After leaving the Shangyang Games, Pei Qian returned to Tenda.

There was still quite a bit of work that needed to be arranged gradually.

Besides the issues with Shangyang Games and Lin Wan, what troubled Pei Qian most was deciding what game Tenda’s game department should make next.

Up until now, Pei Qian truly felt a bit like a donkey at the end of its rope—no, more like completely helpless.

From “Sea Fortress” to “Game Producer” to “Turn Back to Shore,” Pei Qian had continuously directed Tenda’s game department to develop new game types, even changing the lead game designer three times.

But what good did it do?

None!

It seemed no matter how many changes he made, they never achieved the intended effect!

Pei Qian wanted to make a horror game to lose money, but he didn’t dare assign this task to Tenda.

He could only entrust it to Shangyang Games, which had little experience developing single-player games, for Pei Qian to feel slightly more at ease.

But now the problem was, what should he have these Tenda people do?

Whether making single-player games or online games, these people had relevant, successful game experience. If they continued, they would likely replicate their previous successes, which made Pei Qian deeply uneasy, no matter how he thought about it.

Maybe he should just give everyone paid leave?

But there wasn’t a good enough reason, especially since during the last cycle, all kinds of employee benefits had already been maximized to generate losses. Adding more would be extremely difficult.

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more confused he became. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn’t come up with a good solution.

He casually opened AiLiDao and started watching dramas.

After watching for a while, someone knocked on the door.

Pei Qian looked up and saw that Huang Sibo had arrived.

“Mr. Pei, I have good news to share with you!”

Pei Qian’s hand trembled, terrified by those three words, “good news.”

This guy is coming to backstab me again!

But then he thought, wait, the settlement period is already over!

The settlement’s done, so what am I afraid of?

Pei Qian’s mindset instantly stabilized, and he revealed a calm smile: “Oh? What good news? Is it about ‘A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor’?”

Huang Sibo looked somewhat excited and said: “That’s right! Mr. Pei, ‘A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor’ is finally starting to turn a profit!”

Pei Qian was surprised.

This show could turn a profit??

It wasn’t that Pei Qian looked down on this program; the key issue was that this type of show had strong limitations.

Although Fei Huang Studio produced short films, they always adhered to a pursuit of excellence. Whether it was costumes, makeup, props, post-production editing, or actors, everything was costly, making it one of the more expensive productions among web dramas.

And “A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor” had difficulty securing suitable sponsored advertisements.

If they were purely looking for sponsorships without considering the show’s quality, that would be simple.

But the Fei Huang Studio team strictly followed Mr. Pei’s requirements for producing videos, rejecting any sponsored content that would compromise the show’s quality. So they often released several episodes before finally securing a barely acceptable sponsorship.

Moreover, the props used in “A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor” were all particularly useless items.

Even if manufacturers approached them, it would be difficult to achieve a “sales-driving” effect through the videos; they would instead have a deterrent effect.

For example, the portable washing machine from the first episode—similar products did exist on the market, but after watching the video, it deterred a large number of consumers who had originally wanted to buy such a thing.

Until now, “A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor” had been updating regularly every week for more than two months, and they had now filmed up to the twelfth episode.

Although they had formed a very large base of regular viewers, they still lacked good monetization channels. Relying solely on AiLiDao’s video incentive program wasn’t nearly enough to sustain them.

So Pei Qian was puzzled—how could such a program achieve profitability?

Had AiLiDao spent big money on exclusive broadcasting rights?

Or had they secured many sponsored videos in succession?

Huang Sibo smiled and handed his phone to Pei Qian.

Pei Qian took it and saw that it was an online store!

The store was called “Edison’s Laboratory,” and opening the shop’s product listings, Pei Qian’s gaze quickly scanned through the merchandise catalog.

Finger Exercise Machine: Nowadays, we need our phones to tap screens every day, so keeping our fingers active is extremely important. Using this finger exercise machine, you can exercise your finger muscles during idle time every day, elevating your phone typing speed to new heights.

The image showed something like a miniature treadmill. After “standing” your index and middle fingers on it, you could move the belt underneath with your fingers. The small LCD at the top would change to record the duration and distance of the exercise.

LED Light Slippers: Put them on and step down firmly, and they will emit illuminating light. Mom no longer needs to worry about me going to the bathroom alone at night!

Sunlight Foot Bath Machine: Using sunlamp light instead of water, it promotes foot circulation through “sunbathing,” eliminating fatigue before bedtime. It also has a tanning effect!

Grass Slippers: Slippers covered with fluffy turf, giving you the feeling of walking on grass while wearing them.

Pasta Rotating Fork: The handle contains a battery and motor. With a light press, the fork head begins to rotate, effortlessly winding up pasta from the plate!

…

Pei Qian browsed through the store’s products from beginning to end and found that there were quite a few items, most of which had appeared in the videos before.

Looking at the product sales, some were particularly low, but others had transaction volumes in the hundreds or thousands.

