Emma, So Fragrant!

"Membership card?"

Lu Xiaobei's eyes lit up, deeply moved. "Can you elaborate?"

"Mhm."

I nodded gently and said slowly, "I've observed the business operations of internet cafes in the Stream City area. Currently, no internet cafe has launched a membership program. A membership program is essentially offering discounts to consumers to firmly tie them to your establishment. For example, with our card, you could top up 100 yuan and get 20 yuan free, or top up 500 yuan and get 120 yuan free, and so on. The more you top up, the greater the discount."

"Will... will we really not lose money doing this?" Lu Xiaobei asked with wide, worried eyes.

"No."

I shook my head. "You need to look at the bigger picture. Think about it, our Feiyang Internet Cafe still has over 30% idle machines during the prime time of 8 PM. These empty machines represent wasted potential. By offering discounts to members, we can actually improve the overall performance of the internet cafe."

"That makes sense..."

Lu Xiaobei nodded in agreement, then said thoughtfully, "How wonderful would it be if we could keep the idle rate below 10% during prime time..."

I glanced at her, a smile in my eyes.

In the very next second, a ding-dong sound echoed in my ears. Another quest had been triggered!

[Quest Triggered: 〖Business Goal〗 (Rank B)! Quest Objective: Reduce the idle rate of Feiyang Internet Cafe to below 10% around 8 PM. Quest Reward: Large amount of experience points, with a chance to obtain bonus reward items!]

A Rank B quest this time!

My heart was overjoyed. This was killing two birds with one stone; not only could I help Lu Xiaobei, but I could also gain something for myself.

"Ding Han..."

Lu Xiaobei still sounded a bit worried. "It's easier said than done. To implement the membership system you mentioned, wouldn't we need to overhaul the internet cafe's system?"

"Yes, that's true."

I nodded. "Currently, Stream City doesn't have such a system. We'd need to write a new program and establish our own membership database on the internet cafe's server. It's indeed quite troublesome, but if you're truly determined, I can try to help the internet cafe complete the programming for this system. I can likely handle the database part as well."

"What?"

Lu Xiaobei's beautiful eyes widened in shock. "You... you know how to program?"

"I know a little."

I said modestly, though in reality, I relied on the game system to improve my programming skills.

"Alright!"

Lu Xiaobei bit her red lips. "In that case, I'll leave the system overhaul to you. If you can really pull this off, I'll definitely give you a raise!"

"You said it, it's a deal!"

"Mhm!"

Lu Xiaobei continued, "Also, once your system is ready, sneak into a few other internet cafes on Qianjin Street with me. We'll conduct some market research. Knowing ourselves and our enemy is key to victory. Then, we can make appropriate adjustments to truly boost our Feiyang Internet Cafe's business. What do you think?"

"Okay."

I didn't object, but in doing so, how was I still like an internet cafe manager? Running around, doing this and that, what was the difference between me and a shareholder?

"Ding Han!"

Lu Xiaobei reached out and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, if the internet cafe's business really takes off in the future, I definitely won't treat you unfairly. After all, you're the primary contributor to this business improvement plan. I will never forget your contributions!"

After painting this rosy picture for me, she went upstairs briefly and then headed out to her stall to earn money.

I watched her youthful back and couldn't help but chuckle. This girl lived such a carefree life.

"Hangzi, get me a machine. I need to do some work on the internet cafe's renovation."

"Coming right up, Brother Han!"

After getting a machine, I started searching for programming tutorials online. Although... I had learned basic programming in reality, and C++, JAVA, SQL, etc., were all within my grasp, I hadn't had practical experience. Therefore, using that shallow knowledge to create a membership system was clearly unrealistic.

After watching tutorials for a while, a text prompt appeared before my eyes.

[Learn Skill: 〖Basic Programming〗 (Rank C)?]

Confirm, learn!

Previously, the skill points from leveling up to 10 were used to learn Dragon Blade, and the skill points from level 12 were used for Explosive Charge. The skill points from level 14 were for Ground Spike Slash. Therefore, the skill points for learning Basic Programming came from level 16, which was my last available skill point.

"Swish~~~"

After a ray of golden light, a "typing hands" icon appeared within the skill icon, signifying Basic Programming.

Immediately, I input the skill experience and began rapidly leveling up the skill!

[Congratulations! Your skill 〖Basic Programming〗 (Rank C) has been successfully upgraded to Level 4. Your programming ability has greatly improved, and you have gained 1 additional Spirit attribute point!]

[Congratulations! Your skill 〖Basic Programming〗 (Rank C) has been successfully upgraded to Level 7. Your programming ability has greatly improved, and you have gained 2 additional Spirit attribute points!]

[Congratulations! Your skill 〖Basic Programming〗 (Rank C) has been successfully upgraded to Level 10. Your programming ability has greatly improved, and you have gained 3 additional Spirit attribute points!]

In an instant, countless basic programming knowledge flooded into my mind, giving me a sense of effortless gain!

