"After that, they called us twice, but we didn't take it seriously. After the article was published, someone made a briefing for me. It was just the words of an amateur. Everyone is adding alcohol to liquor. Even Moutai and Wuliangye add alcohol to liquor. It's not adulteration. They don't know anything about it. As for the factory and production line, we just spent tens of millions to introduce the most advanced production line from abroad. Why didn't they report it? Why didn't they report the new factory area covering 3,000 acres that is under construction?" Xue Sheng was still very angry when he talked about it. He complained, "Newspaper reporters nowadays have no manners at all. They just make up stories to attract attention..."
What Xue Sheng said was not wrong. It is common in the wine industry to buy other companies' raw wine for blending when production is insufficient. As long as it is not blended with edible alcohol and water, there is generally no big problem. But the key point is that after the report by the Economic Observer, the public has preconceived judgments. Once a misunderstanding is formed, it will be several times more difficult to explain and reverse it. What's more, Lingqu Wine's crisis public relations level is still at the elementary school stage. They always think that the innocent will be cleared and are disdainful of explanation. Up to now, they have not even held a large-scale press conference. They only explain to consumers who call to inquire or their own distributors. It is pale and powerless!
Wen Liang listened to Xue Sheng's complaints quietly and said, "Well, how can I help?"
Xue Sheng said: "I heard from Secretary Zuo that President Wen is the best at business operations, so I would like to ask President Wen to help analyze where Lingqu went wrong. How could a report cause such a big impact? Sales have dropped by nearly half. At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, the wine that was produced at full capacity has accumulated to nearly 300 train cars..."
Wen Liang was also shocked to hear this number. Although he knew that 1997 was the Waterloo of Lingqu Liquor and it had withdrawn from the competitive arena in 1998, he did not expect that sales would drop so much in just three months.
"That's too much praise, Secretary Zuo. I'm still young, and my knowledge and experience cannot be compared with Director Xue's. But I have really thought deeply about Lingqu wine. Since we are all sharing our hearts today, I will just throw out some ideas and talk about them briefly."
"Please, please. I, Old Xue, am all ears."
"The rise of Lingqu can be said to be entirely dependent on the winning bid in 1995. In layman's terms, it is the advertising effect. Therefore, the key link for Lingqu's business model to form a virtuous cycle is whether the large amount of advertising invested can be transformed into huge market demand. This is the key to reducing the advertising cost per unit product and gaining profits."
Xue Sheng nodded. This was obvious. Without advertising, there would be no spiritual music today, and of course there would be no current troubles. The ones that stand out will rot first. People always take pleasure in the misfortunes of the best. The higher they are praised, the harder they are stepped on.
"Once this link is interrupted and the large amount of advertising investment fails to produce the expected effect, Lingqu wine will face a catastrophe, which is the dilemma it is about to face now."
In fact, by the end of 1996, the most prominent contradiction of Lingqu was no longer the lack of market development capabilities, but the lack of wine production capacity, that is, it was facing the urgent problem of improving production technology, expanding production scale, and improving internal quality. At this time, Lingqu Distillery should have retreated from the competition for the top bid in 1997, turned the focus of management back, and used the funds accumulated in 1996 to really work hard on improving competitiveness, improving production technology, expanding or adding production lines, training skilled technical workers, etc., while maintaining moderate advertising on CCTV to maintain the market. In this way, with money, fame, and market share, and another two or three years of consolidation, even if it cannot reach the status of Moutai, it can at least rest assured for ten years. However, out of short-term economic profit thinking and over-reliance on the top bid effect, Lingqu made a gamble of 300 million yuan. In order to digest the advertising costs of 100 million yuan, it must achieve sales of 1.5 billion yuan in 1997, and the production and sales volume must be more than 65,000 tons.
This is the fundamental reason for insufficient production capacity and the need to blend wine!
After listening to Wen Liang's detailed analysis, which pointed out the root of the problem, Xue Sheng seemed to have just woken up from a dream. His complaints against the media immediately disappeared. He took Wen Liang's hand and sighed, "Brother, if only I could have heard what you said earlier..."
