I Just Want Players to Save Money, They Insist on Giving Me!
Chapter 537 - 174: The Ke Family’s Past_2

Chapter 537: Chapter 174: The Ke Family’s Past_2

After chatting for a while,

Ke Jin finally brought up the idea of peace.

He asked Ma Yang whether he was interested in joining the top player to become the head of the offline market department.

Previously, Ke Jin had planned to have the business department look for an opportunity to discuss this.

Since Ma Yang was already at his home,

he decided to just go ahead and talk about it now.

The title of head of the offline market department was just a position at the top player.

What Ma Yang did before, he could just continue doing now.

However, regarding shares, the top player needed to repurchase all the shares of the Game Fun stores.

All earnings from the directly-operated stores would flow into the top player.

And subsequently, the franchising fees from the franchise stores would also be paid directly to the top player.

Of course,

Ke Jin did not forget the benefits.

Although Ma Yang would lose the major income from the directly-operated and franchised stores,

the top player would offer Ma Yang a fairly good salary.

And they would allow Game Fun stores to sell game merchandise under the top player’s brand.

Ma Yang would take a 30% profit share based on the merchandise sales volume.

Upon hearing this,

Ma Yang’s eyes immediately revealed excitement.

You should know,

the top player had not authorized any merchandise before.

Even the official merchandise sold online was very scarce.

Each time, it was practically sold out within minutes.

So many hit IPs under the top player,

once authorized for offline sales, were certain to cause a buying frenzy among players.

Clothing, throw pillows, stickers, mugs, keychains, various electronics cases, and the most important of all, figurines!

There was so much, so much derivable material.

The profit from this would far exceed what they could earn from machine fees and snacks and drinks for customers.

Although the immediate benefits might decrease due to the appropriation of the directly-operated and franchised income,

in the long run, it would definitely be stable and improve.

Moreover, the top player would still release games in the future.

A feast for a day versus feasts every day—Ma Yang knew the difference.

"But... Designer Ke, I didn’t start this store by myself, I still need to discuss this with my business partner,"

Ma Yang said.

"Hmm, of course you can," Ke Jin nodded.

However, he still felt somewhat displeased in his heart.

Of course, this displeasure was not because of Ma Yang.

It was purely due to his aversion to the shareholding system.

When there were more people making decisions, opinions would get messy.

What’s worse, some people don’t think about growing the business with you.

They conceive how to sideline you and swallow your company whole.

Such people are all too common in business.

Even if there’s no takeover, one might still encounter various other troubles.

Take the current matter for example.

If Ma Yang owned all the shares of Game Fun, a nod from him would mean that the deal was done.

But Ma Yang had a partner.

If the partner disagreed, that’s where the divergence would occur.

The situation could potentially worsen dramatically.

If the other party became stubborn and refused to negotiate, it could cause quite a public relations problem for the top player’s forced acquisition.

And this is when the top player holds absolute advantage in copyright.

Even a small offline store could present various hidden risks.

If multiple shareholders were to split from within the top player,

it would be a disaster.

In his previous life, even a powerhouse like Apple had once faced the preposterous event of their founder Jobs being fired from the company.

Of course, the shareholding system also had its advantages.

It’s the best option for gathering funds to accelerate development.

But for Ke Jin, who held numerous hit IPs in his hands, he didn’t need these things.

The good news was that after Ma Yang discussed the matter over the phone with his other partner, Cai Xing,

Cai Xing also spoke to Ke Jin politely.

Through his words, he expressed his respect and understanding for Ke Jin.

When Ke Jin invited him to also take a position at the top player,

Cai Xing declined.

He indicated that he was already running a company and couldn’t divert more energy to manage offline stores.

He agreed to sell all his 50% shares of Game Fun for a lump sum of 20 million directly to the top player.

Grateful for the other’s understanding, Ke Jin offered a buyout amount of 30 million and agreed to sign the contract at a later time.

After all, now the person could lie down and earn over a million a month in dividends, and the expansion would only become more profitable.

