May 16th, Monday...
The new season of hiring has started at Tengda. It was the second time the uniformed recruitment examinations were held. The HR department hosing the recruitment was well-versed with the processes, and things proceeded in an orderly fashion.
They were at the written test stage, after which there would be a series of steps including interview, induction, and test on Tengda spirit. Wu Bin looked on at the bunch of new job seekers outside the venue with a staff badge hanging on his chest. He could not help but be filled with emotion.
Time really flies!
Wu Bin recalled his fateful encounter with Tengda, which was as early as November last year. He was trying to poach Hao Qiong from Shang Yang Games then, but things went wayward.
Wu Bin, therefore, signed up for Tengda's recruitment examinations decisively, passed all three levels, and became an official full-time employee of Tengda.
He had also carried out a series of fruitful work after that. What satisfied him the most was that he managed to summarize the Tengda spirit and use it to guide the authors of the Zhongdian Chinese Network.
This was probably described by applying what one had learned, right?
In retrospect, in just six months, his life had undergone earth-shaking changes. Wu Bin could not help but feel deeply moved. The Tengda recruitment examinations this time obviously had more people than what they had previously. That was enough to show that Tengda's popularity increased substantially within six months.
On the one hand, there were more industries and jobs. On the other hand, the number of people applying for each job had also increased. A couple was cheering for each other outside the entrance of the venue, seemingly taking part in Tengda's recruitment examinations together. "My dear, do your best; you can definitely do it!"
"Yes, you, too. Your hard work will definitely allow you to make it!"
"We'll rent a bigger house immediately when we manage to enter."
"Yes, we will not need to work overtime if we get in. I'll make delicious food for you every day!"
"We can definitely get in together! All the best!"
The two of them encouraged each other before heading to different exam venues.
Such a scene was at play. Most of them came themselves, but some of them dragged the entire family with them, which seemed like a send-off to the army.
The bustling crowd outside the venue reminded Wu Bin of parents who were waiting anxiously outside the school during college entrance examinations.
However, it seemed appropriate as well. The significance of the Tengda recruitment examinations was probably not much different from college entrance examinations.
The carp leaped over the dragon's gate and climbed to heaven in one step.
Wu Bin could not help but swell with emotion. Becoming an employee of Tengda came with a sense of pride for many people, especially the locals in Jingzhou. That was because of Tengda's rapid developments in Jingzhou. Their tentacles had gradually penetrated into various industries, and the locals could feel it deeply.
Rumors about Tengda in the outside world were becoming extremely ridiculous. Some said that Tengda gave an extremely high salary, at least double that of other companies in the same industry.
Some said that Tengda's benefits were excellent: they had various reimbursement schemes, subsidies, bonuses. Tengda had everything one could think of and everything one could not think of.
Some also said that Tengda never encouraged overtime work; some employees even treated overtime as something shameful.
The coolest thing was that everyone who entered Tengda would be reborn in a very short time, no matter how mediocre his ability was.
Of course, the world outside only half believed in such rumors. That only made Tengda's true situation even more confusing. It was because these rumors were so outrageous that no one could discern which of them were true and which were not.
It only increased the yearning to enter Tengda. More people were willing to come over to this city just so one could obtain a good position in Tengda. Wu Bin knew very well that these rumors were true. However, it was totally different from everyone's common sense so everyone did not dare believe it.
With the popularization of the Tengda spirit, most employees had become accustomed to the true identity of Boss Pei and kept mum about the benefits in Tengda. That exacerbated the ignorance from the outside world.
The employees would be even more low profile, seeing how Boss Pei was so low profile. Who would dare compete with Boss Pei for credit?
Boss Pei was at least 70% responsible for Tengda to develop so well. Everything else accounted for 30%.
People with different backgrounds and personalities passed Tengda's entrance examination through huge efforts and then received unified Tengda spirit training before gradually integrating into this cultural atmosphere to become a member of Tengda.
Wu Bin was the same.
No matter what, it was a very interesting experience.
Wu Bin suddenly realized a problem looking at the bustling crowd. That was Tengda subtly changing the entire city. Such a change was on both material and spiritual levels.
At the material level, Tengda had been continuously recruiting employees and providing them with good salaries. These high-income employees would start to spend since they now had a guarantee in their lives. That would stimulate development in the other industries in Jingzhou and the overall economic progress.
Moreover, Tengda Corporation was constantly entering the physical industry, from Internet cafes, takeaways, to gyms recently. They were constantly changing people's material lives. The driving force of such a company was obvious in a city.
Tengda was also changing the world on a spiritual level.
To the employees, cultivating the habit of working hard and enjoying life dispelled their anxiety and tension. It broke the vicious circle of workplace involution.
As far as the consumers were concerned, Tengda showed them a healthier lifestyle through industries such as Internet cafes, Fish-Catching Take-Out, and gyms.
Wu Bin looked back and suddenly found out that the influence of the Tengda Group was so far-reaching. He seemed to have understood Boss Pei's final goal.
However, this goal seemed to be rather far from the looks of its current situation.
Tengda Corporation's influence was currently concentrated in Jingzhou. It might be expanding to cities such as Lincheng City, but its influence was still limited.
Wu Bin guessed that it must be because Boss Pei was still using Jingzhou as a testbed, working hard to build an ecological closed loop here.
One would definitely choose to open Fish-Catching Internet Cafe as a franchise in the entire country, seize the chance to obtain investment, quickly realize financial freedom, and start enjoying life if it was any other entrepreneur.
However, Boss Pei did not have such thoughts.
Obviously, he was not after that money. His goal was for a longer term and was more arduous.
"Therefore, as a member of the HR department, in addition to completing daily work; we should also shoulder the mission of promoting the Tengda spirit. That is so that this spirit could be spread widely, not just amongst Tengda employees but also amongst the public!
"Let Boss Pei's grand goal be better realized!"
It was the first time Wu Bin felt his social responsibility so clearly.
Before, he was just an ordinary HR guy: running around, poaching, firing employees, and lowering salary to complete the task set out by the boss. He could only think about how to complete his tasks and requirements to make a living As for social responsibility? That was all too vague.
