Still, Bao Xu had no plans to apply for permission.
How would Boss Pei see him if he applied to work overtime over the weekend? How would his colleagues look at him?
Wouldn’t all his hard work be wasted?!
He was only two or three months from the next selection of the most outstanding employee. Bao Xu did not want to let all his efforts go down the drain.
Thus, there were only three options for Bao Xu: he could apply for permission to work overtime and come to the office openly, work from home, or secretly come to the office without applying for permission.
Bao Xu began to feel conflicted. However, his instincts told him that there was no rush to decide. He could observe the situation for a bit longer before making up his mind.
Saturday night, at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s Handong University branch…
Pei Qian and Li Shi were sipping their cocktails while remaining silent.
Pei Qian looked distracted. He had a faraway look, and he seemed to be in low spirits. On the other hand, Li Shi sipped his drink and observed Boss Pei’s expression. It was almost as if he was trying to guess what was on the latter’s mind.
Pei Qian felt like everything had been going wrong recently. Thus, he decided to drop all work in the evening and have a drink or two.
He did not expect to bump into Li Shi.
Pei Qian did not think too much into it. After all, Li Shi was considered a regular of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe. He thought that it was just a coincidence-nothing out of the ordinary.
Yet, this was not the way Li Shi saw the situation. He had come to the Handong University branch on purpose, hoping to see Pei Qian.
As for why…
It was a long story.
When Ming Yun Private Kitchen became famous, Li Shi’s Fu Hui Investments earned a huge profit. As a result, Li Shi became more interested in Pei Qian’s every move.
He had suddenly realized that investing had become much easier!
He had thought that all he would have to do was invest in any area where Boss Pei opened a Fish-Catching Internet Cafe or a restaurant. That would guarantee profits!
However, Pei Qian had seemed to lose interest in the physical industry.
He had opened Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 2.0 in several shopping malls at the most. Li Shi had heard nothing more after that.
Li Shi had wanted to follow in Pei Qian’s footsteps and freeload off the latter’s wisdom. Yet, he had been failing to do so.
This confused Li Shi a lot.
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe had already become popular. More and more people were playing games there, and its reputation was improving. Wasn’t this the best time to expand outwards and open more branches around the country?!
Even if Pei Qian wanted stability, shouldn’t he have at least planned to expand towards the other cities in Handong Province like Luzhou City or Lincheng City?
Li Shi had been waiting for Boss Pei to open new Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branches in these cities, so that he could invest in the surrounding area and earn a profit.
However, even after so long, Boss Pei did not show any signs of doing so.
It was almost as if he was abandoning Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and cutting all ties with the business even though it had finally turned its losses to profits.
It was so strange!
Thus, Li Shi could finally hold it in no longer today. He wanted to find out Boss Pei’s explanation.
“Boss Pei, it seems like you’ve been very busy. I haven’t seen you drinking at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in a while. Your businesses are now doing very well. It’s a good problem.” Li Shi started off by bootlicking Pei Qian. However, Pei Qian did not seem moved by his efforts. His businesses were doing very well. However, there was nothing good about this problem.
Pei Qian sipped his cocktail, still looking depressed. “Boss Li, I’m very confused now.” Boss Li paused and then smiled. “Boss Pei, what’s there to be confused about? Are you confused because you’ve achieved success in every area you’ve ventured into so far? Do you feel like life is no longer challenging enough?”
Once again, Pei Qian was at a loss for words.
Boss Li’s first two sentences were right, but the last sentence was not.
More accurately put, Pei Qian felt like life was extremely challenging because he had achieved success in every area he had ventured into so far. He had been defeated so much that he was losing his fighting spirit.
Unfortunately, he could not share these problems with anyone.
Pei Qian looked at Li Shi and said earnestly, “Boss Li, you’re very experienced in making investments. You know Jingzhou City’s businesses like the back of your hand. Can you offer some guidance to the confused me?”
Li Shi paused and then grinned. “Boss Pei, you must be teasing me. I’m nothing compared to you in terms of making investments. I might know slightly more than you about Jingzhou’s businesses, but you definitely know much more than me about the way Jingzhou’s businesses would develop in the future.”
Once again, Pei Qian was at a loss for words.
I’m genuinely asking you for help; I’m not trying to bootlick you! Ai, it’s so tiring talking to successful men!
Pei Qian decided to stop beating around the bush and cut right to the chase. “Boss Li, I’m going to be very direct.
“Can you tell me the projects in Jingzhou City which investors refuse to touch? I want to invest five to ten million yuan in such projects. That would be my minor contribution to developing Jingzhou City’s economy.”
Li Shi was at a loss for words.
Boss Pei lived up to his name; even his questions were different from most other people’s!
Others would only ask about projects that had the most potential or offered the most returns. Yet, Boss Pei was only asking about projects that investors refused to touch.
Awesome!
