Restart life

Chapter 105 0102 [The Capitalist Gazes at the Streetlights] (Bonus Chapter for the Alliance Leader, Madman Bomb)
At Yuanhuo Animation Studio, Chen Guiliang kept urging them to speed up the process, as the original artwork for the Three Kingdoms Kill game was still not finished.

Chen Guiliang plans to hire two more programmers.

Guo Feng gave him a list of salaries for part-time jobs at Peking University:

Basic development: 30-50 yuan/hour.

Complex development: 50-100 yuan/hour.

Project outsourcing: 1000-3000 yuan (development cycle approximately 1-3 weeks).

Internship position: 800-1500 RMB/month (Requires daily office work, low technical content, but easy work, and you can also slack off by reading and writing papers.)
After reviewing the part-time job pay sheet, Chen Guiliang was filled with endless感慨: Peking University students are really expensive!

Damn, it's only 2004.

Chen Guiliang told them to each hire an assistant. They didn't need to be highly skilled; basic development skills would suffice.

Guo Feng continued developing the school's intranet. He was a shareholder and was not receiving a salary for the time being.

Dong Qianqiu is developing an online version of the card game "Three Kingdoms Kill," but the art and content will have to wait; he needs to finish other things first. His monthly salary is 5000 yuan, higher than a junior programmer in Beijing, but lower than the starting salary for a Peking University graduate entering a major domestic company.

Two part-time programmers are paid hourly at the average market rate.

At the same time, Chen Guiliang also contacted nearby restaurants to deliver meals on time. He also contacted a barbecue stall owner to deliver barbecue once a week on weekends.

We also hired cleaning staff from Peking University Science Park to come and clean every two weeks. They charge per cleaning session.

Over the weekend, Chen Guiliang bought another bicycle and personally rode it to buy several potted plants.

The company sign is ready and hanging on the door of the small office.

On the third weekend of October, Wang Kai, the incubation project manager, made a special trip to visit Chen Guiliang after talking to him on the phone.

"Not bad, they look quite presentable." Wang Kai stood with his hands behind his back in the corridor, carefully examining the two signs.

Chen Guiliang smiled and said, "It's all thanks to the strong support of Teacher Wang and the Science Park."

Wang Kai said, "Serving the entrepreneurial faculty and students of Peking University is our responsibility. When can we expect to see initial results from your two projects?"

"In two weeks, the campus network will enter the final testing phase," Chen Guiliang said. "As for the Three Kingdoms Kill game, the art team is still working overtime to draw it."

Wang Kai walked to the door without disturbing the programmers, and nodded approvingly, saying, "Your execution is very strong."

He desperately wanted Chen Guiliang's project to grow; promotion and a raise were out of the question, the biggest cut was in the investment process. Although he wasn't the one directly contacting venture capital firms, it was the project he was in charge of, and he could still make a profit from it.

After asking a few more questions, Wang Kai returned to his office and happily filled out the project tracking record.

……

It's already the end of June.

The team at Yuanhuo Animation Studio spent a full 50 days finally completing the original artwork and also designed the packaging box for the physical cards.

Printing factories are easy to find.

The printing industry in Beijing was very prosperous, with printing plants mainly concentrated in suburban areas such as Daxing, Tongzhou, and Shunyi.

Chen Guiliang used his weekends to go from place to place to discuss business.

The first place they contacted was a printing factory under the Beijing Printing Group, where a manager surnamed Liu made contact with them.

After Chen Guiliang explained his needs, Manager Liu quoted a price of 25 yuan per set.

"Isn't it too expensive?" Chen Guiliang didn't want to talk about it anymore.

“I can give you an extra two yuan discount if you print a lot,” Manager Liu said. “You’re asking for coated paper and lamination, which costs 15 yuan per set. Custom rounded corner cards require a separate mold, and die-cutting will cost 5 yuan per set. Then there’s the packaging box and instruction manual…”

After Liu, the supervisor, rambled on for a while, Chen Guiliang asked directly, "How much discount can we get for the first print run of 5000 sets?"

