It's Settled Then

The owner of this Audi Q5 was Li Xian's other good friend, Sui Jiji. When he first arrived, Li Xian recognized it at a glance and deliberately stepped on the gas to get ahead of him.

"Damn, I knew whose car it was, you startled me." Sui Jiji rolled down his window and looked at the grinning Li Xian, saying irritably, "You deliberately cut me off just now, didn't you? You little brat, just you wait until I park..."

"Heh heh... Who knew you were such a scaredy-cat!"

Sui Jiji found a parking spot nearby and parked his car. After getting out, he hooked his arm around Li Xian's neck. "Damn it, was I scared? I just couldn't afford to mess up! If I scraped off a bit of paint, I'd be working for free for a month."

"Don't be ridiculous, does the great young master Sui lack money for repairs?"

"Stop messing around! I really do lack money. My dad's been cracking down on me lately, I'm practically starving."

"Alright, who doesn't know who? Are you relying on your dad? It's clearly your aunt who's supporting you."

"Heh heh heh..." Sui Jiji let out a strange laugh. They all knew the unspoken truth. He quickly walked over to the G-Wagon and circled it, examining it. "Tsk tsk... Good heavens, this big guy is taller than all of us. It looks full of power." As Sui Jiji spoke, he looked at Li Xian and winked, "When can you lend me the car to show off a bit?"

Li Xian put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Same old rule, no borrowing wives or cars. However, I'm generous. When I get a new 'wife,' I can lend you this one for a spin, but you'll have to pay for the gas yourself."

"This 12-cylinder monster of yours drinks gas like water. You'd have to sell me to afford it," Sui Jiji twitched his mouth.

"Heh heh... It's not that bad. The fuel gauge on this car moves about as fast as the second hand on a watch. For you, the great young master Sui, it's a piece of cake."

"Screw you... Does this car leak oil?"

"Get lost..." Li Xian pushed him aside. The guy grinned and went to greet Sun Wei and Wang Meng.

The four of them walked into the seafood barbecue restaurant, chatting and laughing. The place wasn't small, with two floors. The first floor had open seating with twenty to thirty tables, divided into three rows. The tables on the sides were for four people, while the middle row had tables for six. You could ask the waiter for extra stools if needed.

The layout on the second floor was similar to the first, but with a few private rooms added, convenient for larger gatherings.

The restaurant's decor was rustic, with red brick walls and white grout. The tables and chairs were made of solid wood with natural grain. Green plants were placed around, giving the place a more vibrant feel. Decorative paintings with natural elements hung on the walls, giving it a somewhat artistic ambiance.

Decorating the place like this, it seemed the owner was a bit of a yuppie.

Following the waiter inside, they found a table for four and sat down. Li Xian looked around and asked, "Should we order drinks first?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit thirsty," Sui Jiji replied, and Sun Wei and Wang Meng nodded in agreement.

Li Xian said to the waiter, "Two cases of Qingdao Pure Draft first."

"Okay..." The waiter nodded and immediately turned to call someone to bring the beer. Soon, she and a male waiter brought two cases of beer and asked, "Do you want us to open them all for you?"

Li Xian raised his hand to stop her, saying, "No need." He then took the bottles out one by one and placed them on the table, saying to everyone, "Don't just stare, let's divide them up."

In a short while, the 24 bottles of Pure Draft were finished. They were very coordinated, each taking six bottles to "rinse their mouths" before anyone made a fuss.

Li Xian used a bottle opener to pry open the caps. "It's been a long time since we've all been together like this. Let's have a toast first!"

Sun Wei had strong teeth and used them to open a bottle cap. Wang Meng used a lighter as a bottle opener, while Sui Jiji directly used chopsticks to open the cap. Everyone had their own methods.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers..."

They meant it when they said it, and no one backed down.

"Gulp gulp gulp..." After downing a bottle to whet their appetites, they started ordering food.

