As Wu Bin stood by the side, he quickly jotted those events down in his notebook. “Indeed, even after so long, Boss Pei has not changed.
“I heard that Boss Pei was like that when Ocean Stronghold became successful as well. He symbolically took a sip of his champagne and then threw himself back into his work.
“When I heard this from Bao Xu, I thought the latter had been exaggerating. After all, even if a successful man doesn’t want to rely on his past successes, he would not go so far as to save on a mini-celebration, right?
“Yet, from the looks of it, it’s true. Bao Xu had not been exaggerating. That’s what Boss Pei is
like.
“Yes… I think I can add this to the Tengda spirit notes. I’ll send this to Cui Geng and ask him to think about how to make use of this material.”
In his office, Pei Qian whipped out his cell phone and began reading all 99+ of his unread messages. Most of them were congratulations with similar content. Pei Qian ignored them without saying a word.
He simply could not reply to all of them. Further, what if the other parties took the chance to strike a conversation with him after he replied to their messages? What if they praised Tomorrow is Beautiful to no end? Wouldn’t Boss Pei be hurt once again?
Thus, Pei Qian considered making a post on WeChat moments later on to thank everyone for their congratulations.
He would say that he could not reply to all the messages because there were simply too many of them, and then he would block notifications from WeChat moments. After that, everything would pass.
He continued scrolling through the messages but suddenly paused. His gaze lingered on the message from Lin Chang.
“Boss Pei! Congratulations! You have to treat me to some beer when I go to Jingzhou the next time! It’s true that the film had won the award because of its top quality, but I was the one who helped to send the film to the Cannes Film Festival in the first place. I should get some credit, right?”
Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks. He quickly replied, “You were the one who sent the film in?” A while later, Lin Chang replied. “Boss Pei, why are you only replying to me now? Were you high last night? Did you drink too much? “Of course, I got someone to accept the film. Cannes has always preferred films that premiered at their own film festival. If not for my connections, the judges would not have accepted your film.
“Boss Pei, I’m not trying to claim credit. I’ll tell you honestly, I didn’t think that Tomorrow is Beautiful would win an award either. I just thought I would offer some help since the film was doing so badly in overseas box offices.
“The film only won the award because it was well-produced by you, and it completely won the judges over. No matter how solid my connections are, I would never have been able to achieve this for you.” Pei Qian: “…”
I’ve found the culprit! You were the one pulling tricks behind my back!
Pei Qian very carefully considered whether he could send a Management Trainee over to Shenhua Corporation or not. For instance, he could send a Management Trainee to the office of Shenhua Film and Media Co. Ltd.’s president…
He had a clear picture of what was happening inside the office, but he was still completely blind to anything happening outside!
“Your kind intentions have gone to waste, then. Based on what I know, Tomorrow is Beautiful has been performing badly overseas. It’s going to be withdrawn soon, right?” Pei Qian’s expression was dark as he typed the reply.
Now, he was worried about two things in particular. First was the contract with Aili Island. Now that the film had won an award, a new group of viewers would surely rush to watch it online. That meant more income for Tengda. Second was the possibility that foreign video websites would offer high prices to buy Tomorrow is Beautiful’s overseas internet copyrights.
As for the box offices overseas… Tomorrow is Beautiful premiered at the start of the month with low row piece rates and poor ticket sales. Pei Qian guessed that it would be taken down soon.
Lin Chang: “Withdrawn? The last I heard was that, after winning an award, Tomorrow is Beautiful would be screened afresh by overseas media! The major cinemas would continue screening it for another month with higher row piece rates.
“Films that have won the Jury Prize are inherently valuable for business. How could they withdraw it? Cinemas would fight to take advantage of the film’s popularity and generate more profits!”
Pei Qian: “…”
Why did I ask so much? It was true that, unlike blessings, misfortune never came singly!
