January 20th, Thursday…
Cui Geng ate his Fish-Catching Take-Out and listened to everyone else's conversations.
"Ai, I was criticized badly by my readers for ending my chapter with a cliffhanger again yesterday."
"What does that count for? Isn't it normal to get criticized for leaving cliffhangers?" "That's right, cliffhanger endings are so commonplace."
"Huh? Is this normal to all of you?"
"Nonsense. Look at dramas and comics; won't they have to end each episode with an unresolved problem, too? Readers might criticize the surface, but they cannot hide their genuine reactions. Once you upload the next chapter, they will come back and read it. Cliffhanger endings are good for making readers stick around."
"If you don't leave cliffhangers, your readers will stop reading after this chapter. Your next chapter will have fewer readers, then!"
"Writers who don't write cliffhanger endings are bad writers!"
Everyone was engaged in this discussion. A significant number of people nodded profusely while a few writers smiled subtly, neither confirming nor denying that last statement.
Cui Geng looked at his calendar. He had arrived in Jingzhou last Thursday. Exactly one week had passed since then.
At the start, everyone had been unfamiliar with one another. Thus, they had only discussed very superficial topics.
Now, most people knew one another well. For some particularly close writers, nothing was taboo to talk about.
Naturally, they began to discuss topics related to writing as well.
Cui Geng whipped out his phone and read the comments section for his novel.
"This is so scary. The no-show has been uploading five chapters each day. At the start, I suspected that he had really been kidnapped. Now, there's no need to suspect anymore; he's definitely been kidnapped!"
"The novel's quality seems to have dropped slightly, but it's still nice to read!"
"No-Show, hang in there. If you do this for one more week, all of my votes will go to you!"
As Cui Geng read these comments, he had mixed feelings. He had to say that it was effective to upload as many chapters as he could…
The moment he started uploading more chapters, he gained a significant number of loyal readers, subscriptions, and votes.
Over the past week, Cui Geng had written about eight to ten thousand words daily. The old him would never have imagined that he would be capable of such a thing.
What's more, the numbers were increasing mainly because he was working for longer hours. He had not added more words or diluted the story on purpose. Thus, the novel's quality was more or less maintained.
Of course, there were some sick people among them. After an entire day of writing, those people would return to their hotel rooms at night to write one more chapter and tidy up the general plot. To Cui Geng, they were beasts.
Cui Geng would never do such a thing. He only worked for eight hours each day and wrote an average of a thousand words per hour. That was not considered fast, but it was already significant for him.
Now that he had gotten used to it, Cui Geng was even beginning to enjoy it. He had to admit that under exceptional circumstances, writing could be quite addictive. The only thing was that Cui Geng had run into a small problem now.
As he ate his take-out, he raised his problem at the table. "Everyone, I feel like my story has been developing too quickly. I can't seem to continue writing anymore. What should I
do?"
Everyone looked at him and then simultaneously said, "Cut it here." Cui Geng, "…"
Once Cui Geng brought this topic up, the heartless writers stopped offering serious advice.
as a
It was a common practice among writers to persuade those who were doing better than the rest to drop their novels halfway.
Of course, Cui Geng could not blame them. Too many writers were using 'writer's block' as an excuse to boast about their achievements.
Thus, whenever writers suspected that someone was trying to boast about their achievements, most would choose to pre-empt it and say 'cut it here' to bring the topic to a close.
Cui Geng was speechless. He did indeed have that problem because he had not properly thought about the plot for the novel in the beginning His novel was doing well, and his plot was not horrible; however, the framework that he had laid was too small.
Cui Geng had only intended to write two to three thousand words per day. Progressing bit by bit that way would allow him to keep writing for a long time. However, he had ended up writing eight to ten thousand words per day in the past week. All of a sudden, he realized that he could not extend the main plot much longer.
He guessed that the book would be done once he hit a million words or so.
What should he do then?!
Of course, as a writer who was used to leaving his books incomplete, doing so again did not feel scary. He had already cut off many stories abruptly; it had become a breeze for him. Now, he could pick up the sword again without even looking.
The problem was what his new book would be about once he cut this novel here.
Cui Geng had no idea.
After lunch, Zhu Xingan said, "I'll give all of you an hour to upload everything that you've written in the morning and get some rest.
"According to the schedule, we'll be touring around Jingzhou this afternoon. We'll have some activities to refresh our minds and gather new material.
"Cherish the time. We'll gather at the hotel lobby in an hour."
Exhausted, Pei Qian fell in and out of sleep in the car.
He had finally taken his closed-book exam. Over the past few days, he had buried his head in his books, so that he had had no time to work.
However, trying to cram everything at the last minute had been effective. Pei Qian guessed that he would get at least seventy marks.
If he had paid his way through the examinations, he would probably only have gotten sixty marks. Yet, he now had hopes of getting over seventy marks based on his own skills. It was worth being proud of!
To Pei Qian, the time that he had spent studying had not been wasted. As long as he could score slightly higher than Ma Yang, he would be satisfied.
"The next three exams are open-book; I don't think I have to work that hard anymore. I can keep an eye on the company now. "That's strange. For some reason, I feel like I've forgotten about something."
Pei Qian spent two minutes trying hard to recall what he had forgotten, but he soon gave up.
He had just taken an exam, and his brain was now completely relaxed. He was not in the right state to try and recall those details.
What's more, he had too many businesses to take care of now. Pei Qian hardly had the energy to keep track of everything.
He yawned and decided to return to his apartment for a nap first.
Little Sun was a steady driver, but Pei Qian found it difficult to sleep because of the seat belt. Thus, he whipped out his cell phone, accessed Zhongdian Chinese Network's application, and then caught up on his novels.
Pei Qian had many hobbies. He liked reading comics, watching shows, playing games, watching movies, reading novels, and the like. However, he was a jack of all trades.
After all, he was only doing all of these to entertain himself. There was no need to be so professional; it was all for fun.
Before this, Pei Qian had been reading novels online on Infinite Chinese Network. That was because there was a greater variety, and the novels were often more refreshing.
