Chapter 296: What Is a Professional Journalist?
Chapter 296: What Is a Professional Journalist?
In the afternoon, they toured the city of Jingzhou.
In the evening, they feasted at Mingyun Private Kitchen.
Xia Jiang and the entire interview team gnawed on giant lobsters, deeply moved.
The level of hospitality was simply too high!
As journalists, interviews come in different levels. Some are cushy assignments; others are grueling and thankless.
Generally speaking, when the other party invites you for an interview, the hospitality is usually higher. They cover round-trip transportation, accommodation, and sometimes even give each person a travel stipend of five hundred to a thousand yuan—the so-called “red envelope.”
But this interview with Tengda was not initiated by Tengda. It was organized by the authorities.
By standard practice, Tengda did not need to cover any travel or accommodation costs.
Yet President Pei had voluntarily taken responsibility for all these expenses!
And moreover—even the travel costs, the accommodations, the business vehicles used during the day, and the meals were all arranged at such a high level. Everyone felt immensely valued.
On top of that, this dinner—whose value was basically immeasurable—left Xia Jiang and the others feeling completely overwhelmed by the treatment.
At the dinner table, Xia Jiang originally planned to chat with President Pei in advance to collect some interview material.
But once all those dazzling rare delicacies were served, that thought flew straight out of her mind.
She focused entirely on eating!
Many of the dishes were things she had only heard of but never seen before. With everything delivered right to her mouth—how could she not try?
And the pace of serving was clearly professionally trained. The timing of each dish was perfect, making the whole meal incredibly pleasant.
After finishing dessert, Xia Jiang guiltily touched her slightly rounded belly.
Uh-oh. President Pei’s hospitality was too impeccable—she hadn’t even found a chance to talk!
When they left Mingyun Private Kitchen, Xia Jiang quietly took out her phone and opened AllReviews.
And the moment she looked—she was shocked.
Wasn’t this the restaurant that recently blew up online? The previously famous Nameless Restaurant?
Rumor had it that reservations were booked two to three months in advance. It was so popular that even locals in Jingzhou couldn’t always get a table.
Everyone looked at President Pei with even more admiration and gratitude.
They absolutely had to film this documentary well—they couldn’t possibly betray President Pei’s kindness!
Xia Jiang was deeply touched.
“President Pei, thank you so much for the meal!”
“Tonight we’ll go back and prepare a bit. Tomorrow morning we can officially begin the interview?”
Pei Qian shook his head.
“No, no, no. Tomorrow we still have other plans.”
“Tomorrow morning, we’ll welcome everyone to Moyu Internet Café to relax. You’re interviewing a game company—how can you not play games?”
“In the afternoon, you can continue enjoying the beautiful sights of Jingzhou.”
“Jingzhou is a place of extraordinary people and picturesque scenery. Just one afternoon isn’t enough—you must experience it more!”
“Tonight and tomorrow night, everyone should rest well. You must be tired from the long trip. We have plenty of time, so there’s no need to rush. The morning after tomorrow will be the official start of the interviews.”
Xia Jiang blinked in surprise.
“Ah? President Pei… isn’t this… a bit inappropriate?”
Pei Qian smiled and shook his head.
“What’s inappropriate about it? We all just want to make sure this interview turns out as well as possible. Guests follow the host. Just relax and follow my arrangements.”
…
October 18th.
In the morning, Xia Jiang’s group enjoyed coffee and browsed the internet at Moyu Internet Café, amazed by this new style of cybercafé.
After all, Moyu Internet Café was still limited to Jingzhou and hadn’t expanded to other major cities yet.
In the afternoon, everyone went on another half-day tour of Jingzhou, visiting the remaining famous attractions.
In the evening, President Pei arranged dinner for everyone at the Swan Lake Restaurant.
As for why they weren’t eating at the Nameless Restaurant again, President Pei gave a simple explanation: they didn’t have a reservation.
Swan Lake Restaurant was a buffet. Although the environment was still classy and the dishes plentiful, Xia Jiang could clearly feel that compared to the Nameless Restaurant, the difference in level was huge!
Whether it was the ingredients, the chefs’ skills, the dining environment, the service—every aspect had a clear gap.
But if one tried to pinpoint exactly where the difference lay… it was hard to describe.
One could only say that all these tiny details accumulated to create a massive difference in the overall experience.
Yet Xia Jiang wasn’t displeased—in fact, she was even more moved.
The meal at Swan Lake Restaurant was already very high-end, but compared to the Nameless Restaurant, it appeared dim and lackluster.
Then yesterday’s welcome banquet by President Pei must have been on an even higher tier!
Ordinary people visiting Jingzhou definitely wouldn’t get this kind of treatment.
President Pei was too generous—too considerate!
In the eyes of Xia Jiang and the others, President Pei’s image became infinitely grand and impressive.
Just thinking about how the creator of so many classic games could be so low-key made them feel a little heartbroken.
Not reporting about President Pei in time—this was truly their failure!
They absolutely had to conduct a proper interview. At the very least, they couldn’t betray the trust of last night’s feast!
…
Night.
Back at the hotel, Xia Jiang opened her laptop and quickly tapped on the keyboard, organizing her thoughts for the next day’s interview.
If she didn’t start working now, even she would start feeling embarrassed.
Since arriving the day before, she had first toured Jingzhou, then enjoyed a lavish meal, then rested;
Today, she went to the internet café, visited several scenic spots in Jingzhou, and once again had a lavish dinner in the evening.
