Based on his memories, Pei Qian looked for Bao Xu at the internet cafes near the west entrance of the school.
His traits were obvious.
It was autumn but while everyone else were wearing long sleeved shirts and pants, he was wearing a sweater with a thick coat hanging off his chair.
It wasn't because he was afraid of the cold, but that he had been wearing the same thing since the previous winter…
Other than him, there was truly no one else who could do something as such.
Bao Xu was dazed in front of the computer monitor at the moment.
On screen, his character was seated on a flying chair, idling lazily above the main city.
When Pei Qian approached Bao Xu, he caught whiff of a faint, oily scalp smell.
It wasn't severe but it may have been due to Bao Xu's receding hairline which was so severe that he barely had much hair left.
'Hmm, if I can persuade him to leave the internet cafe, I'll definitely stuff him some money to get a shower and a change of clothes.'
"Bao Xu?" Pei Qian asked in a testing manner.
Frozen for a full ten seconds, Bao Xu turned around squarely after. His eyes that were enclaved by two huge dark circles suddenly blinked. "You're looking for me?"
After confirming that he had the right guy, Pei Qian sat down beside Bao Xu.
"I've got a job available. Would you be willing to take it on?" Pei Qian asked.
Bao Xu turned back slowly and continued to stare at the monitor blankly. "Manager of the internet cafe? Not interested."
"No, not a manager. A designer to design your own game," Pei Qian replied.
Bao Xu's face turned to Pei Qian slowly once more as he sized up this person.
Eventually, he came to the conclusion that this was just an ordinary student.
"Don't try to pull a prank on me," Bao Xu was not convinced.
Speechless, Pei Qian wondered if things would have been better had he worn a different outfit.
However, his suit had not arrived yet.
Not wanting to drag things out, Pei Qian took out 500 yuan from his pockets.
"If you're willing to join, this will be advance payment for your salary."
Looking at the five scarlet 100 yuan notes, a sparkle appeared in Bao Xu's eyes.
He was slightly convinced that Pei Qian was for real.
If this was a scam, Pei Qian would be the one asking for money - why would he be the one giving out money?
Not just that, it was 500 to boot.
For someone like Bao Xu in 2009, 500 was considered a large amount. After all, the price of internet cafes ranged around 2-3 yuan per hour back then.
"Not just that, our company's computers have the best specifications with dual monitors. You can play games at any time you wish," Pei Qian added decisively.
Bao Xu's gaze was twinkling all of a sudden.
He did not have to pay money and he could play games on a high-end computer at any time!
Wouldn't that be even more comfortable than internet cafes?
That was akin to throwing a small fish to a desperate, hungry cat!
"You're not kidding? What would my job be then?" Bao Xu asked in bewilderment.
"Your job would be to play games! The position I'm offering you is called a game tester!"
"You have to test the games of others as well as our own. If you discover any issues, you'll have to report it to me at the first available moment."
"Of course, you can take part in the design process and give your input as well."
"I think that you're definitely capable of taking on this role. Don't you think so?"
Pei Qian revealed a bewitching smile.
Pursing his lips, Bao Xu's throat trembled.
Wasn't that the life that he had dreamed of?
To play games while earning money at the same time? What could be better than that?
"I'm willing… ugh, I'm willing to consider it. If it's truly as you've said, I… can consider giving it a shot."
Bao Xu's initial reply was 'I'm willing'. However, on second thought, he wondered if this was a scammer.
That was why he left some breathing room for himself - he would only decide upon it after checking out the actual work environment.
Pei Qian was certain that he had already managed to convince Bao Xu.
There was no reason for the latter to reject such amazing terms.
"Alright, what you need to do now is…"
"Take this 500 yuan and go get yourself a good shower, haircut and buy a change of clothes."
"Our company's at Shenhua View. Given your current image, the security guards would definitely stop you from entering thinking you're a vagrant."
"You should be able to start work within the next two days. I'll give you a call by then."
"Just make yourself available."
Pei Qian turned around and walked away after he was done.
Looking at the 500 yuan in his hands, tears brimmed in Bao Xu's eyes.
"Someone… has finally recognized my talents…!"
He gripped the 500 yuan tightly and sprawled on the desk before him, sobbing.
As his half bald head reflected light off the monitor, it shone with warmth.
Everyone nearby could not help but wonder what had happened.
Did he manage to get a rare equipment drop? Was that the reason for his elation?
…
…
After settling Bao Xu, Pei Qian was overjoyed.
He had gained yet another trusted aide!
With Ma Yang and Bao Xu, his left and right hand men were settled and things would be much easier from there on.
Pei Qian wasn't afraid that Bao Xu might abandon ship. After all, there was no way Bao Xu could have faked that expectant expression earlier on.
There was also no way he would reject such amazing terms.
It was only a pity that he couldn't get talents similar to Bao Xu.
Pei Qian still had to hire people online.
He spent five minutes and typed out a couple of hiring requirements on his mobile phone before sending it to Xin Hailu and having her post a hiring notice online according to his wants.
There were three positions open.
The first was for game design and the requirements were passion for games. Those who were well versed in using the cloud editor would be prioritized.
The second was for art design and the requirements were that they had to have a certain artistic flair such that they could fully understand the intents of the game designers and be able to communicate with the outsourced team as well.
The third was for administrative work and the requirements were that they had to be female with decent looks and poise.
The salary offered was higher than the industry average and the actual sum would be negotiated when they met.
He did not look for programmers because the games could be completed with just the cloud editor and templates alone. Operating the cloud editor was a job mainly for the game designers and it was an issue of how they executed it, that's all.
For specific requirements, they could request for it through the cloud editors where specialized programmers would complete it remotely. They would pay these people on a freelance basis and there would be no need to hire their own programmers.
As for the art designers, they would be in charge of communicating as well.
There were many art resources within the cloud editor and they could request for custom-made ones with specific design teams too.
The specific process would require experts to negotiate and discuss and these experts would need to have artistic flair. Otherwise, they would not be able to understand one another and the efficiency would be extremely low.
As for the administrative positions…
It wouldn't be overboard to recruit a couple of beautiful women as receptionists after they've gone through the effort to make the office so swanky, right?
Xin Hailu was not just Pei Qian's assistant, she was in charge of various other matters through the office as well. It was only right to assign her some admin staff to lighten some of the trivialities.
Pei Qian's requirements for the job were extremely vague.
Take the game designer positions for example, he had merely mentioned that they had to love games and those who knew how to operate cloud editors would be prioritized.
That was a barrier of entry that was almost non-existent.
If he had set the barrier too high, the people recruited would be elites of the industry and that wouldn't work out.
He had to lower his requirements so that he could get a couple of trashes to shortlist.
With that, all his preparation work was almost completed.
His office space was settled and the office equipment would be set soon as well.
He had also done up his outfit.
His trusted aides, Ma Yang and Bao Xu, were in.
Xin Hailu had managed the company impeccably.
As long as he were to finish the recruitment of new hires, he would be able to open the company officially and start losing money!
Thinking about his amazing future, Pei Qian's heart went all fuzzy.