557 Application for Funds on Behalf of Zhang Yuan

A few other Management Trainees from various departments took turns to report their updates before it was Sloth Apartments' Management Trainee's turn.

"Mr. Liang has been seriously considering the details of the designs recently. From time to time, he would go down to the construction site and give instructions. He has also carefully selected wall paint and furniture to make the design more environmentally friendly. Last weekend, he also talked to me briefly about Fei Huang Workspace…"

Eh?

Pei Qian sensitively noticed that something was amiss.

Why was Liang Qingfan asking about Fei Huang Workspace for no reason?

"What exactly did he say?" Pei Qian immediately asked.

The Management Trainee of Sloth Apartments pondered for a moment. "I told him that Fei Huang Workspace is on paid leave, and Mr. Liang looked envious. Other than that… there wasn't much else."

He was envious because Fei Huang Workspace was on paid leave?

Pei Qian's frown eased considerably.

Yes, that's not bad. This kind of attitude was good!

Liang Qingfan had only started work a few days ago, but he was already thinking about taking a paid leave. He was really teachable!

Still, Pei Qian could not afford to be careless. He turned to Fei Huang Workspace's Management Trainee and asked, "Has Mr. Liang contacted Fei Huang Workspace?"

Fei Huang Workspace's Management Trainee looked confused. "Boss Pei, the entire company is on leave. I wouldn't know even if Liang Qingfan contacted anyone in private. However, I've been working in the office and accepting many calls. I can confirm that no one has introduced himself as Mr. Liang."

Pei Qian nodded subtly.

It was unlikely that Liang Qingfan would have called Huang Sibo directly. After all, he had only just arrived in Jingzhou a while ago, and he did not have many contact numbers of people in charge.

If Liang Qingfan urgently wanted to engage Fei Huang Workspace's help for something, he would likely approach Boss Pei himself, right?

Since he had not approached Boss Pei or called Fei Huang Workspace's office… it meant that Liang Qingfan was only casually asking because he had been interested in the fact that all the employees were on paid leave, right?

At first, Pei Qian had thought about asking the Management Trainee why he had not reported this immediately. However, on further thought, it did not seem necessary to immediately report such a small matter to Pei Qian. It made no difference to report it during the Management Trainee meeting.

Finding nothing suspicious, Pei Qian gestured for the meeting to carry on.

It was Fish-Catching Take-Out's Management Trainee's turn.

"The new branches are still incurring losses, but Boss Rui doesn't seem to mind. He's still preparing to open more branches. On top of that, the chef at the Gourmet Laboratory has been making regular trips to the nameless restaurant recently. They seem to be researching a new and more luxurious dish in private."

Pei Qian had been overjoyed to hear the first sentence, but by the end, he was frowning deeply.

"A new dish?"

He had not been informed about this before.

However, why was the chef making trips to Ming Yun Private Kitchen? Was he trying to learn new skills associated with high-end dishes?

Still, the dishes produced by Ming Yun Private Kitchen required outstanding culinary skills and extremely valuable ingredients. How could they be made into take-out?

A modified version? The chances of success were not high.

That was because Fish-Catching Take-Out's average-priced meals were still incurring losses. Wouldn't the losses only increase if they tried to venture into the high-end market?

Pei Qian pondered for a moment, and then said, "Keep a close eye on this. I want a detailed report at the next meeting."

He had no intention of putting a stop to this because there were high chances of failure. If they really failed, Fish-Catching Take-Out would be able to burn more money, and Pei Qian would be elated.

Last but not least, it was time for the report from Thriller Hostel's Management Trainee. All in all, everything at the Thriller Hostel was going well. The timeline for the Golden Maze was tight, but there were no huge problems.

Pei Qian was slightly disappointed. He wanted Thriller Hostel's construction to be delayed.

To him, it would be best if Thriller Hostel was only completed at the end of August or at the start of September. It wouldn't affect settlement, and he would be able to generate less income.

However, he was helpless. Chen Kangtuo, Boss Li, and the others were all anxious. Judging by their current speed, Thriller Hostel would be open for business at the beginning of July.

