Chapter 118 Gourmet Food Delivery

Everyone was very confused, especially Lin Canrong, whose eyes betrayed his bewilderment.

While others might not know the state of the cafe's catering, he knew it all too well.

There was basically nothing to do!

From the time he arrived at work until the time he left, he made no more than ten dishes.

Thinking about it, it was quite normal. In a place as stylish and upscale as Upwind Internet Cafe, who would eat home-style dishes here?

The pretty girl at the next table ordered a beautiful cocktail, slowly sipped it while looking at the scenery outside the window, and snapped a selfie to show off on her social media.

But the guy at the other table was smacking his lips over a plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes?

That just wouldn't do!

If someone really ordered food, the aroma would fill the entire cafe area, and they'd probably be killed a hundred times over by the stares of the people around them.

So, in the beginning, no one ordered food at all, and Chef Lin's daily job was just standing guard in the kitchen, bored to death.

Later, the situation did improve somewhat.

In order to ensure the basic living standards of his employees, Pei Qian had Upwind Internet Cafe provide lunch for all employees, so Chef Lin had to be busy for a while every noon.

But it was still very laid-back, because Upwind Internet Cafe had hired two more chefs…

Compared to ordinary restaurants, the intensity of this job was like being on vacation.

Therefore, so far, the catering at Upwind Internet Cafe was basically in a state of being dispensable.

Not only was it not profitable, but there wasn't even much turnover.

It was even trending towards becoming a Tengda employee cafeteria.

And now, they wanted to go even further? He was afraid they'd lose their pants.

Chef Lin couldn't understand how they could possibly take it any further.

The three of them looked at Pei Qian expectantly, waiting for his brilliant ideas.

Pei Qian cleared his throat twice and said seriously, "As the saying goes, food and sex are human nature. Catering is an industry closely related to people's lives and will never be outdated. So far, the food launched by Upwind Internet Cafe has won the love of many people because it is nutritious, delicious, and full of life."

"Therefore, we must further leverage this advantage so that people who can't come to Upwind Internet Cafe can enjoy this convenience without leaving their homes!"

The enthusiasm in Ma Yang's eyes gradually faded away. He looked at Pei Qian with some confusion: "Brother Qian, after talking for so long, you want Upwind Internet Cafe to do food delivery on the side?"

"Then why did you make it so complicated? Just say that Upwind Internet Cafe will provide delivery services in the future…"

Huh? This kid was quick on the uptake. He was indeed talking about food delivery…

However, this wasn't just ordinary food delivery!

Pei Qian's expression was serious: "Lao Ma, that's not a very good attitude."

"Singing is singing, but when you sing, you're singing about death, while when Chen Lei sings, it's like the sound of nature. Are they the same?"

"Anything, as long as it's done to the extreme, will open up a great industry!"

"Think about it, in the future, our food delivery empire will go out of Jingzhou and into major cities across the country, profoundly changing people's lifestyles. Is this just as simple as delivering food?"

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We must now take the crucial first step!"

Listening to Pei Qian's words, the expressions of Ma Yang, Zhang Yuan, and Lin Canrong changed from indifference to sudden realization to sincere admiration.

Lin Canrong couldn't help but sigh.

As expected, this was the difference in vision!

This President Pei could think of a future business empire from a simple food delivery service and even think of the huge changes in people's lifestyles after the popularization of food delivery…

This was true foresight!

No wonder he could become president at such a young age. It could only be said that this was talent!

Ma Yang also changed his previous somewhat indifferent attitude, and his interest was once again piqued by Pei Qian.

"Brother Qian, then tell us quickly what we should do?"

"How about developing a food delivery website? Cooperate with merchants in Jingzhou City to build an online food delivery platform?"

Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan rattled off many ideas, and Lin Canrong also offered some supplementary suggestions.

Pei Qian smiled without saying a word.

It was not surprising that Ma Yang and the others would make such suggestions.

