Not only did Tengda pay for their travel allowance and accommodation cost, but they also offered them the highest quality services such as in terms of the vehicles they used and their meals. That made them feel respected.
Furthermore, this feast that they were enjoying seemed very expensive. Xia Jiang and the team were a little overwhelmed by the treatment that they received!
Xia Jiang was originally considering if she should have a chat with Boss Pei during the meal to collect some interview information beforehand.
However, when the dazzling delicacies were served, she immediately threw that thought at the back of her mind.
She was completely engaged by the food!
Amongst the dishes that were served, many delicacies were something she had only heard of and never seen before. How could she resist the temptation to try them?
Moreover, evidently, the service speed of the attendants there was specially trained. The service timing of every dish was just right. That made the entire meal very enjoyable.
After finishing the dessert, Xia Jiang touched her bloated tummy in shame.
Oh, no! Boss Pei had been too thoughtful the entire time such that she did not find a suitable time to ask her questions!
After leaving Ming Yun Private Kitchen, Xia Jiang took out her phone secretly and opened the Quanmin Reviews app.
She would not know it if she did not check it. The moment she looked up the restaurant, the results shocked her.
Wasn’t this place the unnamed restaurant that went viral a while back?
It was said that all the seats at the restaurant had been reserved for the following two or three months. It was too popular. Even Jingzhou City locals might not even find a chance to eat at the restaurant.
Everyone looked at Boss Pei respectfully and gratefully.
They must ensure that the video was of a high standard! They must not let Boss Pei down after all that he had done for them!
Xia Jiang was extremely touched. “Boss Pei, thank you for hosting us!
“We will make the necessary preparations tonight after we return to the hotel. Can we start the interview officially tomorrow morning?”
Pei Qian shook his head and replied, “No, no, no. I have other arrangements for you guys tomorrow.”
“I will host you guys over at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe tomorrow morning. How can you not play some games when interviewing a games company?
“In the afternoon, we will continue to enjoy Jingzhou’s beautiful scenery. Jingzhou’s rich land fosters many talents, and our city is as pretty as a picture. How can one evening be enough to see it all? You guys have to experience more of it!
“You guys can have a good rest tonight and tomorrow night. After all, you must be tired after all the traveling. We have ample time. Do not be so nervous. We can officially start the interview two days later in the morning.”
Xia Jiang was stunned. “Huh? Boss Pei, that’s not very appropriate, isn’t it?”
Pei Qian smiled and shook his head. “How is that not appropriate? Aren’t we all working towards creating a good interview? A guest should suit the convenience of the host. Do not worry. Just follow my arrangements, and we’ll be fine.”
October 18th…
In the morning, Xia Jiang and the others were surfing the internet and drinking their coffees at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. They were both shocked and surprised by the cafe’s new operating model.
After all, the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes were only located in Jingzhou City and had yet to be spread to other cities.
In the evening, the crowd had another half-day tour of Jingzhou City and toured the remaining places of interest.
At night, Boss Pei arranged for everyone to have dinner at Swan Lake Restaurant.
The reason Boss Pei gave as to why they did not head over to the unnamed restaurant was that they had no more reservations.
Swan Lake Restaurant was a buffet restaurant. Although the environment was still high-class and there was still a huge variety of food, Xia Jiang could sense that the restaurant was much more inferior as compared to the nameless restaurant!
The difference could be felt from the ingredients, chef’s skills, dining environment, services, and other aspects. However, if she had to pinpoint exactly where the differences were, she would not be able to do it.
She could only conclude that the differences in the tiny details could accumulate and result in a huge difference in the overall experience.
Xia Jiang was not displeased with that. On the contrary, she was even more touched.
This meal at Swan Lake Restaurant was already high-class enough. However, it was barely comparable to the unnamed restaurant.
That showed that the welcoming reception that Boss Pei had hosted was indeed very deluxe! Surely, ordinary people who come to Jingzhou could not enjoy such treatment, could they?
Boss Pei was so amazing! He had been really generous!
In the eyes of Xia Jiang and the others, Boss Pei’s image was infinitely enlarged. They felt slightly heartbroken to think that Boss Pei had been so low-key even after producing so many classic games.
They were not doing their job for not making a report on Boss Pei sooner!
They must do well in this interview. They could not disappoint Boss Pei after the meal that he invited them to last night!
At night…
Xia Jiang returned to the hotel. She took out her laptop and started typing furiously. She began sorting out the direction of the interview tomorrow.
She would be a little embarrassed if she continued neglecting her work.
After arriving at Jingzhou City two days ago, they had first toured the city. Then, they enjoyed a scrumptious meal and rested for the night.
Today, they went over to the internet cafe and toured some more tourist attractions in Jingzhou City. Then, they had another feast at night.
They had truly dined and wined to satiety and were thoroughly recharged.
