Pei Qian finally decided on two directions after a friendly and harmonious communication with the system.
Housing and fitness...
In fact, Tengda had corresponding benefits for these two projects already. There were subsidies for renting a house and also reimbursements for the membership and a certain number of private training sessions.
The current amount of welfare seemed to be unable to meet Boss Pei's needs anymore.
Pei Qian only had one feeling now: he made mountains of money but could only trickle the spending away!
Of course, it seemed to be a good idea for all the employees to share this pain together, but this sort of burden-sharing was obviously limited. Pei Qian wanted to buy a huge building to house all his employees. Obviously, that could not pass through the system.
Therefore, Pei Qian could only replace it with housing subsidies previously.
The system's restrictions on employee welfare had gradually relaxed as Tengda Corporation became larger and was making more money.
He still could not give each employee a good lodging, but it seemed like he could use other ways to achieve this means.
Pei Qian had realized that the system had different restrictions on the method of spending money.
'Charity' was the most restrictive and only had a small quota every cycle.
'Company benefits' was slightly looser. The standards would continue to rise as the company expanded to cover all the employees.
'Reimbursement' was even laxer... even though an appropriate reason had to be found and must appear to be connected to the needs of the job.
'Investment' was the most relaxed. There seemed to be no upper limit on the investment funds. The most important restriction was to leave some room for profits so that the project had the possibility of making money in theory.
In some very special circumstances, the system would allow the investment even if there was a limited possibility of making profits; it was permitted as long as they could obtain an excellent reputation and social influence. For example, the documentary filmed previously by Huang Sibo and the loss-making Upwind Logistics. Therefore, there were a lot of restrictions when it came to welfare or reimbursement for housing benefits. It would be a four-person or two-person room at best. The standards were set up too high. However, if one changed their way of thinking and used the 'investment' approach, the requirements by the system were much looser.
For example, if Pei Qian were to use this money to invest in an apartment project, use the money to renovate it, and then set a price to rent out.
The system would not be too strict about it if he were to use some rooms as the staff dormitory.
It was just like the Fish-Catching Take-Out, which was a little more troublesome. He first had to make a take-out and then let the take-out provide his employees with work meals and then obtain reimbursement from the company.
It was even better if he could not rent the apartment out. Boss Pei could even make some money.
As to why he chose housing and gym...
That was because both projects had a physical existence, which required repair fees and rents. The maintenance and operating fees were much higher. It might even increase the chances of making losses.
Moreover, Pei Qian could also change his place of residence reasonably!
His current place of residence was alright, but it was just an ordinary two-bedroom apartment. Pei Qian also hoped that his place of residence could become bigger and better as a hermit.
It seemed like he was rather far away from fulfilling his dream of making enough losses until he could buy a mansion.
Moreover, Pei Qian felt that he did not need to worry about buying a house with his own money. It wouldn't matter if it's his or not if he could live in it forever, wasn't it? So what if it belonged to the company? Pei Qian added the two projects 'apartment' and 'gym' to the planning cycle of the settlement after some thoughts.
It was definitely not in time for this cycle.
On the one hand, there was only one month more to the settlement. It was too late to start these projects. The Thriller Hostel would not be able to be completed within this cycle. It would affect the settlement if he were to add more projects that couldn't be completed.
On the other hand, it was because the payment of the movie was not so soon.
Generally, movies were released for one month before the box office could be determined. The box office revenue would then be settled from theater to theater. It would take anywhere from three to six months to complete the whole process.
However, there were 'fast settlement and collection' companies in the film industry. They were similar to the bank factoring businesses. They would assess the company in accordance with the box office and charge a percentage as the handling fee. It was similar to the 'fast refund' of many shopping websites to put it bluntly.
However, even so, he would only be able to obtain this money during the next cycle. It was actually good news for Pei Qian because this cycle would not need to bear such heavy pressure. It would cost tens of millions in less than a month...
However, the pressure would be great for the next cycle.
Therefore, Pei Qian planned to spend the 'accidental fortune' he made from the movie to the apartment and gym projects.
As for the other industries that earned more money because of the movie's influence...
It seemed like he could only splash out on the Thriller Hostel project in addition to regular expenses. He had to use as many excess funds as possible so that the Thriller Hostel would be completed and opened normally for the next settlement cycle.
Pei Qian through his little notebook aside with no love lost.
February 25th, Friday... The fourth day he had decided to disappear. Pei Qian refreshed the webpages and felt that the situation was a gone case.
The activities of the fake reviewers had obviously begun to decline. Not only had they failed to achieve the desired effect, but they had made Tomorrow is Beautifuleven more popular now!
It seemed as though the fake reviewers retreated seeing that the situation was no longer in their favor. They did not want to spend money down the drain.
Pei Qian glanced at the Gou Yan application. It seemed... that the film schedules had increased again!
What a tragic story.
The feeling that Pei Qian was feeling now should be the same as his competitors.
Pei Qian uninstalled the Gou Yan application with the mentality that he would not be able to get upset if he did not see it.
In short, the box office does not exist as long as I don't see it!
Pei Qian had been cooped up in his rented apartment for the past few days. He was getting a little bored so he subconsciously opened Weibo, wanting to look at the latest news to see if there was any fresh stuff to adjust his depressed mood a little.
However, there were only three hot searches on Weibo.
#TomorrowisBeautiful#
#LuZhiyao'sacting# #TomorrowisBeautifulRealBrands#
Once again, Pei Qian was speechless.
You've been haunting me persistently!
The last two were not hot searches yesterday! He picked a random #LuZhiyao'sacting# thread and saw a draft interview.
'Interview with Lu Zhiyao: Breakthrough in acting is all because of an eminent person'
"Tomorrow is Beautiful was released on February 22nd. A futuristic satirical story about science fiction broke the audience's stereotype of domestic science fiction movies. The box office broke 80 million yuan in four days after the release, and it sparked heated discussions across the Internet.
"Lu Zhiyao has shown his brilliant acting skills in the film and vividly interprets the various emotions of a future person. The rivalry with the veteran actor Zhang Zuting is even more enjoyable for the audience.
