Chapter 266: Just Think of It as Black Rice!
September 20th.
The 20th of every month was the day reserved for a private group meal at Mingyun Private Kitchen. Although the restaurant had started making money recently—a fact that greatly disappointed Pei Qian—this particular meal couldn't be skipped.
In fact, precisely because Mingyun Private Kitchen was no longer losing money, everyone needed to rally together, turn grief into appetite, and eat like there was no tomorrow—to spend as much as humanly possible!
Even though Mingyun Private Kitchen was part of his own company, high-quality ingredients still cost money. Take the king crab they'd eaten before—just the ingredients alone for one crab cost several thousand yuan.
If everyone could gorge themselves on the most expensive ingredients until they were full, that would still count as a great help to President Pei!
Lin Canrong and the restaurant staff had been busy since early morning. Besides preparing the ingredients, they had to decorate the dining area and arrange the tables and utensils to the highest standard.
Pei Qian happened to have nothing on his schedule today, so he arrived early. He sat in the main hall, sipping tea while watching the servers bustling about.
Moving tables, changing decorations, arranging tableware—every little detail was handled meticulously.
Each server was dressed in uniform and wearing white gloves, and with the elegant dining environment, the overall sense of refinement was off the charts.
Pei Qian sipped his tea and sighed to himself. Such a fine place, and yet he could no longer enjoy it alone. What a pity.
Lin Canrong gave a few brief instructions to the staff before sitting down opposite President Pei.
After so many banquets, the staff had already become well-practiced. They knew exactly what to do without needing Lin Canrong's personal supervision.
"President Pei, let me give you a quick report on the restaurant's recent performance and revenue—" Lin said proudly.
Pei Qian quickly put down his teacup and waved his hand. "No need!"
"I trust you to manage this place well. You don't need to report anything to me. More importantly, what matters isn't how much we earn, but our reputation. As long as the rating on TPDb doesn't drop, you can rest easy."
Lin Canrong felt a warm surge in his chest and nodded. "Yes, President Pei."
Ah, what a rare boss—so open-minded, so trusting of his employees. You hardly see that kind of leadership these days.
Pei Qian, on the other hand, was silently fuming.
Good grief, Chef Lin! I came here today in a good mood just to have a meal—why do you have to twist the knife like that?
I'm already miserable enough that Mingyun Private Kitchen became popular, and here you are rubbing salt into the wound! Just wait—next time we have an elimination review, I'll make sure your name's on the list!
Before long, the team from Shangyang Games arrived.
When Pei Qian saw Ye Zhizhou, Wang Xiaobin, and Lin Wan—his three "star employees"—his expression immediately softened into a smile.
Now these were his kind of workers!
He thought back to when he'd first acquired Shangyang Games—the company had been burning through money nonstop. Later, when they developed Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition, they managed to sink over ten million yuan into it.
From Pei Qian's perspective, that level of "performance" was absolutely outstanding.
Mingyun Private Kitchen, Moyu Internet Café, all those Tengda departments that kept making him money—those were the real disappointments!
He almost wanted to hold a "Shangyang Outstanding Employee Commendation Ceremony" and have the entire Tengda Group learn from their glorious example.
Beaming, Pei Qian greeted everyone warmly and invited them to sit down.
Back when Mingyun Private Kitchen had first opened, Lin Wan, Ye Zhizhou, and Wang Xiaobin—being Shangyang's core members—had already come once, but some of the other employees hadn't had the chance yet.
To Pei Qian, he hadn't truly trusted Shangyang Games at first, and so he hadn't considered them "his own people." They needed to go through a long enough observation period.
Now, that trial period was about over. Through their tireless efforts to burn through money, the team at Shangyang Games had finally earned his appreciation and favor.
Pei Qian planned to keep investing in this company—so they could happily continue losing money!
Everyone took their seats.
The dining hall's tables had already been rearranged. Previously, they'd been small two-person tables spaced far apart. Now, they'd been replaced by one long banquet table that could seat over twenty people, while the rest of the staff were spread out in the private rooms.
The ornate furniture and silverware really gave the place the feel of a European royal banquet.
One employee stared at the beautiful plates and utensils before him, already swallowing his saliva like crazy even though the food hadn't arrived yet.
"Good thing I skipped lunch. I've been saving myself for this feast," he said.
The older employee beside him quickly nudged him, signaling him to be careful—President Pei was right there!
At that distance, Pei Qian could obviously hear every word.
Sure enough, he turned his head with interest. "What's your name, young man?"
The poor guy froze, his heart skipping a beat. Oh no, did I just say something wrong?
But since President Pei had asked, he didn't dare lie. "I… I'm Hao Qiong."
Pei Qian's expression turned solemn and respectful. What a great name!
Just hearing it gave him a sense that this was exactly the kind of employee he needed!
"Everyone should learn from Little Hao, got it?" he declared.
"This time it's not mandatory, but next time, you should all come on an empty stomach like him!"
"Of course, I'm not saying you can't eat lunch at all—just keep it light, don't overdo it."
"I've prepared all these top-quality ingredients for you, so don't you dare waste them. Even if you have to eat until you throw up, make sure your stomach experiences it at least once!"
"Hurry up—start serving the dishes! Everyone, eat to your heart's content. If anyone tries to hold back and we end up with leftovers, they'll stay here and eat until tomorrow morning!"
Everyone, who had initially been a bit stiff and cautious, burst into laughter after hearing President Pei's spirited words.
"No problem, President Pei! Even if we puke, we'll make sure to finish everything!"
"Ahh, I regret eating too much at lunch…"
"If we can't finish, we'll just work overtime tonight—an all-night eating session should do the trick!"
"No way! We've got to uphold Tengda's fine tradition of no overtime! Come on, everyone—let's do this!"
