Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 383: Artist-Hand-Painted Phone Booth
January 9th, Sunday.
A phone booth that looked a bit unusual was set up on the top floor of Huanyu Sky Street mall.
This floor was mainly occupied by a cinema, along with some claw machine arcades, milk tea shops, and the like.
The slightly odd-looking phone booth stood by the wall along the mandatory path leading to the cinema. It was easy to spot as soon as you came up the escalator.
The booth was surrounded by transparent glass on all four sides, with good soundproofing. There was a dedicated ventilation outlet on top, ensuring that staying inside for an hour or two wouldn't feel stuffy.
On the outward-facing side of the phone booth, the metal frames on both sides of the glass were wider than elsewhere, creating the look of intentionally reserved blank space.
This was the area Zhang Wang had envisioned leaving for artists to use their creativity.
As for the other two sides:
The left side had a more tech-savvy feel. Through the glass, you could see an electronic display screen with a poster on it. The poster read: "Shared Phone Booth Advertising Slots Available."
The right side was deliberately decorated in a more traditional phone booth style. Through the glass, you could see a retro-styled telephone inside.
Besides that, through the glass you could also see various items on the desk inside, such as a water dispenser, Wi-Fi equipment, a three-port charger, a bookshelf, and so on.
Because preparations weren't fully complete yet, planned additions like a jukebox and a beverage vending machine hadn't been moved in.
Before long, quite a few people gathered around.
"What is this?"
"I don't think this was here last time."
"Doesn't the sign say it? 'Shared Phone Booth – advertising slots for rent.'"
"Pfft, what the heck is a Shared Phone Booth?"
"Hahaha~~ this is hilarious. Such a dumb project—quick, take a photo to commemorate it!"
Soon, many shoppers at Huanyu Sky Street started taking photos outside the phone booth and posting them on their Moments to complain and joke about it.
There were also plenty of people who tried to figure out what this phone booth could actually be used for.
This was the first and only Shared Phone Booth in Jingzhou. It was the first "prototype" Zhang Wang had rushed to build over the past few days in his workshop back in his hometown.
The first batch of products ordered from the manufacturer hadn't been delivered yet. In order to see the effect of this Shared Phone Booth as soon as possible, Zhang Wang decided to move his homemade "prototype" here first to test the waters.
He hired a moving company during the relocation. The installation was quite convenient and was completed in just over an hour.
Huanyu Sky Street, as one of the core commercial districts in Jingzhou City, definitely guaranteed foot traffic. This was also a trial to see whether people would accept this new and novel thing.
Soon, a couple took out their phone and scanned the QR code on the booth door.
"Holy crap, that's expensive?" the guy was a bit stunned.
After scanning, a rather crude webpage popped up—clearly something rushed together temporarily. It displayed the pricing for the Shared Phone Booth:
All services inside the booth were bundled together. The booth was charged in 15-minute intervals, at 10 yuan per 15 minutes.
That was the same price as one hour of internet access at Moyu Internet Café.
Users could quickly log in with a social media account or phone number, but to use it, they had to pay first, because the Shared Phone Booth didn't include any deposit system.
After payment, the booth door would automatically open. Once the user entered and closed the door, the charging ports, Wi-Fi, and other equipment inside would power on and become usable, and the timer would start.
When time ran out, if the customer didn't extend their session, the equipment inside the booth would automatically cut off power and could no longer be used.
After the customer left the booth and closed the door, once the system detected that no one was inside, the door would automatically lock.
It could be said that the early-stage features were very basic, barely enough to complete the core functions of the Shared Phone Booth. The overall experience was far from convenient.
Moreover, there were plenty of loopholes to exploit. For example, if someone refused to leave, as long as they were shameless enough, they could just keep sitting inside and drink free hot water.
Not only that, a large portion of the planned features were still missing. Things like the beverage vending machine, jukebox, AED, and even a weighing scale were not available for now.
The beverage machine was missing because the usage model hadn't been figured out yet. If customers were allowed unlimited refills, they'd lose money badly. But if each user were limited to two free drinks, they would need to purchase special vending machines, so for the time being, they could only offer free hot water as a substitute.
The jukebox required partnerships with some singing apps, and the equipment would also need to be purchased in bulk.
As for the AED, it also needed to be procured, and delivery couldn't be completed in a short time.
However, Zhang Wang felt that this was, after all, still a project in development. It could be gradually improved and refined over time.
