Chapter 49 Ruan Guangjian, the Highest-Priced Artist

Pei Qian strolled over to Lü Mingliang's workstation, intending to give him a little heads-up.

He had hired Ma Yiqun as a mascot, to balance out his luck.

If Lü Mingliang misunderstood and let Ma Yiqun run wild, drastically changing the game's writing, that would be very dangerous.

Ma Yiqun's writing skills were indeed good. What if he made changes that became wildly popular?

Therefore, Pei Qian had to ensure that Ma Yiqun remained idle.

Seeing President Pei sauntering over, Lü Mingliang paid close attention, standing up and asking, "President Pei, do you have any instructions?"

Pei Qian hadn't been coming to the company as often lately because he was a bit busy.

"Pei Zong's Daily Life" still needed to be filmed, and recently, they had been shooting on location frequently.

School had started, and Pei Qian occasionally went to listen to lectures.

He also occasionally visited the internet cafe, and if he spotted any signs of it becoming popular, he had to quickly nip them in the bud.

Therefore, Pei Qian felt a little mentally fatigued.

These employees, none of them let him rest easy!

"It's nothing. I just wanted to let you know that we've hired a new story planner," Pei Qian said casually.

Lü Mingliang immediately understood. "Got it, President Pei. I'll immediately arrange for him to revamp the writing and packaging of all three games!"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!" Pei Qian quickly shook his head. "What I mean is, he's a newbie, unfamiliar with games. Don't assign him any work for the next month. Just let him study freely, understand?"

"Especially, don't let him change any of the story or writing in 'Game Producer'!"

Lü Mingliang was a little confused.

Huh?

Hiring a new employee and not letting him work?

Letting him just watch? Not even letting him assist?

This...

Lü Mingliang's first feeling was that something was strange.

But on second thought, it seemed quite reasonable.

Who wrote the script and narration for "Game Producer"?

President Pei wrote it himself!

Even if this story planner was experienced, he couldn't compare to President Pei's level.

Moreover, he was a newbie, so he needed to watch and learn properly.

Thinking this way, President Pei letting him study for a month was perfectly reasonable!

Lü Mingliang quickly nodded. "Okay, President Pei, I understand! I'll arrange his study tasks and make sure he thoroughly understands your game's design intentions!"

Understand my game's design intentions?

What design intentions does my game have? Discouraging players?

Alright, whatever...

Pei Qian was too lazy to explain further and turned to leave.

But as soon as he turned around, he turned back.

He saw the image on Lü Mingliang's computer screen. It was... the art resources that had already been submitted for "Game Producer"!

There were original drawings and models.

Pei Qian only glanced at the concept art, but he had a feeling of déjà vu.

That was strange.

Why did it feel so familiar?

Pei Qian frowned and asked, "This original drawing..."

Lü Mingliang said happily, "Oh, President Pei, you recognized it? That's right, it's the work of the great Ruan Guangjian! President Pei and the great Ruan Guangjian are truly like minds, you recognized it at a glance!"

Pei Qian: "??????"

What the hell?!

He looked at Lü Mingliang in disbelief. "Didn't I... tell you to find a high-priced artist?"

Lü Mingliang nodded. "Yes, Director Ruan is currently the highest-priced artist."

Damn it!

Pei Qian almost spat blood.

Had it only been a few months? Ruan Guangjian had directly transformed from an unknown to the highest-priced artist?

Housing prices weren't even rising that fast!!

Lü Mingliang, seeing Pei Qian's surprised expression, thought that President Pei was pleasantly surprised and continued, "Moreover, when Director Ruan heard that it was President Pei's project, he only charged a small labor fee, so generous!"

"President Pei, without you even coming forward, you've saved the company at least tens of thousands in research and development funds. Your reputation is truly outstanding!"

Pei Qian was stunned for a moment and asked, "Can the contract be changed?"

Lü Mingliang was taken aback. "Ah? President Pei, do you mean... give him more money? That's hard to change, because the contract has been certified by the platform, and most of the work has been completed."

