Continue to invest in the low- and mid-tier authors?
Ma Yiqun felt confused and bewildered.
To him, Zhongdian Chinese Network's lowand mid-tier writers were already enjoying more than enough benefits. In fact, they were getting comparable treatment to big sites like Infinite Chinese Network.
However, it would be extremely difficult for low- and mid-tier writers to increase the revenue that they generated for the website.
That was because writing was a form of creative art-it was very subjective. Some authors could not produce explosive works despite having written for ten years. Other gods grasped the essence of online literature after casually writing a million words and began aiming for the top.
Thus, everything was dependent on the individual.
Even if they poured all their efforts into finding and nurturing novel gods—as long as the authors' foundations remained the same, finding a novel god would be as difficult as winning the lottery.
What if they invested in people who were not cut out for online literature?
On the other hand, poaching people from other websites would prove more reliable.
Still, since Boss Pei had spoken, Ma Yiqun had no choice but to obey. "Alright, Boss Pei. I'll do just that."
Ma Yiqun went back upstairs to Zhongdian Chinese Network and sat down in his office. He began to think about a concrete plan for the website.
Boss Pei had already set the direction for him. The funds would not be used to poach authors from other websites but to continue investing in the low- and mid-tier writers of Zhongdian Chinese Network.
Of course, the standards would be applied across the board. That meant that the top-tier writers would also get to enjoy the same benefits.
However, top-tier writers would be more concerned that Zhongdian Chinese Network had not developed to the stage where it could sell copyrights.
Their main source of income was still subscription fees from readers. Those were only considered side benefits to the top-tier writers; they would not be a huge factor to consider when making decisions.
Ma Yiqun thought about it.
To low- and mid-tier writers, Zhongdian Chinese Network could offer the same benefits that Infinite Chinese Network offered such as full-time remuneration. What's more, Zhongdian Chinese Network's standards were slightly higher.
If Zhongdian Chinese Network was to offer more benefits, it had to offer benefits that other websites for online literature could never bear to.
What's more, although the benefits would be available to low- and mid-tier writers, the latter would be the focus.
That was because there were far too many low-tier writers, and it would be impossible to consider all of them.
Low-tier writers could even include people who only registered as authors on a whim and wrote several thousand words.
If the website offered benefits to such people, it would be as good as a charity organization. No matter how much revenue the website generated, it would never be enough to cover its expenses. After all, it would be a pure loss-incurring transaction.
Thus, the focus was mid-tier writers.
The fact that they could rise a tier above the low-tier writers meant that they had the drive and skills to continue writing. They were more reliable and less likely to give up on their readers and quit the website. As they accumulated more experience, and with a bit of luck, some of them could be nurtured into top-tier writers.
Thus, the funds had to be invested in them.
Ma Yiqun fell into deep thought. "Apart from royalties, readers, and fame which Infinite Chinese Network could provide as well; what else would these mid-tier writers need?
"It's… security.
"A career development plan and guidance… "A few social connections… "And… a more regulated, healthy life.
"That means that only a portion of the writers can obtain this security. They will be selected through a rigorous process."
Thinking that he had found the right direction, Ma Yiqun began to write his plan.
Boss Pei was right. There was no way that Zhongdian Chinese Network would be able to compete with Infinite Chinese Network in terms of money. Even if the former could poach several authors over, they would not be able to keep doing so in the long-term.
That was because Infinite Chinese Network had a huge reader base, many authors, and a greater ability to generate revenue.
Thus, no matter which angle one looked at the problem from, Infinite Chinese Network could offer a more promising future to mid-tier writers than Zhongdian Chinese Network could.
To attract more mid-tier writers to the website, Zhongdian Chinese Network would have to play to its strengths. It could not only work on visible aspects like royalties, readers, and exposure. Instead, it had to work on the invisible aspects.
Basic security in life was one example.
Authors did not earn basic salaries; neither did they have insurance or funds. After all, every book that they published was fraught with risk. Mid-tier writers' income was not considered low, but it was definitely not enough to compensate them for the risks that they had to expose themselves to regularly.
They could buy their own insurance and funds, but they would also have to pay the company's portion of the premiums. That was akin to paying double.
Another example was a career development plan and guidance.
Most authors were given free-reign. There were many authors and a few editors. Many mid-tier writers spoke less than a couple of sentences to their editors each year.
Of course, many responsible and hardworking editors would discuss the author's writings with them. However, since there were too many boats chasing too few fish, only a small portion of writers would enjoy such treatment. Many other writers ended up forming writing groups where they would discuss their experiences and grow together. That arrangement could be compared to creating 'senior-partner' groups in companies. One could say that there was practically no career development or guidance offered in the online literature industry; authors were responsible for their own growth.
The last example was a healthy lifestyle.
Writers of online literature were free to create their own schedules. A common trap that many of them fell into was having irregular lifestyles.
Having irregular lifestyles could affect one's body in many ways. For example, one could develop neck or back problems, high blood pressure, obesity, and the like. There had even been news reports of sudden deaths.
After all, one needed disciple to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Each person had different levels of discipline. Another important factor was one's environment.
While at home, most people would only think about resting and playing; productivity would often be low. However, productivity would increase in an office or school. That was the power of one's environment.
It would be hard to tell how disciplined full-time writers—who constantly wrote new chapters—were in other aspects of their lives, but they obviously had a high level of discipline when it came to work.
Thus, after much thought, Ma Yiqun finally made up his mind.
Zhongdian Chinese Network would start a class!
It would not be a philosophical-type class, but a practical class that would provide security, provide career development plans and guidance, and nurture healthy lifestyles for mid-tier writers!
This was Ma Yiqun's initial plan: writers would be allowed to register, and the website's editors would shortlist thirty suitable candidates from the group of mid-tier writers at Zhongdian Chinese Network.
That would be the first batch of guinea pigs, and Ma Yiqun would observe the effects of the class.
The writers would be allowed to claim their expenses. Once they arrived in Jingzhou, their food and lodging would have been arranged. In any case, they could eat Fish-Catching Take-Out, and rent would not cost that much.
The writers would also get a basic salary of three thousand yuan, and insurance and funds suitable for that amount.
Ma Yiqun would also find an office building near their accommodations, and rent thirty cheap workspaces. They would be required to clock in and out of work every day, according to Tengda's stipulated working hours.