"During the roadshow, he heard comments from the audience. The highest praise he received so far was 'an audience that completely forgot that the person on the screen is Lu Zhiyao'."
A poster of Lu Zhiyao from Tomorrow is Beautiful was included.
"Lu Zhiyao's toxicity for the box office had always been a topic of discussion. The audience summed it all up to various curses. It would seem that the box office of the movies he participated in, be it shot by a famous director or a big production, would never be able to escape its ill fate.
"If this statement seemed to hold some ridiculous meaning, then the audience's discussion of 'whether Lu Zhiyao has acting skills' in the end would appear sharper and harsher.
"Evaluations such as 'excessive performance', 'everyone he played were like himself', 'make one unable to focus on his character' had been troubling Lu Zhiyao all the time. It tortured him after every movie.
"However, Tomorrow is Beautiful is a huge success which triumphantly washed away Lu Zhiyao's toxic image and the bad luck he brings to the box office!"
A clip of Lu Zhiyao's beer-drinking scene was posted.
"With regard to this, Lu Zhiyao feels that at many stages in his life, actors will encounter roles that are extremely important to them, and they will also encounter eminent people who are of great help to their career.
"Lu Zhiyao benefited a lot from his rivalry with the veteran actor Zhang Zuting during the filming of Tomorrow is Beautiful. He also learned how to figure out the psychology of the character and how to substitute for the role.
"More importantly, there was an eminent person on the set who hit the nail on the spot and pointed out the problems in Lu Zhiyao's performance. It made him realize that actors should not work hard to play roles but should let themselves become the roles.
"Lu Zhiyao said that this eminent person had not only brought him an epiphany in acting but also gave him a new understanding of life planning and even in the philosophy of life.
"The transition from an idol star to a mature and powerful actor is not easy, but he has been working hard. Lu Zhiyao now said that he prefers complex and humanistic roles, and he interprets the weaknesses of the roles more. His performance style has also changed from being exaggerated to introverted. "In terms of life planning, Lu Zhiyao said that he should slow down and take every step steadily. As the eminent person said, 'acting normal is the most difficult; just act whatever the role is'.
"Extending to the philosophy of life and focusing on the actor's own job, he should constantly temper his acting skills instead of focusing on those that have nothing to do with his job. "Lu Zhiyao, who was guided by the eminent person, finally found his own style of acting."
Chapter 431 Modest in Dan Dao Hui
The exclusive interview was published on February 24th. That was yesterday. Once it was published, many people forwarded it to their friends and rapidly spread it around Weibo and other similar platforms.
There were already tens of thousands of comments. Obviously, news of the interview had spread like wildfire.
"Lu Zhiyao's acting skills in the movie weren't criticized!"
"It looks like this film has become quite popular. It won't be fitting to call him the 'toxicity in the box office anymore'!"
"At first, I didn't want to watch the movie after finding out that Lu Zhiyao was the main actor. However, the start scene of him drinking beer shocked me. I couldn't believe my own eyes!"
"I think it really isn't easy being Lu Zhiyao. He's not like other young actors, who always say they work extremely hard, but who never improve even after a long time. Lu Zhiyao has always been silently working hard. Now, he's finally achieving a breakthrough!"
"He's attracting so many fans. I'm going to watch the movie again! I want to observe his acting skills!"
"I really want to know who he was referring to when he said an 'eminent person' helped him. He already thanked Zha Zhuti before that. I don't think it's him, right?"
"Could it be Director Zhu Xiaoce?"
"I don't think so. If it were the director, he could have just thanked him directly. Why should he refer to him as an 'eminent
person'?"
"Not only did the person offer him acting advice, but he also offered him life lessons... that person doesn't sound simple at all!"
"What I want to know is whether Lu Zhiyao can become a movie king based on his performance in this movie or not. Even if he can't get awards at overseas film festivals, he should have hopes of getting local ones,
right?"
"We can't tell for sure. What if this movie catches the attention of overseas judges?"
ero
After reading a few pages of comments, Pei Qian's expression turned dark. The corners of his lips kept twitching.
'Acting normal is the most difficult'? 'Just act whatever the role is?
Were those my exact words?
My exact words were these: 'just act normally' and 'the male lead is an ordinary person, just act ordinary'!
This Lu Zhiyao not only misunderstood me, but he also injected some kind of philosophy in my words...
Obviously, Lu Zhiyao couldn't remember what Pei Qian had said before. He only made it up on the spot, based on his foggy memory. That was how he had come up with those lines in the interview.
What's more, the 'eminent person' obviously referred to Pei Qian!
"Lu Zhiyao, Lu Zhiyao... I can't say anything about you ridding yourself of toxicity or about you achieving a breakthrough in your acting, but couldn't you have stopped yourself from achieving this with my movie...?"
Pei Qian realized that his fear that 'Lu Zhiyao drinking beer' would become a hot search had turned into reality. However, the process had been slightly different from what he had imagined
Knock, knock!
Pei Qian was leaning back on his chair, daydreaming, when he heard someone knock on the door. He was stunned. "Delivery? No, I didn't order anything recently."
He opened his door and saw that it was Ma Yang.
"What are you doing here?" Pei Qian asked, surprised.
School was not going to reopen for some time. The company had opened for business again, but He Desheng could handle Dream Realization Ventures. Pei Qian had also been keeping an eye on their main investments so it made no difference whether Ma Yang was there or not.
Pei Qian had thought that Ma Yang would stay at home until the end of the holiday before coming back to work.
Ma Yang sat down on the sofa, looking concerned. "I heard from He Desheng that Brother Qian hasn't been to the office for a few days. That's why I came to check on you."
Ma Yang looked at the bags of snacks on the table. Pei Qian had eaten them all when he felt bored over the past few days.
Ma Yang's expression turned somber. "Brother Qian, I have to scold you. You're the Chairman now. You cannot put everything on your own shoulders now!
"Take Dream Realization Ventures for example. It's true—I didn't have enough time to work because of the upcoming examinations, but you didn't have to handle all the investment matters on your own!
"Look, you're under so much stress! You've been eating so much junk! It's too harmful to your body!"
