Chapter 226: President Pei's Attitude
"President Pei just opened this place?" Lin Wan was stunned.
Xin Hailu nodded. "Yes, today's meal is actually the very first one served at Mingyun Private Kitchen."
She pointed at the dishes on the table. They didn't look all that fancy. If an ordinary person saw them, it would be almost impossible to guess their exorbitant price.
"Seventy to eighty percent of these dishes have to be reserved in advance. They aren't available locally in Jingzhou. Only after placing a special order and shipping them in through special logistics can you eat a meal like this. It would take at least two to three days of preparation."
Lin Wan thought it over. "So President Pei intends to make this a high-end venue for business banquets?"
After all, Tengda was developing at lightning speed, and it was inevitable that President Pei would need to sit down with executives from other major companies to discuss cooperation.
She figured it was possible that ordinary business banquet venues could no longer meet President Pei's standards, which was why he opened this private kitchen.
But Xin Hailu shook her head. "Who knows? Judging from the situation so far, President Pei doesn't seem to have plans for frequent banquets. Instead, he's been using it for company gatherings."
Lin Wan froze again.
So the first priority of this private kitchen… was to meet the needs of staff dinners?
To her, this was already the most upscale restaurant in all of Jingzhou. Not only was the food delicious, the environment and service were also absolutely top-tier—perfect for private banquets and hosting particularly distinguished guests.
Using such a restaurant for internal company gatherings?
The standard was way too high!
What's more, every time the company had a gathering, it was President Pei footing the bill. It was hard to imagine just how much thought and care President Pei had put into employee welfare.
But then again, wasn't this exactly his style?
Lin Wan couldn't help but feel a quiet sense of admiration.
President Pei was truly someone who never forgot his original intentions.
Even though he already treated his employees incredibly well—far beyond what most companies would ever do—he still wasn't satisfied. He never stopped, always striving to create even better benefits for his staff!
At that moment, Lin Wan felt a powerful urge to share some of President Pei's burdens.
She understood very well that being a boss was exhausting.
Of course, not all bosses were the same. Some were born with a silver spoon, inheriting billions at a young age. Every decision they made came with the support of a professional team, and their family connections gave them access to nearly cost-free financing—
For that kind of boss, it was hardly exhausting.
But President Pei wasn't like that. He was just an ordinary entrepreneur who started from nothing!
And for a startup like Tengda, the pressure on revenue was much greater than for established corporations. Sure, a small ship was easier to steer, but it also meant far weaker resistance to risk. One wrong step could lead to complete ruin.
In such circumstances, many startup bosses were cautious to the extreme, walking on eggshells while cutting costs every possible way.
Cutting costs wasn't wrong in itself—but some bosses used it as an excuse to squeeze their employees dry, even skirting the law. That was where things went completely wrong.
Compared to them, President Pei was practically a model figure!
Lin Wan desperately wanted to help him, just like last time when she called her second brother, Lin Zhou, and had Shenhua Real Estate reduce Tengda's rent.
But right now, she couldn't think of any good way to help President Pei.
After all, Tengda was still just a small company, and its business didn't intersect much with the Lin family's Shenhua Corporation.
Besides, when President Pei had assigned her to Shangyang Games last time, he had already made it clear that he hoped she could rely on her own ability to handle things, rather than leaning on her family for every matter.
So, after thinking it over for a long while, Lin Wan finally decided to put the idea aside for now.
'I'll just wait for a better opportunity in the future to help President Pei!'
'Or… I should rely on my own strength to help him!'
Lin Wan silently made up her mind.
. . .
The banquet was still going on, and everyone was eating with great enthusiasm.
Ma Yiqun, Lu Mingliang, Bao Xu, and Li Yada were in the middle of discussing the storyline of Turn Back Before It's Too Late.
Since Bao Xu would be leaving as soon as his visa came through, he took the chance to share his thoughts on the game with Li Yada and the others.
Fortunately, his paid vacation would only last for a month. By mid-September, when Bao Xu returned, he could still take part in the final polishing and tuning work for Turn Back Before It's Too Late.
