Afternoon.
The second employee to be interviewed was Bao Xu.
Xia Jiang had already figured out the pattern, so this interview proceeded more smoothly.
“You were once seen as a gaming-addicted youth, living in internet cafés year-round, without any goals, living an aimless life, correct?”
“So later, how did you come to Tenda?”
“Your first job was conceptual design for games, a very crucial position because conceptual design is the soul of a game. Why do you think you were given this position at that time?”
“Tenda has an ‘Outstanding Employee’ selection. Although you came in second place, you still received a month of paid vacation travel. How did you feel about that at the time?”
“You won second place in the ‘Outstanding Employee’ selection twice in a row. In your first year of working, you spent two months on paid travel vacations. This is quite enviable, so why did you find it troubling?”
Soon, Bao Xu’s interview was also completed.
Next was Lin Wan.
“Why did you choose to leave Tianhua Studio and come to Tenda, which had just been established?”
During your first few months at Tenda, you were doing very basic work. Later, you were suddenly transferred to the newly acquired Shangyang Games as director, which was quite a challenging task. What do you think was the reason for this transfer?”
“When you took over Shangyang Games, it was a poorly performing operation. When ‘Hot-Blooded Battle Song’ was first launched as a micro-client, its performance was similarly poor, and it only became a hit after being made into a mobile game. So, how did you come up with the idea to make a mobile version?”
“Now that you’ve proven your abilities, what’s your next goal?”
…
…
October 22, Friday.
Yesterday, all the interviews with Tenda employees had been completed.
According to the original schedule, the interview team would stay in Jingzhou on Friday and Saturday, eating, drinking, and playing around. On Saturday evening, they would have a final meal at Mingyun Private Kitchen, and then receive farewell gifts on Sunday before being sent off to the airport.
Only after knowing that all interviews had been completed did Pei Qian dare to show his face at the company.
During this time, Pei Qian had also indirectly asked Huang Sibo and Lü Mingliang about the interviews. After learning that they had all strictly followed his instructions and not revealed anything about Mr. Pei, he felt slightly relieved.
As for what the final interview would look like…
Pei Qian couldn’t quite imagine, but since his interview would only be in written form, his presence should be relatively minimal, right?
Of course, he couldn’t harbor too much wishful thinking.
This Editor Xia meant business and would likely give Pei Qian a huge buildup.
But Pei Qian thought about it and figured things shouldn’t be that bad.
After all, officials had arranged many similar special interviews before, and most up-and-coming star producers in the country had appeared in interviews, generally being praised extravagantly.
The purpose of these official interviews was to introduce outstanding designers and excellent game companies to players, so some promotion was reasonable.
But these interviews hadn’t produced very obvious effects. Posted on official platforms, they were at most considered good featured recommendations.
Pei Qian had some extreme thoughts, such as driving Xia Jiang and her team away.
But even a minimal amount of thought made it clear that this wasn’t possible.
Would he break ties with officials and media over this?
Was it worth it?
Others might wonder if Mr. Pei had gone mad.
He might not necessarily lose money, but he would tarnish his reputation, committing social suicide—truly a brainless move.
So Pei Qian could only resign himself to fate.
As the saying goes, don’t strike a smiling face. The journalist had traveled a long way for this special interview and was only saying nice things. Even if Pei Qian wanted to get angry, he couldn’t.
In the morning, Pei Qian arrived at the hotel and met with Editor Xia and her team again.
“Editor Xia, did the interviews go smoothly?”
“I’m sorry, work has been a bit busy lately, and I couldn’t properly cooperate with the interview work.”
Pei Qian spoke casually, lying through his teeth with an unchanged expression.
After all, he was a habitual offender. Life had forcibly molded Mr. Pei into a method actor.
Xia Jiang smiled and shook her head. “Mr. Pei, please don’t say that.”
“Mr. Pei has worked tirelessly and diligently, making enormous contributions to the domestic gaming industry and Jingzhou’s local economic development. You are truly a model of an excellent entrepreneur.”
“It’s also a great honor for me to be able to interview Mr. Pei.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Pei, the interview was very successful. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied when the report comes out!”
Pei Qian’s heart skipped a beat, sensing trouble.
If Xia Jiang had grabbed his hand, hoping to reshoot a few scenes or ask a few more questions, it would indicate that the report might not turn out too well.
But seeing Xia Jiang’s confident appearance now, Pei Qian panicked.
What exactly did they record in the interview?
What would the final interview video look like?
He couldn’t imagine…
But Pei Qian couldn’t possibly ask them to redo the interview; that would be asking for trouble.
So Pei Qian could only curse in his heart while smiling. “Thank you for your hard work, Editor Xia! Please spend these two days playing more in Jingzhou and experiencing the local customs.”
“On Saturday, we’ve arranged a farewell banquet and some small gifts for everyone. Please also help us express our gratitude to the platform’s leaders.”
Xia Jiang quickly nodded. “Of course, Mr. Pei!”
“Enjoy yourselves, everyone. I still have work to do, so I won’t be able to accompany you.”
Pei Qian said goodbye to everyone and then left with Assistant Xin.