As Ma Yang spoke, he grabbed the half-empty bags of chips and started to munch on them noisily. "Chinese New Year is over, and I am back! I'm going to share your burdens!
"Brother Qian, assign the tasks to me!"
Pei Qian looked hurt and sorrowful.
I'm indeed very burdened, but I don't think you can help me...
Old Ma, Old Ma... I trusted you before, but how can you explain the twenty million yuan you invested in IOI?
If you hadn't made that unreasonable investment, would I have taken over Dream Realization Ventures' work? I would have left everything to you to mess up!
However, on further thought, Pei Qian realized that he had no right to criticize Old Ma. Ma Yang had spent twenty million yuan on shares in Finger Games, but IOI had not even been released in China at this point.
Look at Pei Qian's investment projects on the other hand: the shared phone booths and the 'Top Student, Come Quick' application... Forget it. He was too ashamed to scold Old Ma. He had done even worse after taking over from Old Ma.
Pei Qian sat down on the couch, thinking about giving Old Ma a second chance. A split second later, Pei Qian tried asking, "Old Ma, if I gave Dream Realization Ventures another fifty million yuan, where would you invest the money?"
Ma Yang finished a bag of chips, looked at an unopened bag of prawn crackers, and asked, "Fifty million yuan...?
"Investing in Finger Games turned out to be a good idea before. I would continue to invest in it."
Pei Qian, "..."
He's being pigheaded!
Pei Qian's heart hurt excruciatingly. "Old Ma, stop eating. Stand up!" Ma Yang, who had just grabbed the bag of prawn crackers, jumped to his feet. However, he still stuffed a handful of prawn crackers into his mouth subconsciously.
Infuriated, Pei Qian asked, "Didn't you eat before you came over?!"
Ma Yang nodded. "I didn't. How did you know that, Brother Qian? Should we order some take-out? Do you eat fried chicken?" Pei Qian, "..."
"What was I saying? Oh, that's right. I'm very unhappy with your response! "What's the name of our investment company?"
Ma Yang immediately answered, "Dream Realization Ventures, Brother Qian!"
Pei Qian nodded. "What is Dream Realization Ventures' mission?"
Ma Yang, "Er... to invest in dreams!"
Pei Qian continued. "Does Finger Games look like a company that needs investments to fulfill its dreams? They're not even incurring losses! It's critical that we invest whatever money we have now into projects that would fulfill people's dreams!
"For example...
"Forget it, you can think about it."
Pei Qian had wanted to say 'projects like the shared phone booth', but on further thought, the shared phone booths were now generating profit. Thus, he could only silently swallow his words. Ma Yang stopped talking and fell into deep thought. As he pondered, he snuck two prawn crackers into his mouth and chewed softly.
Pei Qian, "...Alright, go and look for some dreams to fulfil. Once you've found some, let me see them. Then, I'll decide how we should invest the money."
Ma Yang quickly nodded. "Alright, Brother Qian. I'll share your burdens! You really don't want take-out?"
Pei Qian was exasperated. "What time is it?! Go to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and eat by yourself. I have work to do."
"Oh, oh... alright. I'll make a move, then, Brother Qian." Ma Yang turned to leave but turned around again almost immediately-as if he had just recalled something. He picked up the bag of prawn crackers from the table. "These prawn crackers are quite yummy. I'm leaving, Brother Qian!"
Pei Qian had mixed feelings watching Ma Yang leave.
"Old Ma, get yourself together! I'm pinning my hopes on you!"
In the afternoon, at Tengda Games...
"All in all, once Bao Xu and I leave, we'll leave all of GOG's matters to you. Try as hard as possible to make it a dual-terminal game and come up with the designs for our current heroes.
"The tasks that you have been in charge of during this period are alright. Even if something messes up along the way, you don't have to panic. Think carefully about what Boss Pei has said. You'll be able to find the solution for sure."
Li Yada was assigning jobs to Hu Xianbin and his two other companions. She and Bao Xu would be leaving the country on March 1st. Over the past few days, she had gotten visas and air tickets, booked their accommodations, planned their itinerary, and made all other preparations. Of course, she had also handed over the appropriate tasks to Hu Xianbin and the others.
It was Friday today. It was the last day of work for both of them. Each of them had already handed over their work to someone else.
Once everything was done, Li Yada glanced at her phone. She had sent a message to Boss Pei earlier, saying that she had completed the handover and was going to leave the country on holiday. Boss Li only replied with two words: 'Go ahead.'
At first, Li Yada had felt worried. However, after realizing that Boss Pei was still going to be here to supervise the game, she calmed down and decided that it was no big deal. The words 'go ahead' were very simple, but they felt like a calming pill to Li Yada. Once she read them, she immediately relaxed.
Zhang Nan returned to her desk and discovered a new concept art from Ruan Guangjian's workspace. She quickly opened it.
Zhang Nan's job was mainly to take charge of the heroes' skins. Before this, she had worked in costume design. Coincidentally, she knew unique principles that could also be applied to skin design in the game.
This time, the concept art was for 'Modest in Dan Dao Hui'. It was also the first legendary skin for the hero, Modest.
On the artwork, Modest was dressed in a costume out of Beijing operas. He had long sideburns, a long mustache, and a long beard; making him look extremely imposing. Behind him were many flags. As a legendary skin, it would be customized with unique animations, unique voice-overs, and special effects. Gamers would find it worth every cent for sure.
This skin was related to a traditional form of art-Beijing operas. In Dan Dao Hui[1], Guan Yun-who had ruled over Jingzhou for a long time-attended dangerous military meetings alone. This story turned into a legend almost immediately.
In the employees' hearts, Boss Pei—who had been the inspiration for Modest—was very similar. He had contempt for his enemies, remained calm in the face of trouble, and was bold and heroic. He was also outstanding in courage and wisdom. That made him very similar to Lord Guan.
The flags in the skin matched the 'Beijing Opera' theme but also represented the various weapons that had been stuck in Modest's back. It was very apt indeed.
[1] This is the name of a well-known Beijing opera.
Chapter 432 Otto E1
February 28th, Monday...
At Otto Technologies...