Wen Liang smiled bitterly. If we hadn't come this far, would you have listened to these words? Therefore, when people succeed, they must be humble, so as not to decline after reaching the peak of their prosperity.
Zuo Jing's purpose in looking for Wen Liang was not just to analyze the problem, but to solve it. He asked, "Boss Wen, is there any way to remedy the situation?"
Wen Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "It's not too late to remedy the situation. We can just get in touch with the Observer, which first published the article, and ask them to come to Lingqu to do a comprehensive, open and correct report. Then we can hold a press conference to explain and clarify to consumers across the country, and actively contact and communicate with other media friends. At least we can curb the momentum, and then we can slowly find ways to improve our credibility. However, if we want to do all this, the public relations fee will probably not be a small amount..."
When it comes to spending money, perhaps no one in this era is more generous than Xue Sheng. He immediately said, "You name a price, and I won't argue."
Wen Liang smiled and said, "I don't understand this kind of thing, and I won't interfere, but I can introduce a professional company to Director Xue, the Phoenix Bird Media in Beijing. I wonder if you have heard of it..."
Two days later, Wen Liang called Qin Yin and invited her out for dinner. However, the Lexus that Chang Cheng drove to pick up the girls to and from Yishan had not returned yet. He could not find another car, so he drove the Lamborghini Diablo that had been put aside in Xiyuan. It was not necessary to mention that he attracted countless people to look back on the road. After waiting for a while at the gate of Qingdao Normal University, Qin Yin and a beautiful girl walked out while talking. When passing by the Lamborghini, the girl could not help but look at it. However, Qin Yin did not even glance at it, as if this amazing sports car was no different from the 28 bicycle on campus.
This is a difference in realm, but in terms of face, the girl is much prettier than Qin Yin who has a birthmark on her face, but her overall temperament is far inferior. Sometimes, or most of the time, thoughts are far more attractive to men than appearance.
Wen Liang honked the horn, opened the car window, waved and said with a smile: "Teacher Qin, here."
Qin Yin was slightly surprised, as if he had not expected that the person in the car would be Wen Liang. He smiled at him, turned around and told the girl, "Come back to me tomorrow. There are still a few mistakes in this score that need to be corrected. The music festival is very important and no mistakes can be made."
The girl turned out to be Yan Ge, who had met Wen Liang before. After that incident, she had completely cut off contact with people in society. Although vanity is like a drug addiction and is not so easy to quit, at least she knows how to protect herself from crossing the red line that should not be crossed, otherwise in the end everything will be in vain and the price she pays will be too great.
When she saw Wen Liang, Yan Ge's face turned pale. She didn't know how Wen Liang dealt with the beggar after he saved her that night, nor did she know anything from the beggar. But since that night, the beggar never appeared in front of her again. Her life returned to normal. Recently, she finally agreed to Jiang Dapeng's confession and started to live their life like ordinary campus lovers. She really didn't want any more trouble.
However, she didn't expect that this seemingly inconspicuous person could actually afford such a luxurious sports car. When she left, she felt a little jealous of Qin Yin who had always taken good care of her.
Qin Yin was about to turn around and get on the bus when a young man in his twenties suddenly ran out from the school. He had a handsome face, a tall figure, and a sunny smile. He shouted, "Teacher Qin, Teacher Qin..."
When Qin Yin heard this voice, she gave Wen Liang a helpless look and whispered, "Wait a minute, I'll say a few words to him."
The young man panted, ran to Qin Yin, and said, "I just went to your classroom and asked the students and found out that you have come out..."
"Yuan Gu, is there something wrong?"
Yuan Gu smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just came to Qingshi not long ago and I don't have any friends I know. I want to invite Teacher Qin to dinner tonight. By the way, thank you for helping me so much."
Qin Yin declined, "I just pointed you in the right direction at the beginning of the school term. It's not really a favor, so you don't have to eat with me."
