Chapter 144: 144 Do you know the Four Great Classical Novels?_1
Qiao Yuxiao took a deep breath. "I was presumptuous."
She had thought her personal matters had complicated the cooperation between the two families.
She stood up and apologized sincerely, "I’m sorry, I was too presumptuous today."
Wen Jiang waved her hand. "You don’t need to apologize. On the contrary, I quite admire you for speaking up about matters directly. I like people like you."
Wen Jiang even clicked her tongue. Could such a girl really be the vicious female rival I’ll confront later on? I think your System has a problem with its selection.
Zero Egg by now had learned to quibble. It’s the result calculated by the Heart of the World, not me.
Qiao Yuxiao was stunned.
She looked towards Wen Jiang. The admiration in her eyes didn’t seem feigned. She was accustomed to circuitous ways of speaking. Since childhood, her parents had taught people of their standing to conceal their preferences, never allowing anyone to discern even a hint of them.
But Qiao Yuxiao had grown up without any pressure. With an excellent older brother above her and as the only daughter, she was still doted upon, and occasionally acting on her whims wasn’t a significant issue.
However, the people she encountered were different.
Wen Jiang was indeed different.
She pursed her lips, gave a gentle smile, and said, "Thank you for your appreciation."
Of course, her sudden visit was somewhat unexpected for the Jimo Family. To avoid idle gossip, Qiao Yuxiao stated her business and then departed.
For Wen Jiang, this incident was at most a minor interlude. When she was about to return to the Association after two days, she encountered Hua Zhuo, who returned with a sullen face.
Wen Jiang could tell from her expression that there was trouble and guessed the problem. "Issues with the card-related merchandise?"
Hua Zhuo looked up, not surprised that Wen Jiang had guessed correctly. She said with some indignation, "Yes, I didn’t expect your uncle to be so incompetent. We have eight Card Factories in Yunxia, and the Qiao Family occupies half of the core positions in six of them. There are also three factories overseas, but our Yunxia Card Factories have always performed poorly there and are on the verge of closing. The Qiao Family wasn’t interested in them. We are willing to make a huge sacrifice for the Qiao Family to withdraw, but a number of popular Card Makers were poached, the quality of new cards can’t keep up, and the factories’ prospects are bleak."
"If we force the Qiao Family to withdraw, the factories might not survive."
These factories are where card-related merchandise is produced, often on assembly lines.
Mount Flower has its own unique cards and regularly hires Spirit Card Masters from the market each year to create new cards for them, aiming for a style consistent with Mount Flower’s brand.
In recent years, not only has the quantity and quality of high-level cards declined seriously, but so have those of low-level cards.
Low-level cards, unless exceptionally famous, don’t inspire a strong desire for collection. However, people are willing to pay for appealing art, so attractive cards are always more popular. But once everyone owns them, they become less special.
There are too many association-backed Card Factories on the market. Recently, the Dual-Change Card Set merchandise created by Mount Flower’s Wen Jiang sold well. The downside was that it affected the sales of other card-related merchandise, and many customers lost their desire to buy Ordinary Cards. Of course, Mount Flower wasn’t the only one facing this problem, but no one else’s situation was as dire.
Previously, when Jimo Xiao fell, those who heard the news assumed Mount Flower wouldn’t last long, and many people left voluntarily.
The rumors that Mount Flower was doomed weren’t unfounded; if the economic foundation collapsed, wouldn’t the association inevitably follow suit?
The Jimo Family had other industries, but these operated independently. Cards, however, were of paramount importance, and it was impossible to drain resources from other sectors to support the card division.
Hearing Hua Zhuo briefly describe the situation, Wen Jiang lowered her gaze and summarized, "So, without good Spirit Card Masters, we can’t maintain consistent production of good cards?"
It’s the same principle as with a game company: without good new content, old players get bored, and the game naturally enters a period of stagnation.
Hua Zhuo sighed. "Yes."
Hua Zhuo said, "The Qiao Family’s refusal to withdraw is an attempt to control the association. This situation is unfavorable to us."
The Qiao Family’s manager for this business segment even arrogantly stated that they would give the Jimo Family another chance to reconsider. They implied that if the Qiao Family withdrew, the Jimo Family’s Card Factories would undoubtedly be overwhelmed in the short term. Then, if other major families seized the opportunity, it would be very difficult for the Jimo Family to re-enter the card market later.
Hua Zhuo didn’t spell this out, considering Wen Jiang might go straight to the Qiao Family to cause trouble if she heard the full details. She felt it was enough to convey the general idea.
Wen Jiang pondered for a moment. "Are card sales related to their rank?"
Hua Zhuo immediately understood Wen Jiang’s implication. Her eyes flickered as she said, "The best-selling cards on the market are those that R-Rank Spirit Masters can use directly. These are followed by Ordinary Card versions identical to those used by professional players, and finally, ordinary replica cards of other Card Spirits available on the market."
This may sound unbelievable, but in this world, R-Rank Spirit Masters are actually the most numerous.
Cards with a Card Spirit consume spiritual power. Even if a large association recruited many A-Level or higher Spirit Card Masters, it would be difficult for them to handle the replication workload for B-Level or higher cards.
R-Rank cards are the easiest to produce, so typically R-Rank Card Spirit merchandise is sold. For B-Level and above, they only sell Ordinary Cards that look identical to competitive play cards but lack Card Spirits.
For the average person, buying card merchandise is like chasing celebrity-endorsed products.
What influences sales value? Naturally, it’s attractiveness and power.
And Ordinary Cards on the market, if they don’t have a corresponding Card Spirit version, won’t attract a large fanbase, no matter how aesthetically pleasing they are.
"R-Rank, huh..."
R-Rank cards only need to have a Card Spirit; actual strength isn’t that important. After all, the nation wouldn’t expect R-Rank Spirit Masters to go to war.
In this context, attractiveness becomes the most important criterion.
Wen Jiang recalled an exploitative model that had been popular in her previous life.
She smiled and asked Hua Zhuo, "Have you heard of blind boxes?"
The concept of blind boxes was simple, but this sales method hadn’t yet become popular in this era. Hua Zhuo, unaware of how pernicious this approach could be, asked curiously, "So, it’s a box where you don’t know what’s inside until you open it?"
Wen Jiang nodded. "Yes. To truly revitalize the factories, relying solely on high-rank card merchandise won’t be enough. Even if I released merchandise for cards like the ’Four Heavenly Kings’ equivalent, it would be useless because I can’t produce dozens of such high-quality cards at once."
High-level card merchandise is expensive and not easily affordable. Even a short-term surge in sales wouldn’t be enough to save a massive factory operation. She must have a perfect operational model.
Hua Zhuo knew Wen Jiang had an idea, and her mood lightened with curiosity. "What do you plan to do?"
Wen Jiang said, "We’ll use a batch of R-Rank cards, release them into the market randomly, and have people open blind boxes. Each blind box will contain one card, with the goal of collecting a complete set."
Hua Zhuo was somewhat surprised. "But at this stage, producing so many R-Rank cards, arranging them into sets, and then convincing the public to buy them seems almost impossible."
Wen Jiang chuckled softly. "Have you heard of the ’Four Great Classical Novels’?"