Pei Qian was overwhelmed by a single feeling—that he was truly, genuinely foolish.
He had naively thought that as long as Mingyun Private Kitchen was fully booked, it couldn’t possibly make him any more money.
Never did he imagine that Quanmin Reviews would interfere!
With just one featured promotion from Quanmin Reviews, plus a bit of hype, the No-Name Restaurant’s reputation had been transformed into actual traffic, which, when directed toward Tenda’s other businesses, transformed again into actual money!
Even worse, this feature seemed to have prematurely exposed some information, specifically about the Thrilling Lodge!
Originally, Pei Qian had planned for Thrilling Lodge to be constructed quietly. Even if Mr. Li and the others wanted to promote it, that would only be something to worry about when it was nearly completed.
But now that it had been included in this feature, it was already exposed!
Of course, Thrilling Lodge wasn’t completed yet. Most projects were currently in the final stages, and the Golden Maze had an even lower completion rate—it would take at least another month before trial operations could begin.
But the problem was that Mingyun Private Kitchen wasn’t the kind of place where you could make a reservation whenever you wanted…
Now with this feature, many people would start making reservations, and by the time they came to eat at No-Name Restaurant, Thrilling Lodge would have already officially opened for business. The timing was perfect.
Looking at the smiling Li Shi, Pei Qian realized this guy had a hand in it.
Otherwise, how would Wang Peng intentionally add such a low-profile project as Thrilling Lodge to this feature?
It must have been Mr. Li’s big mouth!
However, seeing these two with their friendly smiles, Pei Qian didn’t know what to say. He just felt mentally exhausted.
“Mr. Wang, I appreciate it,” Pei Qian said with somewhat gritted teeth. “If there’s nothing else, I suddenly remembered I have some other matters to attend to. I’ll be going now.”
Wang Peng was momentarily stunned before quickly saying, “Of course, Mr. Pei. If you have any questions about the feature, feel free to contact me anytime!”
After watching Mr. Pei leave, Wang Peng scratched his head, feeling puzzled. “Mr. Li, why does Mr. Pei seem so unhappy?”
Li Shi chuckled. “It’s nothing, Mr. Wang. You just haven’t worked with Mr. Pei much. If you interacted with him as frequently as I do, you’d be used to it.”
“Mr. Pei is a method actor—he never shows his true emotions. When he appears friendly to you, he’s often hiding a knife behind his smile. That’s when you need to be on high alert.”
“Conversely, when you give him tangible benefits, he may not show much reaction on the surface and might even seem cold, but afterward, he’ll always find other ways to repay you.”
“He’s a business genius—how could his thoughts be easily understood by ordinary people? He certainly needs to wear a mask to conceal them. Only those who have spent a long time with him can truly understand what he’s thinking.”
Wang Peng suddenly understood. “Oh! I see! So, according to what you’re saying, does this mean I might become friends with Mr. Pei in the future?”
Li Shi smiled. “At the very least, Mr. Wang, you’re heading in the right direction.”
Wang Peng nodded silently, thinking how fortunate he was to have Mr. Li as a guide.
Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have understood these nuances of Mr. Pei’s personality!
…
Pei Qian left Slackin’ Internet Café and headed straight for Slackin’ Delivery Store #1.
Because he had suddenly realized something very dangerous.
Slackin’ Delivery was included in Quanmin Reviews’ special recommendations!
Slackin’ Delivery was currently Mr. Pei’s most precious baby—if it started making money, wouldn’t he have a heart attack on the spot?
He needed to immediately confirm Slackin’ Delivery’s safety!
Pei Qian had been puzzled at first. Logically, shouldn’t Quanmin Reviews have its own delivery business? Shouldn’t Slackin’ Delivery be categorized as a competitor? Why would they recommend Slackin’ Delivery’s stores?
But after carefully searching on Baidu and combining it with previous memories, Pei Qian roughly figured it out.