Yuan Gu shrugged his shoulders, his posture was elegant and beautiful, and said: "It's just a piece of cake for you, but it's a life-saving grace for me. Otherwise, I would be late for the first class, and my teaching career would be too bleak. Teacher Qin, I really just want to thank you, why do you have to keep me at a distance?"
Qin Yin was quite annoyed. This was the fifth time Yuan Gu had asked her to have dinner. She was not an idiot and naturally understood what he meant. However, no matter how she refused, this man was as thick-skinned as a tree that had lived for thousands of years. He was completely invulnerable. When the situation was at a stalemate, Wen Liang opened the car door and walked over. He stretched out his hand and put his arm around Qin Yin's waist. He stared at Yuan Gu with a real look and frowned, "Xiao Yin, what's wrong?"
This was the first time in Qin Yin's life that a man's hand touched her body. Although she had known Wen Liang for a long time and they had a close relationship, this kind of contact still made her heart tremble for a moment.
"Nothing, this is my colleague Yuan Gu, a young teacher who was just assigned to the Youth Teachers College this year. He is so polite. I just showed him the way once, but he insisted on treating me to a meal to express his gratitude."
"Oh?" Wen Liang extended his hand and said with a smile, "Teacher Yuan, right? Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."
When Yuan Gu saw Wen Liang getting off the Lamborghini, his momentum weakened a bit. Although his family was well-off, he could not afford such a good car. He asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
"I'm Xiaoyin's boyfriend," Wen Liang put on a full show, hugged Qin Yin in his arms, and said, "Xiaoyin is always willing to help others. It's just a small matter. Teacher Yuan doesn't have to take it to heart. As for dinner, it's a bad time today. We have a date tonight to celebrate our first anniversary... How about you come with us?"
Yuan Gu was thick-skinned enough when pursuing a girl, but not thick enough to spend a first anniversary with her. His face immediately turned red and he hurriedly said, "No, no."
After Qin Yin and Wen Liang drove away, Yuan Gu stood blankly by the roadside, muttering to himself in despair: "What a pity, what a pity, what a pity!"
"I'm sorry, I acted on my own just now. I didn't ruin Teacher Qin's good marriage, did I?" Wen Liang teased.
Qin Yin was not a shy person. She knew that Wen Liang had just acted out of urgency, so she didn't take it to heart. She said, "He's just a stranger, not even a friend. How can there be a good marriage?"
"Strangers are not a big deal. When destiny arrives, strangers can become close friends."
"Really?" Qin Yin looked at Wen Liang with a smile and said, "I just don't believe in fate!"
"Then what do you believe in?"
Qin Yin raised her eyebrows playfully and said, "I won't tell you!"
Following the law of inertia, the two chose the small restaurant again. As soon as Wen Liang entered the door, he was stopped by the owner. He thanked him profusely and said, "I was just thinking of how to thank you. If it weren't for your advice, I would have wasted all the Lingqu wine I bought!"
Qin Yin has been busy with the music festival recently and hasn't read the news much. She asked curiously, "Why is it that Lingqu wine really can't be sold?"
"Who said it wasn't?" The boss's face was bright red, and he said happily, "It's really weird. It was fine before the New Year. Customers all ordered Lingqu when they came to the store. But in the past two months, no one wanted it. I asked around and found out that something happened to Lingqu."
Qin Yin came to the table and sat down, holding her chin with her hand, and asked, "What happened?"
"You haven't heard about it yet?" The boss was so excited that he pulled open a bench and sat down, saying, "Lingqu liquor is dark. They just mix some alcohol with water, put it in bottles, put labels on them and sell it. Now it's been exposed by the media. Hey, don't disbelieve it. Such a big winery actually only has one or two production lines, and the factory building is as shabby as a toilet. Don't you think this is a scam?"
The boss's tongue was as smooth as that of a Beijinger. Wen Liang looked at him. His big and strong body and rough face like the surface of the moon did not look like a Beijinger. Qin Yin really did not believe that a brand as big as Lingqu would do such a thing. He smiled and said, "Boss, if you want to do crosstalk, Jiang Kun and Feng Gong will have nothing to do with it. This is as real as it gets."