First, they needed to secure a foothold and get familiar to the public. All these various functions could be added in bit by bit later.
The first couple who had tried scanning the QR code hesitated outside the Shared Phone Booth for a moment, then left without paying to go in.
The main reason was that they didn't really have a strong need to use it, and the price felt a bit high.
Compared to this narrow, cramped glass box, they would rather find a café or dessert shop, spend some money on a couple of drinks, and sit down to rest.
There were quite a few people taking photos around the booth, but so far, not a single person had actually scanned and paid—except for photo-taking.
After snapping a few pictures, the crowd that had gathered to watch the novelty gradually dispersed. Some went to nearby milk tea shops to buy drinks, while others headed into the cinema.
At this moment, another couple came in front of the Shared Phone Booth.
The girl's eyes lit up when she saw the phone. "Hey, that phone looks awesome! Quick, I'm going to scan the code and go in—take pictures of me!"
She decisively scanned the code and entered, picked up the retro phone hanging inside the booth, and struck a few poses.
The guy, standing outside with a reluctant but helpless look, raised his phone and snapped photos. "Click, click."
"Okay, done," he said.
He then entered the booth and showed the photos on his phone to the girl.
"Hm… your photography skills still need work. Forget it, I'll make do with these," she said reluctantly.
After accepting the photos, the girl shifted her attention to the inside of the Shared Phone Booth.
It looked a bit rough and basic, but seemed quite sturdy.
"There are bestselling novels and comics on the shelf, free paper cups, free hot water…"
After looking over everything, she fell silent for a moment. "So basically, I spent ten yuan just to pose for a few photos, sit and rest for a bit, and drink two cups of hot water… what a total rip-off."
The boy silently picked up a manga from the shelf. "Just consider it an IQ tax."
The girl: "…Are you saying I'm stupid?"
…
Across from the Shared Phone Booth, in a dessert shop.
Zhang Wang and He Desheng were sipping their drinks while keeping a close eye on what was happening at the booth.
"From when the mall opened this morning until now, three hours have already passed."
"It did attract quite a bit of attention, but the only person who actually paid was that girl who went in just to take photos."
He Desheng let out a light sigh. "That's why I suggested earlier that you shouldn't rush. You should've waited until all the functions of the Shared Phone Booth were fully developed and the artistic design was properly done before moving it into a major mall."
"Bringing a half-finished product here… of course users aren't going to buy into it."
"After all, as it stands, the cost-performance ratio of this booth is terrible. Once you go in, all you can do is sit there, read some comics, and drink a bit of free hot water. And it's 10 yuan for 15 minutes, 40 yuan an hour. With that money, you could spend four hours online at Moyu Internet Café."
"And the most important features—the drink machine, jukebox, and so on—aren't even there yet."
Zhang Wang's gaze was firm. "It's fine. Once all the supporting equipment for the Shared Phone Booth is fully installed, people will understand this pricing."
"So… how's the artist situation going? That's what I care about most."
He Desheng shook his head. "I asked around, but couldn't find anyone particularly suitable. After all, Jingzhou isn't like big cities such as the capital or Shanghai, where there are so many top-tier talents…"
"But I think President Pei should have a way. Tengda Group's main business is games, so they can definitely get in touch with some well-known illustrators."
"However… we've almost burned through the budget already. If we ask President Pei to put in more money to find an artist, won't that make him unhappy…"
Zhang Wang said resolutely, "Then I'll talk to President Pei myself! I believe President Pei will understand."
He Desheng was silent for a moment. "Yeah, that's true. As long as you explain the ultimate form of the planned phone booth to President Pei, I'm sure he'll understand."
Zhang Wang shook his head. "No, that won't do. I'm an honest person. I have to report the project's current state truthfully."
"President Pei trusts me so much, how could I possibly fool him?"
"I believe President Pei will definitely appreciate my honesty!"
"Appreciate your honesty… how naive," He Desheng said, rubbing his forehead. "Fine. If this were at Fu Hui Capital, with your attitude, you'd never get funding."
"But President Pei has always had a unique eye. Maybe he'll show some leniency…"
He Desheng had originally wanted to offer Zhang Wang some advice, but then thought better of it—what right did he have to lecture someone else?
He himself hadn't even learned one ten-thousandth of President Pei's investment philosophy, and Zhang Wang had already produced a project that President Pei had approved of.
