Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 417: Esports Club
Pei Qian yawned in his office.
The heating in the company was turned up high, making people feel drowsy.
Although slacking off on the very first day back at work didn't seem very appropriate, Pei Qian really didn't have anything else to do.
It felt like there were a lot of things that needed attention, as if countless blood-stained daggers were waiting to stab him in the back. But after thinking about it carefully, he still couldn't figure out what exactly he should be doing right now.
He opened the TPDb website to check whether there were any projects that needed "improvement."
Then Pei Qian's eyes immediately landed on Moyu Internet Café.
Right—he had always planned to open a Moyu Internet Café near his parents' house!
There should also be one near the new house he had just bought—better to prepare ahead of time.
In short, no matter where he lived in the future, there had to be a Moyu Internet Café within walking distance.
Thinking of this, Pei Qian immediately sent Zhang Yuan a message asking him to come over.
Zhang Yuan was usually stationed at the Moyu Internet Café Handong University branch, handling matters related to the internet café and ROF PC assembly, and today was no exception.
So he arrived only a few minutes later.
"How's the work handover going?"
Not long after Zhang Yuan sat down, Pei Qian asked directly.
"President Pei, today is only the first day back at work…"
Zhang Yuan was a bit speechless, and there was also a hint of reluctance in his tone.
After being selected as the Best Employee, Zhang Yuan had already received the one-million Dream Fund. But this also meant that he had to give up all his positions at Moyu Internet Café and ROF PC assembly.
Naturally, Zhang Yuan wasn't happy about that.
Both Moyu Internet Café and ROF PC assembly were running extremely well under his management. Even if his salary and benefits remained exactly the same, he still didn't want to switch to another position.
However, Pei Qian would obviously never agree.
Because when the Top-Ranking Elimination System was first established, it was meant precisely to eliminate people like him!
Being rated as an Best Employee meant he had performed exceptionally well in his position. From Pei Qian's perspective, that meant he was the employee who had posed the greatest threat to him over the past six months—so he definitely had to be "properly arranged."
Therefore, Zhang Yuan had to be removed from his position as quickly as possible.
Pei Qian could tell that Zhang Yuan was unwilling. His expression darkened slightly.
"The efficiency is too slow. I'll give you three days to complete the handover. Let go of all work related to Moyu Internet Café and ROF PC assembly, and submit the list of people to be promoted to the Human Resources Department."
Zhang Yuan had nothing to say. He could only nod.
"Yes, President Pei."
Pei Qian continued, "Oh right. When you're handing things over, tell the new person in charge to open two more Moyu Internet Café 1.0 branches at each of these places."
Pei Qian pointed to two locations on the map—his parents' residence and the location of his new house.
Looking at the two places, Zhang Yuan felt slightly puzzled.
One was in a small county town near Jingzhou, and the other was near a high-speed railway station that hadn't even opened yet.
What special geographical advantage did these two places have that made President Pei specifically emphasize opening a Moyu Internet Café at each one?
After all, the last time President Pei personally involved himself in Moyu Internet Café matters, it had been the "Moyu Complex" opened in Lin City, with an investment of tens of millions. Logically speaking, there was no need for him to care about the site selection of two small internet cafés like these.
However, Zhang Yuan had long since grown used to President Pei's unusual site-selection methods, so he didn't ask any questions. He simply noted it down silently, planning to pass the instructions to his successor.
After arranging the matters regarding Moyu Internet Café, Pei Qian asked again, "Have you decided how to spend the Dream Fund yet? Don't worry, if one million isn't enough, we can add more."
The one-million Dream Fund had been a standard established during the early days of Tengda Group. At that time, the company didn't have nearly as many businesses as it did now, and squeezing out one million yuan had already been quite difficult.
But as Tengda Group kept expanding and making more and more money, a mere one million could now only be considered pocket change. For President Pei—who was in urgent need of ways to spend money—it simply wasn't enough to satisfy his needs.
So Pei Qian asked casually. If Zhang Yuan's dream turned out to be somewhat outrageous, he wouldn't mind giving him more money.
Of course, if Zhang Yuan's dream sounded too utilitarian, he definitely wouldn't add a single extra yuan.
Zhang Yuan thought for a moment.
"Uh… President Pei, I actually thought about this carefully during the holiday. My initial idea is to start a small esports club."
An esports club?
Pei Qian was slightly surprised.
He had originally thought Zhang Yuan would continue tinkering with PC assembly work. He didn't expect Zhang Yuan to think more broadly.
Pei Qian was quite satisfied with this answer.
After all, esports clubs burn money very quickly, and only a small minority of them ever become profitable.
Moreover, in 2011, the esports industry was still very small. Large-scale tournaments were rare worldwide, and many professional players were still living in rough conditions—sleeping on curbs and surviving on instant noodles.
Most of the people getting into esports at the time were wealthy second-generation kids just playing around for fun.
This kind of thing suited Pei Qian's taste perfectly.
Even if Zhang Yuan hadn't brought it up, Pei Qian had already been thinking about starting an esports club just for fun!