However, now that Wu Bin had no worries about food and clothing, he naturally had the energy to pursue the realization of self-worth and do something truly meaningful.
The most important factor was that after accepting Boss Pei's Tengda spirit for such a long time, he could not wait to share it with others. It was like deciphering the confusion of the authors from the Zhongdian Chinese Network.
Wu Bin felt that he should become an interpreter of the Tengda spirit to live up to Boss Pei's expectations and promotion.
At six in the afternoon...
Wu Bin had dinner at the nearby Fish-Catching Internet Cafe after he was done with the recruitment work for today. He was about to set off for the course at Zhongdian Chinese Network.
In the process of proctoring the exam today, Wu Bin had been thinking about how he should accomplish his mission. Wu Bin decided to make more interpretations of the Tengda spirit after much consideration!
Wu Bin had summed up some contents including three major items previously when he tried to figure out the spirit of Tengda spirit: efficient work, focus on innovation, obedience to leadership, independent thinking, combination of work and rest, and long-term goals.
For a long time, this top-secret document had been circulating privately amongst Tengda employees, and it was strictly forbidden to spread it on internal forums and on the internet.
Wu Bin also emphasized that it was not a textbook answer, only a one-sided interpretation and could only be used for reference. It could not be regarded as the only correct answer and certainly could not be represented as Boss Pei's true thoughts.
The interpretation of the Tengda spirit could only be infinitely close to Boss Pei. He could never stop in his interpretation.
Wu Bin felt that he had gone one step further now because the objective environment had changed. It would be difficult for the new hires to fully understand the Tengda spirit even if they saw the explanation. That was because they lacked the experience of working directly with Boss Pei. It would be difficult for them to get such opportunities in the future as well.
The Tengda Corporation would only grow larger after all. Boss Pei would have to deal with more affairs. It was obvious that only the department heads would be able to talk to Boss Pei.
Most new employees did not even have the opportunity to talk to Boss Pei; they would not even know the specific decisions that Boss Pei had made. How could they figure out the spirit that Boss Pei promulgated?
Therefore, Wu Bin felt that he had to make more explanations on the Tengda spirit to solve this problem.
That would involve recording the words and deeds of Boss Pei in a book so that the newcomers could compare the contents of the Tengda spirit and the specific words and deeds of Boss Pei to obtain more accurate insights.
It would be just like memorizing English words; one had to combine them with example sentences to better understand them.
However, Wu Bin felt that his own writing would not be enough. It was alright if it was just to summarize a few key points. However, one would still require certain skills to write vivid and true stories and yet not preachy and disgusted.
Therefore, Wu Bin decided to make a trip to Zhongdian Chinese Network. Wu Bin used the Tengda spirit to guide many authors after all. There should be authors willing to join him on this great cause, right? For example, an appropriate candidate would be Cui Geng who wrote 'The Butterfly Game' after being inspired by the Tengda spirit.
Chapter 521 This is Just a Little Something for Boss Pei
Zhongdian Chinese Network Author's study class...
The authors were preparing to head back for rest after uploading their chapters for the day. Cui Geng stretched and looked at the 7,000 odd words that he had written today and nodded satisfactorily. The Butterfly Game had 1.6 million words so far and was a top seller on Zhongdian Chinese Network.
Boss Pei had previously adjusted the website's revenue-sharing scheme and increased the author's revenue share to 70%. Cui Geng's fees for the manuscript had risen by a large amount, and the motivation to work harder seemed to have become weaker.
Cui Geng was a slacker and should have lost all motivation when something like that happened.
However, it was the Tengda spirit that allowed him to find his way. Therefore, he degraded from writing 10,000 words to 4,000 per day when he had the most inspiration. He could maintain this level without any break in between.
That seemed to be good news for readers who were used to Cui Geng's laziness.
Moreover. Cui Geng could clearly feel that his writing had reached a bottleneck.
For an author like him who had rarely written a million words for a novel, this book had reached more than 1.6 million words, which was beyond his control and experience to write to some extent. It was very dangerous.
Therefore, after much consideration, Cui Geng decided to fight his natural laziness.
The method would come from the online literature class! Cui Geng's writing habits had undergone many transformations.
In the beginning, he found that he could actually create huge updates. He wrote slowly. Sometimes, because he was really slow; other times, it was just excuses for being lazy.
Then, after receiving the education on the Tengda spirit, he found the crux of his ideology and used it as an opportunity to start creating 'The Butterfly Game', which brought his writing career to a higher level.
Cui Geng was facing even more problems now as he increased his word count. Sometimes, it was difficult to overcome even with the Tengda spirit.
He, therefore, went to Editor-in-chief Zhu to apply to the online literature class once again and shut himself in the little black room. Once again, he had found the feeling of being undisturbed by the outside world with a high level of energy.
He had to say that the effects were obvious. His writing efficiency greatly improved after changing his environment. It was no easy feat for Cui Geng to return to a writing level of more than 7,000 words a day. Cui Geng left with the other authors after he was done with the work today. Some planned to head to internet cafes for gaming and relaxation while the others plan to go back to rest and improve on their outlines.
Cui Geng could clearly feel the difference in the online literature class from when it started.
After several batches, the study class had become a norm in Zhongdian Chinese Network. The authors communicated and learned from each other and made progress together at the same time. More people found that these classes were indeed good. It could significantly improve efficiency and performance.
It entered a virtuous circle over time.
Moreover, Cui Geng had become a role model in the minds of the authors, a typical case of success in the study class. Cui Geng could not help but sigh. He had become an idol at such a tender age, how difficult. Cui Geng saw a familiar figure when he was about to head back. "Wu Bin?"
Wu Bin left a deep impression on Cui Geng. Wu Bin's interpretation cleared his mind when he was studying the Tengda spirit. Wu Bin smiled. "Do you have time? Shall we have a drink?" Cui Geng nodded, agreeing readily. "Sure."
Both of them came to the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe nearby and found a seat in the bar area. It was evening, and the number of people in the bar gradually increased. Performers were tuning their instruments on stage and would soon begin.
