Actor: Thank you.

Some people like lively places, while others prefer quiet places.

Zhang Yuan prefers peace and quiet towards the end of the year.

It's like having no oil or fat all year round, and then looking forward to the meat and seafood dumplings during the Lunar New Year – you can think about it all year.

But if you eat meat every day and entertain guests and socialize all the time, you'll wish you could fast for a few days during the New Year and eat some vegetarian food.

The Spring Festival Gala is the same thing.

Zhao Benshan said that people are being educated all year round, so let everyone have some fun during these few hours on New Year's Eve. Happiness is the main theme.

But some people feel that ordinary people are "lacking in education" and have to attend classes on New Year's Eve.

Zhang Yuan usually has too many social engagements. Eating isn't just about eating; at the dinner table, under the influence of alcohol, he has to push his brain to its limits and outwit a bunch of seasoned veterans.

So he likes to spend time alone before and after the Lunar New Year to relax.

But as the company grows, it's not good to not get together often.

The main reason is that he rarely goes to the office and doesn't have much time to see his subordinates.

If anything happens, he calls his two agents over.

Over time, it became like the "Jiajing Emperor".

It's not good for an old man to never attend court.

Neither above nor below, they are complete strangers.

So, at the end of the year, we have to hold a "feast for a thousand elders" to bring everyone together.

After getting up in the morning, he first strolled alone to the large courtyard house that was still under renovation.

It's normal for a large house like this to take a year or two to build in China, but to take several years to renovate abroad.

The workers had long lost their will to work before the Lunar New Year, so we decided to let them go home and rest early.

Come earlier next year.

To ensure these people would return the following year, the project manager withheld 30% of their compensation for payment.

It's a last resort, because the workers aren't on contract, and if we don't take care of them, at least half of them will have to be replaced next year.

Moreover, some people, knowing they won't come back next year, will bring some "souvenirs" when they go home for the Lunar New Year.

Such as imported electric drills, renovation materials, and various items.

Take whatever is valuable.

Zhang Yuan was familiar with these "methods," so he turned a blind eye and pretended not to know.

Only a few elderly men who guard the house remain inside, along with security personnel who patrol the house several times a day.

Walking through the increasingly complete house, Zhang Yuan felt a surge of satisfaction.

There's a kind of... I used to play a game called The Sims, where you could control a Sim and build houses.

It gives you a similar sense of satisfaction as you watch something gradually grow.

People and things are the same.

This sense of accomplishment is even greater than the money coming into the account.

Because a house has to be built brick by brick, while acquiring wealth from the financial market is simply printing money out of thin air, which is far too easy.

I strolled around with my hands behind my back.

After giving the gatekeeper a red envelope, the old man smiled broadly, revealing a large mouth with half a tooth missing and a stubble beard, his smile appearing exceptionally simple and honest.

After leaving, I took a car to a villa outside the Fourth Ring Road.

It was rented, not bought.

The WE team members work and train here.

Knowing that his partner, who might not even show up once a year, was coming, the club owner had been waiting for him for a long time.

Since I'm going to Duowan Games for their annual meeting, I have to bring them along to play some exhibition matches to add to the festivities.

Especially for team games, since Duowan's main product now is YY Voice.

In a 1v1 match, you can't just chat trash with your opponent.

The club originally rented a place not too far from his home.

But after the Olympics, the rent in the city center rose so much that I moved to a place a little further away.

Because the profitability of gaming clubs is still very poor, they don't even earn as much as Zhao Jin and his brother selling boxed lunches.

Zhang Yuan is considering how to transform these industries with low returns and limited growth potential.

Actually, cutting them off would be the easiest option, but they're all old friends, and these people also need to make a living, so it just doesn't feel right.

Zhang Yuan felt that he had been too kind.

WE mainly focuses on training professionals for games like Warcraft III, StarCraft, Counter-Strike, and the recently popular CrossFire, as well as organizing small-scale competitions and exchanges.

Large-scale competitions can only be sponsored by manufacturers or initiated by game companies.

After walking around, I found that the house had four floors in total, including the basement and attic.

Most of them were filled with computers and workbenches.

These days, team training isn't very scientific; it only focuses on training and doesn't pay attention to rest and physical reserves.

A top esports player needs to engage in appropriate exercise and relaxation to ensure the quality of their training; this concept doesn't exist these days.

As far as Zhang Yuan could see, all the contestants looked like they had been smoking opium, with dark circles under their eyes and yawning. They were either fat monks or skinny monks.

Just like with the renovation team, he pretended not to see it and didn't have time to care.

The purpose of this visit is to remind the other party to prepare thoroughly for the annual party, to be meticulous, to avoid making mistakes, and to make the performances genuine.

Then he had something else to say.

"DOTA's really popular lately, you all know that, right?" Zhang Yuan casually found a cheap office chair and sat down. The chair reeked of a mixture of human oil, sweat, and cigarette smoke, which was quite unpleasant.

"I know," Manager Pei Le replied casually.

In fact, DOTA first appeared as early as 05.

Blizzard is indeed evil, but the main reason for its evil is its Jewish boss.

