Cui Geng roughly scanned the document. Its main provisions concerned the rights and responsibilities for this class.
The website was obligated to provide a basic salary, insurance and funds, a working environment, accommodation, food, and the like for the authors. There were set standards for the salary, the insurance, the funds, as well as the food and accommodation.
On top of that, about ten hours each weekor two afternoons—would be spent on team exercises.
On the other hand, the authors would only have to submit themselves to the website's scheduling. Otherwise, the website would be allowed to terminate the contract unconditionally and retract all promises and benefits under the contract.
There were also details about the flow and arrangement of the class.
What concerned Cui Geng the most was that, under the agreement, all authors would have clear work and rest times. Each day, they would work at their desks from 9 AM to 6 PM. In between, they would have an hour for lunch and rest.
Cui Geng was very happy with all the other provisions, but that one provision about work timings made him hesitate.
A frequent no-show like him, who had been used to working only two or three hours a day, now had to work eight hours a day at a work desk?
That sounded very difficult.
He worried that the website would retract all his benefits and privileges if he failed to hit the targets. Wouldn't that be embarrassing?
Cui Geng voiced his concerns. "Boss Ma, the agreement states that we have to work for eight hours, right? Are there any other requirements, such as writing a minimum of four thousand words?"
Ma Yiqun shook his head. "There won't be a word count.
"Writing is a creative process. Every author will experience writer's block and be unable to produce anything. That's why we decided not to set a hard and fast rule for the word count."
Cui Geng heaved a sigh of relief.
It was good that they did not have a word count!
During working hours, he could surf the net, slack, and do whatever he wanted. Then, the eight hours would pass quickly.
The website was providing food and accommodation. They were even allowing everyone to travel around Jingzhou regularly to relax. Cui Geng could also look forward to eating, drinking, playing, and chatting with the other authors; and all he would have to do was surf the net in another location.
For all he knew, the computer they would provide him with would have better specifications than the computer he had at home.
All in all, it was a good deal.
Cui Geng continued flipping through the agreement and found no provision that put him at a disadvantage. Relieved, he signed his name.
"Alright, we will arrange for someone to send you to your accommodation later.
"We've arranged for everyone to stay at a guest house on the outskirts of the city to ensure that you can enjoy a relaxed and peaceful environment. Your workplace will be a five-minute walk from that guest house.
"Don't worry, we say it's the outskirts, but the accommodations will not be of low-standards."
Ma Yiqun kept the agreement. Cui Geng nodded and said, "No problem."
They were a bunch of tough men anyway; they did not have high expectations for the accommodations. Even if the accommodations were located in a deserted place, so be it. Most authors were homebodies who did not fancy going out, too. It would not be a problem.
January 14th, Friday…
At 8 AM, Cui Geng was woken up by his cell phone's alarm ringing. He instinctively switched it off and went back to sleep.
"Brother Cui, it's about time to wake up. You told me to wake you up last night," said a voice next to him.
Cui Geng suddenly realized something. He opened his eyes wide and sat upright.
He was not at home; he was in a hotel!
He and a few other authors had checked into the hotel that the website had arranged for them yesterday.
The hotel environment was quite nice. Although it was on the outskirts, it was considered one of the better three-star hotels. The room was spacious, clean, and tidy. It also provided everything that its guests needed.
There were two people in a room, and Cui Geng was rooming with a new author who was about a year younger than him. The latter referred to Cui Geng as 'Brother Cui', and he was quite respectful.
"I'll be ready soon!"
Cui Geng rolled out of bed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face at lightning speed. Five minutes later, he was all dressed.
Both of them had breakfast in the hotel and then walked to the nearby workplace together.
Yesterday afternoon and night, all the authors had arrived in Jingzhou one by one. Not one of them had backed out. They were all writers on Zhongdian Chinese Network who had heard about one another here and there. Thus, they all engaged in polite conversation. Zhu Xingan had arrived as well. He led everyone to the place where they would be writing normally.
The workplace that the website had prepared for them was in an office building nearby. They rented a spacious place and set up neatly-arranged work desks.
Apart from mechanical keyboards and big monitors, there were also fountain pens and notebooks on the large work desks. Those were probably for authors to write down their thoughts and inspirations.
On top of that, there was a long conference table in the room and a snack area by the side. Aside from various snacks, there was also a coffee pod machine.
All in all, this place already had much higher standards than most offices.
Zhu Xingan watched as everyone chose their respective seats.
"Alright, it's almost time. You can rest for a while at your seats, have some coffee, and then start brainstorming.
"My workspace is near the door. If you have any questions while you're writing, feel free to approach me and ask.
"You will also get ten minutes of rest every hour. We'll ring the bell, and you can all stand up and move around, look out the window, or stretch. That should get rid of any signs of exhaustion."
Cui Geng purposely chose a seat near the corner, the furthest away from Zhu Xingan. This was a perfect blind spot. Zhu Xingan would not realize what he was up to.
As long as he could slack the eight hours away and spend two or three hours in the middle writing something, he would be able to get by.
Cui Geng clicked on the power button of his computer and lightly tapped on his keyboard, producing crisp tapping sounds that were extremely pleasing to the ears.
The monitor's quality was not bad. It had high resolution, and it looked like it had been adjusted to provide blue-light protection. As Cui Geng looked at it, his eyes felt comfortable; they did not hurt as much as they would when looking at other monitors.
The table was of standard height, but the chair and monitor's heights could be adjusted at will.
The ergonomic chair was extremely comfortable as well. The backing of the chair fit perfectly against the curves of one's back. The armrests were level with the table, and when one's arm bent at ninety degrees, they could rest their elbows on the armrests. Since they could also rest their hands on their keyboards, typing felt effortless and comfortable.
The mouse and headphones were not necessary for writing novels, but they were of high-quality, too. In fact, they had even better specifications than what Cui Geng had at home.
Although he was not sure about the computer's specifications, there seemed to be a cool logo on the computer that said 'ROF'.
Since this was a desktop, Cui Geng guessed that the monitor would be passable. He should have no problems playing large-scale games.
Even if he could not play games, watching shows on such a big monitor would be perfect.
