Chapter 227: Meeting President Li Again
After the dinner party ended, everyone left Mingyun Private Kitchen and said their goodbyes.
Bao Xu's eyes were full of sorrow; just thinking about the next month he would have to spend wandering abroad filled him with despair.
The others, after the gathering, simply returned to their own homes.
Tomorrow, they still had to return to their posts and continue working diligently.
But what puzzled Pei Qian was that whether it was the leaders of loss-making projects or those of profitable ones, after this dinner party, all of them seemed to be full of renewed energy.
Take Ma Yiqun from Terminal Chinese Web as an example—the site had been losing money all this time, but after he gave him some comforting words this time, his mentality had stabilized, which explained his surge of motivation.
But why did Huang Sibo and the others seem equally fired up?
Pei Qian was baffled. I didn't even say anything to them, did I?
Could it really be the power of fine dining?
Soon, everyone dispersed.
Pei Qian checked the time. It was just past 8 p.m.—the timing of the dinner party had been controlled perfectly.
Inside Mingyun Private Kitchen, the waitstaff were cleaning up the aftermath, clearly still busy.
But this busyness was only temporary. For a long time going forward, Mingyun Private Kitchen likely wouldn't see many new customers.
The location was so remote and hidden that ordinary people would hardly ever find their way here. Even if they did, they probably wouldn't be able to afford a meal.
Of course, this kind of secret couldn't be kept for long. After all, President Pei had so many employees, and after eating such fine dishes here today, most of them would definitely brag to their friends once they got back.
But even then, the place was remote, and the prices were sky-high. For most people, paying out of pocket was simply out of the question.
Even if the word spread and a few rich people came to dine, it wouldn't matter. As long as customer numbers stayed low, Mingyun Private Kitchen would continue to run at a loss.
Naturally, Pei Qian never forgot that the primary goal of Mingyun Private Kitchen was to burn money quickly and serve as a venue for employee dinners.
So he went ahead and booked a long schedule of company dinners in advance.
According to the system's current rules, team-building dinners could be held roughly once every two months.
The frequency and scale of such gatherings seemed tied to the company's current size and financial condition.
Of course, there was always one prerequisite: each dinner had to have a legitimate reason.
But for Pei Qian now, finding a reason was easy. It could be to celebrate the launch of a new game, to commend a department's achievements, to welcome new staff after a new department was founded, and so on.
So Pei Qian directly booked Mingyun Private Kitchen on a once-every-two-month basis for company-wide dinners.
He set the dates for the 20th of every even-numbered month. That way, it would always fall near the end of the month—perfect for burning money at just the right time.
In addition, for the first and third Sundays of every month, Pei Qian also booked the largest private room at Mingyun Private Kitchen, just in case any business banquets came up.
These bookings were given the highest priority and would remain in effect unless Pei Qian decided to change them.
This was mainly to avoid any scheduling conflicts. After all, if some rich people actually managed to book the place solid—say, for two or three weekends in a row—and Pei Qian, the boss, couldn't even reserve it himself, that would be downright embarrassing.
Although Pei Qian felt that Mingyun Private Kitchen could never possibly become that popular, one could never be too careful. Just in case, he had to prepare ahead of time.
Additionally, if there were any sudden requests for business banquets, reservations could also be made—provided that the restaurant had space available and that the ingredients were prepared two to three days in advance.
Lin Canrong came up to Pei Qian. "So, President Pei, are you satisfied with today's dishes?"
Pei Qian nodded. "Very good, I'm very satisfied!"
In truth, he couldn't really tell whether these exorbitantly priced dishes were truly worth that much. After all, he had never eaten such delicacies at other high-end restaurants, so there was nothing to compare against.
But after observing Lin Wan and Assistant Xin's expressions while they dined, he could more or less guess that the dishes were indeed something special.
Pei Qian's requirements for Lin Canrong were quite simple: just manage the kitchen well and make sure that every time he came for a gathering, the dishes tasted top-notch.
