May 21st.

Pei Qian reviewed the report sent by Ye Zhizhou, noting that Shangyang Games was still in a state of stable loss, showing absolutely no sign of improvement.

In the report, Ye Zhizhou provided detailed information about the increase in active players and payment rates, clearly presenting these as successful performance metrics to report to Mr. Pei.

Of course, all these achievements were completed under Mr. Pei’s guidance.

Pei Qian didn’t pay any attention to these details, but instead looked directly at the total recharge column.

Hmm, still no improvement whatsoever!

Pei Qian had already anticipated this and responded as usual: “Good, keep it up.”

Ye Zhizhou continued working with abundant enthusiasm.

Pei Qian was fairly satisfied with Shangyang Games’ current state. After all, whether the reputation was good or bad didn’t matter; as long as Pei Qian kept a close eye on it and the game’s recharge amount didn’t increase, everything would be fine.

Ye Zhizhou still thought that everything was under Mr. Pei’s control.

The fact was indeed so, except that what Mr. Pei was controlling and what Ye Zhizhou thought Mr. Pei was controlling were two completely different matters.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

There was a knock at the door.

Pei Qian looked up and saw Huang Sibo.

“Oh? A rare visitor.”

Having not seen him for a long time, Pei Qian’s slight resentment toward Huang Sibo had largely subsided.

Come to think of it, Fei Huang Studio hadn’t done anything that betrayed him!

Although they had made nearly two million, according to Pei Qian’s profit-sharing method, only about four hundred thousand went to Tenda. Moreover, Director Zhu Xiaocai had paid Pei Qian a substantial appearance fee and provided a good excuse for buying home appliances.

So Pei Qian wasn’t angry anymore.

Huang Sibo brought a bag of fruit: “I was passing by and thought I’d drop in to see you and say goodbye, Mr. Pei.”

“Oh? Goodbye?” Pei Qian was confused. “Where are you going?”

Huang Sibo smiled: “We confirmed earlier that Fei Huang Studio would be shooting a documentary. Director Zhu Xiaocai, I, and some of the crew are going to Shanghai for a while. The entire filming process will take place there, possibly lasting until next month.”

“So, I came to see you before leaving and let you know.”

Going to Shanghai?

Pei Qian nodded: “Hmm, Shanghai is a good place.”

He knew well that going to Shanghai would be quite expensive!

Even excluding the post-production personnel, Fei Huang Studio still had five or six people. The round-trip train tickets, accommodation, and other expenses for this group going to Shanghai wouldn’t be cheap.

Pei Qian hadn’t provided Fei Huang Studio with follow-up funding, so all the production costs for this shoot would come from the profits of “Mr. Pei’s Daily Life.” All told, it was only about one million yuan, and part of that money would be used to upgrade camera equipment.

Shooting short videos like “Mr. Pei’s Daily Life” could be done with a DSLR, could be shot in vertical format, and could make do with less-than-ideal equipment, but for shooting documentaries, they needed proper professional equipment, otherwise, it would look very unprofessional.

Thinking about this, Pei Qian became less resistant and even a bit interested.

Although he had mentally prepared himself that Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaocai’s new project would most likely make money, Pei Qian still needed to inquire about it.

After all, making a little money and making a lot of money were quite different matters.

If they made a little money, he could still compensate with other projects; if they made a lot of money, then Mr. Pei would be finished.

“Well, be careful on your journey,” Pei Qian asked casually, “What kind of documentary are you shooting that requires going all the way to Shanghai?”

Huang Sibo smiled somewhat sheepishly: “Mr. Pei, I’ll be honest with you, and please don’t take offense. The subject we’re filming this time is very likely to be a total loss.”

Hmm?

A total loss?

Mr. Pei immediately sat up straight.

If you want to talk about this with me, then I’m certainly not tired anymore!

“Here, have some tea.” Pei Qian promptly poured a cup of tea for Huang Sibo, and his attitude completely changed.

Huang Sibo didn’t notice the change in Mr. Pei’s demeanor. Sipping his tea, he briefly explained Fei Huang Studio’s recent work arrangements.

“Mr. Pei, Director Zhu Xiaocai, and I were deeply moved by your words and decided to step out of our comfort zone of short videos to do something truly meaningful.”

“Afterward, we considered many directions, but always felt something was missing.”

“Some subjects are what we excel at, some subjects are what we think could make money, but none felt particularly urgent—like something we had to do.”

“Later, we finally found a subject that we felt compelled to pursue—a documentary about esports players!”

Pei Qian became more interested: “A documentary about esports players?”

Huang Sibo wasn’t lying; this subject did have a high probability of being a total loss!

What year was it now? 2010!

Current esports players were still sleeping on curbs, drinking tap water, and eating instant noodles.

Nothing like ten years later, when they would have red wine, models, Ferraris, and annual salaries in the tens of millions.

Hot investment capital hadn’t yet entered the field, games were still viewed as a scourge on society, and gamers—whether professional or casual—were generally regarded the same way by most people, described with four characters that meant “not engaged in proper work.”