Even if Pei Qian thought up a reason to delay its opening, he would only be able to postpone it by one or two weeks. Any longer than that seemed impossible.

All the Management Trainees had finished their reports. After some thought, Pei Qian concluded that the current situation wasn't horrible. There was still hope.

"Good work, everyone! Keep working hard!"

…

…

June 20th, Monday…

At 9 AM, Pei Qian was eating his breakfast at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. As he sipped his coffee, he thought about his plan for the week.

It was the 20th today. In other words, it was the day of the month that he had the entire Ming Yun Private Kitchen reserved.

He had already decided whom to invite to Ming Yun Private Kitchen for a meal: the production team of Tomorrow is Beautiful.

Tomorrow is Beautiful was finally taken out of overseas cinemas yesterday. They had made 1.4 million US dollars in the box offices. However, Pei Qian saw no need to panic just yet, because overseas box offices took much longer to distribute profits than local ones. That would be a problem for the next cycle.

The film's final results in the box offices had also been hotly debated online. The fans analyzed that there were multiple reasons behind it.

For example, there were the effect of the final post-credits scene in Tomorrow is Beautiful, how the Jury Award's reputation could not be compared to the Palme d'Or no matter how good it was, how the film did badly in the beginning so that—no matter how high the row piece rate had become subsequently—the later performance was limited.

In short, one could not say that the film was a hit at the box office. It still fell short of what many fans had hoped.

Still, no matter what, it had been a hit at the box offices. It had also done the best in overseas box offices in those couple of years. Especially considering its initial investment, the fact that Tomorrow is Beautiful had aired in local and overseas cinemas and was being streamed online was a huge win.

Thus, Lu Zhiyao, Zhang Zuting, and the others were taking the opportunity to gather in Jingzhou and celebrate.

Of course, Pei Qian wondered if their real intention was to feast at the nameless restaurant. Why else would they have decided to be in Jingzhou on the 20th?

Zhang Zuting knew very well that Boss Pei had reserved the nameless restaurant on the 20th of every month.

By now, Pei Qian could not be bothered to deal with those people's little schemes. It was just too bad that Thriller Hostel had not been completed yet. Otherwise, he would have sent the entire group of them there to play until they puked.

He needed to teach them that it would be alright if they had incurred losses and tried to get a meal out of Boss Pei; the latter would have welcomed them with open arms. However, they were trying to get a meal after generating a lot of profits. Sorry, but they would have to feel the hospitality that locals of Jingzhou show their guests!

On top of that, Tengda Games and Shang Yang Games had officially started competing in the esports arena.

Shang Yang Games had successfully persuaded several long-standing local esports clubs to form a team for IOI. They had also invited a few overseas clubs to take part in a competition in the city.

Of course, Tengda Games would not be left behind. A few esports clubs in the country had also agreed to form GOG teams.

The wealthier esports clubs decided to spend more money pleasing both sides by setting up teams for both games. On the other hand, the poorer clubs had no choice but to pick a side.

At the moment, GOG and IOI each had their merits. GOG had a big base of gamers in the country, but IOI had better potential to make it to the international arena. As for Tengda Corporation… it looked like it was leaning towards GOG.

However, its multiple attempts at resuscitating IOI's local server made others doubt that it had given up on the game completely. Thus, to the clubs, the situation was looking very confusing once again.

Pei Qian did not want to think about those things for now. After all, things had just started, and there was not much he could tell. Now, his biggest concern was whether to eat with Zhang Zuting, Lu Zhiyao, and the others or not.

If he did, his corpse would be repeatedly lashed at right at the dinner table. He could already imagine what the other men would say to him.

For example: "Boss Pei, you had so much foresight to insist that all dialogue should be in English. Although ticket sales weren't the best, the concept has conquered the entire world."

They might even start talking about every detail related to Cannes as well.

There was no doubt about that. After all, Zhu Xiaoce had even gone so far as to thank Boss Pei by name at the end of his speech. It would be natural to expect everyone to take a stab at Boss Pei at the dining table.