Currently, Quanmin Reviews has nothing to do with food delivery.
Quanmin Reviews would probably only announce a strategic partnership with a certain food delivery app three or four years later. Right now, the two companies are still competitors, fighting fiercely over concepts like “group buying” and “local life platform.”
Moreover, in the eyes of outsiders, Slackin’ Delivery’s current positioning leaned more toward a fast food delivery service like “Home Express,” not a delivery platform.
Because Slackin’ Delivery only delivered its food, didn’t invite merchants to join, and didn’t do ratings, scoring, or rankings, not competing with Quanmin Reviews in the big picture.
That’s why Quanmin Reviews was willing to give Slackin’ Delivery so many recommendations.
Anyway, he needed to first confirm Slackin’ Delivery’s safety!
He would first ask Rui Yuchen face-to-face, then verify with Guan Peisheng. If there was any sign that Slackin’ Delivery might become profitable, he would need to take decisive measures to prevent it!
As for what specific decisive measures to take…
He would have to assess the situation and counter accordingly.
Soon, Pei Qian arrived at Slackin’ Delivery Store #1, which was also where the Food Lab was located.
“Mr. Pei?”
Rui Yuchen was doubling as a server again. Seeing Mr. Pei arrive in person, she was slightly surprised.
Two customers who had just left appeared to have tried new items from the Food Lab and offered some feedback. Rui Yuchen was carefully recording it to submit to the Food Lab for improvements.
Pei Qian decided to get straight to the point. “Nothing special, just wanted to ask about Slackin’ Delivery’s current situation.”
Rui Yuchen thought for a moment. “Everything’s going smoothly, Mr. Pei. We’re following the script exactly as you planned.”
Pei Qian: “…”
What the hell do you mean by “following the script as I planned”? Do you even know what my script is?!
My script is for Slackin’ Delivery to keep losing money forever and never make a profit for me!
Pei Qian cleared his throat lightly. “To be more precise… There shouldn’t be any surplus on the books, right?”
Rui Yuchen nodded. “Don’t worry, Mr. Pei. I’ve strictly followed your requirements and used all the funds, including what you’ve allocated, to open new branches. We’re not saving money!”
Pei Qian felt somewhat relieved and asked again, “So, how big is the gap to break even?”
“Umm…” Rui Yuchen pondered for a moment. “That’s hard to estimate, Mr. Pei. I can only say that even if everything goes smoothly, it’s unlikely we’ll break even in the next few months. We’ve spent too much upfront—store openings, staff salaries, and various expenses are all very…”
Rui Yuchen briefly explained the current situation. In short, Slackin’ Delivery’s costs remained high, and profits were low to begin with. To break even, they would need to significantly increase their customer base from the current level, which seemed unlikely in the short term.
Pei Qian nodded slightly. “What if Quanmin Reviews were to give Slackin’ Delivery a dedicated, long-term recommendation?”
Rui Yuchen’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
Pei Qian’s lips twitched slightly. “What would happen then?”
Rui Yuchen thought carefully. “Well, such a recommendation would certainly be good—more exposure, you know. But this kind of recommendation has more of a long-term, subtle effect. It wouldn’t be particularly noticeable in the short term.”
“However, Mr. Pei securing such a recommendation for Slackin’ Delivery is certainly a good thing!”
Pei Qian let out a long breath.
Good, no major danger in the short term.
Slackin’ Delivery was currently his great hope—it absolutely couldn’t fail.
Hearing Rui Yuchen say that even in the best-case scenario, it would take several months to possibly break even, and that would only be for some stores, Pei Qian felt much more at ease.
Now he could worry about other areas, like the managed fitness center…
After all, Quanmin Reviews’ impact was too broad this time, basically encompassing all of Tenda Group’s money-losing projects.
Fortunately, the Sloth Apartment project was very low-profile with basically no promotion, so it had temporarily escaped.
“I understand. Just maintain the current situation and continue!”
