Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 336: Donations for Underprivileged Students
Lu Zhiyao looked at the script, then at Zhang Zuting.
He looked at the script again, then at President Pei.
Clearly, he was torn.
An unheard-of director, a production team with no proven success, a script that looked highly unconventional, and on top of that, he would be playing a simp of a male lead.
From every angle, taking this role was a risky move.
Yet after hearing Zhang Zuting's speech, Lu Zhiyao wavered badly.
'Maybe this film really could break away from the roles I've been typecast in before, and detox me from this "box-office poison" label?'
'If we can make a film with truly great word of mouth—even if it doesn't make much money—as long as it washes away the stigma of "box-office poison" and lets me win back the audience's goodwill, that would already be a huge win!'
'And working with Zhang Zuting… maybe I could even learn something from him and hone my acting skills.'
After weighing it over and over, Lu Zhiyao finally made up his mind and nodded.
"Alright. For this good script, and for Mr. Zhang, I'll take the gamble! I'll cut my pay and join the crew as well!"
Pei Qian hurriedly raised a hand to stop him.
"That's absolutely not acceptable!"
"I won't short the remuneration you both deserve by a single cent. I'll even pay you extra!"
"Please don't feel embarrassed at all. As long as the two of you give outstanding performances, that will be the greatest return for me!"
Zhang Zuting and Lu Zhiyao both revealed relieved smiles.
As expected, working with someone like President Pei was just refreshing and straightforward!
Pei Qian was also very pleased. With a "box-office poison" joining the crew, great things were bound to happen!
"Since that's settled, let's hurry up with the preparations and aim to start filming as soon as possible!"
Pei Qian couldn't wait to burn through those thirty million yuan immediately.
...
As for the movie, things were temporarily wrapped up.
The script was finalized, the pre-production work was more or less complete, and the two main actors had been secured. Their status and acting skills were both solid, it really did look like a proper film project, not something destined to die the moment it hit theaters.
They'd fooled everyone. The disguise was flawless.
As for the female lead and some of the supporting roles, Pei Qian didn't bother with them and left Zhu Xiaoce to handle it himself.
After all, the female characters in this film were basically just background characters. Their screen time wasn't extensive, and they probably wouldn't shine much anyway.
As long as the judge and the male lead—the two key roles—were locked in, no matter how the other actors struggled, they couldn't possibly turn the tables.
...
...
Monday, November 22.
Pei Qian casually shut off his 10 a.m. alarm, slept for another half hour, and then woke up naturally.
After getting up and taking a look, it was about time for lunch, so he ordered something from Moyu Delivery.
He watched some shows while waiting, and soon the food arrived.
As he ate, Pei Qian pondered his work for the near future.
For this cycle, all the tasks had basically been handed out. In the short term—at least for the next five or six days—there shouldn't be anything especially urgent to deal with.
The only issue was the five million yuan allocated for charity. He still hadn't figured out exactly how to spend it.
There were many ways to do charity.
Some wealthy businessmen overseas did charity for tax breaks; some even turned it into a business, not only avoiding losses but making profits as well.
But Pei Qian's purpose in doing charity was rather pure, it's purely to lose money.
The simplest method was to just donate it away. But the question was: donate to whom?
Whether it was donating to impoverished children or to underdeveloped regions within the country, the money would inevitably pass through certain charitable organizations. Pei Qian neither had the energy nor the inclination to verify or distinguish which of these organizations were truly reliable.
After all, plenty of charities and non-profit organizations that looked perfectly trustworthy had ended up exposed in scandals.
The money would be spent no matter what, but if it ended up lining the pockets of some parasites, that would be extremely infuriating.
So Pei Qian's initial plan was to start from his immediate surroundings, first making sure that the money could go to people who truly needed it, and only then gradually expanding the scope.
Five million yuan for charity wasn't much in absolute terms. Compared to foreign tycoons who would casually donate nearly 90% of their estates to charitable foundations, it was far from impressive.
But many of those overseas tycoons made such "bare donations" of their estates largely for tax avoidance. Out of that massive inheritance, it would already be considered good if even half a percent actually went toward genuine charitable activities.
Pei Qian's five million, on the other hand, was a solid, real five million. It would all be spent—every last cent—without any discount.
In the future, as the system's initial funds continued to grow, the amount he could allocate to charity would also increase. It might rise to eight million, ten million, or even higher.
From a long-term perspective, he would definitely need to establish a dedicated charitable foundation to manage these funds and ensure the money was spent where it was needed most.
But that wasn't urgent for now.
So for the time being, he planned to start close to home, at least ensuring that the money reached people who genuinely needed it.
The only problem was exactly who to give it to… he hadn't really figured that out yet.
As he was thinking, the phone rang.
Pei Qian put down his chopsticks and glanced at the caller ID.
It was his university counselor, Zhang Wei.
"Hm?" Pei Qian was a bit surprised.
The last time Zhang Wei had called was to ask him to put in a good word with the higher-ups at Feihuang Studio, hoping to help a few of his senior classmates solve their employment problems.
Pei Qian had thought he'd struck gold and happily arranged for them to join Terminal Chinese Web.