As for other things like marketing and publicity for the restaurant, it would be best if Chef Lin remained completely clueless.
"The situation now is just fine. Keep it that way."
"Remember, your number one goal is to provide the best dishes and service for the customers. Everything else is none of your concern."
"Just like when you were managing Moyu Internet Café."
Pei Qian hinted a little. After all, when Lin Canrong had been the manager at Moyu Internet Café, he had accomplished virtually nothing. Pei Qian hoped he could keep up that "tradition."
Lin Canrong, however, didn't catch the hidden meaning. Thinking it was just President Pei's usual reminder, he quickly nodded. "Understood, President Pei! I'll do my utmost to ensure customers have the best dining experience!"
After eating and drinking their fill, Pei Qian and Ma Yang strolled out of Mingyun Private Kitchen, heading in the direction of the nearby Moyu Internet Café.
The surroundings were relatively quiet, the weather wasn't cold, so a walk to digest the food was just right.
As they walked, they passed by an Against the Wind Logistics Station, and right next to it, a bar.
Just as they walked past the bar's entrance, several enthusiastic young men and women tried to pull them inside, their enthusiasm a bit over the top.
Pei Qian and Ma Yang struggled for a while before finally breaking free.
Having just come out of Mingyun Private Kitchen, stomachs full of good food and fine wine, who would want to go into such a place to drink cheap liquor?
Right now, all Pei Qian wanted was to sit at Moyu Internet Café for a bit, then go home and sleep. He had no interest in such a noisy bar.
Still, while glancing inside as they passed, Pei Qian noticed the bar's situation wasn't very optimistic. Even though they were holding a grand opening promotion, there were still very few customers.
The resident singer was working hard to liven up the atmosphere, but something was clearly missing.
No wonder all the servers were out at the door trying to drag people in.
Pei Qian couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for President Li.
Ever since learning that the chain internet cafés had accepted investment from Fu Hui Capital, Pei Qian had vaguely suspected that these nearby businesses were probably all President Li's handiwork.
Although President Li burning himself out to light the way for others was very touching, judging from the current situation, he was probably losing quite a lot of money…
Why couldn't President Li do something else? Why did he have to come meddle in my affairs?
…
When they reached the entrance of Moyu Internet Café, Pei Qian and Ma Yang pushed the door open and walked in.
However, upon spotting a familiar figure drinking in the corner, Pei Qian froze.
Wasn't that President Li?
What a coincidence!
I was just thinking about you when I passed by your bar!
Li Shi was also taken aback when he saw Pei Qian.
After all, it had been a while since Pei Qian last came to this Moyu Internet Café branch at Mingyun Villa. Li Shi had only dropped by to have a quiet drink, never expecting to bump into him here.
Running into each other by chance made the atmosphere a little awkward.
But Pei Qian didn't mind at all—this was, after all, one of his very few good friends!
Pei Qian sat down across from him, smiling. "President Li, coming all this way—are you here to spy on the competition?"
The words were said in a joking tone, but Li Shi understood perfectly well the deeper meaning behind them.
Inwardly, he thought, As expected, President Pei has already figured out that Xingle Internet Café and those nearby shops all have to do with me…
Well, that's only natural. It is President Pei we're talking about, after all.
Back during the incident at the Moyu Internet Café flagship store, Li Shi had gained a whole new level of respect for Pei Qian, and he naturally didn't dare underestimate him anymore.
Now that President Pei had brought the matter out into the open, the awkwardness was unavoidable.
After all, Li Shi had invested in Xingle Internet Café and had also poured money into shops near Mingyun Villa's branch. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like he was targeting Moyu Internet Café.
Although Li Shi was certain that Pei Qian had no evidence and was only speculating, since both of them were sharp men, flat denial would be pointless. There was no need to play dumb.
Li Shi chuckled. "Please don't take it the wrong way, President Pei. It's all just normal business practice."
"And I'm not doing this to go against your Moyu Internet Café. I simply think you've got good vision, so I wanted to follow along and see if I could sip some of the broth."
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