Chapter 205: Even Now, Someone's Still Trying to Spy on Them?
If Li Shi could choose for himself, he would definitely consider opening an internet café right outside the East Campus of Handong University, or near Mingyun Villa. There's no way he'd pick such an awkward location that's caught between places and doesn't benefit from either.
And according to the initial investigation, the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café really was the one doing the worst business out of all the branches.
This was directly related to its location.
So, Li Shi was quite puzzled.
The fact that Long-Face was stationed permanently at the Mingyun Villa café naturally meant that President Pei regarded this branch as a key focus for the next stage of development.
But looking at this store, it just didn't seem to have any potential to exploit.
If Li Shi were the boss, he'd probably cut his losses and abandon this branch as quickly as possible.
That only made him more curious.
After some thought, Li Shi left the flagship Moyu Internet Café and prepared to drive over to the Mingyun Villa branch to investigate for himself.
. . . .
Moyu Internet Café, Mingyun Villa Branch.
The open space outside was very wide. After all, this was already the outskirts of Jingzhou City, far less busy than the city center.
Li Shi parked his car outside and walked into the café.
Although the layout wasn't exactly the same as the flagship store, the style was highly consistent—everything felt so familiar.
Moreover, this branch had far fewer people than the flagship store, which for Li Shi was actually a big plus!
He sat down in the café area and ordered a cup of black tea.
The quiet atmosphere of the place pleased him.
But Li Shi hadn't forgotten the purpose of his visit. His eyes swept across the first floor of the café and, sure enough, he spotted Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan.
At the moment, the two of them were happily playing games together in the gaming area, wearing headsets, both looking very focused.
Ma Yang was fully immersed.
Zhang Yuan, on the other hand, was silently suffering.
Who could know the torment of having to play alongside a boss who was not only terrible at the game but completely unaware of it!
But to an outsider like Li Shi, they looked like two good comrades—harmonious and cheerful.
"So it's true, their focus has really shifted to this branch."
"But… why?"
"Is it just because this location has poor business, and they want to turn the loss into profit?"
"No, that can't be it."
"President Pei is a far-sighted man. How could he possibly care so much about the profit or loss of a single branch?"
"There must be some deeper meaning."
"Perhaps behind this internet café, there's an even greater plan at work."
Li Shi didn't dare take this lightly.
Last time, he never imagined that President Pei could completely reverse the situation with just a single singer.
Lesson learned—now he understood very well: behind every decision of President Pei's that seemed ordinary, there was always some deeper intent.
This time would be no exception.
Li Shi also didn't want to be seen by Ma Yang. After what happened last time, he already knew—this long-faced man was far too close with Pei Qian, absolutely unreliable.
But…
Other rank-and-file employees? That was a different matter.
Li Shi's eyes quickly swept over the few waiters working in the café.
Because the café was so quiet, these staff members also looked a bit listless. Still, out of professional courtesy, they tried their best to maintain a spirited working attitude.
Li Shi estimated that their wages probably weren't very high.
Even if Moyu Internet Café paid better than the industry average, at the end of the day, these waiters were doing physical labor—hardly the kind of job that would justify a high salary.
So, with just a little money, he should be able to buy them off and get some intel about the Mingyun Villa branch.
With that thought, Li Shi quietly memorized a few waiters' faces and the names on their badges. After sipping two more mouthfuls of tea, he paid the bill and left.
Bribing two or three waiters might not sound like much, but it could provide exactly what Li Shi needed most: information.
As long as these waiters could keep feeding him updates, letting him know President Pei's next moves, then the money would be absolutely worth it!
If he only wanted to play it safe, bribing just one would be the least likely to expose him.
But Li Shi worried—what if that one person gave him false intel?
Better to buy off several, at least two or three, so he could cross-check and verify the authenticity.
Of course, bribing more people increased the risk of exposure, but Li Shi wasn't particularly concerned.
He would have his subordinates make contact with the waiters, so that even if Pei Qian found out, nothing could be traced back to Fu Hui Capital.
And even if someone tattled to Pei Qian, so what? At worst, this method would be scrapped—it wasn't like Li Shi himself would suffer any real loss.
The only thing to watch out for would be if multiple waiters colluded to feed him fake intel. But for that to happen, all of them would have to be utterly loyal to President Pei and completely immune to the temptation of money.
How could that be possible?
So Li Shi was quite confident. He firmly believed in the power of money.
. . . . .
