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In the past, the four halls were dominated by the Azure Dragon Hall, followed by the Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise Halls. However, in recent years, the higher-ups aimed to reduce the power of the underworld significantly, resulting in each hall becoming more equal in strength. The reason Cao Minghui was able to secure the management rights of that venue was that he had a sharp mind and good business acumen. Under his management, the venue was quite profitable, whereas our Brother Xiong was somewhat lacking in that regard.
Lu Qiang explained this to me with a smile, and I understood immediately. Xiong Li clearly appeared to be the type of martial general; while he might not be foolish, he certainly lacked the business savvy.
In this era of profitability, good business naturally needs to be handled by those who know how to manage it well.
"So our hall master must have a contentious relationship with Cao Minghui?" I casually asked Lu Qiang. He paused for a moment before responding, "Of course! It's just that Tian Ye Group prohibits internal strife; otherwise, these two hall masters would have clashed long ago."
I nodded with a smile. This was excellent news. Since both sides were relatively equal in strength and Xiong Li lacked business talents, it provided me an opportunity to showcase my abilities!
If I could demonstrate my talent for management and gain Xiong Li's attention, I would naturally attract Cao Minghui's interest as well. At that point, Cao Minghui would have two perspectives on me: first, he might see me as a thorn in his side because I filled a gap in his competitor's weaknesses; second, he might want to recruit me for himself.
However, he would likely consider the second option before viewing me as a threat. He would first try to see if he could bring me under his wing; only if I rejected him would he then see me as an adversary.
This way, my value would become apparent. But there was also a clear downside: if my business skills surpassed those of Cao Minghui after Xiong Li stepped down, Cao Minghui would not help me take over his position and nurture a more competitive rival.
Perhaps I needed to give Cao Minghui an excuse or leverage that made him believe he could control me indefinitely. This way, there would be no issue of him feeling threatened by me.
When I returned home, Linna discussed Tian Fa's situation with me. She praised my idea of selling leverage to Cao Minghui once again. For someone like him, this tactic would surely work.
But that was all for later; first and foremost, I needed to prove that I could make Tianchi thrive! I wanted both Xiong Li and Cao Minghui to see my potential!
To run a successful establishment, one must first consider the thoughts of their customers. The spending at Tianchi is not low; most patrons are young people from affluent backgrounds in Kyoto. Because they live comfortably, their concept of money is merely a means to buy happiness—if they are happy, they will spend freely!
To make them happy, one must understand what they truly desire! A brothel is always full because people’s hearts are lonely! Nightclubs serve merely as platforms for people to alleviate their solitude; what could possibly bring joy to young patrons seeking entertainment?
Beautiful women and social status!
Early the next morning, I called Wang Meng and informed him that I wanted to hold an event.
"An event? What kind of event, Xiang Zong? Our Tian Ye Group does not allow unauthorized price reductions; this could affect other venues," Wang Meng replied.
He explained that discount events were considered malicious competition. Since Tian Ye Group held a monopoly in Kyoto, it certainly wouldn’t allow its venues to compete against each other and ultimately drive prices down across the board.
"But I'm not looking for such low-level competition!"
"If discounts aren't allowed, how about raising prices instead? No matter what method you use, go ahead and advertise right now! Announce that on November 1st, Tianchi will host a grand singles dinner party! We invite all eligible singles—half men and half women! As for pricing: men's drink prices will increase tenfold! Women will pay regular prices but must go through an interview process—only outstanding singles will be accepted! These two points must be clearly stated in the advertisement!"
"What? Dong Ge! What kind of event is this? A tenfold price increase? And an interview process for entry? This... this..."
Wang Meng was left dumbfounded by my proposal. I smiled helplessly; it was only because he had been diligent while working under me that I even bothered to explain myself further.
Do you think that all the young people who come to our place are short on cash? Do they really care about spending money? On the contrary, how many rich kids are there nowadays who are afraid others don't know they have money? Especially worried that beautiful women don’t know they’re wealthy? The event we’re hosting this time clearly states that the price has increased tenfold! This is all about face! Of course, women need to go through an interview; it’s a way of telling those pretentious rich second-generation kids that our resources are high-quality and carefully selected. Do you understand?