As for Zhongdian Chinese Network…
On one hand, Zhongdian Chinese Network's earlier novels had been too trashy. Pei Qian had not been able to bring himself to read them. On the other hand, he had not wanted to support his own company.
However, he had started to read novels on Zhongdian Chinese Network recently.
At the end of the day, he was doing it for work.
Pei Qian felt the need to keep an eye on Zhongdian Chinese Network's state because it was now generating profits. Before this, Ma Yiqun had tried to submit a sum of money to Tengda, but Pei Qian had rejected it. Yet, until now, Pei Qian had not asked where Ma Yiqun had decided to spend the money.
Part of the reason was that he had forgotten because he had been too busy. However, another part had been that asking too many questions would be out-of-character for Pei Qian.
Instead, Pei Qian thought that as long as he kept a close eye on Zhongdian Chinese Network's application, he would be able to decipher where the website was headed.
He had to admit that Zhongdian Chinese Network was producing a significant number of good novels now. Pei Qian could finally bring himself to keep reading a couple of novels on the site.
It was the Year 2011. The current trend was exciting Xuanhuan novels about young underdogs with unlimited potential. Most of the top novels on the website were Xuanhuan or Xianxia novels, and many novel gods would attain their titles in the next two years.
Of course, the website's name was different, and the actual books were different from what Pei Qian remembered.
Still, no matter what, Pei Qian continued reading them. Even though he had read the novels before, he had forgotten their contents completely.
Zhongdian Chinese Network's library was following Infinite Chinese Network's closely. The Xuanhuan novels on the former website could be considered the imitations of similar but more popular novels on the latter.
Pei Qian randomly selected novels to read, according to whatever caught his interest on the homepage of the website. He would read them for a while and then quietly delete them once he got bored. He did not even make it to the most current chapter for most of those novels.
Today, when he refreshed the library, Pei Qian was shocked.
A list of new chapters had been uploaded to the few novels that he had saved. In fact, they had been uploaded just two hours ago, at about 12 noon.
Pei Qian frowned, feeling like something was amiss.
What could have happened to make all of those authors upload new chapters at the same time? Could it be a large-scale event among friends?
He quickly clicked on one of the novels to read its latest chapter.
"Hello, readers! I'm only uploading two chapters today because the website has planned team activities for us this afternoon. We're getting out of jail for a while and touring around Jingzhou to gather new material. I'll upload more tomorrow!"
Many readers had already left comments below the chapter.
"It's about time! You've been uploading a lot recently. Don't overwork; get some rest. It'll be alright as long as you write seven to eight more chapters to make up for this tomorrow."
"You've really been kidnapped! The website even kidnapped so many authors at the same time!"
"Hahaha, 'getting out of jail for a while'?" "Another author said earlier that he's attending a class. I thought that it would just be a talk. At the time, I even wondered what use it would be. All I cared about was that he updated the story! Now, from the looks of it, the class is really a 'lockdown' organized by the officials! Well done!"
"A certain no-show has been uploading four chapters each day for the past few days as well. I strongly request the officials to keep holding this class!"
"Are there still available slots in the class? I have a regular one-chapter beast here who really needs to attend that class to be educated!"
"Honestly, I think the class is good, but a lot of authors have been writing cliffhanger endings recently. Does the class include professional training for writing cliffhanger endings as well?".
Beads of cold sweat formed on Pei Qian's forehead as he read the readers' comments.
At the same time, a bad feeling surfaced in his gut.
From the comments, Pei Qian quickly confirmed several things. Ma Yiqun had indeed invested the money on mid-tier writers. He had brought those authors to Jingzhou, organized a class, and significantly improved their efficiency!
As for how he did that…
Pei Qian guessed that he had failed to adhere to the Tengda spirit!
Pei Qian was speechless. This Ma Yiqun… how dare you cause a mess like that under my nose?!
It looked like the mid-tier writers were getting better and better. Not only were they uploading more chapters, but they were also drawing inspiration from one another through their constant interaction. Their plots and writing skills were beginning to improve!
If a novel god emerged from among them and he rose to fame, more people would visit Zhongdian Chinese Network!
One had to understand that content was the most important thing in the creative industry. Without content, everything else would be useless.
Many customers would download live-stream platforms' clients because they liked a certain live-streamer; they would also become loyal users of websites for online literature because they liked a certain novel.
In this world, there was no such thing as pirated copies. If one really liked a book, they could only read it at a stipulated website. There would be no such thing as the author working hard for nothing in return and piracy sites profiting from the content's popularity.
Thus, Pei Qian sensed a hidden danger.
He immediately called Ma Yiqun to ask where Zhongdian Chinese Network's online authors' class was being held. Then, he said to Little Sun, "Turn around; we'll go to the outskirts first."
Chapter 396 A Bunch of Hard Workers!
Half an hour later, at the office building where the online authors' class was being held…
Ma Yiqun led Pei Qian towards the 'lockdown area' that Zhongdian Chinese Network created.
Although Ma Yiqun had left this class entirely to Zhu Xingan, he had to personally tend to and report to Boss Pei now that the latter was here.
"Boss Pei, this is the plan for our class.
"This is a template of the agreement we have signed with the writers.
"This is the daily schedule…"
Ma Yiqun brought each set of documents before Boss Pei, looking and sounding very proud of himself. He was indeed quite proud because the figures and traffic for the website had evidently increased during this period!
If only one author had started uploading many chapters each day, it would probably only affect his own novel's figures and have minimal effect on the website.
Yet, what if more authors started uploading multiple chapters each day?
Every now and then, the website would organize events that gave readers double the number of votes, or something similar, to motivate writers to upload more chapters and thus improve the traffic on the website.
Now, the class was causing the mid-tier writers to upload multiple chapters per day. Naturally, readers of each book were reading more regularly, and the website's figures were improving.
"Boss Pei, these are the website's increasing figures during this period. "These are feedback from the readers.
"All in all, the class has been a major success! It's been a win-win situation for readers, writers, and the website alike!
"We're planning to hold the next class immediately after this one ends. We'll continue to accept new writers and turn these classes into the norm.
"Of course, at the end of the day, you were the one who pointed us in the right direction, Boss Pei!