Apart from that, Ma Yiqun would organize regular discussions and sharing, where more successful writers could share their experience and learning points.
Each time a writer wanted to start on a new book or became stuck at a point in the plot, they could discuss with the other writers and gather a variety of opinions. Under such circumstances, the writers would see each other more as friends and classmates than colleagues.
Of course, not all writers would be interested in a practical class like that.
Many writers—the older and more experienced ones in particular-would not be interested in drawing a low salary, moving to Jingzhou, having meals and lodging provided, and clocking in and out of work like other writers.
Writing online literature was a form of freelance work, and a benefit of freelance work was that one did not have to leave their houses. Wouldn't it defeat the purpose if they had to go to Jingzhou to write?
Of course, Zhongdian Chinese Network would not force such writers to attend the practical class.
Thus, the class would be targeted at the younger writers who did not have families yet. Those writers tended to have a lot of drive and potential, and they could improve quickly. Yet, they also had poor self-management skills and a set of expectations of society and their careers.
To test waters and observe results, the first practical class would last a month.
If it did not prove effective, Ma Yiqun would increase the scale and extend the length in the future.
After sending Ma Yiqun off, Pei Qian went back to studying. Less than half an hour later…
Ding! He received a message on his cell phone.
Pei Qian picked it up and saw that it was a message from Chef Lin.
"Boss Pei, a new high-end restaurant has opened in the city. It looks like it's competing with Ming Yun Private Kitchen. It's called Ming House, and it's targeting high-class customers as well!
"I think it only opened two days ago. Ming Yun Private Kitchen has been seeing significantly fewer reservations. What should we do?"
Pei Qian was stunned after reading the message.
Ming House?
A high-end restaurant seeking to compete with Ming Yun Private Kitchen?
Could it be the restaurant that Boss Li and the others had invested in?
Pei Qian recalled Boss Li mentioning this when they had met last month. Boss Li had said that he, Xue Zhebin, and Wang Peng had felt miserable because they had not been able to reserve a place at Ming Yun Private Kitchen.
Thus, they had proposed working together with Pei Qian to turn the nameless restaurant into a franchise. However, Pei Qian had rejected them.
The three of them had had no choice but to start a restaurant on their own.
Based on Pei Qian's calculations, Li Shi must have started preparations for the restaurant before proposing the idea to Pei Qian. That was why it could open for business two days ago.
Pei Qian replied to Chef Lin's message with 'noted' and then called Li Shi.
"Boss Li, is Ming House high-end restaurant that you started?"
Li Shi smiled and said, "That's right, Boss Pei. What's the matter? You said you didn't care for it, but have you been paying attention to its progress in secret?"
Pei Qian was speechless.
Like h*11, I've been paying attention to it. If Chef Lin had not sent me the message, I would not have found out that your high-end restaurant is already open for business.
Pei Qian didn't bother to say more; he would only complicate matters if he did. Thus, he cut straight to the chase. "Boss Li, didn't I say that I'll have a meal at your restaurant once it opens for business? Why didn't you let me know?"
Li Shi cleared his throat. "Hehe, Boss Pei, I'm really sorry. I've been very busy recently, and once I get busy, I become forgetful. What's more, I thought you were just being polite.
"It was my mistake. How about this? Whenever you choose to come for a meal, I'll give you a thirty percent discount! That'll make it up to you."
A thirty-percent discount? He isn't going to waive the bill?
Boss Li was stingy indeed.
However, on further thought, Pei Qian realized that he could not accept a free meal even if Boss Li had offered.
Since he offered a thirty-percent discount, then so be it.
"Alright, let's not waste any time and make it today! Make a reservation for tonight on my behalf-I'll book the entire restaurant." Pei Qian sounded quite nonchalant. "Book… the entire restaurant? Tonight?" Li Shi was obviously at a loss for words. "It'll be a bit difficult to let you have the whole place tonight. Many people have already made reservations for 7 PM.
"I won't eat after 7 PM. I'll arrive at 4 PM and be done by 6 PM. There'll be time for you to clean up and receive your next batch of customers. I won't hold you up.
"Do you have enough ingredients?"
Pei Qian glanced at his watch. It was now 3:40 PM.
Ming House was not far from here. He could reach the place in about twenty minutes.
Li Shi remained silent for a while and then said, "We might run out of certain ingredients, but we have enough for the most part. Alright, Boss Pei! Of course, if you can come right now, it'll be great. We welcome you."
Pei Qian, "Alright, see you soon."
He hung up, jumped to his feet, and kept his notes.
He couldn't study anymore; it was time to eat!
They would arrive at 4 PM and eat until past 5 PM. That would be just right; everyone could rest once the workday ended.
Chapter 386 Many Problems had Occurred
After packing up his notes, Pei Qian walked out of the office.
"Put down your work, everyone.
"Let's go to Ming House at 4 PM for a feast. I've already sent the reservation for the group. The company cars can ferry some of you there. The rest of you can find your own rides. Remember to keep the receipts."
After Pei Qian finished speaking, everyone looked indifferent and cold. Hao Yun rested her head in her hands, looking like it hurt.
Pei Qian was interrupting everyone's work again!
She glanced at her watch. It was only past 3 PM. They had barely started work for the afternoon!
They could not work over the weekend and were already having trouble finishing their food. On top of that, Boss Pei kept thinking of ways to shorten their working time. It was always one hour on one day, and two hours the next…
If this was allowed to continue, how could they finish their work?!
Although everyone wasted no time and began work almost immediately after arriving at the office, they could not stop Boss Pei from organizing activities when he felt like it.
Take this time for example; they had been given no advanced notice whatsoever.
Thus, many people did not know how to react. Instead, they continued tapping away at their keyboards as quickly as possible as if trying to take their frustrations on it.
Pei Qian's brows furrowed slightly.
There was a problem with those people's mindsets!
Although we have gatherings and meals regularly, it doesn't give you an excuse to work harder!
There was a problem with anyone who did not feel excited about going for meals.
Pei Qian cleared his throat. "I'll give you five minutes to save your documents. Then, gather downstairs.
"Little Tang, pull the switch in five minutes!"
Tang Yishu quickly stood up and said, "Ah, alright!"
Everyone, "…"
They all immediately rushed to save their work.
…
At 4 PM sharp, everyone slowly walked into Ming House.