Pei Qian immediately smiled and gave a thumbs-up.
"Not bad, that's a great idea!"
Zhang Yuan paused for a moment. For some reason, President Pei looked even happier hearing this news than the time when RAM prices went up.
"Is one million enough? The players work very hard when competing—you can't let them suffer. Their treatment must be good! If it's not enough, just ask me for more money anytime!" Pei Qian instantly became enthusiastic.
Zhang Yuan hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, no, President Pei. In the early stage, I want to test the waters first and explore a bit. After all, I have absolutely no experience in this field."
"Hmm… alright. If you need money, just let me know anytime." Pei Qian reluctantly agreed.
Clearly, Zhang Yuan was treating this somewhat like a hobby project, so he didn't dare ask for too much money.
If he were truly building a serious esports organization—buying a building, setting up full supporting facilities, and spending heavily to recruit star players—then even one million wouldn't be enough to fill the gaps between the teeth.
But right now, most so-called esports clubs weren't clearly separated from ordinary gaming studios. As long as you had a few rooms and several computers, you could claim to be an esports club.
What Zhang Yuan wanted to build was probably something like that.
Of course, Pei Qian couldn't accept that. He had to add more money.
But this matter couldn't be rushed. If he forced the money on Zhang Yuan right now, it might create pressure and give him the wrong impression—that he cared deeply about the project and expected him to do it perfectly.
If Zhang Yuan suddenly became extremely motivated and his accidental "encouragement buff" took effect, the consequences would be disastrous.
So Pei Qian didn't insist.
Once the club was established, he would definitely go inspect it, nitpick a bit, and then find some excuse to increase the funding.
"Alright, go get busy then. Remember, finish the work handover within three days. After that, shift all your focus to the esports club."
Pei Qian gave a few more instructions and then sent Zhang Yuan away.
After that, Pei Qian quickly reviewed in his mind the matters that hadn't been handled before the New Year.
Right—Top Student, Come Quickly APP!
Pei Qian immediately called He Desheng.
Although other projects were also dangerous, this one seemed to be the most dangerous.
Before the New Year, Pei Qian had released a new version of the Top Student, Come Quickly APP that completely eliminated the possibility of using the app as a social platform. As a result, the app's popularity and traffic plummeted, and much of the promotional budget previously spent had gone down the drain.
Originally, he had planned to push forward and let the project completely fail in one go.
But unexpectedly, when he told the investors the truth, he actually attracted over seven million yuan in new investment.
No matter how much he tried to persuade them otherwise, they refused to back down. Pei Qian had no choice but to find ways to burn the money.
As for exactly how it was being spent, Pei Qian wasn't very clear. He Desheng had been handling everything, so he needed to ask about it as soon as possible.
The call connected quickly.
He Desheng seemed prepared and answered President Pei's questions smoothly.
"The money has mainly been spent in three areas."
"First, the development of additional features for the APP. Currently, the APP only supports offline meetings. After developing new features, top students and struggling students will be able to turn on their cameras for video tutoring, and we can also embed a question bank that allows users to take photos to search for correct answers and explanations. This will make the functions richer and expand the target audience."
"Second is promotion."
"And finally, subsidies—so that struggling students pay less while top students earn more."
"The good news is that with our promotion, the Shared Top Student APP has already established a presence in first-tier cities rich in educational resources such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Daily active users are steadily rising!"
Pei Qian immediately interrupted him.
"I don't want to hear the good news. Just tell me the bad news."
"Uh…" He Desheng had originally prepared a long list of good reports, but President Pei's sentence completely blocked him, leaving him a bit uncomfortable.
"The bad news is that the current model might be difficult to sustain. We're worried that once the hype fades, it may lose momentum and leave behind nothing but a mess."
"In fact, the current model of the Top Student, Come Quickly APP has already sparked widespread discussion, and there are quite a few voices that are pessimistic about it."
Hmm?
Pessimistic voices?
Then I definitely need to hear those!
While talking on the phone, Pei Qian began searching online for discussions about the Top Student, Come Quickly APP.
After browsing for a bit, he discovered that there were indeed many discussions—but very few pessimistic ones!
"Top Student, Come Quickly: A New Direction for Educational Software!"
"Top Student, Come Quickly Update Eliminates Potential Safety Risks—This Move Deserves Praise!"
"Top Student, Come Quickly: Knowledge Sharing Is on the Way!"
Pei Qian glanced through a few headlines and immediately felt his heart racing, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"Where are these pessimistic voices? This is clearly a sea of positive reviews!" Pei Qian asked, confused.
He Desheng hurriedly explained, "Oh, President Pei, most of the reports you're seeing were paid for, and many of the discussions were written by internet water armies we hired. Part of that seven million was spent on this…"
"President Pei, this idea wasn't mine! The other investors insisted on it…"
Knowing that President Pei disliked such promotional tactics, He Desheng quickly shifted the blame.
Pei Qian relaxed slightly.
So all these praises were just paid commenters. That scared me for a moment.
He had thought that so many people genuinely liked the project!
Since this popularity was just an illusion created by spending money, there was no need to worry too much.
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