"This is the cell phone's final product. It's already being manufactured. It'll be difficult to change it at this point," said Chang You as he handed a cell phone to Lin Wan.
Lin Wan reached out and realized that this prototype was just as heavy as the first one. However, there was an obvious difference in its looks.
The first impression that Lin Wan had of the prototype before this could be summarized in a few words: 'silly, black, and rough'. The casing's material had been pure black, with no other decoration. When she held it in her hand, it just pressed into her palm and weighed it down. From the front or from the back or from any other angle, it didn't look like it would be able to sell.
Now, however, with the custom-made glass casing, it looked very different!
The glass casing felt nice to the touch, and the matte finishing ensured that it would not collect the user's fingerprints. The cell phone also felt thinner than the previous prototype and much easier to hold.
The back was clean. There was nothing but a solid-colored logo. It was the same logo that had appeared in Tomorrow is Beautiful.
What's more, the logo could glow and be activated as breathing light. Of course, if one wanted to conserve battery, they could switch that function off.
However, for a cell phone with a 5800 mAh battery, even if the light was kept on; the cell phone would still have enough battery to last the day.
The front looked quite satisfactory as well. There was still a top and bottom border, but they had been made as narrow as possible.
Full-screen technology had not yet matured in the current market. At the same time, this cell phone had very high specifications. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to refer to it as a 'gaming cell phone'. Thus, when users wanted to play games in landscape mode, they needed some space to place both of their hands.
Thus, no matter how much they thought, the front could only look that way.
The sides looked different from other cell phones on the market as well. The charging port was on the side. That way, users could continue to play games while charging their phones. The wire would not get in their way. All in all, this cell phone looked very similar to the one that had appeared in the movie. On the whole, the cell phone looked simple but high-tech and futuristic.
The cell phones were not completely identical because the one in the movie had been made completely full-screen to add to the futuristic vibe. However, they could not do the same for the one in real-life.
Still, from the back and the sides or from the front with the screen off, the two cell phones looked identical.
Lin Wan subconsciously tried to weigh the phone with her hand.
Yes, it was still heavy.
They had changed the casing to glass, so that the cell phone looked smaller than it did before and more comparable to other bigger-sized cell phones in the market. Still, its weight remained the same. It was heavy.
However, the screen had a high refresh rate, and the System on a Chip-or SoC for shortwas of high-quality. Those things consumed the battery very quickly. Without a 5800 mAh battery, the cell phone's endurance would become a problem. On the other hand, weight had to be compromised to house such a powerful battery.
There was fingerprint unlock, but there were few native applications and no bundled applications. The only thing worth mentioning was that the UI animations were quite smooth.
Chang You lightly cleared his throat and explained, "Boss Pei instructed us to do this.
"He didn't allow us to create bundled applications. Instead, he wanted to maintain the Android System's original condition. That was why we didn't create a single bundled application. The applications that users would likely need to use have been placed in recommended spots in the cell phone's application store.
"Of course, we didn't slack off as well. We improved on the UI animations.
"It's not completely useless. At the very least, it looks very smooth..."
Chang You did not sound confident. Improving the UI animations included improving the transition between various applications and improving zooming accuracy. Those were good for a screen with a high refresh rate, but it only served to make the user more comfortable. It did not offer any additional functions for the cell phone.
Lin Wan's eyes lit up, feeling very surprised.
She repeatedly opened applications and ended their processes as if she was genuinely enjoying it.
After that, she picked up her own Shenhua cell phone, which was the newest flagship model. After comparing them, she concluded that Otto Technologies' cell phone was obviously much better in this aspect.
"I think it's quite good. It matches what Boss Pei's design mindset has been all this timeto perfect the simplest things," said Lin Wan, praising Boss Pei to no end.
After looking through the other aspects of the cell phone, Lin Wan gave her final comments.
"Apart from its weight and price, the cell phone doesn't have any major flaws."
Chang You nodded. "That's right, but those two flaws are hard to make up for...
"Of course, we're only manufacturing one thousand cell phones for the first batch. Each one would sell for 8,199 yuan. Since we only have a low supply, it's possible to do this. In any case, we are not targeting the public. We don't have to sell tens of millions of cell phones. We can just sell thousands or even tens of thousands.
"It's alright if the cell phone is heavier or more expensive, as long as we target people who are not that sensitive to these characteristics.
"The question is whether this cell phone is attractive enough for them to sacrifice the weight and price."
Lin Wan nodded. "That's what I came here
for."
Lin Wan handed a table to Chang You and explained, "These are the benefits that I have acquired for our customers. Take a look."
Chang You reached out and realized that the table contained all the unique and special advantages Otto Technologies' customers would have, which they had discussed before. They had been broadly split into several categories.
[Gaming]
High frame-rate mode for the mobile version of Bloody Battle Song, exclusive updates.
High frame-rate mode for the mobile version of GOG (unreleased), exclusive updates.
One free game per year if customers link their Tengda Games accounts to their cell phones.
Low prices for appearances, skins, weapons, and other benefits that Tengda Games regularly releases.
(Entertainment]
Ultimate VIPs of Zhongdian Chinese Network: the highest number of recommendations and votes in the site, thirty-percent off subscriptions, and early access to test new functions on the site.
Fei Huang Workspace's Connoisseurs: free access to all online shows, two tickets to the pre-screening of every new movie.
(Implied benefit) Highly-privileged users of TPDb.
(Lifestyle]
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Game Masters: thirty-percent off all expenses and a free drink daily.
Fish-Catching Take-Out's Top-Tier Member: regular red packets and free delivery.
Ming Yun Private Kitchen's distinguished guests: A free dish with a one-time spend of three thousand yuan. The exact dish would be decided based on the total bill.
VIP of Upwind Logistics: priority for express deliveries.
(Others)
Trade-in: an additional discount of five hundred yuan, above the value of your old cell phone.
Exchange only, no repairs: if the cell phone is damaged due to no human-fault, a new cell phone would be delivered, all data would be transferred, and the old cell phone would be recalled. If the cell phone is damaged due to human-fault, customers can repair it for free three times a year.
