Chapter 18 July 18th, Monday

Pei Qian arrived at the office early in the morning, in a great mood, even humming a little tune on the way.

He had given Old Qiao quite the bamboozle yesterday.

Although bamboozling people isn't right, Pei Qian had no choice. He had repeatedly emphasized to Old Qiao that there was nothing wrong with the video, telling him to give up, but Old Qiao just wouldn't listen!

Pei Qian didn't dare let Old Qiao figure it out himself, in case he realized something amazing, it would be even more unmanageable.

So Pei Qian came up with a plan: use a tiger to drive away a wolf!

You want to know how to revive this video?

Easy, just don't make another *Godly Work* to ruin my *Struggle* and everything will be fine.

Pei Qian knew very well that after the game *Struggle* was released, Old Qiao would definitely over-interpret it, and making another *Godly Work* was a certainty.

Since that was the case, it was better to take the initiative!

Using one random instruction to replace a video that could potentially make *Struggle* a hit was a great deal!

And looking at Old Qiao's state, he definitely took it seriously.

After all, President Pei's ability to make predictions come true, or rather, his Midas touch, was well-known. Whether it was Tengda's employees or Qiao Liang, everyone was convinced.

Pei Qian suddenly felt that he had been very successful recently, and it was simply a turning point.

It was so gratifying!

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

Flying Huang Workshop: in a coma.

Lazy Bird Takeaway: losing money.

Against the Wind Logistics: losing money.

Fully Automatic Argument Machine: losing money.

Learn From the Best: almost cold.

Ghastly Manor: can make a small profit, but it's not a hit. It's still too early to recover the huge initial investment.

DGE Esports Club: losing money.

Trust Fitness: seems to be making more money, but still losing.

Sloth Apartments: losing money.

Counting carefully, it seemed that none of the projects in this cycle had become a hit!

This was truly an epic victory!

Of course, some departments, such as Lazy Bird Internet Cafe, the game department, and the novel website, were still making a lot of money, but those were historical problems that could be solved slowly in the future.

Moreover, these departments had basically spent all the money. For example, Lazy Bird Internet Cafe was trying hard to open branches. Even if the internet cafe was making money, the payback period was still very long. Theoretically speaking, as long as the branches were opened fast enough, there would definitely be no profit.

The Ghastly Manor, which had encountered danger several times, actually survived and didn't become a hit, which was indeed a pleasant surprise, and could be said to have given President Pei a shot in the arm.

This was the first time Pei Qian had felt that the situation was so good.

"Tap, tap, tap."

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

He knew that Rui Yuchen would definitely come to report on Monday.

Rui Yuchen handed over the documents and materials in her hand.

"President Pei, I'm here to report on the current situation of Lazy Bird Takeaway."

"Currently, the *Shi He* brand has been launched in several flagship stores. The reputation is good, but the profit gap is relatively large. It seems... not easy to promote."

"As for the branches, Lazy Bird Takeaway stores have been opened in several representative first, second, and third-tier cities, which can be regarded as a preliminary understanding of cities of various sizes."

"From the current data, the popularity of Lazy Bird Takeaway is basically positively correlated with the size of the city. That is to say, super first-tier cities are the most popular, followed by first-tier cities, and third-tier cities are the worst."

"Moreover, Lazy Bird Takeaway in the same area seems to be competing for resources."

Pei Qian looked at the information and nodded frequently.

Good news kept coming!

The failure of *Shi He* was already doomed. The reputation was indeed good, but it definitely couldn't make money.

What made Pei Qian even happier was the situation of the Lazy Bird Takeaway stores.

Before, Pei Qian asked Rui Yuchen to spend money freely, and Rui Yuchen lived up to expectations by opening Lazy Bird Takeaway branches in several key cities across the country.

This result could be regarded as a preliminary understanding.

Pei Qian felt that the situation in the information basically met his expectations. Lazy Bird Takeaway, with its exquisite, healthy, and high-value meals, would definitely be more popular in larger cities.

Because large cities have a large number of white-collar workers and young people who don't like to cook, have a demand for healthy eating, and are not so sensitive to prices, they will definitely welcome Lazy Bird Takeaway very much.

In third-tier cities, there are relatively few young people, and the overall income level is relatively low, so Lazy Bird Takeaway is not easy to succeed.

At the same time, the more Lazy Bird Takeaway stores there are in a city, the more they will squeeze each other's resources.

Because there are only so many customers who order Lazy Bird Takeaway, and two stores competing for business will definitely not make much money.

Rui Yuchen said, "According to the content of this report, I think we should focus on super first-tier cities and first-tier cities as our main goals, and at the same time, try to spread the stores out as much as possible and open them in many places!"

Pei Qian fell into deep thought.

Focus on super first-tier cities?

Open them in many places?

That's obviously not going to work, it will definitely make money.