The high-end restaurant was not exactly located in Jingzhou's core business district, but it was close by.
It was near Huanyu Tianjie but not inside. That was probably because they could not find a space big enough in the shopping mall. This was a three-level standalone building. The outside was decorated in an ancient, charming manner with red bricks and gray cement. It looked quite impressive.
Pei Qian walked into Ming House and immediately noticed Boss Li.
"Boss Pei! Welcome, welcome!"
"Boss Li, I trust you have been well since we last met."
Both men greeted each other and exchanged a couple of pleasantries.
Boss Li saw a huge group of people behind Boss Pei. "Everyone, please come in. Boss Pei booked the entire place. Please come in and sit down!"
Li Shi felt quite moved, seeing that Boss Pei had brought so many people with him. Although he was only giving everyone a thirty-percent discount and he was not earning profits from this meal, Boss Pei was already showing him a lot of respect as a good friend by coming to try the food!
Li Shi had thought that Boss Pei had just been being polite by saying he would pay them a visit.
After all, that was a common thing to say when doing business. Once Ming House opened, it became the nameless restaurant's competitor. Boss Pei may have said that he would visit the restaurant, but what could he have been thinking inside?
Still, he had brought his entire company for a meal here. That was no simple visit. He was being very loyal!
Wouldn't it have been better for them to have the gathering at Ming Yun Private Kitchen?
Li Shi knew his own situation. Even if Ming House was better than all the other restaurants in Jingzhou City, it still could not compare to Ming Yun Private Kitchen!
By having their gathering here, Boss Pei was putting his pride down and showing a lot of support for Li Shi!
Thus, Li Shi quickly instructed the branch manager and the waiters to provide the best service and not to slack off.
Once he took his seat, Pei Qian looked around.
All things aside, the renovations were quite well done. Obviously, a lot of work and money had been poured into doing the place up.
The furniture, cutlery, and decorations all had an ancient style to them. They looked very tasteful.
However, as Pei Qian flipped through the menu, he realized that the variety of food provided here was not as good as Ming Yun Private Kitchen.
On further thought, this made sense. Both restaurants were high-end restaurants, but the direction that each took was different.
Li Shi and Wang Peng knew that if they wanted to open a high-end restaurant, their best bet would be to work with the nameless restaurant.
That was because the nameless restaurant had already built a reputation for itself. Everyone would also understand if Boss Pei did not want to fork out money… because he would already be providing his name. That, in itself, would already be a great help.
However, Boss Pei had turned them down in the end. Thus, they had had no choice but to start a restaurant on their own.
Could they copy the nameless restaurant's model entirely? Unfortunately, they could not.
That was because they would have risked being dissed for being a fake if they had done so. Something like that would have been fatal for a high-end restaurant.
The moment the restaurant's reputation suffered and people started to diss it, rich people would decline to validate the brand. Then, the high-end restaurant would fail altogether.
Li Shi and Wang Peng were not stupid. They would not have done something like that.
Thus, they went down the path of ordinary high-end restaurants.
They set it up in a convenient place with high traffic. They also found a bigger place so that people did not have to make reservations each time they wanted to eat there, like what they had to do at the nameless restaurant.
Of course, that meant they could not change the private rooms' decor for each customer. They also had to compromise on the environment in some ways.
The good thing was that the place was big. Most ingredients were also in stock.
It was not as high-end as Ming Yun Private Kitchen, but prices of the dishes had also been adjusted downward. If people failed to make reservations at Ming Yun Private Kitchen, they could come here instead. It was still a bit more high-class than Swan Lake Restaurant.
Soon, the first dish was served.
On the way, Pei Qian had already aske Li for the menu and arranged for Assistant Xin to select the dishes.
That way, they could save time and start eating once they arrived. Pei Qian did not want to hold his employees back after all. He was not that particular about the dishes. He only wanted to have more luxurious delicacies.
They were normally more expensive.
Pei Qian did not care much about what exactly they ate. After all, no matter how good the food was, he had probably already tried it before at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. This time, he was primarily here to spend more money.
"Come, everyone. Eat as quickly as you can so that you can go home and rest once you're done."
Pei Qian was the first to pick up his chopsticks and start eating. That dispelled the need for any unnecessary talking or programs. Li Shi smiled as he approached Pei Qian's table. "How is it, Boss Pei? How's the taste?"
Pei Qian nodded and spoke unclearly, "It's alright!"
Pei Qian was not a good liar. The food was a far cry from Ming Yun Private Kitchen, but it was still slightly better than Swan Lake Restaurant.
Still, Swan Lake Restaurant had an advantage. It was a buffet with a lot of seafood on offer. That meant it was more economical than this restaurant.
However, this was a disadvantage to Pei Qian.
Li Shi knew very well how the food tasted. The fact that Boss Pei found the food 'alright'-despite being able to eat at the nameless restaurant whenever he wantedshowed that he had sufficient respect for Li Shi.
Tang Yishu was seated with a group of staff from the administrative department. She carefully took food for herself bit by bit and ate in small bites.
Li Shi went to the kitchen, intending to encourage the chefs working there. However, before he arrived, he heard the sound of something breaking.
"Aiyo! I fell! The floor's too slippery!
"Quick, sweep up the pieces!"
Li Shi frowned. As he entered the kitchen, he saw broken plates scattered around the floor. Two employees were trying to clean up the mess as quickly as they could.
Li Shi became light-headed. "What's going?on?"
A waiter quickly bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry, Boss Li! The floor was too slippery, and I lost my footing so I broke a few dirty dishes that I just kept…"
Li Shi was speechless. Looking around, he spotted a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. He had no idea when it appeared, but it would indeed cause the ground to be slippery.
"It's alright, just clean up the mess. On the bright side, we've found a safety hazard.
"Buy some anti-slip spray and mats tomorrow morning."
Once Li Shi finished speaking, he heard a whoosh from the frying pan next to him. Obviously, this was not the skills of a high-class chef. It was a mistake.
"Quick, quick, quick! A fire extinguisher!"
Someone at the side quickly grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. However, all the food in the wok had burned. They had no choice but to throw the food away and cook the dish anew.
Li Shi's expression darkened. "The fire extinguisher is too far from the stove. That's a safety hazard, too."
Although they had just found many safety hazards, this was still a headache for Li Shi!
