Once again, Li Shi was careful not to be negligent.
Earlier, he had not expected Pei Qian to use a singer to turn the tables around. Once bitten, twice shy. He now knew that behind every ordinary-looking plan, Boss Pei had deeper intentions.
This time would be no exception.
Li Shi did not want Ma Yang to spot him. After what happened the last time, he understood that this long-faced man’s relationship with Pei Qian was too good. There was no way he would be able to rely on him.
However…
The other lower-level employees were a different story.
Li Shi scanned the internet cafe and saw several waiters. The internet cafe was too deserted, and the waiters looked listless. It was obvious that they were only trying to maintain a high standard of professionalism because of their professional training. Li Shi guessed that these waiters were not paid very much.
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe might treat their workers much better than the average industry standard, but these waiters did physical labor after all. They were just not worth paying that much.
If that were true, Li Shi could spend some money to bribe them and understand more about this branch at Ming Yun Villas.
At that thought, Li Shi quietly noted down the names and faces of several waiters. He took two more sips of his coffee, paid the bill, and then left.
Bribing two or three waiters did not seem significant, but it could give Li Shi something very important: updates. Any money he spent would be well worth it as long as these workers continuously provided Li Shi with updates about the branch and allowed him to figure out the direction in which Boss Pei was going!
If he prioritized stability, bribing just one waiter would minimize the risks of him being exposed.
However, Li Shi was worried that one waiter would provide him with fake updates. What would he do then? If he bribed a few waiters, at least he could verify the updates against one another. This would increase the reliability of the updates he received.
Of course, this would increase the risk of his plan being exposed. However, Li Shi was not that worried.
He would ask his subordinates to contact these waiters. Pei Qian would not be able to trace these things back to Fu Hui Investments.
It would not be a problem even if these waiters reported the matter to Pei Qian. At most, the plan would fall through at no loss to Li Shi.
The only thing he had to worry about was that these waiters would collude to provide fake information. However, the waiters would probably only do so if they were absolutely loyal to Boss Pei. What’s more, they must be able to resist the temptation of money.
How could they?
Thus, Li Shi felt quite confident. He believed in the power of money.
The next day…
Coincidentally, Pei Qian had nothing much to do in the afternoon. He thought about walking around in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch at Ming Yun Villas.
He also wanted to take the chance to ask Ma Yang and the others about their progress in planning for Headwind Courier stations.
The initial preparations for Headwind Courier stations would not be complicated. They mainly had to rent spaces, renovate them, purchase shelves and office supplies, recruit delivery men, and contact express delivery companies and discuss collaborating.
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were in charge of all of these things for now.
After all, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and Fish-Catching Take-Out were all incurring losses for now. Pei Qian was quite satisfied with this, and he trusted both of them.
Once Headwind Logistics’ business expanded and Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were unable to cope, Pei Qian would consider handing this business over to other people to manage.
When they saw Boss Pei walk in, the waiters in the internet cafe became slightly nervous. Everyone knew that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch at Ming Yun Villas was doing the worst out of all the branches. It was practically at rock-bottom! The waiters were worried that the branch would be closed all of a sudden, and they would lose their jobs.
The initial situation had been better. All the branches were incurring losses, and the branch at Ming Yun Villas was quite deserted. Boss Pei hardly visited them.
However, once Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store began making profits, everything changed. It seemed like Boss Pei had suddenly turned his attention to the branch at Ming Yun Villas!
The internet cafe’s manager, Ma Yang, and the regional manager, Zhang Yuan, seemed to be permanently stationed at this branch. What’s more, Boss Pei began visiting the branch more frequently as well. All the waiters were under immense pressure, and they were getting increasingly nervous.
It was obvious that the higher management had noticed that the branch at Ming Yun Villas was at rock bottom. For all they knew, huge changes were going to take place. Although everything seemed calm for now, nobody knew when the storm was going to come.
All the waiters understood their own situation. They received high salaries and good welfare here, but who knew how long more they could keep their jobs?
Thus, some of them began to work on back-up plans. Although they were treated very well here, everybody was selfish. They had to think for themselves.
“Brother Qian, you’re here!”
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan welcomed Pei Qian warmly and led him to a table to sit.
A few waiters stood by the side, waiting for instructions.
Pei Qian sipped his coffee and said to Ma Yang, “Give our brothers an additional one thousand yuan for their salary this month.”
Ma Yang was shocked, and so were a few waiters.
Pei Qian explained, “This is an incentive! The branch at Ming Yun Villas is not doing well. I’ll need everyone to keep working hard! Don’t feel too stressed about our current results either. Relax, our Fish-Catching Internet Cafe will not give any of you brothers up!”
Pei Qian had not thought too much about it. He just wanted to spend more money because he felt like it.