Walking out of the hotel lobby, Pei Qian said to Assistant Xin with a somber face: “Arrange for them to go to Jingzhou New World Amusement Park—roller coaster, drop tower, pendulum ride, haunted house, bungee jumping… arrange it all! Make sure everyone has a good time, don’t neglect them!”
“The day after tomorrow, prepare a skydiving activity for everyone. Make sure they get a good taste of Jingzhou’s local customs!”
…
The headache-inducing interview was finally over.
Now Pei Qian felt like an elementary school student who had just finished an exam. His mindset was essentially, “Although I don’t know if I’ll pass, at least I filled in all the blank spaces.”
Anyway, whatever the final interview turned out to be like, he would leave it to fate!
Back at the company, Pei Qian channeled his grief into motivation and continued working on the activities for the 1024 Digital Festival.
During these days of interviews, the staff at Headwind Logistics and Slackin’ Internet Café had been busy with preliminary preparations.
Now there were only two days left until October 24th, and the preparations were almost complete.
Zhang Yuan had already rented warehouses near several Slackin’ Internet Cafés, as well as a large warehouse in the cheaper outskirts of Jingzhou, specifically for storing various computer components.
Of course, so many locations could not possibly be filled just with computer components and peripherals, since there wouldn’t be that many customers initially, and there was no need to stock that much inventory.
But Pei Qian didn’t find anything inappropriate about this. If the warehouse wasn’t full, so be it—wasting space meant wasting money, which was cause for celebration.
Besides this, considering the enormous pressure brought by the activities, Pei Qian had also made preparations.
Slackin’ Delivery and Headwind Logistics had recruited a large number of temporary workers and part-time staff, paid according to short-term workload.
After all, during the promotional period, the workload for Slackin’ Delivery and Headwind Logistics might be very heavy. Even with the incentive of extra bonuses, the current delivery and courier personnel might not be able to handle it all.
If deliveries became too slow or packages piled up, that would be problematic.
Not because it would damage their reputation, but mainly because it might affect the money-losing effect.
Any potential risk that might reduce Mr. Pei’s losses had to be eliminated early!
The 1024 Digital Festival was scheduled from October 24th to October 31st.
During the promotion, all dishes on Slackin’ Delivery would have certain discounts, with free delivery.
Using Headwind Station to send packages would result in reduced shipping fees, and the commission for door-to-door deliveries would be entirely canceled.
ROF custom computers offered three price tiers, and during the promotion, all computers would be sold at component prices.
There was also a free upgrade promotion—the first 100 customers and randomly selected lucky customers afterward could enjoy a free upgrade from 7,999 to 11,999, or from 11,999 to 15,999.
The high-end 15,999 computers had no upgrade option but would directly rebate 4,000 yuan, equivalent to buying a 15,999 computer at the price of 11,999.
Slackin’ Internet Café would hold regular lucky draws, randomly giving away a computer.
Although these activities were being prepared, the promotional efforts for different activities varied completely.
Slackin’ Delivery, Headwind Station, and ROF custom computers had already begun aggressive promotion, spending a considerable amount on advertising.
The activity page was already up on the Slackin’ Delivery app, and delivery personnel would include a promotional flyer with the meals.
Similarly, Headwind Logistics couriers would include an activity flyer when delivering packages. Meanwhile, Lü Mingliang had also contacted various courier companies in advance, asking them to direct packages to their service during the promotion.
Slackin’ Internet Café promoted the ROF computer discounts.
But some activities weren’t promoted at all, such as the Slackin’ Internet Café’s lucky draw giving away computers.
This would not be widely publicized. Lucky winners would be notified privately afterward to prevent the news from spreading.
After making these arrangements, Pei Qian felt the burden on his shoulders lighten a bit.
Although many details hadn’t been worked out perfectly so far, Pei Qian felt he could take a short break.
With such significant discounts, they were sure to lose a substantial amount of money.
The official settlement date was October 31st, and no new projects would launch between the 24th and 31st, as that would delay the settlement.
Considering the current profitable projects, Pei Qian thought losing seven or eight hundred thousand this time should be a piece of cake, right?
With this thought, Pei Qian leaned back in his chair with peace of mind, preparing to rest and watch some shows.
Always busy with work, even the hardworking Mr. Pei would eventually need a break.
However, at that moment, he received a message on his phone from Li Yada.
“Mr. Pei! The English and Japanese versions of ‘Turn Back to Shore’ have been translated and proofread. Officials have decided to launch them on the international version of the official platform tomorrow! There will be excellent promotional resources, so Mr. Pei, you might want to pay attention to this.”
???
Pei Qian looked at his phone, falling into a daze.
Damn! I forgot about this!
The official platform settled accounts once a week, with income received on Monday.
Today was Friday. If officials launched the international version of “Turn Back to Shore” on Saturday, then the income from Saturday and Sunday would be received on Monday—another unexpected windfall…
Pei Qian fell silent.
Five minutes later, he reopened the previous activity spreadsheet and began making adjustments with a bitter expression.
Forget about resting—he had to keep working!!