July 18, Monday.

Pei Qian arrived at the office early in the morning in high spirits, even humming a little tune on his way.

Yesterday, he had given Qiao Laoshi a good duping.

Though deceiving people wasn’t right, Pei Qian had no choice. He had repeatedly emphasized to Qiao Laoshi that there was nothing wrong with the video and urged him to give up, but Qiao Laoshi simply wouldn’t listen!

Pei Qian didn’t dare let Qiao Laoshi figure things out on his own. If he realized something extraordinary, it would be even more unmanageable.

So Pei Qian came up with a plan—to use one beast to devour another!

You want to know how to resurrect this video?

Fine, as long as you stop making another “Masterpiece” video to ruin my “Struggle” game.

Pei Qian knew very well that after “Struggle” was released, Qiao Laoshi would over-analyze it and produce another “Masterpiece” video. That was a certainty.

Since that was the case, why not take the initiative?

Trading one bout of random guidance for a video that would almost certainly make “Struggle” go viral—what a profitable deal!

Besides, judging from Qiao Laoshi’s demeanor, he had taken it seriously.

After all, Mr. Pei’s ability to predict the future—no, to turn stone into gold—was renowned. Whether Tenda employees or Qiao Liang, they all believed in him wholeheartedly.

Pei Qian suddenly felt that things had been going smoothly for him lately, almost like he had gone on the offensive.

How delightful!

Arriving at the office, Pei Qian reviewed the status of each business while waiting for Rui Yuchen to arrive.

Fei Huang Studio: in shock.

Slackin’ Takeout: losing money.

Headwind Logistics: losing money.

Automatic Argument Machine: losing money.

Smart Student Quick Come: almost on the verge of failure.

Scare Lodge: making a small profit, but far from booming. Still early to recover the massive initial investment.

DGE Esports Club: losing money.

Tuoguan Fitness: profits seemed to be increasing, but still operating at a loss.

Sloth Apartment: losing money.

Counting carefully, none of the projects from this cycle had gone viral!

This was truly an epic victory!

Of course, some departments like Slackin’ Internet Café, the gaming department, the novel website, and others were still making huge profits, but those were historical legacy issues that could be slowly resolved later.

Moreover, these departments were spending all their money. For instance, Slackin’ Internet Café was aggressively opening new branches. Even though the cafés were profitable, the payback period remained very long. Theoretically, as long as new branches opened quickly enough, they would not generate a profit.

The Scare Lodge, which had faced dangers numerous times, unexpectedly held on without going viral. This was indeed an unexpected joy, essentially giving Mr. Pei a shot of adrenaline.

This was the first time Pei Qian had felt that the situation was overwhelmingly favorable.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

There was a knock at the door. Pei Qian looked up and saw it was indeed Rui Yuchen.

He knew Rui Yuchen would come to report to him on Monday.

Rui Yuchen handed over the documents and materials.

“Mr. Pei, I’m here to report on the current situation of Slackin’ Takeout.”

Currently, the Food·Harmony brand has been launched in several flagship stores with good reviews, but there’s a significant profit gap. It seems… difficult to expand widely.”

“As for the branch situation, Slackin’ Takeout stores have now opened in representative first, second, and third-tier cities, essentially surveying cities of various sizes.”

“Based on current data, the popularity of Slackin’ Takeout generally has a positive correlation with city size. That is, super first-tier cities are the most popular, followed by first-tier cities, with third-tier cities being the worst.”

“Also, Slackin’ Takeout stores in the same area seem to compete for resources.”

Pei Qian looked at the materials, nodding repeatedly.

Good news kept coming!

The failure of Food·Harmony was already inevitable. The reviews were indeed good, but it definitely wouldn’t make money.

What made Pei Qian even happier was the situation with Slackin’ Takeout branches.

Previously, Pei Qian had instructed Rui Yuchen to spend money freely, and Rui Yuchen had not disappointed, opening Slackin’ Takeout branches in several key cities nationwide.

This result could be seen as a test run.

Pei Qian felt that the situation in the report met his expectations. Fine, healthy, high-value meals like Slackin’ Takeout would naturally be more popular in bigger cities.

Because large cities had many white-collar workers and young people who didn’t like cooking, had health-conscious dietary needs, and weren’t so price-sensitive, they would welcome Slackin’ Takeout.

In third-tier cities, there were fewer young people to begin with, and the overall income level was lower, making it harder for Slackin’ Takeout to gain traction.

Meanwhile, the more Slackin’ Takeout stores in one city, the more they would further squeeze each other’s resources.

Because there were only so many customers who would order from Slackin’ Takeout, two stores competing for business meant neither could make much money.

Rui Yuchen said, “According to the content in this report, I think we should target super first-tier cities and first-tier cities as our main focus, while trying to scatter our stores as much as possible to blossom in multiple locations!”

Pei Qian fell into deep thought.

Target super first-tier cities as the main focus?

Blossom in multiple locations?

That obviously wouldn’t work—it would make money.

After some thought, Pei Qian said, “Open all new branches in second and third-tier cities in Handong Province, especially in Jingzhou. Cover it completely!”

Rui Yuchen: “Huh?”

She felt dizzy.

