Slackin’ Internet Café, Mingyun Villa branch.
On the way there, Pei Qian deliberately checked out those shops that were under renovation that he had seen before, including internet cafés, coffee shops, bars, chess and card rooms, and so on.
The locations of these shops were all quite carefully chosen. For example, there was an internet café that was opened right at the east campus gate of Jiaotong University.
Compared to the Slackin’ Internet Café that would take more than twenty minutes to reach on foot, this new internet café at the school gate was closer and naturally more appealing to students.
Not only that, but Pei Qian also took a glance at the interior decoration and layout, discovering that this internet café had imitated the Slackin’ Internet Café.
The computers, keyboards, mice, tables and chairs, and so on all looked brand new. The internet café also had a bar counter selling coffee and various beverages.
However, the layout here wasn’t as extravagant as Slackin’ Internet Café, appearing more compact with many more computers, though the computer specifications were probably inferior.
All the computers at Slackin’ Internet Café were assembled by Zhang Yuan, capable of running almost all current 3A titles on the market with all special effects, boasting very high specifications.
But strictly speaking, such specifications were somewhat wasteful.
The computers in this new internet café were more practical, using configurations that could smoothly run mainstream games, but in reality, the price was probably about half that of the computers at Slackin’ Internet Café. The various peripherals were the same, looking bright and attractive, but much cheaper.
However, compared to other internet cafés, this configuration and environment were already considered very good.
Several student-like individuals were distributing flyers at the intersection near the internet café.
With this internet café intercepting traffic, many people who originally intended to go to Slackin’ Internet Café would likely change their minds.
After all, many people weren’t that demanding about computers and the environment, and didn’t want to walk that much farther.
The chess and card rooms, bars, and coffee shops were in similar situations.
Though not crowded, they all had better locations than Slackin’ Internet Café and could intercept many of Slackin’s customers.
Pei Qian was very pleased.
Not bad. Although I don’t know who’s helping, I’ve taken note of you, and I’ll thank you in person in the future!
From the current situation, since there weren’t many people in this area to begin with, these few shops still might not necessarily make money. It’s just that some would lose more, while others would lose less.
The internet café might be the most profitable, and the chess and card room would be similar, but as for the bar and coffee shop, the situation probably wasn’t very optimistic.
Opening these shops to help Mr. Pei lose money—what a kind person!
Speaking of this, Pei Qian remembered Manager Li who had been of great help at the Slackin’ Internet Café flagship store before.
Could it be him?
After such a big misunderstanding last time, Manager Li actually didn’t hold a grudge? But instead remained loyal?
Pei Qian suddenly felt a warmth in his heart. See, I, Mr. Pei, don’t just have arch-enemies!
People like Qiao Laoshi and Ruan Guangjian were Mr. Pei’s sworn enemies, but this Manager Li was completely different—he was Mr. Pei’s true love!
Pei Qian considered investigating a little, to test the waters. If it was Manager Li doing good deeds anonymously, then he must find an opportunity to thank him properly!
After walking around, Pei Qian, Zhang Yuan, Assistant Xin, and Lin Canrong, the four of them, arrived at Mingyun Villa to check out the villa’s condition.
Lin Canrong was the former chef and store manager who had been in charge of Slackin’ Delivery for some time without making much progress, consistently losing money.
It was precisely this quality that Pei Qian valued, which was why he decided to promote him to be the new restaurant’s manager.
Before this, Lin Canrong had already done some preparatory work according to Mr. Pei’s earlier requirements.
The original tables, chairs, and furniture in the villa had all been taken away by the property management, so the entire villa now looked very spacious.
The last time he came, Pei Qian had already gone through the place once, so he had a rough idea in mind.
He just needed to provide some rather general guidance. As for how to arrange things specifically and what kind of dining tables and tableware to choose, these matters would certainly have to be left to professionals.
The living room had a ceiling height of more than 7 meters, spanning two floors, and was very spacious, so it looked quite grand.
Pei Qian brought Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan, starting with the living room.
“Set up a counter here, make a special wine cabinet, and stock it with all kinds of expensive wines. Put the highest-grade tables and chairs in the hall, make sure they’re far enough apart, about seven or eight tables with four people each is enough—absolutely no more.”
“In the garden outside, you can purchase some tables, chairs, and parasols. When the weather is suitable, people can eat outside and enjoy the scenery.”
“As for style, prepare five different styles: minimalist style, Chinese style, Japanese style, European style, and natural style, each with different decorations, tablecloths, lighting, and tableware.”
“Arrange the style according to the dishes the customers order, especially for this private room with the best view and large floor-to-ceiling windows. Be sure to prepare various styles of tables, chairs, and decorations, and arrange them carefully.”
“The lighting and decorations, besides matching the dishes, should also be as cozy as possible. This restaurant is mainly a place for our employees to gather for meals, so there’s no need to make it too formal.”
“The vast majority of our dishes will need to be ordered in advance. For example, if Western food is ordered, then change the decorations and layout of the entire room to a European style in advance. If Japanese cuisine is ordered, then change to a Japanese style.”
“The dishes here are divided into two types. One is ordinary dishes, which are regularly stocked and also eaten by employees. The other is high-end ingredients, such as fugu shirako, Tahitian vanilla, bluefin tuna, Parma ham… Contact the suppliers in advance, and customers need to make reservations and pay a deposit before they can come to taste them.”
Pei Qian led Lin Canrong, commenting on each area as they went along.
In short, there were two objectives.
First, primarily serve their own employees, making everything as comfortable and high-end as possible. Pei Qian also had no intention of fitting too many people into the villa; being able to accommodate seventy to eighty people would be enough.
The main hall could seat about twenty people, several private rooms with six or seven people each, and if the weather was suitable, a few more tables could be set up on the balcony and in the garden.
In the future, Pei Qian didn’t plan to bring all two hundred plus employees here at once—he couldn’t fit them all anyway. They could only come in batches.
Bring seventy or eighty key staff for a meal, and then the heads of various departments would bring their own employees for meals.
After all, eating was mainly about spending money, so it didn’t matter whether they ate together or separately.
Second, spend as much money as possible.
Preparing different tables, chairs, tableware, lighting, and decorations for various styles could cost a lot more money and significantly increase labor costs, while still being reasonable and justified so the system couldn’t find fault with it.
After all, this was to provide customers with a better dining experience, although the cost of such improvements was a bit high, and the cost-effectiveness was a bit low.
Moreover, Pei Qian didn’t plan to care about what other customers thought at all. From the beginning, this restaurant was for team building and gatherings for his own employees and to help Mr. Pei burn money. The more low-key, the better.
It would be best if others didn’t know about this place at all, letting it continue to lose money quietly—that was exactly what Mr. Pei wanted.
After giving all the instructions, Pei Qian looked at Lin Canrong and asked, “The general arrangement is like this. Do you have any questions?”
Lin Canrong looked hesitant: “Mr. Pei, everything else is fine. But preparing so many styles… is it necessary?”