Chapter 221 - Zhang ZhiYang is not going to be hopping around for much longer. (1)
A few brands decided to collude with each other and released a few paid posts for all to see.
Some popular internet influencers released posts in a regretful tone.
[Truth be told, I had always been a loyal fan of Meifang Corporation and been trying to snatch up some Beautify Pills every week. That being said, I am confused at what Meifang Corporation was trying to accomplish this time. They had already had water army lined up before the product has even hit the market? Why not take the time that they had spent on hiring water army and focused on the product itself? Whether the Hair Growing Cream is effective or not will be determined by customers' feedback, not something that should be inflated by paid accounts. Did Fang JunRong really screw up this time?]
Following that was a screen capture of The Real Martia Capet's raving about the Hair Growing Cream.
Another internet influencer came at it from a different angle.
[Fang JunRong had really misjudged this time. Who would try to leech popularity off of a foreigner?! Must she have the water army pretended to be Duchess Capet? I mean, c'mon, why would a billionaire like Duchess Capet even care about a new domestic product in China, am I right? Trying to leech popularity off of her is really somewhat embarrassing, if you ask me.]
After a series of internet influencers commenting on this subject and the most trending list was paid, the term #Fang JunRong had screwed up# quickly made it onto the most trending list.
The comments split into two sides. It was the battle between Shameless Marketing and With or Without Marketing, We Still Have the Best Products. Each side had their own arguments. Nevertheless, to many, the fact that Fang JunRong had hired water army was an undeniable truth and, as such, that had somehow changed their views of Fang JunRong. Some of them expressed that they would not jump on the Hair Growing Cream bandwagon right away but would spend some observation time first.
Even though Fang JunRong had no time to pay attention to what was going on on the web, but marketing had related the fiasco on the web to her right away.
She was taken aback a little, then, smiling, said, "Just ignore them."
"But we saw many paid accounts had been smearing our products. We will lose many potential customers this way."
Fang JunRong laughed out loud. "I had considered reining in some on our marketing budget anyway. Little do I know that these people would be so nice as to create exposures for us. They are such nice folks."
Pausing a little, there were amusement and confident in her smile. "That account really belongs to Duchess Capet. She is in the process of verifying her identity as we speak."
With that, the head of Marketing finally understood what was going on and the weight was lifted off of his shoulder immediately.
Fang JunRong went online and taken a look when she had a second of free time and, sure enough, the scale was grander than she had originally imagined. That was understandable. She had, after all, cut into many people's cake. She couldn't even imagine how many people hated her guts behind her back. As the saying goes, only the mediocre won't draw discontent.
Scrolling for a bit, she saw that there were even related posts on the famous site Cape. The most popular post had over 10 pages in comments in just a few hours. It rivaled scandals and love affairs of celebrities. Fang JunRong was impressed that her popularity had already reached the level that it did.
She clicked into the comment section and started reading it as she arranged an assignment to her employee and had them look into which companies were behind this incident.
[Did Meifang Corporation really screw up this time?]
1L: Look at this screen shot. Such an embarrassment. Screenshot.JPG
2L: Oh, c'mon. How many of these posts do we need? Were there not enough on Weibo already?
3L: What's the matter? If they could hire water army, they should be prepared to be mocked. Why can't we mock them if they could commit the act? Don't be so double standard, ya?
4L: Mainly they shouldn't have tried to leech off the popularity of some foreigners. I am so speechless over that. What if it gave them the impression that all Chinese are like that? Such a shameful act. I quite like Duchess Capet. She knows what she was doing when it come to maintaining herself. You could see that she spends a lot of money on that. Like she would really care about this so-called Hair Growing Cream.
5L: You don't see a marketing screw-up like this every day. It's just that Meifang Corporation had always bragged to be the one that is above everyone else in the industry, and that they didn't need marketing and will let their products do the talking. This faceslapping is only too amusing. Puuf!