"You were right. We can't keep thinking about poaching novel gods over. We have to cultivate them on our own.
"I've thought about it already. Even if we poached novel gods from other websites and quoted them extremely high prices, the website would still have lacked the right environment and driving force to maintain the novel god's popularity. "Now, the class is going to nurture novel gods. As long as we keep nurturing these mid-tier writers, I'm sure that our website would become better with each passing day. It would only be a matter of time before a novel god emerges from among these mid-tier writers!"
Pei Qian was speechless.
If Ma Yiqun had not said those things, Pei Qian would not have guessed that the problem had become that serious.
At that moment, the writers were still touring around Jingzhou with Zhu Xingan. They had not returned yet.
Thus, Pei Qian and Ma Yiqun could keep talking there without being interrupted. Pei Qian casually switched a computer on and realized that it entered the lockdown state automatically. There was no way anyone could do anything entertaining on this computer.
Then, he read the contents of the agreement…
As a slacker himself, Pei Qian's heart turned cold at once.
This was a well-hidden trap!
Isn't this akin to a factory that turns huge batches of slackers into hard workers?!
Pei Qian felt the urge to destroy this factory and free the captive writers based on upholding the Tengda spirit.
However, on further thought, he realized that he could not force his way through this problem.
That was because Ma Yiqun had stipulated that the writers were to work eight hours a day and not a single minute overtime!
In name, that had not gone against the Tengda spirit. Furthermore, the website was even providing food and accommodations, a basic salary, insurance, and funds. That was better treatment than most could ask for.
The only problem was probably the automatic lockdown state that the computers went into once they were switched on.
Pei Qian thought that he could start here.
However, he needed to find a logical reason to get rid of it. He needed the writers' cooperation.
Without revealing his own thoughts, Pei Qian continued chatting with Ma Yiqun about other details of the class while waiting for the writers to return.
They had gone out at 1 PM. Pei Qian guessed that they would be back any time soon.
Lare
Soon after, they heard footsteps outside. "The famous historical sites in Jingzhou are quite ordinary. They don't look that nice, but I did take a few photographs so that this wouldn't become a wasted trip."
"Fish-Catching Internet Cafe is not bad. Why haven't I seen it in other cities?"
"Jingzhou seems like quite a livable city."
The schedule for the afternoon had been quite simple. First, the writers went to Jingzhou's few historical sites, which were not that well-known. There, they had a taste of Jingzhou's history and culture. After that, they went to the nearest Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to rest.
Since the schedule was quite simple, nobody felt tired.
At that moment, the writers were walking back to the 'lockdown area' where they normally worked. That was when they realized that the door was open. Ma Yiqun was seated there with another young man.
Everyone paused and then greeted him one by one. "Boss Ma!"
Ma Yiqun smiled and stood up. "Did you have fun, everyone? Let me introduce all of you to this man. He is the President of Tengda, Boss Pei Qian. He came down today especially to visit all of you…"
As Ma Yiqun briefly introduced Boss Pei, everyone greeted him. He was the boss of their boss; of course, they had to be respectful.
Most of the writers did not know or care for the ways of the world. However, they still had basic manners.
Pei Qian did not care about those things either. He had waited all this time for a reason. Thus, he cut straight to the chase.
"You've been working hard during this period, everyone! If there's any area in which we are lacking, please feel free to raise it up. We'll correct it at once.
"What do you think about this online authors' class? Has it been effective?"
Seeing how polite Boss Pei was being, everyone quickly replied, "Boss Pei, you're too kind! Boss Ma has been taking extremely good care of us. We're very thankful. Of course, we don't have any complaints!"
"The class is very effective. We've been more creative, our lives have been more regulated, and our health has been improving. All in all, we're very thankful to Boss Pei and the website for giving us the chance to attend this class!"
All the other writers expressed their agreement.
Pei Qian was speechless.
That was disappointing! Pei Qian had hoped that the writers would pick on the class' problems. He only needed one writer to raise a single problem. Then, Pei Qian could use it as an excuse to make Ma Yiqun modify the class.
For example, one of the writers could say 'we can't play games or watch videos on our own computers, and it's very inconvenient'. Then, Pei Qian would have a valid reason to ask Ma Yiqun to get rid of the lockdown state on the computers.
Yet, all the writers were only interested in sucking up to him!
Pei Qian had no words. However, the more those writers spoke that way, the more determined Pei Qian was to change things.
The class is proving so effective; that means I have to modify it all-the-more!
Pei Qian cleared his throat and gave them a hint. "I wonder if all of you have gotten used to the lockdown state in the computers. I think writing is a creative process. Would imposing a lockdown state kill your imagination and creativity?
"What if we get rid of it?"
Pei Qian had expected the writers to cheer and clap in agreement. Then, in the name of complying with the majority, Pei Qian could ask Ma Yiqun to get rid of the lockdown states in all the computers.
However, Pei Qian's words had stunned a few of the writers in front of him. They began to shake their heads profusely. "Boss Pei, you mustn't do that!
"The lockdown state helps us to keep away from distractions and improves our productivity. You can't get rid of it!
"If you get rid of it, we wouldn't be able to write eight to ten thousand words a day anymore!"
Everyone else spoke up in agreement. "Yes, yes, yes. You can't get rid of it!"
Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks.
Oh, no, I have a bunch of pig-headed writers…
You don't even want me to get rid of the lockdown state for you?!
Cui Geng, who was right behind, wanted to agree with Boss Pei at first. However, after some thought, he kept his mouth shut.
It was not because he was embarrassed; in fact, he was extremely thick-skinned!
A week ago, Cui Geng would have been the first to stand up and ask Boss Pei to get rid of the lockdown state for him.
However, he was hesitating now.
That was because he had had a few days to get used to it. Cui Geng had found out that under exceptional circumstances and with the help of the lockdown state, he could indeed write eight to ten thousand words each day.
Without the lockdown state, he would probably go back to uploading one chapter a
day.
That meant that his achievements, income, and reputation among readers would slip down to the way they had been before.
Then, while everyone else in the class continued to improve and see better results, he would be left in the dumps. That would be extremely embarrassing for him.
What's more, Boss Pei might be smiling, but who knew if he's actually trying to bait fish?