Tap, tap, tap…
Crisp, tapping sounds of people typing away at their keyboards filled the room. Soon, the tapping became continuous and fast-paced. It was like a mechanical keyboard party.
If only one person had been typing on a mechanical keyboard—with the loudest click sounds, at that-in a quiet room, it would be akin to a person smoking cigarettes indoors. Everyone else could forget about working because they would be too distracted.
However, if everyone in the room was using the same mechanical keyboard to type, it would be like a group of smokers gathering to smoke. Nobody would be bothered by the sounds. Instead, they would form a unique environment in which they found pleasure.
Still, for Cui Geng—who was only interested in slacking—the sounds were very disturbing. Sh*t, we just sat down a minute ago. How do all of you have inspiration? Are you even human?
Forget it, forget it. Think on the bright side. Since the sound of typing is so loud, no one will notice me slacking.
These headphones should be good at canceling noise. I'll look at the computer's specifications and
Holy sh*t!
The computer's specifications were obviously excellent. The computer switched on very quickly.
Since Cui Geng had been seated at the desk in the far corner, he had gone to grab snacks and a cup of coffee before he came back to switch on his computer. Thus, he was behind everyone else. Cui Geng had initially intended to check the computer's specifications and internet speed upon switching it on. Then, he would think about what game to download or what show to watch.
However, the moment the computer switched on and before he could even move his mouse, the writing software automatically opened up. It filled the entire screen and was locked in place.
Cui Geng, "???"
He felt slightly light-headed. Instinctively, he clicked Alt + F4, but the computer did not respond.
Then, he tried Ctrl + Alt + Delete, but still, the computer did not respond.
Writing software like that normally had lockdown effects. Once it opened, it would remain locked in place until a certain number of words or a certain amount of time was hit. Until then, nobody could do anything else on the computer except write!
This computer was designed to be more extreme. Once the computer switched on, it would open the writing software automatically. Even after one restarted the computer, it would open the software again automatically.
There was no target word count or time limit to hit. In other words-unless one called the technical staff, they would not be able to exit the lockdown state!
Of course, such software normally allowed access to Qiandu's search engine so that writers could retrieve information. However, that access point was limited to searching for information-one could not even play videos.
Cui Geng was beginning to understand how the other authors started writing so quickly.
Even if they did not want to, there was nothing else they could do!
Cui Geng felt the urge to vomit blood. He had a huge monitor and a computer with excellent specifications, and yet all he could do was write. What a waste! After several tries, Cui Geng finally gave up. He knew that the writing software's technical staff had probably already thought of any idea he could think of now. They would not have left users a way out.
Since he was already stuck in this lockdown state, it would be no use thinking of how to get out.
Everyone around him was typing away on their mechanical keyboard. However, Cui Geng felt like a prisoner who had just been sentenced to life imprisonment; his heart had turned cold.
The cogs in his brain started turning as he thought about his current predicament.
All of a sudden, a great idea surfaced in his head.
"Editor-in-Chief! There's a part in my story that requires me to watch a certain part of a movie! What should I do?"
Cui Geng could not help but rejoice in his heart. That was a perfectly reasonable request!
As an online author, he often had to watch movies and play games to write. It made sense, right?
Some parts required him to write as he watched a scene in a movie; other parts required him to play a game for himself before he could write.
However, this computer only limited him to basic searches. There was no way it could fulfill either requirement.
Thus, it made perfect sense to ask that question at that moment. Other authors were probably thinking the same.
Cui Geng was not asking for much. As long as he could watch videos, shows, and movies on his computer; he would be satisfied!
Zhu Xingan pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose as if he had already prepared for this question. Pointing to a spare computer next to him, he said, "If you need to gather material, you can use this computer." Cui Geng, "…"
Chapter 391 Who Else?!
The computer was right next to Zhu Xingan. Anyone who raised their head could see the screen. One could say that Cui Geng would be using the computer under everyone's gaze.
Cui Geng had noticed that there was a spare computer in the room before. However, at the time, he just thought that there was an extra set. He had not thought much about it after that.
Now, he understood; it had a purpose!
He could watch movies and play games on that computer, but he would have to do that under the noses of the editor-in-chief and all the other authors. Could he catch up with his shows?
That would be too much!
How could he hog the computer and watch shows or movies while everyone else watched him? The computer was meant to be shared among all the authors. Others would have to gather their own material!
Cui Geng had thought about saying one computer was not enough and then asking Zhu Xingan to prepare another one.
However, on further thought, if he were in Zhu Xingan's position; he would not believe his own words either.
That was because the writers would be able to find eighty to ninety percent of the material using their own computers.
Even in the writing software's lockdown state, they were allowed to conduct searches on Qiandu or other websites; they only could not watch videos, download software, or access certain websites and forums such as Infinite Chinese Network, Zhongdian Chinese Network, Tieba, and Weibo.
Thus, it was impossible to waste the entire day away reading novels and forums while in the lockdown state.
Writers could gather eighty to ninety percent of the information they needed using the search engines.
Under exceptional circumstances, if they needed to gather material from movies, they could use the computer next to Zhu Xingan. There, they could download the movie and skip to the scene that they needed to watch. That would not take much time at all.
What's more, the computer was a shared resource. Ordinary people would feel too embarrassed to hog it for too long. Thus, everyone would be as efficient as possible.
That meant there was no problem with having only one computer; it would not hinder their writing progress.
However, to Cui Geng, whose initial intention had been to slack; this was extremely painful!
He quietly sat down, recalling the agreement that he had signed earlier. It was no wonder that the agreement had only stipulated the working hours and not a word count!
Ma Yiqun's hidden intention was clear: it's alright if one had writer's block and failed to write anything for one day; they wouldn't care as long as staring at the writing software for one entire day didn't drive someone crazy.
Cui Geng was speechless. He had been scammed! This was a trap!
Cui Geng instinctively wanted to leave. The worst that could happen if he tore up the contract was the retraction of his benefits; he would not have to compensate the website.
He could not imagine being locked up for one entire month.
