WBSGVS Chapter 249 Part 1

Chapter 249

For the next two days, Qingli stayed at the new product development center, repeatedly tasting the new flavors. By the third day, the self-heating hotpot she requested was finally ready. There were still a few issues, but five flavors had already met her standards.

The remaining six were sent back to be redone.

With Qingli personally involved, the development of the new products progressed smoothly, which also gave the team more time to revamp the older ones. Without the need for overtime, employees were able to meet their goals, so no one complained.

Half a month later, all eleven original flavors and one brand-new self-heating hotpot flavor were finalized. Next up: filming the commercials and launching the promotional campaign.

This had been planned by the company long ago. Now that the new product line had been settled quickly, everything else could move forward. Qingli reviewed the plan—it was pretty standard. So, she postponed the shoot by two days, planning to write a new ad script herself.

When it comes to advertising, either the message strikes deep and resonates, or it’s catchy enough to be unforgettable. Qingli chose the latter.

But just as she finished designing the script, the marketing director rushed into her office, clearly anxious. “Miss Jiang, we have a problem! The celebrity we lined up for the commercial is now demanding a last-minute pay raise. He won’t do the shoot otherwise!”

Qingli asked calmly, “Did he sign the contract? If he did, make him pay for breaching it. If not, just replace him.”

The director gave a wry smile. “He’s worked with us for years, and in the past, we always had contracts. This time, he suddenly got popular, and we have already agreed to raise his fee. But he’s been so busy that we only discussed it verbally and never got around to signing anything.”

He paused, then added, “He’s got great selling power. Don’t be fooled by how popular some celebrities seem online—many don’t drive sales. As for alternatives, most of the A-listers are booked out for months. If we go with someone less popular and the product flops, we could lose a lot. Should I request a bit more budget?”

Ever since Qingli came on board and insisted on upgrading all the ingredients, production had switched entirely to meet her standards—driving costs up. If they stuck to the old prices and the same sales numbers, they’d barely break even.

“Replace him,” Qingli said firmly.

The director laughed. “Honestly, I think that’s the right call too. I’ve shortlisted a few celebs who are great at moving product. Want to take a look?”

Qingli shook her head, pulled up a photo on her phone, and said, “Let’s go with her.”

The director’s smile froze. He leaned over to see who it was, then relaxed slightly and asked, puzzled, “Which celebrity is this? What are her big roles? How many followers does she have on Weibo?”

Qingli cleared her throat. “Her name is Zhao Qi. She just gained some attention from a web series about food. She probably has around a million followers. But that’s not the point—her character in the show is a total foodie, and the way she eats stimulates your appetite. She’s also cheap.”

The director was dumbfounded. After a moment of hesitation, he tried to reason with her. “I know we’re on a tight budget, but with just a little more, we could hire a B-list star. There’s no need to be this frugal.”

“This is final,” Qingli cut him off decisively.

The director opened his mouth to object again, but Qingli had already lowered her head and started working, ignoring him completely. Left with no choice, he reluctantly transferred the photo to himself and left, frowning.

As soon as he stepped out of her office, he let out a long sigh and sent a message to someone from his phone:

[Miss Jiang didn’t take any of my suggestions. She picked a no-name actress herself, not even C-list. Only a million Weibo followers.]

The celebs he had lined up all had scandals waiting to be exposed. Once the commercial aired, those scandals would go public, damaging the brand and tanking the campaign. Sure, the company could pursue breach-of-contract claims, but that depended on whether those celebs could even afford to pay.

With production costs rising, new products launching, and old ones being phased out, the branch was already tight on cash. If this endorsement fell through and the company couldn’t recover the funds, they’d have to ask headquarters for more money.

And now she chose a total unknown?

Jiang Zheng, the recipient of the message, was also surprised. But when he looked at the actress, he chuckled. An 18th-tier celebrity with no endorsements—how could she drive sales?

He replied with satisfaction: [Alright. Just don’t make the commercial too good.]

[Of course,] the director scoffed.

He’d heard that the young lady was writing the script herself. What could someone like her possibly come up with?

To him, this heiress was predictably stubborn and controlling. But one thing didn’t quite add up… A rich girl from a family like the Jiangs, being this stingy? She turned down a reasonably priced B-lister and went for a bargain-bin micro-celebrity?

She didn’t quite match the image he had in mind. Maybe she was too frugal?

Still… she was just an underage heiress. What could she possibly accomplish?

—

But things didn’t go the way the director expected.

The day the new spokesperson was confirmed, Qingli received a phone call:

“My dearest A-Li, did you get me that self-heating hotpot endorsement?”

Qingli laughed. “Yep! Surprised?”

“Totally surprised!” On the other end, Zhao Qi, the up-and-coming actress, sounded delighted. “You have no idea how sour my agent’s face was when they said the endorsement specifically requested me! I swear, I want to replace him eight hundred times a day!”

“Just hang in there,” Qingli comforted her.

Zhao Qi sighed, resigned. “Fine. A-Li, you should start your talent agency. Sign me—I’ll pay my termination fees. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead from rage. Just a few days ago, my agent handed a fast-moving consumer goods endorsement to his so-called ‘stepsister,’ even though the brand initially wanted me! And then he claimed I was already in talks with a similar brand!”

Qingli sympathized but was helpless. “Unfortunately, I’m still underage.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to hang in there for one more year!” Zhao Qi said tearfully. “Why are you still not 18? And you’re already making so much money. I’m dying of envy!”

“Hmm… How about a meal on me as compensation?” Qingli chuckled.

“I’d love that—but I’m still out of town…” Zhao Qi sounded even more dejected.

Laughing, Qingli stayed on the phone while placing a food delivery order for her.

The two had met because of that foodie-themed web series Zhao Qi starred in? Qingli had written it. While interning under Jiang Xi, she carved out time every day to write the script. Once it was done, she asked Jiang Xi to help assemble a production team.