Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883
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Huang Sibo naturally thought of Boss Pei!
Boss Pei’s success was too legendary and colorful. If it was turned into short videos—even if they weren’t that popular, at least friends on the web would know that such an awesome boss existed in the world!
Huang Sibo explained this idea to Zhu Xiaoce, and the latter immediately agreed.
He felt that this was promising!
What was a game producer’s daily life like? What was the life of a big boss earning more than a million a month like? If at the same time, this big boss also treated his employees very generously; wasn’t he the absolute best boss?
Viewers would definitely want to watch!
Hence, the two had readily decided on filming Boss Pei! However, when it came to writing a script, the two were back to scratching their heads. Just as Zhu Xiaoce had said, shooting short videos also required the proper techniques and skills.
If the video was shot straightforwardly and factually—ultimately became like a documentary, it would be boring. Furthermore, viewers might see it as a hard-sell advertisement by Tengda. It would be despised, and Tengda might even be criticized.
How to find an entry point to give short videos an explosive factor—that was most important!
The duo’s brows knotted together as they thought bitterly. After two hours and raising many different suggestions, all were rejected.
Not outstanding enough! Not novel!
That won’t work.
Huang Sibo thought over and over again. Suddenly, inspiration struck him! Previously, Boss Pei had phoned him to ask if this series of short films was called ‘XXXXX’.
What were these five words again? Huang Sibo seemed to have forgotten.
Why did Boss Pei intentionally ask about this? Could it have been… some sort of hint? However, what exactly did Boss Pei ask about…?
Huang Sibo paced in his living room as he tried his best to recall.
“I remember, Boss Pei mentioned Surprise!” Huang Sibo yelled out excitedly.
Zhu Xiaoce was a little confused. “Surprise?”
“Yes, this was the name Boss Pei had said; this is it!” Huang Sibo said steadfastly.
Zhu Xiaoce scratched his rather hairless chin as he said, “However, our series’ name had already been set.”
“That’s alright, we can use the current name; the crux is in the idea! The idea is the most important!” Huang Sibo suddenly saw the light!
Zhu Xiaoce thought about it for a while as something clicked in him. “I see! I was thinking that our original theme was lacking something; it was lacking in a twist! A straightforward film would become like a documentary; it wouldn’t be able to emphasize the merits of short videos.”
“In a mere minute, to let viewers retain a deep impression of the video, there must be the unexpected; a twist!
“If that’s the case, we have a general direction. Next, would be polishing this idea! We need to do up a synopsis and add some content to really showcase Boss Pei’s image; at the same time, to prepare a twist!
“We can also add some sarcasm and dark humor!”
Zhu Xiaoce suddenly had a spark of inspiration as he suddenly thought out the whole flow of the short videos!
He even managed to finish writing the script for episode one!
Chapter 88 - Filming of ‘Boss Pei’s Daily Life’ Begin!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Boss Pei’s Daily Life’s first season’s first episode’s script:
“I looked at my Rolex, not to look at the time, but to subconsciously let you know that I’m a whale.
“Today, I am going out on a whim. I want to make a new game; a game that would make all the players pay as much as they can.
“I casually sold off a Rolex and had an initial two hundred thousand yuan in the development fund.
“One hour later… when this task was handed to the new intern, this amount shrunk by three-quarters. Looking at the website for resources and the prices listed, I was quite happy. My subordinates were quite honest. Like that, fifty thousand yuan was left out of the funds I had given the intern.
“Hearing that he was supposed to develop a game with fifty thousand yuan, his expression changed from shock to doubt, to surprise, to anguish… and finally, resignation to his fate. Looking at his expression changing was rather amusing.
“I grew quite happy. The me that had come to conquer this industry was finally going to taste defeat.
“Never did I expect that a game had managed to be produced; one that made gamers go crazy. The intern had made a boring eight-hour drive game that had actually grown in popularity. Within a mere two weeks, sales had broken through two hundred thousand.
“As such, I was so happy that I gave him a month of paid leave, for him to take in all the sights in the country and to continue to gain inspiration for future game designs.
“Looking at a future star designer rising, I was satisfied and comforted. I had once again achieved one of my little, inconsequential targets.
“Sigh, the life of a master game designer was also this simple… and boring.”
…
Like the wind that puffed away the clouds in one short, Zhu Xiaoce had completed the script for the first episode; he still had much left to write.
“Brother Huang, what do you think?”
Huang Sibo read it once, “Not bad! There’s a story, a twist, and dark humor as well. This script is feasible! Furthermore, anecdotes from Boss Pei’s real life had been used as well!”
“We can film directly in the office, and the actors and the setting are all ready-made. At most, we would need half an hour or a full one for one episode. When we reach the later stage, we can release one episode every two days; it would be more than enough.