What if I get called out as a bad example once I raise my hand?
Thus, Cui Geng kept his mouth shut.
Pei Qian scanned the group and realized that not one of the writers wanted to get rid of the lockdown state. His heart felt weary.
D*mn it! I have an entire house of hard workers! What should I do?!
Pei Qian turned to Ma Yiqun, who was grinning back at him with his eyes filled with praise.
It was almost as if Ma Yiqun was saying, 'Boss Pei, you're doing a good job of loosening the reins to get a better grip on these writers! Unfortunately, no one fell for it.'
Pei Qian was at a loss for words. He felt like his good intentions had been mistaken for ill intent.
Since the 'hard' method was not working, he had no choice but to look for alternatives.
The writers had now formed a community. Most of them were already bonded by the hardworking mindset. Now, Pei Qian had to think of ways to divide and conquer them. He looked around at the group. "Alright, since all of you like the lockdown state, i'll let it remain.
"However… I think the current mechanism is insufficient. It's egalitarian, and there are no penalties or rewards.
"Thus, I'm going to set up a penalty and reward system!"
All the writers' expressions became somber. In their hearts, they confirmed that no company head could be that kind.
Was Boss Pei finally going to show them who was boss?
Yet, none of them dared to ask any questions, They could only listen as Boss Pei explained himself.
Pei Qian cleared his throat again. "Each day, the writer who uploads the most number of chapters would not have to come to work the next day. Instead, he would be allowed to do whatever he wants for the day as his reward. Of course, there would be a strict prohibition against writing more.
"On the other hand, the writer who uploads the least number of chapters would have to go to Tengda's headquarters the next day as punishment! There, he would be educated on the Tengda spirit. "Both would not be constrained by the original agreement. "Let me see how many chapters all of you have uploaded today."
Pei Qian turned to Ma Yiqun.
Ma Yiqun quietly accessed the platform's data on his computer. "Ming Yu has written 8,712 words and uploaded the most number of chapters today. Cui Geng has written 3,287 words and uploaded the least number of chapters."
Since they had team activities that afternoon, those were the results of three hours of work in the morning. Ming Yu had written close to nine thousand words in three hours; he was the ultimate tentacled beast.
Cui Geng's face drained of color. "Boss Pei, please listen to my explanation! I was making adjustments to the overarching plot this morning; I wasn't slacking," Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Qian smiled and said, "Someone will pick you up tomorrow."
With that, Pei Qian turned to leave.
At once, Cui Geng felt light-headed and unsteady.
Finished!
He was going to be educated on the Tengda spirit at Tengda's headquarters?
His brain was filled with images of mountains covered in knives, ponds of hot oil, and prison guards in business clothing.
On the other hand, Ming Yu—who had written the most number of words, scratched his head. "I can do whatever I want? How do I upload new chapters, then?
"Forget it, I'll probably continue writing in my hotel room…" He had just finished mumbling to himself when Ma Yiqun patted him on the shoulder and sighed.
"Don't even think about it. When Boss Pei said that you can do whatever you want, he meant anything outside of work. Quick, tell your readers that you'll be taking a day off tomorrow."
Chapter 397 Both Humans, Different Treatments
The patch that Pei Qian made was naturally meaningful.
The study classes were held for a week. During this time, the authors ate and stayed together. They were originally people with a tendency to struggle for success and were now unified in their thinking.
Pei Qian wanted to reduce the burden on them, but it was rejected by all of them. It could be seen that this problem could not be solved overnight.
Therefore, Pei Qian thought of digging a hole first!
Give those who were the most diligent-who wrote the most a day off, let that person play without pressure for a day, and let him realize how happy he would be as a bum.
Let those who wrote the least experience the Tengda spirit-using Tengda's entertainment atmosphere to continue killing their passion for writing and make him a bum!
Those who wrote the least were undoubtedly the laziest bums amongst this group of authors. It was also the breakthrough point.
Bring him directly to Tengda and entertain him. He would definitely tell the other authors about this when he was back.
When the other authors knew that those who wrote the least would be able to enjoy themselves at the Tengda headquarters, they would definitely scramble to be lazy and write less, forming a vicious competition.
Before long, there would be a group of authors who would write lesser and lesser. The solid struggle would forge an alliance that would naturally break itself!
The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more he felt that the plan was simply perfect!
At night…
The crew of Tomorrow is Beautiful had a meal in Ming Yun Private Kitchen and was officially disbanded.
Everyone said goodbye outside the villa.
"Boss Pei, thank you so much for taking care of me during this period! Feel free to contact me at any time if you have anything in the future. I'll definitely come through!"
"Thank you for the meal! It is the most delicious meal I had!"
"Would Boss Pei welcome me if I come over often to Jingzhou in the future?".
"Wishing all the best for the movie!"
"Boss Pei, I know a few development banks and the people from the theater chain. I can help link up if there is a need…"
Pei Qian said goodbye to everyone and sincerely invited everyone to come and play at any time.
He could use more money whenever he gave a treat anyway.
Pei Qian only rejected the last suggestion.
"There is no need to worry about the movie publicity. I have my own arrangements!"
He finally sent everyone away. Pei Qian gave a long sigh. There were indeed many things on hand recently. Another came when one just ended.
Of course, the movie had just finished filming. He would only be assured when it was released. However, that would be at least one month later, which was still quite far away.
He should take care of what was in front of him first.
Do things one by one, I'll solve the problem at Zhongdian Chinese Network and then take a lot at the Shared Top Student… Pei Qian thought forlornly.
Sigh, there seems to be something that keeps slipping out of my mind…
Oh, right, the shared phone booth!
Pei Qian suddenly remembered the matter that he had always forgotten when he thought of the Shared Top Student.
The Shared phone booth!
He was supposed to visit it on Monday, but there was too much stuff this week. Exams, dinner… Boss Li made trouble, and Ma Yiqun's website made some unexpected problems. He forgot about it completely.
There should not be many big problems since it had only been five days, right? Pei Qian thought. Five days would allow Ruan Guangjian to draw on two additional phone booths at maximum. Adding on to the very first one, there were at most three phone booths.
