ouldn’t have been able to reach this level of closeness with her."What is it"Her tone was still indifferent, which made Yang Cheng feel love and madness at the same time. He quickly said: "Actually, t...Chapter Eleven The Burden

Much to the disappointment of Mu Can, Su Cen did not make a grand appearance at the Film and Television Arts College event as had been expected. In fact, when the student union president finished his passionate speech and ceded the stage to the faculty members, it was only then that everyone noticed there was no sign of Su Cen in the VIP seats on the front row.

The hall at the Film and Television Arts College was modeled after performance stages with various lighting setups designed for optimal viewing angles. Under the direct spotlight, the host standing upstage could hardly see anyone below until the lights changed to reveal the audience fully.

Seeing no sign of Su Cen left a sour taste in the mouth of the student union president. He had seen Su Cen sitting quite comfortably before he left and thought he must have been given clear instructions, but now an unfamiliar forty-year-old man sat in his place, ogling at the dancing girls on stage.

It was only halfway through the ceremony that the student union president finally got to the bottom of what had happened.

The president later approached Lu Wei and they spoke intensely backstage near the right side of the stage. Occasionally, Lu Wei would look over at Su Cen with a furious expression.

Su Cen could only shrug it off, but this gesture was misinterpreted by Lu Wei who was now arguing vehemently with the student union president as if she had been wronged and humiliated. It’s no wonder her demeanor showed impatience and feigned strength.

This left the student union president in a difficult position. Although he generally felt some fondness towards this legendary Golden Flower, his frustration led him to curse under his breath, "What does she think she is"

In fact, the student union's attitude towards Su Can’s invitation was somewhat self-congratulatory. Many of the university students who had been there for four years didn't even recognize all their department leaders. Apart from those speaking on stage who were more noticeable, who would pay attention to whom sitting at the first row facing away from them Even if Mark Zuckerberg's name had spread around for some time, how many in the entire large campus knew that Su Can was invited as a guest of honor

But this eventually became a laughing matter between the sixth room on the seventeenth floor and the second room on the thirteenth floor, spreading through both dormitory buildings.

However, it only remained as gossip, much like how various rumors circulate among different departments and dormitories in many universities. For instance, when freshmen first arrive, they mention someone being a provincial top scorer; after mingling around for some time, they start talking about who's part of which student union or association; during quiet periods, they discuss whom is dating, and as the third and fourth years approach, they talk about who got impressive certificates or secured brag-worthy jobs. So, even something like inviting a Facebook founder remained mere gossip.

The only negative consequence was that Su Can became an unscrupulous and sly person in the eyes of figures like Lu Wei from the Academy of Arts—a place known for its beautiful students.

This was because he had played her, causing displeasure among both the student union and his department towards her. She herself wasn't happy either, but she wouldn’t outwardly express it and continued as before. She still maintained the image of a sport committee member and golden flower in public, though inwardly she was frustrated. So even someone with such significant connections like Su Can didn’t receive favorable reviews within her circle. After this incident, a person claiming to be Lu Wei’s “sister,” an effeminate male student, came looking for Su Can, saying he would get back at him in due time. This happened right outside the Third Teaching Building where Su Can was taking his public class, causing quite a stir among the students.

Heroes should appreciate each other's prowess; similarly, beauty queens should admire each other as well.

This was how it seemed on the surface, just like how Cheng Congcong of Room 302 regarded Tang Wu in that way. Although she secretly viewed her as a rival, at least they maintained a cordial relationship outwardly. Initially, Lu Wei could have been like this with Tang Wu too; however, due to Su Can's involvement, both felt tense around each other. Lu Wei couldn't forget the cold look from Tang Wu which somewhat hurt her. Two sharp and proud individuals inevitably wound each other up when they came together, their gazes alone carrying a certain level of hostility. Hence, sometimes Lu Wei would feel irked by this, leading to an aversion for Tang Wu who was close to Su Can as well. She felt that nowadays most beautiful women lacked her sense of decorum and thought it akin to putting a flower in the wrong place—perhaps fitting a Croatian violet with dried reeds.

Nevertheless, after all this, the reed and the violet continued to thrive beautifully within the university campus. Lu Wei found herself torn over these matters.

Su Cen, in what appears to be a calm university life every day, actually frequently deals with large amounts of data and reports. The content from the Dunhuang Group, Shushan Stationery, and some magazine articles are all within Su Cen's purview. Amidst rapidly acquiring vast knowledge through the massive university library collections, some of his accumulations did not go to waste. He has always been personally involved in mastering and formulating more aspects.

