After hanging up the phone, Pei Qian found Ruan Guangjian’s phone number.

But before calling, Pei Qian had an impulse to search for the keyword “shared phone booth” on Baidu.

Results quickly appeared, with a large portion coming from local Jingzhou residents’ posts on forums and Weibo.

“Today, some genius came up with an excellent entrepreneurial idea—shared phone booths! Scan the code and you can go in to make calls!”

“Are they insane? If you have a phone to scan the code, why not just use your phone to make calls?”

“Hilarious, I even took a photo with it. Feels like a piece of performance art. [Photo]”

“This shabby phone booth is quite large, but why does it feel handmade? Is this an industrial product? The details seem a bit sloppy.”

“Is this… paying to be imprisoned, with people watching you through glass?”

Pei Qian glanced through the comments and felt more reassured.

Look, the masses have sharp eyes!

Since this phone booth was so poorly received and so unprofitable, he would have Ruan Guangjian paint several more, turning these phone booths into purely public welfare cultural symbols.

Mmm, delightful!

With this in mind, Pei Qian dialed Ruan Guangjian’s number.

……

……

January 10th, Monday.

Ruan Guangjian had temporarily settled his work at Shangyang Games, provided modification suggestions to both the in-house art team and outsourced art teams, and then went to a nearby art supply market to buy essential materials like brushes and paints before heading to Huanyu Tiangjie Mall.

Being Monday, the mall’s foot traffic was somewhat lighter.

Even so, there were still quite a few people taking photos beside the shared phone booth.

Perhaps after yesterday’s ridiculous news about the “shared phone booth” had spread, many people came out of curiosity.

As soon as Ruan Guangjian came up the escalator, he saw a muscular man with long hair approaching him.

“Master! Hello, hello!”

“The master is so young, quite different from what I imagined.”

Zhang Wang had been waiting there. Seeing Ruan Guangjian carrying various painting supplies, he immediately identified him as the artist Mr. Pei had invited.

However, in appearance, Ruan Guangjian didn’t match Zhang Wang’s image of artists who typically had long hair and beards, nor did he have earrings, ear studs, tattoos, or similar decorations. He looked clean and neat, no different from an ordinary student.

It was Zhang Wang himself with his flowing long hair who better fit the common perception of an artist.

Ruan Guangjian looked at the shared phone booth, which didn’t appear much different from the photo, except that seeing it in person made it seem larger.

After Ruan Guangjian had examined the phone booth up and down, Zhang Wang asked expectantly: “Master, how long would a painting like this take?”

Ruan Guangjian thought for a moment: “That can’t be generalized.”

“Painting is a creative process with great variation in time. If it’s a simple oil painting, with the content already conceptualized and the painter’s technique well-practiced, it might be completed in about ten hours.”

“But if a master is painting a high-standard oil painting, it could take a year, three years, five years—there’s no upper limit.”

“This includes time for research, creation, modifications, etc. There’s no limit.”

Zhang Wang quickly said: “Three to five years? That’s not necessary. Just paint casually. Master, if the painting is too good, I’m worried someone might steal it.”

“After all, this phone booth can be disassembled.”

“But with the mall’s security guards helping to watch over it, that possibility is quite small, haha.”

Zhang Wang made a lame joke, but Ruan Guangjian didn’t quite get the humor.

However, one thing was clear: this painting didn’t need to be too elaborate; it wasn’t meant to be treated as a top-tier artwork.

But it also couldn’t be too casual, since Mr. Pei was being generous, and as a close friend, how could he shortchange Mr. Pei?

Ruan Guangjian pondered: “I heard this is just the first one, and there will be 20 phone booths in total?”

Zhang Wang nodded: “Yes, the others are still in production.”

Ruan Guangjian examined the size of the paintable area on the phone booth and asked: “Do you have any ideas about what theme to paint?”

Zhang Wang shook his head vigorously, emphasizing his lack of opinion: “No! It’s entirely up to you, Master!”

Ruan Guangjian considered carefully: “Hmm… to paint twenty pieces, and each one requires significant work.”

“After all, this painting is nearly two meters tall, so the workload is at least three to four times that of a regular oil painting.”

“Even if I can use my style and not be so meticulous about details, completing one painting would still take three to four days.”

“And that’s assuming I’m very familiar and practiced with what I’m painting.”

“Moreover, since this phone booth is a project invested in by Mr. Pei, shouldn’t the painting theme be somewhat related to Mr. Pei’s company?”

“Considering this, there don’t seem to be many suitable themes…”

“I’ve got it!”

Ruan Guangjian suddenly had a flash of inspiration, thinking of a good idea.

He could paint the hero concept art from GOG!

As it happened, the first batch of GOG heroes included more than twenty characters, and their concept art was already completed.

These designs were created by Ruan Guangjian himself, having undergone repeated revisions. Painting them again would be familiar territory.

Moreover, these concept arts belonged to Tenda’s new game, and the phone booth was also an industry invested in by Mr. Pei, creating a very close connection between the two.

Hero concept art, compared to traditional oil painting subjects, would also be more appealing and interesting to young people visiting the mall.

The more Ruan Guangjian thought about it, the more suitable it seemed.

The only thing that needed modification was the specific expression form of the concept art.

Originally, GOG’s concept art was very detailed and figurative because modelers needed to create game models based on it. If some areas were painted too vaguely, modelers would have to fill in the details themselves.

But here, the paintings could be viewed as conceptual or promotional art, allowing for more artistic expression.

