Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883
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All the other writers expressed their agreement.
Pei Qian was speechless.
That was disappointing! Pei Qian had hoped that the writers would pick on the class’ problems. He only needed one writer to raise a single problem. Then, Pei Qian could use it as an excuse to make Ma Yiqun modify the class.
For example, one of the writers could say ‘we can’t play games or watch videos on our own computers, and it’s very inconvenient’. Then, Pei Qian would have a valid reason to ask Ma Yiqun to get rid of the lockdown state on the computers.
Yet, all the writers were only interested in sucking up to him!
Pei Qian had no words. However, the more those writers spoke that way, the more determined Pei Qian was to change things.
The class is proving so effective; that means I have to modify it all-the-more!
Pei Qian cleared his throat and gave them a hint. “I wonder if all of you have gotten used to the lockdown state in the computers. I think writing is a creative process. Would imposing a lockdown state kill your imagination and creativity?
“What if we get rid of it?”
Pei Qian had expected the writers to cheer and clap in agreement. Then, in the name of complying with the majority, Pei Qian could ask Ma Yiqun to get rid of the lockdown states in all the computers.
However, Pei Qian’s words had stunned a few of the writers in front of him. They began to shake their heads profusely. “Boss Pei, you mustn’t do that!
“The lockdown state helps us to keep away from distractions and improves our productivity. You can’t get rid of it!
“If you get rid of it, we wouldn’t be able to write eight to ten thousand words a day anymore!”
Everyone else spoke up in agreement. “Yes, yes, yes. You can’t get rid of it!”
Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks.
Oh, no, I have a bunch of pig-headed writers…
You don’t even want me to get rid of the lockdown state for you?!
Cui Geng, who was right behind, wanted to agree with Boss Pei at first. However, after some thought, he kept his mouth shut.
It was not because he was embarrassed; in fact, he was extremely thick-skinned!
A week ago, Cui Geng would have been the first to stand up and ask Boss Pei to get rid of the lockdown state for him.
However, he was hesitating now.
That was because he had had a few days to get used to it. Cui Geng had found out that under exceptional circumstances and with the help of the lockdown state, he could indeed write eight to ten thousand words each day.
Without the lockdown state, he would probably go back to uploading one chapter a
day.
That meant that his achievements, income, and reputation among readers would slip down to the way they had been before.
Then, while everyone else in the class continued to improve and see better results, he would be left in the dumps. That would be extremely embarrassing for him.
What’s more, Boss Pei might be smiling, but who knew if he’s actually trying to bait fish?
What if I get called out as a bad example once I raise my hand?
Thus, Cui Geng kept his mouth shut.
Pei Qian scanned the group and realized that not one of the writers wanted to get rid of the lockdown state. His heart felt weary.
D*mn it! I have an entire house of hard workers! What should I do?!
Pei Qian turned to Ma Yiqun, who was grinning back at him with his eyes filled with praise.
It was almost as if Ma Yiqun was saying, ‘Boss Pei, you’re doing a good job of loosening the reins to get a better grip on these writers! Unfortunately, no one fell for it.’
Pei Qian was at a loss for words. He felt like his good intentions had been mistaken for ill intent.
Since the ‘hard’ method was not working, he had no choice but to look for alternatives.
The writers had now formed a community. Most of them were already bonded by the hardworking mindset. Now, Pei Qian had to think of ways to divide and conquer them. He looked around at the group. “Alright, since all of you like the lockdown state, i’ll let it remain.
“However… I think the current mechanism is insufficient. It’s egalitarian, and there are no penalties or rewards.
“Thus, I’m going to set up a penalty and reward system!”
All the writers’ expressions became somber. In their hearts, they confirmed that no company head could be that kind.
Was Boss Pei finally going to show them who was boss?
Yet, none of them dared to ask any questions, They could only listen as Boss Pei explained himself.
Pei Qian cleared his throat again. “Each day, the writer who uploads the most number of chapters would not have to come to work the next day. Instead, he would be allowed to do whatever he wants for the day as his reward. Of course, there would be a strict prohibition against writing more.
“On the other hand, the writer who uploads the least number of chapters would have to go to Tengda’s headquarters the next day as punishment! There, he would be educated on the Tengda spirit. “Both would not be constrained by the original agreement. “Let me see how many chapters all of you have uploaded today.”
Pei Qian turned to Ma Yiqun.
Ma Yiqun quietly accessed the platform’s data on his computer. “Ming Yu has written 8,712 words and uploaded the most number of chapters today. Cui Geng has written 3,287 words and uploaded the least number of chapters.”
Since they had team activities that afternoon, those were the results of three hours of work in the morning. Ming Yu had written close to nine thousand words in three hours; he was the ultimate tentacled beast.
Cui Geng’s face drained of color. “Boss Pei, please listen to my explanation! I was making adjustments to the overarching plot this morning; I wasn’t slacking,” Before he could finish his sentence, Pei Qian smiled and said, “Someone will pick you up tomorrow.”
