"Boss Pei, what can I do for you…?"
Over the phone, Zhou Muyan's voice sounded rather lifeless. Since they had last seen each other in Guangzhou at the end of last year, Pei Qian and Zhou Muyan had not kept in contact.
As Ocean Stronghold and Bullet Hole's results had been rather divergent, the duo's originally fragile relationship had been made worse.
Ocean Stronghold had already become the unabashed number-one domestically-produced FPS game, having a massive following while still expanding continuously. Its competitor had also been changed from other domestically-produced games to Counter Strike.
On the other hand, Bullet Hole's popularity had slowly dropped after its initial success attributed to its widespread publicity. Although it was still operating in the black and doing alright, this evidently did not hit Zhou Muyan's initial goals and expectations. It was falling further and further behind from Ocean Stronghold.
The two games' design concept was vastly different. When Tengda had gone to Sun Strike Studios to learn, Zhou Muyan had actually proudly shared Bullet Hole's design concept with everyone.
At that time, Zhou Muyan had been brimming with confidence.
While Pei Qian had sat in the audience, smiling and nodding constantly—his eyes filled with approval.
However, Zhou Muyan now knew that Boss Pei had been acting back then!
When Ocean Stronghold had first launched, Zhou Muyan had not paid much attention to it. However, as its popularity grew continuously, Zhou Muyan finally had started to feel that something was amiss.
He had dug a little and found that Ocean Stronghold's development had been almost in tandem with Bullet Hole's. When Tengda had gone to Sun Strike Studios to visit, Ocean Stronghold had already developed to a certain stage!
Zhou Muyan's heart actually went cold.
Boss Pei had long known about Bullet Hole's problems but had continuously nodded in the audience, acting as if nothing was wrong.
That was so scheming!
Since then, Pei Qian had not proactively contacted Zhou Muyan; he primarily was afraid Zhou Muyan would think he was boasting. While Zhou Muyan wouldn't bother to contact Pei Qian, he didn't want anything to do with him.
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As such, the two had finally gotten in touch once again after so long.
As for why Zhou Muyan would take up the phone call…
He didn't have a choice; he had to give Boss Pei some face.
After all, Tengda was now being commended and praised by the official games platform. As they were all in the same industry, Zhou Muyan couldn't purposely cross Boss Pei.
However, he was still a little unwilling to talk to Pei Qian.
Pei Qian could feel Zhou Muyan's grudging feelings and was afraid that he might misspeak and trigger Zhou Muyan's fragile soul. He decided to cut to the chase and shoot directly.
"Boss Zhou, apologies for the disturbance. I want to ask you something. Do you know who Lin Wan is?"
Zhou Muyan was stunned for a while.
Of course, he knew who Lin Wan was. The second day Lin Wan had started work at Sun Strike Studios, Shenhua Corporation's President's office had directly called Zhou Muyan. If he didn't remember wrongly, Lin Wan had entered Tengda for a couple of months already.
Could it be Boss Pei still didn't know who Lin Wan was?
That wasn't logical, right?
Zhou Muyan was a little confused. He asked back, "Boss Pei, you don't know?"
Pei Qian's heart grew even colder. By Zhou Muyan's words, he was evidently confirming that Lin Wan was someone special! Pei Qian coughed lightly, "Boss Zhou, to be honest, I am facing some problems now. I hope that you could render me some assistance; I will be eternally grateful!"
Zhou Muyan hurriedly replied, "Please don't say that, Boss Pei. If you have any queries, please ask; I will definitely answer them if I can!"
Pei Qian asked, "Could Boss Zhou explain what Lin Wan's deal with her family is and why she had entered the game industry… in detail?"
Zhou Muyan was a little perplexed. Could it be Boss Pei didn't even know about this? It seemed as if Shenhua Corporation's President's office had not given Boss Pei a call?
There was something fishy going on.
However, Zhou Muyan didn't think much as he told all he knew about Lin Wan to Pei Qian.
Lin Wan was Shenhua Corporation's President's youngest daughter. She had an elder sister and two elder brothers. As she was passionate about the game industry, she had found Sun Strike Studios on her own to work.
However, Lin Zhengnan was evidently not very supportive of Lin Wan entering the game industry. Nevertheless, as Lin Wan was rather stubborn and Lin Zhengnan did not want to strain his relationship with her, he had given Zhou Muyan a call hoping that he could extinguish Lin Wan's game industry dreams so that she would return to Shenhua Corporation to work.
"This is the gist of it, Boss Pei. I do not know anything else," Zhou Muyan spoke rather earnestly, "As for why you had not received a phone call… I do not know why."
Pei Qian was silent for a moment, "How about Lin Wan and her relationship with her brother Lin Zhou, Shenhua Real Estate's President?"
Zhou Muyan replied, "It is said that she only has some tension with her father; her relationship with her brother Lin Zhou is not bad."
Pei Qian's heart grew colder.
Alright, everything now made sense!
