Chapter 296 - What is a Professional Journalist?
Chapter 296 What is a Professional Journalist?
In the evening, they would enjoy Jingzhou’s cityscape.
At night, they would eat to their heart’s content at Ming Yun Private Kitchen. Xia Jiang and the interview team munched on the huge lobsters. They were very touched by the treatment that they received!
The treatment was out of this world!
The work of a journalist was very varied. There were gravy train tasks, and there were also back-breaking jobs.
In most cases—if the interviewee personally requested the interview, the treatment that the journalists received would be better. The interviewee would cover their transportation and accommodation costs. Sometimes, each of them would even receive a travel allowance ranging from five hundred to a thousand yuan. People would often label that allowance as a ‘red packet(1)’.
However, the interview with Tengda was different. The interview was not requested by Tengda, but it was organized by the official platform instead.
Under normal circumstances, Tengda did not need to pay for their travel and accommodation costs.
However, Boss Pei offered to do so!
Not only did Tengda pay for their travel allowance and accommodation cost, but they also offered them the highest quality services such as in terms of the vehicles they used and their meals. That made them feel respected.
Furthermore, this feast that they were enjoying seemed very expensive. Xia Jiang and the team were a little overwhelmed by the treatment that they received!
Xia Jiang was originally considering if she should have a chat with Boss Pei during the meal to collect some interview information beforehand.
However, when the dazzling delicacies were served, she immediately threw that thought at the back of her mind.
She was completely engaged by the food!
Amongst the dishes that were served, many delicacies were something she had only heard of and never seen before. How could she resist the temptation to try them?
Moreover, evidently, the service speed of the attendants there was specially trained. The service timing of every dish was just right. That made the entire meal very enjoyable.
After finishing the dessert, Xia Jiang touched her bloated tummy in shame.
Oh, no! Boss Pei had been too thoughtful the entire time such that she did not find a suitable time to ask her questions!
After leaving Ming Yun Private Kitchen, Xia Jiang took out her phone secretly and opened the Quanmin Reviews app.
She would not know it if she did not check it. The moment she looked up the restaurant, the results shocked her.
Wasn’t this place the unnamed restaurant that went viral a while back?
It was said that all the seats at the restaurant had been reserved for the following two or three months. It was too popular. Even Jingzhou City locals might not even find a chance to eat at the restaurant.
Everyone looked at Boss Pei respectfully and gratefully.
They must ensure that the video was of a high standard! They must not let Boss Pei down after all that he had done for them!
Xia Jiang was extremely touched. “Boss Pei, thank you for hosting us!
“We will make the necessary preparations tonight after we return to the hotel. Can we start the interview officially tomorrow morning?”
Pei Qian shook his head and replied, “No, no, no. I have other arrangements for you guys tomorrow.”
“I will host you guys over at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe tomorrow morning. How can you not play some games when interviewing a games company?
“In the afternoon, we will continue to enjoy Jingzhou’s beautiful scenery. Jingzhou’s rich land fosters many talents, and our city is as pretty as a picture. How can one evening be enough to see it all? You guys have to experience more of it!
“You guys can have a good rest tonight and tomorrow night. After all, you must be tired after all the traveling. We have ample time. Do not be so nervous. We can officially start the interview two days later in the morning.”
Xia Jiang was stunned. “Huh? Boss Pei, that’s not very appropriate, isn’t it?”
Pei Qian smiled and shook his head. “How is that not appropriate? Aren’t we all working towards creating a good interview? A guest should suit the convenience of the host. Do not worry. Just follow my arrangements, and we’ll be fine.”
October 18th…
In the morning, Xia Jiang and the others were surfing the internet and drinking their coffees at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. They were both shocked and surprised by the cafe’s new operating model.
After all, the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes were only located in Jingzhou City and had yet to be spread to other cities.
In the evening, the crowd had another half-day tour of Jingzhou City and toured the remaining places of interest.
At night, Boss Pei arranged for everyone to have dinner at Swan Lake Restaurant.
The reason Boss Pei gave as to why they did not head over to the unnamed restaurant was that they had no more reservations.
Swan Lake Restaurant was a buffet restaurant. Although the environment was still high-class and there was still a huge variety of food, Xia Jiang could sense that the restaurant was much more inferior as compared to the nameless restaurant!
The difference could be felt from the ingredients, chef’s skills, dining environment, services, and other aspects. However, if she had to pinpoint exactly where the differences were, she would not be able to do it.
She could only conclude that the differences in the tiny details could accumulate and result in a huge difference in the overall experience.
Xia Jiang was not displeased with that. On the contrary, she was even more touched.
This meal at Swan Lake Restaurant was already high-class enough. However, it was barely comparable to the unnamed restaurant.
That showed that the welcoming reception that Boss Pei had hosted was indeed very deluxe! Surely, ordinary people who come to Jingzhou could not enjoy such treatment, could they?
Boss Pei was so amazing! He had been really generous!
In the eyes of Xia Jiang and the others, Boss Pei’s image was infinitely enlarged. They felt slightly heartbroken to think that Boss Pei had been so low-key even after producing so many classic games.
They were not doing their job for not making a report on Boss Pei sooner!
They must do well in this interview. They could not disappoint Boss Pei after the meal that he invited them to last night!
At night…
Xia Jiang returned to the hotel. She took out her laptop and started typing furiously. She began sorting out the direction of the interview tomorrow.
She would be a little embarrassed if she continued neglecting her work.
After arriving at Jingzhou City two days ago, they had first toured the city. Then, they enjoyed a scrumptious meal and rested for the night.
