Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Once the meal was over, everyone left Ming Yun Private Kitchen and said their goodbyes to one another. Bao Xu’s eyes were filled with worry. The thought of wandering around on his own outside for a month made him feel helpless.

After the meal, everyone else returned to their respective homes. They still had to return to work the next day and continue working hard. However, what frustrated Pei Qian was that whether their projects were incurring losses or making profits, the people in charge seemed to have become much more energetic after this meal.

Take Ma Yiqun, who was in charge of Zhongdian Chinese Network, for example. The website had been making a loss. However, after Boss Pei comforted him, his emotions seemed to have stabilized. It was understandable that he felt much more energetic now.

However, why did it seem like Huang Sibo had been greatly encouraged as well?

Pei Qian was quite frustrated indeed. I didn’t even talk to them! Could it be the power of delicacies?

Very quickly and one by one, everyone left. Pei Qian looked at his watch. It was 8 PM. He had controlled the duration of the gathering quite well.

The waiters in Ming Yun Private Kitchen were keeping the cutlery and cleaning the restaurant. They looked to be quite busy. However, this would only be temporary. For a long time in the future, there would be no more customers in Ming Yun Private Kitchen.

Ming Yun Private Kitchen was located in a secluded, hidden place. Ordinary people would find it difficult to find their way here. Even if they did find their way here, they would probably not be able to afford the food.

Of course, Pei Qian would not be able to hide this news for long. After all, Boss Pei had so many employees under him. They had eaten so much good food tonight; most of them would probably go back and show off to their friends and family.

However, no matter what they said, this place was deserted and expensive. Most people would not be able to afford it with their own money.

Even if news about this restaurant spread so that a few ballers were drawn to this restaurant, it would not matter. As long as he could keep the number of customers low, Ming Yun Private Kitchen would still incur losses. Of course, Pei Qian had not forgotten that Ming Yun Private Kitchen’s primary aims were to spend as much money as possible and satisfy the employees’ meals.

Thus, Pei Qian made reservations for future gatherings way in advance.

According to the System’s current rules, they were allowed one team-building gathering every two months or so. The frequency and quality of their gatherings seemed to depend on the company’s current size and financial situation.

Of course, Pei Qian also needed a legitimate reason to gather his employees for meals.

To Pei Qian, it was easy to find a legitimate reason now. They could celebrate the publishing of a game, commend a certain department’s performance, set up a new department, welcome new employees, and so on.

Thus, based on the quota of once every two months, Pei Qian reserved Ming Yun Private Kitchen for future gatherings.

He set the gathering date to be the 20th of every even-numbered month. It would be closer to the end of the month, which would give Pei Qian an additional opportunity to spend more money. Apart from this, Pei Qian booked the biggest private room in Ming Yun Private Kitchen for the first and third Sunday of every month. This would be in case he needed to entertain for business.

These reservations would be placed in the highest priority. What’s more, before Pei Qian decided to change them, they would be effective.

This was to avoid any double-booking. If ballers really tried to make reservations and managed to reserve Ming Yun Private Kitchen for two to three weeks in a row while Pei Qian -as the boss—failed to make even a single reservation, that would be awkward.

Although Pei Qian doubted that Ming Yun Private Kitchen would ever be that popular, one could not be too careful. He had to be prepared for these things.

On top of that, if he suddenly needed to entertain for work, he could make reservations whenever he wanted to. However, that was provided there was space in the restaurant. What’s more, the ingredients would have to be prepared two or three days in advance.

Lin Canrong walked to Pei Qian’s side. “What do you think, Boss Pei? Are you satisfied with the food today?”

Pei Qian nodded. “Very good, I’m very satisfied!”

Actually, he could not confirm whether the food they ate today was worth that much or not. After all, he had never eaten these things in other restaurants. It would be hard to make comparisons.

However, he did notice Lin Wan and Assistant Xin’s expressions. He guessed from there that the food was extraordinary.

Pei Qian had very simple requests for Lin Canrong. As long as he was a good chef and promised that he could always serve such good food when they gathered for meals, Pei Qian would be satisfied.