He could be sure that Lin Wan had asked her brother Lin Zhou to give Tengda a reduction in rent; there was no other explanation.
"So… Boss Zhou, how can I make Lin Wan leave the games industry and to go back to inherit the family wealth? Pei Qian asked earnestly.
Zhou Muyan thought for a while, "I'm afraid you have to make her utterly disappointed with the game industry."
Pei Qian was silent.
Wasn't this a little too difficult?
This was the complete opposite of what Pei Qian was doing!
Pei Qian wanted to spend more money; he had to give his employees more benefits. However, Lin Wan might feel that Tengda is a very good and nice company; and she wouldn't want to leave.
Wasn't this an impasse? While this time had only been a rental reduction, who knew what this rich heiress would come up with next time?
"Many thanks, Boss Zhou. I'll organize another company cohesion someday, and we'll definitely head to Guangzhou. I'll offer my thanks in person then."
Pei Qian thought that Old Zhou had been rather earnest in offering this information; it had been very useful to him.
Zhou Muyan was a little speechless.
He still wanted to come? Did he want to come and lash at my corpse?
"Boss Pei, allow me to ask something. Has Lin Wan done something unforgivable in Tengda…?"
Pei Qian was silent. He didn't know how to reply to this question.
By right, Zhou Muyan had been completely honest and forthcoming with Pei Qian. He had only asked Pei Qian this one question. If Pei Qian avoided the question, deflected it, or lied; that didn't seem appropriate.
Pei Qian paused for a moment, "She… had reduced our rent from 4 yuan to 1.5 yuan per square feet."
Zhou Muyan, "???"
…
After hanging up, Pei Qian felt as if he was facing an unprecedented predicament. Pei Qian checked on the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's rental contract immediately. He didn't find any links with Shenhua Real Estate as he breathed easy slightly.
That's good.
All these Fish-Catching Internet Cafes' locations were rather deserted; these places were also all stand-alone buildings. On the other hand, Shenhua Real Estate loved to purchase land that was within the bustling commercial districts in the city; most of them were high-end residential areas or office buildings.
Fish-Catching Internet Cafes' locations had fortuitously been out of Shenhua Corporation's scope. If the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes' rentals were also reduced, Pei Qian would really puke blood.
The problem now was how to deal with Lin Wan.
He couldn't let her have free rein; this was a ticking time bomb. He also couldn't use overtly forceful methods to chase her away. If he did it too plainly, it would be noticed by others.
Even Shenhua Corporation's President, Lin Wan's father, Lin Zhengnan… couldn't do anything about her; Pei Qian really couldn't think of anything good. If Lin Wan showed her stubbornness, things might even get out of hand.
His only solution was to do as Zhou Muyan had said; he would do his best to make Lin Wan discouraged with and lose interest in the game industry.
From Lin Wan's work ethic and mannerisms in Tengda, she didn't seem to be the 'ambitious but no-good' type of weak-minded rich second-generation heiress. If not, she would not have been able to hide her identity for so long without being found out.
This kind of person probably was very determined on the path she had decided on.
If it was some external factors that made her fail, that might not be sufficient to extinguish her passion; it might only make her choose to try again.
This is a sticky situation…
Pei Qian thought for a long time. Suddenly, a stroke of inspiration struck him. It seemed… the garbage Shang Yang Games that he had bought-over could finally be of use?
To date, Shang Yang Games basically still maintained its original state pre-takeover. Furthermore, based on its current operating situation, it was still making losses.
To make Lin Wan in charge of a sure-fail game project… once the game really failed, she naturally would start to doubt her own abilities as well as the entire game industry. At that time, Boss Pei could happily continue to spend money while Lin Wan would head back to inherit her family wealth; wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
Pei Qian felt that this was a good idea.
Indeed, many things could be planned out and decided on by accident!
Chapter 171: Yesterday, You Ignored Me. Tomorrow…
At night…
During a cohesion at Swan Lake Restaurant…
For Pei Qian, this had already become a habitual method of spending a huge sum of money. For the employees, it had also become a tradition to gather for a celebratory meal after research and development of a new game.
Now, Boss Pei had almost two hundred employees directly under him. He decided to book the whole Swan Lake Restaurant.
Among these employees were the new employees of the various Fish-Catching Internet Cafes and the employees of Fei Huang Workspace who just returned.
The employees of Shang Yang Games were temporarily not included. From the next settlement cycle, Pei Qian planned to incorporate the employees of Shang Yang Games slowly. That was why he did not invite them for the cohesion this time.
However, he needed to spend what he needed to spend.
Pei Qian allowed Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin to organize a meal for the company on their own, fully paid for by the company. They would have their meal at this restaurant as well—just at a different day and time.
He was beginning to feel like this most expensive buffet restaurant in Jingzhou City was failing to meet his expectations.
If he could fly to Beijing to have better food, Pei Qian would not hold back. However, the System would not allow for it.
