A stack of banknotes landed on the table, each bundle containing exactly ten thousand yuan. After taking out seven bundles, Chen Hao instinctively reached for more, but suddenly paused and finally pulled out a handful of loose change.
Tangible results were more convincing than any fancy talk. Chen Hao went straight into his report.
"The Internet Cafe's income, plus the card applications and recharges, comes to 76,567 yuan in total. Everything from today is here."
Chen Hao finished his report. Of course, if the "leaders" were interested in the details, they could ask anytime. He didn't mind explaining a little.
This was the proper way to give a work report.
Before Chen Hao returned, Chen Xingguo and Wu Xiuhua had made a rough estimate. Even after racking their brains, they had only come up with thirty thousand yuan. They never expected Chen Hao to throw out seventy thousand, shattering their understanding and leaving them completely stunned.
Wu Xiuhua muttered in disbelief, "How can there be so much? Seventy thousand! I could work myself to death for five years and still not earn that much, but you did it in just one day."
"This is only one day's worth. There's still tomorrow." Chen Xingguo forced himself to remain calm.
Chen Hao nodded. Seeing that he had frightened his parents, he felt a little pleased. "This is today's total. Tomorrow should be a little less than today, but breaking one hundred thousand altogether will still be easy! We'll see how things go tomorrow."
"I still don't understand. How did you make so much money? According to what you said, you made half of last year's Internet Cafe income in just two days?" Wu Xiuhua asked, puzzled.
Chen Hao patiently explained to his mother, "It's not that strange. After all, there aren't many entertainment venues in our small county. At most, there are KTVs, skating rinks, and billiard halls, and people only go to those occasionally. So everyone has some spare money, while going online can be addictive, and it isn't expensive."
At first, Chen Xingguo had been excited when the money was laid out on the table. His strong mentality quickly calmed him down, though, and he seemed to have thought of something. His expression grew solemn. "Xiao Hao, what do we do if the other two places copy us and start this rebate campaign too?"
Chen Hao didn't care. "These two days should cover most of the Internet users, which will be enough for us to digest for half a year. There are only three Internet cafes in our small county, so the market isn't saturated yet. They can copy us all they want. It doesn't matter. We're eating the meat, but we should at least let the other two have some soup, right? That way, they won't get jealous and cause us trouble."
In the current environment, opening an Internet cafe was enough to make money, so many illegal Internet cafes had sprung up. Chen Hao didn't care, though. His ambitions weren't here in the first place. He was only giving his parents a hand because they valued the family business so much. As long as they made money, that was enough.
Thinking of something, Chen Hao said, "We need to hurry up and find the Internet cafe attendant I mentioned earlier. Old Ban can't handle everything by himself."
Wu Xiuhua hurriedly said, "I've actually been asking around these past two days. As it happens, one of my colleague's nieces has nothing to do at home. She's pretty, too. I'll go ask her tomorrow. There's a good chance it'll work out."
"Sure. You two can discuss the rest between yourselves. Come to me anytime if you can't make up your minds."
The work report was complete. Judging from his parents' expressions, Chen Hao could confidently give himself a performance score of at least 3.75.
Back in his room, Chen Hao hurriedly took out the last twenty thousand yuan from selling the accounts and put it away. He had almost taken out too much just now.
He lay on the bed, feeling wonderful. After a tiring day, he soon drifted off to sleep.
The final day of the campaign.
The line was still long, but it didn't last as long as yesterday's.
Ten o'clock that night, at the Pentium Internet Cafe.
Those who planned to stay up all night stayed, while those who needed to go home left. Finally, no one was applying for cards anymore.
"Cheers!"
The three glasses clinked together, and the three men tipped their heads back and drained them.
How could such a moment pass without beer and barbecue?
The Internet Cafe had beer on hand—authentic Harbin Beer—while Old Ban had bought the barbecue from a nearby shop.
Chen Hao filled his glass, raised it, and said happily, "To celebrating the campaign's perfect success."
Another round!
Pang Ban also raised his glass. After they clinked them together, he said, "To seeing it through. Everything went smoothly."
The Day After Tomorrow was the start of the new semester, and everyone would be going their separate ways again. Xu Pengkun smiled carefree.