However, on further thought, he realized that it would be inappropriate. He had traveled all the way to Jingzhou. How could he turn around and run back for this simple reason?
If his friends, other authors, and his readers caught wind of this; how would everyone view
him?
The other writers in the class were writing earnestly, and yet I ran away on the very first day…?
That sounds awful!
After weighing the pros and cons, Cui Geng calmed himself down and decided not to be rash. Even if he wanted to leave, he had to grit his teeth and stick around for two days minimally.
What's more, he had already taken leave yesterday, and he had not posted a new chapter today. He had to post one or two chapters to placate his readers.
After much consideration, Cui Geng sighed softly. Helplessly, he began writing.
In his office, Pei Qian flipped through his notes and considered recent developments at work.
The manufacturer of the shared phone booths would probably hand over the finished products in a few days. Then, the phone booths would be set up in various shopping malls around Jingzhou.
After the weekend, Pei Qian intended to walk around various shopping malls to see how the shared phone booths would be doing.
Based on what had happened earlier, it seemed like no one was interested in this thing. However, Pei Qian could never be too careful. Who knew if the project would suddenly resurrect?
He could not let his guard down.
He had also put He Desheng in charge of the Shared Top Student. Many companies were producing educational software now. He just had to contact one and hire them to create a simple application. There would probably not be much work to do in that regard. However, creating one simple application would not cost much. Pei Qian planned to spend more on publicity; they would run advertisements and distribute flyers. When the time was right, they would also distribute subsidies. That would get rid of more money.
Another thing was… he wondered how Boss Li's Ming House was doing. Pei Qian really wanted that high-end restaurant to make a name for itself as soon as possible. That would take some of Ming Yun Private Kitchen's customers away so that the latter would not generate so much revenue.
Pei Qian and Boss Li had each other's contact details. However, Pei Qian had been too lazy to contact Boss Li directly. Thus, both men had only met face-to-face a few times, and all of those times were by chance at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
This time, however, Pei Qian could not help himself. He called Li Shi.
Soon, the line went through.
"Hello? Boss Li! Oh, it's nothing. I was just calling for a quick chat. Oh, that's right. I wanted to ask how Ming House is doing. Has it become popular? Is that why you've been so busy?"
Pei Qian was very sincere as he asked the questions expectantly.
Li Shi sounded both desperate and exhausted. "Boss Pei, don't make fun of me. You're so well-informed. How can you not know?
"We ran into many problems the day after our opening. Many of our first batch of customers were not satisfied. We gave them discounts and waived their bills accordingly, but it still affected our business to some extent.
"You can say that we've been troubleshooting over the last few days…"
Pei Qian was confused.
They had run into many problems?
That couldn't be. Boss Li must have hired experienced chefs. Even if they were not as experienced as Ming Yun Private Kitchen's chefs, they should not have caused that many problems, right?
All of a sudden, Pei Qian recalled something.
He had brought Little Tang along during the previous gathering!
Everyone had been happily eating at the time, and they had not noticed anything strange. That was why Pei Qian had forgotten about it altogether.
From what Boss Li was saying, it looked like the kitchen had suffered the effects!
Look at how things had turned out…
Pei Qian suddenly felt guilty towards Boss Li. He had only intended to visit to show his support. However, he had accidentally hurt Boss Li in the process!
Pei Qian quickly asked, "It's not that serious, right?"
Boss Li smiled politely. "I don't think it's that serious. They're just minor problems. The restaurant's quality is holding it up, and we're not incurring losses. However, I don't think we can become popular in the short-term.
"Speaking of which, I wouldn't have known that there were so many things to take note of about running a restaurant until I did it myself.
"I thought that one just needed money to run a high-end restaurant. Now, I know, I was being too simple.
"Boss Pei, you always look so relaxed. You made running a high-end restaurant look very easy. It looks like that was just smoke and mirrors."
Pei Qian, "…?!"
What did I do? Why am I taking the blame for this?!
I wasn't involved in the running of Ming Yun Private Kitchen at the time. I also wasn't responsible for Ming Yun Private Kitchen becoming popular all of a sudden!
Why are you making it sound as if I misled you?!
After some thought, Pei Qian said, "Boss Li, please don't panic. Running a high-end restaurant is very technical. You'll need experience. Ming House just lacks that experience. This is only a temporary problem. It will get better.
"How about this? I'll book the entire place again for next week. That'll give you some business!"
Pei Qian could not think of a better way to make it up to Boss Li. He could not possibly tell the latter that his employee had been responsible for all the mishaps in Ming House, right? How could he openly discuss metaphysics?!
All he could do was bring his own employees there for a few meals to make it up to Boss Li. Of course, he could not bring Little Tang with him this time. Boss Pei had nothing to gain from the collapse of Ming House.
He also could not bring those who had eaten there this week. The System would not allow him to organize gatherings for the same group of people so frequently.
This time, he would bring another group like the employees at Fei Huang Workspace or Upwind Logistics. That was the benefit of having so many employees. The various departments could take turns to eat!
Pei Qian could not help but imagine… if he had thirty departments in the future-based on the principle of having one gathering per month for each company, wouldn't be able to feast every single day?
Hmm, that sounded good…
Boss Li remained silent for a moment. Then, obviously moved, he said, "Thank you, Boss Pei. I misunderstood you when you said you did not want to have any part in the restaurant earlier.
"Now, I understand. Business is business, but relationships are relationships. Boss Pei, you have distinguished them very clearly.
"I'll remember this favor! If I get the chance in the future, I will return it for sure!"
Pei Qian, "?"
Don't you dare overthink this. I just want to spend more money on food!
Even if I don't eat at your restaurant, I would eat at Swan Lake Restaurant. It's not because of any 'relationship' between us but purely because the food at your restaurant is more expensive!
What's more, there is no 'relationship' between us. Don't misunderstand me!
Different cuss words surfaced in Pei Qian's heart. However, he could not let them out. Instead, he had to keep them in, suppressing them until he wanted to belch.
"Boss Li, it's just one meal. You don't have to take it to heart. If you want to thank me, run Ming House well and make it famous. Overtake Ming Yun Private Kitchen as soon as you can!"
