Free Web NovelChapter 231: Chapter 197: I Absolutely Cannot Be a Sucker
’Even under immense pressure, your execution can’t falter. You must strike a balance between principle and flexibility.’
Before bed, with the lights already out, Lin Chu lay in the darkness as various thoughts drifted through his mind. That sentence suddenly surfaced.
He turned his phone screen back on and typed it into his notes.
’Tsk.’
’Is this a diary?’
’What kind of respectable person keeps a diary?’
’But, what’s written is written. It’s not like I’m some respectable person anyway.’
’What I told Zhou Luan today wasn’t a complete lie.’
’It was, to some extent, a true reflection of how I feel.’
’On this point, I have no intention of compromising.’
’I have the money, but... why should I give any to a scoundrel?’
’This isn’t just a matter of pride.’
’It’s that some things, once broken or compromised, develop cracks.’
’Take one step back today, another step back tomorrow... what do I become in the end?’
...
「The next morning.」
The second shipment of Golden Golf Clubs had arrived.
So Lin Chu once again gathered the employees from the three departments. This batch of Golden Golf Clubs was to be delivered to every client today.
After the meeting, Xin Fu stayed behind to speak with Lin Chu privately.
He had a brilliant smile on his face.
Clearly, he was very satisfied with the results of yesterday’s work; it seemed he had made some breakthroughs.
"President Lin, I visited five clients yesterday. They’re all our highest-tier members, and their annual memberships are about to expire. After I delivered the Golden Golf Clubs, two of them said they wanted to renew on the spot. I mentioned our performance pressure a bit, and they’ve already paid their deposits. The remaining balance should be in within three days."
"One of them is having business troubles and explicitly said he won’t be renewing. He even wanted me to take the club back, but of course, I left it with him. Reputation is king. Business is temporary, but a friend can be for life."
"The other two are still considering it, but I can confirm they were very touched by the gesture. They talked with me for a long time and asked a lot about you, though their intentions aren’t clear yet."
"According to yesterday’s final tally from our sales department and the others, out of fifty clients, nineteen have confirmed they’ll sign up for the Old-timers Tournament. A total of six clients whose memberships are about to expire have renewed: four five-star members and two four-star members."
Xin Fu reported all this to Lin Chu.
Compared to coming up empty-handed before, the effect of gifting the golf clubs was immediate.
But naturally, compared to the cost Lin Chu had incurred, the returns so far were still just a small fraction.
You could only say they were off to a good start.
As such, he still felt the pressure.
Lin Chu smiled and nodded. "Not bad. Keep it up. It takes time for a trend to form."
Hearing this, Xin Fu felt a little more at ease, recalling the promise Lin Chu had made to him—to be prepared to not make a profit for a year.
He had also heard that Lin Chu hosted a grand banquet in the function hall last night, spending another several million.
’That kind of behavior...’
’Sigh, it’s hard to pass judgment.’
’In any case, this boss really doesn’t seem to care about money. He spends it so extravagantly.’
’It makes it impossible to even guess at the depth of his financial resources.’
’But as a subordinate, it’s definitely a great feeling, especially for the sales department.’
The sales department made money, but it also spent money.
Marketing efforts and performance levels were mutually reinforcing.
"President Lin, are we really not accepting any commercial sponsorships from non-members for our Old-timers Tournament? If we were open to it, I actually have some potential leads."
"Holding a public tournament takes about a month and a half, and we could generate some revenue from that. I’d estimate we could make somewhere between three to five million."
Xin Fu felt that Lin Chu was too noble—or rather, too much of a purist, too extreme.
For this kind of public tournament, commercial sponsorship was completely normal. There was no need to be embarrassed about it.
"My mind is made up on this. Talk to Vice President Ma and have us use all the advertising slots internally. Reserve them for our intangible cultural heritage products and our Jadeite and Gold."
Lin Chu accepted his suggestion but wasn’t about to go back on his word.
The revenue generated from internal promotion wouldn’t necessarily be less than advertising revenue, and it might even be higher.
’In any case, I won’t lose out no matter what.’
The final prize for the Old-timers Gold Tournament was Gold of equivalent value, not cash.
"Understood."
Hearing this, Xin Fu nodded thoughtfully. It seemed President Lin was dead set on promoting revenue growth across multiple business lines.
However, this was also a good thing.
The idea of deeply mining member value was one of his own core strategies as well.
"Alright, I’ll get back to work then. I’ll continue delivering the clubs today," he said with a smile.
"Go on."
...
"At four o’clock this afternoon, the two of us are coming to play golf. We demand you close off the course. We don’t want anyone there except the club’s caddies, and it’s best if you don’t show your face either. All the caddies must be female, no men."
A little after nine in the morning, Lin Chu received a message from Zhou Luan.
Her tone was blatantly imperious.
"Don’t come."
Lin Chu’s concise reply was just two words.
Zhou Luan immediately sent back a cold reply: "?"
Lin Chu didn’t respond.
A moment later, she made a voice call. Lin Chu didn’t reject it; he answered.
"I’ve already made plans with my friend. Fine, I admit my attitude wasn’t great, but we absolutely must have the course closed off. And those other conditions, you have to meet them."
Zhou Luan’s chilly voice came through the phone.
Lin Chu said calmly, "Impossible. Don’t come. I don’t think there’s any need for us to talk anymore. I only gave you a chance this time for your father’s sake."
He hung up.
Lin Chu casually took a screenshot of his chat with her and sent it to Zhou Ming.