What could three phone booths do? There shouldn't be too much of a problem. Of course, he had to check it out this week to be on the safe side.
Pei Qian jotted down on his notebook, afraid that he would forget again.
January 21st, Friday…
Cui Geng got out of the car in the underground garage nervously. He took the elevator together with the chauffeur up to the 16th floor of Shenhua View.
He had sent a leave note to Ming Yu last night.
However, reader comments below the two's leave notes were completely different.
Ming Yu's leave stated that he wrote the most in the study class so was granted a few days of activity. He would not be able to upload anything tomorrow, but he would update with 15,000 words for three consecutive days starting tomorrow as compensation.
Most of the comments below were generally encouraging.
"Awesome Big Boss!" "Rest well, we're waiting for your explosive work!"
"Quickly @ the one chapter beasts here so that they can learn from this example!" Cui Geng's leave did not mention any specific reason. He only said that he had something important and needed one day off.
He originally wanted to just drift along, but readers' comments pierced through his heart.
"It's over. Giving up after one week of hard work? No determination!"
"You did not even mention anything about updating! As expected of you!"
"Has the kidnapper received the ransom to let him go? Please don't, continue keeping him. We'll raise the money!"
"Underground gossip from other author groups! It was said that no-show was sent for ideological education because he wrote the least, hahahaha!"
"The person who wrote the least during the entire class? That does sound exactly like him!"
Cui Geng sighed, feeling the different treatment. Sigh, they were both humans who received different treatments!
The other person had a day off to enjoy himself. Readers rejoiced.
What about me? I'm at the headquarters to receive ideology education and am being mocked by the readers.
So difficult! Cui Geng heard a 'ding' as these thoughts ran through his mind. He arrived on the 17th floor.
Cui Geng walked out of the elevator to the front desk and explained his intentions to a pair of beautiful twins. Someone soon came out to greet him and led him in.
"Hello, I'm Wu Bin from the HR department."
Wu Bin was full of smiles while Cui Geng's heart turned cold.
The HR department!
As far as Cui Geng knew, most of the HR departments were used by large companies to quell rebels and to gather intel. His learning task today probably would not be easy.
Cui Geng felt a building amount of pressure as a typical no-show.
However, Wu Bin opened the door to the entertainment room. "Please."
Cui Geng, "?"
He probed his head in and found a large television, game machines, piles of game discs, high-end computers, and even several large game consoles.
Novels, manga, magazine… filled an entire wall.
It was very difficult for him to describe his first feeling. However, to summarize it all up in one word… it would probably be… heaven?
Cui Geng looked at Wu Bin with a confused look.
What was the meaning of this? Enjoy my last supper?
He was about to enquire when Wu Bin smiled. "Please enter. Boss Pei arranged for this."
Cui Geng heaved a sigh upon hearing that it was Boss Pei's arrangements. Cui Geng's imagination was very vivid as a web novelist.
At that moment, he thought that he did something really wrong.
However, he thought that the idea was ridiculous after thinking about it. The probability of Boss Pei cheating himself would be probably about the same probability of the person in front of him giving a fake imperial edict. It was infinitely close to zero.
He might be doubtful, but no lazy bum could resist the temptation of this entertainment room.
Cui Geng then walked in without hesitation, sat on the sofa, and picked up the game console.
Wu Bin closed the room door quietly.
Cui Geng, "…
"I don't know what sort of trick this is, but come what may…"
Cui Geng was too lazy to think anymore. He picked a game he liked and started playing. Wu Bin returned to his desk after closing his door. His mission today was specifically requested by Boss Pei. Wu Bin was also a little puzzled by the intention.
Boss Pei only told him to lead Cui Geng to the entertainment room and take care of his lunch. Let him do whatever he wanted. There was no need to care if Cui Geng decided to stay or leave.
He just mentioned: 'give Cui Geng some hint if he asks about the Tengda spirit.'
At ten in the morning, Pei Qian woke up naturally, turned over, sat up, and yawned.
He looked at his watch. Cui Geng should have arrived at the company and be receiving the influence of the Tengda spirit now, right?
Pei Qian had arranged it all yesterday to let Wu Bin take charge of his reception.
In Pei Qian's view, Wu Bin passed the Tengda Spirit compatibility test on his second try. He must have a lot of experience lazing around.
Let Wu Bin bring Cui Geng to the gaming room for one day. Wouldn't that be obvious enough?
If Cui Geng did not understand still, he would get Wu Bin to give him some hint to impart him the ways of a lazy bum.
Double guarantee, there would definitely be no mistakes.
In short, Cui Geng would bring with him a 'lazy bum' seed to take root in all the authors when he returned to the study class.
Such a seed would make them compare with each other, bravely innovate, and disintegrate the entire class from inside out…
Pei Qian got up to brush his teeth in a great mood as he thought about it.
Chapter 398 Adopt a Different Approach to the Tengda Spirit
Three in the afternoon..
Cui Geng put down the console in his hand and glanced at the time on his watch in the game room.
"Is there really no one who would bother? I'm really going to leave if no one is coming, alright?"
Cui Geng felt confused and incredible.
He might have felt 'come what may' when he was first led into the game room in the morning, but he also thought that someone might push the door at any time and tell him to 'start learning about the Tengda spirit'.
He had played till noon in the blink of an eye. Wu Bin did push open the door, but it was only to get him to order a Fish-Catching Take-Out.
Cui Geng lay on the sofa for a while in the entertainment room after lunch. No one came to bother him the whole afternoon. He just continued to play his game for nearly three whole hours.
The sun was about to set if he were to continue for another few hours.
Where was the Tengda spirit training he was supposed to undergo? Cui Geng wondered.
No one was training me? Could the HR department have more important work on hand and so my training was shelved?
That wasn't possible. Wu Bin did not seem as though he had any particularly important work to do? Moreover, wouldn't it have the highest priority since it was work arranged by Boss Pei?
Cui Geng fell into a state of deep confusion.
Even a lover of games would feel more or less tired and annoyed after playing for a whole day.
Cui Geng started to feel a little dizzy. He started flipping through his cell phone.
He read reviews of his book habitually.
"No updates today?"