Those words flowed from the bottom of Pei Qian's heart.
Li Shi, "Hehe. Boss Pei, I'm going back to work. You're welcome here at any time."
After hanging up, Pei Qian felt sorrowful.
He had good intentions in bringing everyone to the restaurant for a meal. He had not expected to hurt his own friends by accident. Now, Ming House's situation looked bad.
Everything was going wrong! Pei Qian was in pain. However, seeing that it was already Friday afternoon, Pei Qian knew that there was nothing much he could do for now.
"I have to do something next week to turn the situation around! I also have to remember to look at the shared phone booths next Monday."
Pei Qian quietly committed these things to memory and then went back to studying.
…
At 6 PM…
A pleasant bell sounded. However, all the tapping at the mechanical keyboards showed no signs of stopping. Many writers' eyes remained glued to their screens as their fingers kept typing away. Zhu Xingan stood up and clapped. "Alright, it's time to get off work. Pack up as quickly as you can. The computers will shut down automatically in ten minutes.
"Please manage your time better tomorrow, everyone. It'll be best if you could stop typing at 6 PM sharp."
Cui Geng, who was seated in the far corner, heaved out a long sigh. He leaned back in his ergonomic chair and stretched.
He glanced at the word count on the screen.
…8,177 words. Cui Geng could not help but feel emotional. Who would've thought that a no-show like me would be able to write over eight thousand words in a single day?! Although he could constantly check on his word count throughout the day and Cui Geng already had an idea that he had written that much, he still felt incredulous.
That was because he had thought that he hadn't been very efficient today.
He could not surf the web, watch videos, or play games. That made him extremely uncomfortable.
What's more, although the furniture was comfortable, the screen was huge, and the keyboard was nice to use; this was not a familiar environment. Of course, he had felt out of place.
He had also experienced writer's block in the middle of the day.
If he had been in such a state at home, Cui Geng would have ended up with four thousand words at most, but he would already have considered that to be quite good.
Yet, he had managed to write about eight thousand words here!
Cui Geng felt proud of himself. He really wanted to shout 'who else can do this?!'
At that moment, the two authors seated opposite him stood up. "I feel like writing together in this office has really increased my efficiency!"
"How much did you write?"
"I just hit ten thousand words. How about you?"
"Thirteen thousand."
"Awesome!"
"Hey, no, no, no! I think I can still do better."
Cui Geng, "…"
He had no choice but to silently bury his boasts deep in his heart.
Chapter 392 Not One Person is to Leave; I'll Treat Them!
Once he accepted the fact that eight thousand words was not much, Cui Geng edited the 8,439-word chapter and split it into four chapters. Then, he opened the authors' platform and uploaded them.
Don't ask why there was an additional two hundred words. He had just added a couple of sentences and improved the transition in the passage.
After he uploaded the last chapter, Cui Geng felt slightly sorrowful.
He had always uploaded whatever he had written immediately. There would be at least two hours between each chapter as well.
Yet, now, he had just uploaded four chapters at one shot. That was four times the happiness. He felt like a rush, like water coursing out of a dam.
Cui Geng found it hard to control his own excitement but hard to express it as well. Thus, after much thought, he only added one phrase at the end of his last chapter.
"D*mn!"
When he saw that his chapters had been published, Cui Geng felt relieved.
He was pleased! He was satisfied!
He was relaxed!
Although he had been a stubborn no-show and he had bailed whenever he wanted, he would always feel disappointment when evening came around.
He had always had the feeling that the day had passed too quickly, and there had been no time to do anything. For some reason, he would feel empty and melancholic.
However, he did not have the same feeling today. He did not feel like he had lacked time because he had written over eight thousand words!
"Time to eat!
"Everyone has free time tonight. Those who want to return to the hotel can do so, and those who want to go out to play can do so as
well."
Zhu Xingan closed off their day at work and gestured at the Fish-Catching Take-Out, which was placed neatly on the conference table.
One by one, they opened their white, porcelain bowls. The hot food emitted smoke and a delicious fragrance.
The writers sat down at the table and ate as they chatted. They had all eaten Fish-Catching Take-Out for lunch as well. Thus, Cui Geng had already felt emotional from being able to eat healthy and delicious take-out then.
Zhu Xingan distributed each person's meal to them at the conference table. For some reason, this scene made Cui Geng think about the oil painting of the last supper.
As the writers ate and chatted, they talked about how many words they had written, how productive they had been, how their necks didn't hurt thanks to the good chairs, and the like.
Cui Geng had nothing in common with them. What he wanted most to say was that he had written over eight thousand words that day. However, at a place like that, it did not seem like something worth being so proud of. Instead, it was quite embarrassing. In the midst of all the conversations going on around him, Cui Geng whipped out his cell phone to read the comments on his new chapters.
S
His cell phone's signal was not hindered here, but there was no Wi-Fi. Thus, everyone had to spend money on buying data. Of course, even then, nobody spent all day on their cell phones playing games. How could they when everyone else was busy typing away? Anyone who did that would feel guilty for sure. What's more, they had not been forced to attend this class. If they had no interest in writing, there would be no point in forcing themselves to stay. Leaving sooner would be better than later. At home, they could do anything they wanted.
It was just like sending a student who hated studying in a study room. No matter how much he did not want to learn, his environment could force him to learn something. It would be much easier for one to study in a study room than in one's own hostel.
Cui Geng had to admit that… while he was a good slacker, he was also a good writer. A good number of people were keeping up with his novels.
A few minutes after he uploaded his new chapters, his readers posted comments. "???"
"What am I seeing? Four chapters in a row?"
"Huh? I must have eaten too much today; I'm hallucinating!"
"Did the no-show eat the wrong medicines today? Not only did he upload four chapters in a row, but he also didn't ask for any votes!"
"He must have found a substitute writer!"
At that point, Cui Geng's heart was pounding.
D*mn it, he had been too eager to upload his chapters, and he had forgotten to ask for votes!
He had uploaded so many chapters without asking for any votes. It felt as bad as losing a hundred million dollars.
He continued reading.
"What does 'd*mn' mean? I don't think I've seen him end off chapters with this tone before."
