Chapter 18 Choosing an Address

Zhang Yuan was most satisfied with the first three shops introduced, all of which he believed had a good chance of making money.

From the fourth to the sixth, these were more of a mixed bag. They would most likely lose money, but probably not too much.

However, the last four were in particularly bad locations, even worse than the current flagship Internet cafe, and were simply there to make up the numbers.

After all, Pei Qian had explicitly requested that they find ten alternative locations.

Zhang Yuan hesitated slightly and said, "President Pei, these four locations aren't terrible, but... they might not be as suitable as the first three..."

Zhang Yuan couldn't directly say that these four locations were no good.

After all, these were the alternative locations that he and Ma Yang had chosen, so saying they were no good would be like slapping himself in the face.

If President Pei asked, 'If these four locations are no good, why did you choose them as alternatives?'

How would he answer that?

So, Zhang Yuan could only subtly hint to President Pei that the first three locations were better.

Pei Qian stood up and walked towards the projection screen with great interest, carefully examining the locations of these shops.

"I think these four locations are quite good."

"I think the Internet cafe should give people a sense of being 'hidden deep in the mountains, where the clouds obscure the path.' It should give everyone the unexpected joy of searching and suddenly finding it!"

"Open in a bustling area?"

"No, no, no, it's too noisy and doesn't match the atmosphere of our Internet cafe at all."

"The theme of our Internet cafe is quiet and leisurely. This has been the established theme from the very beginning."

"Only fifty computers, no smoking, many books, and even the singers who perform on stage at night usually sing folk songs instead of rock... these are all specific manifestations of the Internet cafe's theme!"

"Like other Internet cafes, opening in densely populated areas and making the Internet cafe smoky and chaotic, like being in a vegetable market? That won't do, it's too unrefined and would greatly damage Tengda's corporate image."

Zhang Yuan was a little confused.

Damaging Tengda's corporate image?

President Pei was putting such a big hat on him, one he couldn't afford to wear!

Pei Qian pointed to the last four locations: "These four locations are very good. Quiet, leisurely, especially suitable for emptying your mind and allowing our customers to contemplate life."

Zhang Yuan was even more confused.

Why would you want customers to contemplate life?

Shouldn't they be thinking about how to spend money?

Pei Qian continued, "Moreover, more importantly, the shop area of these four locations is very large, very spacious, and can give customers more space. This experience is very important."

Zhang Yuan was speechless.

The shop area of these four locations is large?

That's for sure. They're not in the core business district, the land price is cheap, of course, the place is much more spacious...

Zhang Yuan wanted to explain a few more words, but Pei Qian had already returned to his seat: "You've done a good job this time, we'll go with these four locations."

The words that Zhang Yuan had wanted to say could only be swallowed back.

"Let the store managers choose for themselves later. Whichever one they like, they can go to."

"First, sign the ones that require more troublesome renovations. The ones that don't need major renovations can be postponed. If you need money, go to Assistant Xin."

The location of these four stores was even more remote than the first flagship store, and the rent was naturally lower.

However, Pei Qian didn't have that much money on hand right now, so he could only open two first, and then open the other two after the subsequent income from several games arrived.

But there was no need to rush this matter, anyway, there were still two months left, as long as they could open a week before the settlement.

Zhang Yuan glanced at Ma Yang and gave him a look, meaning, do you want to try to persuade President Pei again?

Ma Yang nodded, looking like he understood, and came to Pei Qian: "Okay, Brother Qian, we'll take care of it right away, no problem!"

Zhang Yuan: "..."

Is that what I meant when I gave you a look!

But Ma Yang had already spoken, so Zhang Yuan had no choice but to follow Ma Yang out of the office in dismay.

Zhang Yuan held his laptop, feeling a sense of melancholy.

He had been quite serious in preparing this plan, conducting on-the-spot investigations and comprehensive analyses.

It could be said that the first three locations had been repeatedly demonstrated by him to be absolutely profitable!

The last four were purely to make up the numbers, and he didn't waste much energy on them.

As a result, President Pei didn't even look at them and directly designated the last four locations.

This was really... hair-raising.

If another boss did this, Zhang Yuan might have already scolded this坑爹 (kēng diē, disappointing) boss for being unreliable.

Of course, he would only complain secretly, and he wouldn't resign, after all, he couldn't earn this salary anywhere else.

But if President Pei did this, Zhang Yuan wouldn't complain. He could only say that his comprehension was not enough and he couldn't guess President Pei's deeper meaning.

President Pei wouldn't understand such a simple thing as choosing a location?

He definitely understood, and the reason why he didn't choose that way was definitely because President Pei had other considerations.

Zhang Yuan was a little melancholy for a while, but he quickly adjusted his mentality and went with Ma Yang to negotiate the rent and prepare for the opening of the branch stores.

...

...

Pei Qian was very satisfied with this location selection.

He estimated that he could continue to work hard and lose even more money than the flagship store.

This was also reasonable. The flagship store must have the best business, otherwise, it wouldn't be called the flagship store.

After leisurely drinking tea for a while, Assistant Xin knocked on the door and entered.

"President Pei, I've collected some preliminary information about Shang Yang Games. Would you like to take a look?"

Pei Qian immediately perked up: "Yes!"

This was the thing that Pei Qian had been most concerned about recently.

As long as he bought Shang Yang Games, he would have the second stable loss-making point after Upwind Internet Cafe. This was a one-and-for-all thing!

Assistant Xin handed Pei Qian a stack of documents in her hand.

As Pei Qian read, Assistant Xin explained.

"Shang Yang Games is a private enterprise with a total of 52 employees."

"Currently, Shang Yang Games mainly has two games. The first is called *Fengliu Daoshi* (The Amorous Daoist), which is a simulation management game; the second game is called *Rexue Zhange* (Hot-Blooded Anthem), which is a national war web game."

Hearing the name of this game, Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh.

Sure enough, making flop games is a matter of talent.

Look at this name, *Fengliu Daoshi*!

It sounds unreliable. If this game can be popular and make it to the best-selling list, then it would truly be a great joke!

But then again, knowing that this game is just clickbait, I still kind of want to play it...

"*Fengliu Daoshi* is currently in a state of near-closure, and its income has been less than 50,000 for a long time. *Rexue Zhange* is the economic pillar of Shang Yang Games, but it has recently had an operating accident, and its income seems to have plummeted."

Pei Qian knew about this. Ma Yiqun had told him.

*Rexue Zhange* should be the game where Old Liu sold a knife for 888, and the players cursed him.

Good.

These are all good choices to take over.

Assistant Xin continued: "Roughly estimated, Shang Yang Games' rent is about 150,000 per month, and employee salaries are about 200,000 per month. It is currently difficult to maintain, and it is said that this month's salary seems to be unable to be paid."

There were many more employees than Tengda, but the work stations there were crowded and the average salary was low, so the monthly rent and salary were much lower than Tengda's.

Pei Qian didn't care about this, anyway, he could slowly improve it in the future.

As long as it doesn't have any potential for profitability, that's fine!