“I have a plan, Mr. Monty, but I don’t know if it’d work?” Valentine suddenly spoke.
Conrad had been very pleased with Valentine’s performance all this while so he was very willing to hear the other’s plan. He replied, “Go ahead.”
Valentine smiled craftily and spoke, “According to what you just described, I think we can wait until after JW Electronics has manufactured their products. We could invite them to a press conference, and as long as their product is an MP3 player, we’ll be able to expose them in front of the press.”
Conrad fell silent for a moment, deep in thought. He soon got up and walked two steps before suddenly looking up. “There are two benefits to that plan. One, we can use the media’s power to solidify the fact that Jasper pirated our product. And two, it’s also free advertisement for Melody!
“By then, Jasper will truly have no chance to turn it around!”
Conrad suddenly patted Valentine’s shoulder and laughed aloud. “Good job. After all of this is over, I’ll think about promoting you to president of the company.”
Valentine replied excitedly, “Thank you, Mr. Monty.”
…
Elbert and his team were highly skilled and they managed to complete the technological design in the shortest time after Jasper gave them an idea.
The following day, Jasper bought Elbert and his team airplane tickets so that they could directly instruct the factory workers in Reed City.
On the fourth day, Jasper received a sample from Reed City. It was personally brought over by Chad.
Looking at the shining silver MP3 player that was no bigger than half his palm and it now came with a screen, Jasper broke into a big smile.
“Have you tested it? What’s the passing rate for manufacturing?” Jasper asked.
Chad spoke excitedly, “We’ve checked them already. In terms of sound and quality, it’s way better than what’s available on the market. We’ve also upgraded the storage card, so our product can save at least 50 tracks. Other products and even those from the States and European countries can only save 30 tracks.
“Plus, having a screen means we’re able to display the name of the song, its artist, and even lyrics. That alone has garnered many good ratings from volunteer testers on the market.
“As for the passing rate, our workers aren’t too familiar with it yet so it’s still a little low. I’d say it’s currently around 86% now? But with further practice, the workers would be skilled enough to manufacture at a 95% passing rate, at least. That’s already exceeding the industry standard and it’s fully acceptable.”
“Good job.” Jasper smiled contentedly. “How about the cost?”
“Manufacturing cost is a little high. Products like this perhaps cost around 480 Somer Dollars. But if we decide to scale up output, then the cost of raw materials like the screen and the circuit board should decrease as well. As for how much exactly our cost can be lowered, it depends on our ability to produce. As of now, I’d estimate around a 30% reduction in cost.”
At that, Jasper waved him off and said, “There’s no need to purposely lower the cost. It’d be foolish to risk quality just because we want the cost to be cheaper. You have to remember that our products are luxury items, so they can be more expensive. People who can afford the MP3 player may not care about the 100-bucks difference, but the product itself must pique their interest.”
“I understand, Mr. Laine.”
While Jasper and Chad chatted, someone suddenly knocked on the study’s door.
The old butler handed Jasper an invitation and spoke, “Mr. Laine, someone I don’t recognize dropped by a few minutes ago and told me I had to give you this invitation. He left before I could ask him who he was.”
Jasper nodded. “Alright. Give me the invitation, then.”
The butler handed Jasper the invitation and left the study.
Jasper opened the invitation and smiled at what was written inside.
Chad, who had been silent since the butler knocked on the door, asked curiously, “What is it about the invitation that’s making you smile, Mr. Laine?”