"I guess the no-show has been kidnapped. The kidnappers must have forced him to write over eight thousand words. He's left us a clue at the end of the last chapter!"
"Kidnappers, these two votes are for you. If you see this comment, keep him for a few more days. Thank you!"
"You have a vote from me as well. Keep him for two more days!"
"Tentacled-Beast, if you've run into any problems in life, just let us know. Give us time to think of something. What would we do if your problems get resolved?"
"Is this real? No-show, if you've been kidnapped, blink! I'll thank the kidnappers!" Cui Geng was speechless.
What do you mean you'll thank the kidnappers?!
Is that the kind of impression you have of me? Would kidnapping me be the only way to make me work hard to update my novels?
Am I that kind of person?
Eh? It does seem like it.
Ah, nevermind then.
On further thought, Cui Geng realized that had he not been trapped in a lockdown state on the computer in this class, he would not have written over eight thousand words in a single day.
Forget it, I won't bother about this for now.
I've written over eight thousand words today! Awesome!
I have to treat myself tonight! Cui Geng wolfed down his red braised pork with a vengeance. Lowering his voice, he turned to his roommate beside him. "Brother, do you want to play tonight? I heard that there's a chain of internet cafes in Jingzhou called Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. The computer specifications are good, and so is the environment. We'll get a kick out of playing games there!"
His roommate shook his head. "I think I'll pass, Brother Cui. I'm going to go back to the room and write another chapter using my laptop. After that, I'll surf the net to prepare to write more tomorrow." Cui Geng, "…"
For some reason, Cui Geng recalled his experience in university, when he roomed together with a nerd.
January 17th, Monday…
Pei Qian slept his fill and woke up naturally. Then, he rolled around, sat up, and rubbed his eyes.
"How annoying. It's Monday again. I have to go to work again.
"Hmm… for some reason, I feel like I have to do something. I just can't recall what it was.
"Forget it, I'll order some take-out and think while I eat."
Pei Qian whipped out his phone, ordered Fish-Catching Take-Out, and then checked his unread notifications.
Ma Yang, "Brother Qian, IOI is undergoing testing in the West! I heard that the figures are not bad. Quick, take a look!"
Oh?
Pei Qian immediately became alert.
He opened his browser and searched for news about 'Finger Games' and 'IOI testing'.
Finger Games' official website introduced IOI's merits in detail. One example was how IOI contained a professional battle network with automatic matching functions. The gamers' standards would be determined by their hidden skills values using the 'Elo rating system', and they would be sent to battle quickly. Friends playing together would be matched together, and the open ladder would also be released in the future.
Pei Qian searched for players' feedback on the forum. Although some people were complaining about bugs in the game-on the whole, people were still praising it. Pei Qian did not read too many comments. Since his English was the standard of a fourth-grader, he thought that he probably would not understand a lot of it. Thus, he saved himself the effort.
He was more concerned about the related conversations taking place in the local forums.
Once IOI started being tested overseas, the news spread very quickly to China. Many local players were paying close attention to IOI as well. They had hopes that the game would start running tests in China and come up with Mandarin clients.
Some players even went to the United States to try the game out because they could not wait any longer. After reading the news, Pei Qian had mixed feelings. Now, he was not sure if he should hope for IOI to become popular or fail…
Still, no matter what, the script was finally developing in the way that he imagined!
Before this, Pei Qian noticed that IOI had not been running tests in the United States and that it had been getting average feedback. He had been worried that IOI would fail.
Although IOI's failure would make ducks and drakes of Dream Realization Ventures' twenty million yuan investment, Tengda's GOG… would be in trouble.
Now, the plot was developing as he had imagined. IOI was becoming popular in the United States. That meant that it would only be a matter of time before the game became popular worldwide.
That meant that…
For now, he could relax with GOG!
Pei Qian did not have much System Funds left. Otherwise, he would have poured another huge sum of money into GOG.
After finishing his take-out, he prepared to go to the office to walk around and check on GOG's progress.
At that moment, he received another message from Huang Sibo: "Boss Pei, we've wrapped up the movie!" Pei Qian paused. So quickly?
Oh, not really. On further thought, Pei Qian realized that the news was coming slightly later than he had expected. It was about time that they wrapped up filming.
This meant that all the camera work was complete. Although they would still have to edit the movie and finalize it, the production crew would normally split up at this point and bid their farewells.
Thus, most movies would hold their celebration feasts once filming was done. That was because it would be the last time that everyone would be present.
After reading the message, Pei Qian did not feel tired anymore. Didn't they have to eat to celebrate the end of filming?
Should they play in Jingzhou for a couple of days?
Everyone had traveled such a long way and worked so hard for the movie. As their boss, shouldn't Boss Pei give them a good treat?
He immediately typed his reply. "Not one person in the production crew is to leave yet! I'll treat them to a meal!"
Chapter 393 Movie Schedule
Pei Qian went to the office in the afternoon first to review the progress of GOG'S development. Ma Yang had then sent the trial version of IOI over.
Dream Realization Ventures had shares in Finger Games and was their local agent after all. They would naturally obtain a trial version.
It was an English version, but Pei Qian relied on his level four proficiency and translation on Qiandu to understand most of it.
Boss Pei was more at ease after comparing the current versions of IOI and GOG.
There was an obvious gap!
IOI was not publicly tested previously, but they occasionally sent a few versions that were being continuously improved. Pei Qian saw it but had no clear idea of what stage the game was in.
The IOI in Pei Qian's memory was already in a mature and perfect form. It was naturally awkward to look at IOI in its embryonic stage and was difficult to evaluate it objectively.
However, Pei Qian was roughly certain after knowing the reactions of the players during the trial.
The quality of the game itself had no problem. Its competitiveness in the current field, at least for now, was self-evident.
In contrast, GOG was far behind in terms of completeness.
Pei Qian did not know if that was because IOI was initiated earlier so its development was faster, or was it because Li Yada and the team were being lazy?
Pei Qian hoped it was the latter.
He had to say that once the Tengda Spirit compatibility test was out-not only did the mentality of the new employees change, but even the attitude of the old employees had also been greatly improved!
