Chapter 228: Invite Zhang Zuting to Jingzhou
After hearing Li Shi's explanation, Pei Qian instantly understood everything.
As expected, the one who tried to bribe the employees at the Moyu Internet Café last time was none other than President Li.
The false intel he had deliberately spread earlier had indeed fooled him.
This time, President Li wasn't here to suppress Moyu Internet Café or to invest—he was here to ride the wave, believing that anything PresidentPei invested in was bound to explode in popularity.
After the flagship Moyu Internet Café became a hit, the whole street saw a surge in traffic. While none of the nearby shops reached the same level of popularity, most still benefited from the spillover effect.
During that incident, President Li had made a small profit—not much, but still a win.
However, since President Li could've earned much more by investing in other industries, this "small profit" actually meant a loss of opportunity for him.
Even though President Li had stakes in several of those shops that collaborated during the promotional events, his investments weren't large. They had spent quite a bit on marketing early on, too, so the outcome fell far short of his expectations.
Naturally, someone like President Li wouldn't be satisfied with such meager results.
But this time, things were a little different.
The area around Mingyun Villa had extremely low foot traffic, meaning the shops here were cheap and unpopular. The entry cost was low.
If this area truly took off again under President Pei's influence, those properties would instantly turn into cash cows—whether kept for rent or sold outright, they'd bring massive profits.
By then, President Li wouldn't just be "drinking the soup"—he'd be feasting on the meat.
However, all of this hinged on a single condition—Mingyun Villa and its surroundings actually had to become popular.
Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh.
'President Li, oh President Li… your reasoning is flawless, your execution impressive—but you've overlooked one critical known variable…'
Of course, it wasn't really President Li's fault. After all, who could possibly imagine someone would have a system where the more money you lose, the more you earn?
For a brief moment, Pei Qian even felt a flicker of sympathy.
If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have hesitated to let them fall into the trap.
But this good-hearted President Li had already been burned by him once before.
You can't shear the same sheep over and over—it might go bald.
So Pei Qian decided to throw him a small hint, just enough to stop him from going overboard.
So far, President Li had already invested in a chain of internet cafés, plus a bar, a coffee shop, and a chess lounge nearby—all of which had actually helped Pei Qian a lot.
But what if President Li got carried away and poured even more money in?
That would actually worry Pei Qian—if he bled President Li dry now, there'd be no "sustainable development" later.
Letting President Li lose a little less money this time would be the merciful thing to do.
With that in mind, Pei Qian decided to give him a subtle warning.
He took a sip of his cocktail and spoke as sincerely as possible:
"President Li, to be honest…"
"The success of the Moyu Internet Café flagship store had quite a bit of luck involved. Replicating that success here at the Mingyun Villa branch is basically impossible."
"The odds of this area really booming are quite low. I'm just… giving it a try."
Pei Qian had already done his best to hint at it.
Li Shi smiled knowingly and said, "President Pei, you're being too modest."
"Of course, luck plays a part in every success—that's perfectly normal. But mediocrity waits for luck, while genius creates it. In my eyes, President Pei is without a doubt the kind who creates his own luck."
"From what I've heard, your investments in this area are quite substantial."
"Besides the internet café, you've opened a Logistics Station nearby, and not long ago, you and President Ma were scouting the local business scene together."
"If you thought this place had no potential, you wouldn't still be here."
"I appreciate your kind reminder, President Pei, but you're underestimating me a bit."
"Every investment carries risk—I've been in this game long enough to know that."
—Well then. His warning became a complete waste of breath.
Pei Qian could only sigh inwardly.
Fine. Since you're so confident, President Li, I'll stop trying.
Good luck to you.
It was also fortunate that President Li still didn't know about Pei Qian's plan to buy a villa and open a private dining business.
If President Li ever found out about that, he'd only become even more convinced that the place was destined to blow up.
Pei Qian raised his hand and called to the waiter.
"From now on, whenever President Li comes here, it's all on the house."
'Ah~ President Li… you've helped me so much, and I've got no real way to repay you. The least I can do is buy you a few more drinks.'
Li Shi felt a warm surge in his chest.
Of course, he didn't care about a few free drinks—but a permanent free tab? That showed President Pei's sincerity!
Such friendship was priceless.
He couldn't help but praise Pei Qian inwardly. Despite his young age, the man really did things in a refreshingly open and generous way.
Li Shi lifted his glass and said cheerfully,
"Thank you, President Pei. I hope we can continue to benefit each other and make a fortune together!"
. . . .
August 11th.
Shangyang Games.
"Director Lin, so… we're really going with him?"
Ye Zhizhou asked, his tone full of uncertainty.
"Mm. Him," Lin Wan replied, clearly reluctant—but helpless.
After receiving President Pei's marketing plan, Shangyang Games had followed his suggestion and reached out to a few Hong Kong and Taiwanese celebrities—both currently popular ones and some who had already faded from the spotlight.
Unfortunately, their asking prices were… problematic.
The still-famous ones wanted at least five million yuan per year, and even the cheaper ones cost two to three million at minimum.
To put that in perspective—the entire development budget of Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition was only around five million.
President Pei's marketing budget was a little over three million, and at first, Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin had thought there was no way they could spend that much—but once they heard the endorsement prices, they realized how naïve they'd been.
The previous Blood War Anthem had done some marketing too, but they'd never hired a celebrity; total promotion costs back then had barely reached a few hundred thousand yuan.
Compared to that, this was outrageously expensive.
Ye Zhizhou immediately felt it wasn't worth it at all.
Lin Wan wasn't happy either.
Her main concern was cost-effectiveness.
Sure, marketing was important for a game's success—but working at Tengda, she'd seen plenty of titles become smash hits without any huge marketing budget.
Five million for a Hong Kong celebrity endorsement? What good would that even do?
So yes, she thought it was a terrible deal.
But President Pei's marketing plan was right there in front of them—if he said to hire a celebrity, they had to hire one.
After a lot of back-and-forth, the three finally settled on the one with the best cost-performance ratio.
Zhang Zuting, 41 years old.
Although his recent movies had all flopped, he'd once been a well-known leading man in his youth, starring in many popular TV dramas. Among middle-aged audiences, his influence was still decent.
His endorsement fee was around 2 million yuan—still pricey in Lin Wan's opinion, but much cheaper than the others.
That way, they'd still have money left for online ads.
After careful consideration, Shangyang Games unanimously agreed—he was the best option.
The next step was to invite Zhang Zuting to Jingzhou to sign the contract and film the commercial.
Technically, they could shoot elsewhere, but since they were spending that much anyway, everyone wanted the chance to meet him in person.
Even if he was a has-been, taking a photo or getting an autograph from a celebrity would still be something to brag about.
"Then it's settled," said Lin Wan.
"Invite Zhang Zuting to Jingzhou!"
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