“However… the only problem is… this game’s success had been within Boss Pei’s plans. If we made it seem like something unexpected, would that be appropriate?
“Would it actually damage Boss Pei’s image?”
Zhu Xiaoce shook his head. “Aye, the arts originate from life but surpass life! The arts is something that has to be worked on or manipulated. I believe that Boss Pei would not care about this as he is so magnanimous.”
Huang Sibo thought about it and said, “En, that’s right!”
The two grew excited instantly.
Zhu Xiaoce continued to write the next episode’s script as he occasionally asked Huang Sibo details about Boss Pei’s daily life at work, as well as some interesting trivia while developing games.
Huang Sibo also started to purchase equipment and to hire producers, editors, etc. for the late-stage production.
Following this pace, within two to three days, they could start filming officially!
…
February 9th…
Three days till the spring holidays…
Pei Qian was actually slightly busy these days.
Game Designer’s final design manuscript had to be finalized. Once the new-year holidays were over, development would officially start.
As for the internet cafe, some preliminary preparations had to be made as well. Decoration and refurbishment works were going to start once the holidays ended. The idea was for the renovations to be complete in one month, for the setup to be ready and for the place to be officially launched.
As for the internet cafe’s name, Pei Qian had already decided on one.
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe!
Basically, he hoped that all the employees in this internet cafe would skive daily, so that he can incur losses sooner. Just like ‘Tengda’, this name carried Pei Qian’s desire and wishes.
The last thing he had to settle was the ‘Boss Pei’s Daily Life’ short videos.
Director Zhu Xiaoce had told Pei Qian that they were going to finish filming the first episode today; they wanted to release it during the holidays.
To express his sincerity, Zhu Xiaoce had already credited a lump sum of the remuneration for all three seasons’ wo
rth of work into Pei Qian’s bank card; it was thirty thousand yuan in total!
Pei Qian’s Personal Wealth that he could use as he pleased instantly reached fifty thousand yuan!
For Boss Pei—who had never been so rich before, this feeling was very good!
As the saying went… if one took the money, one had to be ready to step up.
Boss Pei had already prepared himself to appear in front of the camera. In the afternoon, Zhu Xiaoce, Huang Sibo, and two other underlings arrived punctually.
Among all the equipment they brought, the most expensive thing was a DSLR that cost fifty thousand yuan. As for the tripod stand, light screen, and other things; they didn’t cost even ten thousand yuan in total.
Seeing that Huang Sibo was so thrifty, Pei Qian immediately grew a little unhappy.
He wasn’t like a Tengda employee at all!
However, since Zhu Xiaoce had said that all one million yuan would be used up, Pei Qian naturally had no reason to make noise now.
“Boss Pei, this episode is very simple. We just need a few camera shots. You don’t even need to look at the script; there won’t be lines for you. The dubbing will be inputted at a later stage.”
Zhu Xiaoce had thought things through thoroughly. He was genuinely afraid that making Boss Pei memorize lines would waste his precious working time and hence had decided on this.
“The first shot: could you lie on the guest room sofa, raise your head, and glance at your Rolex?”
“The second shot: could you take this game magazine and flip to the poster introducing the latest games and point with your finger?”
“The third shot: could you smile slightly, look into the distance, and portray a sense of being deep in thought…”
Pei Qian actually did not have that many shots. For a one-minute long video—although Pei Qian’s scenes were the most, it was at most twenty-odd seconds.
Pei Qian casually posed a few times; within ten minutes, the filming had concluded.
“Thanks, Boss Pei, we are done! You can continue with your busy schedule.”
Zhu Xiaoce kept the equipment as he headed to film the others in the office.
This was it?
Pei Qian was bewildered.
What exactly was being shot?
For a short video to be shot like this—without even a concrete storyline and plot, would that work?
It was apparent: this film was going to lose money!
Pei Qian returned to his office as he felt much more assured. Due to his perceptiveness of people, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce really were not going to let him down! Although losing a million yuan might not help him much, it was still something; it was something to be happy about.
Pei Qian looked at his Rolex as he thought. These two fellows are so thrifty; they even had to use my personal belongings as props.
En?
Hold on…
Pei Qian suddenly realized something.
The Rolex!
Why did I have to look at my Rolex for the first shot?
Was this a coincidence? No, there were others!
For example, why did he have to lie on the sofa and look at his Rolex! Why did he have to look deep and reflective?
These shots… why did they seem to be vaguely familiar??
Pei Qian suddenly felt that something was not good!
Something big was going to happen!
He hurriedly jumped up from his office chair as he left his office.
At this time, Zhu Xiaoce and Huang Sibo had completed their filming. They were just keeping the tripod, the light screen, and other stuff; preparing to leave.