So after opening branches nationwide, collecting data, compiling it into reports, and just now giving such a serious briefing, Mr. Pei hadn’t been listening?

Or did Mr. Pei have some special arrangement?

That couldn’t be right. No matter what Mr. Pei was planning, he couldn’t go against market research, could he?

Pei Qian continued, “Oh, and about Food·Harmony, since the reviews are good, promote it quickly and add it to all Slackin’ Takeout stores!”

“Keep the current prices, absolutely no discounts or price reductions, understand?”

Rui Yuchen opened her mouth, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Mr. Pei had already said everything, what else could she say…

She could only nod: “Yes, Mr. Pei, I’ll take care of it right away.”

Watching Rui Yuchen leave, Pei Qian happily draped his small blanket over himself and started binge-watching shows.

Until after lunch, no one else came to ask for instructions.

Pei Qian was pleased, thinking this seemed like a good sign.

Just as he was about to happily leave work, he received a message on his phone from Zhang Yuan.

“Mr. Pei, we’ve spent all our budget, and the team members are all disheartened and want to go back. Is it okay for us to return now?”

Pei Qian was stunned.

Has all the budget been spent?

Team members disheartened?

This good news was simply coming one after another!

Although Zhang Yuan didn’t say why the team members were disheartened, it was easy to guess!

With such an unreasonable training schedule for the DGE Club members, working out every day with little time for high-level games, it was perfectly normal to be crushed by professional players from other clubs!

This was a case of the team being devastated so badly that their morale had completely collapsed, so they wanted to go home.

Of course, they were welcome!

And they needed a warm welcome!

Pei Qian calculated that it was almost the 20th, so he could directly arrange a private room at Mingyun Private Kitchen, inviting these team members along with some Tuoguan Fitness store managers for a big feast to celebrate.

He wanted to convey a misleading message to everyone:

Even if we get crushed in training matches, even if the gym is losing money heavily, Mr. Pei still doesn’t care and will still treat us to lavish meals!

As long as everyone could get this point, then the DGE Club and Tuoguan Fitness would remain forever stable!

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. He immediately replied: “Good, come back! I’ll reserve Nameless Restaurant for you to welcome you back!”

…

…

July 20, Wednesday.

DGE Esports Club.

Team members dragged their suitcases back to their rooms.

“Ah, finally home!”

“The scenery is still better on this side.”

“I haven’t practiced properly these days, I feel like I’ve gained weight. Want to work out together after dinner tonight?”

“Heh, don’t say such cold things. I’ll be doing extra training until next month…”

Huang Wang flopped onto his bed with only one feeling—comfort!

After wandering abroad for exactly two weeks, if there was one keyword to sum it all up, it would be disappointment!

When they first set out, everyone was quite excited.

Being away from home, they wouldn’t have to work out until exhaustion every day;

They could visit those established clubs and meet their idols from their internet-addicted teenage years;

They could face off against skilled players from other clubs and have a thrilling training match.

They could see the big cities and experience their prosperity…

In short, everyone was full of expectations for this journey!

However, after returning to Jingzhou, everything changed.

Their workout habits had been disrupted, making them feel uncomfortable all over.

The established clubs were pathetically shabby one after another, nothing more than large internet cafés, completely shattering their image;

Players from other clubs were unbearably terrible, and they had to bring Coach Ma just to create an even match. The trouble Coach Ma caused single-handedly was worse than five opponents combined, making these training matches painfully unbearable.

Even Shanghai was nothing special—no Slackin’ Internet Café, no Slackin’ Takeout, it was especially uncomfortable.

Everyone had wanted to come back much earlier because playing training matches with these clubs was truly meaningless. They were too bad!

But Zhang Yuan had said they must spend all the budget.

So everyone had to follow the original plan, crushing each club they visited, with disappointing results—not a single one could put up a fight!

The H4 Club they played on the first day, was thought to be just the beginning, but it turned out to be the peak.

The subsequent clubs were even worse!

If it hadn’t been for Coach Ma, they wouldn’t have known how to conclude these matches.

The DGE Club stayed at each club for three days, dominating for three days. After three days, feeling that the members of that club were about to break down, they quickly moved on to the next one.

In this way, they finally spent all the budget and returned to Jingzhou.

Huang Wang put away his suitcase and returned to the training room.

Zhang Yuan had just finished organizing his things and came out.

Huang Wang asked, “Brother Zhang! Is Mr. Pei treating us to dinner tonight? This seems like the first time since our club was established, right? From Mr. Pei’s intention, is he planning to celebrate our success?”

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment: “Most likely. By the way, everyone should be cautious, don’t overact your part too much. Mr. Pei dislikes people who boast the most.”

“Mr. Pei surely understands our strength. Our winning streak is only natural, so don’t keep mentioning it. That would irritate Mr. Pei.”

“Huh?” Huang Wang was stunned. “Mr. Pei doesn’t like people who boast? What exactly should we do then?”

Zhang Yuan thought for a moment: “Tonight, everyone should just eat quietly with a low profile. If Mr. Pei comes to toast, be sure to respond enthusiastically, but don’t get carried away or brag about yourselves. Be humble, be low-key.”

“This is a bit of true insight I’ve gained from working with Mr. Pei for so long.”