Chapter 463: Then It's Settled
"Mr. Shen, Yunzhong City's urban scale, economy, and transportation network just don't meet our standards for building a Disneyland!" The first request was a non-issue for them, but this second one was completely unacceptable. Disneyland was, after all, the largest and most famous amusement park chain in the world. To date, only six had ever been opened globally: the Disneyland Resort California, the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, the Tokyo Disney Resort, the Disneyland Paris Resort, the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and the Shanghai Disney Resort.
The two parks in the United States went without saying. The others—Tokyo, Paris, Xiangjiang, and Shanghai—were all world-class metropolises. Yunzhong City wasn't even in the same league as those four. Building a Disneyland was no small investment; Shanghai Disneyland had cost a staggering 5.5 billion US dollars. If they built one in Yunzhong City, there was no way they could ever recoup their costs. Disney was willing to pay a huge price for Hah'Er to be their spokesperson, but they couldn't just throw billions of dollars down the drain, could they?
'Seriously, are you kidding us? Do you think Disneyland is some little playground from your kindergarten days?' The two representatives stared at Shen Yibin, at a complete loss for words.
"Er, you've both misunderstood me. Perhaps I didn't express myself clearly just now." Shen Yibin finally realized he had phrased things poorly and quickly explained, "I'm not actually asking for Disneyland to build a new park in Yunzhong City."
"Then what do you mean?" The two men breathed a sigh of relief. 'As long as it's not that, we're fine. Hurry up and tell us what you really want, and we'll see if we can find a way to make it happen.'
"You saw how much fun Hah'Er had at your park today. He was much happier than when he plays on the equipment at the Sichuan Giant Panda Base. So, I was thinking, could you perhaps build a few small amusement rides near my new house in Yunzhong City, so the little guy has a place to play on a regular basis?" 'I've earned hundreds of millions this time, so I've got to find ways to spend some of it, right? Since Hah'Er loves those rides so much, I'll just build a few in the manor. There's plenty of empty space there, after all. Surely you can satisfy a small request like this?'
"I know Disney has extensive experience with amusement rides. I'm sure you can come up with a design that Hah'Er will love. Of course, I'll be responsible for the design and construction fees." If Disney weren't so desperate for Hah'Er to be their spokesperson, they probably wouldn't have agreed to help, no matter how much money Shen Yibin had. "So, what do you two think? Can you grant this little wish of mine?"
"If that's the case, then it's certainly something we can discuss." 'Dude, if this is what you wanted, why didn't you just say so from the start? Why'd you have to drop a bombshell like that? You nearly scared us to death, you know that?' Building a whole Disneyland would cost billions of US dollars, whereas fulfilling Shen Yibin's wish was merely a matter of lending a few staff members. The two things were on completely different scales.
The two men apologized to Shen Yibin, stepped aside to whisper for a moment, and then made a call to report to their company's senior management. They quickly returned to Shen Yibin's side. "We've reported to headquarters, and they've agreed to Mr. Shen's request. We can send specialized designers to Yunzhong City to survey the site and then, based on Mr. Hah'er's preferences, prepare a comprehensive plan. Furthermore, if amusement rides need to be built, we are willing to commission them from our partner companies on your behalf. That would be much more convenient than you trying to contact them yourself."
There weren't many companies capable of manufacturing high-quality, large-scale amusement rides. Having Disney, the titan of the global amusement industry, make the arrangements would be far more efficient than Shen Yibin doing it himself. Otherwise, even if he approached these manufacturers with a Disney-approved design, they probably wouldn't be very interested. Even if they took his order, he'd be put at the back of a long queue. If he were lucky, it would still be a very long wait before Hah'Er could play on his custom rides. But with Disney involved, it was a different story. The manufacturers would definitely complete the production with the highest priority and quality, and the price would be much more favorable than what Shen Yibin could get on his own.
After explaining the ins and outs to Shen Yibin, the two representatives continued, "Our headquarters just informed us that if Mr. Shen is willing to let Hah'Er be our spokesperson, and if the scale of the amusement facilities stays within a certain range, then all costs—design, equipment, installation, and calibration—will be covered by us at Disney. Moreover, we will also send professionals to provide maintenance and other services whenever needed."
They were careful with their wording. If they had made an unconditional promise, they would have no recourse if Shen Yibin suddenly demanded a hundred-acre amusement park. Even so, the terms they offered were already extremely generous.
"Alright. I have one last request," Shen Yibin said, adding his final condition. "Hah'Er is quite lazy, and I don't want this endorsement contract to work him too hard. As you probably know, even though Hah'Er was the star of *Panda Hero*, he didn't travel around the world for many promotional events. For the same reason, I hope that after accepting your endorsement, Hah'Er won't be required to attend too many promotional events each year."
"Understood, understood. We can negotiate the specific arrangements. We guarantee we won't overwork Hah'Er." This request was a mixed blessing for them. On one hand, they were pleased; if Hah'Er was this lazy, it was unlikely he would take on other commercial endorsements, so they wouldn't have to worry about his influence being diluted across other projects. On the other hand, they were worried; if Hah'Er attended too few events, how could they ensure the endorsement would be effective?
"Mr. Shen, we can agree to all three of your requests. However, we still need to go back and discuss the specific clauses. It's getting late now, so we won't disturb you any further. We will pay you another visit tomorrow." The broad strokes were settled, but they needed to rush back and hold a video conference with Disney's senior management to work out the finer details. The two men quickly stood up to take their leave.
"Okay, I'll be waiting for your good news. However, I'm returning to Yunzhong City tomorrow, so if you want to negotiate, you should find my temporary agent. I'll issue him a letter of authorization in a bit, so you can just go directly to him when you come tomorrow." Shen Yibin planned to ask Director Kong for help and have his agent handle the matter on his behalf.
The two men had no objections. After seeing them off, Shen Yibin stroked Hah'Er's head and said, "From now on, you'll be able to play right outside our door whenever you want!"