Chapter 218: Our Restaurant's Style is Ever-Changing!
Moyu Internet Café—Mingyun Villa Branch.
On the way there, Pei Qian deliberately took a look at the shops that had been under renovation last time. There were internet cafés, coffee shops, bars, chess rooms, and so on.
The location choices for these shops were quite particular. For example, one internet café had opened right at the gate of the East Campus of Jiaotong University.
Compared to Moyu Internet Café, which required a walk of more than twenty minutes, this new café at the school gate was much closer, naturally making it more attractive to students.
Not only that, but when Pei Qian glanced at the décor and layout inside, he realized this new café was clearly modeled after Moyu Internet Café.
The computers, keyboards, mice, tables, and chairs all looked brand new. There was even a bar counter inside selling coffee and various drinks.
The only difference was that its layout wasn't as extravagant as Moyu's. It was more compact, with far more computers crammed inside. But the specs were clearly lower.
Moyu's computers were all custom-assembled by Zhang Yuan, capable of running virtually every AAA title on the market at full settings—very high-end machines.
Strictly speaking, though, that level of hardware was somewhat overkill.
This new café was more clever about it. The computers were only configured to run mainstream games smoothly, but the cost was basically half that of Moyu's machines. The same went for the peripherals—shiny and new at first glance, but in truth much cheaper.
Still, compared to typical net bars, this setup and environment was already very good.
A few students stood at the nearby intersection, handing out flyers.
With this café cutting in on traffic, many people who originally planned to visit Moyu might change their minds.
After all, plenty of people didn't care much about top-end machines or deluxe environments—they just didn't want to walk that extra distance.
It was the same for the chess rooms, bars, and coffee shops.
Though customer flow wasn't large, their locations were better chosen than Moyu's, and they could siphon away many of Moyu's customers.
Pei Qian was delighted.
Excellent! I don't know who's helping me out, but I'll remember you—and one day, I'll definitely thank you in person!
Judging by the situation now, since foot traffic here was sparse to begin with, these shops still might not turn a profit. Some would lose more, some less.
The internet café might do best, with the chess room about the same. But as for the bar and coffee shop… things didn't look too optimistic.
Opening these shops just to help him lose money—what a benevolent soul!
Thinking of this, Pei Qian remembered President Li, who had been a huge help at Moyu's flagship branch.
Could it be him?
After that huge misunderstanding last time, he actually bore no grudge? On the contrary, still so loyal and supportive?
A sudden warmth filled Pei Qian's heart.
See? President Pei doesn't only have nemeses!
People like Qiao Liang or Ruan Guangjian might be sworn enemies, but President Li was completely different—truly his one true love, no mistake!
Pei Qian thought about investigating discreetly. If it really was President Li doing good deeds without leaving a name, then he had to find a chance to thank him properly!
After making a round, Pei Qian, Zhang Yuan, Xin Hailu, and Lin Canrong arrived at Mingyun Villa to check on the situation with the new restaurant.
Lin Canrong was a former chef. Recently, he had been overseeing Moyu Delivery. He hadn't achieved much there, steadily running at a loss.
It was precisely this "quality" that caught Pei Qian's eye—which was why he decided to promote him to manager of the new restaurant.
Before this, Lin Canrong had already followed President Pei's earlier instructions and made some preparations.
The original tables, chairs, and furniture in the villa had all been cleared out by property management, leaving the entire place looking very empty.
Last time he came, Pei Qian had already taken a thorough look around, so he more or less had a plan in mind.
All he needed to do now was provide some broad, vague guidance. As for how to actually arrange things or what kind of tables and tableware to choose—that would, of course, be left to professionals.
The living room had a ceiling height of over seven meters, spanning two floors. It was very spacious and looked rather grand.
Pei Qian brought Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan along and started from the living room.
"Over here we'll set up a counter, with a proper wine cabinet, fully stocked with all kinds of expensive liquor. In the hall, place only the highest-grade tables and chairs, and space them far apart. About seven or eight tables should be enough, four seats each. Absolutely no more than that."
"In the outside garden, we can purchase some tables, chairs, and parasols. When the weather's nice, people can dine outside while enjoying the view."
"As for the style, prepare five options: minimalist, Chinese, Japanese, European, and natural. Each with its own decorations, tablecloths, lighting, and tableware."
"According to the dishes customers reserve, we'll arrange the corresponding style. Especially this private room with the large floor-to-ceiling windows and best view—we need to prepare all styles of furniture and décor, and set it up carefully."
"The lighting and decorations should match the dishes but also feel warm and welcoming. This restaurant is mainly for our own employees' gatherings, so it doesn't need to feel too formal."
"Most of our dishes will require advance reservations. For example, if someone books Western food, we'll switch the entire room's décor to European style. If it's Japanese food, then we'll change it to Japanese style."
"As for the menu, there will be two categories. One is regular dishes, kept in stock daily, for staff meals as well. The other is premium ingredients—things like fugu milt, Tahitian vanilla, bluefin tuna, Parma ham… We'll arrange supply channels in advance. Customers must book in advance and pay a deposit before they can try them."
Pei Qian walked around with Lin Canrong, explaining as he went.
In short, there were two goals.
First, to mainly serve their own employees. Comfort and luxury were the priorities. Pei Qian had no intention of cramming too many people into the villa—seventy or eighty at most was enough.
The hall could seat twenty or so, the private rooms six or seven each, and if the weather was good, more tables could be set up on the balcony and in the garden.
Pei Qian didn't plan on bringing all two hundred-plus employees here anyway. It wasn't feasible. They would have to come in groups.
Bring seventy or eighty core staff for one meal, then have each department head take turns bringing their own teams.
After all, the main purpose of eating here was to spend money. Whether they ate together or separately didn't matter.
Second, to spend as much money as possible.
Preparing different tables, tableware, lighting, and décor for each style would mean spending a lot more money, greatly raising labor costs—and all for perfectly reasonable justifications the system couldn't object to.
After all, it was supposedly "for a better dining experience." The cost might be excessive and the value-for-money poor, but that didn't matter.
Pei Qian never intended to care what outside customers thought. From the very beginning, this restaurant was designed for internal team-building meals—a money-burning project. The more low-key, the better.
Ideally, no one else would even know about this place, and it would just quietly lose money. That was exactly what he wanted.
After giving all his instructions, Pei Qian looked at Lin Canrong.
"The general plan is like this. Any questions?"
Lin Canrong hesitated. "President Pei, the rest is fine… but preparing so many different styles… is that really necessary?"
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