Chapter 1 Huang Sibao's Arrival

In the afternoon, Huang Sibao came to the company.

Although Pei Qian hadn't frequently pressed him, Huang Sibao knew exactly what was what.

He couldn't just spend the million yuan however he pleased. It was better to discuss many things with Boss Pei beforehand, lest he fail Boss Pei's cultivation and trust!

After catching up with everyone, especially Xiao Lü, in the office area, Huang Sibao led a young, student-like person into the reception room.

"Boss Pei, this is the director I've invited. He's a senior majoring in directing at Handong University, named Zhu Xiaoce."

Huang Sibao introduced enthusiastically.

"Hello, Boss Pei!" Zhu Xiaoce looked to be in good spirits, without any nervousness or awkwardness, and was very enthusiastic.

Boss Pei was very happy to hear that he was a senior.

If he had really brought in a professionally trained director, Pei Qian would have had to consider how to find fault and reject him.

Now, it was fine. A student, even if majoring in directing, was still a long way from being able to truly take charge!

Directing was a very complex job.

Many directors didn't make a name for themselves until their thirties or forties, and were still called young directors.

What waves could a college senior make?

"I heard you want to shoot short videos. Have you decided on the subject matter?" Pei Qian asked with a smile.

Huang Sibao nodded. "Yes, we have. Boss Pei, we want to film you!"

Pei Qian almost thought he had misheard.

"Film me???"

"What's there to film about me?"

Huang Sibao smiled. "Well, this is actually a bit of my personal wishful thinking. I think Boss Pei, you are a person who is going to create a legend, and that in itself is a good subject!"

"Of course, I don't understand the specifics. Director Zhu is responsible for everything. Director Zhu, tell Boss Pei about your ideas."

"Okay, sure." Director Zhu Xiaoce took over the conversation. "I also heard about your deeds from Brother Huang and thought it was a good source of material! So, I planned to film some interesting things in your daily work."

Pei Qian couldn't help but be puzzled. "My daily work… has interesting things?"

He thought carefully, what interesting things were there in his work?

Did slacking off count?

Did the fact that he only came to the company a handful of times during the entire two-month game development process count?

There was nothing to film!

Then why did Huang Sibao and Zhu Xiaoce want to film it?

Could it be that they wanted to flatter him?

Hmm… most likely…

Pei Qian didn't feel too resistant. Who didn't like being flattered?

Losing money was the important thing!

If the subject matter was boring, it meant that the short film wouldn't have much of an impact, they couldn't get advertisements, and there was no way to cooperate with websites for promotion, so the probability of losing money was very high.

Sounded promising.

Zhu Xiaoce quickly said, "Boss Pei, you don't have to worry about the sourcing of material. Art comes from life but is higher than life. When I film, I will add some artistic techniques to symbolize your image."

"Of course, I might use some special styles and plots, which will depend on the inspiration during filming."

Zhu Xiaoce rattled off a bunch of professional terms, sounding obscure, as if it was a professional habit.

Pei Qian frowned slightly.

He always felt like something was a little weird, like he had a sense of déjà vu.

But he couldn't remember where that sense of déjà vu came from.

He didn't have much of an opinion on the subject matter, as long as it didn't make money.

His main concern was whether they could spend the million yuan with this filming method.

Filming Pei Qian's daily work would definitely all be done in the work area.

At that time, the venue fee would be saved, and there would be no need for props or costumes.

With such low costs, even if they lost money, it wouldn't be much.

Wouldn't it be a pain in the ass if they couldn't spend the million yuan!

"Can you spend a million yuan with this filming method?"

"Don't worry too much about the budget. If it's not enough, we can add more. The primary goal is to make the film well, understand?"

Pei Qian acted like he was very concerned about the film.

Zhu Xiaoce smiled. "Don't worry, Boss Pei! Brother Huang and I have discussed it. The filming will pay you and other employees for your appearances, although I know you don't need the money, but this is just a small token of our appreciation."

"As for the venue fee, we will also pay it to you."

"In addition, we will take out some money to purchase equipment, do post-editing, etc. We will invest the remaining money in promotion. I've calculated it, and the budget is just right."

"Appearance fee and venue fee?" Pei Qian was a little surprised.

Zhu Xiaoce replied, "Yes, Boss Pei, we plan to do it by episode. Each short video will only be one minute long. The appearance fee for you will be 1,000 yuan per episode, and for others, it will be 200 yuan per episode."