There was reason to give out this sum of money, and it was not much to begin with. There was no reason for the System to deny it.
What’s more, the branch at Ming Yun Villas had been steadily incurring losses and showed no signs of improving. Pei Qian felt that this was the gold-standard business of his dreams. It directly contrasted what the flagship store had become. Naturally, he had to spend more money here to pad his expenses.
Once he finished speaking, Pei Qian noticed that three or four waiters had weird expressions on their faces.
They looked overjoyed but hesitant as well.
Finally, one of the waiters plucked up the courage to speak. “Boss Pei, there is something I want to report to you! Someone tried to bribe me and told me to give them updates about what happens in this branch!”
Another waiter nodded and said, “Me, too!”
Yet, another waiter looked hesitant. It was obvious he was guilty.
Actually, none of these waiters needed to report this secret to Pei Qian. After all, they were low-level workers in the internet cafe. They were not close to Pei Qian, and they might not have profited from blurting the secret.
However, after Boss Pei distributed one thousand yuan to each of them as incentives, the waiters felt moved.
They thought about the excellent treatment and welfare they had been receiving in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and began to feel their conscience prick them.
Thus, although they were being offered more money by the other party, someone took a firm stand!
Pei Qian paused.
He was quite shocked… not because his subordinates had been bribed but because… he did not expect someone to spend money on such useless updates.
The branch at Ming Yun Villas was doing so horribly. Why was there a need to plant spies?
Do you have too much money and nowhere to spend it? Just give it to me, then!
Pei Qian casually asked, “How much is he paying you?”
One of the waiters hesi
tated for a second, and then said, “Five hundred yuan for normal updates, and three thousand yuan for important updates.”
To Li Shi, the waiters would definitely not be able to resist this sum of money. However, he had underestimated the exceptional welfare that employees of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe enjoyed.
Pei Qian began cursing in his heart.
Why the hell do things like that not happen to me?
These are just updates about Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch at Ming Yun Villas. Three thousand yuan for some updates? I can sell so many updates to you that you go bankrupt, do you believe that?
Chapter 205 - Boss Pei Releases Information
A waiter plucked up the courage to say, “Don’t worry, Boss Pei. We will never betray Fish-Catching Internet Cafe! I will turn him down at once!”
Another waiter nodded and said, “That’s right! Boss Pei, you have treated us exceedingly well. As long as you don’t give up on us, we will never sell information about any of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branches!”
Looking at these people’s determined expressions, Pei Qian cursed in his heart.
Don’t! You should sell as much as you can. That’s exactly what I want!
What is the other party buying information on the Ming Yun Villas branch for? Isn’t it to do harm to it?
That’s just as well! It could help Ming Yun Villas incur more losses. I couldn’t ask for anything better.
When the time comes, a few waiters would have made more money and Pei Qian would have lost more money. Wouldn’t that be a win-win situation?
Pei Qian waved his hand and said, “No need. Sell the information for as much as you can earn. Don’t be kind to them. Otherwise, negotiate and ask them for more than three thousand yuan.”
The waiters were confused.
What’s this? Was Boss Pei giving them permission to sell information?
One of the waiters thought about it, and a realization dawned upon him. “I know, Boss Pei! You’re going to come up with a scheme! Do you want us to sell fake information and lead them on?”
Pei Qian smiled without saying a word.
Fake information?
Not fake information – I’m talking about true information. Just do your best to sell information about this branch.
Pei Qian took out his phone and started recording without changing his expression.
“Coincidentally, I wanted to tell all of you about the future arrangements for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
“In the next few months, the branch at Ming Yun Villas will become our utmost priority among the entire Fish-Catching Internet Cafe business. At the same time, our internet cafe business is going to continue in full force!
“Although the flagship store is doing extremely well now, only the bar is doing well. The internet cafe is not.”
He turned to Ma Yang and said, “Old Ma, didn’t you always hope that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe would be turned into a bar? I never agreed because of this. High-end internet cafes do not seem as popular now, but they will definitely be the future of our business!
“I predict that in less than a year, these high-end internet cafes would replace traditional internet cafes. They’ll become the mainstream in the market!”
There was some truth to what Pei Qian was saying, but there were also lies.
Cheap internet cafes would indeed have to be converted to high-end internet cafes in the future in order to remain competitive and stay mainstream. However, this transition would not be complete in the next one or two years.
According to Pei Qian’s memory, such high-end internet cafes would only begin to get popular in 2012. In about 2014 to 2015, they would expand outwards from first-tier cities to second tier-cities. Only they were slowly and increasingly accepted by the majority.
Thus, as Pei Qian understood the situation, he would be incurring losses for another two years or so.
So what if this was the future of internet cafes? He could incur losses for two years, and that was great. He could talk about the future next time.