"According to the rate at which we are expanding, Swan Lake Restaurant would probably not be able to accommodate all the employees at one shot. I have to think of another way.
"…I have a life full of worries."
As others continued to stuff themselves with food, Pei Qian sat quietly, thinking about how to organize cohesions in the future.
Swan Lake Restaurant could not accommodate many people. After all, this was a high-class restaurant. Its target customer base was the rich and famous in Jingzhou City. The seats were extremely spacious, and the decorations were beautiful. That was why it could not accommodate that many people.
There were only Tengda's immediate employees here now, and yet Pei Qian had to book the entire venue. If their numbers were to increase the next time they had a cohesion, there would surely not be enough space.
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"Alright, we can have separate cohesions in the future. I will bring all the core members of various departments for a meal first, and then the various departments can go out and have meals separately.
"That would allow me to spend more money, too. Perfect!
"Unfortunately, there isn't a more expensive restaurant in Jingzhou. Wait. I could open a restaurant more high-class than Swan Lake Restaurant, couldn't I?!"
Pei Qian very naturally thought of another good idea.
He had already taken the first step into the food industry with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and Fish-Catching Take-Out. One could say he had tested the waters. Up till now, they were performing according to Pei Qian's expectations.
On one hand, he could provide good meals for his employees. On the other hand, he could continue to incur losses. Both of these businesses made huge contributions to Pei Qian's loss-making career!
It had been a successful experience so far!
However, the only problem was that Fish-Catching Take-Out was not high-class enough.
The main purpose of Fish-Catching Take-Out was to provide healthy, home-cooked meals for the employees. Although it was slightly more expensive than ordinary restaurants, it was far from the money-spending machine that Pei Qian could imagine it to be.
After all, they were all ordinary dishes. The System had limitations on the pricing of the food. He could not increase it as much as he wanted.
No matter how delicious a serving of scrambled eggs with tomatoes was, it could not be priced that high unless the chef was a cheat.
Pei Qian did not have a chef like that just yet.
He could start up a high-class restaurant; that would solve his problems.
Then, he could look for a secluded place to set up this restaurant. He would select the best-quality ingredients and charge the highest prices he possibly could. Although his own employees would get a discount when they ate there—as long as the ingredients were expensive enough, this would not be a problem.
They would go there for a meal before each settlement. Apart from that, he would maintain the business and allow it to continue incurring losses. That was quite a good idea.
At that thought, Pei Qian roughly knew what had to be done.
Next week, the games would continue to reap profits. Pei Qian did not have to worry about where to spend this money. He could pour them all into setting up a high-class restaurant. For all he knew, it would require much more money than the three Fish-Catching Internet Cafes.
Of course, a few whales would fancy this high-class restaurant. It would have at least a few customers.
However, Jingzhou was a second-tier city. There weren't many whales here. Pei Qian guessed that the restaurant would still incur losses. It was not likely that it would become popular.
Pei Qian pondered for several moments and then glanced at Lin Wan who was seated two tables away. Lin Wan thought that Pei Qian had not figured out her real identity. However, Pei Qian already had a good idea of who she was. He even made arrangements for her quietly.
Of course, Pei Qian would not act rashly and alert her yet. He had to wait until the next settlement cycle before arranging for Lin Wan to be transferred over to Shang Yang Games so that she could quickly ruin several games. Then, his job would be complete.
At that moment, Lin Wan was typing away on her phone, replying to messages.
On the screen was a message from Chen Sha.
"Beautiful Lin, little lass, please… think of a way to get me a Barrett Doom from inside there! Aren't you in charge of this? You should have control over the internal quota, right?"
"I really cannot. I would love to help, but my hands are tied. Why not look for a scalper?" Lin Wan replied quickly. "Me aside; even the outstanding employee in my team whom Boss Pei completely trusts—Bao Xu—had to buy a Barrett Doom from a scalper."
Chen Sha, "…"
Ever since Chen Sha was hooked onto Ocean Stronghold thanks to Lin Wan, he became a dedicated player of the game.
Initially, Chen Sha often played Counter Strike. After all, Counter Strike was a competitive game, and he could play for a longer time. Ocean Stronghold, on the other hand, was an FPS game for newer players. It was worse off than Counter Strike in many aspects.
However, slowly, Chen Sha became a turncoat.
This was because Ocean Stronghold became more and more popular. As more and more people played the game, Chen Sha got sucked in as well. He never thought that the game he had spent so much time and effort dissing in the beginning would replace Counter Strike's place in his heart one day…
The moment the Barrett Doom was released, Chen Sha desired it as much as other players did. After all, which player of FPS games did not enjoy sniping?
However, there was a limit of five hundred rifles. Chen Sha stood no chance.
Look for a scalper? Even if he offered two or three thousand, he probably would not be able to get one.
Yet, this was not all about money. The problem was that Chen Sha had a Red Kilin in his account. He also had a bunch of guns he worked hard for. Of course, he could not give them up so easily.
