Chapter 159: Scholars Can't Drive Sales? I'll Show You How It's Done!

Wang Mo truly did not expect Xu Mengqi to cede a top-tier brand endorsement to him.

The financial interests involved here were worth at least tens of millions!

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Sister Qi, aren't these top-tier brand endorsements usually decided by the brands themselves? Will it work if you just hand the endorsement over to me?"

Xu Mengqi smiled. "It's true that the brands ultimately choose the endorsers. However, under normal circumstances, a brand only defines basic criteria such as the endorser's popularity, gender, and style, and then searches the entertainment industry for a suitable match based on those requirements.

For instance, when a cosmetics brand decides to look for a spokesperson, they might approach me, or they might approach Cheng Yonglan. To the brand, we are stars of the exact same tier, so either one of us works.

Therefore, as long as I transfer a brand endorsement slot to you, and you then put forward a suitable candidate, the brand will most likely sign that person. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand."

Wang Mo nodded.

A thought flickered in his mind, and he said, "Sister Qi, in that case, please pick a brand suitable for Hao Mingxing to endorse and give it to me."

"Hao Mingxing?"

Xu Mengqi raised an eyebrow. "You want to give this top-tier endorsement to him?"

"That's right," Wang Mo replied.

Xu Mengqi's lips curved into a smile. "No wonder there are rumors online claiming that 'Wuyan' has some unspeakable secret with Hao Mingxing. It's one thing for you to fully support Hao Mingxing in participating in *The Singer's Vibe*, but now you're handing him a top-tier endorsement as well. Could the rumors online actually be true?"

"..."

Wang Mo was speechless.

He was giving the top-tier endorsement to Hao Mingxing simply to complete a system task.

As long as Hao Mingxing successfully signed an endorsement contract with a first-tier brand, he would smoothly complete the task.

What a ridiculous secret.

Damn it... what kind of secret could he possibly have with another man?

These netizens really had nothing better to do all day than dream up all sorts of messy scenarios.

...

The Mango TV Minor New Year's Eve Gala concluded precisely at midnight.

However, the waves stirred up by the gala tonight were only just beginning.

One could say that tonight, virtually all the trending searches across every social media platform were monopolized by the two Best Actresses.

[Xu Mengqi Sings 'Legend']
[Mango TV Minor New Year Gala, Xu Mengqi Achieves Legend Status]
[Cheng Yonglan, 'Tears of a Fish']
[Two Best Actresses, Two New Songs]

Yet, beyond this, a considerable ripple was also coursing through the composing world.

Because tonight's event, while appearing to ordinary people as a duel between two Best Actresses, was seen by composers as the very first clash between Wuyan and Wu Rui!

Wuyan, the rising star who had shot to fame in the composing world over the past six months, had almost single-handedly elevated the status of composers.

Wu Rui, a titan in the composing world, possessed countless classic works under his belt. His status was comparable to that of a King or Queen of Mandopop.

This time, the two of them collided.

Many people had originally assumed that Wu Rui's odds of winning were as high as eighty percent.

After all, although Wuyan had high popularity, in the eyes of composers, the compositional skill of a titan like Wu Rui was still incomparable to Wuyan's.

It was much like how everyone could see that while "Peach Blossom Vow" could be called a classic song, it still bore a certain gap compared to "Dream Heart," composed by Wu Rui.

Therefore, "Tears of a Fish," with its superior quality, should have effortlessly crushed Wuyan.

Yet the reality was!

Wuyan had written "Legend"!

This song not only allowed Xu Mengqi to achieve legendary status on stage, but it also continued Wuyan's undefeated legend.

Countless composer chat groups erupted in a frenzy.

