I Really Didn't Mean to Make Money

146 million.

Chen Mo stared at the number, his head throbbing. How was he supposed to spend all that?

After a moment of thought, he picked up his phone and called Wei Yan.

“Add another 20 million to the new game’s development budget.”

“But we don’t need that much—”

“Use it anyway. If you really can’t find a use for it, make more card decks. Other turn-based games have a hundred cards. You give me three hundred. No, five hundred. That many cards—wouldn’t that be a form of innovation too?”

“Alright, I’ve got other things to deal with. I’m hanging up.”

Without waiting for Wei Yan to respond, he ended the call.

There went another 20 million. That left him with 126 million.

The Film and Television Company could burn through a lot of money. Luo Xiao’s last movie lost over 30 million—if he invested more, wouldn’t it just lose even more?

Besides, Luo Xiao had already contacted him last night. He’d be coming over with Wang Bin the day after tomorrow.

Wang Bin, huh.

He used to be an extra. No acting skills to speak of. Making him the lead would only guarantee the movie turned out even worse.

Actually, if he wanted to burn money, hiring those traffic-driving idol actors—those pretty-faced stars—would definitely do the trick. But there were just too many people obsessed with celebrities these days.

Even if the film was garbage, the fans would still flock to support their beloved idols.

Who knows?

With the power of fandom, the movie might even turn a profit.

And even if it didn’t, with all that fan support, the losses probably wouldn’t be too bad.

So he scrapped the idea of hiring traffic stars altogether.

Instead, he’d go with complete unknowns—no fanbase, no acting chops. That way, with no star power and no talent, the movie was guaranteed to flop.

Chen Mo smiled faintly. He had high expectations for Blue Film Studio.

Still, without big-name stars, the investment couldn’t be too high. No way he could funnel over 100 million into it.

Which meant he needed to find other ways to spend money.

Ring ring ring!

His phone rang.

Caller ID: Jiang Cheng.

Something happened at the Clothing Factory?

Chen Mo answered, puzzled.

“What’s up?”

“President Chen, I have something to report.”

Jiang Cheng’s voice came through the speaker.

“Go ahead.”

Chen Mo nodded, curious. He’d already arranged most of the affairs at the Clothing Factory. What could be left?

“Here’s the situation, President Chen. As the Clothing Factory continues to expand, our employee cafeteria and dormitories are no longer sufficient, so...”

Jiang Cheng briefly explained the issues they were about to face with the factory’s expansion, and then shared the solution he’d come up with the night before.

Once Jiang Cheng finished, Chen Mo fell into thought.

He had only issued the order to gradually expand the Clothing Factory, but he had indeed overlooked the cafeteria and dormitory problems.

Jiang Cheng’s proposal, though, was quite interesting.

Spread word about hiring, and get the other companies in the park to voluntarily vacate.

Then take the opportunity to rent out all the vacant workshops.

That amount of rent would be a sizable expense. But with monthly income exceeding 100 million, rent and renovation costs were practically negligible.

He needed a way to burn through even more money.

Most of the workshops in the industrial park were two-story buildings—a waste of space.

If he rented them and rebuilt from scratch...

Take the dormitories, for example. He could build four or even six-story buildings.

That would save space, solve the dormitory shortage, and more importantly, give him a reason to spend construction money.

Way more expensive than just renting and doing minor renovations.

Yes.

That’s exactly what he’d do.

He’d been racking his brain for ways to spend money, and here Jiang Cheng had handed him one on a silver platter. No wonder he’d chosen Jiang Cheng—he really was the right man for the job.

A true lieutenant.

“Approved. Rent out every available workshop. Also, when you talk to Li Maode, let him know we plan to demolish and rebuild after renting. Ask if that’s allowed.”

“If he says no, hint that we might move the company to another industrial park. If he agrees, we can consider a long-term partnership.”

Demolishing and rebuilding would definitely require the park’s approval.

“President Chen, what exactly do you mean by demolish and rebuild?” Jiang Cheng asked cautiously.

He didn’t understand why President Chen wanted to tear everything down.

“If we want to expand the cafeteria and dormitory capacity, the current workshop sizes just won’t cut it. We’ll need to construct our own buildings.”

“And since we’re renting out all the workshops anyway, we might as well plan it properly—make the Clothing Factory layout more organized and efficient.”

Chen Mo laid out his vision.

Since Jiang Cheng was now the general manager of the Clothing Factory, he’d be responsible for the reconstruction. Giving him a heads-up now would help him prepare.

“Understood, President Chen.”

Jiang Cheng immediately grasped what Chen Mo was aiming for.

“I’ll get in touch with Li Maode right away.”

“Good.”

Chen Mo nodded and ended the call.

...

Changfeng Apparel.

Jiang Cheng put away his phone and left the office without delay.

He needed to speak with Li Maode as soon as possible.

Industrial Park Office Building.

Manager’s Office.

“Manager Jiang, what brings you here today?”

Li Maode looked up at the approaching Jiang Cheng, smiling as he poured him a cup of tea.

Yesterday, he had already heard the news that President Chen had moved to the headquarters. Now, Jiang Cheng had taken over as General Manager of the Clothing Factory.

This change didn’t really affect him much, so he hadn’t paid it any mind.

But today, the newly appointed general manager came straight to him—that was a bit unexpected.

“I’m here to discuss something with Manager Li...”

Jiang Cheng laid out his entire plan in detail to Li Maode.

“I see...”

Li Maode tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, falling into deep thought.

If they spread the news according to Jiang Cheng’s plan, the bosses in the Industrial Park would definitely start having second thoughts. It would only be a matter of time before they pulled out of their workshops.

After all, even without any official word, a few of the Industrial Park bosses had already approached him during the New Year period, saying they were likely to switch to other workshops this year.

So Jiang Cheng’s approach would simply accelerate the process of those companies leaving.

If that were all there was to it, he would have agreed to Jiang Cheng’s request without hesitation. As far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter who rented the workshops. In fact, leasing all of them to the Clothing Factory would actually make things easier for him.

But there was one thing he couldn’t decide on his own.

And that was rebuilding the workshops.