But the map editor is a great tool that greatly unleashes players' creativity.

In the early days, the most famous custom maps for Warcraft 3 were popular ones like "Chenghai" and "Protect Athena," names that sound like they've been around for a long time.

DOTA only started to become very popular around 07, especially among college students.

While the map mode isn't original, its strength lies in its mature gameplay and balanced data.

In addition, and most importantly, compared to traditional real-time strategy games like StarCraft and Warcraft, DOTA significantly lowers the barrier to entry and operational difficulty.

Traditional RTS games are too difficult, requiring a huge amount of micromanagement and a very keen sense of game awareness.

In terms of entertainment value, RTS games have a higher ceiling than MOBA games, but unfortunately, the high difficulty level results in more people watching but fewer people playing them, and even fewer people mastering them.

Therefore, real-time strategy games have clearly begun to decline in popularity around 10 years ago.

"Are there many people playing?" Zhang Yuan asked again.

"The players use it as a pastime in their spare time, and I also play with them."

"Oh..." Zhang Yuan nodded: "Do you know about League of Legends, which just launched recently?"

The game has only been out for a few months.

Peiler said he knew, because Penguin had invited many clubs to play and offer their opinions.

They can be considered beta testers.

From its inception, League of Legends has been burdened with the stigma of "plagiarism".

They even released a very famous advertisement that actively mentioned the similarities between LOL and DOTA, but ended with the question, "By the way, why does LOL have to be the same as DOTA?"

It's basically a direct assault.

Just like how CF openly imitates CS, it doesn't shy away from it at all.

As for why Zhang Yuan didn't invest in League of Legends since he knew it would be a hit...

Both CF and LOL are backed by Tencent. Do you want to make money off them by becoming a middleman?

Why are these two games blatantly copying each other, yet they're not ashamed, but rather proud of it?

Because of corporate culture...

The game has just been released, and the LPL league hasn't even started yet.

"I suggest that Team WE should start organizing a professional team for the League of Legends project now."

"In particular, we've brought together players who have performed only moderately in traditional RTS games."

Li Xiaofeng was a player who got crushed in StarCraft, but he became a world champion in Warcraft III.

Sometimes it's not that people are incapable, but that they're going in the wrong direction.

Furthermore, the golden age for esports players is very short, and they can't waste it on the wrong sport. Changing direction might just make them an early legend.

"Not only do we need to organize a team, but we also need to contribute money every year and every quarter to organize small competitions in conjunction with other clubs."

"We can find sponsors, especially penguins."

We must get ahead of others and gain a first-mover advantage.

In addition, the "LOL" project can amplify the role of YY Voice, complementing each other.

"Is that so?" Peller didn't quite understand.

In particular, they support a game that is "plagiarized".

"Just do it anyway." Zhang Yuan stated his position with an unquestionable attitude.

"If you really can't get sponsorship, you can come to me, and I'll step in to help." "But you must take this seriously; it's not child's play."

If that doesn't work, he can just ask each of the brands he endorses for a pittance, and that would be enough to support a medium-sized esports event.

Seeing that he spoke with certainty and was willing to take responsibility, I decided to go for it...

After leaving the club, Zhang Yuan asked for a look at the financial report.

He then closed the box and tossed it aside.

The profit figure was listed as single digits, so there would definitely be some tricks up his sleeve, but the scale was small, and the tricks wouldn't be that big, so he couldn't be bothered to care.

We headed straight to Lixian Town in the suburbs.

Following the two-lane cement road with small earthen slopes on both sides, Zhang Yuan arrived at a large farmhouse surrounded by a low wall.

There is a large wooden archway at the entrance, inscribed with "Struck by lightning... no, it's the essence of heaven and earth."

"The bro's here!"

Sister-in-law Qian saw him from afar and walked over leading a small, spotted pony.

These small horses don't grow very big, and are also called "dwarf horses".

Adults cannot ride this horse, as its spine cannot support a weight of more than 100 kilograms.

But most of the female celebrities in the entertainment industry can ride on a bike, since there aren't many who weigh over 100 pounds.

Just keep the hand away from Jiang Xin for a while...

"Is this horse even permed?" Zhang Yuan rubbed the horse's face; its hair was curly.

“It’s innate,” Aunt Qian replied.

"You look just like Brother Qian," Zhang Yuan praised.

"You're already talking bad about me as soon as you arrive?" At this moment, Brother Qian strode over.

Wearing arm sleeves and black rubber shoes, he had clearly just come out of the field.

"That's nice, this horse is beautiful." Zhang Yuan went up to chat with Brother Qian.

Let's take a look around this place.

This "super-sized farmhouse" covers a total area of ​​100 acres, or 66,000 square meters.

It includes an animal area, which is divided into three main parts: caged animals, enclosed animals, and fishponds.

The plant area is divided into three main parts: open-air vegetable gardens, vegetable greenhouses, and flower rooms.

There is also a restaurant and living room for entertaining guests, as well as several simple but clean and well-equipped courtyards for overnight stays.

The total cost was over 1600 million yuan, of which Zhang Yuan paid half.