Indeed, he had the mind of a genius. He was so different from everyone else.
“I understand now, Boss Pei. Do you find traditional investment projects too simple? They can’t satisfy you. Is that why you’re looking to have fun with more difficult projects? Are you trying to challenge yourself?”
Li Shi’s eyes were filled with respect and admiration. Pei Qian, “… More or less.” Li Shi stuck up his thumb and shouted, “I respect that! “If you’re talking about the projects in Jingzhou City which investors refuse to touch…
“I can only think about the old industrial zones. Now, the entire country is moving towards upgrading businesses, eliminating outdated methods of manufacturing, and developing the service industry and innovative businesses.
“Many factories have already moved out of the old industrial zones. All that remained are worn-out factory buildings. Since such zones are located in the deserted outskirts, they have been shelved.
“Some have suggested learning from Beijing’s recent experiences and turning the place into a cultural industrial park.
“In fact, many people have made similar suggestions. However, none of them have stepped up to invest money.
“That’s because the entire country faces the same, difficult problem. Many cities have thought about following in Beijing’s footsteps and turning their old industrial zones into cultural industrial parks, but most of them have failed.
“Thus, although there are green lights all the way for such plans, no one has dared to touch the old industrial zones. The most that investors did was to symbolically rent one or two factories or warehouses and open cafes or art museums. Those investors ended up incurring losses for years.
“How’s that, Boss Pei? Does that sound challenging enough?”
Once Li Shi finished speaking, he smiled and waited to see Pei Qian’s reaction.
Initially, he had thought that Pei Qian was just trying to show off. He expected the latter to change his mind once he heard about such a difficult project.
What he did not expect was for Boss Pei’s eyes to light up at
once!
“Very good! Thank you, Boss Li! That’s exactly the answer I was looking for!” Pei Qian was delighted with his unexpected good fortune.
Li Shi was right. This was a terrible mess.
Factories like that were all located in the deserted outskirts. There were no facilities around them, and few people even passed by the area. If the factories had been located in the city center, the factories would have been turned into art museums or unique tourist spots. Perhaps they could have been resurrected from the dead.
If the factories had been located downtown, they would just have to be put to a different use. Countless people would fight for them in a heartbeat.
However, nobody was interested precisely because these factories were located in the outskirts. In fact, nobody even bothered to tear them down because nobody could bear to part with the money.
Yet, that was precisely what Pei Qian was looking for!
Pei Qian downed his cocktail and stood up, preparing to leave. Li Shi quickly said, “Boss Pei, hold on! Are you really going to invest in that place?” Pei Qian nodded. “Of course!”
Li Shi was reluctant to believe him at first, but he had to admit that Boss Pei had never lied to him. Everything that Boss Pei had done in the past had seemed unreliable. Yet, Boss Pei had honored his word every time, without turning back.
What’s more, he had succeeded.
Li Shi stood up as well. “Boss Pei, can you tell me what you’re going to use the factory for?”
Pei Qian remained silent for a moment and then said, “Boss Li, I can tell you on one condition.
“Once the place opens for business, you have to be the first customer and experience everything inside at least once.”
Li Shi could not help but grin. “What kind of condition is that? No problem! Even if Boss Pei didn’t lay down this condition, I would have gone to experience it and learn.”
Pei Qian nodded. “Alright, I’ll tell you the truth, then. I’m intending to create a large haunted house.”
Li Shi, “…”
Chapter 348 - Caught Those Dogs
Chapter 348 Caught Those Dogs
When he returned to his apartment, Pei Qian sent a message to Assistant Xin, telling her to make some time on Monday to check out the old industrial zones around Jingzhou City. He also instructed her to find out the price of the bigger factories there and estimate how much creating a haunted house there would cost.
After that, Pei Qian read the message from Tang Yishu.
It was Saturday. Many people went to work overtime.
On the surface, Tang Yishu looked like she went back to clear Glabella’s poop. However, she had actually gone to supervise those working overtime on Pei Qian’s behalf, to ensure that they did not cross the line.
Pei Qian read the message and compared the name list to the one Li Yada had handed to him.
“A girl with huge-frame spectacles… that should be Li Yada.
“A man with a mole on his face… that should be Little Li.
“A tall man with a crew cut… huh?”
Pei Qian checked Tang Yishu’s message against Li Yada’s name list and realized that there was a problem.
There had been one more person in the office compared to what the name list reflected!
Only five people had requested permission to work overtime. However, according to Tang Yishu’s records, six members of the design team had gone back to the office!
This tall man with a crew cut was probably Chen Kangtuo from the design team. He was not among the people who requested permission to return to the office over the weekend.
Pei Qian laughed mirthlessly. Hmph, I knew it!
Indeed, a few people in the design team were still trying to work overtime. He had caught those dogs.
Pei Qian thought about how he should deal with the stubborn people who refused to change their ways and insisted on sneakily working overtime.
