Chapter 103 What Do You Mean?

October 30th, Sunday afternoon.

Pei Qian was at Ming Yun Internet Cafe, sipping coffee while checking online public opinion on his laptop.

Sure enough, after those club managers took Tenda's regulations back, they started stirring up public opinion online.

Starting Friday evening, some people on Weibo and forums revealed that Tenda was preparing for the GPL league. Correspondingly, there was also news of "suspected Tenda exploiting clubs."

Some of these were influential big Vs, and some looked like ringleaders of internet trolls. They forwarded their respective messages. The source of the messages was untraceable, and naturally, no one knew which club they came from.

The content of these messages was similar, and almost all of them were accompanied by the original text of the regulations.

"Tenda is establishing an esports division and requires all clubs not to sign players privately. If disputes arise, they must accept Tenda's official mediation. Even the contracts cannot be freely negotiated by the clubs and players. They can only accept Tenda's unified standard terms. Isn't this too inhumane?"

"These clubs spent money and effort to organize the GOG World Invitational Tournament, and now they're turning their backs on them?"

"The relationship between clubs and the official organization should be mutually beneficial, with each having its own area of expertise. The game's official organization should focus on improving the game content and ensuring a fair and just esports environment. Excessive intervention will only make the esports environment rigid!"

"To ensure the rights and interests of the clubs, only when the interests of the major clubs are guaranteed can they participate in the GPL league without any worries. Otherwise, the club's investment may be in vain at any time. Which club would dare to participate? This is a triple loss for players, viewers, and clubs!"

"I think Tenda's official organization should seriously ensure the rights and interests of the major clubs, respect the professionalism and experience of each club in the esports industry, and play their respective roles well to ensure the healthy development of the domestic esports industry..."

Many people have forwarded similar content, with similar arguments.

They were just emphasizing that Tenda's GPL rules were numerous, imposed excessive restrictions on clubs, and in fact constituted exploitation of the clubs, which was not conducive to the healthy development of the entire esports industry. The clubs had united to call for resistance to this phenomenon…

Many clubs naturally forwarded similar views, expressing their concern about this.

They didn't say it explicitly, but the attitude was there.

Under these Weibo posts, players had different opinions.

Some agreed, some disagreed, and some just wanted to watch the drama.

"After looking at this clause, I think Tenda's starting point is good. They want to regulate the esports environment, but they don't realize that without the support of the clubs, what will happen to the league? Clubs are partners, and they can't be exploited!"

"Yeah, Tenda is obviously doing this for its own benefit, exploiting the clubs too harshly. Now, the clubs have united to oppose it. How will the GPL continue?"

"I think Tenda is too anxious. There's no need for that. They still have to give the clubs some room to survive."

"What are you guys talking about upstairs? Tenda didn't hinder the clubs from making money. Endorsements, competitions, sponsorships, nothing was restricted. They just require standard contracts and acceptance of Tenda's mediation and supervision. Is this too much? Why is everyone reacting so strongly?"

"This is a good thing for regulating the industry. Moreover, I believe in President Pei. There must be a reason for him to do this!"

"Forget it, this is not the time to argue about right and wrong. Both sides should take a step back and not make it difficult for everyone to step down. President Pei also needs the support of other clubs to run the GPL well, right?"

"Kids distinguish between right and wrong, adults only look at interests. I think it's a bit too much to exploit the clubs like this from the start. Give them a sweet treat first, and then slowly come back later."

"As a viewer, I don't care about these things. Anyway, the GPL league should start as soon as possible. I can't wait to watch the games!"

Obviously, there were some traces of internet trolls at work, but they were relatively hidden, and ordinary people couldn't see it.

The reason why public opinion was not one-sided was that the clubs had a loud voice and internet trolls were involved. On the other hand, too few people were concerned about the rights and interests of the players.

Because the domestic esports industry was still in its early stages, and the players had just transitioned from eating instant noodles to being able to live without worrying about food and clothing. Many internet addicts had transformed into high-paying esports players.

Many onlookers didn't think it was a big deal that their contracts were a scam.

You guys play games and earn hundreds of thousands or millions of yuan a year, and you're still complaining about being scammed. Do you have any shame?

Moreover, there haven't been many malicious contract disputes exposed yet.

Therefore, the vast majority of onlookers didn't realize the importance of this matter at all. After being incited by the clubs' internet trolls, they felt that Tenda was making a fuss about nothing.

If it were anyone else, they would definitely be suffering in silence and have a bellyful of fire with nowhere to vent.

But Pei Qian was quite happy to see this public opinion.

It doesn't matter if you understand or not!

It would be best if the clubs felt that they had a good chance of winning, and sold all their GOG divisions!

He could take this opportunity to take over all the GOG divisions and slowly lose money in his hands. How much money would this cost!

Just thinking about it made him happy.

