After saying goodbye to Manager Cui, Pei Qian left Ming Yun Villas, feeling confused. He walked in the direction of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
After suffering blow after blow, he felt lost. Now, all he wanted to do was sit in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe and have a cocktail. He wanted the quiet and peaceful environment in the internet cafe to calm him down.
As he walked, he began to sense that something was amiss.
It was already night. Why were there still so many people on the path?
Ming Yun Villas had very low traffic. Even on Sundays, there were normally very few people on the roads.
Yet, there seemed to be many people today!
People were walking in pairs and trios, and most of them looked like students, although a few looked like working adults. There also seemed to be more cars parked along the side of the road!
When he looked at the shops on either side, Pei Qian began to feel like he had been cut off from the world for a long time.
When did these shops open here?!
A while ago, only Fish-Catching Internet Cafe existed along the entire pathway. The other shops were either cold and deserted or closed down altogether.
Pei Qian even intended to set up an Upwind Courier station here; there were so many suitable locations that he was at a loss.
Among all the available options, he could pick the biggest one in the best location. That was because nobody wanted these shops at that time. Every shop was empty and available. Yet, now, even shops in the less ideal spots had been taken!
What’s more, there were all kinds of shops here!
There were bars, board game cafes, and the like. The ones which Boss Li had opened looked lively.
He could hear music from the entrance of one bar in particular. So many young people were trying to squeeze their way into the bar that Pei Qian could almost feel the heat from their bodies.
Many other shops were selling snacks that were popular online, including Dirty Buns, Remicones, Mini Pork Floss Cakes, and Durian Layered Cakes. In fact, they seemed to be doing well.
There were also shops selling traditional food and drinks, such as pan-fried buns and dumplings, soya bean, and dough fritters.
Apart from these, there were shops selling bubble tea and drinks, as well as convenience stores.
What Pei Qian found hardest to accept was that a shop had opened in the busiest spot of this region. It was called ‘Nameless Kitchen’, and there were many customers inside! Pei Qian wanted to vomit blood.
What kind of behavior was this? They were clearly imposters! They were intentionally cheating paying customers who had traveled from afar!
Yet, it did not seem wrong for them to name their restaurant in this manner. Strictly speaking, Boss Pei’s restaurant was called ‘Ming Yun Private Kitchen’. It had no name on Quanmin Reviews. There was no copyright infringement for this restaurant to be named ‘Nameless Kitchen’.
Pei Qian was furious. He opened his phone and logged onto Quanmin Reviews, wanting to expose this restaurant.
In the end, he found that the restaurant had a rating of 4.3.
He scrolled down to read the comments.
“This restaurant is riding on someone else’s fame, but their food is passable.”
“The nameless restaurant is good, but it’s always fully booked. We had no choice but to try our luck at this restaurant.” “One can only say that the nameless restaurant made the food and drinks around it popular. Everyone’s here to hop on the bandwagon. It feels like this place is becoming a famous food street in Jingzhou.”
“I don’t suggest coming to this restaurant. Go to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe instead. The food there is very healthy. If you’re not full, you can buy some snacks from the surrounding shops as well. I strongly recommend Dirty Buns and Remicones.”
“Indeed, this is just an ordinary restaurant. The Fish-Catching Internet Cafe beside it serves better food.”
Pei Qian, “???”
He had only wanted to expose this restaurant for shamelessly riding on others’ fame. Yet, when he read the comments left behind by fellow netizens, he realized a more serious problem. Who did this? Who advertised Fish-Catching Internet Cafe? Pei Qian quickly looked for Fish-Catching Internet Cafe on Quanmin Reviews. The ratings scared him half to death.
4.8!
He scrolled down to read the comments.
“The machines and internet speed are great. It’s the exact same standard as the flagship store. Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s chain guarantees quality!” “It’s my first time here. I did not expect there to be a Fish-Catching Internet Cafe here-I quite like it. The cocktails are nice, and the resident singer is not bad. Needless to say, the environment is excellent for surfing the net as well. As always, I am satisfied.”
“It’s a chain store. Smoking is prohibited throughout the internet cafe. The environment is good, and the food is delicious. Xing Le Internet Cafe is becoming more popular. While it looks good, it’s still worse compared to this place.”
Pei Qian kept his phone as a bad feeling rose in his chest.
It looked like something went wrong!
Pei Qian sped up and walked past many more shops which used to be cold and deserted but were not hustling and bustling. Finally, he arrived at Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s entrance.
When he saw the situation inside the internet cafe, Pei Qian was stunned. The gaming area was almost full. There were only two or three empty seats left.
There were also many people in the bar area. The resident singer was singing soothing folk songs on stage. From time to time, customers would head to the bar counter to order drinks and tip the singer.
Pei Qian stood at the door, at a loss for words.
The waiter at the door immediately recognized Pei Qian. He quickly rushed forward to welcome him. “Boss Pei, you’re here! Quick, come in!” Pei Qian had been very busy during this period. He had not come to Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in more than a month. Although he often visited Ming Yun Private Kitchen, he would always be driven by the company chauffeurs. That meant he did not even walk past Fish-Catching Internet Cafe.
Who would have thought that the street would become like this?!
Without even thinking, he knew that Boss Li had done this.
Pei Qian’s first reaction was not to look for Boss Li but to look for Ma Yang.