A platter of peanuts and edamame, a plate of seasoned cauliflower, and lamb kidneys were a must. This time, they didn't order ten plates; four people ordered two.

Beef and lamb, chicken wings, wing tips, king prawns, scallops, oysters, stir-fried clams, garlic eggplant, and so on – they ordered over a dozen or twenty dishes.

This restaurant allowed self-service grilling or pre-made skewers. There was a charcoal grill in the center of the table. The skewers hadn't arrived yet, but the charcoal had.

Sun Wei took charge of the grilling, with Wang Meng assisting him. Li Xian and Sui Jiji were responsible for eating and keeping the atmosphere lively. After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, when the casual chatter had died down, Li Xian got down to business.

"I called you guys over today to help me make a decision. Tell me what you think, let's brainstorm together."

Sui Jiji lit a cigarette and spoke first, "I still think entertainment venues pay back quickly and are more profitable. Whether it's a KTV, a bar, or a bathhouse, the money comes in incredibly fast.

A buddy of mine runs a bathhouse near People's Square. The scale is only medium, with an investment of three to four million. The daily turnover is at least tens of thousands, and sometimes over a hundred thousand. Guess how much he makes in a year?"

He raised his palm and sighed, "It's incredibly profitable! He recouped his investment in half a year, and this is what he makes in a year."

"Damn! I know it's profitable too." But whether it's profitable or not doesn't matter, Li Xian took a swig of wine and said, "There are too many troublesome things. Can you handle them for me? He makes this money, but how much does he have to give away?

And how do we recruit people? Should Sun Wei post recruitment ads on the Z Internet? Or will you do it yourself? Damn it, if your dad found out you were working as a pimp, he'd beat you to death."

"Heh heh..." Sui Jiji licked his lips and chuckled, "I can at most help you find a location. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

"Then let's not talk so much. Let's put entertainment venues aside for now." As he spoke, Li Xian looked at Sun Wei.

"I quite like KTVs or clubs, where we can get together and sing sometimes. However, if you find it too troublesome, then how about a large internet cafe? Coffee shops, bakeries, milk tea places, those kinds of things, forget them. I have a few clients who opened those kinds of stores, and they're all losing money," Sun Wei said, pouring himself a drink.

"No matter what kind of venue, a 'clean' business won't be popular. Running a legitimate chain KTV is okay, but can we compete with the established chains? I don't care about making money, but being wiped out by others would be too embarrassing," Li Xian paused.

"An internet cafe is possible, but we need to choose the location carefully. A place like this area would be good, with schools all around – Technical University, Finance University, Maritime University, and Dalian Neusoft University are all here. I'm just worried about not being able to find a good spot."

After speaking, Li Xian nudged Wang Meng, who hadn't said anything, with his elbow. The guy quickly swallowed the meat in his mouth and said, "Let's do a barbecue city in the style of this place, but bigger, and drive all the small stalls around out of business."

"Hahaha, that's possible. An investment of three to five million would be enough," Li Xian said, slapping the table.

"Do you already have an idea? Are you just messing with us?" Sui Jiji sensed something fishy and asked.

Li Xian chuckled, not denying it, and took out his phone, saying, "Let me show you guys something."

He opened a webpage on his phone, searched for videos, and went to Bilibili, placing it on the table.

The guys all huddled together. They saw a video of a fat man slapping the table, and a devilishly catchy meme music started playing.

"Ten plates. Ten plates, come on, come on. Ten plates, ten plates of kidney."

Wang Meng was the first to react, pointing at the screen and saying, "Holy crap, isn't this from that day we were eating skewers at Third Sister's place?"

"Yeah, some Uploader turned it into a meme video, and it actually went viral," Li Xian replied.

"Hehehe, interesting." Sui Jiji was amused. He looked at Li Xian and said, "You're quite the troublemaker. How popular is this video?"

