Chapter 1 Afternoon

In the afternoon, Pei Qian first went to the company to check on the progress of GoG's development.

Ma Yang had already sent over the test version of the IoI client.

After all, Dream Chasing Ventures had shares in Finger Company and was also a domestic game distributor, so it was only natural for them to request a copy of the client.

Although it was the English version, Pei Qian, with his CET-4 level English and the help of Qian Du Translate, could understand the gist of it.

Comparing the IoI version with the current version of GoG, President Pei felt much more at ease.

The difference was still quite obvious!

Previously, IoI had never been publicly tested, and only a few of the currently improved versions had been sent over from time to time. Although Pei Qian had seen them, he didn't have a very clear idea of what stage the game was at.

Because the LoL in Pei Qian's memory was already a very mature and perfect form, and looking at the embryonic IoI, it naturally felt awkward no matter how he looked at it, and he couldn't evaluate it objectively.

However, after learning about the players' reactions during the test, Pei Qian could roughly determine it.

There was no problem with the quality of the game itself, and at least for now, its competitiveness in the current field was self-evident.

On the other hand, GoG was far behind in terms of completion.

Pei Qian didn't know if this was because IoI was established earlier and had a faster development progress, or because Li Yada and their entire project team were slacking off.

Pei Qian hoped it was the latter.

It had to be said that since the Tenda Spirit Compatibility Test came out, not only had the mentality of the new employees changed greatly, but even the work attitude of the old employees had also improved greatly!

For example, the Tenda Games Department's design team, as a stubborn faction that often worked overtime, had also significantly reduced the frequency of overtime recently.

It seemed that Li Yada and the others were preparing to strategically give up on the first zero-overtime competition selection.

Between completing work tasks and getting bonuses, they chose the former, which made Pei Qian feel a little regretful.

However, Li Yada and the others didn't seem to have given up on themselves, thinking that since the zero-overtime competition was hopeless anyway, they would intensify their overtime work.

Instead, they were working hard to reduce overtime hours and overtime quotas every week.

This made President Pei very satisfied, and he had a sense of joy that "the stubborn faction has finally seen the light."

In short, the current situation of GoG was good. If there was extra money later and he didn't know where to spend it, throwing a few million at GoG shouldn't be a big problem.

After all, the gap between IoI and GoG currently seemed to be something that couldn't be bridged with a few million.

Thinking of this, Pei Qian felt a little more at ease, and while reviewing, he looked forward to the dinner in the evening.

...

In the evening, at Ming Mansion Family Banquet.

"President Pei! Long time no see!"

Zhang Zuting and Lu Zhiyao, along with several other important members of the crew, received Pei Qian at the entrance of the restaurant.

"What are you doing? It's so cold, let's go inside and talk inside."

Pei Qian hurriedly led everyone inside.

Before entering the restaurant, Pei Qian said to everyone in a low voice, "I told everyone before that you all came from afar to help me make a movie, so I have to do my best as the host."

"The reservation at the Nameless Restaurant is for the 20th, which is three days later. So three days later, let's go there for a big meal."

"During these three days, everyone can play around in Jingzhou and have a good rest."

"Today's meal is to celebrate the wrap."

"The meal three days later will be to send everyone off and wish the movie a box office hit!"

"So today's meal may be a little bit lower in quality, so don't mind it, just make do with it."

Pei Qian's words were partly to give everyone a heads-up in advance, so that they would be mentally prepared for today's meal, and partly to find a legitimate reason for eating two meals in a row.

Both reasons were very legitimate and impeccable, so the system should have no reason to disagree.

Zhang Zuting smiled: "President Pei, you're being too polite."

"We came to support you, partly because of you, President Pei, but the good script and good team of this movie are also very important factors."

"President Pei's script is good. If the movie can be a box office hit, then we can all benefit from it. We can't thank President Pei enough!"

The crowd exchanged greetings and came to Ming Mansion Family Banquet to sit down.

Li Shi wasn't there today, apparently because he had something to deal with at the company.

However, he had already given advance notice, and the store manager here knew Pei Qian, and this time it was a private booking, so he naturally had to treat them warmly.

Soon, one delicious dish after another was served.

Probably because Xiao Tang wasn't with him today, the dishes were served quickly, and there were no mishaps in the middle. Everything was normal.

The crew tasted the exquisite dishes one by one, and were satisfied.

They were just a little confused.

Was President Pei's previous statement of "everyone making do with it" just being modest, or did he really think so?

If the level of this place was still considered low, then what level would the Nameless Restaurant be?

The heroine, Lin Ruyi, couldn't help but ask Lu Zhiyao next to her this question, because Lu Zhiyao had eaten at the Nameless Restaurant.

Lu Zhiyao thought for a while: "It's hard to describe, but... the Nameless Restaurant is indeed better than here, and much better."

...