For example, the diehards of the Tengda Games department—who often worked overtime—had significantly reduced their frequency of overtime.
It seemed as though Li Yada and the rest were preparing to strategically abandon the first zero overtime competition.
Between completing their tasks and receiving their bonuses, they chose the former—which made Pei Qian feel a little regretful.
However, Li Yada and her team did not fall into a vicious cycle. They did not work harder during overtime because they were out of the zero overtime competition. Instead, they were trying to reduce the length of overtime and share of overtime each week.
That made Boss Pei very satisfied. There was a kind of joy that 'the diehards finally got it'.
In any case, GOG seemed to be in good shape. It did not seem like a major problem to invest a few million yuan more in the future if there were extra money that he did not know what to do with.
The gap between GOG and IOI did not seem like something a few million yuan could solve after all.
Pei Qian felt a little relieved thinking about that. He continued to review his studies while looking forward to the dinner tonight.
Evening, Ming House…
"Boss Pei! How have you been!"
Several important members including Zhang Zuting and Lu Zhiyao received Pei Qian at the entrance of the hotel.
"What are you doing? It's so cold. Hurry, get in."
Pei Qian quickly led them in.
"I said this before: I have to do my part as the host since everyone came all the way to help me make a movie," Pei Qian told everyone in a low voice before entering the restaurant.
"The reservation at the nameless restaurant is on the 20th, which is three days later. Let's have another good meal then.
"Everyone please have fun in Jingzhou during these three days and have a good rest.
"Today's meal is to celebrate the end of the filming
"The meal three days later is to wish that the movie would be a big hit in the box office!
"Therefore, even though the dinner tonight might not be that good, please don't mind it and make do with it."
Pei Qian's words were to give everyone forewarning so that they were psychologically prepared for today's meal while, on the other hand, trying to find a reason for two meals in a row.
The two reasons were legitimate and impeccable. There was no reason for the system to disagree.
Zhang Zuting smiled. "Boss Pei, you are too kind."
"We joined in partly because of you. The good script and team of this movie were important factors as well."
"Boss Pei's script is good. If it were to sell out at the box office, the rest of us can bask in its light as well. We can't thank Boss Pei enough!"
Everyone greeted each other and took their seats in the Ming House.
Li Shi was not here today. He seemed to have to settle something at the office.
However, he had already greeted him in advance. The branch manager knew Pei Qian. Moreover, they booked the entire place so it was natural for the branch manager to serve him eagerly.
Delicious food started emerging in no time.
Everything was normal with the dishes probably because he did not bring Little Tang with him today.
Everyone in the movie crew tasted the exquisite dishes and ate to their full. They were just a little confused.
Boss Pei said 'make do with the food'. Was that being humble, or did he really feel that way?
If the standard of this place was not high, then what sort of high standards did the nameless restaurant possess?
The heroine Lin Ruyi could not help but clarify her doubts with Lu Zhiyao who was next to her since he had been there before.
Lu Zhiyao thought for a while. "It's not very easy to describe, but… the nameless restaurant is indeed better than here—much, much better."
At the other table, Pei Qian was discussing the arrangements after the movie was finalized with Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce.
"The movie is in the editing phase. A rough cut will be produced in a few days for your eyes.
"After editing, there will be a series of miscellaneous tasks such as post-production special effects. In short, we'll try to get it done in less than a month.
"But, Boss Pei, I cannot promise it. I can only try to adhere to the timeline."
Pei Qian was slightly disappointed. "One month… it will definitely not make it by Chinese New Year.
"It would be too rushed for Valentine's as well…
"A pity."
The Chinese New Year of the Year 2011 was on February 3rd. There was less than half a month left. It was impossible to air it during Chinese New Year even if he were to work the team to its bones.
Of course, Pei Qian did not plan to rush them; neither did he plan to let them work overtime.
He felt that it was a pity mainly because he felt that the two slots were the best timing for Tomorrow is Beautiful.
Families would reunite during Chinese New Year. It was best for comedies. Valentine's Day would be the best for romance films.
A poisonous and abusive film like Tomorrow is Beautiful was packaged in the skin of 'sci-fi romance'. Coupled with its confusing name, it would definitely be scolded like mad if it was released during these two festive seasons.
The timing of the movie release was still rather important.
There was fierce competition amongst the movies released. The attendance of good movies would be high and would naturally squeeze the survival of the other movies.
Pei Qian was looking forward to being squeezed alive.
"The human traffic during Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day are relatively large. It's indeed good timing. However, our movie has such a deep connotation and might not be suitable for such timing," Zhu Xiaoce said.
"In my opinion, we should release the movie on May 1st, Labor Day. Good things can wait."
May 1st?
Please don't joke anymore. The settlement will be on 31st March. It wouldn't do if it were to drag to May 1st!
There might be a project that could delay the settlement, but Pei Qian wanted to leave such a settlement for the Thriller Hostel. How could it be left to a lousy movie destined to make a loss?
In Pei Qian's view, it was better for the movie to be released as soon as possible. Any additional day of waiting meant more risk.
"May 1st is too late; it's not necessary. Let's set it on February 22nd instead. It's a good date," Pei Qian said. Zhu Xiaoce, "?"
He took out his phone and looked at the calendar. February 22nd was a Tuesday. It was not a holiday; it wasn't even a weekend.
Zhu Xiaoce's confused expression lasted for two seconds, and then his brows softened.
Does Boss Pei have other arrangements? Or is this some auspicious day?
Boss Pei does not seem as though he is joking.
Zhu Xiaoce nodded. "Okay, Boss Pei. We'll set it on February 22nd then. However… the publicity pressure of our movie would be very great scheduling it on such a day."
Whatever…
Pei Qian was indifferent about it. What was there to publicize about a street movie? The best outcome would be no schedule time slots after it was released and for everyone not to know about this movie.
"That's settled then. Let's eat."
Appetites were satisfied.
Pei Qian said goodbye to everyone, one by one.
The schedule of the crew for the next three days had been arranged. There would be a specific person to bring them around Jingzhou so that Pei Qian would not need to worry.
