After the dinner ended, everyone left Mingyun Private Kitchen and said their goodbyes.
Bao Xu’s eyes were filled with melancholy. The thought of spending the next month wandering outside filled him with despair.
Meanwhile, after the gathering, everyone else returned to their respective homes. Tomorrow, they would return to their posts and continue working diligently.
However, Pei Qian found something puzzling—regardless of whether their projects were losing money or making profits, all the project leaders seemed full of motivation after this dinner.
For someone like Ma Yiqun from Endpoint Chinese Website, whose site was consistently losing money, Pei Qian had offered words of comfort to stabilize his mindset, so his renewed motivation was understandable.
But why did Huang Sibo and the others also seem to have received enormous encouragement?
Pei Qian was confused. “I didn’t say anything special to them, did I? Could it be the power of good food?”
Soon, everyone had departed.
Pei Qian checked the time—it was just past 8 PM, perfect timing for the dinner to end.
The waitstaff at Mingyun Private Kitchen were clearing the tables and cleaning up, looking like they still had plenty of work ahead.
However, this busyness would only be temporary, as Mingyun Private Kitchen probably wouldn’t have any new customers for quite some time.
The restaurant’s location was so remote and hidden that ordinary people would struggle to find it, and even if they did, they probably couldn’t afford it.
Of course, this information couldn’t be kept secret forever. After all, Mr. Pei had so many employees who had enjoyed such delicious food today—they would certainly brag about it to their friends.
But regardless, the place was remote and expensive. For most people, it was unaffordable out of their own pockets.
Even if word spread and attracted a few wealthy individuals, it didn’t matter. As long as the customer count remained low, Mingyun Private Kitchen would continue to operate at a loss.
Of course, Pei Qian never forgot that Mingyun Private Kitchen’s primary purpose was to aggressively spend money and to meet the needs of employee gatherings.
So, Pei Qian directly booked gatherings for a long time ahead.
According to the system’s current rules, team-building dinners could be held approximately once every two months.
The frequency and quality of these gatherings seemed to depend on the company’s current size and financial status, among other factors.
Of course, there was another prerequisite—there had to be a legitimate reason for the gathering.
For Pei Qian, finding legitimate reasons was easy. It could be celebrating a new game launch, recognizing a department’s achievements, establishing a new department, or welcoming new employees.
So, Pei Qian directly booked Mingyun Private Kitchen for exclusive use at a frequency of once every two months.
The specific dinner dates were set for the 20th day of even-numbered months. This was close to the end of the month, perfect for last-minute spending.
Additionally, on the first and third Sundays of each month, Pei Qian also reserved the largest private room at Mingyun Private Kitchen for potential business entertainment.
These reservations had the highest priority and would remain valid until Pei Qian decided to change them.
This was mainly to avoid scheduling conflicts. If some wealthy person made bookings, even booking two or three weeks in a row, it would be embarrassing if Pei Qian himself, as the owner, couldn’t secure a reservation.
Although Pei Qian didn’t think Mingyun Private Kitchen would ever become that popular, it was better to be prepared for all possibilities.
Furthermore, if there was an urgent need for business entertainment, he could make a reservation at any time, provided the restaurant had vacancies and there were two or three days to prepare the ingredients.
Lin Canrong approached Pei Qian. “So, Mr. Pei, were you satisfied with today’s meal?”
Pei Qian nodded. “Very good, extremely satisfied!”
He couldn’t actually tell if these expensive dishes were worth so much money, as he had never eaten such fine food at other high-end restaurants and had no basis for comparison.
But observing Lin Wan and Assistant Xin’s expressions during the meal, he could guess that these dishes were truly exceptional.
Pei Qian’s requirements for Lin Canrong were simple—just manage the kitchen well and ensure quality dishes for every gathering.
Other matters like store marketing and promotion were best left unaddressed by Chef Lin, whose complete ignorance in those areas would be beneficial.
