Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Everyone was puzzled, especially Lin Canrong. His gaze was filled with confusion. Others might not know about the situation at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, but he knew that very well.

There was absolutely nothing to do there!

The number of dishes he made every day could not even add up to ten.

Thinking about it, that was normal. The Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was very stylish and classy. Who would want to order home-cooked meals there?

The beautiful lady at one table ordered a nice-looking cocktail. She enjoyed her wine while looking at the scenery outside the window. If she took a selfie then, she could flaunt it on her WeChat moments directly.

Meanwhile, the dude at the other table was munching on a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes?

That just did not make sense!

If there was really someone who ordered it, the scent of the food would permeate the entire coffee area. If looks could kill, he or she would be murdered hundreds of times by those around him or her.

Therefore, there wasn’t a single person who ordered the food initially. Chef Lin merely stood on duty in the kitchen every single day. He was terribly bored.

After some time, the situation had a turn for the better.

To ensure the welfare of the employees, Pei Qian wanted the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to provide lunch for all of them. Hence, Chef Lin would become busy in the afternoon. However, his job was still very laid-back. That was because the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe hired two more cooks. This work intensity was like a vacation as compared to ordinary restaurants.

Therefore, up until now, the F&B sector at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was almost non-existent.

Not only was it non-profitable, but there wasn’t even much patronage. It seemed to be gradually turning into Tengda’s employees’ restaurant.

How could he continue advancing with just that? Wasn’t he afraid of losing everything that he had?

Chef Lin could not figure out how they could continue advancing.

The three pairs of eyes stared at Pei Qian and waited for his amazing opinion.

Pei Qian coughed twice and said solemnly, “As the saying goes, the desire for food and sex is part of human nature. The F&B industry is closely tied to our everyday lives. It will never become outdated. Up until now, the food at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe has won many hearts with its nutrition value, delicious taste, and how close to home the food was.

“Therefore, we must make use of this advantage that we have further. We should allow others who do not come to the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to enjoy our delicious food in the comfort of their own homes!”

The passion in Ma Yang’s eyes died down gradually. He looked at Pei Qian in confusion. “Brother Qian, after all that you have said, are you intending for the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to offer food delivery services as well?”

“Why do you have to make it sound so complicated? You can just state directly that the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe will provide delivery services in the future…”

Huh? This rascal understood my words so well. My plan is indeed to offer delivery services…

However, this was not any ordinary delivery service!

Pei Qian had a solemn expression. “Old Ma, this is not the right attitude that you should possess. For example, in terms of singing, you sound like a funeral singer while Chen Lei sounds like his voice has been kissed by god. How could you two be the same?

“As long as you took things to the extreme, anything that you do could be the start of a great industry!

“Think about it. In the future, our food delivery empire will venture out of Jingzhou City to all the big cities in the country. It will drastically change people’s lifestyles. Will this then simply be a food delivery service?

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We are now about to take our most important first step!”

After listening to Pei Qian’s speech, Ma Yang, Zhang Yuan, and Lin Canrong’s expressions experienced a rollercoaster ride. It changed from disapproval to enlightenment… to being persuaded.

Lin Canrong could not help but feel sentimental.

Indeed, this was the result of having different horizons!

Boss Pei could conjure a future business empire from a simple food delivery service. He could reflect on the drastic changes to people’s lifestyles once food delivery services become the way of life.

He truly has great foresight!

It was no wonder that he became a company president at such a young age. Lin Canrong could only remark about his talent!

Ma Yang had also switched away from his disapproving attitude. His interest had been ignited by Pei Qian again. “Brother Qian, tell us quickly. What should we do?”

“How about creating a food delivery website? We can work with the sellers in Jingzhou City and build an online food delivery platform.”

Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan rained down their ideas. Lin Canrong also supplemented their ideas with more suggestions.

Pei Qian smiled without saying a word.

It was normal for Ma Yang and the others to raise such suggestions.

In 2010, the growth of PC internet became sluggish while mobile internet developed rapidly. In Pei Qian’s memory, the percentage of mobile internet users reached 74.5%. It exceeded the 70.6% PC internet users. That would happen in two years.