Accessories included: claim free phone films and phone cases up to five times each year.
Five percent discount off everything: this discount is applicable to all Tengda-related businesses (it exists in TPDb). Enjoy this discount on top of any ongoing promotion.
Lifetime update of benefits: each time Tengda sets up a new business, a new benefit would be added for customers of Otto Technologies.
After reading the table, Chang You could not help but feel moved.
Now, the cell phone is finally worth its 8,199 yuan!
He had completed his mission!
Boss Pei had insisted on pricing the cell phone in the eight-thousand-yuan range. Chang You had thought it was difficult and almost impossible.
However, it now seemed like Boss Pei had known all along that there were many Tengda-related businesses to 'support' this cell phone. Of course, the cell phone would be able to sell for eight thousand yuan. There were many benefits with huge coverage. Some of them had clear standards, but others had less clear standards which could invoke suspicion in customers.
Take the 'lifetime update of benefits' for example. They promised that a new benefit would be added for customers of Otto Technologies each time Tengda set up a new business. However, there was no clarification of exactly what benefits those would be.
That was mainly because they did not want to over-promise and fail to fulfill. It would be terribly awkward.
All of those benefits concerned Tengda-related businesses. They were significant benefits. People who lived in Jingzhou could take real advantage of them.
Of course, while customers took advantage of those benefits, Tengda could also gain new customers. Nobody would lose out.
Moreover, the other businesses were not just offering the benefits to Otto Technologies for free. Instead, all of those things had been included in the cell phone's price.
The cell phone was going to sell for 8,199 yuan. That was two to three thousand more than Pineapple and Shenhua's flagship models. Apart from the hardware and the brand premium, those benefits also contributed to the high price.
Once the cell phones started selling, Chang You would naturally transfer a portion of the profits to the other businesses.
They would only sell a thousand cell phones in the beginning. Any profit that they would earn would be better than nothing. However, if they could sell tens of thousands-or even hundreds of thousands-of cell phones in the future, the profits would become considerable.
The plan would be very easy to put in place. The cell phones contained the NFC function. People would only need to link their identities and accounts to their cell phones. Then, they could swipe their phones at internet cafes or other physical stores and create a single Tengda account online.
Chang You looked carefully at the details of the benefits. A few questions surfaced in his mind.
"What is GOG? Would it be difficult to create a high frame-rate mode and exclusive updates?"
Lin Wan answered, "It's the game that Tengda Games has been working on recently. It's called GOG for short.
"It won't be difficult to create a high frame-rate mode and exclusive updates, but they don't intend to release those things to other cell phone companies. That's because a high frame-rate mode would be very demanding on the screens' refresh rates. It would also consume a lot more battery.
"Research and development of the mobile version of GOG are still ongoing. The applications might only be available on the application stores after we release the cell phones.
"On the other hand, Bloody Battle Song is ready. The game's high frame-rate mode might be a gimmick more than anything, but it doesn't matter. The game has many players. We just have to market it to sell a good number of cell phones."
Chang You hesitated. "I'm worried about owing the other companies too many favors. It might make life difficult for us in the future."
Lin Wan smiled. "Don't worry about that.
"There is not much difference between Tengda-related companies. If Otto Technologies makes a name for itself and sells millions or tens of millions of cell phones like Shenhua, its cell phones might be the ones marketing the other businesses.
"Don't feel too bad. Doing this business well would be the best way to repay them.
"That's right, how many product lines have we planned for at the moment?"
Chang You remained silent for a while. "We haven't planned the product lines yet.
"According to Boss Pei's plan, we're supposed to only do high-end cell phones. Each cell phone must be sold for eight thousand yuan and must not earn a high-profit margin. That means we will have to stockpile.
"On the other hand, different product lines have different target audiences for their commerce, photographs, and exteriors. That means they would have to remove certain things that would not appeal to those target audiences."For example, a camera phone for females would have to look more beautiful, but would not need to have microchips with high specifications.
"Our cell phone has maxed out in terms of specifications. Our target audience can be summarized as typical, straight men, and this has been set.
"That's why... We don't see the need to plan for other product lines for now.
"I'll find an opportunity to discuss this with Boss Pei. He's been busy with other work lately, and I haven't managed to reach him."
Lin Wan pondered for a moment. "Yes, that's right. I'm going in the wrong direction. Otto Technologies has not even learned how to walk, but I'm already thinking about flying. Let's focus on this model and try to sell one thousand phones first.
"Are we calling it Otto 1, then? It sounds a bit strange."
Chang You replied, "It'll be called Otto E1.
"E is the first letter in the word 'extra'. It's also the first word in the words 'extraordinary', 'extravagant' and 'extreme'. That describes our cell phone perfectly and shows that it's worth every cent."
Chapter 433 Zhongdian Chinese Network's First Order
March 1st, Tuesday...
The house that Pei Qian bought last weekend had finally been handed over. Pei Qian received various certificates and keys for the house after engaging a special commissioning company for formal acceptance.
However, the house was empty of furniture, fittings, and fixtures.
Pei Qian's original plan was to let his parents live in this house so he did not want to buy the furniture and household appliances according to his own preferences. He specifically went home to give his parents a set of keys so that they could go over to tidy up when they had the time.
Pei Qian had the perfect plan:
He would say that he could not get away from his busy work schedule (which was true) and had no time to do all these things. Let the two seniors take their time choosing furniture, home appliances, etc. Pei Qian would reimburse them when they were done.
The furniture bought would then be more in line with his parents' taste.
He would then get his parents to stay there for a few days in the name of adding some human touch to the place after everything was done.
The gifting of the house would become natural when his parents become used to the place.
As for Pei Qian himself, he could always think of other ways to get himself a bigger residence.
Pei Qian was in a much better mood after he was done being busy for the weekend. He threw the annoying staff from the company aside and felt much better.
The only thing he was slightly unable about was his parents asking about the movie by Fei Huang Workspace as soon as he returned home. Pei Qian told the truth reluctantly. They were elated and pulled Pei Qian to the cinema to watch it again. They carefully found Pei Qian's name after carefully scanning for his name in the list of people behind the scenes.