It was said that the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was now experimenting with a 3.0 model, and a new store would be opened soon.
However, this initial Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 1.0 still had enough customers. Chen Lei's popularity had made Jingzhou's resident singers yearn for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Naturally, groups of fans came over to the Internet cafe to tip him.
Income from alcohol and tips had always been an important source of income for the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
Chen Lei was busy with his business now. He often traveled around the country, participating in music festivals to gain more popularity after releasing a few singles. He was also preparing for his first concert. Chen Lei might not be in Jingzhou most of the time, but he had expressed in his interviews that he had never forgotten that Jingzhou was his hometown and would definitely return when he had the time.
Wu Bin and Cui Geng each ordered a glass of wine and chatted while drinking.
Wu Bin gave a brief explanation of his intention.
Cui Geng slapped his thigh after listening to it. "Please leave this matter to me!"
The two of them hit off on the spot
Cui Geng was not short of money in the first place. That was even more so after The Butterfly Game became popular. What he cared about most now was how to break through his bottleneck.
There were signs of exhaustion once The Butterfly Game hit 1 million characters. His slowdown in writing was proof of that.
In the beginning, he was filled with inspiration and energy. The contents of the material were readily available so it was easy to write 10,000 words a day. However, the content became lesser and lesser as the number of words increased. How could he ensure that the plot did not slip? That was the problem that plagued Cui Geng. Cui Geng, who was once a special observer in Tengda Corporation, could enter the various departments at will—for material collection. Many plots within The Butterfly Game came from the materials within the various departments of Tengda.
However, he had rarely gone to Tengda's departments after he started writing seriously. Cui Geng could still continue to collect materials from the various departments in Tengda now. However, it would still be difficult to continue making breakthroughs.
Moreover, Tengda has so many departments now. Cui Geng was under pressure to update every day. His efficiency in collecting materials would be pretty slow if he did not have a direction. The gain would not be worth the losses.
He especially needed a partner like Wu Bin now
Wu Bin had a deep understanding of the Tengda spirit. Also, as a member of the HR department, he had good knowledge of the structure and personnel of each department. He would surely find the best perspective for material collection and the most suitable candidates.
Cui Geng only needed to follow him to record things down and write good content. Not only would it be able to help Wu Bin complete the interpretation of the Tengda spirit, but he could also take this opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in his bottleneck.
Would that not be killing two birds with one stone?
That was why Cui Geng became excited as well. "Then, where shall we start? The gaming department?" Cui Geng asked. Wu Bin shook his head. "No, I'll be able to ask the person-in-charge of each department about the matters of the department; this information is easy to obtain.
"As the saying goes, the onlooker sees more of the game.
"My understanding of the Tengda spirit had always been too constrained by the departments. This time, I've decided to start from outside, to take a look at the companies that Boss Pei are working with and what they think of Boss Pei.
"Perhaps then, we'll be able to understand more of how Boss Pei thinks."
Cui Geng nodded. "Then, where shall we start?"
Wu Bin thought about it and said. "As far as I know, Boss Li of Fu Hui Investments had always been a business partner with Boss Pei. He had been collaborating with Boss Pei on the Thriller Hostel project recently. "Let's find a time to start with Boss Li then."
May 18th, Wednesday.
The construction of the Thriller Hostel was in full swing in the old Industrial zones of Jingzhou City. The construction of the Thriller Hostel would officially be opened in July to their first clients according to the schedule. The engineering team was still working overtime.
Fortunately, factory buildings were readily available in this place.
The most troublesome part of the construction was the Thriller Hostel which required major renovations within the factory, which was why construction started in December last year until now.
The other industries such as restaurants, hotels, etc. that Boss Li and the others wanted to open were all remodeled by the original building of the factory and old industrial zones. Strictly speaking, they were renovating and decorating the interior of the factory, not rebuilding them.
It would be able to be completed on schedule with sufficient funds and the construction team working overtime. Moreover, the outdated appearance of the old factory building had a special vicissitude feeling to it, which fitted very well with the style of the Thriller Hostel.
It was a totally different world after entering these old factory buildings. The comfortable dining, resting area, and shopping environment would allow visitors to completely forget the fright and fatigue from the haunted house and enjoy it.
Li Shi came to the door of the temporary office where Chen Kangtuo was and knocked gently.
"Boss Li? Please enter." Chen Kangtuo welcomed Li Shi and gave him a glass of water.
Chen Kangtuo had dealt with Boss Li and the other investors during the period of construction. They were now very familiar with each other. Everyone had similar interests since they were all vested in the same project. Anything was subject to discussion. Li Shi sat down and took a sip. "Little Brother Chen, to be honest, I'm representing all the investors today to propose something to Tengda." "Hm? What is this proposal?" Chen Kangtuo was a little surprised.
Li Shi took out an architectural drawing with the Thriller Hostel and its surrounding buildings: "The other investors and I have specially vacated a factory building in this prime location to be renovated into a market. It would be used to sell various souvenirs and merchandise related to the Thriller Hostel.
"This market will be jointly funded by me and other investors. Tengda will come up with a design plan. We'll split the final income evenly between Tengda and the rest of the investors in a 50:50 ratio.
"What do you think?"
Chen Kangtuo could not help but be taken aback. "Boss Li, this isn't appropriate. Wouldn't that be equivalent to gifting it to Tengda for free?"
Boss Li smiled slightly. "This is a little something from all of us to Boss Pei."
Chapter 522 There was More to Boss Pei
Chen Kangtuo hesitated. Anyone observant enough would be able to tell that this was not simply 'a small gesture'.
If Thriller Hostel could become popular, all the peripheral businesses would earn a considerable profit as well.
At the moment, for most amusement parks in the country, developers of peripheral businesses and other profit-generating channels were only just picking up. Ticket sales still accounted for the majority of the profits earned.
However, famous international amusement parks were different. Judging from more mature models, entrance tickets, shopping, and 'others' each accounted for one-third of the income generated.
'Others' included income earned from food and beverages, accommodation, investment by other players in the tourism industry, sponsorship for tourist festivals, real estate development for the purposes of tourism, and the like.