"Axed?"
"Sigh, the no-show king has been captured for lecture today. What a terrible day."
The chapters of the other authors had yet to be updated as well since it was not yet six in the evening
They would usually be flooded and updated in batches after six. They were minimally seven to eight thousand words. Those with more might have 10,000 words.
Compared to himself who failed to write a single word.
"Sigh, you can't blame me for that. I've been delayed because Boss Pei arranged for me to study the Tengda spirit."
Cui Geng threw the blame to Boss Pei with a peace of mind.
Cui Geng would have been quite happy if he had known from the beginning that he would be playing games for a full day in the games room.
However, he came with the mentality of 'participating in the Tengda spirit training! but instead played games for the whole day. The strangeness of his situation greatly weakened Cui Geng's enjoyment of the games.
"Wait, could this training not start if I don't ask for it? Don't drag it to tomorrow!"
Cui Geng was suddenly shocked when he thought of it. He felt there was a very serious problem at hand.
Of course, he had no problem with playing games in the games room for an entire day, but he did not feel good at all when it was a 'schedule completely arranged by others'.
Cui Geng stood up as he thought of this and decided to ask Wu Bin to see if there was anything up his sleeve. He had to know if he was to play or undergo training. Hanging like this felt very unreal.
Cui Geng left the game room and glanced at the workstation by the side subconsciously.
He was surprised to find some were laying the ergonomic chair flat and slept on it; some were watching dramas while eating potato chips. However, others were typing very quickly on the keyboards.
This floor was basically occupied by the administrative, human resource, and finance departments. The gaming department was upstairs on the 17th floor.
The HR department had become less busy since the Tengda recruitment drive. Those who had nothing to do would obviously slack off.
This scene was a little astonishing in Cui Geng's eyes. He originally thought that they would be gritting their noses to their works here.
Cui Geng found Wu Bin. He struggled for a bit, not knowing how to broach the topic.
However, Wu Bin seemed to be prepared for this. He stood up directly. "Come, let's talk in the guest room."
They entered the guest room and sat down.
Wu Bin poured some tea elegantly. Boss Pei had told him that he should give Cui Geng some hints if Cui Geng did not understand.
Therefore, Wu Bin was prepared and knew that it was time to give the hints.
"Fire your questions away." Wu Bin smiled.
Cui Geng hesitated for a moment before asking. "I want to know when the Tengda spirit training will commence. It won't be dragged to tomorrow, would it?".
Wu Bin's smile became even wider. "Tengda spirit training? It has already begun.
"From the time you arrived in the morning until now, all of which were part of the process of Tengda spirit training." Wu Bin added upon seeing Cui Geng's dumbfounded face.
"As to what Tengda spirit is…"
"Boss Pei said that he believes you will reach an answer yourself."
Cui Geng was even more confused now.
The training had started? Didn't I just idle the day away playing games? Cui Geng scratched his head and asked. "Is every Tengda spirit training the same process? Play games in the game room for an entire day?"
Wu Bin looked thoughtful before he replied, "The process is all the same. They were all brought to the company, but they might not necessarily go to the game room to play the entire day. In fact, you don't need to play games. You can go wherever you want. No one is restricting your freedom."
Cui Geng, "Huh?"
I could go anywhere I wanted? Why did I stay in the games room for an entire day then?
However, he immediately remembered that Wu Bin did not say he could not leave when they entered the games room. "That means that this so-called training is a free ticket to moving around Tengda? It is to show the Tengda spirit indirectly?" Cui Geng was confused. "But I don't feel like I felt anything remotely similar to the Tengda spirit…"
Wu Bin knew it was time to give Cui Geng 'some hints' as tasked by Boss Pei.
"What did you see in the office?" Wu Bin asked.
Cui Geng recalled what he saw and was embarrassed to speak.
Wu Bin smiled. "Speak, no matter."
Cui Geng hesitated. "I saw some people working hard, some were sleeping, some were watching drama… some reading books…"
Wu Bin nodded. "What do you think represents the Tengda spirit then?"
Cui Geng thought for a while before saying with great uncertainty. "Uh… the company doesn't care what the employees do during working hours. They can play and laze around at will? Boss Pei encourages everyone to be lazy?"
"…" Wu Bin was momentarily speechless. He then asked, "Think about it; is this an inference a normal person will make?"
Cui Geng "…no."
He reacted subconsciously but immediately felt it was outrageous when asked by Wu Bin.
Wu Bin then explained his take on the Tengda spirit.
"The people you saw resting and watching drama had either completed their work or they needed to adjust their status to achieve higher work efficiency."
"Their rest and entertainment were not only for rest and entertainment but to better complete their work."
"The Tengda spirit, if summed up into one point, is… how to make better use of entertainment and rest as a means to obtain higher efficiency and long-term output. "Tengda spirit encourages rest and entertainment but not aimless entertainment and rest. That would only destroy people. "Using rest and entertainment to ensure physical and mental health to better realize your own value. That is what the Tengda spirit really advocates." Cui Geng fell into deep thought after listening to Wu Bin's words.
So Boss Pei's actions had such meaning? Boss Pei did something very simple today. That was to throw him into the game room to relax.
However, Cui Geng was experiencing an indescribable sense of emptiness in his heart right now.
Why was that so?
Was it only because he was playing while the other authors were writing? That played a part, but it was not all of it.
Wu Bin's words made Cui Geng suddenly realize a problem. His entertainment and rest had no purpose!
That was why he felt empty often.
Take an hour of afternoon nap for instance. Some take naps out of procrastination and to avoid work. However, they still had to finish their tasks when they woke up. He might think that his job might have been half done if he did not take the one-hour nap.
He would feel empty at this time and felt that his time was wasted.
However, some people took naps in order to maintain a better mental state and finish the afternoon's work in a better mental state. They would immediately devote themselves to work when they wake up.
This time, the nap was filled with meaning which was why he would not feel empty.
Entertainment held the same reasoning. Rest and entertainment were essential parts of life. However, they could not become everything
A person's ultimate value was still what he produced.
It was a very simple truth, but Cui Geng found that he had never seen it before.
