I'm A Baller - Chapter 357
Chapter 357: Who Was on His Mind Again?
After the auction ended, the banquet also entered its final phase — free activity time.
At this point, the organizers no longer had any arrangements. The guests could walk around and socialize as they pleased.
Such banquet always provided the best opportunity form them to expand their network. If they had a common interest and shared a common language, they could directly start a conversation with a glass of wine.
Wang Yan and Miao Miao were not familiar with both the people and place here. They did not know anyone. However, Chu Hong was different.
A few middle-aged men surrounded Chu Hong in the middle. Their eyes kept glancing at Wang Yan.
“Chu Hong is in high spirits today?”
“He won six bottles of wine for 80,000 yuan. How generous!”
“Is that young man your friend? Aren’t you going to introduce him to your old friends?”
Chu Hong pretended not to hear the last sentence.
“One, two, three, four… Yo, everyone’s here today. How rare! How about playing mahjong later? Let’s see who’s better?”
Wang Yan looked at the people’s temperament and then looked at Chu Hong’s reaction. He instantly understood — sure, they were all colleagues in the financial circle.
Chu Hong was afraid that someone would intercept him…
He could not help but laugh. He turned around and asked He Miaomiao, “Shall we go now?”
“Alright, let’s go. There’s no more meaning staying.”
The young missy had obtained a total of 21 bottles of 2007-year-old babes. She was satisfied and no longer had any lingering feelings.
Wang Yan nodded at Chu Hong and said goodbye in a concise and comprehensive manner. He then walked towards the hall door with the young missy.
The few colleagues in the financial circle were filled with curiosity towards Young Master Wang. They felt that Chu Hong’s performance was a little intriguing, but they could not find an opportunity to probe the bottom. It was unbearable.
Chu Hong was very happy, but he did not dare to call Wang Yan by his name. He only said, “Take care, we’ll contact on WeChat later!”
“Okay, excuse me.”
Wang Yan acted like a top young master and left in a carefree manner.
Halfway through, He Wei saw the movements of the two of them and rushed over with the host and translator.
There was nothing serious. It was just those “Thank you for your support and kindness” words that kept going back and forth.
The host, who was actually a senior manager, spoke Chinese and tried to curry favor with Wang Yan.
108,000 was the highest price at today’s auction. In the end, after the rich people who especially liked the wine got the wine, the competition became smaller and smaller, and the last item was only sold for 48,000.
It was still a sky-high price, but it was not shocking enough.
The organizers would certainly be grateful for the “generous donation” of the two big spenders, Wang and He.
Compared to dry wine chateau, Paris Flower did not rely on the sky-high price of wine to survive, but on quantity.
A limited edition 2007 champagne, whole world combined could earn millions of RMB in profit, which was not enough to cover the cost of the press conference everywhere.
However, making money was not the goal at all.
The strategic significance of a similar wine was to establish the style and make the brand famous. The profit was not important.
Such a promotional wine could be auctioned for a sky-high price of 100,000 RMB. It was completely out of everyone’s expectations. It was a great promotion of the brand, and at the same time, it made the organizers full of confidence in the domestic market.
The host pulled Wang Yan and bragged for a long time. Then, he insisted on giving them the identity of “Brand’s Intimate Friend”.
What was that for?
Wang Yan did not understand.
“You can understand it as a VIP guest. When you have time, we will invite you to visit the winery, taste the new product when it’s first launch, participate in any of our events around the world, and reserve a certain quantity of the new products in advance…”
The last point made Wang Yan very interested.
After thinking about it for a while, he found a blind spot.
“Can I understand that the 2007 vintage Champagne’s brewing volume is not just the 2007 bottles that you publicly advertised?”
If someone could reserve in advance, it meant there were much fewer bottles in circulation than production!
There was no problem with the logic, but the other party shook his head.
“No, it’s true that only 2007 bottles were filled. The remaining ones were all filled with non-standard bottles and used for the press conference.”