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Chapter 222 - Zhang ZhiYang is not going to be hopping around for much longer. (2)
218L: Oh my gosh. How did a post like this generate dozens of pages of comments? Now I have truly seen it all.
219L: Em, if I may add here, that "The Real Martia Capet" is really the real Martia Capet. She has already had her identity verified on WeChat. She had even uploaded a video on a foreign website griping about having to prepare her own information in order to have her identity verified and that had been such a hassle. Further, complained that there was nothing wrong with her comment but it was removed. Speechless.JPG
220L: I ran to take a look and it was true! Oh man! Duchess Capet expressed that Fang JunRong had given her some Hair Growing Cream a month ago and she was so impressed with how well it worked that she decided to recommend it to all. Lo and behold, all of the hard work that she had put in in creating an account was labeled as water army for whatever reasons. And, worst of all, it had dragged Meifang Corporation's reputation through mud. She didn't even know which one had it worse, herself or Fang JunRong.
221L: Where were those who said it was a paid account? Stand out now. Tell us if your face is hurting. That was impressive, Boss Fang. How much did you pay for this spokesperson?
222L: I don't think Duchess Capet is in need of money. Who could afford to hire her? She just added a new post stating that if it was reposted over 10,000 times, she going to raffle off three jadeite bracelets of the glutinous variant to fans who never smeared Boss Fang. According to experts, they could be worth upwards of hundreds of thousand yuan. I am being blinded by the amount. Ow! Ow! Okay, I'm out. Gotta go repost. I got no time for the black fans! Who would have thought that Duchess Capet really is a friend of Boss Fang?
223L: I shouldn't be added to this, but watching the black fans being faceslapped are too hilarious. Where were those who said Duchess Capet wouldn't care about the Hair Growing Cream at all? Well, she did and liked it a lot. So much that she paid out of her pocket to advertise for it. Shout out: Boss Fang is so shrewd!
***
Fang JunRong watched the entire event unfold and, once Duchess Capet's identity had been verified, the water army who had been the winning side up to this point started to lose more and more grounds. After all, all of their ammunitions were based on the "fact" that Duchess Capet's account was fake. The faces of many of the major internet influencers who had taken money to operate were slapped so hard that they were swollen up. All they could do was to remove their original posts and pretended that nothing had ever happened.
Fang JunRong found this nilly-willy smearing act extremely distasteful and saw no reason to spare them.
As such, the team of lawyers at Meifang Corporation were activated once again and, once all of the evidences had been collected, one lawyer letters after another were sent out. It was startlingly decisive. This I-will-just-see-you-in-court-attitude was, indeed, very Fang JunRong.
Many of the major internet influencers found her action worrisome. They all wanted exposures so they could make money but they didn't want to be dragged to court. Fang JunRong, on the other hand, was much more hard-headed than she appeared. It did not seem like she would settle out of court nor did she care about public opinions. In some respect, someone like that was the most difficult to deal with. That was alarming to all and they decided that from here on out, they would really had to think it through before they accept any work that was Fang JunRong-related.
This person was, indeed, poisonous.
***
Fang JunRong, having turned the entire event her way, was quite happy. She looked down at her cellphone and, just when she was about to turned it on, she noticed that her cellphone had ran out of battery and turned itself off. She plugged it in while she turned it on and saw quite a few missed calls and texts. They were from Zhang ZhiYang.
All of them could be boiled down to one point: He saw what was going on on the web and, if necessary, he could help with suppressing the media.
Fang JunRong frowned a little as she looked at some of the information collected by her employees. Hongyang, Baokong... she could see hints of these companies behind this fiasco.
It would fine before Zhang ZhiYang's call. Once he had made the call, she couldn't help but suspect that he might have something to do with this.
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Chapter 223 - Zhang ZhiYang is not going to be hopping around for much longer. (3)
She gave Uncle Zhang a call and asked about the ties of these companies to Zhang ZhiYang. She quickly heard back that even though Zhang ZhiYang did not openly hold any shares of these companies, but his uncle and a few of his close friends were shareholders of these companies. She had originally thought that they were mere competitors. As it turned out, Zhang ZhiYang had a hand in this?
