Pei Qian was rather pained by what he had seen. It was alright if Fish-Catching Internet Cafe made a bit of profit. The crux was this ‘bit’ of profits could possibly put all of Pei Qian’s efforts this cycle to waste!
This cycle was only two months long; a month had already passed.
Pei Qian had long roughly calculated the profits and losses for this cycle. Taking into account any sudden shopping sprees or spending, he would probably be able to make a few hundreds of thousands of losses at settlement.
Among this, all the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes were to make more than a million in losses; this was a very important part of his plan!
If the Fish-Catching Internet Cafes started to make money or recouped the initial investments, Pei Qian might have more than a million in additional income that he wouldn’t be able to spend by the next settlement!
Although a million-odd yuan didn’t seem like much, it could very likely change the originally calculated losses into profits; this was the crux. Wouldn’t that be putting all his efforts to waste and all his other projects had been for nothing?
Pei Qian’s original intention was to create a giant hodgepodge, to have a shop called ‘Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’ that had a pub area, a book area, a small theater, a dining place, etc. All of these would revolve around an internet cafe.
At the end of the day, he wanted Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to become an unprofitable internet cafe. However, he could never have expected that the peripheral pub area had surpassed the internet cafe area; it had become popular because of a resident singer!
Just like this, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe had become Fish-Catching Pub; how could he let that happen?
This was going completely against Pei Qian’s original intentions!
What should he do?
Take away all the tables and chairs outside the internet cafe? Not allow any more commissions for the singer from the drinks sales? Or perhaps to completely remove the resident singer?
They were not very feasible; these acts were not appropriate, and there was no justification for them.
Pei Qian had asked Ma Yang to take away the panel and reduce the number of tables and chairs outside; those were still explainable. After all, he wanted Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to retain its style and character.
However, if he took any further steps, that would no longer be reasonable. If he completely removed the tables and chairs, where would the customers outside sit?
Allowing commissions from drinks sales; that gave the internet cafe revenue while provided motivation for the resident singer to sing to his best. What reason could he use to get rid of this system?
All these actions would be rather hard to justify and would raise suspicions. He might also receive a warning from the system.
Furthermore, these were not the crux of the issue.
If Pei Qian wanted to change all of these, he had to take extreme drastic measures! So what if he removed the tables and chairs and took away the commissions system? These people were here to hear Chen Lei sing!
If they didn’t have a place to sit, they would stand and listen; this problem would still not be resolved.
Hence, to solve this problem, Pei Qian had to get rid of Chen Lei!
“I wonder whether this lad has any dreams that I could help him fulfill.”
…
It was already 10 PM; the performance had just ended. Chen Lei bowed and left the stage as many in the audience were still clapping and cheering.
Ma Yang, Zhang Yuan, and the servers started to send the customers out.
Pei Qian immediately pulled Chen Lei to a quiet spot in the internet cafe and sat him down. Chen Lei had not seen Pei Qian before. After hearing Pei Qian introduce himself, he immediately knew that Pei Qian was the ‘Boss Pei’ that Ma Yang always talked about. He felt a little intimidated and constrained.
Pei Qian casually asked Chen Lei a few questions and knew that he had not continued schooling after graduating from high school. He was rather introverted, even to the point of being a little autistic.
Chen Lei had been obsessed with music in his home and had incidentally walked by Fish-Catching Internet Cafe one day, heard someone singing, and then plucked up the courage to audition to be the resident singer.
When his family members knew he had found a job, they had been very happy and even told him to do a good job and be amicable with his colleagues.
“You have been in Jingzhou your entire life; have you not thought of seeing the world? If you really want to pursue your dream for music, you should go to Shanghai or Beijing; those places would be perfect.”
Pei Qian’s words were rather bewitching.
Chen Lei was stunned for a moment as he immediately said, “Of course, I want to! In my dreams, I even go to Shanghai and Beijing to take a look! I have told people this before that I would become a singer one day. However, no one believed in me. I know that Jingzhou is too small a place, and I can’t fulfill my ambition.
“However, Shanghai and Beijing are very far from home; my parents wouldn’t agree. Furthermore, I heard that Beijing and Shanghai’s cost of living is rather high; I probably won’t be able to afford it.”
Pei Qian was internally elated.
Since you have a dream, then we can now talk things through!
Boss Pei was the best at helping others fulfill their dreams!
Pei Qian smiled slightly as he nodded, “You underestimate yourself too much. You don’t even know how good you are at singing! At your level, once you start singing, it would be like a lethal weapon. Do you know how many girls would love to hear you sing!
“Hence, you shouldn’t belittle yourself. In a bigger city, you would have better prospects. When you make it big and then return here to Jingzhou, you can prove to your classmates and friends that looked down on you; you will make them envious!”
Pei Qian’s words had their intended effect. He could see Chen Lei’s eyes shining with light.
An introverted person whose looks weren’t that outstanding, a ‘freak’ who had stopped school after high school; Chen Lei was someone who had had to endure pressure coming nonstop from all aspects of his life.
Whether it was his parents, classmates, or his classmate’s parents; they were probably always using Chen Lei as a bad example of what not to become.
So what if he was good at singing? In a second-tier city like Jingzhou, there was no suitable platform for him to showcase his talents.
Chen Lei was definitely someone who craved recognition.
Hence, hearing what Pei Qian had described, Chen Lei was evidently influenced and touched. He had long wanted to go to a big city and take a look, broaden his horizons, and try his luck in the vast world out there. He hoped that his talent could be recognized by more people in the future.
It seemed as if Boss Pei wanted to provide some material assistance?
Chen Lei’s only consideration now was money. As he earned so much commission here in the internet cafe and he had many fans, this was Chen Lei’s comfort zone. He didn’t want to get out of it.
When he reached Beijing or Shanghai—besides the fact that he had to restart in a foreign environment, Chen Lei would also not be able to afford accommodations and the cost of living in these places.
After all, he wouldn’t have an income anymore.
Hence, Pei Qian definitely must help Chen Lei to get rid of this last stumbling block so that he could go in peace.
Pei Qian considered for a while and said, “If you wish to head to a big city like Shanghai to pursue your music career and dreams, I can help you with that.
“Tengda’s Fei Huang Workspace is now based in Shanghai. I can transfer you to Fei Huang Workspace there, and you’d actually don’t have to do anything. They would help you arrange your food and accommodations, and you won’t actually have to work. You can relax and pursue your music dreams; what do you think of this plan?”
On one hand was his current enjoyable life; on the other was a new and distant place.
Chen Lei actually didn’t hesitate much. “Boss Pei, I… I am willing to go!”
…
The next day…
At night…
The crowd was considerable. However, everyone noticed that Chen Lei seemed to be a little troubled.
“Outside the pavilion / on the ancient road / the fresh grass so green stretches into the sky…
“To ask my friend when he will be back after we part ways this time…”
Chen Lei was as per normal, stringing each stanza together; he was engrossed in the song and didn’t utter any other words.
However, his fans in the audience could hear something was amiss in his singing.
“This is weird; why are all the songs tonight about farewells?”
“Indeed, I’m feeling a little down…”
“I’ll gift another two glasses of Northern Lights whiskey.”
“Speaking of which, why is the display panel gone?”
“I don’t know. However, it doesn’t affect me. I’m here mainly to support Chen Lei, not to posture.”
Everyone drank and continued to chatter idly like usual. However, for some reason, they felt the atmosphere today was not right.
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