Chen Sha did not give up. "But I helped Tengda out once! Didn't I have a part to play in Ocean Stronghold's rise to success?
"I was one of the leading gamers; an elite gamer of FPS games. I am a well-respected character in many other domestically-produced games. Why is it so difficult for me to get just one weapon in this game…?"
Lin Wan replied, "Em… I recall when I first introduced the game to you and gave you a Red Kilin, you looked down on them. You even said that this was just some data in a game and questioned which idiot would spend 888 yuan on it. What do some people call this? Yesterday, you ignored me. Tomorrow—"
Chen Sha quickly interrupted, "Hehe, I'm an idiot! The idiot really wants a Barrett Doom now. Please, I'm begging you!"
"Hehe." Seeing Chen Sha lower himself made Lin Wan embarrassed. "Alright. Since you're so sincere, I'll ask Boss Pei for you. I can't promise that I'll be able to obtain one."
Chen Sha, "Thank you very much!"
Lin Wan looked at Pei Qian who seemed to be in deep thought. She began to feel perturbed and wondered if he had figured out her identity yet.
Frankly, she had reduced the rent a bit too much this time. Four yuan was reduced to 1.5 yuan immediately. This might have made Boss Pei suspicious.
If she had reduced it slightly, she could have hidden it from Boss Pei. However, to Lin Wan, that would be meaningless. It would not have been enough to repay the care and concern that Boss Pei had shown his employees. It would also have looked stingy.
Lin Wan never saw herself as a stingy person.
Now, Lin Wan was not sure if Pei Qian was suspicious of her. Logically, if he was suspicious of her, he would have questioned her, right?
However, Boss Pei was acting like nothing had happened. He did not even pay her special attention.
"Maybe Boss Pei is too busy. Rent is such a small matter. Perhaps he hadn't noticed? En, that's very likely. Then, I should act like nothing has happened for now."
Lin Wan would not take the initiative to talk to Pei Qian about this. She was never one to take credit for doing good. She wanted to interact with everyone else as if she were just another ordinary person.
Lin Wan made up her mind and walked up to Pei Qian.
The two of them harbored ill intentions inside but smiled on the surface. Both acted as if they did not know the other's true thoughts.
Chapter 172: Huang Sibo's Documentary
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"Boss Pei, do you remember Chen Sha? He wants a Barrett," Lin Wan said briefly.
Pei Qian's immediate reaction was to reject him.
You must be kidding. I've limited it to five hundred guns so I'll only sell five hundred guns. How can I break that rule so easily??
If I give out one gun today and another tomorrow, it'll become as cheap as vegetables tomorrow. I cannot do something like that.?
Boss Pei himself did not enjoy any special privileges. How could he make exceptions for others so easily?!
Of course, Boss Pei did not give himself these special privileges because he was very bad at these FPS games. Even if he had a Barrett Doom, he would be tortured in the game.
Having guessed what Pei Qian was going to say, Lin Wan quickly butted in. "Boss Pei, I know that his request is unreasonable. However, I feel that we should at least take care of our core players, right? Even if we can't give them away, can we at least strike a compromise?
"We're limiting sales to five hundred every month. It all boils down to how quickly one's hand moves. We're letting scalpers take the advantage. Players who genuinely love playing the game would not get to buy the weapons. It would be quite hurtful for them."
Pei Qian pondered about it and realized that was true.
It did not matter whether Tengda made money or not, but he could not allow the players to get hurt. He also could not allow scalpers to take advantage of this situation easily.
After all, the players were innocent. Scalpers, on the other hand, were assholes.
Pei Qian thought about it and said, "That's easy to settle. We can quickly create an account reputation system. According to various factors, accounts can get various ratings. Take core players like Chen Sha for example. Since they made great contributions to the game, they should get special contribution privileges.
"Other accounts can be judged based on whether they curse in the game or not, whether they are civilized in the game or not, how active they are, and the like. It would be just like a credit rating.
"Those with high credit ratings can pre-order epic weapons. Once their pre-order is successful, their purchase will be deducted from the limit of five hundred. The higher one's credit rating is, the higher their priority for pre-ordering.
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"Of course, those who have the same credit rating must still fight one another.
"Scalpers are not elite gamers; they will naturally be the last in line. Then, no matter how fast they work, it will be of no use. They would stand no chance in snatching the epic weapons."
Lin Wan's eyes lit up. "Good idea! Boss Pei, you're amazing indeed. You could think of such a perfect solution! I'm going to tell Chen Sha about this and ask him to wait for it patiently."
You don't have to look so surprised, do you??
Pei Qian was stunned. This was a natural solution.
However, on second thought, Lin Wan's reaction was logical. Most people's thinking about games was still a bit backward at the time. Pei Qian had an additional few years' worth of experience. That was why he naturally had the upper-hand.
