After selecting the store managers, Pei Qian turned to Ma Yang.

“Old Ma, Zhang Yuan. After the branch stores open, this store will serve as the flagship store, and you two should no longer be too involved in the front-line operations of the internet café.”

“Zhang Yuan, from now on, you’ll be the regional manager of all Slacking Internet Cafés in Jingzhou City. All these cafés will be under your management.”

“As for Ma Yang, you’ll be the general manager and overall person in charge of all Slacking Internet Cafés, just like before. You’ll continue to report directly to me.”

“From the store managers we just selected, pick the one you’re most satisfied with to manage this store. As the first Slacking Internet Café, this place has commemorative significance and will be our flagship store in the future.”

“The others who weren’t selected as store managers needn’t worry. When we open more branches in the future, we’ll prioritize selecting managers from among our veteran employees.”

“As for the personnel gaps after promotions, hurry up and recruit people to fill them.”

“Ma Yang, Zhang Yuan, after the holiday, I’ll give you a week to survey and find ten suitable locations, from which you’ll select four to open the new stores.”

“The location, renovation, layout… everything should be on par with this experience store, understand?”

Ma Yang patted his chest, “Don’t worry, Qian Ge, I’ve got this!”

The others were also somewhat excited.

Mr. Pei wasn’t just making empty promises; everything he said before had been fulfilled, and at lightning speed!

Some bosses talk big but always delay what they’ve promised. Mr. Pei was different—he’d just mentioned opening branch stores a few days ago, and now it was already on the agenda!

Considering that each store required an initial investment of over 3 million yuan, opening these four new stores would cost more than 10 million yuan. For such a big undertaking, Mr. Pei didn’t even frown—truly someone who accomplished great things!

Thinking about working for such a boss, several service staff couldn’t help but feel proud.

After giving all the instructions, Pei Qian emphasized a few more details before leaving with peace of mind.

……

……

May Day holiday.

The company was on break, and there wasn’t much to do at school, so Pei Qian decided to visit home.

But before going home, he first took his bank card containing over 80,000 yuan of personal assets and went to an appliance store near his home.

Coinciding with the mini-holiday, the store was packed with people, practically shoulder to shoulder.

Nowadays, buying appliances online hadn’t become popular yet. Warehousing, logistics, and other aspects weren’t as convenient, and after-sales service was still a big issue, so most people still preferred to purchase expensive items like home appliances at physical stores.

A few years later, as e-commerce became more developed, these physical stores would gradually decline.

Pei Qian wandered around the store.

“Shopping is such a pain.”

“It would be better if Assistant Xin were here…”

Pei Qian found himself missing Assistant Xin. If she were here, she could give Pei Qian a report and select various appliances according to his requirements. Pei Qian would only need to pay.

But now it was the holiday, Assistant Xin was off work, and strictly speaking, buying home appliances had nothing to do with work. Asking Assistant Xin for help would be inappropriate and might even trigger a system warning.

So Pei Qian had to endure some inconvenience and browse around by himself.

Television.

Washing machine.

Refrigerator.

Air conditioner.

Pei Qian was certain that almost all the appliances at home needed replacing, but choosing them himself was quite difficult.

Because they all looked rather inferior…

The appliance brands were different from what Pei Qian remembered, but he could still roughly distinguish between good and bad.

What frustrated Pei Qian was that in this world, mobile phone and computer hardware technology developed rapidly, but home appliances didn’t seem much different from what he remembered.

Pei Qian was viewing 2010 appliances with 2019 standards, so naturally, he found them unsatisfactory. Many appliance models had already been completely phased out later on, proven to be quite unsuccessful designs, yet they were being displayed as new products now.

Take televisions, for example.

At this time, a 40-inch TV from a slightly better foreign brand costs around 5,000 to 6,000 yuan. In Pei Qian’s view, this was practically daylight robbery.

After getting used to certain budget brand 40-inch TVs costing just over 1,000 yuan, looking at the current TVs left him with absolutely no desire to purchase.

This mentality was normal. As the saying goes: “Buy early, enjoy early; buy late, enjoy discounts.” And another saying: “Those who wait will never be enslaved.”

Similar products indeed updated quickly, especially from the perspective of ten years later. These things would eventually need to be replaced anyway, but buying a day earlier meant enjoying a day earlier.

Pei Qian thought it would be better to get his parents a new set of appliances—at least a washing machine that didn’t shake wildly during the spin cycle, a larger refrigerator that could hold more items, a bigger TV for more comfortable viewing—these were all things affecting daily life experience, and the sooner they were replaced, the better.

After browsing for a while, Pei Qian quickly decided on the appliances he wanted and purchased them with his card.

A 42-inch TV, over 6,000 yuan;

A side-by-side refrigerator was still a rare item at this time, costing over 10,000 yuan.

Air conditioner, over 2,000 yuan—since summers in Jingzhou were very hot, it was a good time to buy an air conditioner, which would be useful within days of returning home;

Front-loading washing machine, over 3,000 yuan;

He also bought household appliances like a rice cooker and vacuum cleaner, which altogether added up to just under 2,000 yuan.

