However, as compared to other ordinary internet cafes, their configurations and environment were considered pretty good.
A few people were giving out flyers at the crossings near the internet cafe. They appeared to be students.
With this internet cafe around to steal customers, it was highly possible that it could make some people, who originally wanted to go to the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, change their minds.
After all, many people did not have such high expectations for the computers and the environment. They would not choose to travel such a long distance for that.
The situation at the board game cafe, bars, and coffee shops was similar.
Although the customer volume was not high, their locations were all much better than the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and could successfully steal many customers from the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
Pei Qian was delighted.
That’s great! Although Pei Qian did not know who helped him, he remembered that person’s kind deed and would definitely seek a chance to thank him or her in person!
Looking at the current situation-because of the low human traffic in the vicinity, those shops might not be able to profit regardless. However, the only difference was that so many would suffer a greater loss than the others.
The internet cafes should have the best revenues, and the board games cafe should not be far off. As for the bar and coffee shop… Pei Qian was afraid that their situation might not be very optimistic.
That person who opened these shops to help Boss Pei lose money must be a huge philanthropist!
Speaking of that, Pei Qian recalled Boss Li who had done him a great favor at the flagship store of the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
Could it be him? After the huge misunderstanding previously, how could Boss Li not lay a grudge on me? How could he stick by my side instead?
Pei Qian’s heart was warmed. Look at that! I do not only have enemies!
People like Teacher Qiao and Ruan Guangjian were Boss Pei’s enemies. However, Boss Li was different. He was definitely Boss Pei’s true love!
Pei Qian thought about investigating that. He wanted to see if Boss Li was really the one who did the kind deed without asking for acknowledgment. If he was truly the person behind it, Pei Qian had to find a way to thank him properly!
After circling the area, Pei Qian, Zhang Yuan, Assistant Xin, and Lin Canrong headed to the Ming Yun Villas to check on the situation there.
Lin Canrong was previously a chef cum branch manager. He had been in charge of the Fish-Catching Take-Out recently and had not been able to achieve any results. He had been losing money steadily.
Pei Qian saw that strength of his, thus making him the branch manager of the new restaurant.
Before this trip, Lin Canrong had already completed some early-stages preparation based on Boss Pei’s instructions.
The original chairs, tables, and other furniture in the villa had been moved away by the estate management. The entire villa looked extremely empty.
The previous time he was here, Pei Qian had already walked through the place and knew what to expect.
He only needed to propose vague advice or opinion. He would definitely leave it to the professionals to plan the relevant details such as the actual decor and the type of tables and cutlery.
The living room was about 7 meters tall. It occupied two storys and was extremely spacious. That made it appear extremely elegant.
Pei Qian led Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan into the living room and started talking about it.
“Build a special wine cabinet here and prepare all sorts of expensive wine. Make sure that the tables and chairs in the hall are of top quality. The tables must be spaced far apart from one another. There should be about seven or eight tables here and at most four chairs for each table. You must not exceed that number.
“You can purchase some tables, chairs, and parasols for the garden outside. Diners could dine outside when the weather is suitable and enjoy the scenery.
“As for the interior design style, prepare five types—minimalistic, Chinese, Japanese, European, and natural. They must each have their individual decor, table cloths, lighting, and cutlery.
“We will decorate the restaurant according to the cuisines that the customers ordered. This applies especially to this private room as it has the best scenery. We must build a ceiling window and prepare furniture and decoration pieces of all styles so we can design the room elaborately.
“Other than having to match the cuisines, the lighting and decorations must be as comfortable as possible. This restaurant mainly caters to our employees so we do not have to be so formal.
“Most cuisines here needed to be reserved. For example, if the customer ordered western cuisine, we must change the design and layout of the room beforehand so that it fits the European style interior design. If the customer ordered Japanese cuisine, we would then change it to Japanese style.
“There will be two categories of dishes here. One will be made using normal ingredients that will be available at all times. The employees will be eating that. The other will be made using high-end ingredients such as the fugu shirako, Tahiti vanilla, Bluefin tuna, and Parma ham. Make sure that you contact the suppliers beforehand. After reservation, the customers have to pay a deposit before they can come over and taste the food.”
Pei Qian showed Lin Canrong around the place and spoke about wherever they went.
He had two goals ultimately.
First, the main purpose of the restaurant was to cater to the needs of his employees. The main goal was to make the place as comfortable and high-end as possible. Pei Qian did not plan on hosting many people at the villa. His ideal maximum number of customers was around seventy to eighty people.
The hall could seat about twenty people, and each private room could seat about six to seven people. If the weather was nice, they could also have a few tables in the balcony and garden.
Pei Qian did not plan to bring all his employees there at the same time. There were more than two hundred of them, and the villa could not accommodate so many of them. They could only come and have gatherings there in batches.
