Chapter 963: The ‘Empty Spaces’ Interview Method Once Again

Xia Jiang sorted out the contents of the interview first once she was back at the hotel.

The content of the interview with Wu Zhicheng in Beijing was almost done. It should be released within a few days after they add on Qiu Hong’s part.

However, Xia Jiang could not focus her attention on the content of the interview. Instead, she could not help but want to pay attention to the ‘mysterious person’ behind the incubation base.

After having initial doubts about the identity of this mysterious person, Xia Jiang sorted out all sorts of clues, such as the game list for the incubation base, the computer equipment used for the incubation base, the Fish-Catching Take-Out that they usually ate, the Deposit Fitness…

Coupled with the unique atmosphere of the incubation base, she was certain that the mysterious investor was Boss Pei!

After all, Tengda Corporation’s working environment was so unique. It was like a firefly in the night, unforgettable.

Wu Zhicheng and the other independent game designers had not been to Tengda and had not seen Tengda’s working environment. Thus, they could not guess it. However, Xia Jiang had seen Tengda’s working environment and had done interviews with many companies. A company with an environment like Tengda could be said to be unique. It left a deep impression on her.

“If the incubation base was really funded by Boss Pei, then Boss Pei’s actions would be akin to a role model and the savior of domestically-produced games.”

“Could Boss Pei be the light of domestically-produced independent games?”

“Boss Pei has done so much, but we have not expressed anything. I’m really ashamed.”

“How should I help Boss Pei? I can’t let good people shed blood and tears.”

“Arrange an interview for Boss Pei?”

“Hmm… not very good.”

Xia Jiang wanted to do something with her meager strength.

It was the official platform’s duty to support the development of domestically-produced independent games after all. However, due to various complicated reasons, the official platform did not have the ability to support all independent game designers.

On the other hand, Boss Pei was an outsider who had nothing to do with it. He had already contributed to the development of domestically-produced games by creating so many outstanding games. Now, he had to ‘bring wealth before wealth’. He had to do his best to help independent game designers with poor conditions. That was equivalent to greatly helping the official platform.

It would be too chilling if the official platform did not express anything!

Xia Jiang’s first reaction was to arrange an interview for Boss Pei. This was her job after all.

However, she quickly dispelled that thought. That was because Boss Pei was a very low-profile person to begin with. He had barely accepted to write a script during the interview and did not even want to show his face. This incubation base was kept completely secret and he did not intend to let anyone know.

If Xia Jiang went to interview Boss Pei, she would most likely be rejected. She was not such an insensible person.

“In that case, I’ll apply for more recommendation spots for games related to the ‘Destitution Plan’.”

“‘Black Ink and Clouds’ is about to be released. We can add it to the compilation of ‘classic domestic games’.”

“‘Domestic Classic Games Collection’ seems to be an event with Tengda and the official platform as well? Hmm… the recommendation spots are the best within the scope of authority but I think I can extend the time.”

“But then again, I can’t make the decision. Even if I report it to my colleagues, it’s hard to say if they’ll approve it.”

“Should we… interview someone else?”

Xia Jiang thought of several ways, but she was only an editor-in-chief after all. Recommendation spots were not within her scope of authority. She could make suggestions, but they might not be approved.

Thus, Xia Jiang felt that she could interview someone else.

It was just like the interview with Tengda previously. It did not give Boss Pei much screen time but the interview with the other employees of Tengda still perfectly brought out the protagonist, Boss Pei!

The question was, who should she interview?

Xia Jiang also kept the contact details of a few Tengda employees. However, according to what she knew, the old employees that she had interviewed back then had basically been promoted to become department heads. Most of them were no longer working in Tengda Games.

There was nothing much to interview if one wasn’t in the gaming department. After all, the official platform only focused on the game.

Xia Jiang looked through her contacts for a long time and finally decided to call Bao Xu.

He was a veteran of Tengda. He should have a wide network and should understand the situation in the games department. It would be right to look for him.

…

At that moment, Bao Xu was wearing a safety helmet and inspecting the construction site of the food market with Liang Qingfan.

The renovation work of the entire snack market was in full swing. Liang Qingfan came every day to guide the work.

In fact, Bao Xu was still an employee of the gaming department but he was actually very free to come to the snack market to help out. He could come and go as he pleased.

However, Bao Xu still came here every day. The main reason was that he did not want to leave the impression to his colleagues in the games department that he had nothing better to do. Otherwise, he would be called out to accompany them during the next Outstanding Employee Selection.

In any case, Liang Qingfan would not chase him away. Bao Xu continued to hang around, occasionally offering his own views from the game’s perspective.

Sometimes Liang Qingfan would accept it, and sometimes he would not. However, Bao Xu did not care. He had nothing to do anyway, so he just wanted to make his presence known.

Everything went smoothly after walking around.

At that moment, Bao Xu’s cell phone rang.

“The chief editor of the official platform, Xia Jiang?”

Bao Xu could not help but be stunned when he saw the caller ID. It had been a long time since the interview. If not for the caller ID in his contact list, he would not have remembered who this person was.

Bao Xu picked it up immediately.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xia Jiang asked Bao Xu about Tengda Games. However, she did not expect Bao Xu to not be in charge of the gaming department for the time being. Thus, she asked for Hu Xianbin’s number.

After hanging up, Bao Xu was a little puzzled.

