Lin Shuwen didn’t ask what special meaning the name Long Ye had.
She figured that based on Luo Ming’s previous naming patterns, Long Ye was most likely, like Zhuo Guang, plucked from some poem she’d never heard of. Asking would only make things awkward for herself.
As for bypassing Sister Shan to register the song copyright—if the song’s revenue had been split sixty percent to Sister Shan, Lin Shuwen might have hesitated about proposing this plan.
After all, Sister Shan had given her a big break, and it was thanks to Sister Shan that she had so much freedom.
But the problem was, that sixty percent was going into the company’s pocket.
Sister Shan’s studio was just a buffer, helping artists like them retain the copyrights to songs they created.
Giving money to the company for nothing—what, did she own the company?
So Lin Shuwen felt zero guilt about making this decision.
“Wenwen, I should be coming to Shanghai this week.” After finishing the business talk, Luo Ming changed the subject.
“Coming to Shanghai? Why the sudden trip?”
“On one hand, to discuss cooperation with Fudan University’s big data research group. On the other hand…”
“On the other hand what?”
“N-nothing, never mind.”
Lin Shuwen pouted. She hated people who left sentences half-finished.
Just as Lin Shuwen was about to ask further, a knock came at the door.
“I’ll talk to you later, someone’s at the door. Let me go check.” With that, Lin Shuwen hung up.
Listening to the dial tone, Luo Ming felt a sense of loss. He murmured to himself, “The other reason is, of course, I wanted to see you!”
Lin Shuwen opened the door to find a young woman in a black office suit. “Hello sir, I’m from the residential property management. Our neighborhood’s broadband service is being upgraded recently, and we’re providing free TV set-top boxes. Would you be interested?”
“Broadband upgrade? Is this part of the 4G support services?” Lin Shuwen asked.
“Yes.”
Lin Shuwen frowned at that. Shanghai had started broadband upgrades back in June 2013, and Bingzhou was only getting around to it in December? No wonder she always felt the internet at home was slower than in Shanghai!
“How much does the upgrade cost?”
“It’s free—you just need to bind one of our phone cards. The monthly fee is 128 yuan, and the specific plan is…”
“Okay, okay, skip the plan details. I just want to know how many megabits this broadband upgrade goes up to.”
“100 megabits.”
Lin Shuwen nodded, got the card and topped up the phone credit all in one go. Half an hour later, China Telecom, working with the property management, sent someone to install the set-top box and configure the network.
“All done, sir. Your network has been upgraded.”
Lin Shuwen nodded, thanked them, and saw them out.
Then she turned on her computer and tried downloading something.
The average download speed was around 4 to 5 MB, which was indeed faster than before, but still not reaching 100 megabits.
“Looks like it’s the same everywhere. Internet speed never reaches what the service center claims.” Lin Shuwen grumbled.
The next morning, Luo Ming opened his eyes and, as expected, he was back in his own body.
Luo Ming did a quick wash-up and hurried to the company. He wanted to know right away how 2048 had performed these past few days—it would determine how much money he could put into investing in the Fudan research group.
At the weekly meeting, Rong Mu summarized last week’s revenue for 2048.
2048 was uploaded to the iPhone Store and Google Store on Tuesday, and Lin Shuwen’s Weibo ran an ad for it Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, 2048 had 176,000 paid users. Thursday, 51,000. Friday, 103,000. Saturday, 142,000. Sunday exactly 200,000. Altogether, that was 672,000 paid users.
After deducting the 30% cut from iPhone and Google Store, plus 13% VAT, that came to 2,973,200 yuan. Just 20,000 short—close enough to call it 3 million.
3 million was definitely more than enough to invest in the preliminary research of Professor Wu Zeping’s research group.
And at this growth rate, 2048 should continue earning quick money for another week or even two, bringing in another 10 to 15 million in net income.
At that thought, the weight in Luo Ming’s heart finally lifted.
Next was the progress on Plants vs. Zombies.
Luo Ming said to Zhao Ningyuan, “Team Leader Zhao, why don’t you update everyone on the production status of Plants vs. Zombies?”
“Sure, Boss Luo. Currently, Plants vs. Zombies has been developed up to level 5-3. If all goes smoothly, the level mode will be completed this week.
The subsequent fun levels, including the endless mode, should also be finished—no need to release them as DLC updates.”
Luo Ming smiled at that. The development speed of Plants vs. Zombies was faster than he’d expected!
“Thanks to your help last week, Boss Luo. Starting Tuesday, you took time to help us deal with a lot of work troubles, which sped up our progress considerably.”
“It’s everyone’s effort. I didn’t do much. Boss Rong, shouldn’t we give everyone a red envelope as encouragement?” Luo Ming asked with a smile.
“We should! Absolutely! If the game gets finished this week, everyone gets a 1,000-yuan bonus.” Rong Mu followed Luo Ming’s lead.
“Oh, one more thing. This Wednesday or Thursday I should be heading to Shanghai, so these next couple of days I’ll set aside my other work and go all-in with you on Plants vs. Zombies development. We’ll try to finish the level mode before I leave.”
Hearing Luo Ming’s words, the originally excited team immediately turned serious.
Seven levels in two to three days, and the last level was Dr. Zomboss—a big portion of the art assets would need to be redone. Tight schedule, heavy task!
After the meeting, Rong Mu pulled Luo Ming into his office. “Erming, why the sudden trip to Shanghai?”
“To invest in two big data algorithm patents at Fudan University. Once I’ve worked it out, you can transfer the money to the research group’s account.” Luo Ming explained.
“Erming, are big data algorithms really that important?”
“Extremely important.”
Seeing how serious Luo Ming was, Rong Mu no longer had any doubts. “Alright! We’ll do it your way. You’ve never been wrong on the tech side.”
“I’ll leave the company in your hands while I’m away.”
“Damn, I don’t think you’ve ever managed the company even when you’re here! You’re either in the tech team researching and developing games, or holed up in your office doing who-knows-what. Isn’t it always me handling everything, big and small?”
Luo Ming smiled awkwardly. True—he’d never concerned himself with the operations and management of Zhuoguang Technology. It was all on Mutou.
“Ahem! Anyway, Mutou, Plants vs. Zombies still needs my help! I’m heading out!” With that, Luo Ming turned and left.
Rong Mu flipped Luo Ming’s retreating figure an internationally recognized “friendly” gesture.
For the next three days, Luo Ming sat right in the tech team’s office area, throwing himself entirely into Plants vs. Zombies development.
In his past life, the company Luo Ming worked at had made at least three pirated mobile versions of this game to rake in money. He was more than familiar with Plants vs. Zombies.
With Luo Ming’s involvement, the team felt like they had a backbone.
“Holy crap! It’s done!”
Wednesday afternoon, accompanied by Xu Jiale’s cheer, Plants vs. Zombies’ level mode was finally complete.
