Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  The program consisted of short episodes filmed by Fei Huang Workspace, but the latter’s work ethic had always been to produce the best of the best. Things like costumes, make-up, props, editing, and actors had always been expensive. Their productions required higher expenditure than most other online productions.

  What’s more, it was very difficult for a program like A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life to obtain sponsored partnerships.

  If they had been concerned about sponsored partnerships alone and not about the program’s effect, it might have been alright.

  However, everyone at Fei Huang Workspace had been following Boss Pei’s instructions strictly when it came to their productions. They refused to accept any sponsorship offers that would negatively affect their program. As a result, they often only obtained one passable sponsored partnership after producing multiple episodes.

  On top of that, the props used in A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life were all relatively useless.

  Even if manufacturers wanted to work with them, it would be extremely difficult for the program to market their goods well. In fact, the program would more likely dissuade viewers from purchasing those products.

  Take the hand-held portable washing machine in the first episode for example. There were indeed similar inventions in the market, but the video had dissuaded a huge group of consumers who initially wanted to purchase it from doing so.

  Until now, A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life had already been running steadily for more than two months, and they had already finished filming their twelfth episode.

  Although there was a large and stable audience, there were still no avenues for Fei Huang Workspace to monetize these views. The incentives that Aili Island provided were barely enough to fill the employees’ stomachs.

  Thus, Pei Qian felt confused. How could a program like that turn its losses into profits?

  Did Aili Island spend a huge sum of money to purchase exclusive broadcasting rights again? Or did they suddenly obtain a lot of sponsored partnerships?

  Huang Sibo smiled and handed his cell phone to Pei Qian.

  Pei Qian took it and realized that an online shop was displayed in the browser!

  The online shop was called ‘Aidi Sun’s Laboratory’. Pei Qian quickly clicked on the list of products in the shop and scanned it.

  Finger Trainer: In this day and age, we use our touch-screen cell phones every day. That’s why it’s important to ensure that our fingers remain active. With this Finger Trainer, you can train your finger muscles during your free time. This would boost your typing speed on your cell phone.

  The picture depicted what looked like a mini treadmill. A hand was ‘standing’ on the treadmill using its index and middle fingers, seemingly pushing the caterpillar track underneath it by imitating a walking motion. The mini liquid crystal display (LCD) on top displayed an ever-changing reading and was used to record the training time and program.

  LED Slippers: These slippers will light up with every step I take. Mom never has to worry about me going to the toilet at night again!

  Sunlight Footbath: Replace water with fluorescent light from a lamp. The ‘sunlight’ will improve blood circulation in your feet and remove signs of exhaustion even before you go to bed. You can even get a beautiful tan while you’re at it!

  Grass Slippers: Blades of fake grass grow inside the slippers, so that you can feel like you’re walking on grass every time you put these slippers on.

  Spaghetti Spinning Fork: There are batteries inside the handle of the fork. You just have to lightly squeeze it to make the fork rotate, thus easily rolling the spaghetti on your plate around it!

  Pei Qian browsed the shop from beginning to end and realized there were many products inside it. What’s more, most of them had appeared in the videos before.

  He looked at the sales volume for each of the products. There were some which sold very few, but there were also some that sold hundreds or more than a thousand.

  The most popular products were side products that were related to the program. One example was the T-shirts with the program’s title on them—more than four thousand of those had already been sold.

  More than seven hundred chibi[1] dolls of a certain inventor had also been sold.

  On top of these, the shop also sold snacks and other toys like chibi dolls. These were selling very well!

  The revenue earned from the shop and the occasional sponsored partnerships were enough to turn the program’s losses into profits! Pei Qian suddenly smiled, relieved.

  Great!

  He was not happy that Fei Huang Workspace had turned their losses into profit. He was just happy that Fei Huang Workspace had timed this extremely well.

  They had only started generating profits after settlement. Huang Sibo had not stabbed him in the back!

  If they had generated these profits before settlement and earned the company extra tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan, Boss Pei would have been so angry that he would have vomited blood.

  Yet, now, Pei Qian was completely at ease.

  Was it just this small shop? There was no problem at all!

  Seeing the smile on Boss Pei’s face, Huang Sibo immediately felt comforted. Boss Pei was happy with the way Fei Huang Workspace insisted on its bottom line, carefully selected their sponsored partnerships, and maintained its reputation!

  However, the smile only remained on Pei Qian’s face for a short while before it disappeared.

  All of a sudden, Pei Qian realized that the online shop was not safe!

  Although it was not earning much for now, online shops would become extremely popular within the next few years. Many retired people would later open their own online shops to sell things like pork cubes and end up earning millions of yuan each month. What more could be said of an online shop run by professionals in Fei Huang Workspace?

  In fact, Pei Qian did not even have to look that far. From the way things were going, it looked like Fei Huang Workspace would accumulate a huge profit before the next settlement!

  Wouldn’t Pei Qian still have to wreck his brains to come up with a way to spend this money?!

  Sh*t, he had celebrated too early!

  Although he had completed the previous settlement unscathed, he still had to deal with Fei Huang Workspace’s profitable business during this cycle!