Now, Boss Li and the other investors had decided to give Tengda half of the income they earned from the projects peripheral to Thriller Hostel. That would amount to quite a generous sum.
Seeing Chen Kangtuo's hesitation, Li Shi smiled. "Brother Chen, don't stand on ceremony with us.
"The Thriller Hostel was Boss Pei's project to begin with. Given Tengda's financial power, Boss Pei could have eaten up all the profits surrounding Thriller Hostel. Yet, he did not do so. Instead, he left such a generous share of the profits to us. He was generous to us first.
"Now, everyone's interests are tied together. If one prospers, all will prosper. If one loses out, all will lose out. We shouldn't be divided by opinions. The other investors and I only invested in this market to repay Boss Pei's generosity
"Brother Chen, if you feel bad, just make sure you run Thriller Hostel well and make it popular. That would be good enough repayment to us."
Chen Kangtuo considered this for a long time. He was put in a spot, seeing how resolute Boss Li was. Finally, he nodded and said, "Alright. I'll thank you all on behalf of Boss Pei, then."
Boss Li smiled. "I've already prepared the contract. Please take a look at it, Brother Chen. If there are no problems, quickly come up with a plan and get to work. Time waits for no one."
After walking out of Chen Kangtuo's office, Boss Li immediately felt light and refreshed. He was much more relaxed now!
Recently, Li Shi had been watching the renovation of the restaurant he was setting up near Thriller Hostel like a hawk. Although construction was going well, he could not relax.
The same feeling kept gnawing at him for a very long time. After thinking hard about his experience working with Boss Pei, Boss Li finally realized why he had been feeling so uneasy.
The investors and Boss Pei's carts were not locked firmly enough together!
In other words, the investors still ran the risk of having their cart overturned.
Before this, they had invested in the Shared Top Student project. Boss Pei had first shaken their confidence to dissuade a group of investors from investing. Then, he had resorted to little tricks to eliminate all the shareholders so that he could hog the biggest share of profits.
After everything settled down, Li Shi had replayed what happened in his head. It was then that he had realized something: all of that could only happen because the investors had not followed Boss Pei closely enough.
Business was business. In terms of doing business, Boss Pei would always put Tengda's interests first.
To Boss Li, Boss Pei had always had the same attitude towards all the investors: if you want to have a taste of the soup, just follow me. However, don't even think about eating the meal. All the meat in the pot belonged to Tengda.
If they were to leave the table in the ascending order of who ate the most, Tengda would be the last to leave.
Thus, Boss Li figured that he had to tie his own profits tightly and closely to Boss Pei's. Only then could he prevent himself from being shaken off for nothing!
Offering to give Tengda a share of the investors' profits had been the result of him thinking hard. On the surface, he looked generous, but inside, he was being stingy.
Boss Li and the others were setting up restaurants and hotels. Those were the accompanying facilities around Thriller Hostel. Although the income generated would be less than the entrance tickets, it would still be considered stable.
Boss Pei was knowledgeable and far-sighted. He must have hoped to turn Thriller Hostel into a first-tier amusement park in the country —or even the world. That meant the income structure would be similar to first-tier amusement parks around the world: entrance tickets, shopping, and 'others' would each account for one-third of all income generated.
Of those shares, Tengda would keep all the income earned from the sale of entrance tickets. Income earned from 'others' would be split between Tengda and the investors. Only income earned from shopping remained unclear.
Once Thriller Hostel officially opened for business, there were two possible outcomes.
First, it could turn out like other amusement parks in the country and only earn money from the sale of entrance tickets, but not from anything else.
Second, it could earn a lot of money from entrance tickets and peripheral businesses alike.
If it were the former and the peripheral businesses were not making money, what would be the harm in splitting half the income with Tengda?
If it were the latter and everyone was earning profits, Tengda would be able to obtain real, tangible benefits from the surrounding businesses. Naturally, it would be motivated to run the amusement park well.
Thus, after some discussion, Boss Li and the other investors decided to split a share of their profits with Tengda. That would tie them tightly and closely with Boss Pei's chariot of interest, so that all of them would rise or fall together.
With those additional interests, Boss Pei would spend more effort on the peripheral businesses, which would benefit the development of Thriller Hostel in return.
Until now, although all the investors absolutely trusted Boss Pei, they were still uncertain about whether Thriller Hostel would succeed or not.
That was why they had to pay extra attention to it and bet that Boss Pei's business genius would cause another miracle to happen.
Li Shi walked out of Chen Kangtuo's office, prepared to check on the progress of the restaurant's construction and then drive back to his own office.
However, at that moment, his cell phone rang. It was an unknown number.
"Hello, Boss Li. I am Wu Bin, from Tengda's HR department. I've been collecting some material on Boss Pei recently. I wonder if you have time to answer a few simple questions."
Li Shi was stunned. This phone call surprised him.
However, since Wu Bin claimed to be Boss Pei's employee, Li Shi had to show him due respect. What's more, Li Shi was extremely curious as to what kind of material Wu Bin was trying to gather.
"Alright. Let's meet at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe near Handong University."
At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Li Shi, Wu Bin, and Cui Geng each ordered a cup of coffee. Wu Bin had already explained his intentions to Li Shi. The part about the Tengda spirit piqued Li Shi's interest.
Everyone knew that Boss Pei was very good at managing his subordinates. All of Tengda Corporation's employees could hold a fort on their own. What's more, they strictly obeyed Boss Pei's instructions and dared not go against his orders.
From Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to Dream Realization Ventures and Thriller Hostelwhenever Li Shi interacted with Boss Pei's subordinates, he could feel that they worshiped Boss Pei uniquely.
What was the Tengda spirit about, then? What was its effect? If Li Shi could learn that spirit, would Fu Hui Investments' employees become like Tengda's?
Having a spiritual weapon would be extremely useful for any businessman.
Li Shi sipped his coffee. "No problem. Please ask me whatever you want to. I just have one request: when you're done with the Tengda spirit handbook, give me one copy."
Wu Bin hesitated.
