Chapter 209: Who Is This, Hurting Others and Themselves!
Moyu Internet Café, Mingyun Villa branch.
Pei Qian was inspecting potential locations for the new high-end restaurant together with Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan.
They had actually already toured all the nearby shops and gained a rough understanding of the local business environment.
In short: the place was deserted. President Pei was very pleased.
Originally, the area around Mingyun Villa had been planned with a number of storefronts. But because the development never took off and villa occupancy remained low, most of the businesses simply couldn't survive with so little foot traffic, and they shut down one after another.
Now, many of the vacant shops could be rented at dirt-cheap prices, roughly seventy percent of the average market rate.
A few days ago, Pei Qian had already narrowed it down to two or three promising spots, all of them deeper inside the area, even farther from the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café.
These potential locations shared several traits. First, they were all very spacious—large enough to host big company dinners, perfectly suiting his vision. Second, they were nestled among other closed shops, surrounded by desolation, unlikely to draw anyone's attention. Third, transportation wasn't particularly convenient.
True, there was ample parking nearby, but after parking, one still had to walk quite a distance to reach the restaurant.
So today, Pei Qian intended to do a final round of scouting and then settle on the location once and for all. After that, it would just be a matter of signing the contract and starting renovations.
If everything went smoothly, maybe by next month he could bring the employees over for their first lavish meal.
As always, Zhang Yuan silently followed behind Pei Qian and Ma Yang, marveling at how President Pei's decisions were becoming more and more unpredictable.
The choice of location for this restaurant… really was out of this world.
When he first heard President Pei was planning to open a high-end restaurant, Zhang Yuan had been excited, thinking he'd finally been on the same wavelength as President Pei for once.
With Moyu Delivery handling the affordable, everyday market, and a luxury brand supplementing at the top end, the two could complement each other perfectly. How ideal!
In Zhang Yuan's mind, this high-end restaurant should be opened right in the city center—guaranteed to be packed with customers, a roaring success.
But President Pei's next move left him utterly baffled.
He was picking a location right next to the most miserable Mingyun Villa branch?
Mingyun Villa was already in the southeastern outskirts of Jingzhou, a remote area to begin with.
If the restaurant were in the city center, it could serve customers from the entire city. Even those in far-off districts could drive downtown in under an hour—assuming no traffic jams.
But now, with it opening in the southeastern outskirts, customers from the northern and western districts would have to drive across the entire city—maybe over an hour, even close to two.
Then after dinner, if they hit rush hour on the way back, that could mean another two hours stuck in traffic.
It would be absolutely suffocating.
And with the commercial environment here being so poor—no supporting facilities whatsoever—would people really travel all that way just for one meal?
No matter how you looked at it, the idea seemed absurd.
Of course, President Pei had already explained his reasoning: he firmly believed this area around the Mingyun Villa branch would inevitably become Jingzhou's new commercial hub, so he was merely laying the groundwork early.
In that sense, at least, President Pei was being consistent.
But no matter how Zhang Yuan looked at it, he just couldn't see this place becoming a bustling commercial center. All he could see was bleak emptiness…
The three of them wandered as they surveyed.
Suddenly, Zhang Yuan's eyes lit up.
He spotted a shop under active renovation!
It was a two-story storefront that looked rather impressive.
He clearly remembered that the last time they came by, it had been shuttered tight, desolate like all the others.
Yet just a few days later, someone had already taken it over?
Zhang Yuan hurried to the entrance and casually grabbed a worker to ask what was going on.
With just a couple of questions, he found out—the place was going to be a coffee shop!
And judging from the scale and appearance, it was clearly targeting the high-income residents of Mingyun Villa.
It was easy to imagine that the new coffee shop would definitely siphon off some of Moyu Internet Café's business—after all, it was even closer to the Mingyun Villa residential area, just a ten-minute walk away.
But at the same time… it would also make this whole area look a little less deserted!
Pei Qian's expression didn't change as he kept walking forward.
They soon arrived at the first location he had been considering.
This particular shop was nestled among a cluster of shuttered storefronts. The atmosphere of desolation was perfect—his restaurant would be hidden away in plain sight.
But then, to his shock, he saw that the large unit closest to the street was under renovation!
Once again, Zhang Yuan went up to ask around, and learned that this one was going to be a bar. And judging by the size of the space and the lavishness of the renovations, it was definitely no small bar.
Zhang Yuan couldn't help but cast a look of deep admiration at President Pei.
What a vision! Truly unparalleled!
Just a few days ago, President Pei had said this place was destined for explosive commercial growth, that it would become the next hot commercial district in Jingzhou. And now, sure enough, people were already coming in to invest!
Yes, right now the area still looked deserted, but once the supporting facilities caught up, of course it would gradually thrive.
And with a high-end restaurant here? Guests could dine first, then head to the bar for a drink afterward. The combined appeal would be irresistible!
President Pei's foresight was sharp as ever—everything unfolding just as he had foreseen.
But meanwhile, the corner of Pei Qian's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Who the hell is this???
I painstakingly picked out this quiet, barren location to hide away and lose money, and now you run over here and stir things up?
This area was dead as a graveyard—yet you're opening coffee shops and bars? Aren't you afraid of losing everything?
When I lose money, at least the system reimburses me. You? If you lose money, that's real. Pure loss!
Hurting yourself and sabotaging me at the same time—what's wrong with you?!
Pei Qian was speechless. All he wanted was a peaceful corner of the world to quietly lose money… and even here, someone insists on making a fuss.
Now, with a bar and a coffee shop nearby, there was a very real chance they'd actually draw some of the Mingyun Villa crowd over.
If his luxury restaurant ended up being placed here, it would be far too exposed!
What if those bar patrons, after drinking, strolled around the area and stumbled across his restaurant?
That'd be an instant increase in foot traffic—completely uncalled for!
Who was this bored fool throwing money into the fire over here…
Then Pei Qian suddenly recalled something, and a flash of realization hit him.
Ohhh. It must be that guy who was snooping around Moyu Internet Café before!
He must have taken the fake intel seriously!
He probably genuinely believed this area around Mingyun Villa was about to boom, and rushed in to open shops here, dreaming of future profits.
Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh. Brother, you move fast…
I barely released that fake news and you're already biting the bait? You must really trust me…
Pei Qian's bewilderment quickly turned into a smile.
In that case—this is perfect!
You burning your own money to open shops here, diluting Moyu Internet Café's customer flow? That's basically sacrificing yourself to light my way!
Sure, it messed with his restaurant site selection and made things riskier, but who cared? He hadn't locked down a final spot yet—he could just choose another one.
Without hesitation, Pei Qian abandoned this candidate location and kept walking.
Ma Yang immediately followed, while Zhang Yuan froze in place for a moment.
He looked back and forth between the bar under renovation and President Pei striding away, utterly confused.
After a long moment, he jogged two steps to catch up.
What was going on?
Wouldn't having more businesses around actually be better for their restaurant? Shouldn't they just secure this location on the spot?
Why did President Pei walk away without even looking back?
Though full of questions, Zhang Yuan didn't dare ask. He simply followed silently, his heart tangled in doubt.
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