"I'm busy Friday night. If you have something to say, say it now."
When he got to work, Shen Siyuan sent a message directly to Ding Youguang via Enterprise WeChat.
Ding Youguang quickly replied.
"I've found a way to get rich, and I want to talk to you about it."
"A way to get rich? And you want to talk to me? All I have are two eighty-percent-new kidneys.
Are you after them?"
"Who'd want your kidneys? They probably reek. I'm being serious with you."
"Is that so? Then let's talk during lunch…"
Shen Siyuan was very puzzled.
What kind of get-rich scheme could Ding Youguang have that would involve him?
This kid isn't planning on selling me off to some scam compound in Southeast Asia, is he?
The work in Operations was actually quite relaxed. Besides communicating with the Programmers to develop some holiday events, the daily tasks involved handling issues that Players reported to Customer Service, which Operations was also responsible for resolving by communicating with the Programmers.
But while the work in Operations was relaxed, the pressure was anything but small. Operations was responsible for a game's revenue, and there were monthly Revenue Targets that would affect the Team Income.
In the entire Operations Department, basically everyone was in charge of one game. Shen Siyuan was no exception, responsible for a Xianxia Game.
His team members, besides himself in Operations, included one person from Customer Service, one Programmer, and one person from the Art Department.
So the monthly revenue didn't just affect his income, but the income of several others as well.
So, Shen Siyuan wasn't idle all morning. He played a few newly released games, calling it "researching Competitive Products."
He caught up on a few novels, calling it "Brain Relaxation."
And just like that, a "busy" morning passed.
As lunchtime approached, Wang Chao was the first to shout.
"I'm ordering takeout, anyone want in?"
The chubby Tian Yunrui, sitting opposite him, immediately looked up and asked, "Which place are you ordering from?"
"Weixiaochu downstairs. Their food is good, and the portions are generous."
Upon hearing it was Weixiaochu, several others quickly asked Wang Chao to help them order too.
Although Wang Chao could be a bit of a loudmouth, he was usually very enthusiastic and would proactively help out with anything.
For example, when ordering lunch, he appeared very patient, asking everyone one by one what they wanted to eat.
"Shen Siyuan, what are you having for lunch?"
"None for me, I'm going downstairs to eat," Shen Siyuan said.Then, Li Wenjuan, sitting behind him, immediately said, "Shen Siyuan, bring me back a serving of Cold Skin Noodles."
"Sure, but I'll probably be a little late coming back after my meal."
"No problem, I'm not that hungry anyway," Li Wenjuan said.
This girl ate either Cold Skin Noodles, Rice Noodles, or some Light Food Salad every day. She said she was on a diet, but Shen Siyuan couldn't see where she was fat at all.
"Juan-mei, why don't you just order from Weixiaochu with me?" Wang Chao said immediately.
This guy clearly had a Girlfriend, yet he was overly friendly with all women.
It was hard to say whether he was just being a gentleman or had ulterior motives.
"Their place isn't clean," Li Wenjuan said.
Hearing this, Shen Siyuan, who was most qualified to speak on the matter, immediately chimed in, "That's true. I've found a cockroach in my food twice.
They just replaced my meal each time. Does a replacement meal make it clean?"
"You're just picky.
How come none of us ever got one?" Tian Yunrui retorted immediately.
"Hehe, who knows.
You eat so fast, are you sure you didn't just swallow one?" Shen Siyuan laughed.
Tian Yunrui's face turned green upon hearing this.
He then tried to argue that it was high in protein, something Cantonese people often eat, and so on.
Cantonese people even eat Fujianese people.
Why don't you go eat a Fujianese person then?
For a moment, the Office was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
As soon as it struck twelve, Ding Youguang appeared at the entrance of the Operations Department.
"Brother Shen, let's go…"Shen Siyuan picked up his Mobile Phone and stood up. Chen Hao immediately said, "Brother Shen, bring me back a bottle of Cola."
