Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Pei Qian’s office…

“How is it going, Old Ma. Have you made a decision?” Pei Qian drank his tea as he asked.

“Not yet!” Ma Yang answered indignantly.

“Pfft!”

Pei Qian nearly spat out his tea. However, he was not at all angry; he was actually a little happy. It seemed as if Old Ma was going to make things easy for him.

If everyone was like Old Ma, I could have gotten all the money within the system into my own account long ago!

“My main task now is to find a suitable helper.” Ma Yang drank some tea as he appeared like he had the situation well planned out.

Pei Qian suddenly grew a little concerned.

He believed in Ma Yang. However, he didn’t trust Ma Yang’s helper!

Ma Yang was the type that was easily convinced by others. What if he managed to find a hardworking fellow that was good at running internet cafes, and Ma Yang actually listened to everything this helper said.

The consequences would be dire!

Pei Qian had to be wary. “What type of helper are you looking for?”

“I found one on the Baidu Tieba; he is a talent. I am trying to poach him with a high salary now!” Ma Yang said.

Oh, some genius from Tieba?

That’s fine, that’s fine.

Pei Qian was relieved.

Tieba was indeed the place where hidden talents abound. Especially at this time of the year, Tieba was quite widely used. Although the good was mixed with the bad, some talents could be found. However, people who were only good at posturing and puffing themselves up were quite common.

Based on probability, that Ma Yang would find someone of the latter caliber was rather likely.

“Could you give more details?” Pei Qian composed himself and sipped his tea again. Seeing Pei Qian so concerned with his progress, Ma Yang also became more alert as he reported seriously.

“This person I have found is a small cafe owner on GPU Forum. He is very talented and is very famous in Tieba!

“I was thinking; if I want to open a LAN shop, the most important thing would be computers, right? I can’t possibly buy models from a famous brand at this time, right? If I want to be special, I have to make my own; fix them up myself!

“However, I don’t know how to do this. Hence, I am trying to poach a genius to come and help. He knows how to build computers and knows computer hardware better than me. My decision is okay, right?”

Pei Qian nodded furiously, “Yes, nothing wrong! Good thinking!”

Pei Qian had been a little worried. However, after hearing that this helper was an internet cafe owner, Pei Qian suddenly felt much more relaxed.

As the saying went: ‘If one went into the GPU Forum with three thousand yuan as a budget, he would end up spending much more when he left.’

If one went into the Tualatin Forum¹ with three thousand yuan, he could actually leave with some money left over to open an internet cafe.

The GPU Forum and Tualatin Forums were the two most popular gathering places for computer-building hobbyists in Tieba. However, the two operated very differently.

In the GPU Forum, people would be asked to spend more money on better parts while in the Tualatin Forum, the aim was to get cheaper and more stable parts that reduce costs and one’s budget.

If Ma Yang had been looking for a genius from Tualatin Forum, Pei Qian might still have been worried.

Why?

Talents in Tualatin Forum would be the best at saving money!

If they really used a low budget to build the computers and worked on a large-volume small-profit model, this internet cafe might actually really do well!

This was the Year 2010 after all, and dirt-cheap internet cafes were still very welcomed. Some poor students without much money would not play games that required high specifications. If a cheap internet cafe like this was created, the entire place might be filled with people who wouldn’t mind eating and staying there.

However, if it was a talent from GPU Forum, that would be different! All the computers in the internet cafe would be around twenty to thirty thousand yuan each—pftt!

It would be too picturesque!

Losses would probably be inevitable!

Hence, Pei Qian was very happy. Ma Yang had not let him down!

“Alright, you must poach such a talent! You must remember to be nicer to him and offer high pay. If you want this god-like person to come and help you, you can’t possibly give him just eight thousand yuan a month, right?”

Pei Qian started to fan the flames.

Ma Yang was a little pained as he said, “Brother Qian, I won’t hide from you… my current salary is but five thousand…”

Pei Qian had given Ma Yang his salary pegged to the highest salary given to interns: four thousand yuan a month. After giving all employees a thirty percent rise, Ma Yang’s salary had just hit over five thousand.

Pei Qian laughed and said, “Rest assured; would I treat you badly? Once this task is successfully done, I will give you a raise! And a bonus!”

Ma Yang was overjoyed, “That’s great! Rest assured that I will work my best to make this internet cafe the best it can be!”

“I’ve said how many times; it’s not an internet cafe. It is a big-scale entertainment center combining various experiences such as a LAN shop, gaming experience, exclusive hardware selling, and watching showers, etc.!” Pei Qian corrected Ma Yang.

“Alright, I know. A big-scale entertainment internet cafe!” Ma Yang finished his tea. “I will continue working, then!”

En, progress.

Pei Qian was pleased.

Now, he had more or less stabilized things here with regard to the new gaming project. As for Ma Yang, with the GPU Forum talent’s assistance, things should stabilize as well.

All that was left was Huang Sibo’s side.

I’m a little uneasy!

Pei Qian decided to send a text to ask Huang Sibo how he was doing. Huang Sibo had not come to work recently, and Pei Qian didn’t know what he was working on. It would be better if he understood more about Huang Sibo’s progress.

“Have you given a thought about the Dream Fund? Have you thought of which industry you wish to invest in?”

Before long, Huang Sibo replied.

“I have a general direction, Boss Pei! I have decided to do something related to filming! This has always been my dream; just that it was very hard for me to enter it. That’s why I chose the gaming industry. Now that I have the chance to, I am going to pursue my dream!”

Pei Qian was so happy he slapped his thigh.

The filming industry?

That was perfect!

This industry bled money quickly!

However… with just one million to enter the filming industry, was that a little rash? Could it have an effect?

Pei Qian was doubtful.

“Do you have enough funds? I can give you additional capital; it’s not an issue.”

Pei Qian had managed to get his hands on a money-losing industry project; he suddenly had a strong desire to add more money to this venture.

Actually, Pei Qian had also thought of entering the filming industry to lose money; he just hadn’t had the chance to execute this plan yet. This was perfect. With Huang Sibo paving the way, Pei Qian didn’t have to bother himself with this.

Huang Sibo replied quickly: “No need, no need! Boss Pei, you have already given me a million yuan Dream Fund; how could I ask you to top it up?

“Rest assured; I am not shooting a blockbuster type of film that requires massive investments. I am just doing some short videos that do not require much equipment and late-stage edits; it won’t cost much. A million yuan is sufficient!”

Short videos?

Pei Qian suddenly grew anxious: “The short video you want to shoot… it isn’t called Surprise, right?”

Huang Sibo was confused: “Surprise? What is that?”

Pei Qian breathed out in relief. As long as it wasn’t Surprise, all was well!

“Do you have a script yet? A director?” Pei Qian asked again.

Huang Sibo texted back: “Not yet! However, don’t worry, I am looking for one now. Also, once the script is ready, I will send it to you to take a look first thing.”

“Alright.”

Pei Qian was relieved.

If Huang Sibo was going to shoot a short video—as long as it wasn’t Surprise, it was fine.

To film a short video at this time and age, it was hard to gain popularity. Even if it did, it was hard to sell. Losses were to be predicted. It seemed as if everything was proceeding smoothly with Huang Sibo as well!