She immediately figured out the reasons behind it. Part of it was to take her down a notch for his friends and families and the other part was to offer to help her and earn her appreciation while also showing her how powerful he was. That was three birds with one stone.
He seemed to be very familiar with bringing people to his side through this mean. He used the exact same method on XunYin before and now her, the exact same formula both times.
She resent his approach but that seemed to be the only approach that he could pull off.
She let her cellphone charged up for a little bit before she gave Zhang ZhiYang a call. Before Zhang ZhiYang could even start talking, she said decisively, "Please do me a favor, Young Master Zhang. Please relate my appreciation for the care and concerns that the presidents of Hongyang and Baokong Corporations had given me."
She stressed on the "care and concerns" part. Then, before Zhang ZhiYang could respond, hung up on him.
In 20 more days or so, the White Jade Cream would be launched officially and Zhang ZhiYang would be but a grasshopper after fall – not having many more days remaining.
"Duu, duu, duu....."
Zhang ZhiYang's face dropped as he listened to the dial tone in his phone. He didn't think that Fang JunRong had such a bad temperament and would hang up on him just like that without even the slightest effort to keep up a front with him. With those medicinal cream that he had, he had been flattered everywhere he went recently. Many even congratulated him in advance about him becoming the next housemaster of the Zhang family. All of the flattery had given him a big head. Fang JunRong's action today was a like a wake-up call to him and allowed him to regain some clarity while being displeased.
Others needed to kiss up to him; but Fang JunRong didn't. Had Fang JunRong had the kind of network like he did, she'd be the one in his shoes right now.
Biting down on his lower lip, Zhang ZhiYang, once again, cussed out Zhang Bi. He had given him months already but he still hasn't had it figured out yet. How was he praised as the genius of the century? He was obviously just a fake.
"ZhiYang, what did Fang JunRong say?" asked Boss Sun, Zhang ZhiYang's uncle. He was one of the major shareholders of Hongyang Corporation. Hongyang specialized in cosmetics with shampoo and hair regrowth products as their main focus. When Fang JunRong was wrecking in with the Beautify Pills, as there was no direct competition there, he was happily enjoying the situation as other companies floundered. When Fang JunRong announced about her Hair Growing Cream, that really made him panic.
This fiasco on the web, they were partly going along with Zhang ZhiYang's ask but also partly wanting to smear the reputation of Meifang Corporation. Nobody expected that Fang JunRong was really a friend of Duchess Capet and was able to have her help with the advertisement. All of their well-laid plans ended up helping along Meifang Corporation by giving them even more exposure.
While being displeased, he had talked to his nephew and see if his nephew would be able to talk to Fang JunRong and the two families could work together. Fang JunRong could take the high-end path while they take the lower one. Except that as soon as he had walked over, he witnessed his nephew being hung up on.
Zhang ZhiYang took a deep breath and tightened his lips. "It seems like she had noticed that we were behind the incident. She sounded quite upset on the phone."
Boss Sun had an embarrassed look on him. Even the most shameless of all would feel a little bit awkward when caught red-handed. Nevertheless, recalling how everybody had been flattering his nephew recently, Boss Sun quickly dismissed his uncomfortable feeling. "You will be the next housemaster of the Zhang family. I can't believe she was so rude to you. That was so arrogant of her."
"I think you had been too nice to her in the past and that allowed her to think that she could walk all over you. You really need to teach her a good lesson."
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Chapter 224 - "I never said that. You must be dreaming." (1)
Having no idea that all of the glory of his nephew was built upon the medicines given to him by Fang JunRong, Boss Sun strongly encouraged his nephew to teach Fang JunRong a lesson. Preferably a lesson that would make her go bankrupt. That way they would be able to take over her assets.
