Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 482: What Is Shock Therapy?
Pei Qian smiled slightly, picked up the teapot beside him, personally poured a cup of tea, and pushed it toward Rui Yuchen.
"Your answer was good."
Rui Yuchen quickly accepted the cup with both hands, while doubts began swirling in his mind.
A good answer?
What does that mean?
I said 'I don't know'!
President Pei rarely praised people!
Did he think I was being honest and straightforward?
That couldn't be it.
Honesty was certainly a valuable quality, but President Pei wouldn't praise someone just for that.
Or perhaps President Pei realized I was playing dumb? Maybe he thought my answer helped preserve his dignity, so he was satisfied with it?
No, that didn't make sense either.
President Pei wasn't that shallow.
Or maybe my answer had accidentally aligned with the deeper meaning hidden in his question?
After eliminating those two wrong possibilities, Rui Yuchen's mind began racing. He realized that behind President Pei's simple compliment, there must be a great deal of important information.
Could it be that the seemingly flawed business model President Pei had established for Moyu Delivery actually had a deeper purpose?
And the reason he asked that question was to test whether I could see the hidden meaning behind it?
If I had honestly answered, "This model isn't profitable," then President Pei would know that I only saw the first layer and had completely failed to notice the existence of a second layer.
But by answering, "I don't know," I had inadvertently demonstrated that not only had I seen the first layer, but I was also aware that there was a second layer.
Although I hadn't found the correct answer, at least my approach to solving the problem was right.
Not a perfect score, but at least sixty points for showing the work.
And President Pei's praise was probably because of that...
A stream of thoughts flashed through Rui Yuchen's mind.
Seeing the serious look on Rui Yuchen's face, Pei Qian assumed he was nervous and smiled.
"No need to be nervous. Whether Moyu Delivery makes money or not isn't that important, understand?"
Rui Yuchen's heart trembled.
As expected!
For President Pei, profitability was only Moyu Delivery's secondary objective. Its primary objective was something else entirely!
But what?
Providing benefits for employees?
Creating synergy with other businesses so that the Tengda Group's influence could reach every aspect of daily life?
Providing healthier meals for consumers and changing their eating habits, guiding everyone toward a healthier lifestyle?
Although he couldn't determine exactly which one it was, it had to be one of those three.
Rui Yuchen felt relieved.
His answer of "I don't know" had indeed stumbled onto the correct path.
Even though his reasoning process had been wildly off, the final result happened to match.
He quickly pulled himself together and continued listening attentively.
Pei Qian continued, "Today, I called you here because I have several tasks for you."
"First, starting today, Moyu Delivery will become independent from Moyu Internet Café. You will no longer report to Xiao Peng; instead, you will report directly to me."
"The newly independent Moyu Delivery will establish its own stores and expand on its own. It will no longer rely on Moyu Internet Café."
"If you want to ask where the money will come from, ask me directly."
"Second, hire some nutritionists and experts at high salaries and establish a 'Food Laboratory.' It will be responsible for developing various healthy meal options suitable for Moyu Delivery. The laboratory will also oversee the selection and procurement of tableware, ingredients, and other related matters, all with the goal of improving the taste of Moyu Delivery's meals."
"Third, develop a fitness meal program to serve as the standard meal package for a gym."
Pei Qian had been thinking about the future of Moyu Delivery for a long time.
More than a year has passed since the business was established. Not only had it solved employees' meal problems, but it had also been consistently striving to lose money. Although the losses were merely a drop in the bucket compared to Tengda's highly profitable projects, President Pei had noticed and appreciated those efforts.
However, at the moment, Moyu Delivery was still attached to the internet café business. If they wanted the delivery service to lose even more money, they would have to open more internet cafés—and the problem was that the cafés were now making far more money than Moyu Delivery was losing.
This created a vicious cycle.
So Pei Qian felt that it was time to separate the delivery business and let it stand on its own.
Moyu Delivery could open dedicated storefronts, allowing the company to spend more on rent. And once it was no longer tied to Moyu Internet Café, it would be free to expand much more aggressively.
At the same time, Pei Qian felt that pouring money into research and development for Moyu Delivery sounded like a great idea.
Of course, he definitely did not mean developing fast food. That would be far too profitable. The last thing Pei Qian wanted was to accidentally create the next KFC or McDonald's and end up with another massive success on his hands.
What he had in mind was producing healthy meals, fitness meals, weight-loss meals, and similar foods that weren't particularly tasty, then pricing them high enough to discourage mainstream customers.
Speaking of food delivery, there was a joke about this.
Why do healthy salad deliveries and similar services often sell poorly?
A netizen once answered:
"I'm already ordering delivery, why the hell would I still care whether it's healthy?"
