Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  “If I reasoned this out, I am more inclined to support my father’s views. However, from an emotional and sentimental point of view, I understand Ah Wan’s choice.

  “After all… my dream back then had been to be a singer in a band. Come to think of it, I still have some regrets for not being adamant back then…”

  Pei Qian’s lips twitched.

  Not bad, all four of you siblings have so many talents and hobbies!

  From Lin Chang’s words, he was saying that he had wanted to chase his dreams; but he hadn’t been as stubborn as his father. Lin Chang had abandoned his dreams and returned to take over the family business and became the President of Shenhua Film and Media Co. Ltd.

  Lin Chang drank his coffee and continued, “Actually, I feel that letting Ah Wan gain some experience and hone her skills is also a good thing.

  “She is still young, and she still has time to squander. If she experiences more hardships, she would also be in a better position to take over the family business in the future.

  “Hence, I hope that Boss Pei could take good care of Ah Wan.

  “This might be troublesome for you, and I am very sorry about that. How about this, Boss Pei? Tengda is a games company, and I also like Ocean Stronghold very much.

  “I’ll buy five hundred Red Kilins as a sign of my sincerity; how’s that?”

  Pei Qian was stunned.

  Five hundred Red Kilins?

  That was four hundred thousand!

  Why can’t you just give me four hundred thousand directly? Why must you go and buy what rubbish Red Kilins?

  Evidently, Lin Chang thought that buying Red Kilins was the same thing as gifting Pei Qian money, right? That would also raise the revenue of the game and would be beneficial overall.

  However, this was a huge loss to Pei Qian. If he did a thirty-seventy split of the four hundred-odd thousand and then used the profit conversion ratio, he would only get at most two thousand over in the end.

  “There’s no need for that.”

  Pei Qian maintained his calm expression as he said slowly, “If Boss Lin wishes to express his sincerity, I actually have a suggestion. Recently, I want to spend a little money on an experiment; if Boss Lin can reimburse me for it, I wouldn’t mind.”

  Lin Chang was stunned as he then revealed a very interested look.

  “A little money? No problem. How much does Boss Pei need?”

  Pei Qian said indifferently, “Two hundred thousand. A hundred thousand would be my remuneration while the hundred thousand would be expenses. I wish to film a series of short videos with twenty episodes.

  “However, Boss Lin should make preparations that you might not get any money back.”

  Lin Chang did his own calculations. “Boss Pei’s remuneration is only five thousand an episode? That’s too low; I’ll give ten thousand!”

  He had originally intended to spend four hundred thousand to buy Red Kilins. However, since Pei Qian had a better idea, Lin Chang was going to do as Pei Qian wanted.

  Lin Chang looked at Pei Qian’s calm and indifferent expression as he understood something.

  For Boss Pei, four hundred thousand was like pocket money. He had evidently wanted to use this four hundred thousand to try out something; as we had just talked about money, he decided to do me a favor and let me fork out this amount.

  This is good; I have done him a favor at the same time and have pulled our relationship closer; not bad.

  Lin Chang was very happy; he felt that Boss Pei was treating him as an insider already!

  This was just like two good friends. One of them was celebrating his birthday, and the other friend asked what present he wanted. The birthday boy had said, ‘I have been eyeing a game recently; it costs two hundred-odd. You could gift me that.’ This was the same

  thing.

  Based on Lin Chang’s understanding, this four hundred thousand was just like a courtesy gift to a good friend as well as a ‘thank you’ gift for taking care of Lin Wan.

  Pei Qian, on the other hand, was a little stunned; and he actually didn’t manage to react in time.

  The System actually didn’t caution me? I had gotten two hundred thousand so easily? What had I been working so hard to convert losses into profits all this while for?

  Chapter 188 - A Few ‘Outstanding Students!

  After sending Lin Chang off, Pei Qian quickly received a notification of payment.

  It was a total of three hundred thousand yuan. All of it went into Pei Qian’s Personal Wealth.

  It was obvious that the System would not be bothered if others gave Pei Qian money. As long as it was reasonable for him to keep the money and others would not become suspicious of the existence of the System, everything would be alright.

  However, Pei Qian could not spend all of this money. He had to take a portion out and use it as fees for props. He could not be stingy with this either.

  To put it bluntly, he had to do this so that Lin Chang would not grow suspicious of Pei Qian.

  Pei Qian could not take this sum of money and splurge on himself. If Lin Chang did not hear a sound from him after that, it would not look reasonable.

  There was a possibility that Lin Chang would not care how Pei Qian spent this three hundred thousand yuan. However, there was also a possibility that he would. One could not be too sure.

  If Lin Chang began to ask questions, Pei Qian had to have a reasonable answer. Although the possibility of this happening was not high, he had to err on the side of caution.

  Thus, Pei Qian set aside two hundred thousand yuan as remuneration and left a hundred thousand yuan to buy props. He had to put on an act and produce something.

  This project was bound to fail, but that did not matter. Lin Chang was well-prepared to make ducks and drakes of this three hundred thousand yuan.