With that, Pei Qian turned to leave.
At once, Cui Geng felt light-headed and unsteady.
Finished!
He was going to be educated on the Tengda spirit at Tengda’s headquarters?
His brain was filled with images of mountains covered in knives, ponds of hot oil, and prison guards in business clothing.
On the other hand, Ming Yu—who had written the most number of words, scratched his head. “I can do whatever I want? How do I upload new chapters, then?
“Forget it, I’ll probably continue writing in my hotel room…” He had just finished mumbling to himself when Ma Yiqun patted him on the shoulder and sighed.
“Don’t even think about it. When Boss Pei said that you can do whatever you want, he meant anything outside of work. Quick, tell your readers that you’ll be taking a day off tomorrow.”
Chapter 397 - Both Humans, Different Treatments
The patch that Pei Qian made was naturally meaningful.
The study classes were held for a week. During this time, the authors ate and stayed together. They were originally people with a tendency to struggle for success and were now unified in their thinking.
Pei Qian wanted to reduce the burden on them, but it was rejected by all of them. It could be seen that this problem could not be solved overnight.
Therefore, Pei Qian thought of digging a hole first!
Give those who were the most diligent-who wrote the most a day off, let that person play without pressure for a day, and let him realize how happy he would be as a bum.
Let those who wrote the least experience the Tengda spirit-using Tengda’s entertainment atmosphere to continue killing their passion for writing and make him a bum!
Those who wrote the least were undoubtedly the laziest bums amongst this group of authors. It was also the breakthrough point.
Bring him directly to Tengda and entertain him. He would definitely tell the other authors about this when he was back.
When the other authors knew that those who wrote the least would
be able to enjoy themselves at the Tengda headquarters, they would definitely scramble to be lazy and write less, forming a vicious competition.
Before long, there would be a group of authors who would write lesser and lesser. The solid struggle would forge an alliance that would naturally break itself!
The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more he felt that the plan was simply perfect!
At night…
The crew of Tomorrow is Beautiful had a meal in Ming Yun Private Kitchen and was officially disbanded.
Everyone said goodbye outside the villa.
“Boss Pei, thank you so much for taking care of me during this period! Feel free to contact me at any time if you have anything in the future. I’ll definitely come through!”
“Thank you for the meal! It is the most delicious meal I had!”
“Would Boss Pei welcome me if I come over often to Jingzhou in the future?”.
“Wishing all the best for the movie!”
“Boss Pei, I know a few development banks and the people from the theater chain. I can help link up if there is a need…”
Pei Qian said goodbye to everyone and sincerely invited everyone to come and play at any time.
He could use more money whenever he gave a treat anyway.
Pei Qian only rejected the last suggestion.
“There is no need to worry about the movie publicity. I have my own arrangements!”
He finally sent everyone away. Pei Qian gave a long sigh. There were indeed many things on hand recently. Another came when one just ended.
Of course, the movie had just finished filming. He would only be assured when it was released. However, that would be at least one month later, which was still quite far away.
He should take care of what was in front of him first.
Do things one by one, I’ll solve the problem at Zhongdian Chinese Network and then take a lot at the Shared Top Student… Pei Qian thought forlornly.
Sigh, there seems to be something that keeps slipping out of my mind…
Oh, right, the shared phone booth!
Pei Qian suddenly remembered the matter that he had always forgotten when he thought of the Shared Top Student.
The Shared phone booth!
He was supposed to visit it on Monday, but there was too much stuff this week. Exams, dinner… Boss Li made trouble, and Ma Yiqun’s website made some unexpected problems. He forgot about it completely.
There should not be many big problems since it had only been five days, right? Pei Qian thought. Five days would allow Ruan Guangjian to draw on two additional phone booths at maximum. Adding on to the very first one, there were at most three phone booths.
What could three phone booths do? There shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Of course, he had to check it out this week to be on the safe side.
Pei Qian jotted down on his notebook, afraid that he would forget again.
January 21st, Friday…
Cui Geng got out of the car in the underground garage nervously. He took the elevator together with the chauffeur up to the 16th floor of Shenhua View.
He had sent a leave note to Ming Yu last night.
However, reader comments below the two’s leave notes were completely different.
Ming Yu’s leave stated that he wrote the most in the study class so was granted a few days of activity. He would not be able to upload anything tomorrow, but he would update with 15,000 words for three consecutive days starting tomorrow as compensation.
Most of the comments below were generally encouraging.
“Awesome Big Boss!” “Rest well, we’re waiting for your explosive work!”
“Quickly @ the one chapter beasts here so that they can learn from this example!” Cui Geng’s leave did not mention any specific reason. He only said that he had something important and needed one day off.
He originally wanted to just drift along, but readers’ comments pierced through his heart.
“It’s over. Giving up after one week of hard work? No determination!”
“You did not even mention anything about updating! As expected of you!”