This only covers the "hardware" price; it doesn't include the cost of rare plants, trees, or exotic animals.

The "hot-haired horse" that Sister Qian was leading just now is a purebred, and it cost 17 yuan to buy.

To provide a playground for the horses and for people to enjoy the horses, a large lawn with an artificial lake in the middle was built, in accordance with European horse racing standards.

The turf was all imported from the Netherlands, and this small piece alone cost 200 million.

If I had to say, Brother Qian lived a carefree and insightful life; his life was truly worthwhile.

They can earn money, and they'll spend it.

This is far more worthwhile than indulging in extravagant lifestyles and squandering money at clubs and gambling tables.

And they weren't dried flowers either.

As they walked, Brother Qian discussed with him the plan to open the park regularly, allowing wealthy people from the entertainment industry and Beijing to bring their children to play.

It's a membership system, with an annual fee of at least 10 yuan per person, and reservations are required.

Zhang Yuan said he understood and would look for high-quality clients in the film and television industry.

It's not just for fun, it's also a way to network and build connections.

Because those who can afford a membership fee of 10 yuan have an annual income of at least several million to tens of millions of yuan.

He's either the boss or the CEO.

When people gather together, resources will also come together.

Do you have a mahjong table?

"Yes, I have."

Zhang Yuan thought to himself that it would be good to have mahjong, so he could get Wang Fei to come over.

Anyway, when she plays mahjong, the children are already left to their own devices, and here they can play with small animals.

Wang Fei never hits his children because they're always playing cards.

If we encounter any problems in the future that need to be resolved privately, we can meet here in this quiet place to talk.

After walking around for a long time, my feet were quite tired.

Not long after they sat down, two children, one big and one small, came to find them, holding hands.

They are the eldest sons of Teacher Guo and Teacher Yu, respectively.

"Uncle-Master," Guo Qilin greeted him respectfully.

"Lion and tiger!" Yu Xiaobao still couldn't pronounce it clearly, as always.

"Yangyang misses you so much." Aunt Qian brought over a basin of freshly washed jujubes: "She's always asking at home when she can see her master again."

"No wonder he's my child." Zhang Yuan pulled the child over and took a red envelope from his assistant.

"He said there are many pretty older women at his master's place," Brother Qian added.

Zhang Yuan: …

So it turns out she didn't miss me; I was just being delusional.

"Yes, they'll all be here in a bit," Zhang Yuan had no choice but to agree with the child.

Before long, the people from the crosstalk club arrived first.

From the announcers and clappers to the trainees and actors, a total of 6 or 70 people arrived in a noisy procession!

Many of them are considered "semi-permanent staff".

For example, Wang Zijian and his partner are just members of the Deyun Crosstalk Alliance.

His troupe is called "The Second Crosstalk Troupe in the Capital".

Moreover, in theory, he was also a member of the Hou family, having recently become Hou Yaohua's disciple.

Zhang Yuan found it interesting to see him arrive.

Because the conflict between Teacher Guo and Hou Yaohua had long been public, it was a case of inheritance that he deliberately avoided getting involved in.

As an apprentice, one is theoretically obligated to help one's master.

But the fact that he arrived today shows that this person is not entirely on the master's side.

Meanwhile, the conflict between Teacher Guo and the Hou family should be coming to an end.

Actually, it turned out to be a very ugly situation.

Because this is, after all, a family matter of the Hou family, and even if you are an apprentice, it is inevitable that gossip will follow if you get involved.

But that's just his personality; he has to jump out and do these things.

Therefore, it was destined that even after the inheritance case was settled, other issues would still arise.

And it's not far off...

The chubby Sun Yue also arrived. He and his team had joined the crosstalk club, so they were considered part of the club.

"Teacher Yu, quickly lead the horse away," Zhang Yuan called out as soon as he saw him arrive.

"Why?" Brother Qian immediately asked.

"Because horses are afraid of elephants!"

"Hey you, Kong Laosan, hide the carrots I gave the horse too." Brother Qian didn't let him off the hook either.

Gao Feng even brought out a large scale for weighing hay from somewhere.

“That won’t do. We need a boat and a marker to weigh Teacher Sun.” Teacher Guo chimed in.

"I hate this industry!" Fatty Sun pretended to be angry and spun around in place.

How can a bunch of crosstalk performers get together and make things good?
It was so lively it was almost unbelievable.

But amidst the excitement, Zhang Yuan also noticed some problems.

First of all, Li Jing, one of the founding members, was not present.

My partner He Yunwei is there.

Secondly, Cao Yunjing and his partner were also absent.

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment, then decided he would have to ask about it later.

Just then, people from my own company arrived.

I gave them advance notice, and everyone who can come is expected to come.

Two top agents, artists, the artists' personal agents, assistants, planners, bodyguards, and their lovers and families.

After they arrived one after another, Zhang Yuan went to a two-story building and looked around.

The crosstalk troupe and the management company staff together numbered nearly 200 people!

Just like when he watched the house renovation progress before, Zhang Yuan felt a similar sense of satisfaction as he looked at the crowd.

I've finally started to make some progress... (End of Chapter)