Chapter 15 Dinner Party

At this moment, Pei Qian was at the Ming Mansion Family Banquet, dining with all the club owners of the GPL league.

Including the original owners of league spots like H4 Club, everyone was present, raising their glasses and making for a lively atmosphere.

After the auction ended, Lin Chang, Li Shi, and others had already eaten at the Nameless Restaurant, but Pei Qian had excused himself from that one, and Zhang Yuan had handled the reception.

Mainly, he was afraid of being hurt a second time.

As for tonight's dinner, he really couldn't refuse.

Pei Qian figured that he had to meet these owners and get acquainted. At the same time, he needed to clearly communicate the GPL rules to everyone.

Moreover, four days had passed since the auction, so the chances of his wounds being reopened were low. The main topic would be the GPL rules, so it was a good time to meet.

This place was jointly opened by Li Shi and Xue Zhebbin. Although the dishes were slightly inferior to the Nameless Restaurant, the place was bigger, everyone was family so they could book the whole venue, and it was more relaxed.

Now, the GPL rules had been announced. The owners were eating and chatting, casually discussing the GPL rules, creating a harmonious scene.

Li Shi looked at the GPL rules issued by President Pei, discussing the clauses with Xue Zhebbin sitting next to him.

"See, I told you so."

"When others collect money, they're lining their own pockets. But when President Pei collects money, it's always for a more far-reaching goal."

"Look, President Pei took the money we paid for the spots and actually divided it into three parts: building youth training bases for the clubs, supporting the development of the GDL and internet cafe competitions, and maintaining the normal operation of the GPL league."

"If it were a normal organizer, they would definitely take a portion of the money to operate the GPL league and pocket the rest."

"Of course, it's understandable that the organizer makes money by selling spots based on their ability, but objectively speaking, that kind of behavior is too shortsighted!"

"In contrast, President Pei takes the clubs' money and invests it all in the league, supporting the entire underlying structure."

"Those talented players can first play on the ladder, then start from the internet cafe competitions, then go to the GDL or the youth training teams of various clubs… every step can be taken solidly."

"And the standardized contracts ensure that they don't have to worry about being scammed, so talent won't be buried."

"Once such a system is established, it can continuously supply blood to the GPL league, it's too perfect!"

Xue Zhebbin nodded frequently as he listened: "Indeed."

"But President Li, if all the money is spent in these areas, what about league promotion? What about the clubs' financial investment? These two aspects might be lacking, right?"

"Although the league system is very important in the long run, we can't ignore the most urgent problems in front of us!"

Li Shi smiled slightly: "This is the difference between ordinary people and President Pei's thinking."

"First level of thinking: Make money by selling spots, enrich your own pockets."

"Second level of thinking: See President Pei using this money to seek long-term benefits."

"Third level of thinking: See both long-term benefits and immediate benefits."

"But President Pei is on an even higher level, because he knows very well that long-term benefits must be achieved with money, while immediate benefits can actually be achieved without money!"

"So, President Pei is not ignoring the most urgent problems in front of us, but is preparing another set of solutions."

Xue Zhebbin was a little confused: "Really? But how can you solve it without money?"

The GPL league needs to be promoted, and the clubs' infrastructure needs to be built, all of which require money.

Li Shi explained: "What President Pei possesses is not just money, but also other resources, such as reputation, trust, and attention!"

"The long-term benefits of the GPL league cannot be guaranteed with these things. For example, if you want to support the GDL and youth training, attention is useless, no one will spend money on these, only President Pei can spend his own money."

"But the immediate benefits of the GPL league can be realized with reputation, trust, and attention!"

"The so-called immediate benefits are nothing more than the initial popularity and attention of the GPL league, as well as the construction of the clubs."

"Now look at the people sitting here, what kind of combination is it?"

"There are old domestic clubs, there are meritorious veterans of the first GOG Global Finals, there are nationally known large enterprises such as Shenhua Real Estate and Jinding Group, and there are ordinary participants like us who, although neither rich nor famous, fully support and cooperate with President Pei."

"There's no need for promotion at all, just announcing this list is enough to offset tens of millions in promotional expenses!"

"In other words, the GPL league is already popular before it even starts, so what does it matter if there is a little more or less promotional funding?"

"What's more, this time, President Pei's turmoil with those three clubs has lasted for more than half a month, which on the one hand has continuously increased the popularity of the GPL league, and on the other hand has conveyed a very clear signal to the outside world."

"The audience trusts President Pei, but those capitalists may not. Many people believe that President Pei can make good games, but they don't trust him to run a league well."