"Is there none in the company Vending Machine?"
"They're long gone! The damn Technical Department! They were just restocked this morning, and those guys took them all…" Chen Hao cursed.
Cola is the spiritual food of Programmers, so it's always consumed quickly.
"Alright then."Just as Shen Siyuan agreed, he heard others chime in, "Brother Shen, bring me a bottle too."
"Me too."
"Fuck, can't you guys go down and get it yourselves?"
"Nope~"
This time, it was Shen Siyuan's turn to grumble.
"So what's this all about, being so secretive?"
"We'll talk while we eat."
"We only have an hour and a half for lunch.
I was hoping to get some rest."
"Don't worry, I've already called the restaurant. The food will be served as soon as we arrive. It won't take up your time."
Ding Youguang had indeed arranged things perfectly, so Shen Siyuan couldn't say much more.
When they arrived at a stir-fry place downstairs called Huaguang Restaurant, sure enough, the dishes started arriving one after another as soon as they sat down—two meat and two vegetable dishes.
This Huaguang Restaurant didn't do delivery, only dine-in.
They often liked to come here for private gatherings.
Ding Youguang had ordered two meat and two vegetable dishes: Stir-fried Pork Liver, Braised Pork Belly, Potato and Eggplant, and Dry-fried String Beans.
All were signature dishes of the restaurant, and the portions were generous enough for two.
"Alright, spit it out.
What's this secret business?"
"I've found a way to get rich. Want in?"
"What kind of get-rich scheme is it that you'd be kind enough to include me?" Shen Siyuan wasn't joking this time, but speaking seriously.
"Because I can't do it alone," Ding Youguang said.
"Explain the details.
What kind of scheme is it?"
"TV Games," Ding Youguang said, a little excitedly.
"TV Games?" Shen Siyuan was stunned for a moment, then it started to click.
Modern smart TVs are basically just enlarged mobile phones. Besides being unable to make calls, their functions are pretty much the same.
In theory, any game playable on a mobile phone could be played on a TV. The only consideration was that TV controls weren't as convenient as a phone's.
So they required a Controller to operate, although some simpler games could be played directly with a Remote Control.
Shen Siyuan quickly thought it through and said, "This seems feasible, but there's just one problem."
"What problem?"
"Distribution Channels. Although you have access to all the company's channel information, those are all for mobile games."
"No channels, no Traffic/User Flow.
It's all just talk."
"Hehe~" Ding Youguang gave a cunning smile upon hearing this.
"You have a connection?"
"Right. I have a brother at China Mobile who's in charge of the Set-top Box division.
He also introduced me to a few companies that develop APPs for the set-top boxes on the market. We could get our game directly onto their channels…"
"Awesome.
Now that you put it that way, it actually seems possible," Shen Siyuan said, also getting a bit excited.
Although fewer and fewer people watch TV nowadays, it still has a massive user base.
If they could really get their games out there, they might not make a fortune, but they would definitely earn a decent amount.
"And I've also done some research.
There are only a few companies making TV Games on the market right now, and their games are pretty trash. Here's their Monthly Revenue…" Ding Youguang handed his Mobile Phone to Shen Siyuan.
Shen Siyuan took it and looked. It listed a few companies, followed by detailed monthly Download Volume, Number of Registrations, Number of Paying Users, and Revenue Amount.
The highest was five to six hundred thousand a month, and the lowest was still two to three hundred thousand.
"You managed to get your hands on this?" Shen Siyuan was a little impressed.
This was basically a company secret and shouldn't have been leaked.
"A friend of mine gave it to me," Ding Youguang said with a hint of pride.
Obviously, this "friend" was his brother at China Mobile. Only those who controlled the upstream channels would have such detailed revenue data for each company.
"So, what do you think? Can we do this?" Ding Youguang pressed.
"We can," Shen Siyuan gave him a very definite answer.