Chapter 207: When Falsehood Seems True, Truth Becomes False
The possibility that the three waiters had colluded to sell him fake intel—without a single one tipping him off—was very small.
After all, these waiters weren't related to President Pei in any way. They were just bottom-rung workers. How could they be so loyal?
Most importantly, judging from President Pei's behavior, the chances that this intel was true were very high.
What has President Pei been doing recently?
He really hadn't been staying at the flagship store much. Instead, every few days he was running over to Mingyun Villa!
On top of that, both Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were stationed at Mingyun Villa permanently.
All of this clearly showed that President Pei's focus had indeed shifted there.
President Pei had so many businesses on his plate; he had to be incredibly busy. If he didn't have concrete plans and ambitions for this area, how could he possibly waste so much time here?
Just to release fake intel and toy with him?
Impossible. President Pei wasn't that kind of boring man.
So, after weighing everything, Li Shi concluded that this intel was very likely true.
President Pei really was shifting Moyu Internet Café's next development focus to the Mingyun Villa branch. He must have prepared his backup plans already and had the confidence to hype up the area's market environment!
At this thought, Li Shi felt a surge of excitement.
After all, Jingzhou was just a second-tier city. Good investment opportunities were scarce.
Last time, Li Shi had burned money running a promotion, hoping to cut off Moyu Internet Café's customer flow so his investment could pay off faster. In the end, he lost money.
Fortunately, he hadn't lost much, because before long, the flagship store had suddenly exploded in popularity, and Li Shi stopped burning money.
What's more, once the flagship store took off, the entire street's foot traffic surged. All the other businesses in the area—cafés, bars, internet cafés—benefited to some extent. Even the rents of nearby prime storefronts rose.
From that perspective, President Pei's claim that Mingyun Villa's commercial environment would flourish wasn't necessarily empty boasting.
If that was the case, what if he laid out investments in the Mingyun Villa area now?
For instance, he could invest in a few restaurants, cafés, bars, internet cafés, board game and chess rooms…
Even if he only opened one or two places, when the commercial environment boomed, those shops would turn a profit.
Even if he didn't want to run them himself, he could just flip them later—someone would surely take over. With a simple resale, he might pocket a huge profit!
The more Li Shi thought about it, the more delighted he became.
This is the value of intel!
Though President Pei was young, his vision was unmatched, and his ability to stir up hype was unparalleled. Following in his footsteps would never go wrong!
As for how much to invest…
Li Shi thought it over. The more he put in, the more he'd earn; the less he put in, the less he'd earn.
But as an investor, he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.
So—he would invest in a high-end internet café, a café, a board game/chess room, and so on—one of each.
In terms of location, the internet café and the board game room should be closer to the university, since students were the main consumer group. That way, he could even siphon off some of Moyu Internet Café's customers.
Of course, Li Shi definitely wouldn't run these businesses himself. Instead, he would use his connections to persuade the owners of chain internet cafés he had invested in to open branches here, using the latest trendy internet café models.
All Li Shi needed to do was provide the money.
Since it was clear he could never invest in Moyu Internet Café, he could only settle for second best and invest in other people.
By then, just by riding President Pei's coattails, he'd get a spoonful of soup to drink—and when he flipped those investments, he'd definitely make a nice profit!
…
…
Pei Qian, on the other hand, had no idea who exactly was buying intel about the Mingyun Villa branch. But that didn't matter—whoever wanted to buy, could buy.
The intel Pei Qian deliberately leaked was fake, but it looked more real than the truth itself...
His real intention was simple:
To deliberately create the illusion that "the area around the Mingyun Villa branch is about to flourish"—in order to lure more people into investing there.
Whether they opened internet cafés, restaurants, or coffee shops, wouldn't they all just siphon off Moyu Internet Café's customer base?
The Mingyun Villa branch had been running at a loss all this time precisely because the area had too little foot traffic. The villa district had a low occupancy rate, and Jiaoda East Campus didn't have many students, plus it wasn't even that close by.
It was already in such a miserable state—if a few more businesses opened up to split the customer flow, the Mingyun Villa branch would definitely bleed money even worse!
As for who would end up being the unlucky sucker…
Well, that was just "willing fish taking the bait." Who told them to pry into Moyu Internet Café's intel with bad intentions?
And worse, they didn't even buy the intel directly from President Pei, so he didn't make a cent off it. Naturally, he'd have to jot this down in his little notebook so he could bleed them dry someday!
This matter wouldn't see any feedback in the short term anyway. After all, opening a new shop in the area would take at least a month of preparation.
So Pei Qian didn't pay it any more attention and continued focusing on other matters.
The Against the Wind Logistics Stations project was almost ready. The locations for the various stations had been quickly finalized, mainly in residential areas.
Though they couldn't yet cover all of Jingzhou, a large portion of the city was already included.
Right now, they were busy recruiting staff, purchasing shelves, and doing renovations. If things went smoothly, in just over a week, Pei Qian could personally inspect the first Against the Wind Logistics Station.
Aside from that, there was another issue: the high-end restaurant Pei Qian had been mulling over.
The Swan Lake restaurant could no longer meet the company's growing group dining needs. For the sake of "burning money in bulk," a custom-tailored restaurant was a must.
Recently, Pei Qian had been considering possible locations and details for this restaurant.
The site selection alone was giving him a headache.
At first, he thought of putting it in a relatively remote commercial area, but even that didn't feel safe enough.
Because now, review websites already existed, and the internet was well-developed. A sky-high-priced restaurant like this couldn't stay hidden for long.
Nor could Pei Qian set it up as an employee-exclusive cafeteria— the System wouldn't allow it.
This high-end restaurant had to be open to all consumers in Jingzhou.
Of course, ordinary customers definitely couldn't afford it, but if a real tycoon wanted to dine there, Pei Qian couldn't just rudely turn them away.
If it were located inside Jingzhou—say, in Guangming District or Lincheng District—then once discovered, it would serve the entire district's wealthy class.
After all, it would be the only top-end restaurant in all of Jingzhou. People wouldn't mind traveling far for a special occasion.
That way, the place might not necessarily turn a profit, but it certainly wouldn't hemorrhage money as much.
Therefore, Pei Qian thought that it would be better to pick a spot as far from the city center as possible. The more remote, the better.
After all, the fewer customers, the better!
When he compared all the options, he realized the most suitable location was one he had already looked at before.
The exact same location as the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café…
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