Today, they went over to the internet cafe and toured some more tourist attractions in Jingzhou City. Then, they had another feast at night.
They had truly dined and wined to satiety and were thoroughly recharged.
“The schedule that Boss Pei planned had been very reasonable. He had really spent quite some effort on it.
“Jingzhou City is such a huge city. It is impossible to finish touring the entire city in one day. Therefore, he had specially arranged for the city tours to be held on two separate evenings.
“The weather in the evening is more subtle and suitable to head outside. At the same time, he ensured that the events every day were not too taxing and that they would not tire us.
“Moreover, we had truly captured some clips and obtained information that could be used in the interview itself during the tours.”
Xia Jiang recalled the things that she heard and saw these two days. The good stuff that she had eaten instantly transformed into nutrition and was absorbed by her brain. She had an explosion of ideas.
Especially at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, she played some of Tengda’s games using the high configuration computers and experienced a completely different gaming experience. That allowed her to have a deeper understanding of Boss Pei’s game design philosophy.
Her ideas were exploding in that instant.
Xia Jiang believed that Boss Pei’s avant-garde game design philosophy would create sparks with her top-notch writing abilities. That would make this interview a hot topic in the gaming circle!
The next day, the interview team reached Tengda’s office building early in the morning. Although the spacious and grandiose working environment shocked the interview team, the surprises that they had experienced these two days trained them to remain calm.
They had a segment later where they would interview the employees of the company. The impressive office space was definitely that they could talk about and film. They must not let the chance slip away.
The main task today was the interview with Boss Pei. The interview location was at Tengda’s guest reception room.
The lead cameraman had set up the main camera. He showed an ‘OK’ sign with his hand, indicating that they could start at any moment.
Two other moving cameras were carried by two other cameramen. They were filming from other angles to collect clips that could be used during editing.
Xia Jiang was sitting on the couch. She realized that she was surprisingly a little nervous. She rarely felt that way.
Pei Qian noticed the three cameras from outside the guest room. He was immediately on his guard. He pulled Assistant Xin over and gave her some simple instructions.
After two minutes, Assistant Xin came to the guest room and conveyed Boss Pei’s words to Xia Jiang
“Chief Editor Xia, Boss Pei hopes that you can put away the cameras during his interview and only produce a written script instead. You can still use the video clips only for the interviews with other employees.”
Xia Jiang was stunned. “How is that possible? Boss Pei is the focal point of this interview!”
The crew had taken a lot of footage of Jingzhou’s scenery and Tengda’s working environment. They had also organized many in-depth interviews with the employees. After all that effort, the focal point of the interview did not show his face. That did not sound appropriate.
Assistant Xin smiled and said, “Chief Editor Xia, I’ll be honest with you. Boss Pei is a very low-profile person. He doesn’t like showcasing himself to the viewers.”
“Boss Pei did not plan on accepting the interview initially.
“However, he felt that the laurels did not only belong to him. Their achievements were the result of the efforts of all the employees at Tengda. Therefore, he wanted to find an opportunity where the employees could receive their deserved acclamation. “Thus, Boss Pei hopes that the interview would focus on his employees. His own interview would be a simple written one.
“Don’t worry, Chief Editor Xia. We’ve selected the core employees of our company, each of them in charge of one entire business. They would also have very interesting stories to share.”
Xia Jiang was very hesitant.
She had come all this way, and yet she could not even film Boss Pei? The exclusive interview would lack substance!
Pure words without videos would greatly discount the effect of the interview.
However, Boss Pei had treated the entire interview team so well. His sincerity was obvious. If Boss Pei did not want to be in the limelight, they could not possibly force him to, right?
Xia Jiang pondered for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, since Boss Pei does not want to be in the limelight, we will do as he says. I’ll improvise as we go along and try my best to adhere to Boss Pei’s requests while ensuring that the interview would turn out well.”
The cameramen switched off their cameras. They would only switch them on again when the employees were being interviewed.
Pei Qian walked into the guest room, sat down on the sofa, and prepared to be interviewed.
Although Xia Jiang looked disheartened that the cameras were off, she was a professional reporter after all. She had tons of experience hosting interviews. Thus, she quickly regained her composure and ran through the important questions she had prepared in her head.
“Boss Pei, we know that Tengda has produced many reputable and profitable games ever since it started. Gamers across the board love your games. What made you decide to enter the game industry and not other industries back then? Did a special opportunity present itself?”
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said, “It was a rash decision on my part. I really regret this decision; if only I had chosen other industries instead.”
“Huh?” Xia Jiang responded.
Then, she giggled. “Boss Pei, you’re joking. The games you’ve created have received high praises. Obviously, you’ve accumulated profound knowledge. Otherwise, how could you have created deeply meaningful games like Game Designer and Repent and be Saved?
Pei Qian smiled bitterly. “It’s true. Until now, I haven’t figured out how to use the official game editor.
“As for how I created those games…
“I couldn’t help it. My employees are too ‘outstanding’.”
Boss Pei said this through gritted teeth.
Xia Jiang’s expression turned somber. She began writing furiously in her notebook.
‘He is a bold, imaginative, and unique designing genius. Yet, he has never systematically learned knowledge relevant to game design. Is this what people call a ‘natural prodigy’?
‘He has never been constrained to the traditional methods of designing games. Instead, he tosses aside all restraints and allows his own ideas to take flight.
‘He trusts his employees completely.
‘He’s humble and open-minded, giving his employees all credit without seeking to steal credit or glorify himself. He’s extremely low-profile!’
[1] This is a monetary gift given during special occasions in Chinese culture