Pei Qian had thought that screening Tomorrow is Beautiful overseas had been a false alarm. Yet, the entire situation had turned around after just one film festival! He was filled with sorrow. This cycle was becoming increasingly stressful. He had intended to film a lousy movie and incur losses, right? This film was generating profits for him locally, overseas, in theaters, and online… when would it end?! Pei Qian felt that this was his worst investment yet.
Er… no, this could be the second-worst. The worst investment would always be the fifty thousand yuan that he had poured into The Lonely Desert Road.
Lin Chang sent another message: “There’s another thing, Boss Pei. The second round of comments on your film would probably be out in a day or two. Are you ready to be bootlicked?”
Pei Qian: “?”
Lin Chang replied, “Sometimes, people would have one view of something while it remains in the country but have a completely different view of it once it goes overseas.
“Now I’m very curious. Earlier, many people thought that Tomorrow is Beautiful was nondescript, and that neither locals nor foreigners would like it. Yet, Tomorrow is Beautiful went on to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival. What would those people say now?
“Alright, Boss Pei. Keep celebrating. Remember to treat me to a good beer when I come to Jingzhou!”
Pei Qian remained awfully silent as he read his conversation with Lin Chang again.
What a headache!
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Handong University branch…
“Hello, I’m the head of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Xiao Peng. You are…?”
Liang Qingfan shook Xiao Peng’s hand. “I am Liang Qingfan, the designer in charge of Boss Pei’s Sloth Apartments.” “Oh! Please, take a seat.” Xiao Peng led Liang Qingfan to the coffee area and sat down. A waiter served them two cups of coffee. After exchanging a couple of pleasantries, Liang Qingfan explained the reason for his visit. “Boss Xiao, I wonder if you’re interested in renovating Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.” After completing Sloth Apartments, Liang Qingfan had been touring and playing in Jingzhou to gather inspiration while waiting for further instructions from Boss Pei. However, after waiting for a long time, he still didn’t receive any news. He was beginning to feel bored.
Thus, Liang Qingfan decided to survey the various locations first.
Boss Pei had so many businesses, including Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Fish-Catching Take-Out, Deposit Fitness, Sloth Apartments, and the like. All of them would have to be renovated.
If he could obtain all of those contracts and design a few famous and popular places, he would be able to significantly improve his own reputation.
What’s more, he knew full well that Tengda Corporation was wealthy. The designer fees would surely be generous.
That was why Liang Qingfan was visiting Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s Xiao Peng today. He wanted to introduce himself first, so that they could work together more easily when the time came.
Xiao Peng pondered for a moment. “Not for now. Customers like Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 1.0 and 2.0 very much. Changing the style all of a sudden might have the opposite effect. As for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 3.0… it’s already undergoing renovations. It won’t be convenient to make changes now.
“Of course, if we think about setting up Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 4.0 in the future, I will contact you at once.
“However, I know a place that
might need your help. Why don’t you go and take a look at Thriller Hostel? Here’s the contact number of the man in charge there. His surname is Chen. You can reach out to him directly.”
Chapter 527 - Golden Maze
May 24th, Tuesday…
At Thriller Hostel…
Chen Kangtuo was standing at the entrance of the old industrial zone, looking around anxiously. All of a sudden, he saw a rented car parked outside. A young man alighted from it.
At that moment, Chen Kangtuo did not dare to approach the young man. He knew that he was meeting an architect by the surname of Liang today and that the architect would be a bit young, but the man in front of him looked a bit too young However, on further thought, both of them had set the time and date yesterday. What’s more, nobody would come by the old industrial zone anyway. After some hesitation, Chen Kangtuo walked briskly forward. “Mr. Liang?”.
Liang Qingfan nodded. “Yes. Are you Boss Chen?”
“Are you really Mr. Liang? How are you, how are you?” Chen Kangtuo shook Liang Qingfan’s hand excitedly. Then, both men walked into Chen Kangtuo’s office. Once they entered, two more people who had been sitting on the couch came forward to welcome them.