He had a worry-free life because of the windfall from the resettlement projects. He was unable to concentrate on his creation, but playing games every day did not bring him happiness… only endless emptiness.
He had never understood where his emptiness came from.
Today, Boss Pei threw him into the entertainment room for a day of games and then got Wu Bin to nudge him a little. He immediately understood.
Cui Geng's brows relaxed as he said his own understanding. "So, the Tengda spirit should be…"
"Encouraging rest and entertainment. However, rest and entertainment were meant to adjust one's own state to better realize one's value."
Wu Bin was noncommittal. "What else?" Cui Geng frowned as he continued thinking. "If I were to place the Tengda spirit on myself…
"The reason why I became the person in class with the slowest releases was because I do not possess such a spirit.
"My rest and entertainment were just because I was lazy and resisting work. My time was wasted. In fact, if I can combine rest, entertainment, and work; I can fully guarantee my rest and entertainment time while increasing my output at the same time…
"I'd exploded too much recently and did not construct the plots and content well. That was also the result of me opposing work. I need to adjust my mentality urgently…
"In any case…
"I don't have to resist or reject rest and entertainment. Neither should I feel guilty about it. I should use them to maintain a better working condition.
"At the same time, there is no need to worry too much about the word count. The more important factor was the quality of the output…
"Am I right?"
Cui Geng looked at Wu Bin.
Wu Bin smiled. "Everyone has a different understanding of the Tengda spirit. I cannot judge your understanding. It is right if you think it's right."
Chapter 399 Teachable!
Cui Geng kept silent, not saying anything. A moment later, he sorrowfully said, "Tengda is really a special company. "Other companies cannot wait to hang their mottos up on the walls and in the employee's handbooks. Some would even make their employees memorize them.
"Yet, Tengda's hiding their spirit and allowing employees to come to understand it on their own. It's almost like the company is waiting for its employees to become 'enlightened'…
"All of a sudden, I'm deeply interested in the company. Can you briefly explain how things work here to me?"
Pei Qian did not return to Tengda in the afternoon. Instead, he went to Dream Realization Ventures to listen to He Desheng's report about 'Top Student, Come Quick'. Advertising for 'Top Student, Come Quick' had been running for a few days. What's more, they were looking quite persuasive. During the few days that Pei Qian had been studying, he had seen many posters for 'Top Student, Come Quick'. He had also seen many students distributing flyers for it. Some of his classmates had also been discussing it.
Although he was not sure about the actual figures, his first impression was that the event was quite popular.
Thus, after weighing the pros and cons, Pei Qian finally decided to make a trip down to check on 'Top Student, Come Quick's actual situation.
He Desheng began to explain the project's situation to Pei Qian. Although he sounded extremely passionate, Pei Qian could tell that he was not that confident inside.
"Boss Pei, at the moment, we're already running advertisements for the project. Of course, we're still focusing on Jingzhou for now…"
The initial advertising strategy for Top Student, Come Quick' was relatively simple and explosive.
Over the past two days, 'Top Student, Come Quick's posters had already gone up on several public transport stations in Jingzhou City. A group of people had also been distributing flyers near universities and high school campuses at noon and in the evening.
They had also bought a limited number of advertisement slots from TV stations in Jingzhou City. Of course, those were the less desirable slots.
On top of that, they had signed agreements with a couple of elite students from Handong University and other universities, inviting them to act as the first batch of 'contracted top students' for the application.
He Desheng would pay them, and they would guarantee that they would finish a set quantity of work and work for a set amount of time. Moreover, the company would look out closely for any signs of trickery. There would also be some spare funds, which would be used to subsidize users' fees while the application was in the initial stages. In other words-as most put it, the company would be 'burning the money'.
The money would be spent very quickly!
However, they would not really be making ducks and drakes of the money. Instead, they expect the money to bear fruit and turn people into loyal users. Still, He Desheng felt embarrassed to tell Boss Pei the actual figure because he found it embarrassing.
At the moment, they were only running tests in Jingzhou. They had not released the application to the rest of the country. How many active users could they expect?
Their sales figures were pathetic as well. They were now burning money, and they would probably continue to do so in the near future. In fact, He Desheng expected them to only burn more money from now onwards.
As for feedback… the majority still thought badly of the project. The application only had minimal functions for now.
All in all, as He Desheng reported the situation to Pei Qian, he only spoke empty words such as 'it has great potential' and did not go into much detail.
This was undoubtedly good news to Pei Qian. No good news was the best news he could ask for.
If even He Desheng couldn't find anything to boast about, it meant that the project had really started off as a huge mess…
Still, Pei Qian had grown much wiser. He would not let his guard down. His own employees loved hiding good news and signs of profit from him. They would all wait until the good news had been confirmed before they reported it to Boss Pei.
He had to guard himself against such situations.
Pei Qian looked at He Desheng and said, "It looks good for a start, but I want to ask you something… how do you think the application will breakthrough in the future?"
After some consideration, He Desheng replied, "Breakthrough… I think it'll be in its ability to establish social interaction!"
"Huh?" Pei Qian frowned, immediately becoming cautious.
However, He Desheng did not seem to realize the change in Boss Pei's expression. Instead, he continued speaking. "Promoting social interaction would undoubtedly be the way we can expand and strengthen the application as quickly as possible in the future!
"Our application only has average figures for now, and high school students and parents think that it's mediocre. However, it's a hit among university students!
"Flunkies and top students alike very seriously fill in their details and upload photographs onto the application. Moreover, the probability of them meeting someone of the opposite sex is higher than that of meeting someone of the same sex.
"That means that our application offers an opportunity for social interaction. If we make good use of this…"
Pei Qian frowned, finding that something was amiss.
That was a huge hidden danger! Pei Qian had no doubt that many people were deeply interested in 'study gods' and 'study goddesses'. Lonely male and female top students who were passionate about studies would probably also not be able to resist their better-looking schoolmates…
If he allowed this situation to develop, the application would become a matchmaking one for students, right?!
At that moment, Pei Qian immediately stopped He Desheng. "You're right." He Desheng's eyes lit up, feeling like he had just been validated by Boss Pei. Pei Qian, "This is indeed a huge danger!"
