Zhan Ruofeng looked at her again, shocked. He suddenly realized he had still underestimated Ye Zhi's capabilities.
This idea was definitely not something Ye Zhi had come up with on the spot; she must have planned it long ago.
This meant that last night, Ye Zhi had been completely honest with him, telling him about the parcel locker and collection point model, and showing him her sincerity.
But Ye Zhi wasn't foolish either; she had also held something back.
If he had just outwardly agreed to cooperate and then reneged, stealing Ye Zhi's ideas to go solo, Ye Zhi would have had enough capability to expand the business in a more cost-effective way than him.
But now that both parties had signed a cooperation agreement, they were a community of interest, and only then did Ye Zhi reveal her trump card to him.
Zhan Ruofeng couldn't help but gasp. Fortunately, he hadn't harbored any improper thoughts or become Ye Zhi's enemy, otherwise, he truly wasn't confident he could defeat her.
"This method is indeed more cost-saving," Zhan Ruofeng said with a frown. "But what we earn is only the franchise fee, right?"
"No, after the packages are stored, users need to be notified via SMS through the app. We can also earn a fee for SMS messages," Ye Zhi said. "Of course, this amount is very small, but think about how many packages there are per day. How many are there per year?"
Ye Zhi didn't elaborate, but Zhan Ruofeng understood.
This was a business where profits accumulated slowly. Even if they earned very little per package, the wealth generated by a massive volume of packages would be enormous!
Moreover, with this model, their costs were almost negligible!
"Good!" Zhan Ruofeng agreed readily. He then asked, "Ms. Ye, we'll proceed as you suggested. Do you have any other requirements?"
"Yes," Ye Zhi said. "We can provide a convenience for the collection points. They can help send out express packages, which will also give them an additional revenue stream. However, all express packages sent from collection points must use Shunda by default. Of course, if users request to use other courier services, that's also acceptable."
Zhan Ruofeng couldn't help but recall what Zhan Ruoqing had said last night. Ye Zhi's vision was truly broad. Instead of desperately chasing profits, she was willing to cede some benefits for a better business environment.
Of course, she would fight for what she believed should be hers.
"That's as it should be," Zhan Ruofeng nodded. "I'll handle the other courier companies. The Zhan family can manage this matter."
"Okay, I appreciate your help," Ye Zhi said without pleasantries.
They discussed a few more details, and then Zhan Ruofeng left.
Ye Zhi felt very confident in Zhan Ruofeng, as he had been meticulously trained by the Zhan family and his capabilities were undeniable. Furthermore, his character was quite good; he hadn't done anything treacherous when faced with temptation. Entrusting the subsequent matters to him made Ye Zhi feel very at ease.
It seemed that for Fangxin Post Station, she could just wait to collect the money.
The trial version of the derivative game for "Journey to the West Revisited" had also gone online. The derivative game was called "Encountering Journey to the West." The one-hour storyline wasn't extensive, but it was enough for players to get acquainted with the game.
Ye Zhi opened the Zhiwei platform, wanting to see the current player reactions.
"Ahhh! How can 'Encountering Journey to the West' be so wicked! I was just about to go defeat demons with Monkey King, and you cut off here!"
"Release the official version quickly! Are you, 'Encountering Journey to the West,' opening a gacha pool? I have money, watch me drain your gacha pool!"
"Taoxun, are you really going to be this unreasonable? Why are you tempting me with an unfinished game? Monkey King, what would I do without you! Take me with you, Monkey King~"
...
After Ye Zhi finished reading the comments, she wondered, was this game really that fun?
She took out her phone and downloaded it too, intending to try it out. After playing, Ye Zhi couldn't contain herself and went directly to the game department.
"When will your subsequent games be released?" Ye Zhi asked.
Bai Xuan: "..."
"Ms. Ye, please don't worry," Yun Shi explained from the side. "Isn't it stated in the project plan? The official version will be released in two months. After that, we will release one large and one small event each month. The main storyline will be updated every two months. This way, players won't feel bored and their engagement will be maintained..."
"Won't two months be a bit too long?" Ye Zhi asked with great anticipation. "How much more money do you need? If the money is sufficient, can you speed things up? I really want to play!"
Bai Xuan: ...
Ms. Ye, that's enough.
Yun Shi frowned. "That won't work, Ms. Ye. Other aspects are fine, we can accelerate the progress for programming, concept art, and music, but the quality of the script text must be strictly controlled and carefully polished. After all, the story is our selling point! But Ms. Ye, don't rush. The writers we've hired are already working overtime to write the manuscripts. Once they're done, they'll be sent directly to the email."
"Oh..." Ye Zhi said, understanding dawning. "Can we invite them to our company? You can arrange for people to supervise their writing, not allow them to slack off, and only let them leave after they've written for eight hours a day?"
At this point, even Yun Shi was speechless.
"Ms. Ye," Yun Shi said with a laugh, "this kind of thing can't be rushed. Even if we guarantee the quantity, we might not be able to guarantee the quality! But don't worry, when the game is ready, we'll invite you to participate in the internal testing. How about that?"
"That sounds good," Ye Zhi nodded quickly. She then asked, "Do you have any other requirements?"
"Uh... yes, we want to request leave," Bai Xuan said hesitantly.
Ye Zhi habitually looked at Yun Shi. "Why do you need leave? Is there something going on?"
"Ms. Ye, it's like this," Yun Shi explained. "We want to take some time after the game launches for the concept art department to go for inspiration-seeking trips. Although the current concept art production and quality are still up to par, it's time for them to relax a bit and find new inspiration."
"I understand," Ye Zhi nodded. "However, this sort of thing shouldn't require requesting leave."
Bai Xuan and Yun Shi immediately showed looks of disappointment.
"How about this: from now on, the game department will have one month dedicated to inspiration-seeking trips each year. Fifteen days in the first half of the year and fifteen days in the second half. The expenses during this period will be covered by the company, and it will not be counted as leave but as normal working time. However, you must rotate in batches to ensure the normal operation of the game department," Ye Zhi instructed.
Bai Xuan and Yun Shi were stunned!
They had thought it was impossible, but they hadn't expected Ye Zhi to be so generous, not only not counting it as leave but also reimbursing their expenses!
This... isn't this basically paid, free travel?!
"Ms. Ye, is this... is this appropriate?" Bai Xuan asked incredulously.
"It's appropriate," Ye Zhi smiled faintly. "As long as you make good games."