The stewed rice with mushroom and chicken breast had been made with brown rice, and it was topped with chicken breast, diced carrots, corn kernels, shiitake mushrooms, and green peppers. It had been stir-fried with a little oil and then steamed together with the brown rice. The taste of all the ingredients had been infused into the brown rice.
As for the tomato egg and steamed tofu… the tofu had first been fried with a small amount of oil. Then, the fire had been turned up, and the egg mixture poured in. Once the egg was fully-cooked, it had been wrapped evenly around the tofu. Finally, a small amount of green onion had been sprinkled over it. Both of those dishes were the latest outcomes of Fish-Catching Take-Out’s Gourmet Laboratory. The former amounted to 320 kcal, and the latter amounted to 398 kcal per serving. After taking half a serving each and combining them, a well-balanced and nutritious meal was formed.
Rui Yuchen thought that both of those dishes had satisfied his initial wish for a ‘more sustainable fitness meal’. Thus, he arranged for them to be delivered to Deposit Fitness’ flagship store today for everyone to try, so that they could all give their feedback.
However, he had not emphasized this to the delivery men. Since the latter had been busy, they had forgotten to inform Guo Licheng as well.
Guo Licheng heard someone gulping down their saliva.
They had been eating salad for such a long time. Now, everyone drooled after catching a single whiff of cup noodles. Smelling skewers was all the more torturous. Who could hold themselves back upon seeing the piping hot and fragrant meal in front of them? Still, nobody touched their cutlery. Instead, all of them looked at Guo Licheng, stunned.
Guo Licheng gulped his saliva as well. He cleared his throat and said, “I think it was a mistake. I guess there’s no other choice. We shouldn’t waste food. Let’s eat; we’ll train after this.”
“Alright!”
Everyone immediately grinned as they grabbed their lunch boxes and stuffed themselves with food.
Guo Licheng knocked on the table. “Slow down! Chewing slowly helps with digestion and prevents you from getting fat.”
It was only then that everyone slowed down.
Two of the girls held their spoons and swallowed mouth after mouth of stewed rice and tofu. Their eyes welled up with tears.
They were moved!
Finally, they did not have to eat grass anymore. Finally, they could eat food meant for humans!
Guo Licheng looked like he was enjoying himself, too. He had to admit that food of this temperature and taste was much, much better than salad.
While eating, Guo Licheng felt increasingly confused. Although it felt like the delivery had been a mistake, the food was actually quite healthy. It looked like less oil had been used. What’s more, brown rice, carrots, green peppers, corn kernels, chicken breasts, eggs, and tofu were all relatively healthy ingredients
Yet, on second thought, Fish-Catching Take-Out’s food leaned towards the healthy side. Their daily menu contained small amounts of oil and salt as well; it was not as intense as other take-out brands.
Thus, Guo Licheng remained silent. In his heart, he made a note to ask Rui Yuchen about it when he got the chance in the future.
May 21st, Saturday…
The Management Trainees had their meeting as usual.
One by one, the Management Trainees of various departments gave their respective updates. Every time they mentioned something interesting, Pei Qian would ask one or two questions. However, after confirming that nothing was out of the ordinary, he would let them pass.
“…a few more of Deposit Fitness’s branches have opened for business, but they’re equally empty and deserted.
“On Friday—which was yesterday, Fish-Catching Take-Out seemed to have delivered the wrong meals to Deposit Fitness’ flagship store. However, Coach Guo led everyone to train more after that, and the effect was cancelled out,” reported the Management Trainee of Deposit Fitness.
Delivered the wrong meals?
Pei Qian detected that something was amiss.
Would Fish-Catching Take-Out make such a low-class mistake? They wouldn’t, right?
Rui Yuchen and his subordinates were not useless. If they had committed such a low-class mistake, they would have informed me about it. Why am I only finding out now?
Pei Qian turned to look at Fish-Catching Take-Out’s Management Trainee.
Indeed, the Management Trainee—who was also a waiter at the Gourmet Laboratoryraised his hand. “That wasn’t a mistake. It was the new fitness meal that the Gourmet Laboratory developed.”
Pei Qian: “?”
An important revelation!
“Tell me about it in detail.” Pei Qian felt like he was facing a formidable enemy.
Fish-Catching Take-Out’s Management Trainee explained himself. “Boss Rui thought that the fitness meals were awful before and were not suited to the locals’ taste. Thus, after some research, he decided that he had to strike a balance between the meal’s taste and health benefits.
“This version of the fitness meal contains more calories than the previous one, but it’s healthier as well. Er… of course, it also costs more.”
Pei Qian’s expression had darkened at first, but after hearing that it contained more calories and cost more, he felt much better.
Since it contained more calories, the fitness meals would be less effective. Since it cost more, it would have a stronger dissuading effect on customers who were still on the fence.
It did not seem like such a bad thing after all.
“How much more does it cost?”
The Management Trainee answered, “Every fitness meal costs about three yuan more. That amounts to about seven yuan more per day.”
Pei Qian quickly calculated in his head. If the meals cost seven more yuan per day and one trained three times per week, that would be close to a thousand yuan per year!