2010 was the stage when the PC internet was coming to an end and the mobile internet was developing rapidly.

In Pei Qian's memory, the number of people accessing the internet via mobile phones officially surpassed the proportion of desktop computers at 74.5% to 70.6%, and that was two years later.

In this world, because the mobile phone industry was developing faster than in his memory, the era of the mobile internet had actually arrived.

However, so far, the online food ordering service had not been squeezed out by a group of giants, because the giants were all focused on another trend at this time, which was group buying.

Starting in the spring of 2010, domestic entrepreneurs saw the popularity of the Groupon group buying model and launched a "war of a hundred groups" and a "war of a thousand groups." The group buying industry was growing by almost ten companies a day.

Under such hot circumstances, food delivery was somewhat overlooked, and it only rose with the tide a year or two later, becoming a sweet pastry in the eyes of capital.

But in any case, many restaurants were already providing food delivery services at this time, but they were all ordering by phone, which was very primitive. Not only could the time not be guaranteed, but there was also a high possibility of sending the wrong order, with many problems.

Therefore, building a platform to integrate all the resources of all merchants, making it convenient for customers to order food online, and then the platform taking a cut, was an idea that normal people would have.

However, Pei Qian obviously didn't intend to do that.

"You're all too impatient."

"You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to walk one step at a time. Now, people haven't formed similar habits at all, and our Upwind Internet Cafe doesn't have an independent catering brand, nor any reputation. Even if this website is created, how will we promote it? How can we guarantee that it will achieve the results we want?"

"What's more, the biggest problem with similar industries is not only promotion and market share, but also regulation. Food is a major issue. Some roadside fly restaurants join us, but they don't pay attention to hygiene, and customers get sick from eating. We, as a platform, are also responsible!"

"You're making a platform, and you're thinking about it very simply. Have you thought about how to solve these problems?"

Pei Qian's few questions left Ma Yang and the others speechless.

Yes, it seemed that this idea was a bit distant and a bit unrealistic.

But… if they didn't do it this way, what else could they do?

Everyone looked at Pei Qian.

Pei Qian smiled slightly: "It's very simple, we'll take it one step at a time."

"First, create a good catering brand and make a simple online ordering app, but you can only order our own food."

"Our chefs are all top-notch, and the ingredients are fresh and clean, so there will never be any problems."

"Directly seize the high-end market, build a reputation, and then radiate from Jingzhou City to the whole country!"

The three looked at each other, and it seemed that this was indeed a more feasible plan!

Just…

The plan was very beautiful, but it always felt like something was wrong.

"Then, what's our catering brand called?" Ma Yang asked.

Pei Qian smiled slightly: "Upwind Delivery!"

Lin Canrong's expression was somewhat confused: "But, President Pei, there are many merchants doing food delivery now. Some of the slightly more popular stores provide delivery services. Although our dishes taste good, they are just home-style dishes after all, and there is no obvious advantage compared to other restaurants, let alone in terms of promotion and pricing…"

As expected of a chef, he immediately saw the problem.

Pei Qian smiled slightly: "That's why I said, we must take the high-end route."

"Other merchants use plastic boxes and plastic bags to deliver food, which is very unhygienic and unsightly. This is also one of the reasons why many people prefer to eat in stores rather than order food delivery."

"Actually, the food is still the same food, only the packaging is different."

"This shows that people are visual animals, and appearance is even more important than taste."

"All our food will be packed in custom-made white porcelain tableware and delivered to the door by dedicated delivery staff, who will pick it up on a regular basis. We will directly launch a dimensionality reduction attack on all other nearby restaurants with our tableware!"

Pei Qian was full of confidence and almost believed himself.

Ma Yang was obviously moved by Pei Qian and the fire of struggle was burning in his eyes again.

However, Lin Canrong looked at Zhang Yuan, and they both saw full of confusion in each other's eyes.

They didn't understand…

Could this work?

Was President Pei's thinking too advanced, or was their thinking too backward?