Chapter 142: Let’s pay him a visit
Translated by me, edited by drpetro.
“40 million.” Ye Qing called out a price that left the representative completely in shock.
“Why! The trees for the exhibition only cost 2 million.” The Compass Group representative felt like he was getting ripped off.
“Because that’s the mass market version, and due to real life existences, we were able to use special scanning techniques to easily get a rough drawing.”
“In addition, there’s need to include small amounts of titanium into the alloy, so the price is going to be expensive. However, with the inclusion of the titanium, the sculpture will have even better anticorrosive and antirust properties than stainless steel.” Ye Qing began to swirl the remain liquor in his cup: “If I put it this way, you should be able to understand.”
“The first dragon you order is going to cost 40 million, but if there’s a second, then that’ll only be 10 million.”
10 million for another?
The representative though that 10 million wasn’t really that expensive, add on the boulder like base, then the combined weight was definitely 5 times more than the trees.
“And if contracts were to be signed, we can guarantee product completion within five days. Finally, 20% can be subtracted for every day that passes after.”
The Compass Group’s representative really wanted to say he was completely moved by that last condition that he would be able to ship the dragon(s) within five days.
But he wasn’t the one making the final call, so he excused himself as he ran over to the bar to enjoy a cup of fruit flavoured margarita while making a transcontinental call.
After a cup, the representative came back saying for 50 million he wanted three dragons.
There wasn’t really a lot of room to wiggle, so for this unique creation, Ye Qing in the end could only settle for 55 million, but needed a week to make the three of them.
The first contract was ironed out just like that. Of course, the price was in Yuan, so it didn’t matter what currency they paid in, as long as it came to the same amount after the exchange, then it was all good.
The flowers Buncey wanted were just so much cheaper. The 1.5 meter diameter ones that were to be placed in lobbies only cost 500,000 each, whereas the mini versions that were to be placed in hotels and gifted to VIP clients cost 20,000 apiece.
The reason the price was this low was mainly because of just how many the Buncey Corporation wanted: 50 of the big ones, and even more of the mini ones.
As the price and completion dates were ironed out, the banquet hall got more and more lively. Maybe because they were feeling that if they didn’t gorge their hearts out then they would just be getting ripped off too hard, those guys even opened a really expensive bottle of Remy Martin to enjoy. They were going to stay the night anyways, so even the drivers joined in the fun.
At eight, Ye Qing, with Kong Tao and Disney’s representatives, sat down in front of the bar with a cup of juice each.
“Mr. Ye, have you ever been to Disneyland?” The vice president of Asia, Neville, asked as he clanged cups with Ye Qing.
“No, I have not. Isn’t the park targeted at kids?” Ye Qing smiled: “Though, I’ve watched almost all of Disney’s animations and blockbusters.”
“Then, Mr. Ye, you must have seen the illusionary castle in our openers, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, that ancient tree from the Magic Kingdom, along with the Dawn Treader from the Chronicles of Narnia.”
“As well as the famous Snow White and Cinderella.”
No matter what Neville named, Ye Qing was all quite familiar with it, and had even caught up on every blockbuster release of the Chronicles of Narnia.
“Mr. Ye, since even dragons are possible, then making the Draw Treader, the magic tree, the illusionary castle, Alice, Cinderella, Snow White and co should pose no problems, correct?”
“Of course!” Ye Qing took a really deep breath. If he was really able to collaborate with entertainment giants like Disney, then just the money from mass marketing the Disney princesses would definitely flow in faster than robbing a bank.
However, on this point, Ye Qing still had some self control. Since there were just too many people in this line of business, and since it was going to be made out of metal, therefore it had to be made only for sightseeing and not for playing.
Just think about it, if a little girl were to somehow get angry and grab these toys as weapons, then it would definitely be more robust than any hammer.
And of course ~ Neville’s next words solidified this point.
He told Ye Qing that Disney had six theme parks across the world, as well as ocean parks and animal kingdoms. What they wanted were some Disney themed sculptures that were as exquisite as the alloy trees.
Their range of wants was quite large, however no matter what, they only wanted one for each of them, including the Disney princesses.
This point had be put out there. Barbie was the most famous princess in the world, still popular even after multiple decades, and now it was practically one of America’s iconic symbols. There were even versions for black people and adults, however, the most unfortunate thing was that Barbie didn’t belong to Disney, but to Mattle.
Disney was basically facing the same problem as Barbie dolls, which was that there were just too many toys of all kinds of materials, shapes, and sizes.
Now that they had seen the black magic like exquisite alloy trees, they naturally wanted to give it a try.
Using such beautiful alloys to create new Disney themed sculptures would definitely attract more new visitors, and it would also bring a new and refreshing feeling to those who have gotten bored of the originals.