Er… Deposit Fitness’ prices would balloon.
Deposit Fitness had already dissuaded a large group of potential customers because of its prices. Now that prices were going to increase further, wouldn’t fewer customers sign up?
That was not bad.
Pei Qian asked, “How is Rui Yuchen solving the price problem?”
Fish-Catching Take-Out’s Management Trainee answered, “Boss Rui plans to let the students choose whether to eat salad or the new fitness meals. Each would be priced differently.”
Pei Qian immediately shook his head. “That wouldn’t do!”
If students wanted to save money, they would eat the salad. Once they got sick of it, they would spend several more yuan to lead a better life. Students wouldn’t be dissuaded at all — that would achieve the opposite effect, wouldn’t it?
The shared gym was already proving that the current pricing strategy was working. Customers were turning away. Of course, they had to keep increasing prices.
“Our gym is called Deposit Fitness, with emphasis on the deposit! If customers get to choose what to eat, how are they depositing their bodies with us?
“Get the Gourmet Laboratory to continue spending money to develop new fitness meals. I don’t care about the cost; just bundle the cost together with the gym’s prices!”
Fish-Catching Take-Out and Deposit Fitness’ Management Trainees exchanged a look and then said, “Alright, Boss Pei.” “Hold on.” Pei Qian seemed to notice a problem. He raised his hand and said, “Neither of you should do anything. I’ll inform the respective heads myself.”
He could not let the heads know about the Management Trainees. They were meant to be transparent in their departments. He could not allow the heads to become suspicious.
“Alright, next.” Pei Qian gestured for the meeting to continue.
Thriller Hostel’s Management Trainee reported, “Boss Pei, for Thriller Hostel… Boss Li and the other investors just signed a contract with Boss Chen. The investors have agreed to pour money into building a huge shopping mall within Thriller Hostel, and they will share half of the p
rofits with us.”
Pei Qian remained silent as question marks filled his mind.
Chapter 524 - Boss Pei, You are Obviously Watching, but are Pretending to be Indifferent
This Boss Li really comes up with new tricks from time to time!
In the past, he would take the initiative to tell me when he was planning to create trouble. Now, he’s actually taking care of them directly with my underlings?
Is there still law in this country? Is there still order?
Does anyone care?!
Pei Qian was livid because he did not want any of this income!
He would have set the ticket prices for the entire Thriller Hostel for free had it not been forbidden by the system. He was now gifted a shopping mall inexplicably and fifty percent of all the profits in the mall. It was no different from getting struck by lightning out of nowhere!
Pei Qian had no plans at all to sell the peripherals even though they could make a profit!
Great, now he was being forced to put a square peg into a round hole.
Anyone could rent these old industrial zones. Boss Li and the others could open shops as they liked. They might not be able to sell anything linked to the copyright of the Thriller Hostel, but they could still sell a lot of other goods. They would be able to make money all the same as long as there was human traffic.
Yet, now everyone was setting up a store together and selling things together. In Boss Li’s view, the investors might suffer a loss in the distribution of the profits, but as long as this plate was made larger, the total amount would be a win-win situation for everyone. However, Pei Qian did not think so. Wasn’t this an inexplicable huge profit forced in?
Pissed off.
Luckily, Pei Qian had been really experienced in this and had calmed down in no time.
Thinking from another point of view-in the beginning, the Thriller Hostel was to be running at a loss. If the Thriller Hostel would not make money, the shopping malls would naturally not make money. There is nothing to worry about.
Conversely, if the mall made money, it meant that the Thriller Hostel itself had become popular and had already made more money in tickets…
There is no difference between fifty steps and a hundred so there is nothing to be antagonized over.
Pei Qian tried to enlighten himself, but it had no effect on him. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had suffered a loss and the angrier he became!
Boss Li had to accept revenge for this backstab!
Pei Qian tried his best to keep the bottleneck as he told the Manage Loss Trainee in charge of Thriller Hostel “Tell me the cooperation plan in detail.”
The Manage Loss Trainee replied, “Boss Li and the other investors had rented an old factory building in a good location. They proposed to pay for the rent and the renovation while we provide the plan for the renovation.”
Pei Qian was thoughtful upon hearing this. He seemed to have found a point of breakthrough. “Do you have the rendering for the renovation?”
The Manage Loss Trainee fished out his phone. “Yes, Boss Pei, please take a look.”
Pei Qian reached out and took the phone to look at the rendering on it. The style of a standard high-end shopping mall, soft lighting, clean environment, a dazzling array of shelves filled with goods, tourists come and go, choosing goods and enthusiastic shopping guide ladies… Yes, this rendering had a huge number of tourists drawn on it. That pricked Pei Qian as though he had already seen the super popular shopping mall.
That could not happen!
Think about it, these tourists were frightened half to death when they went to the haunted house. It was the time when they were mentally weak. It would be like entering heaven if they were to enter this mall after that.
They would be surrounded by a huge sense of security after all their previous fears were wiped out. Why would they not splurge like crazy in such circumstances?