Zhang ZhiYang couldn't tell the truth and was very aggravated with his uncle urging him. Lo and behold, Zhang Bi also called and expressed how he had used up all of the medicines for the experiment and would like to purchase a few additional bottles.
His call could not have come at a worse time. Zhang ZhiYang unleashed on Zhang Bi. He called him useless. That his family couldn't even figure out something that even Feng Zeyu, a layman, was able to. That his family should no longer be referred to as the medicine family; they might as well have been the useless family. And that Zhang Bi should no longer be referred to as genius. He knew full well much how of a genius he really was.
Zhang ZhiYang finally felt better after he was done unleashing.
Granted, he probably shouldn't try to do anything to Fang JunRong recently either.
There was ambition in his eyes. He shouldn't be wasting his time over such minute matters with his uncle. He should focus on the big picture.
What he really needed to do was to take over the role as the housemaster of the Zhang family as soon as possible.
***
Fang JunRong couldn't be bothered by Zhang ZhiYang after she had hung up on him. As far as she was concerned, Zhang ZhiYang's head had gotten way too big and he had forgotten who he really was.
Zhang ZhiYang had sent her a series of invitations after that but all of them had been thrown into the garbage by Fang JunRong.
She had been very busy with the release of the Hair Growing Cream and had no time to deal with him.
Ten thousand units of Hair Growing Cream were released on 8 PM on the 24th and then flew off the shelf just like that. A bottle of Hair Growing Cream could last up to a month and, as much, its price point was set higher than that of the Beautify Pills. The asking price of a bottle of Hair Growing Cream was 1,288 yuan. Even so, it did not deter people from snatching them up. In addition, even though an average bottle of hair growing shampoo cost around 100 yuan, nobody said her price point was set too high.
Xu WeiWei chuckled when Fang JunRong brought that up to her.
"This is a very fair price. Even Duchess Capet liked our Hair Growing Cream so much that she voluntarily advertised it for us. The asking price of 1,288 yuan was already lower than most had expected.
Fang JunRong busted out laughing as well. That made sense. Everything else that Martia normally used cost upward of 10,000 yuan. That gave people the expectation that the Hair Growing Cream was a very expensive product.
On the night of the 25th, another 10,000 units of the Hair Growing Cream were released and they lasted longer this time. Last time, they were all sold out within a second and, this time, it took three minutes. Even so, it was shocking when the words got out.
When a product that hit the market for the first time were gone in such a short period of time, that was a testimony of Meifang Corporation's status in the heart of their fans. They had so much faith in Fang JunRong that they didn't even wait for responses from the market before spending over 1,000 yuan on the product.
The bosses of Hongyang and Baokong were hurting badly. It was as though they could see the rise of a new, strong player in the field yet there was nothing that they could do other than watching helplessly as Meifang Corporation took over the throne under the Fang JunRong's leadership. Even their effort to throw obstacles at her turned out to be more exposures for her.
Over these last few days, Duchess Capet had not stopped bragging about Fang JunRong's products. Not only had she used the Hair Growing Cream, she had also used the Beautify Pills and would use no less than 1,000 words to praise them every day. If she didn't do the same when she was streaming, even her fans overseas would think that her account has been hacked.
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Chapter 225 - "I never said that. You must be dreaming." (2)
Fang JunRong had original had Country Y in her mind as her oversea market. After all, her counters and shops were almost all ready there. Now, due to Duchess Capet, she would also be bringing her products to Country X's market in March.
The days might be busy, but were also very fulfilling.
***
Lu Jing happily took the package from the delivery person and gave him her autograph.
Retreating back to his apartment, he quickly opened up the package and threw the box away in order to destroy any possible evidences being left behind. As a programmer, working overtime and pulling all nighters were the norm. As the days progressed, he started having male pattern baldness at the early age of 30. He saved the link to Fang JunRong's Hair Growing Cream the minute he found out about it and was able to snatch a box for himself with his quick reaction time.