However, there were certain areas he completely entrusted to others. For instance, the trade and industry segment of Shushan Stationery was managed by Zhao Mingnong, an expert in production and sales. According to Zhao Mingnong’s philosophy, "Production is the engine, administration is the hull, while sales are like a sail." This implies that the production manager acts as a powerful propeller driving the company's output, while the administrative supervisor ensures efficiency and capacity for handling various tasks, akin to a hull that can accommodate everything. Sales then become an expansive sail harnessing wind power to propel progress forward. Consequently, Zhao Mingnong appointed his own personnel into positions such as production manager, administrative supervisor, and sales director without Su Cen’s intervention. Zhao Mingnong and another vice president loyal to him, arranged by Su Licheng after the industrial take-over of Dayang Construction, report regularly to Su Cen.

Since late last year until now, a creative studio was established at Shushan headquarters responsible for developing new product designs and innovative marketing strategies. Despite being very popular domestically, sustaining this popularity requires continuous innovation in design ideas and over one hundred new product styles each month. This contrasts with the initial drawings and models Su Cen had previously envisioned to launch his brand. Although he planned to release a few sample items periodically, as the brand expanded and gained popularity, these early designs became insufficient.

Fortunately, many of the forward-thinking blueprints and patents provided by Su Cen were further developed by Shushan's creative studio on their original foundation, extending stylistic elements. Specialists recruited from advertising and design industries quickly mastered Su Cen’s foundational styles, each subgroup in the studio creating unique designs that collectively form Shushan's distinctive style.

Shushan's design trends clearly lead the times due to the rapid pace of innovation; often, before competitors could replicate and market their imitations, new models would already be released. Coupled with strong sales networks, nationwide distribution through thousands of dealers ensures these products are updated quickly in layers.

This has overwhelmed domestic stationery brands such as Deli, Qixin, and Zhencai, firmly establishing Shushan's foothold in the market and making entry by foreign brands more challenging. Additionally, entering South Korea and Japan markets further pressures other players to feel that Shushan is not just producing pens but wields a sharp sword, indicating formidable capabilities from this Chinese competitor.

Su Cen understands that many overlook the stationery industry, yet as it now activates with potential market value reaching trillions in eight years, whoever can capture the largest share of this emerging market will undoubtedly be those at the forefront today.

Shushan Group is the first company to introduce CRM (Customer Relationship Management) concepts into this sector. Onlookers see a marketing network boasting thousands of partners and tens of thousands of retail outlets, yet with a management team of merely forty or fifty people—a level of efficiency and streamlined operation that's quite remarkable.

At the highest level of management, including Gao Sun in addition to the president and general manager, there are only five key executives. However, the entire company can efficiently concentrate on reflecting the will of these five people and implementing strategies that leverage Gao Sun's rebirth advantages. Such a system is rare even among private enterprises in China, which explains their industry-leading position.

As for himself, Gao Sun could appreciate the thrill of moving from being at the tail end of an industry to leading it.

Gao Sun had a natural affinity for pens produced by Shushan Stationery. Many people looked down upon these single-use writing utensils that retail between one and three yuan each, considering them too insignificant compared to large-scale energy-strategy resources. Such grand plans were still somewhat distant from Gao Sun’s reach. Yet it was often these everyday items used in millions of households that could generate substantial cash for his commercial alliance.

Just like Coca-Cola—many people might not understand why bottles and cans priced at just two to three yuan each can be sold worldwide, helping the brand top global enterprise value rankings.

The annual sales revenue of Shushan Stationery was currently 200 million RMB. With expenses such as advertising, operational costs, material procurement, and renting production lines taken into account, profits should reach around 30 million this year.

Meanwhile, Dunhuang needed to expand rapidly, engaging in territorial battles. Gao Sun didn’t expect it to generate significant profits; a mere ten million would be heaven-sent. Lin Guangdong’s magazines might earn only three or four million this year, which added up looked like a lot of money but paled in comparison to the rapid growth and staggering profit margins of his core business ventures. Even from the first round of funding alone, the profits generated by these three industries were not enough to sustain Facebook's burn rate.

Gao Sun hadn’t anticipated that even initial fundraising efforts in America would attract major companies like Viacom and Silicon Valley internet giants, all with high stakes involved and numerous hidden dangers.

The subsequent rounds of financing would inevitably be on a global scale; this was the inevitable path for his enterprise’s growth.pa trees whose leaves create dense shade.The other side sees a group dragging their suitcases into the university, looking well-dressed with good family backgrounds. Among them are two cool girls chat...