“Director Zhu! Wait!” Pei Qian hurriedly yelled and stopped Zhu Xiaoce.
Zhu Xiaoce was confused, “What’s up, Boss Pei, is there something else?”
“That… this short video’s script; could you let me have a look?” Pei Qian pretended to look like he didn’t care much as he casually asked.
Zhu Xiaoce nodded as he handed over a script, “Of course, here you go.”
Pei Qian took it over.
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll head off first, Boss Pei. We have to start editing.” Everyone said goodbye to Pei Qian as they left.
Pei Qian took the script and returned to his office. The script was rather short, and he immediately finished it. After reading, Pei Qian collapsed in his chair.
“What… what in the world?! Isn’t this a combination of ‘Zhu Yidan’s Boring Life’ and Surprise?!
Didn’t we agree not to shoot something like Surprise?”
Chapter 89 - Boss Pei’s Amazing Acting Skills
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Pei Qian was pacing around his office madly.
There was something wrong. There was something terribly wrong!
He knew very well that Surprise and Zhu Yidan’s Boring Life were both well-known in the realm of short videos. They were both very successful!
Boss Pei’s Daily Life—the show that Zhu Xiaoce wanted to shoot now—was very similar to both of these shows at the core. It would most likely become very popular as well!
What should he do?
“System, I want to divest! I don’t want to invest the one million yuan in Huang Sibo anymore. Is that possible?”
A line of words appeared on the system’s screen:
Pei Qian, “…”
A valid reason?
I don’t have one!
I can’t possibly request to divest because I think that this project is going to make me too much money, right?
Are there other reasons?
Could I say that Huang Sibo is taking bribes or that he’s not serious about his job? Could I say that I don’t like Zhu Xiaoce and I think he’s too ugly? How about purely not wanting to make the investment without a reason?
None of these were valid!
Pei Qian pondered hard.
There’s no way! There was no way he could persuade the System!
He had to think of something else.
“Calm down. Apart from divesting, there should be another way out. I don’t want to shoot the movie. Will that do? I don’t want to become the main lead! They can look for whoever they want to!
“At the very least, I can reduce the amount of profits this project brings in…”
Pei Qian had decided. He would turn down this job for the simple reason that he was way too busy.
Then, Zhu Xiaoce and the others would have to look for another actor to take his place. It would be extremely difficult for them to find an actor with the same vibe as him. Even if they could find someone like that, at least the production of the videos would have been delayed by the search!
What if the videos did not become popular because of the change in actors?
He made up his mind and decided to turn down the job. Although it pained Pei Qian to part with the thirty-thousand-yuan remuneration, he knew that he could not lose sight of the big picture because of this small sum!
As long as he could record a loss when settling accounts—even a loss of six or seven hundred thousand yuan, there would be no need for him to be too concerned about earning a petty sum like thirty thousand yuan.
He was prepared to call Huang Sibo and turn down this job. However, the moment he picked up his phone, he realized that there was another problem.
He had already signed the contract!
On the contract, it was written that he would need to pay three times the remuneration in the event of default!
That was ninety thousand yuan!
Pei Qian’s hand trembled when he realized that something was amiss.
“System, can I use the System Funds to pay for my defaulting of a contract?”
Piak!
Pei Qian’s phone dropped onto the ground.
Done for!
Where the hell am I going to get ninety thousand yuan to pay the compensation?!
I can’t divest the money; neither can I act in the videos!
His heart turned cold.
I have no choice! I’m going to act!
After sitting in a daze for five minutes, Pei Qian finally regained his composure. “Calm down. Think about this positively. The short films would not make that much money…
“En, that’s the only way I can think…”
Pei Qian felt like he was in a trance. All he could do now was comfort himself and keep telling himself that things were not as bad as he thought. Even if films of such low production value became popular and took on several advertising opportunities, they would likely not be able to recover the principal of a million-dollar-investment.
Even if they could recover the principal, they likely would not make much profit.
When the time came for settlement—if the gaming projects and physical store projects incurred losses, Pei Qian still had a chance of incurring a loss overall!
“Phew, fortunately, I was well-prepared. I nearly got myself in deep trouble again!
“I have to go and talk to Lu Mingliang again and tell him to increase the vigor of the voice-overs. He needs to mock the players much more!”
…
…
The next day…
Zhu Xiaoce appeared once again.
“Boss Pei! We’re more or less done editing the videos from yesterday. We are still thinking about when we should upload it.
“We still have to discuss the terms of cooperation with the video website and see if they can give us better spots for advertising. We might have to spend some money on that, but we’ll have to negotiate the exact cost.
“However, rest assured! I have a senior working at Potato Web; I’m pretty sure we can find good sources of resources for advertising!