Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 501: President Pei's Mind Map
Tuesday, April 26
In his office, Pei Qian was sitting at his computer, trying to create a simple mind map.
The contents of the map were straightforward: all of Tengda Group's departments that could potentially generate profits, along with several supporting and administrative departments.
The relationships between these departments were extremely complicated, and their functions varied greatly.
Some made a lot of money, some made only a little, and some made none at all.
Certain departments had obvious superior-subordinate relationships or strong operational connections, while others were only loosely related.
The relationships between profit-generating departments and administrative departments also seemed to differ from case to case.
A mind map, put simply, consists of various key pieces of information placed inside boxes, with different lines connecting them to indicate their relationships.
Pei Qian decided to use different colors and line styles to represent each department's status and the nature of the relationships between them.
Departments marked with red boxes represented those that were already profitable.
Departments marked with blue boxes represented those that had not yet become profitable but whose situations were relatively optimistic.
Black lines indicated relationships that had already been established between departments—for example, Moyu Delivery was already providing fitness meals for the Managed Fitness, and RoF Computer Assembly and Against the Wind Logistics were practically inseparable.
Red lines, on the other hand, represented connections that had not yet materialized but could potentially emerge in the future.
Pei Qian's idea was simple: use the mind map to organize his thoughts while also anticipating possible future collaborations between departments.
However, after making a preliminary draft, he quickly realized that the situation was far from encouraging.
Looking at the diagram, there was red everywhere. Only a handful of departments—such as Moyu Delivery, Against the Wind Logistics, and the TPDb website—remained blue and unprofitable.
Moreover, the workload was far greater than he had imagined.
The web of black lines was astonishingly complex. Once everything was laid out, he discovered that the relationships between some departments were far more intricate than he had ever realized.
Not to mention the bug-like existence known as Outu Technology, which seemed to be connected to almost every department in the company.
The dense network of black lines represented existing relationships—relationships that were already beyond saving. Combined with the tiny explanatory notes scattered across the chart, the entire diagram looked more like a giant spiderweb than a mind map.
Pei Qian tried drawing red lines between departments that appeared only loosely connected, attempting to predict possible future interactions.
But after drawing only a few lines, he gave up in frustration.
Because it seemed that, in theory, any two departments could end up collaborating with each other.
All he could do was imagine the worst possible outcome of a partnership between any two departments and mark those scenarios with red lines.
As for vague or speculative connections, he chose not to include them. There were already far too many lines, and adding more without careful selection would only make the chart even harder to read.
After spending two hours sorting out this preliminary map of departmental relationships, Pei Qian leaned back in his chair and pressed a hand against his forehead.
"How did things end up like this...?"
"When did my company quietly become such a hopeless mess?"
"At this point, I can't even fully understand all the tangled relationships between the departments under me."
If there had only been three or five departments, their relationships would have been simple and easy to sort out.
But now there were more than a dozen departments. Who knew which two might suddenly develop some bizarre form of cooperation?
Pei Qian couldn't possibly require every department head to report every single matter to him for approval. If he did that, he would never have any normal time left for rest or entertainment. He would spend every day doing nothing but handling administrative details.
Given the circumstances, the only option was to focus on the big picture and keep a close eye on the most critical departments.
"Looking at it optimistically, things aren't actually that bad."
"I already managed to lose money last cycle. I've gradually figured out some tricks for losing money. Things should get smoother and smoother from now on."
"The Management Trainees should have entered their assigned departments yesterday. Next Saturday, I'll gather them all together and conduct a comprehensive review of every department's situation."
"Using the intelligence gathered by the trainees, I can further improve this chart. At the very least, it will give me a preliminary understanding of all departments and provide some early-warning capabilities. Compared to before, that's already a huge improvement in risk control..."
"There's too much information in this diagram. There's no point rushing it."
"I'll just improve it bit by bit."
As he looked at the sprawling network of departments and connections, Pei Qian felt a rare sense of helplessness.
The empire he had painstakingly built in an effort to lose money had become so vast and interconnected that even its creator could no longer fully grasp it. And somehow, despite all his efforts, almost every corner of it had turned profitable.