Pei Qian had nothing to say about his parents' happiness being built on top of their happiness. He could only silently cry out in his heart.
Anyway, Boss Pei fully recovered after a short period of recuperation!
The real tough battle would start next month. It would directly determine the success or failure of this cycle!
The games developed by Tengda Games and Shang Yang Games would be launched this month. OTTO cell phones would also be launched for sale.
These were projects that Pei Qian had placed high hopes for. They could potentially offset the gain caused by the high box office of the movie!
a
Little Sun drove the car carefully towards Shenhua View.
Pei Qian sat in the back seat, taking out his cell phone on a whim to seek some spiritual comfort. The one thing that pleased him the most recently was the transformation of the authors in the Zhongdian Chinese Network class.
The updates from the authors' works had been showing a declining trend ever since the Tengda spirit had been spread to the class!
Even Ming Yu who used to be the model hardworking author stopped writing so much. He now wrote 7,000 to 8,000 words at best.
These 7,000 to 8,000 words were a lot to the other authors, but Ming Yu had reduced his word counts by half since he previously updated 15,000 words.
Pei Qian was especially happy about it.
The reduction in words from these authors would have minimal impact for the website, but it would not help Boss Pei's money loss plan. It's just that he felt very happy that lazy thinking was spreading.
The achievements were in the present and benefits in the future!
Pei Qian opened the Zhongdian Chinese Network website not because he wanted to read novels but because he wanted to see if the authors had updated less again today.
There was no helping it. Boss Pei was just someone so boring and easily satisfied.
However, the first thing that appeared after he clicked open the application was not the bookshelf but a splash screen.
"The Butterfly Game is out!
"The butterfly fanned its wings and set off a storm!
"It had become an entirely new urban theme since its serialization and had broken multiple records on the website!
"Bookmark and subscribe to get a random gift and Zhongdian coins gift pack!" Pei Qian was stunned.
Wasn't this new book recommendation a little too strong?
The splash screen could be said to be the best recommendation resource on the website. Few books could obtain such a resource when they were first made available. "The Butterfly Game'? Why don't I have an impression of this book? Is it a new book that just came out recently?
"There is no pen name on the splash screen; is it by a new author? If the book is written well, I would have to immediately pull this author over to learn about the Tengda spirit!"
Pei Qian clicked in subconsciously.
He was momentarily stunned when he saw the author's pen name.
"The Tentacled Beast that Writes for His Life? Isn't that Cui Geng? He's still writing?!"
Pei Qian felt very perplexed. He was very fond of Cui Geng because Cui Geng played a very crucial role in the spreading of Tengda spirit in the class.
However, Pei Qian's impression of Cui Geng was still lingering in his 'complete speech' and 'special observer' status.
Pei Qian went to understand about Cui Geng's income. Based on his average subscription and average updating rate, his monthly income could only be around 10,000 yuan.
The income of a special observer might not be high, but the actual value would obviously be over that amount if he were to add on all sorts of Tengda's subsidies and benefits.
Moreover, his position did not have a specific scope. He would still earn the same amount of money even if he were to play games all day long.
What motivation would Cui Geng have to update his novel comparing it this way?
Pei Qian was a little confused. Why would a lazy bum with no reason to update his novel write a new book? This...
Something was definitely wrong. He glanced at the total number of words in this novel: 260,000 words!
The first chapter was published on February 2nd, New Year's Eve!
In other words, this book had been written for less than a month so far and already had 260,000 words written. There had been 10 chapter updates since it was published which added up to 280,000 words!
He wrote 280,000 words in a month? How was he a lazy bum like this then? He was already worthy of his The Tentacled Beast that Writes for His Life title!
Pei Qian felt a little faint.
Did he earn some money and found a ghostwriter?
That was still impossible. Ma Yiqun would not allow something like that to happen.
No matter what, writing 280,000 words in just one month was not something the Cui Geng that Pei Qian knew would do!
Else, it was Cui Geng who was problematic.
Else, it was Pei Qian's understanding that went wrong...
Pei Qian quickly opened the 'The Butterfly Game' novel to read.
He read chapter by chapter, from when the protagonist obtained a golden finger to make an unintentional game designer profit so much...
Pei Qian felt a growing sense of deja vu.
"Is... isn't this me?!"
The content of this novel emphasized repeatedly about his successes, and the readers' comments made him feel as though he was being laughed at again and again.
"This bast*rd's novel is too funny, hahahahaha..."
"Quickly update, lazy bum! I can't wait to see which unlucky idiot's 'dream being realized!"
"This protagonist is rather interesting. You might say that he was doing something good, granting orders' wishes on a whim but always obtaining the opposite effect. If you say that he was doing something bad, he was indeed doing something that had every sense of the meaning of success. He was only left with a face of confusion!"
"I wonder what kind of thought process this lazy bum has! He can even think of such a scenario!"
"You're still calling him lazy bum? Call him the Tentacle Beast! He made such a massive update in one month, making it to pay-to-read. Do you yield!"
"I really want to know if someone else is using this pen name. The difference in style and material is too large. Even his state experienced massive changes. Previously, it was a gift to be able to get one chapter. Now, he sometimes updates four or five chapters a week!"
"It seems like it's the efforts of the authors' class organized by the website. The works of authors who went to the class are getting better."
"I'll @ the books I'm following right now!"
Pei Qian quickly glanced at the comments of the readers, his heart turning cold.
It seemed like... this book... has great reviews?
Pei Qian was shocked.
This was not as simple as Zhongdian Chinese Network having another good novel. More importantly, was Cui Geng worthy of the 'special observer' role?
How could a special observer start to write fervently every day? Would he still have the time to observe if he were to write so much?
He had absolutely let down Boss Pei's expectations for this role!
Pei Qian was very anxious. He refreshed the application by accident, causing a new article to pop out. "I'd like to report a piece of good news to everyone. It has been 12 hours since the first VIP chapter was uploaded from 12am. This book has 8,000 subscribers now and has broken Zhongdian Chinese Network's record!
"There are still another 12 hours. The estimated total subscribers would be within 12,000 to 15,000. It's a very large breakthrough to both me and the website!