"And through this incident, President Pei used extremely iron-fisted methods to prove that he has absolute control over the GPL!"

"The three clubs were kicked out as soon as he said so, and the remaining clubs are all unconditionally cooperating. At the same time, President Pei does not implement a promotion and relegation system, and invests a lot of money in the underlying training system, which is actually giving a clear signal: the GPL is going to be a long-term project!"

"With multiple signals combined, sponsors don't have to worry about their money going down the drain, so they will naturally sponsor the clubs and the GPL league."

"This is President Pei's brilliance: on the surface, he is spending money for long-term benefits, but in reality, he is spreading a signal, and this signal has won more money, solving even the short-term problems."

"Newbies make choices, experts choose everything!"

"We'll wait and see, it won't be long before sponsors come knocking on our door."

Li Shi had already drunk some wine before, and was a little tipsy. At this time, his face was slightly red, and he was extremely satisfied with his analysis.

"I see!" Xue Zhebbin suddenly understood and tried hard to digest it.

Pei Qian was eating his food in silence.

Everyone was talking, either talking loudly or whispering, and these voices, in Pei Qian's ears, filled him with unease.

Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated, it was Qiu Hong calling.

Pei Qian knew that something important must have happened. He also wanted to get some fresh air, so he got up and went outside to answer the phone.

…

Arriving at a relatively quiet corner outside, Pei Qian answered the phone.

On the phone, Qiu Hong briefly introduced the situation with Wu Zhicheng.

"President Pei, that's roughly the situation."

"My consideration is that the most critical issue now is not actually money. Although independent game developers also lack money, they also lack other things."

"Especially various supporting facilities, which require large investments and have slow results, which is a difficult problem to solve."

"So, for Wu Zhicheng's situation, I'm not sure what exactly to do."

"I've decided to invest money in him, but I haven't figured out how to invest it specifically."

"If it's just giving money, the project can still be completed, but I always feel like something is missing."

"President Pei, I have a not-so-mature idea about basic supporting facilities."

Hearing this, Pei Qian's eyes lit up instantly.

Basic supporting facilities require large investments and have slow results?

That's a good thing!

For independent game developers, as long as they have money, they can make the game. Whether the working environment is good or bad is not very important.

Many independent game developers have created good works in messy working environments.

Since it doesn't matter much, why not arrange a better environment for them?

This should be a typical high-input, low-output situation, right?

Isn't this exactly what I like the most?

Pei Qian immediately said: "Just tell me directly, how much money do you need for this not-so-mature idea?"

Hearing President Pei being so straightforward, Qiu Hong hesitated for a moment: "Uh… President Pei, my idea is this."

"In big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, we can open incubation bases similar to 'co-working spaces'. Of course, Jingzhou can also open one."

"For similar startup bases, we will uniformly recruit administrative and financial staff, whose job is to serve every independent game developer and help them solve a series of problems other than game development."

"At the same time, we can also provide some guidance to their work, such as simply teaching them how to develop a development plan, contact artists, make financial statements, and so on."

"Game developers can also get to know each other and communicate with each other."

"For such an incubation base, the daily water and electricity, employee salaries, rent, etc., will add up to at least two to three hundred thousand per month, and the specific expenses will depend on the number of workstations, location, and other factors."

Pei Qian frowned: "Two to three hundred thousand? This doesn't conform to the spirit of Tengda at all!"

"Did you only calculate the workstation rent, the employees' basic company, and water and electricity bills?"

"You didn't calculate office computers, did you? You didn't calculate employee benefits, did you? Independent game developers work so hard, it's not too much to give them a basic income to maintain their daily lives, is it?"

"Incubation base is a good thing, open it!"

"The Impoverishment Plan will continue as usual, and those companies will be supported as they should be. As for the incubation base, I will allocate extra money to you, spend it lavishly!"

Pei Qian was very happy, Qiu Hong was indeed capable, and came up with a new way to spend money so quickly!

…

Qiu Hong hung up the phone and couldn't help but sigh.

President Pei is truly an entrepreneur who loves the game industry and can make real-time, decisive decisions!

The problem that I was so entangled with, President Pei easily made a decision and came up with a solution.

He looked at Wu Zhicheng: "Your game has been invested in by the Impoverishment Plan!"

"In addition, we will also provide you with office space and some necessary assistance, hoping to work together to make this game well."

Wu Zhicheng's mouth opened slightly, feeling that this scene seemed a little unreal.

After a few seconds of愣, he said: "Thank you, President Qiu! Thank you so much!"

Qiu Hong smiled with some emotion: "No, we all have to thank President Pei."