Perfect Conclusion

Bundles of cash were slapped onto the table, each bundle exactly ten thousand yuan. Chen Hao, after pulling out seven bundles, instinctively reached for more, then paused, finally pulling out a handful of loose bills.

Tangible results were more convincing than any jargon. Chen Hao directly reported his performance.

"The internet cafe's income, plus card sign-ups and recharges, totals 76,567 yuan. Today's earnings are all here."

Chen Hao finished his performance review. Of course, if the "leader" was interested in the process, they could ask anytime; he didn't mind explaining a bit.

This was the correct way to present a performance review.

Before Chen Hao returned, Chen Xingguo and Wu Xiuhua had roughly estimated the earnings, arriving at a maximum of 30,000 yuan. They never expected Chen Hao to throw out 70,000, shattering their existing perceptions and leaving them stunned.

Wu Xiuhua murmured, her face full of disbelief, "How can it be so much? 70,000? I work my fingers to the bone for five years and can't earn this much. This is just one day..."

"This is just today. Tomorrow is another day," Chen Xingguo said, forcing himself to stay calm.

Chen Hao nodded. Seeing his parents shocked by him made him a little happy. "This is for today. Tomorrow's earnings are expected to be a little less than today's, but breaking 100,000 in total is still very easy! It depends on tomorrow's situation."

"I still can't understand, how so much money? According to you, two days of earnings are half of last year's income for the internet cafe?" Wu Xiuhua was somewhat confused.

Chen Hao patiently explained to his mother, "It's alright. After all, there aren't many entertainment and consumption venues in our small county. At most, there are KTVs, roller skating rinks, and billiard halls, which people only visit occasionally. So, everyone has some money. Online access, however, is addictive and not expensive, so it's not strange."

Chen Xingguo was initially excited by the money on the table, but his excellent psychological resilience allowed him to calm down quickly. He seemed to have thought of something, his expression becoming somewhat solemn. "Xiao Hao, what if the other two businesses copy our rebate promotion? What then?"

Chen Hao was indifferent. "These two days should cover most of the internet users. It's enough for us to digest for half a year. There are only three internet cafes in our small county, and the market is not saturated yet. They can copy us all they want; it doesn't matter. We'll eat the meat, and let the other two have some soup... lest they get jealous and cause trouble for us."

In the current environment, as long as you opened an internet cafe, you could make money, which led to the emergence of many illegal internet cafes. However, Chen Hao didn't care, as his ambitions lay elsewhere. He only helped out because he saw his parents valued the family business, and making money was enough.

Thinking of something, Chen Hao said, "We need to find a network administrator quickly, as Old Ban can't handle it all by himself now."

Wu Xiuhua quickly replied, "I actually asked around these past two days. My colleague's niece is at home with nothing to do, and she's quite pretty. I'll ask her tomorrow; there's a good chance she'll agree."

"Okay, you two discuss it and decide. If you're unsure about anything, you can always find me."

After the performance review, Chen Hao looked at his parents' expressions and felt that his performance deserved at least a 3.75.

Back in his room, Chen Hao quickly took out the remaining 20,000 yuan from selling accounts from his bag and put it away. He had almost pulled out too much earlier.

Lying on the bed, feeling great after a tiring day, he soon fell asleep.

The last day of the promotion.

The long queues remained, but they weren't as long as yesterday.

Ten o'clock at night, Pentium Internet Cafe.

Those who wanted to stay overnight stayed, and those who wanted to go home went. Finally, no one was signing up for new cards.

"Cheers!"

Three cups clinked together, and the three men tilted their heads back, drinking their contents in one gulp.

At such a moment, how could there be no beer and barbecue?

There was beer in the internet cafe, authentic Harbin Beer, and the barbecue was bought by Old Ban from a nearby barbecue shop.

Chen Hao poured the drinks and raised his glass, very happy. "To the complete success of the promotion."

Another toast!

Pang Ban also raised his glass, and they clinked again. "A farewell toast. May everything go smoothly."