…
Watching Mr. Pei leave, Rui Yuchen was filled with renewed energy.
It seemed Mr. Pei cared about Slackin’ Delivery!
Despite his busy schedule, he came to Store #1 to inquire, and most importantly, he had secured such an important recommendation from Quanmin Reviews, which would be very helpful for Slackin’ Delivery’s long-term planning!
Rui Yuchen compiled the improvement proposals she had collected earlier and handed them to the kitchen, asking them to make a new version based on the improvements.
Just as she was about to take a short break, she looked up and saw another familiar face.
“Brother Lin?”
“You’re a bit late. Mr. Pei just left less than five minutes ago.”
Rui Yuchen invited Lin Canrong to sit down.
Lin Canrong was surprised. “Mr. Pei was here? What a pity. I wanted to thank him in person and share my new insights.”
Rui Yuchen said, “It doesn’t matter. Mr. Pei isn’t someone who cares about these small details. What did you want to thank Mr. Pei for?”
Lin Canrong said seriously, “Of course, I want to thank Mr. Pei for helping me find my true correct positioning in the restaurant industry!”
Rui Yuchen was puzzled. “Hmm? What do you mean?”
Lin Canrong took a sip of his drink and asked, “You’ve heard about the foreign food blogger, right?”
Rui Yuchen nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard something about it.”
Lin Canrong had previously discussed with Rui Yuchen Mr. Pei’s true intentions in not allowing Mingyun Private Kitchen to open branches. It was because the rare resource of high-end restaurants was the chefs. Mingyun Private Kitchen’s chefs were all poached from around the country at high prices, and since such talent couldn’t be mass-produced, opening branches would inevitably compromise quality.
After Lin Canrong understood this point, he invested all his money in employee training and indeed reaped the rewards.
But clearly, Lin Canrong now had new insights.
“Previously, I thought Mr. Pei’s thinking only went this far, but now I realize that I only understood it to this point!”
“I originally thought that Mingyun Private Kitchen being recommended by famous foreign food bloggers would at most bring in more foreign customers and raise our profile a bit.”
“But seeing Mr. Wang from Quanmin Reviews’ operation, I was profoundly inspired and realized there was more to it!”
“Turn reputation into buzz; turn buzz into traffic; then use traffic to generate tangible benefits in other areas!”
“And the prerequisite for all this is that Mingyun Private Kitchen can provide customers with top-tier flavors, becoming a high-end dining brand widely recognized by the public!”
Rui Yuchen nodded. “Yes, that’s right. So?”
Lin Canrong smiled slightly. “Mr. Wang has already shown us the correct solution to Mr. Pei’s thinking. Next, of course, is to copy the homework!”
“Let’s go back to the original question and think carefully.”
“If Mr. Pei knew that continuing to invest in Mingyun Private Kitchen wouldn’t make more money, why did he keep pouring money into it? Obviously, he wanted more reputation, and more reputation could be exchanged for buzz, traffic, and profits elsewhere…”
“Mr. Pei had already thought of this plan to exchange reputation for buzz, for traffic, for benefits elsewhere, and was waiting for us to figure it out.”
“But Mr. Wang from Quanmin Reviews guessed it before we did!”
“Thinking carefully, this should be an unexpected bonus, because Mr. Pei’s approach seems more like it was prepared for us!”
“Now I understand. The branch I’ve been obsessing over has been there all along—isn’t it Slackin’ Delivery?”
Rui Yuchen was surprised. “Brother Lin, you mean…”
Lin Canrong smiled slightly. “Great chefs are limited. If we open another new restaurant but can’t find such accomplished chefs and can’t use such precious ingredients, how is that different from Slackin’ Delivery?”
“Although we’re not in the same department, we’re both in food service. If we could use Mingyun Private Kitchen—that is, No-Name Restaurant’s reputation—to convert some of it to Slackin’ Delivery and create a budget version, wouldn’t that also fulfill Mr. Pei’s expectations?”