Chen Kangtuo introduced the two people to Liang Qingfan. “Mr. Liang, let me introduce you. This is the colleague who is heading Thriller Hostel with me, Hao Qiong. This is the current designer in charge of altering and renovating Thriller Hostel, Shi Zherui.”
Liang Qingfan greeted both of them. He expected to have many common topics of interest with the other architect, Shi Zherui.
Shi Zherui was a young and capable architect in Jingzhou. He was a year older than Liang Qingfan, but neither his academic results nor his resume was as bright as Liang Qingfan’s.
As for why Pei Qian had put him in charge of Thriller Hostel… it was obviously for the same reason as to why he chose Liang Qingfan. He did not want to choose a famous architect to design Thriller Hostel, in case it brought unnecessary fame and popularity.
Chen Kangtuo poured a cup of tea. “Mr. Liang, you have arrived in the nick of time and resolved my greatest worries.” Liang Qingfan was stunned. “Oh? Why do you say that?”
Chen Kangtuo gently placed the cup of tea in front of Liang Qingfan. “It’s a long story. Thriller Hostel is an amusement park project that Boss Pei had decided to turn this old industrial zone into in response to multiple appeals.
“You should know that by now, right? A group of investors had also been persuaded to follow Boss Pei and invest in the surrounding area.
“This group of investors suggested building a huge shopping mall for Boss Pei and Thriller Hostel’s benefit. Props and other peripheral products would be sold in that mall. We are to come up with the plan while they fork out the money.
“Thus, I invited Teacher Shi to come up with a common design for a shopping mall, with the intention of using it for the actual thing.
“Yet, alas, Boss Pei is a man who enjoys perfecting something that is already outstanding! He emailed me yesterday, asking us to design the shopping mall as a maze!” Shi Zherui continued from where Chen Kangtuo left off. “I felt confused when Boss Chen told me about this, too. At first, I thought that there was nothing much one could do with a shopping mall. That was why I used a typical plan. I didn’t think that Boss Pei would be unsatisfied!
“At the moment, I am still in charge of the construction of the Thriller Hostel, and I have to watch the progress like a hawk. If any problems occur, I have to change the plan on the spot. Time is already tight, and yet Boss Pei is requesting that I work on a maze. That would kill me.
“I don’t have much experience with or knowledge of mazes, and I already have so many things on my hands! Thus… we’ve been leaving this on the back burner, and Boss Chen has been worrying about it.”
Chen Kangtuo nodded. “That’s right, but thankfully, Mr. Liang has arrived! Mr. Liang, do you have any good ideas about how to carry out this project?”
Liang Qingfan raised his eyebrows.
Turn a shopping mall into a maze? That was very bold! Boss Pei might have been the only one in the entire world who could come up with such a bold and imaginative idea. Liang Qingfan sipped his tea and asked, “What exactly did Boss Pei say? I have some thoughts about the maze, but I need to understand what Boss Pei requires so that I don’t get it wrong.”
Chen Kangtuo laughed and said proudly, “Don’t worry, I am considered an old employee of Tengda Games. I’ve learned a thing or two about figuring out what Boss Pei wants!
“Boss Pei mentioned two points in his email. First, he wants it to be expensive-luxurious and dazzling. He wanted the shopping mall to be filled with luxury brands.
“Second, he wanted most of the shops selling peripheral products to be hidden within the maze, so that the majority of the customers would exit the shopping mall without even realizing it. They should not be able to find a single shop. “Let me try to interpret Boss Pei’s intentions from my angle. If any of you have anything to add, please feel free to add on.
“I think that Boss Pei’s ‘maze’ idea has something to do with games! It’ll be like collectibles created in games; they would all be hidden. Gamers would then have to search for them repeatedly, which would keep them playing the game for a long time. “At the same time, once a gamer finds a hidden shop, it would be like finding a hidden merchant in the game. It would have a psychological effect on them. They would think that, after spending so much time locating the shop, they had to buy something to reward themselves. Otherwise, it would feel like they’re losing out. That way, we would be able to encourage spending.