"My god, Wu Rui actually lost."
"Does Wuyan really possess an undefeated golden body?"
"Although I used to think Wuyan was formidable, I never imagined he was at this level."
"That is Wu Rui, Grandmaster Wu Rui we're talking about! He actually lost to Wuyan."
"I used to think Wuyan's reputation exceeded his actual strength, especially since he never collaborated with top-tier singers. But this time completely shattered my impression: Wuyan truly possesses extraordinary talent in composition."
"Speaking of which, Wuyan has debuted for so long now, has anyone here ever laid eyes on him?"
"Forget about seeing him; you can't even find a shred of reliable information online about whether he's a man or a woman."
"It's bizarre. I always thought Teacher Wu Rui kept a very low profile. Yet Wuyan turns out to be even more low-profile than Teacher Wu Rui."
"..."

The next day.

Witnessing the discussions online, Yuan Xiong also shook his head and sighed, looking at Wang Mo with an incredulous gaze. "You actually defeated Wu Rui."

Wang Mo shook his head. "Actually, it's mainly because Xu Mengqi sang it so well. Strictly speaking about the song itself, I don't think 'Legend' is necessarily better than 'Tears of a Fish'."

He was speaking the truth.

While the quality of "Legend" was high, it hadn't reached the level of sweeping away all other songs.

It was simply that "Legend" perfectly matched Xu Mengqi, allowing her to sing out her own life and her own aspirations, which was how she defeated Cheng Yonglan.

"Don't sell yourself short," Yuan Xiong chuckled.

"History is written by the victors. You defeated Wu Rui, and that is a fact. Moreover, this holds immense significance for you. After this, people in the composing industry will likely truly regard you as a top-tier trump-card composer. No one will ever think your reputation exceeds your strength again.

Of course, you still have a very long way to go before you can stand on equal footing with Wu Rui.

That cannot be decided by a single victory or defeat.

After all, the classic songs Wu Rui has created are simply too many..."

Wang Mo nodded.

He knew what Yuan Xiong said was the truth.

Though his momentum in the composing world looked dazzling right now, he had at best only written a handful of songs. Compared to a titan of the composing world like Wu Rui, he indeed still had a massive gap to bridge.

However, he was not in a hurry.

He had a system, after all; surpassing Wu Rui was only a matter of time.

Pausing for a moment, Wang Mo told Yuan Xiong about how Xu Mengqi had given him a top-tier brand endorsement. "Brother Xiong, I'm planning to give this endorsement slot to Brother Xing. Could you help me follow up on this later?"

Hearing this, Yuan Xiong was startled. "Good lad, you really something! A single song traded for a top-tier endorsement. Alright, leave this to me, I'll handle it."

"Thanks, Brother Xiong," Wang Mo said.

Yuan Xiong waved his hand. "What are we even saying between us?"

Soon enough, however, he slapped his forehead. "Oops, I almost forgot the main business. The reason I came to find you is because there's a very important matter, and it might relate to your livestreaming."

"Livestreaming?" Wang Mo asked in astonishment.

"Right."

Yuan Xiong pulled several printed pages from his pocket and handed them to Wang Mo. "Take a look at the news on here. Isn't the Lunar New Year approaching soon? Farmers all across the country are vigorously promoting their agricultural products. However, due to weather, logistics, or various special reasons, a large-scale backlog of agricultural goods has occurred in many places."

Wang Mo listened to Yuan Xiong while reading the news on the paper.

The news showed:

At the end of the year, due to various reasons, many agricultural products experienced a severe backlog ahead of the Spring Festival this year, leaving produce piled up like mountains in many regions and farmers facing immense hardships.

For example:
In Zhejiang and Hubei provinces, the backlog of ponkan oranges had reached a staggering tens of thousands of tons.
In strawberry plantations in the south, cartloads of strawberries were being dumped away.
In the Central Plains, tens of thousands of tons of Chinese cabbage and radishes went completely unwanted.
And so on... The variety of news reports made Wang Mo knit his brows tightly.

Yet, it wasn't that these goods were unwanted.

In coastal cities and many economically developed regions, these same fruits and vegetables were selling for several yuan a catty, or even over a dozen yuan a catty, yet the demand remained desperately high.

Yuan Xiong continued, "The backlog of agricultural products happens almost every year. We won't delve too deeply into the root causes because the reasons are multifaceted. The issue right now is that the Douyin platform has launched an official campaign called 'Assisting Agriculture Through Livestreaming'."