The Tengda spirit was considered an unspoken secret within the company itself. Employees could only pass it down in secret; they could not disseminate information about it on the internal forum or online. Obviously, the notes that they were writing on the Tengda spirit would not be passed down to just any employee. Li Shi seemed to be able to tell what was on Wu Bin's mind. He smiled subtly and said, "Don't worry, I won't disseminate the information. For something as valuable as this, the fewer the people who know, the better.
"What's more, there's no conflict of interests between Fu Hui Investments and Tengda Corporation. We've always been close business partners."
After some thought, Wu Bin decided that it made sense.
The Tengda spirit was a summary of a mindset; he could not call it a business secret.
It was only an unspoken secret because he did not want random people passing the Tengda Spirit compatibility test. At the same time, he wanted the employees to persist in trying to figure out and study the Tengda spirit without slacking off.
Further, like Boss Li said, he had no reason to disseminate the information.
Since Boss Li was contributing to the notes on the Tengda spirit and he was going to keep the Tengda spirit a secret, giving him a copy of the handbook would do no harm to the company.
At that thought, Wu Bin nodded. "Alright, Boss Li. Let's finish the notes on the Tengda spirit together.
"I want to ask you what your impression of Boss Pei is. Obviously, people inside and outside the company have different impressions of Boss Pei. As an employee, we can only see one side of Boss Pei. "As his business partner, you can see another side of Boss Pei. That's key to writing these notes on the Tengda spirit."
Li Shi sipped his coffee and pondered for a moment. "From my perspective, the first impression I had of Boss Pei was that he's calm and ruthless.
"He's so calm that, no matter what situation he's put in, he can address the problem objectively and logically. That allows him to make the right decision every time. Coupled with his outstanding far-sightedness and business knowledge, one can say that he's a strategist.
"When dealing with business, he always puts Tengda's interests first. If any other company threatens to affect Tengda's interests, Boss Pei would take the necessary action to make their lives miserable.
"While working with other people, Boss Pei remains ever-ready to kick anyone off the boat for the sake of Tengda's interests. Of course, Boss Pei would not resort to low tricks. Instead, he would always remain fair and honest. That's the most admirable thing about him.
"From another angle, Boss Pei is a very tolerant and kind person. He has a unique understanding of 'working together'.
"He will only work with people who have absolute trust in him. Before that, he would think of all ways and means to test his partners and dissuade the weak-willed ones from working with him.
"To partners who hang on until the end or give up a share of their interests for him, Boss Pei can be very generous. The seemingly conflicting characteristics blend perfectly well in Boss Pei. In him, I see the cunning of an old fox and the ideals of a young man. It's incredible.
"Maybe business geniuses like Boss Pei were born into this world to run successful businesses."
Wu Bin transcribed everything that Li Shi had said, word for word. Touched, he said, "Thank you very much, Boss Li. This angle has given me renewed inspiration!"
Cui Geng, who had been sitting by the side, was already thinking about how to write all of those things at a suitable angle.
Wu Bin continued asking questions. "Boss Li, can you tell us more about your experience working with Boss Pei? Can you also give us specific examples of Boss Pei's personality that you just described?"
Still holding on to his coffee, Li Shi dug deep into his memory bank. "If I were to start at the beginning, I would have to start from Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's flagship store...
"At the time, I stumbled upon a cold and deserted internet cafe. It was deserted, but it had limitless potential. Thus, I thought about investing..."
Wu Bin listened intently. In his mind, his image of Boss Pei became fuller and more multi-dimensional.
Chapter 523 The Initial Effects of the Management Trainee System
May 20th, Friday...
At Deposit Fitness...
There were not many people in the gym in the morning, and so it looked quite empty. There were only four female students training on the whole row of treadmills; the other machines were empty.
Things were not much better where the free weights were. There were only six people, and three of them were fitness trainers who were working out.
Guo Licheng had just finished training. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with a towel and then sat down at the resting area.
He had been quite busy as the branch manager these days.
Preparations for the other branches were in full swing. Of course, Guo Licheng could not manage everything on his own. Thus, he had found a few fitness trainers in Deposit Fitness' flagship store whom he knew very well and made them branch managers of other branches.
He purchased equipment of the same brand and informed Rui Yuchen of Fish-Catching Take-Out as well. Placing the exact same orders at all the nearby Fish-Catching Take-Out outlets would be easy to do. Only recruiting new employees would be quite troublesome.
Guo Licheng had already set recruitment guidelines for the other branches. He followed Boss Pei's instructions strictly: they had to assess every trainer's muscles and body shape first. Even if they could talk extremely well, they would not be hired unless they could train equally well.
That meant that many trainers did not make the cut because of their body shape. Thankfully, Boss Pei was offering a generous remuneration. Thus, despite the strict recruitment standard, a significant number of trainers who matched the criteria jumped ship.
Thus, preparation for the various branches was going quite smoothly. Deposit Fitness' branches were going to start opening for business over the next two days.
It seemed like the Deposit Fitness outlet at Ming Yun Villas would be the first to open. Since Guo Licheng had been extremely busy, he had not found the time to take a look. He had also had no idea whether the gym would operate well or not once it opened for business.
According to Guo Licheng's preliminary judgment, it would not go well.
One look at the state of the flagship store, and one would be able to tell.
Apart from being occupied by the other branches, Guo Licheng had been following Boss Pei's instructions strictly and training hard. He was afraid that Boss Pei would be able to tell if he slacked for a day or two and that he would end up being criticized.
However, that also meant that Guo Licheng had no time to attract new customers or publicize the gym.
Things had been alright when Coach Yaling was still around. Each day, new customers would register for slots because of her. However, now that Boss Pei had transferred Coach Yaling away, the gym was much more deserted.
"Branch Manager, the fitness meals are here!" The lady at the front desk called out to Guo Licheng.
He looked up and saw two delivery men from Fish-Catching Take-Out carrying insulated delivery boxes on their backs. They placed them down, retrieved the take-out boxes from inside, placed them neatly on the table, and then left in a hurry.
It was almost noon, and the delivery men had other deliveries to make. Since Deposit Fitness was family, they had not felt the need to be polite. That was why they left immediately after completing the delivery.