Obviously, that didn't represent everyone's thinking, but there was some truth to it.
Most people ordered delivery because they wanted rich, salty, flavorful food. Munching on leafy greens simply wasn't very enjoyable, and most people couldn't stick with it for long.
Therefore, Pei Qian believed that focusing on these so-called healthy meals was the safest possible option. Even if some office workers in the city ordered them for weight loss, the number of customers would never be very large.
Moreover, one of Moyu Delivery's defining features—reusable tableware collection—meant that the business could never become profitable until it reached a certain scale.
The fitness meal program could conveniently be bundled with gym memberships, simultaneously discouraging both gym customers and delivery customers.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
Pei Qian was almost impressed by his own brilliance.
After listening to President Pei's plans, Rui Yuchen fell silent, unsure what to say.
The department had been losing money the entire time, yet instead of being criticized, he had actually been promoted!
Now Moyu Delivery would be on the same organizational level as Moyu Internet Café. Not only that, but he would be reporting directly to President Pei.
Anyone who had watched palace dramas knew that simply being able to speak directly to the emperor was itself a tremendous source of power.
This meant that Moyu Delivery would no longer have to remain subordinate to Moyu Internet Café, merely providing support and assistance. It could finally break out of that framework and pursue its own development.
As for the "Food Laboratory" and the "fitness meals," they carried even deeper significance.
The former indicated that President Pei placed enormous importance on Moyu Delivery's future.
The latter suggested that President Pei was willing to use Tengda's other businesses to support and nurture Moyu Delivery.
Together, these three decisions sent a very strong message:
Go ahead and realize your ambitions. I will support you unconditionally.
Rui Yuchen felt an inexplicable sense of emotion welling up inside him and became even more convinced that his earlier conclusion had been correct.
President Pei's initial question really had contained a second layer of meaning.
Moyu Delivery's lack of profitability was simply a consequence of its operating model.
Healthy meals that neglected flavor were naturally unpopular.
The costs of collecting, cleaning, disinfecting, and reusing tableware drove expenses higher, and only after reaching a certain scale could those costs potentially be recovered.
And in President Pei's eyes, making money was only the secondary objective for Moyu Delivery.
So what was the primary objective?
Originally, Rui Yuchen had only been guessing.
Now he was completely certain.
Moyu Delivery's foremost mission was to guide consumers toward healthier lifestyles through their eating habits.
At the same time, the Tengda Group would use this process to establish an early foothold in related industries and lay a solid foundation for future development.
This goal had very likely been determined by President Pei from the very beginning, when Moyu Delivery was first established.
However, because of funding constraints and the immaturity of related industries at the time, the necessary conditions had not yet been in place. Naturally, there had been no need to reveal such plans to Moyu Delivery's managers back then.
But now, the conditions seem to be ripe.
Moyu Delivery had already reached a respectable scale and had built a certain reputation among consumers.
If it continued expanding and eventually got everyone to embrace the concept of "healthy eating," then making money would become effortless, wouldn't it?
As expected, all of Moyu Delivery's previous losses had been part of President Pei's calculations!
Rui Yuchen wanted to shout:
"President Pei, I understand now! I understand why Moyu Delivery has been operating at a loss all this time! I understand the true purpose behind this business model!"
But when he saw the faint smile at the corner of President Pei's lips, he suddenly felt there was no need.
Clearly, President Pei had long known that he would eventually figure it out. It was only a matter of sooner or later.
Saying it out loud now would just make him seem shallow and lacking in composure.
Everyone knew that President Pei disliked subordinates who constantly boasted about their achievements. Instead, he preferred people who focused on problems rather than accomplishments, those who worked diligently and quietly without seeking credit.
After much deliberation, all of Rui Yuchen's countless thoughts ultimately condensed into a single sentence:
"Don't worry, President Pei. I'll complete these tasks flawlessly and will never disappoint your expectations!"
Pei Qian nodded with satisfaction.
Good. This one can be taught.
Meanwhile...
Huang Sibo was lying on the couch at home. Having just finished watching another foreign film, he suddenly felt bored.
Checking the date, he realized that more than a week had already passed since Feihuang Studio had officially entered its "shock therapy" period.
The overseas release arrangements for A Better Tomorrow were still underway, and the domestic box-office revenue should be arriving soon as well.
President Pei had ordered Feihuang Studio to undergo a full four months of "shock therapy." Yet after only one week, Huang Sibo was already struggling to endure it.
"Being stuck at home is way too boring..."
A paid vacation sounded wonderful in theory, but staying at home every day with nothing to do except watch movies could drive anyone crazy.
Huang Sibo desperately wanted to go back to work.
But he didn't dare.
President Pei had said Feihuang Studio was to enter shock therapy, and if President Pei said so, then shock therapy it would be.