He Desheng's eyes widened as he looked at Pei Qian quizzically.
Pei Qian could not be bothered about his astonishment as he said, "We cannot allow these evil influences to fester!"
He Desheng felt slightly lightheaded. "Huh? Why not?"
Very somberly, Pei Qian answered, "The danger is too huge! In the short term, we can use that as an avenue to gain more popularity.
"However, in the long-term, that would generate safety hazards in our application. Many users on the application would also have impure motives. That would affect the environment in the entire platform and be the downfall of its reputation! We'll even lose our core users!
"Thus, we have to avoid this at all costs.
"Modify the application at once. The next version should have a few more features, and the design of the personal info page should be edited. Users cannot upload their photographs or display their gender. People cannot write any comments they want about themselves. Instead, they have to choose from the limited options that we will provide.
"It'll be like adding labels to their own profile. If we don't let them write their own comments, they would not be able to hint at their gender and looks.
"Add a panic alarm button and allow them to display their live locations so that their friends would know where they are at any one time.
"Put this notice in a noticeable location on the website: everyone must only arrange to meet in the self-study room of schools, a cafe, or other places where there is high traffic.
"At the same time, intensify our investigation efforts. We have to verify the identities of everyone-flunkies and top students alike. We also have to check if they have criminal records or school disciplinary records. Anyone who seems problematic cannot be allowed to create an account."
He Desheng felt slightly dizzy. If people of the opposite gender had begun to develop sparks on the original 'Top Student, Come Quick' application, Boss Pei's string of modifications would not only get rid of those sparks but also get rid of any possibility that new sparks would develop.
He Desheng had thought that this could be used as a trick to make the application as popular as possible, as quickly as possible. Naturally, he had not had to worry about whether others would want to take over the application.
However, Boss Pei was completely sealing off that path.
Still, He Desheng did not dare to ask too many questions. He only nodded and said, "Alright, Boss Pei. I'll do that at once."
Looking at Boss Pei's serious expression, He Desheng became very sure that the former was not joking.
Now that he had gotten rid of the hidden threat, Pei Qian felt happy. He could relax with this project for now!
At that moment, he received a message on his cell phone. It was from the HR department's Wu Bin.
"Boss Pei, I've done what you asked me to do!"
Pei Qian nodded in satisfaction.
Hmm, not bad. Good things come in pairs.
Now that Cui Geng had understood the Tengda spirit, it remained to be seen how many classmates he would be able to influence once he got back.
Pei Qian had to wait a while before doing his rounds again.
"That's right. Do you know how the shared phone booth is doing?" Pei Qian asked casually. He Desheng was still thinking about the modifications he had to make to the 'Top Student, Come Quick' application. Thus, he took two seconds to respond. "Ah, I'm not sure. Ever since you asked me to take charge of 'Top Student, Come Quick', I stopped being involved in that project. Speaking of which, I think everything is going well." Pei Qian nodded. Although he had not gotten any useful information, at least he could confirm that Hao Desheng was obedient.
It looked like he had to personally go down and take a look.
Today was Friday. Although there would not be as many people in the shopping mall as the weekends, Pei Qian guessed that there would still be a significant number of people.
He hopped onto the car and said to Little Sun, "Go to Huanyu Tianjie."
"There are many stories about Boss Pei. I've only told you some of them.
"If you're interested, you can ask the website's Boss Ma to collect them for you. He and many other people who are close to Boss Pei would know him very well," said Wu Bin, smiling
Cui Geng looked like he was not yet satisfied. "I didn't think that Boss Pei and Tengda would have such a colorful history and legend.
"A unique boss has established such a unique company…
"If I write this story in a novel, it'll be very exciting for sure.
"However…"
Cui Geng frowned slightly, as if unable to resolve a problem. "Boss Pei's not suitable to be the protagonist." Wu Bin was stunned. "Why not?"
Cui Geng explained, "He's too perfect. There are people like him in reality like the noble people, saints, and reformers…
"Successful people would have outstanding qualities and characteristics after all. However, if such a person became the protagonist of a book, he would seem too unrelatable and fake. It'll be hard to get the readers to immerse themselves in the story.
"After all, reality doesn't require logic, but novels do.
"A leader like Boss Pei may exist in reality; everyone would only say that he's rare, unique, and lucky. However, if I put him in a book, readers would think that he was a fake and a hypocrite. They would have difficulty believing that he was real.
"Thus, I have to make some modifications in my book. That'll appeal to the readers' taste…
"Ah, anyway, thank you for today! I've had a very meaningful time learning about the Tengda spirit today!"
Cui Geng shook Wu Bin's hand.
Wu Bin smiled. "This was Boss Pei's arrangement. I'm just helping out."
Cui Geng glanced at the time. It was past 4 PM; he did not have to get off work yet.
Wu Bin reminded him, "You can come and go anytime you wish here."
After some thought, Cui Geng asked, "Can I borrow the computer in the entertainment room?"
Wu Bin replied, "Of course, you can."
Cui Geng went back to the games room. This time, he did not play any games. Instead, he sat in front of the huge computer that could easily run all the large-scale games, wanting to organize his newfound ideas.
He had to get a good grip on his inspiration while it was there.
However, before that, Cui Geng signed into the author's platform and filled in the topic for his new post: 'Completion Forecast'! Once he finished writing the contents, Cui Geng struggled internally. He knew very well that he would be cursed and sworn at once he uploaded the forecast.
However, after hesitating for five minutes, he finally clicked the 'publish' button.
In the car…
Feeling bored, Pei Qian whipped out his cell phone, accessed Zhongdian Chinese Network's application, and refreshed.
It was not 6 PM yet; it was not time for the writers in the authors' class to upload their new chapters.
That was why the 'Completion Forecast' on one of the books caught Pei Qian's eye.
Pei Qian's mind was filled with question marks. He quickly clicked it and read its contents. A moment later, the confusion on Pei Qian's face disappeared. A satisfied smile replaced it.
"He's teachable! He's very teachable!" He immediately said to Little Sun, "Let's go to Huanyu Tianjie tomorrow morning. We'll head back to the office first!
"I want to meet this Cui Geng!"