Rebirth 03: Starting a Business After Giving Up a Secure Job

Chapter 66 An Exorbitant Demand

"President Wang," Lin Feng said with a polite smile, "both of your ideas are indeed quite comprehensive and considerate of Chen Gang. It's clear that you genuinely want to promote him."

Wang Hu picked up his teacup and blew on it.

"However..." Lin Feng changed the subject slightly, "Our situation here might be a bit special, and I need to tell you the truth."

He leaned forward slightly, appearing sincere: "To be honest, I'm mainly making a small investment here, just testing the waters. I'm new to ringback tones, and I don't really have a good idea of ​​what the future holds."

So this time, I just wanted to focus my efforts on making an attempt with this song in the ringtone market. If the market gets too big, our small business can't handle it, and it's easy to make things worse.

He looked at Wang Hu, his tone tinged with helplessness: "What you're talking about—the overall package deal and profit sharing—is too much of a drain on our resources right now, and we're not familiar with many of the processes."

We wanted to be straightforward and just buy the "ringtone copyright." The goal was clear, and the responsibilities were well-defined. This way, we could focus on working with the telecom operators and see just how complicated the market really was.

Lin Feng spoke humbly, placing himself in a lowly position. But in reality, he was rejecting Wang Hu's two proposals.

Wang Hu put down his teacup, his brows furrowing slightly again: "President Lin is certainly cautious. So, how much 'water fee' are you planning to pay for this 'testing the waters'?"

"I can't say about the water bill," Lin Feng smiled. "It mainly depends on you, Mr. Wang. You put a lot of effort into this song in the early stages, finding people to arrange it and record demos. All of that comes at a cost. Since we want to use it, we certainly can't use it for free. We have to compensate you for your hard work and investment."

Lin Feng first acknowledged the other party's "efforts," packaging the "purchase of licenses" as "compensation for your initial investment."

"As for the exact amount," Lin Feng looked troubled, "this is the first time we've tried something like this. If it's too high, our small business can't afford it."

But if it's too low, it will seem like we lack sincerity and wouldn't do justice to Mr. Wang's hard work and Chen Gang's talent. So, we discussed a number before coming here..."

He looked up at Wang Hu: "Eight thousand yuan. Mr. Wang, do you think this amount shows our sincerity in compensating you for your initial investment? If Mr. Wang feels it's inappropriate, or has other considerations, we understand, after all, you have longer-term plans."

Lin Feng limited his demands to "only buying ringtones" and offered the price as "compensation," giving Wang Hu enough face and leaving him an out.

But the core meaning remains unchanged: only buy ringback tone copyrights, one price, no bundled deals accepted.

Wang Hu stared at Lin Feng, seemingly trying to gauge how much sincerity and how much scheming was in his words.

Eight thousand yuan. This number made the fat on Wang Hu's face twitch.

He leaned back into the sofa, the overly familiar, enthusiastic smile on his face completely fading away.

"Eight thousand..." he drawled, his gaze sweeping over Lin Feng's face before glancing at Yang Chengang, whose hands were clasped tightly to the side, and then he suddenly chuckled.

"Mr. Lin, can I interpret your 'sincerity' as meaning that you think I, Wang Hu, and our Taige Impression are only worth eight thousand yuan?"

He emphasized, "I admit that Chen Gang didn't ask for money when he left the song with me. But why? It's because I, Wang Hu, treated him like a brother, like family! I thought he was talented and wanted to give him a helping hand!"

I found him work and lent him money to help him through his difficulties. Isn't that an investment? In your eyes, Mr. Lin, is this kindness only worth eight thousand yuan?

He turned to Yang Chengang: "Chengang, tell me yourself, how did I treat you back then? Did I genuinely want to help you? Now that the song is showing some promise and someone's interested, you bring people here, thinking you can just use a few thousand dollars to kick me out of the project? You're trying to break your brother's heart!"

Yang Chengang's face turned bright red after hearing what he said, and his eyes showed both guilt and embarrassment.

"Brother Tiger, I remember all the kindness you've shown me, really... I've never forgotten. This time... this time, President Lin just wanted to help me get this song done, we didn't expect..."

"Didn't you think about anything?" Wang Hu interrupted him, raising his voice slightly. "Didn't you want to get rid of me? Then what are you doing now? Buying it out for eight thousand? President Lin, I'm not going to beat around the bush with you. This song is an asset of Taige Impression, and Chen Gang is a singer I'm keen to sign. If you want to get involved, fine, but you have to follow my rules."

He held up three fingers: "First, if you really only want to do ringtones, that's fine too. Ringtone copyright, 50,000. Not a penny less. Second, Chen Gang must sign a five-year agency contract with my company. Third, I want 30% of all the revenue from ringtones. That's my bottom line."

Fifty thousand! And they want to sign people and take a cut! This isn't just asking for the moon; they're practically trying to eat Yang Chengang dry.

Yang Chengang gasped, staring at Wang Hu in disbelief, seemingly never expecting that this "Brother Hu," who had repeatedly claimed to be helping him, would offer such terms.

That pang of guilt was quickly replaced by anger.

Lin Feng had already guessed it wouldn't go smoothly, but Wang Hu's greed still exceeded his expectations. This was blatant robbery.

"Mr. Wang," Lin Feng's voice carried a hint of regret, "it seems our understanding of this matter is indeed too different. Fifty thousand yuan far exceeds the value that this song can currently represent through any channel, not to mention the need to tie it to the singer and long-term revenue sharing. We simply cannot accept your terms."

"Since Mr. Wang has such grand plans and expectations for this song and Chen Gang's future, then we won't bother you any longer. We just wish you all the best, Mr. Wang."

After saying that, he looked at Yang Chengang and gestured for him to leave.

This time, Yang Chengang didn't hesitate much. He stood up, looked at Wang Hu, and whispered, "Brother Hu, take care."

"Your Majesty!" Wang Hu also stood up, his tone somewhat urgent, seemingly not expecting the other party to actually leave directly.

"Think it through! What future can you have following this nobody? I'm the one who genuinely wants to support you! What's a little money? You need to have a long-term vision!"

Yang Chengang paused for a moment, but without turning around, he followed Lin Feng out of the office.

The door closed behind him, and he could faintly hear the sounds of Wang Hu angrily smashing things inside.

They went downstairs and walked out of the office building. The cold air made them both more awake.

"Fifty thousand...and a five-year contract..." Yang Chengang said angrily, "How could he...?"

"When it comes to interests, sentiments can be quite fragile," Lin Feng said calmly. "Good, now you've seen things clearly. Let's go, let's go meet the next one."

Next up is Tian Chuanjun, who has an earlier contract.

Compared to the complex character of Wang Hu, who is a mixture of affection and ambition, Tian Chuanjun, a pure businessman, might be easier to deal with.

The two got into a taxi and went to Tian Chuanjun's studio.