"After all, you are the star, with more scenes."

"We currently plan to shoot three seasons, with 10 episodes per season, taking a short, fast approach. This will give you an appearance fee of 30,000 yuan."

"As for the venue fee, we'll give you 50,000 yuan, do you think that's okay?"

"I know this isn't much money, and you may not need it, but it's mainly a token of our appreciation, and we can't let everyone work for nothing."

Pei Qian suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Wait a minute.

Pay me an appearance fee?

Something didn't feel right.

Let's sort it out, sort it out.

I gave Huang Sibao a million yuan and told him to invest in something.

As a result, Huang Sibao took the million yuan, hired me as the star to shoot a short video, and paid me an appearance fee…

My own money went around in a circle and came back into my own pocket. I spent money to hire myself…

What a crazy idea!

Huh?

No, wait.

That's not how it is!

Pei Qian suddenly realized that something was wrong.

It wasn't spending money to hire himself.

This was converting system funds into personal property!

The million yuan was originally system funds, which he invested in Huang Sibao in the name of a dream fund.

The appearance fee paid to him by Huang Sibao and Zhu Xiaoce was considered personal property!

The system only said that he, as the boss, couldn't use the company's money in any way to pay himself a salary.

However, the system didn't say anything about others giving him money!

Just like when Pei Qian's family gave him living expenses, the system didn't interfere!

Once the money was in Huang Sibao's hands, it was equivalent to the system funds having been spent.

And Pei Qian, as an actor in the short film, receiving an appearance fee was reasonable. This was considered normal income from labor and was not within the scope of the system's determination of violations!

Pei Qian suddenly perked up.

Who said I didn't need an appearance fee?

I needed it very much!

Pei Qian silently asked in his heart, "System, can I take the appearance fee?"

The system light screen displayed a line of text: "Remuneration earned by the host for selling personal labor is legitimate personal income, and the system will not deprive it. But the premise is that you cannot maliciously convert system funds, and the salary must be within a reasonable range of market prices."

Yes!!!

Pei Qian waved his hand. "The venue fee is waived. You can spend the money elsewhere. As for the appearance fee, since it's a token of your appreciation, then I'll gladly accept it."

"That… of course, that's good." Zhu Xiaoce was of course happy. "Thank you, Boss Pei!"

Fifty thousand yuan for the venue fee?

Pei Qian didn't care.

The key was that the money wouldn't end up in his hands!

The venue fee would definitely be given to the company, and once it entered the company's account, it would become system funds.

Pei Qian couldn't bypass the system to receive this money, because the venue belonged to the company's assets.

On the contrary, Pei Qian, as an actor, had an employment relationship with Zhu Xiaoce, and signed a contract with Zhu Xiaoce and Huang Sibao's subsidiary.

This was independent of Tengda Corporation and didn't need to go through the company's account at all, and the reason was sufficient and reasonable, so the system couldn't interfere!

It was like if Pei Qian was willing, he could find a restaurant to work as a waiter, and the restaurant could pay him a salary. The system wouldn't interfere with this money either – provided that Pei Qian didn't collude with the restaurant to maliciously exploit the system.

What was called maliciously exploiting the system?

If Pei Qian and Ma Yang agreed that he would invest a million yuan in Ma Yang, Ma Yang would open a restaurant, and pay Pei Qian 300,000 yuan a month to wash dishes, that would be called maliciously exploiting the system.

First of all, the money Pei Qian received must roughly match the labor he put in.

Secondly, the money must not have a direct relationship with the company's account.

Pei Qian couldn't directly use the company's account to pay himself a salary, even if it was just 10 cents.

But, like this, going through a third party, with no direct relationship to the company's account, and with reasonable labor provided, it was possible.

Therefore, the system determined that Pei Qian taking an appearance fee was not a violation!

Pei Qian had previously put in so much effort to convert only 20,000 yuan.

This time, the short film was only 1 minute per episode, and shooting 30 episodes would be 30,000 yuan, which was very cost-effective!

Why didn't I think of this operation sooner?

Pei Qian was secretly delighted, plan successful!

"Okay, Boss Pei, let's sign the contract!"

Zhu Xiaoce took out a contract from the backpack he had brought and handed it to Pei Qian.

"Let me just confirm, the short film you're making isn't called *Wan Wan Mei Xiang Dao*, right?" Pei Qian asked casually.

Zhu Xiaoce was a little puzzled. "No."

Pei Qian was relieved.