The highest-selling items were related merchandise, such as a themed T-shirt that had sold over four thousand pieces.

A Q-version figurine of a great inventor had also sold more than seven hundred pieces.

Besides these, the store also sold snacks and small trinkets, like Q-version figurines, and these sales were surprisingly not low either!

With the store’s merchandise plus occasional sponsored advertisements, the video studio had indeed turned profitable!

Pei Qian revealed a relieved smile.

Great!

He wasn’t happy that Fei Huang Studio was turning a profit; he was simply glad that Fei Huang Studio had timed this very well.

They had turned profitable right after the settlement, without backstabbing him!

If they had turned profitable before the settlement, inexplicably adding tens of thousands more in funds, wouldn’t that have made Mr. Pei so angry he’d cough blood?

But now, Pei Qian felt completely at ease.

Just this little online store?

Not a big problem at all!

Seeing Mr. Pei display a faint smile, Huang Sibo also felt gratified, thinking that Fei Huang Studio’s approach of holding to their principles, not accepting inappropriate sponsored advertisements, and maintaining their reputation had won Mr. Pei’s approval!

However, the smile on Pei Qian’s face only lasted a very short time before disappearing.

Pei Qian suddenly realized that online stores weren’t safe either!

Although they weren’t making much now, the next few years would be the time for online stores to take off. Many retired professional players opened online stores, selling things like pork floss and earning millions per month. How much more could an online store managed by dedicated staff like Fei Huang Studio make?

He didn’t even need to think too far ahead—just following the current trend, Fei Huang Studio would accumulate a large sum of funds by the next settlement!

When that time came, wouldn’t he still have to rack his brains thinking about how to lose it all?

Oh no, he had been happy too soon!

Although he had escaped disaster in the last settlement cycle, Fei Huang Studio’s profitability problem still needed to be resolved within this cycle!

Pei Qian lightly coughed twice and handed the phone back to Huang Sibo.

“Not bad, but you need to keep improving.”

“What plans does Fei Huang Studio have for the near future?”

Huang Sibo smiled and said, “Director Zhu Xiaocai and I have discussed it briefly, and we’ve decided to continue filming ‘A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor,’ striving to develop it into a widely influential major IP!”

“The online store model also looks quite good, having achieved our initial goal of turning Fei Huang Studio profitable. We plan to keep improving and achieve even higher income!”

Pei Qian fell silent, not responding.

Huang Sibo’s heart skipped a beat as he detected a hint of displeasure from Mr. Pei.

Why?

Wasn’t Mr. Pei smiling just a moment ago? How did he become so serious in an instant?

Huang Sibo was, after all, one of the earliest employees to follow Mr. Pei, so he had this level of perception and understanding.

After a brief consideration, Huang Sibo quickly understood the reason.

“I understand.”

“Mr. Pei smiled earlier because he was happy that Fei Huang Studio and ‘A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor’ had turned profitable, which represented a kind of recognition of our work achievements.”

“But now your serious expression probably indicates dissatisfaction with our work plans for the near future!”

Huang Sibo couldn’t help but recall his many previous conversations with Mr. Pei.

Mr. Pei had repeatedly emphasized that one must always take a long-term view and never fixate on small immediate profits!

Although Fei Huang Studio was profitable, would Mr. Pei care about this small amount of money?

Probably not!

It seemed that Mr. Pei had higher expectations for Fei Huang Studio!

Pei Qian was still considering how to persuade Huang Sibo to make less money, but hadn’t come up with a good approach yet.

Instead, Huang Sibo spoke first.

“Mr. Pei, are you dissatisfied with Fei Huang Studio’s work plans for the near future?”

“Do you feel that Fei Huang Studio should produce better works, rather than fixating on immediate small profits?”

Pei Qian: “…”

Hmm? My employees have now learned to anticipate my thoughts.

He looked up at Huang Sibo’s extremely sincere eyes and silently nodded: “That’s right, that’s exactly what I meant!”

Huang Sibo revealed a gratified smile, secretly thinking that following Mr. Pei had indeed helped him improve, enabling him to think about issues from an increasingly higher perspective!

But his smile quickly faded.

“Mr. Pei, it’s not that we’re being short-sighted.”

“The key issue is that neither Director Zhu Xiaocai nor I has found a good direction, or even a ready-made idea.”

“If Mr. Pei could offer some guidance, that would be perfect!”

Looking at Huang Sibo’s expectant eyes, Pei Qian felt somewhat torn.

Asking me for ideas?

Aren’t you afraid of missing the whole year?

Well, that’s not quite right—the ideas I’ve given have all become popular, haven’t they?

Pei Qian was caught in a dilemma. If he didn’t provide an idea, Fei Huang Studio would continue filming “A Day in the Life of a Great Inventor.” Based on the current development trend, this online store’s sales would only increase, and the sponsored advertisements the videos received would also increase, definitely generating profit.

But if he did provide an idea, Pei Qian himself worried about what would happen if that idea became popular.