I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

The room remained silent as the employees glanced at one another.

Wei Yan felt a headache coming on. If no one was willing to speak up, there wasn’t much he could do—he barely understood games himself!

Just as he was about to say something encouraging, a young man stood up and raised his hand.

Seeing someone finally willing to speak, Wei Yan quickly gestured for him to go ahead.

“Go ahead, share your thoughts.”

“I’ve played a lot of turn-based games. Most of them are card-based. Honestly, most turn-based games are pretty similar—the only differences lie in the card types and characters.”

“Currently, turn-based games come in all kinds—cartoon styles, sexy female characters skirting the edge, ancient generals and warriors...”

“But from what I’ve seen, each game’s card types are too one-dimensional. They usually stick to just one theme.”

“I was thinking, what if we combined all those different card types into a single game—humans, immortals, demons, monsters... that sort of thing.”

“That’s all I’ve got. Not sure if it’s useful.”

Xu Yuan spoke nervously. He was a relatively new hire at Cangxue Games and didn’t count as a veteran employee.

Still, when Manager Wei asked for input, he chose to step up. He saw it as a chance—whether his idea was good or not, at least he could make an impression in front of Manager Wei.

“Not bad.”

Wei Yan nodded slightly, giving Xu Yuan a look of appreciation.

He wasn’t sure whether the idea was good or not, but the fact that Xu Yuan was the first to speak up was already commendable.

“What’s your name?” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“Xu Yuan.”

Xu Yuan answered quickly.

“You’ve played a lot of turn-based games?”

“A few, yeah.”

“Alright, then based on your idea, put together a simple proposal.”

Wei Yan smiled.

Every journey starts with a first step. Since no one else had spoken up, they might as well start with Xu Yuan’s concept.

If there were problems, they could always adjust along the way.

“Okay, Manager Wei.”

Xu Yuan nodded, a bit overwhelmed by the attention.

The other employees in the meeting room were surprised by Wei Yan’s response.

But Wei Yan didn’t pay them any mind. He stood up and said directly,

“That’s it for today’s meeting. Go back and think carefully—if you come up with any good suggestions, you can send them to my office.”

“Meeting adjourned!”

“Xu Yuan, come to my office.”

Since Xu Yuan had played many turn-based games, it wouldn’t hurt to have him recommend a few. Hearing others talk about them was never as effective as trying them out yourself.

...

CEO’s Office

Tang Qiu knocked and entered.

“President Chen, the Blue Film Studio matter is nearly wrapped up. Once the paperwork is finalized in a few days, we’ll be ready to launch.”

“Good work.”

Chen Mo nodded slightly. The Blue Film Studio situation was almost completely settled.

Now it was just a matter of Luo Xiao arriving. They had agreed on March, but hadn’t set a specific date.

No telling exactly when he’d show up.

“It wasn’t hard!”

Tang Qiu smiled and shook her head, then continued,

“President Chen, anything else you need me to handle?”

“There is one thing. I’m planning to register an investment company. Take care of that for me, will you?”

Chen Mo remembered he hadn’t yet set up his investment company, so he decided to have Tang Qiu handle it.

“Understood, President Chen.”

After watching Tang Qiu leave, Chen Mo picked up a notebook and began jotting things down.

Cangxue Games was progressing according to plan. A declining turn-based game, coupled with Wei Yan’s lack of gaming knowledge—this time, success was practically impossible.

He didn’t care how much this new game lost. As long as it didn’t make a profit, that was good enough.

Right now, Tianlong and Extreme Survival were already giving him enough of a headache. The last thing he needed was a third profitable game.

Over at Changfeng Apparel, the work had already been delegated. Once the shoe-making workshop was built, buying the machines and hiring staff would add another line of expenses. He’d also arranged for Jiang Cheng to coordinate with Li Maode to rent more factory space.

If everything went smoothly, Changfeng Apparel would soon become a sustainable money-burning machine.

Nanhe Coffee had already started sending staff to Beijing to set up a branch office. Once that was established, Nanhe Coffee could begin expanding in Beijing.

Given the cost of living there, opening a single coffee shop would cost around 3.5 million. If they opened five a month, that’d be 17.5 million.

Boring Short Video was still recruiting streamers. Once they had enough, that platform could also start burning through a significant amount of money every month.

Then there was the newly founded Blue Film Studio. Once Luo Xiao arrived, they could immediately confirm the investment.

Spending tens of millions on a movie wasn’t unreasonable—and if it flopped, well, that wouldn’t be his problem.

Chen Mo looked over his notes and slowly closed the notebook.

He’d already asked Shen Rou to speak with Finance and compile a report on Mingri Group’s current expenditures.

Once he had the data, he could draft a more targeted spending plan.

...

Changfeng Apparel

Jiang Cheng returned to his office. Ever since President Chen had moved his office to Mingri Group headquarters, Jiang Cheng had taken over his old office.

Looking over the notes from President Chen’s meeting, he immediately used the intercom to call the staff in for a meeting. He needed to implement President Chen’s directives as soon as possible.

Before long, He arrived at the meeting room. Seeing the crowd of employees that had gathered, he felt a wave of nervousness.

This was his first time holding a meeting as General Manager. Although President Chen had announced his promotion before the New Year, at that time, President Chen was still working out of the Clothing Factory.

Until now, it had always been President Chen or Assistant Shen who held meetings or issued directives.

But starting today, Jiang Cheng would be taking over responsibility for Changfeng Apparel. Naturally, he felt a bit nervous and uneasy.

“Hello everyone. From today onward, I’ll be managing Changfeng Apparel. I hope to have your support going forward.”

Jiang Cheng did his best to appear calm and composed.

Clap clap clap!

A round of enthusiastic applause echoed through the conference room.

Once the clapping died down, Jiang Cheng spoke again, his tone steady.

“First, let me share the key points from President Chen’s meeting.”

“Number one: President Chen plans to continue expanding the Clothing Factory and to strengthen its design capabilities.”

“Number two: Regarding personnel appointments—since some of our staff have followed President Chen to the headquarters, there are now several vacancies at the Clothing Factory. In the coming days, we’ll be selecting employees to fill those roles. And as the factory continues to grow, there will be even more leadership positions opening up.”

“Number three: Salary adjustments. All employees who have been with the company for over six months will receive a raise of 1,000 yuan. Those who’ve been here less than six months will get a 500 yuan raise. Additionally, there will be changes to employee benefits. The shopping card benefit will be upgraded—employees who’ve been with us for over six months will now receive a 1,500 yuan shopping card.”