Pei Qian carefully saved and backed up the mind map so that he could review it at any time, constantly reflect on it, and guard against potential dangers.
He couldn't help but sigh.
Running a business at a loss was increasingly becoming a highly technical profession...
He had just closed the mind map and was about to relax by watching a TV show when a knock came from outside the office.
After receiving permission to enter, Lin Canrong cautiously pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Pei Qian was surprised.
Why was Chef Lin here?
Lin Canrong was the manager of Mingyun Private Kitchen. Whether during his earlier days at Moyu Internet Café or after being transferred to Mingyun Private Kitchen, he had always worked diligently in his assigned role and had never once come to Tengda Group headquarters.
Whenever there was something to report to President Pei, he usually either called or waited until President Pei visited Mingyun Private Kitchen for a meal.
So what was going on today? Why had he come all the way to the office?
"Is something wrong at Mingyun Private Kitchen?" Pei Qian asked, unable to suppress a trace of anticipation.
Normally, Pei Qian disliked receiving reports from profitable departments.
Because those departments usually came to ask him how they should spend money, which was incredibly annoying.
But Mingyun Private Kitchen was different.
Because, as far as Pei Qian could tell, Mingyun Private Kitchen had already reached its ceiling.
Every day was fully booked. Reservations had already been scheduled into the following month. Although it continued making money every month, there were only so many seats available. Revenue had long since become fixed, with virtually no room for further growth.
That was why Pei Qian thought Chef Lin must have come because something had gone wrong at Mingyun Private Kitchen.
Maybe its profitability was declining?
What an exciting possibility!
Lin Canrong looked somewhat conflicted. After a brief pause, he finally spoke.
"President Pei, it seems you've separated Moyu Delivery into an independent operation, encouraged it to open branch locations and expand, and even established a dedicated 'Food Laboratory' to develop new menu items?"
The arrangements for Moyu Delivery had been made two weeks earlier. Pei Qian's thinking had been simple: let Moyu Delivery open more locations and lose more money, so he had encouraged aggressive expansion.
Two weeks had passed. The expansion should already have been proceeding at full speed by now.
Lin Canrong had previously served as Moyu Delivery's manager and had once been Rui Yuchen's superior. Naturally, he was well informed about everything happening there.
But...
Lin Canrong was now managing Mingyun Private Kitchen. Why had he made a special trip here because of something related to Moyu Delivery?
Pei Qian nodded in confusion.
"That's right. So what about it?"
A hint of dissatisfaction appeared on Lin Canrong's face.
"President Pei, this isn't fair!"
"I understand that Moyu Delivery is an important part of the group's overall strategy. Its current losses are meant to capture market share and cultivate customer spending habits, all in pursuit of greater profits in the future..."
"I have no objections to the current expansion plan for Moyu Delivery. But..."
He paused halfway through his sentence.
The corners of Pei Qian's mouth twitched involuntarily.
What do you mean the temporary losses are for capturing market share and cultivating customer spending habits in pursuit of greater profits?!
Don't overinterpret things!
Lin Canrong continued:
"But Mingyun Private Kitchen is just as important!"
"Why is it that Moyu Delivery, despite constantly losing money, is allowed to rapidly open so many branches, while Mingyun Private Kitchen, which has consistently been profitable and has more customers than it can accommodate, has absolutely no plans for expansion?"
"Although the quality of Mingfu Family Banquet is inferior to Mingyun Private Kitchen, it has already generated considerable profits. That alone proves that the spending demand of high-end diners has not yet been fully satisfied. There is still room for profit in this market!"
"And furthermore, I believe Mingyun Private Kitchen should establish a Food Laboratory as well!"
At those words, alarm bells immediately began ringing in Pei Qian's head.
Expand Mingyun Private Kitchen?
Open branch locations?
And even create a Food Laboratory?
Those suggestions sounded terrifying enough individually.
Putting them together was practically a declaration of war against his plans to lose money.
"Moyu Delivery needs to think about how to better satisfy mainstream tastes, but Mingyun Private Kitchen should also be thinking about how to satisfy the tastes of high-end diners!"