Guo Licheng called out to the rest of the trainers. "Meal time!"
"Oh..." A few listless replies came from around the gym. Guo Licheng was helpless, too. He knew why everyone was in low spirits. They had no interest in the fitness meals whatsoever.
Fish-Catching Take-Out's fitness meals were not that different from other fitness meals in the market. They were mainly made up of salad. Although there were other ingredients and the meal was relatively well-balanced, it still tasted bland.
If they were only eating it from time to time, they would probably be alright with it. However, they had eaten it so many times that just smelling cup noodles made them drool now.
The few students in the gym were loyal customers—the extreme minority. They had very strong wills and so had not been turned away by the meals. In fact, they had already been eating them for a long time.
To them, eating fitness meals had become nothing more than a daily task. Each day, no matter what went into the fitness meal, they would wolf it down after training and lie to their stomachs. They did all of that just to complete their tasks.
Of course, they had no interest in eating those meals.
There weren't many people in the gym, and so there was no need to eat in smaller groups. Everyone took their respective seats and opened the lunch boxes in front of them.
After opening his own lunch box, Guo Licheng became stunned.
"Has there been a mistake?"
Half the lunch box was filled with stewed rice with mushroom and chicken breast while the other half was filled with tomato eggs and steamed tofu.
The stewed rice with mushroom and chicken breast had been made with brown rice, and it was topped with chicken breast, diced carrots, corn kernels, shiitake mushrooms, and green peppers. It had been stir-fried with a little oil and then steamed together with the brown rice. The taste of all the ingredients had been infused into the brown rice.
As for the tomato egg and steamed tofu... the tofu had first been fried with a small amount of oil. Then, the fire had been turned up, and the egg mixture poured in. Once the egg was fully-cooked, it had been wrapped evenly around the tofu. Finally, a small amount of green onion had been sprinkled over it. Both of those dishes were the latest outcomes of Fish-Catching Take-Out's Gourmet Laboratory. The former amounted to 320 kcal, and the latter amounted to 398 kcal per serving. After taking half a serving each and combining them, a well-balanced and nutritious meal was formed.
Rui Yuchen thought that both of those dishes had satisfied his initial wish for a 'more sustainable fitness meal'. Thus, he arranged for them to be delivered to Deposit Fitness' flagship store today for everyone to try, so that they could all give their feedback.
However, he had not emphasized this to the delivery men. Since the latter had been busy, they had forgotten to inform Guo Licheng as well.
Guo Licheng heard someone gulping down their saliva.
They had been eating salad for such a long time. Now, everyone drooled after catching a single whiff of cup noodles. Smelling skewers was all the more torturous. Who could hold themselves back upon seeing the piping hot and fragrant meal in front of them? Still, nobody touched their cutlery. Instead, all of them looked at Guo Licheng, stunned.
Guo Licheng gulped his saliva as well. He cleared his throat and said, "I think it was a mistake. I guess there's no other choice. We shouldn't waste food. Let's eat; we'll train after this."
"Alright!"
Everyone immediately grinned as they grabbed their lunch boxes and stuffed themselves with food.
Guo Licheng knocked on the table. "Slow down! Chewing slowly helps with digestion and prevents you from getting fat."
It was only then that everyone slowed down.
Two of the girls held their spoons and swallowed mouth after mouth of stewed rice and tofu. Their eyes welled up with tears.
They were moved!
Finally, they did not have to eat grass anymore. Finally, they could eat food meant for humans!
Guo Licheng looked like he was enjoying himself, too. He had to admit that food of this temperature and taste was much, much better than salad.
While eating, Guo Licheng felt increasingly confused. Although it felt like the delivery had been a mistake, the food was actually quite healthy. It looked like less oil had been used. What's more, brown rice, carrots, green peppers, corn kernels, chicken breasts, eggs, and tofu were all relatively healthy ingredients
Yet, on second thought, Fish-Catching Take-Out's food leaned towards the healthy side. Their daily menu contained small amounts of oil and salt as well; it was not as intense as other take-out brands.
Thus, Guo Licheng remained silent. In his heart, he made a note to ask Rui Yuchen about it when he got the chance in the future.
May 21st, Saturday...
The Management Trainees had their meeting as usual.
One by one, the Management Trainees of various departments gave their respective updates. Every time they mentioned something interesting, Pei Qian would ask one or two questions. However, after confirming that nothing was out of the ordinary, he would let them pass.
"...a few more of Deposit Fitness's branches have opened for business, but they're equally empty and deserted.
"On Friday—which was yesterday, Fish-Catching Take-Out seemed to have delivered the wrong meals to Deposit Fitness' flagship store. However, Coach Guo led everyone to train more after that, and the effect was cancelled out," reported the Management Trainee of Deposit Fitness.
Delivered the wrong meals?
Pei Qian detected that something was amiss.
Would Fish-Catching Take-Out make such a low-class mistake? They wouldn't, right?
Rui Yuchen and his subordinates were not useless. If they had committed such a low-class mistake, they would have informed me about it. Why am I only finding out now?
Pei Qian turned to look at Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee.
Indeed, the Management Trainee—who was also a waiter at the Gourmet Laboratoryraised his hand. "That wasn't a mistake. It was the new fitness meal that the Gourmet Laboratory developed."
Pei Qian: "?"
An important revelation!
"Tell me about it in detail." Pei Qian felt like he was facing a formidable enemy.
Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee explained himself. "Boss Rui thought that the fitness meals were awful before and were not suited to the locals' taste. Thus, after some research, he decided that he had to strike a balance between the meal's taste and health benefits.
"This version of the fitness meal contains more calories than the previous one, but it's healthier as well. Er... of course, it also costs more."
Pei Qian's expression had darkened at first, but after hearing that it contained more calories and cost more, he felt much better.
Since it contained more calories, the fitness meals would be less effective. Since it cost more, it would have a stronger dissuading effect on customers who were still on the fence.
It did not seem like such a bad thing after all.
"How much more does it cost?"
The Management Trainee answered, "Every fitness meal costs about three yuan more. That amounts to about seven yuan more per day."