Feeling helpless, he mumbled to himself, "Could it be that we opened the restaurant on an inauspicious date?
"These things hardly happen in other restaurants…
"Calm down, calm down. Perhaps that's just a coincidence."
That night, past 10 PM…
After sending off the last group of customers, Ming House's branch manager led the waiters to clean up the entire restaurant.
Li Shi found a random seat to rest in, feeling extremely exhausted. It was the second day of the restaurant's operations—the most important period.
However, many problems had occurred!
There had been no major threats to safety. A few plates had broken, and some dishes had been burned. However, those resulted in a great delay in serving dishes. Many customers thought that they had waited too long for their food to be served, and they felt unsatisfied as a result. The branch manager had to personally attend to them and offer them discounts, in order to salvage the situation.
However, it remained to be seen the kind of reviews that those people would leave the restaurant with
Things had not been so bad when Boss Pei and his employees were here. That was because they had eaten quite early. What's more, they had pre-ordered their food. Thus, by the time Boss Pei and his employees had arrived, the food had been ready to be served. Subsequently, the dishes had taken longer, but nobody had realized.
By night, the situation had been laid bare for their customers to see.
Li Shi was frustrated. Was it that difficult to run a restaurant?
My restaurant's safety standards are already higher than most other restaurants. How could such things have happened?
However, he could not shift the blame to others. That was because there was always a chance that mishaps would occur as long as there were safety hazards.
Take a puddle of water that someone had accidentally spilled, for example. Sometimes, people could walk past it without slipping. However, other times, someone could slip and fall, thus dropping the dish that had been ready to be served.
Li Shi could only say that they had not been safe enough! He felt melancholic. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Boss Pei's Ming Yun Private Kitchen was not that simple.
They were particular about the environment, they served dishes very quickly, and their service was flawless.
Running a high-end restaurant was not as easy as he had thought!
Chapter 387 Zero Overtime Competition
January 12th, Wednesday… Pei Qian was checking the results of the latest Tengda Spirit compatibility test in his office.
Tengda Spirit compatibility test was conducted almost every week. However, many new employees entered, and their timing for onboarding was different. Therefore, a large group of employees had not become regular employees until now.
Many were left with one last chance. They could only take compensation and leave if they did not pass it. They would be said to be visibly nervous.
Even though Tengda's compensation was bountiful…
Even though they could try again next year…
Who could bear to leave after working in Tengda for some time?
These new employees might not be involved in the work during the probation period, but they could see the working status of the other people as they were learning. They could see the benefits Tengda offered, and most of them had a strong yearning to work here. Therefore, the last Tengda Spirit compatibility test was crucial to them. Pei Qian flipped the results and was surprised to find that the passing rates had significantly increased again.
"Those with one remaining chance had all passed. The overall passing rate of the test this time had reached more than 70%.
"Almost none of the new employees would be fired then. "What is happening, the questions leaked?
"It can't be."
Pei Qian checked the question bank of the Tengda Spirit compatibility test doubtfully.
Every question in the question bank was written by him personally. The various options were confusing. Each test was randomly selected from the question bank, and the order of the answers changed randomly.
Could the staff that made the website program leak the questions?
That should not be the case. No one should dare to blatantly engage in such things that Boss Pei explicitly prohibited. The possibility of the questions being leaked was very low.
Pei Qian was not sure if the producer of the website left a backdoor, but if he did and Boss Pei found that the problem leaked, then the only suspect would be him. That would be equivalent to self-destruction.
Pei Qian felt that his employees shouldn't be that dumb.
However, the passing rate for the test did increase very obviously.
Pei Qian recounted some relevant clues.
"Hmm… the passing rate was very low at the beginning, but it gradually got higher.
"The new members would talk to each other in private, but that should not have such a big impact. The question banks were completely random after all. They shouldn't be able to accurately grasp the spirit of Tengda by rote memorization.
"Talks between new staff are just part of the reason.
"Most new employees must have mastered the essence of the Tengda spirit. Overtime in the company has greatly improved recently.
"Not only did these new employees improve their understanding of the Tengda spirit, but even the ideology of the existing employees seemed to have improved as well.
"Could it be that the atmosphere of the company had greatly improved with the test questions? It has perfectly achieved my original goal?" Pei Qian seemed to be able to only find one reasonable explanation no matter how he thought about it.
How else would the overtime situation with the existing employees be improved?
The request for overtime by the departments had decreased recently. Some departments even had zero overtime for two consecutive weeks. That made Boss Pei so happy that he almost wanted to give them trophies. Wait, trophies? Yes, that seems like a good
idea!
Pei Qian sent a message to Hao Yun of the HR department immediately. "We're going to have a zero overtime competition from this week onwards.
"Departments with no overtime on a particular week will earn a 'zero overtime week' record. There will be a selection every month. The department with the most records of 'zero overtime' will obtain a trophy and a bonus of 50,000 yuan!
"Be aware that 'zero overtime' means that there can be no signs of overtime work, be it evenings or weekends, whether at home or at work! There can be no document upload records during non-working hours.
"Shift positions, like in Upwind Logistics, should be determined based on actual working days.
"The HR department and Administrative department shall supervise together and each other! Report to me immediately if there are any suspicious signs and cancel the qualification for 'zero overtime week'.
"If there are multiple departments which completed four 'zero overtime weeks', then the department with the largest number of people will win. However, the department who had not won any prize would be given priority for the running next time."
Fifty thousand yuan per month was not much, but that was the maximum amount allowed by the system.
Why was he a bit stingy this time…? Probably because the system felt it was unreasonable to pay bonuses for zero overtime.
However, that was not important because that was an honor, the bonus was incidental.
Boss Pei would personally give the awards as long as there were trophies and bonuses. These departments would naturally be motivated to compete for this award.
In this way, the other departments would follow in good faith and create healthy competition.
Hao Yun replied very quickly. "Okay, Boss Pei, I'll do it right away."
Huanyu Tianjie shopping mall…
A large number of onlookers had gathered around the shared phone booth.
Ruan Guangjian was earnestly putting the final touches for this painting. This painting should be more or less completed after two days. It would take another half a day for it to be completely done up.
This was an original painting of 'Modest, the Guardian of Justice' in prominent thick coat style.