He Desheng changed the topic. "The manufacturers responsible for producing the booths, the karaoke app partners, the beverage machine suppliers, and so on have all replied. As long as the funds are in place, there shouldn't be any big problems. The first batch of AED defibrillators is already on the way."
Zhang Wang nodded. "Besides that, the app still needs more refinement."
"In short, once the artist is in place and all the procured equipment arrives, we can announce that the Shared Phone Booth is officially in operation!"
"I'll call President Pei now."
Zhang Wang took out his phone and called President Pei.
Then, in a calm tone, he reported the current situation of the phone booth in full detail, piece by piece.
…
On the other end of the line, when Pei Qian heard that Zhang Wang had set up the phone booth inside a mall, he broke out in a cold sweat.
But then, he quickly felt relieved.
According to Zhang Wang, he had modified the structure of the phone booth, made it larger, and placed it inside a mall.
So far, after setting it up for the whole morning, only one girl had scanned the code just to take photos, earning 15 yuan.
Meanwhile, the upfront investment for this phone booth was around 40,000 yuan, and the site rental alone was nearly 1,000 yuan per month.
Of course, Zhang Wang also briefly mentioned that he was "working hard to improve the customer experience and believed the results would come soon."
Finally, Zhang Wang got to the main point: he hoped President Pei could help find an artist to paint the front of the Shared Phone Booth, adding a bit of artistic flair to it.
Hearing this, Pei Qian realized that the prospects of the Shared Phone Booth were even better than he had imagined!
According to what Pei Qian had originally thought—an investment of less than 10,000 yuan, placed by the roadside—after half a year, each phone booth would at most lose just over 10,000 yuan.
In the end, they could even dismantle it and sell the scrap metal and glass—maybe they'd get a bit of the cost back.
But at this rate, if it sat there for half a year, it would definitely lose around fifty thousand yuan!
If one phone booth lost that much, what about a hundred of them?
Thinking of this, Pei Qian felt a surge of excitement. He was almost about to slam the table and wire Zhang Wang five million yuan on the spot, telling him to build a hundred phone booths and go wild with it!
But on second thought, reason overcame impulse.
What Zhang Wang said—"I'm working hard to improve the customer experience and believe results will come soon"—sounded very much like polite lip service, the kind of line used to placate superiors and squeeze out more funding. It really didn't seem trustworthy.
Yet Pei Qian still felt uneasy.
Because many of his employees had said similar things before—and almost all of them had actually delivered…
With that in mind, Pei Qian decisively restrained the devil in his heart and decided he couldn't just take his employee's words at face value.
"Take a photo of what the Shared Phone Booth looks like right now and send it to me."
A moment later, the photo arrived.
Pei Qian took a look. The booth looked quite large, but on closer inspection, it was very crude and barebones.
Inside, there was only a table, two folding chairs that could be folded up against the wall, a bookshelf with a few lonely books on it, and a water dispenser that looked pretty makeshift.
A handful of people were watching from outside, but it was obvious none of them were interested in going in.
He didn't lie to me, it really is this deserted.
I didn't misjudge him after all. An employee this honest is rare!
Pei Qian was delighted. Since they needed an artist, of course he had to find a way to make it happen!
Conveniently enough, Ruan Guangjian was in Jingzhou.
Pei Qian thought it over. "What if we have Ruan Guangjian go over and paint a huge oil painting? The kind that's two meters tall? At his current rate, giving him fifty thousand yuan wouldn't be unreasonable, right?"
"And no matter how good the painting is, at most people will just take photos and look at it from outside. It won't have any direct impact on the revenue of this Shared Phone Booth."
"Hmm? If it's fifty thousand for one booth, then for ten booths, wouldn't that be five hundred thousand?"
"That's a great idea!"
At first, Pei Qian thought the whole thing was kind of ridiculous, but after analyzing it, he realized this was actually a pleasant surprise—a perfect way to spend money!
Have Ruan Guangjian paint twenty phone booths, and boom—one million yuan spent in an instant.
Even if Ruan Guangjian insisted on a "friends-and-family price," it would still cost at least five hundred thousand, right?
The only question was whether the big guy's health could handle it. President Pei's money, on the other hand, was absolutely not a problem.
With that thought, Pei Qian immediately said, "Alright, I'll take care of the artist."
"And on top of that, I'll invest another five hundred thousand. The originally planned twenty phone booths—every single one of them must be built!"
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