"Assisting Agriculture Through Livestreaming?"

"That's right!" Yuan Xiong nodded. "To put it bluntly, Douyin wants major streamers on the platform to voluntarily step forward and sell these backlogged agricultural products, helping farmers get through their difficult times. Doing this brings positive energy to both the Douyin platform and the streamers. Secondly, it helps farmers solve their plight. Thirdly, streamers can also earn a substantial profit from it."

Wang Mo understood.

He spoke up, "Does the company mean they want me to participate in this and do agricultural assistance livestreaming?"

Yuan Xiong gave a hum of agreement. "That's the idea, but it ultimately depends on whether you're willing."

Previously, the company had made Wang Mo livestream precisely so that he could eventually engage in livestream e-commerce to make money.

However, neither Sea Cloud Media nor Yuan Xiong had anticipated that after his public scandal, Wang Mo would embark on an all-out path of counterattack.

Composition, poetry, and even variety shows... Wang Mo's achievements in every field far exceeded their expectations.

Therefore, in the minds of the company's upper management, whether Wang Mo did e-commerce sales or not was no longer all that important.

Especially since "Xilou" had now become known online as a patriotic, deeply devoted, and noble-minded talented scholar streamer. If someone with such a lofty image were to do sales livestreams, his public reputation might easily collapse.

The losses would outweigh the gains.

Because of this, the matter of having Wang Mo do livestream e-commerce had been repeatedly delayed.

Even now, Xilou's follower count had already surpassed ten million.

Yuan Xiong said, "Because the significance of this live sales event is different—its purpose is to assist agriculture and help farmers out of their predicament—the company's upper management asked me to check with you and see if you need to consider participating in this Douyin campaign."

Wang Mo thought for a moment. "What do you think?"

Yuan Xiong replied, "I think participating in 'Assisting Agriculture Through Livestreaming' will undoubtedly bring you quite a bit of positive public praise. But I don't think it's all that necessary."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because even if you go to help agriculture, I estimate you won't sell very many orders."

Wang Mo was momentarily speechless. "Are you looking down on me?"

Yuan Xiong said earnestly, "I'm not looking down on you; I'm speaking the truth. Although you crush other Douyin streamers in terms of talent, those streamers have an innate talent for sales. As for you, I estimate you won't even be able to stir up a sales atmosphere in your livestream room. You'll just end up making a fool of yourself.

To do livestream e-commerce, you need unparalleled enthusiasm, the momentum to constantly shout out to your 'family' in the chat, the passion to introduce products endlessly, and the eloquence to compel netizens to place orders... and so on.

And you possess none of these conditions!"

Wang Mo frowned. "Who says livestreaming sales has to be as noisy as a vegetable market?"

Yuan Xiong retorted, "Are you going to sell goods quietly? It's not like talented streamers haven't tried selling things before. I've actually looked into their detailed sales processes. Those talented streamers are far too quiet when selling; they carry an unshakable scholarly aura and speak in a literary, polished tone. It completely kills the viewer's desire to buy at a single glance. Therefore, almost all talented streamers who try selling goods are basically ignored.

It's precisely because of this that I suggest you don't participate in assisting agriculture. The gains won't make up for the losses."

Hearing Yuan Xiong's words, Wang Mo suddenly smiled.

He took a deep breath and said seriously, "Brother Xiong, in my previous 'Advice to Study', I stated that studying brings great prospects. If those streamers without culture can successfully run livestream e-commerce, why can't a cultured streamer do it?

Those talented streamers you mentioned failed at selling because they didn't find the right method.

Since that's the case, I simply *must* participate in this 'Assisting Agriculture Through Livestreaming'!

I want to use practical actions to tell everyone that scholars can do sales just as well! And not just ordinarily well!

I want to tell everyone that 'Advice to Study' isn't just empty talk.

I want everyone to know that when scholars do e-commerce, that is the true peak!"

At this point, he paused briefly and then continued:

"So... Brother Xiong, I will participate in this 'Assisting Agriculture Through Livestreaming'."

(End of this chapter)