Nevertheless, he needed to keep his girlfriend from founding out about this Hair Growing Cream. Otherwise, she would nag about him paying "intelligence tax" over the 1,000-yuan plus Hair Growing Cream again.
He couldn't wait to shower and wash his hair and then opened up the can. The Hair Growing Cream in the jar was very dark in color. Not the dirty kind of dark though, but it almost seemed to be shiny under the light, like a high-quality black jade. It made one felt just thinking about disturbing the content in the jar was a blasphemy against art.
Yet, as a straight male, as much as he thought the gel looked pretty, he had no problem applying them.
According to the instructions, the effect would be even better if he was to cover his head up for 15 minutes with a warm towel afterward.
Sitting on top of the toilet and surfing the web with his legs shaking, 15 minutes went by just like that.
Lu Jing removed the towel and carefully examined himself in the mirror. He wasn't certain whether it was just his imagination, but he felt that his hair was shinier than normal. He touched his hair. Oh, it was soft and smooth as well.
He started using them daily and had been washing his hair way more frequently than he used to. He thought he wouldn't be seeing any effects for at least six months but, after just one week, he could begin to see stubbles at the top of his head.
Looking at the picture that he had taken with his own cellphone, his eyes were almost filled with tears.
He finally no longer needed to worry about his male pattern baldness! No matter how many more all nighters he pulled, he would still be the handsomest programmer! He seemed to be able to see into his own bright future.
As Lu Jing used the Hair Growing Cream happily, he became a loyal fan of Meifang Corporation and would recommend their products on a regular basis in his friend's circle, or at his office. With his as the walking advertisement, all of his colleagues were readying themselves to snatch themselves up a box during the next release.
Lu Jing was very happy that his recommendation had worked. The only part that he wasn't too happy about was that Meifang Corporation was not offering enough stock. Releasing new ones every other week simply didn't cut it. He felt that Meifang Corporation should have done their marketing research better. Per last year's statistic, there were 200 million bald people in the entire China!
Lu Jing went to put in his suggestion under Meifang's official website in between work and asked for same treatment as Beautify Pills! They wanted 10,000 jars per week and another 10,000 being raffling off. No, they would need more than that for Hair Growing Cream. After all, Beautify Pills were only for girls, but Hair Growing Cream, on the other hand, were for both genders. And men need them more than women!
When he went home to shower and wash his hair and was about to apply his Hair Growing Cream again, his look became very dubious when he saw the jar.
That was odd, why did he feel that his Hair Growing Cream was going so quickly? It was almost all gone. He didn't think he was even using that much every time.
After he had applied it one more time and after he had walked out of the bathroom, his girlfriend Gu YueYue came home as well. Her long hair was flowing in the air and the curves that it made when she walked was charming.
Lu Jing stared intensely at his girlfriend's hair and asked solemnly, "YueYue, did you use my Hair Growing Cream without me knowing?"
Even his voice suggested how unfairly he was feeling.
The corner of Gu YueYue's lips twitched and she said righteously, "This was all your fault! This Hair Growing Cream works like a champ, how could you not share it with me? Is our relationship not more important than a jar of Hair Growing Cream?"
Lu Jing felt even more unfairness. "I offered to buy them for you and you turned me down. You even called it paying the 'intelligence tax'." He would have otherwise purchased two cans from the very beginning!
Gu YueYue shrugged it off. "No, I never said that. You must be dreaming."
"Aye, they will be releasing a new batch tomorrow, right? I am sure there will be even more competition this time. Your office has faster internet. You should stay and work overtime tomorrow and try to get another jar! Oh, you can even solicit your coworkers' help! This product is so amazing! My hair really has been so much better since I had used it."
Lu Jing was speechless. Did his girlfriend just ask him to work overtime just so he could have a better chance of securing a jar of Hair Growing Cream? Welp, she was his girlfriend so what choices did he have? He had no choice but to dote on her!