And then…
There was no "after that."
Now Zhang Wei was calling again, what could it be about this time?
Pei Qian was already a sophomore. He still didn't hold any positions at school, and his grades this year would at best be on par with last year's. Scholarships and honors were definitely out of the question for him, and as for anything else… even less likely.
Could it be another batch of seniors needing help with employment?
That didn't make sense either, it wasn't even graduation season yet.
With these doubts in mind, Pei Qian answered the call.
"Hello? Mr. Zhang?"
There was a two-second pause on the other end. Zhang Wei's tone sounded somewhat complicated.
"Pei Qian… should I be calling you 'President Pei' now?"
Pei Qian: "???"
Something felt very wrong.
Had everything been exposed???
Zhang Wei had stayed on as a counselor after graduating as a senior himself. In terms of age, he was only about five or six years older than Pei Qian, so they could be considered peers. Although they didn't interact that often, their relationship was basically like that of friends.
Zhang Wei would even pay out of his own pocket to take some of the guys from Pei Qian year out to eat and drink, so Pei Qian had a good impression of him.
But this phone call made Pei Qian feel that something was seriously off.
Previously, he had told Zhang Wei that he'd found a part-time job at Feihuang Studio, and Zhang Wei clearly hadn't suspected anything.
But now Zhang Wei was calling him "President Pei"—that was a huge problem!
Pei Qian forced a smile.
"Mr. Zhang, what kind of joke is that? Since when did I become 'President Pei'?"
Zhang Wei was both annoyed and amused.
"Stop pretending! If Zhu Anxing hadn't come back to visit me recently and talked about you, I'd still be kept in the dark!"
"So you're actually the boss of Tengda, and Feihuang Studio and a bunch of other businesses are all yours?"
"You're really something, silently building such a huge enterprise in just over a year, and keeping such a low profile that hardly anyone around you even knew!"
"If it were anyone else, they'd be bragging all over campus the moment they made a little money. But you? You built such a huge company and ended up hiding it like a thief!"
Pei Qian: "..."
This is bad. It's been exposed!
Pei Qian had already tried his best to minimize his appearances at Terminal Chinese Web, but something like this could never be hidden forever…
After a brief silence, Pei Qian said, "Mr. Zhang, you know I'm a low-key person. I just want to live a normal campus life. I really don't want to be sitting in class one day and suddenly have a bunch of seniors rush into the classroom to ask me for jobs, that would be way too surreal…"
Zhang Wei was a bit speechless. "Is this how a business genius thinks? Truly… unconventional. Fine, since you've put it that way, as a teacher I'll definitely keep this a secret for you. You don't need to worry about your normal life being affected."
"But…"
"President Pei, when the next year's graduation season comes, you'll have to lend your teacher a hand."
"I heard from Zhu Anxing, you arranged for them to go to Terminal Chinese Web, and now the site is doing really well! Look, this is a win-win situation. The school provides you with talent, you provide jobs for the seniors, my employment rate goes up, and your company's performance improves. Everyone wins, how great is that!"
Pei Qian: "..."
On the surface, it did look great. However…
Forget it. It was hard to put into words.
Pei Qian really didn't want to take in any more seniors. It was just too much to handle!
If he ended up creating another Terminal Chinese Web, would he even survive?
The current Terminal Chinese Web wasn't making a huge amount of money, but it was still a burden. He didn't want any more burdens.
But he couldn't refuse outright either. After all, Zhang Wei was right, by all accounts, this was a three-way win for the school, the individuals, and the company. What reason could he possibly give to say no?
Then Pei Qian thought of the recruitment exam he had previously established and got an idea.
"Mr. Zhang, it's like this."
"You know that Tengda has attracted attention from many sides recently for some unexpected reasons, so not long ago the company just finalized a set of rules and regulations. Now, for us, anyone who wants to join must take an exam. All applicants are screened through a unified entry examination."
"I can't exactly set a rule and then immediately break it myself, right?"
Zhang Wei: "…I see. That is a bit of a pity."
"Alright, since it's a new rule, I won't push it. This year I'll talk to the fourth-year students and have them start preparing in advance for your company's exam."
Pei Qian then thought of something else. "Oh right, Mr. Zhang. Even though I can't directly hire them, there are some other things I can do to help our alma mater."
"First, regarding the entry exam, I hope we can find some graduate students to help grade the papers when the time comes. The compensation will definitely be generous."
Zhang Wei replied, "That's easy enough. I'll report it to the faculty leadership, it shouldn't be a problem."
Pei Qian continued, "Also, I want to donate a sum of money to the school's underprivileged students."
Zhang Wei said, "That would be great. But how are you planning to donate? According to the school's list of underprivileged students?"
Pei Qian shook his head. "I hope we can check the campus card system and filter out a group of students who make frequent purchases at the cafeteria each month but spend very small amounts each time, and then have the school verify their actual financial situations."
"Any students who are confirmed to be in financial difficulty will receive 500 yuan per month for the next five months, to ensure their basic living needs."
"There will be a total of 2,000 slots."
Zhang Wei was silent for a moment.
"Alright. On behalf of those students, thank you."
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