They agreed because the copyright itself isn’t with Game Fun.

Otherwise, considering Game Fun’s current momentum, a hundred million might not even be enough to negotiate.

After resolving an issue that was not too bothersome, Ke Jin invited Ma Yang to stay for dinner.

They had a lively conversation over the meal, and after they were full and had their tea, Ke Jin got up to see Ma Yang out the door.

On the way back,

he saw his old man slipping back to his bedroom.

"Dad," Ke Jin called out helplessly.

The latter stopped in his tracks at the sound.

Then he let out a small sigh.

And took a seat on the sofa again.

He pulled a gaming weekly from the coffee table and pretended to read it.

Ke Yu sensed that the atmosphere was off and had slipped back to his little bedroom early on, but now he stealthily cracked open his door, his eyes wide with rapid blinks as he peered towards the living room.

He saw his elder brother taking two steps forward, directly snatching the newspaper from the old man’s hands.

Then, father and son were face to face.

Ke Yu even swallowed nervously, his delicate little face showing a trace of tension as he muttered softly,

"Oh no, they’re not going to fight, are they..."

"If they really start fighting, whose side should I take..."

"Old Deng has raised me."

"But if we’re talking about who I’m closer to, it’s definitely my brother..."

While Ke Yu was muttering to himself,

Ke Jin finally spoke up.

"Our bond will not be limited by suspicion."

"Don’t disappoint me again, Old Deng."​

Ke Jun had complex feelings in his heart and didn’t know how to face his son.

But upon hearing what he said, he reflexively reached for his belt.

"Hiss! You little brat! Have you no respect?"

"Who are you calling Old Deng?"

At the same time, he knew,

It was because of his son’s jesting words that the once-awkward atmosphere between them eased up significantly.

Ke Jin smiled and sat down opposite Ke Jun, saying, "Wait until you’re my age, you’ll understand that sincerity is the ultimate trump card."

Upon hearing this, Ke Yu, who was eavesdropping from behind the door, was utterly dumbfounded.

Bro, did you get that backward?

Wait until Dad reaches your age?

Boy... a reverse-aged dad it is then.

"Alright, you little rascal, stop your nonsense,"

"I know what you want to ask, so let’s have a serious discussion between us, laying everything on the table," Ke Jun said solemnly.

Subsequently, Ke Jin also adopted a more serious demeanor.

About their grandfather, Ke Jin had wondered not just once during his more than twenty years of growth.

He heard that he was a legend in the gaming industry.

But there was no information to be found online.

And his old man refused to say anything.

Even his mother had only a half-understanding of his grandfather’s matters.

After all, his father was still studying when his grandfather died and wasn’t of age to consider marriage.

Lost in thought, Ke Jun then slowly began to speak.

"As for you and your sister’s involvement in game development, I have been aware of it for some time."

"It was around the beginning of last year when you attended the Huaxia Nation Art Festival awards ceremony."

"I thought I knew you both well, but I realized I knew nothing about the children I raised," Ke Jun said with a bitter smile.

Upon hearing this, Ke Jin’s gaze shifted from Ke Jun towards the crack in the bedroom door and met Ke Yu’s secretly peeking, bright eyes.

Both siblings were somewhat surprised.

Had they been exposed that early?

In Ke Jin’s mind,

given his old man’s temperament,

if he had really found out, he surely would have confronted them with a belt, and his silence meant he hadn’t noticed.

Unexpectedly,

his old man had been holding it in for so long.

His father said he didn’t understand his children.

But were he and his sister any different?

Had they ever really understood what kind of person their father was?

Soon, Ke Jun spoke again.

"Speaking of why I have always insisted that you two stay away from the gaming industry, we have to talk about your grandfather Ke Xiangyang," he said.

"More than forty years ago, your grandfather was quite the legendary figure in the game industry."

"Just how legendary was he?"

After a moment of contemplation, Ke Jun looked at Ke Jin’s face and said word by word,

"All the accomplishments of your top player now are nothing compared to his past achievements."