“Has the kidnapper received the ransom to let him go? Please don’t, continue keeping him. We’ll raise the money!”
“Underground gossip from other author groups! It was said that no-show was sent for ideological education because he wrote the least, hahahaha!”
“The person who wrote the least during the entire class? That does sound exactly like him!”
Cui Geng sighed, feeling the different treatment. Sigh, they were both humans who received different treatments!
The other person had a day off to enjoy himself. Readers rejoiced.
What about me? I’m at the headquarters to receive ideology education and am being mocked by the readers.
So difficult! Cui Geng heard a ‘ding’ as these thoughts ran through his mind. He arrived on the 17th floor.
Cui Geng walked out of the elevator to the front desk and explained his intentions to a pair of beautiful twins. Someone soon came out to greet him and led him in.
“Hello, I’m Wu Bin from the HR department.”
Wu Bin was full of smiles while Cui Geng’s heart turned cold.
The HR department!
As far as Cui Geng knew, most of the HR departments were used by large companies to quell rebels and to gather intel. His learning task today probably would not be easy.
Cui Geng felt a building amount of pressure as a typical no-show.
However, Wu Bin opened the door to the entertainment room. “Please.”
Cui Geng, “?”
He probed his head in and found a large television, game machines, piles of game discs, high-end computers, and even several large game consoles.
Novels, manga, magazine… filled an entire wall.
It was very difficult for him to describe his first feeling. However, to summarize it all up in one word… it would probably be… heaven?
Cui Geng looked at Wu Bin with a confused look.
What was the meaning of this? Enjoy my last supper?
He was about to enquire when Wu Bin smiled. “Please enter. Boss Pei arranged for this.”
Cui Geng heaved a sigh upon hearing that it was Boss Pei’s arrangements. Cui Geng’s imagination was very vivid as a web novelist.
At that moment, he thought that he did something really wrong.
However, he thought that the idea was ridiculous after thinking about it. The probability of Boss Pei cheating himself would be probably about the same probability of the person in front of him giving a fake imperial edict. It was infinitely close to zero.
He might be doubtful, but no lazy bum could resist the temptation of this entertainment room.
Cui Geng then walked in without hesitation, sat on the sofa, and picked up the game console.
Wu Bin closed the room door quietly.
Cui Geng, “…
“I don’t know what sort of trick this is, but come what may…”
Cui Geng was too lazy to think anymore. He picked a game he liked and started playing. Wu Bin returned to his desk after closing his door. His mission today was specifically requested by Boss Pei. Wu Bin was also a little puzzled by the intention.
Boss Pei only told him to lead Cui Geng to the entertainment room and take care of his lunch. Let him do whatever he wanted. There was no need to care if Cui Geng decided to stay or leave.
He just mentioned: ‘give Cui Geng some hint if he asks about the Tengda spirit.’
At ten in the morning, Pei Qian woke up naturally, turned over, sat up, and yawned.
He looked at his watch. Cui Geng should have arrived at the company and be receiving the influence of the Tengda spirit now, right?
Pei Qian had arranged it all yesterday to let Wu Bin take charge of his reception.
In Pei Qian’s view, Wu Bin passed the Tengda Spirit compatibility test on his second try. He must have a lot of experience lazing around.
Let Wu Bin bring Cu
i Geng to the gaming room for one day. Wouldn’t that be obvious enough?
If Cui Geng did not understand still, he would get Wu Bin to give him some hint to impart him the ways of a lazy bum.
Double guarantee, there would definitely be no mistakes.
In short, Cui Geng would bring with him a ‘lazy bum’ seed to take root in all the authors when he returned to the study class.
Such a seed would make them compare with each other, bravely innovate, and disintegrate the entire class from inside out…
Pei Qian got up to brush his teeth in a great mood as he thought about it.
Chapter 398 - Adopt a Different Approach to the Tengda Spirit
Three in the afternoon..
Cui Geng put down the console in his hand and glanced at the time on his watch in the game room.
“Is there really no one who would bother? I’m really going to leave if no one is coming, alright?”
Cui Geng felt confused and incredible.
He might have felt ‘come what may’ when he was first led into the game room in the morning, but he also thought that someone might push the door at any time and tell him to ‘start learning about the Tengda spirit’.
He had played till noon in the blink of an eye. Wu Bin did push open the door, but it was only to get him to order a Fish-Catching Take-Out.
Cui Geng lay on the sofa for a while in the entertainment room after lunch. No one came to bother him the whole afternoon. He just continued to play his game for nearly three whole hours.
The sun was about to set if he were to continue for another few hours.
Where was the Tengda spirit training he was supposed to undergo? Cui Geng wondered.
No one was training me? Could the HR department have more important work on hand and so my training was shelved?
That wasn’t possible. Wu Bin did not seem as though he had any particularly important work to do? Moreover, wouldn’t it have the highest priority since it was work arranged by Boss Pei?
Cui Geng fell into a state of deep confusion.