Pei Qian continued speaking. “What happened with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store was a pleasant surprise. Honestly, it was not within my plans.”
This was 100% the truth.
“Given the flagship store’s success, there has been a huge disturbance in our customer traffic and the like. We can no longer test out our internet cafe model at the flagship store. That is why I chose the Ming Yun Villas branch to test out the internet cafe model. At the moment, it looks like this branch is doing the worst.
“Our goal is to focus on the surrounding high-end villas and university. We will fully display the benefits of a high-end internet cafe like Fish-Catching Internet Cafe here.
“Please believe me, everyone. Ming Yun Villas will become the next core commercial district in Jingzhou City. It will be a place where high-class people gather to relax!”
After hearing Pei Qian’s speech, the waiters turned to look at one another.
Is Boss Pei speaking the truth or not? He’s saying all of these to his opponents – most of it must be fake, right? Yet, why didn’t it sound fake? Why did it sound like the truth?!
What’s more, it seemed to completely match the way Boss Pei had been acting recently.
One of the waiters raised his hand weakly and asked, “Well, Boss Pei… What should we do, then?”
Pei Qian smiled subtly and said, “Treat our customers well and wait patiently.”
After the meeting, Pei Qian sent the recording to Ma Yang
“Send this recording to one of the waiters.”
Pei Qian was afraid that the waiters would leave out something that he had said. Thus, he very considerately recorded everything down. With this recording, the other party was more likely to believe it.
Of course, even though Pei Qian had gone to this extent, the other party could be suspicious. He might think that this was fake information. He might not take it seriously.
However, whether he took it seriously or not, Pei Qian would stand to gain and not to lose.
That night…
Li Shi collected the updates that one of his subordinates bought from three different waiters. There was even a recording. He was pleasantly surprised to have received this recording.
Overjoyed, Li Shi instructed his subordinate to reward the waiter who gave him the recording with another five hundred yuan. The information and recording verified one another. The contents of the messages were all the same.
However, since the information had been paraphrased, Li Shi feared that there may have been gaps. The most important of all was the recording. It contained Pei Qian’s actual words.
Li Shi went into his study and sipped his tea as he listened to the recording.
“Boss Pei’s speech can be summarized into two points. First, high-end internet cafes will be the mainstream model in the future. It is now very promising. Second, Ming Yun Villas will be Jingzhou City’s next core commercial district where all the high-class people would gather…
“I am on the same page as him on the first point. Indeed, high-end internet cafes will definitely be the mainstream model in the future. People’s standard of living would improve, and personal laptops would be common. People would begin to visit internet cafes not because it is necessary for gaming but because it is necessary as a means of socialization and playing with their friends. Their demands for the environment would naturally become higher as well.
“The second point, however, was up for discussion. It is well-known that Ming Yun Villas has failed as a high-end residential area. The nearby Handong Jiaotong University’s East Campus is also a far cry from Handong Jiaotong University’s main campus. Thus, there were not many students there.
“Is Boss Pei hoping to make this branch popular based on these two groups of people alone? That seems too idealistic and positive.
“What’s more, this Fish-Catching Internet Cafe is quite a distance from both places. It’s almost two kil
ometers away; it would take twenty to thirty minutes for them just to get there.
“This is such an awkward distance. It’s too far to walk, and it’s too troublesome to take public transport. Both means of transport don’t seem to make sense. The students in the East campus would probably lean towards the internet cafe at the entrance of their school. The rich folk in Ming Yun Villas would also likely not drive all the way here just for a cup of coffee.
“Did he hope to draw customers from both sides? He might be too ambitious. If this was a high-end restaurant, perhaps people might travel the distance to get there. However, the internet cafe is just not attractive enough.
“Yet, given Boss Pei’s strategizing skills, this doesn’t seem impossible…”
Ever since Pei Qian made Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store famous with one resident singer, Li Shi prostrated himself in admiration of Boss Pei’s marketing skills.
Boss Pei might have said in the recording that it had been a surprise for him, but he was obviously being overly-modest.
Was it possible for such a good surprise to take place?
Thus, Li Shi only believed 80% of what Pei Qian said. He even suspected that this might be fake information. However, on further thought, it would not have made sense.
Chapter 206 - Truth Becomes Fiction When Fiction’s True
Would the three waiters whom he bribed gang up to come up with false information? What’s more, none of them reported this to Boss Pei. The chances of that happening were very low.
After all, these waiters were not related to Boss Pei in any way. They were workers at the bottom of the hierarchy. How could they be that loyal?
The most important thing was that based on Li Shi’s complete analysis of Boss Pei, the information was highly likely to be true.
What had Boss Pei been doing recently?
He had indeed stopped visiting the flagship store. Every now and then, he would visit the branch at Ming Yun Villas instead!
On top of that, both Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were stationed at Ming Yun Villas as well.
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