Of course, the tour this time was not a roller coaster ride but a normal tour. Pei Qian knew very well how to treat friends and enemies differently.
These people worked so hard to help film a lousy film to burn money. They might even have to bear some infamy because the quality of the movie was too bad. Would Pei Qian still be human if he were to send them on a roller coaster ride now?
"Boss Pei, let's sit for a while?" Li Shi asked when he came to the door.
Pei Qian nodded, feeling that he had something he wanted to say. "Sure."
They headed back to the restaurant and found an empty seat. The waiter brought a pot of tea for them.
"Boss Li, just tell me what's on your mind directly." Boss Pei wanted to get around all the politeness. He wanted to get to bed early and get up for review tomorrow morning.
Li Shi was a little emotional. "I thought that Boss Pei was just being polite when you said that you would support my business. I did not think that you'd really mean it.
"I was just open for about a week, and Boss Pei has booked the entire venue twice…"
Pei Qian took a sip and found that the tea was indeed good. "Boss Li, I told you many times not to read too much into things. This is just a normal gathering. Boss Li, you aren't just going to talk about this, right?"
Li Shi laughed as though he had decided. "Boss Pei, I've given it some thought.
"I'm prepared to invest a sum of money into your haunted house! It's alright even if it made ducks and drakes! It will all be a sense of gratefulness towards Boss Pei!"
Pei Qian sipped his tea as a question mark slowly floated over his head.
Chapter 394 Boss Pei is Threatened?
Pei Qian did not believe a single word Li Shi said.
Business was business. Boss Li was a veteran investor. How was it possible for him to invest money in projects he could not recover from?
Pei Qian had revealed the haunted house project to Boss Li quite some time ago and pretended to invite him to join hands. Boss Li just laughed it away.
Obviously, Li Shi felt that the haunted house could not be successful so he did not want to be involved in it.
Why did he change his mind now?
Obviously, 'being grateful to Boss Pei' was just an excuse, a cover.
Was it possible that Li Shi saw the possibility of success with the Haunted house after a period of thinking and investigation?
Pei Qian thought about it for a while. It had been almost a month since the Thriller Hostel had been under construction.
The progress was pretty fast because they had been working on the small projects. They might be able to have the first-hand experience for one or two of the small projects in the next few days.
In that case, Boss Li would naturally find out that Boss Pei was working on the haunted house very seriously with speedy progress if he were to check on it.
In any case, there must be some misunderstanding somewhere. Pei Qian sighed softly. "Boss Li, I remember that you were not optimistic about the haunted house project before. Can you share with me why you changed your mind?"
What he meant was why did Boss Li suddenly feel that the haunted house was a reliable project? I'll make changes to it.
Li Shi smiled. "Well… this may sound absurd."
Pei Qian smiled. No problem, I'll get Chen Kangtuo to change it no matter how absurd the reason was!
Li Shi continued, "In fact, I'm now optimistic about the haunted house not because of the project itself… but because of some realizations I had recently when opening this restaurant."
Pei Qian, "?"
What had realizations from opening a restaurant had to do with a haunted house?
"Ming House had a bad start. I had been reflecting on it. Why was it that way?" Li Shi said.
"Thinking about it carefully, the key was in the details. These details directly affected the experience of the customers which determined the reputation of high-end restaurants…"
Li Shi started analyzing very seriously.
Pei Qian tried very hard to maintain a straight face as he drank his tea.
Boss Li, you're overthinking it! Ming House had a bad start because I accidentally brought Little Tang with me and caused the troubles by mistake…
However, he could not reveal these so he could only put these words in his heart as he sipped on.
"Therefore, I understand how difficult it must have been for you, Boss Pei, to start the nameless restaurant in the first place!" Li Shi declared with emotion after a series of crazy analyses. "The situation for the nameless restaurant was very similar to this haunted house!"
"Even so, the nameless restaurant still made it!"
"I realized that no matter how ridiculous the project is, it would seem as though life had been injected into it long as it had gone through Boss Pei's hands!"
"Boss Pei, you must be completely sure since you've decided to make a haunted house. Therefore, I believe in you even though I have no idea how you plan to promote this haunted house!"
Boss Li was very sincere.
Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.
Just because of this?
Pei Qian was still thinking about changing whatever parts of the haunted house Boss Li felt good about.
In the end, it was actually because of such an absurd reason.
Pei Qian was speechless. "Boss Li, I appreciate your kindness, but the risk of the haunted house project is really high. I'm sincerely advising you against it."
Pei Qian spoke very sincerely, and he did not intend to let Boss Li come in to stir up trouble. The success rate of the Thriller Hostel might be extremely low, but he should not forget the lesson learned from Ming Yun Private Kitchen.
In case Boss Li built some support facilities for Thriller Hostel to attract other investors to follow suit and turn the entire neighborhood into a hot new business district…
That would be the end of it. However, Li Shi smiled, obviously not buying it.
"Boss Pei, don't refuse it since you feel that it is with good intentions. We don't need to be so polite between us; just accept it."
"Don't worry, I will definitely not intrude on the running of the business. I just want to earn a bit from the dividends. Let's earn some money together, won't that be nice?" "Or, if Boss Pei feels that the haunted house is an inappropriate investment, perhaps you can recommend some other investments? For example, the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, perhaps we can open more branches?"
"Or… maybe I can invest some money casually into Lincheng?"
Boss Li's expression was very serious.
Pei Qian was speechless.
A threat, this was a very obvious threat!
Pei Qian understood as soon as he heard 'Lincheng'. He had cautioned Zhang Yuan to keep a low profile, but obviously, the movement on Zhang Yuan's side could not hide from Boss Li's eyes.
Previously, ROF made a lot of money due to the increase in the price of RAMs. Pei Qian reluctantly allowed Zhang Yuan to enter Lincheng, hoping that it would consume the excess funds by bringing the Fish-Catching integrated body to a backcountry.
However, it was impossible for Li Shi not to know since he had his eyes on Pei Qian and was so well-informed.
Pei Qian was caught in a dilemma.