Of course, under most circumstances, this upper-hand was only effective when thinking about little things such as this. Could he create a huge business empire like Shenhua Corporation based on what little additional experience he had?
Pei Qian felt that would be a distant dream; it was unrealistic.
He would do better to take care of the things in front of him for now.
What's more, he could limit the amount of income from games, generate losses, freeload off the System Funds, and convert money to his Personal Wealth; all without compromising on his long-term dream.
Just as he thought about these things, he heard cheering from far away.
"Brother Huang is back!"
"Brother Huang, you're late! Drink three glasses as punishment!"
Pei Qian was shocked.
He's here. Huang Sibo is here!
According to Pei Qian's instructions, Huang Sibo should have finished filming before June 18th. If he produced the video after the 24th, the System would delay settlement. To Pei Qian, this was unacceptable.
Pei Qian guessed that Huang Sibo must have finished filming and editing. They should be planning to publish the documentary within these two days.
How much Huang Sibo's video earned would directly affect Pei Qian's future plan.
Pei Qian watched from afar as Huang Sibo smiled and greeted everybody. However, he spotted a hint of loneliness in Huang Sibo's eyes.
Huh?
Pei Qian rejoiced in his heart.?Does Huang Sibo have a surprise for me this time?
He looked behind Huang Sibo but did not see Chen Lei.
After Chen Lei went to Shanghai, he became an employee of Fei Huang Workspace. However, in reality, he was not given any tasks. He was just an employee in name.
After Fei Huang Workspace finished filming, they returned to Jingzhou for editing. While they were here, it was convenient for them to join the cohesion. Since Chen Lei was not here, Pei Qian guessed that he had his own plans.
Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce greeted the rest of the employees before coming to Pei Qian's table.
"Come, sit."
Pei Qian greeted the two of them passionately and invited them to sit opposite him. Both of them were pleasantly surprised that they were given the chance to sit at the same table as Boss Pei. After all, this was not a common occurrence.
However, Huang Sibo felt a weight on his chest.
What a time for this!
Why did Boss Pei act so cold when Fei Huang Workspace signed the agreement with Aili Island and earned huge sums of money? Why was he only acting so warm now?
Did Boss Pei guess that our job did not go well this time? Is that why he wants to counsel us??
Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce exchanged a meaningful glance as if they guessed the same thing at the same time.
Boss Pei was really a good boss who took care of his employees!
Pei Qian did not know that both of them had so many thoughts in their minds. From their expressions alone, he guessed that Fei Huang Workspace's filming of the documentary did not go well this time.
That was great news!
They were proving to be friends to him in a time of crisis!
While Pei Qian's pressure to incur losses for the company was increasing, Lin Wan suddenly gave him such a big discount off his rent. He felt like he was sinking deeper into trouble.
Yet, now, if he found out that Fei Huang Workspace had lost all their hard-earned money, Pei Qian would finally be able to relax!
Huang Sibo and Huang Sibo did not have much of an appetite. They took two bites of their food and looked at each other. Neither knew where to begin.
"What's the matter? Filming didn't go well?" Pei Qian asked, concerned.
Huang Sibo whipped out his cell phone. "Boss Pei, look at the video we edited."
"Alright."
Pei Qian did not ask more questions. He took the cell phone and watched the video.
Huang Sibo had briefly explained to Pei Qian before that this documentary was going to be about eSports players. He said they were going to interview the famous, local Counter Strike player Li Zhengwei, but he did not give Pei Qian many details.
He clicked the video and saw a black screen with words.
"Now, I'm training for at least fourteen hours every day.
"I rarely see my family or friends. I hardly have holidays.
"To many people, this would be unbearable.
"However, if you want to become a strong eSports player, you must make sacrifices.
"I remember the day I decided to enter this career path. My father was on the way out to work. He locked the door and said if I continued to chase after this career, I could forget about returning home.
"After he left, I kicked open the door and ran away. I went to Shanghai alone to start my career proper."
What followed was a series of aerial shots.
First, he saw what looked like a rundown country seat. Then, the scene changed. He saw prosperous Shanghai. The title of the documentary appeared on the screen: Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly.
The documentary was not long; it lasted about ten minutes from beginning to end. However, this took Huang Sibo and the others more than a month to film.
Pei Qian watched it seriously and found that it was much better than he thought it would be.
The storyline was complete. It followed Li Zhengwei as he skipped classes to surf the net, left home to start his career, made a name for himself, became recognized as the best Counter Strike player in China, and then fell into the low point he was at now. These scenes were peppered with interviews with his parents, the people around him, his coach, and his fans. Coupled with the beautiful background music and seamless transitions, the entire documentary could resonate with its viewers.
Even Pei Qian was shocked by this documentary.
Chapter 173 Boss Pei Was Always So Heartwarming
Evidently, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce were very clear about what they wanted to shoot. The emphasis of this documentary was not to exaggerate the glorious and beautiful side of professional gamers; it wanted more to focus on their daily lives, to let everyone see the side of them struggling and facing difficulties.