  Pei Qian just had to act as if he did not really need this money, and he was just playing around. As long as Lin Chang did not grow suspicious, he would be alright.

  He looked at the three hundred thousand yuan sitting quietly in his bank card. Then, he looked at the remaining sum in his Personal Wealth-slightly more than 370,000 yuan. Pei Qian could not help but feel sorrowful.

  He had expended so much effort in running his company and earning ten million yuan, and yet he could only convert it to a hundred thousand yuan. On the other hand, casually running a side business easily earned him two hundred thousand yuan.

  After discovering this method of playing punk, there seemed to be even fewer reasons for Pei Qian to convert Personal Wealth from profit.

  July 1st…

  Pei Qian opened his laptop and checked his own grades.

  Yes, I just barely passed everything…

  “I feel like I’ve been infected by Old Ma. Forget it. I still have to think of ways to lose money. I have no more energy to think about academics. It’s good enough that I managed to pass.”

  Pei Qian comforted himself.

  He was studying for a major in humanities. His examinations mainly required him to memorize huge amounts of content. Therefore, it was not difficult for him to pass even though he only put in an effort at the last minute.

  Pei Qian did not want to drop out of school now.

  It was not that he desired a graduation certificate. To him, the graduation certificate would be useless. However, the main problem was… he would have nothing else to do if he dropped out of school.

  These days, Pei Qian had been attending classes out of obligation. Whenever he felt lazy, he would go to his rented apartment to take a nap or play some games. It was only when the settlement was nearing that he had to keep a closer eye on the company and work hard to incur losses.

  Even if he did drop out of school, he would be cooping himself up in the rented apartment all day. There would be no huge change in his life.

  What’s more, Pei Qian did not want to expose his own identity.

  Currently, many people around Pei Qianincluding a few of his classmates-knew that Pei Qian had starred i
n Boss Pei’s Daily Life. They took him as an internet celebrity. However, none of them were aware that he was the boss of Tengda.

  Pei Qian had three main worries.

  First, he was worried about his parents.

  Second, he was worried that if his classmates found out he was a boss, their relationship with him would become a mess. Then, Pei Qian could expect people to approach him for jobs or money every day. That would be extremely annoying

  Third, although Pei Qian was a boss, the amount of money he could actually use in his Personal Wealth was too little. He was afraid that people who hated the rich or who were extremely hot-headed would have their eyes on him and wait for opportunities to blow small conflicts.

  Pei Qian could not reveal the existence of the System. Thus, he wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble. As much as possible, he wanted to keep his identity hidden from others and minimize risks.

  He was living in relative comfort these days. For now, Pei Qian had no plans to change his lifestyle.

  Of course, if he could lose millions of yuan every once in a while, it would be great.

  The holidays were approaching. Many classmates who had completed their examinations and checked their results had gone home in advance. Yet, for Pei Qian, the week of trying hard to incur losses had just begun.

  Pei Qian was prepared to make a list of the various projects he had on hand. He wanted to analyze their profit and loss situation and come up with a plan to incur more losses.

  He created a digital spreadsheet and wrote two lines of words. Then, he ran a search for some information. Finally, out of habit, he entered Aili Island’s website and began to catch up on some shows he had been watching.

  Without realizing it, an hour had passed.

  “Eh, what did I want to do just now?” Pei Qian suddenly thought about this question.

  At that moment, Pei Qian’s phone rang. When he saw the name displayed on his phone, he hesitated.

  “Er… Teacher Zhang?”

  It was his Zhang Wei, one of the instructors at his university.

  Pei Qian felt slightly confused as to why Zhang Wei was calling him.

  He had not taken on any roles in school. With grades like his, he guessed that he would not qualify for any scholarships or awards either. As for the other things… they were even more unlikely.

  Zhang Wei sounded very kind. “Pei Qian, I heard that you starred in a small-scale show, and you even joined a workspace. You’re doing pretty well, right?”

  A realization dawned on Pei Qian. Oh, he’s asking about Fei Huang Workspace.

  His classmates knew that he had starred in Boss Pei’s Daily Life and that he normally could not be found in the dormitory all year round. Thus, his classmates thought that he had been busy with this project. News of this must have reached Zhang Wei through various channels.

  Pei Qian immediately admitted this. “That’s right. Is there something wrong, Teacher Zhang?”

  “Not bad, not bad. I noticed you’ve always been quite well-hidden. It turns out that you have been busy with your career. Even so, you’ve been able to maintain your excellent grades. Good job!”

  What the hell did he mean by ‘excellent grades!?!

  I clearly barely passed…

  Zhang Wei’s exaggerated praise made Pei Qian feel like something was wrong.

  This was normal. Instructors in other universities could not be bothered about their students’ grades. Comparatively, they cared much more about their employment rate.

  There was a good chance that someone like Pei Qian would immediately be able to find a job upon graduation. The employment rate was of no concern to him whatsoever. As an instructor at the university, there was not much for Zhang Wei to be worried about.