School starts the day after tomorrow, and they would all go their separate ways again. Xu Pengkun smiled freely.

Another toast!

The glasses were the two-liang type, so three glasses made a bottle.

After three consecutive glasses on an empty stomach, Chen Hao decided to surrender first and gestured with a skewer.

"Dig in quickly, fill your stomachs, and then we'll fight again. We're pursuing sustainable development. Come and eat, don't be shy!"

Xu Pengkun looked disgusted. "Be a human! You have the nerve to order us around. Old Ban bought the skewers, and I moved the beer. What did you do to deserve this feast? Oh, right, how did you come up with all these ideas?"

Seeing that both of them were quite interested in this promotion, Chen Hao launched into an explanation of his concepts for promotion and subsequent operations.

What seemed like normal things in later generations, like a membership recharge system combined with the Haidilao service model, was a guaranteed winning combination at this time.

The two listened, ate, and processed the information, nodding occasionally and asking a few questions.

Xu Pengkun, who studied Business Administration in college, had joined the promotion midway and gained a lot by combining theory with practice.

Pang Ban also looked thoughtful.

After Chen Hao finished speaking, more than half of the barbecue on the table was gone.

"Damn, you two animals, leave some for me." After speaking, Chen Hao reconnected and returned to the battlefield.

"You wouldn't have done these things before. Was it the guidance from that immortal that night?"

Chen Hao dismissed it. "What else? Let me tell you, I am a person of great destiny!"

"Really? I don't believe it!" Xu Pengkun scoffed.

Chen Hao ignored him and continued, "My future is limitless. Now, I'm giving you two a chance to be my loyal followers. Hurry up and offer your dog heads in submission."

"Old Ban, if I were you, I wouldn't stand for this!"

Pang Ban, still speaking sparingly, said, "Beat him up!"

The three of them bantered and horseplayed for a while before things calmed down.

A flash of inspiration struck Xu Pengkun. "I was watching 'A Step into the Past' a while ago. You didn't happen to time travel from the future, did you?"

Chen Hao's skewer-eating paused. "If I had really time-traveled, I would have already bought a lottery ticket and cashed out five million. Why would I be working myself to death over this?"

"That's true!" Xu Pengkun laughed at his own wild idea.

Chen Hao broke out in a cold sweat. He directly took out two envelopes from his bag and handed them to his two companions, quickly changing the subject.

"Brothers, let's keep things clear. Here's five hundred each for your hard work these past two days. I'm afraid I'll forget if I drink too much later."

Seeing them hesitate, Chen Hao urged, "Come on, take it. Don't be so soft. What, you think it's too little?" He made a move to rummage through his bag again.

The two saw there was no way around it and took the money.

"Here's to us! We'll have plenty more opportunities in the future. This is just the beginning~"

The three cups clinked together again.

After three rounds of drinks, the first case of beer was declared defeated and needed reinforcements. The second case was brought in, and the ground was littered with empty bottles. They hadn't sold many bottles, and the rest had gone down the throats of the three of them.

Chen Hao and Xu Pengkun's faces were flushed red, but Pang Ban's face grew paler the more he drank.

Chen Hao poured another round and raised his cup again, delivering a passionate speech with a slightly slurred tongue. "This is a great congress of unity, a congress of victory! History will remember this historic moment. We will now turn over a brand new page, crushing NetEase, kicking Sohu and Sina, and companies like Tencent and Alibaba will be mere underlings. The world will tremble, and Old Ban and Big Bird, you too will be etched into the annals of the rise and fall of the internet!"

"Old Ban, did we say we'd help him? Haozi has only had four bottles, and his ego is getting bigger and bigger. He's already started bragging," Xu Pengkun said, slinging an arm around Pang Ban, watching Chen Hao, who had one foot on a stool, spouting nonsense.

Pang Ban's usually stern face showed a rare hint of a smile as he looked at the spirited Chen Hao.

Many years later, a high-ranking Xu Pengkun would suddenly realize that Chen Hao wasn't just drunk and bragging back then.

He was stating a fact.