Where’s Old Ma? I entrusted Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to you, and what have you done?! You’re the CEO of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe after all. You’re my most trusted right-hand man. Is this how you share my burdens?!
Pei Qian scanned the internet cafe and quickly found Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan seated in a corner.
Ma Yang was holding a glass of cocktail and sipping it nonchalantly. As he enjoyed the singer’s performance on stage, he looked extremely pleased.
Pei Qian felt his anger rise in his chest as he looked at them. How dare you look so pleased?!
The waiter walked briskly to Ma Yang’s side. “Boss Ma, Boss Pei is here.”
Ma Yang turned around, and a grin spread across his big, long face. “Boss Pei, you’re here? Come and take a seat!
“The shop has been doing much better recently. All of a sudden, we got busier. School just resumed, right? I was thinking about how I could share this good news with you if I bumped into you in school, but here you are! You’ve found out on your own.”
Pei Qian was speechless.
Old Ma, Old Ma. I trust you the most. How can you mess this up for me?
“Why didn’t you tell me that our internet cafe suddenly saw a boost in customers?” Pei Qian was extremely unhappy.
Ma Yang paused. “Huh? Brother Qian, didn’t you plan for this?”
“In our previous meeting, you said that Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch in Ming Yun Villas is the center of your plans for the future. You also set up Upwind Courier stations and bought a villa for a private kitchen here. Didn’t you do all that to improve the business environment in this region?”
While enjoying the music, Zhang Yuan happily added, “That’s right. Didn’t you plan for all these?
“I thought you intentionally bluffed Boss Li into coming here, purely to make him incur losses. Now, I realized that I was too simple. “Not only did Boss Li invest in this area, but he even persuaded a lot of other people in the investment industry to invest in this area. The nameless restaurant added to the popularity of this place, causing it to become the new “Jingzhou Business District’ and ‘Jingzhou Food Street’. That was how Fish-Catching Internet Cafe became so famous!
“Before this, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe had been incurring losses, not because it was bad in itself, but because traffic in this area was low. Now that the root of the problem has been dealt with, our Ming Yun Villas branch is able to stand out among the crowd!”
Pei Qian did not know what to say as he looked at both of their excited expressions.
He began to seriously doubt himself.
What happened? Could it be that the problem lies with me?
Pei Qian had indeed said before that the Ming Yun Villas branch would be the focus of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s development. He was also the one who lured Boss Li to invest in this area.
However, his motives were completely different from what everyone thought!
Yet, from Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan’s perspective, it seemed reasonable not to report the developments to Pei Qian.
Everyone knew that Tengda had many businesses, and Boss Pei was extremely busy. If there was nothing urgent, there would ordinarily be no need to inform him.
Why were the shops around Ming Yun Villas doing better now?
It was because Ming Yun Private Kitchen had become popular.
It was because Boss Li and Fu Hui Investments were investing in this area.
It was because Boss Pei had bought a villa in Ming Yun Villas, and Ming Yun Villas took the chance to market themselves.
Everything pointed back to Boss Pei. Didn’t that mean that Boss Pei expected the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s Ming Yun Villas branch to succeed?
Since Boss Pei had already expected this, why would Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan have reported such a small development like an increase in customers at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe?
“Boss Pei, your cocktail.”
The waiter served Pei Qian his favorite Aurora Jungle – Juice.
Pei Qian sipped it quietly, starting to close himself off from everyone else.
It seemed like Old Ma had acted as reliably as he always did. From beginning to end, he did absolutely nothing.
Everything that had happened so far seemed to be Pei Qian’s fault…
Pei Qian felt upset and happy at the same time.
He was upset because two of his businesses had been implicated. Ming Yun Private Kitchen made Fish-Catching Internet Cafe famous. Not only were they both generating profits, but the villa itself was appreciating as well.
Yet, he was happy because Ma Yang was still reliable.
He only had himself to blame for everything so far.
Pei Qian sipped his cocktail in silence, his heart filling with sorrow.
Alright, pin the blame on me, then.
Ma Yang did not know that Pei Qian was seriously reconsidering his own life at the moment. Excitedly, he asked, “Brother Qian, has the battle plan for the Ming Yun Villas branch been completed?”
Battle plan?
Pei Qian paused and then nodded. “Yes.”
Not only has it been completed, but it has achieved much more than I had hoped for.
It has completely surpassed my expectations!
Ma Yang grinned, elated. Then, he continued, “Brother Qian, I told you that I’m not the CEO of Fish-Catching Internet Cafe for nothing, right? I can share your burdens!
“Now that the Ming Yun Villas branch-which had been incurring the most losses-has become popular, I think it’s time to expand our business! We should strike while the iron is hot, and open more Fish-Catching Internet Cafe in Jingzhou City. We will take a greater share of the market!”
Ma Yang lowered his voice slightly. “Boss Li has invested in Xing Le Internet Cafe, and they have been opening chain stores like crazy now. “Brother Qian, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe was the first to adopt the high-end internet cafe model. We cannot let them overtake us.”
Pei Qian could not help but stare at Ma Yang, stunned.
Expand our business?
Having two branches generating profits is problematic enough. Do you want to create more problems for me? Do you think I would even be able to incur a loss in this cycle?!
Huh?
Wait a minute.
Pei Qian suddenly realized a problem.
Everything has changed!
Should he adjust his strategy now?
