Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan spread these flyers out on the table as they checked them out one by one.
The internet cafe on promotion had a special top-up promotion of a time-limited discount!
As for the coffee house and the bar, there were discounts for drinks such as a second drink at half-price, etc.
Ma Yang still didn’t understand. “What have these got to do with us?”
The delivery man was still huffing a little, “Boss Ma, these… these shops are all around us!”
Zhang Yuan’s brows furrowed as he instantly sensed that something was amiss!
After taking a closer look, these shops were indeed all located around Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store. They weren’t far away at all.
Ma Yang pulled a long face as he realized how severe this problem was. “This… could this be targeting us?”
He thought for a moment as he shook his head. “No, that can’t be right. We haven’t offended anyone, and we also haven’t engaged in a price war with these shops; why are they doing this to us?”
Ma Yang was confused. Logically, if Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was doing very well and had taken others’ business, this would still make sense.
The crux was Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was already doing so badly; was there a need to do this to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe now?
Zhang Yuan’s face grew even darker. “That’s hard to say.”
“Although Fish-Catching Internet Cafe is making losses-as long as our shop is still open, we would still be an existing competitor to these shops. Perhaps they wish to hit us when we’re down and won’t rest until we go bust?
“Furthermore, internet cafes, bars, coffee houses… for so many shops to do promotion activities at the same time? They seemed to be acting in concert. Perhaps someone is orchestrating this behind the scenes!”
Ma Yang looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy, “What should we do?”
Zhang Yuan’s brows knotted as he thought for a long time. “This is rather sticky; our opponent seemed to have come well-prepared!
“These few shops have started the price war. The internet cafes, bars, and coffee houses are all reducing their prices and desperately sending out flyers. If I haven’t guessed wrongly, the few street entrances near our internet cafe have already been taken over by them.”
“This way, all consumers that wish to come to our internet cafe will definitely see their flyers and promotion activities. As there isn’t that much customer flow in this area to start with
—if even the few that came were lured away, we would become even worse off.”
Realization dawned on Ma Yang as he said slightly angrily, “No wonder there are so few customers today!”
Zhang Yuan continued, “Not only that! I feel as if the opponent has done his homework, and this move of his is to hit us at our soft
spot!
“According to Boss Pei’s plan, our internet cafe has always been a high-class one; our prices are naturally higher than other places. The opponent wishes to drag us into a price war with them. This is very complicated for us.
“If we don’t lower our prices, we would be at a severe price disadvantage; we couldn’t compete.
“For example, our original prices are forty percent higher than other places’. However, we have a better atmosphere and better service. Some customers would be happy to spend a little more money to enjoy the superior service here.
“However, if our opponent is burning cash and lowering prices even more, our prices might become sixty percent higher or more. Would customers be willing to spend so much money just for our better atmosphere and service?”
Ma Yang frowned, “In that case, should we lower our prices as well?”
Zhang Yuan shook his head, “No! We are a high-class and posh outfit; lowering our prices would damage our reputation. Furthermore, if we have to burn cash like them, we are already losing money; how could we win against them?
“Furthermore, don’t forget what Boss Pei said when we raised the issue of lowering prices back then.”
Ma Yang was speechless.
Previously when Fish-Catching Internet Cafe had just started to incur losses, Zhang Yuan had already raised the strategy of lowering prices; that had been rejected flat-out by Pei Qian.
If they raised this matter again, the results would probably be the same.
However, they couldn’t reduce their prices. As Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was basically surrounded now—as long as these shops kept on doing publicity on the streets entrances leading to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, most of their customers would be lured away.
Even if a minority of ballers remained loyal to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, customers that would patronize without caring for prices were very few; most would still want to take pricing into consideration.
Zhang Yuan’s face grew stern, “Let’s report this to Boss Pei; we can’t make a decision on this ourselves!”
Pei Qian was just sleeping soundly in his rented apartment. His cell phone then rang.
Pei Qian was snapped out of his dream and was very unhappy.
However, seeing that the call came from Ma Yang and that Ma Yang had just left him his assignments, Pei Qian could still forgive Ma Yang for this.
“What’s up, Old Ma?”
Ma Yang speedily explained the huge crisis that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was facing now over the phone.
“Brother Qian, this is the situation. Zhang Yuan and I have analyzed that this matter is definitely not so easy; someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes! What should we do now?”
Ma Yang was very anxious.
Pei Qian suddenly was sleepy no more.
Such a good thing existed?
Pei Qian almost laughed out loud. He had actually still been feeling the pressure for this cycle, wondering if he could successfully make a loss.
In the end, someone had sent him a pillow just when he wanted to sleep.
At present, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store was losing around three hundred thousand monthly. This was on the premise that there was still a certain income from sales from drinks and from internet users.