"This is very well done."
Pei Qian really meant this.
He had seen many good documentaries on eSports players before. This one from Zhu Xiaoce was considered a very outstanding piece in both content and technique.
Huang Sibo smiled a little helplessly as he said, "I am also rather pleased. However… I'm afraid that we won't be able to get back our capital.
"We have found a few video websites; however, they are unable to provide us with enough proceeds. If we just participate in ordinary incentive plans—even if this clip had three million views, we would only make back a few thousand; that wouldn't be much."
Pei Qian nodded his head.
It was obvious that documentaries were not very lucrative; they were different from short videos.
Short videos could draw on a wide variety of materials; they could also do sponsored partnerships that would sustain production. For video websites, having short videos would bring much internet traffic to their sites.
However, documentaries were completely different.
Huang Sibo and the others had used very high-tech filming equipment and had run around Jingzhou, Shanghai, and Li Zhengwei's hometown to shoot the documentary. Pei Qian had also required them to spend on their food and accommodation as per Tengda's standards; they naturally had spent money like water.
For documentaries such as these, they were normally produced by the official sites to publicize and promote games or competitions. No matter how much money went into the documentaries, the sites could make this money back.
However, Huang Sibo and the others had done this documentary purely as a form of public service to the public interest; it was quite normal they wouldn't be able to make back the money they had used.
Huang Sibo knew that this time, Lu Mingliang had led the development of the new editions of the current games; and the downloadable contents had all achieved great success. Lu Mingliang had probably already superseded him in the position as chief planner.
Fei Huang Workspace hadn't made the slightest contribution this time. At gatherings like this, he more or less felt a little abashed.
Pei Qian smiled. "You guys are feeling bad because of this?"
Huang Sibo was a little shocked, "Boss Pei…"
Pei Qian raised his glass as he swirled it. His tone became rather indifferent, "Hadn't I said long ago? Do not be calculative and focused on short-term profits and losses; do not care so much about money.
"Didn't the short videos also start as something you guys did out of love without looking forward to gaining? Although you guys rejected low-class sponsored partnerships, you guys didn't starve. In the end, you all managed to find a best-of-both-worlds way to make money, right?
"To me, the focus isn't on if we can make money, but on whether we are doing something meaningful or not.
"Weren't you guys already mentally prepared that you would make a loss when you all decided to do a documentary?
"You got the desired end-product you guys wanted; what's there to be bitter about?"
Huang Sibo felt a little warmth in him, "Boss Pei, thank you…"
The two of them couldn't help but sigh with emotion. If these words had come from someone else, they might have thought that the words were rather fake. However, when it came from Boss Pei, it felt so earnest and real!
Perhaps this was what distinguished Boss Pei from other bosses. He really had a heart bigger than ordinary people and great foresight and wide horizons!
Pei Qian smiled slightly, "Don't doubt yourselves.
"So what if you guys were doing something you loved without looking forward to gaining? As long as this documentary can gain enough traction and a consensus from players, that would mean that Fei Huang Workspace was on the right track!
"Are you guys out of a filming budget for the next piece? Don't worry, just tell me how much you guys are lacking!"
Pei Qian was delighted with his unexpected good fortune.
Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce had probably almost used up the profits from before to film this documentary; they didn't seem to have much left.
Pei Qian could use this as a reason to give them more money, for them to continue to spend!
Of course, this would be during the next cycle.
"Boss Pei, it's not only that we don't have a budget anymore for filming." Zhu Xiaoce sighed slightly, "Actually, we had used all our existing funds and even our own money first; but we realized it wasn't enough. We actually still owe our employees a month's worth of pay…"
"Good!" Pei Qian said loudly.
Zhu Xiaoce was stunned, "?"
Pei Qian coughed two times. "You guys have done well. This shows that your employees are of one heart and one mind with you two! Under this tough situation, no one had thought of quitting. This shows that Fei Huang Workspace has become a mature team that can withstand challenges!
"You guys shouldn't use your own money first at all. Go look for Assistant Xin. However much you guys are lacking or need to be repaid, it will all be given."
"No, wait. That might not be sufficient. Delaying the payment of wages is not a good thing; we'll pay them their wages with interest as well. We cannot mistreat our supportive brothers!"
Huang Sibo was stunned. "Boss Pei, this isn't appropriate, right? I have never heard of people paying late wages with interest before…"
Pei Qian shook his hand, asking Huang Sibo to stop talking
"Huang Sibo. What films you guys want to shoot or how you guys want to fight and challenge yourselves, I do not care. However, I cannot allow anything that might sully the image of our company!
"For employees that went through hard times together with Tengda, we cannot allow them to be discouraged, understand?"
Boss Pei spoke so righteously.
Huang Sibo was so touched tears welled up in his eyes.
This was… the warmth of a family!
Regardless of how much one might have suffered or how many setbacks one might have experienced outside, returning to Tengda was like returning home. One would never need to worry; Tengda and Boss Pei would be their backing!