"Hey," the boss slapped his thigh and said, "What's wrong with you? Do you think I'm bragging?" He hurried to the cashier counter, took a stack of newspapers and said, "Take a look, they are all about Lingqu wine. I'm afraid there are more than 30 media outlets scolding them for being black-hearted. How can it be fake?"
This time the tone sounded a bit like that of a Jiangdong person. Qin Yin flipped through it and said, "It's true!" She looked up at Wen Liang, her eyes full of questions, and said, "You're right..."
"That's right, a living god!" The boss's admiration for Wen Liang at this moment can be seen from the amount of spit he spitted out. He waved his hand and said, "Whatever you want to eat today, just order whatever you want. It's my treat!"
"I'm not responsible for this. Whether to stock up or not, I'm just giving you a suggestion. You have to make the specific decision yourself. Boss, you have the courage to believe a stranger's words. You already have the ability to avoid risks. It has nothing to do with me."
"A cultured person, definitely a cultured person!" The boss gave a thumbs up and said, "Just like that, not only will I treat you today, but I will also give you a 20% discount every time you dine at our restaurant in the future."
Qin Yin clapped her hands and joined in the fun like a little girl. Wen Liang glared at her and said with a smile, "Boss, can I ask you a question?"
"Ask, anything you want."
"I'm just curious. You didn't stock up. At most you didn't lose money, but you didn't make any money either. Aren't you a little too happy?"
"Hey," the boss smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice, "To be honest, the restaurant across the street is my old competitor. They just follow my menu and serve whatever I put on it. How shameless. But I'll listen to you. I didn't buy much Lingqu wine. They stockpiled almost this amount at the end of last year. At that time, they laughed at me for having no vision," he held up five fingers, "and now they're all in my hands. How can I not be happy?"
Wen Liang was speechless. It was strange that he was happier to see others lose money than to make money. However, that was human nature. There was nothing to worry about. He rolled his eyes and said, "Well, let me give you another idea. Can you give us a 50% discount when we eat together next time?"
"Fifty percent off..." The boss hesitated for a moment, smiled cunningly, and said, "Tell me your idea first."
"I suggest you take advantage of the low price of Lingqu wine now. Many people want to sell it. Hurry up and buy some. I guarantee you will make a fortune in the future."
The boss was dumbfounded and said, "Brother, you are kidding me, right? Lingqu wine is about to be poured into the stinking ditch and no one will drink it. If I buy it at this time, wouldn't I be stupid?"
Well, he was arguing with Xichuan again. Wen Liang pretended to smile deeply and said, "I am just making a suggestion. It's up to you whether you listen to it or not. Well, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's order the food."
The boss went there with a bitter face. He was weighing the spoon in the back kitchen and was struggling with whether to buy in or not. Last time, it didn't matter. Anyway, there was no need to stock up, no pressure on funds, and no pressure. This time, he had to pay out real money. If the Lingqu wine failed like this, wouldn't he lose a lot of money
“Boss, boss!”
A table of diners next to him slammed the table and yelled. The boss wiped his sweat and ran out, saying, "What's going on? What's going on? Are you calling Ma Zi?"
"Try it yourself, what does this spicy fried chicken taste like?"
"It tastes spicy, what else can it taste like?" The boss took a bite and spit it out unhappily, saying, "Pah, why is it so sweet?"
"Yeah, why is it so sweet?" The diners at that table looked very unhappy.
The boss thought that he must have put sugar in the dish by mistake, so he bowed and apologized: "Okay, okay, I'll change it right away, change it!"
This time it was Huang Huai's tone. Wen Liang on the side couldn't help but asked, "Boss, where are you from?"
"Me?" The boss pointed at his nose, smiled innocently, and said, "My ancestors lived in the Hutong at the north entrance of the capital. Later, due to the chaos of war, they fled to Huanghuai. Later, I married a woman from Xichuan and settled down in Jiangdong..." (To be continued)