Chapter 133: A True Right-Hand Man!
Chapter 133: A True Right-Hand Man!
Moyu Internet Café.
Pei Qian sat in the café area, sipping the Dry Martini freshly prepared by Zhang Yuan. He didn’t have the scruffy stubble of someone down on his luck, but his gaze was filled with melancholy.
In the empty internet café, President Pei was like a firefly in the dark night—so radiant, so extraordinary.
Behind the counter, Zhang Yuan and Ma Yang were hiding, whispering to each other nervously.
“What do we do? You think President Pei came here to chew us out? Brother Ma, you’re close with President Pei—you’ve gotta find a way to smooth things over…”
Ma Yang’s long face looked serious but carried a determined glint.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility for this.”
“Even if you end up not being able to stay at the café anymore, with my friendship with Brother Qian, I’ll make sure to find a place for you elsewhere.”
“But yeah… this is kinda embarrassing. Huang Sibo managed to produce a hit miniseries—fine. But even the game Lu Mingliang led is blowing up too! And here we are, the only ones still bleeding money. Rough times!”
Zhang Yuan muttered a little resentfully:
“Brother Ma, I’m not trying to pass the buck—we did try different methods. But President Pei wouldn’t approve them.”
Ma Yang shook his head.
“That’s not how you should be thinking.”
“Brother Qian has a long-term perspective. All the ideas we brought up—discounts, promos—those damage the brand image, which is why he rejected them.”
“In the end, the real problem is our lack of ability. We couldn’t find a solution that both stayed aligned with President Pei’s direction and made the café profitable.”
“Look at Huang Sibo. I never thought he was much better than me, but this time… he really pulled it off.”
“President Pei didn’t let them take lowbrow sponsorships that’d ruin the brand. They powered through and made two seasons of the show with almost no funding. Then for season three, they signed an exclusive deal with Aili Island—and boom, profits rolled in!”
“That’s what we lacked.”
Zhang Yuan nodded solemnly:
“Brother Ma, you’re right. In that light, I guess I really can’t dodge the blame.”
“Don’t say that. The bulk of the responsibility’s on me,” Ma Yang sighed. “You’ve been doing your best helping out here—juggling three roles at once, even keeping an eye on the café’s finances. It’s been hard work.”
Zhang Yuan felt a pang of sadness.
‘Looks like my good days of triple paychecks are coming to an end…’
The café was hemorrhaging money. President Pei was sure to crack down. When it came time to reshuffle or assign blame, Ma Yang—with his close ties to President Pei—would probably be safe. That left him, Zhang Yuan, as the obvious scapegoat…
The two of them were jittery, extremely uneasy.
At last, Ma Yang took a deep breath and walked toward Pei Qian.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meanwhile, Pei Qian sipped his drink, gazing out the glass curtain wall at the bustling street.
In his field of vision, the system interface popped up:
[Wealth Conversion System]
[Host: Pei Qian]
[Profit Conversion Ratio: 100:1 | Loss Conversion Ratio: 1:1]
[Next Settlement Date: 8 days from now]
[System Funds: 2.74 million yuan (↑ 1.74 million)]
[Personal Funds: 46,857.60 Yuan]
[Special Task This Cycle: Own any physical storefront under the company name, located in either a commercial hub or university district.(Completed)]
[Special Task Completion Reward: +10% personal fund conversion bonus at settlement.]
How depressing!
He’d already spent all the money he could. He’d given out so many employee benefits he was practically handing out cash with both hands. There was nothing left to spend on!
Watching the system funds continue to rise, he felt like a salted fish laid out for butchering.
Still, if you look on the bright side, at least with the 100:1 profit conversion ratio, even though he couldn’t make losses anymore, he could still gain a little bit personally.
‘Barely better than nothing… I guess…’
That was all Pei Qian could do to console himself.
Just then, Ma Yang walked over.
“Brother Qian, I know this has put you in a tough spot. But you entrusted the internet café to me, and if it’s losing money, then that’s on me! I’ll take responsibility and resign if I have to. But Zhang Yuan is truly capable—you must continue to value him!”
Ma Yang’s face was full of sorrow and righteousness, like a defeated old general offering his life after a lost battle.
Pei Qian was stunned.
‘Resign out of guilt?’
What kind of drama is this?
No, wait—absolutely not!
You’re the one I’m counting on right now!
Pei Qian quickly set down his drink and grabbed the nearby chair.
“Sit, Old Ma. Why on earth are you talking about resigning?”
Ma Yang looked embarrassed.
“Brother Qian, I know it’s my fault the café’s doing poorly. Even though we’re close friends, company rules can’t be compromised. Go ahead and reprimand me!”
Pei Qian raised his hand urgently to stop him.
“Old Ma, what are you saying? You know I’ve always valued you the most!”
“I’m here to praise you!”
“You and Zhang Yuan are the ones managing the café. Out of everyone, I trust you two the most, and you’ve lived up to that trust!”
“Let me tell you—even though the café is currently losing money, your project is far more important to the company than the other two!”
“I want to give you special recognition!”
Ma Yang was dumbfounded. He looked carefully at Pei Qian’s face—it didn’t look like he was putting on a show.
He was genuinely serious!
Worried they’d misunderstand him, Pei Qian quickly waved Zhang Yuan over too.
These two were now the last remaining true right-hand men!
Pei Qian had originally thought that Bao Xu and Huang Sibo were dependable talents. But now, both of them have turned out to be liabilities in disguise!
Turns out, it was the bros he could count on after all!
Thinking back, from the moment he got the system and founded Tengda, he’d never once managed to lose money successfully!
The only exception was Moyu Internet Café—and its successful losses were entirely thanks to Ma Yang!
All the others were too good at misinterpreting his intentions.
Bao Xu and Huang Sibo had completely misunderstood his direction, turning the doomed Ocean Fortress into something as wildly successful as Counter-Terrorism Plan!
How could anyone deal with that?!
But Ma Yang? He was different. Whatever Pei Qian said, he executed to the letter.
That kind of sincerity and reliability was exactly the kind of rare quality he needed now!
Pei Qian looked at Ma Yang with eyes filled with warmth and intensity.
This man was the last flicker of fire left in the ashes!
He’d nearly lost hope in the pursuit of losses… but now, Moyu Internet Café rekindled that flame.
If one café could reliably lose 300,000 yuan a month and even fail to recoup the initial 3 yuan million cost…
What if he opened ten of them?
If he just went all in and started aggressively franchising, wouldn’t he be able to lose as much money as he wanted?
With that in mind, Pei Qian looked at Ma Yang with more passion than ever.
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan both felt something was… off.
President Pei’s expression… doesn’t seem angry at all. In fact… he looks kinda proud?
The two of them were confused but also relieved.
That weight hanging over their heads finally lifted.
Pei Qian looked at them both.
“You’ve done great. Keep it up!”
“Next month, I’m opening new branches of Moyu Internet Café in other parts of Jingzhou.”
“Get ready—what we’ve done so far was just practice. The real battle is still ahead!”
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