"I hope that everyone could come in to support before the final results are out. If you think this book is alright, please subscribe. Let us create a new record on Zhongdian Chinese Network!
"I'm also working hard on my writing. I'll update with a 10,000-word chapter once midnight strikes!
"Thank you, everyone!" Pei Qian was feeling a little dizzy.
"What the f*ck...?".
If they were to go by normal circumstance, the last 12 hours would definitely not be able to attract as much traffic as the first 12 hours. Putting the estimate at 13,000 subscribers was a very normal figure.
However, this was an excellent chance for Zhongdian Chinese Network. Ma Yiqun, therefore, was using everything at his disposal at Zhongdian Chinese Network to promote it!
The rest of the 12 hours had two peak readerships: during afternoon and night. It was possible to double the readership!
Zhongdian Chinese Network's greatest problem had been that the lower and mid-tier authors had always had average benefits, but no novel had really great results.
Cui Geng's original book had an average of 5,000 subscribers which put him at rank 40-50 on Zhongdian Chinese Network. Cui Geng was also one of the better achievers in class.
Ma Yiqun and Pei Qian were both very aware of this fact.
Pei Qian, therefore, rejected Ma Yiqun's request to poach masters from outside to spend the money on the mid and low-tier writers. However, he did not think that this class could actually still produce a super author!
An 8,000 subscribership was nothing compared to a large site like Infinite Chinese Network. Perhaps a dozen authors there could obtain such traffic.
However, an author with a 15,000 subscribership would also be a prominent author in Infinite Chinese Network!
That meant to say that from then on, Zhongdian Chinese Network would also have masterpieces and prominent authors!
Moreover, that was not the crucial point.
The most crucial point was that Ma Yiqun used so many resources to promote one novel also for publicity to show the rest of the authors a kind of exemplary behavior. It meant: 'Did you see it? You could also get a 15,000 subscriber if you were to write well on Zhongdian Chinese Network!'If it were to persist, the average subscribership might even hit 30,000 to 40,000 without a problem!
The originally lower and mid-tier authors had good benefits on Zhongdian Chinese Network. Many authors did not go on board because they felt that there was not enough visibility on the website.
However, there was evidence that there was ample readership on the website. The upper limits had been raised so more authors would definitely come onboard!
It was the same logic for readers. Many readers previously might feel that there weren't many top-quality good books on the Zhongdian Chinese Network and treated this website as a spare tire. They would only come here when there were no other good books on the Infinite Chinese Network.
However, the stereotype of 'Zhongdian Chinese Network did not have any good books' would naturally have changed for the better!
In short, Cui Geng's The Butterfly Game would have a long term impact onZhongdian Chinese Network. It symbolized Zhongdian Chinese Network's advancement to the next stage!
Pei Qian was speechless looking at Cui Geng's chapter.
Boss Pei's happy place did not seem to be particularly peaceful today...
Chapter 434 Emphasize On The Disadvantages Of Our Cell Phones!
Zhongdian Chinese Network authors' study class...
The authors were seated around a long table at noon, having their Fish-Catching Take-Out. All of them were focused on the information on their cell phones, replying from time to time.
Everyone was looking at the same group chat: Zhongdian Chinese Network Authors' Study Group (Main Chat)!
There were more than 60 people in this group, and most of them were online now, keeping track of the information on Cui Geng's new book.
"More than 8,000 now? Impressive Brother Cui! Formidable!"
"The role model of our generation!"
"Breaking more than 10,000 initial subscriptions is now a sure bet from the current situation. Let's see if it can hit 15,000 for record-breaking!" "When will I be half as good as Brother Cui...?"
Most comments were bootlicking, but some were seriously discussing it. For example, why was Cui Geng's new book so hot? Were there any writing techniques that could be learned from and be bookmarked?
This setting seemed as though everyone was possessed since most of them were in this room...
Of course, they had their reasons for doing so.
The study class was now at its second batch. There were changes to the authors attending it. The selection for the second batch was very difficult. The competition was scary.
Ma Yiqun was very vexed as well.
The authors with good results should participate in this study class so that they could help guide the others who were not as good.
The authors who were not as good should attend this study class as well to spur them on for them to improve.
In short, it seemed like almost all the authors on Zhongdian Chinese Network should come to this study class...
It was a tough call. Ma Yiqun spent a lot of effort in selecting the second batch of authors. He spent some time to appease the contestants who did not make it to this batch and placed them into the name list for the third batch.
However, some authors who had participated in the first batch continued to participate in the second batch.
Ma Yiqun hoped to achieve a kind of 'the experienced teach the new' effect. One-on-one tutoring would enable them to understand the Tengda spirit more quickly and master the learning rhythm of the class.
Therefore, many members of the first batch —including Cui Geng-were not present. They could only find out about Cui Geng's real-time status through the chat group. "Ming Yuju, what was the situation like when Brother Cui was in the class? How did he improve so fast? You saw everything; can you explain a little?" an author asked curiously.
The rest of the authors looked at Ming Yu as well.
"Yes, Ming Yuju, tell us, what exactly happened?"
"I heard that Brother Cui even obtained an 'observer' position? He went to Tengda to do research?"
Most questions were asked by new authors.
These new authors did not participate in the previous class so they only knew that Cui Geng had obtained some insights during class, and his 'grades' had taken a huge leap However, they were unclear about how exactly he achieved that.
It was a great opportunity for someone who knew about it.
Ming Yu put down his chopsticks and replied after a moment of silence, "This is a long story. The most important factor should be Boss Pei's visit that day..."
He summarized the story and iterated the entire situation.
In the beginning, everyone was in the little black room, writing profusely, comparing who could write more. The volume of updates increased, but they did not make any qualitative leaps.
Boss Pei appeared right at this moment!
Boss Pei was already keenly aware that this model had certain problems so he made a rule. The author with the most updates should take a day off while the author with the least would be sent to Tengda to receive the Tengda spirit education!
This move seemed like a simple one, but it had a deep meaning.
The wrong trend of emphasizing quantity over quality was stopped in time after the study of the Tengda spirit.
Lost authors found a goal; lazy authors were filled with vigor.