Wang Yan was curious. “Then, what’s the matter with the order in advance?”
“Let’s go straight from 2007. The new product private banquet is already the fourth one. There’s a total of 500 bottles in Europe, 500 in the America, and 500 in Asia. What about the rest?”
“Oh!”
Wang Yan instantly understood. “You mean, those 507 bottles have already been reserved?”
“Not just 507 bottles, it’s actually 1,179 bottles.”
The host shook his head and smiled mysteriously.
Wang Yan was stunned. He thought for a moment and quickly reacted.
“So, what you have said about the 150 bottles being reserved for the dealers was actually fake?”
“No no no, in China, we did give 150 bottles to the distributors for promotion.”
The host continued to shake his head, with his expression becoming serious.
“The new wine reserved for the other intimate friends was squeezed out from other markets.
Paris Flower was not considered to have just entered China, but it had only raised the Chinese market to the same level as Europe and America from this year onwards.
So we took out a full 300 bottles of limited edition to expand the brand awareness of Paris Flower in the mainland.
You should know that this year, we did not hold a new product launch in Hong Kong Island and Neon.
The only one in Asia was in Shanghai.
In addition, you and Miss. He are the fifth and sixth intimate friends of Paris Flower in China.
We are very grateful to you for your support and kindness to Paris Flower. Next year, you can enjoy the treatment of intimate friends and order new products.”
Well, was this because of it’s initial stage of exploration?
Young Master Wang’s perspective on the matter was very strange. He did not feel that it was a glory. Instead, he thought that Paris Flower’s behavior was a bit reckless.
Did you understand me?
Brand Intimate Friend was given in such a manner. It seemed that it’s not worth much.
However, the host’s next sentence stunned Wang Yan.
“Paris Flower has never liked to use entertainment stars to advertise. They are loyal to quality and style. The four best friends that are ranked ahead of you two are Guo Pei, Zhou Chunya, Guo Guangchang, and Yan Yi.
From now on, we will gradually expand the scale of our close friends in China. However, the two of you should be the youngest in a very long time.”
Wang Yan had only heard of two of the four people mentioned.
One was a well-known contemporary painter in China, and the other was a big entrepreneur. However, it was already shocking enough.
Whether it was in terms of popularity or wealth, how could the two of us, young people, be on par with each other?
There were plenty of rich and famous ladies present, so why were they only looking for the two of us?
What was going on?!
Even if the Brand Intimate Friend of Paris Flower brand did not have any practical benefits and was just a vanity, just because of the 100,000 auction money… wasn’t that a little too hasty?
One question after another proved that Wang Yan still did not clearly realize the lethality of [ extreme beauty] .
Fortunately, the host finally got to the key point.
“Your sensitivity and control of fashion is definitely one of the best among all the young people I’ve seen.
Paris flower is good at design, and is known for its dedication, respect, and preference for art.
Our intimate friends can not only be rich, but also have style. That’s why we never hire entertainment stars as endorsements.
You and Miss. He have received the highest level of praise from He Wei and many colleagues.
Finally, on behalf of a personal note, when you ate that lobster, your posture was really cool.”
The implication was that entertainment stars were low.
The implication was that you were classy and deserved it.
Regardless of whether it was business flattery or not, in short, it solved the doubts in Wang Yan’s heart.
It turned out that it was the benefits of temperament and poise!
Of course, only temperament and poise. Dressed in rags, they were still potential stocks. They might be looked up to, but they would not receive the greatest attention.
Under the premise that they were very rich and willing to spend, coupled with their outstanding temperament and poise, they were the people that were most worth befriending.
…
The brand of Paris Flower was very cold and aloof.
The high-profile Spade A looked for celebrities everywhere to write articles, frequently appearing at luxury entertainment industry cocktail parties, radiating from Hollywood to the whole world, and was now a must for the wealthy circle to flaunt their wealth.