  Pei Qian cleared his throat and handed the cell phone back to Huang Sibo.

  “Not bad, but you have to work harder.

  “What’s Fei Huang Workspace’s plan for the future?”

  Huang Sibo smiled and answered, “Director Zhu Xiaoce and I have discussed this, and we decided to continue filming A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life. We’ll try to turn this program into an extremely influential IP project!

  “At the moment, it looks like the online shop model is working. We’ve already accomplished our initial goal, which was to turn Fei Huang Workspace’s losses into profit. We intend to keep working hard in order to maximize our revenue!”

  Pei Qian fell silent and did not reply.

  Huang Sibo’s heart thudded as he realized that there was something amiss with Boss Pei’s reaction.

  Why? Didn’t Boss Pei smile earlier on? Why did he look so stern now?

  After all, Huang Sibo had been one of Boss Pei’s first employees. He could easily detect and understand Boss Pei’s mood.

  After some thought, Huang Sibo quickly realized the reason for this.

  I understand now.

  Boss Pei smiled because he was happy that Fei Huang Workspace’s A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life has started generating profits. He recognized our achievements. However, he’s probably looking so stern now because he’s not satisfied with our plans for the future!

  Huang Sibo instinctively recalled his past conversations with Boss Pei.

  Again and again, Boss Pei had ordered him to look further into the future and not to cling to small, present achievements!

  Fei Huang Workspace was now generating profits, but would th
is small sum mean anything to Boss Pei?

  Probably not!

  It looked like Boss Pei had higher hopes for Fei Huang Workspace! Pei Qian was still thinking about how to persuade Huang Sibo to spend more money. At that moment, he could not think of anything good to say.

  Instead, Huang Sibo spoke first.

  “Boss Pei, are you unhappy with Fei Huang Workspace’s plans for the future?

  “Do you think that Fei Huang Workspace should come up with better products and not cling to our small, present achievement?”

  Pei Qian was speechless.”…”

  Eh? My employees have learned how to fight to answer questions first?

  He looked up to see Huang Sibo’s sincere gaze and then nodded. “That’s right! That’s what I’m thinking!”

  Huang Sibo smiled, comforted. Inwardly, he celebrated the fact that his relationship with Boss Pei was improving. He was increasingly able to view problems from a larger perspective! However, his smile quickly faded.

  “Boss Pei, we’re not being short-sighted.

  “The key problem is that Director Zhu Xiaoce and I haven’t found a good direction. We don’t even have one good idea.

  “Boss Pei, if you could offer us some guidance, we would be extremely grateful!”

  Pei Qian was put in a spot as he looked into Huang Sibo’s expectant eyes.

  You want me to generate ideas for you? Aren’t you afraid of messing up completely?

  Er, that’s not right. My ideas have always proven extremely popular.

  Pei Qian fell deeper into this dilemma. If he didn’t give any ideas, Fei Huang Workspace would continue filming A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life. From the way things were going, Pei Qian guessed that the online shop would probably do better and better. The videos would also get more and more sponsored partnerships, and the profits would keep rolling in. Yet, if he gave ideas, Pei Qian worried that they would turn out successful.

  [1] This is a kind of super-deformed style where the character becomes cute and small, with modifications to the anatomy ratio.

  Chapter 313 - A Perfect Script that Housed All Toxic Points!

  Chapter 313 A Perfect Script that Housed All Toxic Points!

  Pei Qian pondered for a moment and still decided that he could not take the risk.

  It would be best if he could bluff Fei Huang Workspace into spending large sums of money and come up with their own ideas and script. That would increase their chances of incurring losses! Thus, Pei Qian chose to avoid talking about his hopes for Huang Sibo. Instead, he changed the topic entirely. “There’s no need to rush things like creativity. Many famous directors improvise their script as they film, don’t they? I believe that Director Zhu Xiaoce can do the same!

  “The most important thing is that it seems too unambitious for a filming workspace, that was established nine months ago and that has Tengda Corporation as its backing, to continue working on short videos and generating revenue from sponsored partnerships and an online shop!”

  Huang Sibo opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to rebut Pei Qian. So what if they had been established nine months ago? Was that a long time?

  Many filming workspaces closed down after six months, much less nine. The fact that Fei Huang Workspace could survive for nine months was good enough! Even though some of their productions incurred losses, most of them were well-received!

  However, as he looked at Boss Pei, Huang Sibo became too ashamed to speak up.

  Indeed, Tengda Games had come up with so many good games in just nine months!

  Compared to Tengda’s success, Fei Huang Workspace’s achievements were not even worth mentioning.

  It was no wonder that Boss Pei felt disappointed in Fei Huang Workspace.

  Slightly embarrassed, Huang Sibo said, “Well… Boss Pei, do you think Fei Huang Workspace should venture into filming proper movies now?”

  Pei Qian nodded. “That’s right. You’ve already worked on short videos and documentaries. The director and staff are all considered skilled now. What are you waiting for?” Huang Sibo frowned. “Er… We don’t have enough money?”