Therefore, Pei Qian didn't intend to clarify anything, and even if he did, it wouldn't have much effect.

Let the public opinion continue to ferment, anyway, he wouldn't suffer.

While browsing the online comments, his phone vibrated. It was Zhang Yuan calling.

"President Pei, the heads of the clubs have come again. They said that they have fully communicated with their bosses and hope to talk to us again about the specific details of the cooperation."

"Moreover, they hope that you can be present when we talk."

Pei Qian couldn't help but smile slightly.

The club managers felt that the public opinion had fermented enough, and they thought that their attitude should be loosened, so they wanted to talk again and test his tone.

Zhang Yuan's words didn't count, so they had to find President Pei to talk in person.

Pei Qian replied directly: "Tell them that today is Sunday, Tenda doesn't work. If there's anything, we'll talk about it on Monday afternoon."

Obviously, the public opinion hasn't fermented enough. It wouldn't hurt to wait one more day.

Moreover, Pei Qian wasn't lying. Tenda didn't work on weekends. Pei Qian himself could drink coffee and browse the web on weekends, but he had to meet with these club managers to talk about work?

Pei Qian really didn't want to go.

…

On the other end of the phone, at the DGE club.

Zhang Yuan was silent for a moment: "Okay, President Pei."

He turned around and looked at the club managers who had come to his door: "President Pei said that he doesn't work on Sundays. Everyone, please come back at 2 PM on Monday. I'm sorry for making you come all this way for nothing."

Manager Li and the other managers looked at each other, nodded after a long silence: "Okay… okay, then we'll come back when President Pei is at work."

Leaving the DGE club, Manager Li and the others all looked dazed.

They took the initiative to come to the door today because they felt that the public opinion had fermented enough. President Pei probably realized the seriousness of the problem and was ready to talk.

They would give President Pei a way out. Since President Pei was a smart man, he would definitely understand it instantly, go down the slope, and then the two sides would start friendly negotiations, each taking a step back…

However, the script didn't go that way at all!

Everyone lowered their voices and discussed in whispers.

"What's the situation?"

"Manager Li, this situation is very different from what you expected..."

"President Pei is still in the mood to spend the weekend? The public opinion has fermented to this point. Is he really going to wait another day?"

"Could it be that we miscalculated and President Pei doesn't care about this matter at all? Then wouldn't all the preliminary work we've done be in vain?"

"Not necessarily! I think President Pei is bluffing, deliberately delaying for a day, showing an attitude of not caring at all, so that he can get more chips when negotiating with us..."

"Hmm, that makes sense, so President Pei only dares to delay for one more day."

The club managers analyzed for a while, but no one was sure.

Because President Pei's moves were really unreasonable and unpredictable.

In addition, Tenda itself occupied an absolute dominant position, which made President Pei's moves seem full of deep meaning, so they had to make some deep interpretations.

Manager Li was also a little unsure, but he quickly calmed down and said in a deep voice: "Everyone doesn't have to scare themselves. Maybe President Pei himself is not sure, and he is deliberately releasing this smoke bomb to create psychological pressure on us."

"Everyone should do what they should do. President Pei is not in a hurry, so why are we in a hurry?"

"We can talk about anything at the meeting table."

"As long as we unite and resist Tenda, victory will definitely belong to us!"

…

…

October 31st, Monday.

Pei Qian woke up naturally as usual, ate lunch calmly, played games at Ming Yun Internet Cafe for a while, and then slowly went to the DGE club.

Zhang Yuan had arranged for these club managers to meet at 2 PM, and Pei Qian deliberately arrived 15 minutes late.

There was no particular reason, just to anger these club managers a little more.

When they get angry, they should sell their GOG divisions very readily, right?

At the same time, in the DGE club's conference room.

The managers of the clubs were all a little upset.

What does this mean?

It was fine that he didn't see us on Sunday, but President Pei was late for the appointment on Monday?

It is said that President Pei is a punctual person?

Could it be that President Pei is really so tough? He delayed it first, then was late, just to tell all the clubs: Try if you dare to break the face?

Manager Su vaguely had a very bad feeling.

As for Manager Li of SUG, he kept a straight face. He couldn't collapse now. If he collapsed, the other clubs would instantly shrink back, wouldn't it all be in vain?

Moreover, President Pei is probably just bluffing, so he must not show any timidity.

Pei Qian came to the empty seat at the conference table, looked around, and didn't mention being late. He just smiled slightly: "Did everyone talk to their bosses? If there are no problems, please raise your hands if any clubs want to transfer their GOG divisions. Let's sign the transfer contract now."

The expressions of the club managers all froze, and question marks floated above their heads.

???

Manager Li had especially many question marks above his head.

Everyone was stunned, and almost thought that they had missed a meeting, or had amnesia.

Wait, weren't we supposed to have detailed discussions today?

We haven't even started talking, and he's directly assuming that we want to sell?