Paris Flower was just quietly being a little princess, only promoting in a small circle, only for people who were pleasing to the eye to make an exception.
You could drink it or not. Anyway, I only had so much high-end wine to produce, so I didn’t have to worry about selling it.
The quality and taste differed from person to person, and everyone had their own opinions. In any case, the high and cold temperament of Paris Flower made its old customers very satisfied.
In the emerging market of China, they still maintained their cool and carefully selected their brand’s intimate friends.
Miraculously, on the first day, they were conquered by Wang Yan.
“You actually noticed it?”
Young Master Wang could not help but laugh. He nodded apologetically. “I was young and frivolous. I was careless from time to time. Thank you for your understanding.”
The host smiled meaningfully. “Rules are set by people. Naturally, they will be broken by those who are qualified. I think it was broken very well. It really let me witness the elegance of the new generation in China.”
After praising Wang Yan so many times, only the last sentence made the young master feel the most comfortable.
At the same time, Wang Yan realized that the person in front of him was probably not as simple as a small sales director.
“I’m sorry. May I know your name?”
“Paul Savasic.”
The middle-aged white man who spoke fluent Chinese took out a business card folder from his chest pocket, and then took out a gold-plated business card.
“I am currently the sales director of Pernod Ricard in Greater China in charge of 100 Years Old, Chivas, Royal Salute, Granville, Paris Flower, and Grafina, as well as dozens of other brands operating in China.
In the future, if you need to buy any brands under the group’s brand, feel free to bother me.”
Young Master Wang did not know what the Pernod Ricard group was, but Chivas and Royal Salute were definitely well-known.
So, they were all brands under the same group?
From the looks of it, Paul’s status was not low. The level should be the sales director of LVMH group’s alcohol business in China.
Feeling that this network would be quite useful, Wang Yan gladly accepted the business card.
“I don’t have a business card. But as an intimate friend, don’t I need to register your information? You have the chance to understand me.”
Wang Yan was getting better and better at showing off when he said that he didn’t have a business card.
Paul laughed and invited the two of them to fill out a form backstage.
He signed the document with simple and complicated patterns — the most important thing was that signature. It was said that in the future, the custom made champagne would have it engraved somewhere.
Of course, there is no need for champagne to be custom made.
Champagne is ready to drink, unlike a top notch watch, which signature could be engraved at key places, and then passed down as a family heirloom.
Custom made champagne, gimmick was far more than practical use.
It’s only good for showing off.
But we are modest and prudent, not the people who love to show off!
Custom-made autograph?
Not too many, just two or three boxes.
Uh, containers.
…
She picked up a VIP for no reason. When she went back, Miss. He was extremely excited.
“Silly Dog, not bad coming out with me, right? Aren’t you happy that you got an intimate friend? Thanks to me!”
Thanks to you?
Wang Yan smiled and didn’t say anything. He affectionately stroked the back of her head.
“Happy, our Miaomiao is the best.”
Such an obvious attitude of coaxing a child. If it were in the past, the young missy would definitely explode, but today, she was especially tolerant.
She jumped forward and left Wang Yan’s hand, turned around and smiled brightly.
“Haha! You’re not bad either!”
“Watch where you’re going!”
Papa Wang really cared for and the young missy.
After lecturing her, he asked thoughtfully, “What’s your evaluation of Paris Flower?”
“Wine?”
“Yes.”
“The taste is not bad. It’s different from Moet. It’s not as complicated as Delorean, but it’s much better than the Ace of Spades…”
Wang Yan asked, “How much of your liking to it is due to its beautiful design?”
“The popularity of Paris Flower has a lot to do with its looks! I don’t drink much, but I drink a lot of champagne with my mother. In my opinion, 2007 today can only be considered as a master level goalkeeper!”
The young missy’s judgment was similar to Wang Yan’s.
A master level goalkeeper was a very fair judgment.
Good, but not to the extent that it was amazing. It was not on the same level as the last full-point Wood Tong.