At another table, Pei Qian was discussing the arrangements after the movie's wrap with Zhu Xiaoce and Huang Sibao.

"The movie has already started editing. In a few days, we can release a rough cut to take a look at."

"After that, in addition to editing, there are a series of miscellaneous things such as post-production special effects. In short, let's try to get it done in a month."

"But President Pei, I can't guarantee this time, I can only say as soon as possible."

Pei Qian was a little disappointed: "A month... then it definitely won't make it to the Spring Festival release."

"Valentine's Day... is also unlikely."

"It's a bit of a pity."

The Spring Festival of 2011 was on February 3rd, and there were less than half a month left.

Even if they exhausted themselves in post-production, it would be impossible to release it during the Spring Festival.

Of course, Pei Qian didn't intend to rush the progress, and he didn't intend to make everyone work overtime.

The reason why he said it was a pity was mainly because Pei Qian felt that these two schedules were very suitable for the release of the movie *A Beautiful Tomorrow*.

The Spring Festival is a time for family reunions and a time for comedies.

Valentine's Day is a time for romance movies.

*A Beautiful Tomorrow*, a movie that was both poisonous and heart-wrenching, covered with the skin of "sci-fi romance" and bearing this confusing name, would definitely be scolded and crushed by those comedies and romance movies if it was released during these two schedules.

The release schedule is very important for a movie.

Because the movies released in the same period compete fiercely with each other, good movies have high attendance rates and rising screening rates, which naturally squeeze the living space of other movies.

Pei Qian hoped that a big hit would come out and squeeze out the screening schedule of his own movie.

Zhu Xiaoce said, "The Spring Festival and Valentine's Day have a lot of traffic, so they are indeed good schedules. But the connotation of our movie is a bit deep, so it may not be suitable for these two schedules."

"In my opinion, it's better to schedule this movie for May Day. Good food is not afraid of being late."

May Day?

Don't be kidding, the settlement is on March 31st. If you schedule it for May Day, wouldn't it be too late?

Although there is one project in this cycle that can be settled late, Pei Qian was thinking of leaving such a key mechanism for delayed settlement to Thriller Paradise, and he couldn't leave it to a broken movie that was destined to lose money.

In Pei Qian's view, the sooner the movie was released, the better. Anyway, it was destined to be a complete loss, and the more he dragged it on, the more risk there would be.

Pei Qian said, "May Day is too late, there's no need at all. In my opinion, just one month later, February 22nd is a good day."

Zhu Xiaoce: "?"

He took out his phone and glanced at the calendar, and found that February 22nd was a Tuesday, not a holiday, or even a weekend.

Zhu Xiaoce's confused expression lasted for two seconds, and then his brow furrowed.

President Pei had other arrangements? Or was it an auspicious day?

Looking at President Pei's serious look, it didn't seem like he was joking.

Zhu Xiaoce nodded: "Okay, President Pei, let's set it for February 22nd. But... if we set it for such a day, the publicity pressure for our movie will be very high."

Whatever.

Pei Qian didn't care at all in his heart. What's the point of promoting a flop movie? It would be best if there were no screenings at all after the release, and no one knew about the movie. That would be great.

"In short, let's do it this way, eat, eat."

...

...

After a satisfying meal.

Pei Qian sent the crew members away one by one.

For the next three days, the crew's itinerary had already been arranged, and there were special people to take them to visit Jingzhou, so Pei Qian didn't need to worry about it.

Of course, this time's tour wasn't a roller coaster, bungee jumping, or haunted house all in one go, just a normal tour.

After all, Pei Qian knew very well that friends and enemies had to be treated differently.

People worked hard to help him make a flop movie and burn money, and they might even have to bear some infamy because the movie was too bad. If Pei Qian gave them a death-defying tour, would he still be human?

"President Pei, want to sit for a while longer?" Li Shi came to the door and said.

Pei Qian saw that he seemed to have something to say, and nodded: "Sure."

The two returned to the restaurant, found an empty seat and sat down, and the waiter brought over a pot of tea.

"President Li, just say what you want to say." Pei Qian wanted to bypass the pleasantries. He was thinking of going back to sleep early so that he could get up early to review tomorrow.

Li Shi said with some emotion: "President Pei said before that he would take care of the business here, and I thought it was just a polite remark, but I didn't expect President Pei to be so generous."

"I've only been open for a little over a week, and President Pei has already booked the place twice..."

Pei Qian took a sip of tea and found that the tea was indeed not bad: "President Li, I told you a long time ago that you must not overthink it. This is just a normal dinner. President Li, you don't just want to say this, right?"

Li Shi smiled, seeming to have made up his mind: "President Pei, I've thought about it."

"I'm going to invest some money in your haunted house project!"

"Even if the money goes down the drain, it doesn't matter. It's just a thank you to you, President Pei!"

Pei Qian was drinking tea, and a question mark slowly floated above his head.

?