"So... I came today with two requests."
"First, make better use of the Nameless Restaurant brand. As long as quality can be maintained, we should plan a suitable location and open a branch restaurant."
"Second, establish a Food Laboratory as well, dedicated to developing even better dishes for our customers."
Pei Qian fell silent.
So much for getting excited.
Turns out he had come to propose a money-making plan!
Manager Lin, if these are your requests, then there's absolutely no way I can agree...
Your analysis is just too accurate.
The fact that Mingfu Family Banquet is profitable and Mingyun Private Kitchen always has a waiting list proves that the spending demand of high-end diners has not yet been fully satisfied.
But Moyu Delivery is allowed to expand because it doesn't make money!
Mingyun Private Kitchen is already making a fortune with just one restaurant, and now you want me to open another one so it can make even more?
Please stop creating extra burdens for me. I'm begging you!
To be honest, Pei Qian was troubled by the situation himself.
Ever since Mingyun Private Kitchen became famous, even he could only dine there at reserved times.
He could use the largest private dining room only once a week and reserve the entire restaurant only once a month, on the twentieth.
But even so, Pei Qian would rather wait for a table than open another restaurant and earn more money.
And now they wanted a branch?
No chance.
The Food Laboratory was out of the question as well.
Moyu Delivery catered to ordinary tastes. Its ingredients were relatively inexpensive, and most customers weren't looking for overly elaborate dishes. Establishing a Food Laboratory there would likely produce only modest improvements.
But Mingyun Private Kitchen catered to wealthy gourmets.
If those talented chefs were actually given a Food Laboratory and somehow invented mystical dishes like "deep-fried air," the restaurant's reputation would explode even further and become completely uncontrollable.
Therefore, Pei Qian was strongly opposed to both proposals.
Of course, Lin Canrong's suggestion that Mingyun Private Kitchen should also have a Food Laboratory was perfectly reasonable. Rejecting it outright would be difficult, so he needed to find a tactful way to decline.
After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"When you talk about opening a branch, do you believe that Mingyun Private Kitchen has already reached its limit?"
Lin Canrong froze.
For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
Has it already reached perfection?
If he said yes, that would sound arrogant and complacent. In the restaurant industry, true perfection was impossible.
But if he said no...
Lin Canrong felt that Mingyun Private Kitchen's service was already superior to that of the vast majority of high-end restaurants. There was still room for improvement, certainly, but the cost-performance ratio of further improvements would be very low.
After carefully considering the question, he replied, "I wouldn't say we've reached perfection, but opening branches and establishing a Food Laboratory could also be viewed as ways of pursuing perfection."
Pei Qian: "..."
That actually made a lot of sense.
No, I can't let myself be persuaded! If I'm persuaded, we'll make even more money!
Pei Qian coughed lightly.
"You may freely spend the profits earned by Mingyun Private Kitchen."
"But you may not open a branch."
"As for the Food Laboratory... Mingyun Private Kitchen simply isn't large enough to support one right now. The chefs are already busy preparing meals for guests every day. Where would they find the extra time and energy to conduct research?"
"Your primary objective must always be to ensure the dining experience of your customers. Sacrificing the chefs' focus and lowering food quality in order to develop new dishes would be putting the cart before the horse. Don't become overly ambitious."
"At most—at the absolute most—you're allowed to make use of any research results produced by Moyu Delivery's Food Laboratory."
By now, Pei Qian had learned a very effective method of refusing requests.
If he could think of a reason to reject something, he would provide one—even if the reasoning was a little forced.
And if he couldn't think of a reason, he would simply impose the decision directly.
After all, everyone around him had become so skilled at overanalyzing his actions that even if President Pei made an unreasonable demand, they would assume it contained some deeper meaning.
And if things went wrong, they would merely conclude that they themselves had failed to grasp his intentions.
One of the unexpected benefits of being misunderstood so many times...
Sure enough, Lin Canrong's expression shifted repeatedly. It looked as though he had a great deal more to say.
But in the end, he swallowed all of it and simply replied:
"Understood, President Pei."