“The current situation is very good, keep it up.”
“Remember, your first goal is to provide the best food and service to customers. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”
“Just like when you were at Slackin’ Internet Café.”
Pei Qian gave a hint, since Lin Canrong had achieved practically nothing as the manager of Slackin’ Internet Café before, and Pei Qian hoped he would maintain that level of performance.
Not catching the implied meaning, Lin Canrong thought this was just Mr. Pei’s routine reminder. He hurriedly nodded, “Yes, Mr. Pei, I will do my best to ensure the best dining experience for customers!”
After eating and drinking their fill, Pei Qian and Ma Yang strolled away from Mingyun Private Kitchen, heading toward the nearby Slackin’ Internet Café.
The surrounding environment was quiet, and the weather wasn’t cold, making it perfect for a walk to digest their meal.
As they walked, the two passed by Headwind Station and the adjacent bar.
Just as they passed the bar entrance, several enthusiastic young men and women tried to pull them inside, their enthusiasm bordering on excessive.
Pei Qian and Ma Yang struggled hard before finally breaking free.
Having just left Mingyun Private Kitchen with stomachs full of delicious food and fine wine, who would want to go to such a place to drink inferior alcohol?
Pei Qian now only wanted to sit at Slackin’ Internet Café for a while before going home to sleep. He had no interest in such a noisy bar.
However, he did glance inside briefly and found the bar’s situation wasn’t promising. Despite having a grand opening promotion, there were still few customers.
The resident singer inside was trying hard to liven up the atmosphere, but wasn’t quite succeeding.
No wonder all the waitstaff had rushed to the entrance to solicit customers.
Pei Qian felt an inexplicable sympathy for Mr. Li.
Since learning that the chain internet café had accepted investment from Fuhui Capital, Pei Qian vaguely sensed that the nearby shops were likely Mr. Li’s handiwork.
Although Mr. Li’s self-sacrifice to illuminate others moved Pei Qian, judging by the current development, Mr. Li was probably losing quite a bit of money…
“Why couldn’t Mr. Li do something else? Why meddle in my affairs?”
…
Arriving at the entrance of Slackin’ Internet Café, Pei Qian and Ma Yang pushed the door open.
However, upon seeing a familiar figure drinking in the corner, Pei Qian was startled.
Wasn’t that Mr. Li?
What a coincidence!
I just passed by your bar and was thinking about you!
Li Shi, seeing Pei Qian, was also surprised.
Since Pei Qian hadn’t visited this Mingyun Mountain Villa branch of Slackin’ Internet Café for a while, Li Shi had just come for a quiet drink and hadn’t expected to see him.
The unexpected encounter created a slightly awkward atmosphere.
But Pei Qian didn’t mind; after all, this was one of his few good friends!
Pei Qian sat down opposite Li Shi and smiled. “Mr. Li has come from afar. Are you here to spy on the enemy?”
These words were spoken jokingly, but Li Shi clearly understood their deeper meaning.
He thought to himself, “As expected, Mr. Pei already knows that Starjoy Internet Café and the nearby shops are connected to me…”
“Well, that’s normal. After all, we’re talking about Mr. Pei…”
Having gained new insight into Pei Qian during the incident at the Slackin’ Internet Café flagship store, Li Shi naturally wouldn’t underestimate him.
Now that Mr. Pei had brought it out into the open, it was still somewhat embarrassing.
After all, Li Shi had both invested in Starjoy Internet Café and in commercial properties near the Mingyun Mountain Villa branch—this looked like targeting Slackin’ Internet Café.
Although Li Shi believed Mr. Pei had no evidence and was just guessing, since they were both intelligent people, there was no point in feigning ignorance.
Li Shi smiled. “Please don’t mind, Mr. Pei. This is just normal business behavior.”
“Besides, I’m not targeting your Slackin’ Internet Café specifically. I simply thought Mr. Pei had good vision, so I wanted to follow along for some modest gains.”