Modest in the painting had a strong figure and firm eyes. His broad arms seemed to protect everyone. His back might be filled with various weapons, but he had no fear and had a face of persistence.
Ruan Guangjian had been painting for more than two days. That gradually attracted a crowd.
Everyone looked at the painted side of the phone booth and was moved by the outstanding style.
"What is this painting? So handsome!"
"This is the real big boss. It was painted fast and well. I cannot wait for it to be done so that I can take a photo of it."
"I had been searching on the web, but there are no similar images. Could this be an original painting?"
"It looks a lot like the original art of a game. Could it be a new game using this phone booth to advertise so that it will attract investments?"
"I feel that this phone booth will be dismantled in a week at most. Wouldn't it be better to hang advertisements on exhibition boards?"
"It wouldn't be as impressive as drawing it live!"
"Yes, using an exhibition board means it's color printing and publicity. This is a painting; it's art!"
There were a lot of discussions. Artists painting in public were a rare occurrence after all.
Ruan Guangjian gave it another stroke, stood a little further away, and nodded slightly in satisfaction. He felt that the effect was not bad.
It would be completely finished after adding in more details in the afternoon. Then, he could take a rest.
Zhang Wang brought him a drink immediately. "Great Master, you've worked hard!"
Ruan Guangjian did not refuse it. "Your phone booth is well-designed. The art actually goes well with the phone booth."
Zhang Wang smiled. "That's because the Great Master drew it well.
"Oh, yes, Great Master, I'm thinking of putting a stamp in the booth. It doesn't matter whether it's round or square; what do you think…?!"
Ruan Guangjian understood immediately. "This is easy. I'll make you an original drawing later. You can take it and find someone to engrave it. It will be done in no time."
It was easy to design. Simplify the line of the hero and then add the hero's name and the serial number of the phone booth.
Four in the afternoon…
Pei Qian walked out of the exam room exhausted after finishing an exam.
Tired!
It might be an open book test where the answers were all in the book, but he could not find the answers no matter how he flipped. He could only rely on his super high-speed writing to copy all the content he felt was related to the paper in full.
There should not be a problem passing, but obtaining high marks was impossible.
Pei Qian could not help but sigh. He was too careless!
He knew it wasn't an open book test and read the book before the exam, but he still faltered. He happened to miss the lesson where they summarized the key points because he had something on.
There were several other open book exams after this exam. He had only read half of the notes he borrowed from Old Ma for the closed book exam as well.
Pei Qian could feel a deep sense of despair.
However, Old Ma looked elated beside him. He was in good spirits, not like someone who had just finished his exam.
Pei Qian speculated that it could be because Ma Yang did really well in the exams or he might be having a good feeling about himself.
There was a higher possibility for the latter.
Considering how he did not attend the key summary lessons for the next few open book exams, he decided to follow Old Ma to Dream Realization Ventures.
Old Ma had been working hard on both work and studies recently. His textbooks and notes were in Dream Realization Ventures.
Pei Qian felt that he could still rescue the other open-book exams that he had yet to take.
Pei Qian casually found a seat to sit down when he came to Dream Realization Ventures. Ma Yang went to get his notes and textbooks.
Pei Qian got a cup of coffee from the coffee machine. He sipped on and looked around subconsciously while drinking from it.
He suddenly realized a problem.
Why were there so little people around? Even He Desheng was not there! It was only past four in the afternoon. It was not even time to knock off.
Pei Qian was a little confused before an excitement rose in his heart suddenly.
Could He Desheng and his gang know that Boss Ma was having exams today, and he would probably not be coming back to the office so they took the chance to slip away?
Look at how reliable the team his bro brought up to be!
Pei Qian couldn't wait to set these staff up as positive models and promote them throughout the company.
He Desheng and his gang returned as he was brooding over this.
Pei Qian, "?"
He Desheng quickly greeted Pei Qian the moment he saw him, "Boss Pei, you are here!"
Pei Qian was a little suspicious. "Where did you go?"
It would not be so fast even if they did sneak away early and someone notified them. Was it just a coincidence? Did they all go to the toilet together? That was impossible, too. Why would they go to the toilet in such a big batch?
He Desheng smiled and replied, "Oh, the factory in the suburbs of Jingzhou had made a batch of products based on the sample of the shared phone booth. I went to inspect it."
Pei Qian was even more confused now. "Hm? This should not be your responsibility."
He Desheng smiled. "It isn't, Boss Pei…"
"But the shared phone booth is Dream Realization Ventures' project after all. Zhang Wang will not be able to complete it himself. We are just lending a helping hand."
"Most importantly, we don't have much to do at work now. It's just a matter of lending a hand."
He Desheng was telling the truth. They could play games with Boss Ma when they had nothing to do at work. However, Boss Ma now said that he would work seriously and stop playing games.
These people screen proposals usually. They were usually very free so they decided to help Zhang Wang deal with the shared phone booth project.
Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks.
He was so wrong!
He thought that these people had such a high level of consciousness to slip away early, but it was not the case at all!
It was enough that they managed to finish their own jobs; now, they were even helping others with their jobs!
Such thinking should definitely not exist!
Zhang Wang and the shared phone booth project were pretty reliable at first. They looked as though they could make a steady loss.
What if He Desheng's gang helped him and created the opposite effect?
Pei Qian was silent for a moment. "So you don't have enough workload? I've got a new project for you.
"Shared Top Student."
Chapter 388 Boss Pei, I Understand, I'm not a Three-Year-Old
He Desheng was obviously taken aback when he heard those words. "Huh? Another shared?"
He Desheng was a little lost. He Desheng had felt that Zhang Wang's proposed shared phone booth design was outrageous previously, but it still had a body to it.
However, after observing throughout this period, He Desheng realized that the unreliability was just a superficial appearance. The phone booth seemed to be pretty possible.
This time, a Shared Top Student?
How do you share a top student? It's illegal to traffic humans! Pei Qian smiled as though he had anticipated He Desheng's reaction.
Boss Pei could not wait to find some work for He Desheng and the people of Dream Realization Ventures to do. There were so many proposals, and they had read them all previously. Pei Qian did not take a fancy to any project other than the shared phone booth.
The rest were too reliable!
Therefore, Pei Qian was inspired this time and came up with a new idea.
Sharing is good!
