Chapter 85: Sponsorship

After spending the Lantern Festival at home, Li Dong hurried back to school on the sixteenth day of the Lunar New Year. 

The first thing on the university's agenda was a class meeting. 

Class meetings are usually the most boring, full of the same old topics. Fang Qingfei's droning voice made Li Dong feel drowsy. 

Li Dong thought that Fang Qingfei was practically becoming an old maid; her once clear voice was now taking on a hypnotic quality.

Just after the meeting, as Li Dong was about to head back to Wanyuan, the old maid—cough, cough—Fang Qingfei approached him.

"Li Dong, come to my office."

Fang Qingfei's tone was unfriendly, and Li Dong suspected she might have the ability to read minds, having heard him speak ill of her.

...

Under the envious and jealous gazes of the boys in the class, Li Dong followed Fang Qingfei into her office.

As soon as they entered, Fang Qingfei said, "Close the door."

Li Dong suddenly had a thought: Was Fang preparing to ambush him?

Of course, this was a baseless thought.

Li Dong obediently closed the door. As soon as he did, Fang Qingfei scolded, "Li Dong, have you forgotten that you are still a part of Class 1 of International Trade?"

Li Dong was stunned and said, "Teacher Fang, I haven't done anything."

"Done nothing? Have you participated in any of the class activities? Have you joined the college's quality development activities? Now you're not even staying in the dormitory—do you really think I can't manage you?"

Li Dong was speechless and thought, Is Teacher Fang on her period today?

Was she really this angry over such trivial matters?

But he kept his thoughts to himself, knowing that voicing them would only get him into more trouble with Fang Qingfei.

After a moment's thought, Li Dong tentatively said, "Teacher, should I move back?"

"Cough, cough, that's not necessary. Although the school has regulations against students staying off-campus, I'm not completely unreasonable…"

Got it, Li Dong thought. There was an agenda here.

He decided to be straightforward and asked, "Teacher, is there something you need?"

Fang Qingfei's face flushed slightly, looking somewhat embarrassed as she said, "Actually, it's nothing much. I heard you have connections at Yuanfang Supermarket?"

Li Dong's eyebrows twitched. News travels fast.

He didn't deny it and nodded, "I know a few people there."

"Actually, Li Dong, the college is organizing a singing competition this April, and Yuanfang is a well-known company…"

Fang Qingfei rambled on, and Li Dong finally understood what she meant.

To put it nicely, she was looking for sponsorship. To put it bluntly, she was asking for money! Not just any money, but for Yuanfang to sponsor the singing competition organized by the college.

Such sponsorship deals are common in universities. There are even special departments dedicated to this—like an external liaison department that handles such matters.

Events like the XX Cup table tennis tournament or XX Cup football competition are often funded by companies, which get their names associated with the events.

Li Dong wasn't unfamiliar with this, but he found it strange, "Teacher Fang, couldn't the external liaison department handle this directly with Yuanfang's marketing department?"

Fang Qingfei's face grew even more awkward as she said, "The marketing department at Yuanfang has already been approached by the college, but they felt the competition was too small in scale to provide any significant promotional value, so they declined."

Since the marketing department had already made their stance clear, Li Dong didn't want to disrupt their process. He said, "Teacher, if that's the case, I'm afraid I might not be of much help."

Fang Qingfei quickly said, "Li Dong, this is the first time the college is organizing such a large event on its own. If you could help, the college leadership will definitely remember you."

Li Dong was somewhat tempted. It was clear that if he helped, it would make things easier for him in the future.

Of course, if he didn't help, there would likely be some repercussions.

It was a carrot-and-stick approach. Li Dong rubbed his chin and asked, "Why Yuanfang Supermarket?"

Fang Qingfei glanced at him and said, "First, Yuanfang is the closest to the school; second, they've had previous collaborations with the work-study department, making them easier to contact; third, the singing competition organized by the college is not small in scale, and the costs are considerable."

In other words, Yuanfang was the most suitable sucker.

Small shops couldn't bear such costs, so they had to seek cooperation with big companies. However, big companies often look down on such school events, so they end up with Yuanfang.

Li Dong sneered. To be honest, he didn't think much of such promotion.

With that kind of money, he could run ads on newspapers and TV, which would definitely be more effective than sponsoring some competition!

But since he was still in school, after a moment's hesitation, Li Dong asked, "How much?"

"100,000!"

Li Dong turned to leave. This was an international joke—asking for such a huge sum! 

100,000! Did they think money grew on trees?

In this day and age, with 100,000 yuan, he could run ads on the city TV station. Why would he need to sponsor some singing competition?

Fang Qingfei saw him about to leave and hurriedly said, "Li Dong, the amount is negotiable."

Li Dong stopped and said seriously, "It's not about the money. It's about the imbalance between effort and return. I just want to know, if Yuanfang provides this money, what will they get in return?"

Seeing Fang Qingfei about to pull out her trump card, Li Dong said, "Don't tell me it's about supporting education. With 100,000 yuan, Yuanfang could support children in poor mountainous areas, not sponsor some obscure singing competition!"

Fang Qingfei was immediately embarrassed, feeling openly belittled.

Li Dong continued, "Cooperation should be mutually beneficial!"

"The college's singing competition is small in scale, with a limited audience and minimal promotional impact. If Yuanfang spends 100,000 yuan, the return is unlikely to be even a tenth of the investment. Why would they be willing to spend that money?"

Fang Qingfei was speechless.

After a long silence, Fang Qingfei finally said with a bitter smile, "Alright, I can't argue with you. I'll have the college find someone to talk to you directly."

Li Dong waved his hand, "No need for that. Have them go back to Yuanfang's marketing department. The proposal needs to be thorough. Don't just repeat the same old lines—businesses are here to make money, and no one does business without profit."

"But…" Fang Qingfei hesitated.

Li Dong understood her hesitation and smiled, "Don't worry, I have a few connections at Yuanfang. They'll give me some face. As long as the proposal meets their minimum requirements, the money shouldn't be an issue."

If it's truly a win-win situation and helps increase Yuanfang's visibility, Li Dong was willing to contribute.

Promotion costs are a major expense for Yuanfang, and Li Dong wouldn't skimp on this.

But if the college was just trying to make a quick buck, that's out of the question!

Li Dong wasn't afraid of any fallout from the leaders. If it came to that, he could just not graduate—he wasn't really concerned about a diploma.