“The schedule that Boss Pei planned had been very reasonable. He had really spent quite some effort on it.
“Jingzhou City is such a huge city. It is impossible to finish touring the entire city in one day. Therefore, he had specially arranged for the city tours to be held on two separate evenings.
“The weather in the evening is more subtle and suitable to head outside. At the same time, he ensured that the events every day were not too taxing and that they would not tire us.
“Moreover, we had truly captured some clips and obtained information that could be used in the interview itself during the tours.”
Xia Jiang recalled the things that she heard and saw these two days. The good stuff that she had eaten instantly transformed into nutrition and was absorbed by her brain. She had an explosion of ideas.
Especially at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, she played some of Tengda’s games using the high configuration computers and experienced a completely different gaming experience. That allowed her to have a deeper understanding of Boss Pei’s game design philosophy.
Her ideas were exploding in that instant.
Xia Jiang believed that Boss Pei’s avant-garde game design philosophy would create sparks with her top-notch writing abilities. That would make this interview a hot topic in the gaming circle!
The next day, the interview team reached Tengda’s office building early in the morning. Although the spacious and grandiose working environment shocked the interview team, the surprises that they had experienced these two days trained them to remain calm.
They had a segment later where they would interview the employees of the company. The impressive office space was definitely that they could talk about and film. They must not let the chance slip away.
The main task today was the interview with Boss Pei. The interview location was at Tengda’s guest reception room.
The lead cameraman had set up the main camera. He showed an ‘OK’ sign with his hand, indicating that they could start at any moment.
Two other moving cameras were carried by two other cameramen. They were filming from other angles to collect clips that could be used during editing.
Xia Jiang was sitting on the couch. She realized that she was surprisingly a little nervous. She rarely felt that way.
Pei Qian noticed the three cameras from outside the guest room. He was immediately on his guard. He pulled Assistant Xin over and gave her some simple instructions.
After two minutes, Assistant Xin came to the guest room and conveyed Boss Pei’s words to Xia Jiang
“Chief Editor Xia, Boss Pei hopes that you can put away the cameras during his interview and only produce a written script instead. You can still use the video clips only for the interviews with other employees.”
Xia Jiang was stunned. “How is that possible? Boss Pei is the focal point of this interview!”
The crew had taken a lot of footage of Jingzhou’s scenery and Tengda’s working environment. They had also organized many in-depth interviews with the employees. After all that effort, the focal point of the interview did not show his face. That did not sound appropriate.
Assistant Xin smiled and said, “Chief Editor Xia, I’ll be honest with you. Boss Pei is a very low-profile person. He doesn’t like showcasing himself to the viewers.”
“Boss Pei did not plan on accepting the interview initially.
“However, he felt that the laurels did not only belong to him. Their achievements were the result of the efforts of all the employees at Tengda. Therefore, he wanted to find an opportunity where the employees could receive their deserved acclamation. “Thus, Boss Pei hopes that the interview would focus on his employees. His own interview would be a simple written one.
“Don’t worry, Chief Editor Xia. We’ve selected the core employees of our company, each of them in charge of one entire business. They would also have very interesting stories to share.”
Xia Jiang was very hesitant.
She had come all this way, and yet she could not even film Boss Pei? The exclusive interview would lack substance!
Pure words without videos would greatly discount the effect of the interview.
However, Boss Pei had treated the entire interview team so well. His sincerity was obvious. If Boss Pei did not want to be in the limelight, they could not possibly force him to, right?
Xia Jiang pondered for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, since Boss Pei does not want to be in the limelight, we will do as he says. I’ll improvise as we go along and try my best to adhere to Boss Pei’s requests while ensuring that the interview would turn out well.”
The cameramen switched off their cameras. They would only switch them on again when the employees were being interviewed.
Pei Qian walked into the guest room, sat down on the sofa, and prepared to be interviewed.
Although Xia Jiang looked disheartened that the cameras were off, she was a professional reporter after all. She had tons of experience hosting interviews. Thus, she quickly regained her composure and ran through the important questions she had prepared in her head.
“Boss Pei, we know that Tengda has produced many reputable and profitable games ever since it started. Gamers across the board love your games. What made you decide to enter the game industry and not other industries back then? Did a special opportunity present itself?”
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said, “It was a rash decision on my part. I really regret this decision; if only I had chosen other industries instead.”
“Huh?” Xia Jiang responded.
Then, she giggled. “Boss Pei, you’re joking. The games you’ve created have received high praises. Obviously, you’ve accumulated profound knowledge. Otherwise, how could you have created deeply meaningful games like Game Designer and Repent and be Saved?
Pei Qian smiled bitterly. “It’s true. Until now, I haven’t figured out how to use the official game editor.
“As for how I created those games…
“I couldn’t help it. My employees are too ‘outstanding’.”