Wang Yan fell into deep thought, and He Miaomiao immediately realized that something was wrong.
“Who are you trying to scam this time?”
“He Wei.”
After Wang Yan casually replied, the young missy’s expression immediately became very strange.
“Eh, the taste is really heavy…”
The young master smiled and ignored her.
Wang Yan’s manor was going to start construction after the New Year. When that time came, they would definitely build a vineyard.
With grapes, they naturally needed professional planting masters and wine masters.
Wine masters should be in place before planting grapes. Grape varieties, planting requirements, fruit production trials… it was quite troublesome to drink a mouthful of self-produced wine.
Champagne, dry red, white wine, and beer were the four self-produced wines that Wang Yan had to come up with in his plan.
He had no clue at all for the master of the other three wines. Now, only Champagne had a slight chance.
The level of He Wei was not the best, but it was definitely enough.
The rest required good grapes, good water, good years, and good luck. The master could only try his best.
The idea of a complete manor house was too shocking. It required a lot of money, and money alone was not enough.
Could a master winemaker produce it?
Could any Tom, Dick, or Harry produce a master product?
Offering a master a million-year salary and the master immediately kowtowing?
They were all part of the overthinking series.
Troublesome…
At a loss for what to do, the Little Princess arrived.
The waiter pushed the door open and He Miaomiao turned around to cast her “soul captivating eyes”. She giggled and asked, “It’s still early, do you want to come in and sit for a while?”
With a face value of 99, she turned around and smiled. That was truly a pure-blooded demon.
Brother Dog couldn’t take it anymore.
His entire body was covered in blood… cough cough!
At the critical moment, he opened the system to check his favorability and immediately calmed down.
It was still 89 points, and she had been stuck there for a long time.
The situation was obvious. She had yet to completely accept Wang Yan’s invitation. It was very serious, or perhaps she was just teasing Wang Yan.
Wang Yan was also not prepared.
Other women could be knocked down first and then consider the aftermath, but not Miss. He.
She and Liu Li would definitely have a life-and-death relationship.
If it was still the grass roots who had nothing in the past, Wang Yan would definitely not think about anything and leave himself to his instincts.
But now, it was not possible. This brother had to do the right thing, and he could not be in a hurry.
The time was not right yet…
Using his strong self-control to control the restlessness in his heart, Young Master Wang raised his eyebrows like a mantis shrimp.
“You want to challenge Liu Li’s position? Do you know how to split a horse?”
“D*mn Fat Dog, get lost!”
The young missy was instantly furious. The boat of friendship capsized just like that.
After watching Miao Miao rush into the living room, Wang Yan shrugged and turned around to leisurely return.
Taking the initiative to cool down was the best strategy under the circumstances.
If favorability dropped, it would go up, up, up, up, and down. It would certainly become more and more solid.
Only with a solid foundation would there be room for manoeuvre.
Sun Tzu’s art of war talked about flirting with girls, and it was the most thorough.
Therefore, if it could be shown, it could not be shown; if it was used, it could not be used; if it was near, it could be shown far; if it was far, it could be shown near.
If it was profitable, it could be enticed; if it was chaotic, it could be taken; if it was practical, it could be prepared; if it was strong, it could be avoided; if it was angry, it could be scratched; if it was humble, it could be arrogant; if it was lazy, it could be taken away; if it was not prepared, it could be taken by surprise.
Young Master Wang added another sentence: Retreat at the last moment, and wait for a counterattack.
Sigh!
People, as expected, still need to read more…
While he was happily showing off, his phone suddenly rang.
Wang Yan took it out and looked at it, he was scared out of his wits.
Oh My God!
Miss. Sanwan was checking the post!
Fortunately, fortunately…
As expected, people, still needed to have decent thoughts and conduct!
Look at me, were I afraid of checking the post?
Picking up the video request, decent Wang smiled calmly and raised his phone high.
At the same time, He Miaomiao picked up two Paris Flowers and went out grumpily.
