Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Before this, Ruan Guangjian always ate take-out in Shanghai. He had tried almost every restaurant offering take-out in the vicinity.

However, he racked his brains every day, thinking about what to eat.

There was better-tasting take-out, such as spicy stir-fried food, barbecue skewers, rice with meat and vegetables, and the like. However, they were often extremely oily and unhealthy. If one ate those kinds of food too often, they would easily gain weight or develop health problems.

On the other hand, take-outs that prided themselves on being healthy often tasted horrible. Most of them were made up of a bunch of raw vegetables tossed together. Thus, they could not fill Ruan Guangjian for long. He often felt hungry by the afternoon, and his productivity would be affected as a result.

Nothing much could be done about this. In order to make their food tasty, many restaurants added a lot of additives and flavoring. After all, customers who ordered take-out could not be too concerned about their health. They probably only cared about the food’s taste.

If they thought the food was too bland and boring, they probably would not order from the same restaurant again. In order to make the food genuinely healthy, restaurants would have to use fresh ingredients. Apart from that, chefs would need to have solid skills. Lastly, customers would have to be willing to pay the inevitably higher price.

Thus, despite staying in Shanghai for such a long time, Ruan Guangjian had only had a few ‘healthy’ take-out meals. Even then, hardly any of those meals tasted like healthy, home-cooked food… like the set meal in front of him at that moment.

Ruan Guangjian curiously asked, “How much did this set cost?”

Li Yada answered, “Employees don’t have to pay for these meals, but outsiders would pay about twenty yuan.”

Ruan Guangjian could not help but feel emotional. “That’s not expensive. Do we get to keep the cutlery?”

Li Yada shook her head. “Of course not. Someone would be sent to collect them and disinfect them.”

Ruan Guangjian looked even more shocked. “That means the meal really isn’t expensive! Can the restaurant really recover its costs by only collecting twenty-odd yuan per meal?” Li Yada smiled. “Fish-Catching Take-Out has been incurring loss all this while. Boss Pei has been funding the business out-of-pocket.

“However, based on the money spent on ingredients and capital, the business should be a profitable one. It’s just that it’s very small-scale now, and few people place orders. That’s why the company is still incurring losses.

“Perhaps it will generate profits in the future. We can’t be sure.”

“I think that Boss Pei purely intended for this company to provide benefits for his employees. It’s just like the way schools subsidize students’ meals in the canteen.” Ruan Guangjian continued eating his food in silence.

Once everyone had finished their meals, they gathered the cutlery and placed them on the front desk. Then, they went back to their respective workspaces to watch shows or take afternoon naps.

Li Yada did not have the habit of taking naps so she started chatting with Ruan Guangjian.

Ruan Guangjian asked about Jingzhou’s rent and daily living expenses once again. The more they spoke, the more envious he became.

Jingzhou was a second-tier city after all. The living expenses here were of a whole different tier compared to in Shanghai. Naturally, Ruan Guangjian found everything cheap.

Li Yada talked about Upwind Logistics, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, ROF’s computer-installation business, and the like. It was obvious from the way she spoke that she was very proud of Tengda Corporation.

Ruan Guangjian listened without saying a thing. At last, he said nothing in response.

He softly sighed and went back to drawing.

Li Yada stood up and went to the pantry for some coffee.

She retrieved her cell phone and secretly sent Pei Qian a message: “Boss Pei, I told Big Boss Ruan Guangjian about all of Tengda’s benefits, just as you asked!” Pei Qian’s reply came almost immediately.

“What was his reaction?”

Li Yada answered, “He didn’t say anything much, but he looked disappointed. I’m wondering if hearing about Tengda’s excellent benefits has irritated him. Big Boss wouldn’t bear a grudge, right?” Pei Qian answered, “Well done. I’ll be there

soon!”

Pei Qian had been slacking in bed. Once he read Li Yada’s messages, he jumped up and got changed as quickly as he could. He had gone back to slacking mode today. He had slept from noon all the way until 2 PM before he finally got up.

He had just been watching shows for a while when he received Li Yada’s good news. At once, he could not wait to get to the office.

Pei Qian had been miserably tortured by Ruan Guangjian yesterday. That was why he had racked his brains when he got back, thinking of a way to get back at the latter.

How could Boss Pei be defeated in his own territory, Jingzhou?!

Even after much consideration, Pei Qian could only think of hurting Ruan Guangjian by telling him about Tengda’s benefits.

Businesses that required owners to pay out of their own pockets, like Upwind Logistics, Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, and Fish-Catching Take-Out, involved substantial costs to run. Furthermore, excellent quality normally had to be guaranteed. Thus, such businesses were rare in large cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou.

Furthermore, Ruan Guangjian’s workspace was located in Shanghai where things like rent and living expenses were very high. Of course, he could not afford to make his workspace as luxurious as Tengda.

Thus, Pei Qian decided to make a big deal out of this. He wanted to deal a huge blow to Ruan Guangjian to take revenge for what had happened the night before!

From the looks of the current situation, his plan was going quite well.

Ruan Guangjian had probably already been hurt. Pei Qian guessed that life suddenly felt meaningless and dull to him now!

Pei Qian could not miss the moment.

A few minutes later, Pei Qian arrived at the office. He walked in looking very carefree. Then, he greeted Ruan Guangjian, whose head was buried in his work right then.

“Brother Ruan! How did you sleep last night? Is work going smoothly today? I’m sorry, I’ve been quite busy all morning. That’s why I couldn’t come to the office.

“Was lunch to your liking? Do you like the office environment?”

Pei Qian grinned, prepared to rub more salt into Ruan Guangjian’s wounds.