Pei Qian recalled carefully. In fact, most of these shared ideas were selling gimmicks. Not many of them could actually make money. It was mostly fake investment opportunities. Of course, that being said, Pei Qian did not dare do the bike-sharing project until now.
Many projects seemed pretty reliable once they were linked to 'sharing' after all. The consequences would be disastrous if he really made back the capital.
Therefore, Pei Qian came up with a very unreliable project based on his own requirements: Shared Top Student!
To put it plainly, it was to spend money on tuition.
Pei Qian had been reviewing his studies painfully so he had been thinking about this issue. It would be great if he could spend money to hire someone to learn for himself.
Of course, that was impossible. There are no shortcuts to learning. It was precisely because of that that knowledge was priceless and not monopolized by the rich.
However, that did not mean that the status quo could not be improved at all.
Pei Qian coughed, slightly seeing He Desheng's confused expression. "Shared Top Student is in fact sharing knowledge!
"Our model will be very simple. We'll build an APP and establish a communication platform between top students and flunkies!
"There are many top students and even more flunkies in every city. The flunkies hope to gain more knowledge to be able to provide guidance to themselves. Many top students are happy to help others. Of course, it would be even better if there is some financial compensation…"
He Desheng suddenly understood after hearing these. "I understand, Boss Pei! You want to build a tutoring platform!
"Good project!
"At present, the education industry can be said to be a sunrise industry. Parents are paying more attention to the education level of their children with their improvement in economic status. Many parents are willing to find tutors for their children from elementary school to high school.
"However, there is no fair and convenient platform that can be introduced by acquaintances."
"The launch of this APP will be able to solve this problem. I can almost see the educational software on the rise, valued at a billion yuan!"
Pei Qian, "?"
Tutoring platform? No, no, no, that's not it! Why does the same idea sound so reliable coming out from your mouth?
Pei Qian panicked and hurried to correct it. "No, you understood it wrongly. It is not a tutoring platform to be precise.
"Our core is shared services. Do you understand what shared services are? The fees will definitely not be as high as tutoring. We are going to a semi-charitable project.
"Moreover, the coverage of our project would be wider than that of tutoring…"
He Desheng mulled over it and nodded. "I understand now! It will not be just a tutoring platform… but also an online question bank!
"Questions with clear answers would not require top students at all. We only need to prepare the question banks so that users could search the original questions for detailed answers. The coverage would be wider then!"
Pei Qian was speechless. He finally understood why he was able to succeed in every project he touched.
He Desheng showed him up close today how a normal human filled in details on a situation which he did not have sufficient information
on.
How dare he misinterpret Boss Pei's words in front of him?
Pei Qian's face darkened, almost firing this dangerous guy on the spot. However, he calmed down a bit after thinking about it. He had experienced too many similar situations after all.
It was better for this to happen before they commenced then after.
COMme
Pei Qian decided to change his way of expression after careful thought. In all fairness, Pei Qian did not think there was any possibility of success for the shared phone booth and shared top student projects.
Especially this Shared Top Student project. Someone else would have done it if it was something viable.
In Pei Qian's memory, he had never heard of similar apps even during the time when sharing projects were the hottest. It was enough to show that there were innate flaws in this model.
The biggest problem was that there wasn't such a big market, and the top students did not have that much time on their hands.
They were so busy with studies every day. It was good enough for them to spare some time tutoring others. How would it be possible for them to travel far to earn some loose change?
Private tutoring was very expensive; only the wealthy families were willing to hire people for this. Middle-class families would enroll their children into tutoring classes even if they wanted to send their children for tuition.
In short, this project had many innate flaws that could not be solved from Pei Qian's point of view.
Pei Qian lowered his voice and said to He Desheng. "To be honest, there is a very large probability of failure for this project! Therefore, you don't need to feel responsible even if it fails.
"Treat it as doing charity, understand?"
He Desheng was shocked. What did Boss Pei mean? In He Desheng's mind, four words summed up Boss Pei's investments: stable, accurate, ruthless, and irregular!
Boss Pei could often see investment opportunities in unreliable projects. He would not hesitate to plunge huge sums of investment once he identified them.
It had been proven that the projects that Boss Pei chose were all profitable!
This project was just in its elementary stage now; why is Boss Pei hinting that it has a high probability of failure?
Could this project be something that even Boss Pei is not optimistic about? Why would Boss Pei invest in this project in that case? Did he really want to make it a charity?
Impossible. Why didn't Boss Pei just donate money to charity if he really wanted to do that? Why beat around the bush?
He Desheng fell into a state of confusion. He felt that there must be some deep meaning behind Boss Pei's abnormal behavior.
Suddenly, inspiration struck him!
Boss Pei seems to be hinting me! He seems to imply that this project has innate flaws that will definitely fail in the end. Boss Pei is far-sighted so this judgment is probably correct.
If that's the case, what should I be doing as an investor?
… find a way to cash out at a high point!
He Desheng nodded, understanding instantly. "I understand, Boss Pei!"
He did not explain clearly because such matters should not be said explicitly. It was just like how Boss Pei was hinting now. It was impossible to speak so straightforwardly.
"Do you really understand what I mean?" Pei Qian asked with suspicion.
He Desheng laughed. "Don't worry, Boss Pei. I'm not a three-year-old. What kind of understanding is necessary for such a simple sentence?"
Pei Qian resonated deeply with this sentence.
Yeah, even a three-year-old can understand what I mean. Why would I need to explain? Why do the others always understand it wrongly then?
What a bother!
Pei Qian felt slight relief, seeing He Desheng act this way. "Don't follow Zhang Wang in his shared phone booth project anymore. Focus on this shared top student project.
"Right, I think the name Shared Top Student is not appropriate.
"I think it's better to call it 'Top student, come quick app'."
COI
Pei Qian was worried that this 'shared' concept would be targeted by some other investment institutions with ulterior motives. It would be troublesome if it became a hot investment opportunity.
Changing it to 'top student, come quick' hinted at it being a joke. No other investment institutions would come and mess things up, right?
Zhongdian Chinese Network…
After two days of arrangement, the list of the first batch of students had been finalized. Preliminary work was mostly done.
Ma Yiqun got Zhu Xingan, the current editor-in-chief, to contact the middle and higher authorities of this website to let them sign up on their own. The list was finally produced after the website was screened.
The authors of the first training course were relatively young, judging from the list. They were all under 25 years old.