Pei Qian thought for a while and said, "Open all the new branches in second and third-tier cities in Handong Province, especially Jingzhou. Fill them up for me!"

Rui Yuchen: "Huh?"

She was a little dizzy.

So, I opened branches across the country, collected data, sorted it into information, and reported so seriously just now, and President Pei didn't listen?

Or does President Pei have some special plan?

That's impossible. No matter how President Pei plans, he can't go against market research, right?

Pei Qian added, "By the way, there's also *Shi He*. Since the reputation is good, then seize the time to promote it. Put it on all Lazy Bird Takeaway stores!"

"Just use the current price, and absolutely don't give discounts or price reductions, understand?"

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

President Pei had already said everything, so what else could she say...

She had to nod: "Okay, President Pei, I'll do it right away."

Watching Rui Yuchen leave, Pei Qian happily put on his little blanket and started watching dramas.

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

Pei Qian was very happy. This seemed to be a good sign.

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

"President Pei, we have spent all the budget, and the team members are all disheartened and want to go back. Can we return?"

Pei Qian couldn't help but be stunned.

Spent all the budget?

The team members are disheartened?

This good news just keeps coming!

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

The training schedule of the DGE club members was so unreasonable, they exercised every day and didn't have much time to play high-end games. It was normal to be beaten by professional players from other clubs!

Obviously, the team members were abused too badly and their morale completely collapsed, so they wanted to go home.

Of course, he welcomed them!

And he had to welcome them warmly!

Pei Qian calculated and it was almost the 20th, so he could directly arrange to rent out Ming Yun Private Kitchen and let these team members and some Trust Fitness store managers have a big meal together to celebrate.

He had to convey a wrong message to everyone:

Even if we are bloodily abused in training matches, even if the gym is losing money, President Pei still won't care and will still treat us to a big meal!

As long as everyone can get this point, then the DGE club and Trust Fitness will always be as stable as Mount Tai!

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. He immediately replied, "Okay, come back! I'm renting out a venue for you at Unknown Restaurant to welcome you back and wash away the dust!"

……

……

July 20th, Wednesday.

DGE Esports Club.

The team members dragged their suitcases back to their respective rooms.

"Ah, finally home!"

"The scenery here is still the best."

"I haven't trained properly these past few days, and I feel like I've gained weight. Let's go to the gym together after dinner?"

"Hehe, don't be sarcastic. I have to add extra training until next month..."

Huang Wang lay down on his bed and only had one feeling: comfortable!

After wandering outside for two whole weeks, if he had to use one keyword to sum it up, it would be disappointment!

When they first went out, everyone was very excited.

They didn't have to exercise like dogs every day outside;

They could visit those old clubs and see the idols of their internet-addicted youth;

They could compete with the masters of other clubs and have a hearty training match;

They could go to big cities to see the world and experience the prosperity of big cities...

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

However, after returning to Jingzhou, everything changed.

The habit of exercising was broken, and they felt uncomfortable all over;

The old clubs were all shabby, like a big internet cafe. Their image completely collapsed;

The players from other clubs were so bad that they couldn't bear to look at them. They had to bring Coach Ma to be evenly matched. Coach Ma caused more trouble than the five players on the other side. The training matches were unbearable;

The magic capital was just like that. There was no Lazy Bird Internet Cafe, no Lazy Bird Takeaway. They were very uncomfortable.

In fact, everyone wanted to come back a long time ago because it was really meaningless to have training matches with these clubs. They were too bad!

But Zhang Yuan said that they had to spend the budget.

So everyone had to follow the original plan and crush all the clubs one by one. The result was disappointing. There wasn't even one that could fight!

The H4 club they played on the first day was thought to be a beginning, but they didn't expect it to be the peak.

The clubs in the back were not as good as it!

If it weren't for Coach Ma, they really didn't know how to end it.

DGE club stayed at each club for three days and abused them for three days. After three days, they felt that the members of this club were about to collapse, so they quickly changed to another one.

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

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

Zhang Yuan had just finished packing up and came out.

Huang Wang asked, "Brother Zhang! Is President Pei treating us to dinner tonight? This seems to be the first time since our club was founded, right? From President Pei's meaning, is he planning to celebrate our victory?"

Zhang Yuan thought for a while: "Most likely. By the way, everyone should pay attention to one thing. Don't add too much drama to yourself. President Pei doesn't like people who show off their achievements the most."

"President Pei should be very clear about everyone's strength. It's only natural that we win consecutive victories. Don't mention it repeatedly, it will definitely cause President Pei's displeasure."

"Ah?" Huang Wang was stunned. "President Pei doesn't like people who show off their achievements? Then what should we do specifically?"

Zhang Yuan thought for a while: "Tonight, everyone should just eat quietly and keep a low profile. If President Pei comes to toast, be sure to respond enthusiastically, but don't be carried away and boast about yourself. Be humble and keep a low profile."

"This is a little bit of true knowledge I've gained from working with President Pei for so long."