Although Chen Lei had left, the impact he had caused still remained. Some of his old supporters would still like to gather at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. Hence, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s losses had been lessened compared to at the start.
Now that the surrounding shops were engaged in a price war and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s customer flow was being interrupted, this meant that there would be lesser income from Fish-Catching Internet Cafe until the settlement!
If these shops continued with their price wars, that meant that during the next cycle, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s income would still continue to fall drastically. That would be…
So awesome!
There was only one week left till settlement, and it seemed a part of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s income was going to be in jeopardy; this might amount to around seventy to eighty thousand yuan.
One should not belittle this sum. If income was lessened by seventy to eight thousand, that might easily turn profits into losses; this was a world of difference!
Pei Qian tried his best to calm himself down; he couldn’t allow himself to start laughing.
Ma Yang heard that Pei Qian was mum as he felt that things were really serious this time. “What should we do, Brother Qian?”
Pei Qian massaged the corners of his mouth to stop himself from smiling as he tried his best to sound calm. “Don’t worry, at this time, let’s wait and see. Don’t do anything on your end; I have my own arrangements!”
Chapter 177 - Lie to Someone Else
June 25th, Friday night…
Singing continued to echo throughout Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. However, the seats at the bottom of the stage were empty. There were only two or three people seated, drinking alcohol.
The singer was listless; people listening to him off-stage were falling asleep.
Ma Yang’s face was a mask of worry.
What should he do?!
As the competition around the various Fish-Catching Internet Cafes intensified, the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes were getting fewer and fewer customers.
Although they had a resident singer, the other bars around had more than that. They also had discounts on all their drinks on the menu!
Those bars were crowded and lively. Many of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s old customers were jumping ship, too.
After all, most people came to bars to play and socialize. Few people wanted to drink in a cold, quiet place. What’s more, this place was not cheap.
This new resident singer sang well, but he was a far cry from Chen Lei’s standard. Naturally, he could not attract as many customers.
The fewer people there were, the less motivation he had. The less motivation he had, the more distracted he sounded when he sang. It was a vicious cycle.
“Brother Qian told me not to do anything. Yet, I feel guilty…”
Ma Yang drank on his own, feeling pained.
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was continuing to incur losses. Even Fish-Catching Take-Out was not improving. When it rained, it poured. Ma Yang was beginning to seriously doubt himself.
On a chair in the corner of the internet cafe, Li Shi sipped his cocktail. He could not help his lips from curling upwards.
Indeed, these people are too inexperienced to compete with me.
Fu Hui Investments had already invested in a significant number of businesses in Jingzhou. They also had considerable influence.
They just had to spend a bit of money and get the shops around Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to organize a couple of promotions. Those shops would get more customers, and Fish-Catching Internet Cafe would be suppressed. Fu Hui Investments would then have an easier time.
To Li Shi and the shops around Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, it was a win-win situation.
Li Shi had been hiding undercover at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe for a long time. He already had a clear picture of the concept of this place.
The young Boss Pei was the boss behind Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. He was stubborn and headstrong; Li Shi guessed that he was the type not to listen to others’ advice. Li Shi had to slowly figure him out.
This Zhang Yuan was the regional manager, but in actual fact, he was not very close to Boss Pei. He was mostly in charge of the operations of the internet cafes.
The key was still in this long-faced man.
This Ma Yang looked to be quite close to Boss Pei. What’s more, he did not look very bright. He looked like the type who would easily be negligent.
He had to deal with this long-faced man first. Once he hoodwinked this man, he could use him to influence Boss Pei slowly. Then, his mission would be accomplished.
It was not easy to say what Boss Pei’s condition was now. After all, he had not come to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in two days. However, from the way the long-faced man looked, Li Shi guessed that he was falling apart.
Li Shi’s calculations were good. He had to consider all possibilities and finish this job as soon as possible.
After all, he could not go on burning so much money. He only had to do it to torture Boss Pei.
Once everyone in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe began to doubt its ability to generate profits, he could step in and offer assistance in these troubled times by extending his hand…
Then, there would be a good chance of making this investment.
Li Shi carried his glass of alcohol and sat opposite Ma Yang.
Ma Yang had been worrying. When he saw the aged Li Shi sitting in front of him, he jumped.
What’s this?
There are no beautiful girls at my table. What do you want?
Could these… rich men also have their own special hobbies?
At that moment, Ma Yang was at a loss for words. He quietly pulled his glass closer to himself and away from Li Shi.
Li Shi did not know how wildly Ma Yang’s imagination was running. He thought that the latter was just being naturally guarded.
“Boss Ma, how are you? Let me introduce myself. I am Fu Hui Investments’ CEO, Li Shi.”
Li Shi confidently handed his name card over to Ma Yang. “Actually, I’m an old customer here. I wonder if Boss Ma is interested in discussing working together.”