Manager Liu thought for a moment and said, "An initial print run of 5000 sets is considered a large customer. Larger print runs can reduce costs, and I can give you a further discount of 5 yuan per set."

Chen Guiliang then asked to see their previous samples.

As expected of a subsidiary of a large state-owned enterprise, the quality is excellent, but the price is just too high.

Chen Guiliang said he would think about it some more, and then rushed off to other printing plants.

The prices from small factories were cheap, but Chen Guiliang felt the quality was too poor.

After running around for two days, I finally found a suitable one: a private printing company called Wenboliao.

The quality is comparable to that of factories under Beijing Printing Industry Group, and each set costs only 13.8 yuan (for an initial print run of 5000 sets or more). They also promise to deliver the goods to Peking University Science Park free of charge.

The total printing cost was 69000 yuan.

……

Private enterprises are very flexible, working overtime to make money. They also dare to drive prices down drastically, much lower than the prices quoted by state-owned factories.

When it came time to inspect the goods and pay the final payment, Chen Guiliang skipped half an afternoon and an entire evening of classes.

How can college students who start businesses not skip classes?
The newly printed cards are still warm, and workers are quickly packaging them.

After confirming that everything was correct, Chen Guiliang stood there waiting to pay the balance after the goods were loaded.

Medium-sized trucks are only allowed to enter the area within the Fifth Ring Road after 10 p.m.

When Chen Guiliang personally escorted the goods to Peking University Science Park, it was already past midnight.

The total volume of 5000 sets of the Three Kingdoms Kill game is about 7.5 cubic meters. His company office is too small to fit them all, so he has to rent a small space in a warehouse in Peking University Science Park.

They even hired two porters to wait there.

Before the Three Kingdoms Kill game became popular, it was difficult to find wholesale distributors. Currently, Chen Guiliang has to go out on his own and ask retail stores in various universities to sell the game on his behalf.

As long as the game "Three Kingdoms Kill" becomes popular in Tsinghua University, Peking University, and surrounding universities, wholesale distributors will come knocking on their door.

After sleeping for an hour in the office, Chen Guiliang rode his bicycle back to his dormitory with several sets of Three Kingdoms Kill games.

"Where's Senior Brother Min?" Chen Guiliang asked. Jiang Junlai, still half asleep, replied, "He probably went for his morning exercise. Damn, he has so much energy. I feel like I'm not getting enough sleep every day."

Chen Guiliang yawned and said, "I'm pretty sleepy too."

He took a nap last night while he was loading goods in the truck, and slept for another hour after the goods were put into the warehouse.

Jiang Junlai got up and dressed. When he saw the packaging box for the Three Kingdoms Kill game, he was instantly wide awake and full of energy: "The cards are finally finished. Let me open it and take a look."

"See for yourself, I'm going to take a nap." Chen Guiliang lay down on the bed.

Jiang Junlai didn't bother to wash up. He sat on the edge of the bed and started playing Three Kingdoms Kill. The more he looked at the hero cards, the more he liked them.

The characters drawn by Yuanhuo Animation Studio differ greatly from those in another timeline. However, they retain the basic characteristics and are inspired by the CCTV version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and Koei's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

"How much is a set?" Jiang Junlai asked.

Chen Guiliang mumbled incoherently, "Don't touch these. I'll give them to the school clubs. If you want them, come with me to the science park sometime, and I'll give you a set then. When you mention it to others, just say you bought them for 30 yuan."

It only has basic cards, but it's priced at 30 yuan.

The profit of 16.2 yuan per set is not earned by Chen Guiliang alone.

If a wholesaler were to act as an agent, the wholesale price would be around 18 yuan, and Chen Guiliang would only earn 4.2 yuan per set.

For retailers, it depends on the negotiation; a commission of 15% to 40% is possible.

Once it becomes popular, it will be easy; just hand it over to the wholesalers and you won't have to worry about anything else.