The next day.
Pei Qian happened to have nothing pressing in the morning, so he decided to swing by the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café.
He also wanted to check in with Ma Yang and the others about the progress of Against the Wind Logistics Station.
The early preparations for the courier station weren't too complicated: mainly renting and renovating storefronts, buying shelves and office supplies, hiring couriers, and contacting courier companies to negotiate partnerships.
For now, Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were in charge of all this.
After all, Moyu Internet Café and Moyu Delivery were still both running at a loss, which Pei Qian considered a good thing. He had a fair amount of trust in Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan.
Later on, when Against the Wind Logistics expanded and things got busier, Pei Qian planned to delegate the business to someone else.
When President Pei walked in, the waiters in the café all looked a little nervous.
It was common knowledge: the Mingyun Villa branch was the worst performing of all Moyu cafés—dead last!
The waiters were constantly worried that one day, this branch would suddenly be shut down and they'd be out of a job on the spot.
It used to be fine, back when all the stores were losing money together. Since Mingyun Villa was in such a remote location, President Pei almost never came.
But things had changed after the flagship store turned profitable.
Suddenly, it seemed like the Mingyun Villa branch had caught President Pei's eye!
The store manager Ma Yang and regional manager Zhang Yuan were basically stationed here full-time, and President Pei himself often dropped by—making the waiters feel a ton of pressure.
Clearly, upper management had noticed Mingyun Villa's terrible performance. Maybe this was the prelude to a major shake-up.
For now, everything seemed calm, but who knew what storm might be coming?
The waiters were all on edge. The pay and benefits here were good, sure—but who knew how long this job would even last?
So some of them were already making backup plans.
No matter how good the perks were, people were selfish by nature. They had to think about their own future.
"Brother Qian, you're here!"
Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan greeted him warmly, then found an empty table to sit down with Pei Qian.
A few waiters stood nearby, waiting for instructions.
Pei Qian took a sip of coffee and said to Ma Yang:
"This month, give every employee in this branch an extra one thousand yuan in salary."
Ma Yang froze. The waiters froze too.
Pei Qian explained:
"This is a motivational bonus! The Mingyun Villa branch isn't doing well right now, which means we need everyone to work even harder."
"Don't let the current poor performance weigh on you too much. Rest assured, Moyu Internet Café will never abandon any of its people!"
Pei Qian didn't think much of it. It was just a sudden impulse, spending a little extra money.
This kind of expense was reasonable, the amount wasn't large, and the system had no grounds to reject it.
Besides, Pei Qian thought: the Mingyun Villa branch, able to stay steadily unprofitable with no improvement whatsoever, was basically his dream benchmark project! A perfect contrast to the flagship store. Naturally, he had to find excuses to pour more money into it.
Just after he said that, Pei Qian suddenly noticed three or four waiters looking a bit odd.
A mixture of joy and hesitation flickered on their faces.
Finally, one of them mustered the courage to speak:
"President Pei, there's something I need to report!"
"Someone tried to bribe me, asking me to sell them intel on this branch!"
Another waiter nodded:
"Me too!"
And yet another wore an uneasy look—clearly guilty as well.
Normally, these waiters had no reason to snitch. After all, they were just the lowest-level staff in the café, with no real connection to Pei Qian, and tattling might not even bring them any direct benefits.
But this unexpected one-thousand-yuan bonus from Pei Qian had moved them deeply.
Thinking back on the generous benefits they'd always enjoyed at Moyu Internet Café, their consciences suddenly felt heavy.
So, even though the bribes offered were higher, some of them still chose to stand up!
Pei Qian was stunned.
But not because someone had tried to bribe his employees.
Rather—because he never imagined anyone would actually spend money buying such utterly useless intel.
The Mingyun Villa branch was already in such a pitiful state, and someone was still spying on it?
You've really got money burning a hole in your pocket?
Why not just give it straight to me instead!
Pei Qian asked casually:
"How much did they offer?"
One of the waiters hesitated, then said:
"Five hundred for regular intel, three thousand for critical intel."
To Li Shi, this was definitely an irresistible price for a lowly waiter. But he had clearly underestimated the various extra benefits the café provided its staff…
Inside, Pei Qian cursed.
Why the hell doesn't good stuff like this ever happen to me?
Intel on the Mingyun Villa branch of Moyu Internet Café?
At three thousand yuan per report, I could sell you so much intel I'd bankrupt you—believe it or not!
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