That was partly because the older authors were often established in their work and family. They generally had matters at home and could not be able to travel to Jingzhou alone. Another reason was that the website selected younger authors.
There were a basic salary, five social insurances and one fund, and the opportunity to interact with other authors. These authors were worth looking forward to.
January 18th, Thursday…
Huanyu Tianjie shopping mall…
Zhang Wang brought everything he bought to the shared phone booth and installed them one by one. He was at rest during the time when Ruan Guangjian was painting the skin of the phone booth.
It was all thanks to the help of He Desheng and his gang. They had new tasks soon after, but things at the phone booth were fortunately more or less done.
Most of the things in the phone booth were there, including the coffee machine, jukeboxes, capsule machine, weighing scale, AED, etc. They were all there.
These were fixtures in the phone booth which could not be removed.
It was in a big shopping mall. Zhang Wang had spoken to the cinema staff and the clerk at the drink shop who had the phone booth in their line of sight. They would be able to keep an eye on the phone booth at all times.
Moreover, there were surveillance cameras at the entrance of the phone booth and the cinema. Anyone deliberately sabotaging the phone booth would be caught in minutes.
These devices had undergone basic simple modifications.
Take the beverage machine as an example. Zhang Wang purchased a commercial multifunctional beverage machine that supported payment by both QR code scanning and coin insertion. This machine also has an automatic cup drop function that would be cleaned automatically. The machine would prompt if there was no paper cup or water. Zhang Wang had also spoken to the staff of the shopping mall to regularly replace the paper cups, pure water buckets, cleaning machines and to clean it regularly. Such a set of procedures would not take long.
The jukebox could be used at will after the customer scanned the QR code to enter. However, the drinks machine would only give him free drinks twice. If they wanted more, they would have to either scan the QR code or to insert coins.
It was the same principle with the capsule machine. Pay more if you want more capsules.
In addition, the stamp of Modest the Guardian of Justice was on the right, just under the retro phone. Zhang Wang nodded in satisfaction after everything was done up properly. Humph, now this is the complete shared phone booth!
The entire phone booth was packed from top to bottom with stuff. There was a phone, a small scrolling display, a beverage machine, a jukebox, a capsule machine, a three-port charger, Wi-Fi, foldable seats, AED, weighing scale… blood pressure monitor…
In short, the layout was very reasonable. There was basically no space wasted, and yet it would not make the customers feel cramped up.
Zhang Wang checked if all the equipment was properly arranged; everything was functioning normally before he closed the door.
The mural of Modest, the Guardian of Justice at the front had a look of confidence as if to hint that this shared phone booth would definitely succeed!
Zhang Wang was very satisfied. The shared phone booth was finally ready to be officially put out there for users to experience!
Chapter 389 The First Student
Once he was done, Zhang Wang walked to the bubble tea shop next door and ordered a drink. As he drank, he observed the shared phone booth's situation.
Before this, when Ruan Guangjian was painting, many people had gathered around the phone booth. Now that the shared phone booth was done, people were hurriedly gathering to take photographs.
All things aside, everyone behaved decently.
They took initiative to stand in a line and took turns to take pictures with the painting of Modest outside the phone booth.
During this process, some passers-by came with the original intention to observe the fun. However, when they saw that several new facilities had been added to the shared phone booth, they became quite curious.
"It looks like many things have been added to the shared phone booth."
"We don't have to pay to use the drinks machine as well, right?"
"Do you think you can drink anything you want for ten yuan? Of course, you'll have to pay extra costs."
"There's even a capsule machine and two microphones there! What does that mean? We can sing inside?"
"What's that thing under the foldable chair? I've never seen it."
"I think there are many more things inside now. Please excuse me, everyone, I want to go in and take a look."
"Ai, ai, ai… here's the line."
"Let's form two lines! We're not even queuing for the same thing. You're taking photographs, and we're going in to experience the booth. We don't have to interfere with each other."
"What if we want to take photographs and experience the booth…?"
After discussing it for a while, everyone split into two lines. One line was to take a photograph with the painting of Modest. The other line was to enter and experience the shared phone booth.
Nobody had entered the phone booth before because there were too few facilities. There had been nothing to experience.
However, there were many more facilities now. There was even an artwork outside the phone booth. Now that it looked much nicer, more people were interested in entering.
After all, everyone was interested in upholding their reputation; this affected even the way they viewed phone booths.
The first people to enter the shared phone booth were a couple.
It would be weird to go into such places alone. Not only would one feel lonely, but others would also be looking in from the outside.
After the couple entered, they closed the door and pulled down the curtains.
At the same time, the people on the outside saw the remaining time displayed on the screen: Fifteen minutes.
That way, those in the line would have a rough idea of how long it would be before their turn.
Of course, that function was still not up to par yet. For example, it could only tell how long the people in the booth at the moment had until they had to come out. However, it could not accurately tell how long someone at the back of the line would have to wait.
Zhang Wang quietly noted this down. He considered including a function that would give the people in line a number or an estimated time before they would reach the front in the future.
The couple began curiously exploring the shared phone booth.
"Eh, we have two drinks each. We can choose cold or hot drinks as well."
"We can even sing for free?"
"Whoa, what a steal. We only need to pay ten yuan every fifteen minutes. It's so worth it!" "There's even a capsule machine. Unfortunately, that's not free."
"What were you expecting? If the capsule was free, the manufacturer would suffer huge losses." "Should we sing one song?"
"Can we do that? It's so embarrassing."
"Don't worry; we can't hear a single peep from the shopping mall. That means the phone booth is quite well sound-proofed."
At first, ten yuan for fifteen minutes looked extremely expensive. However, now that so many new functions had been added, it did not look as expensive anymore. In fact, it looked worth it!
Yet, to Zhang Wang, he could still generate profits.
He would only give one pair of drinks. Whether the customers chose to stay for fifteen minutes or an hour, the number of drinks they would receive would remain the same. Once they got thirsty, they would probably buy more. Further, the cost of operating the drinks machine was not much. Take the hot drinks for example. A bag of instant coffee or milk tea measuring one kilogram could make fifty 250 ml cups of hot drinks. That made the cost of each drink fifty cents. On top of that, the more that they bought, the cheaper it became and the lower their costs would be.
Even if they added in the cost of water and electricity, a hot drink would cost two yuan at the most. The shared phone booth would continue to make profits.