If he secretly went back to work and got caught by President Pei, the consequences would undoubtedly be disastrous.
But maintaining this lifestyle for four whole months?
That was practically worse than death.
Huang Sibo took out his phone and posted a message in the Feihuang Studio group chat:
"I'm so bored!!!"
Responses quickly poured in.
"Same here!"
"I'm watching four movies a day. I'm getting sick of them."
"I miss the days when we were filming A Better Tomorrow."
"Me too. Filming was exhausting, but it was fun and gave a real sense of accomplishment. Now that we're on paid leave, I feel like I'm being spoiled into uselessness."
Everyone began venting their frustrations.
Huang Sibo silently sighed.
Apparently it wasn't just him—everyone felt the same way.
Then Zhu Xiaoce spoke up:
"Everyone, hold off on the complaints for a moment. I've been thinking deeply these past few days, and I suddenly realized something."
Huang Sibo froze and quickly typed:
"What did you realize?"
Zhu Xiaoce replied:
"President Pei didn't tell us we were on 'paid vacation.' He said we were undergoing 'shock therapy.'"
Huang Sibo was confused.
"What's the difference? In practice, we're basically on paid vacation right now."
Zhu Xiaoce sent a "thinking" emoji.
"No, no, no. There's definitely a difference."
"Paid vacation means work has been exhausting, so you take some time off to rest. Usually, at most, a week is enough."
"But President Pei gave us an absolutely insane four months."
"For the purpose of rest, that's obviously far beyond what's necessary."
"That's why President Pei used the term 'shock therapy.'"
Huang Sibo looked puzzled.
"Then how do you explain shock therapy?"
Zhu Xiaoce said:
"'Shock therapy' is an economics concept. Roughly speaking, when an economy is suffering from severe imbalance, drastic measures are taken to restore balance between supply and demand. In the short term, these measures may even disrupt normal social and economic operations, but if applied correctly, order can be restored relatively quickly after a painful adjustment period."
"And right now, Feihuang Studio is facing exactly that kind of situation."
Huang Sibo looked confused.
"Not really, though? We don't have any 'severe imbalance,' nor are we facing any major crisis..."
Zhu Xiaoce replied:
"Think about it more carefully."
"Is everyone's mentality really balanced right now?"
"I'm a film-school graduate who has been out of school for less than two years. Brother Huang, you only switched over from the gaming industry not long ago. As for everyone else, many of us have formal training, but who among us has ever participated in a film this successful?"
"Our studio has been making small web dramas all this time. Then our very first feature film earned more than 200 million yuan at the box office and received both critical acclaim and commercial success."
"Who can honestly say they haven't gotten carried away?"
"Who can honestly say their mindset hasn't become distorted at all?"
"Haven't we all started to feel that a 200-million-yuan box office success isn't really that difficult? That it's practically there for the taking?"
The group fell silent.
After calming down and honestly examining himself, Huang Sibo realized that Zhu Xiaoce might actually be right.
Everyone really had become a little full of themselves!
But that was only natural.
Their first movie had earned more than 200 million yuan at the box office and received endless praise. It would be difficult for any normal person not to get carried away.
After thinking for a moment, Huang Sibo typed:
"Then what does that have to do with shock therapy?"
Zhu Xiaoce quickly replied:
"Think about what would happen if we started preparing our next movie with our current mindset."
"The success of A Better Tomorrow came from several factors. First, President Pei provided an excellent script. Second, every one of us poured out the inspiration we'd accumulated over the years, allowing us to perform beyond our normal abilities during production. Third, because it was our first movie, we approached everything with extreme caution and humility."
"But what about now?"
"I don't doubt that President Pei could come up with another great script. But we've already exhausted our accumulated inspiration, and at the same time we've become inflated with success. We can no longer maintain the same mindset we had before."
"If we make a movie in that state, it's almost guaranteed to fail."
"Clearly, President Pei saw this serious imbalance in everyone's mentality long ago. That's why he decided to use shock therapy—to force us to reflect on ourselves and readjust our state of mind."
His words were like a bolt of lightning waking everyone from a dream.
Huang Sibo suddenly felt that the argument made perfect sense.
He quickly asked:
"Then what should we do now? Stay at home and do nothing?"
Zhu Xiaoce replied:
"Self-reflection and restoring the right mindset are only one part of it. There's another equally important aspect: replenishing our inspiration."
"In the film industry, hard work alone isn't enough. Without the right methods—and especially without inspiration—all you'll produce are bad movies. They won't make money, won't earn a good reputation, and will only burn through cash while attracting criticism."
"Only when we have abundant inspiration can we create better works."
"So, we need to continue our education."
"We need to go study."
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 536: Still Going with the "Bare Walls" Style[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284