Chapter 204 - Was there a Need to Plant Spies Given the Circumstances?! (1/2)

If Li Shi were allowed to choose, he would have considered opening a branch at the entrance of Handong Jiaotong University’s East Campus or nearer to Ming Yun Villas. He would not have opened it at such an awkward position between both places.

According to his initial research, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch at Ming Yun Villas was indeed doing the worst out of all the branches. This was a direct consequence of the branch’s location.

Thus, Li Shi was confused.

The fact that the long-faced man was visiting the branch at Ming Yun Villas frequently showed that Boss Pei took this branch as an important part of his plan.

Yet, from any angle, it did not look like this branch had much potential. If Li Shi had been the boss, he would have given up on this branch very early on in order to cut his losses.

All of this made him extremely curious.

After pondering for a long time, Li Shi left Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store and prepared to drive to the branch at Ming Yun Villas in order to find out more.

At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch in Ming Yun Villas…

There was a vast plain outside the cafe. After all, this was Jingzhou City’s outskirts. Naturally, it was not very crowded. Li Shi parked his car outside and walked into the internet cafe. Although the two branch’s set-ups were not completely the same, their styles were similar. This place felt familiar to Li Shi.

What’s more, this branch was a lot less crowded than the flagship store. To Li Shi, this was a huge plus point!

He walked to the coffee area, sat down, and then ordered a cup of tea.

The clean environment made him very happy.

However, Li Shi did not forget what he had come here for. He scanned the first floor of the internet cafe and found that Ma Yang and Zhang Yuan were here indeed.

However, both of them were happily playing games in the internet cafe. They had headphones on, and they looked very focused.

Ma Yang was completely engrossed. However, Zhang Yuan looked like he was in unspeakable pain. One could only imagine how torturous it was to play games with a boss who was rubbish at it and who had no self-awareness whatsoever!

However, in the eyes of an outsider like Li Shi, both of them looked like they were enjoying themselves and were on very good terms.

“Indeed, they have shifted their focus onto this branch, but… Why? It is purely because this place is doing horribly, and they want to convert the losses to profits?

“No, I don’t think that’s it. Boss Pei is very far-sighted. Would he be so hung up on the losses that one branch is incurring? There must be more to it.

“For all I know, there’s a deeper, complex plan behind this branch.”

Once again, Li Shi was careful not to be negligent.

Earlier, he had not expected Pei Qian to use a singer to turn the tables around. Once bitten, twice shy. He now knew that behind every ordinary-looking plan, Boss Pei had deeper intentions.

This time would be no exception.

Li Shi did not want Ma Yang to spot him. After what happened the last time, he understood that this long-faced man’s relationship with Pei Qian was too good. There was no way he would be able to rely on him.

However…

The other lower-level employees were a different story.

Li Shi scanned the internet cafe and saw several waiters. The internet cafe was too deserted, and the waiters looked listless. It was obvious that they were only trying to maintain a high standard of professionalism because of their professional training. Li Shi guessed that these waiters were not paid very much.

Fish-Catching Internet Cafe might treat their workers much better than the average industry standard, but these waiters did physical labor after all. They were just not worth paying that much.

If that were true, Li Shi could spend some money to bribe them and understand more about this branch at Ming Yun Villas.

At that thought, Li Shi quietly noted down the names and faces of several waiters. He took two more sips of his coffee, paid the bill, and then left.

Bribing two or three waiters did not seem significant, but it could give Li Shi something very important: updates. Any money he spent would be well worth it as long as these workers continuously provided Li Shi with updates about the branch and allowed him to figure out the direction in which Boss Pei was going!

If he prioritized stability, bribing just one waiter would minimize the risks of him being exposed.

However, Li Shi was worried that one waiter would provide him with fake updates. What would he do then? If he bribed a few waiters, at least he could verify the updates against one another. This would increase the reliability of the updates he received.

Of course, this would increase the risk of his plan being exposed. However, Li Shi was not that worried.

He would ask his subordinates to contact these waiters. Pei Qian would not be able to trace these things back to Fu Hui Investments.

It would not be a problem even if these waiters reported the matter to Pei Qian. At most, the plan would fall through at no loss to Li Shi.

The only thing he had to worry about was that these waiters would collude to provide fake information. However, the waiters would probably only do so if they were absolutely loyal to Boss Pei. What’s more, they must be able to resist the temptation of money.

How could they?

Thus, Li Shi felt quite confident. He believed in the power of money.

The next day…

Coincidentally, Pei Qian had nothing much to do in the afternoon. He thought about walking around in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s branch at Ming Yun Villas.