"Then I'll rinse my mouth and wash my face before going to class." Jiang Junlai reluctantly put it back.

Chen Guiliang slept until mid-morning, when his alarm clock woke him up to attend the rest of his classes.

At noon, I called Senior Brother Li and Senior Sister Ao.

Li Hang arrived the fastest: "It's printed so quickly?"

“This set is for Yuanhuo Society,” Chen Guiliang said. “I promised to give you five sets, but you need to pick them up at Peking University Science Park. Hehe, could you help me promote it while you’re at it?”

“That’s easy,” Li Hang said happily. “With more classmates playing Three Kingdoms Kill, I can find more card-playing partners. I guarantee that within half a month, all members of the Yuanhuo Club will be playing Three Kingdoms Kill!”

Chen Guiliang said, "I will also release an online version later, making it a Three Kingdoms Kill online game."

"That's great."

Li Hang opened the box, flipped through the cards, and felt a great sense of accomplishment because he had drawn a quarter of them.

The guy couldn't wait to grab the cards and was on the phone as he walked: "The Three Kingdoms Kill cards are printed... Oh yeah, they sent a set to our Yuanhuo Society... Stop dawdling, come out and play cards!"

Chen Guiliang leaned back and dozed off.

A few minutes later, Ao Yanchen woke him up: "Why did you ask me to come out?"

Chen Guiliang opened his eyes and handed over the Three Kingdoms Kill game with a grin: "Here's a gift for your May Fourth Society."

"Not for me? For the May Fourth Society?" Ao Yanzhen was a little confused.

Chen Guiliang opened the packaging box and taught her how to play cards. After playing two rounds of one-on-one, he said, "This game also has three-player, five-player, and eight-player modes. It's all written in the instruction manual."

"It's quite interesting," Ao Yanchen commented.

Chen Guiliang said, "Could you help me promote the May Fourth Society?"

Ao Yanchen paused for two seconds, then muttered, "A swindler!"

"I won't work for free; I'll give you a set later," Chen Guiliang said.

Ao Yanchen said, "Let's have another barbecue!"

Chen Guiliang said, "Sure. Does Senior Sister Ao have the contact information for the officers of clubs like the Mountaineering Club, the Charity Club, and the Cycling Association?"

“Sure, Mr. Chen.” Ao Yanzhen already understood what he wanted to do.

The Mountain Eagle Society has the most members, ten times the number of the Yuanhuo Society.

The Love and Care Society is second, but has a greater social influence because it engages in public welfare practices.

The cycling association also has quite a few people, about 600 members.

Chen Guiliang said, "Let's invite them out for barbecue, it's on me. We'll invite as many clubs as possible."

Ao Yanchen was both amused and exasperated: "Isn't this what you call working for free?"

Chen Guiliang said, "If you want to receive a salary, you can join my company."

"How much is your monthly salary?" Ao Yanchen asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "I only have 2000 for now, that's all the capital I have. You'll be responsible for promoting it in major universities, going to each student organization one by one, and also getting retail stores inside and outside the campus to sell the cards."

"No commission?"

"Yes. I'll give you 10% commission on the Three Kingdoms Kill games sold by those retail stores. You can also get more classmates to promote it. Anyway, I'll only give you 10% commission, so you can negotiate how much you can get from them."

"The face of capitalists."

"Hehe, I'll try to be merciful, so I don't get hung up by a street lamp later."

"I'll treat it as work experience."

"There's definitely money to be made. I'm providing Senior Sister Ao with opportunities to earn money. Once our game becomes a hit, you won't need to run around anymore; you can come work for my company. When it becomes a big company, you'll be a veteran, and if you perform well, you can even get stock options!"

"Let's talk about it then."

-

(Thanks to PiaodefengNJ for the generous donation.)
(Some readers said that there were too many bonus chapters, which was annoying. I've already deleted them down to just one. I've been busy with that. I couldn't delete them, and neither could the editor. The editor had to ask a staff member to delete them.)
(End of this chapter)