Making a documentary about esports players now—sure, it could be done, suitable material could be found, but once made, how would it generate revenue?

“Mr. Pei’s Daily Life” could make money because the AiLiDao website happened to be looking for quality video content, so they signed a special profit-sharing agreement.

Short videos could be continuously updated to drive traffic to the website, with exclusive broadcast rights. After three seasons, the accumulated IP and reputation were bargaining chips that could be used with video websites.

But documentaries were different.

First, there might not be many people interested.

Second, they couldn’t be continuously updated to drive traffic to the website, so naturally, it would be impossible to sign exclusive broadcast agreements or profit-sharing deals with websites. At most, they could participate in basic incentive programs, like getting twenty or thirty yuan for every ten thousand views.

Third, they couldn’t include advertisements or sponsorships.

Documentaries were very rigorous; their value came from their authenticity. You couldn’t be interviewing a player and suddenly insert an advertisement saying, “Want to win? Sit on Awesome Phones!”

Most documentaries simply didn’t make money, with few exceptions.

Like “A Bite of China.”

When Pei Qian first heard that Huang Sibo and his team wanted to make a documentary, he was genuinely worried they might be making something like “A Bite of China,” but now he was assured they weren’t.

It made sense when he thought about it. Zhu Xiaocai certainly had talent, but he wasn’t a time traveler.

Creating one hit was a sign of skill.

Creating many consecutive hits would be cheating.

Hearing this, Pei Qian felt much more at ease.

Regardless of how they shot this documentary, as long as the investment was high and the return low, it was a good project.

Pei Qian’s expression immediately became much warmer: “A total loss? That’s nothing to worry about. Fei Huang Studio has me to back you up, so feel free to go all out!”

“What’s money anyway? We can’t live so vulgarly!”

Sipping his tea, Huang Sibo’s face also beamed with a smile: “Indeed, I knew Mr. Pei would support us!”

“Rest assured, Mr. Pei, we’re very aware of the risks of this project, so we plan to take the slow train to Shanghai, and as for accommodation and meals, we’ll try to save wherever possible…”

Before Huang Sibo could finish, Pei Qian’s face immediately fell.

“What do you mean?”

Huang Sibo was startled; he rarely saw Mr. Pei get angry. Stuttering, he said, “N-nothing, just controlling costs a bit…”

Pei Qian looked exasperated: “Controlling costs? Huang Sibo, understand your position!”

Huang Sibo was shocked, his teacup wobbling in his hand.

It was rare to see Mr. Pei so angry. Had he said something wrong?

Pei Qian spoke sternly: “Fei Huang Studio is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tenda, and you, along with all employees of Fei Huang Studio, are Tenda employees! You want them to take the slow train and skimp on accommodations and food? What if someone gets sick?”

“Even if they don’t get sick because they’re in good health, traveling like that would exhaust them. Not eating or sleeping well affects work efficiency. If the video quality suffers, the work isn’t completed smoothly, and a good documentary is ruined, who takes responsibility?”

Huang Sibo felt his hands trembling slightly: “M-me, I guess.”

“No, no, no, no…” Huang Sibo realized he had been led astray by Mr. Pei, “Mr. Pei, don’t worry, I’m just saving costs, not being an exploitative contractor. The employees’ health is guaranteed…”

Pei Qian looked utterly disappointed: “You’ve completely disgraced Tenda! How have I been teaching by example?”

Huang Sibo was speechless.

Pei Qian spoke seriously: “Listen to me. Take flights both ways—time is money, understand? For food and accommodation, follow the standard business travel arrangements. If you don’t know the specific standards, ask Assistant Xin.”

“When you get to Shanghai, don’t rush. If you can’t finish filming, extend your stay. Take it slow, as long as you can complete it before June 18th, that’s fine.”

“An extension just means spending a bit more on accommodation. How much could that cost? If you need money, ask me. It’s not a big deal.”

“Remember, Fei Huang Studio is backed by Tenda. Whatever difficulties you face, just speak up!”

Huang Sibo nodded hurriedly: “Yes, Mr. Pei, I’ll do as you say.”

Only then did Pei Qian’s expression soften slightly. He nodded and said earnestly, “You’re a long-time employee of Tenda now. Don’t make me worry about such trivial matters.”

“Still planning to take the slow train to Shanghai? Tenda doesn’t have such embarrassing employees!”

Huang Sibo’s face reddened slightly, feeling deeply ashamed: “Yes, Mr. Pei is right. From now on, Fei Huang Studio will follow Tenda’s footsteps and adhere to your standards.”

Only then did Pei Qian nod with satisfaction: “Hmm, that’s better. Remember, if you encounter any difficulties, be sure to report them to me immediately!”

After repeated reminders, Pei Qian was finally satisfied.

This guy Huang Sibo—taking a good project that could lose a decent amount of money and trying to control costs!

Despite repeated instructions, there were still people being so stingy, and longtime Tenda employees at that!

This made Mr. Pei feel extremely exhausted.