In this universe, because the cell phone industry has developed faster than how it was in his memory, the mobile internet era has arrived earlier.

However, to this point in time, online food delivery services had yet to be taken over by large corporations. Those large corporations were still concentrated on another investment opportunity—group buying.

From the spring of 2010, many entrepreneurs saw the popularity of Groupon’s group-buying strategy. The ‘war of a hundred Groupons’ and the ‘war of a thousand Groupons’ soon intensified. Dozens of companies emerged every day in the group-buying industry.

In such an intense situation, food delivery had been neglected. Only two years later would the industry rise to prominence and become the new popular investment opportunity in the eyes of the market players.

Nevertheless, many restaurants had already offered food delivery services as of now. However, most of the delivery arrangements were made through phone calls. It was very primitive and many problems would occur such as late deliveries and delivering wrong orders.

Therefore, ordinary people would have the idea to collate all the resources that the sellers had on one platform to facilitate customers in making food delivery arrangements online. The platform would profit by earning a commission from the orders.

However, Pei Qian obviously did not plan to do that.

“You guys are too rash.

“Just like how we must have our meals one spoon at a time, we should carry out our plan one step at a time. Currently, people do not have similar habits. Our Fish-Catching Internet Cafe is also not an independent F&B brand and has not built its reputation. Even if we have successfully created the website, how are we going to publicize it? How do we ensure that the website will achieve our desired effects?

“Moreover, the biggest problem with such industries is not in the publicity, seizing the cake in the market, or its inspection. Food is very important. If some roadside greasy spoons decided to join us, we have to take responsibility as the connecting platform if these stores were unhygienic and gave the customers food-poisoning.

“Your idea of creating a platform may sound easy, but have you ever thought of the solutions to such problems?”

Pei Qian’s questions made Ma Yang and the rest speechless.

Yes. This idea seemed a little distant and impractical. However… if we did not do that, what could we do instead?

The trio looked at Pei Qian.

Pei Qian smiled and said, “Easy. We’ll take one step at a time.

“Firstly, we have to create an F&B brand name for ourselves. We will produce a simple online food ordering app. However, this app only caters to our restaurants. Our chefs are top-notch, and our ingredients are all fresh and clean. There will definitely not be any problems.

“We will seize the high-end market, build our brand name, and expand our influence from Jingzhou City to the entire country!”

The trio looked at one another. That seems like a more feasible plan!

Just that…

The plan is brilliant, but there is something odd about it.

“So, what will the name of our F&B brand be?” Ma Yang asked.

Pei Qian smiled and replied, “Fish-Catching Take-Out!”

Lin Canrong looked confused. “But, Boss Pei, there are already many take-out restaurants currently. Even lesser-known restaurants offered food delivery services. Although our food tastes good, they are merely home-cooked dishes. It does not have an apparent edge over other restaurants, not to mention the publicity and price…”

Indeed, as a chef, he quickly pointed out the problem with the plan.

Pei Qian smiled gently. “Therefore, I said that we are appealing to the high-end market.

“Other retailers use plastic boxes and plastic bags to package their food. That is very unhygienic and unpleasant-looking. This is also a reason why many people prefer dining in rather than ordering food delivery.

“In reality, the food inside is still unchanged. The only difference will be the packaging. This shows that humans are visual animals. They look at the visuals more than the taste of the food.

“All our food will be packaged in custom-made white porcelain tableware and sent to their doors by assigned food delivery drivers. We will collect the tableware back at scheduled times. We will destroy other restaurants nearby directly with our tableware!”

Pei Qian sounded very confident. He had almost convinced himself with his speech.

Ma Yang was obviously moved by what Pei Qian said. The fire in his eyes rekindled.

Meanwhile, Lin Canrong looked at Zhang Yuan. They saw the confusion in each other’s eyes.

They didn’t understand it. How could that work?

Were Boss Pei’s ideas too avant-garde, or were their ideas too old-fashioned?