Another round!
The glasses held two ounces each, so three glasses made a bottle.
After downing three glasses on empty stomachs, Chen Hao was the first to surrender. He grabbed a skewer and waved it at them.
"Eat up and line your stomachs, then we'll continue. We're taking the sustainable-development route. Here, eat. Don't stand on ceremony with me!"
Xu Pengkun looked at him with contempt. "Have some shame. The skewers were bought by Old Ban, and I carried the beer over. What did you do? Yet you're already telling us to eat. Oh, right—how did you come up with all these ideas?"
Seeing that both of them were quite interested in the campaign, Chen Hao began explaining everything from publicity to later business operations and various management concepts.
What seemed perfectly normal in later generations was nothing more than a membership recharge system combined with Haidilao's service model. But in the present, the two together were an absolute trump card.
The two men listened, ate, and digested what they heard, occasionally nodding or asking a question.
Xu Pengkun had majored in business administration at university. He had joined the campaign midway, and by combining theory with practice, he had gained a great deal.
Pang Ban also sat to the side, looking deep in thought.
By the time Chen Hao finished speaking, more than half of the barbecue on the table was gone.
"Damn it, you two animals, leave me some." With that, Chen Hao reconnected and returned to the battlefield.
"You didn't know any of this before. Was it all because of that immortal's guidance that night?"
Chen Hao didn't think much of it. "Otherwise? Let me tell you two, I'm a man blessed with tremendous luck!"
"Really? I don't believe you!" Xu Pengkun scoffed.
Chen Hao ignored him and continued, "My future is limitless. I'm giving the two of you a chance to become my followers. Why haven't you brought your dog heads over to pay respects yet?"
"Old Ban, if I were you, I couldn't put up with this!"
Pang Ban remained as laconic as ever. "Beat him up!"
The three of them bickered and horsed around for quite a while before finally calming down.
A thought suddenly struck Xu Pengkun. "I was watching A Step into the Past recently. You didn't cross over from the future, did you?"
Chen Hao paused while picking up a skewer. "If I'd really come from the future, I would've bought lottery tickets and cashed out five hundred thousand by now. Why would I work myself to death over this little business?"
"True!" Xu Pengkun laughed at his own wild imagination.
Chen Hao broke into a cold sweat. He immediately took two envelopes from his bag and handed one to each of his companions, taking the opportunity to change the subject.
"Brothers should keep clear accounts. Here's five hundred each for your hard work over the past two days. I'm worried I'll forget after I drink too much."
When the two of them didn't move, Chen Hao said, "Quit acting coy. Take it since I'm giving it to you. What? You think it's too little?" He pretended to reach into his bag again.
Seeing that there was no way around it, the two accepted the money.
"Come on, let's have one. We'll have plenty of chances in the future, brothers. This is only the beginning~"
The three glasses clinked together again.
After three rounds of drinks, the first case of beer officially met its end. Reinforcements were needed, so the second case took its place. The ground was covered in empty bottles. They hadn't sold many, while the rest had all ended up in the three men's stomachs.
Chen Hao and Xu Pengkun's faces were flushed red, while Pang Ban's face grew paler the more he drank.
Chen Hao filled his glass and raised it again, speaking grandly with his tongue slightly thick, "This is a united conference, a victorious conference! History will remember this historic moment. From this day forward, we'll open a brand-new chapter. We'll punch NetEase, kick Sohu, and Sina—Tencent and Alibaba will be nothing but our underlings. The world will tremble before us. Old Ban, Big Bird, your names will surely be engraved in the record of the Internet's rise and fall!"
"Old Ban, did the two of us ever say we'd help him? Haozi's only had four bottles, but his face is getting bigger and bigger. He's already bragging like crazy." Xu Pengkun draped an arm around Pang Ban's shoulder as they watched Chen Hao stand with one foot on a stool, loudly proclaiming his ambitions.
Pang Ban's usually stern face rarely showed a trace of amusement as he watched Chen Hao, brimming with confidence.
Many years later, when Xu Pengkun had risen to a high position, he suddenly realized that Chen Hao hadn't been drunk and bragging back then,
but stating a fact.
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