Seeing Boss Pei looking and not seeming to mind that they had used up so much money, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce felt like a huge burden had been lifted off their shoulders.
Pei Qian asked, "Are you guys still intending to do a documentary for the next project?"
Huang Sibo shook his head, "As for this, we haven't decided yet. We'll wait for this documentary to be uploaded and see the response first. However, we probably wouldn't continue with this theme. It's not because we can't make money from this but because we have already shot many things we wanted to showcase.
"We might change a new theme to shoot."
Pei Qian nodded, "En, go ahead and experiment. If you guys are out of money, just say the word."
After chatting for a while longer, Pei Qian suddenly thought of something.
"Oh, right, how's Chen Lei doing?"
Although Pei Qian had already sent Chen Lei to Shanghai, Pei Qian was still a little worried. Chen Lei was really talented and Pei Qian was very afraid that he might pull a stunt, and so he thought of asking.
"I'm not so sure. As per your request, I have helped him to settle his food and accommodation. However, as we have been busy shooting and he had been running around in Shanghai, we haven't interacted much.
"We had wanted to ask him to sing the closing song for the documentary. However, as we didn't have enough budget and couldn't find an appropriate song, we didn't raise this up with him."
Huang Sibo tried to make conversation as he elaborated.
Pei Qian's heart had skipped a beat, and then it went back to normal very soon.
That scared me a little!
Fortunately, Huang Sibo had not discussed with Chen Lei to pay him to sing the closing song. If Chen Lei had really done so, there might have been trouble!
Although this documentary wouldn't make money, its theme and the effort put into the filming were definitely going to attract many viewers!
If that happened and Chen Lei suddenly grew famous over the web and was talent-scouted and that had a positive effect on Fei Huang Workspace…
The consequences would be unimaginable!
Luckily, none of this had happened.
Of course, it wasn't that Pei Qian didn't want Chen Lei to do well. He just wanted Chen Lei to wait a little while and not become famous in this cycle, so that Chen Lei wouldn't implicate Pei Qian.
You can become famous in your own time and on your own; please do not bring that fame to me!
"How about now?" Pei Qian continued to ask.
Huang Sibo thought for a moment, "He is probably still looking for opportunities now in Shanghai. If Boss Pei wants to know more, I could call him to ask."
Pei Qian raised his hand, "There's no need for that; I'm just casually asking."
As long as Chen Lei wasn't going to affect the settlement this time, everything else was fine.
On the side, Zhu Xiaoce sighed with emotion.
Boss Pei was really so caring for each of his employees!
Regarding Chen Lei, Zhu Xiaoce had heard some things about him.
Chen Lei had been a resident singer in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe; he had actually generated much profit for the cafe. If it was any other boss, they would have kept a firm hold over Chen Lei, treating him like a chicken laying golden eggs and not allowing him to leave.
However, Boss Pei had done the exact opposite. He had not restrained and stopped Chen Lei from pursuing his dreams by keeping him at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe but had forked out money to send him to Shanghai so that he could look for better opportunities on a bigger stage!
This probably would not benefit Boss Pei at all in any way; it was completely altruistic.
Even now, Boss Pei still cared about Chen Lei who was far away in Shanghai; what a caring
spirit!
Boss Pei was always so heartwarming.
Chapter 174 Nearing Settlement, a Scare Turned out to be Nothing
On June 21st, Fei Huang Workspace's documentary Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly was officially released on Aili Island!
As a documentary, Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly had not been embedded into any commercials and had not been entered into any profit-sharing agreements with any sites. If it was based on Aili Island's ordinary incentive plan-even if the viewership hit a million, income earned would only be a few thousand; that was peanuts.
Hence, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce had more or less given up on this idea and had just gone ahead doing something they loved without looking forward to gaining from it.
As Fei Huang Workspace had previously released the Boss Pei's Daily Life series and already had a huge group of fans-once this documentary was released, it immediately attracted wide attention!
In the video, Li Zhengwei faced the camera as he talked tirelessly about his life journey over so many years.
"After my dad left, I kicked open the door and ran away. I went to Shanghai alone to start my career proper.
"Coming to think of it, I did not regret this choice. I felt that I had been born to compete online; if I had followed life's course and went to work, got married, and had kids; I might be living my entire life in great regret.
"I'm not like those second-generation people born with a golden spoon in their mouths. My luck was not so good, and I was born in a rather poor family. However, from another perspective, my luck wasn't bad. I chose something that I liked and had made a name for myself.
"However, I do not recommend for youngsters to follow in my footsteps.
"After I started my career and became successful, many people actually asked me regarding this. My answer has always been the same…
"If you have really decided, then you shouldn't ask me this question. You would be just like me at the beginning, kicking open the door and living. Also, you would firmly believe without a doubt from then on that this was your dream; and you would fight for it till the end.