It would be best if Chef Lin was clueless about things like holding promotions, running publicity, and the like.

“This situation is good. Maintain it. Remember this: your primary aim is to provide good food and service to our customers. Do not worry about anything else. It’ll be just like when you were at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.”

Pei Qian decided to drop a hint. After all, when Lin Canrong was a branch manager at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, he achieved nothing. Pei Qian hoped that he would keep it up.

Lin Canrong did not catch the hidden meaning in Pei Qian’s words and thought that the latter was just giving advice like he normally did. Nodding excitedly, he said, “Alright, Boss Pei. I’ll do my job well. I promise that I will give our customers the best dining experience!”

Now that they had enough to eat and drink, Pei Qian and Ma Yang strolled out of Ming Yun Private Kitchen and towards Fish-Catching Internet Cafe nearby.

The surroundings were quiet, and the weather was not too cold. It was perfect for them to walk and digest their dinner.

As they walked, they passed by Upwind Courier stations and the nearby bar.

When they walked past the entrance of the bar, a couple of enthusiastic young men and women pulled them inside. They seemed to be overly enthusiastic.

Pei Qian and Ma Yang expended a lot of effort rejecting them and getting away.

They had just come out from Ming Yun Private Kitchen. Their stomachs were still full of good food and good wine. Why would they want to drink cheap alcohol at a place like this?

All Pei Qian wanted to do now was to take a seat at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and then go home and have a good night’s sleep. He was not in the least bit interested in crowded, noisy places like that.

However, as he passed by, Pei Qian peeked inside. The situation inside did not look too optimistic. Although they had opening promotions, there were still no customers around.

The resident singer was trying hard to sing well in order to liven up the atmosphere, but he still did not look that into it.

It was no wonder that the waiters were all outside, trying to drag people into the bar.

For some reason, Pei Qian felt sorry for Boss Li.

Ever since he found out that the chain internet cafe had accepted investments from Fu Hui Investments, Pei Qian had a feeling that Boss Li was responsible for all the shops being opened nearby. Pei Qian was touched that Boss Li had lit himself on fire for others’ benefit, but if things continued in this manner, Boss Li would probably lose a lot of money.

Boss Li, of all people, why did you have to blindly mingle with me?

Pei Qian and Ma Yang arrived at the entrance of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and pushed the door to enter. In the corner, they saw a familiar figure drinking. Pei Qian paused.

Isn’t that Boss Li? How coincidental! I was just talking about you in my head when we passed by your bar.

Li Shi saw Pei Qian and instinctively jumped as well. Pei Qian had not visited Fish-Catching Internet Cafe for quite a while. Li Shi had only come to drink some alcohol. He had not expected Pei Qian to be here as well. Since they bumped into each other coincidentally, things became slightly awkward.

However, Pei Qian did not seem to mind. Boss Li was one of his few close friends anyway!

Pei Qian sat down opposite Li Shi, smiled slightly, and said, “Boss Li, did you come all the way here to spy on your enemies?”

Pei Qian had said this jokingly, but Li Shi seemed to have understood his words very differently.

In his heart, he thought, ‘Indeed, Boss Pei knows that I’m responsible for the nearby Xing Le Internet Cafe and the other shops. Hmm, that’s to be expected. He is Boss Pei after all…’

From what happened with Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store, Li Shi understood Pei Qian a bit better. Naturally, he did not dare to underestimate him anymore.

Now, Boss Pei was talking about these things in the open. Of course, Li Shi felt awkward. After all, Li Shi had invested in Xing Le Internet Cafe and the other shops in Ming Yun Villas. It was obvious that he was targeting Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.

Li Shi believed that Pei Qian did not have any proof and that the latter was just guessing. However, he recognized that they were both intelligent individuals. There was no point in denying it and acting dumb.

Li Shi smiled and answered, “Don’t mind me, Boss Pei. This is normal business behavior. What’s more, I did not do it to target your Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Boss Pei. I purely appreciate your judgment and want to make some money for myself.”