"Changing the contract is very complicated, and Director Ruan may not accept it."

"President Pei, I think if you feel embarrassed, you can treat Director Ruan to a meal privately, or we can establish a long-term cooperative relationship and pay him the market price in the future."

Pei Qian: "...Continue with your work."

Pei Qian was speechless.

Originally, he didn't have any special requirements for the new game's art resources.

He just hoped to spend more money and not be too outstanding!

But what happened?

Neither of his goals had been achieved!!

Not only had he failed to spend more money, but the game's art concept design was being overseen by Ruan Guangjian, this master disguised as a newbie!

Pei Qian felt a headache coming on.

What was the meaning of this? There were so many artists on the resource website. Why was he so unlucky to be constantly remembered by this master?

What did you see in me? I'll change, okay?!

Pei Qian returned to his office and slumped into his chair.

Miserable!

"Forget it, it's already like this, I have to be optimistic..."

"It's impossible to break the contract, I can only make it and see."

"Fortunately, 'Game Producer' isn't a game that wins with graphics..."

Pei Qian tried to calm his emotions.

"Knock, knock, knock."

There was a knock on the office door.

Pei Qian looked up and saw Ma Yang.

"What's wrong? Did something go wrong with the internet cafe too?!"

Pei Qian was instantly alert.

Was Ma Yang here to give him good news?

That would be... too sad!

Please, don't let misfortunes come in pairs!

Ma Yang's expression was grave. "Brother Qian, I... I think I should report to you on the situation at Mo Yu Internet Cafe." (Mo Yu = Touching Fish, a slang term for slacking off)

"Zhang Yuan has calculated that, based on the recent turnover, the internet cafe is basically losing about 300,000 yuan a month..."

"In other words, the internet cafe's income can barely cover employee salaries and some utility bills. The biggest expense, the rent, is basically not being recouped at all, let alone recovering the initial costs..."

"Zhang Yuan has made some suggestions, and I think we can consider them. What do you think..."

Ma Yang took out a small notebook and wanted to tell Pei Qian about Zhang Yuan's suggestions.

They were nothing more than lowering prices and doing promotional activities.

Pei Qian was overjoyed and immediately raised his hand, signaling Ma Yang to stop.

A net loss of about 300,000 yuan a month?

Great!

Sure enough, his brother was reliable!

Ma Yang didn't quite understand Pei Qian's meaning.

Pei Qian tried his best not to show a smile and said seriously, "I told you, don't worry about these things. This shows that our internet cafe is on the right track!"

Ma Yang was a little confused. "Ah? Losing 300,000 yuan a month! And you're saying we're on the right track?"

Pei Qian nodded. "That's right. The existence of Mo Yu Internet Cafe is in itself a high-end form of publicity!"

"Think about it. Although Mo Yu Internet Cafe doesn't have many customers, are the customers quite satisfied with the internet cafe's environment?"

Ma Yang thought for a moment. "It seems... they are quite satisfied."

Wasn't that obvious?

Anyone who had strong opinions about the price would take one look at the sign at the door and leave, and would not become a customer of the internet cafe at all.

Those who looked at the price on the sign and still walked in were high-income groups who could afford such high spending.

These people were definitely satisfied with the internet cafe's environment, because there were so few people!

Fifty high-end computers to choose from, good seats in the cafe area to choose from, many times there were more waiters than customers. This was absolute one-on-one service...

How could they not be satisfied!

Pei Qian nodded and said, "Therefore, temporary losses don't matter. We're paying to buy word-of-mouth!"

"Once the word-of-mouth is up, are we still afraid of not having customers?"

"If we lower prices now and attract a group of people who are not our target group, how will we raise prices in the future?"

"Therefore, it's very good as it is now. We must be patient!"

Looking at Pei Qian's firm expression, Ma Yang scratched his head.

It seemed... there was some truth to it.

"Okay... then I'll listen to you..." Ma Yang said weakly.