Ma Yang realized that Li Shi did not harbor any ill-intentions towards him. He slowly picked up the name card and then read it in the dim light.
Li Shi, “….”
He discovered that this Boss Ma did not seem to know about Fu Hui Investments…
Li Shi began to get mad. It didn’t make sense at all.
How famous was Fu Hui Investments in the investment circle in Jingzhou?
According to Ma Yang’s patronizing expression, it was clear that he had no idea what Fu Hui Investments could bring to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. The good thing was that Li Shi was vastly experienced. Since Ma Yang had no clue who he was, he would go straight to the point.
It was the easiest to lie to idiots like that who did not know anything.
Li Shi took two sips of his cocktail and put on every bit of the airs of a successful man. In a matter-of-fact and controlled tone, he explained the plan for cooperation to Ma Yang.
Put simply, Fu Hui Investments would invest in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and offer its vast experience to guide Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s operations. Everybody would earn money together. They would soon be able to push Fish-Catching Internet Cafe out to the rest of the world.
All in all, Li Shi painted a very beautiful picture with a single stroke.
Ma Yang’s eyes lit up. He was moved!
Li Shi was a successful man after all. In the way that he dressed and the way that he spoke, Ma Yang could tell he was different from others. He spoke far better than the people in marketing, who tried to sell insurance using low-level language tactics.
What’s more, every single sentence he spoke seemed to have medicinal properties, curing Ma Yang exactly where he hurt. He was offering to solve the profit problems of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe!
Zhang Yuan could not offer a good solution for every problem that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was facing. Pei Qian was also acting mysteriously. All of these were causing Ma Yang to feel lost and confused.
All Li Shi had to do was throw out a couple of profit models for internet cafes in order to hoodwink Ma Yang.
Li Shi took note of Ma Yang’s reaction. He knew that he had succeeded.
“Everything’s going unexpectedly well.”
After that, he waited quietly for the fish to take the bait.
Once Li Shi finished speaking, Ma Yang looked excited. Li Shi could tell that he was very interested in the blueprint that Li Shi had just laid before him.
However, he did not agree at once.
“Boss Li, your suggestion is good. However… I have to ask my boss.”
Ma Yang did not forget that Pei Qian had the final say in everything about the internet cafe.
Li Shi was already prepared for this. He smiled and replied, “Alright.”
At this point, it would not be good for Li Shi to say anything more.
He was sure that Ma Yang had already been completely bought over. All he needed was for this long-faced man to be determined to have pillow talks—no, private talks with Pei Qian. Li Shi was sure that this would be effective enough.
He was not worried that Pei Qian would doubt him. This was him taking a carrot-and-stick approach.
“Brother Qian, that’s more or less the situation! We can accept Fu Hui Investments’ offer. Then, our losses would be turned to profit, wouldn’t it?”
Over the phone, Ma Yang still sounded excited.
Pei Qian smiled subtly. Ma Yang was very easy to hoodwink.
However, Pei Qian was not angry. After all, to him, this was one of the perks of having Ma Yang as his employee.
From the looks of the situation, Ma Yang had been com
pletely brainwashed by this Boss Li of Fu Hui Investments. Yet, it did not matter. Pei Qian could buy him back with just a couple of sentences.
“Old Ma, you have been lied to.”
Holding the phone, Ma Yang was stunned.
“Brother Qian, what do you mean?”
Pei Qian sniggered. “Actually, this Fu Hui Investments had already called Assistant Xin a few days ago. They offered to invest in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, but I rejected them.”
Ma Yang was confused. “Why did you reject them? Brother Qian, they’ll give us a huge sum of money as investments. Everyone would earn money together. Wouldn’t that be good?”
Pei Qian could not help but smile. This Boss Li obviously decided to talk to Ma Yang first because he figured that the latter would be easy to lie to. After all, he had not given up the thought of investing in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
Chapter 178 - Beating Him at His Own Game
Pei Qian could not be sure that the nearby shops were holding various promotions to pick on Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. After all, he could not malign others without any proof.
What if they were all holding their regular promotions at the same time out of coincidence?
Pei Qian also could not be sure whether Boss Li was causing trouble behind the scenes. He did not have a proof for this either.
However, what he could be sure of was that Boss Li took this to be a good opportunity for himself. He wanted to gain from all of this.
This made Pei Qian anxious; yet, it seemed so inconsequential.
However, Pei Qian could not blame Boss Li for being silly. This was because it was a carrot-and-stick approach.
On the one hand, Boss Li would never directly admit that he was picking on Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. However, he would stick out an olive branch and make it seem like there was money to be made for everybody. He would be careful not to anger Fish-Catching Internet Cafe too much. This was the carrot.
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