"If you need my advice before you can make up your mind, my suggestion would be to first make sure of something: Are you afraid of studying and so you want to escape that by doing this; or do you truly understand the price you have to pay by choosing to become a professional gamer?"
Very quickly, a huge number of players started to leave messages in the comments section.
"So fast!"
"I was still asking why Fei Huang Workspace had stopped filming Boss Pei's Daily Life. They actually had this lined-up!"
"This documentary seems to be very classy; it seems like it was a massive production!"
"It actually is a documentary about the professional gamer I love the most; I must support this!"
"I have not thought that a career gamer's life is so bitter and tough. To kick open the door, leave, and try to be a professional gamer. Fortunately, he had managed to gain his parents' approval after he made it big."
"Brother Li's every sentence is so earnest and honest."
"This documentary is really meaningful. I have a brother whose results aren't good and is always truant to play games online; he is also always talking about becoming a professional gamer. I feel that Brother Li's words are very true. My brother isn't that passionate about gaming, and he also hasn't thought about whether he has this flair or not; he just wants to escape from studying."
"Indeed, this documentary isn't trying to encourage people to fight on, be passionate, or about eSportsmanship. These themes have been covered so many times and are actually misdirection for youngsters. Why this documentary is a gem is because it also portrays the hardship and pain professional gamers go through. It also wants us to know that so many people wanted to become career gamers but failed. This documentary is very objective."
"I did not think that Fei Huang Workspace could actually produce such realistic and meaningful content; I support this!"
The comments left behind by players were pretty much all positive ones!
Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly soon became a new hot topic in the gaming world; it also was featured on the front page of Aili Island and grew even more popular!
June 23rd…
In Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Pei Qian turned off the documentary playing on his cell phone as he sipped the coffee in front of him. He finally managed to put his heart at ease.
"Hu… things have finally become normal for once. It actually really didn't make money; that's a mean feat!"
Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly had been launched three days ago. In these three days, Pei Qian had been on tenterhooks.
He was very afraid that Huang Sibo would give him an ominous phone call saying, "Boss Pei, the documentary has made money!"
Fortunately, nothing of the sorts had happened.
Pei Qian had double- and triple-checked. Although Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly had more than two million views in just three days and was among the top three most popular videos on the site, it had not brought in much income.
Based on Aili Island's incentive plan, this clip would at most bring in thousands of yuan; that was nothing.
This was in-line with Pei Qian's prediction.
"Not bad, I have learned well from my loss-making experience. This proves that choosing to film documentaries like this would not make money; this was a good choice.
"I think I can continue injecting money in Fei Huang Workspace."
Pei Qian suddenly realized that after Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, he seemed to have found yet another decent loss-making avenue.
Making films that had rich value but brought in little in monetary benefits!
After experiencing so many failures, Pei Qian now knew something: making losses was not as easy as he thought.
The system had many restrictions in place to prevent Pei Qian from maliciously creating losses. For example, the system mandated he could not produce anything of slipshod quality or anything shoddy, the games he created had to have selling points, etc.
In other words, the products that Pei Qian launched had to be quality ones; he could not purposely make them badly.
However, Pei Qian had realized something else: the system actually didn't only consider 'quality' to only mean profitability; it also included reputability!
For a documentary like Coming Out of the Cocoon as a Butterfly-although the probability of it making money was very low, the system had not stopped this.
Also, when Pei Qian had started the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe business, although the chances of losing many were high; the system too didn't put a stop to this plan.
This meant that 'reputation' was a very important benchmark for the system. As long as a gain in reputation could be actualized, the system would recognize products of the sorts and would not think that Pei Qian was purposely trying to make losses.
Pei Qian had vaguely gotten an inkling of this before but had not delved deep into this. The ways of making money from games and videos were very different.
For games, if one had a good reputation, that normally meant huge sales. As the system mandated that games had to have a selling point, the odds of games with good reputation making losses were very low.
Although historically, there have been games that were of great quality but of little monetary value; compared to videos and films, they were very few and apart.
However, videos were different. Even if one's reputation was good and viewership was high, that might still not translate into profits. This documentary was a case in point.
"Hence, as long as I continue letting Fei Huang Workspace film this kind of clips, I could steadily create losses!"
Pei Qian instantly found a new direction for Fei Huang Workspace.
The next time he saw Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce, he had to think of a way to bait them into continuing on this documentary path and not turning back at all. This way, he would have found a steady loss-making source; how good would that be?!
However, Huang Sibo and the others probably wouldn't be shooting this eSports genre anymore; as for what theme they should do next, this still required further discussion.
During the final week before settlement, there couldn't be any unannounced and unreleased products.
In other words, Pei Qian couldn't do much now; he could only continue embarking on a spending spree by shopping or increasing benefits and pray that there wouldn't be any sudden developments.
Pei Qian looked at the System Funds; it was still in a state of losses.
"I have done more or less everything I could. The only problem now is how to maintain the existing state of losses."