June 25th, Friday evening.

Music still echoed throughout Slackin’ Internet Café, but below the stage were only empty tables and chairs, with just two or three people drinking.

The singer performed listlessly, and the few listeners were dozing off.

Ma Yang’s face was filled with worry.

What could be done about this?

As the offensive from the surrounding stores grew increasingly fierce, the customer flow at Slackin’ Internet Café continued to decrease.

Although they had a singer performing in the evenings, the other bars in the area not only had resident singers but also offered discounts on all drinks!

Those bars were crowded and lively, and many of Slackin’ Internet Café’s regular customers had defected.

After all, most people went to bars to have fun and socialize; few wanted to drink gloomily in a quiet environment, especially when it was expensive.

Although this new resident singer performed quite well, he was far inferior to Chen Lei, so naturally, he couldn’t attract many customers.

The fewer people there were, the less motivated he became, and the less heart he put into his singing, gradually falling into a vicious cycle.

“Brother Qian told me not to do anything.”

“But I feel so insecure…”

Ma Yang drank dejectedly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

Slackin’ Internet Café continued to lose money, Slackin’ Food Delivery showed no improvement, and now it was raining on an already leaking roof. This gave him strong feelings of self-doubt.

At a table in the corner of the internet café, Li Shi took a small sip of his cocktail, the corners of his mouth turning up involuntarily.

These youngsters were indeed inexperienced—they were no match for him.

Fuhui Capital had already invested in many local industries in Jingzhou and had considerable influence.

By burning a little money and organizing promotions with several stores around Slackin’ Internet Café, those stores gained attention and customer flow while suppressing Slackin’ Internet Café, making Fuhui Capital’s investment more likely to succeed.

This was a win-win situation for Li Shi and the nearby stores.

Li Shi had been undercover at Slackin’ Internet Café for a long time and had already figured out the structure here.

That very young Mr. Pei was the big boss behind Slackin’ Internet Café, though he was rather stubborn and hard-headed, probably the type who wouldn’t listen to advice—a situation requiring gradual progress.

Zhang Yuan, who claimed to be the regional manager, didn’t have a close relationship with Mr. Pei and was more responsible for the specific operational work of the internet café.

The key lay with the long-faced one.

This Ma Yang seemed to have a close relationship with Mr. Pei, and he didn’t look particularly bright—the type who could be easily persuaded.

First, win over this long-faced one. As long as he could be convinced, he could then gradually influence Mr. Pei, and the big plan could succeed.

Currently, it was hard to say what Mr. Pei’s status was, since he hadn’t visited Slackin’ Internet Café these past few days; but judging from the long-faced one’s state, he should be nearly at his breaking point.

Li Shi’s plan was well-calculated, and he wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible.

After all, continuously burning money wasn’t sustainable; the main goal was to attack their confidence.

As long as he could make the Slackin’ Internet Café team doubt their profit model, then offer a helping hand at the right moment…

The investment would be almost certain.

Li Shi picked up his glass and walked directly to sit opposite Ma Yang.

Ma Yang, lost in his worries, was startled to see the somewhat weathered-looking Li Shi.

What did this mean?

There weren’t any beautiful women at his table, so what was this about?

Could it be… that rich people had special preferences???

Ma Yang didn’t know what to say for a moment and quietly moved his glass back a bit, away from Li Shi.

Li Shi wasn’t aware of Ma Yang’s rich inner dialogue and assumed he was instinctively wary.

“Hello, Manager Ma. Let me introduce myself. I’m Li Shi, CEO of Fuhui Capital.”

Li Shi confidently handed over a business card: “Actually, I’m an old customer here. I wonder if Manager Ma would be interested in discussing cooperation?”

Realizing the other party wasn’t after his looks, Ma Yang relaxed, carefully took the business card, and examined it closely in the dim light.

Li Shi: “…”

He realized that Manager Ma also seemed unaware of Fuhui Capital…

Li Shi felt a bit frustrated.

How was this possible?

Fuhui Capital was well-known in Jingzhou’s local investment circle!

Judging from Ma Yang’s perfunctory expression, he had no idea what Fuhui Capital could bring to Slackin’ Internet Café.

Fortunately, Li Shi was battle-hardened and experienced. Since Ma Yang knew nothing, he would go straight to the point.

People like this, who knew nothing, were the easiest to persuade.

Li Shi took a couple of sips of his drink, exuding the aura of a successful businessman, and explained the cooperation proposal to Ma Yang in a calm, all-knowing tone.

In simple terms, Fuhui Capital would invest in Slackin’ Internet Café and “guide” the café’s operations with their rich experience. Everyone would make money together and quickly promote the Slackin’ Internet Café model nationwide…

In short, he effortlessly painted a perfect picture.

Ma Yang’s eyes gradually brightened; he was interested!

Li Shi was indeed a successful person. His attire and manner of speaking were extraordinary, worlds apart from the low-level tactics of pyramid schemes or insurance salespeople.

Moreover, every word he said hit the mark, precisely addressing Ma Yang’s current pain point: the profitability issue of Slackin’ Internet Café!

Now, Slackin’ Internet Café was going from bad to worse, Zhang Yuan couldn’t provide a good solution, and Pei Qian remained mysteriously silent, leaving Ma Yang feeling uncertain.

Li Shi casually outlined a few profit models for internet cafés, easily persuading Ma Yang.

Li Shi observed Ma Yang’s reactions closely and knew he had succeeded.

“This is unexpectedly smooth.”

Now he just needed to wait quietly for the fish to take the bait.

After Li Shi finished speaking, Ma Yang looked excited, clearly longing for the blueprint Li Shi had described.

But he didn’t agree immediately.

“Director Li, your proposal is excellent. However… I still need to report to my leader.”

Ma Yang hadn’t forgotten that Pei Qian had the final say in internet café matters.

Li Shi was prepared for this and smiled: “Of course.”

Having said this much, saying more would be counterproductive.

Li Shi was certain that Ma Yang had been completely convinced by him. As long as this long-faced man could persistently whisper in Pei Qian’s ear, it would eventually have some effect.

He wasn’t worried about Pei Qian being suspicious; this was also a tactic combining both soft and hard approaches.

……

“Brother Qian, that’s the situation! If we accept Fuhui Capital’s investment, won’t we be able to turn losses into profits?”

On the phone, Ma Yang’s voice was still somewhat excited.

Pei Qian secretly laughed to himself.

Ma Yang was truly easy to persuade.

But Pei Qian wasn’t angry; after all, from his perspective, this was also one of Ma Yang’s strengths as an employee.

It seemed that Ma Yang had been completely brainwashed by this Director Li from Fuhui Capital, but it didn’t matter. Pei Qian could set him straight with just a few words.

“Old Ma, you’ve been deceived.”

On the phone, Ma Yang was taken aback.

“Brother Qian, what do you mean?”

Pei Qian chuckled: “Actually, this Fuhui Capital already called Assistant Xin a few days ago. They wanted to invest in Slackin’ Internet Café, but I refused.”

Ma Yang was puzzled: “Why refuse? Brother Qian, they’re giving us a large investment, and everyone can make money together. Isn’t that good?”

Pei Qian couldn’t help but smile.

Director Li had seen that Ma Yang was easy to persuade, so he wanted to find a breakthrough through him.

Fundamentally, he hadn’t given up on the idea of investing in Slackin’ Internet Café.