The Disneylands across the world all had different major themes. To create a unique metal sculpture was naturally better than making a bunch. Additionally, making a bunch was also uneconomical.
A total of 70 plus alloy constructions. Apart from the magic tree, the illusionary castle, and the Dawn Treader, which were quite big, the rest were all less than two meters tall.
Ye Qing said that these were simple enough, but the more exquisite they wanted them to be, then the more detailed they needed to be, so the final price would naturally skyrocket.
“We’ve got all the molds and 3D drawings you might need, and their precisions are definitely no problem, so there’s probably not much you need to change.” Neville let loose a smile that was just like the Queen having seen Snow White eat the poisoned apple.
Ye Qing put down his cup of juice in a ‘it doesn’t really matter’ attitude: “Then we can calculate the price based off of their sizes. I guarantee you that the results while be as precise as the drawings you have, however, if you want the realistic feel of the alloy trees, then that’s basically next to impossible. Though this doesn’t really matter as kids only recognizes cartoon faces.”
“But…… if it’s with your drawings, then where would the details of the hair and dresses of the animated figures come from?”
“Details, damn details!” Neville’s smile immediately froze. Although cartoon faces were fine, since no child will recognize detailed faces, all the details came down to the hair and cloth.
The Disney princesses had experienced decades of motion pictures, so with new advances in motion pictures technology, Disney had produced more and more classic animations, and the princesses inside were always getting more and more beautiful.
Just think about all those Disney princesses’ dresses, they weren’t dresses at all alright! Those were clearly wedding gowns!
Then think about all the hairstyles of those princesses. What hairstyles were those? They were clearly internationally acclaimed classics. If those details were gone, what was different between the alloy and those regular metal constructs?
The faces of Barbie dolls were also just this. Who actually looked at the face? The kids who play with them are all there to change her dresses and comb her into many hair styles.
“Then…… can those details be added?” Neville was still unconvinced: “For example, Cinderella’s dress……”
“Of course it can. No matter if it’s Rapunzel’s super long hair, or if it’s Cinderella’s evening dress and crystal shoes.” Ye Qing snapped: “Of course, the more details there are, the more expensive it will be.”
Neville changed his juice to liquor and began to drink by himself with mixed feelings.
It seems like no matter how he tried, he was still gonna get ripped off at least once.
At least the good thing about the cloth and hair styles was that they were quite common to see in everyday life. Unlike the dragon, the molds for the dresses and hair were actually quite easy to make as long as the necessary technologies were acquired and slight changes were made.
70 plus metal constructs, which Ye Qing gave the same price for each; 5 million.
Totaling up to 375 million, which just happened to be the biggest deal Ye Qing had ever made in his life. So, being a good business man, Ye Qing wiped off some and only asked for 350 million.
“As for the contract, I only have two requests. One, is to keep this a secret, and two, without our authorization, you cannot produce anything else that is Disney related.”
Ye Qing straight up clanged glass with him, meaning that this was completely no problem.
………………………………
7:30, in a nearby banquet hall, an alluring young lady with a small diamond head piece, tapped away on her crystal wine cup as she whispered to Director Xia beside her.
Huang Ranxia was saying how, before the banquet started, she seemed to have seen Disney’s vice president of Asia, Mister Neville.
Additionally, Mister Neville seemed to be with a bunch of other multinational chair persons following in the wake of a young man. Moreover, this young man was familiar with Li Huaxing and his secretary, Zhang Mei, from which she heard how this young man was so incredible.
As for exactly how incredible he was, Huang Ranxia actually had no clue, but she did say that even Chairman Li would have to receive that young man with politeness.
Take this banquet for example. This time Li Huaxing was the one being invited, but he only sent his secretary over. However, if it was that young man inviting, then Li Huaxing was guaranteed to accept quicker than his secretary.
“Li Huaxing’s secretary is going to go over for a toast later, we should follow her when she goes to have her help give us a referral,” whispered Huang Ranxia.
“My gosh ~ Aren’t you exaggerating too much here?” Xu Ninggong was wearing a creamy white evening dress with a pick belt and looked just as beautiful as Disney’s Princess Alice: “By chance, I also know Mister Neville. Since he’s going stay in the same hotel as me, I naturally need to greet him.”
“I also want to meet that young man.”
“So, how should I address him?”
“President Ye, at least what Zhang Mei called him.”
It just so happened that, at that moment, the nearby Zhang Mei stood up and winked at Huang Ranxia, indicating to her that she was going next door for toasts.
Xu Ninggong and Huang Ranxia stood up at the same time and excused themselves by saying they had a friend next door that they needed to greet.