“It would be even better if the various shops regularly update their products and gifts for people to purchase as proof that they have been there.
“As for why the renovations must be expensive… I haven’t thought about it yet.”
Liang Qingfan nodded as his right hand caressed his teacup. “Yes, we can easily make gamers spend more time in the game with the maze design. However, from the architect’s point of view, there are other considerations as well.
“Boss Pei said that customers should exit the mall without even realizing it. Obviously, there should be many exits in the mall. That means that the crowd would be split up, and the customer experience would be improved. At the same time, in case of any emergency, customers would be able to disperse very quickly.
“What’s more, creating a maze would require us to divide the mall into segments. For the purposes of designing the building, segmenting could increase the efficiency of space usage in the building. Practically, it’s a sign of far-sightedness.
“I think we can make a few key walls in the maze moveable. When we close them off, the paths would be closed; when we open them, there would be an additional path. Once we make the mechanism automatic, we can use an algorithm to automatically generate new mazes. The paths would change every once in a while, so that the sense of novelty remains for customers. “Of course, for safety, we have to make sure that someone would be watching the automated system at all times. Even if the electricity gets cut, we should be able to ensure that customers can find the exits and would not be trapped inside.
“As for why the maze has to be expensive… I think it might be because Boss Pei is going for a ‘golden maze’ style. It makes one feel as if they’re surrounded by all sorts of treasures. Without even meaning to, the maze would display to everyone else the value of the products inside the mall.
“It’ll be just like luxury shops. Why did they have to renovate their shops so extensively? It was to create a subtle atmosphere to make customers feel as if they were walking around in a palace. Only then would they think that the valuables in front of them were worth buying and being worn. Customers would then be unable to resist the urge to purchase them. “The facts have shown that, to achieve such an effect, one has to stick to the dazzling and grandiose styles.
“That way, the Thriller Hostel can say this for publicity: in the faraway Thriller
Hostel, if you make it through the thrilling, frightening, and horrifying experience and make it out of the splendorous and majestic golden maze; you would find the hidden treasure!”
Chen Kangtuo’s eyes lit up. “I see! “Before this, I kept interpreting Boss Pei’s plan in terms of games, and I already thought that the design was not bad. Now, after hearing Teacher Liang talk about it from an architectural and psychological point of view, everything makes more sense! “Boss Pei actually considered this from an architect’s perspective? He’s really knowledgeable.
“Since that’s the case, let’s just call the shopping mall the Golden Maze. Then, not only would it be a shopping mall, but it would also be a free amusement project within Thriller Hostel. We’ll be killing two birds with one stone!
“Mr. Liang, this is urgent. I’ll leave the Golden Maze’s design to you! I’ll pay your designer fees according to Tengda’s standards!”
Chen Kangtuo gazed at Liang Qingfan warmly.
Liang Qingfan pondered for a moment and then said, “Of course, I can design it, but… after some time, Boss Pei will get me to design the new Sloth Apartments. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep an eye on this project all the way through.”
Shi Zherui patted his chest. “No worries. Mr. Liang, you just have to come up with the design. Let Boss Li and the others look for a construction team to watch over the construction. I can help to keep an eye on it,
too.
“However… if we run into problems that I cannot solve in the future, we would still need you to come down personally.” Liang Qingfan nodded. “That’s alright. Even if I’m in charge of the Sloth Apartments, I will be in Jingzhou. I can come over at any time.”
Chen Kangtuo was elated. “We’ll leave this to you, then, Mr. Liang!”
May 25th, Wednesday…
Pei Qian browsed the webpage quietly, looking very confused. Things had developed beyond his expectations.
Tomorrow is Beautiful was covering the entire internet once again!
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883 Page 333