She was truly well-fed, well-rested, and full of energy.
“President Pei’s itinerary is arranged quite thoughtfully. Very considerate.”
“Jingzhou is so big—it can’t be toured in a single day. Splitting it into two afternoons is perfect. The weather in the afternoon is warm, good for walking outside, and the daily amount of activity isn’t too much, so no one feels tired.”
“And we really did gather some material that can be used in the interview.”
Thinking back on everything she had seen and experienced in the past two days, all the delicious food she had eaten seemed to instantly turn into nutrients rushing into her brain, fueling a burst of inspiration.
Especially after using the highest-end computer at Moyu Internet Café to play several Tengda games that morning, Xia Jiang experienced an entirely new level of gameplay, giving her a deeper understanding of President Pei’s game-design philosophy.
In an instant, inspiration flowed like a spring.
Xia Jiang firmly believed that President Pei’s ahead-of-his-time game-design philosophy, combined with her own top-notch writing, would surely create explosive sparks—and make this exclusive interview a major hot topic in the gaming world!
…
…
Early the next morning, the interview team arrived at Tengda’s office building.
Although the spacious and majestic office shocked them all, after experiencing so many surprises in the past two days, everyone did their best to remain calm.
There would also be a segment later where they interviewed the employees. Such an impressive office space was definitely important material and a great talking point—they couldn’t possibly pass it up.
Today’s main focus, however, was the interview with President Pei, and the interview location had been arranged in Tengda’s reception room.
The main cameraman set up the primary camera, then made an “OK” gesture, signaling that they could start anytime.
The other two cameramen each carried a handheld camera to capture additional angles for later editing.
Sitting on the sofa, Xia Jiang realized she felt a little nervous—something that almost never happened.
Outside the reception room, Pei Qian spotted the three cameras and immediately felt like he was facing a mortal enemy. He quickly pulled Assistant Xin aside and whispered a few urgent instructions.
Two minutes later, Assistant Xin entered the reception room and pulled Xia Jiang aside to convey President Pei’s message.
“Chief Editor Xia, President Pei hopes that during his interview, you won’t use the cameras—just produce a text transcript. You can use video footage when interviewing other employees.”
Xia Jiang was stunned. “How can that be? President Pei is the star of this whole interview!”
They had filmed lots of scenery in Jingzhou, captured Tengda’s work environment, and conducted detailed interviews with the employees. But if the main figure never appeared on camera, wouldn’t that feel inappropriate?
Assistant Xin smiled. “Chief Editor Xia, to be honest, our President Pei is a very low-key person. He really doesn’t like being in the spotlight.”
“He originally wasn’t even planning to accept the interview.”
“But President Pei felt that the honor didn’t belong solely to him—it was the result of everyone at Tengda working together. He wants the employees to receive this recognition instead.”
“So President Pei hopes to keep more of the spotlight on the employees. As for himself, a simple written interview is more than enough.”
“But please don’t worry, Chief Editor Xia. The employees selected this time are all core members of the team. Each one is capable and has plenty of talking points.”
Instinctively, Xia Jiang felt reluctant.
They had traveled a long way, and yet the most important person—President Pei—wouldn’t appear on camera? The whole special interview would feel like it was missing its core flavor.
With no video footage of him and only text, the impact of the interview would be greatly reduced.
But President Pei had been nothing but gracious and considerate to the entire team. His sincerity was undeniable.
Since President Pei himself was indifferent to fame and reluctant to flaunt anything, she couldn’t really force him.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Jiang nodded. “Alright. Since President Pei is so humble and uninterested in the spotlight, we’ll follow his wishes. I’ll adapt on the fly and make sure that while respecting President Pei’s intentions, the final interview piece still turns out well.”
All three cameras were turned off and would only be powered back on later during the employee interviews.
Only then did Pei Qian enter the reception room and sit on the sofa to begin the interview.
Although Xia Jiang felt somewhat deflated that all the cameras had been shut off, she was, after all, a seasoned professional journalist who had conducted countless interviews. She quickly regained her composure and mentally ran through the key questions she planned to ask.
“President Pei, as we all know, since its founding, Tengda Games has released many works that have achieved both critical and commercial success. Players are especially fond of your games.”
“So, what made you choose the gaming industry in the first place instead of entering another field? Was there some special reason or turning point?”
Pei Qian paused for a moment. “It was a completely spur-of-the-moment decision. To be honest, I’ve always regretted it. I wish I had chosen a different field back then.”
Xia Jiang: “Huh?”
She laughed lightly. “President Pei, you’re joking. You’ve created so many highly acclaimed games—it clearly shows you have deep foundations. Without such foundations, how could you have developed profound and meaningful titles like Game Producer and Turn Back Before It’s Too Late?”
Pei Qian revealed a somewhat bitter smile. “No, I mean it. Even now, I haven’t fully mastered how to use the official editor.”
“As for why I was able to make those games…”
“Well, I had no choice. My employees are simply too ‘excellent.’”
There was a distinct note of gritted-teeth frustration in President Pei’s voice.
Xia Jiang’s expression grew serious as she rapidly jotted down notes in her small notebook.
“A genius designer whose imagination is free-spirited and unbounded.”
“Someone who never systematically studied game design, yet creates masterpieces—a born prodigy?”
“Instead of being restricted by traditional game design frameworks, he boldly discards conventions and lets his ideas fly freely.”
“Fully trusts his employees.”
“Humble and modest. Attributes all credit to his team, neither stealing nor seeking credit for himself—extremely low-key!”
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