Authors who were only focused on quantity calmed down to work on the story plot; authors with no planning started to draw the outline seriously.
The atmosphere of the study class was instantly renewed!
In the end, Ming Yuju concluded: "Brother Cui wrote the hit 'The Butterfly Game' in such an environment. It seemed as though it was because of his personal talent and hard work and that the Tengda Group provided enough good materials. Some of them were, of course, by luck.
"However, even if Brother Cui did not write 'The Butterfly Game', someone else would appear because the standard of the entire website is continuously improving. The waterline is rising so this is an inevitable result!
"In short, it was because Boss Pei pointed towards the general right direction which made this huge ship turn around and head towards the normal course!"
The authors listened attentively with a look of yearning on their faces. Some of them even forgot to take a bite from the food they brought to their mouth.
Was it really that amazing?
Unbelievable!
An author could not help but raise his hand to ask. "So, Ming Yuju, what exactly is the Tengda spirit? Can it really turn something that decayed into an entirely new thing?" Ming Yu smiled slightly. "Hahaha, it's not only able to do that. It can even turn already great things even better!
"However, it could only be understood, not said. Everyone's characteristics are different, and the understanding of the Tengda spirit would also be different.
"Go to Tengda's headquarters personally if you really want to know. See for yourself what the Tengda spirit looks like!"
Pei Qian took a deep breath after coming to the door of the company. He adjusted his emotions before he walked in. For some unknown reason, he felt as though he was a primary school kid on the first day of his school. He was reluctant.
Pei Qian had been backstabbed on the way to work. It did not seem to be too smooth.
However, Pei Qian had no time to investigate the matter with Cui Geng now. He had a lot of things on hand to settle.
Lin Wan had already sent several messages about the completion of Be Quiet's development. She would require Boss Pei to determine the initial publicity strategy.
Dream Realization Ventures made more than 10 million yuan selling the Top Student, Come Quick' project on He Desheng's end. He wanted to know what should be done with these funds now. It would be a shame to leave the money in the company as an investment firm.
Chang You hoped to confirm the things at the news conference later on.
The other matters could be pushed back, but these three matters could definitely not delay. The consequences would be very serious if any of them were not handled well.
Pei Qian still had to make a trip to the office to decide on these three matters.
Pei Qian made an appointment with the three of them. Chang You would be there from 2 to 3 PM, He Desheng at 3 to 4 PM, and Lin Wan at 4 to 5 PM.
Solve all of it in an afternoon, which was rather hasty.
Chang You came at 2 PM sharp.
"Boss Pei, I want to confirm the general direction of the news conference with you to make the slideshow for it..."
Pei Qian waved his hand. "I know, tell me about how you think you want to do the news conference."
Chang You thought that Boss Pei had very little time so he asked him the most important question first.
"The important thing about the news conference is where to hold it, the scale of the conference, which aspects of the cell phone would the slideshow introduce? Do you need a special spokesperson to be there?
"My consideration is that we cannot sell many cell phones and it's a new product. It would seem too extravagant to rent too huge a venue. However, we cannot make it too shabby as well. It might give people a bad impression of the brand being 'cheap'.
"Therefore, the news conference can be in a general venue in Beijing or Shanghai. We can invite more media in the evaluation media to attend.
"Then, I would also like to suggest that we can also 'highlight' something about Shenhua's cell phones and Pineapple cell phones. We have so much information about the cell phones on the market anyway. Many aspects of our phone surpass these two flagship models. "This is also a tactic of many smaller cell phone companies to gain popularity.
"As for the spokesperson... well, money has to be spent on this so it's better for Boss Pei to decide."
Pei Qian remained silent.
Such difficult problems from the get-go. It really placed a severe test on Boss Pei's abilities. However, these problems were not difficult to solve.
News conferences had to be as great as possible!
That was because the initial investment of OTTO mobile phones was only a few million. A total of only a thousand mobile phones have been mass-produced, it might not even sell.
They should find a big venue for the press conference and spend a fortune on renting it. Moreover, it definitely could not be held in Beijing and Shanghai. It should be held in Jingzhou!
These media companies would be invited to come over. Their round-trip tickets, lodging, and food should be reimbursed. That way, he would be able to spend more money again.
As for normal audiences, they would just give free tickets directly in Jingzhou.
Moreover, so what if the press conference was grander and attracted high attention? Knowing about this product did not mean they would pay for it.
'Highlighting' about the products of his competitors was something Boss Pei could not do. He did not want that hot debate.
Not only would he not do that, but he would even talk about the weakness of his cell phone at the news conference! Otto Technologies' news conference would be giving them a million and one reasons why not to buy their cell phone.
As for the spokesperson...
There did not seem to be a need.
Getting a spokesperson would definitely let Pei Qian spend more money, but what if that spokesperson had many die-hard fans?
There were only a total of 1,000 cell phones. There could be some irrational die-hard fans who rush over to grab them up. Wouldn't that be totally embarrassing then?
The system would definitely disagree if they were sold out and he did not continue production.
However, he gave it another thought and felt that he could also find a spokesperson without many fans...
Pei Qian deliberated his answer after thinking for a while before he began to answer Chang You's questions one by one.
"The news conference will be held in Jingzhou. Choose the largest venue, invite the media to come and take care of their food and lodging. Give away tickets for the event; ask Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Upwind Courier stations, Fish-Catching Take-Out, etc. to distribute. Send them tickets as long as they are interested.
"Do not highlight anything about our competitors at the news conference. You must change your bad habits from Hongcheng Technologies!
"We'll only talk about ourselves. We'll keep it short and sharp so that everyone can rest!
"When you present the slideshow, you have to do it tactfully. Cover the excellent parts of our cell phone with one word. We'll focus on the deficiencies of our mobile phones.
"Give consumers enough information. We cannot blind them with technical words!
"As for the spokesperson... I have not decided on one. Wait a few more days if it's not urgent."
Pei Qian solved all the problems at lightning speed.
Chang You blinked and fell into a state of confusion.
"Boss Pei, are you sure you mean 'we'll focus on the deficiencies of our mobile phones?'"