“Chief Editor Xia, can’t you just look for Boss Pei directly? Why did you come to me in a roundabout way?”

However, Bao Xu did not pay much attention to it. He continued to follow Liang Qingfan to work on the snack market.

…

After calling Bao Xu, Xia Jiang called the current person-in-charge of Tengda Games, Hu Xianbin, to understand the situation.

She asked about the ‘classic domestically-produced games collection’ in detail.

“The plan for this classic domestically-produced game collection was not Boss Pei’s idea but the new head of the marketing department, Meng Chang’s idea?”

“This Meng Chang is actually the Meng Chang who bankrupted the Cold-Faced Lady previously…”

After understanding this information, Xia Jiang suddenly found a perfect candidate for the interview.

Wouldn’t it be perfect to interview Meng Chang?

From a certain perspective, Meng Chang seemed to be the same type of person as Qiu Hong. There were many similarities, but Meng Chang’s situation was much more complicated than Qiu Hong’s.

Why did Meng Chang choose to join Tengda after failing to create the Cold-Faced Lady and also start to work on the publicity of domestically-produced games?

Xia Jiang still remembered the Tengda employees that she had interviewed previously, including Huang Sibo, Bao Xu, and the others. They all had one thing in common: they were basically all grassroots. Some were basic game designers who earned one or two thousand yuan a month, while others were internet addicts who frequented internet cafes.

When these people joined Tengda, the company was still in its initial stages. Under Boss Pei’s nurturing, they all became Tengda’s pillars.

After Tengda expanded, Boss Pei seemed to have cast his sights on people like Qiu Hong and Meng Chang, who had achieved certain results in the related fields but had gone astray. He wanted to recruit them for his own use.

Did this mean that Boss Pei’s way of using people had changed as the company developed?

Xia Jiang immediately decided to interview Meng Chang!

What’s more, she had also thought about how to help Boss Pei.

She would first release the exclusive interview about the incubation base and Qiu Hong. Then, she would publicize the release of Black Ink and Clouds.

Then, she would upload Meng Chang’s interview and publicize the story behind the “classic domestically-produced game collection”.

In the end, she would add “Black Ink and Clouds” into the “classic domestically-produced game collection”, maxing out the hints!

If the two interviews were separated, gamers might not realize anything. However, if the two interviews were released one after another and Black Ink and Clouds joined the compilation, gamers would definitely be able to get this hint, right?

Xia Jiang did not have direct evidence to prove that the investor behind the incubation base was Boss Pei. What’s more, Boss Pei was a low-profile person. It would be inappropriate to directly point it out.

However, Xia Jiang could use this method to hint. It was up to the players to understand.

“Hmm, that would be the best I can do!”

The more Xia Jiang thought about it, the more perfect she felt the plan was. She immediately decided to call Tengda’s marketing department and ask for an exclusive interview.

…

Tengda Corporation’s marketing department.

Meng Chang was dumbfounded when he received Xia Jiang’s call.

“You are the chief editor of the official platform?”

“You want to interview me?”

Meng Chang fell into silence and felt a little conflicted after receiving an affirmative answer.

Should he accept the interview or not?

Logically speaking, Meng Chang had no reason to reject her.

The reporters from the official platform wanted to do an exclusive interview and post it on the live-stream platform to help promote the “classic domestically-produced game” episode. It was equivalent to giving Meng Chang’s marketing plan a free boost in popularity. How could they reject it in the eyes of outsiders?

However, Meng Chang knew that the more popular this thing was, the lower his commission was!

Moreover, Meng Chang did not want to be too ostentatious.

He was in Tengda Games and working under Boss Pei after all. Strictly speaking, he was living under someone else’s roof. In order to repay the huge debt he had to bear as soon as possible, he had no choice but to lower his head.

In fact, Meng Chang had no interest in promoting classic domestically-produced games at all. He had no respect or loyalty for Boss Pei either. He could not wait to ruin Tengda’s businesses and get more commission.

However, it was obvious that Xia Jiang had misunderstood. The entire interview had to revolve around ‘prodigal son turning back’ and ‘returning from the wrong path’. How could Meng Chang withstand that?

When he thought about the questions Xia Jiang wanted to ask, Meng Chang felt uncomfortable all over.

Of course, with Meng Chang’s eloquence and acting skills, it would not be a problem if he was just putting on a show. However, he still felt awkward.

He could not accept it, but he would look very stiff if he rejected it directly.

After much consideration, Meng Chang said, “Chief Editor Xia, it’s like this. I’m too busy with work even though I really want to accept this interview!”

“How about you interview the other core employees of our department?”

Meng Chang did not want to let go of the popularity of this interview, but he did not want to do it himself. He could only push it to the other people in the department.

Without interviewing the person in question, the interview this time would definitely not be popular and would not affect Meng Chang’s plan. At the same time, it would not embarrass the official platform.

Xia Jiang was silent for a moment. Obviously, she found it a pity that she couldn’t interview Meng Chang directly.

However, after some thought, she still said, “Alright, then arrange to interview the others in your department. I hope that you can cooperate with us when the time comes.”

Meng Chang was very happy. “Alright, Chief Editor Xia, don’t worry!”

Xia Jiang hung up the phone and thought to herself, It looks like the ’empty spaces’ technique’ in the interview they used on Boss Pei previously would be put to use again!