Ruan Guangjian looked much more down than he was before. It was almost as if… he was thinking about something. Looking at Pei Qian, he finally made up his mind.

“Boss Pei, I have decided. I’m going to move my workspace to Jingzhou!” Ruan Guangjian looked extremely serious.

Pei Qian was stunned. After a moment, his mind filled with question marks.

“Huh?”

He had not expected that this would be the first sentence Ruan Guangjian would say to him…

Feeling like something was amiss, Pei Qian quickly said, “Brother Ruan, you shouldn’t rush into things like that! Moving your workspace is no small matter!

“How about the office you’re currently renting? How about the furniture and computers that you’ve already bought? The employees would still have to move houses. They have to leave their hometowns and come all the way to Jingzhou…

“You should chew on this for longer! Chew on this for longer!”

Pei Qian felt light-headed.

Ruan Guangjian, is it not enough that you came all the way to Jingzhou, of your own accord, to stab me in the back? Do you really intend to move your entire workspace to Jingzhou next?

Are you trying to kill me?!

Until now, Tengda’s designers had been working on art resources with Halo Workspace online. Although it was much less efficient, the art resources still turned out excellent under Ruan Guangjian’s supervision and quality-control.

If the entire Halo Workspace moved to Jingzhou…

Employees could just take a ride to meet one another face-to-face if they ran into any problems with communication!

Thus, Pei Qian quickly tried to change Ruan Guangjian’s mind, hoping that the latter would dispel the impracticable idea once and for all.

Ruan Guangjian smiled subtly. “Boss Pei, I understand your good intentions.

“It will indeed be troublesome to move my entire workspace here. Honestly, apart from me, I’m sure most of my employees would be unwilling to move as well.

“However, I’ve been thinking for a long time, and I’ve concluded that there are more benefits to moving to Jingzhou!

“The rent here is much cheaper than in Shanghai. Everything costs less as well. There are also Fish-Catching Take-Out and Upwind Logistics. Both standard of living and convenience are practically guaranteed in Jingzhou. “Other people in the workspace could also pay less for accommodation after moving to Jingzhou. As long as their salaries remain the same, their standard of living would surely improve.

“As for the moving plan… I’ve more or less thought about it as well.

“We’ll rent out our current office and sell off all our furniture and stationery there. Then, we’ll purchase new ones once we move to Jingzhou.

“Moving such a long distance would cost a lot indeed, but all things considered, we’ll probably recover that sum of money after some time.”

Pei Qian felt light-headed. “It’s hard to leave one’s own hometown. Would your employees remain unswerving and move with you?”

Ruan Guangjian smiled. “What do you mean by ‘it’s hard to leave one’s own hometown’? Where’s our hometown? Nobody in our workspace was born in Shanghai. Most of us are just hovering in Shanghai. We can’t afford houses, we haven’t struck the lottery, and we don’t even have bank accounts.

“Our only problem once we get to Jingzhou would be that our company is too small. It’ll be hard for us to change jobs. However, the core members in my workspace are all good friends of mine. They have their hearts set on following me around; they’ll work for me no matter where I go.

“I won’t force the other employees. Those who are willing can come with me. Those who are not would be free to find new jobs.

“In any case, it’s better to deal with painful things quickly. Since the workspace would be the same anywhere, why not move to a city with less stress?

“What’s more, I have friends here.”

Ruan Guangjian looked at Pei Qian with a warm gaze.

Pei Qian, “?”

At once, Pei Qian realized that Ruan Guangjian was referring to himself as his ‘friend’.

Ruan Guangjian continued speaking. “All in all, our workspace will be depending on you once we get to Jingzhou, Boss Pei! You’re such a loyal person; I’m sure I can trust you!”

Pei Qian’s mind was filled with question marks. He was feeling very giddy now.

Pei Qian thought that the conversation had been going quite well at first. Yet, as the plot developed, it twisted and twisted… and finally descended into chaos.

No way, I cannot allow this to carry on! Ruan Guangjian is going to move his entire workspace here?! That’s ridiculous! Pei Qian quickly said, “Brother Ruan, I understand how you feel.

“However, you’ve been so busy with work lately. If you move your workspace now, you might not be able to complete your assignments satisfactorily. You must think about this more! Don’t rush into things!”

Ruan Guangjian pondered for a moment and said, “Hmm… that’s true.

“Alright, then! Once we’re done working on Tengda’s art resources, we’ll prepare to move!”

Once Ruan Guangjian finished speaking, he went back to work, his heart filled with hope for the beautiful future.

Looking at Ruan Guangjian who was now full of confidence, Pei Qian became deeply confused.

Oh, no, something horrible had happened!

Halo Workspace would move to Jingzhou City in three or four months. What could Pei Qian do about it?!

Pei Qian remained out of Ruan Guangjian’s influence while the latter was in Shanghai, but once he moved to Jingzhou, wouldn’t Pei Qian be completely at his mercy?!

What should he do then?!

Pei Qian’s head began to throb. He quietly walked to the guest room, drank a cup of tea, and pondered deeply.

Ding! Ding! His phone rang. Pei Qian picked it up and saw that he had received a message from Li Yada.

“Boss Pei, was this in your plan as well?

“That’s such an intelligent plan!

“Just a string of words could cause Big Boss Ruan to move to Jingzhou. He’s even bringing his entire workspace with him!

“Is this the legendary method of luring artists over without offering anything?!

“You are indeed charming and attractive, Boss Pei.

“I have to give it to you!”

Pei Qian received several messages, one after another. It was obvious how much Li Yada respected him.

Once again, Pei Qian was at a loss for words. He wanted to say that this was a big misunderstanding. However, after typing a couple of words, he deleted them all.

He could only sigh inwardly.

This is so tough for me!