  Pei Qian smiled subtly. “If you don’t have enough money, you can film a movie that has a lower production value. If you’re still short on cash, you can ask me for more. How big of a problem is that?”

  Huang Sibo looked like he was being put in a spot. “Well… the budget is only one problem…

  “Boss Pei, it’s not that I’m being conservative. The problem is that filming movies and filming short videos are two entirely different things!”

  Huang Sibo began to explain why he thought so.

  Each episode of Boss Pei’s Daily Life only lasted a couple of minutes. Each episode of A Day in a Great Inventor’s Life did not last that much longer; on average, they lasted ten minutes. The longest episode only lasted half an hour.

  However, a proper movie to be screened in cinemas had to last at least ninety minutes.

  On the surface, it merely looked several times longer. However, underneath laid a massive difference.

  A short video that only lasted several minutes could be made up of different comedic clips. The story could be messy and all over the place, but as long as it could make viewers laugh, the short video would be considered a success.

  On the other hand, it would not be enough for a ninety-minute-long movie to merely make the audience laugh.

  In order to produce an outstanding movie, the story had to be complete and pull at the audience’s heartstrings. That was far more difficult than creating a short video.

  Coming up with comedic material alone would not be sufficient to create a good movie.

  Many movies that had been produced to ride on web series’ popularity failed terribly, precisely because the producers were not powerful or skilled enough to produce a proper movie. They saw movies as merely extended versions of their short videos. That was where they failed.

  “Boss Pei, that is why it’ll be very risky for us to try and produce a proper movie. It’s best if we don’t take that risk unless we’re a hundred percent confident.

  “At the very least, we need to come up with a good script, right?”

  Huang Sibo looked very earnest.

  Pei Qian remained silent for a long time. It looked like Huang Sibo knew a lot about this!

  However, now that he had put it that way, Pei Qian was all the more interested in producing a movie!

  The high chances of failure were exactly what attracted Boss Pei!

  Of course, at the end of the day, Boss Pei was still extremely benevolent. Since there were high risks involved and they were likely to fail, Pei Qian could not allow Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce to take the blame.

  As the saying went-if I didn’t go to hell, who would?

  Boss Pei had to get ready to shoulder all responsibility for this!

  After considering for a moment, Pei Qian said, “Since that’s the case, Tengda will fund the movie. I will think of a script. You and Director Zhu Xiaoce will just be in charge of filming.”

  This way, Boss Pei would be solely responsible for the movie failing. Tengda would be the one incurring losses, and the morale of Fei Huang Workspace’s employees would not be affected.

  Huang Sibo was evidently stunned. He quickly said, “Boss Pei, you’re mistaken. I’m not afraid of shouldering responsibility, I’m just _”

  Pei Qian smiled and waved his hand. “I understand.

  “You are the CEO of Fei Huang Workspace now. You have to be responsible for the projects you take up. It’s right that you are critically analyzing risks and ensuring that the workspace can generate profits.

  “Just take this opportunity as part of your training. You can also take it as Fei Huang Workspace’s advancement in the filming industry.”

  Huang Sibo’s eyes welled up. He was touched!

  He could tell what Boss Pei was thinking. Boss Pei was worried that if Fei Huang Workspace failed, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce’s confidence would be greatly affected.
That was why he was offering to invest in this project and take sole responsibility if the movie failed!

  However, no matter the final outcome of the movie, Fei Huang Workspace would surely gain a lot of experience during the filming process. That would speed up their growth.

  Huang Sibo wanted to say many things, but he also felt that he would be acting too formally if he thanked Boss Pei profusely.

  Finally, he summarized everything that he wanted to say in a word of thanks.

  “We’ll follow Boss Pei’s instructions, then. Fei Huang Workspace will do its best to cooperate and do a good job of filming!

  “There’s another thing, Boss Pei. Fei Huang Workspace cannot make you do all the work for nothing. We will pay you a hundred thousand yuan for your script. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s a token of our appreciation. Please don’t turn it down.”

  Huh? A hundred thousand yuan for my script?

  Pei Qian had just casually made the suggestion, but when he heard the figure, he perked up immediately.

  “Alright! I’ll send you the first draft of the script in a few days!” This was an unexpected surprise!

  He had pulled a similar stunt when they filmed Boss Pei’s Daily Life back then. Pei Qian made a guest appearance in the short videos and earned a sum of money for playing himself.

  Now, he had found yet another avenue to earn money.

  He was going to be a scriptwriter! The upper and lower limits of scriptwriters’ market pay were quite far apart. Top scriptwriters could earn a six-figure-sum for writing just one episode’s script. On the other hand, newer scriptwriters only earned a few thousand yuan-or over ten thousand yuan at most-per episode. Even then, they were expected to continuously alter the script at any hour of the day or night.

  The System would probably find paying Pei Qian a hundred thousand yuan for writing a movie script acceptable. It would probably not be considered fraudulently acquiring System Funds.

  At the same time, there was no need for Pei Qian to write the script in great detail. All he needed to do was offer an idea.

  It was a perfect arrangement!