He could bring the seventy or eighty core employees here to have a meal together. The persons in charge of each department could then bring their respective employees over and have a meal together.
Anyways, the main purpose of the meals was to spend money. There was not much difference if they ate together or not.
Second, he wanted to spend as much money as he could.
Preparing furniture, cutlery, lighting, and decoration pieces of various styles could burn a lot of money. It could raise the cost of human labor by a huge margin. However, he had a valid reason for doing so, and the system could not pick on him because of that.
After all, all his efforts were to offer customers a better dining experience although the cost of such improvements was huge and it was not a cost-effective decision.
Furthermore, Pei Qian did not care about the opinions of the other customers. This restaurant was originally built to host employee and company gatherings. It was built to burn money for Boss Pei. Therefore, it was better if the restaurant maintained a low profile.
The best result was that no one else knew about this place. In that case, the restaurant could keep on losing money steadily. That was what Boss Pei wanted.
After giving his instructions for all the areas of the restaurant, Pei Qian looked at Lin Canrong and said, “That’s the rough arrangements. Do you have any questions?”
Lin Canrong appeared a little hesitant. “Boss Pei, I’m okay with everything else. However, is there really a need to prepare so many interior design styles?”
Chapter 218 - Cutting Mingliang Loose Tearfully
That was the first time Lin Canrong heard that a restaurant had to prepare different styles of cutlery and even tables and chairs. There was enough space to store all of that. The underground parking lot had room for many tables and chairs. However, they had to
re-decorate those things after every meal.
Lin Canrong’s head hurt just by thinking about it.
Pei Qian shook his head and said, “Of course, there is a need!”
“We are a high-end restaurant. Other than good quality ingredients, culinary skills, and great dishes; we must also have a sufficiently good environment.
“Just like the scholars in ancient times. They use different wine glasses to consume different types of wine. There were also many more complicated and cumbersome procedures. However, what they did was not merely for ritual purposes; more suitable cutlery could showcase the wine even better. It could also make the special atmosphere stand out even more!
“The other restaurants only have one type of cuisines; therefore, they could afford to have a single style.
“We, on the other hand, offer all types of cuisines, including western, Chinese, Japanese, and French cuisines. To provide customers the best dining experience, we must definitely prepare various interior design styles. We must give them the best that we could offer from the decorations, dining tables, and cutlery… to a specific atmosphere and dining environment!
“The details determine our success. Do you understand?”
Lin Canrong’s mouth parted slightly. He was completely shocked.
This…
Although that sounded very reasonable, he felt that there was something amiss. The dining environment was indeed important, but was there really a need to change the decorations and cutlery repeatedly?
Could it be… Boss Pei was not merely expecting them to stick by the rules and do things by ritual? Maybe he was looking for an attitude to pursue perfection?
By creating the perfect dining environment, they could provide customers a better and top-notch dining experience.
Yes. That must be the case!
Lin Canrong nodded his head violently and replied, “Yes, Boss Pei. I understand!
“I will research the relevant knowledge when I get home and organize systematic training for our attendants. They will then be able to serve all sorts of cuisines—including Chinese, western, and Japanese cuisines—without making a single mistake. We will aim to achieve perfection from the environment and service to the specific ways to enjoy the food!”
“Ugh…”
Pei Qian was momentarily speechless.
He did not plan on being so stringent at the beginning. After all, the food was for his own employees. Why was there a need to make things so perfect?
In the end, Lin Canrong misunderstood him. Pei Qian could not correct him as that might make things awkward.
Lin Canrong thought of another problem. “Boss Pei, what is the name of our restaurant?”
Pei Qian was solemn for a while before he asked in return, “Must we have a name?”
Lin Canrong was baffled. “…”
Why did he ask that question? Of course, there must be a name!
Otherwise, how could the conversation go on when other customers wanted to recommend us to their friends?
“Ay, I went to a restaurant with really good food the other day!”
“Really? What is it called?”
“It doesn’t have a name!”
That seemed a little absurd.
When they wanted to promote the restaurant on food critique websites in the future, they must enter a restaurant name somehow!
Moreover, the restaurant was located in a villa.
There was not much human traffic here to begin with. If they did not hang a signboard outside, no one would know that this was a restaurant. They might think that this was just a normal resident unit!
Pei Qian shook his head confidently. “Things like the name are not important. We conquer our diners with our food and not a popular brand name.
“Good food speaks for itself. Even if we do not promote it, it will still become popular someday.”
Lin Canrong’s mouth was agape. “But, Boss Pei, we must have a name for our shop. We have to apply for a business license!”
“Oh,” Pei Qian thought for a while and replied, “You can decide on it. You are the branch manager after all. I’ll leave it to you to register whatever name you want. However, there is no need to make a signboard or to hang it outside. We will win over our customers using our food!