Meanwhile, Lu Mingliang was wrapping up his last handover tasks, reminding Li Yada about the responsibilities and things to keep in mind as the new lead planner.
Zhu Xiaoce was also present. As both the author of the official novel adaptation of Turn Back Before It's Too Late and the chief editor at Terminal Chinese Web, he only occasionally chimed in during the story discussions. Most of the time, he listened with great interest as Lu Mingliang, Ma Yiqun, and the others shared funny anecdotes from the game design process.
Pei Qian wandered around with a glass of wine in hand, feeling very satisfied.
Everyone was enjoying themselves—good, good!
The only pity was that gatherings like this couldn't happen too often, since the system still imposed certain restrictions.
Just like before, high-spec banquets like this needed a proper reason and couldn't be held too frequently.
Still, Pei Qian could clearly feel the difference. Compared to the last few company gatherings, this one was on a whole new level of extravagance.
That meant, as Tengda continued to develop and its assets grew, the system was gradually increasing the allowance for everyday expenses.
'Maybe it's time to think about buying some cars?'
'If I rent a few parking spots in Shenhua Real Estate, buy a few company vehicles, and hire some full-time drivers—surely that wouldn't be too much?'
Pei Qian probed the system, and this time it didn't block him as strictly as before.
There were just some requirements regarding what kind of cars could be purchased. For example, without a valid reason, sports cars were off-limits. As for ultra-rare luxury models that were globally limited editions—those were completely out of the question.
Only business vehicles were allowed, and both their price and total number were capped.
Currently, the company could own no more than six vehicles in total, with their combined value not exceeding four million.
And any single car priced above one million would, just like the Mingyun Villa, be counted as a fixed asset by the system and factored into settlement.
On the other hand, vehicles priced below one million wouldn't count as fixed assets—that was good news.
Pei Qian planned to first buy one seven-seater business van and two regular business cars. Nothing too fancy—something in the 300–400k range would be fine.
That would take up around one million of the quota.
With three cars and roughly three million in quota left over, Pei Qian decided to keep it open for now. When settlement time came, if he needed to quickly burn through money, he could just buy three cars priced in the 900k range—that would instantly sink another three million.
As he thought about all this, he urged everyone to eat heartily, to not hold back at all.
For departments that had been running at a loss in the past, and that still had a high likelihood of continuing to lose money long-term, President Pei didn't forget to offer extra encouragement. He reminded them not to become short-sighted for the sake of quick profits, but to always remember that reputation first, profit second.
After clinking glasses with Pei Qian, Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaoce sat back down to continue eating. Zhu Xiaoce, however, looked a little puzzled.
"Strange… why do I feel like President Pei isn't as warm toward us as last time?"
Back when the documentary lost money, President Pei had spoken to the two of them with such kindness and warmth—it felt almost like meeting a family member.
But this time, he had only exchanged a few polite words before moving on to talk with someone else.
Huang Sibo clearly didn't take it to heart. While gnawing on a lobster, he smiled confidently and said, "That just proves we're on the right track."
Zhu Xiaoce froze. "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you notice? The ones President Pei pays extra attention to are always the departments that don't look too promising at the moment—or the ones running massive losses," Huang Sibo explained.
Zhu Xiaoce thought about it, and it really did seem that way.
Just earlier, President Pei had spent a long time talking with the heads of Terminal Chinese Web and Against the Wind Logistics, and his attitude there had been especially encouraging.
By contrast, when he dropped by Feihuang Studio or the flagship Moyu Internet Café—departments with proven results—he didn't linger. He just exchanged a few words before moving on.
With a smile, Huang Sibo continued, "President Pei has always been like this. For departments that are temporarily struggling, he actually values them more, helping the department heads keep their confidence."
"But for projects that are already almost guaranteed to succeed, he doesn't need to worry too much."
"This proves the path we've chosen is the right one!"
"If President Pei has already acknowledged it, what's left to worry about? As long as we keep our heads down and work hard, we're bound to make something big!"
Zhu Xiaoce suddenly understood and nodded. "So that's how it is—I get it now!"
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