, even Ye Shuyan would have to put in some effort. Am I crazy?”
Ji Yun said, “I just thought you were crazy. Our investment money isn’t enough, and you’re spending it on giving away free stuff. Are you expecting people who get free skincare products to crowdfund for us?”
Tang Nuan thought for a moment and said, “Well, your way of putting it is quite apt.”
Ji Yun was confused by her response. “But aren’t you giving it away for free? How does that translate to crowdfunding?”
Tang Nuan explained, “Who said it’s free? We’re actually making a profit.”
Sister Zhang, with a gleam of excitement in her eyes, nodded and smiled. Tang Nuan then waved her hand to Ji Yun, signaling her to come closer. “Let me explain.”
Ji Yun moved closer and looked at the datasheet Tang Nuan had pulled out. She remembered that after returning from the birthday party of Feng Tian Entertainment’s CEO, Tang Nuan had been working on this day and night for the past two days.
She looked at the spot Tang Nuan was pointing to and asked, “Shipping costs?”
Tang Nuan smiled and said, “Yes, the trick is here. If we’re giving away something worth 200 yuan, the shipping cost charged to the customer is not unreasonable.”
Ji Yun replied, “Of course not, shipping costs are usually quite low.”
“It’s fifteen yuan.” Tang Nuan said. “The shipping fee charged to the customer is fifteen. But we’re planning to ship millions of orders, so we negotiated a price of five yuan with the courier company.”
Ji Yun looked at her, starting to piece things together. Tang Nuan continued, “This way, we can get ten yuan from each shipment.”
Ji Yun was amazed and gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive, how did you come up with this idea?” Then she looked dejected. “But what does ten yuan amount to? Does it cover the product cost?”
Sister Zhang chuckled and said, “It’s enough. The pure material processing cost of Beihua’s skincare products is six yuan.”
So, earning fifty yuan per set isn’t actually that much.
“So, six yuan in cost still means a loss, right? A loss of over one hundred and forty yuan.”
Tang Nuan replied, “But this is a special situation. We need to revive the factory first and secure working capital.”
She continued, “From the ten yuan we get from the courier, subtracting the six yuan cost of the product, we still have four yuan left.”
Ji Yun also realized, “So, even though you’re giving it away for free, you still make four yuan per order.”
Tang Nuan smiled and said, “Four yuan might not seem like much, but we don’t have to spend any money on promotion. All the promotion is handled by the e-commerce platforms themselves.”
Sister Zhang was very pleased with this, “Now, a full-platform promotional campaign easily costs tens of millions. This is all money saved for us.”
Tang Nuan nodded, “Currently, the estimated order volume for the Southern Commercial app is ten million, which is a conservative estimate.”
Ji Yun quickly did the math and exclaimed, “Just from Southern Commercial APP alone, we’ll have at least forty million in revenue!”
Sister Zhang was also excited, rubbing her hands together, “You can really tell that education makes a difference. How did you come up with such a brilliant idea? It’s truly ingenious!”
Tang Nuan smiled with satisfaction, picked up the contract in her hand, and said excitedly, “But the most impressive part is this!”
Ji Yun, no longer showing any distaste, quickly took the document and flipped through it, “They’re offering eight yuan! The minimum order volume is twelve million…”
She quickly calculated, “So, we can earn twelve yuan per order from the Jiang family! If they give out benefits to at least 1200 users.”
Ji Yun couldn’t help but gasp, “140 million!!!”
“Wow!” She hugged Tang Nuan tightly. “Darling, you’re amazing!”
Tang Nuan smiled and said, “That’s just a conservative estimate. Given Jiang’s usual aggressive style and how rare it is to find high-cost performance gifts like this, they’ll definitely promote it heavily. They have at least 400 million registered users on their platform; giving away two to three million wouldn’t be excessive…”
At this point, she suddenly fell to her knees on the sofa with her hands clasped together.
Ji Yun exclaimed, “What are you doing? Are you going crazy with happiness?”
Tang Nuan closed her eyes devoutly and said, “Thank you to the God of Wealth from the Jiang family! I’m praying for their blessings.”
Ji Yun: ……
“Praying for blessings?” Sister Zhang couldn’t help but laugh. “When they find out the truth, they’ll probably be so angry they’ll lose years off their lives!”
The author has something to say:
Tang Nuan: Come, let’s thank the God of Wealth together.
President Ye: My goal is to follow my wife and live off her.