The accumulated skill experience from the past few days was once again depleted, but I felt filled with purpose. I now had a clear and precise vision for building the membership card system. I immediately downloaded a set of software and began writing the program.

While Level 10 Basic Programming might seem complex, it's actually not simple at all. At least, it's more than enough for writing a membership card program; it's not like designing high-end gear such as Power Armor, Dragon Blades, or Storm Shields.

After a whole morning's work, the membership card system database for Feiyang Internet Cafe was successfully completed.

Feeling a surge of excitement, I transferred the software to the server used by the net administrator. Then, I took the opportunity to reinstall the server's operating system. By mapping it to each client machine, I got the internet cafe's computers running under a management system. From then on, connecting and synchronizing would only require a few operations on each client machine. This way, I wouldn't have to spend time troubleshooting every single client machine that had a problem.

"Tsk tsk..."

Zhao Yihang, watching from the side, was dumbfounded. "Ding Han, where did you learn this skill... It's amazing... I don't think even our school's programming teachers know this stuff."

"..."

I glanced at him without a word.

"What the hell is with that look? Say what you mean..."

"I don't even want to comment on the skill level of your vocational school teacher..."

"Damn it!"

The next day.

Feiyang Internet Cafe officially launched its membership system. A large sign was erected outside, displaying the words: "Top up 50 get 8 free, top up 100 get 20 free, top up 500 get 120 free, top up 1000 get 300 free."

At first, people who came to use the internet were skeptical. It was something new, and not so easy to accept.

I gave Lu Xiaobei a suggestion: "get some plants." So, she immediately set her sights on Old K, who came every day. Then, a group of 'plants' led by Old K started enthusiastically promoting the membership cards in the cafe, saying they were not only convenient but also saved money. Before long, more and more people were signing up!

Around 10 PM.

"Ding Han!"

Lu Xiaobei, her face beaming, opened a drawer and pointed to stacks of brand-new Star Coins with a laugh. "Guess how much we made just from selling memberships today?"

"How much?" I asked, a little excited.

"Over seven thousand! That's almost as much as we made in the entire previous month!" she exclaimed, thrilled.

"It's 'over seven thousand,' not 'more than seven thousand.' Your grammar and word choice aren't very precise," I corrected.

"Don't sweat the small stuff!"

Lu Xiaobei continued, "I'll take the night shift with you tonight. You get some extra sleep. Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we'll start market research and check out the other three internet cafes."

"Alright."

I nodded.

The next morning.

After Zhao Yihang handed over his shift, Lu Xiaobei bought breakfast. Her outfit today was different from usual; she was wearing a black trench coat, sunglasses, and a baseball cap.

With her perfect figure, anyone who didn't know her might mistake her for a celebrity in disguise.

We squeezed behind the counter to eat breakfast, slurping down our spicy noodles. I asked, "Do I need to disguise myself?"

"No need."

Lu Xiaobei replied, "I'm the proud owner of Feiyang Internet Cafe. Everyone in the internet cafe scene on Qianjin Street knows me. You're just a nobody, a mere net administrator; no one will pay attention to you."

I looked up at her. "Don't you think what you just said sounds a bit arrogant?"

Lu Xiaobei smiled slightly, deftly changing the subject. "Eat up quickly, eat a lot. We're going to surf at other internet cafes later."

"Okay!"

After breakfast, we walked side-by-side down Qianjin Street.

The weather was a bit cool. Lu Xiaobei adjusted her coat, and I buttoned up mine. Soon, we arrived at Fengyun Internet Cafe. This place was mainly focused on Legend, and as soon as we entered, we heard shouts and curses.

"Damn it! Kill him! A Level 30 scrub mage dares to challenge my Level 40 Wellspring Warrior? You're asking for death!"

"Brothers, let's go! If we don't kill this bastard, they won't know whose territory the Telecom 66 server is!"

"Kill him! If he tries to run, kill his girlfriend first!"

"CNMD, you dare to challenge me? You probably don't know how powerful my Blazing Fire spell is!"

Lu Xiaobei and I discreetly took seats, huddled together in a corner, trembling.

"Fengyun Internet Cafe's machine configuration is indeed impressive..."

I checked the specs and whispered to Lu Xiaobei, "These machines are at least 4000 each. They're the best configured on Qianjin Street. We definitely can't compete with them on this front. We need to think of other ways to improve our business."

"Mm!"

Lu Xiaobei agreed wholeheartedly.

"Ding Han, do you know how to play Bubble Bobble?" she suddenly asked.

"Such a childish game? Even a dog wouldn't play it."

"Register an account and play with me for a bit. If you win, I'll treat you to a boxed lunch at noon."

"You said it..."

For a meal, I registered an account and started arguing with Lu Xiaobei.

Noon.

By the canal outside the Old City District, Lu Xiaobei and I each held a box of lunch, which was essentially a rice bowl topped with a chicken leg, stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, braised green beans, and other fast food. As soon as I took a bite, I couldn't help but think of that famous scene, so I grinned at Lu Xiaobei and said:

"Ah, this smells amazing!"