Pei Qian quickly calculated in his head. If the meals cost seven more yuan per day and one trained three times per week, that would be close to a thousand yuan per year!
Er... Deposit Fitness' prices would balloon.
Deposit Fitness had already dissuaded a large group of potential customers because of its prices. Now that prices were going to increase further, wouldn't fewer customers sign up?
That was not bad.
Pei Qian asked, "How is Rui Yuchen solving the price problem?"
Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee answered, "Boss Rui plans to let the students choose whether to eat salad or the new fitness meals. Each would be priced differently."
Pei Qian immediately shook his head. "That wouldn't do!"
If students wanted to save money, they would eat the salad. Once they got sick of it, they would spend several more yuan to lead a better life. Students wouldn't be dissuaded at all — that would achieve the opposite effect, wouldn't it?
The shared gym was already proving that the current pricing strategy was working. Customers were turning away. Of course, they had to keep increasing prices.
"Our gym is called Deposit Fitness, with emphasis on the deposit! If customers get to choose what to eat, how are they depositing their bodies with us?
"Get the Gourmet Laboratory to continue spending money to develop new fitness meals. I don't care about the cost; just bundle the cost together with the gym's prices!"
Fish-Catching Take-Out and Deposit Fitness' Management Trainees exchanged a look and then said, "Alright, Boss Pei." "Hold on." Pei Qian seemed to notice a problem. He raised his hand and said, "Neither of you should do anything. I'll inform the respective heads myself."
He could not let the heads know about the Management Trainees. They were meant to be transparent in their departments. He could not allow the heads to become suspicious.
"Alright, next." Pei Qian gestured for the meeting to continue.
Thriller Hostel's Management Trainee reported, "Boss Pei, for Thriller Hostel... Boss Li and the other investors just signed a contract with Boss Chen. The investors have agreed to pour money into building a huge shopping mall within Thriller Hostel, and they will share half of the profits with us."
Pei Qian remained silent as question marks filled his mind.
Chapter 524 Boss Pei, You are Obviously Watching, but are Pretending to be Indifferent
This Boss Li really comes up with new tricks from time to time!
In the past, he would take the initiative to tell me when he was planning to create trouble. Now, he's actually taking care of them directly with my underlings?
Is there still law in this country? Is there still order?
Does anyone care?!
Pei Qian was livid because he did not want any of this income!
He would have set the ticket prices for the entire Thriller Hostel for free had it not been forbidden by the system. He was now gifted a shopping mall inexplicably and fifty percent of all the profits in the mall. It was no different from getting struck by lightning out of nowhere!
Pei Qian had no plans at all to sell the peripherals even though they could make a profit!
Great, now he was being forced to put a square peg into a round hole.
Anyone could rent these old industrial zones. Boss Li and the others could open shops as they liked. They might not be able to sell anything linked to the copyright of the Thriller Hostel, but they could still sell a lot of other goods. They would be able to make money all the same as long as there was human traffic.
Yet, now everyone was setting up a store together and selling things together. In Boss Li's view, the investors might suffer a loss in the distribution of the profits, but as long as this plate was made larger, the total amount would be a win-win situation for everyone. However, Pei Qian did not think so. Wasn't this an inexplicable huge profit forced in?
Pissed off.
Luckily, Pei Qian had been really experienced in this and had calmed down in no time.
Thinking from another point of view-in the beginning, the Thriller Hostel was to be running at a loss. If the Thriller Hostel would not make money, the shopping malls would naturally not make money. There is nothing to worry about.
Conversely, if the mall made money, it meant that the Thriller Hostel itself had become popular and had already made more money in tickets...
There is no difference between fifty steps and a hundred so there is nothing to be antagonized over.
Pei Qian tried to enlighten himself, but it had no effect on him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had suffered a loss and the angrier he became!
Boss Li had to accept revenge for this backstab!
Pei Qian tried his best to keep the bottleneck as he told the Manage Loss Trainee in charge of Thriller Hostel "Tell me the cooperation plan in detail."
The Manage Loss Trainee replied, "Boss Li and the other investors had rented an old factory building in a good location. They proposed to pay for the rent and the renovation while we provide the plan for the renovation."
Pei Qian was thoughtful upon hearing this. He seemed to have found a point of breakthrough. "Do you have the rendering for the renovation?"
The Manage Loss Trainee fished out his phone. "Yes, Boss Pei, please take a look."
Pei Qian reached out and took the phone to look at the rendering on it. The style of a standard high-end shopping mall, soft lighting, clean environment, a dazzling array of shelves filled with goods, tourists come and go, choosing goods and enthusiastic shopping guide ladies... Yes, this rendering had a huge number of tourists drawn on it. That pricked Pei Qian as though he had already seen the super popular shopping mall.
That could not happen!
Think about it, these tourists were frightened half to death when they went to the haunted house. It was the time when they were mentally weak. It would be like entering heaven if they were to enter this mall after that.
They would be surrounded by a huge sense of security after all their previous fears were wiped out. Why would they not splurge like crazy in such circumstances?
Pei Qian considered for a short while before replying. "This renovation plan will definitely not do; it requires a huge change! They have yet to start the work, right?"
The Manage Loss Trainee nodded. "Not yet, Boss Pei. This is only the initial draft. It will require modification before work starts, probably at the end of the month."
Pei Qian checked the date; there was still one week. It should be no problem recreating the plan of the designer if he worked a little harder.
"The current renovation plan is too shabby. Renovate it completely in accordance with the specifications of foreign luxury shopping malls. It must be graceful, luxurious, and magnificent. It has to be as expensive as it can
get!
"Of course, there is no need to choose too troublesome materials. Just get the expensive materials to ensure that we will be able to hit the date completion date. Customers will definitely be able to feel our sincerity.
"In addition, such a shopping-mall style is too common. There is nothing new at all, which is completely inconsistent with the Thriller Hostel theme.
"Transform the entire mall into a maze and hide all the peripheral goods within the maze. Make it so that most customers would not be able to find the store and would exit accidentally. "Hmm, I think you better not say anything, I'll let Chen Kangtuo know."