“Anyways, prepare for it carefully. I will bring the employees at Tengda over to support you when you open for business!”
Lin Canrong was a little uneasy when he heard that he had to come up with a name for the restaurant. However, when he saw the trust in Pei Qian’s eyes, he nodded his head.
“Okay, Boss Pei! I will give it my best!”
When he was back at the rented apartment, Pei Qian opened Aili Island and looked at the video that he had posted.
The number of views was still low. There did not seem to be many fluctuations as compared to when he left in the morning.
That was normal. No exposure meant no views. No views meant no likes and no tips. Therefore, it was only natural that the video would be buried by other content on the platform.
The content-heavy UP Masters did not become popular in a day. They accumulated popularity slowly using their consistently high-quality content.
Pei Qian ordered another new flagship phone model that Shenhua had. That would be the victim in his next video.
However, according to the current delivery speed, it would take two to three days for the phone to be delivered.
“Haiz, I miss JD.com. I can only hope that my Upwind Logistics could develop quickly. I can then experience how it was like to order the product in the morning and receive it in the evening.”
Pei Qian yawned. He covered himself with his blanket and took an afternoon nap.
August 1st…
Pei Qian came to the office in the morning looking very energetic.
Today was the biannual outstanding employee selection day. All employees knew about that, and they were all either excited or nervous. Only Bao Xu looked upset. He was not interested in the selection process at all. He was secretly praying that he would not be voted as the second place!
Bao Xu had been deliberately lowering his presence these few days. However, when it came to votes… who knew what could happen?
“Okay. Straight to business. Let’s vote.”
Pei Qian was tired of saying the formalities. Anyways, no matter who the two lucky people were, he just had to arrange for the 1 million yuan Dream Fund and the one month of paid leave.
The only bias that Pei Qian had was towards Lu Mingliang. He hoped that everyone would not vote for Lu Mingliang.
After all, as compared to Huang Sibo and Bao Xu, Pei Qian was very satisfied with Lu Mingliang. He was obedient and did not let his thoughts run wild. If the chief planner was another person, Pei Qian was unsure if the successor could live up to his expectations like Lu Mingliang did.
The crowd clicked on their mouses and finished voting. Some employees were not present at the company, but they could also vote online.
Very quickly, the voting ended.
Pei Qian looked at the results, and his heart dropped.
F*ck. The first person was really Lu Mingliang!
The situation that he was afraid of happened.
Pei Qian was very reluctant. After all, it was tough finding a chief planner that followed by the book. If the new chief planner was similar to Huang Sibo and carried Boss Pei to a win, wouldn’t it be the end for him?
However, rules are rules. Although Pei Qian was biased towards Lu Mingliang, he could not break the rules because of him.
Pei Qian sorted out his emotions and handed the trophy to Lu Mingliang. “Congratulations!”
Lu Mingliang was stunned. He stood up. He did not expect himself to win the votes! Lu Mingliang looked at Bao Xu. He felt that Bao Xu was more experienced than him and was more worthy of the award.
Pei Qian guesses what he was thinking. He shook his head lightly and said, “The results were voted by everyone. You deserve this.”
&nbs
p; After hesitating for a while, Lu Mingliang received the trophy from Pei Qian’s hands.
The trophy appeared small, but it was very heavy!
Was this how Brother Huang felt when he received the Best Employee Trophy? Lu Mingliang felt that what he was holding was not merely a trophy. It represented Boss Pei’s trust in him. It represented the heavy responsibility he had!
At that moment, Lu Mingliang had a train of words to say; but he did not know where to start.
Pei Qian looked at the second place.
Bao Xu.
That was beyond his control. After all, Lu Mingliang was the main person in charge of Game Designer and had been developing new versions of the game and also other new games. Although Bao Xu had also put in a lot of effort, Lu Mingliang was ultimately still the chief planner and was the face that the other employees saw most frequently.
Although Bao Xu did not show his face at a lot of places, he had a part in testing the games and adjusting the details of the games. Therefore, he also had a high number of votes during the Outstanding Employee Selection. He had scored the second place.
Therefore, an awkward situation arose again.
Pei Qian looked at Bao Xu solemnly and showed a kind smile.
Brother, I am not targeting you. This is the crowd’s choice…
Chapter 219 - All My Employees are Talented yet Too Humble
When Bao Xu saw that Pei Qian was looking towards him and appeared hesitant about speaking, he was instantly flustered.
Oh, sh*t. Not me again?
During the month-long paid leave previously, Bao Xu had almost coughed out blood having to travel the entire country. When he returned, he felt that he had almost used up his share of traveling for the year.
However, after just a few months of rest, was that going to happen again?
Bao Xu said hurriedly, “Boss Pei, I forfeit this opportunity willingly! Please give it to someone who needs it more!”
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883 Page 118