The servers began bringing out dishes. Between the jokes, laughter, and nonstop feasting, the atmosphere quickly grew warm and lively.
Seeing the people from Shangyang Games in such high spirits, Pei Qian couldn't help feeling pleased. Looking at these employees, they were becoming more and more pleasing to the eye.
He loved this kind of slacker energy!
This was exactly the kind of quality Tengda's other employees were sorely lacking!
Right now, Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition's performance metrics were a complete disaster—utterly hopeless. If these had been slightly more responsible employees, they'd probably be losing sleep, worrying about how to revive the project.
Even if they didn't actually care, they'd at least pretend to—keep a low profile and act serious, right?
But these employees? Every single one of them was cheerful and relaxed—you couldn't tell in the slightest that their game had flopped.
With everyone maintaining such an easygoing, carefree attitude, how could great things not happen?
Pei Qian waved a hand, and a waiter brought over a freshly opened bottle of red wine.
"Pour everyone a glass. But remember—drink less, eat more. The wine's expensive, sure, but it fills your stomach. Be sure to focus on the pricy dishes, okay?"
"Hey, Little Hao, why aren't you eating?"
Pei Qian did a quick lap around the table and noticed that in front of Hao Qiong sat a platter of lobster and sashimi, yet the man hadn't touched any of it. Instead, he kept glancing toward the kitchen as if waiting for something.
When President Pei called him out, Hao Qiong hurriedly explained, "President Pei, I've had this habit since I was a kid—I always need to start with some staple food first. Could I please get a bowl of rice?"
Pei Qian frowned. "What kind of nonsense is that?"
When he'd approved the menu earlier, he hadn't added any staple foods.
Sure, the kitchen had rice and noodles stocked, but there was no way Pei Qian was going to let people waste valuable stomach space on that! Glancing across the table, his eyes landed on a small dish of caviar. He picked it up and set it in front of Hao Qiong.
"Here. Just think of this as your rice."
Hao Qiong blinked, confused. He'd never seen something like that before. "President Pei, what… what is this?"
"Just pretend it's black rice! Pour a little soy sauce on it, or mix in some crab roe—it's all edible. Don't overthink it, dig in."
Pei Qian patted him on the shoulder and wandered off again, confident that Hao Qiong would be able to overcome this tiny mental hurdle.
Sure enough, when Pei Qian made another round, he found Hao Qiong clutching a giant lobster and gnawing away enthusiastically.
"President Pei, I saw this amazing chef online once," another employee said between bites of matsutake mushrooms. "He could carve an entire watermelon into the shape of a flower! Can our chefs do that? I'd love to try one!"
Pei Qian frowned. "What's so great about a watermelon? How expensive could it possibly be? Is the rind made of gold? Are the seeds made of gold? Stop thinking about cheap stuff like that—focus on eating the expensive dishes first."
"If you can finish all those crabs in front of you, I'll reward you with a carved watermelon."
"Really?!" The employee immediately perked up, filled with motivation.
Pei Qian shook his head in exasperation.
A stupid watermelon. What's so appetizing about that?
Sure, Mingyun Private Kitchen had chefs skilled in fruit carving—but the problem was the ingredients were way too cheap. The only reason those dishes were pricey was because of the chef's craftsmanship, not the materials themselves.
To Pei Qian, anything made from cheap ingredients wasn't even worth considering. True extravagance meant eating costly ingredients—that's the proper way to lose money!
The restaurant buzzed with laughter and warmth.
Across the table, Lin Wan and Ye Zhizhou exchanged glances, both understanding what the other was thinking.
The atmosphere was perfect—now was a good time to share the good news with President Pei.
Just as they were deciding how to bring it up, President Pei turned toward them, wine glass in hand.
Pei Qian grew more and more fond of his two trusted subordinates the longer he looked at them.
Especially Ye Zhizhou. Back when Pei had impulsively decided to promote him to lead executive designer, filling in Old Liu's position, Ye Zhizhou had lived up to his expectations ever since.
This kid has a bright future ahead of him!
Though now, both of them looked like they had something on their minds.
That was fine—if Lin Wan didn't look troubled, that would've been the real problem.
Pei Qian knew her personality well. Lin Wan was an ambitious, high-spirited woman who genuinely wanted her games to succeed. She was probably still brooding over the failure of Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition.
This was exactly the time when he couldn't add insult to injury—he had to be careful not to provoke her stubborn, perfectionist streak.
"'Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition' failing isn't a big deal," Pei Qian said kindly. "What matters is that we learn from our mistakes. As long as we gain experience, we'll succeed next time."
"You've all been working really hard lately, so take a good rest. When the year ends, I'll invest another twenty million for you guys. Then you can keep pushing forward—make the games you want to make!"
Pei Qian said this with genuine generosity.
Ye Zhizhou's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. "Yes, President Pei! I was too insecure before, but this success has really boosted my confidence. I believe with twenty million, we can absolutely make a classic masterpiece next time!"
Pei Qian nodded in satisfaction. "Good, that's the spirit— huh?"
He was about to offer a few more encouraging words when his brain suddenly screeched to a halt.
"Wait—what did you just say? This success?" Pei Qian asked, blinking in confusion.
Ye Zhizhou and Lin Wan exchanged a knowing smile.
Lin Wan took out her phone and opened the Shenhua App Store. "President Pei, take a look!"
Pei Qian accepted the phone—and instantly froze.
Right there, at the very top of the Shenhua mobile app rankings… was Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition!
What the hell?!
Isn't this the mobile app store?
Pei Qian clicked into the page, eyes wide, checking the promotional images and details carefully.
There was no mistake—it was indeed Blood War Anthem: Enhanced Edition!
Except… the web game had somehow turned into a mobile game.
And judging from the numbers—it was on fire.
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