Chapter 40 — The System's Generosity
Chen Hao leaned back in his office chair, rubbing his temples. The recent expansions had drained his energy, but unfortunately, not his company's profits. The quarterly report on his desk looked like an insult — both the Italian chain and Patriot Burger were not only covering costs but raking in record revenue.
"Unacceptable," he muttered under his breath. "At this rate, I'll never sink the ship."
Just as he was about to flip the report over in frustration, a familiar, mechanical chime echoed in his head.
[System Notification]
Funds for Expansion Granted — 80 million yuan.
Purpose: Accelerated loss-making through capital expenditure.
Funds restricted to company accounts.
Chen Hao's eyes lit up like a man spotting an oasis in the desert. "Eighty million… perfect. Now I can bury the company under real estate purchases and logistics infrastructure. This time, I'll win."
To the employees bustling outside, he emerged from the office with a look of determined confidence. They thought the boss had a vision — that he saw opportunities others couldn't. When Chen Hao announced:
"We're buying more prime locations in every city we operate in. No leases — I want ownership. And we'll start scouting for land to build our own cold storage and distribution centers in our existing provinces."
The staff erupted in approval. "Boss is thinking long-term!" one regional manager said with admiration.
None of them knew the truth — that in Chen Hao's mind, the cold storage and logistics centers were elaborate money-burning pits.
The following weeks saw him traveling non-stop, signing property deeds with a smile, inspecting plots of land near industrial zones, and authorizing the purchase of expensive imported refrigeration equipment. The accountants grumbled about the up-front costs, but the operations team called it "a stroke of genius."
Privately, Chen Hao checked his personal account and felt a rush of satisfaction — on paper, he was down nearly 10 million this quarter. "Finally," he thought, "I'm bleeding money."
What he didn't realize was that the newly secured properties were appreciating faster than the market average. The logistics plan, once completed, would reduce supply costs for both chains so drastically that his "losses" would turn into even fatter margins.
For now, though, Chen Hao slept better than he had in months — convinced the tide was finally turning in his favor.