Chapter 146 - 139: Mr. Lin_3
“Right.”
The chair underneath him must be new, giving a comfortable feeling. Lin Yuan quite liked the working environment here. After settling in a bit, he said, “Please send me the address of my residence later.”
“After work.”
“I’ll take you there,” Gu Dong offered.
Lin Yuan nodded, saving some taxi fare.
At that moment, the company manager, Gu Qiangyun, returned. He knocked on the door and gave an apologetic smile, “Sorry for the unexpected situation on your first day. I’m the branch manager Gu Qiangyun. Nice to meet you!”
He offered his hand for a handshake.
Lin Yuan politely shook it. Then he curiously asked, “I’ve just arrived, so I’m not too familiar with the situation. Is it common for our branch to have orders like the one we just discussed?”
Gu Dong: “…”
Gu Qiangyun:
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Gu Qiangyun coughed and said, “Actually, our company hasn’t received any new orders for two months. The order we were discussing is the only one we have.”
“That’s too few.”
“We’re a small company.”
Sweat trickled down Gu Qiangyun’s face. Although the representative from Headquarters was young, he seemed rather fierce. Was he dissatisfied with our work here? What if he reported us to the headquarters?
“I see.”
Unlike what Gu Qiangyun had imagined, Lin Yuan wasn’t frowning heavily. He was only interested in the order’s price: “How much is the client willing to pay for this order?”
“800,000 yuan.”
Gu Qiangyun answered.
Now Lin Yuan was indeed frowning. The price for this order was too low. When he accepted the “Dragon Fish Dance” order back at headquarters, the client offered five million. How come the prices for orders within Qi Continent were so low?
It’s a trap!
Definitely a trap!
Gu Qiangyun cautiously observed Lin Yuan’s face and noticed that he was frowning indeed, which made him feel a bit heavy-hearted. Lin Yuan seemed to be very dissatisfied with their work here. Would he report them to the headquarters?
“Understood.”
Lin Yuan wasn’t frowning as heavily as Gu Qiangyun had imagined. He asked about the order’s price, “How much is the client willing to pay for this?”
“800,000.”
Gu Qiangyun answered.
Lin Yuan knitted his brows this time. The price of this order was too low. When he received the “Dragon Fish Dance” order at headquarters, the price was five million. Why were the internal order prices in Qi Continent so low?
It’s a trap here!
Definitely a trap!
Gu Qiangyun carefully observed Lin Yuan’s face, noticing he was indeed frowning. His heart sank, “You seem to be used to the headquarters. Starlight is a top-tier entertainment company in Qin Continent, but Starlight Entertainment in Qi Continent is actually a small music company. Our success rate with orders isn’t really good. The highest order we’ve received was around one million yuan. Only large entertainment companies can receive large orders worth millions…”
“Order success rate?”
Something clicked in Lin Yuan’s mind.
Gu Qiangyun blinked, realizing Lin Yuan didn’t quite understand the situation here. He perked up and explained, “Since there are a large number of films and dramas produced in Qi Continent every year, along with some game projects, their demand for music is also huge. High-quality products usually come from Qin Continent’s customizations. However, some smaller projects can’t afford Qin Continent’s prices, so they will work with local small music companies.” Lin Yuan made a thoughtful face.
On the side, Gu Dong added, “Due to our companies’ limited capabilities, if the client is dissatisfied with our songs, our order will be cancelled. In that case, both parties would negotiate based on the original contract. Sometimes the contract is voided, and sometimes we have to pay a penalty.”
“Hold on.”
Lin Yuan found a loophole, “What if a client specifically uses our music not meeting standards as an excuse to receive penalties? After all, whether a song is good or not is quite subjective.”
“Don’t worry.”
Gu Qiangyun smiled, “That won’t happen. In most cases, we simply cancel the order. We only include penalty clauses in contracts with reputable clients in Qi Continent. The penalty is generally not hefty, so it wouldn’t be worthwhile for clients to risk a reputation crisis to screw us over. Besides, Qi Continent has a special audit association. When both parties don’t agree on the result, it will be settled through relevant channels. The Audit Association is very fair. If you are not satisfied with their results, you can release the song for public review.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
Although there were still some subjective factors, having such an arrangement was already extensive. If 90 out of 100 people think a song is unqualified, even if it’s a subjective opinion, it’s relatively objective. Besides, most companies do value their reputations very much. Once a company’s reputation is damaged, it would be difficult to survive in this industry.
“In fact,”
Gu Dong further eased Lin Yuan’s worries, “There hasn’t been any dissatisfaction with the results of the Music Audit Association. The members of the association are respected predecessors in the music industry and are professional in Qi Continent. This is their job.”
“I understand.”
Lin Yuan nodded, “So if we can improve the success rate of our orders, the price offered by future clients will get higher, potentially reaching several million per order?”
“Yes.”
Gu Qiangyun wanted to remind Lin Yuan that not many companies in Qi Continent could receive orders worth several million yuan. If a client was willing to pay several million yuan for a custom-made song, why wouldn’t they go to the prestigious ‘Land of Music’ in Qin Continent? However, seeing the determined look in Lin Yuan’s eyes, he wisely held his tongue.
Having dreams is a good thing.
Lin Yuan felt better. The situation here wasn’t as bad as he had imagined. He said, “Then let’s work on improving the company’s order success rate first. Please send me the details of that order.”
“Huh?”
Gu Qiangyun and Gu Dong looked at each other in shock. His words sounded so easy, like ‘improving the company’s order success rate’. Did he realize how many months it took to finalize an order?
“Is there a problem?”
Lin Yuan looked up at the two.
Gu Dong quickly replied, “Just a moment please, I’ll bring the order over. This order was supposed to be handled by our composition department, but since it was never finalized, it’s now in the public pool and anyone can take it. You can see if it suits you.”
“Alright.”
Lin Yuan was prepared. Even though the prices for orders were low at the moment, according to Qi Continent’s explanation, as long as the success rate for orders increased, the future offers from clients would also increase.
He was prepared.