I looked at Wang Meng in disbelief. After hearing this, he seemed to understand but then raised another question. "So, Xiang Zong, I get why men would come to show off, but what about the women? Do they really need to be interviewed? I doubt most female customers would be willing."
"Are you out of your mind?" I said. "I highlighted two key points in my advertisement, and you didn’t catch either of them! First, the girls need to be selected; the resources are top-notch! Second, the men have money! This is a paradise for gold diggers looking for wealthy partners! Don’t you think they’ll be lining up for interviews?"
I spoke without any further explanation, and Wang Meng finally got it. He nodded and said, "Of course! This event will only attract those spendthrifts who enjoy flirting and gold diggers; others wouldn’t even glance at it."
But it’s often these two types of people paired together that have significant spending power! Kyoto is so vast and prosperous; with Tian Ye Group's influence and reputation, promoting this event will surely fill my Tianchi without any trouble.
It was October 14th, and by November 1st, I was confident that my Tianchi would create a sales miracle!
Afterward, Wang Meng launched an extensive advertising campaign. While other events had lower prices during their promotional periods, mine was deliberately high! The uniqueness of this event was rare; within days, the single’s dinner at Tianchi stirred up a frenzy in Kyoto South District!
At first, my single's dinner received countless criticisms. People said I was trying to take advantage of the situation and that it would end in failure! But that didn’t stop the booking hotline for Tianchi from being flooded with calls! People are different; some will hate something intensely while others will love it just as passionately.
The first callers were all women wanting to interview for participation in my single's dinner! Their intentions were clear—they wanted to snag a wealthy partner!
The responses from the men were quick as well. Most expressed interest in my single's dinner and wanted to give it a try; after all, it was just ten times the usual drink price. They weren’t in a rush to sign up. For these spendthrifts, it didn’t matter much. Most had already decided they had to show off! But they still maintained an air of nonchalance—that’s the best way to flaunt wealth.
"Haha, Xiang Dong, I didn’t expect you to be so clever! You came up with this idea? Great job!"
With just a week left until the singles' dinner, my orders were already fully booked. Even before the event took place, success was evident. Xiong Li came personally to check on my packed orders and smiled in satisfaction. Even without business acumen, he knew that the combination of gold diggers and spendthrifts was a money-burning phenomenon. A week-long singles' dinner would surely break Tianchi’s sales record since its establishment.
"Thank you, Xiong Ge. I just had a sudden inspiration," I replied with a smile. The success of this event was also due to Tianchi's previous foundation; after all, it’s under Tian Ye Group. Many young men who had business dealings with Tian Ye Group came to support my novel event.
"This isn’t just a whim; you truly have talent! Keep it up! If this goes well, I’ll have to consider placing you in a position where you can add even more value!"
Xiong Li’s words felt like he was painting me a bright future, motivating me to push forward! Naturally, I played along and pretended to be grateful, saying I would definitely work hard—every boss loves subordinates who can actively bring benefits; that’s always true.
After Xiong Li left, Zheng Yu also came by to congratulate me and said I had a promising future ahead! I could clearly sense Zheng Yu’s happiness upon realizing my potential; his joy felt somewhat strange.
Once Zheng Yu left, Lu Qiang arrived as well. Several acquaintances took turns congratulating me, but what I really wanted was Lu Qiang's congratulations. Lu Qiang worked for Cao Minghui; now I wanted to gauge Cao Minghui's attitude through him.
Most people already knew about my connection with Lu Qiang and that our relationship was decent. If Cao Minghui had any stance on me, he would definitely send Lu Qiang to probe.
But I was disappointed—Lu Qiang only came to congratulate me without any hint of probing into my situation.
I speculated that perhaps since my event hadn’t taken place yet and no profits were visible, everything felt like mere talk without action—it hadn’t impressed Cao Minghui yet. Or maybe Cao Minghui had some reservations and wanted to wait and see; after all, he and Xiong Li were rivals. If he failed to recruit me successfully and I ended up reporting him to Xiong Li instead, not only would he face repercussions from his superiors but he’d also lose Lu Qiang as an undercover asset.
It seems I still need to do something to impress him, to let him know that even if he comes to talk to me, I won't report him to Brother Xiong Li. However, I'm not in a hurry about this matter. I can wait until after this event is over and the profits become a reality before addressing it.
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