Ruan Guangjian considered using his style with thick-painting techniques. On one hand, this would blur those details, saving time, and on the other hand, it would enhance the artistic nature of the painting, making it more eye-catching.

With that in mind, Ruan Guangjian prepared to begin work.

As for which GOG hero should be painted first…

Was there even a need to consider?

……

In the office, Pei Qian yawned.

There were fewer than three months left until the settlement period.

Many projects were running simultaneously, but by next week, the film should officially wrap up shooting, and a rough cut version should be ready before the end of the month. According to the current progress, GOG could also release a beta test version by the end of the month to test the waters.

For the haunted house, completing everything was certainly impossible. The two largest projects might not even be finished before this settlement, but one or two of the smaller projects from the second major project should be ready by the end of this month.

At that time, let Ruan Guangjian experience it first, to dampen his enthusiasm!

In any case, looking at his schedule, Pei Qian realized this week would be relatively leisurely compared to the upcoming period. He needed to seize this time to read books and review.

What if Old Ma passed the exam on his ability, while Mr. Pei still had to rely on spending money to pass? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

And looking at Junior Tang, aside from scooping litter and feeding cats, she sat quietly at her desk reading books all day. Surely getting a scholarship would be effortless for her.

Pei Qian couldn’t help but sigh: “Ah, if only I could pay someone else to study for me.”

“I can only say, knowledge is priceless!”

While Pei Qian was lamenting, he realized another half hour had passed. He quickly opened his notes and began reviewing.

After studying for less than an hour, someone knocked on the door.

Pei Qian looked up and saw Ma Yiqun.

“Is there something?” Pei Qian was slightly annoyed at having his study interrupted, but knowing that Ma Yiqun didn’t visit often and must have important business, he didn’t say much.

Ma Yiqun said: “It’s like this, Mr. Pei. Endpoint Chinese Website has made another sum of money recently…”

Pei Qian: “???”

Can’t you all stop secretly making money without warning? Can’t you give me some psychological preparation?

Pei Qian had thought he could have a relatively peaceful week, but unexpected issues arose again.

Since its creation, Endpoint Chinese Website had gone through several development stages and was now turning a profit.

From initially increasing full-attendance prices and protecting the rights of grassroots writers;

To later subsidize mid-tier authors, allowing them to earn income on par with premium authors;

Subsequently, collaborating with “Turn Back to Shore,” unifying Tenda accounts, and directing a large number of Tenda game players to the website.

After this period of operation, the website’s traffic increased. Although the overall scale of the website and the income of top authors still couldn’t compare with industry leaders, at least the mid-to-low-tier authors were living comfortably.

So, how to spend the earned money became an issue.

“Don’t submit it. Just spend it yourselves.” Following the principle of “who pollutes, who governs, who earns, who spends,” Pei Qian casually instructed Ma Yiqun.

“Ah, alright, Mr. Pei.” Ma Yiqun knew Mr. Pei would likely react this way, but what Mr. Pei said was one thing, and what he would do was another.

Even knowing Mr. Pei would mostly let the website invest this money into website development, this process of seeking approval couldn’t be skipped.

After all, this was different from the website’s joint activities and involved a sum of money.

If it were like the previous joint activities with “Turn Back to Shore,” Ma Yiqun, as the person in charge of the website, could make the decision himself because it wouldn’t cost much.

“Wait a moment.”

Just as Ma Yiqun was about to turn and leave, Mr. Pei called him back.

Pei Qian casually asked: “How do you plan to spend this money?”

He originally didn’t intend to inquire about these matters, but Pei Qian suddenly realized that not asking might not be appropriate…

Letting Ma Yiqun spend money freely, who could guarantee he would spend it on useless things?

So Pei Qian decided to ask a few more questions.

Ma Yiqun smiled: “Mr. Pei, I’ve considered it.”

Currently, our website is quite attractive to mid-to-low-tier authors, and we’ve also attracted some loyal Tenda game players. The game channel is very popular, creating a sort of ‘closed fan community’ effect.”

“I believe the current key issue is the lack of top-tier authors!”

“So, I’m considering using this money to poach a few top-tier authors who aren’t satisfied with their current situation, especially those in niche categories who have talent but aren’t getting the recognition they deserve.”

“It might be hard to poach established stars, but for those authors earning thirty to fifty thousand a month who find it difficult to become stars, if we’re willing to spend money, we should be able to attract a few.”

Pei Qian fell silent.

It sounded extremely reliable!

If they could strategically poach a few potential authors, select the book with the best data, and then use all the website’s resources to promote it aggressively…

Perhaps they could take the Endpoint Chinese Website to the next level!

Thinking of this, Pei Qian cleared his throat and said: “That’s not appropriate.”

“True masters rely on solid strength and good works to gather readers, not expecting to be built up by website resources.”

“Poaching authors from other sites requires high-priced buyouts. For authors, they may not adapt well to the new environment, and changes in the reader base might not sustain their previous popularity. For the website, high-priced buyouts offer poor value for money, and benefits are hard to guarantee.”

“If you sign a buyout and then demand that the book meet certain data standards, that’s somewhat unreasonable and ethically questionable. For authors, the appeal would also diminish.”

“In short, this approach isn’t wrong, but it doesn’t align with Endpoint Chinese Website’s development direction.”

“In my view, this money would be better spent on mid-tier and grassroots authors. If you want to create stars, you can cultivate them from your author pool. Why must you poach from other sites?”