Li Xian said irritably, "It's number one on Bilibili's trending list and is about to hit Weibo's hot search. Some barbecue joints are already impersonating me. Tell me, how popular is that?"

"Whoa, it's about to be on the hot search? This is promising!" Sui Jiji exclaimed.

Sun Wei came over to join the fun. "Kidney Bro? That nickname is a bit harsh. How about 'Brother Xian's Kidney Seafood BBQ,' what do you think?"

Damn it, is there even a difference?!

Li Xian rolled his eyes and ignored him, speaking to himself, "Let's find a location while I add more fuel to this video. Whether this business succeeds or not, at least we won't be taken down, right?"

"You're being too cautious. Didn't you say you don't care about losing money?" Sui Jiji said, patting his shoulder. "I don't think it's a question of whether this business can succeed. If you really hit the top few spots on Weibo's hot search, you'll be golden. Then you'll need to think about opening a chain."

I don't care about the money, I'm just afraid the System will pull some shenanigans on me.

What if it all fails and the System decides to settle accounts later?

Li Xian was engaged in a battle of wits with the System. No matter how troublesome the System was, he would plug all its bugs. Anyway, he completed all the tasks perfectly, leaving it no room for error.

[System Father's Contempt: You think too much. If I wanted to mess with you, would I need to lift a finger?]

Okay, System Father probably wouldn't bother with this kind of thing.

However, Li Xian was determined to leave it speechless. He planned to not only open a barbecue city but also an internet cafe.

"Jiji, help me find a place. Let's finalize it in the next few days, the sooner the better." Li Xian paused, then pulled Wang Meng over. "You should quit that lousy job. Help Jiji out, and I'll pay you later."

"Uh, I don't mind. Whatever Brother Xian says. No need for a salary, you already gave me ten thousand last time..."

As Wang Meng spoke, Jiji smacked him on the head. "Are you drunk? Brother Xian wants you to work with him, and the salary isn't free. Mr. Xian. What about me? Aren't you going to arrange something for me?"

"Young Master Sui, how could I afford you? You're on the verge of inheriting your family's fortune." Li Xian teased.

"Don't say that. My dad still has twenty years before retirement. Let me earn some extra cash, doesn't need to be much, just ten or twenty thousand." Sui Jiji rubbed his fingers, smiling somewhat ambiguously.

Li Xian shivered slightly and looked at Sun Wei. "I'll need your help with recruitment. You stay at Z Lian for now and gather more resources. Come out when the time is right."

"So, I'm going undercover?" Sun Wei blinked and mimicked Sui Jiji, rubbing his fingers. "Am I going to earn some extra cash?"

"You guys, you won't be shortchanged." Li Xian was afraid they wouldn't accept money, but they were all very sensible, which was exactly what he wanted.

"Oh, right, Jiji, I'm planning to do the barbecue city and internet cafe together. Help me find another place, preferably two floors, with an area of over a thousand square meters."

"Alright. Finding such a large storefront nearby won't be easy. If there's a good place, others might be running it well, so I might have to try my best and perhaps spend a little."

"Money is not an issue. Brother lacks everything but money," Li Xian said, thumping his chest with a smug look.

Wang Meng suddenly interjected, "Brother Xian, would a single-floor storefront work? The Feidu Internet Cafe near our school, the one we go to often, the owner doesn't want to run it anymore."

"Feidu Internet Cafe?" Li Xian recalled. That internet cafe had been around for six or seven years, about five to six hundred square meters, with over two hundred machines. Its business seemed to be doing well.

"Why is it closing down? The business seems pretty good."

"Heh, it used to be good," Wang Meng explained. "But the competition has gotten too fierce in the last couple of years. Two or three internet cafes opened nearby, with better renovations and machines, and the internet fees aren't much higher. Their setup is outdated. Oh, and there's a Net Fish Internet Cafe that opened near the south gate corner, which made it even harder for them to survive."

ps: Seeking all kinds of support, thank you, big shots.