Boss Pei said this through gritted teeth.
Xia Jiang’s expression turned somber. She began writing furiously in her notebook.
‘He is a bold, imaginative, and unique designing genius. Yet, he has never systematically learned knowledge relevant to game design. Is this what people call a ‘natural prodigy’?
‘He has never been constrained to the traditional methods of designing games. Instead, he tosses aside all restraints and allows his own ideas to take flight.
‘He trusts his employees completely.
‘He’s humble and open-minded, giving his employees all credit without seeking to steal credit or glorify himself. He’s extremely low-profile!’
[1] This is a monetary gift given during special occasions in Chinese culture
Chapter 297 - Your Mind is like the Sea of Stars in the Sky
Xia Jiang quickly finished taking everything down and then said, “Boss Pei, we know that every game Tengda has created so far has been very profitable and reputable. That’s very rare.
“Many game developers only focus on profits and choose to sacrifice games’ reputation. As a result, potentially amazing works normally fail midway through.
“Other game developers focus more on the quality of their games and refuse to cut corners. As a result, they have good reputations but not enough profits. Some don’t even earn enough to fund their daily operations.
“One has to admit that both of these are sorry situations to be in.
“Can you share with us how you achieve both profit and reputation at the same time?”
Pei Qian let out a soft sigh. “Actually, I’m not at all interested in making profits.
“I have never thought about how to balance building a reputation and making profits. However, for some reason, as Tengda’s reputation improves; sales would increase, and we would generate more profits.
“We’re earning so much now that it’s becoming suffocating.”
“I don’t understand why gamers would keep praising our games and stuffing their money into our hands. This troubles me deeply.”
Xia Jiang nodded with a serious expression as she furiously took notes.
‘A designer who has stopped finding pleasure in the material world but has a greater desire for spirituality and mental strength.
‘A soul whose burdens do not ease off a single bit no matter how much he earns.
‘He is satisfied with just a bit of material pleasure, but his thirst for spiritual and mental improvement is insatiable.
‘He never worries about his goals being unattainable. Instead, he keeps reflecting on himself.
“Have I not achieved that level of spiritual and mental strength?’ He often asks himself this.’
After taking these down, Xia Jiang spoke again, “Boss Pei, you’ve already achieved such outstanding results. What’s your next
goal?”
Pei Qian cleared his throat, his face a mask of seriousness. “My goal has never changed. My aim has always been to make a loss-incurring game.”
Xia Jiang paused, nodded, and then started writing once again.
‘Was this because he had already won so much in life?’
‘Most designers spend their entire lives working towards creating a successful game. Yet, he secretly hopes for and seeks failure.
‘Perhaps victory is a bore to him now. Maybe one unexpected failure could provide him with more of a challenge.
‘He makes failure his goal and can put down what he takes up.
‘Many people work hard to succeed, but a rare few seek failure.
‘One can hardly imagine what kind of perilous situations he had been through in order for him to have such strong mental capacity, that he isn’t even afraid of great losses.’
Xia Jiang felt the words flowing smoothly to her. The sound of her pen scratching the surface of her notebook continued for a long time.
Pei Qian, who was seated opposite her, began to seriously questi
on his life. Question after question surfaced in his mind as he began soul-searching.
Why doesn’t she seem shocked by my answers?
What exactly is she writing?
Why does she look like she understands what I’m saying?
Pei Qian felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Director, there must be something wrong with the script! I’ve been running my mouth off. Why isn’t this reporter expressing any doubts? Instead, she’s taking down notes very seriously as if I’m giving her golden advice… Pei Qian stole a glance at Xia Jiang’s notebook, but the words looked like scribbling. He could not recognize a single word.
Should I ask?
Yet, that seemed inappropriate.
Which interviewee would ask his interviewer what kind of notes the latter was taking? That would be akin to doubting the interviewer’s professionalism and skills. It would be too rude.
Pei Qian appeared calm and nonchalant as he smiled. However, his heart was filled with confusion. He could not help but feel like something was wrong.
Soon, Xia Jiang asked the next question. “Let’s talk about your latest work, Repent and be Saved.
“Everyone knows that you work on a different game genre each time. What internally motivates you to continuously venture into different territories?
“Is it because you’re brave and you want to push yourself outside your comfort zone? Is it because you want to learn as much as you can? Or is it because you have a superior attitude towards games and the world?”
Pei Qian was speechless.
This was getting increasingly ridiculous!
The earlier questions were more objective. However, this one made Xia Jiang’s bias very obvious!
Pei Qian shook his head, denying it at once. “None of the above. I purely want to venture into uncharted territory, so that I can increase my chances of failure.”
This time, Xia Jiang did not write anything down. Instead, she smiled and said, “I understand.”
Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks.
What the h*ll do you understand?! I hate know-it-alls like you the most!
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