Pei Qian chose brands that were functional and of good quality, both domestic and foreign, so the prices were naturally higher than average products.

In the end, the complete set cost just under 30,000 yuan.

After purchasing everything, Pei Qian continued browsing and, surprisingly, discovered a robot vacuum cleaner.

Robot vacuum cleaners existed in 2010, but few people bought them then because they were relatively expensive for what they offered. Without app control at that time, they could be described in three words as “iron blockheads,” not as convenient and easy to use as later models.

However, Pei Qian noticed a robot vacuum that looked decent. Although it lacked path planning, it had several cleaning modes and cost just over 3,000 yuan, so he decisively purchased it.

Finally, he roughly negotiated with the store about the trade-in prices for the old appliances at home. After settling everything, the goods were loaded and transported.

The store wasn’t far from home, so Pei Qian arrived almost simultaneously with all the appliances.

“Come on, bring them in,” Pei Qian began directing the delivery men to carry things inside.

His mother rushed out from the kitchen, looking confused, “Huh? What’s all this? Son, did you buy all this?”

Pei Qian nodded, “Yes. Where’s Dad?”

“He went out for a business dinner, he’ll be back tonight.” His mother watched as large items were carried into the house, feeling a bit anxious, “How much stuff did you buy? How much did all this cost?”

“It’s fine, just over 20,000 yuan in total, which is just covered by my fee. I’ve also arranged with the store about trading in the old appliances, there’s a trade-in promotion that will save some money, so don’t worry about it.”

Pei Qian knew this had to be done quickly. Before his mother could react, the appliances were already quickly moved into the house and unpacked, and the old appliances were all taken away.

“This…”

His mother looked at the new TV, side-by-side refrigerator, front-loading washing machine… and didn’t know what to say.

“The air conditioner installers will come tomorrow morning. They’ll install it directly in your bedroom. If you can’t sleep in the hot weather, just turn on the air conditioner and set a timer.”

“And here’s this robot vacuum cleaner, let me show you how to use it.”

Pei Qian began explaining to his mother how to use each electronic product, and casually found a spare bed sheet to throw into the front-loading washing machine for cleaning.

The washing machine made a soft humming sound, and the leg pads had been adjusted for height, so it didn’t shake at all.

“You know, this front-loading washing machine is good to use!” his mother said with delight.

Pei Qian nodded, “Of course it is. Not only is it user-friendly, but it also saves water. The refrigerator is the same, much more energy-efficient than the old one. Although the new appliances aren’t cheap, they save on utility bills.”

His mother nodded, “That’s true.”

Soon, the refrigerator was filled with food, the washing machine was washing clothes, the robot vacuum was wandering around on the floor, and the TV was broadcasting programs.

His mother was particularly satisfied with the new front-loading washing machine and took out all the clothes that needed washing, clearly intending to put the new washing machine to good use.

Pei Qian lounged on the sofa, looking at the side-by-side refrigerator that seemed slightly too large for the space, feeling emotional inside.

“If only the house were a bit bigger…”

“I need to work harder at losing money…”

……

……

On the 4th, the holiday ended.

Back at the company.

Pei Qian’s assets had shrunk to just over 50,000 yuan, and his desire to lose money intensified once again.

“Have the new version content plans been prepared?” Pei Qian casually asked as he passed by Lü Mingliang’s workstation.

Lü Mingliang immediately nodded, “All ready, Mr. Pei!”

“Hmm?” Pei Qian suddenly realized something was off. “Did you work overtime during the May Day holiday?”

Lü Mingliang was startled. Was Mr. Pei waiting for this?!

This was impossible to guard against!

Now, if he said he hadn’t worked overtime, it wouldn’t make sense.

The work had been assigned on April 30th, the holiday was from May 1st to 3rd, and today was May 4th, the first day back at work, yet the planning was already complete.

Who would believe he hadn’t worked overtime?

Lü Mingliang quickly explained, “No, Mr. Pei, I just had nothing to do at home during these few days, so I casually thought about the new version planning.”

Pei Qian put on a stern face, “Working at home is still overtime! Triple pay for statutory holidays.”

Lü Mingliang: “…Yes, Mr. Pei.”

Pei Qian turned and walked toward the meeting room. “Alright, don’t let it happen again. Ask everyone to come for a meeting to discuss the new version.”

Soon, everyone from the development team arrived.

Ma Yang still sat quietly in the corner as before, holding a small notebook ready to take notes.

Lü Mingliang began introducing the new version plans for several games, which were generally in line with what Pei Qian had instructed earlier.

“The Lonely Desert Highway” would develop an endless mode, multiplayer function, and new maps, priced at 1 yuan.

“Ghost General” would update a new set of military generals, priced at 5 yuan.

“Sea Fortress” would update a new epic weapon, priced at 888 yuan, with limited sales of 500 pieces per month.

“Game Producer” would release a new set of voice packs and scene styles, priced at 5 yuan.

However, Lü Mingliang’s proposal was more detailed than what Pei Qian had mentioned before, such as specifically which generals would be in the new set for “Ghost General,” what their skills would be, and what the rough concept art would look like.

This was a more detailed plan, and through this plan, the approximate investment could be estimated.