Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

At that moment, Pei Qian was having a meal at Ming House with all the club bosses of the GPL league.

The bosses of H4 Club and the other clubs who already had a place in the league were all present. They were toasting each other and it was very lively.

Lin Chang, Li Shi, and the others had already had a meal at the nameless restaurant after the auction ended. However, Pei Qian found an excuse to decline and did not go that time. Zhang Yuan was the one who hosted them.

He was mainly afraid of being hurt a second time.

However, he really could not turn down today's meal.

Pei Qian thought about how he had to meet these bosses and get to know them. At the same time, he had to tell everyone the rules of the GPL.

What's more, four days have passed since the auction. The chances of him being hurt again was very low. The main topic would still be focused on the GPL rules. It would be a good opportunity to meet.

This was a restaurant that Li Shi and Xue Zhebin opened together. The food here was not as good as the nameless restaurant but the place was bigger. They could book the entire place as they pleased and they would have more freedom.

Now, the rules of the GPL had been announced. The bosses chatted as they ate and discussed the rules of the GPL. It was a harmonious scene.

Li Shi looked at Boss Pei's GPL rules and discussed the terms with Xue Zhebin.

"See, I told you so."

"Other people would be collecting money for themselves, but Boss Pei must be collecting money for a long-term goal."

"See, Boss Pei took our money for the GLP slots where he in fact split it into three parts: building a budding players training base for the club, supporting the development of GDL and internet cafe competitions, and maintaining the normal operations of the GPL league."

"If it was an ordinary organizer, they would definitely use a portion of the money to run the GPL league. The rest of the money would be in their own pockets."

"Of course, it's understandable for the organizers to sell their slots to make money. However, this behavior is too short-sighted!"

"On the other hand, Boss Pei took the club's money and threw it all into the league to support the lower tier of the league."

"Those talented players can start with the ladder, then start with the internet cafe competition, then play GDL or train at the various clubs… Every step would be very solid."

"What's more, the standard contract allows them not to worry about being scammed. That way, talents won't be buried."

"Once such a system is established, it can continuously send new blood to the GPL league. It's perfect!"

Xue Zhebin nodded repeatedly. "Indeed."

"But, Boss Li, the money has been spent in these areas. What about publicity for the league? What about the club's investment? These two pieces are probably lacking, right?"

"The league system is very important in the long term but we cannot ignore the most pressing problem at hand!"

Li Shi smiled slightly. "This is the difference between ordinary people and Boss Pei."

"First level thinking: Sell the slots to make money and fill your own pockets."

"Second level thinking: Seeing Boss Pei use this money to seek long-term benefits."

"Third level thinking: See both long-term benefits and immediate benefits."

"However, Boss Pei is on a higher level than that. That is because he knew very well that long-term benefits had to be achieved with money while the immediate benefits can be achieved without money!"

"Therefore, Boss Pei did not ignore the most urgent problem at hand. Instead, he prepared another solution."

Xue Zhebin was a little confused. "Really? But how can we solve this without money?"

The GPL league had to be promoted and the club's infrastructure had to be built. All of these required money.

Li Shi explained, "Boss Pei not only has money, but also other resources, such as reputation, trust, and attention!"

"The long-term benefits of the GPL league cannot be guaranteed with these things. For example, if we want to support GDL and train young budding talents, it would be useless even if we have attention. No one would spend money on these things. Boss Pei would have to pay for it himself."

"However, the immediate benefits of the GPL league can be made with reputation, trust, and attention!"

"The so-called immediate benefits are nothing more than the initial popularity, attention, and the construction of the club."

"Now, let's see what kind of group these people are."

"There are veteran clubs in the country, veteran members of the first GOG global finals, well-known companies like Shenhua Real Estate and the Jinding Corporation, and ordinary participants like us. They might not have outstanding money and fame but they are fully supportive and cooperative with Boss Pei."

"There's no need for publicity at all. Just releasing this list would be enough to cover tens of millions of publicity expenses!"

"In other words, the GPL league was already popular even before it started. So what if we have more or less money for publicity?"

"What's more, the storm between Boss Pei and the three clubs has been going on for more than half a month. On one hand, it is increasing the popularity of the GPL league. On the other hand, it is sending a very clear signal to the outside world."

"The audience trusts Boss Pei, but the capitalist might not trust him. Many people believe that Boss Pei can create a good game, but they don't believe that he can make a good league."

"Through this incident, Boss Pei proved that he has absolute control over the GPL!"

