A picture is worth a thousand words

"It's over, it's over."

"Jian Ge, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to get fired."

"What?!"

Everyone exchanged worried glances. "Uh, Jian Ge, how could that be? Boss Chen is your buddy, right?"

"Even if he's a buddy, he can't keep feeding us parasites."

"Why are you all looking at me? Help me come up with ideas; I can't believe we might all be packing up to go home."

"No, I love this job."

Everyone shook their heads. After working here for these days, they couldn't help but feel ecstatic. The work was easy, they were learning, and it expanded their horizons. Plus, earning 500 yuan a month was like heaven. Last time, when Xie Zhang and the others received a 2000 yuan bonus, they couldn't help but feel envious. Even during their last visit to school, the entire class was buzzing with inquiries about whether the company was hiring.

They were just vocational school students and hadn't even graduated yet. If they lost this job, they might never find a better one in their lifetimes.

"Well, Jian Ge, don't worry; I've come up with a solution."

Thinking on their feet, the group quickly brainstormed ideas when they thought they were about to be sent home.

"Xie Zhang, what's your idea?"

"I think based on Boss Chen's hint, our news and information need to be exclusive."

"Right."

"There are two ways to achieve exclusivity. One is to collaborate with major gaming companies to get advance access to news they're about to release. However, this isn't practical since these companies aren't cooperating with us right now."

"So, what's the use of that?"

"There's still the second option: we create it ourselves."

"We create it?"

"Starting with a picture, we rely on our own creativity to produce content. I mean, what else can we do?"

Tears welled up in Zhang Jianming's eyes.

"Well, Jian Ge, the idea is that even if we create it ourselves, it might still attract people, right?"

"Oh, you have a point."

"For example, right now, I could write an article about how I became the top player in Heroes of Jin Yong."

"How I became the top player in Heroes of Jin Yong…"

He mumbled it to himself, and Zhang Jianming's eyes lit up. "Not bad."

While such articles might not be news, they were related to gaming and had a lot of potential interest.

At least those who played Heroes of Jin Yong would likely be attracted if they saw it.

"Xie Zhang, quickly write this article, and we'll post it to see the effect."

"Alright."

...

Ganzhou Daily.

"Xiaoyu, will this really work?"

"Of course, it will."

"Isn't it a bit misleading?"

"No, are we actually deceiving anyone?"

"But will Ganzhou Daily believe it?"

"Dad, have a little faith. What do you have in your bag?"

"Well, alright, I'll go in first."

Feeling the stack of banknotes in his pocket, Chen Simian entered the Ganzhou Daily Business Cooperation Office.

"Hello, I'm Chen Simian, founder of Xinfeng's Snail Beauty. Here's my business card."

He handed his business card to the head of the Ganzhou Daily Business Cooperation Office.

"Oh, so you're Mr. Chen. My last name is Zhang."

"Director Zhang, we've made an appointment before to place a joint cooperation advertisement in your newspaper."

"That's certainly not a problem. However, Mr. Chen, I'd like to confirm first if you've obtained the trademark rights for 'Snail Beauty'?"

"We're currently in the process of registering it. This is our registration application, and it's already in the public notice stage. It will take a few more months to obtain the trademark permit."

"Well, this kind of partnership doesn't quite follow the rules."

Mr. Zhang frowned, initially considering a refusal but didn't say it out loud. Newspaper advertising business wasn't doing well these days, and if they casually rejected it, they'd lose another deal.

"Director Zhang, we can use a cooperation model for the initial phase of our partnership. Once our trademark permit is approved, we can proceed with the formal franchise agreement."

"That could work."

Hearing this, Mr. Zhang relaxed his brow. It seemed that this snack shop called Snail Beauty had good business acumen, taking all these factors into account. If that was the case, then there shouldn't be any legal issues.

"Alright, do you have your proposal ready, or should we help you write it?"

"It's ready. Please take a look."

Chen Simian handed the franchise proposal that Chen Yu had prepared a few days ago to Mr. Zhang.

The franchise proposal was relatively simple, with a franchise fee of 30,000 yuan. However, when Mr. Zhang saw the profit statement for Snail Beauty below, he was dumbfounded.

The franchise fee was 30,000 yuan, decoration costs were 5,000 yuan, monthly rent was 1,500 yuan, labor costs were 700 yuan per month for 2 people, and utilities were 500 yuan. Daily per capita spending was 6 yuan, with 200 customers daily, resulting in daily sales of 1,200 yuan and a monthly revenue of 32,000 yuan. Raw material costs... monthly net profit of 16,000 yuan, annual profit of 192,000 yuan, and cost recovery in 3-4 months.

"Mr. Chen, this, this... this franchise profit statement is too exaggerated, isn't it?"

While previously many franchise advertisements from advertisers were somewhat exaggerated, most of them were still within reason.

But when looking at Snail Beauty's franchise offer – 5,000 yuan for decoration, 1,500 yuan in monthly rent – if the franchise fee of 30,000 yuan wasn't included, it was essentially just a snack shop that required an initial investment of slightly over 10,000 yuan. How could such a small eatery generate a profit of over ten thousand yuan in a year?

If that were true, he'd want to start one himself.

"Director Zhang, we aren't exaggerating. These are real business revenues. If managed well, the profits could even exceed this."

Of course, this was under the assumption of no competition. If there was only one place in a district selling snails, this level of profit was guaranteed. However, if two or three such shops opened, the profit margin would significantly decrease.

Chen Yu's idea was to dominate the entire market before it had a chance to react. Once they secured the market and gained recognition, even if other snack shops tried to compete, there would still be a substantial profit to be made.

"Mr. Chen, you should know that newspapers are different from other miscellaneous advertisements. If we publish false advertisements, I could face consequences as well. How about we investigate your shop first? What do you think?"

"How long will the investigation take?"

"About a month, give or take."

Chen Simian shook his head. While a month wasn't a long time, there were already signs of potential competition emerging in other counties in Ganzhou.

If they took a month to investigate, there might already be a dozen similar shops in Ganzhou.

"A month is too long. How about this?"

Chen Simian pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket. "The previous advertising fee was 2,000 yuan. We'll offer 4,000 yuan."

"Mr. Chen, it's not about the money."

Mr. Zhang remained unmoved.

Chen Simian didn't speak and pulled out another 2,000 yuan.

"Mr. Chen, this really isn't about the money."

Chen Simian still didn't speak and added another 2,000 yuan.

"Mr. Chen, you're putting me in a difficult position."

Finally, Chen Simian emptied his pockets and laid all the money on the table. "10,000 yuan. We're offering five times the advertising fee. If Director Zhang still thinks it's not enough, then I'll consider other newspapers."

With that, Chen Simian began to leave.

"Hey, Mr. Chen, let's discuss this."

As he spoke, Mr. Zhang placed the 10,000 yuan into his desk. "In principle, it is indeed problematic, but we've previously investigated your Snail Beauty, and everything is legal. Besides, there are indeed a few franchise stores in Nankang and Chongyi. So, tomorrow, I'll arrange the advertisement for you. How does that sound?"

"Then, Director Zhang, we're extremely grateful."

Chen Simian smiled.