Pei Qian considered for a short while before replying. “This renovation plan will definitely not do; it requires a huge change! They have yet to start the work, right?”
The Manage Loss Trainee nodded. “Not yet, Boss Pei. This is only the initial draft. It will require modification before work starts, probably at the end of the month.”
Pei Qian checked the date; there was still one week. It should be no problem recreating the plan of the designer if he worked a little harder.
“The current renovation plan is too shabby. Renovate it completely in accordance with the specifications of foreign luxury shopping malls. It must be graceful, luxurious, and magnificent. It has to be as expensive as it can
get!
“Of course, there is no need to choose too troublesome materials. Just get the expensive materials to ensure that we will be able to hit the date completion date. Customers will definitely be able to feel our sincerity.
“In addition, such a shopping-mall style is too common. There is nothing new at all, which is completely inconsistent with the Thriller Hostel theme.
“Transform the entire mall into a maze and hide all the peripheral goods within the maze. Make it so that most customers would not be able to find the store and would exit accidentally. “Hmm, I think you better not say anything, I’ll let Chen Kangtuo know.”
Pei Qian emphasized that the identity of the Manage Loss Trainees should not be revealed. As to why such a design scheme was chosen… the reason was very simple. Make Boss Li and the others bleed out by selling as little as possible!
Renovations cost a lot in the first place. The costs would only snowball now that it had become a maze filled with walls.
Hmph, who asked you to backstab me?!
Don’t blame me for doing things harshly since you asked Tengda to come up with the plan while you pay for the renovations!
Wouldn’t you continue to pester me endlessly if I did not cause you to lose big?
The main reason was that this group of investors followed Boss Pei wherever he invested. Many projects, which were originally not profitable, became profitable because of them.
Once the myth of Boss Pei’s invincibility was shattered and Boss Li and the rest suffered a huge loss, these people would naturally disperse. Boss Pei would then be able to find his happy little corner to lose money.
All the Manage Loss Trainees completed their reports in no time.
Pei Qian could not help but feel relieved from the bottom of his heart after summarizing the contents of today’s meeting.
Great, the Manage Loss Trainees system had achieved initial results!
If it was not for these Manage Loss Trainees, Pei Qian would not have grasped the latest developments of Fish-Catching Take-Out fitness meals or the situation at the Thriller Hostel
Boss Pei’s degree of control over the various projects had significantly been enhanced with the Manage Loss Trainees. None of the clues of making profits would be able to escape Boss Pei’s eyes!
Of course, it was difficult to change things that had already happened. However, no matter what, it was a huge improvement from his previous situation!
Pei Qian was very satisfied. “Everyone did well; please continue working hard!”
May 22nd, Sunday night…
Pei Qian had already written emails to Chen Kangtuo, Guo Licheng, and Rui Yuchen yesterday afternoon. He had expressed his opinion on the fitness meal and the shopping mall of the Thriller Hostel. He had scheduled to send them out together on Monday morning.
This way, they would receive the emails after they went to work without any delay.
As to why it was scheduled on Monday to be sent… It was because Boss Pei had never encouraged working overtime. What if the rest read wrongly into his meaning if he were to send them emails on Saturday?
Everyone would think ‘wow, Boss Pei was still working on a Saturday. How could we slack then? Come on, fight on!’ That would obtain the opposite effect.
Today was Sunday. Pei Qian was basking comfortably in the sunlight in his large living room during the
morning. He played games on his huge TV for the rest of the day and felt his life being very complete. Until now, Pei Qian was the only resident really living in this building. He had recruited one butler and two cleaners, but the works of these three people were seriously unsaturated.
However, Pei Qian did not mind. It was best to be kept this way.
It was past ten at night. Pei Qian wondered if he should be adjusting his biological clock and head to bed earlier.
Pei Qian looked into the dangers of staying up late previously to change the schedules for the internet-addicted teenagers in the DGE club. The more he read up, the guiltier he felt.
After all, he could better lose money by ensuring he was healthy.
Otherwise, if he collapses on the hospital bed and the various person-in-charge of the departments visit his ward with endless good news such as a certain department raked in millions, a certain movie won a prize, or if a certain game had taken the world by storm…
Wouldn’t that cause Boss Pei to vomit blood on the bed?
Therefore, Pei Qian felt that he must take good care of his body to fight the wits of his subordinates. He had to go to bed early, eat well, and sleep well.
“Alright, let’s get it on then!”
Pei Qian took a nice long bath, brushed his teeth, and brought his phone to the bed.
He set the alarm to ring at eight tomorrow morning before placing the phone on the bedside and touched the bedside control panel to turn off the bedroom lights and for the glass to turn opaque, shielding the room from all light sources.
However, a ‘ding’ sounded from the chat software on his phone when he was about to drift off.
Pei Qian: “…”
Who was it?! Who was still awake at such an hour! Didn’t you know that going to bed early and getting up early was a good habit to have?
Pei Qian was speechless. He really wanted to ignore it, but he could not control his curiosity. He had no choice but to take his phone, thinking that he would not reply if it was not something very important.
It was from Ruan Guangjian. “Boss Pei, you should be watching as well, right?”
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