"He kicked the three clubs out, true to his words. The remaining clubs will unconditionally cooperate. At the same time, Boss Pei will not make a promotion system. Instead, he will spend a huge sum of money on the bottom-tier cultivation system. That is actually a clear signal: GPL is looking at the long term!"

"The sponsors would not worry about their money being wasted when they combine with the multiple signals. They will naturally sponsor the club and the GPL league."

"This is the brilliance of Boss Pei: On the surface, he is spending money for long-term benefits, but in reality, he is spreading a signal. This signal will earn more money and solve short-term problems."

"Only rookies make choices. Experts get everything!"

"If you don't believe me, we'll wait and see. Before long, various sponsors will come knocking on our door."

Li Shi had already drunk a little before and was a little tipsy. At that moment, his face was slightly red and he was extremely satisfied with his analysis.

"I see!" Xue Zhebin replied with realization and tried hard to digest it.

At that moment, Pei Qian was focused on eating.

Everyone was talking. They were either talking loudly or whispering with their heads lowered. All of these voices made Pei Qian uneasy.

Suddenly, the cell phone in his pocket vibrated. It was Qiu Hong.

Pei Qian knew that something important must have happened. It so happened that he wanted to go out and take a breather, so he stood up and went outside to answer the call.

…

Pei Qian walked to a quiet corner and picked up the phone.

Qiu Hong briefly explained Wu Zhicheng's situation over the phone.

"Boss Pei, that's the general situation."

"My consideration is that the most important problem now is not money. While independent game designers are short of money, they are also short of other things."

"This is especially so for the various portions. The investment is huge and the effect is slow. It's a difficult problem to solve."

"Therefore, I'm not sure what to do with Wu Zhicheng's situation."

"I've already decided to invest in him, but I haven't thought about how to do it."

"If it's just money, I can still complete the project, but I feel like something is missing."

"Boss Pei, regarding this point, I have a preliminary idea. It's about the basic supporting facilities."

At that point, Pei Qian's eyes lit up.

Large investment and slow efficiency for basic supporting facilities?

That's great!

For independent game designers, they could create games as long as they had money. It did not matter whether or not the working environment was good or bad.

Many independent game designers created good works in a messy working environment.

Since it did not matter much, why not arrange a better environment for them?

This should be a classic example of high investment and low output, right?

Wasn't that his favorite?

Pei Qian immediately replied, "Just tell me how much your preliminary idea will need."

Qiu Hong hesitated when he heard how straightforward Boss Pei was. "Er… Boss Pei, this is what I think."

"Set up an incubation base similar to the concept of 'Shared Office Space' in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Of course, we can also open one in Jingzhou."

"We will recruit administrative, finance, and other employees for similar entrepreneurial bases. Their job is to serve every independent game designer well and help them solve a series of problems other than game development."

"At the same time, we can guide their work to a certain extent. For example, we can simply teach them how to come up with a development plan, contact artists, make financial statements, and so on."

"Game designers can also get to know and communicate with each other."

"An incubation base like this would cost at least two to three hundred thousand yuan a month with daily utilities, employee salary, rent, and so on. The specific expenses would depend on the number of work desks, location, and so on."

Pei Qian frowned. "Two to three hundred thousand yuan? That doesn't fit the Tengda spirit at all!"

"Did you only calculate the rent of the work desk, the basic company of the employees, and the utilities?"

"You probably didn't include the office computers and employee benefits. It's not too much to give an independent game developer some basic income to maintain their daily lives, right?"

"The incubation base is a good initiative. Do it!"

"We'll continue with the Destitution Plan. We'll support those companies as much as we can. As for the incubation base, I'll give you extra money to spend!"

Pei Qian was elated. Qiu Hong was indeed outstanding. He had thought of a new way to spend money so quickly!

…

Qiu Hong hung up and could not help but feel emotional.

Boss Pei was truly a resolute entrepreneur who loved the game industry!

He had been so conflicted, but Boss Pei had decided on it so easily.

He looked at Wu Zhicheng. "Our Destitution Plan has decided to invest in your game!"

"On top of that, we will also provide you with an office space and some necessary help. We hope that we can complete the game together."

Wu Zhicheng's mouth was slightly agape. He felt that this scene was unreal.

After a few seconds, he said, "Thank you, Boss Qiu! Thank you so much!"

Qiu Hong smiled emotionally. "No, we have to thank Boss Pei."