Yet, what excuse could Boss Pei give for not turning up?

He was too busy?

Yes, that excuse did seem to be a panacea of sorts. After all, it had become common knowledge that Boss Pei was a very busy man. He could use that excuse as a shield against anything.

At last, Pei Qian decided to use the 'work shield'. Tomorrow is Beautiful was a beautiful mistake. It would be best if everyone just left it in the past.

As he sipped his coffee, Pei Qian spotted a familiar-looking long face with his peripheral vision.

"Brother Qian! You're here indeed!" Ma Yang looked excited to have 'caught' Pei Qian.

"Old Ma? What are you doing here?" Pei Qian was stunned.

Ma Yang had nothing to do with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe now. He was mainly in charge of Dream Realization Ventures, and he was meant to be working on the Fully-Automated Bickering Machine with Zhang Wang.

Initially, Ma Yang had spent some time at DGE Esports Club. However, ever since he lost 0-28, he stopped going over.

Ma Yang sat down opposite Pei Qian and giggled. "Brother Qian, I'm here to apply for funding!"

"Huh? Apply for funding?" This piqued Pei Qian's interest. "What, has something gone wrong with the manufacturing of the Fully-Automated Bickering Machines?"

Ma Yang quickly shook his head. "No, no, no. Manufacturing of the Fully-Automated Bickering Machines has been going well. Apart from the fact that we can't sell a single one of them, everything is fine.

"I'm here to apply for funding on behalf of DGE Esports Club. Many clubs have been inviting DGE to play friendly matches with them. I've been thinking about going with them to other clubs and making a few connections."

Pei Qian was overjoyed. "Have you forgotten your feud? You lost to those young internet addicts 0-28!"

Ma Yang sniggered. "Brother Qian, that's where you're wrong. Since when have I been one to bear grudges? I went back to Dream Realization Ventures to help share your burdens! It was not because I accidentally died a couple of times! The world can testify on my behalf!"

Pei Qian could not be bothered to expose him. He asked, "Why isn't Zhang Yuan applying for funding if he wants to take the club to play friendly matches against other teams?"

Ma Yang smiled. "Zhang Yuan feels embarrassed. DGE Esports Club has only been spending money until now. It hasn't earned a single cent.

"He thinks that it would be ridiculous to apply for funding to send the club to various cities to participate in friendly matches. That's why he's too ashamed to ask. He thinks playing friendly matches online would be good enough."

Friendly matches online? Those cost nothing! No way!

In fact, Pei Qian thought that it would be best not to take part in any friendly matches. It would be safest to make DGE Esports Club remain in the villa all day and entertain themselves.

However, their appearance at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's Live Esports Museum showed many people—especially other clubs that were interested in GOG—that they existed.

He had no reason to turn down other clubs' invitations for friendly matches.

Since there was no avoiding it, Pei Qian decided to let nature take its course and spend as much money as possible while he was at it. Could he invite the other clubs to Jingzhou and provide food and accommodation?

No, that seemed inappropriate.

He wanted to invite other clubs to Jingzhou to spend as much money as possible. Of course, he would book the best restaurants and hotels. Yet, what if those clubs became so touched that they misunderstood him? What if they kept investing more money in their GOG teams?

Wouldn't IOI collapse?

Thus, Pei Qian couldn't do that!

On further thought, it seemed like buying the best airplane tickets for DGE's members to travel to various cities and participate in friendly matches was the best option.

He could spend on food, air tickets, and other things as well; but he would not cause other clubs to enjoy GOG anymore. They would just play a couple of matches without affecting the bigger picture.

Pei Qian nodded. "Alright, approved. You, Zhang Yuan, Li Yaling, and the Management Trainee of the club will go together with the team members. Go to the other cities and play friendly matches with the other clubs. Keep to the same standards as other Tengda business trips; we will cover all expenses!"

Ma Yang raised his thumb in excitement. "I knew you would understand, Brother Qian! I knew you would agree! I'll tell Zhang Yuan the good news right now!"