Should he give them a joyful send-off, present them with a larger stage on which to display their talents, and thereby make them into an example for others?
That wouldn’t be right.
Doing that would treat the symptoms but not the cause. Pei Qian would be temporarily gratified, but there would still be disastrous consequences.
It was for the same reason that Pei Qian neither insisted that Tang Yishu should tell him who worked overtime during the weekend nor set up surveillance cameras around the office.
If Pei Qian transferred Chen Kangtuo to another department through the first-place-elimination system, he would undoubtedly signpost to the other employees that the same would happen to them if they worked overtime.
Those who wanted to get promoted would purposely start working overtime while those who genuinely wanted to do work would intensify their efforts. The mess would be unsalvageable.
Then, Pei Qian would have no way to differentiate the slackers from the genuine hard workers.
Pei Qian could also warn Chen Kangtuo against working overtime and strictly prohibit such behavior. Yet, although people who genuinely wanted to work overtime would appear to stop after that, they would definitely continue to secretly work from home.
If everyone started working from home, Boss Pei still would have no way to differentiate the slackers from the genuine hard workers.
Thus, he could not do that either!
As the saying went, water that was too clear had few fish, and one who was too critical had few friends.
There was not much of a difference whether he strictly supervised people’s working hours or installed surveillance cameras in the office. His employees would still take their work more seriously and slack less, and Pei Qian would still not be able to differentiate the slackers from the hard workers.
Pei Qian’s ultimate goal was to create a safe environment for all of his employees to slack. At the same time, they needed to think that Boss Pei would not bother even if they sneakily worked overtime.
That way, the slackers would slack without worrying and the hard workers would naturally continue working overtime in secret. The difference would be clear for Pei Qian to see.
After that, Pei Qian could come up with a list of hard workers and then arrange for them to be transferred away without anyone noticing.
He would not alert the perpetrators beforehand.
Thus, Pei Qian could not be rash. He noted down Chen Kangtuo’s name without saying a word, plotting his sweet revenge and preparing to strike out of nowhere.
At the same time, he would wait for more fish to take the bait.
December 6th, Monday…
Pei Qian arrived at the office at 10 AM as usual. He noticed that there were fewer people in the office. He was confused for a while before he recalled that it was the day of Tengda’s recruitment examinations.
Many employees from the HR department and the administrative department had gone out to ensure the entire process ran smoothly.
Although many postgraduate students from Handong University had come to help out as well, they could only do what they were told to by Hao Yun and the others.
Pei Qian planned to sit around in his office for a while before visiting the examination hall.
After all, recruitment was a big thing. Whether he could hire more slackers would directly impact the company’s future development or not. Pei Qian could not afford to be careless about the process.
After sitting down for a short while, Assistant Xin came to report updates on her task.
“Boss Pei, I’ve already asked around about the factories.
“The abandoned factory buildings in the old industrial zone are meant to be developed into cultural industrial parks; that’s why they’re not for sale. However, the good news is that rent is cheap because nobody’s interested in them.
“The monthly rent for these factory buildings is about eight to nine yuan per square meter. This sum of money would be considered negligible to our company. “If you want to turn these factory buildings into a haunted house, yo
u have to think about how big you want the haunted house to be and how many factory buildings you would need. That would make it easier to calculate the initial investment.”
Pei Qian nodded. It was much cheaper than he had imagined
At a monthly rate of eight to nine yuan per square meter, Pei Qian would only need to pay about a million yuan for several huge factory buildings, with a total of ten thousand square meters. That sum would be incomparable to the rental Pei Qian was paying for office buildings.
Of course, whether rent was expensive or not depended on location.
These factories were located in a deserted place. If one rented these factories but did not generate any revenue, they would practically be throwing one million yuan into the trash every month. That was why most people were not willing to take them up.
Assistant Xin continued speaking. “There’s another thing. Boss Pei, are we going to have an annual meeting this year? If you want to do that, we should start preparing soon.”
Pei Qian paused, and then immediately said, “Yes, of course!”
He had almost forgotten about that altogether!
Holding annual meetings was a great way to spend money. How could Pei Qian miss the opportunity?
He did not hold an annual meeting last year because Tengda had still been too small. That was why he had not seen a point.
However, Tengda had many more employees this year. It was logical to organize an annual meeting!
He could hold a lucky draw during the annual meeting and give an additional prize to every attendee. Wouldn’t that allow him to spend a huge sum of money?
He had to thank Assistant Xin for reminding him!
Assistant Xin nodded. “Alright, Boss Pei. I’ll inform the rest to start preparing. If you have any requirements, feel free to let me know.”
Pei Qian said, “I don’t have any requirements, except one. Everything has to be done according to Tengda’s spirit, understand?”
Assistant Xin answered, “I understand. We’ll distribute high-quality prizes.”
Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883 Page 207