Pei Qian emphasized that the identity of the Manage Loss Trainees should not be revealed. As to why such a design scheme was chosen... the reason was very simple. Make Boss Li and the others bleed out by selling as little as possible!
Renovations cost a lot in the first place. The costs would only snowball now that it had become a maze filled with walls.
Hmph, who asked you to backstab me?!
Don't blame me for doing things harshly since you asked Tengda to come up with the plan while you pay for the renovations!
Wouldn't you continue to pester me endlessly if I did not cause you to lose big?
The main reason was that this group of investors followed Boss Pei wherever he invested. Many projects, which were originally not profitable, became profitable because of them.
Once the myth of Boss Pei's invincibility was shattered and Boss Li and the rest suffered a huge loss, these people would naturally disperse. Boss Pei would then be able to find his happy little corner to lose money.
All the Manage Loss Trainees completed their reports in no time.
Pei Qian could not help but feel relieved from the bottom of his heart after summarizing the contents of today's meeting.
Great, the Manage Loss Trainees system had achieved initial results!
If it was not for these Manage Loss Trainees, Pei Qian would not have grasped the latest developments of Fish-Catching Take-Out fitness meals or the situation at the Thriller Hostel
Boss Pei's degree of control over the various projects had significantly been enhanced with the Manage Loss Trainees. None of the clues of making profits would be able to escape Boss Pei's eyes!
Of course, it was difficult to change things that had already happened. However, no matter what, it was a huge improvement from his previous situation!
Pei Qian was very satisfied. "Everyone did well; please continue working hard!"
May 22nd, Sunday night...
Pei Qian had already written emails to Chen Kangtuo, Guo Licheng, and Rui Yuchen yesterday afternoon. He had expressed his opinion on the fitness meal and the shopping mall of the Thriller Hostel. He had scheduled to send them out together on Monday morning.
This way, they would receive the emails after they went to work without any delay.
As to why it was scheduled on Monday to be sent... It was because Boss Pei had never encouraged working overtime. What if the rest read wrongly into his meaning if he were to send them emails on Saturday?
Everyone would think 'wow, Boss Pei was still working on a Saturday. How could we slack then? Come on, fight on!' That would obtain the opposite effect.
Today was Sunday. Pei Qian was basking comfortably in the sunlight in his large living room during the morning. He played games on his huge TV for the rest of the day and felt his life being very complete. Until now, Pei Qian was the only resident really living in this building. He had recruited one butler and two cleaners, but the works of these three people were seriously unsaturated.
However, Pei Qian did not mind. It was best to be kept this way.
It was past ten at night. Pei Qian wondered if he should be adjusting his biological clock and head to bed earlier.
Pei Qian looked into the dangers of staying up late previously to change the schedules for the internet-addicted teenagers in the DGE club. The more he read up, the guiltier he felt.
After all, he could better lose money by ensuring he was healthy.
Otherwise, if he collapses on the hospital bed and the various person-in-charge of the departments visit his ward with endless good news such as a certain department raked in millions, a certain movie won a prize, or if a certain game had taken the world by storm...
Wouldn't that cause Boss Pei to vomit blood on the bed?
Therefore, Pei Qian felt that he must take good care of his body to fight the wits of his subordinates. He had to go to bed early, eat well, and sleep well.
"Alright, let's get it on then!"
Pei Qian took a nice long bath, brushed his teeth, and brought his phone to the bed.
He set the alarm to ring at eight tomorrow morning before placing the phone on the bedside and touched the bedside control panel to turn off the bedroom lights and for the glass to turn opaque, shielding the room from all light sources.
However, a 'ding' sounded from the chat software on his phone when he was about to drift off.
Pei Qian: "..."
Who was it?! Who was still awake at such an hour! Didn't you know that going to bed early and getting up early was a good habit to have?
Pei Qian was speechless. He really wanted to ignore it, but he could not control his curiosity. He had no choice but to take his phone, thinking that he would not reply if it was not something very important.
It was from Ruan Guangjian. "Boss Pei, you should be watching as well, right?"
Pei Qian squinted, feeling anger gush up.
What's with your half-sentence? What was I supposed to watch?
He was livid but still replied. "Watch what?"
Ruan Guangjian replied in no time, "The livestream of Cannes Film Festival." Pei Qian: "?"
Live-stream of Cannes Film Festival? What had that got to do with me?
Why should I watch these foreigners present awards to some literary films that I would never watch in my life so late at night?
Pei Qian did not intend to reply. He wanted to end the conversation with a random smiley face and go back to bed. Which smiley should he use?
'Smile' did not seem very polite, 'Grin' seemed to be not so appropriate...
Reply with a 'cool'! It was an omnipotent reply.
However, Ruan Guangjian's reply came before Pei Qian could send this smiley out.
"Tomorrow is Beautiful has entered the selection of the Cannes Film Festival. Director Zhu Xiaoce and Lu Zhiyao are at the event; they might even get a prize... Boss Pei, are you really not watching it?" Ruan Guangjian's message went like this.
Pei Qian: " 'Cool' smiley."
Ruan Guangjian: " 'Laugh and cry', 'Laugh and cry', 'Laugh and cry'."
Ruan Guangjian: "Boss Pei, you are pretending again eh. Why are you mocking us? You're obviously watching it and seem so confident, but you pretend not to care. Alright, I won't disturb you then. Let's wait patiently for the award."
Pei Qian: "?"
My hand slipped, my hand slipped! Do you understand that?!
This expression held no such meaning. I purely wanted to end the conversation!
Hold on.
Tomorrow is Beautiful has entered the Cannes Film Festival???
Pei Qian suddenly realized that things were not as simple as he thought they were. He did a quick search on the internet for the timing and found that the final award would be announced in the wee hours of the morning.
Pei Qian: "..."
Pei Qian silently placed his cell phone at his bedside after keeping silent for some time.
"I'll definitely not watch it! Anyway, the results are unavoidable no matter whether I watch it or not so I rather not watch it at all. Anyway, the best news would be no news when I wake up tomorrow morning!"
Pei Qian checked his alarm again before throwing his cell phone beside his bed and covered his head with his quilt.