Of course, customers could not choose their own flavors.
Furthermore, customers would have to pay extra to play the capsule machine.
The couple picked up the microphones from the table and found a small box that contained free microphone covers. They received two for free upon entry, but if they wanted to use more, they had to pay.
The melodious music sounded, and both of them started singing.
At that time, outside the phone booth, everyone in the queue heard soft music coming from inside the phone booth.
"Eh? Are they really singing?" "How long… do they plan to sing?"
"Holy sh*t, they've paid more to stay in there for longer. The remaining time has increased!"
"…Let's go, let's go. How long must we freaking wait?!"
It looked like the couple that had just entered the shared phone booth was planning to stay in there for a long time. The timer on the screen started again at thirty minutes. Many people who had been queuing with the intention to try out the booth gave up and dispersed.
However, a realization suddenly dawned on Zhang Wang-who had been sitting at the drinks stall nearby-once he witnessed what had happened.
If everyone who went in came out again quickly, it would have been a bad thing. It would have meant that the phone booth had not been attractive enough!
However, now the couple had decided to stay and sing for at least half an hour. That meant that the shared phone booth itself had no problem!
The other shared phone booths would be done soon. Then, they would move into the various shopping malls in Jingzhou City… They would be money trees that raked in profits for a long time!
Once all twenty shared phone booths had been set up and they had recovered their capital, Zhang Wang would immediately report the good news to Boss Pei!
In the afternoon, on a hired car heading from Jingzhou's airport to Shenhua View…
A young man accessed the author's platform application on his cell phone, created a new chapter, and then habitually typed the words 'taking leave' in the subject.
"I'm attending Zhongdian Chinese Network's first class for online authors in Jingzhou, and so I'm taking one day's leave—just for all of your information.
"On top of that, please vote!"
He typed the entire message at one go. Then, the young man kept his cell phone and looked out of the window of the hired car, appreciating Jingzhou's views.
A few minutes later, he took his cell phone out again and accessed Zhongdian Chinese Network's application to read the readers' comments under the chapter. "Pfft, I thought he updated the book!"
"He's bailing on us again like he always does? Think about how many times you've taken leave in the past month alone."
"Sh*t, it's only 3 PM. Can't you just write at night?"
"Not bad, you've improved. You said you had to attend your classmate's weddings the past few times. I wondered why all of your classmates were getting married at the same time! Your excuse is not bad this time. Keep working hard!"
"Taking frequent leave is a sign that the author isn't going to finish the book. Tell us, are you going to leave this book incomplete as well?!"
"Sh*t, don't do that! I just caught up, and you've only written about six hundred thousand words for this book. It's only a child!"
"You're asking for votes even though you're taking leave… how shameless!" "Do you see this vote? F*ck, even if I have to waste it, I wouldn't vote for you!"
Reading the angry comments left by his readers, the young man smiled. He was already used to this.
Cui Geng was one of the students who would be attending Zhongdian Chinese Network's first authors' class. His pen name was 'The Tentacled Beast that Writes for His Life'. However, that name turned out to be perfectly ironic.
He was known for updating his books very slowly and taking leave whenever he felt like it. Each time he took leave, he would also shamelessly ask readers to vote for him.
He was also infamous for not finishing two or three online novels.
Yet, he always had good ideas for novels and a perfect grasp of writing and rhythm. He could always draw people in. Although his readers constantly cursed at him, even they could not help but keep reading his novels.
Cui Geng sighed. "Ai, I'm telling the truth this time. I'm really going to take part in a class. Why doesn't anyone believe me?"
Among online authors, there were hard workers and slackers. Authors like Cui Geng were especially slack.
That was because he lacked motivation.
When he graduated from university, he had immediately felt pressured by the real world's materialism. Thus, having had nothing to do, he began writing online novels to support himself.
However, half a year after he had started, his house was demolished.
Cui Geng had wandered around for some time and then had felt empty once again. Thus, he had decided to repent and turn over a new leaf. This time, he had decided to finish his book and become a novel god.
In the end, several other flats belonging to his family were demolished as well.
Cui Geng felt sorrowful. Life had a way of making a fool of people. Who would have had the mood to continue writing?
Thus, Cui Geng left everything to fate now.
This time, he had come to Jingzhou with the intention to go on holiday.
He had no idea what he was going to learn in the class as well. He had signed up the moment he heard that he would receive a basic salary and that his food and accommodation would be provided for.
He had not expected to be chosen immediately.
It was probably because there weren't many successful authors on Zhongdian Chinese Network Cui Geng had started off by writing on Infinite Chinese Network. However, many readers heard about him having a habit of not completing his books. Even editors came to hear about it. Each time he started a new book, his old readers would comment on it to diss it.
Helpless and not lacking money, Cui Geng had decided to change platforms and give himself a new lease of life.
Thus, thanks to a freak combination of various factors, Cui Geng started writing for Zhongdian Chinese Network which treated its mid-tier writers quite well.
"I heard that there are many fun places to go to in Jingzhou. It's just as well. I can use this class as an excuse to play here for a few days.
"I'm taking leave for an official reason. The readers can't say anything about that, right?
"I'm collecting material for my novel. What's more, writing novels requires a lot of brainpower. If I play more, I can refresh my mind and cheer myself up. That'll allow me to come up with more content.
"They'll understand for sure!"
After thinking about this for some time, Cui Geng arrived at Shenhua View. He alighted from the car and took the elevator up to the editors' department in Zhongdian Chinese Network.
Someone welcomed him warmly and led him to the conference room.
A while later, Ma Yiqun entered the conference room, and the two men began chatting
From their conversation, Cui Geng learned that he was the first author to arrive in Jingzhou for the class. That surprised him.
However, on further thought, it made sense. He had only received the invitation yesterday, and yet he was already here today. He had been quite fast.
The main reason for his enthusiasm was that he wanted to find an excuse to take leave as soon as possible.
After chatting for some time, Ma Yiqun retrieved an agreement.
"This is the agreement for the online literature class. Everyone has to sign one. Please read the details in the agreement very carefully. Once you're sure that there are no problems with it, you can sign it.
"We have some requirements, but you don't have to worry; those are basic requirements. We will not go overboard."
Cui Geng was stunned. "Huh? There's an agreement?"
It was quite formal.