He could ignore Li Shi, but Li Shi would then invest his money into Lincheng and then invest in a few bars, cafes, and a few stores in the commercial district.
The brand of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe plus the hot flushes of funds from Boss Li and various investment institutions from Handong Province would lead the Lincheng to an uncertain future…
Pei Qian felt that he was in a very difficult situation now. Li Shi's words basically meant 'think of the merits, or I'll help you with it'.
If he were to disallow Boss Li from investing in the haunted house, this amount of money would probably end up in Lincheng. He could not stop it.
Pick one of the two.
Pei Qian felt vexed. After weighing the pros and cons, Pei Qian felt that Lincheng was more dangerous.
The Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was a successful project after all. Lincheng might be a brand new market, but Li Shi's intervention would probably bring it down… Pei Qian did not expect to be threatened by such matters.
Li Shi was secretly puzzled as he looked at Boss Pei's reaction.
What's the matter? Why is Boss Pei so reluctant for me to give money to him? Why does he look as though a piece of meat is being carved out from him?
They fell silent for a while.
"Boss Li, are you really not afraid of losing money?" Pei Qian gave it some thought and asked.
Li Shi nodded. "No."
Pei Qian sighed slightly. "Alright, I have two projects on hand now. Boss Li, if you really want to thank you, just pick one of them for investment."
"The first is the Haunted house project, which is the Thriller Hostel. The second is the 'Top Student, Come Quick'; it is an education app I have been working on…"
Pei Qian said while observing Boss Li's expression.
Boss Li obviously was listening very carefully to the 'Top Student, Come Quick' project which he had no information about.
Pei Qian did not know the specifics of this project since he had never asked He Desheng who was working on the proposal. Pei Qian only briefly spoke about the general direction.
In Pei Qian's view, these two projects would inevitably make losses. Since Boss Li was not afraid of making losses, he should invest in whichever he wanted.
Li Shi thought about it for a while. "Okay, I'll invest in 'Top Student, Come Quick'!".
Obviously comparing these two projects, Li Shi felt that the 'Top Student, Come Quick' was more reliable.
Pei Qian nodded. Everything could be negotiated as long as Boss Li did not invest in
Lincheng.
January 18th, Tuesday…
Dream Realization Ventures…
"Boss Pei, the app is done. Please take a look.
"This is the promotional material for the early stage of 'Top Student, Come Quick' project.
"Also, about Fu Hui Investments…"
Pei Qian suddenly felt an impending headache when he saw the pile of information handed over by He Desheng.
He glanced at it and threw it aside. Instead, he took the cell phone with the 'Top Student, Come Quick' app installed.
It was done a lot faster than Pei Qian imagined. The framework was up in about a week.
According to He Desheng, this company had done similar projects before so they only changed the code of the previously failed project, replaced the UI, and added two new functions to create the first edition of "Top Student, Come Quick'.
He Desheng seemed to be afraid that Boss Pei would be unhappy so he added, "You can rest assured, Boss Pei. There is no problem with its quality. They might be outsourced, but they are responsible…"
Pei Qian did not care about that. It was better if the app had problems with its quality. It would cool off faster. He just wanted to spend some money casually. Pei Qian played with this app for a while and found that it only had the most basic functions.
The app had two entry points, namely the 'Top Students' Entry' and 'Flunkies Entry'.
One could enter from the Top students' entry and then fill up one's own particulars, including academic qualifications, subjects, knowledge, etc. They also had to submit some necessary information for authentication.
It was much simpler to enter from the Flunkies' Entry. They only needed to send their demand, and a top student would accept the order. The two parties should reach a consensus and meet for the tuition session, and then the flunkie would have to pay the balance.
It had a feeling similar to taxi-hailing software to Pei Qian.
In fact, He Desheng had planned more functions for this APP such as online video answers, search questions, etc.; but there was not enough time to make them.
Moreover, the current basic functions were essentially just 'matchmaking', but they were far from complete.
The app would have no problem in the beginning when there were few users. When more users get on board, the bandwidth of the server would need to be expanded. The architecture and stability of the software itself would need to be improved.
Of course, there was no need to worry about these for the time being because the app had no users yet.
He Desheng set up a company to allocate shares in proportion of 60% to the entrepreneurial team, 30% to Dream Realization Ventures, and 10% to Fu Hui Investments for this 'Top Student, Come Quick' project.
Dream Realization Ventures invested two million yuan; Fu Hui Investments invested one million yuan.
Boss Li wanted to invest more but was rejected by Pei Qian.
Boss Li made a lot of money with the investment by tagging with him. Making a small loss of one million yuan could drench Boss Li in cold water, and at the same time, Boss Li would not stick to Boss Pei like a bootlicker. He could experience much peace next time.
On the other hand, Pei Qian was still compassionate and did not want to cause Boss Li to lose too much.
Of course, part of the reason was to control risk. Too much money could easily cause trouble for this project.
Therefore, he told Boss Li to invest one million yuan first because they did not need that much money in the early stage. It was not too late to pump in more money if the situation proved to be good afterward.
Of course, the entrepreneurial team was all their own people. In fact, Pei Qian and the Dream Realization Ventures controlled 90% of the shares. Boss Li had no interest in the operation of this project. He said that he wanted to return Boss Pei a favor, but he was actually trying to profit from the side.
Therefore, the specific development of this project depended entirely on Pei Qian's decisions.
Pei Qian did not look at it carefully and handed the cell phone back to He Desheng. "Okay, let's start advertising."
He Desheng was taken aback. "Uh, Boss Pei, isn't that a little too rushed?"
He wanted to say that they had to prepare it well even if it was to fool people, right?
If this app was launched with such a low degree of completion, wasn't that a bit wrong even if it was to fool people?
Pei Qian waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Spread the advertisement first."
Low degree of completion? All the better.
Pei Qian was afraid that Boss Li would lead a group of investors if they publicize the app with a high level of completion. It would result in enthusiasm in this project which would cause big trouble.
They could publicize it, vigorously taking advantage of the low level of completion of the app. Getting scolded after spending money, no one would be optimistic about this project then. Boss Pei's objective would be achieved if the project failed on the spot.