  Zhang Wei must have had a motive for praising Pei Qian in this manner.

  “It’s like this. It’s almost graduation season. Some outstanding students in their final year in our university have not managed to find a job. I am wondering if you could make a recommendation to the boss of your workspace and try to get them one.”

  Outstanding students? You’re talking to the wrong person.

  Instinctively, Pei Qian tried to shift the responsibility. “Can’t they go through the recruitment drives organized by the school?”

  Zhang Wei cleared his throat and said, “Recruitment drives by the school… I guess they have not found suitable jobs for them. Otherwise, the problem would not have dragged until now.”

  A realization dawned on Pei Qian.

  Oh, they haven’t found jobs!

  It was obvious now that referring to these students as ‘outstanding’ was just a tactful way of speech. Pei Qian nearly misunderstood Zhang Wei. In actual fact, they were the leftover students after the school’s recruitment drives were completed.

  Handong University was a key university, and their employment rate was about 90%. However, it was expected that a small group of students would not be able to find a job upon graduation.

  What’s more, this 90% was an overstatement. After all, each year was termed the ‘most difficult season for graduates’. It was extremely difficult to find a job that one would be satisfied with. Most students settled for jobs temporarily and quit after two or three months.

  People who worked under their relative’s wing were also considered employed.

  To the university-and especially to instructors like Zhang Wei, increasing the employment rate was extremely difficult. One could say that these employment rates acted like report cards for the university and for the instructors. They had to think of all sorts of ways and means to improve it.

  Apart from pushing their students to participate actively in recruitment drives, they would also reach out to various companies. Each graduate that they could get employed was a win.

  Obviously, Zhang Wei had figured out that Pei Qian had connections to the man in charge of Fei Huang Workspace. He wanted to try his luck and get the remaining students employed. At the very least, he wanted to help one or two of those students enter the company.

  Although the chances were not high, there was a possibility he would succeed.

  Pei Qian could not help but rejoice. You’ve approached the right person, then!

  Handong University was a key university. People who could enter it weren’t all that stupid. That was a fact.However, now, the people whom Zhang Wei was recommending were all people who had been rejected by other industries!

  It was graduation season, and it was July. People who would go on to postgraduate studies were already celebrating their holidays. People who had found jobs had already begun or were going to begin soon. Those preparing to re-take their examinations had already informed their instructors as well.

  Now, the name list in Zhang Wei’s hands contained people who wanted to find jobs and who had gone through multiple interviews without receiving any offers.

  Didn’t that align with Pei Qian’s requirements completely?

  Pei Qian immediately answered, “Don’t worry, Teacher. Count on me. Why don’t you send me the name list? Perhaps I will inform them to come down to the company for an interview.”

  Zhang Wei did not expect Pei Qian to agree so quickly. “Ah, alright.”

  After exchanging some more pleasantries, Pei Qian hung up.

  Soon after, Zhang Wei sent these people’s resumes to Pei Qian via email.

  Chapter 189 - What Should the New Game be About?

  Pei Qian opened the email. En, there were males and females, and a total of twenty-odd of them. Since they were all history majors, there were more females than males. Most of these people’s resumes were clean. Basically, they had not gotten many awards. They did not even have many strong points.

  As for their looks—to put it politely, they were ordinary.

  That was expected. Companies would probably be willing to hire beautiful ladies. Even if they did not have many skills, they would be pleasing to the eyes.

  These were leftovers in July. Basically, they had the follo
wing merits:

  Their grades were poor, and they did not qualify for postgraduate studies. They had no connections, and nobody could find jobs on their behalf. They had not done any student jobs or worked part-time and could not find jobs for themselves.

  All in all, they were perfect!

  En, he would really be taking in a bunch of hoodlums this time, wouldn’t he?

  Pei Qian was very satisfied. After looking through their resumes, he decided that he would take every last one of them!

  There was a particularly apt saying: ‘There is no rubbish in the world; there are only misplaced resources.’

  To Pei Qian, these people were appropriately referred to as misplaced resources!

  “However, I have to think about what job to give them.”

  Pei Qian began to ponder about the positions he had on hand.

  Could he send them to the games department?

  That wouldn’t be right.

  The games department’s framework was largely complete. Their operations were proceeding without any problems as well.

  At the very most, these people would be doing odd jobs in the games department. No matter how horrible their skills were, they would not be able to cause real disturbance to the games.

  Pei Qian could not possibly parachute them into management positions in the games department as well. It would be too illogical, and he would arouse suspicions.

  Can I send them to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe?

  The roles there were more physical—they would be waiters or deliverymen. These people were his seniors after all. It would not look nice on his part to send them to clear tables or serve food.

  What’s more, anyone could do jobs like these. Their true value would not be realized.

  “I should start a new company for these people.”

  Pei Qian’s eyes lit up. He had an idea.

  He would start a new company and send all of these people in. They would be able to fully realize their potential. How great would that be?!